What was that man?
Leaving aside the fact that he had suddenly descended out of empty air—
Seomdo’s head.
The branch chief’s head rolled lightly across the floor. He was the man I had been speaking with not long ago.
Had that being killed him? Yes, that much was possible.
What is he?
More than Seomdo’s death, that being’s appearance was the problem. Every nerve in my body stood on end. A prickling sensation ran through me.
The energy I had been pouring out until just now had simply been something that crushed the opponent through quantity alone. But that being—
It’s condensed.
A force leaked from him even while he stood still. Killing intent compressed to an unfathomable degree, and an atmosphere that could not be approached.
What is this?
What kind of person was he? The only thing I could tell was that he belonged to Sky-Crushing Palace.
I could tell that much from the energy he carried.
Strong.
He was disgustingly strong.
The concentrated pressure and the atmosphere I felt from him said as much. My breathing wavered. The sensation I felt while looking at him kept screaming at me.
If we fought, I might die.
“Are you Moon Hero?”
The man asked.
“That’s right. And you?”
“Ha-ha.”
At my words, the man laughed. The sound of his laughter made the air ripple.
“Is it proportional to your reputation? Your speech is quite short. What should I do? Should I cut your tongue down by that much?”
A sharp chill.
I felt killing intent. Each and every word he spat carried something inside it.
I felt it and laughed.
“Then did you come here to make friends with me? That’s a little too much of a gift for that.”
My gaze went to Seomdo’s head.
“I happened to have something to say to that gentleman.”
“What a coincidence. I, too, had something to say to that piece of trash, so I finished speaking with him.”
“It doesn’t look like you talked.”
“It was a conversation.”
Tap. Tap.
A scythe spun in his hand. When? When had he taken out that scythe? I had not seen him draw his weapon.
No matter how I looked at it, the conclusion was the same.
He’s dangerous.
A seed of Sky-Crushing Palace. Seeing that, I also fidgeted with something inside my coat. The dagger. As I touched it, I thought,
Do you know anything?
We also had an information source for Sky-Crushing Palace. It was not exactly that useful, but I thought this side might know.
[Ah.]
Dohyang looked at the man and spoke.
[If he’s holding a scythe, that must be the Death God.]
Death God?
That was an excessively grand title. A being with the derogatory name of a god?
[One of Sky-Crushing Palace’s Four Kings. The Death God who uses a scythe. If my guess is right, that’s him.]
“...”
One of the Four Kings. Did that mean he was a master on the same level as Primal Origin Blade? My eyes narrowed. To confirm, I asked him,
“What is Sky-Crushing Palace’s Death God doing all the way here?”
“...”
The man, who had shown no particular reaction to my words, finally moved then.
“Ha.”
A short burst of laughter. At that moment, the air shook.
“Interesting. I never imagined my name would come out of that mouth.”
“What’s so impressive about that?”
So that was the answer. Damn it. He really was one of the Four Kings. Why was a bastard like that here?
“The Palace Lord did mention you, but I had no idea it would be to this extent. Or is it not that? Is the Azure Moon Sect more outstanding than expected?”
“Is that important? The important thing right now is that you appeared and wrecked the place.”
“Oh, it is important. How could it not be? You wicked, foolish thing. The more you speak, the more important business I find myself gaining.”
My eyes widened. Moon Eye caught something.
[Do not move.]
The Heavenly Demon’s warning followed. At those words, my body, which had been about to move, stopped.
Crack!
Something grazed past my side. When I looked beside me, a stone pillar was being sliced apart and collapsing.
Hard aura.
Hard aura had sharply brushed past my side. What was that? Moon Eye had aimed at the spot where I had been standing.
“Oho.”
The Death God spoke.
“You dodged that. How did you dodge it?”
Could I call that dodging? I had only stayed still. Even so, I could tell.
I wasn’t even careless.
I had been pouring every one of my five senses toward that bastard with everything I had. Even so, I had failed to grasp it.
This was maddening.
“I intended to half-kill you and then have a conversation. But if this is how it is, the situation is different—”
The Death God spun the scythe around and around.
I heard a clinking sound. It was the chain connected to the scythe.
“Brat of the Azure Moon Sect. Since the Palace Lord looks favorably upon you, I will not kill you. First, I shall ask.”
The Death God’s killing intent reacted. At that moment—
Whoosh!
Peng Dojun. Wrapped in ink-black hard aura, he swung his greatblade.
“Are you the one who took the jade stone?”
Just before the greatblade reached the Death God’s neck—
Crack!
“Guh!”
With a small sound, Peng Dojun was flung away. A pale fingertip floated in the air.
Rumble!
Peng Dojun’s body slammed into the wall and stiffened. He was not dead.
“An adult is speaking, is he not?”
The Death God spoke quietly. A chill ran over me again.
“You stay still as well. I do not wish to commit needless slaughter. Especially not against children like you.”
“...”
Yu Yeon froze while drawing her sword. Fighting spirit raged around the Death God. Cloud Dragon and Poison Dragon. Even Yu Yeon had taken their stances.
“Or will your mouth open only after I kill all these children?”
As if that was nothing at all, the Death God said it while looking at me. Hearing him, I wrinkled the bridge of my nose.
“What was the question again?”
I fidgeted with my sword. The Heavenly Demon Divine Sword slowly slid free. Shring. Even until I drew the sword, the Death God made no particular movement.
“I asked whether you were the one who took the jade stone.”
“...The jade stone...? I don’t know what that is. But what happens if I say I did?”
“Nothing much.”
I could hear laughter in the Death God’s voice.
