By the time the Little Sword Saint opened her eyes again,
the surroundings were filled with bustling voices.
“Quickly… Move!”
“There’s… no time…!”
The hurried sounds came one after another.
At that, the Little Sword Saint abruptly opened her eyes and sat bolt upright.
“…Haa… haa.”
As she exhaled ragged breaths,
a voice came from beside her.
“Are you awake?”
The Little Sword Saint turned her gaze toward the owner of the voice.
The man trembled when their eyes met.
Her gaze had been far too cold.
Perhaps realizing it herself, the Little Sword Saint hurriedly schooled her expression.
It was also because the man was someone she knew.
“…The Beggar King?”
The man’s alias was the Beggar King.
He was the eyes and ears of the orthodox faction, commanding every beggar in the Central Plains.
At the Little Sword Saint’s words, the Beggar King gave a slight cough before adding,
“It seems something serious happened… Your expression is rather unusual.”
“…”
The Little Sword Saint gave no answer.
The Beggar King did not ask any further, as though he had expected that response.
Watching the people murmuring outside, the Little Sword Saint asked another question.
“…What happened?”
“It’s nothing… Nothing serious.”
“Beggar King.”
Her voice, somewhat colder now, pierced into the Beggar King.
“What happened?”
It was a voice demanding a proper explanation. The Beggar King let out a deep sigh.
Normally, she was not like this, but at times like these, her instincts were remarkably sharp.
Nevertheless.
“It really is… nothing serious.”
This time, the Beggar King had no intention of telling her.
“It’s something that can be handled without the Little Sword Saint having to step forward. It would be better for you to simply remain here for now.”
To be honest, the situation was certainly troublesome.
But they could not exactly force the fallen Little Sword Saint to her feet and send her out.
Of course,
the higher-ups were clamoring for someone to contact the Little Sword Saint immediately.
‘Those bastards.’
The bitter taste of the orthodox faction’s worn-out righteousness lingered.
What kind of righteousness and chivalry was it to make a single woman bear all the burdens?
He already knew that it had rotted away, but the more time passed, the more disgusted he became.
Would it not be better to let it all burn away, then build anew?
Or perhaps—
‘Maybe it would be better to let the Heavenly Demon win.’
He had been driven so far as to entertain such a damned thought.
Knowing that he must not think that way only made him feel more pathetic.
The problem was—
“Beggar King.”
Regardless of what the Beggar King felt, the Little Sword Saint had no intention of staying put.
“Where is the Heaven Venerable?”
“…”
“Please answer me.”
At the Little Sword Saint’s question, the Beggar King looked away for a moment before finally letting out a deep sigh.
“The Heaven Venerable has left… It seems he headed toward Sichuan.”
“…”
The Little Sword Saint bit her lip at his answer.
That was exactly how he had appeared just before she lost consciousness.
Creak—!
The instant she rose and tried to leave, the Beggar King blocked her path.
“Where do you think you’re going in that condition?”
“…Please move.”
“I’ll say it again. This is a situation that does not require the Little Sword Saint to step forward. Don’t ruin your body by forcing yourself out there…”
“I have to go.”
Despite the Beggar King’s attempts to stop her, the Little Sword Saint’s eyes remained resolute.
Meeting that gaze, the Beggar King finally furrowed his brow.
“It is the Heaven Venerable we’re talking about, not anyone else. He is certain to return unharmed. I have just sent word to the Tyrant Venerable as well…”
“The Tyrant Venerable?”
“…!”
Damn it.
The Beggar King bit his lip as he realized the mistake he had made.
“You contacted the Tyrant Venerable?”
“…Well…”
“That means this is not ‘nothing serious’ after all.”
As expected, the Little Sword Saint immediately caught the problem in his slip of the tongue.
The Tyrant Venerable should have been hunting fiends in a region not far from here, having received another order.
The fact that they had gone so far as to contact him and ask him to come here implied any number of things.
“What exactly happened…?”
Just as the Little Sword Saint was about to raise her voice in anger—
Boom—!
“…!”
Sensing something in her body, the Little Sword Saint dropped to one knee.
“Little Sword Saint!”
The Beggar King hurriedly tried to support her, but she raised a hand and refused his help.
“Haa… Hah…”
A ragged breath escaped her.
A resonance began in her dantian and reached all the way to her heart.
