Chapter 449: The Overturned Heavens (10)
I quietly examined Cheon Yura, who was seated on the jade throne.
Perhaps it was because the sharpness in her eyes had slightly softened.
She looked a little more mature than when I had last seen her.
Perhaps, she now resembled the Cult Leader I had seen in the final moments of my previous life.
“Why no answer, my husband?”
She smiled sweetly. It was a bright smile I never expected to see from her.
“Didn't you want to see me so badly? You could’ve reacted a bit more passionately.”
“You’re saying you’re Yura?”
“Yes, I am Cheon Yura. Who else could I be?”
Her eyes curved gently.
Resting her chin on the back of her hand, she continued talking idly.
“Oh, are you doubting my identity? If you want, I can prove anything. The first time we met in Miok Fortress when we were young? Or the time I almost killed you at the Exchange Ceremony? Or perhaps... when we shared our first kiss?”
She recited past memories one after another.
“If you want proof, I’ll give you as much as you like.”
Proof, she said.
It was likely true that the ‘she’ in front of me possessed Yura’s memories.
No matter what memory I requested, she would answer accurately.
But still—
“You’re not Cheon Yura. You’re the Grand Heavenly Lord of the Heaven-Defying Society.”
“…Why do you think that? Do you have any proof?”
“If it’s proof you want, then here it is.”
I drew the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword and floated it in midair.
“Here, try to take it.”
“……”
“The Heavenly Demon Divine Sword is a divine item that resonates with the Heavenly Demonic Divine Art. If you were Yura, you’d easily be able to take ownership of it.”
“……”
“You can’t, can you?”
I smirked at the Grand Heavenly Lord who wore Yura’s face.
“You might have stolen Yura’s body and memories, but you couldn’t completely seize her soul.”
She didn’t deny my words.
“You look like you’re struggling.”
Her smile froze.
“Is it the backlash from trying to devour Yura too hastily? It makes sense, considering this entire ritual was forced into activation through a shortcut.”
Ironically enough, even her sweating in that moment resembled the last scene from my past life.
“Did you achieve the awakening into Heavenly Evil as you wanted?”
I didn’t stop my taunting.
“No, that can’t be. If you had become Heavenly Evil, there’s no way you’d be acting out Yura’s personality so poorly.”
“……”
The Grand Heavenly Lord’s expression turned icy cold.
Rising from the jade throne, she slowly descended the steps and approached me.
“So what if I haven’t become Heavenly Evil?”
Step. Step.
“Cheon Yura’s body and soul are now mine. This fusion will never be undone.”
Her eyes met mine.
“What can you do? Ah, I suppose you could kill this body and give ‘us’ peace.”
The once pure and bright smile had twisted into a hideous, wicked grin.
“Just like you did to Cheon Yujeong.”
She came close enough for our breaths to meet, then suddenly raised her chin.
“Go ahead. Do it, if you can.”
At her provocation, I sighed inwardly.
Certainly, if I were to break her neck here, everything would end.
Quite literally, everything.
“You can’t do it, can you?”
Now the Grand Heavenly Lord was the one mocking me.
“Cheon Yura is your everything. Someone more precious than your own life.”
Just as she said—I couldn’t do it.
To kill her and bring peace would be like reversing cause and effect. It was not an option for me.
But that didn’t mean there was no way.
“I can sense desperation in your words and actions.”
“Right back at you.”
“The fact that you’ve abandoned your usual cautiousness and hastily taken over Yura’s body means you’re cornered, doesn’t it?”
Even if I couldn’t harm Yura’s body, the Grand Heavenly Lord wasn’t in a superior position in this situation.
“Hoo…”
I let out a soft breath.
Then, with resolute eyes, I stared her down.
“I can’t kill you. But I can seal you.”
“…What?”
I reached out my hand toward the hesitating Grand Heavenly Lord.
"A thousand years, ten thousand years. Even after the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult disappears into the annals of history, after civilization progresses and humanity leaves this planet—if it’s me, I can live until then. And you and Yura as well…."
