Chapter 75: A Glimpse of the Myth (1)
“How… how could this happen?”
Demonic Emperor Lord Geum Jeoksan couldn’t close his mouth at the sight before him.
Massacre.
And a completely one-sided one, at that!
“Ah, aah!”
Even the elite Yaksha Heavenly Blade Unit of the Evil Overlords of Heaven was being annihilated, unable to do anything against the few before them.
At first, everything seemed fine.
It had even felt like a stroke of luck when other Demonic Cult bastards suddenly appeared and attacked the enemies from behind, mistaking them as allies.
Their appearance tied down the most troublesome of them, the Yin-Yang Fist Demon, tipping the battle overwhelmingly in their favor.
But that fortune did not last long.
“How amusing. Do try a bit more.”
Colorful Flower Lord, now transformed like a massive crustacean beast, let out a gloomy chuckle.
“E-even Qi Projection doesn't work on him? This is ridiculous!”
Crunch!
A top-level master, who had been serving as the commander of the Yaksha Heavenly Blade Unit, shouted in denial of the reality.
But in the next moment, Colorful Flower Lord's rock-hard fist struck him, bursting his head apart.
Colorful Flower Lord turned to the surrounding elites of the Evil Overlords of Heaven and said,
“This form doesn’t suit me at all. I’d best slaughter all of you quickly and return to my beautiful original form.”
Geum Jeoksan swiftly gave an order.
“F-find an opening! His joints aren’t covered by the shell and are exposed!”
Just as he said, the areas near Colorful Flower Lord’s joints weren’t encased in the hardened shell.
It was inevitable due to the structure of the body.
“Heh heh heh… Even if you know the weak points, do you think you can exploit them?”
Hwoooosh—!
Before they knew it, a massive blood-red current began to swirl around Colorful Flower Lord.
And those Yaksha Heavenly Blade Unit members closest to it had their skin shrivel up in an instant.
“Guhuaaah!”
“M-my Internal Energy!”
“Retreat! Fall back!”
At the order of their respective commanders, the members quickly widened the distance.
But over a dozen had already become dried corpses and died on the spot.
“Wh-what the hell is that?!”
Geum Jeoksan screamed.
Over the past week, he had encountered monstrous deaths he'd never heard of in his entire life.
It felt like his mind was being chipped away.
Enjoying Geum Jeoksan’s response, Colorful Flower Lord slowly opened his mouth.
“When I’m in this form, I can use my secret technique, the Blood-Sucking Ghost Art, in another way.”
In this awakened form, Colorful Flower Lord had the power to absorb the surrounding vital energy without even touching anyone.
“Did you think I sit on the seat of one of the Ten Heavenly Lord for no reason? Even if thousands or tens of thousands of your Central Plains maggots gathered, you wouldn’t be able to defeat me once I reveal my true form.”
“Guh…!”
Geum Jeoksan grit his teeth.
If what he said was true, then he was essentially invincible. Unless that shell could be shattered from afar, there was virtually no way to attack him!
At that moment—
“Well, that sounds like an exaggeration to me.”
“Who’s there?!”
At the sound of a clear woman’s voice from afar, Colorful Flower Lord’s head instantly snapped around.
And as he spotted three women slowly walking out from the darkness, his turtle-like eyes widened even more.
“H-heh, heheheh!”
They were all peerless beauties, the kind rarely seen even in the Central Plains!
“I-I’m amazed! I’ve seen the Poison Phoenix before, but not one of these three could be compared to her!”
With an overly friendly smile, Colorful Flower Lord addressed the women.
“How could such lovely ladies have come to a place like this? This is a dangerous spot, so I ask that you ‘briefly’ step aside.”
His voice oozed with sleaze.
There were few women who wouldn’t fall for that smile and tone.
However—
“Ugh…”
“……”
The graceful lady standing in the back frowned as if she had seen something disgusting.
The twin-tailed girl beside her also hung her head low, outright ignoring Colorful Flower Lord’s words.
Only the sharp-eyed woman standing at the front responded, smirking with disdain.
“You’re trying to charm women looking like that? How laughable.”
“Hm?”
It was only then that Colorful Flower Lord realized he was still in his awakened form. A monstrous appearance, like a giant crustacean, even he considered hideous.
“Ah, goodness. My mistake!”
Still, he didn’t lose his composure and smiled coolly.
“I must’ve shown an unsightly appearance while dealing with these maggots. Just give me a moment. I’ll clear up this misunderstanding.”
“There’s no need to clear up anything.”
Cheon Yura slowly drew her sword.
“You’re going to die here.”
“Oh?”
Colorful Flower Lord grinned twistedly.
“You’re eager to fall into my arms already? Quite the lewd one, aren’t you—despite your looks.”
And at that moment—
“Y-Y-Young Cult Leader!”
“Hm?”
“Hmm?”
Someone behind Colorful Flower Lord suddenly pointed a trembling finger at Cheon Yura and shouted.
“Young Cult Leader! You’ve come for me!”
“…?”
Though not quite Colorful Flower Lord himself, the monster who resembled him made a show of recognizing her.
Cheon Yura frowned.
“I don’t know any monster like you.”
At those words, the monster twisted his face in pain and shouted,
“It’s me! Me! Second Order Han Muyeon! The man who wished to prove his worth to you!”
Only then did Cheon Yura recognize who he was.
