Don’t Bow Your Head (5)
Haaah!
Chung Myung used the corpse skewered on his sword as a shield and slammed straight into the enemy line.
“St-Stop him!”
“Don’t give way!”
The Demonic Sect disciples strained with everything they had, trying to hold him back, but there was no answer to the power born from such brutally pure inner energy.
KWOOOONG!
Chung Myung lashed out, flinging the corpse at them along with his sword. The sudden move sent the Demonic Sect disciples scattering backward in confusion.
Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Art, Plum Blossom Spitting Splendor.
At the same time, a wicked stream of sword qi, sharp as a serpent’s tongue, poured toward them.
Swish. Swish. Swish!
The Demonic Sect disciples’ bodies were instantly painted red. Even as blood sprayed from every part of them, they threw themselves forward desperately, trying to stop Chung Myung no matter what.
But a body already riddled with wounds could not possibly hold him back.
Fwaaaat!
Chung Myung took the lead disciple’s head clean off, then sprang into the air and skewered the men around him in one sweep, threading them through with his sword.
Even then, his eyes remained cold, calmly assessing the battle.
This side had definitely seized the initiative. But the situation elsewhere was starting to shift. The Demonic Sect disciples had been pushed back once by sheer momentum, but given the difference in skill from the start, there was no reason they would keep losing ground forever.
“Heavenly Demon descends! Ten thousand demons rejoice!”
“Kill the unbelievers!”
Where the Ice Palace warriors and the Demonic Sect disciples faced off, it was now the Ice Palace side that was gradually being forced back.
And the opening that created was quickly swallowed by the Demonic Sect disciples pouring out of the cave.
But Chung Myung, seeing that sight, bared his teeth in a grin.
That’s right.
They really were clumsy. They knew what they had to do, but not how to do it. That much was probably true for them too—they had never fought a proper war.
BOOM!
Chung Myung unleashed a burst of palm force toward the front, then hurled himself backward once more. In his sight, the front line was already alarmingly loose.
As the ones who had come out of the cave kept trying to occupy the empty space, the very front that needed to be sealed off had grown flimsy beyond measure.
“Hye Yeon!”
“Yes, benefactor!”
From the rear, Hye Yeon answered with a booming voice and leapt toward Chung Myung.
“Take the lead and cut a path! Sasuk, Sago! Support Hye Yeon on the left and right!”
“Got it!”
Baek Cheon charged up, and Yu I-seol, without even answering, had already taken her place beside Hye Yeon and set herself.
And without needing any orders at all, Jo Gul, Yoon Jong, and Dang Soso all found their positions as well.
At the very rear, Chung Myung turned his head and looked at Seol So-baek and Han Yi-myung.
“I’m counting on you!”
“Yes!”
Seol So-baek answered with a voice so loud it rang. Han Yi-myung also bit his lip hard and nodded.
What mattered was not defeating the Demonic Sect disciples, but stopping the resurrection of the Heavenly Demon.
“Break through, bald monk!”
“Amitabha!”
Hye Yeon burst forward, pouring out golden light as he charged. It was like watching a radiant dawn split the earth open.
Behind him, the disciples of Mount Hua in black robes rushed forward with roars.
“Don’t look back, just keep moving! I’ll handle the attacks from behind!”
Chung Myung shouted and sprang toward the front.
Furr-r-r-rip!
The tip of his sword trembled like a flexible blade for an instant, then unleashed a fierce spray of crimson Plum Blossom Sword Qi. Blossoms burst open in a flash, sweeping to the left and right of the Mount Hua disciples who were carving a path forward.
“Kuh!”
“Hup!”
The Plum Blossom Sword Qi may have been familiar to the Demonic Sect disciples who had invaded the Ice Palace, but none of them had ever faced Chung Myung before.
How could they not be thrown into confusion when sword qi shaped like flowers suddenly rained down like a storm?
As they frantically blocked and dodged, their defense line loosened, and Hye Yeon tore through it from the front with brutal force.
“Haaah!”
WOOOOOOOOONG!
With a vibration like a giant temple bell being struck, the men blocking Hye Yeon were shoved backward in a line.
A weight as heavy as Mount Tai pressed down on their whole bodies and crushed them flat.
“Grrrr…….”
Their bodies, unable to endure the pressure, cried out in agony. Blood streamed from their mouths, noses, eyes, and ears alike.
Of course, the Demonic Sect disciples did not retreat easily even then, but that one blow created countless openings in an instant.
And the one who never missed such a moment was, naturally, Yu I-seol.
Fwaaaat!
Yu I-seol’s sword shot out like lightning and stabbed rapidly into the hearts of the Demonic Sect disciples pinned down by the pressure.
Swish!
As their hearts split apart, blood sprayed across Yu I-seol’s face. But she did not even blink. With a blank expression, she kept stabbing. The sight of her expressionless face ending one life after another with a single strike was chilling at a glance, but it was also utterly reliable.
“You vile little—!”
The Demonic Sect disciples’ claw-like attacks flew toward Yu I-seol’s entire body.
“Samae!”
