Chapter 383: One Who Stands Against Ten Thousand (4)
Saber Demon stroked his chin as he gauged Ma Chulsoo's level.
‘His aura’s not bad… The Sword Demon really raised his successor well.’
Saber Demon quickly realized that Ma Chulsoo was nearing the Extreme Demon Realm.
Even if he had been born with the unprecedented talent known as Heaven-Slaying Star, it was ultimately up to the individual to cultivate that gift.
‘If Yeongyeong doesn’t push herself harder, things could get dangerous.’
Jin Yeomyung was already dismissed as irrelevant, but the emergence of a monster like this among the next generation of the Six Great Demonic Clans’ heads was not a welcome development.
Then Ma Chulsoo, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
“Of course, I did not receive the clan leader’s permission.”
Unless the Sword Demon had awakened from his unconscious state, there was no way to get approval in this situation.
“Then what?”
“I simply made the best decision I could as the Young Clan Leader of the Ma Clan and as the acting Clan Leader.”
“…In other words, you acted on your own accord.”
Considering the Sword Demon’s personality, it was a dangerous move.
The Sword Demon never tolerated anyone who challenged his authority.
Even if that person was the Young Clan Leader.
But Ma Chulsoo remained confident.
“Regardless, my decision will not be overturned. You can be assured of that.”
“Hmmm…”
Jin Gun-ak looked at Ma Chulsoo with interest.
This kind of action wasn’t something that could be done with just bravado.
There had to be a solid foundation behind that boldness.
“Did you completely absorb your brother’s faction in just a few years?”
“……”
Ma Jeongcheon.
Once a strong candidate for Young Clan Leader, now the completely fallen eldest son of the Ma Clan.
Originally, his power had been far beyond Ma Chulsoo’s reach.
“Well, fine. Whatever the case, I only care about one thing.”
Jin Gun-ak stared intently at Ma Chulsoo.
“Can I still trust in the alliance of the Three Families?”
“I have no interest in the alliance of the Three Families.”
“…What?”
At that unexpected answer, both Jin Gun-ak and Saber Demon’s expressions stiffened slightly.
“I merely…”
Ma Chulsoo answered with strength in his voice.
“…am honoring the contract I made with him to obtain this position. That’s all.”
“A contract?”
“Yes.”
The contract between Ma Chulsoo and Jin Yeomyung.
To support the Young Cult Leader, Cheon Yura.
That had not changed, even after she ascended to the position of Cult Leader.
***
Heavenly Demonic Resonance Technique – Great Final Annihilation.
Something that shattered the very concept of fusion qi bathed Heaven and Earth in black.
“Get back!”
“Don’t try to block it head-on!”
Kwa kwa kwa kwa!
The Extreme Demon Realm-level warriors of the Cheon Clan who had charged at me were all swallowed by the black wave.
One strike.
That single strike sheared off the waist of a mountain range and erased the lush green from the area with a black hemisphere.
Kugugugung!
The aftershock from the Resonance Qi caused an earthquake that triggered a landslide, leading to secondary chaos.
“What a spectacle.”
The momentum of the Cheon Clan, who had rushed at me, was broken in an instant.
Gu Chil, who seemed to be outside the range of the Resonance Qi, grumbled through a sound transmission.
-…Young Master, can’t you just wipe out the entire Cheon Clan by yourself?
-It’s not like I can unleash this repeatedly. And if you look closely…
I sneered as I looked down at the Extreme Demon Realm-level warriors sprawled on the ground, groaning.
“Not a single one is dead yet.”
“Gghk!”
“Ugh!”
Groans of pain echoed in my ears from every direction where destruction had passed.
“Their coordination was impressive. I thought I could kill them all if I struck at their moment of carelessness.”
In the final moments, they had formed fusion formations with those nearby to minimize damage.
Had they arrogantly tried to withstand it alone, they would not have escaped death.
‘Still, it’s a fact that they’re seriously injured. At this rate, I could easily take their lives…’
“You!”
