The Nameless One, Mu-myeong, chewed his lips as he surveyed the situation before him.
As a result, blood seeped out and coated his tongue with a metallic taste, helping to jolt his mind awake.
Shaking his head roughly, Mu-myeong recalled.
‘…Something’s gone wrong.’
By his original plan, that karma should have come to him, not Cheon Ha-rang.
He should have reached transcendence based on that.
He should have reclaimed the power he had touched in the past, no, in the days when he was nameless.
Why?
Because right now, Mu-myeong’s body was weak. He had used most of his karma to transcend time.
Even the remaining karma was solely to send a vessel for himself to cross over here.
However, despite the countless reasons, he had failed.
Cheon Ha-rang had taken that karma and made it her own.
Thus, he couldn’t keep Cheon Ha-rang in the palm of his hand.
He couldn’t confine her in the cage he had crafted.
He should have kept her by his side for a lifetime, yet he had no strength to do so now.
Therefore, he couldn’t be happy.
“…”
Where did it all go wrong?
Was it a problem that he couldn’t overcome his own greed and rushed over here?
Perhaps it was wrong to underestimate Cheon Ha-rang as a coward.
Or maybe, telling Cheon Ha-rang to slay the Demon King was the mistake.
If not, perhaps his greed from the very beginning was flawed?
“…”
Mu-myeong closed his eyes and recalled.
How many times had he raised questions, and time and again gave the same answer.
‘Nonsense.’
He wasn’t in the wrong.
He didn’t think he was selfish.
Pursuing happiness was an unavoidable human nature; he merely followed it.
If someone were to throw stones at him, he would confront them directly.
True evil wasn’t him, but the god who placed him in such a destiny. Blame the god who made happiness arise from this selfishness amidst countless possibilities.
‘Evil arises from the absence of good.’
Having sorted out his mind, Mu-myeong opened his previously closed eyes and began to handle his sword.
What should he do?
The initial plan had already unraveled.
If he couldn’t gain the upper hand over Cheon Ha-rang with force, he would not be able to act.
So, should he give up?
No.
If he were going to give up this easily, he wouldn’t have engaged in the madness of transcending time.
And.
There were indeed remaining methods.
The technique Cheon Ha-rang had used, Absorb Heaven.
By using that, he could steal Cheon Ha-rang’s karma.
How?
Simple.
The sword technique Cheon Mu-myeong had taught her was the Divine Slaying Sword Technique, one that could dare to slay gods with a human body—a truly formidable sword technique.
Moreover.
Having glimpsed Cheon Mu-myeong’s memories, and with a body that possessed inherent murderous talent, he could certainly wield it.
So.
He would lie in wait and break the wings of the freshly soaring girl.
Strangely enough.
She had caught herself in the snare of her own swordsmanship.
Of course, that alone wouldn’t be enough to slay the overwhelmingly powerful Cheon Ha-rang.
However.
Cheon Ha-rang cared for this body, specifically, for Cheon Mu-myeong—not for him.
Could she bring herself to slay this body?
Could she slay her disciple, Cheon Mu-myeong?
No, she couldn’t.
Foolishly enough, she loved him.
*
Finally.
“Ha!”
At last, the heavens began to reveal themselves to me.
How long had I awaited this moment?
It felt like I could leave my mark in that high, high place whenever I reached out.
I stretched my arms to relish the ecstatic sensation, inhaling deeply.
The breath flowing down my throat into my lungs.
The energy coursing through my veins to my lower dantian.
I kept it pure even without trying to refine it.
As I opened my previously shut eyes, a single truth began to unveil itself in the scenery before me.
Instinctively, I understood.
Having wielded swords for the past 300 years, I may not be omniscient, but I was omnipotent.
If I set my mind to it, there was nothing I couldn’t do.
How should I express this feeling?
The answer was simple.
“Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone am Supreme.”
Even those who were revered as gods by others would bow in respect before me.
“How utterly ridiculous!”
As that ecstasy filled me, annoyance surged within a corner of my heart.
“Have you all lived in this sensation until now?”
So, you could disregard my desperate call!
After all, I was just a simple diversion for you too.
“Wait for me.”
I’ll come to take your heads myself.
But before that.
“Mu-myeong.”
There was something left for me to do.
“…Yes.”
“Come closer.”
Mu-myeong, who had been staring at me with shaking pupils as if an earthquake had struck, slowly moved his feet.
The distance between us gradually shortened.
“Mu-myeong.”
I smiled deeply and opened my mouth.
“How do I look right now?”
“…You are as beautiful as always.”
Such a transparent lie made me frown, and I asked again.
