Chapter 172: Cold Wind Part 4

Kaang! Kagang! Kang!

Kuuung!

It didn’t even have the strength left to properly break its fall.

As it tumbled across the ground and scattered a spray of blood, the broken sword that was split clean in half rolled along with it across the floor.

The sunlight was blinding.

It had felt like the ghostly moon that was steeped in the yin energy of the Plague Demonic Spirit was hanging high in the sky, ready to swallow the entire world, and yet when it came to its senses, it saw the round sun floating beneath the bright sky, embracing the world.

The night had come to an end.

Just as it always had, time and time again, over countless years.

Crash!

The completely severed corpse of Seol Lee Moon lay sprawled across the dirt floor of the Ancestral Shrine.

Smoke that seemed to burn and rise from the entirety of its body was because the sun’s yang energy was endlessly setting that monster aflame.

The night of the demonic spirits had ended, and their king had been split in two.

This was the moment when the future of the imperial capital which had been racing toward destruction was decided.

[Not yet, not yet….]

Only its fleeting murmurs, unable to accept reality, echoed faintly.

The Plague Demonic Spirit tried somehow to recover its body, to force itself back to its feet, but it could no longer wield power the way it once had.

Step, step.

Seol Ran barely managed to push herself up, then she started limping heavily and staggered toward the fallen Plague Demonic Spirit.

Blood kept gushing endlessly from the severed cross-section, and every cell in its body squirmed as if it were trying to reattach itself at any moment.

No matter how fierce the sunlight was, if left alone like this, this monster would eventually recover its body again and attempt to resurrect.

If it was to be killed, this was the only chance.

And Seol Ran had the power to kill this monster.

[How… how did I endure all the way to this point… I can’t… I can’t… let it end like this….]

“…….”

[How can there be… two Heavenly Maidens who have inherited the power of the Heavenly Dragon this strongly…? Such a thing defies all reason. Originally, the power of the Heavenly Dragon… must have its limits in manifesting within a being of the human world….]

Forcing its unmoving body to twist and contort somehow, the Plague Demonic Spirit let out a wail of despair.

The power of the Heavenly Dragon wielded by a being of the mortal world had an unmistakable limit.

If a powerful person like Heavenly Maiden Ah Hyun already existed in this world, how could another being, possessing the power of the Heavenly Dragon to such a degree, possibly appear again?

The answer was, in truth, clear.

Yeon Ri had nearly lost her power.

As she clung endlessly to Sword Master Seol Tae Pyeong, protected him, and struggled with him, she had gradually lost the power of the Heavenly Dragon… and because of that, it was not strange for another person to inherit that very power and appear in the world.

The fact that Seol Ran was gradually awakening to the energy of the Heavenly Dragon happened simultaneously with Yeon Ri’s loss of power.

From the very beginning, Seol Ran was a fully realized being as the Heavenly Maiden.

Because she was the protagonist.

And even before that, because she had to protect her family.

“For someone’s last words… you really lack style.”

Perhaps a bone had broken.

Seol Ran clutched her chest and gasped for breath. She was barely able to raise her voice.

“If you were going to lay a hand on my family, you should have been prepared to pay the price.”

[You… you swarming, crawling worms…!]

Even as she stood on the brink of death, when Seol Ran saw those bloodshot eyes filled with hatred for humans, she could only close her own eyes tightly.

Covered in blood from head to toe, Seol Ran limped forward and seized the helpless face of the Plague Demonic Spirit who could no longer resist.

With her small hands, she tried to grasp that huge head, but they weren’t even enough to fully cover his features.

But that much was enough.

[You damned creatures…! You filthy, insect humans…!]

Gathering the last remnants of the Heavenly Dragon’s power, she intended to crush him completely.

But now that she had truly reached the very limit, there was no strength left to flow through her body.

Seol Tae Pyeong had already collapsed from exhaustion, and there was no way for any reinforcements to arrive.

This was the final chance to kill the Plague Demonic Spirit… and yet, just holding on to her fading consciousness was already draining everything from her.

Clenching her teeth and trying desperately to summon strength into her body, Seol Ran’s eyes slowly fluttered closed… and before long, her body fell backward.

Thud.

It was the moment when the last chance to kill the Plague Demonic Spirit vanished in vain.

[……..]

Seol Tae Pyeong and Seol Ran were completely drained of strength.

When the two siblings collapsed onto the dirt ground, only silence lingered over the battlefield.

Fsshhh.

Squirm, squirm.

