Chapter: 960
Time stops.
The falling leaves, the fluttering dust, and the buzzing of insects all come to a halt.
The air feels suffocating. It’s as if nothing is flowing.
In this heavy and stifling atmosphere, it was I who broke the serene silence.
“… What are you…?”
I said, glaring at Yarang.
I couldn’t help it.
“What are you?!”
I asked fiercely.
“…”
Yarang didn’t say a word. He simply looked at me silently.
Those eyes. I bit my lip as I stared into those clear, golden irises.
‘Why on earth?’
Is that face peeking out from beneath the mask? I couldn’t fathom it.
Long brown hair.
Slightly slanted eyes on fair skin.
A captivating yet gentle beauty.
Those striking golden eyes captured within.
In my past life too.
And even now, it was the face of the woman I had longed to see so eagerly.
There.
‘This energy.’
A faint sensation kept scratching at my insides.
If it were merely a matter of imitating appearances, I wouldn’t be this disturbed.
But.
‘That’s…’
It’s not just imitating the looks.
I realized.
The energy within. Those eyes gazing at me.
It was all her.
“…you….”
What on earth are you? What could possibly explain having that face and that aura?
Just as I was about to seize the moment and ask.
Whoosh.
A woman named Yarang bowed her head and picked up the fallen mask.
And then she covered her face once more.
Thud.
All the energy that was flowing ebbed away.
In an instant. Just by putting on a mask, all this happened.
This is…
‘… Is this the same power as the mask the Dark King gave me?’
The mask I use when I perform. It’s a power quite similar to that.
But.
‘That doesn’t matter.’
Even if you just put on a mask, there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize you.
“Answer me. Why are you…?”
Why are you here?
Why on earth do you look like that in this world?
And.
‘Why are you lingering around me?’
The moment I decided to spit out the questions swirling in my mind.
Shhhh—!!!
Bam!
Something fell violently from the sky.
The impact shattered the ground, creating a great commotion.
Thud!
Landing amid swirling dust was none other than Cheonma.
She stood before me, exuding a black aura.
“…Back again, are you?”
Cheonma said.
“I told you.”
There was a distinctly chilling tone in that voice.
“Next time, I will truly kill you.”
Whoosh!
Black energy swirled in Cheonma’s hands as she uttered those words.
‘That’s…!’
My eyes widened at the sight of the energy.
That’s the Cheonma Sword.
The very sword of energy that Cheonma wielded in her previous life.
That cold, cutting aura.
The power that obliterated the Three Lords and wiped out several clans of the Gupaebang.
It emanated from Cheonma’s hands.
Swish! Swish!
It vibrated violently, as if attempting to absorb all surrounding energy.
Intense and distant.
A force powerful enough to squint your eyes just at the sight of it. Cheonma, wielding such might, charged forward.
She was rushing toward Yarang.
Seeing that, I immediately shouted.
“Stop—!”
Even though I shouted, Cheonma didn’t halt.
Shouldn’t this be stopped? I felt a slight tremor of fear and bit my lip in anxiety.
Vroom-!
At that moment, something shifted on Yarang’s side.
Clang-!
“…Huh?”
Yarang blocked Cheonma’s sword. Before I knew it, she had a sword in her own hand.
The sword resembled Cheonma’s but had completely opposite colors and sensations.
‘That’s…’
Seeing that, I froze in place.
I knew that too.
‘Pama (破魔) Sword.’
A brilliant white sword.
In my previous life, it was the sword created by wrapping energy around a blade.
A sword that punished demons and slaughtered evil.
When it made contact, all magic would collapse and fizzle out.
Okay.
Crash!
Just like now.
As soon as the Cheonma Sword touched the Pama Sword, it shattered. Cheonma frowned at this sight.
The half-broken blade, and still, Cheonma didn’t back down.
Retrieving her sword, she moved her hand.
Shadows spread across the ground.
‘Oh no…’
The realm activated. A domain formed from magic invaded the forest.
It spread out like a rush of water, engulfing everything in an instant.
Thump-! The magic brushed against my toes, shaking with energy from within.
