Chapter 480: Finale (5) - Main Story Completed
“……!”
“Of course, one who hasn’t arrived at their own answer wouldn’t be able to properly wield authority within that domain, even if they acquired it from someone else. But just entering that realm and enduring within it….”
“Are you saying they could manifest abilities similar to those of Divine Martiality?”
“Probably.”
If that was true, it was undoubtedly a serious matter.
Even if it was only partial, if that bastard had stepped into the Divine Realm, I too would have no choice but to reach it in order to strike him down.
‘If the hypothesis is correct, then he’s essentially acquired a defense akin to, or even exceeding, that of the Earth Sage Body.’
To pierce through that, not even the Bright Net Ten Swords or Yura’s Heavenly Net could suffice.
Han Mubaek chuckled grimly upon hearing Yura’s words.
“As expected of my other half—you’ve nearly seen through the situation perfectly.”
“…Who the hell is whose other half?”
Unable to hold back my disgust, I snapped at him.
Han Mubaek, however, only replied with an even more twisted smile.
“I meant me and that woman. Didn’t we form a marital bond in our previous lives?”
“……You bastard.”
I twisted my face viciously.
Clearly, what he had gained by absorbing Heavenly Evil wasn’t just enlightenment.
As if to provoke me further, he kept sneering.
“If I were my past self, I’d have done anything to claim that woman’s body and heart. Don’t you think there’s a high chance I succeeded?”
“…….”
I couldn’t rebuke him so easily.
Rumor had it that the former Cult Leader never slept with him.
But the bastard had spent over ten years with her in their past lives—so I couldn’t be certain, not completely.
As I faltered, shaken by Han Mubaek’s sudden psychological assault—
“Well.”
Yura shot him a crooked glare.
“No matter how hard you danced for attention, I highly doubt I’d have offered my body and heart to the likes of you.”
“…….”
Han Mubaek’s composure clearly began to crack.
“If you think carefully about how I would’ve grown without ever meeting Jin Yeomyung, the answer is obvious. Perhaps you were treated as no more than a convenient little plaything.”
“Hah, haha… a plaything, you say?”
As he gradually distorted, Yura delivered the fatal blow.
“Just as you were a toy of the Grand Heavenly Lord within the Heaven-Defying Society, in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, you’d have been my toy. That, I’m absolutely certain of.”
Creak! Creak!
“More than anything, even if they were fragmentary memories, back then I clearly didn’t have a successor. And yet now….”
Though both of them wore twisted grins—
In the end, it was Yura’s smile that stood victorious.
“Now, within me, a new successor is beginning to stir—unlike back then.”
“You filthy bitch!!”
At last, Han Mubaek couldn’t take it anymore and exploded first.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
Six black arms swept across the earth.
That appearance was reminiscent of Han Yeong rampaging as Heavenly Evil at Yoo Family's Sacred Mountain.
But that wasn’t the important part right now.
“Wait, you said you have memories of your past life?”
Even as I performed void steps to evade the bastard’s attack, I asked Yura in shock.
That Yura had realized I was a ‘reincarnator’ wasn’t because she actually recovered any memories.
She nodded.
“I do, but that bastard doesn’t. He’s merely making presumptions based on fragmented memories inherited from when I was Heavenly Evil….”
She pulled my arm in midair and whispered softly.
“Bright Net Karmic Fate.”
“……!”
“I now clearly possess them. Precious memories given to me by none other than you.”
Bright Net Karmic Fate—an extraordinary place where two people’s fates overlap.
Even I, who created the technique, had not fully comprehended its ability, so it wouldn’t be strange if Yura had obtained memories of my past life there.
“Am I wrong, Inner Adminstrator?”
“U-ugh….”
How long had it been since I heard the word “Inner Adminstrators” from her mouth?
As I failed to respond properly and fumbled like a fool—
“Don’t worry.”
She smiled warmly.
“In our past lives and our present lives alike, I belong solely to you.”
“…….”
“And you, too, belong solely to me.”
Embarrassment washed over my entire body.
But it wasn’t due to Yura’s cringe-worthy words.
Even though she gave me such certain faith, I was still swayed by a pathetic provocation like that.
“Nonsense! That’s all nonsense!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“I’m not some toy! I’m the master of my destiny!”
The area near the ruins of Mount Tai collapsed even further.
