novelraw Chapter 1 : Chapter 1
Chapter 1 : Chapter 1
Chapter 1 - I am satisfied with that
‘Now…… it is the limit.’
The old man gritted his teeth and looked at the men in black running towards him.
His dantian had been empty for a long time.
A sweet taste rose in his mouth, and his vision kept blurring.
‘Should I just offer my neck at this point?’
The old man, looking at the surroundings filled with corpses, let out a small sigh.
The old man’s eyes, directed forward, shook here and there.
Catching his breath that had risen to his chin with difficulty, the old man chewed his lip.
Death was not what he feared.
Anyway, it was a body ruined by Qi Deviation.
Even if not for them, it was a death he would naturally face before long.
‘Rather than lying on a sickbed and taking my last breath later…… wouldn't collapsing while swinging a sword until the end right here be a life closer to a martial artist?’
The old man, who had been lost in thought for a moment, slowly shook his head left and right and gripped his sword.
‘No. Still, I should say one last word to that child before I leave.’
The old man steadied his shaking heart and recalled the smiling image of a child.
The child to whom he had passed on everything.
His adopted son and only disciple.
That child was the last lingering attachment remaining for the old man.
Even if he were to breathe his last miserably lying in the deep mountains, he wanted to see that child’s eyes one more time before dying.
‘Just a little more.’
The old man began to pull up even the Pre-natal Qi that was holding onto his life with all his might.
Pain surged as if his whole body was breaking apart due to the unreasonable channeling of qi, but the old man's expression was calm.
Six men in black had approached close by before he knew it.
The old man's eyes, raised towards them, scattered a sharp light like the sword he was holding.
“Come.”
At the old man's single word, the vegetation on all sides trembled.
The old man's low voice was thick with the life he had lived.
The old man's sword, which had been pointing at the floor, slowly aimed at the men in black.
─ Kwaaang
The moment the sword stretched straight towards the men in black, dark red demonic energy spread out like a storm towards all directions, as if a thunderbolt bomb had exploded.
The dark red demonic energy instantly encroached upon the surroundings like fog.
Inside the pitch-black darkness encroached by demonic energy.
The figures of the men in black, the bothersome sound of the wind, and the pain filling his whole body.
Everything held its breath.
Then, a single ray of light bloomed from the sword the old man lifted.
The light blooming in the darkness was dazzling.
That light, shining alone and illuminating all directions, stayed in the air for a moment before slowly moving from left to right.
The light, moving slowly as if drawing an orchid with a brush, drew a beautiful curve in the air, and finally completed a brilliant line.
[Heavenly Killing Demon Sword Sixth Form Dark Shadow Full Brilliance ]
It tore apart the darkness filling all sides just as it was, and a dazzling light shot forward like a flash of lightning.
***
― Chwaaaak
The Black Soul Squad Leader, who witnessed the old man's sword strike, felt goosebumps rising on his forearm.
‘M, Monster. He is not human.’
It was a realm he dared not even imagine.
The Black Soul Squad Leader licked his dry lips, rubbed his eyes, and looked ahead again.
The Black Soul Squad , said to consist only of the Heavenly Demon Cult's absolute elites.
With the member who just fell being the last, no one remained on this land who could use that name anymore.
Within a puddle made of the fallen member's blood, the Black Soul Squad Leader let out a hollow laugh.
‘……Truly a Heaven beyond Heaven .’
The former Heavenly Demon, Wi Jeong-cheon.
That man was beyond all norms—truly a heaven beyond the heavens.
He was a martial artist living in a different world than himself.
Watching the old man slowly lifting his sword towards this side again, the Black Soul Squad Leader flinched and hurriedly pulled up his energy.
‘Damn it.’
He was afraid.
But that didn't mean he could retreat.
Even if he lost everything, he had to defeat that old man.
That was the mission given to him.
Biting his lips tightly and lifting his sword, the Black Soul Squad Leader looked at the old man with his trembling arms attached to his body.
The moment the Black Soul Squad Leader calmed his mind and pulled up his energy, the old man's body staggered, and the movement of the sword he was holding stopped.
