I Knew This Would Happen (1)
Blossoming.
Chung Myung’s outstretched sword traced the air like a plum blossom branch spreading over the world, and before long, vivid red blossoms began to open one after another, as if they were truly alive.
Plum blossoms. That damned flower.
Blood vessels burst horrifically in the bishop’s bulging eyes.
That hateful flower had taken everything from the sect, and even now it stood in his way.
By now, the pain in his chest had grown unbearable. The bishop clenched his fist so hard it seemed his bones might crush.
“Huaaaaaa-san!”
That cursed name.
The ones who had stolen the sect’s heaven. He had killed them, and killed them again, and even after burning their home to the ground, they had risen once more to stand before him—those disgusting things.
They wouldn’t fall.
Like the plum blossoms Mount Hua used as its symbol, they would bloom again after withering, bloom again even after being crushed, and keep blocking their path no matter what.
“You……!”
Blood-red light exploded from the bishop’s eyes. The demonic energy he had drawn up to the crown of his head surged through his entire body, dyeing him black as pitch.
“Let’s see if you can bloom again after being torn to shreds!”
Black claw-like energy shot out from both of his hands, stretching more than ten feet.
Whoooosh!
Charging forward like a berserker, the bishop began raking across the front as though he meant to tear the air itself apart.
Blossoms that had just bloomed withered away without even putting up a fight before that attack, which seemed capable of ripping space open and shredding it apart.
But then—
Chung Myung burst through the sea of blossoms and brought Dark Fragrance Plum Blossom Sword down toward the bishop’s head.
“Cut the crap!”
Clang!
No matter how sudden it was, such a blatant frontal strike could never reach him. The bishop swung his elongated claw strength and casually deflected Chung Myung’s attack.
One was the attacker, the other the defender. Yet the overwhelming difference in internal force twisted and shattered Chung Myung from the inside out instead.
Blood surged up again from Chung Myung’s mouth.
The bishop, seizing the opening, was just about to sweep out a hand and send Chung Myung flying when—
Flash.
Chung Myung used the recoil from pressing down with his sword to spring himself slightly backward. Then, in midair, he swung his sword and painted another plum blossom.
WHOOSH!
In an instant, plum blossoms covered the bishop’s entire field of vision.
No matter how high the bishop’s realm was, when attacks were about to pour in at any moment, there was no way to tell which blossoms carried a real sword and which were illusions.
Tsk!
In the end, he reflexively retreated.
Without realizing it, this was the first time since the battle began that he had backed away.
The bishop had the upper hand in their exchange, but Chung Myung had won the momentum. And once that momentum was seized, the disciples of Mount Hua did not let it slip away.
Flash!
Under the plum blossoms Chung Myung had drawn, Baek Cheon and Jo Gul leaped nearly low enough to skim the ground and swung their swords at the bishop’s ankles.
Clang-clang-clang!
Hancheol Sword, swung with desperate force, scraped across the bishop’s ankle. A clear red line appeared at once, and blood ran down in a thin stream.
Of course, for a blade attack infused with sword qi, it was a pitiful wound.
But if it had been just a little earlier, even that tiny cut would never have formed. This wasn’t merely a wound. It was proof that the demonic energy protecting the bishop’s entire body had grown noticeably weaker than before.
“You vermin!”
The bishop roared and slammed both hands downward. The two men twisted desperately to evade the direct hit, but they couldn’t withstand the shockwave that followed and were hurled away like kicked balls.
Just as the bishop was about to unleash another wave of force at them, he jerked his body violently aside at the sight of a sword suddenly thrust up right in front of his face.
Swish!
A red line was drawn across his cheek.
And then—
“WOOOAAAHHH!”
Along with a mighty roar, a blinding flash of gold came hurtling in at terrifying speed.
BOOOOM!
The gold light smashed into the bishop’s outstretched hands and exploded, scattering in all directions.
“You……!”
The bishop’s twisted face now looked exactly like a demon’s.
Each of them was, individually, trivial. Utterly insignificant. And yet these worthless wretches attacked one after another as if they were a single body, not caring whether they lived or died.
Flash!
After knocking aside the flying throwing blade aimed at his face, the bishop was about to unleash a furious counterattack when a blue-edged sword suddenly lunged at his throat again.
Tsk!
