I Was Called A Demon

“So… you’re finally ready to take me on… Mo Shu,” Hua Jun stood there, panting, his skin and clothing drenched in sweat, his planar energy on the brink of exhaustion.

Around them, destruction and death, blood and ruin, the battlefield long scarred by countless conflicts. The people of the Righteous Court were mostly gone, whether dead or escaped, and the others had learned to stay away from the repeated clashes between Hua Jun and the experts on the Exarch’s side.

So, as Hua Jun held his plain blade aloft, he had only one man in his sight, a figure clad in baggy robes, pieces of dark iron keeping it tight in certain spots, and a hood that cast a shadow across his face, revealing only eyes that burned like faint embers. The lower half of his face was covered in dark stubble, and showed a mouth locked in a perpetual frown.

“You know what I want. You could’ve given it to me long ago.”

“Boundless Edge… I will not allow it… to fall into the hands of someone like you!” he straightened the blade, aiming it directly at Mo Shu’s throat.

In reply, the warrior with ember-like eyes raised his hand to the side, stretching it out as flames manifested around it. In a second, they focused into the shape of a sword, a long blade of living fire, forming a small guard just above his hand, though most of the surging flames raged along one edge of the weapon, making it look nearly solid, while the other was wilder, surging far beyond the shape of a sword like a wild flame.

“You already have a skill to conjure a weapon… yet yearn for mine?”

“Boundless Edge is perfect. No matter who wields it, no matter what they need, it will shape itself perfectly to them, and require no planar energy to wield. Do you really think anyone could ignore its allure?”

“No… merely letting you talk while I catch my breath.”

With his admission, Mo Shu had no reason to delay any longer. Flame appeared under his feet as he suddenly crossed the gap between them, practically turning into a vivid blaze as he brought his blade down upon Hua Jun, who only narrowly managed to block.

Their clash released countless sparks that scattered all around, more than a few getting into Hua Jun’s eyes, just in time for Mo Shu to vanish and reappear by his side, performing a peculiar slash from below.

“Incinerate!”

“Ever Growing Blaze?” though Hua Jun was shocked, he knew that he couldn’t block the hit, so he retreated and prepared a Tribulatory Strike, just narrowly getting away before the flame at the tip of Mo Shu’s weapon suddenly turned into a vast inferno, seeming to latch onto air and burn ever brighter, ever bigger.

Only a tiny spark from it hit Hua Jun, and that spark burned hotter than anything he’d touched, quickly growing across his arm and devouring the sleeve of his outfit before it faded.

“Conflagrate!” another shout came as Mo Shu crossed the gap between them again, performing a thrust that send tongues of flame out, spreading across a small area, one inevitably hitting Hua Jun’s body.

It then exploded, throwing him back, torching his clothing, scorching his flesh, knocking the air from his lungs as he tried to hold on to Boundless Edge. It wouldn’t be lost if he merely dropped it, of course, but the moment it would take to recall it into his hand would be a moment lost, a moment that would inevitably be taken advantage of.

Even without it, as soon as the flames faded, Hua Jun was able to see him performing a wide sweep, and he knew what the move was even without it being proclaimed.

Eradicate.

An area attack that could burn through a whole army if used with enough power, one that wouldn’t be able to kill someone in the same realm with ease… but it was practically guaranteed to hit him.

Most of his searing marks had been burned off in the conflict so far, and even his core had taken some hits, but he had no choice but to unleash both, consuming another mark to shroud the externalised core with protective energy, just in time for the massive wave of flame to hit.

It was as if the whole world turned a flaming orange, land and sky both vanishing behind it. The power of Eradicate was greater than he could’ve ever expected, and soon the energy he tried to put around his core was burned through, leaving only the core itself to take the brunt of the hit. He could feel it cracking, and soon see it, too, a hairline crack growing, spreading, soon encroaching on every part of the gleaming sphere that marked the fourth realm.

If it broke… his marks would be gone, and his fifth realm would drop straight to the peak of the third. In a normal circumstance, he could always cultivate back, but in a battle like this… it would be equivalent to death, and soon result in it without a shadow of a doubt.

He had no choice but to bring out the anchor, a vivid, gleaming pillar of light that slammed into the ground behind him, and burn the last few marks at once to endure.

As the flames finally faded, his core was on the brink of shattering. Every part was coated in cracks, big and small, and it seemed like a single tap from a regular human would be enough to break it, but it yet endured, and that was enough.

