Chapter 281: Flower
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 281: Flower
The Black Killing Demonic Palm and the Small Hand Demonic Art.
Two heinous divine arts, said to be impossible to coexist in the same era, were unleashed.
A demonic art is a vicious power that eats away at the user's mind.
To use not one, but two such arts.
And to wield them in both hands simultaneously—it was a sight that even Bixi and Qiongqi, who had lived for ages, had never witnessed.
It was a demonic art truly befitting the word ‘death’.
But that statement was flawed.
For the Black Killing Demonic Palm and the Small Hand Demonic Art, passed down through the martial artists of this age, were mere imitations modeled after this very existence of Death.
What Gomodo had just shown was not a demonic art, but something that could only be called its origin.
“Did you say you overcame death?”
Qiongqi and Bixi, their arms severed in an instant, let out silent screams.
“A laughable story. You’re not the first to say such things.”
Though they had thought they stood a chance, an instinctual terror now overwhelmed them.
“Death, by its very nature, comes for all.”
Qiongqi and Bixi tried to move, but they couldn’t.
“Even divine beasts do not live forever. They may live longer than beasts and humans, but that is all.”
Gomodo would not permit it.
“And so, all living things accept death.”
All they could do was wait for him to finish speaking.
“Of course, they also struggle to escape it. A fine sight to see. It is because of the fear of death that they can make all things bloom during their lives.”
He continued in a low, sinister voice.
“They bloom into magnificent flowers and bear fruit. And after living such a life, death finally comes for them. No matter how they may have resisted during their lives, in the final moment, all accept death with humility.”
Suddenly, his red eyes blazed.
“This is the natural order. But there are those who dare to defy this order.”
An aura of malice and killing intent, stronger than anything he had shown before, poured out of him.
“Those so-called gods who stand above the heavens, and the divine beasts who reign over the earth. Those who use twisted methods to live for an infinite time. Those who covet the time of others who are meant to bloom brilliantly.”
His voice was filled with hatred.
“They stole the time of others to prolong their own wretched lives. Having bloomed many times, they should have accepted death, but they continued to steal the time of others.”
Even Bixi, the longest-lived of the Nine Sons of the Dragon, did not know the true story behind the war between Gomodo and Jin-ryong.
“That is why I killed them.”
But in this moment, he understood the reason for Gomodo’s existence.
Bixi remembered that Jin-ryong had sought to kill all humans.
He hadn’t understood then, but now he did.
Just as Gomodo said, Jin-ryong had intended to steal their time to live forever.
He also understood why the divine beasts and spirit beasts feared him.
To those who coveted eternal time, the tailed being would appear.
An existence that could truly be called Death itself.
Old Death with a Tail.
He was the black-scaled dragon of the earth, heralding the end for those who wished to live for eternity.
“…Then why have you reappeared?”
But there was a contradiction.
Death comes for everyone eventually, and it was Gomodo who had personally delivered death to those who sought eternal life.
For such a being to have secretly survived until now?
To hate those who tried to escape death, while escaping it himself?
“I have already experienced death.”
“If you have reappeared even after that, how are you any different from those you despise!”
At Bixi’s words, Gomodo wore a look of interest.
“Forty-seven times.”
“…Forty-seven?”
“That is the number of times this body has nearly died in less than two years.”
“What does that…?”
“A trivial creature born as a gecko has crossed the threshold of death countless times to come this far. Unlike your father, who was born strong, this lizard was the one closest to death.”
Hunted by an Oviraptor right after birth, fleeing from a giant spider, surviving the onslaught of an ant legion.
The black lizard had faced death time and time again.
“Had this lizard died, I, too, would never have awakened. Bixi, do you think your father could have made the same choice as I?”
Bixi fell silent at his words.
“What I hate is not the resistance to death. It is natural for a living being to choose life over death. What I hate are those like Jin-ryong, who try to escape death through twisted methods.”
To lose all power and entrust one’s life to a trivial creature.
The Jin-ryong he knew would never do such a thing.
“…That is sophistry. Even so, it is no different from stealing the body of an innocent being.”
“Bixi, you should know well that there is nothing more meaningless than debating good and evil with me.”
