Question.
If the Plague Demonic Spirit was slain, if this endless cycle came to an end and peace finally returned to the Imperial City, how would it feel?
It was a thought that popped into Yeon Ri’s mind as she stared blankly at the sky while idly pushing aside an empty bowl that had once held meatballs in the quiet, peaceful mansion of the Hwalseong District.
The boy who had posed that question had stood against the backdrop of a burning Imperial Capital. He was smiling despite being drenched in blood.
It had been when the fully resurrected Plague Demonic Spirit once again reduced the entire city to flames; when people screamed and perished; when the once-blue sky became choked with ominous storm clouds.
Had they failed again?
With emotions long worn away, she felt nothing as she prepared to rewind time once more.
Yet, even amidst this nightmarish scene, perhaps something about her detached, indifferent gaze had stirred an emotion within him.
Even though his body was covered in wounds, he had struggled to lift his head and speak to her.
– One day, when this seemingly endless cycle finally reaches its end, when this trial that felt eternal is over…
– I hope that by then… you’ll be smiling.
Once again, they had failed to kill the Plague Demonic Spirit.
Perhaps, feeling guilty over that fact, the boy had offered those words of encouragement to Yeon Ri.
Yet he had done nothing wrong.
How could it be a sin to fail at slaying the king of all demonic spirits when he was nothing more than a mere human?
Being caught in a volcanic eruption or swept away by an earthquake was not a crime.
And yet, as the girl prepared to step into this hellish cycle once more, the boy lowered his head and bowed to her.
A wish—
That one day, she would survive and smile.
Of course.
Yeon Ri gazed absently at the sky. She was lost in thought.
She had long accepted life with a detached indifference, yet she had the faintest feeling that when that day finally came, she might burst into laughter.
Of course. It was only natural.
***
[You found me faster than in any other cycle. I suppose you must have picked up a clue from the Moon Demonic Spirit’s aura.]
Through the sound of flesh tearing apart with a grotesque rip, a twisted, eerie voice rang out.
From the empty space where an arm should have been, a grotesque mass of contorted flesh sprouted, taking the shape of a blade.
The clarity in Seong Sa Wook’s eyes had long faded, and instead of whites, a dark crimson aura slowly seeped into them.
At a glance, it was clear he was no longer human.
The powers wielded by the Plague Demonic Spirit were countless.
The ability to bewitch a person’s mind, devour their soul, and assume their identity. This was the power granted to the Moon Demonic Spirit Yoran.
The strength to surpass human limits, unleashing power far greater than what one originally possessed. This was the power bestowed upon the Sun Demonic Spirit Pyeong Ryang.
And the ability to freely manipulate spiritual energy and Taoist magic, distorting and breaking even the divine energy of the Heavenly Dragon. This was the power given to the White Demonic Spirit Ah Hyun.
At the source of all these abilities sat the Plague Demonic Spirit who was capable of wielding every power his subordinates had commanded.
Seong Sa Wook’s body twisted in a grotesque manner and his muscles swelled abnormally.
His form expanded even larger than Pyeong Ryang’s had. His flesh began to rot and decay with dark blotches spreading across his entire body.
Madness filled his eyes as he lifted his gaze, staring straight at the Sword Master before him.
[So…]
In this endless cycle of reincarnation, Ah Hyun was not the only one who had endured time and time again.
Her nemesis, the Plague Demonic Spirit, had also gnashed its teeth for countless years and desperately tried to break out of this never-ending cycle. To throw off the curse-like shackles that Ah Hyun had bound it with.
At the tip of his festering arm, thick and dark crimson demonic blood bubbled up and pulsed.
Pang!
His entire arm transformed into a huge blade. It was impossible to call what stood there a human any longer.
His skin had already peeled away, spilling blood in torrents. Just from the sheer amount of blood loss, he was something far beyond human.
Whooosh!
Claang!
The moment I blocked a single strike, my vision violently blurred.
Had I not deftly redirected the impact, my sword would have shattered on the spot.