“I will simply take you away, split open your belly while you are alive, and extract your dantian.”
“That’s a brutal thing to say.”
“And I must also learn how you took the jade stone.”
Thud!
The Death God threw something else. A stone. That was—
The jade stone.
It was the thing I had taken from the cave.
“You seem to know that this worthless thing was colluding with Sky-Crushing Palace. But how did you know there was a jade stone? That should not have been possible. Was it truly your doing?”
“From the way you’re talking, it sounds like you’ve already decided.”
“No... That is why I am asking. If I hear your answer, I will know.”
Clink. The chain thrashed against the floor. If he heard my answer, he would know? What was he planning to do if I lied?
“Yes. I did it.”
So I told him. I said it as the truth, without a lie.
“Mm.”
The Death God nodded.
[Lower yourself.]
“It is true.”
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
Something behind me was cut away. It was right after I hurriedly lowered my head. Something shot out in front of me.
A knee.
Thud!
The instant I grasped it, my head shot upward. Even though I blocked it with my hand, the impact came through.
“Ghk.”
I clenched my teeth. There was no time to organize my thoughts. Wooong! The Heavenly Demon Divine Sword cried. I used Moonbolt and immediately reached body-and-sword unity.
Time slowed. Then I saw it. The scythe was digging toward my shoulder.
I moved with a grinding motion and dodged it.
Crash!
Dust rose. Beyond the thick dust, I saw something. A chain. Its end was rushing toward me, and the Death God—
He’s watching me.
His gaze moved. Fast.
Crash!
Dust rose here and there. Looking closely at the end of the chain, an iron ball was attached to it. I blocked it with my sword, but—
Boom!
My body was flung away as it was.
Damn it.
The impact was heavy. Even using body-and-sword unity, this was what happened.
“You are quick. Body-and-sword unity, is it? Truly a tremendous talent.”
His voice sounded admiring, but it meant nothing. His body reached the front of mine.
The scythe dug toward my neck.
Clang!
A sword cut in and deflected it. Yu Yeon. She had found this opening and flown in.
Swish!
Hidden weapons tore through the air. Ten Thousand Flowers Rain. Poison Dragon used his secret technique from long range. Perhaps because he really had trained hard, he certainly looked better than before.
Behind the hidden weapons, Cloud Dragon moved as well. Daoist energy wrapped around his body.
“You work well together.”
They pushed with numbers. A joint attack they had never practiced together naturally formed, but—
“However, it is nothing more than child’s play.”
The Death God said that briefly.
Rooooar!
The chain rolling across the floor rose into the air and swept through everything.
Crash-crash-crash!
It was a single storm. When the raging wind pressure subsided—
“Cough...!”
Poison Dragon’s hidden weapons had fallen to °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the floor, and the caster was bleeding.
Yu Yeon was sprawled half-kneeling on the ground, and Cloud Dragon was embedded in the wall like Peng Dojun.
“Not bad. Children these days grow so quickly. For younger-generation prodigies, you were excellent.”
The Death God, who gave that evaluation, was standing exactly where he had been.
“What a shame. It would have been wonderful if children like that were in the Palace.”
He did not look injured in the slightest. I felt the difference in rank.
So this is...
What beings among the upper ranks of absolute masters were like? Would it feel like this if the Lesser Moon Unit leader stood as an enemy?
Whether I had touched the Transformation Realm or whatever else, facing him directly made him a massive wall. When I faced Primal Origin Blade, it was different because I had moved according to the Heavenly Demon’s will.
Now that I was stepping forward with my own body, there was no answer.
What do I do?
While I was thinking—
[Shall I help you?]
The Heavenly Demon asked.
Hearing that, I hesitated. If I received his help again, I would have to give him something. Because of that, I had become properly entangled with the Demonic Cult, and now I could not even guess what he would demand.
Even so—
It’s better than not doing it.
It was better than dying. If I left things like this, those guys would die too.
Just as I was about to ask for help—
Wait.
Something was strange.
Where is Freak Demon?
Another absolute master. Freak Demon had not involved himself in this matter. Thinking about it, that was strange. If I was in danger, he should have stepped in long ago.
Why was he staying still? Because it was dangerous? No.
Freak Demon doesn’t stay away from something like this.
At least as far as I had seen, he did not. He would not stand back just because it was a little dangerous. On the contrary, because I was in danger, he would use every method he had to interfere. Yet he was not even sending a voice transmission.
Which meant—
He’s not in a situation where he can send a voice transmission.
A point where someone could notice if he sent one.
And this is a situation where he does not need to interfere.
A situation where he did not need to step forward himself.
I realized that. Once I thought of it that way, one move came to mind.
Just one.
“...Please help me. This is a bit difficult.”
I said it aloud.
“Hmm?”
At my words, the Death God tilted his head. I had not been speaking to the Heavenly Demon.
[Goodness.]
Perhaps he knew that, because the Heavenly Demon expressed disappointment.
[You truly are quick-witted. What a pity.]
After he said that—
“What are you saying—”
The Death God spoke as if he did not understand.
“...!”
The Death God’s head moved. As if he had sensed something. But—
Slice.
By then, as if it was already too late, something was cut away.
“...Kgh...”
The Death God clutched his arm. His arm dangled. It had not been completely cut off.
“My body has aged.”
Someone was slowly approaching from the doorway.
“I should have cut the arm clean off. It seems my body has grown old and broken as well.”
Step. Step. A small body approached, gripping a sword.
“...Who are you?”
The Death God asked while clutching his arm.
To that question—
“You do not need to know.”
Sword Emperor.
The current greatest sword under heaven answered plainly.
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