The Heavenly Demon's Declaration of War
“Do you understand now?! Never do anything like that again!”
After a long bout of nagging, Baru sought confirmation from me, but I couldn’t give her a definite answer. My pride had flared up. Didn’t she find it unpleasant? Whether it was the world or whatever else, if someone wanted to paint on a blank canvas, why should anyone force it back to pure white?
“Min-ga? Why aren’t you answering?”
“...”
“Surely you aren’t thinking of destroying the world with your own will or anything of the sort?”
We hadn’t spent that much time together, yet she read my thoughts so accurately. The wisdom of a divine spirit was certainly lofty. When I remained silent and merely offered a faint smile, Baru let out a cry of alarm.
“Stop this at once! You mad creature!”
Mad creature, was it? How mild. I thought I could handle far worse insults. Baekju, who had been watching Baru flail helplessly at me, tilted her head in confusion before grabbing Baru by the shoulders.
“Baru. Isn’t it fine? After all, the rules of the world aren’t something you can just break because you feel like it, right?”
“Baekju. You don’t understand. You have no idea how far this one deviates from common sense.”
“Why?”
“This fellow is the one who smashed the Celestial Gate just because it was in her way.”
“...The Celestial Gate?!”
Hearing Baru’s story, Baekju turned to stare at me. Even at a glance, her eyes were those of someone looking at a complete lunatic.
“Have you lost your mind?!”
“A door is meant for people to pass through. If it breaks and blocks the path, shouldn’t it be destroyed?”
“The Celestial Gate is no ordinary door!”
Perhaps realizing something was wrong through the story of the broken Celestial Gate, Baekju joined Baru in trying to dissuade me. But I had no intention of changing my mind. I had already decided there would be no heaven above me. After breaking wall after wall that stood in my path, I had finally reached an empty lot with nothing left.
After becoming the supreme being of Murim, I spent decades believing a new wall would appear, wandering in search of one. Yet I encountered nothing. Even while thinking my realm was still insufficient to see a new wall, another thought crossed my mind. Perhaps there were no more walls left to block me. Having already surpassed everything that needed surpassing, maybe nothing remained.
Was I not a foolish traveler who had already reached the end yet still wandered in search of it? No one could give me an answer. The Three Venerables of the continent were nothing more than underlings trampled beneath me, desperately trying to surpass me. The so-called immortals were weaklings who had submitted because they couldn’t handle even one of me. Neither the Murim Alliance, the unorthodox factions, nor the Blood Cult had anyone higher than me. There was no one who could provide an answer.
What I obtained at the end of my wandering was emptiness. The emptiness that came from realizing there was nothing left to climb, only the ability to look down from above. That was also why I had immediately agreed when that white tiger offered to send me to the modern world. If there was nothing left for me to ascend to in Murim, then there was no reason to stay.
But just now, I had seen it. Something to surpass. Something pressing down on my will. A wall that needed to be crossed. Though the wall’s form was still faint and distant because my enlightenment was not yet lofty enough, it was undoubtedly a wall. How could I give up? When I had finally encountered what I had been searching for all this time.
Of course, it might be an illusion of mine. More likely a mirage I encountered after yearning for so long. But what did it matter? What was important to me was that I now had a goal to strive toward. That alone.
The most curious thing was whether this had happened only within the game or if it could occur in reality as well. But before that, I should confirm the wall once more. I gathered my energy again and drew in the air. This time, it wasn’t a drawing I tried to embed into the world like before. It was a light drawing of a gentle mountain breeze, just like the one Baru had made. If I tried to summon another storm, Baru would surely scold me again.
After completing the lightly drawn image and releasing it into the world, I observed it. This too was something that should not exist in the world. It wasn’t naturally drawn but created by human hands. How would the world react?
I had expected it to disappear like before, but the result was different. A wind blew. A gentle breeze, like flower petals brushing against each other on a spring day.
“Huh?”
What was this? Why was the Dosul manifesting? I hadn’t tried to become nature. I hadn’t tried to submit beneath it. I had remained myself, intending to watch its reaction. Yet why was the world accepting my will?
