"Chung Myung, ahhhhh!"
"Damn it! You bastard!"
The disciples of Mount Hua rushed toward Chung Myung like a gale.
"C-calm down a bit when you run… my body is trembling…"
The vibrations from their footsteps were so intense it felt as if his body was splitting, but the Mount Hua disciples didn't seem to hear a word of it. Jo Gul, who ran the fastest, aggressively pounced on Chung Myung.
"Hey! Are you okay? Huh?"
Jo Gul grabbed Chung Myung's neck and shook him vigorously.
"Are you not cut anywhere? Are you alright?"
"G-Gul!"
"You, brat! Why aren't you answering?"
"You crazy bastard! You're going to kill the kid!"
"Huh?"
Only then did Jo Gul regain his senses and look down at Chung Myung. His eyes were rolled back and he was nearly out of breath. Jo Gul quietly let go and cleared his throat.
"No… I was just worried…"
Chung Myung, who had almost lost his life not to the Heavenly Demon or the high priest but at the hands of a fellow Mount Hua disciple, looked at Jo Gul with dazed eyes and said weakly.
"…Please go and die. Please…"
Baek Cheon and Yu Yiseol sighed as they supported Chung Myung by his shoulders on both sides.
"Are you okay?"
"…Do I look okay?"
"No."
"…I don't even have the strength to twitch a finger."
This was no exaggeration. It felt as if all the vital energy had completely drained from his body. At this moment, even if the opponent was Jo Gul, he would have to meekly offer his neck and ask to be killed.
If there was any consolation…
"Alliance Lord! Are you alright?"
"…I'm dead, I said."
Even the most threatening person here looked no different from him.
"cough."
Every time Jang Ilso coughed, a gush of red blood spilled from his mouth. He was already pale white, bleeding so much it wouldn't be surprising if he suddenly broke his neck and died.
"…What a ruthless bastard."
Chung Myung recalled the recent situation and cursed involuntarily. Attacking even after having his throat pierced. He knew all the High priests were insane, but experiencing it again after a long time made his blood boil.
If they hadn't pierced his throat to weaken his power, neither Jang Ilso nor Chung Myung would have remained alive; they would have turned to dust without a single piece of flesh left.
"…This madman actually pulled it off."
And the Mount Hua disciples looked at the slumped Chung Myung with eyes mixed with many emotions.
One emotion was awe. Another was pity.
It was nothing but admiration that they finally killed the high priest who hardly looked human, but the cost was too great. To exaggerate slightly, Chung Myung's body looked like a half-sliced chunk of meat. It was amazing he was still breathing.
Baek Cheon immediately placed his hand on Chung Myung's lower abdomen and pushed innate qi into him.
"cough!"
Then a bucketful of dark, dead blood poured out of Chung Myung's mouth.
"…I'm really going to die."
"Damn bastard."
Baek Cheon gritted his teeth as he infused his innate qi. He knew there was no other way, but still, watching Chung Myung so badly broken was painful for him.
At that moment, Un Geom, who had been silent until now, spoke.
"It's not over yet."
At those words, the Mount Hua disciples suddenly lifted their heads.
"Beware the remnants of the Demonic cult! We don't know what they might do."
The Mount Hua disciples flinched for a moment, then instantly changed their momentum and blocked the space between Chung Myung and the cult members like enraged beasts. But unlike their reaction, the cult members stood motionless as if they were statues.
"H-high priest…"
"The high priest…"
The cult members stared blankly at the blackened, scarred earth as if they had lost the world.
The defeat of Dan Ja-Kang.
It was a result they had never even considered. Having never imagined it, they had no way to respond. They just stared blankly at the traces of the fierce battle as if their souls had left them.
"High priest… the High priest."
Jeok-Il collapsed to the ground as if his legs gave out. Then he clenched his fists as if tearing the earth.
