Proofread by : orchid* * *
Lee Sungmin surprisingly felt no pain whatsoever.
The white awl that was in his hands, had fully penetrated his chest and heart but there was nothing that had happened.
No, there was. The Predator of Massacre cried out in agony from afar. There was no pain, and Lee Sungmin felt oddly relaxed.
Cra-Crack- Crack…
White cracks began to appear along the dark walls of Lee Sungmin’s mental world. The cracks did not stop appearing and broke apart the darkness enshrouding Lee Sungmin’s world, letting Lee Sungmin’s feeling of helplessness and powerlessness be at ease.
“This… foolish…….”
As soon as Lee Sungmin had pierced himself with the awl, the Predator of Massacre that was trying to get Heoju off of his shoulders, gave up his resistance.
There was nothing left that the Predator of Massacre could do now that the deed was done. Instead, the Predator of Massacre muttered in a dejected and angered voice.
“Do you know what you’ve done?”
“I don’t.”
Lee Sungmin, who had been trapped in a state of unconsciousness, saw the mental world completely shatter.
This world represented Lee Sungmin’s consciousness and his own mental world. Would doing this mean that his mental world and consciousness collapse? Lee Sungmin did not know what it meant, but if he did know one thing…
It was that the Predator of Massacre had stopped completely.
“That white… awl is… It is made from a metal called mistellain that ignores any and all forms of defenses and destroys the target.”
It was not a spear like Lee Sungmin used, but there was no need for Lee Sungmin to know how to stab himself with an awl. The Predator of Massacre laughed out loud as if it had given up completely.
“Like Grimoire and the Weiss, it is an item that is not controlled or bound by the laws of this world. The Heavenly Spirit had given it to the man known as the God of Martial Arts to get rid of Wijohoyeon once she grew too strong after being grown by the Devil of Maryeong Pavilion.”
It was as the Predator of Massacre had mentioned earlier : fate was like a large river.
It was impossible for fate to completely control everything, including correcting every single variable and the choices that humans would make in this flow.
Musin was given the awl made from mistellain, who had eventually passed on to An Zun as a trust between comrades who had the same goals in mind.
And An Zun…. was consequently killed by Lee Sungmin, resulting in the white awl resting in his hands at that moment.
“You essentially have committed suicide.”
The Predator of Massacre spat out in contempt.
“I don’t know why that awl is in your hands now. Perhaps… The Heavenly Spirit intervened. And you foolishly did the deed without knowing what you were even doing.”
“I just felt that I had to stop you.”
The white awl embedded in Lee Sungmin’s chest eventually became white powder and disappeared along with the white cracks that appeared in the mental world.
“You had to stop me? What the hell does that mean? Don’t you understand? I, you, are the Predator of Massacre. It means that from the moment you regressed to this second life, you and I became tied together.”
“If it were the way it was, my consciousness and ego would have completely disappeared with everything I could call my own.”
If the variables that surrounded Lee Sungmin because of the Devil of Maryeong Pavilion’s interference, had not accumulated to this point, the result that had ended up manifesting would have never been possible. The moment the Predator of Massacre was supposed to take control of Lee Sungmin’s body, Lee Sungmin’s original ego should have been crushed and Heoju would have never been there to help Lee Sungmin in the first place.
“There’s no such thing as coincidence.”
Even if this was now going far astray from the original timeline and flow of fate that should have been predetermined.
“I made my own choice to do this, because it doesn’t matter what happens to this world. All I know is that I do not want to be a monster that murders everyone and everything alive indiscriminately.”
“So you’re going to commit suicide? Haha… What do you think you’ve even done?”
“It’s better for me to finish what I’ve started like this rather than to have an outcome and future that isn’t even mine.”
At Lee Sungmin’s answer, the Predator of Massacre openly displayed his ridicule while his body turned to white powder along with everything else disappearing.
“I guess the Devil succeeded a little bit.”
The Predator of Massacre mumbled.
“The repeated amount of variables resulted in your mental world and consciousness becoming too strong. At least, the Devil succeeded in blocking myself as the Predator of Massacre from manifesting. But then so what, what will you do next even if I am stopped here?”
Scattered into dust, the Predator of Massacre asked with a hint of genuine curiosity.
“The Catastrophes of the Apocalypse will continue to come. Even if the Predator of Massacre, a Catastrophe worthy of being the Final Catastrophe disappears, another Catastrophe of equal proportions will emerge to replace me. Sooner or later, the Spirit Queen will also wake up.”
The Predator of Massacre laughed with a sly smile.
