Chapter 184
Chapter 184
As the war continued with mountains vaporizing and blood and organs scattering through the air, everyone grew exhausted.
Just as Yeongho had said, the Alliance was tasting a short but horrifying hell. The once clear sky where the sun had hung now turned into a murky color filled with moonlight and starlight.
The full-scale war between the Demonic Cult and the Alliance was unimaginably fierce. At first, deep fear devoured their hearts, but after killing and killing again, even that emotion dulled.
Soon they became perfect killing weapons, slaughtering demonic practitioners until their swords rusted. Yet it was not only the swords that rusted.
Their arms and legs would not move. They did not feel them to be heavy, yet they simply would not lift.
Only when even the last faint sensation remaining at their fingertips disappeared did the soldiers begin collapsing one by one.
Many had died during the fierce battle that had lasted all day, yet strangely enough, those who collapsed from exhaustion seemed even more numerous.
And that was not limited to the Alliance.
“Divine Cult… undefeated…! May ten thousand demons bow!”
A demonic cultist who had squeezed out the very last of his strength muttered a mantra and threw a punch at his opponent. The cultist, who had killed unbelievers until the very end, tore at his own hair—now turned completely white—and smiled faintly.
While many in the Alliance fainted because their bodies could no longer endure, the demonic cultists endured that adversity. Even when both their internal energy and stamina had completely run dry and their bodies trembled, they did not hesitate to burn even the last remaining energy within their bodies—the Primordial Vital Energy.
Because of that backlash, all the demonic cultists died.
Some died with their hair turned white due to the side effects of using the Primordial Vital Energy, the very source of life. Some died standing upright.
Yet even in this situation where everyone had collapsed from exhaustion, the war still continued.
Because of only two people.
Kakakakakang!
Every time Yeongho’s sword and the Heavenly Demon’s fist collided, violent shockwaves surged out between them.
The waves were so powerful that they made one’s insides churn, yet neither of them cared as they clashed head-on.
Slash!
Yeongho’s sword deeply cut into the Heavenly Demon’s shoulder. Blood burst out, and the bone of the shoulder was revealed.
Yet the Heavenly Demon, as if he felt no pain at all, stared coldly at the blade and shattered Yeongho’s sword with his remaining fist.
Chaeng—!
As the sword shattered into pieces, Yeongho immediately widened the distance and fired a palm force. The Heavenly Demon did not even bother avoiding it and charged straight toward him.
Crack!
The palm force struck the Heavenly Demon’s face directly, tearing off flesh from his face. His cheekbone was exposed, and one eye burst open, yet instead of slowing down, he accelerated even further.
Yeongho had not expected such a vicious move. Quickly scanning his surroundings, his mind spun rapidly.
Having finished his judgment within the blink of an eye, Yeongho charged directly toward the Heavenly Demon.
Kwaang—!
Yeongho’s elbow drove into the Heavenly Demon’s abdomen. Blood spilled from the Heavenly Demon’s mouth from the sudden impact.
However, the Heavenly Demon did not simply take the blow.
Boom—!
The Heavenly Demon’s knee pierced Yeongho’s solar plexus. Flesh tore apart and even the bone inside shattered.
Even so, Yeongho laughed and kicked the Heavenly Demon away. As the distance naturally widened, Yeongho exhaled the breath he had been holding in rough gasps.
Unlike the Heavenly Demon, Yeongho could not regenerate.
Of course, the Heavenly Demon also consumed stamina each time his body regenerated, but once the body recovered, stamina meant nothing.
As long as he could throw punches and swing his legs, what did stamina matter?
That was why the Heavenly Demon was even more terrifying.
He already knew they were equals. Had he not felt it? The brat before him had returned as a dragon after once being merely an imugi.
However, aside from martial prowess, the Heavenly Demon felt fear toward Yeongho’s mental strength.
“…What are you?”
It was not a question. It was merely a slip of the tongue that escaped out of fear.
Yeongho also noticed the Heavenly Demon’s state of mind, but he had no intention of exploiting it. Sometimes truth was more cruel than bluster.
