Cale's face slowly turned odd as he got closer to the place where the blue lights were rising up.
'Basically nobody is sleeping.'
Cale, who was hiding behind a bush on a hill and looking down, could see people coming and going.
– Human, they really are all wearing masks!
As Raon mentioned, the large number of people coming and going across the streets and alleys were all wearing masks to cover their faces.
The white masks with a single large blue teardrop gave off an eccentric vibe.
Furthermore, they were all wearing white clothes. The way the white clothes and white masks looked under the blue light made the Blood Cultists look leery.
"They really look like crazed cult members."
Cale paid no attention to Choi Jung Soo's quiet mumbling as he looked at Old man Baek. Old man Baek opened his mouth.
His voice was quiet as well.
"The priestess is finished with her prayer, so the Cultists are probably heading home."
"Does the prayer happen at the Stairway to Heaven?"
It sounded reasonable as the priestess is said to be there.
"No. Only a few people have permission to enter the Stairway to Heaven. There are multiple halls for prayers. They pray there following the lead of the harbingers."
"Harbingers?"
"The cultists who have been approved by the Blood Cult."
Cale looked at Old man Baek, who was answering all of these questions, for a moment before turning his gaze.
"Let's go."
Cale then pulled a mask out of his pocket.
He was also wearing white once he removed his robe.
'You have to dress like this in the Blood Cult during night time.'
Cale already knew that after hearing it from the three Blood Cultists.
He turned to look at Hoya and Yoon.
As the two of them flinched…
"Let's do your roles properly?"
Choi Jung Soo approached the two of them as Cale said that.
"...."
"…Mm."
Choi Jung Soo placed black burlap sacks over their heads as they cowered.
Cale watched it before looking toward Number 7.
"Let's do a good job?"
"Y, yes sir!"
Number 7 looked extremely disciplined as he put on a mask.
He took the lead followed by Choi Han and the others as they planned in advance.
Old man Baek stood next to Cale in the rear.
"Although I don't know about getting inside Stairway to Heaven, this should be enough to get us near it without any issues."
Old man Baek chuckled.
No Blood Cultists should come near people leading sinners who dared to break the commandments. If anything, they would look away."
Stairway to Heaven. There was a simple method to get there.
Cale's group was disguised as guards leading the young Blood Demon candidates, who were made to look like sinners who broke the greatest commandments of the Blood Cult.
They would then split up and have a team waiting outside Stairway to Heaven while the other team used Raon's invisibility spell to stealthily infiltrate the building and destroy the core of the formation.
Then the people waiting outside would confirm the signal before releasing large-scale signal flares into the air.
Their allies waiting by the coast would confirm this, verify that the sea has settled, and then immediately send out the ships toward Hainan.
This was the gist of the plan.
'The people entering will also have to find the priestess.'
Cale thought about the plan once more before raising his head.
"I am starting to walk now, sir."
With Number 7's tense response, Cale entered into the little city that was sparkling blue even in the middle of the night.
"Eek!"
"Mm."
Old man Baek had been telling the truth.
Anybody who saw the two young Blood Demon candidates who had their heads covered in black burlap sacks all moved out of the way or turned around.
They also did their best not to make eye contact with Cale's group.
– Human! These people are not that strong! But all of them look as if they have at least learned basic martial arts!
Cale's group listened to the information from the invisible Raon as they moved quickly but not so quickly that they looked rushed toward Stairway to Heaven.
Of course, they did not use the major roads and used the streets that were best to avoid people's gazes.
It was all thanks to Old man Baek and Number 7.
– By the way, human. Those blue lights are a bit weird! They are neither magic nor formations. They feel a bit dreary.
Cale looked at the blue light seeping into his white clothes before raising his head.
The blue lights were hanging on long poles lighting the area, reminding him of the street lamps in Korea.
There was nowhere on the street that the blue lights did not reach. Even the small allies had the blue lights.
'…I don't really like them.'
Cale turned his head as quietly looking at them made him start to feel weird.
