The Black Saint is My StalkerCh158 - Face the morrow

Grey sky, stormy clouds.

There must have been a red sun hidden somewhere there, obscured. fVmPo0

Han Li danced, weaving beneath blood-red arrows as they carved into the floor on which he stood. The building was shaking once more, threatening to come apart at a moment’s notice.

But he, Han Li, felt no urgency. For he knew not of human emotions anymore. Instead, he drank in the desperation of his foes. He fed on the wrath that propelled his enemies forth, their hatred, whether it be for Han Li or themselves.

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Han Li tilted his head back, a red arrow narrowly grazed his throat. Calmly, his gaze locked with the Saint of Eternity’s. Graham stood there frozen on the ledge, ready to fall at a moment’s notice. The horror on his visage was rather delectable, and Han Li thought that his heart must taste even better.

“This is the color of your wrath. What do you think?” W38faE

Han Li enjoyed it dearly, the flavor of crippling self-hatred that lay hidden within the Saint of Eternity’s heart.

The flooring cracked, veins etched by the crimson arrows grew too deep. Gingerly, Han Li jumped up, finding the top of a pipe to stand steady despite the crumbling floor. Absently, he watched the Saint of Eternity tumble with the falling debris.

A vacant hollowness echoed in his demon heart.

How strange. A black claw reached up and touched his midnight chest. A ruby eye twitched. It was almost as if a piece of him was missing.

But that couldn’t be true.

Now that his demonic might had woken in its absolute splendor, Han Li felt more complete than ever. With all his eyes gazing upon the red-tinged world, all truths were revealed to him.

He knew the hearts of men. He knew the flavor of wrath, the biting of hunger, and the ambling trickle of fate.

What else could Han Li possibly need? Perhaps hollowness was just another earthly truth. ZfVFY1

A humming buzz lulled Han Li out of his reverie. Silver wasps approached, stingers brandished. They flew in perfect formation. A shining barrier appeared, barreling toward Han Li, as though in an attempt to block him from something, or maybe to obscure his sight.

It was successful at neither. Han Li had to merely flick one of his twelve raven wrists and he caught one of the buzzing mechanical wasps. The barrier faltered, revealing the blood arrows hidden behind, shooting forward in search of Han Li’s heart.

How trivial.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

The arrow too was caught within his palm. A blast of stifling miasma was all that was needed to dissipate the vampiric blood. He turned his gaze downward, eyes searching until they fell upon his prey. QFwNe8

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He smiled then lunged.

Jayden couldn’t hope to follow the demon’s movements. Before he even had the chance to stumble backward, the demon appeared right in front of him. A black hand pressed to Jayden’s chest. dVfJNY

“Not so fast—“ the mirth in Iszak’s voice was strained. The noble blood almost appeared just as quickly but was a millisecond slow. He tried to cut in between the demon and the human hunter, a red blood arrow held in his hand. The weapon elongated, bloated with his vampire power.

The demon caught Iszak’s advance with ease. But the vampire only grinned, the weapon dissipated without the purging blast of miasma.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

Instead, the blood weapon turned into a mist of red. It snaked and seeped into the wet rim of one of the demon’s many red eyes. It was only then that the monstrosity flinched and pushed Jayden away. The man tumbled, weak on his knees, and gasped desperately for air.

A hand rested atop his back. “Hang in there, hunter.” ORQtnv

Jayden gritted his teeth and swatted the vampire’s hand away. Shakily, he straightened his back and glared at the beast that stood before them. Midnight skin, red eyes, clawed hands, twelve of them.

Rage swam in Jayden’s head, clouding reasoning. He’d been poisoned by Han Li’s power. His breathing grew ragged with the knowledge that this was the monster that tore his Maggie to shreds.

The demon wore a peaceful smile. That itself was enough to send Jayden into a blind rage. He roared, anger bright, releasing the rest of his silver jewelry. The last of his mechanical wasps took flight and with mindless rage Jayden—

—made it only three steps before he was knocked heavily on the back of the neck. He fell to the ground, unconscious. gdDh5o

The demon, Han Li, craned his gaze toward the last one standing. The noble blood maintained the most composure. After all, he too was a higher being like Han Li. But not even Iszak was immune to the thicket of miasma that proliferated in the air. Alone, he was vulnerable and was no different from the variety of meals that Han Li had sampled just within the last hour.

