Chapter 465
Chapter 465
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 120
>Chapter Title: The Disaster Begins (1)
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In a dark forest where a bonfire crackled.
Jin Ye-rin, who had been sitting in front of it, sating her hunger with strips of dried meat, lifted her gaze to the night sky.
For some reason, from a certain moment onward, not a single cloud marred the sky, and a chilling, ominous wind whipped through the air.
She sensed that something was deeply amiss.
-Tatuk, tatuk!
Having stared at the night sky, she soon lowered her head to gaze at the bonfire where sparks danced.
As she watched, memories from a few shichen earlier flooded her mind.
* * *
A few shichen earlier.
As the sun began to set over the nearly ruined Bamboo Grove Forest.
Mok Kyung-un, examining the clues Jin Ye-rin had carved into the ground, spoke up.
[It's impossible to block everything he's prepared over such a long time.]
At Mok Kyung-un's unexpected conclusion, she asked in confusion.
[......Then you're saying we should give up?]
[No. That can't happen.]
[Good. If you, Young Master Mok, said you were giving up, all the sacrifices so far would be for nothing.]
[......]
[Since we don't know where the Mok-gan is, shouldn't stopping those so-called Six Demons come first?]
The six leaders, said to be at the pinnacle even among the demon realm.
They were known as the Six Demons.
Each one was a calamity, a disaster in itself, so she believed they should be prioritized.
But at her words, Mok Kyung-un shook his head.
[Pardon? Then what do you plan to do?]
[It's impossible to block them all positionally.]
[You said you're not giving up.]
[We'll strike the Mok-gan's main body.]
[Pardon? The Mok-gan's main body is......]
[I pinpointed its location through the path his will extends along.]
[!!!!]
Jin Ye-rin couldn't hide her astonishment at his words.
She knew Mok Kyung-un was proficient in sorcery, but to trace the opponent's will and locate it precisely?
Then, someone interjected into their conversation.
[Fire Deity. I will join you as well.]
The interloper was none other than Chun-chu, the highest-ranking executive of the Secret Society.
Her eyes, which had endlessly wept and mourned while clutching her ghost sword, now burned with extreme murderous intent.
It was fury directed at Mok-gan, who had ultimately killed her father.
[I must sever that bastard's neck, for my father's sake at least.]
[Are you saying you'll switch sides?]
Switching sides.
It literally meant changing allegiance from one's original affiliation.
At Mok Kyung-un's question, she scoffed and replied.
[If you were expecting that, sorry to disappoint, but I have no desire to serve anyone anymore. I'm sick of being manipulated by others. So let's call it a temporary alliance.]
[Alliance. Do as you like.]
Unfazed, Mok Kyung-un accepted it.
After all, she was closer to a demon than a human and wouldn't move according to his will anyway.
Sharing joys for a common goal was sufficient.
[If you've located where that man—no, that bastard—is, then I'll join you.]
[Join me?]
[What? Do you think I'll be a hindrance?]
At her words, Mok Kyung-un shrugged.
As the Secret Society's top executive, her power rivaled the Seven Heavens, called the pinnacle of the current martial world, and since she wasn't human, she could exert even greater force in some ways.
At that moment, Jin Ye-rin stepped forward as well.
[I will help too.]
Mok-gan, the mastermind who unleashed a great calamity, toppled the Invincible Fortress, and drove her only father to death.
And his organization, the Secret Society.
She could never forgive them either.
However,
[No. You will not join us.]
[What?]
[Exactly as I said.]
Jin Ye-rin protested, unable to comprehend Mok Kyung-un's words.
[......You say she can join, so why not me?]
[I never said she could.]
[Pardon?]
[You're free to follow, but I'm heading straight to where Mok-gan's main body is now. If you lag behind, we'll lose him.]
[In that case, we can ride that massive bird you command......]
[The spirit beast Heumwon will take them back to the Heaven-Earth Society.]
[......]
Where Mok Kyung-un pointed stood the subordinates who had come here with him.
Seop-chun and Mong Mu-yak had suffered severe injuries and were in poor condition.
Even though each subordinate who followed him had reached the Flower Realm from the absolute peak, Mok Kyung-un concluded they would only be a hindrance in the decisive battle ahead.
Knowing this, they refrained from insisting on following their lord to the death, so as not to hold him back.
Looking at them, she bit her lip hard and spoke.
[I understand what you're saying, Young Master. But in this situation where we need every hand we can get, how can you......]
[Let me make it clear. Jin Ye-rin, your skills won't help.]
[......]
His words, sharp as a needle piercing flesh, left her speechless for a moment.
She had reached the Profound Realm, beyond the wall of walls in the realm of the Seven Heavens, the pinnacle of the current martial world.
And yet, he said she wouldn't help?
It was an evaluation that wounded her pride deeply, but no retort came to mind.
That was because memories of failing even against Mok-gan's clone, dragging down allies multiple times, struck at her core.
Hadn't she lost even Ak-sim Pa-pa Cheol Su-ryeon because of it?
-Kkuk!
As she clenched her fist so tightly that her nails drew blood, Mok Kyung-un spoke coldly.