He hadn’t truly thought he could sway Gomodo with words.
His conviction was absolute.
From Gomodo’s perspective, Jin-ryong and the divine beasts under him were evils that disrupted the natural course of death.
The reason Bixi continued to talk was to buy time.
“You are not Death! I will surpass you here and prove it!”
FWOOOSH!
A powerful shockwave spread out from Bixi.
He had swallowed every Dragon Pill he had in his possession.
“Qiongqi! You too, quickly, swallow the Dragon Pills!”
Even with the pills, defeating Gomodo was impossible.
But it might be possible for one of them to escape.
The moment he turned to look at Qiongqi, however, Bixi was dumbfounded.
Qiongqi was shaking his head.
“What are you doing! Get a… get a hold of yourself!”
At those words, Qiongqi let out a smirk.
“Heh… My mind is perfectly clear.”
“Get up! The great Qiongqi, are you going to stay down just because you lost an arm?”
Bixi had trusted Qiongqi.
Not as a comrade, but as a rival who had fought him for ages.
A belligerent, ferocious beast who would ignite with fighting spirit in any situation.
That was the Qiongqi Bixi knew, but that figure was nowhere to be seen now.
“Hehehe… To think there is a sky above the sky. Still, I’m glad I got to see what Death looks like at the very end.”
Qiongqi laughed as if he had lost his mind.
The ferocious beast who had fought endlessly, wanting to feel the fear of death.
Crumble!
The body of the strongest of the Four Fiends, also called the Most Ferocious, instantly turned to ash.
“Th-This is….”
It was an unbelievable sight.
He had done nothing, yet Qiongqi had turned to ash and died.
No, it wasn’t that he had done nothing.
The moment Gomodo’s hand had touched him, Qiongqi was already dead.
“Little dragon.”
As the red eyes turned to him, Bixi finally understood.
“I shall claim your life.”
He, too, was already dead.
FWHOOOOM!
The two spirit beasts known as masters of the Profound Realm, Qiongqi and Bixi, drew their last breaths.
And Bixi’s death meant the barrier he had cast disappeared.
“H-Hero Go!”
All the believers had gathered in one place.
They broke out in a cold sweat as they looked at the lizard, who seemed sharper than usual.
A grim killing intent made it hard to breathe.
“Ugh…”
The believers gagged, and those with tails found them curling between their legs instinctively.
The fear of death had descended upon them.
Gomodo, with his red eyes, gave the believers who had come to him a cursory glance.
Just as he was about to reach out his hand…
His body froze, as if it had turned rigid.
“Yes, the contract was definitely to protect them.”
He muttered to himself, words the believers couldn’t understand.
No, he was speaking to Go-Hui, who was watching from within, just as a Heart Demon would.
Hui had given his body to Gomodo to protect those he loved.
It was the only way to save them all.
“No…”
Baek Rang sank to her knees, powerless.
She realized what was happening.
The divine beast of the Gaegaek Cult was no more.
“However, my descendant.”
Gomodo smiled meaningfully.
“The control is already mine. What can you possibly do?”
RUUUUMBLE!
The killing intent intensified once more.
The wolves under Baek Rang’s command whimpered and backed away.
The malice and hostility were so strong that those with weaker spirits foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
“Watch from in there.”
Step.
Gomodo took a step forward.
Old Death with a Tail.
Though he had sided with humans, he was far from what one would call good.
“Despair and cry out. Curse yourself for being powerless, and resent yourself for being so weak that you had to hand your body over to me.”
Though he had acted ridiculously, his true nature was closer to that of a demon.
“What are you all doing? It seems you’ve all caught on.”
He looked at the trembling believers.
It was a situation where even Chodo and Taotie couldn’t move easily.
Little Dragon, now significantly smaller, seemed not to understand what was happening.
If even Qiongqi and Bixi couldn’t defeat Gomodo, who would dare to stop him?
“Death has arrived. Now, try to bloom magnificently one last time.”
Gomodo, a look of disappointment on his face, took another step.
Just then, a figure from the opposite side also stepped forward.
“…Hero Go, are you in there?”
It was Tang Soyeong.