It was probably just a feeling.
– Human, we are almost there!
As Raon mentioned, they would soon arrive at the small plaza where Stairway to Heaven was located.
"I should tell them to speed up a bit.'
As a dreary feeling made Cale come to that decision, Number 7 stopped walking.
Shh.
It was because Choi Han had placed his hand on Number 7's shoulder.
'Huh?'
Cale's face then stiffened. The team leader, Choi Jung Soo, Ron, and Beacrox all placed their hands on the handles of their weapons.
– …Human, something is weird.
The atmosphere around them had changed.
'The number of people with weapons has increased.'
Furthermore, he could see a lot of people walking in coordination in this small plaza.
They looked as if they were going out on patrol or to search for something.
Furthermore, the people leading them seemed to be high ranking individuals.
"…We were found out?"
Old man Baek flinched after subconsciously mumbling those words.
It was because Cale's extremely cold gaze turned toward him.
'No. He's not looking at me.'
As Old man Baek realized that Cale's gaze was not at him but above his head at the lights giving off the blue light…
Cale's hand moved.
"Ugh!"
Hoya groaned. Cale didn't care and pushed him against the wall of the alley.
"Ugh!"
He then pulled the bandana off Hoya's head.
The moment his blue hair appeared under the blue light…
"Ha."
Cale let out a chuckle. The corners of his lips twisted up.
Hoya's blue hair had turned black.
It was black despite being under blue light.
"…Oo..."
Hoya and Cale made eye contact.
As Hoya avoided Cale's gaze with a scared look on his face, Cale quietly whispered.
"I guess I've been caught."
* * *
Blue Blood Fort.
This was where the Blood Demon, the most dignified individual of the Blood Cult, resided.
"Myung."
"Yes, mother."
Young Blood Demon candidate Myung was kneeling with her head bowed down.
Nobody was allowed to make eye contact with the Blood Demon without her permission.
"You said that Hoya and Yoon have returned?"
"Yes, mother. We have detected the two of their auras."
"I heard that they were defeated in Yunnan. Do you think that those two children managed to escape and return or that they returned as hostages?"
Myung bowed her head even lower.
This was not for her to answer.
The Blood Demon would give the answer.
"The answer is already there. I'm sure that Hoya and Yoon would not have chosen to run. Myung, what about the priestess-nim?"
"I immediately had her escorted to another location as soon as we detected Yoon and Hoya's auras."
"Eun and Baek. Did those two children go to greet Hoya and Yoon?"
"Yes, mother. The two of them will soon take care of everything."
"I see. Yes, it would be bad to have things get rowdy when we have such an important event going on."
Shhh.
Myung could sense that someone was standing up.
The Blood Demon was the only one here who could move without asking permission, so it must have been her who stood up.
Shh. Shh.
She could hear clothes rustling.
Myung's head was down but she could see white hair start to become visible.
The white hair looked blue because of the blue light.
She closed her eyes.
She was not allowed to see her mother without permission.
"It looks like you will need to step in."
Myung flinched.
"I have a bad feeling about this. This is not something that the martial artists would have been able to pull off."
The voice was gentle.
However, Myung's whole body was shaking.
This was to be expected.
It was only natural to shake in front of this cold aura that the Blood Demon was giving off, this aura that was so cold that it felt suffocating.
"The last report we received from Hoya was that they were pushed back in Yunnan and were leading the martial artists toward Hainan?"
"Yes, mother."
"That must have been a lie."
Ssssss—
The air moved.
It was not a breeze.
Instead, similar to the fog over the sea… Some auras that could not be seen were moving.
It was because the Blood Demon took a step.
"Our paradise has been revealed."
The Blood Demon walked past Myung.
"I'm sure they would have headed toward Stairway to Heaven. The only way for martial artists to enter this paradise is by calming the sea. Thanks to Hoya and Yoon who told them about this place, they should also know that they just need to get rid of the core. Myung."
"Yes, mother."
