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Translator: thursdays Editor: Sasha
1.
One winter day.
So Baek-hyang followed her mother across a snowy field.
It was cloudy. Snow poured out of the cloudy sky. In the pouring snowstorm, people were but shadows.
Her mother’s back, too, was a shadow-like haze.
So Baek-hyang raised her voice.
-Mother!
So Baek-hyang suddenly became afraid. The sound of snow was too loud. Her voice was covered by the sound of the falling snow, so she could not cry very loudly.
-Mother!
Her mother’s shadow was still far away.
So Baek-hyang became impatient.
She had to walk faster to chase after her mother. However, the further she walked, the more breathless she became. The more she walked, the smaller her voice. What should she do?
-Uh…
Should she stop yelling and walk faster to catch up with her mother? Or should she stop walking and scream as loud as she can?
The young Heavenly Demon did not know.
While she was debating what to do, the shadow withdrew a little further away.
-Mother!
Eventually, So Baek-hyang stopped.
-Mother!
As she stopped, her voice became a little stronger. Until now, her energy had been focused on walking not on directing her voice. So Baek-hyang thought that finally her mother would turn her head and look at her, and the shadow would become clear.
But what happened?
The shadow got a little further away.
While So Baek-hyang screamed, it had gained more distance.
Before long, the shadow of her mother was buried in the blizzard and disappeared into the snowfield.
-······.
Did her mother abandon her?
Had she intended to part ways with her while using the snowstorm as a pretext?
Or did her mother really lose her by accident?
So Baek-hyang did not know.
She couldn’t know.
2.
[You have died.]
I let my eyes stay closed for a moment, then opened them.
It was an endlessly dark space.
[Your death has satisfied the skill condition.]
[So Baek-hyang’s skills are being randomly copied.]
My hell.
[The skill cards are being created.]
The cards floated before my eyes.
But my immediate concern wasn’t getting a skill card.
I sighed and said to Bae Hu-ryeong,
‘Sword Emperor. Did you memorize the file?’
-Yeah, to some extent.
Bae Hu-ryeong scratched the back of his head.
It was the folder in which the Alchemist and the Medicine King desperately wrote down their research results. That was the important thing. The Heavenly Demon was drowning in disharmony and causing turmoil, so I couldn’t carefully memorize the contents of the file.
-If we combine what you memorized and what I memorized, the pieces will somehow fit together. But we have to go back quickly before I forget…
‘Okay. Then, let’s quickly choose a skill first.’
-Mhm.
Bae Hu-ryeong moved in the air. He then looked at the back of the cards and read them out loud. The Heavenly Demon had quite a lot of skills, but there was one that caught our attention.
+
[Infernal Heavens Demonic Art (魔天神功)]
Rank: A+
Effect: The Demonic Cult. They hate the logic of the heavens. They curse it. And they did not stop at hating and cursing the heavens, but formed cults, eventually uniting under one doctrine. The Infernal Heavens Demonic Art is a martial art with the essence of that doctrine.
Those who awaken the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art can tear up the heavens and crush the tall mountains! However, you must deeply understand the hatred and curses contained in the basic movements of this skill.
The more you hate and curse the world, the more you overshadow the heavens. One who has mastered and reached the peak of the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art is the Heavenly Demon, the one who will overthrow the heavens.
※However, it becomes difficult to maintain your sense of self if you use this new skill.
+
Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.
It was a terrible name, but I couldn’t make fun of it.
‘……This must be the martial arts we saw earlier, right?’
Because it was really that powerful.
She just swung her sword from a distance, but the Medicine King’s head fell off. The Venomous Snake died without being able to withstand 3 strikes. Even I, who was confident in my training against [The Devil King of Fall Rain], could not outrun the sword path cut by the Heavenly Demon.
The greatest skill that existed in this world.
-Tsk. It’s a typical demonic art.
Bae Hu-ryeong frowned.
-In the end, it’s a matter of how you deal with the world, whether it’s with strength or strategy.
‘How I deal with the world?’
-Indeed. If you try to embrace the world with generosity, you usually end up in the Righteous Sect. If you try to ravage the world, that is the Demonic Cult. That is why the people of the Righteous Sect made their bodies into [vessels to accept the world], and the Demonic Cult’s people made their bodies with [nails that can scratch the world]…
Bae Hu-ryeong hmphed and crossed his arms.
-I’ll give you the simplest example. A sword strike that cuts straight from the head to the bottom. In some schools, they call that the Tiger Fury because it is like [a tiger rushing].
Hwik!
Bae Hu-ryeong took a stance and swung his arms down as if he was wielding a sword with both hands.
‘······!’
It was only for an instant, but I flinched. I really felt the spirit of a wild beast charging at me.
It was strong.