The veins across her body stood out, while the thunderous beat of her heart pounded in her ears.
Her exhausted body was wracked by violent vibrations, and it felt as though she might lose consciousness again at any moment.
But the Little Sword Saint bit down hard on her tongue and held on to her senses.
‘So that’s why….’
The maddening sensation.
Feeling it, the Little Sword Saint understood why everyone around her had been so busy.
She also understood why the Beggar King had been so reluctant to tell her anything.
There was only one reason she could feel this resonance.
“The Heavenly Demon…”
“…!”
“Has she come?”
At her words, the Beggar King’s face twisted.
The Little Sword Saint found certainty in his expression.
She immediately rose to her feet and—
Fwoooosh—!!
drew up all the energy within her body.
“Little Sword Saint…! Wait…!”
The Beggar King tried to stop her, but—
Faaahhhhh—!!
the Little Sword Saint ignored him and shot into the air with all her might.
Her destination was the place from which she could feel the resonance.
**************
By the time she arrived at her destination,
the Little Sword Saint had to swallow a groan when she saw the being looking up at her from the ground.
A black robe and dark black hair.
The moment she met the purple eyes set within that darkness, a cold sweat broke out across her body.
And on top of that—
Boom! Boom!
the resonance continued without pause.
Forcing herself to ignore those grating sensations, the Little Sword Saint surveyed the surroundings.
Then she spotted them immediately.
“…Ah.”
The Heaven Venerable’s head lay rolling across the ground, while a young man beside it stared at her with startled eyes.
The moment she saw the young man, the Little Sword Saint had to suppress her surprise.
‘Why?’
Unlike the appearance she had seen just before, his very existence had been transformed.
What could have happened?
Seeing him, she clenched her fists tightly.
“…Heavenly Demon.”
She quietly uttered that name, suppressing her anger.
Fwoosh—!
“…!”
The Little Sword Saint’s body was forcibly dragged down from the air.
Before she could properly react, she was pulled straight to the ground.
Crash—!
She barely regained her balance and performed a breakfall.
She immediately tried to draw up her energy and respond, when—
“If you have come, you should greet me first. Why do you merely stare?”
The voice came from directly before her, and the Little Sword Saint raised her head sharply.
Familiar features stood before her, as though reflected on the surface of water.
“You still have an ugly face.”
At the Heavenly Demon’s words, the Little Sword Saint deeply furrowed her brow.
“…Why are you here, Heavenly Demon?”
The Heavenly Demon gave her an odd look as she answered.
“What a strange question.”
A faint arrogance was bound within that expression.
“There is no place in this world that I cannot go. What a pointless question.”
“…”
“Besides—”
Crack crack crack—!
“…!”
The Little Sword Saint’s toes began to move.
Her body was being dragged toward the Heavenly Demon.
Fwoosh—!
She drew up her energy, increasing the force with which she resisted.
Even so, it was not enough.
“I am the one who should be asking questions. Why do you presume to reverse the roles of host and guest?”
Unlike the increasingly powerful aura she gave off, a smile appeared on the Heavenly Demon’s face.
“The land of Sichuan now belongs to me. The Three Venerables are forbidden from setting foot here.”
The Heavenly Demon moved her foot and lightly nudged something on the ground.
“I believe I made that quite clear.”
It was the Heaven Venerable’s severed head.
“Yet, seeing these insects crawling about here, I suppose my words must have seemed rather amusing.”
Her words mingled with laughter.
Along with the sense of incongruity that came from it—
Krrrrrk—!
a dense darkness poured from the Heavenly Demon’s toes and swallowed the surroundings.
“How repulsive.”
The Little Sword Saint could tell that the Heavenly Demon’s smile represented her rage.
Shrrrk—!
She controlled the swords scattered around her, directing their blades toward the Heavenly Demon.
“I showed mercy on a whim, yet you still do not know your place.”
Perhaps the Little Sword Saint’s aura did not even register to her, for the Heavenly Demon only continued to boil up her energy.
“Then again…”
Energy seeped into the tips of the Heavenly Demon’s fingers.
“That is why you dared touch what you should never have touched.”
Night unfolded from her fingertips.
It poured forth.
Gurgle, gurgle.
Darkness began to pour down like a surging tide.
The Little Sword Saint moved as well.