However, his state was grim. His energy was all but gone, his marks consumed, even his anchor trembling from sharing the burden of this clash. Only Boundless Edge remained in his hand, firm and capable as ever… and his mind, which felt clearer than ever. For decades now he had pondered the sword, mastering Punishment Blade… and in this moment, as he looked upon Mo Shu’s figure, who in turn looked down on him like he was just some wounded animal, on the brink of bleeding out…

He felt his vision change, a sudden clarity returning to the world. It felt as though he had been near blind all his life, and only now did his eyes truly open, showing him the truth…

At the edge of this battle, Lei Kai Lian watched, and gasped as Mo Shu suddenly dashed forward even as her master stood still, seemingly unable to move.

‘No, don’t-’ her thoughts – and her attempt to dash out and do anything to avert his fate – were cut off as Hua Jun suddenly responded, swinging his blade at the last moment.

Boundless Edge somehow split the flames and extinguished them, even without energy channelled into the strike, leaving Mo Shu to leap back, his eyes narrowed in a sudden wariness.

“You… Is that your Sword Dao? To have broken through in such a moment… Do you think it will be enough?”

From afar, it was hard to see things in detail, but it felt as though there was a thin circle around Hua Jun’s pupils that hadn’t been there before. It was subtle, incredibly so, but having spent a long time with her master, she could spot such changes.

Hua Jun didn’t respond to Mo Shu’s words, and just stood there, gazing at him… past him, almost. It was as though he was in his own little world, seeing nothing outside of it… and yet, the moment Mo Shu attacked again, repeating Incinerate, Hua Jun was able to meet it with ease, slicing right through the skill like it was nothing.

Every following strike was much the same, be it a slash, stab, punch or even a raw wave of flame – all that he needed was a simple motion of his Boundless Edge, and the attack was blocked, dispersed, turned to naught, and swept aside like it was nothing.

That only spurred Mo Shu to fight harder, speeding up, even unleashing all kinds of skills he had never shown before – going through the Eight Great Changes, attempting to invoke the Tidal Flame, Repealing Spark, and Piercing River, only for every blow to be negated. Bringing the blade down with all his might, unleashing the Crushing Flood, his flames clashed with the tip of Boundless Edge only for all the momentum to disappear in an instant.

Suddenly, Mo Shu retreated using the sixth skill of Eight Great Changes, Retreating Torch, only to raise his hand into the air and grasp onto something, almost pulling that ethereal something down to the earth as his energy coalesced into a flaming meteor in the sky, formed of pure blue flame. It fell down from above, surrounded by many smaller sparks of flame, and once more Hua Jun just stood there.

He moved only at the last moment, slashing through the flame, extinguishing it all with a single cut.

“I don’t believe you can do this forever! No Dao is omnipotent!”

‘… Master… I can see your body straining. Please, strike, take him out, ward him off… don’t let him just keep attacking you!’ Lei Kai Lian desperately wanted to call out, but as far as she could tell, Mo Shu hadn’t spotted her yet.

If she did make herself known, she’d become a target, and one that Mo Shu would be sure to exploit, so she forced herself to remain still even as they clashed time and time again.

Hua Jun managed to block everything, even when Mo Shu attempted to unleash several attacks at once, somehow cutting them all into nothing, but flaws slowly emerged in his approach. He wasn’t using his energy at all, and his motions were fast, but limited. With multiple strikes timed at just the right time, he was barely able to handle them all, and over time, his motions slowed, whereas Mo Shu remained full of energy.

It was only natural – he had only fought this one fight, whereas Hua Jun had been prevented from recovering over many days.

And so, it was akin to watching the collapse of some grand structure in slow motion – the inevitability sinking in more with each moment, feeling as though it slowed more and more until, inevitably, the fall would be too far along to ever stop.

Each time she saw him get closer to being harmed, saw his blade slow that ever little bit more, she felt more and more helpless, more and more terrified, memories suddenly racing past her mind, all the times that Hua Jun had aided her, cared for her, taught her… He had been a presence in her life for decades now, and although they had experienced some disagreements as of late… she didn’t want to see him fall.

Another clash occurred, a blade aiming for Hua Jun’s arm, flame crashing down from behind, spines of magma bursting out from below – and for the first time in the fight, the previous wound inflicted upon him seemed to take effect, as he faltered for a moment.

That was enough. A scorching wave burned his back, spines impaling his feet, and though he blocked the slash, the thrust that followed pierced right through his arm. It wasn’t enough to make him drop his sword, but he clearly struggled to even lift it, not to mention blocking any further hits. And so, Mo Shu had free reign to be as leisurely as he wanted in deciding on the final hit with which to obtain the weapon of his dreams.

