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There was something. An irresistible something.

For a moment, I felt like I returned to Eungmin. It was the same feeling that seeped into my body as when I first experienced the Heart Sword.

And…

Like this.

“Jeok-un.”

I heard my master’s voice in my ear. I turned my head, searching for what shouldn’t be there.

But there was no one around. Only the dazzling sight and the Lord of the Cheonryong Association, struggling to keep up.

…Alone.

I was alone.

“…….”

I wanted to hold a sword. But there was none.

Not a single thing remained…

Neither my hands nor my feet…

The limbs that Heart Sword had torn away were not regenerating in any strange way. The scream of Cheongeop was of a kind I had never heard before.

Something is different.

It’s not the same as when I was in Eungmin. Back then, I still had the strength to get up…

But not now.

That thing is a monster. A complete monster.

If I had to regard my master as an enemy, wouldn’t it feel this way? I must look up, not daring to ascend.

Suddenly, I remembered.

The whisper of running away when encountering a warrior like myself.

“…….”

…But…

I can’t do that.

—GoooOOOOOoOOO…

Cheongeop screams. I can clearly hear its voice amidst a world that is breaking apart, where Heart Sword flies around.

Facing the first-ever scream of Cheongeop, which shouts that I will die, I whisper back.

But I have no choice but to fight, right? I must.

I cannot let that thing chase my companions, my daughter.

I must move, even if it’s to protect. Cheongeop, please.

Help me.

I realized the absurdity of it all with just one slash…

Yet, I try to push past it. Just like I always have.

—KWAaaaaAAAAANG!!!

“Gah!”

The Lord of the Cheonryong Association crashes to the ground. The thunder dragon made of Heart Sword groans alongside him.

Jin Baek-cheon, who pulled back his sword, licked his lips.

“It’s insufficient… After all, one is too vague. Now, Jeok-un. I’ve given you ample time. Move. I must have told you. If you fail to satisfy me, I will chase after everything I’ve generously let go.”

“…….”

“The swirling black energy. Cheongeop. Yes, it’s Cheongeop. Use that. You should be able to reattach the limbs that flew away.”

Following his whisper, I raise nonexistent arms.

Cheongeop howls. The limbs that were slowly drifting away start to return.

Jin Baek-cheon narrows his eyes slightly.

“…Hmm? Faster than I expected? Quite the surprise. Seems like you have a hidden move after all. It’s different from the ordinary. Fascinating…”

My broken body gradually returns to its original state.

From within, I exhaled the breath I had been holding. I picked up the sword I had dropped.

Focus…

Let’s concentrate.

“Good eye.”

“…….”

“Struggle with all your might.”

Jin Baek-cheon moves the sword again.

“For me.”

…

I grip the sword tightly.

I hold back no strength. I pour everything into it as if that one moment was the final.

Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique

Sixth Form

Blood Dyer

The sword I swung devours the world. It advances, painting everything red.

But the next moment, the arm holding the sword disappears.

“Light.”

Without a moment to think about what had happened, I snatched the Ear Sword with my left arm. Immediately grasped, Bai Ya spews out a shriek.

The surging energy rolls. The sword accelerates because of it.

Ice White Blood Demon Sword

Sixth Form

Blood Dyer

But that left arm also vanishes in an instant.

“Slow.”

The arm soaring into the air shatters into hundreds of pieces. The last fragment I saw was smaller than before.

I lost both arms. With the mouth still remaining, I held the Black Pearl.

I move forward without collapsing.

Fire Wheel Blood Demon Sword

Sixth Form

Blood Dyer

But…

That doesn’t work either.

“Weak.”

The flames bursting apart split before my eyes. The Ear Sword I had bitten shattered in an instant.

For the first time, the sword that had never chipped broke like glass. The soul that had been a solid ally vanished with the flames.

The sword impales my chest. I stagger backward, gasping for breath.

Barely regenerated hands grasped Bai Ya once more, but it was the same. The moment I moved, what had been a sword turned to shards and vanished.

“It seems you have some skill… You must have had quite a good treasure, huh?”

Both Ear Swords disappeared at once.

I didn’t even get a proper retaliation and just…

Shattered.

The Lord of the Cheonryong Association let out a roar like a tsunami. He dived in, crashing into Jin Baek-cheon as if he were passing by.

I heard a sound. But I couldn’t see it. Oddly, my legs wouldn’t support me, and I knelt there.

I struggled to stand.

But I couldn’t.

I saw the shattered Ear Swords scattered around. I wanted to gather them up, but I had no hands.

Cheongeop’s regenerative power was gradually weakening. I felt my energy rapidly draining away.

Something got sliced. Something beyond the physical. The horror of it felt like stripping away my very soul, making Cheongeop’s scream grow quieter.

I must fight.

I need to face it. I must cling even by my feet.

“…….”

Get up…

Let’s get up.

Moving the body that has come back later than before once again, I throw myself instead of letting the Lord of the Cheonryong Association, who was collapsed and vomiting blood, fall.

Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique

First Form

Ilma

I swing my fist. I move my body to imprint my true feelings into it.

But I crumble. The next moment, my wrist flew up into the air.

Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique

Second Form

Dan Hoon Choo

I leaped like a beast. Grabbing the detached wrist, I forced it back.

Jin Baek-cheon laughed. His hand moved to stab the sword into my face. The distant Blood Sword was sucked into my palm…

—KaaAAAAng!!!

The sword that I randomly swung sliced through my upper body.

Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique

Third Form

Overlord Demon Technique

Unimaginable pain surged in. But I endured. I pressed on.

