Overlord of Sichuan

Chapter 297: Killing the Body to Uphold Integrity

“Kraaaagh!”

“Kill that bastard!!”

Sewoon was struck with shock as he looked at his comrades charging toward him within the isolated space.

‘What in the world is this…?’

Their eyes were filled with nothing but hatred and killing intent.

Those who had always looked at him with warm affection were now swinging their swords at him without the slightest hesitation.

Pa-bat!

“Junior Brother! Dodge!!”

“!!”

At Nameless’s shout, Sewoon snapped out of his shock and quickly regained his senses.

At that very moment, a dagger came flying toward his eyes.

“I will annihilate you! Traitor to the clan!”

Tang Muyeol, his own father, was extending a lethal technique toward Sewoon.

Sewoon swallowed a groan and narrowly evaded the attack.

Pa-at!

Then, from behind him, scorching heat erupted as if a sun had risen.

“You villain who killed my child! I’ll burn you to ashes!”

Gu Yongyeon, the Lord of the Ten Thousand Iron Hall, was driving a blazing Flame Fist into Sewoon.

The clan elder who had never hesitated to admonish him was now treating him as an irreconcilable mortal enemy.

Sewoon calmed the raging flames with one hand.

“Stain upon the clan! I will erase you with my own hands!”

His younger sister, Tang Serin, fired poison needles at him with eyes brimming with killing intent.

For some reason, tears were flowing from her eyes, yet there was not the slightest tremor in her movements.

Sewoon did not counterattack, instead evading the barrage of blows pouring down like a torrential downpour.

Even so, the hostility directed at him showed no sign of ending.

“I will personally kill you, the one who stained this land with blood!!”

“I will judge you with the lives of the countless comrades who fell on the way here!!”

“I will end your life with my own hands!!”

Peng Daeho, Peng So-hye, and even Jang Sopyeong, the Successor Beggar—comrades who knew better than anyone how relentlessly he had worked to stop the Blood Cult’s uprising—were all extending lethal techniques toward him.

“Chairman, this way!”

“We will protect you now!”

“Everyone, provide cover for the Chairman!!”

The Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden, Namgung Baek, and the unorthodox members of the Pacheon Association.

Even the warriors of the Demonic Cult—every single one of them—were forming layer upon layer of human barricades in front of the Blood Demon, blocking Sewoon’s approach.

Not a single person here remembered Sewoon.

All of them were mistaking him for the Blood Demon.

“How long are you going to keep running away!”

Whoosh!

Unable to injure them, Sewoon continued to focus solely on evasion without mounting a proper counterattack.

But he did not know how long such a situation could last.

The moment the Blood Demon—smiling as if thoroughly amused from afar—joined the fray, everything would collapse in an instant.

Sewoon’s mind raced.

He needed some way to resolve this absurd situation.

‘Did the Blood Demon cast some kind of soul-manipulating art on all of them at once…!’

Even with memories from before the regression, Sewoon did not know every type of Evil Art possessed by the Blood Demon.

The Blood Demon was a being who had mastered all demonic paths and Evil Arts. Having reached their ultimate extremes, new Evil Arts were being born every fleeting instant.

‘For now, it must be some form of soul manipulation or illusion that has seized their minds. If that’s the case…!’

Sewoon spread both arms wide.

Paa-at!

At the same time, the blades of the Formless Swords that filled the surroundings shattered into countless pieces, transforming into thread-like shapes resembling a Heavenly Net and gently falling throughout the space.

Simultaneously, Sewoon infused those innumerable threads with Demon-Subduing Qi, manifesting a new power.

‘Resonate the threads like a Sound Art and awaken everyone from the hallucination!’

Sewoon crossed his arms into an X-shaped slash.

The countless threads began to tremble finely in midair, letting out a fierce, resounding cry.

Jiiiiing!

Wiiiiiing!

A beautiful sound, like the tolling of a bell echoing through a mountain temple, instantly dominated the surroundings.

