Chapter 82: Destiny (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 82: Destiny (1)
The Villain Syndicate.
It had been roughly ten years since that name was buried in the shadows of history. Although there were continuous signs of a resurgence, they had been unable to launch any full-scale operations.
Even when they found like-minded individuals, they collapsed time and again due to the existence of a certain someone. Villains, by nature, were evil men who submitted only to strength. They needed a focal point that was both overwhelmingly powerful and profoundly evil.
Someone like a Corps Commander, for instance.
Then one day, those who had once been executives of the Syndicate shuddered simultaneously. It was the day of the so-called Parsi Massacre.
A massacre. A horrific disaster.
Yet to the villains, it felt like a celebratory gun saluting the dawn of a new era. From that day on, they sought ways to contact the unknowable entity that had manifested during the massacre. The sacrifices required for that pursuit were taken for granted.
After kidnapping and torturing countless people, a select few finally managed to make contact with the mastermind bringing that unknowable entity into this world.
—■■ must ■■ the ■■...
They could not comprehend a single letter. Every single person who heard those words spewed blood from every orifice. Smoke even drifted from the ears of some, as though their brains had been cooked alive.
However, the villains who had operated in the shadows for a decade were no longer what they used to be. They were a stubborn, tenacious breed. Even at the risk of sacrifice and madness, they desperately wanted to break the current stalemate.
To break free from the evil suppressed by the Heavenly Sword, Kang Geomma. To reclaim the chaos that rightly belonged in this world.
And at long last.
"A-Aaaah..."
They reached it.
The origin of this world.
The villains thought that this concept bore an uncanny resemblance to the chaos they pursued. That they had not been wrong.
Riding this momentum, the villains were triumphant. A glimmer of hope that they could once again seize the forgotten glory of days gone by.
It did not take long for that hope to shatter.
"In a split second" would be an accurate description.
Because in just a few minutes, the Syndicate's sleeper cells were wiped out. As it was in the past, so it was now—by the hands of Kang Geomma.
Episode. Destiny
"F-Formation A...!"
A desperate shout. With trembling hands, the villains cast their magic. Most of them were fire magic users. There was no grand reason for this; fire was simply the most basic of the five elements, yet possessed superior destructive power for its simplicity.
Above all, against the Heavenly Sword, an all-out bombardment was their only sliver of a chance. Not to win, mind you. They intended to set their own bodies ablaze if push came to shove. Since these weren't their original bodies anyway, they had nothing holding them back.
Fwhoosh!
A demon of flame surged upward in a sleek, winding arc like a serpent scaling a wall. Twisting and entangling with one another, the blazes braided together. It looked like a crimson waterfall defying gravity.
Soon, it created a net of fire encompassing the entire hallway. Sparks caught on the hem of my clothes.
"Fireeeeee!"
The man in the tracksuit roared a triumphant battle cry as if he were a victorious general returning from war. Immediately afterward, the woven net of fire swooped down low.
It was commendable how quickly he wiped the solemn dread off his face. Quite a remarkable improvement, really. Ten years ago, the villains couldn't even put up a fight before getting stomped by me.
Compared to those past fools, these guys were quick to regain their composure. Well, only to a slight extent.
Fundamentally, they were still slow learners. After all, here they were, crawling back out again.
"I don't expect remorse from you guys anyway."
I wrapped the cord of Murasame around my hand and whipped it around. The sword's trajectory swept through a wide area like a serpent. With practiced flicks of my wrist, I adjusted its path.
The villains' fire net was shaped like a crisscross grid. Murasame tenaciously slithered between the gaps before snapping across. In an instant, the nodes of the fiery net—the streams of flame bridging the empty spaces—were severed without a trace.
Along with it, the slender threads of hope in their eyes snapped as well. That expression never gets old, no matter how many times I see it.
I effortlessly dispersed the collapsing net of fire. Since I gave them the first move, it was time for my counterattack.
BOOM!
My foot kicked off the floor. I swung Murasame. Almost simultaneously—calling it an immediate aftermath would be an understatement—three of them collapsed in a heap.
