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Chapter 69: The World Where the Stars Died (1)

She suddenly became afraid due to how loud the snowstorm was. It drowned out her voice.

“Mom!”

She could see that her mother’s figure was still far away and grew anxious. She had to walk faster to catch up with her mother. However, the more she walked, the more out of breath she became, and the smaller her voice was.

What should she do? Should she stop shouting and walk faster? Or should she stop walking and shout with all she had? How could she catch up with her mother? The young Heavenly Demon didn’t know. While she was searching for an answer, her mother’s shadow got a little further.

“Mom!” In the end, Soh Baekhyang stopped. “Mom!”

When she stopped walking, she could shout louder. She realized that moving had been draining her voice until now.

She thought that her mother would now turn and look at her, and that her shadow would become more distinct. Instead, the shadow somehow got further away while Soh Baekhyang had been shouting. Her mother’s shadow was soon buried in the snowstorm and became part of the snowfield.

Did her mother use the snow as an excuse to abandon her? Or did her mother actually lose her? Soh Baekhyang didn’t—and couldn’t—know.

* * *

[You have died.]

After a moment, I opened my eyes and found myself in a world of endless darkness. This was my hell.

[It has been determined that your death met the requirement for the Skill’s activation.]

[Duplicating Soh Baekhyang’s Skills at random.]

[Creating Skill Cards.]

Cards floated in front of me, but I wasn’t interested right now. I let out a heavy breath. Mr. Sword Emperor, did you memorize the file?

—Somewhat. The Guardian scratched the back of his head.

The file was more important. It was the compilation of the Chemist’s and the Medicine King’s desperate research. Due to the Heavenly Demon’s Qi Deviation and the hell she wreaked, I didn’t get the time to calmly memorize the file.

—If we combine what you and I memorized, we’ll be able to get a rough picture of the puzzle. We have to go back quickly before we forget...

Okay. I nodded. Then let’s first choose the Skill quickly.

—Hmm. The Guardian moved in the air to look at the back of the cards. He recited quite a few Skills. One of the Heavenly Demon’s Skills caught our eye.

Demonic Heaven Arts

Class: A+

Effect: The Heavenly Demon Cult curses the laws of nature. Instead of stopping at loathing, they created a cult and formed doctrines of their own. The Demonic Heaven Art contains the essence of the doctrines.

Those who learn the Demonic Heaven Art can tear apart the heavens and crush Mount Tai! However, they must fully comprehend the hatred and curses contained in the forms of the arts. The greater their hatred of the world, the less the heavens will hold sway over them.

The one who masters the Demonic Heaven Arts will soon overthrow the heavens, becoming the Heavenly Demon.

※However, it becomes difficult to maintain your rationality when using the Demonic Heaven Arts.

It was an incredibly grandiose, arrogant name, but I couldn’t deny that it was appropriate.

...This is the martial arts we saw earlier, right? I asked the Guardian.

The Heavenly Demon was just that powerful. She had just swung her sword from afar, and the Medicine King’s head had fallen off. The Viper had died after three attacks. Even though I had been confident that I was quite well trained after defeating the Demon King of Autumn Rain, I couldn’t even track the trajectory of the Heavenly Demon’s sword. It was truly a heavenly move.

—It’s typical demonic martial arts. The Guardian frowned. In the end, whether it’s martial arts or formations, it’s all a matter of how you approach the world.

Approach the world? I asked.

—Yeah. If you try to embrace the world, you generally belong to the Righteous Faction. Those in a demonic cult tend to rage against it. That’s why the Righteous Faction martial artists make their bodies vessels to accept the world while those in a demonic cult turn themselves into claws to hurt the world...

The Guardian unfolded his arms.

—I’ll give you a very simple example. In some sects, a downward slash is called a Tiger Strike because it embodies the spirit of a lunging tiger.

The Guardian got into a stance and swung his arms.

I flinched. It was only for a moment, but it really felt like a savage beast was lunging at me. Although I sometimes forgot because of how pathetic he acted, the Guardian was the Sword Emperor. He was a warrior who had almost conquered the tower through the strength of his sword alone.

—Well, it doesn’t matter if it’s a tiger or an ox. The basic forms vary greatly depending on what kind of enlightenment the creator of the martial arts had. Anyway, the important part is to imitate them, even if just a little.

To imitate and thereby make something of the world mine—that was what the Guardian meant by embracing the world.

—But the demonic martial arts are different. The Guardian got into the same form as earlier. There are these things a demonic cult says when they teach their disciples their forms.

The Guardian stepped forward.

—“Recall how angry you were when a thief stabbed you in the stomach.”

Space was slit. I involuntarily took a step back, but that was because of the Guardian’s face. I could only see unfathomably cold anger in his eyes. It was like he was a completely different person.

—“Remember the moment a magistrate of your homeland took away your younger sister. Don’t forget how weak you were. You couldn’t do anything but wait in front of the government office all night. Recall the look on your younger sister’s face when she returned at dawn as a cold corpse.”

The Guardian performed a sword dance. Even though he wasn’t holding a sword, I felt like I could see it in his hand for some reason. His sword was as dark as the world we were standing in.

