I approached the sword that was blazing on the ground like it was fwooosh crazy.
It was a sign that the person who had been targeting me to the very end, knowing they’d die, resisted till the last moment.
I tore off Hwangbo Cheon’s severed arm that was gripping the sword tightly.
The Makya Sword. This sword, whose name I had only just grasped, flickered like a dying light bulb, then poof disappeared.
It’s a real lightsaber!
I looked around.
Of course, a few sorcerers who tripped over their own feet or were sent sprawling away couldn’t flee and were trembling in terror, clinging to their sealing needles.
Just as Soo-oh was about to swing her sword.
Hwangbo Cheon, having gathered his men behind him, cleanly cut through the enemy.
The snow falling from the sky slowly piled up along the deep valley formed in front of us.
What should I do now?
After a brief moment of contemplation, I decided to head toward where the contractor was.
Even as I moved, the sorcerers did not attack me.
They just gripped their weapons and stared at me with terrified expressions.
In the end, I wasn’t hit even once until I left that area.
I climbed the hill toward the Cheonma Church Main Hall.
In the distance, I could see the Cheonma Church Main Hall and the fighting above it.
The weather was flashing with localized heavy rain, so surprisingly, the Cheonma might survive.
As for the rest, well…
Gapjae was shot dead with a weapon similar to a gun. It wasn’t a gunpowder weapon like a sealing needle; he was killed by a bullet that made only a whoosh sound slicing through the air.
Even if I rummage through faded memories or other recollections, bullets are basically faster than sound, so by the time you hear them, it’s already too late.
Of course, guns already exist in this world.
But since they are weapons used only by the military, someone who has lived their entire life in the Cheonma Church wouldn’t know about them.
Thus, many of the Dharma protectors, including Gapjae, were unable to properly respond and died.
For someone seeing a ballistic weapon for the first time, it’s just as unfamiliar as seeing a new memory.
Still, because they were martial artists, after some people died, those who were ranked lower than Gapjae were able to resist, but there was no one left who could turn the tide of battle.
And then there’s Inshimwon.
This man immediately entered his lair to use a technique to stop the intruders. However, more than half of them were Fishmen connected through the Hematoma Mystic Art, so it didn’t work. The only thing he managed to do was briefly bind their feet.
Even then, he desperately did all he could.
But perhaps knowing that Daegon’s techniques were already mixed into the Cheonma Church, there was a technician who could counter him. Most were destroyed without ever being properly used.
Around the time Soo-oh was killed.
Inshimwon also met his end at the hands of the disciples of the Immortal, referred to as sorcerers. Of course, he was skilled enough to be called a sect leader, so he didn’t die alone.
Thanks to this, I realized that those pursuing Inshimwon were sorcerers and that they were already aware of Daegon’s skills.
There is a causal relationship here.
Daegon had fought against the Immortals of this world. And he had lost to them once. So after fleeing into the sea, he gradually built up his strength.
In other words, the Immortals had information about Daegon.
And they discovered traces of Daegon within the Cheonma Church from Jungjae-woo and Byeongil. That’s why they sent so many Immortals to ambush me.
At the very least, they know that Daegon is still alive.
The Tongcheon Sect Leader.
They were aware that someone might appear who could be referred to in that manner.
It seems they didn’t realize that the place had already evaporated due to Daegon’s brilliance.
Well, considering it’s the city Daegon secretly created, it’s odd that anything could be immediately known from Kunlun.
I sporadically gained warmth along with memories as sorcerers died.
The memories come out like fragments, but piecing them together yields a lot of information.
Tongcheon Sect Leader. Break bonds. Hedo Sect.
If these words describe Daegon and his subordinates, the opposite would be this.
Primordial Heavenly Sovereign. Cheongyo. Mountainous Faction.
Cheongyo doesn’t refer to the sky but to illumination. Even after their victory, they were wary of the remnants of the break bond, which is why they sent so many sorcerers.
That’s why Hwangbo Cheon and the person known as Cheongdojin, his master, were also sorcerers and Immortals from Cheongyo.
Sorcerers still refer to people who are human, while Immortals refer to those who are partially free from the shackles of lifespan.
Surprisingly, it seems not all Immortals possess enormous light like Daegon. Cheongdojin was an Immortal, but in my view, he was about ten times larger than Hwangbo Cheon.
Hwangbo Cheon’s light is about ten times larger than that of an ordinary person.
In other words, it’s not truly enormous.
In fact, even people of Cheongdojin’s caliber were rare even in the first world.
Maybe they simply didn’t use any methods to amplify their light.
Daegon’s light was immensely massive. Considering that after consuming elixirs, the light derived from the elixir was added to the consumed light of the person,
perhaps surprisingly, even the being known as the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign might not have such great light.
Daegon ravenously consumed others’ light to grow stronger, but they may have won without doing that.
The size of the light might not solely explain pure strength.
Until now, larger light meant stronger power, but it’s not necessarily the case. At least, in the memories of the sorcerers and Immortals I’ve acquired, there is no information regarding grinding people down to make elixirs.
Instead, they avoid meat or grains. They consumed a lot of bitter herbs, mushrooms, beans, and fruits.
