The intense heat filling the hall left me breathless.
Even though I had sealed my presence, the heat was still stifling, making it hard to breathe even for someone trained in fire arts.
I stared in disbelief at the flames gradually spreading.
'You sure consumed a lot.'
The sheer amount of inner energy in this heat was beyond comprehension.
Feeling it directly like this, I realized just how mad I must have been in those days.
Breaking through a level that should’ve been unreachable due to a lack of enlightenment, solely with overwhelming inner energy.
People couldn’t grasp just how unnatural and absurd it was.
Usually, levels of mastery were supposed to be built from the ground up, solidly like constructing a tall tower.
Energy should spread around the tower like a wide river.
But I, back then, before even building the tower...
'…raised the river itself to reach higher.'
I forced the river upwards, going to a place where one should only reach by building a tower first.
Imagine the amount of inner energy required for that. I couldn't even fathom it now.
The current amount of energy I possess is still substantial, but compared to that past life, it’s like heaven and earth.
'No wonder it took me so long to adapt after my regression.'
Back then, I used martial arts recklessly, never running out of inner energy. Trying to use those same techniques with my now small, limited energy in the beginning had been hell.
Of course, thanks to that, I learned compression techniques from Shin Noya, and through training and some enlightenment, I now have greater mastery in martial arts.
But my past self possessed enough energy to shatter all those limits.
Regardless of martial skill or enlightenment.
The overwhelming force that could crush everything. Such was the power of the demonic technique, Madocheonheupgong .
The energy I couldn’t control ended up manifesting as pure presence.
My broken mental state at the time covered that presence with murderous intent, making me no different from a vengeful deity reborn.
Seeing that before me now, I couldn’t help but curse.
'Consuming more energy than you can control. Not even trying.'
Despite having so much energy, he doesn’t even consider controlling it.
He’s not thinking about or even trying to make that effort.
Grrrk.
As Maje moved his hand, he pulled Sword Demon out from where he’d been embedded in the wall.
Thump!
With a careless wave, Maje threw Sword Demon onto the ground. Sword Demon rolled a few times before stopping, breathing heavily.
At a glance, it was clear that Sword Demon was in no normal condition.
“Khuh…hah…”
His inner energy was visibly tangled and chaotic.
The area Sword Demon had been exerting his energy on had already been completely torn apart by Maje.
It seemed the backlash from being ambushed while attempting a strike had left him reeling from within.
'What a crude method.'
The speed difference was so great that it was understandable he couldn’t see it.
But I knew how Maje subdued Sword Demon.
To others, it may have seemed like overwhelming martial skill.
But it wasn’t any remarkable method.
He simply ripped through the energy and overpowered him by brute force.
Pure might.
That was how I solved things back then.
Step.
Maje approached Sword Demon.
“Sword Demon.”
Flinch.
Hearing his voice, Sword Demon’s back trembled.
It seemed he hadn’t lost consciousness after all.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Crrrk.
“Grrgh…!”
Maje stepped on Sword Demon’s neck.
With a slight increase in pressure, Sword Demon groaned in pain.
“High Lord…”
“I warned you multiple times, didn’t I? I told you not to act rashly in my presence.”
With those chilling words, the black flames burning nearby spread violently around.
Whoosh—!
“Gahhh!?”
The rapidly spreading black flames clung to the members of the Guilty Sword Squad who were watching nearby.
Caught off guard, they couldn’t even react properly before they began burning to death.
Despite this, Maje’s gaze remained fixed solely on Sword Demon.
“Speak. Make me understand.”
“…I was…wrong…”
“That’s all you have to say?”
Thud!
“Grrrk…!”
With Sword Demon’s words, Maje’s presence grew even stronger. His energy pressed down heavily on the air, forcing blood to spurt from Sword Demon’s mouth.
“The only reason I didn’t rip out your worthless tongue is my mercy. The only reason I didn’t tear off your arm is that your swordsmanship was at least tolerable. But…”
Maje’s hand reached for Sword Demon’s left shoulder.
Grabbing hold, he…
Crunch!
“Arrghhhh!”
…ripped the arm out from its socket.
“…!”
Seeing this, the other demonic beings gasped.
As Sword Demon screamed in pain, Maje lit the severed arm on fire.
So it could never be reattached.
“For using that sword of yours to pull such foolish stunts, I don’t know what to think of you. Isn’t that right, Sword Demon?”
The look in his eyes as he stared at the trembling Sword Demon, clutching his missing shoulder, was the same as always.
A calm gaze, looking down upon him without a hint of emotion.
As everyone else shivered in terror, swallowing dryly,
'This is just hell.'
I was the only one here feeling completely drained by this situation.
My gaze wasn’t on Maje but on Sword Demon.
'He lost an arm.'