“…Are you insane?”
“You think I’m insane?”
I laughed.
I wasn’t laughing like a madman, but my mouth stretched into a wide grin.
“Even if another fragment of Heavenly Evil revives after you’re sealed, I’ll just destroy it. As I am now, that much is more than possible.”
“……”
No matter when or where it revives, as I am now, I can eliminate it.
Heavenly timing? Chaos of the world?
Who cares. If it shows up again, I’ll just kill everything and erase it.
“And while doing so, I’ll slowly find a way to separate you from Yura. To be honest, as long as Yura is safe, I don’t care what happens to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, or to the world.”
Perhaps she sensed the sincerity in my words.
The Grand Heavenly Lord screamed like she was having a fit.
“Don’t make me laugh!”
Her hand shoved my arm away roughly.
“You’re going to seal me? By the time that happens, my soul and Cheon Yura’s will have become completely unified, to the point they can no longer be separated!”
“……”
“Do you think it’s possible to separate black and white from a gray-dyed paint? Even with Divine Sorcery, that’s impossible!”
“Is that so?”
Grip.
I grabbed the Grand Heavenly Lord’s neck.
A twisted smile bloomed with joy.
“Then that means… it’s not too late yet.”
“……!!”
In that instant, the emotion of ‘I’ve been had’ flashed across the Grand Heavenly Lord’s face.
This was a battle of nerve.
A showdown where the one to show a gap while holding each other’s weakness would lose.
But the Grand Heavenly Lord quickly returned her expression to normal.
“So? I’ve said it again and again—what can you do?”
“Watching your current condition, I’ve come up with a few hypotheses.”
Squeeze.
“…Kgh!”
While clutching her neck, I continued.
“In order for you to fully be reborn as Heavenly Evil, you must perform the Bongseon Ritual. I’m certain of this because I’ve experienced it before.”
“……”
“If it’s before that… you can still be reversed.”
“On what… basis… do you say such a thing?”
“Because that’s how Cheon Yujeong came back.”
“……!”
At Yoo Family's Sacred Mountain, Cheon Yujeong and the Sixth Heavenly Lord performed the Bongseon Ritual.
Cheon Yujeong had her personality stolen by the first Grand Heavenly Lord Han Yeong, but in the end, she returned to being the original Cheon Yujeong while holding the power of Heavenly Evil.
“The ritual at Yoo Family's Sacred Mountain was a failure from the start, an incomplete ceremony prepared only with the size of the offering in mind.”
“……”
“The same applies here. Even if you conduct the ritual at Soaring Demon Peak, it won’t be a proper one. To truly be reborn as Heavenly Evil, you’d need to conduct a formal Bongseon Ritual at Mount Tai.”
The Grand Heavenly Lord’s eyes began to tremble.
“In that case, before that—”
Before I could finish my sentence—
Kwaang!
Suddenly, one corner of the ceiling of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion collapsed, and someone appeared through the opening.
“…You.”
A black figure appeared, flapping its characteristic giant bat wings.
The Four Atrocities, Gunggi.
“Hah, I feel kind of bad. Seems like I keep breaking promises.”
For some reason, his entire body was emitting pure white steam, and there was a wound on his chest that hadn’t been there before, presumed to be a burn.
Gunggi cast a disappointed look at the Grand Heavenly Lord.
“No matter how much you dislike using strength, isn’t it a bit much to not even resist until I arrived?”
“Shut up… and save me….”
“Hmph, fine.”
Riiip!
The moment he said that, Gunggi opened his large mouth wide and fired a destructive beam in this direction.
As if he didn’t care what happened to the Grand Heavenly Lord.
‘He’s stronger than expected!’
Even though there was no preparatory movement, I realized that beam carried power no less than Master's slashes.
“Tch!”
Clicking my tongue, I tried to evade while still clutching the Grand Heavenly Lord’s neck.
“How arrogant. Holding your enemy in your hand and still thinking you can face me?”
Right after firing the beam, Gunggi immediately rushed in close to me.
