< Episode 545 > Sword Demon (劍魔).
Sword Demon (劍魔).
Commander of the Ghost Judgment Sword Corps, a combat division of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
His age was somewhere between twenty and forty.
I didn’t know the exact number. I had never asked.
From his conduct before becoming a Demon Human, he was a demonic practitioner who indiscriminately killed anyone regardless of who they were.
A man notorious for adopting a cruel fighting style, as if he enjoyed slaughter.
The way he would flay subdued opponents and kill them as if torturing them was enough to make one’s teeth chatter just from hearing about it.
The nickname that had spread throughout the Central Plains at the time was probably:
‘Killing Ghost Sword (殺鬼劍).’
It couldn’t have been a more fitting nickname.
To the point that the nickname ‘Sword Demon’ almost looked classy in comparison.
Since he was such a madman, his fall into becoming a Demon Human was only natural, in a way.
The Demonic Cult, preparing for war, must have been a place where he could express his instincts without restraint.
After becoming a Demon Human, he was known to have received from the Heavenly Demon the divine authority of the Fighting Ghost’s (鬪鬼) Eyes.
‘Wasn’t it something that allowed him to read his opponent’s movements more accurately?’
He could see the flow of battle and grasp clear movements.
In a way it seemed similar to the domain of ki perception, but I believe they said it was more intuitive than that.
‘Though I don’t know exactly.’
Since I had never used it myself, I had no way of knowing how it felt.
Immediately after taking command of the Ghost Judgment Sword Corps, he was a figure who spearheaded the wars.
Compared to the Demonic Sword Queen of that time, he was a madman in a different sense.
He particularly hated the Demonic Sword Queen as well.
If I had to guess the reason, was it because he had failed to obtain the position of Black Flame Corps Commander?
I didn’t know if that was the real reason, but it was true that every time he saw the Demonic Sword Queen, he would charge at her as if to kill her.
Unlike the relatively inactive Black Flame Corps, the Ghost Judgment Sword Corps, which mainly carried out assassination missions, should have been a better fit for him.
I had no idea why the Sword Demon coveted that position.
‘If he was going to covet something, he should have coveted the Commander’s seat.’
If he had desired my position like the Green King, things would have been better. Yet the Sword Demon showed no interest in the Commander’s seat itself.
To the end he fought with the Demonic Sword Queen over that position, but the Queen never lost it.
Afterwards, he died in the war at the hands of the Divine Sword.
To briefly summarize the Sword Demon:
A madman obsessed with slaughter.
That single line would suffice.
Crash—!
I sensed movement along with fragments pouring down from the wall.
Watching this, I tilted my head.
I had struck him with the intention of knocking him out, but judging by his movements, he didn’t seem too damaged.
‘He deflected it slightly in that instant.’
Recalling this, I felt the sensation in my hand.
Though it looked like he hadn’t even registered the blow, he had instinctively deflected my attack just slightly.
So this was what separated a master who would later be called the Sword Demon.
Footsteps.
After a brief wait, the guy revealed himself.
His reddened cheek and the blood flowing through the gaps of his lips stood out clearly against his pale skin.
He clutched his sword in one hand and looked at me with somewhat turbid yellow eyes.
I looked at his pupils and nodded.
‘So it’s true.’
Yellow (黃色) pupils. Those pupils signified only one thing.
‘Heavenly Slaughter Star (天殺星).’
A fate born to kill people from birth until the moment of death.
I had heard that those possessed by such a fate had exactly those eyes.
‘It’s my first time seeing them too.’
By the time I had met the Sword Demon before, he had already become a Demon Human, so his pupils were stained purple.
Moreover, since Heavenly Slaughter Stars show signs from birth, they are rare, and their lifespans are not particularly long either.
‘Because they are killed the moment they are discovered.’
With a fate certain to become a murderous fiend, how could anyone let them live?
In such circumstances, it was nothing short of miraculous that this guy had lived to that age.
‘He’s not dying now either, so he must have stubbornly endured to become the Sword Demon.’
