The swirling black smoke froze white, and in that moment, it was as beautiful as a snowflake.
The ice crystals gleamed in the darkness, feeling like a work of art crafted by a master artisan who had poured his very soul into it.
Beyond them, the figure of a woman could be seen.
On the palm of the woman clad in pristine white robes, crystals of snow bloomed like a heat shimmer. It was clear that she had executed a single move moments before.
Bisain and the woman locked eyes.
Two clear, cold eyes shone in the darkness upon her snow-white skin.
‘How can a person give off such a pure feeling?’
It was the first time he had ever felt this from anyone.
The woman was none other than Hanseol, the Young Palace Mistress of the North Sea Ice Palace.
Behind her, a middle-aged man and woman likewise clad in white stood as if guarding her; they were the Hanbing Twin Swords, peerless experts of the North Sea.
Sent by the Ice Palace Lord out of worry for her daughter’s first journey to the Central Plains, there was no need to even speak of their skill.
Bisain walked over to her and introduced himself first.
“I am Bisain, Young Lord of the Demonic Alliance.”
Hanseol likewise introduced herself.
“I am Hanseol, Young Palace Mistress of the North Sea Ice Palace.”
Upon learning her identity, Bisain was inwardly surprised. He had heard from Geommugeuk that someone new would be coming to this gathering, but he had never imagined it would be the Young Palace Mistress of the North Sea Ice Palace.
Just as it had been for Bisain, Hanseol’s first impression of him was intense. She had never met anyone with such a frightening and powerful presence.
After gazing at her for a moment, Bisain’s eyes shifted to the frozen dark energy floating in the air.
Hanseol conveyed with an elegant yet respectful hand gesture that he should handle it himself, and Bisain returned a respectful cupped-fist salute in gratitude.
Bisain drew his sword and raised the true qi of the Overlord Heaven-Piercing Sword Art. A powerful killing intent surged around his blade.
Shwiiiiik!
Boom!
The clustered energies, still frozen, shattered and scattered. As the central core broke, the energies began to vanish entirely.
Once they had completely dissipated, only beautiful shards of ice glittered in every direction.
Bisain turned to look at the Thirteen Demon Wolves. He was grateful to them for having staked their lives alongside him in the final moment. Having read the sentiment in Bisain’s eyes, the Thirteen Demon Wolves answered with gazes full of unwavering loyalty.
In the past, Bisain would not have looked back at them in moments like these. He had taken it for granted. No, from the very beginning, he had never even entertained the thought that he should connect with them.
But now, Bisain looked back. He had become someone who looked back, someone who faced others squarely.
Bisain’s gaze turned once more toward Hanseol.
“I am grateful. Thanks to you, my life was saved.”
A peculiar glint briefly flickered across Hanseol’s eyes at those words. Given the momentum Bisain and the Thirteen Demon Wolves had shown while blocking the energy earlier, one could not say how things might have turned out.
He could have simply thanked her for her aid; yet he had gone so far as to say she had saved his life. One would think the Young Lord of the Demonic Alliance would detest owing a life debt.
“You needn’t thank me. I merely froze those ominous things.”
The Hanbing Twin Swords standing behind her exchanged glances.
The Ice Palace Lord’s greatest worry had been whether her daughter would get along with others out in the Central Plains, yet here she was, handling herself calmly and well. This must be what they mean when they say a child is different outside the home than before their parents.
“I came at the invitation of the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult. He called it a festival.”
She looked around. Destruction and rubble. Corpses piled high. And ghost-masked onlookers staring at her on top of it all.
Bisain spoke to her.
“If you think of the one who invited you, it is not strange at all.”
Hanseol agreed with those words. For it was indeed Geommugeuk who had turned the North Sea Ice Palace upside down before leaving. And even the relationship between her and her mother.
“Where is the Young Cult Leader now?”
Bisain looked at her for a moment, then answered in a voice full of conviction.
“He is coming now.”
* * *
A desperate battle was unfolding.
They were fighting an opponent overflowing with internal energy while carefully conserving and rationing their own.
Swhaaaak.
Tu Wang’s fist flew toward Geugak Soma’s face.
Thwack!
The one who struck Tu Wang’s wrist and changed its path was Geommugeuk.
Stab! Stab!
Geugak Soma’s daggers embedded themselves consecutively into Tu Wang’s abdomen. It was an attack that completely disregarded defense; if he had not believed that Geommugeuk could cover him, he would not have dared to attempt it.
The two were literally tearing through the limits of concentration and entering a new realm of focus. They had fought many battles together, but never before had they fought with such unified breath as they did today.
Hwaang!
Tu Wang’s frenzied fist halted in midair, his abdomen pierced.
Sgaak!
Geommugeuk’s sword, flying in to sever Tu Wang’s arm, grazed the iron chain attached to the fist.
As Tu Wang’s frenzied punches flew wild in succession, the two escaped from within his range.
Tu Wang looked down at his own abdomen.
