Chapter 77. Song of Light and Shadow (3)
Chapter 77. Song of Light and Shadow (3)
5.
I charged.
I raised my sword.
I struck and cut.
Demonic Heavenly God Art魔天神功.
First Form第一式.
Sword of Starvation餓死流劍.
My body became a starving farmer. My sword became a pickaxe. Struck by my blade, the empty air shattered like dry clay.
It shattered, and shattered, and shattered—and at the end of that broken void was Viper's head.
"What the—!"
Viper flinched. His single eye was stained with shock. Viper's shoulders twitched as if to move, then stopped, and the next moment his pelvis shifted. He had given up on blocking and was trying to dodge.
A farmer's pickaxe never misses the earth.
My sword struck and gouged the empty air. Viper pulled his body back. The void sucked in air equal to the mass of its shattered self.
BANG!
With the sound of the void splitting and bursting, sleet whirled up. It was winter. Every time the wind blew, sleet scattered, and the air clawing at my nasal passages was brutally dry.
"...Fuck me."
Viper raised his sword. Between the snowflakes, Viper's single eye gleamed. In the eye of the Heavenly Martial Sect Master—the only one he had left—shock was swirling.
"What is this,"
I charged.
I raised my sword once more.
I struck and cut.
"This," Viper again threw his body backward instead of blocking my blade. "This fucking," bang, sleet erupted with the bursting sound. "Son of a," every time I swung, Viper dodged, and he had no choice but to dodge, "bitch," and a whirlwind surged up from every spot he vacated.
"Holy fucking shit!"
I tried to charge again, but I stopped.
More precisely, my body went clunk and stopped on its own.
I wasn't breathing. I hadn't realized it. "Huk," a breath, dry air slammed into my throat. A whirlwind churned inside my lungs. "Hoo," my organs flipped over, I couldn't breathe properly, "Haa," every breath hurt. I was trembling.
But I did not let go of the sword.
One exchange.
A single round of combat had ended.
"Goddamn, I nearly died...."
Viper looked at me, sweating cold sweat.
"Death King, I figured you were all talk... but your swordwork’s decent too. Fuck. What the hell is this, anyway? Those strikes could be summed up as [Yeongse Mageom]."
"Indeed, my disciple! It is the [Eternal Demon Sword (Yeongse Mageom, 永世魔劍)], a blade that carries the aura of a demon who freezes the world and shatters it!"
The Murim Alliance Master, who had been grappling with the Heavenly Demon, shouted.
Between the [Yeongse Mageom] Viper meant and the [Eternal Demon Sword (Yeongse Mageom)] the Murim Alliance Master meant, there was surely an insurmountable fourth-dimensional wall—but no one without mind-reading could have noticed it.
The Heavenly Demon did not perceive that wall either. She clicked her tongue.
"That one remaining eye of yours is quite sharp, isn't it."
"Of course! His age is his only flaw, but he is a once-in-an-age prodigy with a 'true' eye that pierces to the essence. Would I, Bu Wol-seon, have taken him as a disciple otherwise?"
The Murim Alliance Master preened, then glanced sidelong at me.
"Hmm. And you, woman—the one you took as a disciple shows promise too. How long has it been since you took him in, and he's already unleashing such a fearsome demon sword? Heh heh. A seed of a demon lord fearsome enough to surpass even the Four Demon Lords (四魔君)!"
"That's why I'm saying I haven't taken him as a disciple yet...."
"Bah! You're still saying that at this point!"
"......."
The Heavenly Demon closed her mouth.
'Right.'
I thought as I gasped for breath.
'This isn't a fight for me to beat Viper, and it isn't a fight for Viper to beat me.'
The purpose of this duel.
'Make the Heavenly Demon acknowledge me.'
On this point, my goal and the Murim Alliance Master's goal were exactly the same.
To give a future to the Heavenly Demon, who was merely waiting for annihilation.
The Murim Alliance Master grinned.
"My disciple!"
"Oh, Master!"
To Viper, who answered with great spirit, the Murim Alliance Master shouted.
"From now on, I shall give you advice! Listen well!"
"What...."
The Heavenly Demon spoke.
"You—you old bastard! What do you think you're doing!"
"Why? Is there a problem? Aren't you and that green demon brat not even master and disciple?"
"Well, that's true, but... I mean, giving advice in the middle of a duel! Even in baduk, it's rude for an outsider to kibitz, let alone in a duel between two martial artists!"
"Two martial artists?"
The Murim Alliance Master laughed heartily and stroked his beard.
"All I see is a green demon brat and a proud rising star of the orthodox faction. The Great Ming Code surely states that demon lords may be captured through joint attacks. There is no problem whatsoever."
"I've let this go on long enough, you old bastard, you really—!"
"Keh keh."
The Murim Alliance Master bellowed cheerfully.
"My disciple! That green demon brat's individual strikes are quite refined, but he doesn't seem to have the capacity to maintain his momentum! Never meet him head-on—dodge. Dodge and wait for his internal energy to run dry!"
