〈 Chapter 451 〉 This Isn't Right. (3)
Clank.
The damp smell of humidity mixed with the uniquely metallic, fishy stench of iron.
There was a small window, but not a single ray of light came through.
Only a tiny lamp clinging to the wall lit the surroundings.
It was a situation that felt like I'd experienced it somewhere before.
At this vaguely familiar situation, I unknowingly let out a hollow, slight laugh.
Crack—
When I raised my hands and moved them slightly, I felt something hindering me.
Handcuffs were binding my wrists tightly.
"…"
I frowned at the sight. I wondered if mere handcuffs could stop me, but—
Looking them over, I thought I could more or less figure out what they were.
'They used something ridiculously expensive.'
An item possessing this level of cold energy and hardness was a dead giveaway.
'Myriad Year Cold Iron…'
These handcuffs were definitely made of Myriad Year Cold Iron.
Unless they were at that level, it would be impossible to bind a martial artist of peak realm or higher.
'Though it seems crudely mixed…'
Myriad Year Cold Iron wasn't something that just rolled around everywhere, so there was no way they'd used pure cold iron just to make a pair of handcuffs.
'Well, there should be more than in the future, at least.'
If this was still the past world, there would be more Myriad Year Cold Iron here than in the world after my regression.
Originally, Myriad Year Cold Iron was such a precious material that it was difficult to obtain even at astronomical prices.
However, roughly four to five years from now, an escort agency located in the Zhejiang region would discover a mine filled with Myriad Year Cold Iron, causing the quantity to increase drastically.
Of course.
In the process, the escort agency that discovered it would be wiped out by a mysterious raid.
Or the Martial Alliance would be caught secretly circulating it.
All sorts of incidents would occur, but the result was that there would indeed be more Myriad Year Cold Iron than before.
Thanks to that, they could even mix Myriad Year Cold Iron into handcuffs like this.
'…Absurd.'
Even a microscopic amount of Myriad Year Cold Iron was treated as a renowned blade.
Yet in this time period, Myriad Year Cold Iron was being mixed into handcuffs.
Truly ridiculous.
'When I get back, I should make a trip to Zhejiang as well.'
This was the biggest reason why, despite having a shitload of things to do, I hadn't particularly worried about money.
While I didn't know the entire future, I was in a position where I remembered the major events.
Naturally, I remembered the matter of Myriad Year Cold Iron as well.
What worried me was that the flow had changed significantly, so if I tried to time things appropriately, problems might arise even then.
At this point, it was no longer something I could blindly believe just because I knew the information.
'Still, I can't not go.'
It was Myriad Year Cold Iron, of all things.
Since it would be of considerable help for the future, it was a shame to give up.
Looking at the handcuffs and thinking this way and that, a sudden feeling of emptiness washed over me, and I slumped.
Because right now wasn't the time to be thinking about such things.
"Ha…"
I looked back at the wall.
Then—*clunk*! The movement from the floor made my body float up slightly.
Feeling that uncomfortable sensation, I spat out bluntly.
"Ah…driving like shit."
It was quite coarse language, but—
No matter what, I couldn't come up with anything nice to say.
My situation was just like that.
I was currently inside a moving carriage.
Ah, I couldn't see it, so I couldn't be certain, but given the situation and the sensations, it was definitely the case.
In this constantly vibrating and thumping space, I ground my teeth.
I was currently being transported to the Martial Alliance forces.
Looking at the bound handcuffs, I sighed repeatedly.
"Ah, this isn't right…"
How had I ended up in this situation?
"How, my ass."
There was no need to even think about it.
The reason I ended up like this was entirely—
Something I had brought upon myself.
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*Rumble—!*
A rough sound echoed from the dark clouds that had suddenly formed in the sky.
Inside the blackened clouds, tingling thunder energy coiled about, raging as if it would strike the ground at any moment.
Was that phenomenon truly created by a human? It was enough to inspire a measure of awe.
Looking at the martial artist who created this phenomenon, I recalled her alias.
'Thunder Empress (雷后).'
It was another alias of the Demonic Sword Empress, and the one I thought suited her best.
Having reached the extreme in handling thunder energy, she had attained the realm where she could cause anomalies in nature.
This was the realm that those who used external-type martial arts and energy strived to reach by any means.
A martial artist whose handling of energy, including the Unity of Sword and Self, was honed to the extreme.
I recalled the state of transcendence that Paejon had once spoken of.
He had said it was a state of becoming one by transcending the framework of martial arts.
