– In the political arena of Cheongdo, trust no one.
Only now did Seol Ran begin to understand the true meaning behind the words that the Chief Councilor had once emphasized to her.
Among the high officials of the Upper Second Rank and above, he had been unable to distinguish who had fallen under the influence of the Plague Demonic Spirit and who had not.
And so, he had chosen to suspect everyone.
– Hrkyaaah!
As Seol Ran dashed toward the hall, she swiftly dodged the grasp of a lower demonic spirit lunging at her.
But the creature moved just as quickly. It pinned her arm down and crushed her under its weight.
Thick, dark red demonic blood dripped to the ground.
When she lifted her gaze, she saw a demonic spirit in the form of a man pressing down on her arm with its maw gaping wide.
Its lower jaw was completely missing, making it unclear whether that gaping void could even be called a mouth. But the stench of rotting flesh rising from within jolted her fully awake.
If she stayed like this, she would die. Seol Ran realized this and tensed her arm, but breaking free of the creature’s grip was no easy task. It still possessed the brute strength of a man.
This is bad…! The demonic spirit’s blood… it’s affecting me…!
The blood of these creatures had the power to cloud a person’s mind.
Even the mere splatters on her face sent waves of dizziness crashing over her, threatening to pull her into unconsciousness.
Yet the grip of the lower demonic spirit showed no signs of loosening.
If she remained trapped, she would be torn apart and devoured by those monstrous fangs.
Seol Ran gritted her teeth and summoned every ounce of strength within her.
I can’t die here…!
A fierce determination ignited in her eyes.
Most court ladies would either scream and flee or, once caught, shut their eyes tightly in terror, unable to fight back.
And that was how they met their end.
Now, the floor of Taehwa Pavilion was littered with the corpses of those who had died that way. If she was destined to join them, she’d rather fight until her nails broke and every last drop of her strength was drained.
I don’t want to die!
To survive, she would do anything.
Cheongdo was filled with people like that. Those who clawed and fought their way forward, knowing that if they didn’t, they would end up as lifeless bodies sprawled across the cold ground.
It was the same whether or not there were demonic spirits running rampant.
The breathtakingly beautiful landscapes of Cheongdo were, in truth, nothing more than a tower built upon countless corpses. Seol Ran knew this all too well. So no matter where she was, she had always struggled with every ounce of strength to survive.
If you wish to live, use every means available.
Cling to even the thinnest strand, seize even the slightest chance, and grasp onto life with all your might.
The stench of rot rose from beneath her nose, snapping her back to her senses.
Seol Ran focused every ounce of energy that rose from deep within her core and pushed the lower demonic spirit away as it lunged at her.
Kwaang!
A memory surfaced…. of the clear, blue energy she had once seen shimmering over the waters of Heavenly Jade Pavilion.
That power, which had once settled upon her as if speaking to her, now answered her call.
As if it was asking, “Have you finally come seeking me?”
Whooooosh!
A bluish energy surged out, shredding the lower demonic spirit into pieces.
Creaaaak!
Crack!
“Haaah…!”
The creature’s mangled flesh fell to the ground with a sickening thud.
The sight was so gruesome that it would have been no surprise if she vomited on the spot. But Seol Ran, with her unshakable will, somehow forced herself to endure and swallowed back the nausea.
She was drenched in dark red blood as she clung to the railing and forced herself to stand.
She stared blankly at her own hands.
They were stained with thick and dark blood, but there was a strange, unfamiliar energy surrounding them. This was something she had never experienced before.
What… what is this…?
***
Sun Demonic Spirit Pyeong Ryang took the form of a large man. Just as General Jeong Seo Tae had once been.
However, to be precise, it was even larger and even more overwhelmingly imposing.
A monster who had inherited the power of a Higher Demonic Spirit. It had reached an unfathomable realm of pure physical strength.
The veins grotesquely bulging across his muscles were as thick as ropes, and the Bone Blade he held in one hand was so massive it seemed as though he were carrying an entire tree.
Around him lay the corpses of countless soldiers, already cut down.
As Seol Tae Pyeong landed in front of the platform, the monster turned to him with eyes blazing with fury and let out a deafening roar. Like a predator recognizing its sworn enemy.
It’s even stronger than before.
Seol Tae Pyeong swallowed hard and braced himself.
The creature before him, the very monster that had brought the greatest calamity in Cheongdo Palace’s history, radiated an overwhelming pressure unlike anything else.
But still, it was not so strong that it couldn’t be killed.
From the very moment he had arrived at Cheongdo Palace, that accursed immortality technique had been a nuisance. The real problem wasn’t cutting the creature down. If he put all his strength into it, that much was possible. The problem was that no matter how many times he severed it, it kept reviving.
The question was whether he could cut it down without suffering any damage himself.
