Chapter: 457
A woman sits with a somewhat grave expression on the scorched ground.
“…”
Along with the still air, the woman’s eyes also look tired and dull.
Click.
Gripping the sword in front of her, the woman used it as leverage to raise her body.
She couldn’t just sit still because her body and mind were exhausted.
She must not show herself as weak.
Recalling that thought, she barely managed to rise.
“Ha…”
While trying to lift herself, she felt a slight dizziness. It seems that trying to forcibly use her energy had backfired.
The pang of pain intensified because she had stopped pulling herself up.
Guhk—!
Sogeomseong coughed violently for a moment, and blood mixed with the cough soaked the floor.
Glancing around to check her surroundings, she wiped her lips.
“…”
Tap tap.
Immediately after wiping the blood off the floor with the tips of her toes.
At the same time, she took out a small bamboo leaf container from her bosom and gulped down its contents.
Only after finishing the entire container could she finally let out a sigh.
“…”
With her dry eyes, she looked around.
There was still a powerful energy lingering, burning the ground.
Trees, uprooted by the pressure, were sprawled all around.
It was evidence of a fierce battle.
Checking her physical condition, Sogeomseong recalled the events leading up to this moment.
It wasn’t a recapitulation of the battle; she was long past that level of necessity.
And it wasn’t about regretting missing the Demon Sword Master either.
‘If there’s regret, it’s rather…’
She thought of the swordsman.
The young man who appeared and halted the fight just before the confrontation with the Demon Sword Master.
“…”
The prophetic figure that the dancer had asked to be brought forth.
It was an ‘order’ to gather all forces of the Black Flame Corps and retrieve one of the individuals there.
Without even providing a description or identity, they merely mentioned that she would know upon encountering him.
As expected, Sogeomseong handled the situation with the Mind Demons.
Moreover, she did meet him.
This was the prophetic figure that the dancer spoke of.
She realized immediately what her words had meant.
‘So that’s what it meant to come to know.’
How could one not comprehend it? There existed a force in him that could not exist under the same sky as hers.
It seemed that the young man was aware of that force as well.
The resonance was so profound, yet it also felt achingly sad.
‘…’
Even if the face was different.
Even if the speech and scent differed.
She could recognize that he was the anomaly the dancer was seeking.
Furthermore.
Sogeomseong also had a clear grasp of who he was.
How could she not? It was something impossible not to know.
Of course, it was not something that could be easily believed.
Having two identical individuals in the same world was peculiar.
Thus, she couldn’t just rashly interfere.
‘…’
She contemplated the young man who had tried to prevent the fight between herself and the Demon Sword Master.
Sogeomseong couldn’t bring herself to detain the young man, who was slowly collapsing after embracing the Demon Sword.
Just a fleeting moment of eye contact as he departed.
The lingering regret for the questions she had not mustered the courage to ask then still lingered on Sogeomseong’s lips.
-What is your name?
She had asked that the night prior, but hadn’t heard the response.
If the young man had answered then, what would he have said?
Would he have blurted out the name that popped into his head?
Or was it likely he would have given a different response?
Whatever it might have been, it was already too late.
“…”
She hadn’t stopped him from leaving with the Demon Sword.
No.
It was more accurate to say she couldn’t bring herself to hold on.
Sogeomseong hadn’t captured him. She should not have allowed him to leave.
Although catching the Demon Sword Master now was crucial for the future, upon locking eyes with him, she found herself unable to do so.
‘…Why?’
Why did he look at her like that?
The yearning and the unidentifiable worries in his eyes wrapped around Sogeomseong’s heart.
It was a gaze she had never encountered in the man she once knew.
Why had he looked at her like that?
She wanted to ask.
If he truly knew her, then the energy he possessed was indeed as she had anticipated.
In his memory, what kind of relationship did they share?
That was a question she yearned to ask but couldn’t.
Because the weight on her back felt unbearably heavy.
“…”
Just as she wiped away the blood from her lips.
Sogeomseong scrutinized the spot where the young man had vanished.
A strong backlash would come soon.
Though the interval wouldn’t be long, since she needed to rest, she had to swiftly cope with the matter and find a place devoid of people.
“Ah….”
She felt exhausted.
A fleeting thought crossed Sogeomseong’s mind.
And just like that, she shoved it aside immediately.
She must not allow herself to grow weary.
With that notion, she pushed her body upright.
Trying to maintain a steady gaze, she steeled herself and began to move forward.
“Is it all right if I leave it as is?”
“…!”
A chilling voice pierced the air.
Sogeomseong turned her gaze to find the owner of the voice—it was Cheonjon.
The Heavenly Lord regarded Sogeomseong with his starkly cold blue eyes.
“…Heavenly Lord…?”
“It’s something I cannot understand.”
Crackle.
The energy began to rise from Cheonjon’s body.
“There was surely an opportunity, but why did you do that?”
“…”
“Were you perhaps trying to grant this old man a chance?”
Although Cheonjon spoke while smiling, the undertones were laced with an immense, chilling bloodlust.
Gradually, Cheonjon’s body began to levitate.
The restrained energy flowed solely around Cheonjon, but Sogeomseong found herself sweating profusely from the overwhelming pressure.
“That’s a pity… If only I’d arrived a bit earlier, it would’ve been much easier.”
“Cheonjon… what are you… Wait a moment!”
“Permission has been granted.”
“…!”
Sogeomseong’s eyes widened at Cheonjon’s proclamation.
