Chapter 159
Crack-!
With a bizarre sound of twisting and crushing, the Eclipse that emerged from the lower body was a sight that could hardly be considered a spirit.
Standing at an estimated 4 meters tall, with a deep black gaze peering from beneath its helmet, a long tail trailing behind, and a pitch-black spear gripped in its hand.
Lastly, two massive horns protruded from its shoulders, as wide as its frame.
It felt like facing a demon straight out of legend.
"W-what is that...?"
The hunters' eyes widened, their victorious cheers dying in their throats at Eclipse's transformation.
Baek Mujin was also considerably taken aback by the sudden and dramatic change.
However, he had no luxury to process such emotions.
[Be corrupted.]
With a low murmur that nonetheless etched itself firmly into the mind, Eclipse struck the ground with the spear in its grasp.
Boom-!
A dark energy rose from the ground, floating up into the air and enveloping the world in darkness, casting a deep shadow as if storm clouds had gathered.
"This looks a bit dangerous."
Baek Mujin's furrowed brow turned towards the sky, towards the black energy enveloping the world.
This was no ordinary power.
It clearly contained elemental force.
But it was a bizarre mixture that could hardly be called an element.
If anything, it felt like facing a corrupted element.
Naturally, the reason for Eclipse's title as the Emperor of Corrupted Spirits became clear.
'So the earlier battle was merely a prelude.'
As an uneasy feeling began to well up in a corner of his mind...
Shwaaak-!
The corrupted power that had risen to the sky rained down as a shower of light.
As the corrupted power had already enveloped the world, there was nowhere to hide.
The only choice was to block it head-on.
"Very well! I shall face you with my full strength as well...!"
Baek Mujin shouted, frantically waving his hands to create a barrier like a massive, expansive shell, larger and more extensive than before.
Kwagwang-!
The two forces collided in mid-air with a thunderous boom, slowly fading away.
At a glance, it might have seemed like a draw.
However, there was a clear victor.
"You... what have you done?"
Baek Mujin checked his arms with violently shaking eyes.
His blackened forearms refused to move as he willed.
It wasn't just his muscles.
The force within his body, his inner energy, was being suppressed, unable to flow.
'What is this...?'
Having reached the Thousand Poisons Immunity, his body should have been impervious to most extreme poisons.
'Yet it's merely suppressing it?'
Even the act of suppression alone was proving to be quite challenging.
The rampaging corrupted power would devour his entire body in an instant if given even the slightest opening.
Naturally, in this physical state, there was no way he could fight properly.
But the most despairing fact was that the corrupted power that had invaded his body wasn't even Eclipse's full strength.
[Perish.]
The moment Eclipse extended its pitch-black spear forward.
Kugung-!
Cracks spread like a spider web, centered on Baek Mujin's position.
The split earth overturned and surged upward, as corrupted power rose from the ground.
"...?!"
As Baek Mujin sensed the danger and urgently tried to escape...
As if it had been waiting for this moment, the corrupted power that had gathered in the sky plummeted downward, pressing down on Baek Mujin's entire body.
The corrupted power rising from the ground and falling from the sky literally shook and shattered heaven and earth.
Red blood burst from every orifice of Baek Mujin, who stood at the center of it all - his eyes, nose, and mouth.
"Kuuuurgh-!"
As Baek Mujin let out a pain-filled groan...
The corrupted power surging from the ground and falling from the sky met at the midpoint, releasing a thunderous roar.
Kugung-!
He instinctively knew.
The moment that corrupted power exploded, it would be the end.
All the hunters in the vicinity would meet their deaths.
It meant Korea would face destruction.
He wanted to stop it.
For the sake of his unfulfilled desire, his duel with Lee Seongjun, he desperately wanted to stop it.
But there was no way to escape the corrupted power crushing his body.
Kwagwang-!
Even as the corrupted power spread, Baek Mujin could do nothing.
'Was the gap... this vast?'
He felt utterly foolish for the pride he had felt in considering himself among the ranks of the strong.
A bitter smile naturally spread across Baek Mujin's lips.
'Damn it...'
Having lived solely for battle, making it his life's purpose, he had always thought he would meet his end on the battlefield.
So he wasn't afraid of death.
He was just incredibly frustrated by his own incompetence.
'If only I had one more chance, just one more!'
He would struggle desperately, putting everything on the line, advancing solely for the sake of growth.
And ultimately, he wanted to prove his ability by standing at the pinnacle of the world.
But sadly, it was all just regret and delusion of days gone by.
Kugung-!
Finally, as the corrupted powers colliding in mid-air spread throughout the area with a booming sound, a deep darkness settled in Baek Mujin's eyes.
'Is this the end...'
As Baek Mujin quietly closed his eyes in despair, unable to hold even the tiniest hope...
Slash-!
With a cutting sound, the corrupted power enveloping heaven and earth, the black energy, split apart, and an alluring red light filled his vision.
'This is?!'
He could recognize it immediately.
No, he couldn't not recognize it, as it was the reason for his life.
There was only one person who could wield such red energy.
'Lee Seongjun.'
Korea's strongest, the Dragon of Asia, a legendary Returnee.
The man with countless titles and skills to match, who could be called Korea's last hope, had arrived on the scene.
