As the flames shifted into a menacing shape—
"I know that you called for us. How could I not know?"
"Heh… heh…"
His voice, laced with laughter, was unsettlingly frightening. The deadly intent dripping from his words was so thick that it was impossible not to feel fear.
"Watching your pathetic struggle can be amusing... but unfortunately, it's starting to become tiresome. It’s too much to watch for long."
Clink.
Mageomhu placed her hand on the hilt of her sword. She seemed to understand his intent without the need for words.
I was the same.
"That bastard is pissed."
He was clearly in a rage. The way he laughed while speaking showed it all too well. His inability to control his anger was legendary.
Bi Yeon-seom already seemed at his limit.
"Huff... huff..."
His breathing was rough, and the energy within him was visibly unsteady.
Bi Yeon-seom could not endure the pressure radiating from Dokgo Jun much longer. As Dokgo Jun's demonic energy permeated the area, Mugwon arrived, bringing a group of demons with him.
He must have hurried to keep up when Mageomhu and I charged ahead.
Mugwon, quick-witted as he was, assessed the situation, furrowed his brows slightly, and gestured to those behind him.
In response, the demons activated their auras.
The tension was palpable.
It was the perfect setup for an imminent battle. Even amid this, I was busy observing my surroundings.
I wanted to understand why this wretched situation had come about.
Of course, the situation was important, but—
"Where is she?"
Something else was even more crucial.
According to Mugwon's information, she should be here.
"Little Sword Star..."
The Wi Seol-ah of this era.
I'd heard she was here, but I hadn’t seen her yet. Was she still in the village further away?
Just as I was scanning the area—
Thunk.
Bi Yeon-seom, who had been facing Dokgo Jun, staggered and lost his balance. Though he didn't collapse, he looked on the verge of it.
Strangely enough—
Both Dokgo Jun and Mageomhu, as well as Mugwon, seemed to have lost interest in Bi Yeon-seom.
Or rather—
"Were they never watching him at all?"
I followed their gazes to a point in the air. It seemed empty, but I focused my energy on that spot, assuming they were looking at something.
Then—
“…!”
I sensed something.
It was faint, but something was definitely there.
"What is this?"
An inexplicable chill ran through me, like the feeling of a blade aimed at me.
With that thought, I heightened my physical senses.
Now I understood why they were all looking in that direction.
I’d been focusing on Little Sword Star alone and had missed the truly important detail.
She wasn’t the only one here.
Crackle.
Suddenly, lightning flickered in the empty air. Mageomhu reacted slightly—it resembled her own lightning aura.
My heart pounded as I stared at the air.
[You haven’t changed.]
The growing lightning was accompanied by a voice.
Crackle—! The lightning grew larger and quickly formed an outline.
The figure, initially composed of pure energy, gradually took on a human shape.
Tap.
As the figure touched down on the ground—
Whoosh—!
The oppressive atmosphere in the area rapidly dissipated.
The figure that had suddenly appeared was an elderly man with white hair. With his hands clasped behind his back, he approached us with light steps.
Seeing this, I swallowed dryly.
The white hair, bearing the weight of history, and blue eyes reminiscent of someone else. It had been a long time since I’d seen this man.
More precisely, I hadn’t encountered him since my return to this life.
“Hah… huff…”
Freed from the pressure, Bi Yeon-seom gasped for breath. The elderly man touched Bi Yeon-seom’s back with his hand.
“Cough.”
Bi Yeon-seom coughed up blackened blood, his twisted insides forcibly realigned.
“Rest for a moment.”
“S-sorry.”
In response to Bi Yeon-seom's apology, the elderly man patted his shoulder as an answer.
Dokgo Jun, who had been watching with an indifferent expression, spoke to the elderly man.
"So, you were hiding here."
“Heh... hiding? I’ve never hidden.”
“You kept poking around like a rat, so I thought it was a frightened squeal.”
What a dangerously provocative line.
I wanted to shut that damned bastard’s mouth on the spot. He must have been soaked in demonic energy to be acting like this.
"...Was I like that?"
I didn’t want to believe it.
Not just anyone—he was one of the Three Masters, the absolute force of the Namgung family, and yet I had the audacity to taunt him like this…
"I really lived with my neck on the line."
The man before us was none other than the Heavenly Lord.
With this ancient legend of Zhongyuan right in front of him, Dokgo Jun was spewing insults without a second thought.
“I’d heard there was an ancient monster nearby, and I came to kill it off. How convenient.”
Heh.
Even at Dokgo Jun's words, the Heavenly Lord merely laughed.
"Ancient monster... yes, you’re right. I live on, unable to die.”
The Heavenly Lord looked over to where Mageomhu stood.
"It’s been a while."
"…"
Mageomhu didn’t respond, simply staring back at him.
The Namgung clan had been annihilated by Mageomhu's hand.
The Heavenly Lord had been unable to stop it, leaving these two as the last remnants of the Namgung bloodline in all of Zhongyuan.
It was an exceedingly uncomfortable relationship.
“There are things I’d like to discuss and settle with you, but unfortunately, I have something to attend to first.”
Something to attend to?
I sharpened my focus at the Heavenly Lord’s words.
