Chapter 224
Translator: uly
Chapter: 224
Chapter Title: The Dark Moon Eclipse
“What... what the hell is that?”
“You can tell just by looking. It’s the Black Star.”
The Black Demon King, floating in midair with legs crossed in meditation, answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His nonchalant reply only deepened Dang Heeran’s bewilderment.
She had come to this hidden sacred ground in the Black Forest for exactly the reason the Black Demon King had stated. Today was the third day, as foretold by the Ebony Demoness.
She had no idea what the woman might do, but Dang Heeran figured there wouldn’t be another chance to glimpse the truth of this secretive land otherwise. Of course, her master Cheonsal had strictly forbidden her from going to the sacred ground, but the Black Demon King, whom she needed to beware of, wasn’t away from the island, was he?
That’s why she had come. Not out of mere curiosity, but desperation. Her opponent was a Nine-Tailed Fox straight out of legends, an immortal no less.
There were ways to avoid fighting head-on. If this place proved suitable for hiding, Dang Heeran was even willing to defy her master’s orders and reveal it to everyone.
“Hmm, that’s not a bad idea either. The Ebony Demoness wouldn’t have noticed this place.”
“...Are you planning to keep reading my mind?”
“Don’t be so displeased. It’s not like I’m reading it on purpose. Even I haven’t fully grasped the sacred ground’s ritual formations. This is the first time I’m using them properly like this.”
The Black Demon King chuckled as he stared at the Black Star landscape materializing before his eyes.
“It’s only natural you’d have questions about this place. Once today’s events are over, I’ll explain it not just to you, but to everyone else as well. Though by then, there won’t be any more mysteries left here.”
“...Th-the Ebony Demoness might not even harbor any hostility...”
“I hold no hostility toward the Ebony Demoness either.”
He had thought they might one day cross paths and clash. But this wasn’t the kind of encounter the Black Demon King had hoped for.
“...Tch.”
With a flick of his finger, the visible scene shifted. The Black Demon King scanned each person gathered at the Black Star.
The same group from the conference was there: the sect leaders of the Nine Great Righteous Sects, the Ten Heroes, and the rising stars who would lead the next generation.
Among them were Black Swallow and Baek Ri-hyang. The Black Demon King gazed at her face for a moment before flicking his finger again.
“Are you leaving?”
“...I don’t know what the Black Death Alliance Leader plans to do, but I didn’t come here just to keep you company.”
“Then let me ask something else of you. If I seem about to lose consciousness, strike my body with your dagger without hesitation.”
“...Pardon?”
“You must have a dagger on you. Your specialty is hidden weapons, after all. I’ve sent my entire personal guard to protect the Alliance Leader, so there’s no one else suitable to ask.”
“...Are you serious?”
“I said without hesitation, but avoid vital points. The thigh would be ideal.”
What on earth was he planning that made the Black Demon King say such things? Dang Heeran couldn’t even begin to guess, and she couldn’t bring herself to ask him further.
“...The moon...”
Dang Heeran’s eyes trembled violently as she watched the Black Star.
The moon was turning black.
Everyone gathered at the Black Star looked up at it. This was no lunar eclipse, nor clouds obscuring the moon. The moonlight itself was turning black, as if ink were devouring it from the edges.
“Dark Moon Eclipse... It’s as potent as ever...”
Since ancient times, the night and the moon were inextricably linked to otherworldly beings and yokai demons.
When the moon shone brilliantly, the night pulsed with dense demonic power, and monsters rampaged. Of course, this wasn’t the Demonic Realm, but Yeomyeong sensed that the darkness lurking this night felt more horrific and ominous than any night in the Demonic Realm.
He wasn’t the only one who felt it. Wi Seongcheon shuddered with a chilling dread and swallowed hard.
During the monster hunt a year ago, even in a nest teeming with beasts, he hadn’t felt this level of foreboding. The night under that blackened moon gazing down brought a sense of malice utterly different from the demonic qi of monsters or Demonic Cultists.
“...What is it?”
Everyone else hardened their expressions in the face of the intense foreboding, but Baek Ri-hyang alone felt puzzled. Far from dread, she felt enveloped in cozy comfort, like being wrapped in a fluffy blanket.
Pale-faced Yeomyeong glanced at the bewildered Baek Ri-hyang. It was Yeomyeong who had brought her here.
In the worst case, if they had to fight the Ebony Demoness, Yeomyeong planned to beg Baek Ri-hyang to spare his life. She wouldn’t heartlessly abandon her surrogate father.