The sheer weight of that blow was incomparable to the Grand General Seong Sa Wook I had just fought.
[What’s wrong? Surprised?]
“….…”
[Through this long and arduous cycle of reincarnation, you’ve been finding me faster and faster. There was a time when you didn’t even realize I existed until I had burned the entire imperial capital to the ground, yet now, you track me down before I can even consume the inner palace. And this time… you’ve found me on the very day of the birthday ceremony.]
Strictly speaking, it was Ah Hyun who had found him.
Whenever the world reincarnates, I lose all my memories.
That’s right.
This was my first time crossing swords with the Plague Demonic Spirit, yet for him, he had faced me countless times across the endless flow of years.
[Yes… with each cycle, I can feel it growing more difficult to fight you.]
“Then… just give up and die already. What’s the point in dragging this out any longer?”
Claang!
The moment I deflected his sword, I moved in to cleave his chest open.
Fwoosh!
But then, another hand shot out from his abdomen, piercing straight through my waist.
Blood gushed from my mouth as I let out a choked gasp.
[Sword Master Seol Tae Pyeong… you are my fated nemesis.]
From his shoulders, his left forearm, his neck, the back of his head…. countless grotesquely twisted arms burst forth.
He was unmistakably human. His muscular form was sticky with crimson blood.
But humans only have two arms.
As I watched more and more sprout from every part of his body, a sickening dread crept over me. The kind only felt when facing something utterly alien.
He didn’t seem to care and swung his left arm sword again, slashing deep into my left shoulder.
Squelch!
I barely managed to step back in time to avoid being sliced in half.
But the blood pouring from me was unstoppable, flowing like a river.
“Haa….”
Shaking my head, I furrowed my brows and fixed my glare on him.
[Did you think… simply finding me early would be enough to kill me? Perhaps, once upon a time, it would have been possible. Up until the twenty-third cycle of reincarnation… No, let’s be generous and say the forty-first.]
“….…”
[But Ah Hyun is not the only one who grows stronger with each repeated cycle.]
The Plague Demonic Spirit must be slain as quickly as possible.
That thought echoed in my mind over and over, because unlike other demonic spirits, the king of these demonic spirits possessed intelligence.
They were a race that reveled in tearing human flesh apart, in slaughtering and drenching the world in blood…. yet when it came to cunning, they could be terrifyingly intelligent.
As beings like that, the Plague Demonic Spirit was bound to grow stronger and stronger within the endless cycle of reincarnation.
The Moon Demonic Spirit, the Sun Demonic Spirit, and the White Demonic Spirit. All of them were becoming stronger and more powerful with each passing cycle.
[Sword Master Seol Tae Pyeong, I know you well. For someone as cautious as you to suddenly rebel like this, to recklessly push forward despite the dangers just to find me; it’s unusual. You have always walked the safest and most certain path.]
A transcendent demonic spirit I had never seen before was now speaking about me as if it knew everything.
It was true.
Just as Heavenly Maiden Ah Hyun had ceaselessly studied and analyzed the Plague Demonic Spirit, that monster too had constantly sought to dissect and understand both the Sword Madter and the Heavenly Maiden while relentlessly trying to tear them apart.
[In all the countless cycles of reincarnation, never once have you acted so boldly.]
“Anyone can stray from their usual path once in a while, don’t you think?”
The Plague Demonic Spirit curled its lips into a chilling smile.
[You… you no longer have any cycles of reincarnation left, do you?]
Those words pierced through me like a blade.
What that creature had just said was the very truth I had been desperately trying to conceal.
[You have no time left to waste, hesitating and trying to gauge my true nature. It seems that wretched Heavenly Maiden’s spiritual power has finally begun to run dry as well.]
This was a monster that had fought me dozens, perhaps hundreds of times before.
The sheer amount of knowledge it had about me was on an entirely different level.
[Kuhaha… Haha… Kuhahahahahaha! Finally… Finally, the time has come to break free from this wretched cycle of time…!]
