Chapter 922

What made humans seem so special in a world teeming with life was their ability to think deeply and broadly.

Every human could do it.

They took in their current situation through their eyes and ears, thought about what to do or say to the person in front of them, and put together the right words.

At the same time, they predicted what those words and actions would bring about.

But their predictions weren’t always right.

When things took an unexpected turn, or the person they were talking to reacted in a way they hadn’t anticipated, they were thrown off.

Their racing thoughts came to a halt. They lost their words.

Just like me, right now.

“So it was you.”

So Gyo—no, the Bow Saint—stared at me. Her lips moved, and a voice only I could hear slipped between them.

—The one the Martial God spoke of. The chosen one.

…What?

The shock of learning that So Gyo was the giant known as the Bow Saint had completely disappeared.

That brief Sound Transmission hit me like a sledgehammer to the back of the head. I could only blink.

I’d expected an excuse, at least.

With me making no effort to hide my anger, I thought she’d say she hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. That she’d had no choice.

But she didn’t.

The Martial God.

And the chosen one.

I stood frozen like a statue, unable to make sense of those words or what they meant. Then the Bow Saint’s Sound Transmission continued.

—Yes, you must be confused. I was, too, a long time ago.

A long time ago? Just when was she talking about?

What had the Martial God, who had vanished into the distant past, told her?

But the question that flashed through my mind was cut short before it could even take shape.

—It’s a long story I’ve kept to myself. But talking here and now wouldn’t be wise.

I desperately wanted to press her for answers, but the Bow Saint’s Sound Transmission was enough to remind me of the situation I’d momentarily forgotten.

Right.

The bloodbath that had unfolded here today was over, but not everything was finished.

The curtain had fallen, but the curtain call remained.

The actors on this blood-soaked stage still had parts to play.

I’ll get my answers after that.

I nodded. The Bow Saint understood and quietly turned away, flicking a glance at the one person who’d stood beside us all along, watching in silence.

“That old hag hasn’t changed. No, she looks younger, but the look in her eyes is even more unpleasant.”

Jeok Cheongang muttered under his breath, then added, “Playing games through Sound Transmission with some young punk right in front of this old man, too.”

“……”

“What? You think I wouldn’t notice?”

I peeled a crust of dried blood off my cheek. “I figured you would. And even if you hadn’t, I would’ve told you myself.”

“You sure know how to talk.”

“So, did you hear everything?”

“Do you think the title Bow Saint belongs to Gaettong next door?”

“Then I’ll tell you. Every last word. I won’t leave out a single syllable.”

Jeok Cheongang studied me for a moment, then clicked his tongue.

“Forget it. There’s no rush, and she must have had her reasons. Anyway…”

Pat. Pat.

His solid palm tapped my shoulder. He turned his head sharply away, speaking in a gruff voice.

“Uh, well. What I’m trying to say is… hmm.”

“Yes?”

“No, what this old man means to say is… Hey, look at you. Are you laughing?”

A laugh must have slipped out without my realizing it.

But I didn’t rush to wipe the smile from my face like I used to.

I knew how he felt. And he’d understand how I felt, too.

Thank you. For coming back to me.

That was what Jeok Cheongang had said just a little while ago, when I’d been hovering between life and death, after I finally clawed my way back from death and recovered.

Now it was my turn to say it to him.

“Thank you. For always being by my side.”

I murmured it barely loud enough to hear, then looked up at the empty air as if something there had caught my attention.

It was a little embarrassing, and I wasn’t sure I could face his reaction.

But… well. Sometimes you want to say these things.

Even when you know each other so well that long explanations aren’t needed, sometimes you just want to tell someone how you feel.

And for all his immense martial prowess, Jeok Cheongang was remarkably bad at that.

“Ahem. What’s a hairy bastard like you doing saying something so revolting…”

He hesitated behind another unnecessary cough, then let out a quiet laugh. In the direction he pointed, a group was hurrying toward us.

“This old man’s a given. Save your thanks for them. They threw themselves into a deathtrap just to save you. They deserve at least that much praise, don’t they?”

I turned. Familiar faces were rushing toward me, drenched in blood from head to toe.

One, two, three… six.

They’d all survived. Not one of them was missing.

That was enough. More than enough.

Ah.

Was it the overwhelming relief? Or the exhaustion I’d forgotten?

All the strength went out of me at once. I staggered and began to fall.

No—I nearly fell.

Hands reached out from every side and caught me before I could.

Grab.

Jeok Cheongang, Hyuk Mujin, Ju Hwaran, Song Ilseom, Sama Pyo, Taishan, and the Divine Physician caught my arms and legs. They held me up as I started to topple.

