Yaksha looked startled after falling to the ground.
- You useless bastard! Even in death, you're worthless!
Yaksha angrily cried out, belittling Yoo Hyun's worth.
Seol placed his hand on Yoo Hyun's head, ignoring Yaksha.
[<Yoo Hyun>’s inheritance is starting.]
In an instant, Seol was pulled into Yoo Hyun's memories. He started seeing the world from Yoo Hyun’s eyes.
* * *
...
"Cough..."
Slash—!
Blood poured out from the swordsman who had been facing him only moments before. Now drenched in blood, his body collapsed against him.
"R... Run..."
"What...?"
"You must run..."
Thud...
Yoo Hyun slayed a demon wearing a mask. He finally subdued the bloodthirsty killer who stained the area with blood.
Yet, all that was left was a lingering bitterness.
'It was strange...'
Yoo Hyun fell into thought while standing before the corpse.
"He was extremely strong..."
The swordsman he slayed had a blade that struck faster than the senses and drained one's energy upon contact. Even Yoo Hyun found it daunting.
But still, he managed to defeat him.
Now, countless others would be spared from the fate of being sacrificed to it, and the souls it had brutally defeated could finally find solace.
"Hmm?"
Yoo Hyun couldn't take his eyes off the sword the killer had wielded.
"It's beautiful..."
Even though it was drenched in blood, it was exuding an enchanting energy. It was as if the sword was showing him what a weapon should look like.
- You want it, right?
Clank...
"Who is it?!" Yoo Hyun got up and shouted.
There was no one around him.
- It's yours. You can take it.
"What the..."
Just in case, Yoo Hyun checked the killer's face. He was definitely dead.
But in his place, his mask was emitting a sinister glow.
- Swordsman, take me. I will give you what you never had.
"I..."
Naturally, Yoo Hyun's hand grasped Yaksha's mask.
Like a carnivorous plant that lured insects to a dreadful end, Yaksha tempted Yoo Hyun.
No...!
'Huh... God?'
He definitely heard a voice, a voice so faint that it left no trace, almost as if it were a hallucination.
Bzz...
A mist surrounded the memory, growing so hazy that he could no longer see clearly.
Slash—!
"You... damn... monster... someone... will... definitely..."
Slash—!
"Ugh..."
There was something strange. Through the dead man’s pupils was the reflection of a masked figure.
Yoo Hyun looked down at his hand, the hand who had killed that man.
"Where am I...? Who am I...?"
Yoo Hyun clutched his head.
"I..."
Entrusting himself to an overwhelming flow he could no longer control, Yoo Hyun heard Yaksha's voice.
- You're Yaksha, a being born for blood and slaughter.
With dim eyes, Yoo Hyun muttered.
"I am... Yaksha."
Splash...
Rain fell over him and washed away the blood.
No, maybe it was an illusion.
What was pouring down from the sky was blood—a relentless torrent that was suffocating Yoo Hyun.
Swoosh...
The being called Yoo Hyun was gradually being erased from the world. The world was changing into one where only Yaksha existed.
"I can't breathe..."
His heart didn't beat. He felt no warmth. He couldn't even remember the last time sunlight had touched his face.
Perhaps it would have been better if he hadn't cut down that tree. If he had stayed there forever, things like this wouldn't have happened.
Yoo Hyun teared up.
The world was drowning in blood, rising steadily past his waist, then up over his chest. Soon enough, it would cover him entirely.
"Save me! Someone... save me... I don't want to disappear like this."
Yoo Hyun cried out like a child.
"Please, save me! Ugh... someone, please... I beg you..."
He begged, but who would be there to save him? He had already come too far to turn back.
There was probably only one being who could save him.
"God... save me..."
It was at that moment.
Yoo Hyun! Wait for me!
A long-forgotten voice reached him; he hadn't been abandoned after all.
"I'm sorry... I... I no longer..."
His existence was vanishing. Yoo Hyun was slowly becoming Yaksha.
Those who remembered him were disappearing, and only God would probably remember him.
Don't forget! Yoo Hyun! I'm going to save you! So wait!
"Yes, I... Yoo Hyun..."
A wave of tears surged.
"So you were really watching over me..."
Please... wait... wait... ugh...
The disappearing Yoo Hyun smiled while looking up at the sky.
"God, don't cry. I won't forget, and I'll definitely wait. So..."
Swoosh...
He surrendered himself to the mask and aimlessly drifted down the river of blood.
'I'll wait... So please, come...'
He sank to a place beyond reach. It felt like he would never resurface again.
Tang—!
Tang—!
'Ah, this place...'
He felt a familiar sensation—a sword was in his hand.
It was when he swung his sword so fiercely that his grip was torn.
