Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 912

Creak.

The iron door opened.

Even with the foul odor that rushed out, Mok Gye-dam didn’t even twitch an eyebrow.

‘As expected.’

Mok Gye-dam’s eyes deepened.

In his sight was an old man, even more withered and aged than he had been just a few days ago.

Unlike before, he couldn’t even lift his head, despite Mok Gye-dam opening the door himself. It was clear that he had no strength left in his body.

However, Mok Gye-dam knew. This old man was definitely aware of his arrival.

‘He may be weak, but his spirit is still unbroken.’

It wasn’t just his spirit that was unbroken.

The minimum amount of demonic energy to sustain his body was still intact. If his body had deteriorated to this extent, the demonic energy supporting his life should have also decreased, but it was no different from when he had visited a while ago.

Mok Gye-dam stared down at the old man for a long time before slowly sitting down in his spot.

It was then.

Ka-a-a-ang!

A withered finger twitched right in front of Mok Gye-dam’s nose.

The old man, who had moved at some point, was reaching out towards him. However, he couldn’t reach because of the iron chains on his ankles that were connected to the wall.

“Impressive,” Mok Gye-dam said in a calm voice.

“I knew you were still alive, but I didn’t think you’d be able to move like this.”

Between the stained white hair.

A pair of terrifying eyes glared at Mok Gye-dam.

Meeting those eyes, Mok Gye-dam felt goosebumps all over his body.

It was said that the eyes were the windows to the soul. But for a martial artist, the glint in their eyes was also a window into their power.

The old man’s eyes, flickering red to the point where his pupils were invisible, were filled with overwhelming majesty. Even in this state, having lost his strength and unable to perform a single martial arts technique, he was still giving off a terrifying pressure with just his eyes.

“…Indeed.”

The old man’s voice was much more hoarse and weak than before.

“I can’t reach.”

“Yes, you couldn’t reach,” Mok Gye-dam said, raising a finger.

“Unlike me.”

He lightly tapped the old man’s hand with his finger.

Thwack!

The old man was sent flying with a loud crash, slamming into the wall.

Sss.

The fallen dust covered the old man’s hair in gray.

If it had been an ordinary person who hadn’t practiced martial arts, their spine would have been fractured just from the impact.

But the old man was fine. He seemed to have lost his strength again, but the glare in his eyes as he looked up at Mok Gye-dam was the same as before.

Mok Gye-dam shook his head.

“What are you doing? If I were to harbor murderous intent, it wouldn’t be good for you either.”

“If I can die, then dying would be good.”

“If you want to die that badly, why don’t you just take your own life?”

The old man’s hair twitched. He was smiling.

“What talk of suicide is that for a demon?”

“That’s why I was able to keep you here.”

“…”

“Do you want to die?”

“I’d rather die than show you this pathetic sight.”

“You’ve changed a lot. I never imagined I’d hear those words from your mouth.”

The old man stared at Mok Gye-dam without a word.

Mok Gye-dam, who had been gazing at the old man, said calmly,

“The third has brought the Murim Alliance forces.”

“… !”

“It seems they plan to destroy this place entirely. Judging by the fact that they brought even the masters of the Demonic Path.”

“Rather than be violated by you, it would be better to disappear.”

“That’s not something a Lord should say.”

“The one who drove out that Lord and took the throne for himself still calls me Lord.”

“…”

“If you came to see the miserable state of a loser, then watch well and leave.”

“…”

“If you have something else to say, then spit it out and get out. Even breathing in the same space as you is disgusting.”

Mok Gye-dam’s eyebrows twitched.

It was a very small change in expression. But that change proved that a crack had formed in Mok Gye-dam’s heart.

“I was just going to say what I had to say and leave, but I’ve changed my mind.”

“You foolish fool.”

“Yes. I am foolish. But I can’t help it. Demons are chaos, irregularity itself. Living as your heart desires, isn’t that what a demon is?”

“A fool who thinks he knows the world with his tiny brain… There’s no greater frog in a well. I told you not to be hasty, but can’t you change your nature?”

Clang!

Mok Gye-dam, who had approached the old man, grabbed his neck and slammed him against the wall.

Mok Gye-dam said coldly,

“Aren’t you curious about the fourth’s whereabouts?”

“…”

“Yes, you wouldn’t be curious. You wouldn’t want to acknowledge the existence of the bloodline that betrayed you and helped me in the rebellion.”

“…”

“She’s dead.”

“… !”

“And she died quite miserably. Her whole body shriveled up, even a ninety-year-old woman would look prettier than her.”

The old man’s eyes wavered.

A bitter smile appeared on Mok Gye-dam’s face.

“Still, she was your child, so you must have fed her a lot since she was young. I sucked all the energy out of her body, and the amount was enormous.”

“You, could it be?”

“The Yin-Yang Absorption… You condemned such demonic arts as vulgar, even embarrassing to call them secret arts.”

Mok Gye-dam shook his head.

“But that’s not the case. Just as a beast hunts its prey and grows its own flesh, Yin-Yang Absorption is one of the most natural methods.”

“You… !”

“There were many who coveted the fourth’s body. I was going to throw it away as spoils of war, but when they saw her state, no one dared to touch her. Well, she was so shriveled that she would crumble at the slightest touch.”

In the old man’s majestic eyes, hatred and sorrow took root.

“You really… !”

“If you’re going to say that I’m walking the path of inhumanity, then I’d like to say that it’s a compliment to me. What could be more joyful than a demon walking the demonic path becoming a true demon?”

Mok Gye-dam snorted and released his grip.

The old man, who had fallen to the floor, looked up at Mok Gye-dam.