"This…"
Grrr…
His tightly bitten lips split and bled. His gaze filled with intense hatred and anger fixed on the enemies not far away, specifically Chung Myung and Jang Ilso.
"These… damn unbelievers who won't even be quenched by grinding and drinking them!"
His eyes reddened with bloodshot fury.
"I will kill… I will kill to avenge the high priest! Absolutely!"
As Jeok-Il gritted his teeth and stood up, the vacant-eyed cult members' eyes suddenly filled with fierce energy. Watching this transformation, the Mount Hua disciples drew their swords simultaneously.
The Red Dogs that had run up also growled like hunting dogs protecting their master in front of a beast and stood before Jang Ilso.
"Ugh…"
Chung Myung, supported by Baek Cheon and Yu Yiseol, grimaced and opened his mouth.
"First, that…"
But at that moment, Baek Cheon felt Chung Myung's body, which had been limp like wet cotton, suddenly stiffen.
"Huh?"
Chung Myung's gaze hurriedly turned backward. His eyes held disbelief, shock, and a twisted emotion.
"This, this bastard…"
"Chung Myung?"
Kraaaaaaang!
Before that question could even be answered, a huge explosion erupted. The Mount Hua disciples guarding against the cult members turned around in alarm.
And they too saw it. Black demonic qi erupting explosively, scattering the piled earth like the ruins of a collapsed mountain.
Cold sweat trickled down Baek Cheon's spine.
"N-no way…"
"Kraaaaaaaaah!"
It sounded like a demon trapped in the heavenly realm's prison howling. Amid the swirling black demonic qi, someone who should never have been there appeared.
"H-high priest…"
The color drained from Baek Cheon's face.
Blood-red light burst from his eyes and a desperate scream escaped. Covered in black as if soaked in ink, Dan Ja-Kang revealed his withered upper body and screamed like a beast.
Everyone who saw that showed a flicker of terror on their faces.
"Ooooooooooooo!"
The Dark Fragrant Plum Blossom Sword that Chung Myung had embedded was still diagonally stuck in his neck. Dan Ja-Kang, who had been screaming, grabbed the sword in his neck.
Crunch. Crunch.
Even amidst the roaring noise created by the swirling demonic qi, the sound of the Dark Fragrant Plum Blossom Sword being pulled from his neck was clearly heard.
Crack!
Finally, he completely pulled out the Dark Fragrant Plum Blossom Sword from his neck and threw it to the ground.
"Ugh…"
Yoon Jong grabbed his right hand holding the sword with his left hand. His hand trembled uncontrollably.
At that moment, Chung Myung muttered a small curse and struggled to lift his limp body.
"…Did I miss it?"
It seemed he hadn't completely severed the neck bone by a hair's breadth. Dan Ja-Kang, who had mastered Skeleton Demonic Arts, could survive even with such a severe wound.
"Sasuk. My sword…"
"Don't talk nonsense! You crazy bastard!"
Baek Cheon and the other Mount Hua disciples overcame the intense fear rising from deep within and blocked Chung Myung even more firmly.
'No more!'
Chung Myung could no longer fight. He must not fight. Then they had to protect this damn guy. Without a word, everyone gripped their swords tightly with the same thought.
Dan Ja-Kang, who had become a form no longer resembling a human, raised his head and roared.
"Whyyyyyyyyyyyy!"
It sounded so desperate it was almost sorrowful. Like a child who lost its mother wailing.
"Why! Why do you not look back at us! Whyyyyyyyy!"
The demonic qi Dan Ja-Kang emitted swirled violently.
"Heavenly Demon Lordddd!"
His voice was now as rough as scraping metal.
"You! Even though there are those who wait for you so desperately, why! Why do you ignore us! Heavenly Demon! Why! Heavenly Demon!"
'He's gone mad…'
Tang Soso was so shocked she instinctively covered her mouth.
Even using all known languages, it seemed impossible to fully describe that madness. It was hardly an emotion a human could possess.