Yeongho felt blood flowing from his eyes as his body had been severely damaged. The blood that ran down his cheeks to his lips was lightly licked away with his tongue, and Yeongho smiled like an evil spirit rising from hell as he spoke.
“Whether in the future or the past, whether in heaven or hell, I am the grim reaper who will come to kill you.”
There was no lie.
Nor was it bravado.
He had merely spoken his true feelings calmly, yet precisely because of that, the effect was even greater.
The Heavenly Demon fell silent for a moment before speaking as if he had made up his mind.
“…Those words are frighteningly truthful.”
“Yeah? Then let’s end this now.”
Yeongho picked up his Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron Sword that was lying on the ground. Seeing that, the Heavenly Demon’s eyes widened, and Yeongho let out a sneer.
“You should pay attention to the terrain while fighting. Did you think I charged at you without thinking?”
Ignoring those words, the Heavenly Demon looked at the shoulder Yeongho had cut. The shoulder had regenerated at extreme speed, revealing fresh new flesh.
He had lost a considerable amount of stamina because of it, but that did not matter as long as he was intact. It would be troublesome if he could not throw a punch at the most crucial moment.
The Heavenly Demon took a quiet breath inward and spoke.
“I will assert one thing. With this strike, you will end.”
“That’s funny. I was about to say the same thing.”
Yeongho once again stopped the bleeding from the wounds on his torn thigh and side. As blood continued to flow, he frowned and clicked his tongue.
“Let’s finish this quickly. If you’re hoping I die from excessive blood loss, I’ll cauterize the wounds if I must. So let’s not waste time.”
“Your internal energy will not overcome my Demonic Energy.”
As if no further conversation was necessary, the Heavenly Demon silently took a stance.
He stretched one arm straight forward, pointing his fingertips toward Yeongho, while the other fist naturally rested by his side.
It was a form slightly altered from the common stance used to throw a Straight Punch Technique.
It could be considered a somewhat unusual straight punch stance, yet Yeongho recognized it the moment he saw it.
That it was not an ordinary stance.
It was the perfect move that the Heavenly Demon had created and refined.
Feeling the immense power contained in the Heavenly Demon’s posture, Yeongho slowly took his own stance and asked.
“What is the name of that move?”
“It has no proper name, so I simply call it this.”
The Heavenly Demon looked at Yeongho’s high stance, which seemed ordinary yet contained an extraordinary aura, and spoke.
“Divine Calamity.”
“Really? Then I suppose I should call this…”
Yeongho stared at the Heavenly Demon with chilling pupils and said.
“Evil Calamity.”
Was it not said that all roads return to one? That everything that reaches the extreme arrives at the same place?
The two had learned opposing martial arts—sword and fist—yet after circling endlessly, they had reached the same end of martial arts.
The basics.
The end of martial arts that the Heavenly Demon and the Sword Venerable had seen ultimately returned to the basic techniques they had first learned.
Within the Heavenly Demon’s simple Straight Punch Technique was contained an immense profundity that countless masters would never understand even if they tried to probe it.
And within Yeongho’s simple vertical slash was contained every realization he had attained.
For a brief moment, the two Absolute Beings gazed at each other’s ultimate arts.
Then, carrying strikes worthy of being called divine, they charged toward each other—the rivals and adversaries they would never encounter again even if they lived their entire lives.
Paaaang—!!
Their wills collided and their realizations exploded.
It was astonishing enough that their intentions were transmitted to each other, but what was even more shocking was that the fist and sword never touched.
As if an invisible wall existed between them, the Heavenly Demon’s fist and Yeongho’s sword remained a certain distance apart, refusing to meet.
It was internal energy that had become far more efficient upon reaching the Transcendent Realm.
Yet Yeongho felt that internal energy leaving his body at an exponential rate.
The Heavenly Demon experienced the same.
However, Yeongho realized something.
That he would lose.
Death.
He was not afraid of it.
What he truly feared was dying without killing the Heavenly Demon.
Even if he died, he had to kill the Heavenly Demon.
As his composure began to shake, poison filled Yeongho’s eyes.