Thinking so, I didn’t feel bad about it.
The fact that I had found him now, even at this point.
That wasn’t a bad thing.
“You… what are you?”
The guy asked me. Looking at his eyes, he seemed half out of his mind.
For the past two days, I felt like I had heard such questions often.
At this, I smirked and said to him,
“Third son of the Gu household, and the man who came to catch you.”
“...”
Fwoooosh—!
“Oh.”
Perhaps offended by my words, tremendous killing intent erupted from his body.
As if advertising himself as a Heavenly Slaughter Star, the energy was vicious beyond compare.
So dense that it manifested into a form, threatening to crush the surroundings.
‘Interesting.’
I looked at him as if fascinated.
Because I felt like I vaguely understood the power he had used in his previous life.
‘So this is what he kept wrapping around himself when he fought.’
He would concentrate the Heavenly Slaughter Star’s energy and wrap it around his sword.
Conversely, he also seemed to use it as a substitute for protective gang qi to guard his body.
I had simply thought it was part of his martial arts. So it was the power of his constitution.
As I observed this with interest, his mouth opened.
“…Don’t… interfere.”
Hearing that, I laughed at the absurdity.
“You brat? I’m the one who was interrupted during my meal, so why are you the one throwing a fit?”
The yellow irises were growing darker with time.
If Wi Seol-a’s golden eyes gradually grew brighter, those eyes were instead growing darker.
His energy was simultaneously growing stronger.
Before long, it began to affect the surroundings.
“Hii… hiiik.”
Hearing the sound, I looked to the side.
The guests had already fled in terror, but the innkeeper seemed unable to bring himself to leave.
I looked at him and spoke.
“Boss.”
“Y-Yes?”
Startled at being called suddenly, the man made a surprised expression.
He looked terrified.
Seeing that, I took something from within my robes and tossed it to the man.
“Huk…!?”
The man’s eyes widened as he caught the object.
“That should be enough for repairs later.”
I grabbed the money I had on me and tossed it to him as well.
By value, even if the shop collapsed, there would be no problem rebuilding it.
Also.
“If you’re not busy, wrap up some dumplings for me too.”
The money for the dumplings was included.
“Yes, yes!”
Evidently won over by the money, the man who until moments ago had looked like he had lost the world quickly rushed into the kitchen, afraid to drop what he held in his hands.
He really seemed to be wrapping up dumplings.
‘…Shouldn’t evacuating be the priority?’
I wondered if that was even possible in this situation, but.
“Who cares.”
Honestly, I didn’t really care either way.
Not particularly.
‘And it doesn’t seem like there will be damage anyway.’
With that thought, I turned my head.
Shiiik—!
The tip of a sword brushed past right before my nose.
Had I not moved my head, I would have been cut.
“Mm.”
Fast.
Without hesitation, too.
Shiiik—!
As if one strike obviously wasn’t the end, the guy began swinging his sword without rest.
Moreover, he was persistent.
He was filled with the desire to cut me down by any means.
Fast enough to leave afterimages in the air.
Though killing intent gushed from his body, his sword path was impeccably clean.
Every target was a vital point.
‘His realm… is a bit ambiguous?’
I could feel he had easily surpassed the Peak realm. You could tell just from the intensity of his energy and his speed.
The reason I judged it as ambiguous:
‘He’s straddling two realms.’
Between perfected Peak and the Transformation Realm. It felt like he was somewhere in between.
After dodging his sword once more, I dug in slightly.
He swung his sword repeatedly as if unwilling to be pushed back.
I reached out slightly through the gaps in those countless sword paths.
Thud—!
“...!”
The flat of my palm accurately dug into the Sword Demon’s chest.
The guy was pushed back from the impact.
“Keuk….”
He coughed dryly, perhaps because his breathing had been knocked out of place.
The physical pain would be minor, but his energy was disrupted, so the backlash would be considerable.
‘Wow.’
Looking at him, I couldn’t help but admire him inwardly.
Although his realm was straddling two stages, that alone was truly amazing.