It seemed that what really infuriated Han Mubaek wasn’t the fact that he couldn’t have Yura, but being called a toy.
While he went berserk, we landed at a spot slightly removed from him.
“We have to take care of that bastard, but it won’t work with conventional methods.”
“Of course not.”
The bastard was now even firing massive beams from his mouth.
Who knew how long that power would last, but right now, not even the Bright Net Ten Swords could deal with him—there was no one on Earth who could.
‘Doubtful even those beasts would step in to help.’
Given that they hadn’t joined the final battle against Heavenly Evil, they might be more likely to stab us in the back than lend assistance.
“Then we’ll have to deal with him in a way that isn’t one-sided.”
“You have something in mind?”
“Of course I do.”
She nodded confidently.
She was no longer Heavenly Evil, but a human possessing the power of Heavenly Evil.
Stepping into the Divine Realm to cast an incantation would be impossible, but…
“Union Technique.”
“Union Technique?”
At her sudden words, my eyes widened.
“Four hundred years ago, Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden Yoo Soo and the Second Heavenly Demon, both of whom had reached the realm of the Supreme Demon, subjugated the resurrected Heavenly Evil.”
“Right… they did.”
Indeed, through the sacrifice of those two, the Central Plains overcame a crisis known as Cheonsi.
The name they gave to the Union Technique they established back then was the Heavenly Demonic Resonance Technique.
But even the Bright Net Sword, which evolved from that technique, couldn’t leave a scratch—could an ordinary Union Technique really work?
As I wavered with uncertainty, Yura gripped my hand again.
“What they could do back then—there’s no reason we can’t do now.”
Her face was full of conviction.
“If we can overwhelm him in the realm of pure power rather than technique, we still stand a chance.”
“The realm of power…”
Indeed, if Heavenly Evil’s power and the power of Earth Sage combined, a singularity could occur in a fleeting moment.
If that singularity happened, it might be possible to destroy him without entering the Divine Realm.
‘Because the structure is simple, the Union Technique actually allows for more force to be infused.’
After some hesitation, I nodded.
“Fine, let’s do it.”
We had no better option under the current circumstances.
I had no choice but to trust Yura’s words and push forward.
Having made our decision, Yura and I gripped our swords and stood before Han Mubaek.
“Huff! Huff!”
The bastard, who had briefly lost his mind and rampaged, seemed to regain his senses the moment he saw us and stopped his chaos, panting heavily.
“…I acknowledge it.”
Han Mubaek glared at us.
“To show you that clumsy provocations won’t work. So… I’ll crush you with force.”
Knowing we had reached the same conclusion, Yura and I looked at each other and smiled.
“What a coincidence.”
“We were thinking the exact same thing.”
Energy surged into both my and Yura’s swords.
Responding in kind, Han Mubaek also gathered all of his remaining power.
“I’ll kill you two and attain perfect freedom.”
“That’s our line.”
“We’ll finish you.”
“And restore everything to the way it was.”
The Cheonma Sacred Sword and Heavenly Record Immortal Sword, now imbued with our power, began to radiate force.
“Let’s go.”
The two Heavenly Demons of our generation, who had both reached the Supreme Demon Realm, crossed their sword blades diagonally in front of the colossal enemy.
Heavenly Demonic Divine Art and Profound Heavens Divine Art. And the power of Heavenly Evil and the power of Earth Sage united as one.
Heavenly Demonic Resonance Technique: Great Annihilation Cataclysm
This was the first true Resonance Technique and Union Technique that Yura and I executed together.
But unlike that time, one more name had been added.
Karmic Fate
Thus was activated the Resonance Technique: Karmic Fate.
Its aftermath began to engulf me, Yura, and Han Mubaek completely.
As darkness began to swallow the surroundings, I closed my eyes and briefly recalled the past.
The first time I had ever executed a Union Technique with her.
Struggling against a mere elder of the Azure Star Sect, barely at the apex level, we had desperately crossed swords just to survive.
Though our positions and martial ranks had changed greatly since then—
The feeling from when we first crossed swords remained the same.
Sensing the unwavering One Heart from Yura, I joyfully poured all the power from my dantian into the Heavenly Record Immortal Sword.
The Heavenly Record Immortal Sword, which now bore no trace of the senior brothers, had become a pure steel sword like the True Star Sword.