“What kind of sorcery did you use?!”
Kwaang!
Several swords came at me in perfect unison, aiming for my neck.
“Well, I guess it’s not going to be that easy.”
Kagagang!
I read their trajectories and easily deflected the swords.
“Kuhk!”
Those who swung at me were pushed back by the recoil, and in that fleeting moment, dozens more masters rushed in and aimed their blades at me.
A veritable forest of blades and swords.
I clicked my tongue as I watched the endless wave of Cheon Clan warriors surge toward me.
“What a pity. Really.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
The one in the lead snapped back.
“You people… you’ve simply served the wrong master.”
To my knowledge, in my past life, the Cheon Clan had not participated in the final battle.
Of course, it wasn’t that they betrayed the Cult and sided with the Heaven-Defying Society…
“The moment the Cult Leader gave the order to retreat to Shingang, they were the first to pack their things and run.”
Because of that, the Cheon Clan’s empty territory had to be defended by the Four Demon Squads, who were considered bottom-tier even among the Thirty-Four Demon Squads.
“…? What are you talking about…?”
“No matter how much the civil war weakened our forces, the Cheon Clan was still the Cheon Clan. If people like you had stood at the frontlines and blocked the entrance to the Eight Great Demon Seals, then even with all the traitors, would the enemy have pushed all the way to the Heavenly Demon Pavilion?”
The courage to thrust a sword at an overwhelmingly powerful opponent without hesitation.
That was what it meant to be a warrior of the Cheon Clan, who stood at the peak beyond even the Six Great Demonic Clans.
Yet those very people had abandoned the Cult not for enemies, but to protect a few cowards.
“……??”
The warriors surrounding me all had the same expression: ‘What nonsense is this guy talking about?’
It didn’t matter whether they understood or not.
Watching them, I could feel in my bones just how tremendous the hidden potential of the Cult truly was.
Which made it all the more regrettable.
Because today, I had to eliminate such people with my own hands.
“State your name.”
…Chill!
I asked the one standing at the forefront.
“Today, I will not hesitate to stain myself with blood for the sake of the Cult Leader. At the very least, I will hear your names.”
“……”
After a brief hesitation, the man finally opened his mouth with difficulty.
“Vice-Captain of the Heavenly Sword Unit of the Cheon Clan, Minor Demonic Sword Gunho.”
“Gunho! What do you think you're doing in front of the prey?!”
A one-eyed warrior, who looked even more feral than the one who introduced himself as Gunho, scowled.
He must’ve held a similar position.
“The Thirty-Four Demon Squads, the Heavenly Sword Unit, huh.”
I let out a small sigh and asked him,
“I’ll make you a proposal. Will you leave the Cheon Clan, who conspire against the heavens, and instead serve Cheon Yura, the rightful sovereign of the Cult?”
At my words, Gunho shook his head firmly with a hardened expression.
“I entered the service of the Cheon Clan and have lived my entire life for them. Do you think I would have any other path now?”
“…As expected.”
It was a refusal—one I had anticipated, yet still so resolute.
In that case, there was only one judgment I could pass on this man named Gunho.
I silently swung the sword of my heart at Gunho, who stood about ten steps away.
Heart Sword
Soul Sever
“Farewell.”
“……!!”
It wasn’t Heaven-Piercing Annihilation or the Underworld Net Sword.
It was merely a basic Heart Sword employing Sword Intent.
But considering the opponent’s level, even this was probably excessive.
The reason I displayed even this Heart Sword was none other than this:
“A warrior who declares his name with pride, even when facing death, deserves to be honored accordingly.”
Splurt!
As if in response to my words, Gunho’s neck split open, and a fountain of blood burst from the gap.
“…Huh?”
“…?!”
Though I had swung the Heart Sword, from their perspective, my arm had never moved.
That dissonance quickly spread as a silent terror and horror among the Cheon Clan warriors.
Even amid that, Gunho realized what had happened to him and instead smiled brightly.
“Ha… to die by the sword of a supreme master… an honor…”
“G-Gunho!”
