Chapter 436: Do-ol (3)

“Destruction, huh…”

First Elder let out a faint groan as he read Cheon Jumyeong’s resolve.

“I thought you were merely an ambitious man walking a single path…”

“……”

A flame hidden behind those cold eyes, one that burned even his own self.

The moment he faced the true nature of that flame, First Elder admitted that he had gravely misjudged Cheon Jumyeong until now.

“Do you have a detailed plan?”

“Do you know what has been the most troublesome thing about them until now?”

Though it was a counter-question, First Elder answered after careful thought.

“It must be the tenacious survivability characteristic of their cell-like structure.”

“Exactly. Even when trying to find the root, it’s always ended with merely cutting off the tail.”

Cheon Jumyeong lightly tapped his index finger downward, indicating beneath them.

“But right now, the majority of their forces, including their ringleader the Grand Heavenly Lord, are all gathered within Ten Thousand Great Mountain.”

The enemy, confident in their victory, was boldly crawling into the light.

The Ten Heavenly Lords were brazenly showing their faces at the Elder Council—a situation unimaginable in the past was now reality.

“There’s nothing easier to stab in the back than enemies convinced of their victory.”

“But their power is no small matter. In the current state, even stabbing them wouldn’t let the blade sink in.”

“I am aware.”

With the Divine Cult’s forces torn to shreds in every direction, there was no way.

Especially that pale-white monstrosity that fought the Cult Leader—no matter how many masters of the Divine Cult attacked, they would only be slaughtered.

“My role is not to stab them.”

“Then what?”

Cheon Jumyeong fell silent for a moment, then turned sharply and began walking toward the exit.

“So you’re not going to tell me the end of it, huh.”

“…Did you know there are two ways to make a man angry?”

“Not interested.”

As First Elder sulked from his failed strike, Cheon Jumyeong said coldly,

“My kindness toward an old man who’s lost his martial arts ends here. Don’t think of interfering further—just stay hidden and try to preserve your life.”

“I do appreciate you breaking me out and treating my wounds. But…”

First Elder’s eyes gleamed subtly.

As he looked at Cheon Jumyeong’s back, he declared.

“I am still First Elder of the Seven Elders, and an Elder of the Divine Cult. As someone concerned for the Cult’s future, I must know what you’re planning.”

But in truth, this was merely an excuse.

What First Elder was truly worried about was none other than…

“Considering the true nature of you that I’ve discovered this time… there’s a real chance you might burn both the enemies and the Cult together.”

Halt.

Cheon Jumyeong’s steps halted just before the exit.

“……”

A long silence passed.

Finally, Cheon Jumyeong slightly turned his body.

On his lips was a faint, inscrutable bitter smile.

“Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”

“…You.”

The moment First Elder saw Cheon Jumyeong’s face, his own expression stiffened.

It was something First Elder had only seen a few times in his long life.

That was the face of someone who had resolved to die.

Not just with words—but someone who would prove their resolve through action.

“My war will proceed quietly… and very briefly. I’ll do my best to avoid harm to the cult members. So please understand my choice, First Elder.”

Choice.

The moment he heard that word, First Elder felt a strange sense of unease.

A hypothesis flashed through his mind.

“Could it be, Myeong, are you planning to become a traitor!?”

“……”

Ssshhh.

Cheon Jumyeong turned around once again.

“With my abilities, trying to become a hero would only repeat the failures of history. If that’s the case, then rather…”

As he stepped through the door, Cheon Jumyeong left his final words.

“…I’ll be satisfied with opening the path for someone trustworthy.”

Heavenly Flower Devouring Technique.

A divine sorcery of Yorang, it ignored all compatibility and absorbed all power into itself.

Of course, he had no need for a bastard’s power like that.

The only thing that mattered was ensuring the bastard couldn’t escape.

Oppression Twist.

Crunch! Crackle!

Do-ol’s main body began crumpling under the strain of the divine sorcery.

“Gaaaaaah!”

With his escape blocked, Do-ol let out a scream of unbearable agony.

It must have been excruciatingly painful—enough that the creature, which had only communicated through spirit speech until now, was forced to speak through Cheon Jumun’s mouth.

I approached the suppressed Do-ol.

“If, if you kill me like this, you will never recover this body again! Are you really fine with that?!”

Perhaps he truly thought he might die, because his speech began to hasten frantically.

“If you spare me, I swear I’ll return the body and soul to him without resistance!”

—A lie.

Yorang scoffed and dismissed Do-ol’s words.

—Once one of the Four Atrocities has seized a body, there’s no way the soul of a mere human remains intact. It’s surely been crushed beyond repair.

“……”

I wanted to deny it, but I couldn’t.

After the body has been so twisted and defiled, there’s no guarantee the soul would be unharmed.

Do-ol, sensing the aura growing colder, screamed at Yorang in fury.

“Y-you! No matter who you are, you cannot fully annihilate me with the stature of a mere food spirit!”

—Hmph…

A slight hesitation could be felt in Yorang’s tone.

—If I had my original Heavenly Flower Devouring Technique, I could easily devour him, but he’s not wrong. At best, I could only seal him now.

Of course, with Yorang’s weakened power, sealing would be the limit.

That is, if we were relying on Yorang’s power alone.

“You’re misunderstanding something.”

“W-what?”

“The reason I used Yorang’s divine sorcery was simply to hold you in place.”

Wuuuung!

I gathered the current Heavenly Demonic Divine Art and began drawing out a different power.

“……!!”

My lower dantian pulsed.

