Seol-Hwi and Cheon Miryo — the two of them walked silently through the place which had turned into desolate ruins.
The ground where flowers, trees, and other wildlife had once flourished had now become a wreckage, and the houses and mansions had been burned down with just the ashes and other remnants.
Corpses were scattered here and there, and among them was one disciple who held back his tears and took care of the remains of his sasuks.
“Huk… euk… kuak…”
Mount Hua had lost five elders that night, and they were not just the strong core warriors of the sect. They were the elders who were someone’s master and supported the disciples so that they could take on the future.
In Kangho, especially in these martial arts sects of the Central Plains, the relationship between the teacher and the disciple was the same. It was literal.
Among the first class disciples, there were those who grew up in Mount Hua from the time of being infants.
To them, their Master, sasuk, and elders were like blood ties. He sent away five elders from the same sect who were like fathers and grandfathers to them.
Although it was something he wanted and planned, Seol-Hwi was a bit skeptical.
Yesterday they were enemies, but today they had been allies. Because these people gave their lives up to protect him.
Cough
In the distance he heard this cough. A gurgled old cough came.
“…!”
Seol-Hwi hurriedly ran towards it and lowered his head.
“…!”
Alive—
Their right arm was gone from around the shoulder, and their right leg was missing from around the middle of the thigh, and there was no trace of the missing body parts.
In any case, it was an elder of Mount Hua.
“Taoist. Are you alright?”
“You…”
“Fortunately. I am safe…”
“…How am I alive?”
They seemed to consider this as the underworld. The dark arms and legs — because he lost two of his limbs and became crippled. However, originally his body should have died from the loss of blood.
Was this good luck or bad luck?
The flame of the annihilation arts had destroyed the arms and legs of the elder, turning them black and charred. Thankfully, he did not bleed much, but it must be painful though.
But seeing him alive felt like comfort to Seol-Hwi.
“I truly apologize for this, you are truly needed to continue living now. I am glad I managed to keep my promise. Now… Excuse me, does someone have ink and paper?”
“…Uh? Ah, hm!”
The young man with sharp eyes quickly opened the bundle and turned them around.
He had a common yellow spotted paper and a dry brush. Seol-Hwi hurriedly brushed the tip of his brush, and it tasted bitter for him to salivate.
Shh. Shh… wheik.
As soon as possible, before his realization vanished, Seol-Hwi worked with the brush using his utmost effort.
“No…”
A surprised flustered look was on the face of Mount Hua’s elder. A faint spark glowed in his eyes which had lost his sajaes just a while back.
The will to live that he might be able to recover was long gone because of his old age. Yet, he was being more tenacious now than ever.
“Hmm… uh… till here.”
Seol-Hwi frowned in between and wrote down everything he had experienced, all the way until he had gone through the 62 movements. And—
“Purple Cloud Divine Arts. I don’t know how close it is to the original because I am not that skilled, but I did manage to put down everything I know.”
Again, he handed the bundle of papers to the old man of Mount Hua, whose will to live was in question along with having doubts about everything else.
“Why…?”
The words of Mount Hua elder could not be understood. However, Seol-Hwi guessed what the old man could not get himself to say.
“Well, I am not sure either.
“You can leave here without handing it down.”
Mount Hua’s techniques that he had worked through, it had a value which they could not put a price on even if it could be handed over or sold.
And especially, given that Seol-Hwi’s few moves before showed the tremendous change in him, the restored version he was writing down now was probably close to original.
“A promise it is.”
“How can Demonic Sect’s…”
The elder mumbled.
It was probably something like saying that he could not believe the Demonic Sect was keeping its promise.
Especially since the End Demon, the First Disciple of the Demonic Sect with whom he had an agreement with just before, had almost killed them. And now Mount Hua’s place had literally been destroyed.
Even if Seol-Hwi left without keeping his promise, they would not think too much into this. They probably did not even expect it in the slightest.
However, unexpectedly, he decided to give the arts which they long cherished and handed it over.
“In a land where people live, there will be people like this and that.”
“…?”
“It is just how it is. Please leave it at that.”
Shhh.
It was awkward to speak on it further, so Seol-Hwi simply bowed and quickly handed it over. A shout came in urgently from behind him.
“I-I am Gu Yang-un of Yuguan Taoist Master! The main sect will definitely remember this!”
Seol-Hwi smiled a little in a bitter manner. Even if he said it, he did not know what the Yuquan Taoist Master meant.
“Are you feeling better now?”
Tak
Cheon Miryo used footwork and followed him and asked how he was doing.
Because she saw that Seol-Hwi had gone through a runaway of energy, she had to confirm it.
“Thanks to you.”
Seol-Hwi answered, but the AI intervened just in time.
-You did something stupid.
What?
-That old man, a Taoist Master, was a guy who lived his life buried in books the entire time. What else would a guy who lost his entire right half of his body do with the restored martial arts?
Still, I can show that they have a future, to their disciples.
-That is rather a problem. Those guys will probably try to close their doors with this incident. This means that they cannot even use their strength.
Well, if the Heavenly Demon comes anyway, they wouldn’t be opponents.
-It is possible to earn some time. And we are getting desperate for the time we are lacking.
Well, in the countless lives which the AI went through, there would be countless ways to confirm it.
However, Seol-Hwi thought he did not have to follow those words. No matter how efficient it was, there were things people could not do.
“Sky Being.”
Just in time, Cheon Miryo spoke to him,
“Yes.”
“Soon our location will be discovered. Since this is an unwanted situation, I think it would be better for me to deal with this alone and buy time.”
“…”
Again, she knew this too.
As much as she presented the strength close to the Profound Demon level, she also knew that the Heavenly Demon would catch her. And she was trying to sacrifice herself on her own.
