Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: The Master of Demon Valley
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One month.
To keep the one-month deadline I'd set for myself, I gripped my sword. Now, pushing past the beasts in Demon Valley that I could mostly handle, I headed deeper inside.
Number 20 followed me in a panic.
"What's going on? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? You snuck out for an audience without a word, and now you're off to meet the master of Demon Valley... Can't you just explain?!"
"I'll explain everything once it's over."
"What?! What the hell are you talking about?!"
Number 20 tugged at my clothes, but I ruthlessly shook her off.
If I talked it over with her, our opinions would probably clash. More than likely, she'd try to stop me.
But before leaving, considering I might never see her face again...
I wanted to do at least this much.
"I hate owing debts as much as you do."
"Speak so I can understand! Seriously!"
At the heart of Demon Valley. As I advanced across the vast clearing, I came face-to-face with the grotesque creature standing tall at the center.
Its form resembled a leopard. But it was several times larger than any ordinary one.
Its hide was thick, its fangs longer. The protruding black canines reached its jaw.
Its claws were huge enough to kill lesser beasts with a single swipe.
But despite all those striking features, what truly captured my attention was something else.
A bizarre glow, as if its entire body was faintly shimmering red. And from within, I could smell inner energy.
"......"
That beast.
It knew how to wield qi.
The air grew hot. Its qi probably resembled fire. Number 20 naturally wiped the sweat trickling down her face.
"What kind of beast is that big?! Th-that's a spirit beast...?!"
"I expected as much from the master of Demon Valley."
"You're going to... catch that thing?! Can you even do it?!"
"I don't know."
That's what I'm about to find out.
I drew my sword. Steadying my breath, I rose from my lowered stance.
"Number 20, head back from here."
"What?! No way! We can just take it down together...!"
"I have to do this alone. If we do it together, it loses all meaning."
Even after seeing that thing, she offers to help.
I smiled at Number 20. I removed the troublesome mask.
"Number 30?! You can't take that off...!"
"No one's around to see anyway. It's bound to get torn, so taking it off early won't make much difference."
I exhaled onto the tip of my sword, gripped diagonally.
To keep my damaged blade from worsening, I channeled energy into it. Amid the scorching blood-red afterimages, I took one step forward.
"Number 20. I'll see you in a month. Don't worry about roll call. As Blood Demon Squad Leader, I've gotten permission to be away for a month."
"Why are you doing whatever you want...!"
"Didn't we see it at the Four Demon Families?"
This is how I've chosen to live.
That's all there is to it.
"This is how I always live."
...
Number 20 returned to her quarters. Even during roll call, she couldn't make sense of it.
Number 30's sudden move to subdue the master of Demon Valley. It felt like he'd gone to see someone who wasn't First Demon...
After that, he wouldn't say a word. He stayed silent, lips sealed.
Number 20 was curious. But since he wouldn't tell her, she didn't pry further.
Everyone has their secrets. It just left her feeling a bit hurt.
"......"
Still...
I thought of him as a comrade.
There must be a reason he can't say. Yeah. There has to be.
...But still.
Shouldn't he at least give me a hint?
"......"
Frustrated, Number 20 drew her sword. She swung it as always.
Imagining the massive beast in her mind, she tried to embody ways to fight it at her fingertips.
Ghost Hand One Demon.
It was hopeless. Her rooted footwork couldn't even budge the giant body, let alone land a proper blow.
The beast's tough hide roared as if tickled by her imagined strikes. Its descending claws were sharper than most swords.
She ducked. Dodging by a hair, she thrust her sword.
Soul-Pulling Thrust.
A bit of the hide was sliced. But no blood flowed.
Even with sword qi infused, it only scratched the surface. What if it were real?
-Would her sword even pierce the hide in the first place?
She tried to keep it to a speed battle using Ghost Spirit Step. But even that was caught by the beast's single leap.
Her body slammed into the ground. In a last desperate move, she shoved her qi-infused sword into its maw, but it snapped midway.
In the end, its jaws clamped her throat, and she died.
