Chapter 31
Part 6 – Descent
The Wall
Among martial artists—who loved comparing themselves to others—and enthusiasts fascinated by the martial world, there had long been one enduring topic of discussion.
For generations, they had wanted to establish a systematic ranking of martial artists.
As though martial prowess could be graded like tea or fine cloth.
The result, however, was failure.
They tried using the amount of internal energy as the standard.
They tried using the point at which one could project qi beyond the body.
They even tried measuring pure combat strength.
None of them worked.
Every martial artist, no matter how talented, eventually reached a point where their growth stagnated.
In the end, everyone encountered a single obstacle—
A Wall.
Those who broke through that wall gained strength so overwhelming that it was as if they had become entirely different people.
More importantly, they once again found room to grow.
Thus, people naturally came to call those who had crossed that wall...
Masters.
***
Se-ah's guard, Gyu, had known the moment she saw Geumju.
She was going to lose.
Unlike herself, who had only barely approached the Wall...
The strength Geumju now displayed clearly belonged to someone who had already broken through it—
A true Master.
"...Even so."
A faint smile appeared on Gyu's lips.
"I still have my pride. I won't be defeated so easily."
And above all...
She had to protect her lady.
That was her duty as a guard.
"First Sword—Stance."
In her sect, they taught that merely raising one's sword into the opening stance was itself equivalent to the first strike.
The moment the stance was assumed, both mind and body entered a perfect state of combat.
Instantly, Gyu's aura transformed.
With her eyesight pushed to its absolute limit, she saw Geumju kick off the shattered building.
She's...
The only thing that saved Gyu was the instinct she had cultivated through countless life-and-death battles.
...coming!
Without thinking, she let her instincts guide her footwork.
Like a crimson ray of light, Geumju shot past her.
She landed exactly where Gyu had been standing a heartbeat earlier.
"You're insane...!"
She had avoided the direct hit.
But the shockwave generated by Geumju slamming into the ground crashed into her with terrifying force.
Using the profound footwork of her sect, Gyu chose not to resist the shockwave.
Instead, she flowed with it.
She had judged that Geumju's first strike was devastatingly powerful.
That meant the likelihood of an equally powerful second strike immediately afterward was low.
Nevertheless...
She prepared the strongest defense she possessed.
Fourth Sword—Smoke Veil.
A defensive supreme technique that dominated an entire area with the sword, completely sealing it off.
And once again...
Her instincts proved correct.
Two attacks burst through the cloud of dust—
Only to be stopped by Fourth Sword—Smoke Veil.
"Urgh!"
She poured enormous amounts of internal energy into her defense.
Even so...
The two strikes Geumju unleashed sent impacts through Gyu's wrists and shoulders so violent they felt as though her arms would be torn apart.
Being thrown into the wall by the lingering force of her own movement only worsened the damage.
But...
"Ho?"
She had bought time.
Geumju emerged from the dust, her crimson palace robes billowing dramatically.
"You're better than I expected."
Just as Gyu had predicted.
With Geumju's personality, she wouldn't be satisfied unless she exchanged a few words first.
But this time...
Gyu acted against her own expectations.
Second Sword—Raging Current.
A technique that severed the flow of an opponent's attack before instantly turning that momentum into a counterattack—
A sword art embodying offense and defense as one.
Damn it... "Offense and defense as one," my ass...
At best...
She barely managed to deflect the strike Geumju launched while pretending to chat casually.
In truth, merely managing to divert it was astonishing.
The attack followed such a bizarre trajectory that it was impossible to predict.
"My, you're actually pretty good."
Geumju flicked her wrist in admiration.
Bare-handed...?
Gyu couldn't understand it.
She had assumed Geumju was wielding something like a whip...
Or perhaps a meteor hammer.
Otherwise, there was no explanation for such impossible attack trajectories.
How could a human arm bend and move like that?
"Hey, when someone compliments you, you're supposed to say thank you. What an ill-mannered little bitch."
Returning to her opening stance, Gyu remained silent.
If she were being honest...
She wanted to keep Geumju talking, if only to buy another few precious seconds.
But against an opponent whose cultivation clearly surpassed her own...
Losing her breathing rhythm for the sake of conversation would mean death the very next instant.
The real problem is...
Whether they talked or not...
She had already reached her limit.
Using powerful internal-energy techniques one after another had begun taking its toll.
"No answer?"
Once again...
The attack came along an utterly unpredictable path.
Yet Gyu still managed to intercept the bizarre strike.
Only because of compatibility.
Second Sword—Raging Current, combined with her extraordinary instincts, happened to counter Geumju's bizarre fighting style.
"Answer me."
Again.
Damn it...!
Normally, combat required harmony between internal cultivation and external techniques.
But the enormous gap between them forced Gyu to rely on internal-energy techniques over and over again.
Each consecutive use multiplied the rate at which her internal energy was being consumed.
How many more exchanges can I survive...?
She had already lost all feeling in her wrists.
Her shoulders and lower back felt as though they would snap apart.
Her dantian was running dry.
"Fine then."
Geumju smiled.
"Let's see you stop this one too."
"...!"
The killing intent alone felt capable of piercing straight through her body.
But this attack...
Had no visible trajectory at all.
Fourth Sword—Sm...!
Her internal energy refused to respond.
Her meridians had been pushed beyond their limits by the repeated, excessive use of internal-energy techniques.