Demon-Subduing Qi swept through the area like waves of the great sea, shaking everything in its path.

‘Did it work?’

Nameless, who had been watching the situation, glanced around—

“Everyone, raise your Qi!”

“Do not succumb to the Blood Demon’s aura!”

“The enemy is using another Evil Art!!”

Despite Sewoon’s efforts, their minds did not awaken.

There was not a single change.

At that moment, the Blood Demon’s voice transmission echoed within Sewoon’s head.

[Isn’t it a truly beautiful sight, Demonic Craftsman. Everything you tried to protect is now pointing their blades at you.]

“!!”

[What are you waiting for, Demonic Craftsman. How utterly ungrateful they are. Go on—twist their necks yourself.]

More than killing Sewoon, the Blood Demon wanted to see Sewoon harm his comrades with his own hands.

There was only one reason.

To completely shatter Sewoon’s mind.

[You once said that what you wish to protect is what gives you strength. Then let me see what you will do when you must abandon what you protect in order to kill me.]

Just as the Blood Demon once again hurled his despicable provocations—

“Grrr!!”

“……!”

The Ferocious Corpse Deity charged forward, blocking Sewoon’s path.

It then let out a cry toward Sewoon, as if urging him to come to his senses.

Fortunately, the Ferocious Corpse Deity and Nameless were the only two unaffected by the Blood Demon’s arts, both continuing to aid Sewoon.

“Junior Brother! I’ll buy time! Find a way!”

Nameless shouted to Sewoon while using the Demonic Twin Fangs to block the attacks of Namgung Baek and Do Yecheon.

Trusting that Sewoon would surely find a way to break this illusion, he began buying time.

“You crazy bastards! Get a grip!!”

“Blood Demon’s lackeys!! Move aside right now!”

“You lunatics! Did you all bash your heads together and forget everything at once?!”

It was at that moment—when Nameless was shouting in frustration without restraint—

that a strange light flashed through Sewoon’s eyes as he listened to Nameless’s words.

‘…Forgetting memories?’

Another possibility surfaced in Sewoon’s mind.

If they had not been subdued by illusion arts or soul manipulation, then…

The moment Sewoon lifted his head and glared at the Blood Demon, the Blood Demon curled the corner of his lips upward and sent another voice transmission.

[Your guess was correct, Demonic Craftsman. They are not dominated by illusion arts. Every single ‘memory’ they had of you has been replaced with me.]

“……!!”

Sewoon’s prediction became reality.

They were not seeing illusions. The existence known as Sewoon, embedded within all the memories they had accumulated throughout their lives, had been replaced by the Blood Demon standing before them.

[I named this art ‘Memory-Born Rejection Transformation.’ Is it not a truly fitting name?]

A horrifying Evil Art created by twisting the minds and trust of martial artists.

Their very perception had been altered; that was why the Sound Art Sewoon employed had been completely ineffective.

This was something that absolutely could not be resolved unless the caster himself—the Blood Demon—undid it.

A groan escaped Sewoon involuntarily.

It was a situation steeped in despair.

“Urgh! Junior Brother, I—I can’t hold on much longer!”

The numerical disadvantage was far too severe. Nameless and the Ferocious Corpse Deity were both letting out pained groans.

Seeing Sewoon’s expression, which clearly reflected his tangled emotions, the Blood Demon smiled more brightly than ever.

[Despair endlessly, Demonic Craftsman. Your corruption will become my strength.]

The Blood Demon was savoring Sewoon’s despair.

Pa-bat!

At that moment, a single figure broke through the defensive line of the Ferocious Corpse Deity and Nameless and lunged straight toward Sewoon.

That streak of dawn-like light drawing an arc was wrapped in Buddhist inner power.

“Blood Demon!!”

With that short shout, the surrounding winds began to rage madly.

Hayoung was unleashing the Burning Blood Sword Technique upon Sewoon.

Hayoung was the one most deeply ensnared by the art.