Number 20 rose from the dust. Even just imagining the fight from its appearance alone, she'd been defeated without a chance to counter.
"...That thing."
Her current realm was at the peak's early stage. The superhuman domain where she could concentrate sword qi to slice even rocks.
Yet...
She couldn't land a single proper strike.
"You're saying you'll catch... that?"
What if she used Tyrant's Demon Path?
Even wrapping her body in blood-red energy on the retry yielded the same result.
I have to stop him.
I don't know what orders he got, but if it leads to death, what's the point?
Number 20 turned back toward where Number 30 was. But upon arrival, the stench of blood and sheer brutality left her frozen, speechless.
Number 30 was fighting, his body torn to shreds.
Against that colossal beast, with full sincerity...
As if he truly believed he could win.
...
Demon Valley Lord.
A house-sized colossal leopard.
The first exchange began with my left arm being ripped off. I flipped my body to secure my mangled limb first.
I thrust Soul-Pulling Thrust, but it was blocked. Even wrapped in sword qi, not a scratch remained on its hide.
A natural rebounding qi enveloped its entire body. The erupting fiery qi was suffocatingly hot.
I closed the distance. Aimed for its underbelly, but even that failed.
A beast without weaknesses. That's what it seemed like.
As payment for failure, one leg was torn off. Amid the gushing blood, Heavenly Tribulation howled.
Pain surged, but as always, I suppressed it. Even as my body was shredded, I thrashed on.
Soul-Pulling Thrust doesn't work.
Ghost Hand One Demon goes without saying.
Then...
What about Tyrant's Demon Path?
Nine Heavens Blood Demon Art
Third Form.
Tyrant's Demon Path.
An incomplete blood-red shadow covered my body. The gripping force in my hands had greatly increased from before.
Footwork, body techniques, swordsmanship.
All martial arts evolved one step higher.
I kicked off the ground. Unfurling Ghost Spirit Step, I soared in an instant and smashed the beast's flank.
But the thick hide still wouldn't yield. Unlike before, the Demon Valley Lord's body shook, but that was it.
As if annoyed, it bit and tore my arm into the air. I twisted my body and barely grabbed it.
Attacks aren't getting through. At all.
Is there truly no breakthrough? Not in anything...
"......!"
I spotted something on its hide again.
A faint slash mark. In the spot I'd just struck, a shallow but clear scratch had formed.
Impossible with plain sword qi, but possible with Tyrant's Demon Path?
This form consumes inner energy rapidly. The key is landing as many effective hits as possible while maintaining it.
It's a wound, but not a drop of blood flows. It even heals quickly, covered by a thin membrane as if it never happened.
Regeneration too...?
If I can't land a fatal blow at once, I'll maintain this form.
Prolonged battle is impossible. No matter how much I rampage, my body will collapse from exhaustion first, resetting everything.
A hopeless situation. Yet a smile crept across my lips anyway.
"...A battle of blood."
Me, who won't die even if killed.
And the beast, unslashed even when cut.
Aren't we like brothers facing a mirror, differing only in form?
The Demon Valley Lord growled. It bared its fangs, threatening me.
I raised my sword amid them. Gripping with one hand, now I gripped with both.
It hurt, for sure.
All those blows hurt.
But I could endure even that.
The emotion of surpassing an unbeatable foe.
A state of total concentration, like being drunk on battle.
If there's a breakthrough, just break through. Isn't what's before me like a massive warrior?
So step on it. Step on it and surpass.
Not a sword for enduring, but one for victory.
"If I surpass you... I can aim even higher."
Pain is heavy. Life is heavy too.
At the end of life, we must place our weights on the scale. Among us, the survivor is the one bearing the heavier load.
So. So...
"...You."
I'll prove my worth with my sword.
"I'll surpass you right here, right now."
The weight of the surpassed.
The time of the surpassed.
I swore to myself I'd proudly present them before the Heavenly Demon.
But even the method wouldn't follow the Heavenly Demon's lead.
A little faster.
A little stronger.
Surpassing expectations entirely...
Only then could I catch up to someone like the Heavenly Demon.
