Chapter 419: Omen of Destruction (2)
“Chaos, huh….”
I had heard the name before.
The Four Atrocities, Chaos.
But more than the name itself, what really unsettled Cheon Yura was the strangely familiar aura emanating from that creature.
They said it was the greatest masterpiece, but ‘that’ was still incomplete.
It hadn’t fully mixed yet, which was why she could sense it.
“Jin Yeomyung will mourn….”
She drew the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword.
Even before, she had been an unmatched supreme expert in the world of Murim, strong enough to sever the arm of the Sword Demon.
“Biyeon.”
“Yes, yes, Cult Leader.”
Sa Biyeon, too, seemed to have sensed the latent power of Chaos and had shrunk back in fear.
“Don’t you even think about confronting it. Support the Great Guardian and get out of there.”
She had grown significantly after experiencing the Spiral Array.
Though her martial prowess was nearing the realm of the Extreme Demon, honestly… she wouldn’t last a single second against Chaos standing before her.
“C-Cult Leader!”
Sa Biyeon expressed her protest, but Cheon Yura remained cold.
“The Left and Right Guardians too. Take the Guardian Lions and withdraw from the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.”
“We cannot accept that command!”
“The purpose of the Guardian Hall is to die in your place, Cult Leader! Even if we meet a meaningless, meat-shield death, it changes nothing!”
Thanks to Jin Yeomyung’s intervention not yet corrupting them, the loyalty of the Guardian Hall remained firm.
“Silence.”
“……!”
“……!!”
Cheon Yura subdued the objections of the Left and Right Guardians with killing intent alone.
“If you useless fools die pointlessly and get yourselves killed, who will I have left to command? You’re not fit to deal with that thing, so take the damn hint and get lost.”
They were overwhelmed by mere aura, despite being at the level of Extreme Demon.
The two Guardians, unable to protest further, had no choice but to quietly retreat at Cheon Yura’s command.
And not long after—
Pillars of blue-white and red-black light shot up into the sky.
That day,
the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, which had stood for over a thousand years, vanished.
“Senior, wake up.”
“Mmm….”
“Get up, Eunuch-Senior.”
I opened my eyes, feeling groggy.
As always, every time I woke up, my body felt heavy, and my vision was blurred.
Probably because my body had been contaminated and ravaged by consecutive battles.
“…Is that you, ■■■?”
My vision hadn’t returned yet, but among my comrades, there was only one person who’d slander me as a eunuch.
“Well, then I must be ■■■, what else would I be?”
“……”
For some reason, I felt a slight chill in their voice.
They spoke bluntly.
“The operation starts in an hour.”
“Is that… so?”
It felt like I had just awoken from a dream spanning decades.
As I sat up, it felt like my whole body had been submerged in water.
I heard the familiar clink of armor.
It was once a radiant suit of silver armor, but now, dulled and stained with blood and flesh from repeated battles.
Truly, I realized once again how outdated and antique I looked.
“By the way… who was our target again?”
At my question, they slightly parted their lips, wearing a look of contempt.
“Senior, have you lost your mind? It’s that lunatic Cardinal of Fanaticism!”
“Ah, the Cardinal….”
“You forgot the bastard who killed ■■ ■■?!”
Right.
The worst kind of monster, who had devoured an entire continent and forged an almost immortal body.
One of the fanatics’ gatekeepers… and someone even more annoying than the fanatics themselves, at least to me.
‘But didn’t you also… die by his hand…?’
Huh?
The sudden thought made me frown.
“……?”
“Sorry, I think my memories got jumbled.”
Their expression turned grim.
It wasn’t strange—like the name Fanaticism implied, being tainted by his mana and having one’s mind twisted was almost expected.
They spoke cautiously.
“Maybe… you should sit this one out and rest?”
I shook my head.
“That’s not happening. If I, the main player, drop out, the operation falls apart, doesn’t it?”
“…That’s true.”
It might sound self-congratulatory, but among the twenty or so members of this assault unit, there was no one who could replace me.
I had survived to the very end and managed to drive my sword into the heart of Fanaticism….
‘Again, this strange memory…’
Though it had to be something I had never experienced, vague feelings of déjà vu kept surfacing now and then.
“Senior.”
“What?”
I gulped down cold water, trying to clear my mind.
The guy sat next to me with a suggestive expression.
“If you’re really feeling uneasy….”
He said this.
“Want to do it with me once?”
Pwah!
I spat out the water I had just drunk.
Choking, I glared at him.
“…Are you insane?”
“I’m perfectly sane.”
Since many here had pushed their minds and bodies to the extreme, it wasn’t rare for members of the death squad to find solace in each other’s bodies and company.
More than anything, this guy—at least in terms of looks—was undoubtedly one of the most striking among the women in the squad.
Naturally, there were many who had their eyes on him.
But I shook my head firmly.
“No.”
He frowned and leaned in close.
“Why not? Do you hate me? I’m not exactly lacking in the looks department, you know?”
I deliberately frowned and raised my finger.
“It’s not that I hate you. But my ideal union between man and woman is something more sacred, something where we share our feelings in a solemn atmosphere—”
……
After listening to my views on love for about a minute, he muttered in a low voice.
“…You damn eunuch bastard.”
“……”
He backed away from me.
“If you don’t want it, just say no. Don’t give me these weird excuses.”
He walked away from me with a disappointed look.
I secretly chuckled while looking at his back.
Honestly, who was I to refuse such an offer from someone like him?
But.
‘Not now.’
I’d learned the hard way that giving your heart in a place like this only left you with loss.
When the death squad to kill Fanaticism was first formed, it had more than two hundred members.
And now, about a year later, only around twenty remained.
