Chapter 62. Orthodox-Demonic War (1)
Chapter 62. Orthodox-Demonic War (1)
1
I had never read a wuxia novel.
Not only did I lack the habit of reading books, but by my generation, [Wuxia] was already a declining genre. Occasionally, old wuxia-style movies would surface on the internet. But thanks to their shoddy CG, they were nothing more than a laughingstock.
An era that had learned to mock all sincerity.
There was little room left for martial valor and chivalry.
A genre that had fallen into decline.
A world that had fallen into decline.
Snow was falling upon that very place.
"...So cold!"
Our expedition party, devoid of dreams and hope, had safely entered the world of the Apocalypse. What greeted us was a vast snowfield. Snow crunched beneath our shoes with a cute, squeaky sound.
But the cold that assaulted us was absolutely not at a cute level.
"Everyone!"
I shouted urgently.
"Raise your Aura and protect your bodies!"
Bitter midwinter cold.
My toes were freezing even while standing still. The moment he heard my shout, Viper immediately flared up his Aura. But the non-combatants, the Pharmacist and Medicine King, could not manage to do so.
"I-I-I... never learned how to use Aura......"
"Achoo! A-a-achoo! Oh dear, this old man is dying! I'll freeze to death!"
Only twenty seconds had passed since we'd dropped into the world of the Apocalypse. Already, the color had drained from the two of them, their faces looking like death. Well, I'd done all sorts of things myself to try and master Aura. How could support-type hunters possibly know how to use it?
"Tch."
I responded quickly.
"Heavenly Martial Sect Master! Please take care of Medicine King!"
"Very well."
Viper hoisted Medicine King onto his back. Whether he was the emperor of light novels or a man who lived and died by his pride, Viper was undeniably a top-ranking combat hunter. The violet Aura he flared up immediately enveloped Medicine King's body as well.
"Ahhh, now I can live a little......"
Medicine King let out a sigh of relief. His complexion relaxed like an old man who had just stepped into an open-air hot spring. I nodded, then took the Pharmacist's hand.
"Boss, stick with me."
"Y-yes?"
"Give me your hand."
Aura flowed from my hand into the Pharmacist's. Crimson Aura. Aura that had yet to be determined whether it symbolized fire or blood wrapped warmly around the Pharmacist's body.
"Ah."
The Pharmacist ducked her head.
"Th-thank you, Death King. But th-this is a little ticklish......"
"I know you're embarrassed. I'm embarrassed too. But now isn't the time to dwell on embarrassment."
I looked around. The blizzard was as thick as water fog. We'd resolved the immediate problem of body temperature, but that was all. We had no idea where we were or where we needed to go.
"The Librarian is a Constellation, so he casually used words like [work] and [cancellation]. But this is unmistakably a world. It's not some ordinary book. We came here to save a world. You know that, right?"
"......"
The Pharmacist's eyes widened.
"...Yes, that's right. I suppose I was thinking about it too lightly. I-I'll work hard."
"Everyone just needs to focus on their own role. Right now I'm protecting you with my Aura, but when it's time to cure the plague, you and Medicine King will have to step up. I'm counting on you."
"Yes, Death King."
Whoooosh-
The blizzard swept past our earlobes. Squinting, we struggled to get some sense of the surrounding geography. I recalled the final lines of the Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon.
「A sudden plague swept through, and the Heavenly Demon died.」
「Soon after, all others perished as well.」
Terse sentences.
In those sentences, not even fifty characters long, there was no mention of a 'cold sharp enough to flay flesh,' nor any appearance of 'snow that rose past the ankles, up to the calves and knees.' Only the simple fact that the world had been destroyed.
From now on, we would have to find out for ourselves.
What had happened that a figure called the 'Heavenly Demon' would die.
What exactly this 'plague' was that had driven humanity in this world to extinction.
"Oh!"
Squeeze.
The Pharmacist gripped my right hand a little tighter. She pointed beyond the blizzard.
"Look over there, Death King! I think I just saw people!"