At last, Gunho’s head fell.
A dignified bearing befitting a vice-captain of the Thirty-Four Demon Squads.
He truly was a man of martial spirit.
If only such spirit had been devoted not to the Cheon Clan, but to Yura instead.
I turned my gaze to the one-eyed man who had scolded Gunho.
“State your name.”
Perhaps enraged by his friend’s futile end, the one-eyed man drew his massive saber and lunged at me.
“There is no name to reveal to the likes of you.”
“That so?”
The one-eyed bastard bellowed in fury.
“Flash Saber Unit! Slay the wicked enemy targeting the Cheon Clan!”
With that, fifty saber-wielding warriors following him rushed toward me all at once.
The Flash Saber Unit. They, too, were one of the elite combat forces even among the Thirty-Four Demon Squads.
Well, I suppose they’d soon need to be renamed or reduced to the Thirty-Three Demon Squads.
“If you won’t state your name—”
I said as I thrust my sword like lightning into the one-eyed man's throat.
“……Guh!”
“Then die nameless, as a traitor to the Cult.”
The composition of the Cheon Clan’s Council of the Seven Elders had changed considerably compared to several years ago.
First Elder Cheon Taemyung had been imprisoned by Cheon Juchun.
The previous Second Elder had died at the hands of the Cult Leader.
And the current Second Elder who succeeded him had also died a meaningless death by Cheon Yura’s hand.
Fifth Elder had perished by the Sword Demon’s hand, and the previous Fourth Elder… well, his identity was never quite clear from the start….
In truth, the only ones in the current Council who remembered the past were Fourth Elder and the youngest Seventh Elder, who lacked martial prowess.
“……”
Fourth Elder stood vacantly, staring at the site where the hemispherical explosion had occurred.
“Fourth Elder, this is our chance. Unleash your full strength and kill him now!”
“That hemispherical explosion was indeed immense, but he likely can’t use such a technique twice.”
“Give the order, Fourth Elder!”
The other members of the Seven Elders, who had come to kill Jin Yeomyung, all urged Fourth Elder to make a decision.
However…
“…Fourth Elder?”
Tremble tremble!
Fourth Elder saw in that young slaughterer far in the distance… the shadow of someone else.
Someone he had seen only once before joining the Council of the Seven Elders.
The figure of a supreme being from a now-vanished past, one he would never forget for the rest of his life.
“The… Cult Leader?”
Heavenly Demon.
That single term now dominated Fourth Elder’s entire consciousness.
A tremendous demonic energy swirled like a vortex.
So destructive and infinite in its crimson hue that it was impossible to believe it had erupted from a mere human.
Kwakwakwa!
That demonic energy began to surge outward with the momentum to annihilate everything around it.
If not for the Cold Iron Walls sealing all directions, it would have obliterated and devoured every living being in the vicinity.
At last, Cheon Yura, who had been seated in meditation, slightly opened her eyes and extended her hand forward.
As if resigned, the demonic energy that had been ravaging the surroundings receded and began to gather back toward her fingertips.
“Huuuu!”
Cheon Yura exhaled deeply.
“Not submission, but coexistence, then.”
Cheon Yura had not fully subdued the demon within her.
However, she had at least prevented it from turning on her and managed to harmonize with it enough to break through the wall of the Transcendent Demon Realm.
“Fuh, perhaps this is something to be grateful for? It proved the existence of even higher realms.”
She slowly rose to her feet.
“Still, this should be enough to qualify for grasping the Heavenly Demon Seal.”
For the sake of her husband who was struggling outside, she could no longer afford to delay.
She slowly grasped the hilt of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword.
And cast a cold gaze toward somewhere unseen.
“Wouldn’t you agree?”
“……”
From the darkness, where it was unclear when it had appeared, an amorphous presence rippled.
“Do you believe I am worthy of becoming the fourth Heavenly Demon?”
With icy eyes, she named its identity aloud.
“Grand Heavenly Lord.”