Subsequently, the blood gushing out from the old man's mouth created a thick scent of blood in all directions.
The Black Soul Squad Leader’s eyes shone brightly.
‘……Don't tell me?’
Self-destruction due to unreasonable internal energy channeling.
How long had he waited for this moment?
At the dramatically faced moment, the Black Soul Squad Leader's heart began to beat as if it would burst.
The staggering old man eventually planted his sword in the ground and stopped right there.
‘Finally!’
Total ninety-eight people.
That was the number of Black Soul Squad members who fell to that old man's sword today.
Their sacrifice was not meaningless.
The blade forged with ninety-eight lives finally took the last remaining strength from that monster-like old man's body.
The old man's body shook greatly once again.
‘It is the last opportunity given by the heavens.’
The Black Soul Squad Leader pulled up all the energy he had saved until now.
He felt his insides shaking and his qi and blood flowing backward, but it was fine.
If not now, there would be no more opportunities.
The Black Soul Squad Leader's body, having pulled his energy to the limit, shot forward like an arrow.
The Black Soul Squad Leader's sword, cutting through the wind, grazed the old man's chest.
― Paat
Blood surged from the spot where the sword passed and splashed in all directions.
‘I cut him!’
The Black Soul Squad Leader pulled up his energy once again with a flushed face.
Thick demonic energy wrapped around the Black Soul Squad Leader's sword, and immense demonic energy rose enough to vibrate all directions.
Then, the body of the Black Soul Squad Leader, becoming one with the sword, flew like a ray of light and dug into the old man's bosom.
“Die!”
─ Puuk
The Black Soul Squad Leader's sword pierced deep into the old man's chest.
‘Ah!’
The sound of the old man's heart felt through his hand.
The Black Soul Squad Leader's body trembled finely with joy.
The Black Soul Squad Leader's hand, having poured out all energy, shook in time with the old man's heartbeat.
His sword piercing the chest of the former Heavenly Demon.
The thing he thought impossible had become reality and was unfolding before his eyes.
He lost all of the Black Soul Squad, but it was a task worth that much.
The elimination of the former Heavenly Demon, Wi Jeong-cheon, the desire of the Cult.
That great feat was now completed by his hands.
A smile slowly rose on the Black Soul Squad Leader's face.
“Kuhuhuhu. I shall decorate the end of the Heavenly Demon Wi Jeong-cheon, who was once my sky, our sky, and the sky of all of the Central Plains, right here.”
The Black Soul Squad Leader stared intently at the sword stuck in the old man's chest with a flushed face.
“Look! My sword is stuck in the chest of the Demon Venerable who broke mountains and cut the wind! And his breath is fading under my feet!”
Drunk on joy, the Black Soul Squad Leader burst into laughter like a madman.
“Kuhahaha!”
A strong wind blew around the Black Soul Squad Leader bursting with mad laughter and the old man.
Rising dust covered the old man's body.
Within the scattering dust, the old man slowly raised his head and opened his mouth towards the Black Soul Squad Leader.
“That insignificant eye for people hasn't changed, Black Soul Squad Leader.”
The old man's cracked voice was heard clearly in the Black Soul Squad Leader's ears.
The Black Soul Squad Leader stopped laughing and slowly looked down at the old man.
“Did you say Demon Venerable? Knowing the weight of that name, doesn't the thought occur that something is strange?”
The old man coughed out blood, kuluk.
“Huhu. My everything has already been passed on to another. All that remains in me now is an old body gnawed by demonic arts and a handful of vitality barely maintaining life. In the end, you lost all of the Black Soul Squad against that shell, not the Heavenly Demon.”
The old man's calmly settling voice scattered around.
“……What does that mean now.”
The Black Soul Squad Leader could not understand the old man's words.
‘The former Heavenly Demon's everything was passed on to another?’
The Black Soul Squad Leader frowned and examined the old man closely.
‘……It’s not there. It’s really not there. That energy.’
The energy that should rightfully remain in the old man's body was not felt.
The Black Soul Squad Leader felt an unknown chill and stepped back one step.
“What…… did you do?”