We all looked in the direction she pointed.
She was right. The snowfall was thick, making it hard to see, but... human silhouettes were visible beyond the wind. The silhouettes were countless. Not just one or two, but dozens. Perhaps even hundreds.
A forest of human shadows.
"Okay."
I took the lead and walked.
"Let's head that way for now!"
Snow flew. It wasn't snow falling from the sky. It was snow that had already fallen, caught up by the wind. When obscured by the blizzard, people were visible only as shadows, so we walked huddled close together to avoid getting separated.
-Zombie.
The guardian spirit spoke. He had been surveying our surroundings on my behalf.
-Something's weird. I can't hear any sound coming from that direction.
'Couldn't the blizzard just be blocking the sound?'
-Could be.
The guardian spirit stared at the forest of shadows with narrowed eyes.
-But it's not just that there's no sound... those things aren't moving at all. Not even a twitch. They're not people, they're like stone statues.
Fortunately, the snowstorm died down before long. Once the snowfall stopped, visibility improved considerably. But that was where our good fortune ended.
At the sight spread out before us, we were momentarily speechless.
"...What the hell are these?"
Viper let out a white breath.
"Why are all these humans frozen?"
The middle of the snowfield.
Hundreds of humans, all frozen solid while standing upright.
2
"...They really are human."
The Pharmacist examined the frozen humans and spoke.
Wearing latex gloves, she used forceps to tear off a piece of flesh from a corpse.
"According to the [Life Diagnostic Report] skill, they've been dead for two years and three months. Cause of death is infection. Analysis by [Mobile Hospital] shows it's an unregistered disease."
"How bizarre!"
Medicine King also took out a monocle and examined the frozen humans from every angle. Just as combat hunters used skills to perform martial arts, they used support-type skills to diagnose the frozen humans.
"The cause of death is all the same. It's not death by freezing. They died of disease, so they should at least have died lying on the ground... but all of these are standing, aren't they? Hah, truly. It's enough to make a ghost weep. When something like this happens in Silicon Valley......"
"It's highly likely someone deliberately moved them here."
The Pharmacist cut Medicine King off sharply.
Ever since hearing my words earlier, the Pharmacist's expression had turned serious.
"Even though the cause of death is the same, the dates of death are all different. This person died two years ago. That person died three years ago. We can only conclude that someone intentionally moved the corpses......"
I furrowed my brow.
"Could this be some kind of grave?"
"Hmm."
Viper stroked his chin.
"A grave, huh. From a distance, it almost looks like a terracotta army."
The frozen humans were all posed differently. One human had both arms spread wide, gazing up at the sky. Another was frozen with its mouth gaping open like a beast.
'Character window.'
I looked at the nearest frozen human and murmured inwardly.
Letters shimmered into view above the pure white snowfield.
+
Name: Jang Seong-pa (張成派)
Favorability: -
Preferred Genre: -
Disliked Genre: -
Preferred Character: -
Disliked Character: -
Preferred Plot: -
Disliked Plot: -
Mental State: 'Light.'
+
"......"
So this was how the character window of someone already dead appeared.
Perhaps the 'Light' displayed in the mental state... was the last thought this person had when they died. The psyche of a corpse was fixed like an epitaph carved on a tombstone.
The party murmured amongst themselves, faced with the mystery.
"A grave... if this is a mass grave, why would they make it like this?"
"Who knows. But all of these bastards have weapons at their waists."
"Isn't there anywhere we can rest? It's warm thanks to the Aura, but......"
That was the moment.
"...Uhahaha!"
Laughter rang out from afar. Our party reflexively lowered our bodies. The owner of the laughter, apparently unaware of us, shouted toward someone.
"The Demonic Dominion ends today!"
"Ha, a passing dog would keel over laughing at that."
There was more than one voice. There were two.
"As long as I remain in good health, the Demonic Dominion stands strong. Bu Wol-seon (斧鉞仙). You should be the one bidding farewell to the orthodox murim."