But at that exact moment, Baek Cheon rushed in and blocked them in her place.
Swish!
Even so, he could not stop everything; the tips of those claws sliced a long gash across Yu I-seol’s upper arm. She showed no sign of pain, as if she were someone who couldn’t feel it, and with the same indifferent expression, she ended her opponent’s breathing.
“Amitabha!”
Hye Yeon, having bought time thanks to Yu I-seol and Baek Cheon, gathered his energy and unleashed Hundred-Step Divine Fist ahead.
KWAANG!
Again!
KWAAAANG!
The successive Hundred-Step Divine Fists shattered the Demonic Sect’s formation in a truly pitiful way. And at last, the entrance to the cave was open.
“Follow me!”
Hye Yeon shouted at the top of his lungs in a way utterly unlike him, then ran first. Yoon Jong, Jo Gul, and Dang Soso guarded his back.
Soon, the Mount Hua disciples surged into the cave at terrifying speed.
……Except for one of them.
……
Left alone in the rear, Chung Myung stared blankly after them.
“No, wait…….”
You were supposed to take someone with you.
Guys?
Hey. Guys?
“Hah.”
Chung Myung laughed in disbelief, shook his head a couple of times, and then started trotting toward the cave.
After cutting down the Demonic Sect disciples charging at him, he glanced back at Seol So-baek.
He hadn’t given any orders, but Seol So-baek still nodded with a firm expression, as if vowing to crush every remaining Demonic Sect disciple.
“Seriously, kids these days.”
Growing up fast, aren’t you.
Chung Myung snorted and leapt into the cave. Blue ghost fire was already rising in his eyes.
As long as I’m here, you’re not doing whatever you want.
* * *
* * *
Rumble!
The cavern shook.
Feeling the massive collision of energies outside, the Bishop’s eyebrows twitched slightly. His face, which had been pretending at indifference, began to waver in subtle ways.
This is a grand plan a hundred years in the making.
Now, it was truly almost time.
But heaven was still testing them to the very end.
No—perhaps even heaven feared the Heavenly Demon and was trying, in its own way, to prevent his resurrection.
But it was pointless.
The longing for the Heavenly Demon’s return could not be stopped, not even by heaven itself. Soon, the sky above would collapse, and a new sky of demons would open.
That was when it happened.
“Bishop!”
Someone rushed into the cavern in a panic.
“The unbelievers have entered the demonic cave!”
The Bishop answered without even turning his gaze.
“Stop them.”
“W-we’re doing our best! But the ones who entered are stronger than expected, and we may not be able to hold them back to the end…….”
“Hold them back.”
“…….”
The panicked voice fell silent before the Bishop’s chilling tone.
“The time when the Heavenly Demon descends upon this land is almost here. Even if your life is cut short, make sure the filthy unbelievers’ feet never touch this sacred place.”
At once, a vile murderous light filled the Demonic Sect disciple’s eyes.
“Heavenly Demon descends! Ten thousand demons rejoice! Bring about the world of demons!”
“Excellent.”
Moved by that praise, the disciple rushed out wordlessly with a resolute face. From his back poured a will to embrace death without hesitation.
Throughout all of this, the Bishop’s gaze never once left the Asura image in front of him.
“……Heavenly Demon descends, ten thousand demons rejoice.”
He knew.
Allowing them to reach inside the cave meant there was a strong enough person among them that the disciples alone could not stop. Even if they bought time, the line would eventually be broken.
But there was no other choice.
For him, the most important thing was not protecting the disciples.
For the disciples, a world without the Heavenly Demon was worse than death.
If only the Heavenly Demon could return, they would gladly offer their own lives as well.
“Heavenly Demon. Please do not turn away from the blood and grief of your many disciples.”
It had been a truly long time.
But even that waiting was finally nearing its end.
Thump.
A heartbeat, clearer than before, echoed in the Bishop’s own chest.
“Ah…… ahh…….”
And then, in that very instant.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!
A tremendous shock sounded from the rear.
At the same time, someone’s scream could be heard faintly.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!
The vibration shaking the entire cavern drew closer and closer.
“Heavenly Demon descends, ten thousand demons rejoice.”
Blue killing intent streamed from the Bishop’s eyes.
“Haaah!”
CRACK!
Hye Yeon’s fist slammed into a Demonic Sect disciple’s jaw. The jawbone shattered at once, and the disciple spasmed before toppling softly to the floor.
Whoosh!
But Hye Yeon didn’t even glance at the fallen man. He rushed forward, and the Mount Hua disciples quickly followed after him.
Then, in that instant—
A Demonic Sect disciple lying sprawled on the ground thrust out a hand and clutched at Baek Cheon’s leg.
Startled, Baek Cheon looked down.
Even with his belly split open and his innards spilling out, even with his jaw completely crushed and hanging uselessly, the man was still clinging to his leg with bloodshot eyes.
The force in that hand was by no means strong. There was no inner energy behind it, just a hand.
But the desperation in that grip was enough to make one’s chest go cold.
“……Hea……ven……ly…….”
“…….”