A sensation like writhing flesh, as though the wounds were already wriggling to recover.

Amidst that silence, the corners of the Plague Demonic Spirit’s mouth curled upward.

[…Khuhuhk.]

Joy returned to the monster’s eyes once more.

There was only one thing this creature needed. That was time.

No matter how fatal the wound, if only given time, it could recover.

And now, Seol Ran, the only one who could have struck it down in the end, had lost consciousness.

With that… there was no one left in this world who could kill it.

[Kuhuhuh, kuhahahak. Yes, what a shame. You all… truly almost killed me, the king of the Demonic Spirits. That alone is enough to be remembered for all eternity… truly impressive.]

To think mere humans had driven the king of the Demonic Spirits this far.

But this was the end.

[Once my body mends and my strength returns, I’ll start by cutting off your heads. You Seol siblings, who have inherited the blood of this flesh, will forever be remembered as those who drove me to the brink. However, your severed heads will hang in the plaza, and your bodies will be torn apart and devoured by low demonic spirits.]

Perhaps these words were directed at Seol Tae Pyeong, who was barely clinging to consciousness.

The Plague Demonic Spirit, feeling its body slowly recovering, finally declared its victory.

[Still, even that alone is an honor far beyond what you deserve. Truly remarkable. Though your struggle was meaningless and worthless, it will remain etched in my memory.]

“…You’re flattering me so much it’s making me shy. Hehe.”

A completely unexpected reply came back.

But it was something that could have very well been anticipated.

A woman who had lost all of the Heavenly Dragon’s energy and had a gaping hole in her stomach still remained.

She could no longer use her Taoist magic; her physical strength had fallen to such miserable levels that she could hardly be called a fighter.

Even so, she had survived and was standing on her own two feet.

Staggering, gasping endlessly for breath, clutching her bleeding wounds, her eyes clouded heavily with exhaustion—

But the girl was alive.

The fact that she was alive and moving…. that was what mattered.

Former Heavenly Maiden Ah Hyun. Headmaid of the Hwalseong District Yeon Ri.

Her movements were not agile. She was simply forcing herself to walk, trudging and stumbling forward.

The girl picked up Seol Tae Pyeong’s sword, which lay discarded on the ground.

Even though half of it had been broken off, for the girl’s battered body, it was still unbearably heavy.

Staggering unsteadily, she gripped the sword with both hands and forced it up. Then, with faltering and unstable steps, she trudged once more toward the Plague Demonic Spirit.

[You… you bastard….]

“Hi. Did you miss me?”

[To the very end… you bastard, even to the very end…!]

Her hands trembled just from holding the heavy sword, but she tightened her grip and aimed for the monster’s neck.

If she could drop the blade with a sharp strike and cleanly sever its neck, that would be the end of its life, right then and there.

That was because Seol Tae Pyeong had already stabbed it several times, leaving it beyond recovery.

As Yeon Ri tightened her grip on the sword and slowly closed her eyes, a distant memory surfaced…it was of herself, lying in a dark forest in the middle of the night with tears welling in her eyes.

Having been expelled from the Heavenly Dragon Hall, the girl had once been filled with nothing but hatred for the world, and after circling endlessly through this long cycle of reincarnation, she had finally reached the end.

Following behind the back of a boy who had picked her up from that dark forest, somehow, the world had started to seem like a better place.

She had come to believe there were things worth saving.

She had begun to think it might be good to try everything she could.

And in the end, the girl had survived.

Battered and broken as she was, she survived and picked up a sword.

Even though she could no longer wield Taoist magic or swing a blade properly with her frail body.

Because she was still alive, the battle between humans and the Plague Demonic Spirit had already reached its conclusion.

As if unable to believe that fact, the Plague Demonic Spirit’s pupils trembled endlessly.

[You wretched little bug… even at the very end… to the very end…!]

Thunk!

***

My ears were ringing so badly that I could barely hear anything.

Through my blurred vision, I caught a faint glimpse of a scene. Someone was shaking me desperately and trying to wake me.

At first, it was a young girl, holding onto me with all her strength as if trying to keep my consciousness from slipping away.

Soon after, a few other women appeared, and it seemed they were crying uncontrollably at the sight of my broken and battered state.

Judging by their court robes, they were likely the mistresses of the Four Great Palaces, but I couldn’t clearly tell who was who.

Then, sturdy soldiers stormed onto the scene.

Seeing me lying there on the ground, drenched in blood, they hurriedly picked me up and tried to move me.