As the monstrous grin stretched wide across Grand General Seong Sa Wook’s face, blood trickled endlessly from the corners of his mouth.
The steadfast veteran who had once stood at the pinnacle of warriors was gone, leaving behind nothing but a mere sacrifice devoured by the king of demonic spirits.
For hundreds of years, just how many humans had it consumed in this way? How many massacres had it carried out?
It was impossible to calculate. This demonic spirit had not existed for just a handful of years.
[The long-awaited moment has finally arrived. If you believed you could keep me imprisoned within the shackles of time and endlessly delay my destruction, you were gravely mistaken.]
[Did you truly think a mere human’s spiritual power and lifespan could hold out forever?]
[At last, the time has come to set this imperial capital ablaze, to slaughter humans, and to let my existence fully bloom. It has been long… Far too long…!]
As it spoke, its voice became increasingly distorted, as if its very flesh was rotting away.
That sense of liberation. The belief that it could finally break free from the tormenting chains of time. It was enough to make even the king of demonic spirits laugh with childlike delight.
But that would never happen.
Whooosh!
Pasak!
The sound of the wind echoed along with my movements.
Chwaak!
The next thing was the sound of blood spraying into the air.
By the time Grand General Seong Sa Wook’s severed head hit the dirt with a dull thud, my sword had already returned to its sheath.
Chwaaaak!
A fountain of blood gushed from the place where his head had been, soaking the hem of my robes.
One of the most certain ways to kill the Plague Demonic Spirit was to strike while it was possessing another’s body.
There was no need to waste time giving it the chance to try something else.
Even if it went on a long-winded speech about how much it had suffered within the cycle of reincarnation, I had no obligation to listen.
Without hesitation, I beheaded Seong Sa Wook and immediately wrapped my body in spiritual power, preparing for the creature’s attempt to invade me.
The reason it had been able to transfer its consciousness from Seol Lee Moon to Seong Sa Wook at the last moment had to be that it had imbued Sa Wook’s body with demonic power just before its head was severed.
Seong Sa Wook who was utterly drained from his battle against Seol Lee Moon had let his guard down for that one fleeting instant.
At that moment, the Plague Demonic Spirit had poured its power into him, hiding a fragment of its soul within the depths of his consciousness.
As long as I didn’t fall for the same trick, I could cut it down cleanly.
Or so I had thought.
[Uhhuhuhu… kuhihihihih… kuhuhuhuhuhihihi… kuhihi.]
[Kigegegek… kuhehehek… kuhihihihihehehehehek… kuhehehek… kihek…]
The expression on Seong Sawook’s severed head…
It was smiling with eerie childlike innocence. So much so that anyone who saw it would be chilled to the bone.
***
– You must place the Peaceful Moon Stone in the hands of Chief Councilor In Seon Rok and question him about his true identity.
There was a high chance that Chief Councilor In Seon Rok knew something about the Plague Demonic Spirit.
Was he the Plague Demonic Spirit? If not, did he at least know what it really was?
And if he did, why had he kept it hidden all this time?
Depending on the possibilities, there were countless questions to ask.
For that reason, Seol Tae Pyeong had specifically requested that Heavenly Maiden Jin Cheong Lang bring back the Peaceful Moon Stone.
With the stone in In Seon Rok’s hands, they could interrogate him and force him to reveal everything about the Plague Demonic Spirit.
Tatak, tatak.
“…….”
Seol Tae Pyeong and Grand General Seong Sa Wook exchanged fierce sword strikes as their battlefield expanded deeper and deeper into the forest.
There was no way to confirm whether Seol Tae Pyeong was still safe, so Jin Cheong Lang’s first priority was to locate Chief Councilor In Seon Rok.
After all, the chaos unfolding right now was for one purpose. That is to subdue him.
With hurried steps, she made her way toward the Taehwa Pavilion.
Most people had already fled, while key figures had been subdued by the Black Moon Unit assassins and tied up behind the platform.