The Blood Demon’s Memory-Born Ever-Changing Art grew stronger in proportion to how great one’s feelings toward Sewoon were.

“Atone with your death!!”

Shouting so, Hayoung swung her sword fiercely at Sewoon.

A sword art was unfolding that far surpassed even her master, Geum Hwa Sa-tae.

Sewoon looked at her as she extended her sword forms toward him.

Her image from before the regression overlapped with her present self.

Cha-cha-cha-chaeng!

Cha-chaeng!

Sewoon raised the Pure Yang weapon and blocked her attack.

As the swords of the man and woman crossed, countless sparks burst forth in midair.

Having broken through her limits multiple times through training with Sewoon, Hayoung had grown far stronger than even the days before the regression, when she had been called the Sword Queen.

Yet now, that stronger version of her was mistaking Sewoon for the Blood Demon and unleashing her most threatening attacks to take his life.

Chwa-ak!

A streak of blood was carved across Sewoon’s cheek by the sword of the one he loved.

And then—

‘Yes… this is fortunate.’

Sewoon instead formed a small smile.

“……!!”

At that smile, Hayoung’s pupils shook as if struck by an earthquake.

But she was not the only one startled.

‘What—?’

For the first time, even the Blood Demon was flustered.

At that moment, this time Sewoon sent a voice transmission to the Blood Demon.

[Thank you, Blood Demon.]

“!!”

Astonishingly, Sewoon truly said so.

And it was the honest truth.

Sewoon was, in fact, glad.

Since the regression, there had not been a single moment in which he had escaped the guilt and sense of sin weighing upon him.

If he were to achieve vengeance against the Blood Demon—

After accomplishing all of that, would it truly be acceptable for him to live happily?

Like the fragments of the ruined world he had seen before, prior to the regression he had collaborated with the Blood Cult and committed unforgivable sins.

Was it right for someone like that to meet a happy ending simply because he killed the Blood Demon?

That remorse—his guilt toward the world he had failed to save and left behind—

had continued to bind him.

But now, all those precious to him standing before his eyes had forgotten him entirely.

They would be able to forget the man who had sinned against them and wounded them, and live freely.

In a world restored to peace, they would be able to live even happier lives.

“That will be the atonement for my original sin.”

After offering them a final gift, he would depart joyfully.

Paa-at!

Having decided to sacrifice himself to save the world, Sewoon stomped forward with true force and charged at the Blood Demon.

“Stop him!!”

“Block him with everything you have!!”

“Do not allow him to approach the Chairman under any circumstances!!”

The martial artists filling the surroundings poured out every sword technique and martial art they possessed at him.

Pu-puk!

Pu-pu-puk!

Seogeok! Seogeogeok!

So that not a single one of those precious to him would be harmed—

Sewoon accepted every attack and continued forward.

Chilling sounds of slicing, piercing, and tearing flesh erupted.

Yet Sewoon did not take a single step back.

With his entire body covered in wounds, Sewoon advanced while cleaving through space.

For the sole purpose of saving everyone.

Chwaaaaaa!

Woooooong!

At that instant, a tremendous change occurred within Sewoon’s body.

The ‘Heavenly Aperture,’ which he had been born with like a Heavenly Punishment, finally began to fill.

All the energy he had accumulated until now flowed into the Heavenly Aperture, then transformed into an entirely new power and burst forth.

Seeing that power, the Blood Demon panicked and stretched out his hand.

“How—how can you—!!”

Even though the Blood Demon poured out his full strength to block Sewoon’s strike—

Pu-puk!

At last, Sewoon drove his blade into the Blood Demon’s heart.

Kwa-deuk!

After confirming that it had pierced through completely, Sewoon twisted the sword.

“Y-you…!!”

This time, without even the slightest margin of error.

He pierced straight through the heart positioned perfectly on the right.

And in that moment—

Paaaat!

Pitch-black dark radiance spread out, and before Sewoon’s eyes—

—Your name is, …… .

An unknown someone’s memories began to unfold.