Heart Blood – Part 3
“L-Let’s negotiate.”
The white man pleaded pathetically.
“If you let us go, I’ll give you a treasure. I’ll tell you everything I know.”
I stared at him, unimpressed.
He thinks he can negotiate?
My grip tightened around both my right arm and left hand.
“Kyahhh!”
The cat struggled wildly, and the man panicked.
“Please! Just let us go! I swear, I’ll never set foot in Korea—or even Asia—ever again! I’ll make a magical oath, please!”
He had no problem ambushing others, but now he was begging for his life?
I was already leaning toward a slow execution.
“Ughh!”
The man twisted his body, putting all his strength into moving his arm.
He wasn’t trying to escape.
He barely managed to move his hand to his belt buckle.
Flash!
A small necklace appeared in his grasp.
Desperately, he held it out to me.
“If you let us go, I’ll give you this!”
A jeweled necklace.
The chain was made from an alloy of Celestial Gold and Infernal Gold.
The pendant was a dragon, crafted by stacking multiple enchanted gemstones.
Wait—hold on.
As its identity registered in my mind, my thoughts swayed.
Why is that here?
“I-It’s a Dragon’s Necklace.”
The man stammered.
“I inherited it from my master. With this, warriors can command dragons, reinforced-class superhumans can awaken dragon blood, and mages and priests can unleash powerful dragon magic. It’s the ultimate treasure! Killing a weak druid like me isn’t worth more than this, right?”
A Dragon Tongue Necklace.
It allowed communication with dragons and was essential for acquiring traits like Dragon Roar, Dragon Knight, and Dragon Lord.
Honestly, I never had any intention of becoming a Dragon Knight.
But then again…
I already had traits for Piloting, Riding, Unity, and Control—there was no reason not to acquire it.
After all, Elder Dragons were the strongest combat mounts in Arcane Seoul.
“Is it soulbound?”
“O-Of course it is!”
I touched the necklace lightly.
It repelled me, as if it had a mind of its own.
Like two magnets with identical poles.
Seeing this, the man smirked triumphantly.
“E-Even if you kill me, you won’t be able to take the necklace! A soulbound item doesn’t unbind even in death!”
What should I do?
I hesitated for a moment.
“Talk first. Then we’ll discuss the deal.”
“Black Tiger Swordmaster?”
“Just watch.”
The executive secretary started to object, but I stopped him.
The white man gulped, realizing that while I had the final say, this wasn’t going to be an easy bargain.
“T-The one who hired me was the Dark Jaguar Cult. They worship an ancient Aztec evil god—”
“I know. Skip the backstory. Get to the point.”
“Damn it. Alright. The cult gave me two vials of poison. One was for poisoning the target, and the other was to be used in a special ritual. I only did what I was told!”
“So where’s the second vial? Rituals don’t consume the poison, as far as I know.”
“T-That’s…”
The man hesitated.
I knew why.
“Fine. I’ll just cut the cat open.”
“N-No! DON’T!”
“It won’t die. You know that, right? Anyway, thanks for cooperating. Keep talking. What else do you know?”
“S-So…”
The man spilled everything in a rambling mess.
Their contact methods, the payment for the job, their hidden bases, their secret followers—everything.
I listened patiently.
And finally, I got what I was waiting for.
“My guess is… the Dark Jaguar Cult is hiding beneath the Han River.”
“Under the Han River? Where exactly?”
This was the key.
Even in the game, the entry point to the Forbidden Zone was different for every player, making it impossible to just follow a guide.
I expected him to name a specific bridge, but instead, he muttered,
“It’s… literally under the river.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
“I’m serious! It’s below the Han River, under the water at a specific depth. They spread out like a net and enter the Forbidden Zone. I saw it with my own eyes when I transformed into a fish.”
Okay.
That’s enough.
I had found the Dark Jaguar Cult’s main base.
The man, having finished his confession, glanced at me nervously.
“Y-You’ll let me go, right? Right?”
The executive secretary gave me a long, meaningful look.
Are you really going to let him live?
I stared at the man.
His desperate face.
His pleading eyes.
His entire body screamed his will to survive.
“Meow…”
Even the cat cried sorrowfully.
If this were the old me, I might have hesitated.
But after everything I had been through in this world…
My emotions had dulled. My morals had eroded.
Letting a superhuman assassin—a shapeshifting druid—walk free?
Just because he gave me some information and a treasure?
Not a chance.
My arm and hand tensed.
The man choked out a desperate scream.
“Damn it! Why?! I told you everything! You’re getting a treasure out of this! I’m just a small-time lackey!”
“Hmph.”
I didn’t even acknowledge him.
Just a scoff.
His voice turned frantic.
“If I die, you’ll never get the necklace!”
He was wrong.
Arcane Seoul was a mobile game.