Looking at the current Demonic Sword Empress, I couldn't be certain, but I judged that she had either reached that realm or was right on the verge.
There was no way she could show such an appearance otherwise.
*Rumble—!*
The range of the dark clouds gradually expanded.
The thunder energy emanating from the Demonic Sword Empress herself also grew much denser.
As if she had decided to unleash her full power, the energy radiating from her was no joke.
'Why is she really acting like this?'
I swallowed a groan as I watched.
Why was she really doing this?
I was surprised to hear that the Little Sword Saint wanted me.
But seeing the Demonic Sword Empress react like that instead was even more surprising.
'No, I'm the one they want over there, so why is she acting like that?'
I thought she might be angry because a newly acquired subordinate was about to be dragged away, but—
'Her?'
There was no way the Demonic Sword Empress would do that.
To begin with, even if she belonged to the Black Flame Squad, she had no connection with other demons, and the Demonic Sword Empress, who had zero interest in others, wouldn't care about a newcomer.
'Then what?'
I squinted my eyes at the Demonic Sword Empress, who was drawing out killing intent like mad.
This is really—
'Did she figure out who I am?'
I wondered if there was any chance of that, but if so, how did she notice?
I couldn't know.
My martial arts were sealed, my appearance was completely different, and at this point, the Black Flame Demonic Emperor was already walking around intact.
I had experienced regression, but it was impossible for the Demonic Sword Empress, who obviously hadn't experienced such a thing, to recognize me.
"…Demonic Sword Empress."
The Thunder Shadow (雷映) of the Demonic Sword Empress spread out tinglingly.
The one most flustered by this sight was none other than the Little Sword Saint.
It was probably because she knew the Demonic Sword Empress's killing intent was genuine.
*Crackle—!*
Thunder energy formed a sword aura that enveloped the Demonic Sword Empress's blade.
The Demonic Sword Empress, bearing an aura that seemed ready to explode at any moment, walked toward the Little Sword Saint.
At this, the Little Sword Saint, frowning, also began to wrap herself in her unique energy.
'Uh?'
My eyes widened as I watched.
I was bewildered that the Little Sword Saint was raising her energy as if to confront this head-on.
'Is a real fight going to break out?'
It was savage.
Moreover, the Demonic Sword Empress was affiliated with the Demonic Cult but didn't use demonic energy.
That meant she wasn't resisted by the Little Sword Saint's demon-subduing power.
She was the only one on the Demonic Cult's side who could fight the Little Sword Saint with pure skill alone.
In other words, if battle broke out, they could really fight to the death.
*Srrrring.*
Several energies rose behind the Little Sword Saint and transformed into the shape of swords.
In her other hand, a sword appeared as well.
Dual-wielding.
In one hand, her beloved sword.
And in the other, a sword made of energy.
Furthermore, countless blades flew behind her back in the form of flying sword arts.
This was the appearance of the Wolseon Sword Dance that she used.
Having assumed a combat stance, the Little Sword Saint spoke toward the Demonic Sword Empress with a sharper gaze than usual.
"Demonic Sword Empress, are you saying you wish to fight like this?"
"If you wish."
Even to the Little Sword Saint's words, the Demonic Sword Empress was nothing but resolute.
"Even the Demonic Emperor remains silent; why are you stepping forward?"
The Demonic Emperor, the de facto leader of the demons present, didn't utter a word and merely watched the two.
It was a gaze as if wondering how things would proceed.
That son of a bitch can't even stop them; he's just spectating.
'You bastard, I hope your heart bursts and you die.'
I cursed him inwardly with burning eyes.
Meanwhile, despite the Little Sword Saint's words, the Demonic Sword Empress showed no intention of stopping.
Truly, if wished, she looked ready to spill blood immediately.
Thunder energy permeated the Demonic Sword Empress's white hair, changing its color.
Her blue eyes, which had seemed to hold the sea, were the same.
Having completely taken on the appearance of the Thunder Empress (雷后), the Demonic Sword Empress approached the Little Sword Saint and spoke.
"That doesn't matter."
"…"
"Nothing at all."
"What do you mean…"
The moment the Little Sword Saint held confusion at the Demonic Sword Empress's answer.
"What's important is that you are trying to take him from me. And I have no intention of letting him be taken."
"…!"
The Little Sword Saint's eyes widened at the Demonic Sword Empress's words, spoken firmly and clearly, unlike her usual awkward speech pattern.
Her eyes turned cold.
"I have no intention of giving anything to you as you are now."
"Demonic Sword Empress…!"
