Chapter 153
Chapter 153
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: Heavenly Demon Divine Art
Ma-gwi.
Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon.
It was a martial art wielded by the supreme deity revered by the group known as the Demonic Cult.
Its prestige was truly unparalleled.
-The only thing comparable would be the Hero's orthodox breathing method and swordsmanship.
The Holy Sword said as much.
The Hero's orthodox breathing method.
Normally, one could only learn a single mind art.
But the Hero's orthodox breathing method allowed for mastering multiple mind arts.
'Though its power is a bit weaker.'
It was said to draw out only about 80% of a mind art's original performance.
I had started with the Thunderclap Art, then Extreme Thunder God · Violet.
After mastering that, I learned the Hero's orthodox breathing method, followed by the Lotus Flame Divine Art and Purple Dawn Divine Art.
Running three mind arts at once gave me the sensation of mana surging with every breath.
The problem was that growth had practically plateaued after stats hit 100.
-But why the Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon?
'......Because it feels like I've mastered the Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon.'
-What nonsense is......
The Holy Sword trailed off mid-sentence.
It fell silent for a moment, then...
-Ah, wait, you actually mastered the Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon?!
-Master learned that insane martial art?!
The Holy Sword and Holy Bow cried out in shock.
Too bothersome—maybe I should just lump them together as the Holy Sword duo.
At any rate, the duo screamed like banshees.
-Di, discard that power right now, Yuseong!
-Right, using those damned bastards' power... doesn't feel great, does it?
-Holy Bow, I knew you were tacky, but to this degree! Even after knowing how deep our grudge runs with those guys!
-Well, most of it was our fault anyway.
-......
The Holy Sword shut its mouth at the Holy Bow's words.
Grudge, huh?
-Ah...... This story's gonna get long.
-Tracing it back takes us a thousand years, all the way to the first Hero. It was a millennium ago...
-For Master's sake, allow this girl to summarize: The Heavenly Demon was created to topple the Demon King and his legions without divine blessings. Heroes received sacred tools from the gods to slay the Demon King. Heroes' power runs on bonds, while the Heavenly Demon's thrives on sacrifice. Those Heavenly Demon fools deemed themselves absolute evil and chose to 'devour' that power, while Heroes opted to 'shatter' it. We clashed in the middle of all that, and boom—blood feud.
-You bastard, how do you boil down history like...
'Holy Sword, quiet.'
-The Heavenly Demon lot embraced being ultimate evil and went with devouring their power, Heroes went with smashing it. We bickered in between, enemies ever since.
'So, any downsides to me learning this...?'
-Anyone hung up on petty traditions is long dead—what's it matter?
-Petty traditions!
-Ah, with Holy Sword around, might be a hassle? But this girl won't ditch her master over something so trivial—maybe pawn off Holy Sword to someone else this time...
-Gaaaaah!!
'......'
Something about it.
Ever since meeting the Holy Bow, the Holy Sword's personality had shifted.
'It's gotten way more emotional.'
Was that good or bad?
I tabled it for now and turned my thoughts to the Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon.
'......No clue what this is about.'
Still, if I'd gained it, I needed to figure out how to make use of it.
The haughty Holy Sword had placed it on par with the Hero's orthodox breathing method and swordsmanship.
Which meant...
'How does this thing even work?'
I had the knowledge of how to employ it.
But I had no idea what it actually was.
Experiment time, then.
I closed my eyes and settled into calm meditation.
And then.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Huh.
I found myself staring blankly at the sky.
A bizarre sensation washed over me. The sky was pitch dark, choked with black clouds.
'......'
Floating adrift.
My body bobbed along as if surrendered to water.
All I could see was an utterly lightless sea.
'What the hell is this?'
I definitely remembered activating the Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon.
Then suddenly, this scene.
A void of black sea. Black clouds punched through with a single hole. And looming high above...
'Dark Moon......'
Rumble rumble rumble!
Black lightning crackled sporadically from the roiling clouds.
What kind of spectacle was this?
'Dark Moon, Black Sea, Divine Thunder, Black Clouds.'
All of them names of sword styles I'd mastered.
Dark Moon: elf tribe sword art.
Black Sea: orc tribe sword art.
Divine Thunder: dwarf tribe sword art.
Black Clouds: human tribe sword art... maybe?
'Roughly cribbed from the Black Curtain Art.'
So what about Hyeoncheon, the human sword art?
No idea.
But one thing was clear.
'I want to burn this sight into my eyes.'
An otherworldly vista.
[The emptier the vessel, the more it resembles the heavens.] A delicate voice echoed from somewhere.
I closed my eyes and slowly surrendered to the sea.
[Where energy lingers, if it takes form, that form must be the heavens.] Hollow words, somehow.
