Chapter 259: The Emergence of a Legend (2)
"Who are you?"
The man instantly grasped what I was trying to do.
He readily released my arm and, crossing his arms with an arrogant expression, shouted.
"Hmph! I am a noble figure who has appeared to save you. Show me the proper courtesy!"
…What the hell is with this lunatic?
Sensing my cold gaze, the youth shook his head.
"Your eyes sting. But I'm telling the truth. Do you think you can make it out of here alive without my help?"
"Well, admittedly, that's true…"
I desperately needed someone's help at this moment.
But this strange man had appeared out of nowhere.
Whatever he threw at me, I would have no choice but to catch it—but was catching it really the right thing to do?
Isn't there a saying that even the bottom has a lower bottom?
‘Still….’
I subtly shifted my eyes toward Hwan Pyeong.
‘It seems Hwan Pyeong hasn’t noticed this man’s presence.’
No—before that.
Everything surrounding us was perfectly still!
‘Time... has stopped?’
There was no other way to interpret it. The silence around me was overwhelming.
Tap!
Placing a hand on my shoulder, he said,
"By the way, it’s been a while, little brother. I’m truly delighted to see how much stronger you’ve become since then."
I replied with a frown.
"...Have we met before?"
"Hmph! This may be our first time having a conversation like this, but I did speak to you once before."
He spoke to me before?
When?
As I tilted my head in confusion, he continued.
"You were moving around like a damn rat, so I gave you a piece of my mind out of frustration. Do you remember now?"
"……Ah!"
At that moment, I understood what the man before me was referring to.
—The Way of Tyranny and the Way of Demons are not like that.
Back then, when I went to help Ma Cheolsu.
As I agonized over my choices, a voice echoed within me.
"You couldn’t be…"
Just as I was about to say his identity out loud—
"Now, now."
He blocked my mouth with his finger and continued speaking.
"Let’s focus on solving the problem in front of us for now, little brother."
"Ah, yes…"
I nodded absentmindedly.
He removed his hand and, walking around me, continued in a cheerful tone.
"Well, you may have guessed it, but I’m a type of lingering thought. My original body died long ago. Through a technique of Yoo Mae, my beloved, I’ve been slumbering to someday help the destined one."
"……."
"Originally, I wouldn’t have awakened like this. But you got struck by the True Star Sword."
He was right.
Unless it was power drawn from the outside, the power I received from the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden was now my own.
That meant it would have definitely fallen within the sword’s domain.
"But things changed a bit when that monk from Shaolin handed you a shard of the Ancestor’s Will. The Ancestor’s Will awakened me, and from that moment, the power you received escaped the sword’s domain."
"Ah…"
"You should be grateful to that monk. Though he's no longer of this world, he left you with a gift and his final will."
"……!!"
My facial muscles stiffened.
That could only mean—
The Venerable Buddha Clear Justice… was dead?
Grit.
Unnameable self-loathing and rage surged within me—rage toward the Heaven-Defying Society and the Grand Heavenly Lord.
"Now then, here’s the real issue."
Clap!
He clapped his hands and turned to me.
"I have a proposal for you."
"A proposal, you say?"
With a gentle smile, he said,
"I’ll resolve all the crises surrounding you cleanly. In return, you must grant me just two favors."
Favors, huh? From someone of his caliber, who knew how difficult they might be...
Sensing my hesitation, he quickly shook his head.
"Ah, they’re not difficult at all. For you, it’ll be simple, very simple."
…Why does that always mean it’ll be hellishly difficult?
My eyes cooled.
***
Meanwhile…
"You don’t have to shout. I haven’t forgotten your name. I’m not old enough for dementia yet."
"You bastard! You dare interfere with my plans again!"
"Hmph! That’s exactly what I intend to do!"
Whoosh!
Jin Yeomyung—no, Cheon Haseong—landed firmly on the ground.
An immense Heaven-Slaying Qi erupted from his entire body.
"You’ve probably hidden your real body somewhere deep, so no point in trying to find it. I’ll just kill all your subordinates before I go."
The Grand Heavenly Lord shouted desperately to his men.
"Retreat! It’s pointless to fight him…!"