“Since the permission has been granted, the reasons for patience have dissipated.”
With his words, Sogeomseong bit her lip; she understood clearly the implications behind them.
“Decide. Will you go with me, or stay here?”
“…”
Sogeomseong was at a loss for an answer, having nothing to respond with regarding Cheonjon’s declaration.
Seeing her state, Cheonjon merely shook his head without further comment.
“I hope that this hesitation does not extend to the end.”
Boom—!
Having left those words behind, Cheonjon displayed a calm expression and swiftly took flight as a singular force of energy.
In response, Sogeomseong attempted to shout something to halt his departure.
Guhk…!
But in that instant, the backlash struck, forcing her knee to the ground.
“Hack… Hack!”
Amid her increasingly erratic breathing and blurring vision, Sogeomseong desperately tried to reclaim her sword yet ended up failing, losing consciousness for a brief moment.
*
The forest path leading into Sichuan. I ran like a lunatic, turning my back on the sun behind me.
My speed was somewhat swift, causing the environment to change continuously.
Even within such a scenario, I pressed forward in a frenzied manner.
‘How much further do I have to go?’
The aim was right at the center of Sichuan.
Cursed be it, I couldn’t discern the geography as my eyes had been covered during transportation.
I was just vaguely hoping this way would suffice as I continued my charge.
‘Ah, damn it.’
Under normal circumstances, I would have relocated to another area to conceal my whereabouts while observing the situation.
‘What a mess this turned out to be.’
I had become unable to do so because of the weight on my back.
The one who had just been swinging lightning like a madman—the Demon Sword Master—was now slumped on my back.
“Whoo… Whoo….”
A steady breath reached my ears.
It seemed the Demon Sword Master had momentarily lost consciousness.
‘Is this the backlash?’
It appeared that the backlash had settled in after reaching the status of the Demon Sword descent.
The sheer surprise when she had collapsed with a grateful expression on seeing me was still vivid.
‘…So her body truly was at its limits.’
I knew that using the Demon Artifact would hit the user hard.
But the Demon Sword Master shouldn’t have been in a position to be overwhelmed.
The current predicament was likely due to the fact she had used the artifact when she was already at her maximum limits.
‘So why?’
I clenched my teeth.
There was no need to go this far.
Once dead, it’s all over.
From the perspective of someone who has experienced regression, that might be one thing, but I didn’t believe such a fate would befall the Demon Sword Master.
Therefore, I could only plead that she stay alive. Do not recklessly toss her life away.
At the very least, I hoped she wouldn’t do this for my sake.
‘Damn it.’
Feeling the light weight of the Demon Sword Master made me grimace.
Is she eating properly? Why is she so light? It’s vexing.
I put more strength into my toes.
Right now, my objective was simply to escape this place. Meanwhile, I glanced back.
‘…And Sogeomseong.’
I recalled locking eyes with Sogeomseong while supporting the collapsing Demon Sword Master on my back in a hurry.
Contrary to my expectation that she would try to grab us, Sogeomseong only frowned as she gazed at me.
Had she meant to let us go?
Even with my leap to escape, she hadn’t taken any action, so I suppose that must have been the case.
If she intended to hold on, I would never have slipped away from her grasp.
But.
The reason for her letting go was unclear.
‘Is the you here something different?’
As much as it was referred to as a different world, it could imply that the nature of the Divine Sword is different from what I know.
No matter how similar it may seem.
“…Ugh….”
At that moment, I felt movement behind me.
“Are you awake?”
“…”
I called out softly, yet there was no response.
Is she still unconscious?
‘Should I head to the main branch like this then?’
Being unable to do anything with the Demon Sword Master on my back, going to the main branch became the priority.
The question is….
‘What should I explain?’
What on earth do I tell them when I arrive with her in this state?
‘…Well, will it be okay?’
After all, it was the Demon Sword Master who had darted forth to rescue me, causing chaos.
I could just say that the Demon Sword Master saved me, but overexerted herself and collapsed, and I took her along with me.
If I put it that way, would they accept it?
‘That’s unlikely….’
The thought of being the one to explain this made me feel like a significant problem loomed ahead.
Setting aside the matter of the Demon Sword Master coming to save me.
There was the fact that the Murim Alliance had desired my presence, and here I was standing there perfectly fine after all that.
‘Should I just spill it all?’
Straightforwardly confront them.
I am in fact you.
I hail from a different world. Good to meet you, numbnuts.
As much as I longed to blurt it out like this….
‘…Would that even work?’
If it flopped, it would be the worst-case scenario.
And it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think it would most likely flop.
Given that little punk’s personality, there’s no way he would just take it at face value.
At least there’s a silver lining.
‘He won’t kill me, right?’
Looking at how cleanly I returned, he would likely assume I had backup.
Anyway, being a demon, it’s likely he wouldn’t just eliminate me outright.
Then there’s the fact that Sogeomseong had specifically wanted it.
Consequently, we had returned alive alongside the Demon Sword Master.
‘…However.’
The issue here is that, in this case, there’s a high probability that it would eventually be reported to the Heavenly Demon.
With this point reached, it really would be time to raise the alarm with the Heavenly Demon.
In that event,
‘The Heavenly Demon might come personally.’
The heavenly figure of the main branch could appear in Sichuan seeking proof of this anomaly.
If that happens, things would truly spiral out of control.
Before anything happened, escaping or resolving this situation became paramount.
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