My whole body ached so badly I almost screamed, but I didn’t even have the strength left to do that. I really thought this was how I was going to die.

As they carried me toward the physicians, I looked around with my dimming vision that was slowly blacking out.

The soldiers of the Truth Insight Terrace who had rushed in were all covered in wounds.

They were soaked in the blood of the demonic spirits, and though they were exhausted and worn to the bone, there wasn’t a trace of despair on their faces.

That was enough for me.

And so… with a peaceful smile, I was able to quietly close my eyes.

– Have you achieved your goal?

As always, he appeared, sitting with his back to me, quietly staring off into the far distance.

Alone in that vast, endless, white expanse, who knows how far it stretched. The stooped old man just sat there, staring at something unseen.

He would come find me from time to time, just when I had almost managed to forget about him, and ask me the same question so often now that I could only let out a hollow laugh.

Come on, enough already, old man.

When I said that, the question that always followed without fail didn’t come this time.

Instead, I grumbled like usual.

This should be enough, right? Honestly, I did everything I could.

When I said that, the old man in that endless white space finally turned his gaze toward me, and for the first time, he smiled like a foolish child, baring his white teeth.

As if to say “Finally, this was an answer worthy of being called an answer.”

“Haaah.”

– Get the wounded over here!

– There are still people trapped under the building debris!

– There are a ton of wounded over in the debris near the outer quarters too!

– Damn it! We don’t have time! Move faster!

The sound of soldiers bustling around filled my ears.

When I forced myself to sit up, I found myself inside a makeshift tent that was protecting the wounded.

Considering the chaos that had erupted inside Cheongdo Palace, just having a tent like this to shield my body was already a luxury.

That was how messy things seemed outside. Even though the Vice General had regained consciousness, not a single soldier had the time to come over and check on my condition.

“Did you have a nightmare or something? Relax that face a little.”

But then, a familiar voice spoke from beside me.

There was a girl who was barely able to lift her upper body from the wooden bed and was wrapped in bandages.

Once, she had been a noble lady commanding the Heavenly Dragon Hall, but not anymore.

“Congratulations. You’re not dead.”

“…What about the Plague Demonic Spirit?”

“…….”

When I looked at Yeon Ri, she was lifting the corner of her lips in a faint smirk.

Then she sharply turned her head, gazing up at the ventilation hole pierced in one side of the tent.

The clear blue sky spread out above in full view.

The era of the demonic spirits had come to an end. It was as if the world itself was declaring it.

“The cycle of reincarnation is over. That long journey of weighing life and death is no longer necessary. Congratulations, Tae Pyeong-ah.”

Amid the sounds of soldiers busily coming and going outside, Yeon Ri spoke in a low murmur. Almost as if she was reciting it.

“You endured well… all the way to the end.”

“…….”

Fulfillment. A sense of accomplishment.

I thought such feelings would rise first, but the thing that wrapped around my body before anything else was emptiness.

Was this really how the long, arduous journey I had staked my life on came to an end?

In the end… had I really survived somehow?

Such thoughts filled every part of me, leaving me with no choice but to take a slow, steady breath to calm myself.

“Yeah…”

I lowered my head and spoke softly.

“It’s over.”

After running my hand over my wounds a few times and enduring the pain, I slowly turned my head back toward Yeon Ri.

“The one who endured… wasn’t me, it was you.”

“Hmm… is that so?”

“At last, you’ve escaped this damnable cycle of reincarnation, Yeon Ri. Doesn’t it feel liberating? Doesn’t it feel exhilarating?”

“Ahaha… Tae Pyeong, you really say the strangest things sometimes. I told you, I’ve already transcended those kinds of feelings.”

While she spun the blood-soaked bandages around and around to change them, Yeon Ri, as always, wore her innocent carefree smile.

“You of all people should know best that I passed the stage of being happy or sad over things like this long ago. Do I look like someone who’s going to suddenly go, ‘Wow, the cycle of reincarnation is over!’ and get all emotional about it now? Let me tell you, I’ve long since transcended that kind of thing!”

“…….”

“…Why that look on your face?”

“Every time you wear that overly confident look, I can’t help but feel this stubborn urge to push back.”

“Since we both survived, couldn’t you be a little nicer to me too? I went through a lot, you know.”

“To be honest, with how much digging around and messing up you did along with all that suffering, my thoughts are kind of complicated.”

“Geez… as long as the result is good, doesn’t that make everything fine?”