─ Kwaaang
At that moment, along with an explosion, the Black Soul Squad Leader sensed someone shooting towards him like lightning from afar and hurriedly turned his head.
A small figure running from afar at tremendous speed entered the Black Soul Squad Leader's eyes.
A young child wrapping dark red energy all over his body.
While watching the child running this way like lightning, the old man's faint voice was heard in the Black Soul Squad Leader's ears.
“Open your eyes wide, and feel it with your whole body. That child is the very child who will continue the name of the Demon Venerable, and the successor of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art whom I chose for the last time.”
Thick blood dripped down from the corners of the old man's mouth.
“Successor of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art? Don't tell me, you bastard. You passed down…… the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to an outsider?”
The Black Soul Squad Leader's mind became tangled.
He could not understand the current situation at all.
But there was no time left to organize his mind.
Gritting his teeth, the Black Soul Squad Leader examined the small figure running towards him in detail.
‘That is…… definitely Demon Shadow Step .’
The direction the boy, running fast while assimilated into the shadows, was stepping on was the direction of the Demon Shadow Step, the exclusive martial art of the Demonic Cult pursuit unit.
It was a martial art he also knew, but an eerie heterogeneity was felt in the boy's steps.
Feeling anxiety, the Black Soul Squad Leader pulled his body straight back.
─ Kwaaang!
At that time, the boy's foot stomped the ground strongly once again.
The boy, who shot forward with explosive speed at the last moment, had reached the Black Soul Squad Leader’s vicinity before he knew it.
The Black Soul Squad Leader hurriedly raised his right hand in the direction the boy came running.
─ Seogeok
The boy's sword cut the wind.
Behind the flashing sword light, the Black Soul Squad Leader's arm spewed red blood and floated into the sky.
The boy's sword that passed like a ray of light was strong and beautiful, and not an inch of hesitation was contained in that movement.
“This, what kind of nonsense…….”
Watching his right arm falling to the floor, the Black Soul Squad Leader muttered with a blank expression.
A speed invisible to the eyes.
Even if he was in a situation where he exhausted all his energy, to lose an arm in just one move.
It was absolutely not an achievement obtainable at that age.
The Black Soul Squad Leader, regaining his senses, urgently pulled up his remaining energy as much as possible, and black demonic energy quickly wrapped around his body.
However, even after checking the black demonic energy, the boy did not stop.
As if he didn't care about the demonic energy wrapping the Black Soul Squad Leader's body, the boy ran straight into the Black Soul Squad Leader's bosom.
The boy's left hand stretched out vigorously towards the Black Soul Squad Leader.
─ Puuk
The demonic energy the Black Soul Squad Leader pulled up was pierced effortlessly to the point of being hollow.
The boy's extended left hand dug into the Black Soul Squad Leader's chest and grabbed the rapidly beating heart.
“Keoheok……”
Emptiness was contained in the eyes of the Black Soul Squad Leader who poured blood from his mouth.
“……To pierce through demonic energy this easily. It is the Reverse Heaven Asura Art. Kukuk. Really, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to an outsider, you passed…….”
“Shut up.”
Before the Black Soul Squad Leader's words could finish, the boy clenched the hand holding the heart tightly.
─ Peoeok
The Black Soul Squad Leader, whose heart burst, collapsed on the spot as if crumbling.
The boy, pushing the Black Soul Squad Leader's corpse aside, hurriedly turned his body towards the old man.
“Father!”
The boy reached out his trembling hand.
The teacher and father who took him in as an adopted son and taught him martial arts when he was starving to death in the mountains.
The person who made him feel true warmth in a barren life and the only reason the boy was alive and breathing.
In the chest of that man who was the boy's everything, a sword was currently embedded.
“What is all this! You said you were the best under the heavens! You insisted that there was no one in the Kangho who could receive your sword……!”
A shout filled with trembling burst out from the boy's mouth.
The old man, looking at the boy, grabbed the sword stuck in his chest and slowly pulled it out.
─ Ttaeng-geurang
The old man, putting the sword down on the ground as if throwing it, pressed a few acupoints on his chest to stop the bleeding and opened his mouth.
“Huu. Jaun. It is a bit difficult. Will you lay me down?”