The demon smiled. “Was that wise?”

“I don’t need you questioning me on wisdom, young demonling.” But no matter how nonchalant Iszak remained at a glance, he was hardly that unflappable. The chances of him getting out of this alive were slim as it was.

But he did have a plan. 2wAdqO

Iszak just wasn’t exactly sure if it was going to work.

A ruby third eye formed on his brow, staring into the swirling cloud of miasma that was simmered around the demon, wild and volatile.

That was it. That was his own chance.

Han Li tilted his head playfully, running his tongue over tanged teeth. “You really think that you have a chance.” oKIXTE

Iszak only chuckled. “Well, it doesn’t hurt to try.” Whether he ran or fought, Iszak would die either way. After a moment of silence, the two higher beings clashed. The earth below them shook and trembled.

The sun meandered through the sky, behind the thicket of dusty clouds. Dusk would soon befall. The Saint of Eternity lay amid the rubble.

An ancient memory roused. The distant call of a female voice urged him to rise. “So long as we draw breath, it is our duty to face the morrow. Dawn awaits you, Husband. My mantle is yours.”

Dark lashes parted. Csmrgu

Once upon a time, Aoibhinn’s memory had been his salvation.

Now, it was his curse. His body hurt, numb and sore. But when he flexed his hand, Graham found that his joints still worked.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

He could fight.

The miasma around him was deafening. oLS6eR

Barely a year ago, Graham had asked Han Li why he was working so tirelessly to get his A-rank license.

The boy had flinched at the question then, lips pursed, eyes askew, unable to meet Graham’s gaze. It was cute how his heart had shrugged and pretended to be nonchalant about his response. “Just thought it’d be more convenient, that’s all.”

“What for?” Graham had raised a questioning brow. What was more convenient about being A-rank? All it earned you were more opportunities to get killed. He was quite intrigued when seeing the way Han Li’s neck flushed red.

“N-Nothing. It’s nothing! Don’t look at me like that, Grams. Anyway, what do you want for dinner? I’ll cook.” Han Li wasn’t the best cook, but he was rather adamant about it. Graham thought him cute. R4nuid

He didn’t press his question, believing that Han Li would tell him in time. Graham was patient, perhaps a little too much so. “Hm. How about noodles?”

Han Li scowled then. “You always want me to make noodles. Sometimes I feel like you don’t trust me to make anything else.”

“Ah. Was it that obvious?” Graham teased.

That day had been a pleasant one. fRz1aq

“…”

Warm memories hurt even more than others.

Graham stirred. He sat up and looked around, fighting off disorientation. Not so far, two beings dueled, their movements sharp and otherworldly. The demonic beast was a monstrosity in full, with twelve clawed arms and a multitude of eyes situated on his chest and palms. The expression that the demon wore in battle was one of childish glee, of innocent cruelty, pure and unbridled.

Was this his Han Li? Was this his heart? Tq6ZCc

Graham wished not to fight him if that were so, no matter how monstrous his current form.

But when he saw that cruel hunger, the insatiable bloodlust, and the thirst for rage, Graham couldn’t help but feel that he had to stand.

That he had to find his sword.

Clarent had fallen down the ledge with him; lodged now among the debris. Graham hauled himself up. He dragged his legs. Found his sword. Drew it from the rubble. Gu6dJ5

Sometimes it hurts more to live than to die. Graham knew this better than anyone. But if there was someone that would have to shoulder the pain of living then he could do it alone, for he was the Saint of Eternity.

As long as he drew breath, he would face the morrow. So that someone else wouldn’t have to.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

He closed his eyes. His eyelids stung, agitated from tears.

Graham called upon his divine strength once more. NSAJsa

Author: Sorry for the late update today! T__T;; I was stuck doing overtime at work and it’s been super hectic. Merry Christmas Eve(?) I-I think? I’m a bit lost on the timezones x u x since I’m in China and people don’t celebrate Xmas here.

Just a head’s up, I will be taking a break from the end of December to the end of January. There’s quite a bit of real-life things I have to sort out before I can settle back down into a regular writing routine. In the meantime, I’ll be releasing the short, oneshot comic for TBSMS as well as the extra NSFW chapter written for inksgiving! Please stay tuned~ This arc is about to wrap up soon.