Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 498.8 – Side Story 8 Part 3

Heavenly Demonic Sword (3)

“I’m sparing you only for the sake of the clan. But this is the last warning. Don’t appear before my eyes again.”

“How… how could a worthless human body… do this…”

“The physical body isn’t important. What matters in the end is willpower. Your will simply couldn’t match mine, Taura.”

“Willpower…”

Demon King Taura’s bloodshot eyes trembled madly.

This body, which had fully embodied the demonic power of the Demon King passed down for generations, was transcended by mere willpower?

He couldn’t accept it at all.

“How… could I…”

“Take care of the clan. Unlike the Golden Heavenly King, I’m sending you back alive only for that reason.”

He really killed even the Golden Heavenly King?

Shocked, Demon King Taura couldn’t utter another word.

He had already entered a realm beyond his control.

It was truly disheartening.

Swick!

“La…ri…sha…”

As he called his old name from his days as Demon King, the Heavenly Demon opened a gate and flung him through it.

Paaaaaaang!

As he disappeared, absorbed into the space, the gate closed.

And he threw the artifact towards the closing gate as well.

‘Lucky.’

The Heavenly Demon recalled Demon King Taura and exhaled a long breath, clenching his fist.

Kwak!

He wanted to kill the one who had caused Cheong-ryeong so much pain as cruelly as possible.

But after countless deliberations in a split second, he ultimately sent him back alive.

Having lost the seven divine objects that a Demon King should possess, he can no longer exert even half of the authority or power.

He considered removing that power as well, but if he did, they wouldn’t be able to keep the Heavenly Clan in check.

Although the Heavenly Clan can’t exert the same power as before since he also destroyed the divine objects possessed by the Golden Heavenly King, their top warriors still remained.

A certain balance must be maintained between them to prevent their attention from turning to the human realm.

‘…Should I have crossed over and eliminated Taura and the Heavenly Clan instead?’

No.

The Heavenly Demon shook his head.

That wouldn’t be a fundamental solution.

If that happened, they might fear him for now, but soon the clan members might also take an interest in the human realm.

In the end, maintaining the status quo was the only answer.

Shall we go back then?

Hmchit!

At that moment, the Heavenly Demon’s gaze sharpened.

He turned his head and looked down towards the southwest.

About 100 li away from where the Heavenly Demon was, on a mountain peak on the ground.

An immortal with red eyebrows and beard, treading on white mist, caught a glowing black sword flying at an incredible speed.

Ttak!

‘What?’

The immortal, who tried to control the power imbued in the sword with his immortal power, frowned for a moment.

This was because,

Paak!

The moment he grabbed the sword, he was pulled along by it, unable to dissipate the power contained within.

The red-eyebrowed and bearded immortal looked at the black sword with a bewildered expression, then injected immortal power to try and dissipate the energy contained within it.

Wuuuuung!

As he injected immortal power, a vicious energy inside the black sword began to surge.

The immortal tried with all his might to push it back.

After flying nearly a hundred jang like this, the vicious energy flowed out from the black sword.

Schwaaaaa!

The immortal stuck out his tongue at how much immortal power he had consumed.

‘How truly vicious.’

He didn’t expect such an enormous energy to be contained within.

Still, now that the energy has been somewhat dissipated, surely no more…

‘!?’

The immortal’s eyes widened.

Just as he thought it was fortunate to have pushed out the vicious energy, the black sword began to absorb his immortal power.

Ssssssss!

As his energy rapidly drained away, the immortal hurriedly took out a gray cloth inscribed with red letters from his bosom and wrapped it around the sword to control it.

As the cloth wrapped around it, the sword trembled violently as if rejecting it, but eventually it stopped.

‘It’s a demonic object. A demonic object.’

The immortal wiped away cold sweat and caught his breath.

The immortal, who had come here surprised by the strange feeling of heaven and earth changing, couldn’t help but be shocked.

What appeared as the gate opened was truly a being with divine power.

Just as he was pondering what to do about the appearance of such an evil being that could spread its energy across the entire Central Plains, he noticed someone appearing.

It was none other than the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the Heavenly Demon.

He, who could observe events happening 100 li away with his techniques, happened to witness the Heavenly Demon fighting the Demon King.

The immortal, who had heard so much about him from his disciples that his ears hurt, couldn’t help but tremble at the sight.

He thought that perhaps the worst calamity was happening again, following the one two years ago.

But that enormous being was no match at all.

It was truly overwhelming.

‘…The World’s Strongest.’

How could someone who wasn’t an immortal who had cultivated immortal techniques, nor a Imaemangyang born with monstrous strength, reach such a transcendent realm?

The immortal felt both awe and fear towards the being called the Heavenly Demon.

If this being, whom no one in the world could match, were to act on a whim, what would happen?

The mere thought was frightening.

It was at that moment.

‘Could it be?’

The immortal was startled, feeling a sharp gaze as if a dagger had pierced his heart.