*Ruuuumble—!*
Thunder gathered in the air.
At the rapidly shifting situation, the killing intent of the martial artists on both sides soared.
The Celestial Venerable still stood with his hands behind his back, but I could sense an alien energy around him.
It meant he was at a level where he could intervene at any moment. The Demonic Emperor showed no particular intention of intervening in this situation either.
He appeared to simply be watching, but in my view, he was probably thinking all sorts of things inside.
I was the same.
'What should I do?'
I didn't know anything from one to ten.
I didn't know why the Demonic Sword Empress was so furious, or why the Little Sword Saint—no, the Martial Alliance—suddenly wanted me.
I didn't know how the situation had ended up like this.
But what I could know, at least—
'If I leave it like this, I'm fucked.'
If I stupidly just kept watching, something big would happen.
I sprang up from my seat.
I felt like I would be torn apart by the Demonic Sword Empress's thunder energy at any moment, but I didn't stop.
I might not know her intentions, but I knew she saw me differently.
Was it because of a shallow conviction tinged with anxiety?
I pushed through the thunder energy and grabbed her wrist.
"…!"
The Demonic Sword Empress looked at me with fierce eyes at the sudden contact, but—
The moment she confirmed it was me who had grabbed her—
*Fsssss…*
I could see the thunder energy surging through her body disappear in an instant.
The dark clouds filling the sky also disappeared, and the scattered killing intent diminished as well.
What remained was only the Demonic Sword Empress's gaze looking at my wrist.
*Zzt—*
A tingling pain brushed across my wrist, and upon checking, I saw a burn from the thunder energy bleeding.
The Demonic Sword Empress's pupils shook upon seeing that.
Looking at that, I reflected inwardly.
The Demonic Sword Empress was treating me specially.
The fact that she didn't pull out her sword to cut my throat upon contact was the reason, and—
The fact that she wasn't shaking off the hand I held was proof of that.
Having thought that far, I spoke to the Demonic Sword Empress.
"I'm fine."
"…"
"I'm fine. So please calm down."
Even as I spoke, I looked at her worriedly, wondering what reaction she would show.
I could see the killing intent surging from her gradually decrease.
The Demonic Sword Empress returned to her original appearance.
Having confirmed that, I stared at the Little Sword Saint.
"You said you wanted me?"
Perhaps not expecting me to speak to her so abruptly, the Little Sword Saint flinched slightly.
At that reaction, I clicked my tongue inwardly.
This was a situation where the Heavenly Demon had clearly warned against coveting Sichuan.
An affair worth gathering full power and ignoring that warning.
It meant they wanted me even if it meant war, with the Celestial Venerable and Little Sword Saint intervening.
Why?
'Like I know.'
What mattered here was that I was the problem, no matter what.
It also meant there was someone who wanted me.
'A figure capable of moving the Little Sword Saint and Celestial Venerable for such a matter.'
There was such a figure behind them.
If they said they wanted me specifically, it meant they knew something about my situation, even if vaguely.
Which meant—
'I don't know who it is, but it's probably better to meet them first.'
It could be someone who knows about this strange world.
Though it looked dangerous at a glance.
I couldn't let the Little Sword Saint and Demonic Sword Empress fight here, nor could I trigger a war.
In the end, the choice I could make right then was only one.
"…Let's go."
Going for now.
In my view, this was the best option at the moment.
******************
And so, currently.
I was trapped inside a dark carriage with only a single lantern, handcuffed.
All I could feel was the rattling vibration of the carriage.
'How far are we going?'
To Henan, where the Martial Alliance headquarters was?
No way, that was too far.
It would take months by carriage, so that couldn't be it.
'…Was this really the right thing to do?'
I twisted my body this way and that, thinking.
I had acted recklessly, but if asked whether it was a good choice, it wasn't.
It was merely the optimal choice I could make.
At that time, when I said I would go of my own accord, the Demonic Sword Empress tried to stop me.
But the Demonic Emperor, who had been silent, restrained her.
I understood his intentions.
Since the Martial Alliance wanted someone he was already suspicious of, he probably did it thinking the Little Sword Saint might be endangered in a pointless battle.
'…I wouldn't have done that if it were me.'
The Demonic Emperor was me, but the current me found that choice slightly questionable.
If it were me, I would have fought to protect myself, whom the Martial Alliance wanted.
Because there must be a reason they wanted me even if it meant fighting.
I had to feel something strange about the Demonic Emperor for letting me go so easily.
Was it because my thinking had changed through regression compared to back then?
