Chapter 1108
Meanwhile, a series of bizarre incidents had begun unfolding in the Death Shadow War Unit.
First, an extremely lethal poison that had been secretly stored deep within the warehouse suddenly leaked, nearly causing multiple fatalities from poisoning.
At the time, everyone had dismissed it as mere coincidence.
The next day, the martial artists of the Soul-Chasing Squad, led by Wi Cheon-gyeong, were organizing their weapons in the armory after finishing their training.
Once they had finished and left—
Sssk...
Thud.
A massive crescent-blade polearm weighing about 240 pounds wobbled—then toppled to the ground.
Sssss—
The moment the blade struck the floor, pale smoke and a pungent stench began spreading.
Beneath the stone tiles of the armory floor, a large quantity of ghostfire powder—used in crafting Heaven-Crushing Explosive Pellets and blast wheels—had been stored.
And the impact of the falling polearm ignited it.
BOOM!
With an earth-shaking roar, the entire armory exploded as though being torn apart from within.
Dust and flames swallowed the surrounding area.
Fortunately, the explosion occurred when no one was present, so there were no casualties.
But it had been a hair's breadth from becoming a horrific massacre that would have wiped out the entire Soul-Chasing Squad.
—Had Pa-myeong's assault begun?
The warriors of the Death Shadow War Unit grew intensely wary and began investigating.
But the results only deepened their bewilderment.
The reason the armory had exploded?
Three hundred years ago, a man called "Blast-Scale Asura" Eom Pung had stolen ghostfire powder from the Demon Hall.
And hidden it beneath the armory—a place no one used at the time.
He had later ventured into the Martial World, clashed with a Righteous Faction master known as "Scattered Star Wanderer," and died.
Thus, this dangerous ghostfire powder had remained buried, forgotten, until now.
—Too precise to be mere coincidence.
The commanders felt an uneasy prickle down their spines.
Pa-myeong's vow to Bu Eun-seol echoed in their minds.
Just like an Executioner enforcing the Covenant, he had declared:
If he couldn't kill his target directly, he would slowly slaughter those around them instead.
And he had claimed to possess the power to shatter fate itself—literally, the power of "Fate-Breaker."
Could he be weaving coincidences into inevitable deaths?
As this eerie tension began tightening around the Death Shadow War Unit's throat—
—The Death Shadow War Unit has done nothing but train all this time.
The topic of the Death Shadow War Unit came up during the Demonic Governance Council.
When it became known that these elite warriors were still idly training,
—The Martial Soul Lord has entered seclusion, so there's nothing to be done... But leaving such forces idle is a tremendous waste from the Demon Hall's perspective.
At least assign them minor tasks.
The council's leadership thus ordered the Death Shadow War Unit to take on various missions beyond simply remaining stationed at the Demon Hall.
From that day on,
a shadow of death loomed over the warriors of the Death Shadow War Unit.
The Demon Hall hadn't assigned them difficult missions. In fact, due to their status as the Martial Soul Lord's direct forces,
they were only given simple tasks that should have been easily handled.
But no matter how trivial the mission,
the moment the Death Shadow War Unit was deployed, it became a mission of death.
A routine mission to eliminate an insignificant bandit stronghold?
A landslide nearly buried the warriors alive.
A simple message-delivery assignment?
The ancient shrine they stopped at collapsed, unleashing centuries-old poisonous creatures.
—Coincidence?
As these incidents repeated, the Death Shadow War Unit had no choice but to grow wary.
Could Pa-myeong truly possess some transcendent power?
—There's a chance this is Pa-myeong's doing.
Yu Un-ryong shook his head.
Not only did Pa-myeong display martial prowess surpassing Bu Eun-seol's, but he could also control certain individuals as though they were his own limbs.
Triggering a landslide under the right terrain would be child's play, and gathering centuries-old venomous snakes or insects wouldn't be difficult either.
—Just like the Covenant, he's deliberately applying pressure to induce reckless or self-destructive decisions.
Having betrayed the True Demon, Pa-myeong couldn't operate openly in the Martial World and had to work from the shadows.
