Chapter 671: My name is. (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 671: My name is. (5)
I streaked across the night sky.
As the wind brushed against my cheeks, a brilliant crescent moon hung high in the heavens. It was a night of exceptional beauty.
Of all nights, it had to be this one.
How long had I been flying, cutting through the lingering summer heat? It couldn't have been a short distance; the scenery below had shifted countless times.
Grip!
I tightened my hold. The woman I was dragging along tilted her head. Her black hair whipped violently in the wind, and she frowned, seemingly from the harsh atmospheric pressure.
However...
‘So, this is nothing to you?’
Despite being dragged by the neck, she showed no real sign of discomfort. How could that be, when I was gripping her with such crushing force?
Just as a flicker of angry bewilderment rose within me, the Heavenly Demon’s gaze swept over our surroundings. Was she trying to figure out how far we’d come? The moment that thought crossed my mind, I felt a touch on my wrist.
The Heavenly Demon had grabbed my arm with her pale, white hand.
And then—
Squeeze!
“...!”
She began to push me away with sheer physical strength. Even considering I wasn’t using my full power, her grip was immense. I scowled.
As expected. The Heavenly Demon was still the Heavenly Demon.
‘Good. This is how it should be.’
It made more sense this way. It was better for dispelling any lingering hesitation.
With that thought...
Vwooom—.
I condensed intense heat behind my back. Then, in a single heartbeat, I unleashed the gathered energy.
Fwoooosh!
An explosion of Qi erupted, and I used the propulsion to accelerate. At a terrifying speed, I slammed both myself and the Heavenly Demon toward the ground.
Fwhoosh! Craaaaaasssh!
The impact didn't just send tremors through the earth; it unleashed a massive fireball that billowed in all directions, obliterating the terrain. In an instant, a section of the forest was erased. Lush trees were uprooted, and vibrant fields were transformed into a scorched wasteland.
Dust and dirt billowed up from the thick heat and the shock of the explosion.
Ssshhhhh...
The debris was thick enough to obscure normal vision, but such things could no longer blind me. My eyes, gleaming with light, scanned the area.
No, there was no need to scan. My opponent was standing perfectly still, not having moved an inch.
I channeled my Qi to blow away the dust.
Whoosh!
As the air cleared, my vision sharpened. With the ruined landscape behind her, the Heavenly Demon stood before me. She tilted her head, rubbing her neck.
Watching her, I frowned and demanded, “Why did you follow me?”
“...?”
At my question, a look of genuine confusion crossed the Heavenly Demon’s face. “You’re the one who brought me here.”
Her tone was one of utter indignation, as if I were the one being unreasonable. In a way, she was right, but I knew that wasn’t the whole story.
“You could have dodged.”
The Heavenly Demon could have easily avoided my surprise attack. I knew that just from the pressure she’d exerted moments ago and the power she’d shown while protecting Gu Huibi.
The Heavenly Demon had let herself be caught.
So I asked her again, “Why didn’t you dodge? Why did you let me catch you so meekly?”
It was a question of why she hadn’t resisted. To this, the Heavenly Demon replied simply:
“If we stayed there, Big Sis would have gotten hurt.”
“...”
“It’s fine here.”
Her answer was infuriating.
“Bullshit.”
What in the world was this situation? It was beyond absurd. To think those words would come from the Heavenly Demon’s mouth... I had to grind my teeth against the surging rage. That short reply was enough to turn my stomach, but…
“...Enough.”
My anger subsided as quickly as it had risen. This was pointless. The time for getting angry and grinding my teeth was over. I reminded myself why I had come here.
Fwoosh.
Flames gathered in my palm. In an instant, a Flaming Sphere wreathed in blue light was complete. Raising my fighting spirit, I stared at the Heavenly Demon.
I would kill the Heavenly Demon here. In doing so, I would resolve a major part of the karma I set out to fix by regressing.
As that single thought consumed me and my energy swirled, the Heavenly Demon asked a question.
“Do you hate me?”
It was an obvious question.
“I do.”
Enough to want to kill you. I hate you, and I hate you again.
“Why?” she continued to press, as if she truly couldn't understand. “But I… I haven’t done anything to you.”
Haven’t done anything. Yes, that was also true.
“You haven’t done anything.”
In this life, she certainly hadn’t. We had met a few times, but the Heavenly Demon had never initiated anything against me. It was just that…
“You just haven’t done anything yet.”
“But I’m going to keep not doing anything.”
“...”