“Fortunately the Heavenly Demon doesn’t know of Seol-Hwi’s existence. So, please leave me. You are…”
“You don’t have to do it. We will fight together. Even if it was the Heavenly Demon, he cannot be invincible.”
At Seol-Hwi’s words, Cheon Miryo hurriedly shook her head.
“No. Of course, if we join forces we might be able to kill the Heavenly Demon. But you know the problem lies only after that.”
-She is right. I am glad that woman has some sense.
The AI also sided with her. Still, Seol-Hwi did not agree.
Until now, she had been hiding her whole life following the words of her master. And she was willing to sacrifice herself for him. She was someone who continued to give everything.
And to survive by abandoning this person? To make the choice to give her up? He did not have the confidence.
After losing each and every person he cared about like this, his mind had shattered with nothing left.
Be it Profound Demon or Demon God which comes after that?
“My decision will not change. If the Heavenly Demon comes, I will handle him.”
“…”
“But, before that maybe don’t fight him directly.”
“Uh?”
Cheon Miryo asked, and the AI was curious as he went silent.
Seol-Hwi paused for a moment before continuing,
“As I expected, our enemy will be someone other than him.”
“Who is…”
-Who are you even talking about?
Neither Cheon Miryo nor the AI understood it. To them Seol-Hwi said,
“Fourth Disciple, Earth Demon.”
“…!”
Heavenly Killing Star—
When activated, he will surely die, but in the process of dying, he was one capable of giving out terrifying power.
“That… why? He is the one you follow…”
-Ah. It could be.
Cheon Miryo still did not understand it, but the AI was different.
Because he seemed to have calculated too many situations.
“Wouldn’t it be different depending on what kind of person the Heavenly Demon is?”
Seol-Hwi thought so.
Because when the Earth Demon spoke of the Heavenly Demon, his master, there was this strange emotion on his face.
-Player born blessed by God.
The order to destroy them—
The Heavenly Demon he met in the past had said this. And like the AI said, it was because he acted like a puppet.
But, the words he said later, it made Seol-Hwi have different thoughts.
-Because that is the only way to prevent the confusion in the sect and reduce unneeded damage.
The only way to reduce the destruction — It sounded like it was his ability to reduce the world’s problems.
What was the best way to reduce the damage?
After having such thoughts, he came this far.
“For now… let’s look at the situation shhh.”
The two of them flung themselves into the night sky as the sun was setting.
Late at night—
A room with a soft light.
The Earth Demon was sitting in his office, lost in thought, and in front of him were the Hidden Truth Corps’ reports that were piled up.
“Great sahyung is…”
Dead.
When he first got the report, he could not believe it.
The End Demon died? He thought it had to be incorrect information. But after that, numerous reports came in with the same information so he could not help but believe it.
“Seol-Hwi…”
He realized it every time, but he was a tremendous man who brought in miracles and shocking achievements. It was the same when he sent Seol-Hwi this time.
Mount Hua which joined hands with the First Disciple — he thought that if their movement was halted, that would be a huge enough result.
Just what the hell did he do? Mount Hua which was in an alliance with the First Disciple, and he killed the First Disciple there.
“As I expected… he is a dangerous person.”
It reminded him of when he first met Seol-Hwi. The wisdom and dreams he showed at that time, and the trustworthy nature of his—
He never thought the same guy would bring such results.
“I think the same.”
“…!”
Flinch—
The Earth Demon stood up in shock. He was completely caught off guard as he turned his face.
He could see the face of this white haired old man seated in the chair.
“It has been a while, Fourth one.”
With white hair down to his shoulders and blue eyes, it was Cheon Wol-seong, the Demonic Sect’s Sect Leader.
“How are…”
“Is it so strange for a master to come see his disciple’s face?”
“N-no.”
He had a soft voice, but the Earth Demon hurriedly lowered his head.
Cheon Wol-seong, the one who ruled the current Demonic Sect—
When he announced that he would select new disciples and give his arts to those who won, the man had stepped back for a while.
But now the battle was over. It was a situation where he did not have to hide anymore, so he came back to his rightful position.
“Congratulations.”
“Uh?”
The Earth Demon asked at the sudden words of the master. In response, the Heavenly Demon smiled and he said,
“Second and Third one. And this time the First too. With everyone else dead and you alive, the fight is done. There is no one to hold you back, no one to hurt you, and you are the winner. The position is yours.”
“Ah, yes. That…”
The Earth Demon smiled awkwardly.
The position of power—
Because the words felt this heavy and odd. He did not get it because he wanted to.
“Just… out of luck.”
The Earth Demon said in a humble manner. Right.
“Right. Luck surely is nice but you didn’t do a thing.”
The Heavenly Demon slightly lowered his eyes.
“…Uh?”
They were cold words.
Was it true that the one who said he was the winner was the same person?
From the mouth of the Demonic Sect’s leader who was the upper-most being of the sect came criticism.
“Am I wrong? The second and third one and even the life of the first one who died this time. In the end, everything was obtained through the acts of another and not you.”
At those words, the Earth Demon thought for a moment and said,
“Are you talking about the subordinate of mine, Seol-Hwi?”
“So his name is Seol-Hwi? Well… anyway.”
Shhh
He crossed his legs and continued.
“It wasn’t you who did it.”
Repeated words.
What did you do?
How does it feel to be lucky to enjoy this? He was saying it like that, and that pierced the heart of the Earth Demon.
“Looks like you have something to say.”
“Yes.”
“…Will you say it?”
The Heavenly Demon glanced over and then smiled as he said,
“Since there is only one seat where the strong sit, should we choose the true owner of it?”
“Owner of it…”
“It literally is that. You and Seol-Hwi. Trying to decide who is the best fighter.”
“…”
“How is it? Doesn’t it sound fun?”