“And the Vampire Queen will start moving in earnest. In her hand, there is a chimera with the potential for becoming the second coming of the Predator of Massacre. Do you think Wijihoyeon can stop all of that?”
HAHAHAHAHAH! The evil cackle from the Predator of Massacre only continued.
“What you did was nothing but put a bandaid on the situation.”
Eventually, the Predator of Massacre’s body completely disappeared along with the laughter.
Heoju slowly raised himself up. He looked bitter as he approached Lee Sungmin.
Through the Predator of Massacre’s last words, he also understood what had happened. He shook his head as he looked at Lee Sungmin who had a small hole inside of his chest from where he pierced the awl inside of his heart.
“I’m sorry.”
“What do you have to be sorry for?”
“Because I couldn’t stop you.”
“No. You’ve helped me enough. If you hadn’t been blocking him, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything.”
Heoju laughed bitterly at the words. The mental world inside of Lee Sungmin was completely collapsing.
Heoju tried to raise Lee Sungmin’s body, but eventually just fell down next to him. This was because there was no need to try and do anything. Whatever was to happen, both of them would be in the same boat.
Lee Sungmin had effectively committed suicide mentally and was having his mental world completely collapse.
“Aren’t you going?”
Lee Sungmin asked Heoju.
“What are you talking about?”
“It was like this the last time. You were able to leave me and go to the world where my teacher went where the Realm of Absolutes are. If you had always hoped to grow stronger, why aren’t you going? The path should be open to you.”
“Yes. I saw the path for the first time when we were in the City of Endless Night, and I knew that I would be able to cross that road at any time. Even now, I can go if I want to.”
“But why aren’t you going?”
“There’s nothing urgent telling me to.”
Heoju grumbled and scratched the back of his head. If he could, Heoju wanted to drink some alcohol but grimaced as there was none in this place.
But there was the gourd of infinite liquor inside Lee Sungmin’s spatial pocket. Nevertheless, Heoju sat down beside Lee Sungmin aas Lee Sungmin smiled at the sight.
“If you don’t have to rush, then just relax and go.”
“I’ll go when you’re gone from here.”
Heoju grumbled.
In fact, Lee Sungmin’s body was also scattering into the same white powder like the Predator of Massacre.
Lee Sungmin spoke while looking down at his body.
“Even if I disappear now, please stay here a little longer.”
“Why?”
“There’s something I’m curious about.”
Lee Sungmin had made the correct decision to stab himself with the white awl in the end. However, listening to the last few words that the Predator of Massacre left behind, Lee Sungmin suddenly had an idea.
“Just to see if something really does happen.”’
“You punk. Why don’t you just tell me properly what you’re talking about?”
Heoju was irritated to see Lee Sungmin go, but Lee Sungmin seemed to still have something cheeky he wasn’t telling him.
“You want me to wait and leave me here without telling me what you’re thinking? How long should I stay? No- Why? You punk, you should tell me now! Are you just fooling with me because you’re always getting vague descriptions of things from others like fate?”
“Oh come on.”
Lee Sungmin sighed deeply at Heoju’s complaints. Fortunately, Lee Sungmin’s body had not yet completely disappeared.
“In Denir’s Trial of Time inside of my mental world, my mind collapsed several times and I effectively went braindead. But as time passed, my mind naturally recovered and I became fine again.”
“Oh!”
Heoju’s eyes widened in surprise as he started to get the gist of what Lee Sungmin was saying.
“I’m not sure. I don’t know if my mind can revive like that again this time. But… Just in case. When I come to my senses again. I think I’d be very lonely if you weren’t here to see me first.”
“Don’t say such cheesy things.”
“No, I’m being serious.”
“What the hell….”Heoju grumbled.
He sat with his legs stretched out, and lay down with his upper body tilted back.
“I’m going to sleep.”
Lee Sungmin smiled faintly at the words.
“If you take too long, I’ll just leave.”
“I’ll try my best.”
Lee Sungmin’s body became dust and scattered.
Heoju clicked his tongue as he looked up at the dust and the collapsing mental world around him.
“I’ve been doing well on my own for hundreds of years.”
Heoju grumbled to himself and closed his eyes.
* * *
“You’re here.”
The Divine Maiden opened her mouth. She slowly turned her head to see the man known as the God of Martial Arts. Musin was much more skinnier, haggard, and messy than when he left their base of operation.
Since the Divine Maiden was technically bling and couldn’t use her eyes, she didn’t see when Musin arrived. However, Musin felt ashamed and grabbed his empty left sleeve with his right hand as her blank white eyes looked in his direction.