"Too late."
The first one Cheon Haseong targeted was Hwan Pyeong.
"……Kugh!"
Hwan Pyeong let out a strained groan as Cheon Haseong closed in at terrifying speed.
With a heavy tone, Cheon Haseong asked him,
"Descendant of the Illusion Clan. What did you lack, that you turned your back on such a glorious position?"
Despite being in danger, Hwan Pyeong scowled.
"Kugh! You call that dog’s seat in the Cheon Clan 'glorious'?"
"What is the fundamental law of our cult?"
Hwan Pyeong responded instinctively.
"Revere the strong…"
Cheon Haseong’s eyes curved into a smile.
"Exactly. Under our laws, if one has the strength, even the Six Great Demonic Clans could produce a Heavenly Demon. One such seed has already sprouted."
"What’s your point?!"
"If you have the capability, you may ally with other clans. You may cause civil war. You may even attempt assassination. It matters not. For the seat of the Supreme One is one that must bear all burdens. But…"
Cheon Haseong’s expression turned cold.
"The Heaven-Defying Society is where I draw the line."
BOOM!
With a sound like an explosion, Hwan Pyeong’s body was flung high into the air.
"Kuheeegh!"
Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Hwan Pyeong widened his eyes.
"H-How did you… break through the Grand Illusion Demon Suppression Formation…?"
The moment he was certain his opponent wasn’t Jin Yeomyung, Hwan Pyeong had gathered all his strength to defend.
But the attempt was utterly futile.
Cheon Haseong was already beside him once more.
"The pinnacle of illusion arts—shattering the boundary between reality and illusion: the state of Scripture Net. Even the Illusion Clan Head of my era never reached it. You have. That deserves praise, but…"
Tap.
He seized Hwan Pyeong by the scruff midair and declared,
"That’s exactly why you must not be left alive."
"Seventh Heavenly Lord!"
Sensing Hwan Pyeong’s peril, Seventh Heavenly Lord unleashed a wave of qi from her sword and aimed for Cheon Haseong’s wrist.
But—
"Oh, what a lovely lady!"
Grab!
"……!"
But instead of slicing his wrist, Seventh Heavenly Lord's sword was caught effortlessly in Cheon Haseong's bare hand.
"Sorry, but I don’t go easy on women. Especially the more beautiful they are."
"Y-You bastard!"
Seventh Heavenly Lord struggled desperately to pull her blade free, but with her strength alone, it was impossible.
"I used to be a bit more gentlemanly toward women, but Yoo Mae scolded me so much for looking at anyone else that I had to change."
Twitch.
"Especially toward witches who use Soul-Stealing Arts—she warned me never to show mercy."
As he said.
The moment a strange glint lit up in Seventh Heavenly Lord’s eyes through the mask—
The Eye Technique she cast struck something like an unbreakable wall, and rebounded straight back at her.
Crack!
From the recoil, her mask shattered cleanly.
"Kyaaaaaah!"
Screaming, Seventh Heavenly Lord clutched her head as the rebounded technique seared into her own mind.
"Se-Seventh Heavenly Lord!"
Just as Hwan Pyeong reached out to her falling body—
"Grgh!"
Cheon Haseong tightened his grip on Hwan Pyeong’s throat and muttered a cold warning.
"Now’s not the time to worry about others, is it? Your life’s hanging by a thread."
"You think I’ll go down without a fight?!"
As soon as the words left him, white fur began sprouting across Hwan Pyeong’s entire body, and his figure started transforming into something monstrous.
"Oh? You even had the blood injected? You really went all out, didn’t you."
Though monstrous, his form held a distinct spiritual majesty.
"A celestial crane… fitting blood for an illusionist."
Just as he said, Hwan Pyeong had already transformed into something resembling a massive crane.
—Cry out, True Star Sword!
Hwan Pyeong radiated an enormous spiritual force, preparing to activate the True Star Sword.
Thud!
—…Huh?
Before he could react, Cheon Haseong had already slipped his arm into the back of Hwan Pyeong’s neck, smirking coldly.