I didn’t answer. It was possible she was telling the truth. This was a life where countless changes had occurred over the smallest things. I had changed the lives of many, and my own life was changing as well. Perhaps the Heavenly Demon could change too.
It was an uncertainty, but…
‘In the end, it’s just an uncertainty.’
That’s all it was. I had suffered too much at her hands to believe such fleeting words.
Fwoosh.
The condensed Flaming Sphere shifted shape. I was forming the Holy Spear. My speed in creating it was much faster than before. In a flash, the Flaming Sphere Holy Spear was complete.
Gripping it tightly…
Krak!
I stomped on the ground and twisted my torso. Using the recoil, I hurled the Holy Spear with all my might.
Shwaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
The immense heat tore through the air, piercing forward in a straight line.
“...!”
The Heavenly Demon’s eyes widened as she moved her body to evade the spear. The Holy Spear, having missed its target, flew toward the forest behind her.
A moment later—
Voom! Booooooooooom!
A small tremor was followed by a massive explosion in the distance. The acrid smell of burning wood filled the air.
Watching this, I narrowed my eyes. The Holy Spear had missed. But it didn’t matter.
‘I never intended to hit her with it in the first place.’
In the instant the Heavenly Demon was caught off guard, I took a Half-Step forward. It was a light movement, but infused with my condensed internal energy, it became akin to teleportation. The scenery blurred, and I arrived directly in front of her.
There wasn’t enough time to form another Holy Spear. Instead, I gathered a Flaming Sphere and thrust my hand toward her face.
The Heavenly Demon frowned. Last time, she had crushed the Flaming Sphere by grabbing it with her bare hand. Could she do the same this time?
My attack, fueled by that question, flew toward her. Just as I wondered how she would react…
Swoooosh!
For a moment, I saw a black aura coalesce around the Heavenly Demon’s body. The aura instantly formed a thin barrier, and my outstretched Flaming Sphere struck it directly.
Kwaaaaa!
The heat-laden blue flames exploded. One would think that an explosion at point-blank range would surely cause damage. But my expression darkened. The moment I saw that black barrier, I knew.
‘It didn’t reach her.’
With that judgment, I immediately put distance between us.
Ssshaaa!
The heat that had gathered around the Heavenly Demon dissipated, revealing her form hidden within. A translucent, spherical black barrier surrounded her. Inside it, she was completely unharmed.
“Tsk.”
Seeing that, I clicked my tongue. ‘So she still has that.’
That barrier was a power the Heavenly Demon possessed in my past life as well. Her overwhelming martial might was enough to place her at the pinnacle of power, but it was undeniable that the strength of that barrier played a huge role.
‘...Absolute Combat Qi.’
I ground my teeth as I recalled the name. It was a protective aura that martial artists used to shield their bodies with Combat Qi. But her barrier possessed a power that was incomparable to any other.
‘The Heavenly Demon’s Combat Qi doesn’t just block attacks and protect her body…’
It nullified any and all ‘martial arts’ that opposed her. No matter the divine art or secret technique, it became meaningless before the Heavenly Demon. Since one’s power couldn’t penetrate her Combat Qi, the only option was to flee. That was why even the mighty Three Venerables were nothing more than weak humans before her.
‘Which is what makes it so strange.’
How was Father able to injure a Heavenly Demon like that? The question suddenly crossed my mind. Was it some kind of miracle? Perhaps it was. A martial artist cannot stand against the Heavenly Demon. And yet, it is also the martial artists who protect the world and fight against the blood disaster.
It seemed like a battle whose outcome was already decided, but…
‘We… no, they were able to do it because they had the Celestial Sword.’
Among the countless people in the Central Plains, there was only one person who could cut through the Absolute Combat Qi. The Celestial Sword was that person. The so-called Demon-Slaying Sword. The Celestial Sword was someone who could ignore the Absolute Combat Qi and deal damage to the Heavenly Demon. Using that, they were ultimately able to succeed in killing her.
However, to put it another way…
‘Without the Celestial Sword, the Heavenly Demon’s Combat Qi cannot be pierced.’
That was an accurate assessment of the situation, and it had been true in my past life as well. It was the very reason countless people had died trying to protect the Celestial Sword at all costs.
Grind!
I gnashed my teeth harshly. ‘How am I supposed to break through that?’
As long as the Absolute Combat Qi existed, everything was meaningless.
‘I had hoped that since she wasn't yet complete, she wouldn't have that one thing.’