The magic stirred as if trying not to be swept away.
At the same time.
Whoosh!
Flames magically appeared at the tips of my fingers. But it was not black fire; it was white fire.
‘…Why is this suddenly erupting out of nowhere?’
Why was it making such an uproar?
I panicked at the sight of the flames, but that wasn’t the time for distraction.
Bam-!
Cheonma lightly stomped down on the magic-laden ground.
Whoooosh—!!!
Suddenly, the ground shook violently like ocean waves. It was an immense shockwave.
In the blink of an eye, a vortex formed.
The energy swirled, as if poised to swallow the entire ground.
“Get up.”
At Cheonma’s command, I instantly regained my footing.
A black energy enlarging from devouring the surroundings charged towards Yarang.
The size was comparable to the waves I created with black flames.
That size was more than sufficient to overwhelm Yarang in an instant.
Should I just leave it as is? Confusion washed over me, feeling rather afraid.
“….”
Yarang also directed her sword at the oncoming waves.
Whoosh-!
As she aimed, white energy began to coalesce around her.
My jaw dropped at the sight.
‘Wolseonmu Sword…?’
As if to say not to be confused, she revealed her true power entirely.
The solidified white energy had taken the shape of a sword.
A power resembling the sword she held.
That was unmistakably the essence of the Wolseonmu Sword she had wielded in both past and present lives.
In this life, Wiselah handled only a handful of swords at most.
What was visible now appeared to be several times that amount in quantity.
She launched the sword she had crafted towards the waves.
Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!
The sword’s arrows pierced through the waves without stopping.
As the sword poured down onto the monumental wave, it began to lose shape gradually.
As the large tsunami, which was clearly visible, subsided and its size lessened.
Whoosh—!!
Cheonma rushed in, slicing through the waves. Was it all just an illusion to begin with?
She narrowed the gap at an alarming speed, swinging her sword.
Clang-!
Yarang met Cheonma’s assault with her own blade.
Clang! Clang-!
The air erupted with the sounds of friction.
The two began to clash at an astonishing rate.
It was exceptionally fast.
Not only was it fast, but the sheer energy of both sides generated substantial shockwaves each time their swords clashed.
Every time the Cheonma Sword connected with the Pama Sword, the latter vanished.
Yet Cheonma seemed entirely unconcerned.
If it shattered, she’d merely create another.
When one broke, she’d conjure another.
The battle escalated in intensity.
At first glance, it seemed like Yarang was being overpowered.
And then.
Clang-!
Cheonma’s upward slash sent Yarang’s sword soaring into the air.
Just like that.
Cheonma tried to strike Yarang’s neck with her blade.
Thud-!
The sword, however, never pierced the skin.
It was because I had intervened to grasp the blade.
“…Stop this.”
“…”
Cheonma shot me a deadly glare for my meddling. Additionally, my hands throbbed painfully.
It was my injured hand that I used to seize it.
There was no avoiding it.
Since it was now my least hurting hand amidst the chaos.
Moreover.
Whoosh!
The white flames enveloping my hand repelled Cheonma’s sword.
I watched the scene quietly before speaking to Cheonma.
“I’m telling you to cool it.”
“…Why are you stopping me?”
Cheonma looked at me with an expression that said she utterly didn’t understand.
I felt the same confusion.
“Why am I stopping you? Then what in the world are you? Why are you so eager to fight?”
“She’s been following you.”
“So what?”
I thought, what does that matter?
She’s following me, so what’s your issue in confronting her?
Grind! I gritted my teeth and shifted my gaze back to Cheonma.
This time I turned towards Yarang.
“…What about you? Do you intend to continue?”
“…”
No reply came.
Yarang just stared at me, and instead of responding, she released the sword from her grip.
The sword dropped from her hand, disintegrating into energy.
In that instant.
Whirr-!
The swords that had been behind Cheonma transformed into light and vanished.
Just now, Cheonma hadn’t fully grasped the upper hand in the showdown.
Before the swords could connect, there had existed a scenario where the Pama Sword might have reached Cheonma first.
‘…Indeed.’
I was certain of it upon observing Cheonma while they dueled.