“Mu-myeong.”
“…Yes.”
Though there was nothing like a mirror here to see myself, I knew it.
“You don’t have to lie.”
Right now, I wasn’t in a normal state.
Not merely mentally, but I spoke of my physical appearance.
Hesitant, Mu-myeong chewed his lips and turned his head away to respond.
“It…looks like I’m seeing a demon.”
“Indeed.”
I reached my hand towards the sky.
Should I be pleased with this?
If I viewed it as proof of transcendence, I should rejoice, but if I interpreted it as having become another being, I should mourn.
Right now, I felt all those emotions.
I was both happy and sad.
My skin, which was already pale, had become even more so. Perhaps even paler than the pale skin Mu-myeong had previously described.
Additionally, the strange weight of my head seemed to lean toward my right side, suggesting something had appeared.
The oddities didn’t stop there.
Even after absorbing the Demon King’s karma, the sky remained red.
How very strange.
The crimson sky that must have been sustained by the energy accumulated in the Demon King’s body still blazed red despite all that energy disappearing.
There was no explanation for it other than someone’s demonic energy influencing that sky.
So, now that the Demon King has vanished, where is the source of the demonic energy that makes that sky red?
There was no need to think deeply.
Just by observing the energy flowing out of my body, I could confirm the source.
Then, why was demonic energy flowing through my body?
Could it be because I had stolen the karma of the Demon King who had accumulated evil karma, or perhaps it was because taking someone else’s karma was evil karma itself, leading to this?
“Whatever.”
It wasn’t important.
It was merely a question to confirm that my suspicion was correct.
To begin with, I had stolen karma to slay those damned fools. It was only right to call myself a demon if I planned to slay those beings revered as gods.
“Then, Mu-myeong.”
“…Yes.”
“No, I’m sorry. I’ve been calling you by the wrong name.”
Looking at Mu-myeong, who still had a troubled expression, I smiled wider.
“I’ll ask you just one thing.”
Mu-myeong’s face contorted.
“Who are you?”
Mu-myeong’s throat bobbed.
“Are you my disciple, Cheon Mu-myeong?”
Mu-myeong’s hand moved toward the hilt of the sword.
“If not.”
The tip of Mu-myeong’s sword pointed at me, imbued with murderous intent.
“Are you a lingering spirit unable to let go of regrets?”
Though I knew he wasn’t my disciple, that gaze broke my heart.
*
The clash of differing convictions echoed through the air.
-Boom!
The very shockwave caused the surroundings to gradually lose their original form.
Deep-rooted trees broke.
Buildings boasting an ancient history crumbled.
Though time undeniably moved forward, the scenery of that area curiously regressed into the past.
-Boom!
The ground shattered, and the sky fell, a sight that made the beholder’s knees tremble.
At the center stood the two of us.
Mu-myeong gasped roughly as he assumed his stance.
Mu-myeong Style – Divine Slaying Sword Technique, Fourth Move
-Boom!
Heavenly Punishment
Dark lightning streaked across the dry sky.
“Mu-myeong.”
Harang drew her wooden sword, sketching a beautiful line.
Just a simple horizontal line drawn with her sword.
Will and intent infused in that elegant stroke.
Harang hoped that the lightning would break there.
“Can you hear me?”
And it happened.
Mu-myeong frowned as he shifted his stance.
Mu-myeong Style – Divine Slaying Sword Technique, Second Move
-Slash!
Shattering Heaven
Vision warped.
Countless blades shot up toward the prey.
“If you hear me, I’ll say it just once, so listen well.”
Harang lifted her wooden sword and drew a full moon in the air.
It was as if the wooden sword acted like a brush, releasing ink into the void and enveloping it to form a circular barrier.
-Bang!
The blades that surged forward couldn’t break through the wall and shattered.
“I told you I’ve devoted my life to you.”
Mu-myeong chewed on his lips and steadied his stance.
Mu-myeong Style – Divine Slaying Sword Technique, Sixth Move
-Boom!
Heaven Crumbling and Earth Breaking
The heavens crumble and the earth sinks.
“I never dreamed you would violate my heavenly wheel.”
Harang moved gracefully with her wooden sword.
The blade-like movement created a gentle breeze, and dark energy coated it.
On the sunken earth lay the line drawn by Harang, and in the collapsed sky hung the full moon she had sketched.
“Ugh… It’s a bit embarrassing to actually do it.”
On the ground appeared a tiny inscription.
“It’s love.”
“I… it’s nothing! Ahem! Forget I said anything!”
Blossoms bloomed on Harang’s face.