It was an attack that should have been fatal, yet black smoke covered the wound.
“Damn it!”
If not for Am Wang, this too would have been a critical injury.
Tu Wang was enraged. Geommugeuk and Geugak Soma were almost struck yet evaded each time. His pride was wounded that he could not kill those who fought while conserving their internal energy so frugally.
Then Am Wang’s calm voice flowed out.
“Calm yourself. Time is on our side.”
Geommugeuk spoke in response to her words.
“Is it truly on your side?”
At her questioning gaze, Geommugeuk said:
“I believe time is on our side. Aren’t you curious about what is happening outside?”
“Our Young Cult Leader is harboring vain hope.”
Geommugeuk was inwardly hoping for one thing. When the four black threads connected to the palanquin had snapped, Bisain had not come to help him.
When someone who was certain to come did not arrive, there was surely a reason. He desperately hoped that reason was the very thing he wished for.
“He is a smarter friend than he looks. I am certain time is on our side.”
Am Wang answered with an equally certain gaze.
“Today, within this darkness, no one can save you.”
Tu Wang charged again, kicking up a cloud of dust. His two eyes brimmed with a murderous resolve to kill Geommugeuk no matter what.
Swhaaaaaaaa!
The swirling fist winds turned the sandstorm into a tempest.
Geommugeuk and Geugak Soma rolled across the ground to dodge the oncoming attacks. They did not bother with pride or appearances.
It was a fight of pure life or death, one that did not permit even a single move’s mistake. If one erred, Geugak Soma would die; if one erred, Geommugeuk would die.
That was why this battle granted a new experience to both Geommugeuk and Geugak Soma.
Extreme speed. Extreme power.
They were confronting the terrifying attacks pouring from those fists with the bare minimum of internal energy. If they survived, it would be the worst yet also the greatest battle, one certain to affect their martial realm.
Internal energy was used only when absolutely necessary. For moments exactly like this one.
Papapapapapak!
As the Linked Wind and Cloud Fist was unleashed, dozens of fists flew toward the two of them.
Geommugeuk used the Dark Shadow Step to dodge the sword qi and unleashed a stroke of his own. The target was not Tu Wang.
Poong!
One of the flying sword qi blasts dissipated in midair.
Geugak Soma hurled his body precisely into the space where it had vanished.
Poong! Pung-pung-pung! Pung!
The area where Geugak Soma had stood was smashed and overturned.
When unleashing a large technique, gaps were bound to appear before the next move could link; Geommugeuk and Geugak Soma did not miss that instant.
Geommugeuk charged from the left, and Geugak Soma from the right.
Tu Wang had no choice but to prioritize Geommugeuk, for he never knew when the Guhwa Demonic Art would be used.
Geommugeuk poured out the internal energy he had been conserving to attack him.
Chaeng-chaeng-chaeng-chaeng-chaeng!
Fist and sword clashed in midair, sending sparks flying.
Stab! Stab!
In that gap, Geugak Soma’s daggers stabbed Tu Wang’s abdomen and shoulder in succession. Black energy saved him endlessly, but the two did not give up.
Tu Wang attacked like a madman without caring for his injuries, and in the end, Geommugeuk and Geugak Soma blocked the onslaught with protective qi barriers and bounced backward.
Tu Wang pulled out the dagger embedded deep in his shoulder. It was the dagger Geugak Soma had thrown while leaping back.
Puuaak.
Blood sprayed, but soon black smoke blocked the wound and stopped the bleeding.
“You should know by now that these kinds of attacks are useless, no?”
Geommugeuk stared at him and answered Tu Wang’s mockery.
“That smoke might betray you at some point, mightn’t it?”
Geommugeuk was not speaking to Tu Wang, but to Am Wang, who flickered over Tu Wang’s pupils.
Then Am Wang spoke in a mysterious and calm tone.
“Looking at your condition, it seems there is no reason for betrayal.”
Geugak Soma’s breathing could be heard.
“Haah... haah...”
Rough breaths came from beneath the mask.
Having listened quietly to that breathing, Geommugeuk flicked his finger.
Tak!
Then the surroundings changed.
Geommugeuk and Geugak Soma stood at the edge of a cliff, with Tu Wang standing a dozen or so paces away.
“My internal energy is all but exhausted. How about a cliff-edge tactic?”
At Geommugeuk’s words, Am Wang made a puzzled expression. Her eyes seemed to say that the Young Cult Leader would never choose such a method.
Geommugeuk turned to Geugak Soma and asked.
“Can you swim well?”
“I can.”
Then Geommugeuk ruthlessly pushed Geugak Soma off the cliff.
“What are you doing?”
Tu Wang did not understand, but Am Wang realized Geommugeuk’s intention.
“You sent Geugak Soma to circulate his true qi for a full cycle and return.”
For once his internal energy was completely exhausted, he would be unable to block their attacks.
“The reason you chose such a cliff is so that we cannot easily find him.”