The maggot who didn’t even know his place and dared to speak the name of the Demonic Faction Lord!
His bizarre appearance, like he’d been painted red and blue, had made him hard to recognize.
“Young Cult Leader?”
“Did he just say… Young Cult Leader?”
Colorful Flower Lord and Geum Jeoksan both shouted at once.
“So, she was really the one who attended that meeting…!”
“Ooooooh!”
Both of them couldn’t hide their surprise, though the reasons for their shock were completely different.
“Young Cult Leader! To think the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult was such a beauty! She’s far too precious to be handed over to those bastards!”
Colorful Flower Lord fussed dramatically. Her eyes were a little sharp, but that only made him like her even more.
He had always preferred rebellious women over obedient ones.
…Not that Cheon Yura would ever understand that.
Just then, Han Muyeon came rushing out from behind.
“Heavenly Lord! Please, give me a chance!”
“…To the likes of you?”
Colorful Flower Lord’s face immediately twisted in displeasure.
“If you were to step in yourself, wouldn’t she get seriously hurt? If you entrust it to me, I’ll subdue her safely!”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
Colorful Flower Lord hesitated. Now that he had awakened, controlling his power was quite difficult. If he wasn’t careful, that fair body might suffer serious damage.
If something like that happened, it would truly tear his heart apart.
“Well, shall I?”
“Thank you, Heavenly Lord!”
Han Muyeon stepped forward joyfully.
But then—
“If your leader won’t step up, then I see no need to waste my hand either.”
“What, what?”
Cheon Yura quickly turned around and backed away.
And in front of her, a girl with twin tails stepped forward.
“I did say that if something like this happened, to leave it to me… but I didn’t really think it would turn out like this.”
“Y-You are…?”
Second Order looked slightly flustered upon seeing the girl appear before her.
That unique hairstyle was unforgettable.
After all, she had only recently been Han Muyeon’s target.
“Namryeon Sword Flower, Baek Sang-ah?”
“What?! One of the Four Peaks!”
At those words, Colorful Flower Lord fussed once again from behind, but the two ignored him completely.
“So we meet again, Senior Han. I didn’t expect you to end up in such a strange state in the short time we’ve been apart.”
“Where do you get off, you little wench, blocking my path so brazenly?”
Baek Sang-ah responded with the brightest smile she could muster.
“Oh? Should I step aside, then? Or… shall I just run away like this? I’m fine with either option, you know?”
Flinch!
“Of course, considering the people here, if I run away, you’ll never get your hands on the Jade Green Heavenly Net Divine Sword again. Will that be alright with you?”
“…You’ve changed quite a bit.”
It wasn’t just her demeanor.
Her hair color and eyes had grown much darker, and she now exuded a strange, alluring energy that hadn’t been there before.
It was a feeling strikingly similar to witches who, unable to resist their demonic nature after delving too deep into demonic arts, had lost their minds.
“When humans go through something negative, they say we pass through five stages.”
Baek Sang-ah held up five fingers.
“Denial, anger, bargaining, despair… and acceptance.”
She folded one finger down with each word.
“Right now, I’m in the anger stage.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m about to show you. Since you're a major reason I ended up like this.”
Han Muyeon flinched as he saw the black energy swirling around Baek Sang-ah’s twin swords.
It far surpassed the level he had assessed previously.
‘Wait, hold on? Black?’
Second Order blinked, wondering if her eyes had deceived her.
But reality didn’t change.
“Tah!”
With the Southern Heavenly technique, the Celestial Wolf Sword Form burst forth like a black galaxy.
“What the hell is this madness?!”
A pitch-black aura surged from Baek Sang-ah’s sword.
That was unmistakably demonic qi!
“Die already!”
As Han Muyeon faltered in confusion, Baek Sang-ah’s sword form crashed down on him without hesitation.
* * *
“Y-Young Master?”
Gu Chil looked at me in disbelief.
“What, man.”
“H-How did you…? No, more importantly, Myeong-oh…”
“Get a grip, Gu Chil!”
I roared at the dazed Gu Chil.
“Urgh!”
The sharp pain ringing in his ears slowly brought expression back to Gu Chil’s face.
“That monster… was that the woman you wanted to save?”
“Y-Yes, it was.”
“As expected, I cut off her neck, yet she didn’t die. That’s some monstrous power.”
“…!”
Gu Chil couldn’t believe it.
Even he, a direct disciple of the Soul Reaper, hadn’t detected his speed.
And even after decapitating her at that speed, she was still alive?!
“Krrrk!”
Green fluid began oozing from the severed area, reconnecting the parts.
“At this point, she clearly isn’t human.”
“Y-Young Master. Is there… no way?”
“Even if there is, it’s impossible. That fire of vengeance in her eyes will only be extinguished in death.”
With the help of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, my senses had evolved even further.
Beyond the five senses and even the sixth, I had awakened the seventh—an ability that allowed me to read the surface of another’s emotions.
“I understand how you feel, but unless you toss her enemy’s head in front of her…”
“Cheon… Ju… Myeong.”
“What?”
“I’ll kill him.”
When the name Cheon Jumyeong spilled from Myeong-oh’s mouth, I was slightly taken aback.
“He’s the one she seeks vengeance against?”
“Yes. Cheon Jumyeong is Myeong-oh’s greatest enemy.”