Chapter 89
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Left and Right Commanders
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The blue glow of the sword aura clinging to the massive blade showed no signs of fading, still radiating a chilling killing intent. Byeok Cheonwi quietly pressed the tip of the sword against Dongyoung's throat, where he stood dazed and lost. The sharp energy from the sword aura nicked the skin on the back of his neck, drawing beads of red blood. A mere twitch with a bit of force, and his head would come clean off.
"What the hell are you?"
Byeok Cheonwi's voice rumbled low and heavy. The thrill of victory had subsided, leaving only wariness toward this unfamiliar powerhouse.
Dongyoung ignored the blood pouring from his severed shoulder and lifted his head to stare up at Byeok Cheonwi. His eyes held more shock at the incomprehensible phenomenon than frustration at his defeat. He spat blood-mixed saliva and sneered.
"Heh... heh heh... You think I'll just tell you that easily?"
Even in defeat, his arrogance remained unbroken.
"He's from some place called Gucheonseong or whatever. Called himself Gucheon."
At my words, Byeok Cheonwi's eyebrow twitched.
"Gucheonseong?"
From his expression, it was clear he was hearing the name for the first time too. An unknown force that hadn't even appeared on the Murim Alliance's intelligence network.
At that moment, Dongyoung suddenly burst into mad laughter. Forgetting the blood gushing from his wound, he shook with convulsions of mirth.
"Heh... hahaha! You shouldn't be wasting time on me right now...?"
His laughter echoed eerily across the clearing.
"What the hell does that mean?"
As I asked, his laughter cut off abruptly. His gaze turned to me.
"That woman traveling with you. The one with green hair. You think I didn't know she was part of your group?"
My mind went blank in an instant. My heart plummeted like a stone.
What the fuck is this bastard saying? What did he do to Midori?
Rage surged through my veins in reverse. I grabbed his head and thrust my consciousness deep into his mind, ripping through his memories by force.
"Gaaahhhh!"
A scream tore from Dongyoung's mouth. Blood streamed from his eyes, nose, and ears.
His memories flooded into my mind.
A dark, majestic chamber. There sat a woman with pure white hair on a jade throne, her face blurred like a mosaic. And at her feet...
Eight men knelt in perfect formation.
From the low vantage point, it seemed the memory's owner, Dongyoung, was one of them, down on his knees.
As I delved deeper into his memories...
Crackle-crack!
The sky flashed with lightning. A bolt from the blue, a massive thunderstrike aimed solely at Dongyoung, speared down.
Split!
The body in my grasp split vertically clean in two without a chance to scream, like tofu sliced by a hot knife. His charred flesh toppled to either side.
But my hands were unscathed. The lightning had precisely erased only him.
I stared blankly at Byeok Cheonwi. He was already looking my way. Shock and chills flickered across his face.
"I saw it too."
He muttered softly.
"No... I couldn't have stopped it anyway, so maybe I didn't really see it."
Even he, who had scaled the walls, couldn't react to that attack. But something far more urgent weighed on me.
"We have to save Zhuge Seo... Zhuge Seo!"
Dongyoung's final words echoed in my head.
Then, unexpectedly, Byeok Cheonwi spoke up.
"Ah. Don't worry about that."
Before doubt could even form...
Rooooar!
From somewhere deep in the Righteous Alliance grounds, hundreds of jang away, came a massive sound that made the entire space tremble. A wave of power that shook my skin and churned my guts.
Byeok Cheonwi glanced toward the source and said, anticipation for a new battlefield lacing his voice.
"The Alliance Leader's here too."
Byeok Cheonwi launched his massive frame toward it.
I followed right behind.
Soon, we arrived at the epicenter of the vibrations.
It was a vast clearing utterly devastated, impossible to imagine its original state. The ground was flipped upside down in places, massive trees uprooted and scattered, the earth still steaming with the heat of a recent fierce battle.
