Chapter 302: Conclusion (2)

Due to the influence of the Eastern Ghosts’ Curse, her current appearance was a complete mess.

Of her six arms, two had been torn off, and pus flowed from various parts of her body, as if she had suffered severe burns.

More than anything, the overwhelming pressure that had once dominated the Heavenly Demon Founder and the senior brothers had significantly weakened.

“Master didn’t leave me behind just because I was the only one among the senior brothers who still had strength left.”

Yoo Jeon pointed his sword at her.

“Master allowed me to remain… so that I could bring closure to my own ties.”

Though she was still holding on to her identity as the Priestess, she gritted her teeth at Yoo Jeon.

“Jeon… you… to the very end…!”

She revealed the deep sense of betrayal she felt toward Yoo Jeon, but instead, a quiet fury emanated from Yoo Jeon.

“I am sorry, Priestess. I have nothing more to say to you.”

Yoo Jeon took his stance.

“Right now… I only wish to avenge my lover who was sacrificed.”

“Revenge? You dare call this revenge?!”

Just as she was about to unleash her fury, Yoo Jeon’s sword slipped through that fleeting gap and unleashed an immense surge of intent.

Heart’s Path Transcending Resentment

It was the strongest technique Yoo Jeon could currently execute alone.

His sword transcended space and time as it once again aimed for her throat.

However.

“You dare seek revenge… with just that?!”

Clack! Clack-clack!

Her four remaining arms instantly formed a seal.

“Dual Source Unified Formation!”

A sinister light burst out from all over Heavenly Evil’s body, forcing Yoo Jeon’s sword to be pushed back.

Retrieving his sword, Yoo Jeon let out a faint groan.

“So… it really is the forbidden art of the ancient Sun and Moon Divine Sect… It’s not going to be easy.”

“Hoo… hoohoho!”

She gave Yoo Jeon a twisted grin.

“Yes… if you won’t come into my hands… then it’s better that I grant you peace myself.”

Her two pairs of arms formed different seals.

It was clear that she was preparing a powerful strike aimed directly at Yoo Jeon.

“Get ready, youngest.”

He spoke to me.

“Seeing how she had to block with a spell means she must have spent a significant amount of energy.”

“…!”

Previously, when Yoo Jeon had ambushed her, she didn’t even flinch when his sword struck her forehead.

But this time, she had actively blocked it with a spell.

That small difference proved that her condition was not the same as before.

“There will be one opportunity. The first and last chance…”

“Yes.”

There was no time to grieve partings.

The only way to repay their sacrifice… was victory.

That was a truth I had come to realize again and again through countless battles.

“I’ll go first.”

This time, Yoo Jeon did not shoot out his sword qi. Instead, he threw his body toward her.

She responded immediately to Yoo Jeon’s charge.

Her four arms formed seals, and a simple, pure white flame of unknown nature ignited.

The problem was that the flame carried a temperature capable of erasing any living being the moment it touched them.

‘That flame… it’s similar to the one the Venerable Buddha used back then!’

Of course, in terms of sheer intensity, it was far more powerful than the Venerable Buddha’s.

“Mandala Flame (만다라의 불). It was a spell that once worked on the resurrected true body of Heavenly Evil.”

She shot the flame toward Yoo Jeon as she shouted.

“Do you think you can stop this?!”

The released Mandala Flame surged toward Yoo Jeon, engulfing him in a massive explosion.

Rumbleeeee!

I had to maximize my Qi Projection to endure the wave of scorching heat generated by the blast.

‘Senior Brother!’

Judging from the force of the explosion ahead, it seemed impossible that even his body would remain intact.

However.

From within that pure white inferno, Yoo Jeon’s figure emerged.

“…!”

She seemed genuinely shocked, unable to believe that he had withstood the attack.

Of course, Yoo Jeon wasn’t unharmed.

In that brief moment, his once-handsome face had been charred and disfigured beyond recognition.

Yet Yoo Jeon didn’t lose a bit of his momentum as he continued to charge at her.

But.

Thud!

The moment Yoo Jeon entered her reach, her four arms pierced his body like bolts of lightning.

“…Guh!”

In an instant, her arms had pierced his heart, side, and left shoulder.

A critical strike leaving no room for recovery.

But.

He managed to twist his head just enough to avoid the final blow aimed at his head.

Thanks to that, he was barely able to preserve the strength in his right arm for one last swing.

“Priestess.”

“……”

Her eyes, filled with hatred and resentment, locked onto Yoo Jeon.

“Regardless of the emotions you held toward me… I cannot accept them.”

