Disciple of The Three Kings [EN]: Chapter 202

The Three Kings’ Disciple (203)

202

Demonic energy exists in every world.

In the Silver World, it takes forms like Heavenly Demon Energy or Blood Demon Energy.

In Ainhardt, it exists as pure demonic energy.

In Gehenna, demonic energy is the fundamental essence.

‘High-ranking demons.’

The upper echelons are the ones who deal with the ‘real’ thing.

Unlike other worlds, Gehenna has no concept of natural death. These beings have accumulated demonic energy over long periods and transformed it into a defined form.

The energy used by those who are not mere monsters but demons, the true demons.

That is.

“Demonic Essence.”

Its concentration is incomparable to Heavenly Demon Energy or Blood Demon Energy, and it is so pure and exceptional that it cannot be compared to anything from any other world.

Demons accumulate Demonic Essence as they live through the ages.

It could be said that they each create a fully charged dantian [energy center], like a silver battery.

Until now, I had never seen the power of Demonic Essence on Earth.

‘Even that Balrog.’

In the end, it’s just a monster.

A being that emits demonic energy, not Demonic Essence.

However, what I feel from Viper now is definitely Demonic Essence.

The reason Lee Rowan was interested in him was precisely because of this Demonic Essence.

“Krrrrrrrr!”

The energy of this Demonic Essence felt from Viper.

“Shut up.”

It was similar to what I felt when Namgoong Cheon was possessed.

Thud!

Lee Rowan forcefully pressed down on Viper’s chest as he struggled.

He was a master who had reached the pinnacle of the Profound Realm, and he had exploded with the power of Demonic Essence, but.

“Kuh-euk!”

Rather, it became poison to him.

The energy in his dantian, as a martial artist, was the inner energy of the Shaolin, known for its purity even in the Silver World.

So, even if he went berserk with the power of Demonic Essence, their compatibility couldn’t be good.

Also.

“The resistance is too strong. I guess I can cut off an arm?”

“Krr… Krr.”

That’s why Viper was resisting the power of Demonic Essence.

Look at this.

“Tsk.”

When Lee Rowan warned him as a threat, Viper’s movements subsided.

“But it won’t last long.”

Crack!

Lee Rowan crushed Viper’s left arm, which he was stepping on with his other foot.

Viper, with his eyes wide open, writhed as if in pain, but the mana that Lee Rowan had already moved, drawing out the power of the Wood King, had caused tree branches to sprout and bind Viper.

Viper’s forehead, which had been rampaging.

‘The Seal.’

There, clearly, were six dots, the seal that signified a Shaolin disciple.

He must have grown his hair to hide it.

Perhaps Viper had some circumstances.

“This seal is…”

“Oh ho. Have you regained your senses?”

Lee Rowan showed interest as he heard a human voice coming from Viper’s mouth.

No matter how much he resisted the curse, there was a limit.

It was never easy to regain one’s sanity while in a berserk state due to the seal.

“Did the pain help?”

As if ignoring Lee Rowan’s voice.

“Until either you or I die… it won’t end…”

Viper said.

“It’s not like I haven’t tried…”

Viper had tried countless times to break free from the curse that bound him, but he had never succeeded even once.

Also, after experiencing something like this.

Wriggle!

The power dwelling in his body would grow even stronger, continuously eroding his reason.

And eventually, he would completely lose his reason.

‘Become a monster.’

Or, if lucky, become a demon.

It seemed he knew that too.

“I’ll stop resisting from now on-!”

He seemed to have finally made a decision.

“Try to survive on your own…”

Before Viper could finish his sentence.

Thud.

Lee Rowan’s two-handed sword pierced his chest.

“Survive what?”

He was talking nonsense.

In the first place, it didn’t matter if he didn’t resist and the Demonic Essence exploded.

And above all.

“It’s been a while since I’ve absorbed Demonic Essence.”

Making the impossible possible.

That was what Lee Rowan had shown so far.

***

Shudder.

Lee Rowan’s hand holding the two-handed sword trembled.

The sword was trembling, and at the same time, the power absorbed by the sword flowed through Lee Rowan’s wrist.

Thump.

The bulging blood vessels began to turn black.

The reversing energy rose even higher, heading up Lee Rowan’s neck and towards his head.

This was the nature of Demonic Essence.

The Demonic Essence settling in the head.

“Kuh.”

In the end, a groan escaped Lee Rowan’s lips.

Absorbing Demonic Essence was definitely a crazy thing to do.

Unless one was a demon, absorbing Demonic Essence was like injecting poison into the body.

If it were poison, he could at least purify it with the power of Blood Demon Energy.

“Kuh-euk!”

The power of Demonic Essence was something that was poison but not poison.

For example, it was like forcing something else into a human body.

That was why it was said to be absolutely impossible.

Moreover, Lee Rowan had not yet completed the Emperor’s Ring.

If he had completed the Emperor’s Ring and started the last stage of his demon king master, he wouldn’t have struggled to absorb this much Demonic Essence.

Trickle.

Black liquid dripped from Lee Rowan’s eyes, which had turned black.

The inner energy and atmospheric mana within his body were being tainted by the Demonic Essence, turning into liquid and falling.

Thud.

The fallen tears turned into lumps of iron, shattering the floor.

Sizzle!

They melted the floor as they were, emitting a pungent smoke.

This was the horror of Demonic Essence.

No matter how strong a martial artist of the Silver World, no matter how great a mage, it was absolutely impossible for a human to contain Demonic Essence within their body.