“Whether the Ebony Demoness would accept that girl as blood kin is another question...”
“Jinchung, what the hell is that?”
Dokmuhu, standing on the railing, furrowed her brows. Her long hair writhed like snakes, ends standing on end.
“...It’s the sign that the Ebony Demoness is revealing her true form. Also a warning.”
“...What?”
“A warning not to dare oppose her.”
The darkness consuming the moon poured down. The twisting, branching shadows split into nine tails. At the point where the split tails converged, a mass of inky light swelled up.
Jegal Ihyeon, who had faced the Ebony Demoness three days prior, bit his lip with a crunch. The pressure was incomparable to what he’d felt then; it felt like his knee cartilage was grinding to dust.
“As expected... even what I saw back then was an illusion.”
Beyond the heavens. That was the only thought in his mind. Jegal Ihyeon realized just how narrow the world he’d known and felt throughout his life had been.
“Hmm.”
The swelling light dispersed,
and from within, a beautiful woman rose. She stood high in the sky, nine tails trailing like smoke.
Her appearance was almost unchanged from three days ago. Clad in ornate robes, her hair in a noblewoman’s updo, purple eyes gleaming. The Ebony Demoness gave a faint smile as she looked below, then slowly parted her lips.
“Jinchung.”
The first name she called was Yeomyeong’s. He flinched in shock and stumbled back. Pale-faced, drenched in cold sweat, Yeomyeong worked his lips soundlessly.
“How long ago was the last time I saw you? Does it feel like ‘a long time’ to you?”
“...Over... over ten years ago.”
“It’s not quite ‘a long time’ for me. That must be why I remember so clearly.”
“...”
“You don’t need to be so scared. I only told you to go to the Demonic Cult. I didn’t dictate what you do there, or when you return.”
The Ebony Demoness giggled. Many felt disoriented by her laughter.
The Ebony Demoness. The being Yeomyeong had warned about repeatedly, trembling in fear. A centuries-old Nine-Tailed Fox, the last true immortal in the current world. An existence beyond humanity dwelling deep in the Demonic Realm.
The foreboding she emanated was real. But her lovely appearance, smile, speech—none of it conveyed the majesty befitting a transcendent being.
“So I hold no anger toward you. Same with Hyeok Wolun. We never imagined you’d still have the summoning talisman. Our oversight.”
Yeomyeong clamped his lips shut, unable to speak. Seeing his pallor, the Ebony Demoness tilted her head.
“But.”
Her expression changed. She smiled no more. That alone reversed the atmosphere she exuded entirely. An immense pressure crushed the entire space.
“As a long-lived immortal, I have no choice but to call you out for possessing the summoning talisman.”
“Th-that was...”
“Jinchung. You failed to become an immortal. You abandoned your training midway and fled from under Cheongheo Zhenren. That’s not worth blaming. Plenty of disciples quit and descended the mountain before you. You were one of Cheongheo Zhenren’s prized pupils, but you couldn’t forsake worldly desires. Continuing would’ve been a waste of time.”
Blood trickled from between Yeomyeong’s tightly pressed lips. The Ebony Demoness continued coldly, eyes icy.
“Yet you received the summoning talisman. It means even a failure like you was given a chance to be the foundation of the great undertaking. In fact, all immortals with the talisman, and even failed semi-immortals, were summoned to the Immortal Register. But not you. You couldn’t let go of worldly desires and used the talisman at your whim.”
“I-I thought someone like me had no right to such a thing...”
“That judgment isn’t yours to make. It’s Cheongheo Zhenren who gave you the talisman, and the Three Pure Ones who permitted it.”
The Ebony Demoness dismissed Yeomyeong’s excuse with a frosty voice.
“Though you failed to become immortal, from the moment you received it, your name was on the Immortal Register. Even a wretch like you knows what that means. But let me remind you personally.”
Yeomyeong wanted to cover his ears. The truth he’d known but ignored for so long poured from the Ebony Demoness’s mouth.
“You won’t go anywhere after death. No matter what karma you accrue, it won’t decide your end. You can’t go to paradise, hell, or even reincarnate.”
“Guh... ugh...!”
Black stains spread across Yeomyeong’s sclera. Clutching his ears, he collapsed, emitting beastly groans. The Ebony Demoness looked down at him with eyes devoid of warmth.
“Now then.”
She turned her head with a bright smile. Glancing at the Ten Heroes gathered at the high Black Star railing, she cocked her head.
