Chapter 146
I am rather timid.
I cannot watch horror movies, and I do not like roller coasters or anything like them.
I simply cannot understand why people pay money to do frightening things.
But then.
‘Aaaah!’
I was having an experience several times scarier than a horror movie or a roller coaster.
I was floating at least ten meters in the air with no safety device whatsoever.
The active skill’s description never said anything about rising into the air, so how had this happened?
‘I must not look down. I absolutely must not look down…!’
I squeezed my eyes shut and trembled.
If I looked down, I might really start crying.
‘No, but why are my arms spreading out on their own at a time like this?!’
[Noble Dignity], you little rascal.
Have you no sense of propriety? Are you trying to strike the Blood Demon Descends pose even in this situation?!
I was already scared, but my arms spreading out made it even scarier, so I tried to pull them back against my body.
“Waaaaah!!!”
“Our most exalted Blood Lord!!!”
The congregants’ cheers from below were tremendous.
It was practically the level of an idol concert.
‘…….’
W-well, since things had already turned out this way, I should at least stay still.
I would look cool if I stayed still.
Even so, I was terrified inside.
‘What if I suddenly drop like a gyro drop…?’
The servants would save me, right?
They would, right?
Sob, sob, I want to get down already….
Just as I was thinking that.
‘Huh?’
I felt my body descend slightly.
Just to see if I could, I thought about wanting to go down again, and my body really did begin to descend slowly.
‘I could control this?’
After experimenting a little, I found that I could move not only up and down, but freely in any direction according to my thoughts.
Should I say it felt like controlling a drone with my own body?
Of course, I did not dare fly around here and there, and carefully descended straight down.
‘Whew. I’m alive…….’
At last, my feet touched the ground again.
The strength left my legs and I nearly fell, but I somehow managed to stay upright.
So this was how precious gravity was. I really had no idea.
I slowly opened my eyes.
‘Phew. Still, I have to do what needs to be done.’
After taking a breath, I examined the congregants’ stat windows.
It was to check the effect of [Lord’s Edict].
Looking at it overall, it felt as though their stats had risen by a percentage.
I had selected the sword-shaped insignia to enhance.
When I checked, the congregants’ attack power had risen by 20 percent.
‘Aha.’
The difference from the buffs I had used before stood out clearly in my mind.
[Book of the Dead] was limited to servants, but greatly amplified all their stats.
In contrast, [Lord’s Edict] targeted a large number of people and strengthened only one specific combat stat by a percentage.
‘Oh. This is completely specialized for large-scale battles.’
Besides, it had one major advantage.
Despite being a large-scale buff, it consumed no Blood Power whatsoever.
‘I like the fact that it doesn’t consume Blood Power the most.’
I suppose it really was an EX-rank divine artifact for a reason.
After feeling quite satisfied, a question suddenly occurred to me.
‘But what had changed about its true form?’
The description said that the Red Crown revealed its “true form.”
It had been on my head from the beginning, and when I rose into the air, I had kept my eyes tightly shut out of fear, so I had not seen it at all.
‘……Did it look cool?’
Still, considering everyone’s explosive reaction just now, it probably had not been bad. Hehe.
***
And so, the blessing ceremony concluded successfully amid an astonishing reaction.
With that, the tour of the Blood Cult by Eun’s group came to an end.
The final order of business was a meeting with me in person.
My private residence, the Blood Demon Venerable Pavilion.
“Hehe…….”
I sat with my legs crossed, gently waving my fan as I put on a leisurely Blood Demon act.
The performance earlier must have made quite an impression, because Ha Mudan and his companions stood before me completely cowed, unable even to raise their heads properly.
I discreetly activated [Emotion Eye].
[Status: Experiencing extreme fear and awe]
[Status: Anxious to quickly report information about the Blood Cult and the Blood Demon to the Heavenly Demon]
The twin guards stood frozen, drenched in cold sweat, while Ha Mudan, their leader, seemed eager to deliver the news to the Heavenly Demon as soon as possible.
‘Good, good. Go and tell him everything.’
Having them report the news was actually preferable.
It was exactly what I had intended from the beginning.
But it felt a little disappointing to end things here.
I needed one decisive move to firmly engrave the Blood Cult’s renown in the minds of the demonic faction.
Snap!
I deliberately made a slightly louder sound as I closed the fan in my hand.
Ha Mudan and the others flinched.
I spoke calmly.
“I already know that you are not an ordinary assassin group.”
“……!!”
Ha Mudan’s eyes shook violently.
“Eun (隱). As your name suggests, you hid yourselves well. But do not think you can deceive even This One’s eyes.”
Ha Mudan bit his lip as though he had suffered an enormous shock.
[Status: "The Blood Demon already knew the identities of the Demonic Cult’s hidden eyes and ears...?!"]
‘Actually, I read it in a walkthrough.’
Solo Warrior, thank you as always!
However, if I frightened them too much, the Demonic Cult might come to view the Blood Cult negatively.
This was the moment to adjust my tone carefully.
“Heh. There is no need to be so tense. This One does not judge people by the labels of the orthodox and demonic factions.”
I lightly eased the atmosphere by covering my mouth with the end of my fan.