Unable to understand, I furrowed my brow and turned my gaze toward Baru and Baekju. But they were just as unable to grasp the situation.
“Min-ga. Did you just use Dosul?”
“Yes.”
“While remaining as a human?”
“As you can see. Any guesses?”
“...No. None at all. Baekju, what about you?”
“I don’t know either. I prided myself on knowing most things about Dosul, but this person makes my common sense crumble.”
Suspecting it might be a coincidence, I drew the wind again, and once more a gentle breeze blew. The principle I had drawn had become part of the world and manifested a phenomenon. It was difficult to understand. Why wasn’t it reacting the same as before?
Hmm. Quite persuasive. Was it proposing a compromise? It would allow me to use Dosul, so long as I didn’t challenge it? If so, it had misjudged its opponent. It was true that I wanted to use Dosul, but that was merely a hobby. Did it think I would abandon my goal as a martial artist just because I obtained this?
“Baru, Baekju. Prepare for the unexpected.”
“What?”
“Hm? Min-ga. What are you trying to do?”
“I need to issue a declaration of war.”
“Huh?”
“A declaration of war? To whom?”
“To whatever is trying to block me.”
If it misunderstood me, I would make it understand properly. After all, this body was one that could die and come back to life. It was already a bullet that had been fired. Therefore, I had no hesitation in using it.
I burst forth my true energy and added it to the divine art surging within my body. Recklessly increasing its size again and again, it became a wave of inner energy that this game body’s vessel could never contain. As I wielded it, my body gradually began to break down. But I ignored the phenomenon and focused solely on drawing with my energy. As if telling it to try erasing this too.
“Staying with this person, no matter how long my lifespan is, it won’t be enough!”
“Baekju! If you have time to say things like that, hurry up and use Dosul!”
Now then. What would it do? Would it allow this to manifest as well? If it erased the first one but realized this one, I would judge that it was merely pretending to submit to me. Choose.
When I released my energy like that, this time other energies reacted and threatened mine. Hmm. It seemed light phenomena were acceptable, but anything that brought the world’s threat would be excluded. Or perhaps my mastery of Dosul was still insufficient. I didn’t know which, but it didn’t matter. What was ultimately important was that it was a wall capable of suppressing my will. It seemed that confirming its existence with this game body had reached its limit. Next time, I would face it in reality. I hoped it would be there as well.
Thinking this to myself, I gazed at the black screen accompanied by the strong wind whipping through my hair.
*
After that, things were quite chaotic in various ways. When I died and came back to life, Baru and Baekju came together and showered me with nagging, while the viewers were busy teasing me as they watched me suffer. In any case, I had gained the ability to use basic Dosul, so the result was good, I said, and after ending the broadcast, I emerged from the VR device and rummaged through my closet to put on some clothes.
With the moon high in the sky, it was late for going out, but there was something I needed to confirm urgently. Dressed as usual in sweatpants and a hooded top, I opened my smartphone and searched for a suitable location. In Hwaryong Muin, I had used my life as a bullet to press blood points and burst my true energy to cause a phenomenon, but that was merely the desperate struggle of a frail body trying to achieve something. But the real me was different. Things that required staking one’s life there were nothing more than breathing for the real me.
If the current me were to leave a mark on the world with all my strength, and if the world couldn’t stop it, what would happen? Baru had said that if what I tried to do in Hwaryong Muin had manifested as is, a mountain would have flown away. Then what about the real me? A disaster would occur. Therefore, even to prepare for the unknown, I couldn’t cause trouble in a crowded city center. I didn’t particularly care if people died or not, but if it became a hot topic because of that, things would become troublesome. I was rather satisfied with my current life and had no desire to unnecessarily make the world my enemy.
After scouring the internet, I found an uninhabited rocky island beyond the sea. It was too rugged for anyone to live on, and occasionally tourists visited during the day. Hmm. If something happened there, it wouldn’t become a major topic, right? After confirming its location, I went up to the rooftop and stepped into the air above it. Now then, let’s go confirm the wall blocking me.