Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 35
>Chapter Title: Demon Sword (3)
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A white-haired man bound head to toe in iron chains.
His beard hung long and unkempt, as if he hadn't been allowed even the simplest grooming in ages.
In the flickering torchlight, his face appeared no older than his mid-thirties, yet both his hair and beard had turned stark white.
Despite the awkward position forced upon him by the chains, the white-haired man's expression showed no change whatsoever.
It was the very picture of blank impassivity.
-Creak!
Slowly, the man lifted his head and gazed at the moonlight filtering through the iron bars.
Tomorrow, his execution would be carried out.
Would he finally understand the sensations of fear and terror then?
All those who faced death wore expressions filled with agony.
Would he be the same?
Even now, on the brink of death, he felt nothing.
Why had he been born this way?
He had no answer.
Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind tore into the cell.
-Whoooosh!
The torches illuminating the cell were snuffed out in an instant.
[What the...?]
The jailer, who had been dozing off with his head nodding, jumped to his feet with those words.
But soon after, the sound of something heavy collapsing to the floor followed.
-Thud!
'What was that?'
As he wondered, footsteps approached through the pitch-black darkness before the cell.
The steps of a single person.
Yet when he peered ahead, two shadowy figures were visible in the gloom.
'Two of them?'
Even though his dantian had been crippled, how could he sense no presence at all from foes right in front of him?
They must have been extraordinary masters.
Then, a low voice drifted in.
[Seoga of the Thousand Heads... The monster who severed a thousand necks and built a tower from their heads. Ample material.]
[In the world...]
A sigh followed.
Looking ahead, he saw a man in sorcerer's robes pointing at the cell with his hand behind his back, and an elder frowning as he stared at him.
Moonlight revealed only that he was an old man, but the faint scent wafting from him was...
'The smell of soot and iron...'
[A blacksmith?]
At the white-haired man's words, a spark lit in the elder's eyes.
The elder stared at him intently before speaking.
[Listen, young man. Why did you commit such acts?]
To the elder's question, the white-haired man—no, Seoga—replied with an impassive gaze.
[I don't know.]
[You don't know? So you're saying you just did it?]
[...I just wanted to know.]
[Know what?]
[What emotions are.]
[Emotions?]
[Yes.]
He felt none of the joys, angers, sorrows, or pleasures.
From childhood, he had never understood them, so he yearned to know what emotions were.
That desire had been the greatest longing of his life.
[I simply wanted to know what they were.]
A bizarre craving, unlike that of ordinary people.
How had this twisted desire led to such a warped end?
[There must have been other ways for such a reason. Why so many lives...?]
He trailed off, unable to continue.
The heads severed by his hand all bore expressions of despair and agony.
He had stacked them into a tower like some work of art.
[...Fear and terror were easier to evoke than joy or pleasure.]
[Easier?]
[Everyone shows those emotions before death.]
[Hah...]
The elder clicked his tongue at his words.
Then, he spoke.
[I fear I cannot comprehend you, young man. But with such twisted desire and obsession, you have the qualifications.]
[Qualifications?]
[Don't you wish to leave something behind in this world before you die, young man?]
[What do you mean?]
To the puzzled man, the elder smirked and said,
[How about offering yourself for the birth of a sword unlike any other in the world?]
'!?'
* * *
Mok Kyung-un stared at the Akjeuk Sword in his hand.
He had no idea what had just happened.
He had tried to absorb the sword's unique energy through the Grasping Form, but as it entered his body, it surged straight into his mind in an instant.
Moments later, he regained his senses.
'Hmm. What is this?'
Somehow, memories that weren't his own were now jumbled in his head.
Whose memories could these be?
They flashed in fragmented, chaotic bursts.
The most intense one was,
[Kuaaaaaagh!]
The sight of plunging into molten iron, his entire body melting in unimaginable horror.
It felt like it happened while he was still alive, but what was eerie was the ecstasy amid such torment.
Why feel joy in such a gruesome death?
What a peculiar memory.
'Hm?'
No.
Among these fragments, the only time emotion surfaced was in that moment of death.
Afterward, strangely, it shifted—not to his own memories, but to those of countless others, all mingled together.
Among them,
'Dark Sect Leader?'
He even glimpsed the Dark Sect Leader.