The boy called Jaun hesitated for a moment, then soon approached closely, supported the old man, and slowly laid him on the ground.
“……Didn't you also know. That the time left for me was not that long anyway. That last day has just been pulled forward a little.”
The old man's body trembled thinly.
“Still, since the Heavenly Demon Cult's pursuit unit arrived when you weren't here…… it is truly fortunate.”
At the words of the old man coughing deeply while lying on the floor, water drops forming in Jaun's eyes began to drip to the ground.
“Stop! Don't speak and just hold on a little. I will find a way to treat you. I will find any way and…….”
“Jaun.”
Cutting off Jaun's words, the old man smiled benevolently.
“Meeting you in the last chapter of my life was a blessing from the heavens. The ten years with you, I was happier than any moment in my life. I…… I am satisfied with that.”
Hearing the father's words rising from deep inside the chest, Jaun burst into a beast-like wail.
“Heueoeoeng!”
Watching dark red energy forming once again in the eyes of Jaun who couldn't control his emotions, the old man slowly reached out and held the boy's hand tightly.
“……The Heavenly Demon Divine Art that rules ten thousand demons is an outstanding supreme art incomparable to any martial art in the Central Plains, but you must also know well that you cannot hide the dark red demonic energy forming in your eyes until you reach the Realm of Five Stars .”
The boy raised his trembling head and looked into the old man's eyes.
“There is no reason to walk a thorny path by purposely making it known that the martial art you learned is a demonic art. The Realm of Five Stars. Until you reach that realm where you can control demonic energy, I wish you would absolutely not use the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.”
Listening to the old man's words, Jaun swallowed his cries and gripped the old man's arm tightly.
“Father…….”
Jaun, stroking his father's face once with a trembling hand, wiped his stained eye corners and slowly pulled up his internal energy.
In the eyes of Jaun pulling up internal energy, dark red energy began to blaze again.
‘……?!’
The old man, who was puzzled watching Jaun suddenly pulling up energy, soon opened his eyes wide as if he felt something.
The sight of the dark red energy that had formed thickly in Jaun's eyes slowly scattering in all directions and disappearing filled the old man's eyes.
Confirming Jaun looking at him with clear eyes while pulling up energy to the brim, the old man let out a big laugh just like that.
“Euhahaha. Kuluk kuluk. Oh Heavens! Thank you.”
Not caring about the bursting blood, the old man laughed louder.
“As expected of my son. When did you reach the Realm of Five Stars?”
“It was a gift I prepared because you said you would prepare a drinking table to celebrate my birthday today. I didn't intend to show it like this…… I intended to boast to Father properly after the drinking party ended…….”
Jeong-cheon patted the sobbing Jaun’s hand.
“It is done. It turned out well. Now you can control demonic energy properly. You are now fifteen. If you have already reached the Realm of Five Stars, you will be able to achieve Great Success in a not-so-late time.”
Jeong-cheon, who let out a sigh of relief and raised his upper body from the spot, regurgitated a large clot of blood.
Confirming the pieces of internal organs torn to shreds between the blood clots, the old man sighed quietly.
“……There is not much time given to me.”
The old man, slowly raising his upper body and arranging his clothes, sat in a lotus position.
“Son.”
As the old man corrected his posture, Jaun hurriedly wiped his tears and bowed his head deeply.
“Yes. Please speak.”
“Do not be sad. If one lived the life one wanted, a life where that life was just a single day is enough.”
Warmth was contained in the old man's voice.
“Since I met you, I lived the life I wanted for 10 years. I have no more lingering regrets.”
“Father…….”
At the emotion of the sky collapsing, Jaun bit his lip tightly until it bled.
“In the end, I did not reach the peak of Martial Arts, but if it is you, you will be able to reach that end. If I can see that end through you even from the heavens, wouldn't that be able to contain meaning in this empty life?”
The old man raised his hand and patted Jaun's shoulder.
“The day you reach that end, I will laugh with you from the heavens. Now, forget everything and go down the mountain. Live as you wish…… Your, will…….”
The voice of the old man, continuing to speak with difficulty, slowly became smaller and cut off before long.