Like wooden puppets with their strings cut. A fitting metaphor, considering I had sliced the red threads sprouting from the crowns of their heads.
Their eyes went completely vacant as they passed out. Their nostrils twitched slightly. Thank goodness.
'They're alive.'
There was no time to sigh with relief. I kicked off the ground again and charged at the villains. Every time the flash of my blade glinted, they crumpled like flies. There was no bloodshed whatsoever. I targeted solely the threads controlling them.
A stream of fire brushed past my earlobe with a sizzle. Dodging with a minimal gesture, I swung Murasame over the caster's head. His eyes, previously sharp with intent to kill, slowly fluttered shut. In this manner, I neutralized ten men in under three seconds.
Ah, don't misunderstand.
I didn't kill a single person.
Well, there was one woman I almost killed, but anyway.
I focused on my swordwork. No matter how hard these villains tried, they were no match for me. However, since subduing enemies without killing isn't exactly my forte, I had to stay doubly alert.
'I must not injure them.'
Reminding myself of that over and over, I purged the villains. As the evil souls escaped from their host bodies, a chilling wail resonated.
The ghostly wailing suddenly descended upon the desolate plains of Texas.
* * *
This place is Texas, USA. On my way here, I wiped out quite a few sleeper cells. Roughly four locations?
The first cell was in an abandoned building in Gangnam, Seoul. Choi Seol-ah contacted me, so I went along with her. When we arrived, there were villains with strange red threads sticking out of their heads like antennas.
But who am I?
I grew up throwing hands with non-human abominations. It was event-filled, to say the least. Damn it, my youth never had a single peaceful day.
Anyway, thanks to all that experience, I instinctively knew I had to cut those threads. In the end, it turned out to be a choice I could be proud of.
—...Huh? Why am I crying?
The host of the body was a complete civilian.
I had no idea what method they used, but the villains had hijacked other people's bodies. They seemed to have used their brains for once. Honestly, things almost went horribly wrong at first. If not for Choi Seol-ah, that is.
—Noooo!
Just when my blade was about to stab the wrong spot, Choi Seol-ah jumped in. Out of habit, I had unleashed Lightning Magic. Since lightning magic is specialized in lethality, it's useless for non-lethal subduing.
So, I almost turned an innocent civilian into a roasted electric barbecue.
Choi Seol-ah threw her body on the line to prevent that tragedy, saying it was a face she recognized. While I felt embarrassed, I was genuinely impressed by her.
I thought to myself, 'Look at this villain girl actually acting like a decent human being now.'
Or so I thought.
Turns out, she said it was a grad student under her supervision. Apparently, the right to take a slave's life belongs exclusively to their graduate professor. I was completely flabbergasted...
—Heh, hehehe.
She must have realized how ridiculous she sounded, because she gave a sheepish smirk, totally ruining the moment. Regardless, because of that, I deliberately set aside my Lightning Magic for a while.
'Besides, the timing was right—I wanted to test myself using only my blade anyway. I'm a swordsman. Magic is just secondary.'
After wiping out the first cell in one fell swoop, I found a torn piece of paper in a trash can. It contained the locations of other sleeper cells connected to them.
Only then did I realize.
'These bastards were trying to tie me down.'
Insolent bastards. I despise petty tricks. So I decided to catch them off guard.
I swung by a Daixo near the abandoned building and bought a massive haul of sashimi knives. Then, infusing them with Lightning Magic, I cast Sword Control. The Daixo sashimi knives flew across the world at the speed of light in an instant.
By spreading the sashimi knives around the world, I secured my transit routes. Transforming into a streak of lightning, I teleported by linking sashimi knife to sashimi knife. Who would have thought I'd use Thunder Fold, a technique I developed just recently, so soon?
Making full use of my newly developed technique, I zipped across the globe at will. Though it was its first real combat test, Thunder Fold exceeded my expectations. In just a few minutes, I tore through their sleeper cells. By my estimation, four-fifths of them vanished into thin air.
My response was so instantaneous that some of them barely had time to utter a bewildered 'Huh?' before the threads attached to their souls were severed, causing them to vanish. Near the end, it suddenly occurred to me that I shouldn't keep doing this. It didn't feel like a fitting death for villains.
