Chapter 458: Change (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 458: Change (2)
…Hmm.
No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn't find an answer.
How was I supposed to get back to my world?
What was this 'regret' Tang Jaemoon mentioned?
Was it something from my past life? If not that…
Maybe it's about the Demonic Sword.
The thought crossed my mind, the weight of the Demonic Sword familiar on my back.
Tang Jaemoon said I had to make a choice, but I had no idea what she meant.
Still, I had a feeling it was about the Demonic Sword's death.
This point in time was roughly when she died. That had to be the only decision I needed to face.
Am I… supposed to stop it?
I didn't know.
It was true—her death was one of my biggest regrets.
But even if I change the outcome here… would that really erase my regret?
Maybe I could prevent it.
But did I even have the right? And even if I did save her, what then?
This was a different world. My past regrets wouldn't just vanish because I altered events in some alternate reality.
I don't know.
A clear answer wouldn't come.
"Hgh…"
I felt the Demonic Sword's breath against my ear, warm and faint. I ignored it and quickened my pace.
My back was soaked.
It was her blood.
A jolt of shock ran through me. I'd used my Qi to try and staunch the flow, but the wound was deeper than I'd thought.
I needed to get back to headquarters immediately. Treating her was the priority, not getting lost in pointless…
"...!"
My senses screamed a warning.
I twisted my body sideways.
Swish-!
The tree behind me was cleanly severed, crashing to the ground.
I hit the dirt in a roll, landing on my feet and immediately cradling the Demonic Sword tighter in my arms to cushion the impact.
In the same instant, I surged my Qi to its peak, flooding my heart with Demonic Qi.
Bracing myself, I looked up, a cold sweat trickling down my temple.
"Impressive."
The attacker stepped closer.
"It was aimed at your leg, yet you sensed it."
"...Who are you?"
A wind blew, causing the old man's cape to flutter. His presence felt… faint.
No, not faint. It was vast, yet restrained, like a contained storm.
Zaaap-!
Crackling Lightning Qi raged around him. It was similar to the Demonic Sword's energy, but far more refined, more controlled.
My pupils shook as I stared at him.
Haha-
The old man chuckled softly.
"It seems I've made a mistake."
"…"
This old man…
I swallowed hard, understanding what his 'mistake' meant.
That attack just now… I shouldn't have been able to perceive it, let alone dodge it. Under normal circumstances, my leg would have been cleanly severed.
The reason I dodged was simple.
"...Inner demons are rather terrifying, huh."
A dense, overwhelming killing intent had washed over me before the attack even came.
I'm going to go insane.
I bit my lip, staring at the old man.
He was the last of the Namgung, one of the Three Venerables, the absolute pinnacle of the Namgung Clan.
The Heavenly Venerable.
An unbelievable torrent of killing intent poured from his body.
My hands began to tremble. The sheer difference in our levels was suffocating.
This is seriously dangerous.
That killing intent was real. The Heavenly Venerable genuinely intended to kill me here.
But can you deal with the consequences?
I frowned.
This was Sichuan territory. The Heavenly Venerable's actions would undoubtedly summon the Heavenly Demon.
He had to know that.
Is he going to ignore the Heavenly Demon's warning?
Was he trying to start a war?
It wouldn't be the strangest thing. After all, in my past life, it was the Heavenly Venerable who broke the pact and started the war.
But why now, of all times?
Sigh.
I carefully laid the Demonic Sword on the ground and rose to my feet.
This was too sudden. I couldn't make sense of it.
"...Why are you doing this?" I asked, focusing all my senses on him. "This is Sichuan… have you forgotten our Leader's-"
Stab-
"...!"
I had hoped to use the threat of the Heavenly Demon to gauge his motives, but a sharp, piercing pain exploded in my chest.
I looked down.
A blade was buried deep in my heart.
"Cough-!"
Blood sprayed from my mouth as I registered the wound.
Spatter-!
The blade withdrew, splattering my blood onto the dirt.
My knees buckled and gave way effortlessly.
"Cgh…"
The Qi supporting my body faded, and my vision began to darken.
I knew this feeling.
This was death.
I was dying.
…But so suddenly? Like this?
"Huff… Hgh…"
As my body failed, the Heavenly Venerable walked past me.
His target was clearly the Demonic Sword.
I reached out a hand.
Even as my eyesight failed, I clawed towards the Heavenly Venerable's foot.
Tap.
I didn't reach him.
All my fingertips felt was the cold, rough earth.
The last thing I saw before my vision went completely black was the Heavenly Venerable's hand reaching for the Demonic Sword's neck.
No. I had to stop this. But I couldn't move.
I couldn't fight the darkness swallowing my sight. I could only embrace this sudden death, powerless to do anything.
A building collapsing, consumed by passionate flames.
Puddles of blood staining the earth.
It was the day the Namgung Clan was utterly erased from the world.
The Heavenly Venerable remembered that day.
How could he forget?
His son, the Lord of the Namgung Clan, lay lifeless on the ground. The clan that was destined to touch the heavens had vanished in a single night.
No matter how hard he tried, the Heavenly Venerable could never forget.
"...How unfortunate."
A dry, rasping voice escaped the old man's lips.