He was likely acting as he had vowed—like a god shattering fate—
relentlessly engineering "accidents" to pressure Bu Eun-seol.
Unable to act openly,
he was trying to lure Bu Eun-seol to him.
—Hold out until the Lord completes his seclusion!
Yu Un-ryong took command of the Death Shadow War Unit's warriors in Bu Eun-seol's stead, rallying them.
They had endured grueling training, overcome countless trials and crises to reach this point.
They couldn't afford to be toyed with by some servant of the True Demon, ranting about breaking fate.
—The Death Shadow War Unit is to dismantle a Blood Cult branch.
Another mission soon arrived from the Demon Hall.
—A Blood Cult outpost has been detected beyond the pass.
Yu Un-ryong took a deep breath.
He could sense it.
"This mission is clearly Pa-myeong's trap to drive the Death Shadow War Unit warriors to their deaths."
—Yet we have no choice but to go.
With the Death Shadow War Unit's current forces, destroying a single Blood Cult branch would normally be child's play.
But without a doubt, that Blood Cult branch either houses an overwhelmingly powerful master—or conceals a deadly trap.
What if Bu Eun-seol fails to emerge from secluded training and eliminate Pa-myeong?
The Death Shadow War Unit might face complete annihilation in this mission.
—We can only obey orders.
In the end, Yu Un-ryong prepared for deployment.
Throughout this time, Bu Eun-seol never emerged from seclusion.
Unless Bu Eun-seol kills Pa-myeong, the threat of death will continue unabated.
We absolutely cannot fall to a crisis of this magnitude.
Destruction, destruction, destruction.
Annihilation, annihilation, annihilation.
Bu Eun-seol's mind overflowed solely with instincts of ruin and extinction.
'So this... is the Heavenly Darkness Star.'
An existence possessing the will to reduce all things to nothingness.
A demonic god of destruction destined to annihilate everything in this world.
That was the true nature of the Heavenly Darkness Star.
Drip, drip, drip.
Bu Eun-seol's pupils darkened completely. Left unchecked, he would become the demonic god of destruction who drags the entire world into Final Extinction.
"Uuugh. Hrrrgh!"
No matter how he struggled, the rampage wouldn't cease.
Just as his body began darkening alongside his fully blackened pupils—
Zzzzt! Hssss!
An intense pain erupted near his Brain Gate Acupoint, spreading icy cold energy throughout his body.
This shock briefly restored his lucidity.
CRASH!
Suddenly, his body jerked a full ten feet into the air before crashing gracelessly to the ground.
With clarity regained,
he had reversed all his qi flow to inflict internal injuries upon himself—stopping the Heavenly Darkness Star's rampage.
Ptooey!
Bu Eun-seol spat out a mouthful of blood.
Chiii—
Merely channeling that ominous energy had turned his blood into a corrosive poison that dissolved everything.
"Huff... huff..."
Drenched in cold sweat, Bu Eun-seol curled into himself.
"This isn't working."
He'd attempted Transcendent Unity alone using the techniques Baekri Geom-ha left behind, but ultimately failed.
With his personality split in two,
it was impossible for the Heavenly Darkness Star within his body to absorb power.
"My body and his are fundamentally different."
Thanks to his grandfather, he'd gained an utterly ordinary physique—
one capable of harmonizing not only Manifestation Art Energy and Soul-Demon Magic Energy, but also the combined forces of Orthodox and Unorthodox Martial Arts within his flesh.
In other words, he'd brought order to chaotic discord.
Yet attempting to unify only the physical power contained within Baekri Geom-ha's personality...
was tantamount to using his own personality and energy as fuel to burn his body alive.
CRACK!
With Transcendent Unity's failure, the sound of internal shattering echoed through him.
His meridians tore to shreds, his dantian cracked, and his organs twisted out of position.
Blood gushed simultaneously from Bu Eun-seol's mouth, nose, eyes, and ears as he collapsed forward.
The worst aftermath was the damage to his Extrasensory Perception.
Faint qi flows—the essence of ordinary objects—now superimposed over their physical forms.
His ears detected the subtle vibrations of all things amid meaningless noise.