Yoo Jeon, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, raised his sword.

“But at the very least, for your final journey… I will be by your side.”

Thrust!

His sword pierced straight through Han Yeong’s forehead.

—

With a drowsy sensation, Cheon Yura opened her eyes.

“Young Cult Leader! Are you awake?!”

“……”

Cheon Yura frowned slightly at the sight of Sa Biyeon fussing so suddenly.

But only for a moment.

‘…Where am I?’

She was certain she had fallen asleep while working late into the night, yet when she opened her eyes, she found herself in an unfamiliar bedroom.

And then, Cheon Yura noticed two strange things.

One was that the atmosphere around her felt unnervingly sharp.

The other was that her body felt much heavier than she had expected.

Since she had spent more days wielding a brush than a sword, that much was understandable.

‘My body has stiffened more than I thought.’

As someone who had reached the Extreme Demon Realm, I immediately recognized the slightest change in my body.

‘Those outside… are they from the Guardian Hall?’

But they weren’t the young Guardian Lions who usually served under Right Guardian Wu.

They were the elite forces directly under the Cult Leader’s command.

Piecing these facts together, I finally reached a conclusion.

“Biyeon.”

“Yes!”

“How long… have I been unconscious?”

Flinch!

Sa Biyeon’s expression stiffened for a moment before she cautiously answered.

“Seven days and nights… my lady.”

“What?”

For someone who had reached the Extreme Demon Realm to remain unconscious for seven whole days and nights was no small matter.

Sa Biyeon hurriedly continued as I opened my eyes wide in shock.

“The Demon Doctor said it was just accumulated fatigue. There were no other abnormalities.”

“No abnormalities, huh….”

I gently pressed my forehead with my hand.

And then.

“…Huh?”

It felt as if lightning had struck my mind.

My eyes widened sharply, and my head slowly turned toward the ceiling.

“Yo-… Young Cult Leader?”

“……”

Not only my eyes but my lips parted slightly.

And before long.

Fwoosh!

I suddenly grabbed the blanket and pulled it over my entire body.

“Yo-… Young Cult Leader?!”

Sa Biyeon was visibly flustered by the sight of me suddenly hiding under the blanket.

That wasn’t all.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

I began kicking the bed with the tops of my feet.

There was no Qi behind the kicks, but they were clearly filled with emotion.

Before long, a panicked voice came from under the blanket.

“Why… why did I remember that? I thought I was supposed to forget after waking up!”

“Wh-… What do you mean, my lady?”

Sa Biyeon asked urgently, but all she got in return was the voice of her panicked master.

“What… what have I done…?!”

“……???”

The sudden collapse of the Young Cult Leader, Cheon Yura, had been enough to set the entire Heavenly Demon Pavilion on full alert.

Of course, this was a top secret that absolutely could not be leaked outside.

Sa Biyeon had kept strict control over the information and had stayed by Cheon Yura’s side day and night.

That was why it had been a tremendous relief when Cheon Yura finally opened her eyes.

‘Did she have some kind of nightmare?’

If not, it felt like she was recalling some embarrassing memory from her childhood that she wished she could hide forever.

‘Maybe she finally realized how ridiculous it was to name herself the “Moonlit Sword Flower”…?’

While Sa Biyeon was thinking such disrespectful thoughts to herself.

“H-… How am I supposed to face him now…!”

“…Huh?”

Him?

“D-… Damn those Founders! How dare they deceive me like this… I won’t let them get away with it.”

‘…Founders?’

Just what kind of dream had she seen to make her react like this?

Sa Biyeon was dying to know.

‘No, wait! This isn’t the time for this!’

Now that Cheon Yura had woken up, she had to report immediately to the Cult Leader.

Hadn’t both the Left and Right Guardians been mobilized to lock down the entrance to the Heavenly Demon Pavilion?

“Yo-… Young Cult Leader, then I shall briefly…”

Sa Biyeon stepped out to report to the Guardians.

Left alone in the quiet, spacious bedroom, I finally came to my senses.

However, no matter how clear my mind became, the fact remained that I had done something… irreversible.

“……”

I covered my face with both hands and sank into silence for a long while.

After some time had passed.

I whispered softly to myself.

“Win.”

Clench!

“Win… and return to my side, no matter what.”

Had Sa Biyeon been there, she would have surely thought this:

That somehow, my demeanor had softened, just a little.

“I’ll be waiting.”

Crack!

Cra-cra-crack!

“Jeo… ah.”

The body of Heavenly Evil, pierced through the forehead, began to crumble.