'I don't know.'
Now I wasn't even sure of that anymore.
What I was somewhat certain of was that this world was different from the one I knew.
That was the biggest problem.
'Subtly different.'
Something was definitely different.
Not just regarding the Thunder Child, but I couldn't shake off this alien sensation I felt.
'Ha.'
Would something bad happen if I just let things slide moderately?
Once something blows up, nothing ever passes easily.
'My life, really.'
At this point, I wonder if there's just no such thing as luck in my life.
'What the hell do they want me to do?'
Hadn't they said the name of the trial was regret?
Dang Jemun said I would have to choose something, and that any choice would be fine.
Looking at it so far, the moment to make such a significant choice hadn't come.
What do they want from me, what do they want by putting me in this situation?
The more I thought about it, the more irritation seemed to wash over me.
"Sigh…"
While I was sighing all day like this.
*Clank—! Thud—!*
The carriage shook greatly once, and then I could feel it gradually slowing down.
Right after.
*Squeak.*
The closed carriage door opened, letting in a faint light.
Frowning and looking that way, the first thing I saw was gorgeous blonde hair.
"…Come out."
The one who opened the door was the Little Sword Saint.
Looking at her, I forced myself to speak nonchalantly.
"Have we arrived already?"
At most, it felt like only a day or two had passed.
If it was only that distance, it meant we hadn't gone very far.
And we had already arrived?
For now, I raised my stiff body and pulled myself outside.
It was night outside.
I could feel gazes around me.
All the martial artists on the Alliance side were looking at me.
The contempt and hatred toward a demon in their eyes were clearly visible.
I brushed off such gazes nonchalantly and surveyed the surroundings.
'I don't see the Celestial Venerable.'
I didn't know if he was guarding the perimeter or hiding somewhere.
At my level, I couldn't detect him.
"Follow me…"
Leaving those words, the Little Sword Saint moved first.
Looking at the direction she was going, it was a dark forest.
"…"
Without saying anything else, I followed behind her.
I couldn't sense other martial artists coming. Were they sending just the two of us?
As I walked, I suddenly spoke to the Little Sword Saint.
"Excuse me."
At my call, the Little Sword Saint flinched slightly and looked this way.
"Can't you undo these?"
I was talking about the handcuffs bound around my hands.
Upon hearing that, the Little Sword Saint looked at me as if asking what nonsense this was.
"My dantian is blocked anyway, so if you'd just undo them…?"
"I cannot."
"Tch."
Her firm answer left me unable to ask further. Besides, I wouldn't undo them either if I were her.
"Then at least tell me who is looking for me?"
"…"
This time, no answer came at all.
As I looked at her golden eyes filled with silence and strange emotions, I suddenly felt an inexplicable hesitation mixed in her pupils.
Just as I wondered why she was looking like that.
"What is your name?"
She asked me.
I flinched momentarily at the rather blunt question.
Because I hadn't expected her to ask for my name out of nowhere.
I tried to brush it off while feigning nonchalance.
"…You said you wanted me specifically, but you don't even know my name?"
"What I felt… was merely the energy contained within you."
At the Little Sword Saint's words, I finally understood the reason she had singled me out.
'Was the resonance the problem?'
It seemed I had resonated with the energy of the Divine Sword.
That seemed to be the reason she singled me out.
Which meant, she knew that someone whose energy resonated with hers—
In other words, that I was here.
'What.'
How did she know?
My doubt about that deepened.
"…"
As the Little Sword Saint looked at me like that and tried to open her mouth to ask again.
*Sssssss…!!*
"…!"
From behind, I felt an inexplicable chill.
At the spine-chilling sensation, I widened my eyes and shifted my gaze.
There.
*Tear—!*
A rift was suddenly beginning to open in the air.
At this, the Little Sword Saint wore a calm expression without a hint of surprise, as if she had known.
The identity of the rift was unmistakably a Demonic Realm Gate.
I was furrowing my brows at the sudden appearance of the Demonic Realm Gate when I saw someone walking through from beyond the dimension.
*Step—*
Light and graceful footsteps.
The one who boldly walked out from the dimension was a woman wearing a veil.
As I stared blankly wondering who that was, the woman slowly approached and then—
*Swoosh.*
Suddenly bowed her head to me.
"I greet the existence from another world."
Immediately after, an incomprehensible honorific was heard.
As I furrowed my brows wondering what this situation was.
The woman raised her head and spoke to me thus.
"I am called the Dancing Maiden (舞姬)."
She introduced herself as such.
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