But as luck would have it, the Heavenly Demon had apparently already established her defensive system. So what should I do? What in the world could I do?
As I was wrestling with my thoughts, the Heavenly Demon spoke to me.
“Stop.” Her voice was a murmur. “...I don’t want to fight.”
The words were uttered with a sad expression. I could faintly feel the emotion contained within them in my chest. Because of that, the thought that her words might be sincere flickered through my mind.
“Nonsense.”
But as soon as that feeling arose, it was burned away.
“You don’t get to say that.”
You don’t want to fight? Of all people, you shouldn’t be the one to say that. And even if you were to say it…
“You should have said it much, much earlier.”
Not now, not in this life, but long before. Even then, it would have been too late.
Fwoosh.
Flames wreathed my body. The blue flames burned with a murky hue, tainted by the Demonic Qi mixed in with my emotions. I still didn’t know how to do it. Perhaps I would never be able to break through her Combat Qi.
Even so, it was time to stop turning my back when the moment was right in front of me.
Boom!
I kicked off the ground and charged. I twisted my waist, putting power into my lower body, and threw a kick straight at the Heavenly Demon.
Fwoosh!
Flames coiled around the tip of my foot. I focused it on a single point and swung at her, but…
Pow!
The moment it touched her Combat Qi, the flames vanished. The energy gathered in my leg also disappeared. My strength drained away. In that instant, my kick lost its speed.
Snatch!
The Heavenly Demon caught my foot and threw me.
Whoooosh!
“Keuk!”
She must have used considerable force, as my body flew at an incredible speed. I couldn't let the distance between us grow too large, so I immediately shot out flames to stop my momentum.
Fwoosh! Sssss!
Just as I managed to slow down, I looked ahead to charge again, but…
“...”
The Heavenly Demon had already closed the distance and was looking at me from inches away. Dammit. Was she just toying with me?
“...Stop…”
Her pitiful voice brushed past my ear. Hearing her say that with the same face and voice as Wi Seol-Ah made me feel even more disgusted.
‘Find a way.’
At times like this, I had to find a way. I had found a way until now. So, I would find one this time too.
I looked at the Heavenly Demon, cloaked in her Combat Qi, and opened my Mind’s Eye. I did it hoping I might see something—anything.
‘Bullshit.’
The moment I saw the barrier, I had to curse.
‘I can’t see anything?’
Even with the Mind’s Eye, I couldn’t see any flow within the barrier. How was that possible? All energy ultimately has a flow. If that was also Combat Qi, I should have been able to see some sort of current, but the Heavenly Demon’s Absolute Combat Qi showed no flow whatsoever.
‘No. It’s not that strange.’
Right, it wasn’t strange. If there had been some kind of flow to see in the first place, there was no way the Dishonored Venerable would have lost. Not only the Dishonored Venerable, who possessed a more precise Mind’s Eye than I, but the Three Venerables would not have been defeated so easily. It was because it was so difficult to overcome that they tried to protect the Celestial Sword at all costs.
‘This is a really fucked up situation.’
Is there truly no way? No matter how much I struggle to kill the Heavenly Demon, if I can’t even overcome this, it’s no different from not even being able to start. To think that after all the struggles since my regression, I still couldn’t open this one thing… it was simply dumbfounding.
‘It’s an absurd power to begin with.’
A Combat Qi that nullifies all martial arts. To even call something like that Combat Qi…
‘Huh?’
My thoughts came to a halt. Something had occurred to me.
‘What if…’
What if the Absolute Combat Qi wasn’t Combat Qi in the first place? If the reason I couldn’t see a flow with my Mind’s Eye was because it wasn’t energy itself?
‘It might not be energy. Which means…’
I lifted my head and looked at the Heavenly Demon. She was looking at me with the same expression as before.
“I…”
I could hear her about to say something. What was she trying to tell me, her lips parting? That question arose, but more importantly…
“Avarice.”
What needed to be done came first.
“Devour.”
Twitch.
Crack!
“...!”
A large mouth shot out from my shadow and bit into the Heavenly Demon’s Combat Qi. A space opened up where Avarice had taken a bite. The barrier was torn away. The Heavenly Demon’s Absolute Combat Qi had been ripped apart by Avarice.
“Huh?”
The Heavenly Demon showed a momentary, dumbfounded reaction to the torn barrier. I didn’t miss it.
Fwoosh!
I shoved the condensed Flaming Sphere through the gap.
And then—
Booooooooooom!