—“Think about when you buried your younger sister’s body by yourself. Was it winter? Wasn’t the ground frozen hard so that you couldn’t dig? Did you have to claw your way into the frozen ground? Didn’t your fingernails break and bleed?”

—“But you still couldn’t get far; you had to lay your sister’s body in a shallow, scrappy hole. Did you place her feet first before you piled cold dirt on top of her? You couldn’t bear to cover your sister’s face until the end. Did you also have to sprinkle dirt on her face one handful at a time?”

It was suffocating. As the Guardian’s sword dance continued, this infinite world seemed to shrink down little by little. I even felt a little dizzy. Even though the Guardian was just moving his hands and arms, his resentment made my skin sting.

—“Remember the feeling of that dirt in your hands. Seize the sword like the earth of your sister’s grave. Wield the sword as you think about the moment you sprinkled the dirt on your sister’s face. Lament how powerless you are, and hate how cruel the world is.”

I shut my eyes and mumbled, Claw the world...

—Yes.

When the Guardian lowered his arms, the suffocating feeling finally went away.

—It’s part of their mind art in using their qi—a method of motivating themselves to push past their limits. Regardless of whether you’re a martial artist or a Hunter, the outcome of a fight will depend on how well you use qi or aura. Simply put, it’s a battle of energy. The demonic martial arts users tend to release thicker energy. The Guardian shrugged as if it wasn’t that big of a deal. Anyway, you don’t need to learn it, Zombie.

I quietly looked at the silver-colored Skill Card.

—You actually don’t need to learn any other martial arts. Who am I? I’m the Sword Emperor! You’re looking at the best martial artist in the universe. You may not know this, but you’re already slowly learning my exquisite martial arts! Compared to mine, the Demonic Heaven whatever is just trash—

I want to learn it, I blurted.

—...Huh? The Guardian blinked.

I’m going to learn this Demonic Heaven Arts.

—Uh, uh...uh... The Guardian just blinked over and over. It took about three seconds for him to regain his ability to speak. Why?

Because I want to.

— Compared to my martial arts, this is trash! the Guardian raged. Zombie, did the Heavenly whosit’s sword show get to your head? Ah, shit. I’m gonna crazy. The only reason it was that good was because she burned all her vital force to enter the realm of Life and Death! It’s called doping—life force doping! Zombie, a martial artist should not get high on life force doping!

I chuckled. Are you upset that I’m trying to learn martial arts from someone other than you?

—Whaaaaaaat?

Don’t worry. Of course I know your martial arts are the best in the universe, Mr. Sword Emperor. I’m not trying to learn the Demonic Heaven Arts because I don’t know that.

—Hmm... The Guardian’s nose twitched.

It seemed that he felt better after I talked him up a little. This ghost was really easy to handle.

—Yes, I’m the strongest...but then, why are you trying to learn the cult’s Demonic Heaven Arts?

I want to clear this stage perfectly.

In other words, I was going to bring this world to the right ending.

Let’s say the cure is made. Only the Heavenly Demon and the Murim Alliance\'s leader can be saved. The other people have been dead for over two years... There’s no way they would come back to life just because they’re treated. Right?

—You’re right. The Guardian’s brows furrowed.

Then how would it all end? The Murim Alliance\'s leader and the Heavenly Demon become the new Adam and Eve of this brand new world? Mr. Sword Emperor, does that seem like a good ending to you?

The Guardian looked like he had eaten a bug. He’d probably just pictured the Heavenly Demon and the Murim Alliance\'s leader as a married couple.

— No, that’s not right... Seriously, that’s awful. I cannot see the two of them becoming a lovey-dovey couple. It makes me sick...

Right?

I looked in front of me.

[Choose a Skill Card.]

The cards whirled wildly around me. However, I had already set my eye on one card and lost it.

Creating a cure is only the first step to creating a good ending. A great ending really depends on whether the characters in the story are satisfied... I extended my arm and snatched the card. I want to give them a perfectly satisfying ending.

[You have chosen a Skill Card.]

[Copying the Skill.]

It wasn’t over, of course.

[Your Hunter Class is E.]

[Initiating your Skill penalty.]

I had to cross the Heavenly Demon’s nightmare and brave the grudges in her heart.

[Recreating your killer’s trauma.]

[The penalty’s intensity level is intermediate.]

[The penalty’s theme is the Preta Realm.]

Still, it wasn’t the first hell I’d crossed, and it wouldn’t be the last. I was pretty sure I would get a chance to revisit the hells I’d been to.

* * *

After returning to yesterday, I committed suicide eight more times to return to the expedition team’s first day in the apocalyptic book.

“... It’s cold!” the Viper cried, just like the last time.

Facing the cold seeping into their bones, the Chemist and the Medicine King instinctively wrapped their arms around themselves.

The snowstorm whistled and hissed. The Chemist had already started sneezing.

“Achoo! W-why is it so cold? Isn’t this murim

?”

“It’s like the Siberian plain...”

We were back in the snowfield I’d become familiar with over the last ten days. However, the other team members panicked.

I took the Chemist’s hand without saying anything.

“Ah.” The Chemist bowed slightly. “T-thank you, Mr. Death King.”