Swoosh...
He closed his eyes and swung his sword with all his might.
WHOOSH—!
The tree was cut down.
He opened his eyes.
'Huh...?'
The scenery was also cut along with the tree.
Yaksha's mask was being broken apart from both sides.
- AAAHHH! IT HURTS!
As Yaksha cried out in pain, Seol said in an emotionless tone.
"What's wrong...?"
Yaksha looked into Seol's eyes.
"You should smile."
"What...?"
His eyes held such a darkness that even Yaksha felt terror.
It was despair, loss, and a sense of emptiness. All of these emotions were reflected within his pupils.
Yaksha felt fear toward a human for the first time since its birth.
"After all, you took Yoo Hyun's expression."
"Stop... Stop..."
Crack...
"I-I surrender... I'll surrender to you, that's why..."
"No thanks."
Darkness... The place Seol's heart had reached was darkness.
"Please... NOO!"
The monster that had harvested the blood of countless swordsmen by deceiving them—Yaksha.
CRACK—!
Its reign was finally ending.
"Argh..."
Yaksha's mask was split in half.
Whoosh—!
The storm of negativity within it was sucked into the sword that had been its companion.
[You have defeated the manifestation of Yaksha.]
[Yaksha's manifestation has extinguished and its power is now bound to Wonder: Yaksha.]
[You have earned the inaugural achievement 'If I can't have it, I'll break it.']
[You have earned the inaugural title 「Artifact Destroyer」.]
...
Seol turned his gaze toward Yagwanggwi.
Swoosh—!
Yagwanggwi quickly raised his hands.
"I-I surrender! I was only following Maegu's orders..."
And so, the battle that had drenched Khan in blood had finally come to an end.
"WOAH!"
"It's over! It's finally over!"
Seol Hong tried to approach Seol.
"Let's go back..."
However, Seol shook his head.
He couldn't go back.
He asked Jamad, "It was too much, wasn't it?"
Jamad nodded while wiping the blood from his mouth.
"Soon, everyone in this space will be swept away by the shock created by the Barrier Stone."
"Is there a solution?"
"To wait quietly."
"What will happen if we get swept away?"
"Well... we will probably be okay. But they will be torn to shreds for sure."
Seol Hong understood what Jamad had said to Seol.
She finally realized why the space had remained intact despite the fact they had jumped spaces so much in such a short time.
"Don't tell me... the Barrier Stone's rampage... was being held back..."
Jamad had been holding it back forcibly.
Now that Yaksha had disappeared, there was no one left to stop the Barrier Stone from exploding.
"Well, Spectre will retrieve the Barrier Stone's power."
"That's great..."
Seol nodded at Jamad.
"You can release them from here, right?"
"Yes. I expected you to ask that."
Seol Hong and Chi Woo turned pale.
"Seol! Don't do this!"
"Seol! Stop! Let's go back together! No. If you have to stay, then I'll stay by your side!"
Seol shook his head.
"I was someone who had to leave in the first place."
"Promise me... that you will come back..."
"..."
"Promise me!"
"I didn't want the farewell to be like this, if possible..."
"Promise me! Then... I can wait! Seol! If you aren't here..."
"If I survive..." Seol smiled.
He didn't want to suffer anymore over matters related to his pieces. His heart was already torn to shreds.
"I'll do my best to come back."
One more promise.
Seol Hong would be able to endure by holding onto that promise she struggled to obtain.
"It's about time."
Whoosh...
Seol Hong, Chi Woo, and Yagwanggwi were sent out of the space.
Swoosh...
The surroundings changed.
"Cough... Oof..."
"Seol Hong!"
"Lord Chi Woo!"
People rushed toward them.
They were in the plains of Sangyo, where the battle with Yaksha had first begun.
Shin Yo and Tae Yul were the first to run up and embrace Seol Hong and Chi Woo.
"Restrain him!"
"Ah... b-but it isn't necessary..."
Yagwanggwi scratched his head and obediently complied.
Seol Hong looked at the Yaksha's Trace and shouted.
"Shin Yo unni... Elder Brother Tae Yul, we must... save... Seol is currently trapped there..."
Tae Yul nodded.
"Send a messenger to Zodiac immediately! And to the Great Shaman of the Dragon Palace..."
And.
BOOM—!
BEEP—!
Seol’s reflection in the Yaksha’s Trace vanished before their eyes.
At least, the condensed power of the Barrier Stone had exploded.
Their vision turned hazy.
Seol Hong staggered and collapsed.
"Seol... Where did you go..."
He probably hadn't died. There was no way he died.
If that was the case...
"I will... definitely... find you."
After saying that, she lost consciousness.