Episode 444. Distortion. (2)
The heat filling the grand hall made it hard to breathe.
No matter how much I had suppressed my presence, from the perspective of someone who had mastered fire arts, it was suffocating enough to make breathing difficult.
I couldn't help but make an absurd expression at the fiery energy gradually devouring the wide area.
‘I really devoured a hell of a lot, didn't I.’
The amount of inner qi contained in that heat was nonsensical.
Feeling it directly like this, I was newly struck by how much of a crazy bastard I was back then.
Breaking through to a realm I shouldn't have been able to reach due to lack of enlightenment, by force, through overwhelming inner qi.
One might not know how bizarre and nonsensical a thing this was.
Properly speaking, realms were supposed to be built sturdily from the bottom up, like climbing a high tower.
Energy was like a river spreading widely around the tower.
Yet, in this process, before even building the tower.
‘I had consumed energy to raise my height.’
I had raised the river high and forcibly gone upward.
To think I had gone upward by raising the river instead of building the tower to reach that place.
How much inner qi must have gone into this?
It was a figure unimaginable now.
Though the amount of inner qi I currently possessed was by no means low, compared to my previous life right now, it was like heaven and earth.
‘No wonder it took so long for my body to adapt after the regression.’
Trying to use martial arts that I had wildly unleashed with inexhaustible inner qi, with energy now reduced to the size of a bean—how much had I struggled in the beginning?
Of course, thanks to that, I had learned compression from Elder Shin, and though I prided myself that my martial prowess was better now thanks to subsequent training and some enlightenments.
The me of my previous life had possessed enough inner qi to destroy all of that.
Regardless of martial prowess. Regardless of enlightenment regarding it.
The overwhelming energy that would remain even after destroying all of that. Such was the power of having devoured inner qi to the extreme using the Demonic Heavenly Absorption Art.
The energy that couldn't be controlled and was expressed outward turned into presence.
With my broken mind at the time added on top, murderous intent even took shape within that presence, making it no different from the reincarnation of an evil god.
Watching something like that right before my eyes, only curses came out.
‘Devouring energy I can't even control. And not even trying.’
Containing that much energy, yet not thinking about how to control it.
Meaning I didn't put in the effort or even the thought to do so.
Thud, thud, thud.
As Maje moved his hand, Geomma, who had been embedded in the wall, was pulled out.
Thud!
He roughly swung his hand and threw Geomma to the ground. At this, Geomma rolled several times before finally stopping and exhaling roughly.
It was obvious at a glance that Geomma's condition wasn't normal.
"Kuhuk... huck..."
It was plain to see that his energy was tangled.
The domain Geomma had been manifesting had already been completely torn apart by Maje's hand.
It seemed the backlash came from within because he had been ambushed while trying to strike.
‘Truly a crude method.’
The speed was on a different level, so not being able to see it was perhaps natural.
I knew exactly how that bastard had subdued Geomma.
To others, it might have looked like he solved it with tremendous martial prowess.
It wasn't such an outstanding method.
He had simply torn through the energy crudely and suppressed him with force.
Nothing but brute force.
That was my way of resolving things at the time.
Thud.
Maje approaches him.
"Geomma."
He flinched.
Whether he heard the voice, Geomma's back quivered.
It seemed he hadn't lost consciousness.
"What do you think you're doing right now?"
Crunch.
"Kgh...!"
Maje approached Geomma and trampled his throat.
Pressing down with slight force like that, Geomma let out a suppressed groan.
"Lo... rd..."
"I'm sure I warned you several times. Not to act rashly before my eyes."
As those cold words left his mouth, the black flames burning around him spread violently outward.
Fwoosh!
"Kyaaaaak!?"
The black flames that flew in quickly attached themselves to the demons of the Gwichalgeomdae who had been watching cautiously nearby.
At this, the demons began to burn to death without being able to properly respond to the sudden situation.
Even in that situation, that bastard kept his eyes only on Geomma.
"Speak. So that I can be convinced."
"...I... was... wrong..."
"Is that all the explanation you have?"
Thud!
"Kkgh...!"
At Geomma's words, Maje's presence grew even larger. The air was heavily crushed by inner qi, and blood spurted from Geomma's mouth.
"The only reason I haven't pulled out your worthless tongue is my mercy. The reason I haven't torn off your arm is because your swordsmanship was at least worth watching. However."
Maje's hand moved toward Geomma's left shoulder.
That bastard grabbed it just like that.
Squelch—crack!
"Kyaaaaaaaah!"
He grabbed the arm and ripped it out entirely.
"...!"
The other demons who saw that swallowed their breath.
While Geomma screamed in pain.
Maje ignited a flame and burned the arm he was holding.
So that it could never be reattached.
"Since you were doing such pointless acts with that sword, I wonder what I should think. Isn't that right, Geomma?"
The bastard's eyes looking down at Geomma, who trembled violently clutching his missing shoulder, were the same as before.
As always, he simply looked down with an indifferent gaze.
While everyone was swallowing dry saliva, crushed by fear.
‘This is fucked up, really.’
