Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1157

The shockwave from the mid-air explosion swept through the surroundings.

It was the power of the Dark Energy Blast, a vibration-based martial art that struck without a trace and then detonated.

Kugugung.

Cracks spread out in all directions from the ground where Yeon Ho-Jeong stood.

It was a truly merciless attack. Even Yeon Ho-Jeong, the best in the world, would have suffered severe internal injuries if he hadn’t been prepared. Ha Eun-Gyo’s Dark Energy Blast was filled with a will to kill.

Fortunately, Yeon Ho-Jeong was not careless and was able to nullify the powerful explosive technique with only a slight shock.

However, while he had neutralized her attack, he had not been able to restore her sanity.

“Senior.”

“You are not my child!”

It was a sharp, piercing voice.

He hadn’t known that Ha Eun-Gyo’s unique, beautiful voice could be so unnerving. Even unintentionally, her voice carried internal energy. The shout itself was a form of sonic attack.

Fortunately, the sound was focused solely on Yeon Ho-Jeong to amplify its power.

Because she had reached such a high level, those around her were safe.

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

“That’s right. I am not Senior Ha’s child.”

“You, you are!”

“But I have always worried about Senior Ha.”

Ha Eun-Gyo gritted her teeth. Though she wore a mask, he knew that was her expression. No, he was certain of it. Yeon Ho-Jeong could tell.

“I am the eldest son of the Gangdong Yeon Clan, not the child of the Sound Demon, Ha Eun-Gyo. However, blood ties are not the only way to become family. Even in the short time of only two days, you were like a mother to me, Senior.”

It was a sincerity he had never spoken to anyone.

Unlike Gang Ryang, who was only slightly surprised, Jin Yang was shocked. He knew that Yeon Ho-Jeong had an emotional side, unlike what he showed, but he never expected him to say that he thought of Ha Eun-Gyo as a mother in front of an enemy.

The unexpectedness of his calm words even slightly changed Heo Baek’s expression.

Ha Eun-Gyo staggered.

Even as she faltered, the sixty or so White Lustful Ghosts who had stepped aside watched her silently.

“I… you, you are…”

“I apologize for thinking so presumptuously. But my heart was truly sincere. When you helped me with my energy circulation and patted my shoulder, I felt the affection of a mother, which I barely remember.”

“… !”

“Of course, I could be mistaken. But the important thing is that I felt that way. Therefore…”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes deepened.

“I can never kill Senior Ha.”

It was a statement from Yeon Ho-Jeong as an individual.

The weight of his words was different. That he could never kill her meant that even if she became an enemy of the Central Plains [a term referring to the heartland of China, often used in martial arts novels], he would not confront her himself.

However, the Black Demon Lord’s thoughts were slightly different.

“But if you do not regain your sanity, I will have no choice but to act as the leader of the Black Path martial world to protect my people.”

“You!”

A sharp voice. Yeon Ho-Jeong felt a pain as if his eardrums would burst.

Yet, his expression remained unchanged.

“Even so, you will understand, Senior, if it is you.”

“Ugh!”

“Even if it was just for a moment that I felt a mother’s affection, it may just be my delusion, but I don’t want to believe that. It is said that feelings are exchanged. If it weren’t for the warm feelings you sent me, Senior, I wouldn’t have felt such comfort.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong spoke decisively.

“You saw the illusion of a child in me, Senior.”

It was a dangerous statement because it was so direct. A terrifying murderous intent emanated from Ha Eun-Gyo’s reddened left eye.

Yeon Ho-Jeong didn’t care.

“It’s okay. I have lost my mother, but I have a father who is more wonderful than anyone else. Whether you saw me as a substitute for a child, Senior, or whether you regarded me as a child for a moment…”

Kwaaang!

A Dark Energy Blast, even heavier than before, swept over Yeon Ho-Jeong’s upper body.

“Brother!”

“Big Brother!”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who staggered a couple of steps, brushed off his upper garment with his hand. His clothes were torn in several places, but fortunately, he didn’t seem to have suffered any major impact.

“Whatever it may be, I am fine. Just by feeling a mother’s affection for even a moment, you have already bestowed upon me a grace as vast as the sea, Senior.”