This was because while he was still observing him with his technique, the Heavenly Demon’s gaze had suddenly turned towards him.

‘He noticed from this far away?’

But it didn’t end there.

Paaaaaaang!

The Heavenly Demon kicked off the air and was flying towards his location at a terrifying speed.

Startled by the tremendous momentum that seemed like it would tear him apart at any moment, the immortal unknowingly used a space-folding technique to leave that place.

Ssssssss!

The place he arrived at after folding space was none other than the Harmonious Immortal Pavilion, known as the most mysterious of the Six Directions Sixty-Four Pavilions.

As the immortal stepped into the backyard of the Harmonious Immortal Pavilion, his legs seemed to give out for a moment and he staggered.

He barely managed to avoid falling by using the black sword he was holding as a cane to support himself on the ground.

His trembling hands wouldn’t easily stop shaking.

Then someone called out to him.

“Huh? Master!”

Turning his head, he saw the Diviner Yeo Surin running towards him.

The identity of the immortal was none other than the Crimson-Eyed Old Immortal, the Pavilion Leader of the Harmonious Immortal Pavilion and one of the Six Direction Gods.

Surprised by the sight of her master Crimson-Eyed Old Immortal drenched in cold sweat, Yeo Surin asked,

“Master, are you alright?”

To her question, the Crimson-Eyed Old Immortal shook his head and replied,

“Haa… haa… I’m fine.”

With those words, the Crimson-Eyed Old Immortal caught his breath and released his grip on the sword.

His palm was drenched in sweat.

It seemed like the first time in his life he had been this tense since learning immortal techniques.

The Crimson-Eyed Old Immortal wiped his wet palms and said,

“Surin. You were right.”

“Huh?”

“He is an existence that must never be provoked.”

“Could it be… the existence you’re talking about that shouldn’t be provoked is…”

“Yes. The Heavenly Demon Sect Leader.”

He was truly a monster that he never wanted to be involved with.

The Crimson-Eyed Old Immortal suddenly looked at the black sword he was holding and wondered what to do with it.

It seemed to be a divine object of that god-like being who had appeared tearing through the sky, but it was too dangerous to let it fall into the hands of ordinary people in the mortal world.

For now, he needed to catch his breath and retrieve the rest of the divine objects that had fallen to the ground.

A few days later,

In an underground cave of Blood Corpse Valley, not far from the outer walls of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

The deep cave, rarely visited by people, was quite spacious.

The Heavenly Demon, examining the interior, turned his head and nodded to someone.

Then,

“Are you really opening the gate? The place you mentioned seems to be connected to a lake as well.”

The one who said this was none other than the Diviner Yeo Surin.

“It doesn’t matter.”

The Heavenly Demon shrugged as if he didn’t mind.

This was why he had chosen this cave in the first place.

The cavity was quite large and deep, so he thought it wouldn’t cause any particular problems on the surface.

“Alright. I’ll open the gate and leave immediately.”

With those words, the Diviner Yeo Surin took out the brush she was carrying on her back and drew a large circle in the air.

Mist much larger than usual arose, and eventually an entrance opened.

Then,

Schwaaaaaaaa!

At that moment, water poured out from inside the entrance made of mist.

Yeo Surin was almost swept away by the water pouring down like a waterfall, but thanks to the Heavenly Demon holding her with his energy, she was able to escape from it.

Schwaaaaaaaa!

The pouring water instantly soaked the floor of the cave, and the water level gradually rose.

Then, from within the water pouring down like a waterfall, a huge and long shadow descended with it, and

Paaaaaaaa!

The water pooled on the floor surged up, creating waves.

The waves were about to engulf the entire cave in an instant, but as the Heavenly Demon slightly raised his hand and made a gesture of lowering it,

Schwaaaaaaaa!

The surging water settled down and became calm.

The calmed water then rippled, and a huge something revealed its long body from the bottom.

Goooooo!

With beautiful, shimmering white scales, it looked almost like a white dragon.

However, it was too small to be considered a dragon, and the dragon horns on its head were not very long.

It was a white Imoogi.

Seeing this, the Heavenly Demon recalled the image of that Imoogi he had seen in the memories of Il Gye Pa Je, who had once been a subordinate of Mokgan.

‘It’s grown a lot.’

It was much larger than when he had seen it in his memories.

At that moment, the white Imoogi looked up at the air and roared as if howling.

Keukaaaaaaaa!

That roar was filled with a divine energy strong enough to shake this entire space.

As the white Imoogi that had let out the roar moved its body, its scales wriggled, and its body could be seen growing slightly larger.

Kugugugugu!

Even its horns, which were not yet complete, grew a bit longer.

It looked as if it was in a state just before shedding into a true dragon.

Pachichichik!

However, every time the Imoogi moved and stirred its body, strange phenomena occurred, such as lightning striking in all directions.

Kwang kwang!

The white floor, rippling like water, churned waves as if a storm had arisen.

It was at that moment.

Chwaaaak!

