 |
| Reaper of the Drifting Moon |
Type- Light Novel, Web Novel
Manhwa- N/A
Translation-MTL
Pyo Wol's gaze turned to the left.
There, impaled on the broken root of a magnificent tree, was the ghost king.
A large hole had been pierced through the ghost king's chest, and dark red blood was pouring out. Even his regenerative powers, which could heal most wounds in an instant, seemed insufficient as the blood continued to flow.
Gyeongmusaeng had suppressed his regenerative power with his spell.
But Gyeongmusaeng's condition wasn't any better.
When Pyo Wol turned his head to the right, he saw Gyeongmusaeng's horrible appearance.
With his arms and legs twisted at bizarre angles and pinned to a rock, Gyeongmusaeng's situation was truly horrific.
His abdomen had been ripped open as if it had been torn open by the claws of a beast, and his internal organs were spilling out. No matter how skilled one was in spells, it was impossible to survive such a wound.
"Ugh!"
Gyeongmusaeng struggled to stand up somehow. But it was impossible to move with such injuries.
"Am I... going to die here? It's ridiculous. I still have so much to do. It's all your fault. If only you hadn't killed the Imoogi..."
Gyeongmusaeng's eyes turned to Pyo Wol.
He looked at Pyo Wol with resentful eyes.
He thought that if Pyo Wol hadn't intervened and the Imoogi was still alive, he would have won the battle.
"I should have killed you when we first met..."
Pyo Wol approached Gyeongmusaeng. Gyeongmusaeng writhed even more.
With his neck stretched out, trying to bite Pyo Wol, Gyeongmusaeng looked no different from a demon.
Pyo Wol kneeled down at a short distance from him.
At that moment, Gwia poked his head out of Pyo Wol's chest.
Seeing the horn that had grown on Gwia's head, a greedy light flickered in Gyeongmusaeng's eyes.
"So this little one has absorbed the power of the Imoogi. Give it to me."
He tried to stretch his broken arm towards Gwia, but his arm, with its torn bones and muscles, didn't move as he wished.
"Damn it! Give me that creature. It's a spirit animal, if I eat it I should be able to heal my wounds."
The sight of Gyeongmusaeng struggling was reminiscent of a demon.
His red eyes were fixed on Gwia.
He believed that if he could just eat Gwia, he would be able to heal his wounds in no time.
To Gyeongmusaeng, spirit animals were such beings.
Something to be used and sacrificed for himself at any time.
To die like this was too unfair.
He hadn't worked so hard to learn the mantras only to die for nothing.
Pyo Wol spoke.
"Gwia is not an object."
"What's so special about a mere snake? Ah, I see. You want to eat it yourself, don't you? That's why you won't give it to me?"
"I'd rather die than eat my friend."
"Friend? What do you mean, friend, with a mere snake?"
"There's no rule that says you can only be friends with humans."
"Heh heh! Nonsense... you son of a b*tch!"
"You're the one who's a son of a b*tch. You played with people's souls as you pleased."
"So what? That's how humans progress. We experiment, we challenge... even if we fail, we grow through challenges."
Gyeongmusaeng's already red eyes were filled with bloodshot veins.
He glared at Pyo Wol with eyes full of madness.
"It would be better if you saved me. If I die, the Heavenly Martial Sect will come after you."
"Is the Heavenly Martial Sect the descendant of the Divine Martial Alliance?"
"Heh heh! So you found out that much?"
"Gyeong Chu-wol left it in the records."
"Yes, that's right. The Heavenly Martial Sect is the modified form of the Divine Martial Alliance."
Gyeongmusaeng answered obediently.
He realised that it was useless to deny it now.
If Pyo Wol had seen Gyeong Chu-wol's records, he would have known the whole truth.
Pyo Wol said,
"I am curious about Guryonsalmak. Is Guryonsalmak related to the Heavenly Martial Sect?"
"Huh! You mean those nine-headed dragon babies?"
"You knew about them."
"Somehow I found out. There's no place in the world that doesn't have some sort of connection with wealth."
"Is the Guryonsalmak related to the Heavenly Martial Sect?"
"Huh! Heavenly Martial Sect? It's more related to the Divine Martial Alliance."