Even that was after some replenishment along the way.
Feeling another wave of déjà vu, I murmured.
“I once swore I wouldn’t fail again.”
“Fail?”
Maybe he overheard my muttering—he turned his head and asked.
“I think I once said I’d protect someone. Said I’d woo someone. Something like that….”
“What, are you saying that to me?”
His expression eased slightly.
I stood up and patted him on the shoulder.
“Let’s focus on surviving first. Relationships can come after.”
He pouted a little.
“…When it’s all over, don’t even think about backing out. Seriously.”
“Sure. Roast me, boil me, whatever you want.”
He seemed to like that answer, and his expression finally brightened.
But.
He died in the next operation.
Now that I think about it, what did his face look like?
I remember he was stunningly beautiful….
Ah, I remember now.
He had sharp eyes.
Within the quietly sunken darkness.
Cheon Taejong murmured in a small voice.
“Are you dreaming of the past?”
At some point, Jin Yeomyung’s aura began to tremble unsteadily.
“I don’t know what kind of life you lived in the past, but there is one thing I was sure of.”
Cheon Taejong looked directly at Jin Yeomyung’s tormented face with calm eyes.
“That you never brought your life to its proper conclusion.”
To dedicate one’s life to a woman named Cheon Yura was certainly commendable and praiseworthy.
However, such a resolution was not something ordinary people could make.
No matter how great a figure, they would never sacrifice their life for another.
It might be possible in the rare case of a ‘blood tie’, but Jin Yeomyung had no such relation.
“A lingering regret from the past, is it.”
It was only when something unresolved remained from the past that one could resolutely decide to offer up their life.
Of course, it was probably also because Yura, having grown to resemble Hawol, was simply too captivating….
“Recall it clearly and bring it to a close. Recognize the difference between now and then. Just feeling that difference… will let you see the next wall you must surpass.”
In an instant.
A foreboding sensation brushed past Cheon Taejong’s entire body.
But he forcibly ignored that feeling.
Even if it were true—
It had not yet reached the level of being the ‘worst’.
***
The sudden emergence of demonic beasts that swept across the entire Central Plains.
Because of it, the war between the Southern Murim Alliance and the Northern Murim Alliance entered a new phase.
“The Tang Clan… has sent a request for support.”
“Those bastards….”
The Sichuan Tang Clan, who had enthusiastically invaded the domain of the Evil Overlords of Heaven by joining hands with the Emei Sect, could no longer afford to stay the course after the demonic beasts began indiscriminately attacking both civilians and Murim alike.
“The damage seems to be truly catastrophic. According to reports, Chengdu has become a wasteland, and the Emei Sect is struggling to even defend their own headquarters, let alone provide external support….”
“Hmmmm…”
“Sichuan is rugged terrain after all…”
While Chengdu and its surroundings were mostly flat, the problem was that the region was surrounded by treacherous mountain ranges.
Those mountains were the primary territory of the demonic beasts.
In a way, the Murim of Sichuan was effectively besieged by them.
“The Tang Clan declared that if the Northern Murim Alliance aids them, they would never forget the favor and would formally join the Northern Murim Alliance in the future.”
At those words, the senior leaders of the Northern Murim Alliance clicked their tongues.
“Too late.”
“They should’ve said that from the beginning.”
“At this moment, our alliance has no resources to spare for Sichuan. We too are struggling to defend our own sects….”
The war between the South and North had unexpectedly shifted into a lull.
Due to this abrupt foreign threat, they had become too preoccupied with simply defending their own homes.
However, it was undeniable that both North and South were now shedding more brutal blood than before the war.
“Alliance Leader, what will you do?”
All eyes turned to Baek Sang-ah.
“We will not abandon the Murim of Sichuan.”
“But…”
It wasn’t because the Tang Clan lacked numbers that they asked for help.
To pierce the skin of those so-called demonic beasts, one needed to be at least of First Rate Martial Artist level. Sending mediocrities like lower-ranked swordsmen would only incite resentment.
“I will dispatch the Black Wind Sichuan Unit.”
“T-Them?”
At the mention of the Black Wind Sichuan Unit, many people's expressions turned grim.
They were a type of penal force composed of those who had surrendered from the Evil Overlords of Heaven.
But Baek Sang-ah was resolute.
“If the Tang Clan and the Emei Sect cannot even accept that much help and refuse our support, then they are not worthy of gathering under the Northern banner.”
“Hmmmm!”
“And one more thing.”
Baek Sang-ah looked around the room and spoke.
“The current crisis is severe enough to warrant putting aside even blood feuds of the past. For now, it may just be about putting out fires in a burning house, but soon it will become a matter of survival.”
Some tilted their heads as if to say, ‘Is it really that serious?’ But the sharper among them had already sensed that what she said could very well become reality.
Dao Zun asked in a low voice.
“Alliance Leader, how far ahead are you seeing?”
“A true Murim Alliance.”
Baek Sang-ah’s resolve was unwavering.
A dream-like coalition never once achieved in history, where Justice, Evil, and Demonic Paths all came together in harmony.
“We will unify South and North, and rally all the sects of the jianghu under one force.”
“Oh, ooooh!”
At Baek Sang-ah’s declaration, many nodded in agreement.
In a chaotic era where Murim was split into North and South—
The one at the helm needed at least that much ambition.
But Baek Sang-ah hadn’t said it out of ambition.
‘In the end, someone has to do it.’
She sighed quietly.
Back when she had confided her troubles to Jin Yeomyung in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, she thought she’d be able to retire soon….
Driven by duty and responsibility, she had dragged things along until now, and found herself in a position where stepping down would mean death.
‘Fate really is cruel…’
Her sigh deepened.