An immense transcendental force surged, revealing a completely different pattern of power unlike anything so far.

Do-ol blinked as he saw it.

“The Heavenly Demon’s… power?”

Even with the same Heavenly Demonic Divine Art, its properties and nature differ slightly depending on the practitioner.

Though the source may be the same, past successors who reached the Supreme Demon Realm each realized their own answer, causing its nature to differ.

But what he was seeing now…

Was none other than the power of the First Heavenly Demon—the Heavenly Demon Founder.

“Until now, I lacked the capability to draw out the essence of this power… but things have changed.”

“H-how…?”

“By fate, I inherited that one’s advancement.”

And it wasn’t merely the advancement.

Back at Yoo Family’s Sacred Mountain, I absorbed all of the Founder’s Fragments that the Heaven-Defying Society had been gathering for centuries.

Those fragments had been dormant until I reached the Supreme Demon Realm—and only now were they beginning to awaken.

Wuuuung!

Instead of the light of black gold, a thick, slimy black-red energy began to flow like smoke.

Simultaneously, an unknown madness surged from within.

That madness could not erode my soul, as it was blocked by a vast light—but sensing the blood-red sky, it raged all the more fiercely.

“N-no matter if it’s the Heavenly Demon’s power, it shouldn’t be this…”

As he sensed the lingering resonance of the power flowing from my entire body, Do-ol suddenly widened his eyes.

Then, with a tone of disbelief, he spoke.

“How… how can the power of Heavenly Evil be coming from you…?!”

“Hm?”

The power of Heavenly Evil?

—Well, of course. Since you acquired the Heavenly Demon’s power, the power fused with it—Heavenly Evil—could also manifest to some extent…

“N-no, it’s more than that! Haven’t you realized?!”

As if he saw something neither I nor Yorang could perceive, fear began to creep into Do-ol’s gaze.

“Were you a destined host from the beginning? N-no… that can’t be. But if not, then… s-someone must have transferred their power to you, or awakened a dormant force…”

“Hey, what kind of nonsense are you babbling?”

“If, if this is how it is, then the Grand Heavenly Lord’s plan… uwaaaaagh!”

Rumble!

Suddenly, Do-ol’s power began surging explosively.

“What?”

This wasn’t a hidden power being released.

It was like a martial artist invoking innate qi with death in mind.

He too was detonating the power of his origin, ready to vanish.

That wasn’t all.

Unbothered by the destruction of his own consciousness, he began drawing in all surrounding energy to break free from the restraints of Heavenly Flower Devouring Technique.

—T-this lunatic?!

Yorang was aghast at Do-ol’s sudden desperation.

—If you struggle like that, there will be no recovering from the aftermath! I don’t know what you saw, but this is a choice that benefits no one!

—S-shut up!

Ignoring Yorang’s warning, Do-ol poured everything he had into unleashing his power.

In an instant, his form began to swell into that mass of flesh I had first seen.

‘This is bad.’

At this rate, the barrier deployed by the Illusion Clan would be shattered immediately, and the entire situation here would be broadcast across all of Ten Thousand Great Mountain.

That’s when it happened.

Pop!

Suddenly, the creature’s swelling side burst open.

—…Huh?

No, to be precise, it didn’t explode—rather, a human hand had thrust itself out through the gap.

‘Could that be…?’

Crack!

This time, with a sound of something tearing, another arm burst from the opposite side.

Just as I grimaced at the grotesqueness of the scene beyond description—

—T-this guy?! He’s reclaiming his consciousness…!

“Annoying.”

—……!!

The face of Cheon Jumun, which had until now been part of Do-ol, finally opened its mouth with the voice I remembered.

Crack! Craack!

The swollen mass of flesh peeled away like hardened scabs.

—You bastard! How dare you! A mere human, how dare youuuuu!

“I said, be quiet.”

Do-ol’s voice began to fade, as if being sucked away somewhere.

And from where all the flesh had fallen off, Cheon Jumun’s fully human form burst out—naked and intact.

Yorang was astonished at the sight.

—Unbelievable. He managed to preserve his soul?

‘Did the strain from forcibly drawing out that power create a crack?’

—Probably. But it’s also true his soul has become a rag, so he’ll reach his limit soon. Even now, there’s a fierce struggle for control happening inside him.

Whatever the reason, I never expected to reunite with him like this.

Cheon Jumun, who had been squirming on the ground for a moment, slowly got up.

With his characteristically hollow eyes, he looked at me and spoke weakly.

“It’s been a while.”

“Yes… it has been a while.”

“How long has it been since I lost consciousness…?”

“It’s been at least over a year.”

“…I see.”

A look of regret surfaced on Cheon Jumun’s face.

Drip.

Then, suddenly, blood began to flow from his Seven Orifices.

“……!”

“Don’t make a fuss. This is just a brief moment of clarity before the end.”

The end, he said.

“I’ve ended up burdening Jumyeong. I’ve only dragged down his plans.”

“……”

“If possible, I would have liked to give my head to Byeok Cheon-un or Myeong-oh… that would have been better.”

Unexpected words.

But for me, they were also somewhat moving.

“You… you feel guilt toward Gu Chil?”

Cheon Jumun showed me a faint smile for the first time.

“I’ve never regretted what I did. But guilt… I’ve kept a piece of it buried in my heart.”

“……”

“Tell Byeok Cheon-un… no, tell Gu Chil.”

Unexpected words flowed from Cheon Jumun’s lips.

“From now on, he is the next Grand Lord of the Demonic Ghost Execution Squad.”

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