And yet, somehow, the green hue it retained seemed to carry the lingering scent of those senior brothers.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
The black beam unleashed by Han Mubaek clashed directly with the Resonance Technique.
And thus—
Mount Tai, long called Bokryong Mountain and chosen as the site for the Bongseon Ritual,
On that day, vanished completely from the map of the Central Plains.
Three years had passed since the final battle at Mount Tai.
Yura, who had returned as the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, remained as busy as ever.
In truth, there had been a great deal of turmoil before she could return after the battle with Han Mubaek ended.
At least the upper ranks of the Cult, which I held firmly under control, accepted her return without resistance, but if we had failed to persuade the Murim Alliance, another Great War between Righteous and Demonic might have broken out.
‘Especially after that complete disaster in Nakyang.’
The fact that the upper leadership of the Murim Alliance had been decimated near Nakyang due to the rampage of the awakened Heavenly Evil version of Yura became a deadly obstacle to her return.
Even if we said, “It wasn’t truly her will,” the Murim Alliance, which had already suffered immense losses, was never going to accept that so easily.
To quell those grievances, So Cheon and Baek Sang-ah went through hell for years, traveling all over the land.
As a result, she once again resumed her position as the 29th Cult Leader of the Cult and was now locked in a constant battle against countless responsibilities at the frontlines.
So, what am I doing now?
Normally, as the Demonic Faction Lord and Joint Heavenly Demon, I should be sharing the workload with Sa Biyeon and helping Yura.
“Daddy!”
“Daddy!”
But now, I was doing even more grueling work than Yura—trying to calm the literally ‘flying’ Seonyu and Seonha, who had just turned two.
First son, Cheon Seonyu.
First daughter, Cheon Seonha.
Due to their prolonged time in Yura’s womb, they were effectively over three years old, and in the past two years, they had grown at a rate far surpassing that of their peers.
Most notably, despite their danjeons not being properly formed yet, they had already visually memorized the Heavenly Demon’s Dominion Steps and were dazzling me with them.
As the two monstrously talented children ran wild, the ones who suffered even more than me were none other than the Guardian Lions.
“Ah, Miss! Please don’t go that way, it’s dangerous!”
San Dojeon, who had recently been officially appointed as a Guardian Lion under the Right Guardian, was drenched in sweat as he tried to stop Seonha, his mountain-bandit-like beard flailing.
“Kya haha! Catch me if you can!”
Seonha dashed through the corridors of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, teasing San Dojeon.
Of course, if he really wanted to, he could catch her in a second—but that had already proven to bring far worse consequences not long ago.
Strangely enough, while most kids cried just from seeing San Dojeon’s face, our children showed no fear at all.
“L-Liege. P-please, a little help with the young lady….”
Still clearly unused to dealing with children, San Dojeon looked at me with teary eyes.
And upon receiving his gaze, I...
“Heh heh heh.”
Turned my head away and coldly ignored the pleas of my subordinate.
San Dojeon, wearing an expression akin to that of a Western magistrate betrayed by his subordinate, eventually gave up and drooped his shoulders as he trudged out of sight before me.
‘If he plays with them for about two hours, they’ll tire themselves out... hang in there, San Dojeon!’
Judging by how wildly they run around these days, even two hours might be pushing it... Anyway.
With that thought, I quietly pushed the children onto—no, entrusted them to—San Dojeon and returned to my office for a moment.
And the moment I opened the office door—
“You’re back?”
Yura, dressed in the Cult Leader’s signature ornate robes, was waiting for me.
“What’s going on?”
“Hmm, there’s something I wanted to discuss.”
Yura looked at me with a rare serious expression.
Her demeanor automatically made my own face stiffen.
Since the recent clear improvement in relations with the Murim Alliance, there hadn’t been anything serious enough to warrant that look, but then—
She suddenly relaxed her expression and let out a soft laugh.
“What to name the third child.”
“…….”
I blinked, not immediately grasping what she meant.
That meant... right now, Yura was—
“Well, for now.”
Swoosh.
She suddenly reached out and wrapped her arm around the back of my neck.
Then, bringing her lips close, she said:
“Shall we talk it over while you unwind a bit?”
“…Sure.”
I smiled faintly at her, who had grown considerably bolder over the past few years, and met her approaching lips.
The world is still endlessly chaotic, and there are mountains of issues we need to resolve both inside and out—
But even so, I can’t help but think this is a more than enough happy ending.