‘She’s weak.’
There was absolutely no fighting technique or expertise present.
She was entirely different from the Cheonma of my previous life.
Watching the battle unfold before my eyes confirmed my thoughts.
This girl doesn’t know how to fight.
Just mindlessly dragging along with her overwhelming power.
Yet the power she boasted was so great that she could bulldoze through everything.
In other words.
‘A beginner, relying solely on strength.’
Lacking any finesse or fluidity from a previous life. That’s the overwhelming sense I received.
‘Back then, I couldn’t have approached her at all.’
No attack, no force could penetrate her defenses.
Only the divine sword of the divine sword could reach her with its Pama.
However, now, she was far too close.
It seemed within reach, as though I could touch her effortlessly.
Is this truly Cheonma?
And.
‘What is this girl?’
Leaving aside the questions that churned in my mind as I gazed at Cheonma, all I could see now was the Yarang standing before me.
This can’t be.
That cannot be the case.
Every instinct blared that Yarang was the divine sword itself.
She couldn’t just be Wiserla.
The Divine Sword, Wiserla.
To my eyes, she was Yarang.
No matter how I viewed it, no matter how I reasoned against it, I could recognize.
“…Why are you here?”
I repeated the question I had asked several times already.
She is the divine sword.
“Answer me… why are you…”
I reached out, aiming to grasp her hand. But.
Swish.
Before my hand could reach her, she pulled back and created distance between us.
Additionally.
Clack-!
She forged another sword and prepared to swing it at me.
Clang-! Cheonma reacted as if she had been waiting, drawing her sword to parry the Pama Sword.
Debris flew.
I squinted as the white energy scattered into the air.
“You…!”
Cheonma, now angry, attempted to attack Yarang once more.
I grabbed her shoulder to stop her.
Fortunately, this time, Cheonma refrained from lunging.
She merely glared at Yarang with a frustrated expression.
Two individuals with identical faces stared at each other.
Yarang wore a mask, obscuring her expression, while Cheonma directed all her emotions towards her.
It was an exact reversal of what I had witnessed in my past life.
I bit my lip at the unconventional scene.
It was a form I could not get used to.
At that moment.
“…”
Yarang sheathed her sword and calmly gazed at me.
I could see her golden eyes through the mask.
What kind of expression is that?
I couldn’t discern.
In fact, I felt a knot of unease upon seeing her devoid of any visible emotion.
A mountain of questions piled up in my throat.
Yet none escaped my lips.
As we exchanged glances, a moment passed.
Suddenly, thud.
Yarang leaped from the ground and vanished.
During that moment, I remained unable to grasp her presence, merely staring in shock.
When she drifted further away and disappeared from view.
“…Let go.”
Cheonma murmured softly.
Only then did I realize I was still grasping Cheonma’s shoulder.
I withdrew my hand.
My thoughts were completely scattered.
It felt as if I had been struck on the head several times, rendering me dazed.
I managed to maintain a semblance of focus and glanced at Cheonma.
She had turned her back to me. Observing her, I said.
“Where on earth did you come from to just suddenly show up-.”
Thud-!
“Ugh-!”
A fist struck me squarely in the stomach.
It made solid contact.
Cheonma turned away and swiftly delivered the blow.
She was so close that I couldn’t dodge it.
“Ugh…!”
The force of the impact sent me crumpling to the ground, unable to even gasp for breath.
My bones rattled violently.
“You… you… insane…! What on earth are you suddenly—!”
I attempted to address Cheonma in a shaky voice, but my mouth fell silent upon gazing up at her face.
Cheonma looked at me with a sorrowful expression.
It was a look I had never seen before.
Her lips trembled, ready to break into tears at any moment.
“…I don’t understand… you… idiot.”
Wresting out the words barely, she whirled around and dashed off into the distance.
In the opposite direction from where Yarang had vanished.
“…”
I sank to the ground, immobilized.
So I sat there, replaying Cheonma’s words in my mind.
‘…Idiot?’
It felt like she spat out the words after considerable contemplation due to not having suitable insults to voice.
Really.
There couldn’t be a better-fitting description.
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