However… the imperial family and the three great officials had yet to be restrained. The reason was clear. High-ranking generals were fiercely guarding them and refusing to yield.
The Vice General must have already taken down most of the lower-ranking generals…!
As she ascended the steps of Taehwa Pavilion, she surveyed the surroundings and spotted two unconscious generals lying behind the platform.
She had known the Vice General was strong, but she hadn’t expected this much.
Jin Cheong Lang braced herself and lifted her gaze to the top of Taehwa Pavillion.
The members of the imperial family had already begun retreating toward the escape route with the help of the military officers.
It didn’t matter if they fled. What truly mattered was capturing Chief Councilor In Seon Rok.
“Chief Councilor…!”
At last, the final objective of this entire commotion came into view. In Seon Rok stood atop Taehwa Pavilion.
He seemed to have already finished preparing to flee, shouting at the soldiers around him to ready his horse.
She couldn’t let that happen.
If the Chief Councilor escaped now, all of Seol Tae Pyeong’s plans would come to nothing.
“Where do you think you’re going…!”
“H… Heavenly Maiden…!”
The moment In Seon Rok locked eyes with Jin Cheong Lang, he tried to shout for the remaining soldiers to stop her.
Thud!
What happened next was something Jin Cheong Lang couldn’t comprehend with her own eyes.
A sword had suddenly pierced through his chest.
It had happened so abruptly that, for a brief moment, she couldn’t even process what she was seeing.
The same was true for In Seon Rok.
The instant he realized that the blade protruding from his chest was a sword, his eyes widened in shock.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Shk!
A man yanked the sword back out, then kicked In Seon Rok aside, sending him flying into the corner of Taehwa Pavilion.
The high-ranking official, who had endured decades of political strife in Cheongdo, was sent tumbling pathetically before crashing into the railing and rolling onto the ground.
A pool of blood spread around him.
“Huff… kuh, huff…!”
The moment she laid eyes on the man, Jin Cheong Lang clenched her trembling fingers into a fist as she held her breath.
The other soldiers who saw the scene could only stare in disbelief.
[Honestly, loose-lipped bastards should always be the first to die.]
It was Blue Pillar General Hwang Soo.
The very man Seol Tae Pyeong had completely subdued. The one who had been recovering from his wounds at Taehwa Pavilion. That man had just stabbed In Seon Rok.
A distinguished general ranked second in the Red Palace hierarchy. A man who had been more loyal to Cheongdo than anyone.
But now, with an eerie and unsteady gait, he staggered… before breaking into a chilling laugh.
A dark crimson aura surged up in his eyes as grotesque lumps of flesh crawled over his entire body, twisting and distorting his skin.
[Kehhek. Kehehehek. Kihehehehehek. Khaak. Kahahahahak! Kakakak!]
With a horrifying grin, he twisted his neck at an unnatural angle, then let out a spine-chilling laugh….
Screams erupted from behind the platform.
“Kyaaah! Demonic spirit! A horde of demonic spirits has appeared…!”
“Save me…! Kyaaah…!”
The White Immortal Mountain. The most mystical peak in all of Cheongdo.
From beneath its soil, a horde of walking corpses began to rise.
As the twisted, broken bodies of the demonic spirits lifted themselves from the ground, the stench of rotting flesh spread, engulfing the entire banquet hall.
Fwoooosh!
Kwaaang! Kwaang!
Jin Cheong Lang could do nothing but doubt her own eyes once again.
The platform had been completely blown away, and the demonic spirit that rose from beneath it… was none other than the monstrous being that had left a deep scar on Cheongdo not long ago. The most terrifying demonic spirits in the Empire’s history.
Sun Demonic Spirit Pyeong Ryang.
The very demonic spirit that had inflicted the most horrific wounds upon Cheongdo Palace had now risen in the middle of Taehwa Pavilion’s front courtyard.
The monster that Seol Tae Pyeong had barely managed to slay, even after mobilizing every warrior in Hwalseong District.
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