Let Them Remember From Now On (3)
The law enforcer’s body trembled violently.
He could see the disciples being slaughtered before his own eyes, every detail of it searing into his mind.
The reason this sight was so shocking was that it overlapped perfectly with the image of the disciples who had been massacring the Ice Palace warriors only moments earlier.
War was momentum.
The side that seized the upper hand could often unleash strength beyond its true limits, while the side that lost it would usually fail to draw out even half of what it was capable of.
That was precisely why the disciples had been able to butcher more than ten times their number of Ice Palace warriors so one-sidedly.
If the Ice Palace warriors had not lost their nerve and had fought calmly, it would not have been easy to crush them completely with numbers alone. But the Demonic Sect’s disciples were experts at provoking fear and breaking their opponents that way. It was because of that that they had been able to overturn such a numerical disadvantage so easily.
And yet…
Clang-clang-clang!
Every time the man at the front swung his sword, a chilling sound stabbed into the law enforcer’s ears.
What the hell is that bastard?
The very disciples who had been terrorizing the weak were now the ones backing away, crushed by his momentum.
But the law enforcer had to admit there was no other way it could be.
The sight of that black-robed youth, his face cold and expressionless as he wielded his sword like an emotionless demon, spilling killing intent from both eyes, was enough to make even him groan inwardly.
That black-robed figure was pressing the Demonic Sect’s own methods back at them—no, even more skillfully than they did—crushing his opponents with fear and carrying out a one-sided slaughter.
The law enforcer glanced aside.
The Ice Palace warriors who had been thrashing about in a desperate attempt to run just moments ago were now twitching in place. Watching the man at the front, they were slowly leaning forward, inch by inch.
No.
He ground his teeth.
The ones following that bastard were already full of courage, no longer afraid of the Demonic Sect. If even the Ice Palace’s rabble got swept up in that momentum, all that would remain was defeat.
“Youuuu bastard!”
Kwaaaaang!
At last, the law enforcer stamped the ground with force.
The floor split like a spiderweb and caved in. The monstrous boom sent every gaze on the battlefield snapping toward him at once.
“Useless trash. Fall back!”
The instant the order was given, the Demonic Sect members hurled themselves backward.
Slash!
But even as he pulled away, one Demonic Sect disciple rolled across the ground, spraying blood everywhere. Chung Myung’s sword had twisted at the waist and ruthlessly pierced the back of the man trying to flee.
“You…”
The law enforcer shuddered slightly with rage.
Yet Chung Myung only nonchalantly shook his sword, scattering the blood clinging to it.
“...That little shit.”
The law enforcer’s furious gaze and Chung Myung’s indifferent one collided in midair.
Before they knew it, the fight had stopped.
The Demonic Sect disciples who had retreated stood in a line behind the law enforcer, while Mount Hua’s disciples formed ranks behind Chung Myung.
It was a truly strange standoff.
Here were the warriors of the Ice Palace, the ones who claimed this as their own North Sea, and yet the two forces confronting each other were factions that had no real place in the North Sea at all.
Song Won, the captain of the Ice Palace guards, ground his teeth at the sight.
What the hell are we supposed to be, then?
Was there any better word for them than scarecrows?
This was the Ice Palace. And they were all warriors of the Ice Palace.
But right now, in this Ice Palace, outsiders with no connection to it were fighting the decisive battle, while the Ice Palace warriors could only watch from a distance.
Such overwhelming shame washed over him that it could not even be put into words.
He turned his gaze from the two groups in front to look behind him.
Yeo Sa-hon and Han Yi-myung were staring at the Demonic Sect and Mount Hua with faces no different from the other Ice Palace warriors around them.
Song Won bit down hard on his lip.
Even those young warriors from the Central Plains are fighting without caring if they live or die. So what in the world are we doing?
In this barren land of the North Sea, they had lived with a certain pride simply by enduring. They had told themselves that the people of the Central Plains, living on those fertile lands, would never possess the same stubbornness they did.