With venom in his eyes, the bishop glared at Chung Myung.
The center was this brat.
Because this brat seemed to read the attacks in advance and thrust his sword in at the perfect moment, the others could attack without fear.
“You rat bastard!”
Unable to contain his rage, the bishop ignored the sword Yu I-seol sent at him and flung indiscriminate force at Chung Myung instead.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!
Black force rolled forward like a landslide toward Chung Myung. Yu I-seol’s sword, flashing like a beam of light, stabbed at his throat and shoulder several times, but the bishop did not retreat a single step—instead, he poured even more power into the force aimed at Chung Myung.
Crack-crack-crack!
Yu I-seol’s sword finally punched finger-sized holes through his throat and shoulder. But the bishop, blinded by fury, didn’t even spare her a glance.
“Dieeeeeee!”
And then, in that instant, the bishop saw it.
Between the wildly churning force, Chung Myung was grinning—teeth bared.
Flash, flash, flash!
His sword cut through the force at terrifying speed.
One decisive strike carved a gap in the surging pressure, and the sword that followed plunged straight into that opening.
And then—
WHOOSH!
Red flowers bloomed in the midst of the pitch-black force.
In the blink of an eye, blossoms that had opened like clouds pushed the onrushing force apart left and right as they grew larger and larger.
Giiiiiiiiiiing!
The sword bent under the pressure and let out a strange, strained noise, but Chung Myung only kept swinging with mad eyes, over and over.
Plum blossoms spread out within the darkness.
At that endless sight, fear and revulsion crept into the bishop’s mind, stripping away his reason.
“HRAAAAAH!”
The force he had not been able to push back completely slammed into Chung Myung’s body and crushed him.
The skin from his left shoulder was ripped away in a chunk; the flesh on his thigh burst open, and the bone beneath snapped cleanly.
But instead of dimming, Chung Myung’s eyes gleamed brighter still. Curling his lips, he shouted,
“Go!”
At that moment, Yoon Jong leaped from behind him and leveled his sword forward.
Nonsense!
Thinking it was the same obvious trick as before, the bishop reached out toward Yoon Jong with one hand.
Huh?
But then a blurred shadow overlapped behind the leaping Yoon Jong. The bishop’s eyes flew wide at the unexpected turn.
“Amitabha!”
Hye Yeon, having leaped in perfect coordination, slammed his fist power mercilessly into Yoon Jong’s back.
And Yoon Jong received that incoming force on his back without the slightest hesitation.
BOOOOOOM!
With a tremendous blast, Yoon Jong’s body shot toward the bishop at a speed too great for the eye to follow, blood gushing from his mouth as he flew.
The tip of his fully extended sword gleamed sharply and stabbed into the bishop’s chest.
Crack!
Hancheol Sword bored into the utterly solid ice.
Crack! Craaaack!
Spiderweb cracks began to spread through the already fractured ice.
“KRAAAAH!”
The bishop hurriedly struck Yoon Jong away.
Yoon Jong was flung back without even a scream and smashed straight into the cliff.
BOOOOM!
“Cough!”
The impact ripped through his whole body, and blood poured from Yoon Jong’s mouth and nose. Yet even with his face drenched red, he smiled.
“Serves you…… right…….”
He couldn’t finish the sentence before collapsing helplessly to the ground.
“Grrrr…….”
Clutching his chest through the agony, the bishop staggered back.
The ice covering his chest was steadily turning red. Blood also dribbled from his mouth.
“You…… filthy infidels…….”
There was no trace left of the ease he had shown before.
Crack.
Chung Myung forcibly set the broken bone in his leg with internal energy and limped forward toward the bishop.
“Ptooey!”
He spat out blood and glared at the bishop with cold eyes.
Then a thin, vile smile slowly spread across his lips. When his bloodied teeth showed, the bishop shuddered despite himself.
Chung Myung said,
“I figured you’d be a cripple, but…… this is embarrassing even for something called a bishop.”
The bishop’s eyes wavered for a moment. But only for a moment—then fury, boiling once more, set his gaze ablaze.
“What the hell do you know, you little punk, to spout nonsense like that!”
“By the looks of it, you haven’t fought properly once since Cheon Ma died.”
“…….”
“A cripple like you spent a hundred years holed up in a corner, talking about grand causes and leading only the obedient cultists. There’s no way you had any real combat experience.”
