Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

[Ho... what do you plan to do? A mere human sorcerer like you.]

Jeon Gal-sa looked at me and spoke.

"Baek Woong, Are you listening?"

He continued slowly.

"Joining Myriad Ghosts Hall like this to avoid the world's destruction is one way, but Hyeon and I think the chances of Lord Jeon Wook taking the apostle's body as is are too high. At this rate, all we can do is watch helplessly."

At those words, Jeon Wook chuckled as if amused.

[Haha. An interesting guess.]

"Isn't that right, Jeon Wook? You Three Emperors and Five Emperors will purify humanity, then reclaim the human mold and creation formula to remake them. You're sorcerer masters and lords of profound science as well. So, there's no need to leave remnants of the old humanity like Baek Woong on the earthly plane, is there?"

[Indeed. Once this purification ends, the heavenly realm will cleanse the old humanity. I will take my apostle to Myriad Ghosts Hall.]

"You're truly set on destroying humanity."

[You're no different from dolls molded from clay. I'll craft the next ones with greater perfection.]

I was slightly shocked by Jeon Wook's words.

'Is this the true nature of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors...?'

I'd thought he treated me well and was favorable toward humans, but in the end, his perspective was no different from the [Old Rulers]. His words were so resolute that I couldn't even doubt them.

Jeon Gal-sa wore a strange expression as he spoke.

"So that's how it is. The Three Emperors and Five Emperors are truly impressive. So, should we just sit back and take it? Do you think living as ghosts in Myriad Ghosts Hall for a thousand or ten thousand years, feasting on human flesh, will be enjoyable? I don't mind, but I doubt my friends would."

[......]

"Baek Woong. We'll resist. We'll save you and uphold the human will."

Thud.

Without hesitation, Jeon Gal-sa drove a dagger into his own heart. Blood sprayed as his upper body was drenched in it, but amid that horrific sight, Jeon Gal-sa grinned.

"Hahaha! This life was fun! Let's play again."

No!

But it was already too late. A cloud of dark power surged from Jeon Gal-sa's heart and was sucked into a point in the void. Then, a dark dimensional gate suddenly opened, revealing countless eyes and pupils gazing at us from beyond the darkness.

Jeon Gal-sa's corpse began to be slowly drawn in.

I felt like I was going mad. Once again in this life, I couldn't stop Jeon Gal-sa from killing himself. And because of me!

'Damn it!!!'

At the same moment, the being beyond the darkness spoke to Jeon Wook. It seemed Jeon Wook couldn't touch his allies while aware of that presence.

[Received the Nameless Ritual Book and the sorcerer's soul as payment... You cannot touch these ones...]

Jeon Wook replied irritably.

[The sacred bone rotting in the jungle makes a heavy-footed appearance.]

[Heh... Fifth Emperor Jeon Wook. Do you think you can calculate the laws of causality?]

The [Old Ruler] known as the 'Ruler of the Jungle' chuckled and extended tentacles from beyond the dimensional gate.

[You might if you were an emperor, but you're not. You lack the capacity.]

Whoosh whoosh.

Gigantic tentacles that could blanket the heavens and earth filled my vision in an instant. Jeon Wook roared and drew forth his power.

[You reclusive outcast... don't underestimate me!]

My body expanded. Its essence remained the same, but Jeon Wook's divine body descended directly from Myriad Ghosts Hall, transforming into a colossal dark giant. The dark giant reached out, tearing at the tentacles, which burned away with grotesque shrieks as they were ripped off.

Boom.

A clash of supreme divinities! They manipulated space-time at will, wielding immense demonic power as effortlessly as breathing. The heavens and earth twisted in darkness as dimensions shattered into powder.

Sharing the senses of a god like Jeon Wook, I could see it clearly now.

'It's not about power or speed.'

Battles between divinities didn't use the units of force or speed from the material world. They were unbound by physical laws. Each movement toyed with time at whom, unleashing ineffable curses and sorceries. That was why Dokgo Jun couldn't even resist the [Old Ruler] in the imperial palace—he'd been overwhelmed by time manipulation.

Thus, size and appearance meant nothing; victory depended on the authority each possessed. Mortals couldn't even enter the conversation without a way to resist a god's space-time control.

But Jeon Wook, using my apostle body to lessen the burden of causality and wielding two Liberation Keys, easily swung his twin blades, slicing through the tentacles extended by the 'Ruler of the Jungle.' The conditions favored him utterly.

It was then, amid the fierce battle, as my mind began to fade into the distance, that Mang-ryang's shout reached me from afar.

"Baek Woong!!!"

Mang-ryang and Cheon Woo-jin had erected a barrier with sorcery, and Mi-ho, Sword Demon, and Jin So-cheong flew toward us under its protection. I instantly grasped Mang-ryang's plan.

"They aim to land a blow on Three Emperors and Five Emperors Jeon Wook!"

Reckless!

Even the Absolute Realm's Warrior Ancestor couldn't scratch him. Now that his true body had descended to the mortal world, it was utter folly. But as they closed in, the three compressed their power for a single-point breakthrough, charging at Jeon Wook's form like an arrow.

Jeon Wook irritably raised a hand to sweep them away. I realized that single motion would annihilate my allies and devastate every human city in a straight line, slaughtering millions.

"No!"

I poured all my will into stopping Jeon Wook.

In that instant, Jeon Wook's hand hesitated.

[Hm... Blessing of Heaven Splitter... Annoying.]

With the Blessing of Heaven Splitter's aid, I'd sealed one of Jeon Wook's moves, but the situation spiraled ever worse.

Boom.

"Cough... Baek Woong... wake..."

Sword Demon died first. He couldn't withstand Jeon Wook's aura, collapsing and perishing instantly. Though not directly struck, mere exposure to divine power overwhelmed a mortal body.