Even the last time Seol Tae Pyeong had struck it down, he had been left in tatters.
However, the Sun Demonic Spirit that had appeared this time was not the final target. It was merely a gatekeeper, thrown into the fray by the Plague Demonic Spirit to plunge the situation into deeper chaos.
Ultimately, the one that had to be slain was the Plague Demonic Spirit.
If he ended up in shambles just from taking down the Sun Demonic Spirit, then it would all be for nothing.
Seol Tae Pyeong steadied his grip on his sword and took a deep breath.
Whooosh!
With just a single lunge, the massive Sun Demonic Spirit sent ceremonial drums and stage props flying through the air.
This was no mere sword wind; it was a typhoon.
Blocking it meant certain death. Trying to deflect it meant death all the same.
Each and every strike was a merciless, selfish attack that forced him to evade.
Seol Tae Pyeong leaped high into the air, stepped on the Bone Blade of the Sun Demonic Spirit, and spun his body in a wide arc.
As he twisted midair, he hurled his sword toward the Sun Demonic Spirit’s neck. But the creature raised its opposite hand and caught the blade in its grip.
Puk!
Its fingers were severed, and blood splattered into the air.
The dark crimson blood of the demonic spirit sprayed across Seol Tae Pyeong’s face. He quickly wiped it away with his sleeve, but his brows knitted into a frown.
“Kh…!”
Taking a sharp step back, he spat out the dryness in his mouth and steadied his stance.
The demonic energy in its blood is strong. If I get drenched in it, I won’t last.
It was nothing like the blood spilled by lower demonic spirits.
The last time he had faced this creature, he had the Cold Iron Heavy Sword, which had protected him from the blood’s corrupting force. But that very sword had broken in the battle, and in the end, he had never been able to repair it.
I can’t afford a prolonged fight.
No matter how much power the Sun Demonic Spirit had received from the Plague Demonic Spirit, if he severed its head, it would die.
As Seol Tae Pyeong flicked the blood from his sword and looked up, the creature was already gone.
He immediately lowered his stance and spun backward.
The Sun Demonic Spirit was already there with its blade slicing toward him.
The reason not even a sound was heard was that the creature’s movements were faster than sound itself.
It was only after Seol Tae Pyeong had deflected its strike that the rushing wind from the Sun Demonic Spirit’s body slicing through the air slammed into his ears.
Whooosh!
Kaaaaaah!
He had already faced Grand General Seong Sa Wook and fought two high officials possessed by the demonic energy of Plague Demonic Spirit.
Seol Tae Pyeong’s body was riddled with wounds, but they had yet to hinder his movements.
He kicked off the ground with the tips of his toes, spun his entire body, and delivered a sharp kick to the Sun Demonic Spirit’s head.
Bang!
Yet, the creature’s neck did not so much as twist.
Even after taking a direct hit, the Sun Demonic Spirit swung its arm as if unfazed, sending Seol Tae Pyeong hurtling far into the distance.
Whooooosh! Bang!
“Hoo…”
A misty breath escaped Seol Tae Pyeong’s lips as he planted his sword into the ground and rose to his feet once more.
The heavy sigh, filled with winter’s chill, carried far more than just exhaustion.
The high officials witnessing the scene stood frozen in shock.
The very rebel who had been on the verge of overturning Cheongdo Empire was now protecting them from the sudden onslaught of demonic spirits.
Even the Black Moon Unit members, who had bound and subdued the officials just moments ago, were now risking their lives to keep the rampaging demonic spirits from reaching them.
Who in the world were these people?
One moment, they held blades to their throats. The next, they were shielding them.
It was impossible to make sense of.
Seol Tae Pyeong was already drenched in blood. It wouldn’t have been surprising if he collapsed at any moment.
And yet, he remained standing.
At this point, it was hard not to wonder if there was anyone in existence capable of stopping him.
Power against power is too much. I have to win with speed.
Seol Tae Pyeong’s eyes sharpened as he focused every ounce of his being.
The Sun Demonic Spirit Pyeong Ryang was a monster among monsters, possessing unfathomable strength. But that didn’t mean he was slow.
Most people wouldn’t even be able to follow his movements with their eyes.
If they exchanged blows, they would lose count of how many had passed in an instant.
The longer the fight dragged on, the more Seol Tae Pyeong’s strength would wane, playing right into the Plague Demonic Spirit’s hands.
So, he wouldn’t let it drag on.
The moment Seol Tae Pyeong took his next step, his figure vanished.
Amidst the falling snow, the world came to a halt.
In the silence, the clash of swords moved so fast that even sound itself struggled to keep up.
In a world frozen in time, two monsters crossed blades.
Even the drifting snowflakes seemed to fall ever so slowly, inching toward the ground.