“No Black Demon King, huh. I didn’t think he’d truly left the island... Or is he hiding and listening?”
“Should we observe proper etiquette?”
The Taeguk Sword Lord interjected. The Ebony Demoness laughed merrily and shook her head.
“No need. We don’t have time for that. And no need for introductions either. I know you, and you know me.”
“...What have you come here for?”
Goegulgae clenched his fists. He stood protectively before Bang Jun and the other righteous faction youths, focused on them. If the Ebony Demoness attacked, he’d throw himself in harm’s way to shield the young ones.
“I’ve been asked to deliver a message. But before that, first...”
The Ebony Demoness looked past Goegulgae’s shoulder at the righteous faction youths. Her gaze first fell on Muyon Jun, the Heavenly Person.
“...Hmm. Quite something, worthy of being called the greatest of your era.”
There was no fear or tension in Muyon Jun’s eyes as he met hers. The Ebony Demoness sensed no bravado there.
“A message, you say.”
Muyon Jun looked up at the Ebony Demoness holding his gaze and spoke.
“The Heavenly Demon’s message?”
“Who else but Hyeok Wolun could send me as their envoy?”
The Ebony Demoness smiled sweetly. Her eyes slid from Muyon Jun to Wi Seongcheon beside him.
“Ah, Hidden Dragon. You can take pride. Hyeok Wolun ‘knows’ you.”
“...Pardon?”
Wi Seongcheon’s face registered shock at the abrupt words. The Ebony Demoness giggled, covering her mouth with her wide sleeve.
“Why pretend ignorance? You locked eyes with Hyeok Wolun briefly through the Blood Eye. And you even struck that foolish Poison Blood Demon Fiend. After pulling off such feats, did you think Hyeok Wolun would ignore you?”
‘Damn it.’
He’d harbored a faint hope otherwise. Wi Seongcheon grimaced bitterly and shut his mouth.
“Of course, I find you intriguing too. Your modified use of the Upper Pure Secrets was impressive.”
“...You’re quite the tease. I thought I’d perfectly impersonated the Qingcheng Sect Leader.”
“Ahaha! The praise I gave you in that old man’s guise was sincere, so don’t feel too slighted.”
The Ebony Demoness burst into laughter and shifted her gaze. Her eyes stopped on the Black Heaven Young Lord.
“Do you know who you are?”
Her eyes sparkled with childlike mischief. Caught off guard by the sudden question, the Black Heaven Young Lord hesitated. She giggled as if she’d expected it.
“As I thought, you don’t know. Would it be fun to enlighten you now, swimming in ignorance? Or better to let it simmer until you figure it out yourself...”
“What... what are you talking about?”
“Ahaha! You really don’t know. Decided—I won’t say a word. If you want to know yourself, ask the one who slapped that pesky seal on you. That’ll be more entertaining.”
What the hell did that mean? The Black Heaven Young Lord was utterly baffled. But the Ebony Demoness, ending the one-sided exchange, turned to the other youths.
“So many gems here.”
After surveying them all, she smiled faintly. Her final gaze lingered on Baek Ri-hyang. Without looking away, she continued.
“Already shining in their own ways. Impressive, truly.”
Her gaze finally lifted from Baek Ri-hyang. It turned to the Ten Heroes.
“What about you all? You’re the beacons who’ve illuminated this era—the Ten Heroes.”
“...What are you getting at?”
“I need to check something before delivering Hyeok Wolun’s message.”
The tails swaying behind the Ebony Demoness slowly spread to the sides.
“Whether you’re qualified or not...”
Before she could finish.
Kwarung! A pitch-black sphere suddenly engulfed the Ebony Demoness’s body. The Black Heaven Young Lord’s eyes widened in shock.
‘The Divine Demon Extermination Method...!’
The technique that ambushed the Ebony Demoness was unmistakably the Black Point, a form of the Divine Demon Extermination Method.
* * *
“Wh-what are you doing all of a sudden...!”
Dang Heeran whirled toward the Black Demon King in alarm.
The Black Demon King, who had been floating in midair with legs crossed, now had both hands thrust forward. Though he’d unleashed the Divine Demon Extermination Method from the sacred ground, it manifested not here, but above the Black Star.
“The Ebony Demoness was about to attack first.”
The Black Demon King, wrapped in an eerie glow, spoke.
“Don’t you know the saying ‘strike first, win’?”
With those words, he drew his hands back to his chest.
Countless Black Points appeared in the skies above the Black Star.