"Isn't it the same thing?"
"Think what you will. Hehe!"
The venom had drained from his voice, perhaps because he was about to die, so he answered obediently.
That was it.
Swoosh!
The sound of something being dragged could be heard.
As Pyo Wol turned his head to look, the Ghost King was crawling towards Gyeongmusaeng.
The eerie sight of the Ghost King with a hole in his chest crawling towards him was terrifying.
Gyeongmusaeng laughed as he looked at the Ghost King.
"Kehehe! You're truly amazing... A masterpiece. If only you had moved according to my will, this wouldn't have happened."
"I am... a human."
"A human? Something that transcends humanity."
"No, I am human. Like you, I breathe and have free will."
"Has your memory returned?"
A puzzled expression crossed Gyeongmusaeng's face.
The Ghost King was not someone who would say such things.
"He...he!"
The Ghost King let out a strange laugh as he lay down next to Gyeongmusaeng.
They had fought each other all their lives. Naturally, their animosity towards each other was intense. But at this moment, there was no trace of hatred on their faces.
Perhaps they felt that their lives were complete.
The Ghost King opened his mouth.
"My name is Guk Sa-hwan."
"Guk Sa-hwan?"
"Great Sun Demon Guk Sa-hwan. One of the Ten Blood Demons of the Divine Martial Alliance and a loyal servant of Master Go Geom-Wol. That's who I am."
The voice that flowed from Ghost King's mouth belonged to someone else.
He looked up at the sky with unfocused eyes, as if tracing back old memories.
Gyeongmusaeng was surprised.
"Are you saying you were one of the Ten Blood Demons?"
"Yes. And I died. At the hands of Heavenly Martial Gate’s lord Lee Gwak…"
The memory of that time was still vivid.
The eerie sensation of Lee Gwak's blade piercing his heart.
"But I didn't completely stop breathing. The Sun Moon skill protected my heart,
maintaining a thin breath. I fell into a sort of deep coma. My subordinate took me to the Divine Martial Alliance's base. They buried me there, thinking I had fulfilled my loyalty."
After burying Guk Sa-hwan, the subordinate left with tears and Guk Sa-hwan spent a long time in a comatose state.
Even though the Sun Moon Skill protected his heart, it was impossible to fully recover, so he ultimately fell into a deep coma. Gyeongmusaeng was the one who discovered Guk Sa-hwan in that state.
And so, Guk Sa-hwan became the Ghost King under Gyeongmusaeng's control.
Almost forgetting his past memories.
Gyeongmusaeng smiled bitterly.
"Hehe! I never imagined that Ghost King, whom I created, was one of the Ten Blood Demons. It's undoubtedly heaven's joke."
The Ten Blood Demons were not only loyal to the Divine Martial Alliance but also to the Heavenly Martial Sect.
Although only a few people knew that fact.
'Maybe it's natural to receive this punishment for trying to control such a loyal servant as Ghost King?'
Gyeongmusaeng squinted his eyes.
He was too bitter to speak.
The Ghost King turned his gaze to Pyo Wol, leaving Gyeongmusaeng behind.
"Pyo Wol! Thank you. For keeping your promise."
"Are you alright?"
"What? Are you talking about dying?"
"Yes!"
"I died a long time ago. My current state is nothing more than a wandering ghost."
"Then, are you really dying?"
"Yes. Since the Reversal Spell is broken, I must return to nothingness. But I'm not the only one who dies."
"What do you mean?"
"The owner of this body, that guy, cries every day."
"Wasn't he annihilated?"
"He handed me control of his body and it was sealed. I realize now that he was crying deep inside this body every day."
"Is that true?"
"Why would I lie?"
The Ghost King turned his head back and looked at Gyeongmusaeng.
"Both you and I have lived in confusion. It would have been more comfortable if I had just died back then. Instead, I've wandered as a dead man for such a long time."
If there were a gaze of someone who had an instantaneous realisation of the truth, it would be like the gaze of the ghost king now.
The cloudy energy had completely disappeared, leaving only clear and pure energy behind.
Suddenly, Gyeongmusaeng burst out laughing bitterly.
"Hahaha! It's so empty. What was the point of learning spells?"
Suddenly, his voice stopped.