“Hey, Master.”

“…”

“Are you not going to tell me the rest of the Pajeon Secret?”

“You madman.”

“Even if the Murim Alliance brings a few masters, do you think they can handle the forces gathered here?”

“Shut up. You will never get your hands on the Pajeon Secret.”

“If I catch the third, do you think I’ll kill him? I will never kill the third.”

A blood-red aura flickered in Mok Gye-dam’s eyes. It was an eye full of intense desire, different from the old man’s majestic gaze.

In a way, it could be said that it was an eye that resembled the demon he spoke of.

“I will make it so that he can’t die even if he wants to. I will give him the pleasure of heaven and the pain of hell. I will completely subjugate his mind and make him a dog that lives by licking my feet.”

“You, you fiend!”

“The Cheon clan’s branch family in Cheonghae will be completely ruined. Well, looking at the third’s condition, he’s already ruined anyway.”

“I will never, ever forgive you!”

“I never asked for forgiveness. I have no intention of asking for forgiveness even at the moment of my death.”

“You…”

“Hand over the Pajeon Secret.”

“Shut up!”

“If Master hands over the Pajeon Secret, the third won’t have to live as my dog. I won’t be able to keep him alive, but at least I’ll promise him a clean death.”

“You!”

“I’ll give you a day. I don’t want to wait any longer either.”

Mok Gye-dam turned his body.

“I’ll come back at this time tomorrow. If you still don’t hand over the Pajeon Secret then, the third will live even more miserably than the fourth.”

“…”

“Since the Pajeon Secret will be in my hands anyway, Master, think carefully.”

Thud!

The iron door closed.

The light seeping in from the small iron bars just below the ceiling seemed quite bright today.

“…”

The old man’s face, which had been staring at the iron door, slowly, gradually turned expressionless.

The change was slow, yet natural and dynamic.

The old man closed his eyes.

‘He seems to be in a hurry.’

He didn’t believe that the fourth, no, his daughter, had betrayed him.

Of course, he didn’t believe that she had died from Yin-Yang Absorption by Mok Gye-dam. No, he was certain of it.

‘Yin-Yang Absorption… To try to shake me with such a ridiculous trick, you’re still far off.’

When that guy had come to see him before, he couldn’t help but be consumed by anguish.

That anguish ended just before the guy came again. He had found the answer to his long deliberation, and finally made a choice.

At that moment, the guy opened the door here. He hated the word fate, but he couldn’t help but say that it was a fateful moment.

The old man raised his hand.

It was difficult to even lift an arm because of the thick iron shackles on his wrist. He had already exhausted all his strength in that moment when he lunged to grab the guy’s neck.

He had benefited from acting like he was provoking and being provoked.

Wooong. Wooong.

A faint demonic energy rose from the old man’s body.

The bluish demonic energy did not match the old man’s energy at all. It was sinister and cold.

That energy was more suited to Mok Gye-dam’s energy than the old man’s.

‘You don’t know Yin-Yang Absorption. No, you don’t know what Essence Absorption is.’

Essence Absorption.

Essence (精) means the quintessence [the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class].

The quintessence of a martial artist is their inner energy, and the quintessence of a person is their life force itself.

In his youth, the old man had dabbled in all sorts of demonic arts. He had seriously pondered what a demon was, and wanted to reach the extreme as a demon.

But even though he knew about the Essence Absorption Demonic Art, it was difficult to actually use it. The act itself was easy, but he felt like he wouldn’t be able to handle it.

It wasn’t about handling his body or martial arts, but he hesitated to use the Essence Absorption Demonic Art because he felt like he would lose his humanity.

Just once.

After much deliberation, he had used the Essence Absorption Demonic Art just once, and he had given up on reaching the extreme of the demon and turned his eyes to the extreme of martial arts.

And now, he was using the Essence Absorption Demonic Art that he had sealed away himself. In the moment that the opponent didn’t realize, he had made an amount that the opponent wouldn’t even notice his own.

It was a truly insignificant amount, but it was a meaningful move because the opponent was Mok Gye-dam.

Woo-woo-woo-woo-oong!

Mok Gye-dam’s demonic energy, which had reached the level of a Demonic Saint, began to melt into the old man’s demonic energy that was maintaining his life.

The old man’s demonic energy, which was rusted and hardened, and the stopped wheel, was stimulated by the power of another Demonic Saint and slowly began to rotate.

Krrr-rrr!

The iron chains tied to the wheel could not withstand the terrifying movement and snapped.

The same was true for the iron chains in reality.

Clang!

The iron chains that had been binding his limbs were broken at once.

It had been a long time since he had felt the freedom of his limbs. It was possible to cut them beforehand because it was a completely isolated solitary cell.

The old man, who had been looking at his hands for a moment, closed his eyes again.

There was no hesitation. But once a seed sprouted, it could not be reversed, so he felt both relieved and complicated.

‘If the situation has worsened due to my fault, then I have no choice but to end it with my life.’

A self-deprecating smile appeared on the old man’s face.

‘My successor, the curse of the Cheon clan, my relationship with the Blood Madness, the Essence Absorption Demonic Art… I haven’t achieved anything I wanted in my life.’

Krrr-rrr!

The rotation of demonic energy accelerated.

Although he had lost almost all of his power, the vessel remained the same. The old man’s powerful life force filled that empty vessel.

The old man, who had been waiting for his death, was now returning as the Demonic Lord Hyeok Ryeon-hwi.

The Demonic Immortal who had made a name for himself in Seongcheon was beginning to return as a demon with the Cheon surname.

‘A day… You will regret giving me a day.’