Admiration flickered in Am Wang’s wavering eyes.
“Anyone could think of such a plan. But it is not easy to conceive of it in the midst of such frantic fighting. The Young Cult Leader is truly clever.”
“You, who read my intent in an instant, are no pushover either.”
“In any case, it is over now. By the time Geugak Soma returns after circulating his true qi, you will already be dead.”
For it had already been proven through the fighting thus far that he could not win alone.
Tu Wang charged again.
One on one.
At the edge of the cliff, fist and sword clashed.
Geommugeuk did not retreat from the cliff’s edge.
He gritted his teeth and fought desperately, yet he could not handle it alone.
In the end, he could not hold out for even thirty moves, and Geommugeuk collapsed on the ground.
Geommugeuk, gasping for breath, appeared to have completely exhausted his internal energy. His hand trembled as he tried to grasp his fallen sword beside him, but ultimately he could not seize it.
Tu Wang approached, looked down at him, and spoke.
“Why didn’t you jump off the cliff and flee?”
Am Wang answered in his stead.
“If you had, we would have jumped after you. Then Geugak Soma might have died. To think you would rather die first—truly impressive.”
Am Wang looked down with admiring eyes and then issued her final order.
“Send the Young Cult Leader on his way first, as he wishes. When the Young Cult Leader dies, the Spacetime Transposition Technique will break, and Geugak Soma will be revealed as well.”
Tu Wang clashed his two fists together and laughed.
Ka-ang! Ka-ang!
Then Tu Wang’s iron chains gleamed. It was not from his fists striking together.
A ray of light flowed along the chains. That light stretched long, traveling up Tu Wang’s body to his face.
In that instant, Tu Wang opened his eyes narrowly. Faint but unmistakable, what entered his eyes was light.
Tu Wang looked up at the sky with a shocked face.
Lines of light began to appear at the sun’s edge. They resembled the rims of Tu Wang’s pupils.
As the moon began to quickly separate from the sun, the world trapped in darkness regained its light.
The solar eclipse had ended in an instant.
At the same time, the world grew dazzlingly bright.
Shock crossed Tu Wang’s face. Am Wang’s expression, still overlapping with his, grew grave. Something that absolutely should not have happened outside the Spacetime Transposition Technique was unfolding.
Lying on the ground, Geommugeuk spoke.
“You said it yourself. Where there is light, darkness must also coexist. But is there not also no such thing as eternal darkness?”
Am Wang answered calmly.
“What a pity. If those outside had succeeded just a little earlier, you might have won, Young Cult Leader.”
“A pity indeed. Under this sun, I could have killed you as well.”
Am Wang gave no answer.
Now that the power sustaining the Dark Descent Technique had been severed, that could truly have been possible.
“Still, I am fortunate to die in a bright place.”
Tu Wang grabbed the collar of the fallen Geommugeuk and hauled him upright.
“You stubborn bastard! This is the end!”
He was the one who had endured all that agony for this very moment.
Kkwak.
Right then, Geommugeuk seized both of Tu Wang’s wrists.
“Struggling is—”
In that instant, Tu Wang’s expression stiffened. Geommugeuk still had internal energy left.
Geommugeuk held him fast so he could not move. Was he pouring out all his remaining internal energy? It was tremendous force. Why had he pretended to have none when he still possessed internal energy?
‘Why on earth?’
Then Am Wang was struck with alarm.
“Surely not!”
The moment Tu Wang instinctively turned his head back.
The last thing he saw was a massive palm.
In that instant when the two overlapping eyes of Tu Wang and Am Wang widened simultaneously.
Swhaaaaaaaa!
Geugak Soma’s Mageuk Gwangpokjang was unleashed right in front of Tu Wang’s face.
POOOOONG!
Tu Wang’s head was swept away by the energy blast.
In truth, Geugak Soma had not completely exhausted his internal energy. He had exactly enough left to unleash the Mageuk Gwangpokjang once.
It was the two’s plan. A life-or-death ruse that could have killed them had it failed.
There was an outcropping below the cliff that Geommugeuk had created for him to stand upon. Geugak Soma had waited there for this very moment when they let their guard down. This moment when they were intoxicated by victory!
And, as if on cue, the plan shone even brighter as the eclipse ended.
The two could be certain. That Tu Wang would never return.
Tu Wang, with everything above his neck completely gone, remained standing.
In the place where Tu Wang’s face had been, Am Wang’s face could be seen instead, standing before them. It was as if Am Wang’s head had been attached to Tu Wang’s body.
Am Wang had escaped from his body just before Tu Wang died. It had been close—too close. They could not have guaranteed withstanding that attack even in the darkness, let alone beneath this sunlight?
It was also the very moment that Geommugeuk’s question hit the mark—whether that black smoke might betray you at some point.
Looking at her, who had been overlapping with Tu Wang all this time, now flickering alone beneath the sunlight, Geommugeuk spoke calmly.
“Now I can see your face properly.”