Given the Sword Demon’s current age, it was an incredible feat.
I didn’t know his exact age, but he was definitely in the latter half of his twenties.
That was precisely what made me wonder:
‘Why had a guy like this remained unknown until now?’
Seeing him in person made it even more puzzling.
The reason I had come to the Guangdong region at this time.
Was because I knew he would begin his activities around now.
Which meant that a guy with this level of skill was only now starting to move.
It was far too late, even allowing for tardiness.
As a Heavenly Slaughter Star, if he had been hiding, I could understand.
But if so, it was even stranger.
‘It doesn’t seem like he endured this alone.’
To grow stronger and to survive, he must have had someone backing him.
Otherwise, there was no way a Heavenly Slaughter Star could have lived to this age.
Of course.
‘Whatever the case.’
It was a good thing for me.
‘Because the timing is just right.’
Since he was only now starting to move.
Now was the perfect time.
To capture the man who would later become the Sword Demon.
“I’ll kill you…! I’ll kill you!”
Perhaps because his attacks weren’t landing and he was only getting hit, his expression twisted even more.
At the same time, his killing intent grew much denser.
Boom—!
Packed with pressure, he quickly closed in on me.
The manifested killing intent gathered into his sword.
It looked quite threatening, but.
Crack—!
“Keuk…”
If it doesn’t hit, it’s pointless.
I severed his sword path and slammed my palm straight into his face.
The guy staggered from the blow.
‘There’s nothing more to see.’
Dragging this out seemed pointless.
Shall I end this now?
Thinking so, I nodded.
‘I spent too much time on this anyway.’
I had spent two days to catch this one guy.
Fortunately I caught him in the end, but this was also clearly thanks to luck.
So I had to finish quickly and take care of the next matter.
I took a step.
Seeing that, he moved at the same time.
Though I had hit him lightly, it should have been considerable pain, yet his eyes were brimming with madness.
That was actually good for me.
‘It means he’s a villain through and through.’
A guy who could be made into a Demon Human without issue.
I liked types like that.
Because they were easier for me to use.
I immediately raised my internal energy.
‘Since it’ll be troublesome if he rampages later, let’s just break one arm or leg.’
As I moved with that intent,
he also began swinging his sword horizontally.
A blade of mixed sword gang and killing intent.
Even an unpleasant sword path that aimed only for vital points.
Dodge moderately and shatter the legs first….
“Hm?”
The moment I tried to continue the movement, something caught my eye.
The guy’s sword path rushing like a frenzy.
While dodging this with footwork, I discovered something strange.
Suaaak—!
The sword tip traced a semicircle.
Tuk—!
As if supporting this, the tip of his foot gently touched down.
A part I hadn’t noticed due to the brimming killing intent was now exceptionally visible.
‘What?’
That movement.
It grated on my eyes.
I changed my footwork and shot forward.
Shik—! The blade grazed my cheek. I could feel blood flowing.
Perhaps because I had closed in suddenly, confusion flickered in the guy’s eyes.
Without stopping, he swung his sword again.
Chak—!
“…!!”
I caught the swinging blade between my thumb and index finger, fixing it in place.
Immediately.
I struck his jaw hard with a backhand.
Smack—!
“Kkeok…!”
It landed clean.
As proof, with a short scream, the guy collapsed to his knees.
Thud.
I didn’t particularly help him up.
A body like his wouldn’t break from something like this.
Moreover, now wasn’t the time to worry about such things.
I looked at the collapsed Sword Demon and harbored a question.
“What the hell is this guy?”
A sword brimming with killing intent.
The turbid yellow eyes proving his Heavenly Slaughter Star.
Even an aura steeped in madness.
He was definitely the Sword Demon I knew.
So why on earth.
Was he using a Taoist sword?
And not just any Taoist school, but one of the Nine Sects and One Faction.
A prestigious orthodox sect called the guardians of Qinghai.
‘Kunlun Sect.’
Traces of that place were definitely permeating his swordsmanship.