As her fingertips swept through the air, a sword imbued with the power to vanquish demons shot into the darkness.
Krrrrash—!
The darkness melted away as though burned from the point where the sword struck, but—
Kaaaaboom—!
that was nowhere near enough to stop the force.
Even in this brief exchange of offense and defense, the Little Sword Saint could clearly feel it.
‘Still…!’
The difference in the level between herself and the Heavenly Demon.
It was high.
Still impossibly, overwhelmingly high.
Even when she burned through her vitality to draw out more power, she could never reach the Heavenly Demon’s strength.
How could this be?
How much further would she have to climb before she could even touch that height?
“You are still the same.”
“…Urgh!”
Swept up in the force, the Little Sword Saint was pushed backward.
“You are still no fun.”
Even then, the Heavenly Demon had not moved a single step from the spot where she had initially stood.
Was it the state of her exhausted body, or was she simply lacking strength?
She had rushed here without a second thought, drawn by the resonance, but she could see no answer.
Many placed their hopes in the Little Sword Saint, believing in the power to vanquish demons.
Yet even such power was useless before this distant darkness.
While others placed their hopes in her,
the Little Sword Saint felt only despair whenever she faced the Heavenly Demon.
Even so, she had to grip her sword and fight.
That alone was a form of hell.
She swung her sword and cleared away the darkness, but an even greater darkness rushed in behind it.
There truly seemed to be no end.
“I loathe you.”
The voice reached her as she cut through the darkness.
“If you intend to struggle, you ought to do so with more sincerity. Yet you are still searching for a place to die.”
At those calmly spoken words, the Little Sword Saint’s expression gradually hardened.
“…What do you know…!”
The moment she flared up, the darkness that had surged forth burrowed into her shoulder.
She immediately moved three swords, layering them over one another to defend herself.
Boom—!
Even so, her protective aura shattered, the sword hilts broke apart, and the recoil sent the Little Sword Saint flying backward.
“Do you think I do not know?”
Even then, the Heavenly Demon continued speaking.
“There is no one in this world who knows you better than I do.”
“Stop spouting nonsense…”
“Do not avoid what you have to say. If it is dregs left over after spitting, then behave like dregs.”
Rumble—!
At the Heavenly Demon’s gesture, the ground directly beneath the Little Sword Saint cracked open and rose into the air.
“You should learn your place.”
Boom—!
The fragments of earth rose and violently clumped together, as though to crush the Little Sword Saint to death.
The pieces packed together without a single gap, compressing firmly into the shape of a sphere.
It was already enough to kill her instantly, but—
Slash—!
a flash burst from the sphere floating in the air. It split in half, and the Little Sword Saint emerged from within.
She immediately swung her sword and released sword qi, sending dozens of sword hilts flying toward the Heavenly Demon from every direction.
Along with the dazzling sword qi, the swords poured down like a rain of white light.
The Heavenly Demon watched them and casually waved one hand through the air.
That alone was enough.
The darkness spread across the ground surged upward to serve as a shield, and the descending attacks failed to fulfill their purpose, stopped by that energy.
The difference in skill was overwhelming.
Even in perfect condition, she could not have won. In her current state, she had not the slightest hope.
It was an obvious truth—one no one could fail to recognize.
The person who knew it best was the Little Sword Saint herself.
But she did not stop.
The light had not yet faded.
She had to swing her sword until every last fragment of light within her had gone out.
Even if she died here and now.
And the expression on the Heavenly Demon’s face as she watched the Little Sword Saint—
“I’m tired of this.”
quickly became colored with boredom.
Seeing that, the Little Sword Saint rapidly closed the distance.
Fast.
She moved at a speed that could not even be followed by the naked eye.
Whoosh—!
Then the Little Sword Saint’s twin swords shot toward the Heavenly Demon’s neck.
If left unchecked, the Heavenly Demon’s neck might be severed in two.
But the Little Sword Saint swung her swords without hesitation, and—
Clang—!
the attack that had carried such vicious force failed without consequence.
“…!”
The Little Sword Saint could not hide her shock at what had happened.
She had no choice.
One blade had broken apart as though it were nothing,
while the other had been caught in the Heavenly Demon’s hand and stopped.
Faced with such a horrific scene, the Little Sword Saint could not conceal the devastation in her heart.