I launched two swords to restrain Gunggi.
But—
“Hmph!”
Crunch!
Crack!
Gunggi didn’t hesitate even with the two swords stabbing into his body, and instead delivered a direct punch at me.
Kwaaaang!
Truly, it was the resolve to sacrifice the flesh to claim the bone.
Caught off guard by Gunggi’s unexpected act of self-sacrifice, I ended up letting go of the Grand Heavenly Lord’s body.
With his body severely wounded, Gunggi seized the Grand Heavenly Lord.
“You let go more easily than I expected. What’s your scheme?”
“Nothing in particular.”
Clicking my tongue, I retrieved the swords embedded in his body.
“You’re later than I thought.”
“Ah, I had quite an entertaining fight on my way here.”
Gunggi bared his teeth in a grin.
He pointed to a wound on his chest that hadn’t been there before.
“As expected, humans of this era are fascinating. To think a human capable of wielding such cold energy exists—not a Divine Beast, no less.”
“……”
Cold energy.
The moment I heard that, I instantly realized who had grabbed Gunggi by the ankle.
“I see. From long ago until now… I’ve done nothing but accumulate debt to that person.”
If Gunggi had been here from the start, it would have been a disaster.
If he had interfered from the beginning, I wouldn’t have been able to pull any tricks on the Grand Heavenly Lord who had taken over Cheon Yura’s body.
“Khuhuhu, don’t worry too much. I gave them all the respect due to a warrior.”
“Is that so? Even so…”
Tsssss!
“Vengeance must be taken.”
Heavenly Annihilation gathered upon the Heavenly Record Immortal Sword I held in my right hand.
Noticing the transcendence completely different from before, Gunggi’s eyes lit with interest.
“Impressive.”
“How about it, care to receive it?”
Ordinarily, he’d have gladly accepted. But this time, he calmly shook his head.
“I’d love to clash with full force, but unfortunately, I have a contract to fulfill.”
“……”
“I’ll concede victory on this battlefield. But the Grand Heavenly Lord—I’m taking her with me.”
Tucking the Grand Heavenly Lord under his arm, Gunggi spread his wings.
“Didn’t I say it when we last parted? I’d wait for you at the place we first met.”
Fwoosh!
Suddenly, a black mist spread out from around Gunggi.
That was unmistakably a type of ground-shrinking technique using spatial movement.
“If you want her back, come to that place.”
With those words, the black mist began to whirl like a storm inside the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.
And not long after, once the mist dissipated—
Gunggi and the Grand Heavenly Lord’s body had vanished as well.
“……”
I stared blankly at the spot where they had disappeared.
Truthfully, I wanted to end it here.
But to expect a miracle like with Cheon Yujeong before—Yura’s life was too precious to gamble on.
The reason I let the two of them go was for one reason only.
“They haven’t completely merged yet.”
Which meant—
“They can still be separated.”
Back then, ‘he’ who consulted me on sorcery said this:
If the Grand Heavenly Lord stole Cheon Yura’s body, how could it be restored?
–First, you’d need to determine whether they’ve completely unified or not. If they have, then there’s no way.
–If they haven’t?
–Then there’s a chance. The most certain way is to interrupt the Bongseon Ritual first.
–What?
–Specifically, you need to target the climax of the ritual, the moment when his soul is most vulnerable, just before he fully ascends into Heavenly Evil.
–How do you even aim for that precisely? Is that even physically possible?
–Of course, you can’t deal with it reactively. You need to lie in wait beforehand.
–Lie in wait…?
The little black wolf pointed to herself with her tiny paw.
I looked at him in disbelief.
–Is that possible? Even a third-rate martial artist would notice something odd with their body.
–He probably won’t notice.
The little wolf, Yorang, grinned and said:
–It was the same a thousand years ago.
Just as he said, the Grand Heavenly Lord never realized Yorang’s presence, who had slipped in through the back of her neck.
Now Yorang would slowly, and secretly, begin to separate Cheon Yura and the Grand Heavenly Lord.
“I’m counting on you, Yorang.”