Though, not every Immortal grows by consuming people this way.
In fact, since it’s something created by techniques of another world, the break bond feels alien.
In other words, it’s correct to say that the Cheonma Church is failing because it deserves to fail.
Their way is based on moral norms and pure goodwill, as well as recognition that one should naturally possess as a human, while this side is a world of absolute evil that was squeezed out of malice.
Just because I had decent people on my side, I don’t deny that the position I stand in is wrong. Instead, I’m the one standing at the extreme of that evil.
At least I’m not confused about what I am.
I am, after all, a monster.
I can’t turn back time nor create a world as I think, nor possess omnipotence to do anything for anyone I meet.
I can never become a god.
I’m that kind of monster.
To gain warmth, I can do anything.
Anything.
Thinking that, I watch as the sky turns a deep violet and splits in half, dropping an Immortal to the ground.
SPLASH!
One fragment fell beside me as I walked toward the Cheonma Church Main Hall.
Only the left half of the man’s body remained.
This guy was also an Immortal. One of the twelve notable figures from Cheongyo, although not a great one. He had only recently earned the title of a true-being.
At the top of the Cheonma Church, the Cheonma and a strong Immortal clashed.
Daegon was overwhelmingly powerful, and the Cheonma, barely resisting in front of him, seemed unlikely to defeat an Immortal, yet surprisingly, he was killing them off well.
As I climbed the hill and reached the main building, this time, another Immortal’s left leg fell beside me.
This person wasn’t dead, just severed.
The shining violet lightning in the sky showed no signs of stopping, but the phenomena occurring around it were gradually weakening.
Now it was more like a level of magic, rather than a phenomenon; the kind of magic occasionally seen in the first world.
Just that level.
Truly, the Cheonma will survive.
But the Cheonma Church is finished.
If there’s no more harvesting period left in this area, that’s all there is to say.
Of course, aside from Cheonma, there are still some harvesting periods left.
The initial volley, similar to a bullet using me, is like a spear regiment. There are only nine left, but they survived by getting deep into the territory of the Murim Alliance, evading stronger beings.
But excluding them, there’s no one alive in the harvesting period except for Cheonma. In other words, it means that there are almost no properly living members of the Cheonma Church.
Thinking that, I looked up to see the top of the Cheonma Church where Cheonma was.
This time, a massive violet light ring appeared above the Cheonma Church.
From Cheonma’s perspective, someone muttering something about a black ring was ripped apart and died instantly.
As the ring erupted and spread in all directions, the magical phenomena enveloping the area vanished in an instant.
Cheonma’s gaze swept around. I see several Immortals, but not a single one untouched.
Then Cheonma spotted me.
COUGH.
She suppressed a small cough and approached me.
Before long, Cheonma stood right in front of me.
It was a mess.
Her blue skin had no intact spots.
There were wounds all over, with blood flowing that was almost purple.
Of course, the blood isn’t actually purple. If you look at her clothing, it’s dyed properly red.
One of her eyes was closed, probably due to the blood flowing from a long gash on her head.
As soon as she arrived, she asked me.
“Where’s Soo-oh?”
“She’s dead.”
Upon my response, Cheonma simply nodded. Then she looked up at the sky. But her sight didn’t reach anywhere.
She seems to be pondering something.
“What were her last words?”
It sounded like she knew she was dead. I hesitated to ask that but decided to answer her question first.
“The Divine Art Choseol.”
At my words, Cheonma chuckled lightly. Then she wiped away the blood covering her eyes, but since too much blood flowed, she failed and just pressed on the wound.
Still, wiping away the blood, she looked straight at me and asked.
“That’s enough for me, but you wouldn’t have that expression after hearing it. What did you say just before?”
The tone was very familiar, as if she knew me too well. Unfortunately, I couldn’t directly read her thoughts. I could only confirm it through physical reactions.
From that deduction, Cheonma’s body is in too much of a mess.
So, I spoke the words I had just heard. I recited the incantation.
Upon hearing my words, she turned her gaze toward the direction where the house was.
Just briefly focusing there, she looked beyond it.
A massive valley where the snow was falling from the sky.
The place where Soo-oh died.
Then Cheonma looked at me.
She removed her hand from the wound she was holding.
Then looking at her bright blue hand smeared with her blood, she walked toward me.
THUD.
And left a bloody handprint on my chest.
“I’d like to put this on your forehead, but unfortunately, I can’t raise my arm any higher. I’ll make sure my wish is also tied to Soo-oh’s wish.”
As the remaining Immortal approached with a face filled with reverence and resolve, Cheonma also cast a spell on me.
“In three years, I was planning to give up the name Cheonma and embark on a journey to fulfill your wish, along with you and Soo-oh. But, it didn’t work out.”
With a small sigh, Cheonma now looked at the sky.
“I always was like that. But having cast away the nothingness of being unable to leave anything behind, I’ve done all I can for the ones I love.”
Then, perhaps due to her injuries, she extended the sword she held forward with her arm that wouldn’t raise straight.
“Anonymous one. Who am I?”
I know what to do.
Knowing that, I responded like this.
“Contractor. Cheonma.”
Cheonma smiled.