Clear, ringing voices.
One was the voice of an old man, and the other was the voice of a young woman.
The old man shouted.
"Nonsense! The Blood Ghost Unit that your Demonic Cult was so proud of has already had its heads lopped off by my axe blade. I sent those rotten old demon heads to the underworld with their skulls severed too! I have a full five hundred elite warriors of the murim following me, so what sorcery could you possibly use to stop me!"
"Hmph."
The woman laughed softly.
"Your tongue is truly long, old monster. The Blood Ghosts merely left the region for a time under my secret orders. They are not children weak enough to die at the hands of the likes of you."
I raised a finger toward the party.
'Shh.'
The party blinked.
'Let's approach quietly. Okay?'
The party nodded silently.
We crept through the mass grave of frozen humans, the forest of corpses. The voices of the two unknown figures gradually drew closer. Soon, the two of them came into view.
"Rather than worrying about my subordinates, concern yourself with your own underlings first, Wol-seon."
The woman wore black martial robes.
"Where have all those promising young pillars of the great houses you so boasted about scurried off to? The old monster once revered as the leader of the murim has grown truly wretched."
"Ha!"
The old man wore white mourning clothes.
"It's none of your concern. They received my secret orders and spread out across the land with haste!"
"You do seem to have a great many secret orders."
"Is that not because you wench needlessly wrecked the whole world! Hah! If it weren't for this damn Demonic Dominion, the state of the world would never have become so strange!"
"If we are fools, then what does that make you lot, who handed the murim over to such fools? Fools above fools, so you ought to be called supreme fools."
"Y-you dare!"
"Come at me if you're upset, old man."
A remarkably lowbrow fight was unfolding.
Judging by their words, the old man in white mourning clothes seemed to be from the orthodox faction. And the woman in black martial robes seemed to be from the Demonic Cult.
The orthodox old man and the Demonic Cult woman aimed their weapons at each other.
"Enough! I can no longer stand the sight of a demon head like you strutting about! I'll split your skull in two, offer one half to the Jade Emperor, and present the other to King Yama!"
"Hmph, I too have been longing for a fight to the death. Today, I shall finally sever the last bloodline of the orthodox faction and prove that the Demonic Dominion stands strong."
Their tone was flippant, but it was a typical duel between murim warriors.
Now, if only the two of them would draw upon their internal power and exchange a splendid clash of blades, everything would have been perfect.
But a serious problem had been discovered.
-Zombie.
The guardian spirit muttered in disbelief.
-What the hell are they doing holding sticks......?
Right.
The old man and the woman, these two warriors of the jianghu, were each clutching a thin wooden stick like a switch. That was the 'weapon' the two of them had drawn. The dazzling weapons that were supposed to appear in wuxia films were nowhere to be seen.
"......"
"......"
The two of them seemed embarrassed themselves, pointing wooden sticks at each other. They exchanged awkward glances for a long while. The woman in black martial robes slowly began to speak.
"...Bu Wol-seon. Where have you stashed that Jade Axe you were so proud of, that you've come carrying some scrap of wood? For a worthless wretch of the Namgung family, swinging an axe with gusto was your one and only redeeming quality......"
"Sh-shut up!"
The old man's face reddened.
"What about you! Where did you toss that Blood-Slaying Demon Sword you cherished like your own daughter, to be holding a switch like that!"
"Oh my, a switch."
The woman averted her gaze slightly.
"You wound me. For your information, this is a wooden sword I carved myself. The essence of a thousand years of the demonic path is contained within this wooden sword, and I have personally bestowed upon this armament the name Demonic Heaven Cypress Blade."
"Did you just attach the name of the Demonic Heaven to a mere switch?"
"Hmm. Is that not allowed......?"
"......"
"......"
Silence.
The old man spoke in a low voice.
"Ahem. Even so, Demonic Heaven Cypress Blade is too excessive. How about using the modest name Chastisement?"
"Doesn't Chastisement literally mean a switch......?"