His tone and behavior are so pathetic that I sometimes forget about it, but in front of my eyes was indeed the Sword Emperor Bae Hu-ryeong. He was a warrior who had nearly conquered the Tower with just a sword.
-Well, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s a tiger or a bull. The specifics can vary depending on how the founder or the creator of the move gained enlightenment. Anyway, it’s important to [imitate] a tiger or bull.
Emulate it. Copy it.
Thus, you make something of the world into your own.
That’s what Bae Hu-ryeong meant by vessels to [accept the world.]
-But the demonic arts are different.
Bae Hu-ryeong took a stance again.
It was the same posture as when he previously swung his arms.
-In the Demonic Sect, they say something like this when teaching initiates.
Bae Hu-ryeong breathed in forcefully and stomped his foot.
-Recall your rage, the soreness in your stomach, at the moment a thief stole one of yours.
The empty air in the void split open.
I unintentionally stepped back.
The face.
It was because of Bae Hu-ryeong’s countenance.
His face was blank, but it still emanated an infinitely cold anger.
It was as if he became a completely different person.
-Recall the moment your younger sister was dragged away by the governor. Remember your weakness, your inability to do anything. You waited in front of the governor’s house for the night to pass, but at dawn, your sister returned to you as a cold carcass. Remember her face, and paint it into your heart.
Bae Hu-ryeong began to perform a sword dance.
Even though his hands were empty, somehow I felt as if I could still see a sword. That sword was as black as the space in which we stood.
-Recall when you buried your sister’s body, alone. Was it winter? The ground was frozen and it was hard to dig. Did you dig at the stubborn soil with your fingertips? Did your fingernails crack? Did blood flow from your broken nails?
‘······.’
-In the end, you couldn’t even dig down to a foot. Did you put your sister’s corpse into a pit? Did you bury her feet first? Did you put a pile of cold dirt over your younger sister’s body? You couldn’t bury her in the ground. In the end, did you sprinkle the dirt on her face, one handful at a time?
I couldn’t breathe.
As Bae Hu-ryeong’s sword dance continued, the endless space which we were in seemed to narrow. It was enough to make my head spin a little. It was only the movement of his hands and arms, but Bae Hu-ryeong’s grudge resonated deeply.
-Recall the texture of that grain of soil. Hold your sword with the hand that dug the earth. Swing your sword as you scattered the dirt over your younger sister. Lament your helplessness and blame the cruelty of the world.
I muttered, though it was more like a moan.
‘The nails that scratch the world…’
-That’s right.
Bae Hu-ryeong stopped his arms.
Only then could I breathe again.
-Shall we say that it’s a mental cultivation method that uses internal energy? It’s literally a way to build and train your mind by pushing through adversity. Whether it’s a strong person or a hunter, the outcome will be different depending on how well they use internal energy or Aura.
Bae Hu-ryeong shrugged as if it didn’t matter.
-In simpler terms, it’s a battle of wills. The demonic arts are a little heavy on the spirit.
‘······.’
-Anyway, Zombie, this isn’t something you need to learn.
I quietly looked at the silver skill card.
-Really, you don’t need to learn other martial arts. Don’t you know who I am? Am I not the Sword Emperor? I’m the greatest martial artist in this universe. You may not know this, but you’re slowly becoming proficient at my supreme techniques! Infernal Heavens Demonic Art or whatnot, compared to my martial arts, it’s like trash…
‘I want to learn it.’
-……Huh?
Bae Hu-ryeong blinked.
‘I’m going to learn it. This. Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.’
-Uh, uh… Uuuhhh…
Blink. Blink.
It was after about 3 seconds that Bae Hu-ryeong recovered his voice.
-Why?!
‘Because I want to.’
-Compared to my martial arts, this is total crap!
Bae Hu-ryeong began to go wild.
-No way. Zombie, did you fall for the Heavenly Demon’s swordplay?! The fuck. I’m gonna go nuts. That only looked impressive because she entered the state of life or death, leaking her energy! It sucks. It literally sucks out your energy! Zombie. A traditional warrior should not get drunk and waste one’s energy!
I grinned.
‘Are you mad because I’m trying to learn someone else’s martial arts?’
-Whaaat?
‘No need to worry. In any case, our Sword Emperor’s martial arts are the strongest in the universe. Do you think I’m trying to learn the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art because I don’t know that?’
-Um…
Bae Hu-ryeong’s nose twitched.
Still, his pride seemed to have been satisfied since I flattered him a bit. This ghost was really easy to handle.
-Well. I am, as you say, the strongest. …But then, why are you trying to learn the demonic arts?
‘It’s so I can fully conquer this stage.’
In other words, it was to bring the correct ending to this world.
‘Say that a cure is made. If so, it’s over after we save two people, the Heavenly Demon and the Murim Lord. All other humans have been dead for over two years… And treatment doesn’t mean that they’ll survive. Isn’t that right?’
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