Yes, this was Yeon Ri.

Even in the moment of bidding farewell to those long and painful years, she was a bright, bold, and cheerful girl.

Seeing her casually humming a tune while swiftly wrapping fresh bandages around her wounds, even in this situation, she remained the same as always.

Yeon Ri, the Headmaid of the Hwalseong District.

She had walked her path just like this.

All the way until the day she crossed that final finish line.

What words was I supposed to say to a girl like her?

…For a moment, silence hung between us.

The sound of busy soldiers running past the tent outside echoed out.

The quiet rustling of bandages being wrapped over wounds.

Far off in the distance, the voices of the people shouting in joy at the sheer fact that they had survived.

Even as the soldiers returning with news of victory were filled with emotions welling up in their chests.

In the midst of all that, the two of us simply sat there in silence on our sickbeds, neither saying a word to the other.

“Yeon Ri.”

In the midst of all that noise, I spoke in a low subdued voice.

Even though the sounds of the battlefield filled the surroundings completely, it felt as if only silence lingered between the two of us.

As if we were speaking right beside each other, that was how we shared our conversation.

“Thank you.”

“….…”

“There were plenty of things I wasn’t exactly happy about, but… one way or another, if it hadn’t been for you, I don’t think I would’ve survived this far.”

With my head lowered, I simply spoke without holding anything back.

“I’m glad you were here.”

Just as it was. This was the truth of the matter, and exactly how I felt.

Neither praising her excessively nor blaming her… simply saying it as it was.

The girl who was quietly wrapping bandages seemed utterly unprepared to hear such words coming from my mouth. She fumbled with her lips for a moment… and then, finally, lifted the corners of her mouth as she replied.

“You don’t have to go that far…”

She trailed off mid-sentence, and then her hands stopped moving.

When she looked up, there sat the battered swordsman on the sickbed. His clothes were torn and soaked in blood, and there wasn’t a single part of his body left unscathed.

He was no longer the same man she had first met in the wild mountains. He had grown…. sturdier, stronger.

And so had she.

For a brief moment, the girl sat there blankly, and the years began to rewind in her mind.

From the very beginning, she hadn’t been detached from emotion because she was above it.

Ever since that distant past, when she had been cast out of the Heavenly Dragon Hall and forced to begin her journey, all she had done was put her emotions on hold.

Driven by the single-minded determination to save the world from the Plague Demonic Spirit that threatened to consume the Imperial Capital.

Walking that long journey over and over again, she had known better than anyone that unnecessary emotional entanglements had to be set aside.

Time had passed.

Time had built up, and so had her emotions.

Like a broken dam bursting forth with water, a torrent of feelings surged through her mind.

Sometimes it was frustration and despair. Sometimes it was hope.

Sometimes, it was the small happiness she felt while sitting in front of the White Immortal Palace’s kitchen stove, peeling and eating potatoes.

Sometimes, it was the faint loneliness that lingered in a corner of her heart every time the White Immortal left this world.

Sometimes, it was the trace of longing she felt while sitting in the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion, gazing up at the starry sky.

Sometimes, it was the awe she felt at the beauty of the world while wandering alongside the Sword Master.

Sometimes, it was the sorrow that gnawed away at her heart every time he died.

Sometimes, it was the joy that etched itself into her heart whenever he came back to life and grumbled at her once more.

The scenery of Cheongdo Empire, engraved upon her retinas, had always been a repeating cycle of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

In spring, the cherry blossoms bloomed; in summer, the foliage grew lush; in autumn, the world was painted in countless colors; and in winter, everything slowly fell asleep beneath the snow.

Within that, the four seasons had circled round and round, and once again, spring would come, and cherry blossoms would bloom all across the world.

And every time that happened, only one thought had come to her. It had been worth staying alive.

Looking back from the journey’s end, she saw footprints densely imprinted along the same path, layered over and over again.

Only then, it felt as if that journey whispered softly to her.

You’ve done well.

“Ugh.”

“…….”

“Ugh, hhk… huuuh… huuuh… huuuuh… huuaaaang…”

Yeon Ri hugged her knees to her chest and at last, broke down in sobs.

She sobbed endlessly, over and over again, shedding all her tears and snot.

Sometimes, it was only after crossing the finish line that all the sorrow accumulated over the years came crashing down at once.

They were things she had forgotten while running breathlessly through the cold winds.

Quietly sitting beside Yeon Ri, someone watched the ever-busy scenery of the world turning around them.

It was finally the era of humans.