It was a mere fleeting fragment, but that memory was utterly fascinating.
As he pondered, a resonant hum emanated from the sword in his grip.
-Vwoooom!
Mok Kyung-un looked at the Akjeuk Sword.
It trembled violently, emitting that hum.
It almost seemed like it was shuddering in fear, submitting.
One corner of Mok Kyung-un's mouth curled up at the sight.
* * *
'What in the world?'
The Dark Sect Leader scanned his surroundings in shock.
In an instant, thousands—tens of thousands—of swords had overturned everything, turning everyone here into sieves.
As he reeled in confusion at the sight of the dying, the corpses were suddenly engulfed in pitch-black flames, reduced to ash.
Snapping back to reality in alarm, he realized it had all been an illusion.
-Sweat trickling!
Even his demon face mask was slick with sweat; the vision had felt so vividly real.
It was like an unstoppable wave of destruction and chaos.
Could a mere illusion make his heart pound with such dread?
"Hoo... Hoo..."
A glint entered the Dark Sect Leader's eyes.
Not just him—every executive around looked stunned, as if entranced by something.
Even the two Grand Commanders, including Bo Hyeok-so, clutched their throats, gasping roughly.
Had they seen an illusion of their heads being severed?
'What happened?'
The Dark Sect Leader felt baffled by this bizarre situation.
It wasn't just one or two people; everyone around had witnessed the same phantom.
He glanced at Mok Kyung-un.
'!?'
His pupils trembled.
Something was off.
Just moments ago, he had clearly seen Mok Kyung-un's eyes turn smooth black jade.
But now, they were perfectly normal.
Had even that been an illusion?
'What is this?'
The one holding the demon sword Akjeuk was Mok Kyung-un.
So why had they all seen these visions?
He had let the boy grip the sword to gauge his desires, but he couldn't fathom why this had occurred.
'Could it be?'
As he wondered, Mok Kyung-un lightly swung the sword.
Whoosh!
The crisp sound of slicing air made the Dark Sect Leader's eyes widen.
Bright Sword King Son Yun reacted the same.
"You?"
He didn't know what that horrific illusion had been, but Mok Kyung-un now appeared utterly unaffected by the demon sword.
Moreover, the ominous aura from the blade had vanished.
Son Yun asked,
"...Are you alright?"
"Yes. Not a scratch."
'He's fine?'
Son Yun furrowed his brow at Mok Kyung-un's words.
Was he really unaffected?
The executives around all wore faces like they had glimpsed some fleeting phantom, just like him.
This couldn't be coincidence.
"...Could you hand the sword to this king for a moment?"
"The sword?"
"Yes."
Son Yun's reason was simple.
He knew tales of demon swords and how those ensnared by them obsessed over them.
If Mok Kyung-un was truly chosen as its master unharmed, he figured the boy would yield it without issue.
At that moment.
"Here you are."
Mok Kyung-un readily placed his palm on the blade and offered the Akjeuk Sword politely with both hands.
Son Yun's eyes narrowed.
Had this child truly been selected by the Akjeuk Sword?
'...I'll know if I hold it myself.'
Son Yun reached for the hilt in Mok Kyung-un's hand.
The Dark Sect Leader hurriedly tried to stop him.
"Bright Sword King!"
"It's fine. Just checking briefly."
Despite his words, the Dark Sect Leader watched with concern.
He understood the intent, but even he—a peak transcendent master—had lost his reason to the sword for a split second.
It was equally perilous for Bright Sword King Son Yun, at the pinnacle before the wall.
Yet,
-Clack!
Son Yun grasped the hilt and lifted it. Nothing happened.
The blade, so sinister moments ago, now gleamed like an ordinary famed sword, lying docile in its sheath.
'What?'
Where had that ominous energy gone?
No resonance either.
Son Yun swung it lightly, then gave the Dark Sect Leader a puzzled look.
The Dark Sect Leader stared at the Akjeuk Sword, equally baffled.
How could the sword that tormented him so viciously now be so tame?
He couldn't comprehend it.
'Had this child truly been chosen by the Akjeuk Sword?'
Even after holding it long, nothing occurred. It seemed the master-chosen Akjeuk Sword had transformed from demon blade to famed sword.
Truly astonishing.