The Sun Demonic Spirit’s Bone Sword sliced through the air, hurtling toward Seol Tae Pyeong’s neck.
Seol Tae Pyeong deflected it and quickly closed the distance before slipping into the Sun Demonic Spirit’s guard. The Sun Demonic Spirit struck down with its free hand, aiming to crush him.
But Seol Tae Pyeong evaded the blow, planted his foot on the Sun Demonic Spirit’s thigh, and leaped upward. He then slashed with his sword.
With both of the Sun Demonic Spirit’s hands thrown off balance, Seol Tae Pyeong had successfully broken through his defenses.
He aimed to sever the Sun Demonic Spirit’s neck in a single strike, knowing his opponent had no way to counter—
Clang!
Even witnessing it with his own eyes, Seol Tae Pyeong could hardly believe it.
The Sun Demonic Spirit Pyeong Ryang had caught the blade between its teeth.
With a violent shake of its head, it flung Seol Tae Pyeong’s sword high into the air.
At that instant, as the Sun Demonic Spirit prepared to deliver the final blow to the now-disarmed Seol Tae Pyeong, a sharp gleam flashed in the latter’s eyes.
Killing the Sun Demonic Spirit without taking damage was impossible.
He had to take a hit with his bare body, use the force to propel himself upward, snatch his airborne sword, and decapitate the Sun Demonic Spirit in one swift motion.
In the briefest of moments, in less than a tenth of a second, he would strike.
If he could execute it perfectly, he could cut the Sun Demonic Spirit down.
But taking a direct hit meant bearing a grievous wound.
His original goal had been to take the Sun Demonic Spirit down without suffering any damage, but that was no longer an option.
Instead, he steeled himself to lose an arm if necessary and prepared to endure the blow.
Praying it wouldn’t be a fatal wound, Seol Tae Pyeong gritted his teeth, twisted his body, and braced himself in a defensive stance.
Every fraction of a second stretched into eternity.
In the blink of an eye, the two monsters exchanged countless strikes. So fast that no one present could even begin to follow their movements.
Truly, unless one was blessed by the divine fever…. how could anyone possibly intervene in this fleeting moment of combat, where only these two monsters could exist?
And yet, there was one more. There was someone who had survived the divine fever.
The Emperor of Heaven had bestowed upon her the ability to imprint all things in her mind and remember them perfectly, along with movements lighter and swifter than anyone else’s.
However, due to her timid nature and aversion to combat, her fighting skills were lacking. However, those who had witnessed her agility which was so light that not even a single footprint was left on the snow had all spoken in unison. She was like a butterfly floating through the world, carried by the wind.
And so, people called her the Wise Butterfly Po Hwa Ryeong.
Whoooosh!
A fleeting instant, so brief that even renowned martial artists could not perceive the world within that speed.
At that moment, a single butterfly descended upon Sun Demonic Spirit Pyeong Ryang’s back.
She had leaped down from a high tree, and despite the frigid weather, her bare feet remained clean and white.
Even as she lightly landed on his back with a soft sound, the Sun Demonic Spirit did not feel the slightest weight.
Her green hair, fluttering against gravity toward the sky, and her black court robe resembled nothing less than the wings of a butterfly.
The hands of that butterfly, carried by the swirling snow, had already seized Seol Tae Pyeong’s sword.
In that split second, Seol Tae Pyeong’s entire plan to parry the Sun Demonic Spirit’s blade and disrupt his balance was forced into a complete revision.
He instantly relaxed his body and swiftly evaded the Sun Demonic Spirit’s attack. At that moment, Po Hwa Ryeong leaped backward and hurled the sword toward Seol Tae Pyeong.
After catching it, he took less than a second to slash upward and sever Sun Demonic Spirit’s neck.
Slash!
As that fleeting moment ended and the Sun Demonic Spirit’s head fell, only then did the shockwaves from the exchanged sword strikes between the two monsters ripple outward across the battlefield.
Whoooosh!
Kwaaaang!
“Kyaaaaaah!”
Objects in the vicinity were swept away by the violent sword wind, and Po Hwa Ryeong who had been the closest to the battle was also flung backward by the force.
Her head struck the stump of a tree, which brought tears to her eyes.
She held her sore head and whimpered softly before quickly turning to Seol Tae Pyeong.
Squelch! Squelch!
Kwaak! Kwaaaak!
There, standing with his head bowed, was Seol Tae Pyeong who was completely drenched in the Sun Demonic Spirit’s dark red blood.
“M-My god! That’s way too much blood…!”
Just as Po Hwa Ryeong gasped in shock and was about to rush forward, the Sun Demonic Spirit’s huge body slowly toppled backward.
Baaang!
The high officials at the scene could do nothing but stand there with their mouths agape.
He had truly slain that Sun Demonic Spirit.
***
Monsters.