Sword Demon was right-handed, so losing his left arm was at least fortunate in that sense. But losing a limb would heavily affect his martial prowess.
If this is how it’s going to be…
'…It’ll be a problem when facing Heavenly Lord.'
Sword Demon was supposed to face Heavenly Lord alongside Mageomhu.
But now, things had drastically changed.
'All because of my presence.'
My very existence had twisted the original flow of events.
This situation wasn’t supposed to happen at all. It’s only natural, then.
'What do I do now?'
I’d expected that something like this could happen, but the process was far more extreme than anticipated.
He actually went and tore his arm off.
'Is he insane?'
He must be aware.
Setting aside the impact on the Demonic Sect’s forces, Sword Demon is necessary right now.
Knowing that, he’s kept him alive up until now.
'So why is he doing this now?'
Even though he’s me, I couldn’t understand why he was acting this way now.
If I were him in this situation…
…Hm.
I glanced at Mageomhu.
If he’d seen Sword Demon seriously trying to kill Mageomhu, and if it were me in his place right now…
I would have killed him.
No matter the circumstances, if I had the power to do so, I would have killed him without hesitation.
But that’s just me as I am now; back then…
…
I looked back at Maje, feeling an inexplicable sense of unease about the situation.
He has no particular feelings toward Mageomhu.
Just an irritating crazy woman. An infuriating fool who barely understands words.
At least, that’s what he thinks.
Or does he?
I wasn’t certain.
If he truly thought that way, I wouldn’t remember the moment Mageomhu died so vividly.
Was she really nothing to me?
If so, why…
'Why was I so angry back then?'
It was a contradiction.
The unknown turmoil in that difference left me feeling uneasy.
Looking at him now only added to that feeling.
After burning Sword Demon’s severed arm, Maje straightened up and kicked him away.
“Ugh!”
Sword Demon, hit by the kick, flew toward the surviving members of the Guilty Sword Squad.
“Take him away.”
With that brief command, the demonic beings hastily gathered Sword Demon.
Seeing that, Maje walked toward the now-ruined throne.
Whoosh!
With a surge of wind from his body, he cleared away the debris before sitting down.
‘He could just not sit there, couldn’t he?’
I couldn’t help but think that to myself, though I decided not to care.
Not that deciding not to care would make a difference, but I could try, at least.
Amidst the wreckage of the hall, Maje turned his gaze to Mageomhu.
There was something unusually deep in his weary eyes.
“Vice-Commander…”
At the call, Mageomhu gave a slight nod.
“You’ve acted most unlike yourself.”
“…”
“Have you truly gone mad?”
“…I’m sorry…”
A subtle anger was present in Maje’s voice. His violet eyes, filled with irritation, continued to glare at Mageomhu as he spoke.
“There won’t be any more chances. If you cause another nuisance, you’ll lose an arm just like Sword Demon.”
“…”
At this warning, Mageomhu nodded once more.
Seeing Maje, I couldn’t help but mutter to myself in disappointment.
'Notice he didn’t say he’d kill her.'
Maybe it was a change in my perspective, but I noticed gestures and words I’d previously overlooked.
In the past, he would kill without warning if anyone was useless or in his way. Yet now, he was issuing a warning.
Even his threat to tear off an arm seemed to imply that he was letting her off this time and that, even next time, he would only take her arm rather than her life.
‘This…’
Hah.
Trying to keep my expression in check, I stifled an odd chuckle.
Why am I only now noticing this?
‘Too little, too late.’
It was a lament directed at my own foolishness.
Back then, Mageomhu must have meant something far more significant to me than I’d realized. I just hadn’t seen it.
Even after my regression, I’m only now beginning to understand.
‘Idiot.’
The man before me would probably never realize this, even at the end of his life. His life would end focused solely on one woman’s fate, oblivious to his own emotions.
I can’t say that his life was wrong.
After all, my life isn’t so different now.
But.
‘The approach will be different.’
That’s what this life is for.
And that’s why I need to understand what this world is asking of me. Alongside that...
‘With Sword Demon in this condition, what should I do?’
Things were starting to diverge from what I remembered from my past life.
With this recent event, the story might be significantly altered, so I needed to think even more carefully.
I planned to observe the situation a little longer with this in mind.
“Reporting in.”
I didn’t know.
I had no idea there was something I had completely missed.
The distortion hadn’t started with this recent event.
It had begun from the moment I arrived in this world.
Once the situation in the hall settled somewhat,
Silent Fist approached Maje, knelt, and spoke.
"We've received information that the forces of the Martial Alliance are gathering near the border heading toward Sichuan."
"The Martial Alliance?"
"Yes. And there..."
The story of this world—
"It is said that Small Sword Castle has also been sighted."
—had already begun to twist.