The Dark Sect Leader exclaimed,
"Bright Sword King, it seems the Akjeuk Sword's true master has been decided."
* * *
Thus, Mok Kyung-un obtained the legendary demon sword Akjeuk, forged by the great swordsmith Guyaja.
Nearby executives had witnessed bizarre illusions in the process, but though puzzled, they all tacitly fell silent as if by agreement.
Announcing they had seen visions of utter ruin right there would be awkward, and admitting they were briefly ensnared by a demon sword's eerie aura wounded their pride, brief as it was.
Still, they realized one thing.
If they ever clashed with this boy Mok Kyung-un, they must force that sword from his hand first.
It seemed harmless now, but they couldn't shake the sense that it was perilously dangerous.
'What a pity.'
Bright Sword King Son Yun felt regret not just for this, but for losing Mok Kyung-un.
To choose the Dark Sect Leader over him, when he wasn't even Thunderclap Fist King Won Byeong-hak.
He never anticipated a single demon sword derailing things like this.
No help for it.
'I'll have to settle for this child.'
The disciple Bright Sword King Son Yun gained from the disciple selection rite was none other than Mok Yu-cheon.
Another child of Timber Sword Manor, taken as a hostage.
Of course, it wasn't his choice.
It was entirely Mok Yu-cheon's.
[...I want to grow strong. Stronger than that guy.]
Mok Yu-cheon's words before the executives.
That guy was none other than Mok Kyung-un.
Most executives ignored him, viewing his erratic internal arts as a ticking bomb.
But Bright Sword King Son Yun alone did not turn away.
Instead, he asked Mok Yu-cheon,
[Do you want to grow strong?]
[...Yes.]
[Follow this king's teachings faithfully, and I can make it so.]
Mok Yu-cheon chose him without hesitation.
Truth be told, there was a hidden motive.
Bright Sword King Son Yun also eyed Mok Yu-cheon's strange internal arts warily, but took him as a disciple with Mok Kyung-un's connections in mind.
With no other prospects besides Mok Kyung-un, he was a contingency card.
'He has ample value as a check against that boy.'
Unaware, Mok Yu-cheon simply craved strength.
And he hadn't forgotten the favor from Dark Heaven's Demon Lord of the Justice Alliance.
His goal was to rise as high as possible here and reclaim honor as a righteous faction member.
'This child's talent is no less, so I must place my hopes on him.'
Thunderclap Fist King Won Byeong-hak took Mu Jang-yak as his disciple.
He had originally eyed Bi Gyeong-mun's Yeon Mu-woong, but in talent, Yeon Mu-woong fell short of even half of Mu Jang-yak.
'Hmm. Should be fine.'
Ultra Sound Valley Lord Hang Yeo-ryang took Mo Ha-rang of Mo Hwa Hall as his disciple, per his original plan.
He had inwardly wavered over Mok Yu-cheon like Bright Sword King Son Yun, but she was utterly repulsive as a righteous faction member, converted or not.
Thus, he stuck to his initial purpose.
Since Yeom Ga of Assassination Valley had perished, the remaining disciple Yeon Mu-woong of Bi Gyeong-mun failed his goal and was selected by Grand Commander Dae So-man of Bloodied Squad.
Only Grand Commander Bo Hyeok-so of Fierce Demon Squad returned empty-handed, without gain.
* * *
Thus, this Trial Blood Valley's trial concluded without incident.
The disciples selected by the observing executives departed with them to their abodes.
Mok Kyung-un followed the Dark Sect Leader he had chosen.
As they left Trial Blood Valley, the Dark Sect Leader said,
"Oh ho ho. What a coincidence. To take a disciple walking a path utterly unlike my own."
The Dark Sect Leader's unique art was swordsmanship.
Mok Kyung-un's primary unique art, by contrast, was blade arts.
Hence her regret.
Mok Kyung-un smiled faintly and replied,
"I don't distinguish strictly between swords and blades. Teach me, and I'll learn as much as you wish."
Her eyes lit up.
"Ho? Truly?"
"Yes."
"It requires a small price. Is that alright?"
A small price?
What did she mean?
To the puzzled Mok Kyung-un, the Dark Sect Leader covered her mouth coyly and said,
"My unique art is laden with yin energy, so to cultivate it, castration is necessary."
'!?'