After what happened in the north, it had taken Musin months to return.
Musin could have come back sooner, but instead he wandered the wide world of Eria a bit longer before returning.
He had forgotten to eat, drink regularly and wash himself. The current image that Musin had, was no different than the look of one from the Beggar Sect within the Murim Alliance.
This was just how much the events that had transpired in the North had shaken up Musin. Musin was certain that Sima Ryunju had been his rival and that he could be on par with him and maybe even defeat him.
When they had met prior to the fight in the North, their skills were so evenly matched that neither of them could come out on top. But after the fight Musin had with Sima Ryunju in the North, Musin had realized just how great of a power Sima Ryunju had been training. His rival was leagues above him and showed a power incomparable to something a human being could ever possibly achieve.
In particular, Sima Ryunju’s last moments when he unfolded such heaven-defying martial arts were comparable to a deity, and had given Musin goosebumps every time he recalled it.
“Did your wish come true?”(T/N : Divine Maiden is referring to Musin’s dream of surpassing Sima Ryunju which clearly hit a sore spot lol.)
“Didn’t the Heavenly Spirit say something to you?”
Musin asked back while gripping the stump of his left arm.
Musin for the past few months had been feeling pain despite his arm missing. It was a throbbing pain that didn’t seem to ever fade.
“Yes and thank you. One of the biggest Catastrophes of the Apocalypse, Sima Ryunju, has been erased from the prophecies. But Musin.. the world still has yet to completely escape from its terrible fate.”
“I know.”
Musin stood next to the Divine Maiden as he sighed in a dejected voice.
Musin looked down while biting his lower lip. There were dozens of small carps swimming in a small pond inside the cave they were in.
“But…Beyond the Heavens has lost its power. Guan Zun, Qian Zun, and An Zun have died. Not only that, but the Spear King and the Black Dragon have abandoned us and gone their own ways.”
Musin couldn’t kill the two. At the decisive moment, they fled, and because they Musin was so tired from the fight against Sima Ryunju, he could not chase them.
“And… even Wolhu. Even your brother died.”
“No.”
At the words that Musin struggled to speak, the Divine Maiden smiled and shook her head.
“My brother didn’t die.”
“What do you mean?”
At the Divine Maiden’s words, Musin had an incomprehensible look on his face. Wolhu must have died. In front of Musin, Wolhu’s body had quite literally exploded to pieces by Sima Ryunju’s power and they had surely died.
“Wolhu is dead… I saw it with my own eyes.””
“He’s not dead. No, to be exact, he might have died there. My brother, who was blessed with the grace of the Heavenly Spirit, was resurrected.”
“What nonsense….”
No matter how strong Musin was and how many things he had seen and heard of in all of his years, the Divine Maiden’s words did not make sense. But the Divine Maiden did not care for Musin’s understanding of her words.
Looking at the unexpected smile she was making, Musin shook his head.
It was beyond his common sense, but such things were common sense when it came to the mysterious woman in front of him. His beliefs had already been shattered once in the North in his fight against Sima Ryunju, he didn’t need to trouble his mind further.
“What should I do now?”
Musin asked with a blank expression.
“I tried to meet the Heavenly Spirit at Maryeong Pavilion and asked them for advice on how to move forwards with the Apocalypse, but I didn’t hear a proper answer. One of the Catastrophes of the Apocalypse, Sima Ryunju, was killed. Now… What else should I do? The ending is not over yet. To save this world…… What should we do now?”
“Please wait.”
The Divine Maiden’s closed eyes opened. Her eyes were emitting colorful luster as if they contained all the light in the world within them.
Those beautiful and bright eyes were a sight to behold, but the Divine Maiden was blind.
However, her eyes had a magical power that allowed her to communicate with Transcendent beings and see the future to a certain extent. The Divine Maiden shook her head with a bitter smile.
“The Heavenly Spirit told me to wait. It’s not enough time yet. Musin, you wouldn’t be ready yet either if we rushed things right now.”
‘I have to get ready.’
Musin grabbed his empty sleeve where his arm was missing. He understood what the Divine Maiden was really trying to say.
The fight with Sima Ryunju made Musin’s view of martial arts grow much wider. Musin thought he had reached the apex of all humans and had reached a realm that nobody could ever achieve.… But because of that battle, Musin realized that there was still a Realm higher. Musin slowly nodded and turned around.
“The end of the world.”
Musin’s eyes narrowed with a ferocious fighting spirit.
His desire to prevent the Apocalypse was a pure one.