"It literally is a switch, and it looks exactly like a switch! You idiot!"
The woman nodded dejectedly.
"Very well. Since you insist, I shall be content with the name Demonic Chastisement."
"That damn 'Demonic'! Demonic!"
The old man's white beard trembled.
"Why are you demonic bastards all so desperate to slap the character 'demon' onto every name! Your subordinates alone are Blood Demon, Sword Demon, Ghost-Soul Flame Demon, Moonshadow Demon Lord—four demons! And the title for those bastards is even the Four Demon Lords (四魔君)! Do you people learn the character for 'demon' before you even memorize the Thousand Character Classic!"
"Hmm. Does it not have a certain flair......?"
"Aagh! To think the jianghu fell into the hands of such bastards, even for a season!"
Then.
Dark clouds began to slowly devour the sun. The snow-laden clouds were especially thick, and a deep gloom settled over the snowfield. In an instant, the world grew dark as early evening.
"Hup!"
The old man flinched.
"D-demon head. Now is not the time for us to fight!"
"......!"
The two murim warriors pressed their backs against each other as if they hadn't just been trading insults. Cold sweat ran down the woman's forehead.
"Damn it all. The heavens have been acting so capricious lately......"
"You wench! Didn't you assure me the weather would be clear today!"
"Divinations are sometimes right and sometimes wrong. I merely learned fortune-telling from Ghost-Soul Flame Demon over his shoulder. How could I see through the will of heaven?"
"Good grief! I'd have been better off installing some street fortune-teller as cult leader—to think I was swayed by this wench's words and ruined a great undertaking!"
"Shut up and prepare to fight, old man. You're draining what little energy you have left."
Our party was bewildered.
The Pharmacist, pressed close to my side, whispered.
"Wh-why are they suddenly acting like that......?"
"I'm not sure. I don't really......"
It was the moment I was about to answer that I didn't know.
-Grrrrrk.
Something squirmed.
At first, I thought someone in our party had made the sound. But as growling noises began to come from the left, the right, the front, and the back, I realized my assumption had been badly mistaken.
-Groooo......
-Kikik, greeeh.
-Grrrrr.
"Eek!"
The Pharmacist, startled, clung to my arm. Even through her glasses, I could see her face had gone pale.
Viper and Medicine King's faces weren't much different. My own expression was probably contorted unpleasantly too.
-Kiiiiik!
-Kroo, urrrrgh.
The frozen humans, easily numbering a thousand.
The things we had dismissed as mere corpses... slowly began to move their limbs.
-Urrrgh.
The eyeball of a corpse frozen right nearby rolled. Its pupils were dilated, and its eyebrows had almost completely fallen out. Above all, part of its eye had been eaten away, perhaps by insects. Despite that, the corpse stared directly at us.
"......"
My gaze met its.
The moment I saw the corpse's eyes, I understood.
"Oh shit......"
The Apocalypse named Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon.
That book had clearly stated:
+
[Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon]
Genre: Wuxia, Fusion
Difficulty: B-rank
Party Limit: 2-4 people
※The serialization is currently discontinued.
Introduction: The murim. A world of those who revere martial arts, use martial arts, and attain martial arts! Here, the Heavenly Demon appeared and sought to unify the murim. The Demonic Cult, united around the Heavenly Demon. The forces opposing the Demonic Cult. They clashed over the fate of the world... or would have.
If only a super plague hadn't suddenly swept through.
Reason for Cancellation: An unidentified plague ran rampant through the world, and the Heavenly Demon died. The Demonic Cult was annihilated. The other forces were also destroyed. The end.
+
The corpses we had assumed were merely frozen humans slowly began to move.
Their movements were sluggish and slow, but the sight of corpses moving was terror in and of itself.
I finally realized what this 'unidentified plague' that had destroyed this world truly was.
"The super plague was a [zombie virus]?!"
The moment I shouted, the corpse's mouth gaped open.
-Uwoooooo!
The sun was swallowed by dark clouds.
A thousand zombies lunged at us.