CHAPTER 06
The First Poison King, Kainance, wanted to change the world.
Back then, the world belonged to those who could sense Earth’s energy (called “geumak”) and use aura (energy power). People without talent were forced to serve those with it.
So Kainance chose poison.
Poison was equal—it didn’t care who you were. He mastered it completely, hoping to change the world.
He fought many strong enemies who relied only on aura.
But in the end, he failed.
His defeat came at the hands of Dion Blackluna, the man who called himself the Sword King. He was a genius with aura and swordsmanship.
Kainance realized: I can’t beat this man.
So he made a desperate choice.
He gave up his body and threw all of his poison into the Earth’s energy lines, the “geumak”—hoping to poison them. If he could stop others from using aura, then maybe a new era would come.
An era for people without talent—the ones who couldn’t sense energy.
250 years passed.
“Ugh…!”
Kainance came back to life, shocked he was breathing again.
He was alive.
But first, he felt disappointment.
He had failed.
“Ugh…”
Long ago, he gave up his life and turned into death itself, becoming a poison called Saengsa-dok (Life-and-Death Poison). He melted into the Earth to poison the energy lines.
But it didn’t work.
He only realized later—Earth’s energy couldn’t be changed by just one person’s hatred. It was too big and strong.
It was like the life and will of the entire planet.
For 250 years, he could only affect a small part of it. That poison was released to the surface, and people started calling it geumak poison. Some of it was his own Saengsa-dok.
And now, that poison had come together inside one boy’s body and turned into a single will—himself.
“Cough! Cough!”
He coughed. That meant he was alive.
Kainance sighed deeply and shook his head.
“Hah… I’m alive? Really? How? Whose body is this? Who brought me back?”
No one answered. Only dead bodies lay around him.
He shouted into the empty cave.
“Is anyone there?”
He checked his body—and clicked his tongue.
It was the body of a young boy.
Someone had used a powerful method to gather Saengsa-dok from the Earth and put it into this boy.
“Amazing. Is one of my descendants gifted? But this boy’s body…”
Suddenly, his eyes widened in shock.
“Unbelievable… This boy has an open Sky Vein!”
The Sky Vein—a hidden energy source in the sky. It was just a rumor for most people, but it was real.
While Earth energy (geumak) flows underground, Sky Vein flows somewhere above. Few can feel it. After centuries, Kainance had finally sensed it.
But…
“…The Earth Vein is closed. Completely shut off. Ha… haha… hahahaha!”
This boy was just like Kainance once was.
He couldn’t feel the Earth Vein at all—just an ordinary human. Kainance smiled proudly.
“Perfect. He’s the one. That’s why he was chosen as the vessel. And his Sky Vein is open… What a miracle. There couldn’t be a better body for me to return in.”
He looked up at the cave ceiling and closed his eyes.
“…The gate in the sky is open.”
Even with closed eyes, he began to see many future visions.
He whispered to someone unseen.
“Yes… Now I understand. I see the path I must take. So many possible futures… Someone gave me this body. Was it you? Thank you.”
As he stared into the future, his body began to glow with aura—the very energy he hated.
But…
“To make that future mine… to fight the Sword King’s descendant… I need that power too. I must fight poison with poison. Just a little aura to start, and then—huh?”
Suddenly, something else rose from the body—not aura, but something else…
A thick red poisonous mist started rising from deep inside.
“What… what is this!?”
Kainance panicked.
The new poison started pushing him out of the body.
“Gahhh! Urgh!”
He screamed in pain.
He staggered, then coughed up a clear lump of something.
“Blegh!”
The lump grew and formed into a human shape…
“How dare you…”
It was a small old man—the real form of Kainance, made from Saengsa-dok.
Thrown out, he screamed at the boy.
“You! You’re nothing but leftover memories inside the geumak poison! How dare you defy me! I am your parent—your creator!”
“…Ha.”
The boy laughed mockingly.