Like a beast. Just like I always did, I howled out. I threw myself into everything. To overcome the wall I could not cross.

Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique

Fourth Form

Flash Dispersal

The sword I swung was enveloped in light. It swallowed the space as if to cut through it in an instant.

But the blunt sword swung monotonously shattered the technique I had finally managed to unleash. Completely crushed, it shattered into pieces.

The Blood Sword trembled. Cracks began to show as if it would break at any moment.

No way.

Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique

Fifth Form

Blood Shadow Two Flowers

Haven’t I always overcome? Whatever appears before me, haven’t I pushed through?

Trust in your efforts. Trust in the time you have built up for yourself.

You can do it. Jeok-un.

You…

“Insufficient. Jeok-un. It is insufficient.”

Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique

Sixth Form

Blood Dyer

The Swordsmanship and Yi-hyeong Ki…

All of that is blocked right before my eyes. Jin Baek-cheon sighs with our swords clashing.

“I know people with eyes like yours. They boast of having cherished their time. But you know, time is relative. It isn’t the same for everyone. Someone’s time is heavy, while someone’s is light. Even when doing the same thing, the total varies. Do you know why?”

My body crashes to the ground.

A sword embeds into my shoulder. It cuts clean through, and my right arm falls away.

“Talent.”

The end digs into my heart.

I strained to not scream.

I was afraid that if I did, I would crumble.

That I would truly give up on everything.

“Only talent separates the two. Time is not fair. In the end, effort also isn’t fair to both. What you can do is merely something I can do naturally, and you are not special at all; that is the essence of this story.”

“…Gah… Ugh…!”

“Did you think you were the protagonist of the stage? Did you think you were special and could do anything? No. No, there are countless others who can replace you in this world. The swords you swing now are merely the flailings of a supporting role from my perspective.”

The sword that pierced my chest whispers to me.

“So, just stop now. Show me everything you can display. But if this is the end, if that is truly the case…”

Jin Baek-cheon looks into me.

In his disappointed gaze, there’s nothing. That’s why it only took one moment for me to realize that what he said was sincere.

“Pursue me out of gratitude for the disappointment you gave me. Your companions.”

The predator.

The eyes of the predator.

“I will pluck the eyes of the first girl to fall.”

My voice wouldn’t come out.

“Next, I’ll have to snap her waist. A worm’s spine, I could fold with just a finger.”

The voice… wouldn’t come out.

“After crushing and obliterating everything, I will finally confront your daughter, Jeok-un. And I will kindly and tenderly teach her how you died.”

I have no hands. So, I can’t fight back.

I can’t hold a sword. I don’t know what to do.

“Perhaps she will tremble like a fawn. I will savor that sight bit by bit. After letting her decorate the corpses with her own hands…”

…Still.

I must move.

“That neck.”

Even if there’s no chance of winning.

Even if I have no strength to fight.

Even if I want to scream right now.

Even if the voice of defeat is trying to escape my throat.

…Still.

“I’ll twist it personally.”

I can’t let this bastard go.

Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique

Seventh Form

White Malevolent Blood

“…Hmm?”

My body twists. At the same moment, the complete Yi-hyeong Ki swallows me whole.

But that alone is not enough. With the blade I formed in Huashan, I can’t surpass him.

A little longer.

To hold him back just enough.

“…What are you doing…?”

Eungmin.

Recall the Blood Demon I saw there.

Incomplete, but powerful.

In the end, he grasped what he desired…

The warrior’s back.

“What?!”

In the next moment, it’s okay if I can’t breathe. It’s okay if I can’t move and end up vomiting blood.

Reach out toward what you see. The insufficient realization supports you with your body.

“Become me. The Heavenly Demon.”

Just like that. Just as he did.

Even if it’s incomplete, push it in forcefully.

Into the realm of the Heart Sword…!

—KAAAAAAANG!!!!

The bursting red energy consumes my future. Jin Baek-cheon, expelled, slides across the ground.

An act that incinerates everything accumulated for just one moment.

I step upon the earth. The world, dyed a crimson hue, begins to accelerate and forcibly reach the realm of Hyun-kyung.

I stubbornly push my way through.

Bearing the burden on my body.

My red light bursts forth.

The side effects would be tremendous. Since I pushed something that should occur naturally, I will have to worry about the aftermath from that moment.

But it’s fine. Burn it all.

Even if it’s ugly, flail about. Even if I’m broken, grab hold.

“…Phew.”

I pick up the cracked sword. I lay bare my soul to the one who has started to smile.

As if replacing the energy that flowed out, a fullness of natural Ki burrows into my body. The blood energy that absorbed the essence of all things bursts forth from the tip of the sword and steps forcibly into the world.

Half-hearted.

A scene similar to what Eungmin showed.

I replace that deficiency with Cheongeop. I fight against the swirling atmosphere and reveal my sky within the opponent’s domain.

The sky turning crimson.

The breaking of heaven and earth through enlightenment.

“You…!”

My mind wavers. I can feel my life burning away due to the side effects every moment.

The desperate situation. I stand at the boundary of life and death. The price of forcing my way in tightens around my neck as time crawls.

But bark.

Like a beast that has learned swordsmanship, bark.

Even if it’s the last breath of my life.

Even if I may not be able to hold onto the sword in the next moment.

“I won’t go back…!”

I am a warrior.

A person who moves the sword for what I want to protect.

The Blood Sword, on the verge of shattering, trembles.

Cheongeop howls. As if sensing the end.

 

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