Chung Myung sneered as he advanced on the bishop.
“You can see right through it.”
His voice was calm, but laced with mockery, and it crawled into the bishop’s ears like poison.
“You…….”
Chung Myung’s eyes curved into smooth crescents as he looked at him.
“You were abandoned by the cult, weren’t you?”
At those words, a violent radiance burst from the bishop’s eyes.
“You bastard! What the hell do you know, to talk like that without knowing a thing!”
Apparently, he had struck a nerve. The bishop howled, pouring out madness as though everything he had shown before had been nothing at all. The heavens and earth themselves seemed to shake with the sound.
“I was not abandoned! I abandoned those apostates who could not believe in Cheon Ma’s resurrection! Those lowly apostates will also be judged by Cheon Ma! Those who do not believe! Those who forsake faith! All of them! All those demons!”
It was a blood-soaked cry.
Just hearing it made it painfully clear that the man was no longer sane.
At last, blood tears began to run from the bishop’s eyes.
“When Cheon Ma descends, the world will be washed in blood! Cheon Ma! If only Cheon Ma returns…….”
“Yeah, maybe.”
Chung Myung answered flatly as he gripped his sword.
“But at least you won’t live long enough to see it. You’re dying here.”
Crack-crack-crack!
Something broke beneath the ice over the bishop’s chest. Ice fragments pattered to the ground, and then, through the fissures, red bloody vapor began to seep out.
“Grrrrk…….”
A groan escaped his mouth before he could stop it.
Everyone could see it plainly now.
The man was collapsing from the inside out.
“Bishop!”
“Protect the bishop! Move, damn it!”
The demonic cultists standing by in the rear, eyes blazing with blood-red light, charged forward at once.
“Hold them back!”
“Don’t let them through!”
The warriors of the Ice Palace, snapping back to their senses, also rushed forward in a desperate attempt to stop them.
“Cough!”
The bishop’s body jolted violently. Each convulsion sent blood gushing from his mouth like a waterfall.
My body……
He had been so careful, and yet he had lost control for an instant. As the wound he had barely kept frozen with ice crystals tore open, the light of life was fading from him at a terrifying pace.
“Cheon…… Ma’s return brings ten thousand blessings.”
But—
“No one can stop His resurrection!”
Even if he died, if he could just buy enough time for Cheon Ma to return, he would gladly accept death.
“……No. I can stop it.”
Then a cold voice came from behind him.
He turned reflexively, and there was Baek Cheon, limping toward him with his sword used as a cane.
There was no trace of his usual handsome bearing. His once-neat hair was a tangled mess, and his immaculate robes were now little more than rags.
But one thing had not changed from the beginning to now.
The righteous glow in those eyes.
He fell, and fell again, and yet the man rose once more.
As though……
“Hah…….”
The bishop gave a dry laugh, as if he couldn’t help it.
“Mount Hua……. Yes. So it was Mount Hua.”
The sect’s greatest enemy.
Even after all this time had passed, they had not changed one bit.
“Come.”
The bishop drew on the last of his strength.
“I shall bless Cheon Ma’s resurrection with your blood!”
No more words were needed.
Before the bishop had even finished speaking, Hye Yeon launched himself forward.
WOOOONG!
With a roar like thousands of hornets beating their wings at once, his fist, washed in gold light, split into dozens of fist-images and poured over the bishop’s entire body.
“Haaah!”
But no matter how badly wounded he was, the bishop was not so easy a target.
His force, wrapped in demonic energy, instantly suppressed the incoming fist power and crashed over Hye Yeon’s whole body, pinning him down.
BOOOOOM!
It was such a tremendous pressure that his eardrums tore and every blood vessel in his eyes burst.
Hye Yeon collapsed right there.
Just as the bishop’s attack was about to snuff out Hye Yeon’s breath, Yu I-seol’s sword, slipping in like a shadow, targeted the bishop’s flank.
Thud!
The bishop caught the incoming sword with his own hand. It was a rough, brutal grip that looked ready to snap the blade in half at once.
But then—
Yu I-seol let go of her sword and instead wrapped both hands around the bishop’s arm, clinging to it. As if she would never let go of that one arm, no matter what.
“You little damn—!”
