Chapter 424: Heavenly Timing (3)

I lay sprawled out, dazed, with severe wounds all over my body.

The armor, already tattered from the beginning, had been completely smashed and had lost its function as armor.

The sword I was holding had its blade utterly disintegrated, rendering it useless as a weapon.

Everything around me had turned to scorched earth, and once again, just like that one time before, a meteor shower was pouring across the black void of space.

In such a scene, someone spoke to me.

‘Are you satisfied now, child?’

“Well…”

I vaguely shook my head.

“Not satisfied at all.”

‘You killed me more perfectly than ever before. And yet, why are you still dissatisfied?’

“Because, in the end, I couldn’t protect anyone.”

Subjectively speaking, twenty years had passed.

I had crossed countless lines between life and death and had killed him once more.

And I had survived.

Even though I was severely injured, it was no longer a fatal wound like in the past—I was not at death’s door.

But still.

That didn’t mean I had been able to prevent the deaths of others.

Those who had stepped into the final battle with me.

Though I had saved far more lives than in the ‘previous’ time, they had all still perished in the end.

In short, the outcome had not changed.

Someone spoke again.

‘You’ve realized this world is false. Yet you still grieve?’

“I’m afraid I’ll fail to protect and lose them again.”

There’s no next time for me.

There’s no escape of the heart left called ‘next life.’

“Ugh!”

I groaned and lifted my upper body, feeling pain surge through me.

“I managed to keep the promise about seducing her, but there’s a mountain of things I need to overcome to keep the next promise.”

‘What is that next promise?’

“Heaven-Allotted Lifespan Together.”

To the question, I answered without hesitation.

“Ah, the ‘old age’ part sounds a bit off, so maybe I’ll just keep it to ‘Heavenly Lifespan’…”

‘……’

“A hundred years is too short, a thousand years feels lacking… ten thousand years sounds just about right.”

Someone might say my conscience has exploded if they heard this.

But after all the suffering I’ve endured, isn’t this much of a reward only fair?

“By the way, your voice is surprisingly calm. Was that your real voice all along?”

‘……’

I had never heard such a steady voice from them before.

Right up until the final confrontation, they’d only repeated things like worship me, surrender to me, do not follow the false light, and so on.

They were always consistent with mental attacks…

“Well, not that it matters.”

I grasped the sword hilt left in my hand and gently invoked my Sword Intent.

Then, naturally, the energies of Black Gold intertwined and formed a new blade.

Unlike before, when they had repelled each other, this time they harmonized like Yin and Yang, like Tai Chi, merging smoothly.

The transcendence slumbering within had clearly reached the Divine Realm.

I looked toward the slowly vanishing remnants.

“I’m thankful to you.”

‘……’

“Thank you, lady. For helping me to the end. Pretending to be a fanatic couldn’t have been easy.”

Crackle! Crack! Crackle!

From within the black remnants, a human figure flickering with light appeared.

Though it only mimicked the form of a human woman, it had no facial features.

Still, somehow, it looked like she was smiling benevolently.

‘You’ve completely become one of their kind now.’

“So it seems.”

This golden light I had been using until now originally wasn’t mine—it was hers.

But now, it had become entirely mine.

‘Still, there’s one last thing left connecting you and me.’

“I know.”

‘Will you use it?’

“If the time comes where I must, I will.”

If I do use it, I might be able to save my beloved—but I won’t reach a happy future.

The three privileges she gave me when I came to this world.

The last of them still remains.

“Don’t worry too much, lady.”

I smirked and rested the blade on my shoulder.

“I’m going to live a long, long, happy life.”

And with those final words—

Crack!

My submerged consciousness began to resurface.

‘Yeah…’

Crackle!

The world shattered like glass.

Her form disappeared.

And then.

I bowed my head deeply toward the ‘final companion’ who had fought beside me until the decisive battle.

“Thank you, Senior Brother.”

I awakened from the long dream and slowly opened my eyes.

***

“Congratulations on achieving Complete Mastery, Little Brother.”

The first thing I saw upon opening my eyes was my father-in-law smiling gently.

“It’s not complete yet, Father-in-law.”

“Whether it’s complete or not, we can confirm it right away.”

Cheon Taejong extended his hand toward me.

Heavenly Demon Seal

At that moment, a pressure akin to a massive palm pressing down on the earth surged toward me.

The old me would have frantically resisted, trying to deflect the Heavenly Demon Seal.

But now, I withstood that pressure with composure.

An immense gravity pressed down on my entire body.

Kkuguk! Kkuguguk!

As my vision distorted under the strain, I heard Cheon Taejong’s voice.

“If you can spread your Sword Intent to form a domain, it’s Extreme Demon Realm. If you can focus and temper it into a single point, it’s Transcendent Demon Realm. And then…”

Boom!

The Rebound Enhanced Qi I emitted deflected the Heavenly Demon Seal.

“And if you can freely refine it and cloak yourself as though wearing it, then you’ve truly surpassed the Transcendent Demon Realm.”

Sword Intent (의념), literally ‘intent’ and ‘thought.’

It is a formless entity with no physical substance.

Refining something formless inherently violates the natural laws.

In other words, reshaping Sword Intent in such a way means wielding power that transcends those very laws.

“……”

“Congratulations. You’ve reached the same level I had when I ascended to the position of Cult Leader.”

Cheon Taejong never spoke such words lightly.

Which means—

Now I…

“Now you possess the bare minimum qualifications to remain by Yura’s side.”

“……”

This man, seriously.

Did he really want to turn his own daughter into an old maid?

It’s genuinely baffling how Han Mubaek in his past life managed to meet this man’s standards.

Meeting my gaze, he let out a small chuckle.