They had overloaded completely.
"Block—!"
However, Gyu suffered no injury at all.
The shrill scream that rang out belonged neither to Gyu nor to Geumju.
A young girl had intercepted Geumju's strike aimed at Gyu's back. After rolling several times across the ground, she sprang back to her feet.
She waved the gauntleted hand on her fist toward Gyu.
She was an exceptionally beautiful young girl.
"Sorry to keep you waiting! Reinforcements are here!"
"You little pest!"
"Miss, be care—!"
Geumju's next strike was blocked by yet another person.
"Oof...!"
It was a man built like a bear.
His face stiffened as he muttered,
"This is one terrifying opponent. I'm not sure we're getting out of this alive."
The young girl clenched her fist confidently.
"If we work together, we can beat her!"
The brief respite they had created allowed Gyu to recover from the overload in her meridians, and she quickly joined them.
"We can't win like this. Aren't there any more reinforcements?"
At Gyu's blunt question, the young girl forced an awkward smile.
"For now... we're all you've got."
Gyu clicked her tongue briefly.
"Then we'll have to make do."
Geumju sneered at the three of them.
She lazily beckoned them forward with one finger.
"If your little meeting is over... come at me together, you pests."
****
Having retreated beside the field commander, Se-ah had at least succeeded in sending reinforcements to Gyu.
"...Is there really no other martial artist we can send?"
"Not immediately."
Se-ah 's expression darkened.
"Team Three and Team Ten have taken heavy casualties and are retreating!"
"Team Seventeen is requesting reinforcements!"
The moment Geumju appeared on the battlefield, the Heukgol Sect's morale surged to an absurd degree.
"Raaaagh!"
A mere thug charged forward even after being run through by a sword, swinging his axe wildly.
It didn't matter whether the man in front of him died.
It didn't matter whether he himself died.
He charged.
Again and again.
What drove them was no longer morale.
It was madness.
****
Then Se-ah saw it.
The massive martial artist fighting Geumju was sent flying.
One of his arms was gone.
His entire body had been reduced to a bloody ruin.
"...No!"
Before Se-ah could even finish screaming, the young girl was blasted away as well.
"Aah!"
Fortunately, her injuries did not appear fatal.
But she had evidently suffered a blow to her dantian.
Her face had turned deathly pale, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Only Gyu remained.
Covered in wounds from head to toe...
She stood her ground without retreating a single step.
Raising her sword, she blocked Geumju's path once more.
Even from that distance, Se-ah could see the blade trembling violently.
"Gyu! Run!"
There was no way Gyu could have heard Se-ah 's voice amid the chaos.
Yet...
She looked precisely toward where Se-ah stood.
As though she wanted to engrave the image of her mistress into her eyes one last time.
My lord...
Standing before her, Geumju slowly raised one hand.
Visible streams of qi gathered into her palm.
And then...
Darkness arrived.
Se-ah felt the white mist of her breath suddenly grow thicker.
She felt the wind change direction.
The sweat-soaked back of her clothes turned ice cold.
As though drawn by something irresistible, she looked toward the direction from which the wind blew.
She was not alone.
The field commander beside her...
His aides...
Everyone delivering orders...
They all stopped.
Every one of them looked in the same direction.
The Heukgol Sect members who had been charging like mad...
The Hyeonwol Pavilion operatives who had been about to swing their swords...
Stopped.
Even Geumju, who had been gathering qi into her hand...
Even Gyu, who had prepared herself for death...
Even the wounded martial artists struggling to stand again...
Everyone fell silent.
Everyone looked toward the same place.
Far away...
The crimson sun slipped behind the mountains with astonishing speed.
Twilight stretched endlessly across the earth before melting into profound darkness.
Within that eerie scenery, only the tallest buildings managed to retain a trace of the fading glow.
Upon the roof...
Of the tallest tower...
Darkness slowly raised its head.
Everyone watching felt chills race through their bodies.
The bravest among them trembled with fear.
The most optimistic among them felt despair.
...Night.
Se-ah realized it instinctively.
Night has come.
The darkest...
The coldest...
The cruelest night had descended upon them.
The darkness atop the roof spread outward like enormous wings unfurling.
It was darker than any ordinary darkness.
It was the complete absence of light.
With a single motion...
Night swallowed the streets.
Like the aura of the most savage beast, the curtain of darkness spread in every direction.
As though fleeing from it, the setting sun vanished completely.
Yet even after the sun disappeared...
Neither moonlight nor starlight illuminated the land.
Every inch of space became saturated with thick, flowing darkness.
Like a raging flood bursting through a broken dam, the torrent of darkness swept over everyone present.
...The white mask.
Within that pitch-black darkness...
A face gazed down upon the world.
Only the white mask shone brilliantly—
A mask that mocked both the powerless heavens...
And the wicked who no longer feared heaven.
He looked down upon them all.
"Were you waiting for me?"
His voice...
At first, it did not even sound like a human voice.
It was a ghostly sound that burrowed into their ears, tore through their eardrums, and only became recognizable as words after reaching the depths of their minds.
Everyone heard it.
Se-ah 's entire body trembled uncontrollably.
Yet she could not take her eyes off him.
Th-That is...
The white-faced Reaper.
The inheritor of the ancient demonic art, Jeamjincheongyeong.
The Dark Heavenly Venerable had finally revealed himself in full.