The bishop swung his free hand and struck Yu I-seol hard across the face. Her head snapped back so violently it looked as if her neck might break, but the hand gripping his arm never once loosened.
“Sagooooo!”
Dang Soso flung every remaining throwing blade she had at the bishop while drawing her sword and charging straight at him.
There was a steely resolve in her star-bright eyes.
It was courage, too.
The grit of one who would not retreat even with death before her.
“Cha-aaaaat!”
Plum blossoms gathered at the tip of Dang Soso’s sword. Even as she watched all her throwing blades bounce harmlessly away, she swung at the bishop without the slightest hesitation.
And in that same instant, the sword Baek Cheon sent flying from behind drew the exact same plum blossoms in the air.
The bishop let out a convulsive roar and spread both hands.
The already weakened demonic energy blazed up again, ferociously whirling as it swallowed the Mount Hua disciples who charged in.
“Oooooooooh!”
Baek Cheon and Dang Soso were slammed straight into the ground as if nailed there.
The force was so tremendous that the instant they crashed into the earth, their bodies rebounded half a span into the air.
“You damn leech!”
Even as his entire body was being torn apart, the bishop struck Yu I-seol’s head again, the one still clinging to his arm.
Bang!
The blast sent blood spurting from Yu I-seol’s nose and mouth. Even as the wrist gripping the bishop’s arm was torn open by demonic energy, exposing white bone, her hand still would not let go.
Just as the bishop ground his teeth and tried to draw up the last of his remaining power to cut off her breath—
Faaaaaang!
A piercing shriek ripped through the air. Then a plum blossom sword, heavy with sword qi, came spinning ferociously toward the bishop’s throat.
“Tch!”
Forced to divert the energy in his hand, the bishop was unable to strike Yu I-seol and instead knocked away the incoming sword.
Thud!
With a horrifying sound, the bishop’s leg folded in on itself. Looking down, he saw a sword protruding through the front after piercing his knee from behind.
Jo Gul’s sword, thrown with every last ounce of his strength, had drawn his attention, and the sword Baek Cheon had crawled across the ground to thrust in had pierced his leg.
“…….”
Baek Cheon’s blood-soaked face was smiling at him.
“Aaaaaaaagh!”
The bishop screamed in madness and kept trampling Baek Cheon’s head over and over.
Bang! Bang!
Baek Cheon’s head dug into the ground.
“You bastard Mount Hua dogs! Die! Dieeeee! DIEEEEEEE!”
And then—
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
Along with that ghastly sound, the ice covering his chest broke free halfway and crashed to the ground.
“…….”
For a moment, the bishop froze motionless, staring blankly down at his chest.
Where the ice had fallen away, blackened, dead flesh was exposed.
“…….”
Death.
Inescapable death was approaching him.
As he stared dazedly at his chest, something white flickered in the bishop’s vision. Baek Cheon’s trembling hand was pointing forward.
Then Baek Cheon slowly, with great effort, lifted his blood-soaked head and smiled at the bishop with heartbreaking brightness.
“……Go…… to…… hell…….”
The bishop hurriedly turned toward where Baek Cheon was pointing.
And then—
His world was forcibly dragged a hundred years into the past.
Plum blossoms.
Plum blossoms redder than blood filled the world. An illusionary forest of plum blossoms, as if spring itself had been transplanted into reality, and from there, petals bloomed and scattered all at once on the wind, drifting toward the world.
T-This…… what is this?
He had seen this before…… had he not?
Someone rose from within the plum blossoms. The grim reaper come to drag him down into hell.
The bishop reflexively thrust out a hand.
The force within his palm struck the shadow charging at him squarely in the side. Every bone was shattered, and a whole chunk of flesh was torn away. But the attacker’s speed did not slow even a little.
And then he saw it.
Eyes.
Those same ice-cold eyes he had seen a hundred years ago.
Plum blossoms…….
Slash!
The sword cut long across the bishop’s chest.
……Sword Saint.
After severing the bishop’s heart meridians with a single strike, Chung Myung spoke in a voice like a beast’s growl.
“You still couldn’t protect Cheon Ma, this time either.”
The words flooding into his ears were close to despair itself. Blood gushed out of his chest like a waterfall.
The bishop’s body, which had seemed as though it would never fall, finally reeled and collapsed.