'Recover the body.'
Closing his eyes, Bu Eun-seol entered meditative stillness.
He began circulating energy to heal his injuries and restore his original senses.
This process took a full two days.
"No time left."
Bu Eun-seol's gaze darkened as he stared into empty space.
By now, Pa-myeong would undoubtedly be making moves against the Death Shadow War Unit.
"Only one path remains—to settle this through martial principles."
Relentlessly, he replayed his battles with Pa-myeong in his mind. Entering deep concentration,
he continued imaginary sparring against Pa-myeong through mental projection.
Yet every duel ended in Bu Eun-seol's defeat.
He couldn't decipher Pa-myeong's technique of blocking and reversing all attacks, nor determine how to overcome him.
'Is he truly twisting fate itself?'
Pa-myeong boasted of distorting destiny to nullify every assault.
Without cracking this power, not even Ink Soul First Form—let alone any other attack—could succeed.
Utter failure.
As things stood, his chances of victory were nonexistent.
Three more days passed.
Wiping sweat away, Bu Eun-seol straightened his posture and gazed into the void.
He knew instinctively—
Time had run out.
Unless he found Pa-myeong immediately, the Death Shadow War Unit warriors would die horribly, one by one.
Taking a deep breath, Bu Eun-seol studied the blade of the Ink Soul Sword.
Victory hinged on whether he could penetrate Pa-myeong's defenses and execute Ink Soul First Form.
He would have to pour forth everything he possessed without reservation.
"No regrets."
Bu Eun-seol murmured softly.
Having given his all, he felt no remorse.
Plink.
A sweat droplet fell to the floor.
The moment his eyes focused on it, Bu Eun-seol's vision began to blur.
Had I truly given my all?
Was there really not a single trace of regret left in my heart?
The truth was, I knew.
This wasn't my best.
There was another path.
Whoosh—
At that moment, a boy clad in white appeared before my eyes.
Though he existed beyond the Abyss,
Baekri Geom-ha was not a completely independent existence.
And that was precisely why...
...Baekri Geom-ha had no choice but to extend his hand to Bu Eun-seol.
[Do you understand now?]
Baekri Geom-ha let out a derisive snort, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
[Why I haven't been using the full power of the Heavenly Darkness Star.]
Bu Eun-seol remained silent, simply staring at him.
[Damn it. Can't you just beg a little?]
Baekri Geom-ha gritted his teeth.
[We can merge. Do you want to die like a dog?]
"How can we merge when we don't trust each other?"
There were only two ways to achieve a true merger.
Either complete mutual trust—
Or a clear hierarchy, where one becomes the master and the other the subordinate.
But Bu Eun-seol and Baekri Geom-ha could neither trust each other nor accept a master-subordinate relationship.
Thus, a merger was nothing more than an impossible dream.
[I'll teach you the proper scripture.]
Baekri Geom-ha spoke as though he had no other choice.
[The scripture for forging a new personality.]
Bu Eun-seol's eyes flashed.
Merging their personalities was practically impossible.
But what if, instead of merging, they fused into an entirely new, third personality?
That was entirely possible.
"Such a thing exists?"
[Unfortunately, it's an incomplete scripture.]
Baekri Geom-ha bit his lip.
[The moment we attempt this, you and I might both disappear entirely.]
Bu Eun-seol hesitated briefly before nodding.
"Recite it."
His voice was firm.
"We'll compensate for its flaws."
[Do you think you're the only genius here?]
Baekri Geom-ha extended both hands.
[I, too, have researched endlessly within the Abyss. But I couldn't create a scripture to compensate for its flaws.]
The reason he had never appeared before Bu Eun-seol, despite being capable of it—
—was because he had been searching for a way to unify their strength through a new personality.
"I said we'd compensate for it, not that I'd do it alone."
Bu Eun-seol spoke calmly.
"We'll do it together."
[Together?]
Baekri Geom-ha shook his head.
[Even then, completion is impossible. It's an incomplete scripture from the start.]
"Who said anything about completing it?"
Bu Eun-seol stared at his other self—Baekri Geom-ha—standing before him.