There were ways to unbind soulbound items.
“Die quietly.”
Crack!
Bones snapped.
Both man and cat, simultaneously.
They stuck out their tongues, lifeless.
They wouldn’t have felt any pain.
I had tightened their muscles instantly, killing them in a single move.
That was my way of repaying them—for the information and the treasure.
“Should I cut it open?”
“Yes.”
From the cat’s stomach, a tiny crystal vial the size of a pinky nail rolled out.
The Heart Blood.
Just looking at it, its ominous mana rippled like mist.
Using the special magic pouch handed to me by the executive secretary, I stored it along with the Dragon Tongue Necklace.
Swoooosh.
The Red Cougar, which I had called in advance, and Kim Mabeob’s aircar descended overhead.
We split up and headed back to the hospital.
The hospital wasn’t in good shape either.
The main building, now fully controlled by Geumo Group’s security team and Geumo Security, was under siege.
Grotesque monsters surrounded it, launching attacks.
“Kiyaaaak!”
“Kraaaang!”
“Hold them back! Don’t let them in!”
“Don’t let a single one through!”
“Where the hell is the police?! When are the combat police getting here?”
“They said five minutes!”
The creatures were similar to the one the white man had transformed into earlier.
But much weaker.
At best, Level 3.
The real problem was that when they died, they exploded into clouds of poison.
Geumo Group’s superhumans were struggling.
“Damn it! Where are these things coming from?!”
The executive secretary, seated beside me, stomped his foot impatiently.
He was itching to jump in.
But I didn’t wait for the landing.
I flung open the cockpit door and threw myself out.
“Black Tiger Swordmaster?!”
Swoooosh!
The wind rushed past my face.
Below, the entire battlefield unfolded before me.
Like a video game.
Like a top-down strategy simulation, every detail was etched onto my retinas.
[Shout] [Taunt] [Mana Explosion]
[Thor Cultivation Technique] [Mana Soul] [Deep Breath]
I swapped my traits.
Then, I took a deep breath.
My lungs expanded to their absolute limit.
I gathered all the air in my diaphragm—
And unleashed it all at once.
“STOP RIGHT THEREEEEE!!”
KWA-RUUUUNG!
Was it because I had inhaled so deeply?
Or because my Mana Explosion amplified it?
It wasn’t just a shout—it was a shockwave.
The air warped and detonated, slamming into the ground.
Not only did all the monsters I had targeted freeze up, but even the Geumo Group superhumans who had been fighting stiffened like statues.
More than just paralyzed—they collapsed like frogs, unable to move.
Level 3s, Level 4s, even Level 5s.
This wasn’t just Shout.
Shout only lowered stats.
It didn’t cause paralysis or other crowd control effects.
This was the Roar trait.
I had unintentionally acquired a new trait.
That makes this easy.
While falling, I grabbed the rifle slung on my back.
My Dasan rifle, always equipped in my two-slot armory.
I locked in a magazine—
And opened fire.
Tatata-tang!
Of course, I switched my traits beforehand.
A shooter’s bullets—enhanced by Firearm Mastery, Aim, and Focus—rained down like a storm.
Not a single shot missed.
Even at full auto, every bullet buried itself in a monster’s skull.
“Kghh!”
“Urk!”
“Gahk!”
No time for screams.
Only dying groans.
Just like that, the monsters surrounding the hospital were wiped out.
In under ten seconds.
“H-Haha…”
“What the hell…?”
The Geumo Group superhumans were dumbfounded.
They staggered to their feet, staring at me with disbelief.
No time to talk.
I rushed past them.
Stormed into the hospital.
My sheer momentum made the superhumans guarding the entrance flinch.
“W-What the—?!”
“Wait! It’s Black Tiger Swordmaster!”
“Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!”
Fortunately, the executive secretary had handled things outside.
Following the orders relayed through their earpieces, the guards quickly stepped aside.
I sprinted through the hallways, leaped up the stairs, and arrived at the VVIP suite.
Inside, it was chaos.
“Purification! We need purification!”
“Damn it! These evil god cultists…!”
“The moment the chairman recovers, she’ll personally hunt you all down!”
Sunlight crept in.
Shadows crawled forward.
Dust swirled ominously.
Thorns sprouted from the floor.
Everything was targeting Seong Huiyeong.
Even as priest-class superhumans cast purification spells, the effects were temporary.
The curse from the distant cultists relentlessly assaulted Seong Huiyeong.
More precisely—it was aiming for the Heart Blood inside her.
“Move!”
I lunged toward Seong Huiyeong.
The superhumans hurriedly stepped aside.
Even amid the panic, they had taken a moment to confirm my identity.
Chief Secretary Kim, face twisted in urgency, shouted,
“We can’t hold out much longer!”
“It’s fine. Just buy me ten seconds.”
The superhumans formed a protective ring around me.