[I understand your desire for revenge, but you'll only be a hindrance. If you truly want to help, go to the Four Chains Alliance in the north and prepare for the threat coming from the north of Shanxi Province.]
North of Shanxi Province, in Datong.
That was where clues suggested one of the Six Demons might be.
* * *
-Tatuk, tatuk!
Recalling the events of a few shichen while staring at the bonfire, she bit her lip again, still resentful.
She wanted to avenge her enemies with her own hands, yet she had to leave it to others.
Was she really that weak?
"Haa."
No. To be precise, the enemy was far too strong.
Refusing to admit that would be mere self-consolation.
All that escaped her was a sigh.
She pulled out the manual from her bosom.
Heavenly Escape Starlight Sword Method
[Cheon-dun Seong-myeong Sword Art]
If she had discovered and mastered this earlier, would things have been different?
It was a manual left behind by her ancestor as a contingency.
It seemed to hold power surpassing the current Starlight Sword Art, but mastering it in such a short time was impossible.
['In the end, all I can do is prepare alongside the Four Chains Alliance.']
A sense of self-loathing washed over her at the reality that she couldn't contribute her strength.
But she couldn't afford to despair.
Even if Mok Kyung-un truly succeeded in killing Mok-gan, the head of the Secret Society, there was no guarantee another great calamity wouldn't arise, and success itself was far from assured.
Preparation, even a little, was necessary.
She flipped through the manual to begin studying it.
But then,
-Hwaruk! Tatatatuk!
In that instant, the bonfire's flames surged violently, sparks flying in all directions before the fire abruptly died down.
At the sudden eerie portent, her eyes wavered.
'What is this?'
It was a kind of instinct.
Amid the fading flames, only one person came to mind.
'Young Master Mok?'
* * *
It happened too abruptly, without even a moment to evade.
As Mok Kyung-un flew at tremendous speed, a beam of light carrying immense brilliance shot up from the ground, engulfing him.
-Paaaaa!
Unable to open his eyes properly in the blinding beam, Mok Kyung-un soon unleashed his pupil force to secure his vision.
-Sususu!
The moment his pupil force activated, the glare vanished, and his view gradually cleared.
But in that instant, Mok Kyung-un sensed a familiar energy within the dazzling beam enveloping him.
This was,
'That thing from before?'
The entire space felt sluggish, as if submerged in thick liquid.
His whole body moved excruciatingly slowly, as if time itself had halted.
It was undoubtedly the sorcery that Mok-gan's clone, possessing Na-yul-ryang's body at the Heaven-Earth Society, had unleashed.
Mok Kyung-un's eyes sharpened.
Had he anticipated his arrival and prepared this in advance?
Then, a voice rang out.
"You arrived faster than expected, Fire Deity."
Time flowed so slowly that Mok Kyung-un couldn't even turn his eyes, but he could guess the voice's owner.
'Mok-gan?'
Yet something felt off.
The tone was similar, but tracing the will led to a different voice.
Puzzled by this, someone soon flew right before Mok Kyung-un's eyes, hands clasped behind their back.
'!?'
Upon seeing the face, Mok Kyung-un's pupils slowly contracted.
White sclera invisible, the face was that of an elder covered entirely in wrinkles, black pupils alone visible.
Even so, the aura was far from ordinary.
The third eye on the forehead staring straight at Mok Kyung-un, the madness-infused smile—it exuded tremendous presence.
'......A clone.'
A chill ran through Mok Kyung-un's insides.
He knew it was powerful, but this before him was not the main body.
So that was why it had so readily revealed the main body's location?
This was a prepared trap.
The elder, presumed to be Mok-gan's clone, spoke.
"How do you like the complete Taegong Bongcheon Formation?"
'Complete Taegong Bongcheon Formation?'
From those words, he gleaned something.
Did that mean the sorcery that had confined him at the Heaven-Earth Society back then wasn't complete?
-Shuk!
But then, it drew closer.
Prioritizing escape over the sorcery's nature, Mok Kyung-un tried to summon his infinite power.
Yet his energy wouldn't gather easily.
As if anticipating this, Mok-gan's clone sneered.
"I prepared this specially for you. It's entirely different from before."
The perfected Taegong Bongcheon Formation.
This was an ancient forbidden sorcery enacted by sacrificing the lives of a thousand yin-attuned beings and a thousand yang-attuned beings.
Mok-gan had once used it to seal Gu Hwan-cheon-gu, the Sea Calamity King among the Six Demons.
It demanded immense sacrifices and peak yin and yang energies, but as the only sorcery capable of fully imprisoning the Fire Deity, he had awaited this moment.
"Heh heh heh. Shall I now reclaim what's mine from you?"
Mok-gan's clone slowly extended a hand toward Mok Kyung-un.
He seemed already aware of the Qing-ling spirit within the wooden doll seal in Mok Kyung-un's chest.
-Shuk!
But right at that moment.
Fierce light gleamed in Mok Kyung-un's eyes as he glared at Mok-gan's clone.
Then,
-Ukkin!
"Khek!"
In that instant, Mok-gan's clone spewed black blood from his mouth and clutched his heart.
In utmost shock, he glared at Mok Kyung-un with trembling eyes.
'......This bastard, could it be?'