“…Don’t speak.”

“So, please come to your senses now.”

“Shut up! Don’t speak!”

Gang Ryang, Jin Yang, and Heo Baek involuntarily stepped back. They had also felt pain momentarily from the widespread sonic attack.

Hwaaaak!

A brilliant golden aura spread from Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body.

The aura, expanding as if swelling, soon wrapped around him like silk. It was the shield of the Yellow Dragon, which could not be pierced by any force.

“Please treat me as a young boy named Yeon Ho-Jeong, not as the Black Demon Lord.”

“I told you to shut up!”

“I also want to treat you as Ha Eun-Gyo, the person, not as the Sound Demon, Senior.”

“You bastard!!”

The voice that burst from Ha Eun-Gyo’s mouth suddenly became incredibly deep.

It was reminiscent of the cry of an unknown demon king residing beneath the eighteenth level of hell. The voice, which was terrifyingly low as if possessed by a ghost, was stimulating the primal fear of humans.

Yeon Ho-Jeong shook his head.

“That kind of voice doesn’t work on me.”

With just the voice that was exerted at the instinct level, it arbitrarily stimulated people’s emotions.

The strange power that was only used when playing instruments, when drawing out people’s emotions, was pouring out with the force of oppression. An ordinary person would have been terrified and collapsed just by hearing that demonic voice.

However, Yeon Ho-Jeong felt no fear at all.

Rather than fear, he felt pity and sorrow.

She was an artist and a warrior who had reached a unique realm with sound, enough to manipulate people’s minds with it. Yet, the person who had moved people’s hearts was now being controlled by others and had come to her hometown. What could be more heartbreaking than this?

Sincere sorrow. Yeon Ho-Jeong’s voice was filled with sincerity.

Because she was an artist who understood emotions better than anyone else, Ha Eun-Gyo was also wavering.

At the same time, Yeon Ho-Jeong was clearly aware that he was the Black Demon Lord and one of the martial leaders of the Jianghu [the martial world].

“Senior.”

“Eeeek!”

“Since lies won’t work anyway, I’ll tell you my true feelings.”

The eyes of Yeon Ho-Jeong, which had been filled with sorrow, began to emanate a little bit of majesty.

“If my father, the head of the Byeoksan Yeon Clan, truly intended to kill me, I would surely die. I know that will not happen, but if it actually did, I would accept it as fate and submit to it. Before that… the name of the Black Demon Lord has no meaning.”

It was not an easy thing to say in front of his subordinates.

That was why Gang Ryang, Jin Yang, Heo Baek, and the guard unit could feel Yeon Ho-Jeong’s weight even more.

Because what he wanted was not hegemony.

Because he only wanted the world to be one, and winning this war was his only goal.

Because he was a person who would be satisfied if he could become a better White Path or a better Black Path, they were not hurt at all.

“However.”

Uuuuuuung!!

The Yellow Dragon Banner opened its jaws wide and roared towards the sky.

“You are different, Senior.”

“Eeeek!”

“To Yeon Ho-Jeong as a human, Ha Eun-Gyo is not an enemy I want to fight, nor an elder I want to hurt even in a duel. But if you try to kill me, Senior, I will take out the title of the Black Demon beyond the name of Yeon Ho-Jeong and will surely retaliate, and furthermore, I will kill you. That is the responsibility I have as the leader of the Black Path martial world.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong took one step, one step closer to Ha Eun-Gyo.

With each step, the energy waves emanating from Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body became fiercer.

“And that is the difference between my father and you, Senior.”

“You bastard! You bastard!”

“My father is my father, and you are you, Senior. No matter how much you saw the illusion of a child in me, Senior, no matter how much I felt the warmth of my deceased mother beyond your face, Ha Eun-Gyo is not my real mother.”

Flash!

The illusion of the Yellow Dragon, twice as large as when it swept through the enemy on the Western Front, thrashed wildly, creating fierce shockwaves.

That wild thrashing was the very heart of Yeon Ho-Jeong.

The Black Demon Lord’s face twisted like a demon.

“So come to your senses, Ha Eun-Gyo! Don’t make me step forward as the Black Demon Lord!!”

Kwakwakwakwang!!