“Ha! What? Parent? Are you crazy?”
“What did you say?!”
“You’re the enemy. Because of you, everyone died.”
The boy glared and clenched his fists.
“My family fell. My dreams died. Everything’s gone. You’re a parasite—a pest who turns everything to ruin.”
“…Only my little brother survived.”
Suddenly, the boy’s voice changed, filled with sadness.
“Poison King Kainance. You’re a nightmare. I’ll never let you take over my brother. Get lost. And never come back. Ever.”
“You’re right,” said another voice in the boy.
“I’ll protect Ray, even if it kills me. But I’m already dead, right? So I’m not afraid. That’s lucky, isn’t it?”
“You… you’re just leftover memories. How dare you…”
“Dare what? What can you even do?”
Suddenly, red energy arrows shot out from the boy’s body.
“You’re weak.”
They pierced the old man’s body. He couldn’t even keep his shape.
“Ugh… How…?”
“We already know. You’re powerless without a body.”
“How do you know that…?”
“You forgot? We were together, remember? Even if it was short.”
“Ugh…”
“We remember everything. Your strengths. And your weaknesses.”
“This is impossible…”
Kainance lost his form completely and became water droplets.
The boy glared at them coldly.
“Get lost. How dare you go after my brother’s body.”
“No… I just came back…”
As his mind faded, Kainance cried out.
“Someone brought me back… I saw a beautiful future… a new mission… I can’t go back now…”
But more red arrows fired from the boy, destroying the water droplets completely. They soaked into the cave walls.
That was the end.
“…Whew.”
The boy let out a long breath.
“Is it finally over?”
He looked at his arms and gave a bitter smile.
“But this isn’t really me. Ray… my little brother. You’re the last of the Granble family. You have to live and rise high.”
He hugged himself tightly.
“Ray, my sweet little brother. Make lots of good friends. Be happy. I’ll always cheer for you.”
Then he looked up and smacked his lips.
“Ah… I want pumpkin pie. Ray? I’m glad you lived. Eat lots of yummy food for me, okay? Promise me. Okay? Haha…”
The boy smiled and whispered with many voices:
“Goodbye, Ray.”
“Take care, Ray.”
“We can’t stay here anymore.”
“Because we’re poison.”
“And you’re human.”
“But just in case… we’ll watch over you from far away.”
Finally, the red energy left his body.
It formed into a glowing red ball.
“Cough…”
The boy collapsed next to it. The red orb hovered for a moment… then floated upward toward the sky.
Slowly… into the bright light above.
For the first time in a long time…
Meanwhile…
“Survivor! We found a survivor!”
“Near the entrance! There’s someone alive among the bodies!”
“Begin emergency care!”
“Breathing and heartbeat are stable. We can save him!”
“Get the stretcher! Move him to a safe place!”
“Is he on the list? Compare him to the Granble family records!”
“Uh… sorry. I can’t tell by face.”
“Wait! I’ll do it!”
“Huh? Inspector?!”
“I know his face! I know every Granble family member! This is… Ray! Ray Granble!”
“Ray Granble? The third son? I didn’t think anyone from Granble survived…”
“Thank goodness. This place is dangerous. The enemy might return. We must move him past the border quickly—”
“Urgent report! A new enemy force is moving toward the poison cave!”
“Damn it! Full retreat! While the special forces delay them, protect the survivor and retreat!”
“Right now, sir?!”
“Yes, right now!”
“But our orders say we must secure and investigate—”
“No! This is more important!”
“I agree it’s important, but moving the survivor should be left to the next team—”
“I order it in the name of Inspector Fail Trace! Full retreat! Now!”
“…Yes, sir! Everyone retreat!”
“Retreat!”
“Carry the stretcher carefully! Make sure it’s secure!”
“…Right now, saving this survivor is our top priority. We must save him. He’s the last of Granble. In the name of the Sword King’s family, we can’t let him die!”