An explosion erupted from within the barrier. Smoke billowed out and spread through the area. Fortunately, the smoke soon subsided. Where the air cleared, the Heavenly Demon was standing.
Drip….
Blood was trickling from the corner of her mouth. The Heavenly Demon wiped the flowing blood with the back of her hand and stared at it.
“Uh…”
Her eyes were filled with disbelief.
“It hurts.”
The way she stammered the word made it sound like a word she had almost never uttered before. Moreover, as she said it hurt, her eyes were full of wonder. Was the pain itself a novelty to her?
While that felt surprising, the same was true for me.
‘...I had a feeling, but to think it was true.’
I thought it was strange that I couldn't see it with my Mind’s Eye. The black barrier protecting her body wasn’t Combat Qi at all.
“That… it was a power, wasn’t it.”
“A power?”
The baptism used by the Demonic Humans. I recalled the countless Demonic Humans who used powers received from the Heavenly Demon, and at the same time, I found it strange that I hadn't thought of it myself.
“I thought it was too absurd to be a martial art…”
In the first place.
“It wasn’t a martial art.”
“...”
I pushed myself up. Just as the Heavenly Demon had done, I wiped away the droplet running down my chin. Was it sweat? When had I started breaking out in a cold sweat?
My body wasn’t tired. My internal energy was overflowing. And yet, my body was drenched in a cold sweat, as if it had been scared out of its wits.
How ridiculous.
“Hoo…”
I let out a deep sigh and lifted my head. Then I looked at the bleeding Heavenly Demon. Was the Heavenly Demon a dragon? Since she used a power, it seemed likely she was, but…
‘I don’t feel any hostility.’
The hostility I felt whenever I saw a dragon was faint. No, I could definitely feel hostility. It was just that it wasn’t because she was a dragon. It was closer to the hostility one feels for a being that must be killed, not the instinctual feeling one gets from an opponent being a dragon.
How could this be? A question briefly arose, but…
‘It doesn’t matter what she is.’
Now, even that didn’t matter anymore. What was important now was…
“I can break through.”
The fact that I could break through the Heavenly Demon’s barrier—something only the Celestial Sword could do.
And so.
‘I will devour you.’
The fact that I could chew up and swallow the seed of the blood disaster right here. Right now, that was all that mattered to me.
Twitch.
Heat began to boil.
Thump!
The recoil that started from my heart spread to my eyes. My glowing blue irises gradually became tinged with red. Then, the blue and red mixed, turning them violet.
I might be able to kill the Heavenly Demon. By doing so, I might be able to completely take the place of the Celestial Sword. That desire filled my mind.
“Avarice.”
The newfound possibility became desire. The transformed desire became hope. And further, hope became purpose. The purpose thus created mixed with the violet and ignited into a murky blaze.
“Devour.”
Kyaaaaaa!
Kill the Heavenly Demon. Right now, that was my only thought.
* * *
Fwoooooosh!
Just as the violet light began to stain the world beneath the crescent moon…
“...Hmm.”
A man, sensing a sudden presence, looked in a certain direction. Toward Henan, where the Murim Alliance would be. It was originally his destination, but…
Flicker.
For now, all he could see was a blazing fire.
“...”
The man withdrew his gaze and looked around. On Mount Tai, on the way to Henan, another flame was burning.
Mount Taeseong.
A towering mountain located on the route from Shanxi to Henan. The mountain, which should have been lush with the green of the season, was for some reason engulfed in flames, burning red even in the dead of night.
The strange thing was that there were houses at the foot of the mountain, yet their inhabitants showed no interest in the fact that the mountain was on fire. It was as if they couldn’t see the flames at all.
At the summit of the mountain, wreathed in those otherworldly flames, a man—the Lord of the Gu Clan of Shanxi, the Tiger Warrior, Gu Cheolun—stared straight ahead with a blank expression.
To be precise, he was facing the master of the flames that enveloped the mountain. At the end of his gaze, someone was sitting perched on a giant rock. He could see a white-haired old man dressed in tattered rags. The old man was looking at Gu Cheolun with crimson eyes.
The strange thing was… a large, red horn protruded from one side of the old man’s forehead. The horn, glowing red in the darkness, was clearly visible even at night.
Gu Cheolun, who had been looking at the horn, turned his own, similarly red eyes and spoke to the old man.
“It has been a long time. I trust you have been well.”
At Gu Cheolun’s words…
“Father.”
The old man’s expression changed, and he smiled a ghastly smile.