The energy waves that the two people created collided, creating a terrifying shockwave.

The shockwave swept through the surroundings with a destructive power that could not even be compared to Ha Eun-Gyo’s sonic attack. The members of the Black Demon Castle, as well as the sixty or so White Lustful Ghosts, had to retreat more than twenty yards away from the clash of the martial gods.

And at that moment.

Ha Eun-Gyo’s left eye was completely dyed red, with no distinction between the pupil and the white of the eye.

“Haaaaaaap!”

Kwakwakwang!!

Explosions erupted one after another in the empty air.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s fist shattered Ha Eun-Gyo’s Lion’s Roar, following the forms of the White Tiger Fist and the Tiger King’s Nine Wall Stance. Even so, Ha Eun-Gyo was unharmed, and it was Yeon Ho-Jeong who stepped back a couple of steps.

At that moment.

Yeon Ho-Jeong transformed into the Black Demon Lord.

Bang!

With a terrifying stomp, Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had pushed the Yellow Dragon Banner to its limit, unleashed the Blood Wing Soaring Sky.

Flash!

It was truly like a beam of light.

In an instant, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s two fists, which had appeared right in front of Ha Eun-Gyo’s nose, became the wings of a firebird.

It was the first time in a long time that he had unleashed the Crimson Flame Six Kill Technique. The series of moves, from the Single Wing Flying Kill, Double Wing Flying Kill, Fire Wing Embrace, Crimson Lotus Flash, Crimson Calamity Flash, to the final move, Scorching Heat, were unleashed in one fluid motion.

The extreme killing martial art among the Four Divine Arts, which was said to surely kill the enemy, was pouring down on Ha Eun-Gyo, of all people. Moreover, it was the golden firebird’s killing technique, which had surpassed the existing Four Divine Arts and was unleashed with the Yellow Dragon Banner, which was called the pinnacle of martial arts.

Kwakwakwakwang!

The swirling golden flames, as if seeing the blazing heat of Gi Cheon-Woong’s Scorching Yang Energy, threatened Ha Eun-Gyo with a savage heat.

Peopeopeopeong! Kwareureureung!

Cracking sounds echoed from various parts of Ha Eun-Gyo’s body, which was engulfed in golden fire. It was the sound of her bones dislocating and then realigning, her body using the best defense against Yeon Ho-Jeong’s fist techniques, which boasted the power of destruction.

“Kyaaaaat!!”

It was the attack of a martial god that showed no openings, but the opponent was also an absolute being who had earned the title of martial god.

Ha Eun-Gyo, who had momentarily halted Yeon Ho-Jeong’s continuous attacks with a sharp sound, immediately swung her palms.

It was an ordinary palm technique that was invisible to the naked eye.

However, Yeon Ho-Jeong saw the eyes of the grim reapers standing on the path to the underworld in the pair of slender hands.

Kwakwakwang!

The three moves of the Tiger King’s Nine Wall Stance, the Tiger’s Roar Kill, the Tiger King’s Kill, and the Tiger’s Jaw Demonic Fiend, were unleashed in succession, shattering Ha Eun-Gyo’s palm technique.

The series of actions of clawing, striking with an elbow, and kicking up with a knee looked like the movement of a giant tiger’s jaws. Ha Eun-Gyo retreated madly backward amidst the exploding shockwaves.

It was a clear retreat. She had not been able to withstand Yeon Ho-Jeong’s powerful attack.

It was only natural. With her spirit, energy, and mind out of sync, Ha Eun-Gyo could never withstand Yeon Ho-Jeong’s attack, which was made with all his might.

Chareureureureuk!

The Coiling Dragon Chain, which had flowed out from the right sleeve, had already combined with the White Dragon Talisman, and the Black Dragon Talisman, which was held in his left hand, was filled with a mad killing intent, as if he had drawn it out at some point.

“Ha Eun-Gyo!!”

Flash!

The Black Dragon Talisman, which had flown with the Mad Dragon Flash of the Mad Dragon Technique, aimed for Ha Eun-Gyo’s heart.

It was a light-like energy control technique that neither Ha Eun-Gyo herself nor any other supreme master could stop.

Ha Eun-Gyo’s eyes wavered.

Peobeobeobeok!