"If even this is not enough! If this is insufficient! What more shall we do! Does this scream not reach you!"
Dan Ja-Kang's gaze, emitting streams of blood-red light, turned toward Chung Myung.
"Can you understand? Our anguish! Our pain! Can scum like you understand!"
Chung Myung grabbed Baek Cheon's shoulder and stepped forward.
"Chung Myung!"
His legs trembled so much it was hard to take a step. But Chung Myung pushed them aside and stepped forward.
And as if it were natural, Jang Ilso was already stepping forward alongside him.
As if it had to be done. No matter the condition, when facing the enemy, there was only one thing to do.
"That was a bit lacking."
"Seems so."
"Can't be helped."
Chung Myung and Jang Ilso bared their teeth simultaneously.
"If he comes back to life… we'll just have to kill him again and again!"
"Heh heh heh heh."
The Mount Hua disciples and the Red Dogs didn't back down this time and lined up on both sides of the two. It was as if they were ready to fight together.
Then Dan Ja-Kang's demonic qi grew darker.
Dan Ja-Kang instinctively understood. Having pushed his demonic qi beyond the limit, he would never return to his former self.
He would probably become a madman forever engulfed in this madness, massacring everything he saw.
But if his desperate voice could reach the Heavenly Demon through this, he would accept even that fate without resistance.
Dan Ja-Kang drew all his remaining qi. The terrifying demonic qi wrapped around his body and soared into the sky.
"Ugh…"
Before that overwhelming might, suppressed groans escaped from the Mount Hua disciples' mouths.
'He still has that much power…'
Just as Baek Cheon bit his lip to calm his trembling jaw.
'Huh?'
At first, he thought he had seen it wrong.
Behind the swirling black demonic qi, something whitish flickered faintly. He thought he might have hallucinated due to fear.
But the next moment, Baek Cheon realized he hadn't been mistaken.
Right behind Dan Ja-Kang, in the storm of demonic qi swirling fiercely enough to crumple even eternal cold iron like paper, a man stood like a ghost. Dressed in a white robe, no one knew where he suddenly appeared from or when he had been there.
It was truly an alien sight.
Baek Cheon, unable to accept the situation, stared blankly at the scene, when the man in the white robe behind Dan Ja-Kang gave a faint smile.
"This is why I…"
Only then did Dan Ja-Kang realize someone was behind him and instinctively turned his head. Or tried to.
But before his head could move, the man in the white robe pierced Dan Ja-Kang's back with his hand.
Kwadadadadak!
"Kraaaaaaah!"
A scream full of pain burst from Dan Ja-Kang's mouth.
Then he lowered his eyes filled with horror and looked at his chest. A hand, pure white, pierced through his blackened chest.
"Ugh… ugh…?"
A sound like air escaping came from his mouth.
Dan Ja-Kang, unable to believe the situation, looked down at his hand and finally trembled as he turned around. When his eyes met the man who had pierced his back, a huge terror began to spread across his face.
"This…"
Dan Ja-Kang's voice trembled unbelievably. His appearance was unimaginable from what he had shown so far. But even the Mount Hua disciples could clearly hear the tremble in his voice.
"Y-you, Second High Priest…"
The man called the Second High Priest clicked his tongue lightly and continued.
"This is why I don't like you young punks like you."
Kwadadadak!
The man's arm dug deeper into Dan Ja-Kang's chest. Dan Ja-Kang's mouth opened wide as if it would tear.
Despite his severe injury, Dan Ja-Kang, who was emitting powerful demonic qi, was now being easily crushed by the man who suddenly appeared from nowhere.
Baek Cheon, not fully understanding the situation, glanced at Chung Myung and was met with an even more astonishing sight.
Chung Myung, who had never shown confusion in front of an enemy, looked pale white.
"Heaven…"
A voice as if possessed escaped from Chung Myung's mouth.
"Heaven Killer…"