Longing for something, yet at the same time...
[Yet the heavens' form is warped. They forsook us, and fate spurned us.] A voice tinged with sorrow.
[Thus, we must defy the heavens and shatter them all.] What utter nonsense.
The moment that thought crossed my mind...
The world transformed.
The tranquil dark sea turned violent.
Jet-black clouds coalesced, birthing a dragon's ascent.
And black lightning rampaged in all directions, as if to annihilate the world.
The Dark Moon shattered, and a pitch-black sun began to take its place.
And then.
"......"
I snapped back to my senses.
Cold sweat drenched me.
What the hell was that sensation?
-What happened?
-......Did someone invade your mind?
'No, nothing like that.'
I took a deep breath and described the phenomenon to the Holy Sword and Holy Bow.
-Ah, got it.
-It's the unity phenomenon those who reach level 7 experience.
'This is unity?'
-Yes, exactly.
-Indeed. But surprisingly advanced. Creating an inner world already at level 6.
-So, what kind of world was it?
-Right, Yuseong—you're bound to be different from the rest.
'......Yeah, pretty different.'
I'd seen a world on the brink of apocalypse, so yeah, definitely different.
-Intriguing. My previous master was utterly pathetic.
-Grumbled endlessly about claiming a mere handspan of land.
-Where's that? Holy Bow, better than your master, no?
-My old master got all excited over a bucket of water.
I blinked at their banter.
A handspan of land?
A bucket of water?
Not like they were fighting over a lakeside or anything.
......Was I the weird one here?
-So, what did Master's look like?
The Holy Bow asked in a chipper tone.
I replied hesitantly.
"......Saw a pitch-black lake."
-Pfft, liar. Holy Sword can't tell truth from lies 'cause its location's sealed, but I'm fully unsealed—I can spot that much.
'It has that function?'
-Just a tiny feature! I'm a Holy Bow, y'know—loaded with extras. Though, to unlock everything, Master'd need church authentication.
The Holy Bow muttered on.
I had no choice but to spill the truth.
-A lake? A black sea? Black lightning crashing from black clouds, with a massive black moon overhead?
The Holy Sword sounded utterly baffled.
-Ah, no way—hold up, this is for real?!
The Holy Bow, voice stripped of all pretense.
I nodded.
-As expected of this girl's master. Gotta be on that level.
-Didn't you just refuse to believe it?
-What're you on about? Wanna throw down?
The Holy Bow snapped back at the Holy Sword.
Then it slyly peeked my way and whispered.
-Ahem, this girl, out of loyalty to Master...
-Pfft.
'Whatever, moving on......'
I turned my thoughts back to the Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon.
The inner world the Holy Sword duo mentioned.
If activating it let me glimpse that...
'Wonder what other features it has.'
One thing was certain, though.
The Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon didn't seem tied to swordplay like the others.
Nor was it linked to archery.
'Learning all these mind arts made it clear.'
This one fortified the body.
And then used that bolstered flesh to slay foes.
'......It's tied to body techniques.'
Problem was, I sucked at body techniques.
I'd picked one up fighting that guy in Liberion ages ago, but it wasn't anything special.
How was I supposed to use this?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Whether I'd gained the Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon or not, we had a decision to make.
The Guild Master was closing the Labyrinth temporarily, so we needed a new temporary base.
"The Beastkin Kingdom will welcome you all."
Cheong Yurang spoke up first.
"If the others get annoying, this concubine will smash them flat. If anyone attacks you, she'll protect you."
"......My."
Cheong Yurang declared boldly, earning an admiring, reverent look from Rosetta.
Not quite as glowing, but everyone else gazed at her with favor too.
Including me, of course.
"By that logic, we welcome you as well."
Those were Volkan's words when he'd snuck away with us during the Hero Tournament.
"We've discriminated against Thief Heroes since time immemorial... but Yuseong, you're different. Our entire tribe will show you goodwill."
Volkan had said as much.
"You're Sword King Volkan's disciple, after all. And the star of that Hero Tournament terror incident."
"Dwarven lands would welcome you too, probably."
Hansen stepped forward—the same Hansen who'd once delved the Labyrinth with me and praised my scouting skills to the skies.
'......Kinda surreal.'
So many places wanted me.
'Well, worst case, head east and hunt some Demon Mirror Sect—not a bad plan.'
Right as that thought crossed my mind...
Thud!
The door flew open as a man collapsed inside.
Frazzled blond hair, tanned thug vibe.
'Some gang lackey?'
He looked banged up from some wound.
"Finn! What the hell happened?!"
Ankyung blurted in panic.
"Ugh... Sorry! Got ambushed on this mission."
I quietly shifted into a ready stance.
So someone had messed with our clan?