And at the center of the devastation...
Stood Alliance Leader Dokgo.
He faced off against two identical-looking men. Behind him, a short distance away, stood Zhuge Seo, pale as a ghost, barely holding herself up.
One held his sword in his left hand like Moyongbi, the other in his right. They pressed the Alliance Leader relentlessly with perfect, mirror-image coordination.
I knew instinctively.
These two guys... on par with Dongyoung I'd just fought... no, stronger.
The Alliance Leader was holding off both their combined assault alone while protecting Zhuge Seo behind him.
Holy shit, the Alliance Leader's a monster.
No sword in his hand. But an invisible blade slashed through the air, parrying the twins' onslaught. The realm where intent forms an intangible sword into shape.
Formless Sword.
A fitting title: Sword Saint. But even he had beads of cold sweat on his brow. His breathing was slightly off. He looked a bit fatigued.
Byeok Cheonwi roared.
"Hahahahaha! Alliance Leader! I'm here!"
The blue sword aura that had cleaved Dongyoung reignited fiercely on his massive blade. Without hesitation, he charged straight into the fray to aid the Leader.
I flew toward Zhuge Seo.
"Midori!"
Grabbing her shoulder, the trembling sensation transferred straight to my palm. Her face turned weakly toward me.
Ah. The mental case is here.
Her whole body shook like a leaf, unfocused eyes half-rolled, wandering in space. Left like this, she might suffocate from terror.
No choice.
I seized the plump swell of her breast through her red martial robe and twisted the nipple hard.
"Eek?!"
Her body arched like a bow amid a scream of pain and shock. Life finally returned to her green eyes.
"A... ah... S-Squad Leader!"
Snapping to, she confirmed it was me and threw herself into my arms. Soft, ample flesh pressed against my chest. Mmm. Unthinkingly, I groped her full hips before snapping out of it.
Ah. Not the time.
I shoved Zhuge Seo behind me and focused fully on the battlefield. With Byeok Cheonwi's arrival, we briefly gained the upper hand, but the twins' synergy was more refined than imagined.
I shot intent at the twins.
'Stop.'
Their movements hitched for a split second under my suggestion.
But that was enough.
"Raaah!"
"......!"
Byeok Cheonwi's aura-clad greatsword and the Alliance Leader's intent-infused formless blade slammed into each twin's chest.
Boom!
Clang!
The twins rocketed away like cannonballs, crashing far off. Dust clouds engulfed the clearing.
Byeok Cheonwi panted heavily.
"Did we get 'em?"
Ah, saying that always means they survive.
My bad feeling was spot on. Sure enough, two silhouettes staggered out from the thick dust. Their upper clothes shredded, bodies bloodied, but they'd endured fatal wounds with stubborn tenacity. Must've blocked with protective aura.
The one on the left exhaled raggedly and spoke.
"Right Commander."
The right one, called Right Commander, nodded.
"Yes, brother."
My guess: the brother was Left Commander.
Left Commander, staggering but with resolute eyes, said...
"...We need to combine our power."
What? You've been teaming up this whole time.
As that thought crossed my mind, I suddenly recalled a bizarre scene from an old power-inflated manga. And I realized what they meant by 'combine power.'
"Alliance Leader! Squad Leader! Attack now!"
At my shout, the Leader and Byeok Cheonwi reacted instantly, lunging at the twins again.
Too late.
Shhh...
Left and Right Commanders' bodies began melting into each other like smoke or heat haze. Boundaries dissolved, flesh and bone intertwined, merging into one form.
The backlash from the fusion blasted out, forcing the Leader and Byeok Cheonwi to retreat.
And finally.
When the grotesque fusion ended, no longer were there two men.
One body, two faces.
Four arms extended from torsos, each gripping a sword gleaming ominously.
A cursed monster straight out of ancient legend.
Ryomen Sukuna.
Damn, that's cool.
Even as an enemy, I had to admit it.