But now those very people had proven, with their swords, that the Ice Palace warriors’ belief had been completely wrong.
Just as Song Won was lowering his head, wanting desperately to hide in a rat’s hole if he could, something suddenly flashed across his eyes.
Hm?
His head tilted up a little more.
The Ice Palace.
Through the gaping hole torn in the walls, he could see a child looking down from above.
It was Seol So-baek.
Now the Palace Lord of the Ice Palace, he stood tall on the wind-lashed wall and looked down below.
His tightly pressed lips and resolute eyes seemed to be carved into Song Won’s mind.
Spellbound, Song Won kept watching him for a moment before slowly turning his gaze back to Mount Hua’s disciples.
Not yet…
It was not over yet.
He clenched his fist and stared straight at those young warriors.
No one spoke.
The two groups only looked at each other. But between them flowed a chill colder than the North Sea’s knife-like wind.
“Those filthy unbelievers dare…”
A sinister voice leaked through the law enforcer’s lips.
“You seem to have no idea what happens to those who interfere with the rites of the Church. Your lives…”
“What a load of crap, you loser. You were gonna kill us anyway even if we hadn’t interfered.”
“...”
For a moment, the law enforcer faltered and shut his mouth.
The remark was far too crude and base to have come from someone who had, only moments ago, been radiating the sharpened momentum of a treasured sword.
“Seriously, what is it with Demonic Sect bastards? You don’t even know what you’re saying half the time. Tch. You’re all idiots, every last one of you.”
“...”
All feeling seemed to drain from the law enforcer’s face like sand.
The opponents Chung Myung had faced until now had usually roared in outrage and flown into a rage around this point.
But the law enforcer only glared at him with terrifying eyes, as though he were stoking cold anger deep in his chest.
“I will make one proposal.”
“Hm?”
“Who has the Ice Crystal?”
“Me.”
Chung Myung pointed to himself with utter ease.
Seeing that shameless expression, the law enforcer narrowed his eyes.
“Hand over the Ice Crystal. Then we’ll withdraw from here. I can’t promise you’ll live, but with your abilities, you should be able to leave the North Sea and return to the Central Plains before the Church acts again.”
“Oh? Is that praise?”
Chung Myung grinned and asked. The law enforcer gritted his teeth once, then spoke again in a cold voice.
“...This is your final warning. Leave the Ice Crystal and retreat. Then your lives will be spared. If you refuse this offer…”
Crack.
His fist clenched so tightly it sounded as though bones were breaking.
“You will learn firsthand how terrifying the Church truly is.”
But once again, Chung Myung openly sneered.
“Kids these days really do have no brains.”
What?
Fear?
Hey, bastard, I know more about that than you do.
Ah, damn it. And I can’t even say it out loud!
He let out a long sigh, then gave the law enforcer a lazy smirk.
“Well, the offer isn’t bad. I’m not exactly a fan of pointless fighting either.”
At that, the people behind Chung Myung all tilted their heads slightly to the side in unison, as if they had just heard something absurd.
What the hell did that bastard just say?
“Everything’s fine, except there’s one little problem.”
“And what is that?”
“If I’m hearing you right, you’re saying if we hand over the Ice Crystal, you’ll obediently back off. Right?”
“That is correct. I swear it in the name of His Greatness.”
For a Demonic Sect member, to swear in the name of the Heavenly Demon was like making a contract that had to be kept even if one had to burn both body and soul to do it.
Knowing this well, Chung Myung also knew their offer was not merely a desperate attempt to wriggle out of a bad situation.
But.
“That’s the problem, see.”
“...What?”
“Who said we were going to let you leave?”
Chung Myung, who had been lazy and sardonic until then, suddenly twisted the corner of his mouth with a cold glint in his eyes.
“Seems like you still don’t understand the situation…”
Killing intent poured from his eyes.
“The moment you showed up in front of me, there was only one outcome left for you. Mount Hua doesn’t let Demonic Sect bastards walk away alive.”