Only I was on the verge of bursting with disgust at this situation.
My gaze was directed not at Maje, but at Geomma.
‘His arm got torn off.’
Geomma was right-handed, so losing his left arm was fortunate in a way, but having lost one arm, there must be a huge problem with his martial prowess.
If it comes to this….
‘...It'll be a problem when fighting the Heavenly Lord.’
Geomma had been scheduled to face the Heavenly Lord together with Mageomhu.
With this, a variable had occurred.
‘This too is because of me.’
With the existence called ‘me’ appearing, a distortion occurred in the flow that should have been.
Originally, this situation shouldn't have happened at all. So it was only natural.
‘What should I do?’
I had expected this might happen, but the process was far more extreme than expected.
That bastard, to think he'd actually rip off the arm.
‘Isn't he a crazy bastard?’
He should know.
Apart from reducing the Demonic Cult's forces. That Geomma was needed in the current situation.
Precisely because he knew that, he had kept that bastard alive until now.
‘Then why is he doing this now?’
Even though that bastard was me, I couldn't understand why he had acted that way just now.
If it were me in this situation….
‘...Hm.’
I glanced toward Mageomhu.
If I had seen that Geomma had drawn his sword truly intending to kill Mageomhu, and if that were the current me.
‘I would have killed him.’
Regardless of the situation or whatever, if I had the power, I would have killed him.
However, that's only because this is the current me; the me of that time was….
‘...’
Feeling something strange, I looked at Maje once more.
That bastard had no special feelings for Mageomhu.
Just an annoying crazy bitch. A damn bitch who couldn't even understand words properly.
He was definitely thinking that way.
‘Is that really true?’
I couldn't be certain.
To say that it was really true, the moment Mageomhu died came to mind.
Was she really nothing to me?
If so, why did I.
‘Get so enraged.’
It was a contradiction.
An inexplicable tremor arising from that difference felt like my insides were flipping over.
That bastard's appearance now was the same.
Having grabbed and burned the arm, Maje soon stood up and kicked Geomma away.
"Keoheok!"
Geomma, having taken the kick, flew toward the surviving members of the Gwichalgeomdae.
"Remove him."
At the short command, the demons hurriedly took care of Geomma.
Having confirmed that sight, Maje walked to the wrecked throne and,
Hwoop!
creating a wind pressure from his body, cleared away the surrounding debris before sitting on the throne.
‘Couldn't he just not sit on it?’
Such a thought came to me inadvertently inside, but I decided not to care about it anymore.
No, it's not like I can stop caring just because I decide to. I should at least try.
On the throne of the great hall turned into a mess. Maje's gaze turned toward Mageomhu.
His eyes, seemingly somewhat exhausted, felt particularly deep.
"Vice Lord...."
At the call, Mageomhu nodded her head slightly.
"You showed behavior unbefitting of you."
"..."
"Have you truly gone mad?"
"...Sorry...."
Maje's voice contained faint anger. That bastard looked at Mageomhu with purple eyes filled with irritation and continued.
"I will not overlook things anymore. If you cause troublesome problems again next time, you too will have your arm torn off like Geomma."
"..."
At the warning, Mageomhu nodded her head again this time.
At that appearance of Maje, I had to let out hollow words inside.
‘He doesn't say he'll kill her.’
Was it because I was thinking differently?
Gestures and words I wouldn't have noticed in the past caught my eye.
Far from issuing warnings, this was a bastard who would immediately kill anyone who was in the way or useless, yet he was kindly giving a warning.
Moreover, saying he'd tear off her arm meant he was letting it slide this time and would spare her life next time as well.
‘This...’
Ha.
Forcing my expression under control, I internally laughed, absurdly enough.
Wondering why I had only realized this now.
‘It's far too late, no matter how you look at it.’
A lament directed at my foolish self.
Even to the me of that time.
The existence called Mageomhu had apparently never been small. I didn't know that then.
Even after the regression, I only realized it now.
‘Stupid bastard.’
That bastard before my eyes probably wouldn't know this fact until he died. He would meet his end while lamenting the life he had lived, looking only at one woman's life.
I won't say that life is wrong.
Because this life of mine wasn't much different.
However.
‘The method will not be the same.’
It was a life for that purpose.
Therefore, I had to grasp what this world expected of me. And on top of that.
‘With Geomma disposed of like that... what now?’
It was beginning to differ even from the previous life I knew.
Perhaps the story had been greatly distorted by this incident, so I had to think even more carefully.
With that mindset, I tried to watch the situation a bit longer, but.
"I have a report."
I didn't know.
That there was something I had damnably failed to know.
That the distortion hadn't begun with this incident.
But had already been starting from the moment I fell into this world.
Immediately after the situation was barely brought under control.
Mukgwon, who appeared right after, knelt before Maje and spoke thus.
"We have received information that the Martial Alliance's forces are gathering at the border heading toward Sacheon."
"The Martial Alliance?"
"Yes. And there..."
The story of this world.
"The Little Sword Saint has also been sighted together with them."
Had already begun to distort.