"You kill Hoya and Yoon."
Myung's body slightly shook.
"Yes, mother."
She thought to herself.
'Those stupid idiots.'
Actually, Hoya and Yoon were not stupid.
In fact, they were on the smarter side.
They would have returned to this place with the desire to live. They probably did not explain about the blue lights that would react to their hair so that they could give the Blood Cult information about their enemies.
Only then would they be said to have made some sort of merit.
However, there was only one thing Myung could say about their decision.
'You should have just killed yourselves.'
That was the best choice for the two of them.
As Myung's face was about to stiffen…
She heard the Blood Demon's voice.
"Myung, kill them peacefully so that they do not suffer."
"… Yes, mother."
"Myung, raise your head."
Myung's stiff face relaxed.
She raised her head.
She then smiled.
"Myung, your smile is so nice to look at."
"Thank you very much, mother."
The Blood Demon petted Myung's short hair before exiting the Grand Pavilion.
Her footsteps were neither slow nor fast.
Myung watched her for a bit before starting to move as well.
It felt as if the night would be long tonight.
'You, do you want to live like this?'
She stopped walking.
Not too long ago, in the world that had its name erased…
She recalled when she visited that dead world.
She had stopped in that world for a bit to fulfill an order from her mother.
Aipotu.
The man she had met in that world…
'Do you trust the Dragons?'
The person with the fishy smile, the person who seemed more like a child than a young man… But also more like a young man than a child…
'You don't like where you are associated with right now, do you?'
Myung thought about the person who had shaken her mind that was already chaotic.
'Who are you to say such things to me?'
Myung had been annoyed and grumbled at the person who mischievously smiled at her.
'Me?'
'That's right. Why are you saying such things to me without even telling me who you are? You also do not look like someone from here. Don't you know that you will die if I capture you like this?'
'Do you want to know who I am?
Mm.'
The person pretended to contemplate it before describing himself like this.
'I am a Dragon Hunter.'
She recalled his relaxed smile.
'I am a Dragon Slayer. In fact, I am the first ever Dragon Slayer.'
Myung soon brushed away her thoughts.
He was someone whom she had met for a moment but could never see again because he had disappeared like the wind.
"Huuuuuu."
She took a deep breath and started walking.
She could see the blue light.
She could not get out of this place.
Since the moment she was born all the way until now…
All she could do was to follow this light.
"!"
It was at that moment.
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang—
She heard a loud explosion.
She saw something that looked like a black Dragon shooting up into the sky and destroying the roofs of the nearby buildings.
"What the…?"
'What is going on?
Isn't this too fast?'
She started quickly walking toward the direction of the noise.
* * *
There was only one thing Cale's group could do after realizing that they were noticed.
"Choi Han."
Choi Han grabbed Hoya by the neck. Choi Jung Soo stood next to him. Number 7 as well.
"Ron."
Ron removed the burlap sack covering Yoon's face.
Cale could see Yoon, who was clearly scared but still had a smile on her face.
"Ugh!"
However, Yoon soon groaned.
Ron was clenching the back of her neck.
Beacrox and Sui Khan were by his side.
"Scatter."
The two groups centered around Choi Han and Ron moved in different directions.
One moved west while the other moved east.
Cale laughed at the same time.
It was because he saw Choi Han swinging his sword.
Baaaaaaaaaang-!
The aura in the shape of a black yong destroyed a building.
– Human, as expected, Choi Han is doing great!
'I know, right?
He knows exactly what he needs to do.'
He was doing great drawing attention.
Baaaaaaaaaang-
He destroyed something again.
Baaaaaang–!
Again.
Baaaaaaaaaang!
And again.
– …Human, is it okay to do this?
'…I don't know.'
Cale just looked away from Choi Han running wild.
He was looking toward Stairway to Heaven.
"Shall we go?"
Raon responded to Cale's comment.
– Sounds great!
The only ones left were Cale, Raon, and Old man Baek.
—
Translator's Comments
Time to go!