“This One looks only at whether the blood you carry within is impure or pure.”
“…….”
Ha Mudan stared up at me blankly.
I also offered him a bit of advice.
“However, it seems that your Demonic Cult, too, would do well to cleanse some blood that has grown old.”
It would be best to clean up the rotten factions, extremists, and a few madmen inside the Demonic Cult.
That was roughly what I meant.
And after that.
I told Ha Mudan the story of the “true Blood Cult” that I had used with the Namgung Family.
That the Blood Cult of the past had been made up of impostors.
That the former Blood Demon had falsely claimed to be me, and that I had now returned to rebuild the true Blood Cult.
“The true Blood Cult….”
Ha Mudan looked utterly confused.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been a story he could never believe.
But after witnessing so many astonishing scenes today, this lie would naturally blend in among them.
Even if I could not make him believe it immediately, planting the hook of the true Blood Cult in the demonic faction after the orthodox faction was enough.
That was sufficient.
“This One has nothing more to say. Go and report everything exactly as it happened.”
“……I shall keep the Blood Demon Lord’s words in mind and deliver them.”
Ha Mudan gave a formal fist-and-palm salute.
‘Good. Success!’
With that, I had finished preparing to spread the Blood Cult’s renown through the demonic faction as perfectly as I had through the orthodox faction.
But then a sudden thought occurred to me.
I wonder if the blood of people from the Demonic Cult tastes good?
The Namgung Family of the orthodox faction had tasted healthy, while the unorthodox faction had tasted like ramen broth. What would the Demonic Cult taste like?
Perhaps like cola?
I smacked my lips and looked at Ha Mudan’s party, and they visibly flinched.
‘Tsk.’
I decided to refrain this time, since they would probably panic if I asked them to donate blood.
***
After Eun’s group left the Blood Cult.
I immediately summoned Tian Ryuyeon separately.
“I pay my respects to the Blood Demon Lord.”
As he offered his greeting, I spoke in a calm tone.
“This One shall likely have to leave this place again before long. Take good care of the Blood Cult in the meantime.”
“……!”
He froze for a moment, then seemed to understand my intentions and dropped to one knee with a resolute expression.
Thump.
“Bishop Tian Ryuyeon. Until the day the Blood Demon Lord returns, I shall lead the Blood Cult well!”
Tian Ryuyeon’s loyalty had risen to [Very High].
He had now been reborn as the perfect bishop of the Blood Cult.
Since I had also told him the entire story about the true Blood Cult, he would become an even more convincing false bishop.
I had made an agreement with the Namgung Family, and I had sufficiently displayed the Blood Cult’s might to the Demonic Cult through Eun, so there was little risk of being attacked by either the orthodox or demonic factions.
On top of that, I had personally bestowed the [Blood Army] blessing upon the congregants, so our defenses were sturdy as well.
I figured I could now leave with far greater peace of mind than before.
After dismissing Tian Ryuyeon, I summoned Namgung Yeonhee next.
“Yeonhee. You shall be going to another world with This One, so prepare yourself.”
At my words, Namgung Yeonhee paused, startled.
“……Another world, Master?”
“That is correct.”
She asked again in a somewhat cautious voice.
“S-surely… the Immortal Realm (仙界)…?”
‘The Immortal Realm?’
I tilted my head.
Namgung Yeonhee added with a slightly excited expression,
“A world beyond the mortal realm where immortal sages walk…! Do you reside there, Master?”
Hmm.
Come to think of it, since it was the modern world outside the Tower, it probably did resemble a world inhabited by immortals from the perspective of someone from this murim world.
There were various wondrous modern inventions, and since our servants were ageless vampires, immortality was roughly accurate too.
Since I could not be bothered to explain everything at length, I decided to humor her appropriately.
“It is something like that. I shall return when the time comes, so do not worry.”
“Ah…!”
Namgung Yeonhee’s eyes sparkled brightly.
She really liked the idea.
***
And several days later.
While I was rolling around on the soft bed in the Blood Demon Venerable Pavilion, the world stopped.
It was a sensation I had grown accustomed to by now.
[All objectives of the second story have been completed.]
‘Ah, Ha Mudan must have reported it to the demonic faction at last.’
It seemed that, after Eun’s people safely delivered news of the Blood Cult to the Demonic Cult, my renown had been firmly established in the demonic faction as well.
That increase in renown must have triggered the quest’s completion.
The time I had spent in this sixth-floor murim world had been incredibly fruitful.
I had accepted blood donations from the Namgung Family’s martial artists and finally reached the maximum Blood Power of 400.
[Servant Summoning] had also been upgraded, allowing designated summoning as well.
And I had acquired Namgung Yeonhee, an S-rank servant of the Blood Demon Divine Art.
‘I really did farm this place thoroughly.’
Now, all that remained was the completion reward.
‘I wonder how many points I’ll get.’
In Chapter 1, I had received 119 points for surpassing the Heavenly Demon’s record.
Would I be able to beat the Heavenly Demon’s score in Chapter 2 as well?
I watched the system window with anticipation.
[The Tower of Trials is evaluating your story.]
[Calculating…….]
[Score: 130]
[Rank: S+]
‘130 points?’
A new all-time high score had been set.