It seemed he had a purpose here.
"Something to attend to..."
The other "me" also caught on to the Heavenly Lord's words, frowning as he asked him.
"Are you saying you have something to do here that requires ignoring the Sect Leader’s warnings?"
"Yes."
The Heavenly Lord smiled as he looked at Dokgo Jun.
"We wish to make a deal with you."
A deal? I tried to decipher the unexpected words.
“Hah.”
But Dokgo Jun let out a mocking laugh, making me roll my eyes.
"That's a bad sign."
As expected—
"A deal? Earlier, this wretch asked me for a conversation, and now the ancient monster is asking for a deal."
"It would not be unfavorable for you..."
“Silence. Your words are making my ears rot.”
The suppressed pressure flared up again.
Even the faint trace of amusement vanished from Dokgo Jun’s face, leaving only pure hostility.
"The Sect Leader granted mercy to you lot… but as always, fools who don’t know their place tend to forget gratitude.”
Flames began to wrap around Dokgo Jun.
"So if you can’t grasp your place, I’ll personally make it clear."
“Must you always resort to bloodshed to feel right?”
The Heavenly Lord asked, and Dokgo Jun waved his hand dismissively.
“Don’t burden me with your laughable ideals.”
ROAR!!
At his gesture, the massive flame in the sky began to roar and plunge towards the ground.
“You’re not qualified to speak such words to me.”
The flame orb began its descent, rapidly approaching the ground. Despite its speed, the Heavenly Lord merely frowned, showing no intention of countering.
What?
I swallowed, watching the scene.
“Is he really going to drop it?”
As insane as I was in that time, even I wouldn’t recklessly unleash such an attack with the Heavenly Lord in front of me.
What was he thinking?
I couldn’t grasp his intentions.
That lunatic was doing something insane, and even I couldn’t understand why.
Could the "me" of that time possibly defeat this elder?
"It’s impossible…"
No matter how I looked at it, it was impossible.
This wasn’t just about energy; they had ascended to a level distinctly above mine.
Even with Mageomhu’s support, victory would be uncertain at best.
That was the power held by the Three Masters, yet he was recklessly pushing things forward without a hint of hesitation.
Whoosh!
The flame drew closer to the ground, casting even deeper despair across the faces of the warriors nearby.
“Ah, no!”
“Save us!”
They began to panic, their ranks falling apart.
Yet, even then, the Heavenly Lord didn’t move an inch.
He didn’t draw his sword or even summon his energy.
Why?
Was the flame beyond the Heavenly Lord’s power to stop? That couldn’t be it.
No matter how laced with demonic energy it was, the elder’s strength would be more than enough.
"Then why?"
The flame continued its descent.
In a matter of moments, it would touch the ground and cause a massive explosion, likely burning everyone to ashes.
Just as that thought crossed my mind—
Swoosh—!
Something flew in from beyond the heavens toward the flame.
It moved at an incredible speed.
Before I could fully register what it was, dozens more objects followed, shooting toward the flame.
And then, something unexpected happened.
Sssssss—!
“…!”
The massive flame that had been exuding such an overwhelming presence began to dwindle.
As if being drawn in, the black flame hovering in the air quickly vanished.
It took only a few seconds for all that fire to disappear.
"Ah."
Seeing this change, I turned to Dokgo Jun and realized his intention.
The reason he’d used so much energy to put on this display.
"It was to draw her out."
Though part of it was intimidation, the true purpose was to show off and summon a particular person.
In the space where the flames had vanished, something was rotating slowly. It was a sword.
A few strange swords glinting with golden light.
They were gracefully swimming through the air.
Seeing the flames disappear, the warriors who had been mired in despair began to cheer.
It seemed they recognized whose swords these were.
"She’s here…! The Lord has arrived!"
Hearing their cries, the demons furrowed their brows and looked toward the sky.
At that moment, the golden swords in the air shot toward a specific point.
The position was directly above where the Heavenly Lord stood.
A moment ago, that spot had been empty, but now someone was floating there.
"…"
Seeing her, I bit my lip.
As someone from my past life, I’d wondered if I might meet her again someday.
Whether to call it expectation, worry, or anxiety, I wasn’t sure.
I had always anticipated the possibility of encountering her.
But—
"…This is."
Seeing her in person stirred far more emotions than I had expected.
Several swords moved around her as if to protect her.
The woman was standing calmly atop one of the floating swords.
Her hair, now completely golden rather than brown, and her radiant eyes were tinged with an air of fatigue, creating an ethereal aura.
She was nothing like the woman who once sat by my side, smiling and chattering.
"…Little Sword Star."
Dokgo Jun muttered as he gazed at her.
Did she hear his quiet words?
Little Sword Star turned her gaze in our direction.
It seemed like she was looking at Dokgo Jun…
"Huh?"
…Or so I thought…
Something felt off.
"What is this?"
Little Sword Star wasn’t looking at Dokgo Jun.
I might be mistaken, but it didn’t feel that way.
Little Sword Star wasn’t looking at Dokgo Jun. Rather…
"She’s looking at me…?"
For some reason, it seemed she was staring right at me.
Though I couldn’t understand why, she was definitely watching me, her eyes wide with surprise.