Had they sensed the danger?
The curse intensified.
Light, darkness, wind, earth, electricity—
Ceiling lights, medical equipment, IV tubes, bed sheets, curtains—
Everything in the room went berserk, hurling toward me.
“Hold them off!”
“Hurry! Hurry!”
“Damn it! This is insane!”
I pulled the crystal vial from my pocket.
Its sinister mana pulsed.
I covered it with my hand.
Normally, a priest-class superhuman would have to purify it—
But that wasn’t necessary.
[Divine Power] [Lightning] [Holy Radiance]
[Luminescence] [Purification] [Healing]
There was already a perfect paladin right here.
I infused it with divine power.
Lightning snapped and crackled, purging the tainted mana.
Holy light flared from my hands and back, radiating healing energy.
The darkness thinned.
Until only shimmering golden blood remained.
Of course, even this was poison.
For a normal lifeform, it would be instantly fatal.
But when combined with the source of the curse, it had the opposite effect.
A cure.
A purging agent.
Drip.
I poured the golden blood into a silver spoon.
The gently bubbling liquid was placed in Seong Huiyeong’s mouth.
She instinctively sucked on the spoon.
Like a baby nursing from its mother.
And then—
The world froze.
“Huh?”
“W-What…?”
The superhumans murmured in confusion.
The curse, which had been raging wildly, lost all power.
Sunlight froze in midair.
It had been slashed in half, its remaining edge trembling.
Shadows developed gaping holes.
The wind stalled mid-surge, swirling helplessly in place.
The trembling medical equipment, IV tubes, and blankets returned to normal.
A moment passed.
Then, golden light and inky darkness burst from Seong Huiyeong’s body.
Fwaaah!
The light faded.
At last, Seong Huiyeong opened her eyes.
She blinked, disoriented.
Looking down at the hospital gown she was wearing, then around the hospital room, her face twisted in confusion.
“Where… am I?”
“Chairman! You’re awake!”
“Chief Secretary Kim? What happened?”
“You almost died, Chairman!”
“What?”
Chief Secretary Kim wasted no time, delivering a briefing on the situation.
Inside the hospital room, things had settled down.
Outside, the sounds of battle had ceased.
But Seong Huiyeong, a Level 7 superhuman, didn’t need to be told what had happened.
The superhumans guarding her bedside were soaked in sweat.
The lingering mana fluctuations in the air were proof enough that a battle had just taken place.
“Haaa…”
Seong Huiyeong let out a long sigh.
“Once again, I owe you, Black Tiger Swordmaster.”
“No need to call it a debt. We help each other. You helped me before, so now it was my turn.”
400 billion won.
An enormous sum of money.
Thanks to that, I had been able to redevelop Guro-dong and Daerim-dong with ease.
Seong Huiyeong pressed a hand firmly against her chest.
“That was just a few pennies. But you saved my life again.”
A few pennies? Really?
“My worthless older brothers must have troubled you. I’ll handle them myself from now on. If they had just stayed put, I wouldn’t have touched them either… but now, there’s no choice. I’ll have to end this.”
…Huh?
That’s not it.
Seong Huiyeong thought her brothers were behind the assassination attempt.
So did everyone else.
Chief Secretary Kim didn’t say anything, but his face turned red with anger.
“I don’t think so. This wasn’t your brothers’ doing.”
“Then who?”
“That’s what I need to find out.”
I couldn’t just point to the Old Father’s Cult right away.
The Saintess had carefully covered her tracks, using the Dark Jaguar Cult as puppets.
Even the Dark Jaguar Cult probably didn’t realize…
That they were nothing more than the Saintess’s pawns, controlled by the Old Father’s Cult.
If I accused them outright, it would backfire.
After all, the two cults were sworn enemies.
No one would believe they had worked together.
‘But maybe Seong Huiyeong would trust me?’
No.
Seong Huiyeong was the type to use anything for power.
If I had to confide in someone, I’d sooner tell the Eastern Army Corps Commander than her.
I had to be careful about what I said.
Seong Huiyeong studied me, her expression unreadable.
“Do you have a lead?”
“I do.”
“As expected.”
She nodded firmly.
“Then I’ll make it official.”
Her expression turned serious as she looked me in the eye.
“Find the bastards who tried to assassinate me. I heard you already killed the executioner, but this isn’t over yet, is it?
Wipe out the Dark Jaguar Cult. Kill everyone involved. And if there’s a mastermind behind them, kill them too.
If that’s not something you can do, then just bring me the proof.
I’ll handle the rest myself.”
Now, that’s what I like to hear.
Seong Huiyeong didn’t realize it, but she had just declared war against the Old Father’s Cult.
Without hesitation, I gave a firm nod.
“Gladly.”
–TL Notes–
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Lets goooo
Bro why did he kill the cat