“I know. As I synchronized with your consciousness, I observed your memories. And…”

His expression darkened slightly.

“I came to understand clearly the mistakes I made when you didn’t intervene.”

“……”

He slightly bowed his head toward me.

“Thank you for protecting Yura. And from now on as well… please take good care of her.”

Why is that?

I was sure I’d heard these words from him once before.

But this ‘request’ felt completely different now.

“Because if it’s you, I’m sure you’ll bring everything to a proper conclusion.”

“Father-in-law. What do you mean by that…”

“Unfortunately, there’s not much time left.”

Just as I was trying to identify the source of my unease, Dao Zun cut in.

“There’s a guest outside.”

A guest?

Her graceful brows furrowed slightly.

“A guest who shouldn’t be here. It seems things have gone quite awry.”

“……”

“More importantly, the Six Paths Veil’s power is being depleted. I’d like to give you time for a proper farewell, but this is it.”

Just as our meeting was sudden, so too was our parting.

Yet I didn’t feel regret or despair.

The figure before me now was nothing more than a thought-form.

If I survive and continue ascending, one day I’ll reunite with the true body of my father-in-law who became a Demon Immortal.

“I see. But truly, for the last time.”

Cheon Taejong grasped my shoulder.

“There’s one thing I must pass on. No, it’s more of a piece of information than a transmission.”

“Information?”

What soon flowed from Cheon Taejong’s mouth was something truly unexpected.

“A way for you to ascend to the Heavenly Demon’s Throne.”

I straightened my attire and exited the underground training chamber.

‘It seems at least a few months have passed.’

Judging from the musty smell coming from my clothes, it hadn’t been just a day or two.

I followed Dao Zun and welcomed the guests who had arrived at the Southern Murim Alliance Main Camp.

And the moment I confirmed the identity of that guest—

I understood why Cheon Taejong had once again asked me to take care of Yura, and why he had revealed the method to ascend to the Heavenly Demon’s Throne.

“Y-Young Master Jin…”

“Lady Sa?”

Sa Biyeon, who was supposed to protect Yura at her side, had arrived here looking completely ragged like a beggar.

“Young Master Jin. The Cult Leader… the Cult Leader…!”

The moment she saw me, she broke into sobs and collapsed on the spot.

Something had gone wrong in our Cult.

And something had happened to Yura.

I wanted to abandon everything and rush to the Cult immediately, but with events already in motion, that wasn’t an option.

As I struggled with the feeling that I might lose my mind any moment, I turned to the woman who had brought Sa Biyeon.

“What… happened?”

“……”

“Ghostly Strategist Immortal Cheon Eunryeong.”

Vice Captain of the Heavenly Thunder Corps, Ghostly Strategist Immortal Cheon Eunryeong.

Also an aide to Cheon Jumyeong, she couldn’t withstand the killing intent I radiated and collapsed on the spot.

“If you don’t answer properly, I’ll kill you.”

“T-that is…”

I didn’t know why she had brought Sa Biyeon out of there.

But.

I had no room in me to consider that now.

“K-killing intent… p-please…”

Only after I retracted my killing intent did Cheon Eunryeong manage to catch her breath through gagging.

I showed no sympathy and immediately grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up.

“Speak.”

“H-he… this incident… was not by his will… he told me… to make sure you know that…”

“So? What happened to Yura?”

“I-I don’t know… exactly…”

“You think it ends with ‘I don’t know’?”

“Guh!”

Her barely stabilized gut twisted again, and blood started seeping from her seven apertures.

She couldn’t believe the situation she was in.

Even with all her inner power drawn to its maximum, she couldn’t withstand the pressure of just one presence.

And the opponent wasn’t even using any inner strength!

“M-m-monster…!”

At this rate, her organs would be crushed and burst from the inside.

As the fear of death crept up to her very nose, Cheon Eunryeong’s eyes rolled back and something trickled down her leg.

Sensing she would die of shock at this rate, I clicked my tongue and let go of her collar.

Thud!

Collapsed to the ground, she trembled like a worm.

Realizing I had overreacted, I sighed and pushed my inner force into her through her chest center.

After a long while, when I judged her to be stabilized, I asked again.

“Tell me. What happened to Yura?”

“A-ah…”

She looked at me as if I weren’t human, but something else, yet she finally regained her composure enough to swallow and speak.

“The Cult Leader… will be safe.”

“On what grounds?”

“He… wouldn’t allow the Cult Leader to die.”

“Nonsense.”

I dismissed Cheon Eunryeong’s nonsense outright.

“You think the likes of Cheon Jumyeong can guarantee Yura’s life?”

If Yura had truly been harmed, the Grand Heavenly Lord himself would’ve already made his move, no matter the circumstances.

There’s no way someone like Cheon Jumyeong could guarantee Yura’s life.

Just then—

“S-sacrifice…”

“……!”

“He said he’d buy as much time as he could… so come back… without delay…”

Even while trembling, Cheon Eunryeong relayed Cheon Jumyeong’s message to the end.

“He said… you’d understand if he put it that way…”

“……”

I lowered my head for a moment.

Only after realizing it wasn’t too late yet did my mind cool down.

“…Alright.”

Considering the Grand Heavenly Lord’s objective, Yura couldn’t die just yet.

In fact, her death would ruin the Grand Heavenly Lord’s entire plan.

Because what the Grand Heavenly Lord sought in the Divine Demonic Physique wasn’t just the flesh.

I slowly raised my head and turned my gaze to the southeast.

“Even if it’s a bit rough, I need to finish this fast and return.”

The direction I turned to was where a presence had been tickling my senses for a while now.

It was where one of the Four Atrocities, Gunggi, resided.

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