* * *
In the middle of the battlefield.
Lee Seongjun's eyes narrowed as he gazed at the dust cloud kicked up by Eclipse, who had been smashed into the wall.
'It seems it's not dead yet...'
Having taken Cheon Chung-ah's sword strike head-on, it must have suffered some damage.
'It should have bought us some time at least.'
Indeed, no movement could be felt from Eclipse within the dust cloud.
As Lee Seongjun's narrowed eyes carefully watched the interior of the dust cloud, where Eclipse was...
"Cough... go back..."
Baek Mujin, who had been watching Lee Seongjun's arrival from right behind him, spoke while coughing up blood.
"That monster... is not something you can handle alone... I'll buy as much time as I can, so Lee Seongjun, you take the hunters and retreat."
"...Acting uncharacteristically kind, aren't you?"
A wry smile spread across Lee Seongjun's lips at Baek Mujin's words and actions, which were completely unlike his usual demeanor.
"Kuk kuk... Kind? It's just for my revenge. You need to live so you can hunt that monster later... Cough!"
Baek Mujin's expression hardened as he spewed blood like a fountain.
"Anyway, run away quickly... Request support from as many places as possible, and gather strength...!"
"I understand you're doing this for revenge, but don't you need to be alive yourself to feel that thrill?"
A bitter smile spread across Baek Mujin's lips at Lee Seongjun's question.
"I know my body best. I'm already done for, that's why I'm asking you. If it's not you... there's no one who can face that monster... Cough!"
"You certainly do look in pretty bad shape."
Lee Seongjun's brow furrowed as he watched Baek Mujin continually coughing up blood.
The one fortunate point was that Eclipse, smashed into the wall, still hadn't shown itself.
'I should be able to take care of this for a moment.'
After nodding once, Lee Seongjun immediately sat down and grabbed Baek Mujin's wrist.
"It's worse than I thought."
The energy spread throughout Baek Mujin's body was identical to the demonic energy used by the demon clan during the Great Demon War.
'Demonic energy... this has become troublesome.'
It was perhaps the most lethal force for humans.
That was because demonic energy tried to devour the vital energy, the innate energy that humans possessed.
In fact, Baek Mujin's innate energy right before him was being consumed by the demonic energy.
'Left like this, he won't last 5 minutes.'
Not only was his lifespan nearly exhausted, but the most desperate situation was something else entirely.
Since it had attached to the innate energy, the foundation of life itself, removing that demonic energy required not just precise but perfect energy control, meaning there were very few people capable of treating it.
Of course, Lee Seongjun was among those few people.
"You're a lucky bastard."
Lee Seongjun smiled wryly and carefully channeled energy into Baek Mujin's pulse.
"What... are you doing?"
Feeling energy flowing into his body, Baek Mujin's eyes widened like full moons in surprise.
"Stay still. I'm going to fix you up. In this state, you'll either die from your vital energy running out, or your organs rotting... anyway, you'll die."
Lee Seongjun furrowed his brow and concentrated on manipulating the energy.
To be honest, his relationship with Baek Mujin could be described as poor.
Therefore, normally he wouldn't have gone out of his way to help directly.
But Baek Mujin's contributions in this war had been significant.
'Though it may not have been his intention...'
He had tied down Eclipse until Lee Seongjun's arrival and protected the hunters.
One way or another, he had saved the lives of numerous hunters.
Lee Seongjun highly valued that achievement.
That's why, despite their poor relationship, he didn't hesitate to lend a direct hand.
'Let's see... his entire body has been consumed by demonic energy.'
Lee Seongjun channeled energy through Baek Mujin's entire meridian system, focusing on pushing out the demonic energy that filled it through the blood vessels.
Then, using the Blood Shadow Asura Divine Technique, he replenished some of the vital energy, the most important foundation of life.
The collapsing body rapidly regained vitality.
With his heightened senses, it was impossible for Baek Mujin not to notice these changes.
He could clearly feel vitality sprouting in his body that had been on the brink of death.
While he couldn't be said to be in perfect condition, it was clear that he had escaped the approaching death.
Realizing this fact, Baek Mujin looked at Lee Seongjun with a startled expression.
"How...?"
"I'm used to it. I didn't like seeing my subordinates falling to demonic energy, so I studied hard."
As the Blood Demon, Lee Seongjun had extensive experience fighting demons on a large scale.
The battles had been fierce, and in every fight, many of his subordinates had been consumed by demonic energy. Lee Seongjun had no choice but to find ways to save them.
If he had turned a blind eye back then, tens of thousands of his subordinates would have died, consumed by demonic energy.
"The treatment is done for now. You won't be able to move for at least a week, so it's best to rest quietly."
Having completely driven out the demonic energy, Lee Seongjun dusted off his hands as he stood up, turning his gaze to Eclipse's form emerging from the dust cloud.
At the same time, he recalled in his mind the information he had received from the Hunter Association, which could be considered the command center.
'The Emperor of Corrupted Spirits, huh...'
The direct impression was that it possessed vast demonic energy that made his skin tingle, but nothing else could be sensed.
"Well, I'll know when we clash."
Lee Seongjun drew an arc with his lips as he lightly stretched his body.