It had been nothing more than a simple thrust, lacking any notable Qi or intent.

Yet, for some reason, unlike before, she hadn’t resisted at all.

‘No… it’s not that she couldn’t resist… she didn’t resist?’

Why?

With the hand that had let go of the sword, Yoo Jeon slowly embraced her collapsing body.

Yoo Jeon whispered to her.

“As I said earlier… if my feelings toward Master were betrayal, then the root of that feeling must have been sympathy.”

He paused for a moment before continuing.

“But that sympathy… surely originated from maternal love.”

“……”

“If Master was our father… then you were our mother.”

“……”

“……”

Finally, she softly whispered something into Yoo Jeon’s ear.

And Yoo Jeon, quietly nodding, responded to her words.

Though I couldn’t hear what they whispered to each other, I could somehow tell that they had resolved at least some of their emotions in that final moment.

Before long, the figures of the two slowly began to dissolve into particles of light, disappearing from the world.

“Ah…”

The Priestess and Yoo Jeon were gone.

At the same time, from ‘somewhere’, a familiar and immense power began to pour into me.

‘The power of the fragment.’

Part of that power was absorbed into my Dantian, while the rest flowed into the fragment of the Founder.

I instinctively realized that, from now on, no matter what I faced, I would never again struggle due to a lack of inner Qi.

However.

‘Not all the power has been absorbed. Only about half has flowed in. The rest… is still somewhere else. And the reason is surely….’

Not long after, in the spot where the two had vanished, someone appeared, wearing a somber expression, as if to take their place.

I spoke her name aloud.

“Lady Cheon Yujeong.”

“……”

Cheon Yujeong, whose body had been taken over by the Priestess, had regained her freedom with the maiden’s disappearance.

But for some reason, her expression didn’t seem pleased in the slightest.

“…Damn it.”

Just as I was wondering about her sudden curse, she reached out toward the empty air, and a pitch-black sword of condensed Qi appeared in her hand.

“……!”

That sword… was not something that could be manifested at just any level.

More than that, the intent surrounding that blade…

Before I could even finish my thoughts, she lightly swung the sword.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-boom!

A massive slash swept right past me.

‘Strong and sharp.’

There was no doubt.

That slash just now was the result of refining sword intent!

Though she had never even reached the Extreme Demon Realm, she had just crossed multiple boundaries and now displayed power comparable to the Transcendent Demon Realm.

‘I can’t sense Heavenly Evil’s power. Then how…?’

Heavenly Evil had perished along with the Priestess, Han Yeong.

Of course, the energy left in the Founder’s fragment still remained.

But even if Cheon Yujeong had inherited that power, refining sword intent was not something that could be achieved with Qi alone.

She, who had just unleashed a slash past me, finally spoke.

“Annoying.”

“……”

I had a good guess as to why she was acting like this.

“Is it… because you, who once abandoned your humanity, have now returned to being human?”

She had once chosen to abandon her humanity and become a monster.

Yet, in the end, regardless of her intentions, she had returned to being human.

“That too.”

Clicking her tongue with a grimace, she suddenly spat out something unexpected.

“And now… I’ve finally realized why you never came to me.”

She realized the reason?

“When that damned monster that imprisoned me vanished, Heavenly Evil’s authority disappeared with it. But in its place, the insight and power of the Heavenly Demon Founder somehow flowed into me.”

“……!”

Was she saying that she had inherited the Heavenly Demon Founder’s insight?

It sounded absurd and ridiculous, but it was the only explanation that made sense in this situation.

“And along with it, I received… a glimpse of someone’s short memory.”

“If it’s a memory…”

Then came the shocking words from Cheon Yujeong’s lips.

“The memory… of the moment when you and Cheon Yura died together.”

…What?

My eyes widened in shock.

“Cult Leader, the Heartless Demonic Empress, Cheon Yura. And you… Jin Yeomyung, the Rear Gate Sword of the Internal Affairs.”

She sneered at me.

“So this is it, huh? The real reason you always rejected me and chose Cheon Yura instead.”

“…How…?”

The greatest secret of my life, one I hadn’t even spoken of to Cheon Yura herself.

How could that memory have ended up with Cheon Yujeong?

Before I could even begin to process the cause, she continued.

“Well, if you two had that kind of bond… I guess it couldn’t be helped.”

Clack!

She raised her sword, pointing it directly at me.

“Come.”

She glared at me with fierce eyes.

“I’m done clinging to you.”

No matter how she had come to know my past.

“Let’s end this… once and for all.”

At that moment, I instinctively knew.

That the end between us was now truly right before my eyes.

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