And that was.

“Cough!”

The same for the current Lee Rowan.

He had failed to contain the Demonic Essence within his body.

He couldn’t expel it outside either.

If he did, the Demonic Essence would become unstable and destroy Lee Rowan’s body.

Conversely, there was a way to put it back into Viper’s body, but that was just as dangerous.

“I told… you…”

If he had to choose, Viper’s sacrifice would have been the answer for Lee Rowan, but.

“I told you to shut up…”

It wasn’t like Lee Rowan couldn’t foresee this situation.

If he failed to contain the Demonic Essence, he could create another medium.

Not a martial artist, not a knight.

Not even a human.

“It’s your turn.”

The two-handed sword.

A demonic sword born by Lee Rowan.

That unprecedented sword, born from the inner energy of the Silver World and mana, began to tremble even more.

Shudder!

A tremor as if it were screaming.

The sword, unable to control itself due to the pain, was taking on an even darker hue at that moment.

Whoosh.

The trembling gradually subsided.

Creak.

Along with an unpleasant noise, a round sphere began to form on the handle and the spine of the sword.

Weapons are supposed to be completed once they are created.

But now, Lee Rowan’s two-handed sword was…

Squish.

It was literally evolving.

It was doing something impossible for an inanimate object.

“What on earth…”

As Lee Rowan’s and Viper’s eyes, which had turned black, were regaining their original colors.

Thud.

Viper finally collapsed, losing consciousness.

Shudder.

The sword that Lee Rowan was holding continued to tremble, trying to resist Lee Rowan, but.

“Stay still. Before I break you.”

At Lee Rowan’s threat.

Whoosh.

It gradually stopped trembling.

* * *

“Have you regained your senses?”

The first thing Viper saw when he opened his eyes was Lee Rowan.

And soon, he touched his chest, checking for injuries.

Lee Rowan had clearly stabbed a large sword into his chest, but.

“Did you sprinkle some elixir or something?”

“It was just a technique that didn’t injure the body in the first place.”

Viper didn’t seem to understand easily, but Lee Rowan had already shown it once.

It was Lee Rowan who had broken only the curse of Namgoong Cheon, who had been subjected to the curse of domination.

“Such…”

Viper seemed genuinely surprised.

“I don’t wield a sword, but to think there was such a level.”

Just hearing it made it clear how distant that level was.

In Shaolin, they had only heard of such a level as a legend, and had never seen it directly.

Lee Rowan in front of him.

He was a detached one who only appeared in Shaolin legends and did not reveal his appearance.

In the Silver World, they called them immortals, and in Shaolin, they called them Buddhas.

“I’m not quite there yet, so please don’t misunderstand.”

Lee Rowan answered as if he had read Viper’s thoughts.

“……”

Viper blinked for a moment, examining his condition.

“……A failure.”

The reason he had chased Lee Rowan was because of the special power he felt from him.

It was the same power as the one who had cursed Viper.

That’s why he had hoped that Lee Rowan might be able to release it, and had even resisted the seal.

But the answer was failure.

The foreign energy felt within his body remained as it was…

“Huh?”

Something was different.

He had clearly gone berserk.

If so, the power should have been amplified and transformed even more.

“It didn’t get bigger?”

No.

“It actually got smaller!”

The power of Demonic Essence had shrunk instead of growing.

This was the first time this had happened.

“I tried to absorb it all, but if I did, the owner would notice right away.”

Viper’s eyes widened at Lee Rowan’s words.

It was as if he had proven that what Lee Rowan said was true.

“So, I deliberately left some behind.”

“Such…”

Hope filled Viper’s face.

“Is it possible to get rid of it all?”

“Of course.”

“……!”

Wide eyes.

Viper was a man who was sleek and sharp no matter what anyone said.

The sight of tears welling up in such a man’s eyes was not a pretty sight.

“I am…, I am…, Geumcheon of Shaolin.”

Viper’s mouth finally opened.

His true identity came out of his mouth.

“I came here for a mission, and I was captured by him and cursed. I can’t leave the lawless zone, and I can’t oppose him.”

A sneer formed on his lips as he wiped away his tears.

“What is this talk of being one of the Five Kings? I am Geumcheon.”

He had always wanted to return to Shaolin.

That was because.

“I was one of the One Hundred and Eight Arhats.”

He was one of the One Hundred and Eight Arhats, the elite of Shaolin.

“You don’t know me. Would it be easier to explain it this way?”

Viper revealed everything when Lee Rowan said he could free him.

“I am the senior brother of Geumgak, the Blood Monk.”

Geumgak, the Blood Monk, whose name was widely known in the world.

Geumcheon was his senior brother.

“You wanted to return to Shaolin?”

Lee Rowan’s languid gaze narrowed.

“In Shaolin…”

Geumcheon spoke as if he had made up his mind.

“There is evil.”

“……”

“Many people may not know, but Shaolin is a demon’s lair where evil spirits dwell.”

I know.

“Before I left Shaolin, I knew that fact, and I wanted to go back to Shaolin and fix it. I also committed a sin that deserves to be expelled, but it’s absurd that Shaolin is protecting evil!”

He wanted to go back for that, but the curse that was placed on him was something that could never be broken.

His fate was to become their soldier in the lawless zone and die as a king.

That was Geumcheon’s fate.

Thump!

Geumcheon stood up.

He had never done it since he was cursed, but he performed the Shaolin greeting, half-palm, with one hand on his chest, and spoke to Lee Rowan.

“Please! Save me!”