Prepared to die, Yeongho attempted to draw out the Primordial Vital Energy that resided within his body.
—Immortal Energy.
At that moment, a familiar voice echoed within Yeongho’s mind.
‘Jang Wijin?’
His ancestor. A divine immortal who now resided in the Immortal Realm.
‘You said you could not interfere here…?’
—Listen. There is a faint Immortal Energy within your body. It is originally a power that can only be awakened after ascending to the Immortal Realm, but as a side effect of my descent upon Mount Kunlun, Immortal Energy was formed within your body.
‘Then…?’
—Focus. Within your Primordial Vital Energy, there is another energy right beside it. Do not throw away your life. Throw away heaven.
The words did not make sense.
Yet Yeongho concentrated even more on finding the power said to reside within his Primordial Vital Energy.
Cold sweat formed on his skin, and veins bulged on his forehead.
His instincts warned him to focus only on the opponent before him, but Yeongho continued searching for the energy hidden within the Primordial Vital Energy.
Even at this very moment, the Heavenly Demon’s fist was pushing Yeongho’s sword back and entering his space.
Thus Yeongho sharpened his senses so intensely that blood began to drip from his nose.
Soon, Yeongho realized.
Why Jang Wijin had told him to abandon heaven.
And so he smiled.
Because the price required to kill the Heavenly Demon was merely this much.
Seeing the smile unconsciously spreading across Yeongho’s lips, the Heavenly Demon felt displeasure.
Was he going insane in a situation where his life hung by a thread?
At that moment, an incomparably powerful energy burst out from Yeongho’s body.
It felt violently fierce enough to be called savage killing intent, yet strangely it also felt pure.
Looking at the Heavenly Demon’s trembling eyes, shaking as if an earthquake had struck, Yeongho grinned.
“Flame Venerable Opening Gate. It’s a technique I can’t use often because it consumes an enormous amount of internal energy.”
The Heavenly Demon already knew.
Sometimes Yeongho’s energy increased three or four times, sometimes five or six times.
But this was different.
This was not merely five or six times.
This was power that could easily be considered ten times—no, even twenty times greater.
“Don’t worry. I paid the price too.”
Glancing at the Heavenly Demon’s fist that had tightened unconsciously in fear, Yeongho spoke.
“Now… it’s time for me to send you to hell.”
Before the Heavenly Demon could say anything, Yeongho poured every bit of energy and strength into the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron Sword.
KWA A A A A NG—!!
A thunderous roar resounded as if everything in existence would be annihilated.
And Yeongho felt the death of the martial artist who had been clashing with him moments before with the pinnacle of martial arts.
The one called the greatest demon in all ages.
The master of ten thousand demons.
The god of the Sun–Moon Divine Cult.
“The Heavenly Demon is dead.”
Yeongho murmured quietly.
He killed the Heavenly Demon.
The Heavenly Demon had died.
He had killed a god.
Many thoughts crossed his mind, yet the conclusion was only one.
“The war… is over.”
Yeongho spoke like a sigh and laughed weakly.
It was not laughter born of relief; he simply lacked the strength to laugh properly.
He wanted to rest right now.
The ground would be fine.
Even this place filled with corpses would be fine.
He just wanted to rest quickly.
Now that he realized everything had ended, the pain in his body returned once more.
The meridians that had failed to endure the excessive internal energy had expanded to an unbelievable degree.
However, the meridians had not burned out.
Rather, they had grown.
This was a kind of growing pain.
“…I have to tell them.”
That the Demonic Cult had been defeated.
That the Alliance had won.
“I have to tell them the war is over…”
Dragging his heavy body, Yeongho turned around.
And then, his eyes widened unconsciously.
After opening and closing his mouth for a moment, Yeongho straightened his body using his sword as support and spoke.
“The war is over.”
“……”
No answer came.
But knowing that this silence was waiting, Yeongho immediately continued.
“The Demonic Cult has been defeated, and our Alliance has won.”
Yeongho grinned.
“It’s our victory.”
Yeongho declared it to the soldiers of both the Demonic Cult and the Alliance who had been watching the battle between him and the Heavenly Demon before they realized it.