The law enforcer’s eyes flew wide.
“What did you just say?”
“Are you deaf too? I said I’m not letting you leave alive…”
“Mount Hua?”
At that moment, ferocious demonic energy began to whirl around the law enforcer’s body. Like a storm, black qi coiled and surged around him.
Kwaaaaang!
It was an astonishing force and presence.
The faces of the Ice Palace warriors watching turned deathly pale.
The Demonic Sect members were frightening enough, but this man was on an entirely different level from the rest of them. There was no question he would be no match for them.
“Mount Hua? Mount Hua, did you say?”
“...”
Yet Chung Myung, standing before him, didn’t even look scared. He only tilted his head in puzzlement.
What the hell is wrong with that guy all of a sudden?
“So that’s it… yes, that’s it. The sword that makes flowers bloom. Even after seeing that sword, I failed to realize where you had come from… How can there be fools of this caliber!!!”
The voice that had begun quietly, almost like a mutter to himself, ended in something close to a scream.
“Mount Hua! Mount Huaaaan! So it was the hateful, detestable bastards of Mount Hua who dared show their faces before us! I’ve changed my mind. None of you will ever leave this place alive. I’ll chew up and swallow every last drop of your blood and flesh!”
Only then did Chung Myung roughly understand what was going on, and he snorted.
“Ah. Come to think of it, you guys know too, don’t you? Who chopped off the Heavenly Demon’s head.”
“Youuuu bastard!”
The law enforcer’s face twisted into something like an asura’s, and he erupted with crimson light.
“If the Bishop had seen you, he would have given the same order! You will regret before death itself that you dared show your face before us!”
“That’s my line, you son of a bitch.”
Chung Myung’s sword pointed straight at the law enforcer.
“Come on. I’ll cut your head off just like I did the Heavenly Demon’s.”
“Grrr…”
The law enforcer let out a beast-like growl and spread both hands. At once, black demonic energy poured out in a terrifying surge.
“Oh?”
Chung Myung bared his teeth in a crooked smile at the sight.
So they’re not all idiots after all.
Just as the Ice Palace had weakened, the Demonic Sect was not the same Demonic Sect it had once been. Its cruelty was unchanged, of course, but its true strength was nowhere near what it had been in the past.
And yet that law enforcer exuded a pressure comparable to the Demonic Sect members Chung Myung had faced in the old days.
“Hated and detestable ones. The Church’s hellfire will burn even your souls! I shall bless this holy land, where He will be reborn, with your blood!”
The law enforcer started walking slowly toward Chung Myung.
Each step dug deep into the ground.
The demonic qi bursting from his body whirled violently around him like a storm, coiling over him in a furious vortex.
It looked as though a black tempest was rolling in.
“A… ah…!”
One by one, the Ice Palace warriors began to slump to the ground as if their legs had gone limp. Even the Mount Hua disciples behind Chung Myung, and Hye Yeon too, took a step back before they realized it.
But—
“But this bastard has been…”
Chung Myung spun his sword once, gripped it firmly, and strode forward.
Everyone’s mouths fell open in shock at the sight of him walking so casually toward that terrifying black storm.
What in the world was he plann—
At that very moment—
Fwaaaat!
With a sharp piercing whistle, the sword qi Chung Myung unleashed shot toward the law enforcer at terrifying speed.
The law enforcer, advancing wreathed in demonic energy, snapped his head aside and dodged the incoming strike in an instant.
Swish.
Even so, the edge of the sword qi cut across his cheek.
A red line appeared on the pale skin of his face, and a stream of bright blood began to trickle down.
“And yet all you Demonic Sect bastards ever do is talk like you’re something special.”
Chung Myung curled his lips and spat the words out.
“I’ll kill you cleanly, so when you get to the underworld, go ask your superiors who I am.”
My name.
The crooked smile on Chung Myung’s face vanished in an instant. And then, turning into a black streak, he shot toward the law enforcer.