Keukaaaaaaaaaaa!

Along with the sound of something being cut, the white Imoogi, which had been stirring its body trying to shed, let out a shriek different from its roar.

Cheobeong! Kuuuuung!

This was because the Imoogi’s horn had been cut off.

The Heavenly Demon, who had instantly cut off the Imoogi’s horn, landed on the pooled water.

However, his feet did not sink into the water.

This was the divine skill of walking on water.

Keukaaaaaaaaaaa!

The white Imoogi, with its horn cut off, began to twist its huge body while shrieking, and at some point, its white scales began to turn black.

As its yellow eyes began to emit a red light, the Heavenly Demon approached it with a satisfied look.

‘As expected, it’s become corrupted after being hindered from ascending.’

He had wondered if it would work as intended, but the energy of the Imoogi with its horn cut off had properly transformed.

Seureung!

The Heavenly Demon drew a black sword from the scabbard at his waist.

It was Larisha’s sword, one of the seven divine objects of the Demon King.

Keukaaaaaaaa!

The Imoogi, which had become corrupted after having its horn cut off, seemed enraged and spread its spiky scales wide, trying to swallow the Heavenly Demon.

At that moment, the Heavenly Demon raised demonic energy in the black sword.

Eventually, black sword energy arose from the sword.

The Heavenly Demon, who had raised black sword energy with demonic power, flew his form towards the Imoogi and then unfolded his sword technique.

This was the third form of the Demonic Sword Technique he had created.

Chwachwachwachwachwachwachwachwa!

With numerous trajectories, the moment his form brushed past the black Imoogi, black particles scattered in all directions from the Imoogi’s head, and then its head split into dozens of pieces.

Kwal kwal kwal!

Pitch-black blood poured like a waterfall from the Imoogi’s severed head, dyeing the rippling water on the floor black.

The long and huge body of the Imoogi, staggering without its head, swayed, and soon it finally collapsed to the floor.

Kung! Cheobeong!

The Heavenly Demon approached the Imoogi and then thrust the black sword he was holding into a part of its scales that was growing in reverse.

Then, amazingly, black haze rose from where the black sword was thrust and was sucked into the blade.

‘It’s absorbing.’

Indeed, perhaps because it was a spirit beast before becoming a dragon, its energy was incredibly vast.

It didn’t seem like it would be absorbed in a short time.

If he forced the energy to be absorbed, he could speed up the process, but then he wouldn’t be able to fully absorb this corrupted energy.

If that happened, it wouldn’t work as intended.

“This will take quite a while. It seems it’s not my share.”

It seemed he wouldn’t need to wield this sword anymore.

It didn’t matter.

After all, the reason for doing this was not for himself, but for the future.

Just two months ago,

After the Hong Hae-a incident, the Heavenly Demon had decided to completely annihilate all the Imaemangyangs.

So he eliminated them whenever he spotted them.

Then he went to the cliff of the valley where the Spiritual Sword Sanctuary was located, intending to deal with the monster Earth Dragon, which he had lost when fighting with an unidentified swordsman at the time.

But there, coincidentally, he discovered the exploded corpse of the Earth Dragon.

‘!?’

Seeing this, the Heavenly Demon suddenly recalled the words of the one who had called himself a prophet at the Spiritual Sword Sanctuary.

[“I am… a kind of prophet.”]

[“A prophet?”]

[“I don’t have much time now. Whether you believe me or not, this is closely related to you, no, to your descendants as well.”]

[“Descendants?”]

[“Yes. Due to an immortal being, the vast organization you will create and your descendants, no, the entire martial arts world will be in danger.”]

[“…An immortal being?”]

The Heavenly Demon was puzzled by the exploded corpse of the Earth Dragon.

He had certainly cut the swordsman’s limbs into six pieces in a way that he could never survive, and just as he was about to completely annihilate him, the Earth Dragon appeared and devoured those dismembered limbs.

But for such an Earth Dragon to have exploded and died like this…

‘So he was alive.’

Did he regenerate inside the Earth Dragon’s stomach?

That was the only way to see it.

As long as he lives as a human, he will find and kill him somehow.

However, being human himself, his lifespan is limited.

No, more than the issue of lifespan, it was hard to guarantee how long he could forcibly resist the natural order and remain in this world.

If he couldn’t find that immortal being who had disappeared within that time, the prophecy made by the so-called prophet might come true.

If he had no children, it would be a different story, but now he had a son.

That son would have another son, and gradually those bloodlines would spread like roots.

Although the affairs of future generations are their own, leaving it entirely to them was too dangerous when dealing with an immortal being.

Then, he should make arrangements so that future generations can deal with him.

‘Whoever you are, if I can’t resolve this in my generation, I leave it to you.’

With that, the Heavenly Demon turned to leave this place.

But he paused for a moment and gazed intently at the black sword that was absorbing the energy of the corrupted Imoogi.

Then he brought his index finger to it, raised sword energy, and engraved characters in the middle of the blade.