Seeing him so calm and collected, raising his sword of flame slowly, practically taunting Hua Jun to stop him… it pushed Lei Kai Lian over the edge. She couldn’t bear to watch, and so she leapt up, trying to dash to him, her lips parting as some shout was about to escape-

Only for the last drops of Hua Jun’s energy to manifest beside her and push her back, knocking her down to the ground, leaving her to see flames behead Hua Jun in the final moment.

She didn’t scream then, for that visual embedded itself into her mind and froze all thought and reason, her body no longer feeling like her own. For what felt like a millennium, that instant just replayed itself within her head, over and over and over…

Mo Shu saw Boundless Edge drop to the ground, the tip embedding itself in the dirt, looking exactly like it had when Hua Jun wielded it. However, he knew that his great adversary was dead, and so the blade was ownerless, ready for the taking… so take it he did, reaching out and putting his hand around the hilt.

He felt a sudden connection, a feeling of ownership, and right before his eyes Boundless Edge transformed, growing longer, the blade itself seeming to turn to solidified flame that was perfectly contained within the shape he desired – a shape he hadn’t even known was perfect for him until this very moment. It was exactly as heavy as he needed, with every single detail tailormade for his use, and best of all, despite seeming to be made up of flaming planar energy, it was completely free to maintain.

This left him with far more energy to use elsewhere, and at this moment, he couldn’t help but glance to the side. He knew that he had an audience, of course, and it was impossible to miss the fact that, in the last moment, instead of blocking him, Hua Jun had cast his energy elsewhere.

In all likelihood, the one just out of view was a disciple of his Righteous Court, perhaps even his own. He could let her go… or chase her down. There was some amusement to be found in either case.

Though, before a choice could be made, he felt another presence approaching, the unmistakable aura of the Righteous Court’s techniques. Bright, flashy and dripping with false virtue, as most of the Righteous Court members themselves were… save for Hua Jun. Though they were foes, in the end, it felt like he was more truthful in his convictions and genuinely sought to fight the evils of the world, whereas the rest of them…

Well, a prime example of their smug, self-righteous attitude crashed down from the skies right in front of him, glowing with sacred light, rising tall and looking down on him with that typical smile of assured superiority.

“Foul demon!”

“Don’t waste my time. Will you fight, or will you not?” he raised Boundless Edge at the figure, ready to strike if need be.

However, as he expected, the member of the Righteous Court simply scoffed and waved him away, “Begone now, demon! You shall not claim any more of our lives today!”

‘Hypocrite bastards… very well, they made the choice for me. That onlooker can live another day.’

He withdrew quickly, keeping his attention on the Righteous Court member all the while, and after gaining enough distance, turned and sprinted back to the Exarch’s camp, far away from the battle, leaving the Righteous Court to reclaim Hua Jun’s corpse.

“You have claimed it? Show me.”

“Yes, my lord,” Mo Shu didn’t dare hesitate, and summoned the blade, presenting it to the Exarch.

He wasn’t worried about it being stolen from him, thanks to the unique properties of conceptual artefacts, but also because there was no chance of resisting the Exarch’s power. It was a mighty expert in the sixth realm, at the very brink of the seventh, and currently, Mo Shu was kneeling on the soil marked and scorched by the Exarch’s power.

Anywhere else, the Exarch might have competition among the sect masters of the continent’s sects, but on this scorched earth, it was vastly more powerful.

So, if Mo Shu was unwilling to obey, he might as well just use Boundless Edge to slice his own head off.

“Hm… It suits you well. This should be sufficient to break the last of her forces.”

“Silly girl… He is gone.”

“B-But… Judge Yi, surely you could-”

“The will of the heavens is beyond our control. As it was his time to perish, he did so boldly, fighting the foul demons of the Exarch’s forces…” Yi Huang was barely able to contain a grin, but forced herself for the sake of keeping up appearances, “Have no fear, though, child. I will accept you as my disciple, and teach you until you are able to overpower all the demons of the world. In time, you too may become a great Herald of Heaven, able to comprehend the will of the heavens and act in accordance with it!”

Lei Kai Lian still had tears in her eyes as she raised her head, looking to Yi Huang with an uncertain expression.

“Don’t you wish to punish those that took him away from you? Or perhaps… aren’t there other demons in your heart? Monsters that deserve to be slain, don’t you think?”

“Y-Yes…”

“Then the only way you shall accomplish it is by becoming strong. It’s what Hua Jun would’ve wanted, too.”