The White Princess who had taken down a few lower demonic spirits swallowed dryly.
Everyone had witnessed the battle on the platform with their own eyes, and the White Princess was no exception.
She knew that those who had overcome the divine fever were born with extraordinary energy.
However, she had never imagined that the difference in level would be this vast.
Sword Master Seol Tae Pyeong, Heavenly Maiden Jin Cheong Lang, and Wise Butterfly Po Hwa Ryeong.
Seeing firsthand the kind of talent possessed by those who had overcome the divine fever was nothing short of overwhelming.
The sky was filled with the energy of the Heavenly Dragon, sword strikes were exchanged at speeds too fast for the eye to follow, and even joining the battle required keeping up with the movements of those monsters.
“………”
The White Princess lowered her head for a moment.
She had never been granted such extraordinary talent by the heavens.
She had clawed her way up from the very bottom, but at the peak of her struggles, she found herself facing beings who were on an entirely different level.
She took a deep breath of the winter air and shook her head.
Now was not the time for such thoughts.
Squelch.
Seol Tae Pyeong who was drenched in the Sun Demonic Spirit’s blood collapsed to his knees on the snowy ground.
Clouds of mist escaped his lips as he gasped for breath. Jin Cheong Lang and Po Hwa Ryeong panicked and rushed toward him.
The White Princess couldn’t just stand by either.
“Everyone, hold your positions!”
The White Princess raised her voice and shouted to the soldiers in the area.
What the soldiers needed most right now after they lost all their generals, was someone to take control and bring order to the chaos.
The high officials were all bound and restrained, and Warrior Commander Jang Rae was nowhere to be seen.
Seol Tae Pyeong, the only general-level officer still present, had already been branded a traitor. No matter who it was, they needed someone to serve as a rallying point.
“Form ranks around the platform! The main palace is likely overrun with demonic spirits as well, so reinforcements won’t be arriving anytime soon!”
The White Princess shouted at the top of her lungs, then quickly made her way toward the collapsed Seol Tae Pyeong.
Po Hwa Ryeong and Jin Cheong Lang had already sunk to their knees, using the hems of their robes to wipe the demonic spirit’s blood from Seol Tae Pyeong’s body.
The poison was far more potent than that of ordinary lower demonic spirits. Just being near it was enough to make one’s brow furrow. Jin Cheong Lang and Po Hwa Ryeong were already gritting their teeth against its effects.
“Vice General! Stay with us! You must stay conscious!”
“Tae Pyeong…! Tae Pyeong…! Can you hear me…? Tae Pyeong!”
When the White Princess reached the two girls, who were hunched over and shaking Seol Tae Pyeong’s shoulders, she swallowed dryly.
Even surrounded by the thick, pungent blood of the demonic spirits, they still fought to keep him conscious.
They were geniuses blessed by the heavens. She, on the other hand, had clawed her way up from the very bottom while enduring the lash of the whip.
At times, the gap between them felt like an impenetrable wall. But she quickly pushed those thoughts aside and forced herself between them.
“We need to move the Vice General to the soldiers!”
It wasn’t over yet.
Killing the Sun Demonic Spirit was not enough to end the situation.
“White Princess!”
“I’m going to establish a defensive position near the platform. We need to get him there…!”
Seol Tae Pyeong’s build was far heavier than the delicate crown princess consorts.
Jin Cheong Lang and Po Hwa Ryeong who were both blessed with talents far beyond the reach of ordinary people, were still just young girls when it came to physical strength.
The White Princess turned toward the platform and scanned the area. But all she saw were soldiers, too preoccupied with fighting the demonic spirits to provide any assistance.
The clash of weapons and the sickening sound of flesh being torn apart filled the air from all directions.
The White Princess took a deep breath and rolled up her sleeves. Her pale, slender arms looked as if they might break at any moment.
She knelt beside him and slid her hands under his arms. She gritted her teeth and began to drag him across the snow.
It was already a struggle with her small frame, but the demonic spirit’s blood seeping into her bare skin made her mind reel with dizziness.
Even as the thick, dark blood clung to her body, she paid no attention. With unwavering determination, she pulled Seol Tae Pyeong away from the battlefield.
From a young age, she had been whipped and had grown up clutching handfuls of mud while lying on the bare ground. A trial like this was nothing to her.
The other two, who had been watching, quickly came to their senses and joined in.
These bastards, every single one of them… They’re all geniuses blessed by the heavens.
The White Princess clenched her teeth and dragged Seol Tae Pyeong out.
…. So what?
If I can’t become like them, I’ll just have to use them.
As she struggled to move Seol Tae Pyeong’s body across the snow, the White Princess gritted her teeth.
She felt sorry for the man who looked utterly exhausted, but there was still something Seol Tae Pyeong had to do.
He had to kill the Plague Demonic Spirit.
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