"Hey hey, Master! Is that a fact!"
Viper smirked.
"I figured that out ages ago! Don't you have any more practical advice!"
"No, what's with your disciple's way of talking!"
The Heavenly Demon ground her teeth. Her face was burning with fury in more ways than one.
"Is that truly the dignity of the orthodox hero you've decided to take as your last disciple!"
"Oh ho, now the demon lord picks a fight over speech. Should we expect the etiquette of the Central Plains from a child of the frontier? Or why? Are you worried that your disciple—ah, not your disciple yet, you said. Anyway, are you worried that green demon brat is going to get smashed by my disciple who talks like that?"
"You—"
"My disciple! Unleash the Butterfly Full Sword and Life and Death Like a Decree! They'll work immediately!"
Viper's thick eyebrows twitched.
Beneath them, deep realization settled in his single eye.
"Indeed. [Butterfly Full Sword] and [Life and Death Like a Decree], is it."
"Yes! If I were to add one more, it would be to incorporate the essence of the Heavenly Heavenly Martial Art—but can you do it?"
"Fuck, of course I can! Master. I am the Heavenly Martial Sect Master Viper, that's who I am!"
Viper blew his nose with a vigorous bang, then gripped his sword.
Meanwhile, I had finally managed to catch my breath.
Viper grinned at me as I reset my stance.
"Death King."
"Yes."
"Did I ask you if you'd ever starved?"
"You did. Viper."
"Is that your martial art?"
A question as sharp as the gaze shot from his single eye.
I answered while steadying my breathing.
"It's the imagery contained in the strike from a moment ago."
"Thought so."
Viper chuckled. Then he tilted his head, slanting that smile.
"Let me ask you in reverse, Death King. What do you think martial arts is?"
The master of the Heavenly Martial Sect discoursing on martial arts.
It was like the Heretic Questioner discoursing on god, like the Sword Saint discoursing on the sword, like the Alchemy Ministry Head of the distant future discoursing on medicine—something to be received while sitting upright and listening.
I would have done the same. If I had not met the Sword Emperor, if I had not learned demonic arts from the Heavenly Demon, and above all, if I had not read that old man's psychology beforehand.
"I'll answer for you!"
Viper lowered his stance and raised his sword.
Like a viper with its venom up, rearing its neck.
"You plant your feet! You swing your arms! You throw your fist!"
And then he moved.
No—he flowed.
It was as if Viper himself had become liquid. Like water flowing from high ground to low, he flowed in smoothly and gracefully. All the way to me.
He flowed like that, and then, the next moment, clang—!
"Martial arts is—"
From below to above, a rising slash surged up, and I barely managed to block it.
Immediately, Viper rotated his blade a full turn. Blade against blade, sparks screeched as his sword climbed. Viper straightened his sword like that. He stood it perfectly vertical as if piercing the sky, then bent his wrist slightly. Tilted it.
And poured it down.
"—smacking the bastard in front of you!"
It poured down.
"That's all it is! You little shit!"
A downpour of sword strikes covered me.
"Damn it," clang! The moment I blocked, "Ah," clang! The next strike, "Ugh!" and the next strike, "Shit," the sword strikes pouring in relentlessly chewed at my blade. Bit into it. Violently pried open gaps. "Ugh," and then, shhk—! A blade finally forced its way through and tore my cheek. "This—!"
Blood burst out. I barely managed to retreat a few steps. But—
"I won't let you go!"
Viper, like a viper that had sunk its fangs into the neck of its prey, coiled around and clung to me.
Another rising slash from below to above.
"Ugh."
The moment I blocked, he rode up along my blade, and the shower of blades poured down.
"Goddammit."
Fuck, he really was strong.
He's not ranked among the hunters as a martial faction fighter for nothing. This Viper bastard!
"Hey hey, Death King! You threw the first punch and that's all you've got!"
Viper snorted.
The fury rising inside me burst out of someone else's mouth.
"That goddamn—!"
It was the Heavenly Demon.
"You fool!"
She shouted at me at the top of her lungs.
"What are you doing! It's a downpour! It's water! Does that sword not resemble rainwater!"
The Heavenly Demon, who had been grinding her teeth at the Murim Alliance Master's provocations all this while, finally let her voice loose. The woman shouted at me with her fists clenched tight.
"What is there to fear! Receive it and drink it!"
The Heavenly Demon had acknowledged this duel.
Me, who had become the successor of the Demonic Cult, and Viper, who had become the successor of the orthodox faction. She acknowledged our fight. She acknowledged that this was a confrontation between the Demonic Cult and the orthodox faction, and that the two of us were the 'proxies' of the Heavenly Demon and the Murim Alliance Master respectively.
"Ha."
I laughed.
"Understood!"
I raised my stance, holding my sword in a reverse grip.
Demonic Heavenly God Art魔天神功.
Second Form第二式.
Sword of Thirst渴死痺劍.