A memory from not too long ago flashed across my mind.

“I still believe in you.”

The memory of the Chemist’s upper body discarded on the scarlet-tinted snow made me feel a little nauseous, but I didn’t let it show.

“It’s nothing,” I quietly told her. “Sect Master, please take care of the Medicine King.”

“Okay!” the Viper answered.

I led the group this time.

“I saw a glimpse of someone’s shadow over there just now,” I told them.

The snowstorm soon subsided and unveiled a forest of shadows—no, corpses.

The Viper was bewildered. “...What are these? Why are all of them frozen?”

“They look like zombies.” I touched the corpse’s face.

“Huh? Zombies?”

“Yeah, look at this.” I pointed to a zombie’s teeth. “Their teeth are crusted with some kind of flesh. It’s possible that people here don’t have the habit of brushing their teeth after eating, but this is a bit too much. Which means they bit something, like an animal...”

My assertions made the Chemist lean in seriously. She looked inside the corpse’s mouth. “... It’s true. The DNA of the corpse and the flesh in the mouth don’t match. They’re two different people.”

“I-isn’t it possible that they ate human flesh?” the Medicine King asked, disgusted. “You know, people used to perform cannibalism. I don’t think they’re necessarily zombies...”

“The date of death doesn\'t add up that way.” The Chemist adjusted her glasses. “The corpse died about three years ago while the flesh is two years from today. That’s impossible unless the corpse was alive for one more year. It’s hard to imagine, but...yes, I think it’s a creature like a zombie, like Mr. Death King said.”

“I-I hate those monsters from horror movies! Do something about it!”

“Um... Sir, there’s nothing I can help you with there...” The Chemist awkwardly scratched her cheek.

Okay. I nodded.

The expedition team understood the situation much faster than last time. They wouldn’t panic even when the zombies started to move. Humans reacted completely differently depending on whether or not they could anticipate the outcome. Above all, the research compiled for the past few days was stored in my head.

“Miss Chemist and Mr. Medicine King.”

“Yes?”

“Huh?”

“I have an interesting Skill, although I can’t tell you what that is. According to the analysis from my Skill...”

I explained the research part by part. My memory wasn’t perfect, so I wasn’t able to memorize the entire file, but when the Heavenly Demon had killed me, I had gone back a day, giving me time to recite the file again. The Guardian had also helped.

After hearing my explanation, the Chemist was deep in thought. “... Amazing. The research methodology is perfect. I can’t find any flaws. It’s just like I did the research myself...but the terminology is completely different from mine. Anyhow, it’s really, really amazing. You have an incredible Skill, Mr. Death King.”

The Chemist looked at me with admiration, but from my perspective, she was praising herself. I guess that the Chemist considers herself to be a “really, really amazing” person. Wasn’t her confidence the amazing thing in this bleak world? That was what I thought, at least.

“Hmm. This is good—it’ll speed up the research,” the Medicine King mused. He didn’t think too much about the whole situation. “Anyway, I want to get away from the zombies. Ugh. It would be nice if there was somewhere warm to stay...”

“...Hahahaha!”

Out of nowhere, we heard someone laugh. I couldn’t tell who it was the last time, but not this time. The laughter came from an old man who was the Namgung Clan’s Grand Patriarch and also the Murim Alliance\'s leader.

“The Heavenly Demon Cult’s rule ends today!”

“Hah! Even a dog would laugh at that.”

Naturally, I could also hear the Heavenly Demon’s voice. I walked toward them, making as little noise as possible as I trudged through the snow. The closer I got, the more vividly I remembered the moment the Heavenly Demon had confessed how she truly felt.

“I’m afraid.”

“As long as I am here, the Heavenly Demon Cult will remain the absolute ruler of murim.”

“The world is truly filled with terrors.”

“Buwolseon, it’s time for you to say goodbye to your meaningless dream of building the Righteous Faction’s murim.”

“Where is Namgung Woon! Call of the Grand Patriarch of the Namgung Clan! Bring me the Murim Alliance\'s leader!”

That woman was the strongest in this world, and that was why she survived until the very end. In the most tragic way possible, she was the last person standing.

Right now, she was still wearing her confident smile and taking the world head-on. She stood in the snow like a single dot on a blank sheet of paper. "For an old man, you certainly know how to talk. You aren\'t strong enough to kill them, and my Blood Demons are on a secret mission, so they\'re away right now... Hmm?"

I just hoped that the dot would become a line.

“You are...?” The Heavenly Demon’s eyes widened in disbelief as she beheld me walking toward her.

It was an understandable reaction. The Hunters and I were the first living people she had seen in years.

“Oh... Oh, am I seeing things right now? It moves like a living person...”

“Lady Heavenly Demon.” I arrived in front of her and slowly kneeled, flattening the cold snow beneath me.

“Huh?”

I didn’t know how long it would take, but I was prepared.

“I came far from outer murim after hearing of your greatness. I have deeply admired you for a long time. You are the greatest martial artist of all time!” I shouted. “Please accept me as your disciple, Lady Heavenly Demon!”

The Heavenly Demon stared at me, mouth agape, as if she had seen a ghost.