Next was Jin So-cheong.

Whoosh.

When he was about ten paces from me, Jin So-cheong poured his soul into a spear thrust. His charge compressed the distance to six paces in a flash, channeling the enlightenment of the Absolute Realm in a final, all-out effort. But that was his limit—the spear tip shattered to pieces.

"...This is the end..."

Leaving those last words, Jin So-cheong vanished into a storm of light.

"Baek Woong."

When she was almost upon me, Mi-ho mythagorized her tail and flew in. Her skin blackened near Jeon Wook's flesh, but resisting with yin divine power, she reached me and gripped my hand tightly.

Mi-ho's face was right before my eyes.

Holding my hand, she smiled.

"I'll protect you... even in the next life."

No.

No.

No!!!

The next moment, light exploded before me. Mi-ho's body self-destructed, expending her last vital energy. Her life flared brightly, shattering my mind.

Unexpectedly, Jeon Wook staggered slightly, damaged by the explosion that reached his heart.

[Groan... what? A mortal to my true body...?]

Jeon Wook seemed unable to believe it even after taking the hit. The yin divine power's blast must have shocked even a Three Emperors and Five Emperors. But I couldn't spare attention for his reaction.

'Why...'

This life was already lost.

We'd all sensed it the moment we were pushed back, forced to await Heaven's Sovereign. Our assault on Mount Tai to destroy Qin had been a desperate fail. Resisting Jeon Wook now would only prolong postmortem torment.

Yet my comrades had thrown their lives to save me from his grasp. I couldn't understand why, plunged into confusion. Qin was unbeatable, and so were the Three Emperors and Five Emperors—obvious facts.

I heard Mang-ryang shouting toward me.

"Baek Woong!!"

His face showed he'd abandoned hope of survival. Yet his will burned on as he yelled at me.

"We showed it's possible. So... so..."

Mang-ryang staggered. He could no longer endure the Three Emperors and Five Emperors' divine power; his body was crumbling. With a voice choked with tears, he bellowed.

"Don't give up!!"

With that cry, Mang-ryang and Cheon Woo-jin both dissolved into dust and scattered. Jeon Wook had casually exhaled his aura, erasing them.

"......"

No way.

Had they chosen death to show me how far our power could reach against the Three Emperors and Five Emperors? To pass on that sliver of information? To provide battle experience against them for future reincarnations, since death was inevitable anyway?

That alone couldn't explain it.

'Ah.'

Soon after, I understood the reason not with my head, but with my heart.

Because they were comrades.

Because we were comrades, they tried to save me.

Above all other reasons, that resolve had driven them to me.

Everything else was secondary.

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to go mad.

'No...'

I couldn't forgive myself. The helplessness of watching them die again gnawed at me. The enemy was too vast for vengeful rampage, and right now, I could barely hold my ego together.

To oppose an invincible transcendent—the [Old Ruler]-level being—was this what it meant?

Rage, helplessness, and despair tangled in chaos.

Then, it struck me how many must have felt this same despair.

Countless, surely.

The weak who knelt before irresistible power outnumbered grains of sand in the desert.

That wretched history of rage and despair was the very reality I lived in.

I gritted my teeth inwardly.

'I can't give up.'

What could I do in this situation?

I'd lost everything.

Because I'd lost everything, I could do something.

'If only I'd decided a little sooner...'

Amid profound regret, I cried out from within.

[Ruler of the Jungle! I desire.]

The foe replied as if waiting.

[What do you desire?]

This bastard devoured Jeon Gal-sa's soul in my 19th reincarnation and toyed with my life. I loathed bowing or submitting. Part of why I hadn't used reversal authority until now was this emotional stubbornness.

But now, I could cast aside such petty pride and charge solely toward destruction. Nothing remained for me. Even eternal hellfire was fine if I could avenge my comrades.

Let this reincarnation end here.

I prayed only that this gamble succeeded.

[I offer everything I have. Eliminate the Three Emperors and Five Emperors.]

The Ruler of the Jungle gave a wicked laugh. He'd waited for me to abandon all, appearing here at this moment.

[Good... your despair is a fine sight...]

Am I just to be used and discarded...?

No guarantee he'd beat Jeon Wook or the Three Emperors and Five Emperors. But even so, I wanted to see Jeon Wook perish. Otherwise, I'd go insane.

Rumble.

It was then.

[What?!]

Jeon Wook was startled. Not just him—the Ruler of the Jungle battling with tentacles also showed alarm.

[No such thing can exist in the cosmos! This isn't a soul...]

Boom boom boom.

It was bizarre. The Ruler of the Jungle's tentacle masses exploded at once, and the jungle he inhabited ignited entirely in chaos flames. Even an [Old Ruler] couldn't endure that blaze; he hastily withdrew his bulk to evade the fire.

Shrieeeek.

A corner of Dark Heaven Village collapsed space itself. Bird-like servant races worshipping the Ruler of the Jungle were massacred. Chaos crept forth, voraciously devouring life. It looked like the harbinger of doom.

The Ruler of the Jungle silently gazed at the scars of ruin, then muttered.

[The center of time has closed.]

Jeon Wook panicked greatly.

[You bastard! What have you done?!]

Time suddenly rolled, destabilizing the space-time he stood upon. The time he controlled with his authority cycled through restoration and destruction, regressing to chaos.

Boom.

At the same time, watching his forearm explode, Jeon Wook muttered blankly.

[I... I, who cannot endure the chaos of space-time...? No... that is...]

Whoooosh.

Something from cosmic primordial chaos approached this land.

Absolute silence descended.

Moments later, the Ruler of the Jungle spoke as if realizing something.

[In this instant, the great wheel... moves...!!]

Flash.

With the blaze of light, everything vanished.

That was my 22nd death.

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