They weren’t a burden to bear. They were pillars holding me steady.

Each of them had returned to this deathtrap hoping to help, even a little. Each had become my greatest reason to win this horrific battle.

“Damn it. I should be lending a hand at a moment like this, but this guy’s so tall I can’t reach him.”

At the mournful complaint from the old Hidden Shadow Pavilion agent perched on Taishan’s shoulder, everyone let out a quiet laugh.

Even me, though I’d been about to close my eyes and give in to the sleep demon.

No. Not yet.

I clenched my teeth and forced strength back into my failing body. Then I left their worried looks behind and started walking.

To bring this hellish night to an end.

To finish off the monster who had created a hellscape no painter could ever depict.

Step. Step.

I walked, and kept walking.

Past the dead and the rebels, bound tight in thick iron chains and struggling to break free.

Past dozens of flags rising high above me.

Until, at last, I saw the monster writhing alone at the Bow Saint’s feet. Across that vast space, there were no more cries of protest or screams.

“Eastern Heaven Demon Lord.”

At my call, the monster stopped moving.

The moment Jin Taekyung’s low voice reached his ears, the Eastern Heaven Demon Lord felt all the strength leave his body.

Why?

He didn’t know.

Maybe it was because the man before him was Jin Taekyung—the one who had stood in his way at every turning point, every moment when the course of events might have changed.

Or maybe he’d been waiting for someone other than the Bow Saint, who had watched in silence all this time, to stop him.

To stop this meaningless struggle.

This hollow sense of defeat and fury, now that he could no longer achieve his goal.

“Yes, it’s you.”

A volcano cooled soon after spewing its lava. Now the Eastern Heaven Demon Lord had cooled, too.

“You’re late. It’s rude to keep someone waiting this long.”

Jin Taekyung looked down at him in silence, then spoke.

“Well, I don’t think that applies to a monster like you who can’t even die.”

“A monster, is it? So that’s how you see me?”

“Yeah. And to be precise, I’m not exactly polite to people, either.”

“Ah. So you were born rude.”

“If you’d said that in front of my mom, she would’ve beaten you to death.”

“Didn’t you just say I couldn’t die?”

“Mom’s Divine Palm hits your soul. Not your body.”

The Eastern Heaven Demon Lord let out a hearty laugh before he could stop himself.

“I think I know what you mean. You have a point.”

Once, he’d had a mother, too.

She was gentle most of the time, but when he did something wrong, she’d scold him harshly and smack him on the back.

Even after all these years, he could faintly remember how it had hurt.

“Yes, I remember. I had times like that, too. My Master was usually gentle, but sometimes he’d take out the switch.”

Yet the more he recalled those happy memories, the more the smile on his lips faded.

“But… now I can’t remember.”

Once, those days had been the present.

They had been today, and yesterday.

But now, the only faces left in his memory were twisted hideously with pain. All he could see was them dead or dying.

“You bastards! Heaven will punish you!”

“Go! Hurry!”

It made no sense.

His mother’s piercing scream as the soldiers brutalized her while she fought to protect her only surviving child, and his Master’s final words—those memories were so vivid. So why were their smiling faces so faint?

Why were they blurred as if lost in fog?

Crack.

The Eastern Heaven Demon Lord clenched his teeth so hard that his molars shattered.

But the pain that should have followed never came.

Only the result remained: they were broken.

Just as the people around him had died screaming.

Just as he had chosen to become a monster instead of a human being.

“Do you know something?”

His lips, wet with blood, moved. His eyes, fixed on Jin Taekyung, the Bow Saint, and the countless people who had gathered around him, flickered with cold flames.

“This is only the beginning.”

He spat out each syllable, filling it with anger.

He swallowed his resentment toward the world and his grief at knowing he could never be happy again.

“Even if you’ve protected the Imperial Capital, you can’t stop the fires spreading throughout the land.”

He had spent more than half a century in the imperial court. No one had gone without sheltering for a time beneath his vast shadow, and no one had escaped Dark Heaven’s reach.

Those frogs had left the great well of the Imperial Capital, each taking up an official post somewhere in the land. There they had put down new roots, grown branches, and borne fruit.

That was why the Eastern Heaven Demon Lord could smile.

He thought of the Great Nation soon to be engulfed by civil war and a raging fire. He thought of Dark Heaven’s forces advancing into the Central Plains with those flames before them.

“On that day, the Great Nation will fall.”

The Eastern Heaven Demon Lord threw his head back and laughed, looking at the Emperor standing before him and mocking the helplessness he would feel.