"Don't you agree?"
The person he wished would answer kept their eyes and lips sealed shut.
It was a face he had longed to see for a very long time.
His archenemy, the one who had destroyed everything he held dear—the Namgung Clan. And yet, she was also his last remaining blood relative.
She was the very reason he had clung to life all these years.
"I wanted to ask you."
Why did you do it?
He had wanted to ask her so desperately. Why did she burn the Namgung Clan to the ground with her own hands?
Did she resent her father so deeply that she beheaded him?
What twisted her into such a monster?
The Heavenly Venerable was deeply curious, but now… it no longer mattered.
"…"
His gaze fell upon the Demonic Sword's hand, resting on her sword hilt.
Even unconscious, her grip on her weapon remained firm.
It was the symbol of the Namgung Clan, a treasure passed down by her ancestors.
The one recognized by the Thunder Fang would become the ruler of the Namgung Clan.
At least, that was what the legend of the Thunderous Sword claimed.
Crack.
The Heavenly Venerable ground his teeth.
"...How foolish."
It was nothing but an old wives' tale, he thought to himself.
If it weren't, how could any of this be explained?
The Heavenly Venerable himself had never been able to wield the Thunder Fang, yet he had become the Clan Lord. He was the strongest, so it was his right.
It was the same for his son.
His son, known as the Sword King, couldn't draw the Thunder Fang either, but he still became Lord.
The Thunder Fang had long ceased to be a deciding factor in who led the clan.
And yet.
How come…
Why was his granddaughter able to wield the Thunder Fang so effortlessly? And why did she use it to slaughter her entire bloodline?
The Heavenly Venerable couldn't comprehend it.
It became a regret that haunted him.
That night… if he hadn't gone to the Murim Alliance after receiving their summons…
Or perhaps…
"If I had killed you the first time I saw you."
Maybe none of this would have happened.
The Heavenly Venerable recalled the memory vividly.
When this girl had first wielded the Thunder Fang after its return to the clan, it had erupted with explosive light, revealing its true nature. He had also seen the jealousy in his son's eyes—the Clan Lord's eyes.
"…"
Where did it all go wrong?
No. It didn't matter anymore.
The Heavenly Venerable slowly reached out towards the Demonic Sword.
His hand easily encircled her thin, pale neck.
He was forbidden from setting foot in Sichuan territory.
This was the warning the Heavenly Demon had given to the Three Venerables years ago.
Because of that, the Three Venerables had stayed out of Sichuan for years.
The Heavenly Demon's power, and the despair it inspired, was part of the reason. But the biggest reason was that the Dancer had told them not to.
Now is not the time.
The opportunity will come soon.
The Heavenly Venerable, who took orders from no one, had listened to her and stayed away for years.
He knew the truth himself.
He was just looking for an excuse.
He had given up the fight out of fear of the Heavenly Demon, so he needed an excuse to avoid facing her.
It was pathetic.
He felt too ashamed to even bear the Namgung name.
But perhaps it was fitting.
After all, besides himself and the child before him, there were no Namgung left.
"...Haha…"
A bitter chuckle escaped him.
This was the kind of man he was.
A living contradiction. Filled with vengeance after his clan's destruction, yet too afraid of the Heavenly Demon to act.
A man of pride, arrogance, and a sense of entitlement that overshadowed everything else.
That was who he was.
His inner demons tormented him further.
The Heavenly Venerable wanted to end it all now.
Vengeance was the last thread keeping him alive, but now he could…
"…"
Just as he was about to snap her neck, he froze, sensing something strange.
"...This…"
Something felt wrong.
He had been so afraid of the Heavenly Demon's power… so why was he here in Sichuan now?
Moreover…
…How come I am…
It wasn't just revenge he wanted.
After the war, he had desired to die on the land of the Namgung Clan. What had happened to that goal?
If that was his purpose, why was he here, gripping his granddaughter's neck?
This sudden, strange thought made him feel as if he had lost himself for a moment.
Why? Why did it end up this way?
The Heavenly Venerable tried to remember why he was here.
He didn't know. His mind felt clouded, filled with a murky blackness.
The only thing that felt clear in his fading consciousness was—
-You are given permission.
The fact that someone had granted him approval.
The moment he remembered this, the Heavenly Venerable's eyes cleared again, and his grip tightened.
As if charmed, he prepared to finally exact his revenge.
Crack.
"...!"
Then, he sensed something and whipped his head around.
But there was nothing there.
Was it his imagination? No sooner had he thought this than—
"Huh?"
He realized his senses hadn't deceived him.
There shouldn't have been 'nothing' behind him.
A corpse should have been lying there.
He had stabbed that man through the heart. Yet, there was no trace of him—no pool of blood, no sign of where he had fallen.
Nothing.
Alarmed by the strangeness, the Heavenly Venerable began to scrutinize his surroundings.
Woong-
Then, he felt a vibration.
It came from his left. He turned his gaze towards it.
"...!!"
When the Heavenly Venerable looked in the direction of the strange vibration, his face contorted with profound shock.
Something was standing there.
It looked like a doll, standing perfectly still and staring right at him.
But there was a reason he was uncertain about what it was.
Blaze…
The doll was completely enveloped in blue flames.