"Even if the scripture is incomplete, it should be enough to endure for a while."
[Endure?]
Baekri Geom-ha grasped the situation and nodded.
[You're saying you'll use the incomplete scripture just to create an opening to unleash the Ink Soul First Form?]
"Yes."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes gleamed.
"A meal's time—no, even a quarter of an hour would do, if it were enough to break through Pa-myeong's bizarre defense..."
His gaze fell upon the Ink Soul Sword as he spoke decisively.
"I can defeat him with the Ink Soul First Form."
It didn't have to be perfect.
Humans were incomplete by nature.
They were beings who constantly strove toward perfection and completion.
And so, Bu Eun-seol would wield his incomplete strength—
—to strike down Pa-myeong, who possessed perfect power.
Just as Yu Un-ryong had predicted.
The Death Shadow War Unit, which had secretly moved past Shanhaiguan to annihilate a Blood Cult branch, encountered a terrifying foe.
Despite mobilizing their intelligence network and preparing for every contingency, despite moving with utmost caution and secrecy—
They had come face-to-face with the Blood Cult's elite forces—
—and the Twin Drunk Shadows.
The Blood Cult's guardians, said to be intoxicated by the scent of blood.
Gwisal Geuk-ryeong, Pungjil-seong, Bare-Handed Thousand Fiends, and Gubira had appeared.
—You've been meddling with our cult for far too long!
The Twin Drunk Shadows, upon seeing the Death Shadow War Unit's Masters, began attacking like madmen.
Their martial arts were formidable, and they outnumbered their enemies by more than eight to one.
But the warriors of the Death Shadow War Unit had crossed the boundary between life and death countless times.
Even in the face of despair, they were seasoned veterans who overturned the tide of battle with indomitable will and seized victory.
The moment they realized they had fallen into a trap, they immediately deployed the Mind's Eye Mirror, blocking the Blood Cult's attacks and maintaining their defense.
"Hmph, showing off calligraphy before Confucius himself."
The Twin Drunk Shadows were momentarily stunned when the Death Shadow War Unit joined forces to manifest a Mindscape—but soon sneered.
"Our cult's Art of Spells can shatter even a Mindscape in an instant!"
At their signal, countless warriors drew their swords and slashed their own forearms, drawing blood.
Whoosh—
A crimson mist spread, coalescing into birds that began circling within the Mind's Eye Mirror.
Flash!
But within the mirror, a sharp sword-light flickered—
—and the red birds began falling to the ground, one by one.
The warriors of the Death Shadow War Unit, who had manifested the Mind's Eye Mirror, were countering their Art of Spells.
"This is no ordinary Mindscape."
The Twin Drunk Shadows' eyes flashed.
"They're not even masters of the Martial Extreme Realm—how can they resist our Art of Spells just by combining their strength and deploying Formation Study?"
Yu Un-ryong had restored the Mind's Eye Mirror from an ancient secret text,
and later, a master craftsman on par with the Heavenly Mechanism Star supplemented its deficiencies.
Even if masters of the Martial Extreme Realm were to swarm in, they wouldn't be able to break it in one strike—it was that sturdy.
Even if a master capable of manifesting a Mindscape were to appear, there were Secret Arts prepared to counter them.
But the Twin Drunk Shadows, unaware of this fact,
could only find the Mind's Eye Mirror of the Death Shadow War Unit warriors bizarre.
"Fine."
After a moment of contemplation, the Twin Drunk Shadows retrieved two orbs from their robes.
They were treasure beads, dyed crimson like living hearts, pulsating ominously.
Sssssss—
The beads greedily devoured the bloody mist. Then, the bodies of the cultists began to twist grotesquely.
"Guhhh... Keugh!"
Screams that could no longer be called human erupted as flesh tore and bones stretched.
Muscles bulged through split skin, and dark red blood gushed from their eyes and noses.
In an instant, they had transformed into giants three times the size of a man—their pupils devoid of any trace of reason.
"Kill them."
At the Twin Drunk Shadows' quiet command, the giants hurled themselves toward the Mindscape.
BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM!