Subsequently, the old man's hand placed on Jaun's shoulder dropped down with a thud.
Jaun, who was listening to the old man with his head bowed, hurriedly raised his head.
“Father! Please, just a moment…… just a moment!”
Words he wanted to say and words he had to say.
The breath of the one to listen to that piled-up story no longer remained.
Jaun rushed in, hugged his father's body tightly, and began to sob.
That night when the cold winter wind raged, Jaun could not stop crying sitting in that spot until he fainted.
***
“Father. No matter how much I think about it, I can't understand it at all.”
Jaun's eyes looking down at his father's grave were empty.
“Why the Heavenly Demon Cult bastards chased Father, who put everything down and lived a mountain life, so persistently like this.”
Jaun clenched his trembling fist.
“I will go find the Heavenly Demon Cult and ask the reason why they chased Father. And I will punish that unforgivable sin of taking Father away from me. I will properly implant into their bones how small those who learned demonic arts can become in front of the master of ten thousand demons.”
Strong will was contained in the eyes of Jaun who gritted his teeth.
“I think that is the last thing I can do for Father. Even if it takes some time, I will definitely achieve the goal and visit again, so please rest here for a moment until then.”
Jaun, having performed a deep bow, stood up.
Jaun with a hardened expression picked up the liquor bottle placed next to him and sprinkled liquor here and there on the grave.
Finally throwing the remaining liquor bottle at the collapsing thatched cottage, Jaun took out a fire starter from his bosom and set fire to the thatched cottage.
─ Hwaaaak
The thatched cottage, holding the alcohol scent, was instantly captured by the fire demon.
Jaun, watching the burning thatched cottage, slowly turned his body.
Subsequently, Jaun's body headed towards the dense forest.
Jaun, who walked forward for a long while, looked at the forest blocking his front.
The boy, lost in thought for a while, took out his sword as if he had made a decision.
─ Chwaak
As the boy swung his sword, the bushes blocking the front were cut apart and flew in all directions.
The shortcut going down the mountain.
On that road, which had become difficult to even call a road because it hadn't been used for a long time, the boy's sword, which had never touched it, touched it.
It was the boy's first step toward the world, who was the Heavenly Demon's only disciple and son.
***
“Are you perhaps looking for a place to stay?”
A girl wearing old clothes scurried over and shone her eyes towards the boy.
A cloth bundle tied diagonally and one old short sword were tied to the boy's back.
Sihan, a city located on the Black Dragon River.
The boy standing vacantly in the center of the main street was Jaun, who had come down the mountain all day long.
It was the first time Jaun had seen such a bustling place.
To Jaun, who was used to the village in the middle of the mountain where he occasionally stopped by to buy daily necessities, everything in the flashy and complex city was only unfamiliar and awkward.
Jaun looked up at the high-rising pavilions endlessly.
“Excuse me. Handsome Older Brother. Can't you speak?”
The girl raised her finger and poked Jaun's side.
“You are looking for a place to stay, right?”
Jaun looked down at the eyes of the girl who was shaking his body.
“……I do need a place to stay for the time being.”
At Jaun's words, the girl's face brightened brightly.
“Welcome! Customer. Welcome to Sihan. I will escort you to the Black Dragon Inn, the cleanest accommodation in Sihan. You will absolutely not regret it.”
The girl, who sent a beaming smile at Jaun's answer, bowed her waist deeply to greet him.
Then, the girl who raised her head scanned Jaun's body here and there.
“Wow. Look at these fine muscles. What do you do? Are you a martial artist? I've been in Sihan for quite a long time, but it's the first time I've seen someone with a firm body and handsome looks like you, Older Brother.”
The chattering girl grabbed Jaun's sleeve tightly with her small hand.
“If you are thinking of staying at the inn, we have to move right now. Only one room is left now.”
The girl who turned her body back took a step towards the main street unfolding before her eyes.
Jaun, hesitating for a moment, entrusted his body to the girl and followed behind her.
Leaving the reddish setting sun behind, Jaun also hid his appearance into the bustling crowd along with the girl weaving through the alleys.