'It's way too comfortable.'
I steeled my heart. Leaving the remnants to Choi Seol-ah, I headed to my final destination, Texas. There, I ran into some unexpected faces.
'Rachel and All Mute.'
The two of them quickly realized why the villains were acting so triumphant. If they attacked, civilians would get hurt. If they stayed their hands, they'd end up burnt to a crisp.
At that desperate juncture, the two maintained their pride as heroes.
Honestly speaking, it was impressive.
Their moral reason, shining brightly on the boundary between life and death, was brilliant. Brilliant enough to make even my lightning fade in comparison.
Conversely, I came to hate these villains even more. I had intended to avoid causing a gruesome scene out of consideration for the original hosts of the bodies... but I felt compelled to personally discipline at least one representative.
Right, this guy wearing the Squ*d Game tracksuit.
In the end, I ended up grabbing him by the hair.
"Ghhk..."
I resolved to apologize separately to the body's actual owner later. Yeah, definitely do that. Make sure to emphasize that there was no personal grudge...
* * *
All Mute shrugged her stiffened shoulders. Having just brushed past death, her body was completely rigid. Rachel also drooped her shoulders as the tension finally drained from her.
Just then, a groan mixed with a scream struck their eardrums. Turning her head, she saw the man in the tracksuit held firmly by Kang Geomma.
"H-How... how in the world...!"
Clack. A blood-stained tooth hit the floor. The man in the tracksuit coughed up blood and hung his head. Kang Geomma lowered himself to eye level and spoke.
"I'm the one who wants to ask. How did you guys get into other people's bodies? Just who is backing you for you to learn such an advanced technique?"
"..."
"Ah, I see. You can't talk. You villains sure have heavy mouths in the most useless places. Come to think of it, since this isn't even your body, pain won't be transferred to your soul either, right?"
The man in the tracksuit's expression shifted as if he had been stabbed right where it hurt. That was just how Kang Geomma was. His tongue pricked like needle-sharp blades. There were even some who found his words more painful than his sashimi knives.
"If you have no intention of spilling it, well."
Kang Geomma turned his gaze backward. All Mute looked around. Rachel stared intently as well.
"Me?"
All Mute tilted her head and pointed at herself with her index finger. Kang Geomma nodded.
"Come here for a second."
"What... fine."
Since she owed him her life and he outranked her, she had no choice but to follow orders. As All Mute approached, Kang Geomma suddenly grabbed her wrist.
"...Hey?"
The goosebumps stood up all over All Mute's arms. Flustered by the sudden touch, she froze.
More importantly, Kang Geomma was a married man. Was he allowed to grab a woman's hand so casually?
Though her face flushed internally, All Mute made sure not to let it show on the outside. In America, it wasn't particularly unusual for a married man or a famous hero to hit on a woman.
Great heroes are fond of women, or so they say. In the end, Kang Geomma was a man and a hero. It was just that the timing and place were terribly inappropriate. Or was Kang Geomma that type of guy? So strong that he enjoyed the thrill...
"What kind of delusions are you having?"
"Huh?"
All Mute's eyes went blank.
"Activate your blessing."
Blessing of Sensory Shutdown. It was a blessing that shut down all senses except for one.
It was highly unusual. Unlike the vast majority of blessings that couldn't affect others, it could directly interfere with a target.
"Don't ask questions, just do it."
"..."
A subtle look of disappointment brushed across All Mute's face. Still, what choice did she have? It was an order from one of the Seven Stars, so she had to obey.
All Mute activated her Blessing of Sensory Shutdown. As if he had been waiting, Kang Geomma acted as a medium. Using his Blessing of Transfer, he channeled the Blessing of Sensory Shutdown into the tracksuit man.
"Hnk!"
The tracksuit man let out a sudden suffocating gasp. The next moment, his pupils pushed his eye sockets apart.
His eyes turned a solid, monochrome color as if dye had been mixed into them. Just like an alien's eyes.
"W-Wait! That's a civilian!"
Kang Geomma jerked his head back by his hair. All Mute gasped in horror. Was he trying to kill him? As her throat tickled with urgency, Kang Geomma beat her to the punch.