My sword sang in my hand. Amid that mournful cry, I heard Seong Ja-myeong's voice.
"In my eyes, Third Brother seems like he'll climb even higher than me."
My friend's voice whispered too.
No reason to stop now.
"Let's play, beast. I too am..."
Claws flashed.
I met them with my sword.
"...a beast."
Do you know how to carve a mountain of rock?
You swing the shovel.
Without rest, not even for a day.
...
"Oh? So the dog says that, huh?"
The Heavenly Demon laughed merrily. First Demon bowed her head in affirmation.
"Even with half a year given, he shortened it to one month. Hmm... Well, if he can pull it off, great. It even gives me more time to learn from you."
The Heavenly Demon pondered. First Demon glanced up at her slyly.
Eyes gleaming with delight. That slight tilt of the head was utterly precious.
Had the Heavenly Demon ever been this joyful over someone else's affairs?
A toy.
Her gaze watched its movements like the most treasured one.
"First Demon."
"Yes."
"What do you think? Do you think the dog can do it?"
"......"
Can he do it-?
She'd already checked Red Cloud's condition during their previous consultation. Whatever the Heavenly Demon had done, his mind, energy, and body were perfectly balanced.
Peak of the peak realm. That's the state. But could the peak of the peak alone topple the Demon Valley Lord?
No.
Absolutely not.
"Its hide can't be pierced by sword qi."
"Right."
"Even cloaked in the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Art's Tyrant's Demon Path, it'll only leave shallow scratches at best."
"That's true too."
"Without stellar qi, killing the Demon Valley Lord is impossible. The realm that produces stellar qi... transcendent realm, that is, is practically reserved for those who lead entire squads. It's a stage unattainable through mere unification of mind, energy, and body. Even with half a year, it's impossible for a mortal, no matter the effort. One month goes without saying."
Too soon.
That's what she'd judged.
The Heavenly Demon grinned wickedly.
"First Demon."
"Yes."
"And yet, those words 'he can't do it' aren't coming from your mouth."
"......"
He can't do it.
She'd meant to say it. But even as she opened her mouth, the words wouldn't come.
She hesitated briefly. Then blinked.
"......"
Why wasn't she saying it's impossible?
...No.
Why couldn't she say it?
"First Demon."
"...Yes."
"Why did you accept that absurd proposal of his?"
Red Cloud had begged her for the first time. Offered a wager in exchange.
She liked his audacity. His ignorance of his place was oddly cute.
The content was nonsense too. A proposal benefiting not himself, but others.
It was all laughable.
That's why she'd agreed.
Deep down, she'd thought it absurd. No one at the peak of the peak could beat the Demon Valley Lord.
...But.
His actions proved otherwise. Hadn't he shown her the impossible from the start?
He'd followed her teachings. Stuck to them desperately, even.
He'd defeated someone who'd mastered White Demon Body. A mere first-rate scrub had reached the peak in an instant.
Now he'd tenaciously dueled that transcendent sword for hundreds of exchanges. Survived the Ice Crystal and endured horrific agony.
...A mere Blood Demon Squad member.
A mortal pulling off the impossible.
There, First Demon belatedly realized why she hadn't answered.
Red Cloud was always like that. When predicted, he'd frolic beyond expectations.
Despite lacking even the talent she valued...
Every time, he showed her he could do more.
So she grew curious.
And expectant at the same time.
"...I thought it was an absurd deal."
"And?"
"But strangely..."
He can't. He won't.
That's the normal thought...
"I felt like he'd pull it off."
-That guy was never normal to begin with, was he?
The Heavenly Demon chuckled throatily. She burst into laughter, slamming the desk.
"Cold and rational First Demon saying something like that. Isn't it a feeling worlds away from your beloved 'logic'?"
"......"
"But it's not entirely incomprehensible. Yeah, First Demon. You're right. For some reason... even thinking it's absurd..."
The Heavenly Demon stopped laughing. She toyed with her lip's edge.
"He's aiming for this lady's back, after all. Dreaming the impossible, so he should succeed at something equally impossible, no?"
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