His breathing had stopped.
The Ghost King closed his eyes.
"Ah! Now it's time for me to go, too."
At that moment, the Ghost King's open chest began to slowly heal.
"Are you using your soul to heal the wound?"
It was something that only the Ghost King could do.
He was able to burn his soul willingly because he had another soul in his body.
"Now I can rest. Finally..."
A faint smile appeared on the Ghost King's lips.
With that, the Ghost King stopped moving.
Pyo Wol looked down at Gyeongmusaeng and the Ghost King in silence.
Yong Seol-ran approached him.
"I never knew there was such a story. Fate really does exist. In the end, they both faced death in the same place."
Pyo Wol nodded silently.
Gyeongmusaeng and the Ghost King.
The two who had hunted each other all their lives finally met their end in the same place.
Fireworks!
Suddenly, flames burst from Gyeongmusaeng's body.
The flames soon engulfed his entire body.
He didn't want to leave a corpse even after death. He thought that someone might play with his corpse as he had done. So he cast a spell to burn his body as soon as he stopped breathing.
It was a fitting end for Gyeongmusaeng.
Pyo Wol held the ghost king in his arms before the fire could spread.
In an instant, Gyeongmusaeng's body turned to ash and was scattered by the wind.
***
Even after Gyeongmusaeng's death, Pyo Wol didn't leave the ruins.
He and Yong Seol-ran found a cave and placed the Ghost King's body inside to care for it.
Although his physical wounds had healed perfectly, for some reason he couldn't regain consciousness.
They wanted to move to a busy city, but they couldn't risk shocking Ghost King's body.
Yong Seol-ran took care of the Ghost King with the utmost sincerity.
Pyo Wol went hunting.
Fortunately, the forest was full of various animals and poisonous creatures.
While Pyo Wol hunted beasts, Gwia feasted on poisonous creatures.
Every time Gwia ate a poisonous creature, his horn grew noticeably.
"Let's go, Gwia!"
Pyo Wol called to Gwia from the middle of the forest.
A rather large wild boar lay at his feet.
It was the one Pyo Wol had been hunting.
It was quite big and had plenty of meat, so it looked like they wouldn't have to worry about food for at least five days.
Soon after, Gwia appeared in response to Pyo Wol's call.
Gwia climbed onto Pyo Wol's foot.
Its horn seemed to have grown a little more, probably from eating another poisonous creature.
Pyo Wol stroked Gwia for a while and then took it in his arms. Then he hoisted the boar onto his shoulder and headed for the cave.
The forest was so dense that it was impossible to see even a centimetre ahead. The bushes were so thick that an ordinary person would be at a loss for direction. But Pyo Wol walked straight ahead, never once getting lost.
He had lived here for a long time and knew the terrain perfectly.
He soon arrived at the cave.
Yong Seol-ran was waiting for him outside.
"This is quite a big one."
"We won't have to worry about food for a while."
"Looks like it. Put it down. I'll butcher it."
"Alright!"
Thump!
As he replied, Pyo Wol threw the boar to the ground.
Yong Seol-ran took a small knife from her bag and approached the boar.
It was her job to prepare and cook the animals that Pyo Wol hunted.
By now, she was familiar enough with the task to butcher a boar of this size in no time.
Just as Yong Seol-ran was about to bring the knife to the boar's neck,
Rustle!
Suddenly they heard a noise from inside the cave.
Pyo Wol and Yong Seol-ran stopped what they were doing and looked into the cave.
At that moment, a boy of about fifteen or sixteen with a pale complexion came out of the cave.
It was Ghost King.
He leaned his hand against the entrance of the cave and looked at Pyo Wol.
"Do Yeonsan?"
"Sob!"
Ghost King, no, Do Yeonsan, burst into tears.
Important updates from my mtl novel translations
Hey Folks,
Can't wait to read the next chapter? Well, you can instantly read 60+ advanced chapters including the part where Pyo Wol returns to Chengdu, here or here(it has got the affordable tier as well)
P.S-Each chapter I translate takes a considerable amount of time, effort and resources. So please consider helping me out, if you can
Thanks a lot and see you tomorrow
0 Comments
Share this post with your friends who want to enjoy light novels.