Their massive bodies became battering rams, mercilessly pounding against the world of the Mind's Eye Mirror.
With each collision, the space warped as if screaming in agony.
Every time they threw themselves forward, they turned into lumps of gore—yet they did not stop.
They ceaselessly flung themselves against the walls of the Mindscape.
"The number of Blood Demon Corps disciples I brought is three thousand."
The Left Guardian, Gwisal Geuk-ryeong Pungjil-seong, narrowed his eyes.
"Let's test whether your Mindscape shatters first or all the Blood Demon Corps disciples die."
"Honestly, brother, isn't that obvious?"
The Right Guardian, Bare-Handed Thousand Fiends Gubira, laughed shrilly.
"Those little rats won't last half a day, I guarantee it."
Inside the Mind's Eye Mirror, invisible to the enemy, beads of sweat rolled down Yu Un-ryong's forehead as he commanded the unit members.
As Pungjil-seong said, at best, they could hold out for a day—no, half a day.
'If the Mind's Eye Mirror breaks, we'll have no choice but to fight an all-out battle.'
Even if they could handle the warriors of the Blood Demon Corps,
whether they could defeat the Twin Drunk Shadows even with all the squad leaders joining forces was uncertain.
'We can't keep this up forever.'
By now, Bu Eun-seol must have broken his seclusion and be locked in a life-and-death battle with Pa-myeong.
They couldn't afford to remain a burden to him any longer.
'If I think of him, I must protect the warriors of the Death Shadow War Unit.'
Originally, Yu Un-ryong had intended to fight with everything he had—to stake everything on a single decisive battle.
But when he remembered how Bu Eun-seol treated each and every warrior of the Death Shadow War Unit as his own family,
he couldn't bring himself to do it.
"Squad Leader Yu."
As if sensing his inner conflict, Won Se-mun spoke loudly.
"Do you not trust the efforts we've made so far?"
"That's not the issue."
Yu Un-ryong took a deep breath.
"The Lord values each of your lives. If something were to happen—"
"Who in battle doesn't get hurt or die?"
Won Se-mun scowled, his thick brows furrowing.
"It's about time we fought against those who dance on the edge of life and death—and won."
Beside him, Jo Nam-cheon nodded.
"That glutton's finally said something right for once."
Wi Cheon-gyeong stepped forward and spoke firmly.
"Squad Leader Yu. It's time for us to become the Lord's strength, not his burden."
His voice was resolute.
"Don't keep the Mind's Eye Mirror in defense mode. Let's fight them here."
"It's not a situation where we can decide so easily."
Just as Yu Un-ryong shook his head—
"Un-ryong."
Myo Cheon-u clapped him on the shoulder.
"When those bastards come at us like this, it means they've already made their resolve."
Then he grinned.
"When it's time to fight, we fight."
Yu Un-ryong closed his eyes briefly.
Normally, he would always wonder—What would Bu Eun-seol do?
How can I make the same judgment as him?
But he was not Bu Eun-seol.
There were things Bu Eun-seol could do,
and things he could do.
"Fine."
Yu Un-ryong exhaled deeply and raised his voice.
"Death Shadow War Unit—all units, prepare for battle!"
Whoosh—
In perfect unison, three hundred warriors took their stances.
"From now on... we will drop our defense and attack the enemy with the Formation Study we've honed."
A grand declaration could ignite warriors' hearts and turn fear into fighting spirit.
But Yu Un-ryong didn't bother with such words.
Because the Death Shadow War Unit was already united as one.
"All of us have already died once. We're only living this second life thanks to the Lord."
Yu Un-ryong, Myo Cheon-u, and the warriors of the Rootless Squad—once scorned and discarded...
Had they not met Bu Eun-seol, they would have died meaninglessly—or lived lives no different from death.
"The enemy can take nothing from us. Because we've already given everything to the Lord!"
Yu Un-ryong's expression was solemn.
"If we return alive, we'll clink glasses... If we die, we'll meet again in the afterlife."
—At your command!—
A scorching heat radiated from the bodies of every warrior in the Death Shadow War Unit.
Now, the final battle—where none could guarantee their survival—had begun.