“……Dem……on…….”
Swish.
Baek Cheon cut his throat and turned his head away before he had to watch him collapse. Even after life had left him, the hand gripping the hem of Baek Cheon’s trousers did not loosen.
Forcibly tearing that hand free, Baek Cheon gritted his teeth and ran after the others.
They’re savage.
The Demonic Sect disciples stood in their path with no regard for their own lives, like beasts guarding their den. Even Baek Cheon, who had come to understand their nature to some extent now, found it enough to make his skin crawl.
What, exactly, is the Heavenly Demon to them?
Such ghastly fanaticism.
Baek Cheon could not understand them by any means.
No matter how devout one might be, no matter how much one might cherish something above oneself, how could they throw away their own lives so cheaply?
Could the existence of a Heavenly Demon they had never even met possibly be so important that they would stake their lives on it?
I don’t understand.
Sticky disgust crept up his whole body. Only now did he begin to understand why the Demonic Sect and the Orthodox Alliance had hated and fought each other so viciously.
They’re human, and yet…….
What in the world…….
“Clear your head.”
Then a low voice came from behind him.
“You can think later.”
“……Right.”
Baek Cheon accepted Chung Myung’s words and drove inner energy into his legs.
“Sasuk! Up ahead!”
“I see it!”
Grinding his teeth, he glared ahead. At the end of the cave, a faint light was seeping through.
There!
He knew it instinctively. Whatever was happening, it was happening right there.
“Move!”
Shouting to steady his trembling heart, Baek Cheon shot to the front and kicked his speed up even further. It was so fast the cave walls seemed to distort.
Before long, they reached a vast cavern in an instant.
“Th-this is?”
“……What is this?”
The Mount Hua disciples could not hide their shock at the sight before them.
A massive cloth had been hung to completely fill the front of the cavern, and the image of Asura was painted upon it.
The very fact that this was something none of them had ever seen before made it feel ominous enough to send a shiver through even those who had survived countless life-or-death battles.
And then……
At first, their eyes were drawn to the image of Asura, but where their gazes finally came to rest was in front of it.
An old man.
All eyes were fixed on the old man sitting alone in lotus position at the bottom of the cavern, his back turned to them.
There was nothing strange about him beyond his slightly large build; he was simply an old man. His snow-white hair was bound by a crookedly pinned hairpiece, and the red robe he wore had faded with age.
By all appearances, he was nothing more than an ordinary elderly man.
But……
What the hell is that…….
Baek Cheon bit his lip until it nearly bled.
It felt as if a deeply sinister, damp energy were crawling up his ankles. The revulsion was so intense it made him want to tear at his own skin.
He had only looked at the man’s back. And yet the same sense of crisis one felt when baring one’s neck before the jaws of a beast slammed into him all at once.
That man is……
The Mount Hua disciples unconsciously held their breath.
The Bishop. The one who led the remnants of the Demonic Sect.
Even without exchanging words, even without crossing hands, they could tell.
This man was on a different level from any Demonic Sect disciple they had seen so far.
No.
He was different from any enemy they had ever faced.
Not even Beop Jeong, the Abbot of Shaolin, had ever given off such presence. As if to prove it, Hye Yeon’s face had also gone pale, drained of all color.
Just as everyone was groaning under the shock of the Bishop’s existence—
“Heavenly Demon descends, ten thousand demons rejoice.”
The old man lowered himself slowly to the cavern floor.
Bowing on all fours.
Without giving even a glance to the people behind him, he offered the deepest reverence to the image of Asura, then slowly, very slowly, raised his body.
Only then did he turn to face them.
Chilling.
They had only met his eyes, and yet the Mount Hua disciples flinched before they realized it.
“You should never have set foot here.”
Blue light flashed in his eyes.
“The sin of desecrating the sacred place where the Heavenly Demon is about to be reborn—your lives alone cannot repay it.”
Cold sweat beaded on Baek Cheon’s forehead and ran down his chin.
Fight?
With this man?
The moment everyone’s minds went blank—
“Looks like the old bastard’s lived too long and gone completely mad. What the hell are you trying to resurrect?”
A calm voice drifted in from behind them.
Chung Myung walked out with a bored expression and faced the Bishop head-on.
“In case you didn’t know…….”
Shiiing.
Then, with a grin, he drew his sword and pointed it at the Bishop.
“You need my permission for that.”
“Hahah…….”
A low laugh slipped from the Bishop’s lips.
That laugh grew and grew, until it became a deafening burst of maniacal laughter.
Kuhahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
The Bishop’s laughter thundered through the cavern as if it would split it open.
Black demonic energy surged out of his entire body like ink spilling into water. At the sight of him, as if a malevolent god had descended upon the world, the Mount Hua disciples reflexively tightened their grips on their swords.
“Not even a single hair of your flesh will remain in this world! You filthy unbelievers!”
The Bishop’s demonic might swept through the cavern like a storm.
The Bishop of the Demonic Sect, who a hundred years ago had trampled the world as the Heavenly Demon’s hands and feet.
That power had begun to reappear here, now.