"To humans, the five senses are a smokescreen. You should know that well enough."
"...Roughly."
The five senses are a deception. A camouflage screen tightly concealing the inner self, the subconscious. Only when you strip that away can you finally see the darkness underneath.
"Watch closely."
Yi Tae-baek brought Murasame up against the tracksuit man's chest. Good grief. It looked for all the world like he was about to slit his throat.
Just as All Mute was about to intervene, Kang Geomma flipped the sashimi knife and tapped the tracksuit man's Adam's apple with the spine of the blade.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
"..."
Shortly after, the man shuddered as if shifting gears. Soon, black smoke seeped out from between his parted teeth, filling the empty hallway.
Black smoke. Within it, three flickering lantern flames formed a triangle. Like wisp-fires, they glared at Kang Geomma with a transcendental gaze.
Centering around those phantom fires, the smoke began to shape its true form. Before long, a manifestation made of smoke materialized, if only in silhouette.
The creature had additional heads sprouting beside the central one, along with no fewer than eight pairs of arms. Behind its back rested an overwhelming halo.
Apart from its grotesque structure, its faces were beautiful—as if every single element of beauty had been crammed into them. It was uncanny. Even wrapped in black smoke, it was distinctly discernible. As though isolated in a completely different art style, the entity parted its lips.
■■, O...
The sticky voice clung to their eardrums. In an instant, All Mute and Rachel lost their minds.
ItisbeautifulitisbeautifulitisbeautifulIamamereworthlesscreaturethatconceptuallyexistsonlytopraisethatbeingImustworshipitImustrevereitImustburnmyeverythinginthatflameandbeconsumedonlythencanIascend
Slash!
Kang Geomma lightly flicked Murasame. The smoke that collided with the blade split apart. Only then did the clarity return to the eyes of the two women.
The pressure squeezing their heads vanished. Coming to their senses, they looked at the smoke. That gaze, which had seemed peerlessly beautiful moments ago... was now a hideous monstrosity that brought nausea just by looking at it.
All Mute and Rachel promptly spat out chunks of pink flesh. They had apparently bitten the tips of their tongues. I'll have to heal those with the Blessing of Regeneration later.
'There's someone ahead in line.'
Kang Geomma stared at the smoke, split down the middle like a twin ice pop. That avant-garde gaze looking down at him.
"I'll be waiting."
Kang Geomma did not back down.
"Because I'm going to send you to the exact same place as Ragnarok."
In fact, he was the one pressing the attack.
Even when facing none other than the Second Apocalypse, Kali Yuga.
...
The smoke left behind its lingering gaze like dying embers before vanishing. The tracksuit man's waist bent backward at an unnatural angle, his tongue hanging loosely from his mouth.
"Even if it wasn't the ideal outcome, we gained something from it."
Kang Geomma released the tracksuit and stood up. All Mute had countless questions. She desperately wanted to grab him by the collar.
However, under the weight of successive shocks, exhaustion sapped the strength from her legs. Strangely enough, her memory of the bizarre phenomenon just now was already fading. Like an event from the distant past, darkness rapidly clouded over it.
A few seconds later, All Mute and Rachel completely forgot their impression of that entity. Utterly drained, they could only strain themselves just to stand up.
All Mute spoke up.
"...For now, let's go to Lancelot Company."
"I don't really feel like having a grand reunion. Why don't you just go home and rest for today?"
All Mute narrowed her eyes in displeasure.
"Whatever the case, we owe you our lives. If we ignore a debt of gratitude, it looks bad for the Company's dignity. Just play along and accept our cooperation. Or rather... please do so, Heavenly Sword."
"Fine."
"I know you don't care much for these debts of gratitude, but..."
...Hm?
"What did you say?"
"I said fine."
"Just like that?"
"Should I play hard to get then?"
"N-No."
That wasn't it. How should she put it? His nonchalance was so extreme that it was actually terrifying.
"Lately, graduate school has been taking up a lot of my time and effort anyway."
"R-Right."
"Thanks."
Seriously, what on earth was he thanking her for?