I blocked Viper's pouring sword strikes before they could pour down. And then, as if drinking them in reverse, I drew them into the path I wanted. I let them flow.
Onto the bare ground, I poured them out.
"Oh,"
Viper, who had wasted a move.
Me, who had made him waste a move.
In the instant our gazes crossed, the voices of the old man and the woman crossed too.
"My disciple! It's Rotting Leaf Mud! Become wet earth and—"
"Ha! Then just turn it into a puddle!"
Viper crouching into a defensive stance and me twisting my sword to the side happened simultaneously.
Demonic Heavenly God Art魔天神功.
Third Form第三式.
Sword of Drowning溺死滿劍.
With just the slightest incline.
At a slanted horizontal, clang! I sent a sword strike flying, clang! matched to Viper's breathing, clang! matched to his blinking, clang! and then—
At the very end, off-beat—
Shhk, bang—!
"You fuck—!"
Viper, cut in the side, ground his teeth.
The Murim Alliance Master shouted.
"He's vicious! Get away!"
"Stick to him!"
The Heavenly Demon shouted.
Viper retreated following the Murim Alliance Master's voice, and I clung on following the Heavenly Demon's voice.
Demonic Heavenly God Art魔天神功.
Fourth Form第四式.
Sword of Freezing凍死接劍.
"Goddamn son of a bitch!"
Viper lost his temper.
"You fight like such a pain in the ass!"
"Viper’s no slouch either!"
"No, seriously, it's a pain in the ass! Death King, were you a piece of taffy in your past life? How do you stick to me like this?"
"And weren’t you a dog in your past life, Viper?"
As we wondered about each other's past lives, Viper and I exchanged blades. Sleet surged up, and the winter wind howled.
The spectators grew even more heated.
"Cut him off at the right moment, my disciple!"
"Strike right now!"
"Don't block! Dodge with something like the Lazy Donkey Roll! Then follow up with the Ground Lying Fist—"
"Child! You must not block that either! Dodge!"
Wounds opened on skin and cloth.
They multiplied.
Blood flew, and flesh scattered.
Both Viper and I, at some point, became drenched in blood. The burst-open wounds were buried in the cold wind and quickly hardened into scars.
"Oh ho, you demon lord wench! You're the one kibitzing now!"
The Murim Alliance Master, scolding her, was smiling.
"This old bastard with a head full of snakes...."
The Heavenly Demon, complaining, ended up smiling too.
Every time their laughter crossed, Viper's and my sword strikes intermingled.
Neither Viper nor I had any intention of killing each other. There was no killing intent in the verbal sparring between the Heavenly Demon and the Murim Alliance Master either. Therefore, this was not a life-or-death duel.
It was not a fight to kill anyone.
But it was, unmistakably, a fight that was killing everyone.
"Hoo, hoo! Haa!"
I became the Heavenly Demon's sword. In place of the Heavenly Demon, whose entire body was infected and who could no longer fight at full strength without pouring out all her internal energy, I fought at full strength.
It was a landscape she had lost.
"Haaaap!"
Viper became the Alliance Master's sword. In place of the Murim Alliance Master, whose entire body was infected and who could no longer swing an axe without shattering his true energy, he charged at full strength.
It was a dream he could no longer dream.
"......."
All landscapes fade.
No matter how brilliant the dream, it discolors someday.
Humans decline.
"Ugh...."
At some point.
The Heavenly Demon fell silent.
The woman of the murim who was called the greatest of all time slowly covered her face with her hands.
"Wretched brat... wicked things...."
A genre that had declined.
A world that had declined.
"I threw it all away. I threw it away long ago, so why does it come again...."
Only people can abandon people.
Only people can choose not to abandon people.
"What are you trying to do...."
How much time passed?
Only when neither Viper nor I had the strength left to hold a sword did our duel come to an end. There was no victor. There was no loser, even more so.
"......."
I sheathed my sword.
Breathing hard, I trudged across the snowfield. I walked up to the Heavenly Demon, who stood with her face covered, and bent my trembling knees.
"Heavenly Demon."
With trembling hands, I pressed against the snowfield.
"I wish to become your disciple."
I wanted to become your landscape.
"I wish to serve you as my master."
I wanted to become your dream, one that would never fade.
"My title is Death King (死王)."
I wanted your landscape to continue into mine, your dream into mine, and your life into mine.
"My true name is Kim Gong-ja."
An era that mocks all sincerity.
I wanted to become the support that would keep anyone from laughing at you.
"Please accept me as your disciple."
Please keep living.
That was what I said.
"......."
The sunset dyed the sky.
Sleet was falling onto the snowfield.
"I am the Heavenly Demon, So Baek-hyang."
To fall from the sky to the snowfield, the snowflakes had drifted on the wind for a long time. Countless snowflakes. And among them, one particular snowflake blew in and landed on a woman's black hair. White melted into black and flowed down.
"Offer the Nine-Bow Rite."
The Heavenly Demon spoke.
"I shall take you as my final disciple."