"Guys like you haven’t changed a bit—your weakness is the same. Took me a while to find it, since some of you regenerate even after your heads are taken off…"
Realizing where Cheon Haseong was aiming, Hwan Pyeong turned deathly pale.
—No, don't!
"If you say that, I have no choice but to say ‘Yes!’"
Rip!
Cheon Haseong tore something violently from the base of Hwan Pyeong’s neck.
"Aaaaargh!"
As his energy reversed violently through his body, Hwan Pyeong screamed in agony.
"Oh-ho, the core. Knew it would be there."
Cheon Haseong chuckled as he looked at the luminous white orb in his hand.
"Best to destroy at least one of them. Can’t let you repeat that filthy trick again."
Crack!
An enormous pressure surged into the white orb.
Crunch! Crack!
Though the orb was originally as tough as fine steel, it couldn't withstand Cheon Haseong’s grip and inner force.
Smash!
The white orb shattered completely, releasing a massive wave of spiritual energy into the sky.
Watching it rise, Cheon Haseong smiled in satisfaction.
"Hmm, give it a few years and this area will become a pretty sacred place!"
"Khhh! Khhkkk!"
"One down out of ten. It'll take them a good while to find a replacement."
On the ground, Hwan Pyeong began crawling in a panic, trying to escape from Cheon Haseong.
‘R-Run… I have to run…!’
No illusion art. No technique. Nothing worked.
Hwan Pyeong had realized that harsh truth.
The difference in their class was so vast, it wasn't even lesser than that of the Cult Leader himself.
In other words, resistance was utterly meaningless.
But then—
"Hmm? And just where do you think you're going?"
Smash!
"AAAAAARGH!"
With a single stomp to the head, Cheon Haseong crushed him into the ground.
Staring down at the broken man, Cheon Haseong spoke.
"You’ve truly disgusted me. Did you know the world nearly ended four hundred years ago?"
"Grkk! Gkk…"
"Back then, his plan almost succeeded."
"……."
Though Hwan Pyeong was dying, the Grand Heavenly Lord made no move. He simply stared silently at Cheon Haseong.
Noticing this, Cheon Haseong chuckled.
"You realize it would only hurt you to fight me now, huh? Sensible. Anyway…"
In his eyes, the memories of a horrid past were reflected.
"The world the Grand Heavenly Lord promised—a realm of martial artists and sorcerers—never came to be. In the twisted version that actually emerged, the common people all perished, unable to survive. And the few who remained ended up as slaves, stripped of all freedom."
Had even one more year passed, that future would have become real.
"Ah, just thinking about it pisses me off again. Do you have any idea how much Yoo Mae and I went through fighting that damned Heavenly Evil? And worst of all, since we couldn’t finish the job, Yoo Mae became a literal ghost of the Nine Heavens—just as her epithet says—left only to entrust her hopes to future generations."
Crack… Craaack…
The pressure of Cheon Haseong’s foot on Hwan Pyeong’s skull grew stronger.
"We should’ve been living happily in the Heavenly Realm by now."
"S-Spare… Spare me, Grand Heavenly Lord…!"
Hwan Pyeong desperately reached toward the Grand Heavenly Lord, pleading for salvation.
But the Grand Heavenly Lord still didn’t move—he remained as still as ever.
Cheon Haseong sneered.
"Right. You need to conserve your strength for when that filthy thing awakens again in this era. Especially now that the Ten Heavenly Lords are useless without their essence cores."
"……!!"
As the truth of those words hit him, despair overtook Hwan Pyeong’s face.
"Yes. That’s the look."
Crack!
Cheon Haseong crushed Hwan Pyeong’s head, ending him.
"……."
"F-Fourth .. Lord…"
Wounded and battered, Seventh Heavenly Lord could only gape blankly at Hwan Pyeong’s pitiful end.
Having crushed Hwan Pyeong like a bug, Cheon Haseong now turned his gaze to the Grand Heavenly Lord.
"That monk who entrusted the Reincarnator to you… this should be enough revenge for him, don’t you think?"
"…You bastard."
"Now then. Let’s have a little intimate conversation while we’ve still got time."
Cheon Haseong asked the Grand Heavenly Lord,
"Where is the present host of Heavenly Evil?"