Chapter 254

“What is that?”

“I, I can’t move…!”

The Arahan recoiled in shock.

With a deafening roar, the shadow of a massive beast appeared.

The moment they saw it, some immediately realized what the roar at the mountain’s entrance had really been.

“That sound we thought was a Lion’s Roar… could it have been—!”

“T-there’s no doubt! That’s the same sound!”

“……!!”

The roar that had echoed at the mountain’s entrance and halfway up the mountain.

It was the exact same sound Fierce God Baal was making now.

Their bodies stiffened, their energy shook, and it felt as though their souls were being torn away.

At first, they had been certain it was the forbidden martial art, Lion’s Roar.

But at the sight of the massive beast roaring in madness, everyone trembled.

Chiwoo was no different.

‘So it wasn’t Guardian Charpham’s cry?’

Guardian Charpham, who followed the Heavenly Demon.

When he first heard that cry at the mountain’s entrance, he had been certain it was Charpham.

It was said that when a Guardian roared once, the world itself trembled.

But that ferocious beast before them now was not Charpham.

It was something far removed from a Guardian.

Something even more ominous.

A power that could never be controlled.

“Ah… ugh.”

Gang Si-chan’s reaction was even more severe.

As he faced Baal’s form head-on, his body shrank from instinctive fear.

Even in his berserk state, where fear should have been impossible, he could not move.

That was a beast of apocalypse.

Something beyond death itself.

He had no idea how Park Chan-woo had summoned that beast’s shadow, but there was no way such a thing could be controlled.

Because it was not a power meant for anyone to wield.

But—

‘…Now I understand.’

Park Chan-woo muttered inwardly.

Baal’s power.

No, he felt as though he understood Baal itself, if only a little.

The creator who created the Abyss.

Four ferocious beasts had followed him.

Fierce God Baal was one of them.

Sealed into four pieces of equipment, they had been scattered somewhere throughout the Abyss.

Ahetta, the Master of the Moon, had obtained two of them, yet all he ever did was hide them.

Ahetta himself had never been able to use Baal’s equipment.

Even though he could have become far stronger if he had wielded them properly, he only concealed them.

Why?

‘Because a mere demon cannot handle Baal’s power.’

Ahetta had known it too.

The moment he rashly tried to wear and wield Baal’s equipment, his soul would be devoured on the spot.

[Baal’s Sword] and the [Belt of Baal] were not simply equipment that carried Baal’s name.

They were equipment that contained Baal itself.

A monster far too overwhelming for a demon to bear.

The [Absolute Being] authority contained in the set effect borrowed a fraction of Baal’s power.

That alone had allowed him to conquer the tower’s 150th floor.

Even so, he had nearly lost himself to that power.

That was how dangerous Baal’s power was.

But if someone could wield it, then without question, it was the strongest power of all.

‘[Infinite Sword Emperor].’

The Sword Emperor’s sword allowed even that power to be wielded.

His ability, [Infinite Sword Emperor], was not merely the power to use a sword well.

It was the power to become one with the sword itself.

The moment he gripped a sword, he understood it, became one with it, and achieved true [Sword and Body as One].

Even if that sword carried Baal within it.

‘I can feel it.’

…Baal was inside the sword.

Releasing the most primal rage and roaring at the world.

He did not know why Baal burned with such fury.

‘I will ease a little of your rage.’

He could not bear all of it.

It was far too vast a rage for that.

But he could ease at least a fragment of it.

—You speak of easing it without even knowing the source of my rage?

In that instant, a voice rang through his mind.

At the same time, he saw it.

The beast, bound in chains.

A beast as large as a mountain, with thirteen tails and a crown of black flames.

That place was a hell created for the sole purpose of imprisoning that ferocious beast.

Sealed within it, Baal looked at Park Chan-woo.

—You cannot endure my rage.

—Quietly offer me your soul. Then I will allow you to use a little of my power!

It was trying to intoxicate him with power once again.

A scheme to corrupt his soul and devour it.

But Park Chan-woo shook his head.

He did not need that much power.

‘Just enough to swing the sword once.’

That was all he wanted to test.

To properly manifest the Sword Emperor’s swordsmanship, this was the only way.

It was not just curiosity over whether he could handle Baal’s power that made him activate [Absolute Being].

[Absolute Being] was an authority that borrowed Baal’s power.

Before, inside the Mystic Tower, he had drawn that power into his own body.

This time was different.

He overlaid Baal’s Mana directly onto [Baal’s Sword].

—Will you be satisfied with just that?

It was only a minute amount, but that did not matter.

Even that much was enough to shake heaven and earth.

‘The path of the Sword Emperor.’

That was a path he wanted to walk as well.

He wanted to follow that path of the sword, pure beyond compare.

Back then, when he gave up.

When he thought he lacked talent and suffered because of it.

If he had not given up then—

could he have surpassed the Sword King, Han Shin?

‘The path of the Archmage.’

Park Chan-woo intended to achieve everything.

He would never give up again.

Wielding Baal’s power was part of that path as well.

Sssss!

It was then.

As he infused Baal’s power into the sword, a change came over Park Chan-woo.

A single tail made of shadow sprouted from him.

It was small, but identical to Baal’s.

“T-this… bastard…!”

Crunch!

Gang Si-chan bit down on his tongue.

Blood spilled, and his body, which had stiffened for a moment, began moving again.

“It’s a Demonic Art! He’s definitely using a forbidden martial art!”

He gripped the Black Dragon Blade once more.

The power Park Chan-woo was using now had already gone far beyond the realm of martial arts.

It was undoubtedly a Demonic Art.

Or perhaps a forbidden martial art.

“…I will cut off your head and set the mountain’s energy right again.”

Gang Si-chan sneered.

If he could use this chance to kill Park Chan-woo and recover the journal, that would be the best possible outcome.

He was almost grateful that Park Chan-woo had revealed such a sinister power.

Now there would be no room for excuses.

To anyone watching, this was clearly not a normal power.

“Black Dragon Blade. Devour me.”

Gang Si-chan used his trump card.

The Black Dragon Blade was a glutton that devoured everything it touched.

It was not merely a sword.

It was more like a living creature.

Soon, the Black Dragon Blade began consuming Gang Si-chan’s internal energy and life force.

Squelch!

Sizzle!

Vein-like tendrils burst out and began fusing with Gang Si-chan’s arm.

At the same time, the Black Dragon Blade swelled in size.

It grew as though muscles were attaching to it, and even its shape changed.

Gang Si-chan’s right arm itself became the Black Dragon Blade.

Became a weapon.

It was a truly grotesque sight.

The final form, completed after dying once and then fusing with the Black Dragon Blade at the cost of his own life.

“……Ugh!”

“T-that is… what in the world?”

The Arahan swallowed hard.

Both of them looked ominous beyond compare.

But if one had to say which looked more monstrous, it was Gang Si-chan.

At least Park Chan-woo still looked mostly the same.

Gang Si-chan, on the other hand, had changed so much that it was hard to believe he was still human.

He looked like a monster.

“Kehehe! I’ll kill you!”

Having lost all reason, Gang Si-chan went mad.

Swish!

His body vanished.

In the next instant, he appeared right in front of Park Chan-woo and swung his right arm.

Now that he himself had become the Black Dragon Blade, there was no point in even trying to block it.

The moment anyone tried, they would be drained dry like a corpse.

“[Star Swallowing Art]! The moment it touches you, I’ll devour all your energy and life!”

The ultimate martial art that devoured all life.

A forbidden Demonic Art.

Even among Demonic Arts, [Star Swallowing Art] stood at the very top.

Gang Si-chan had mastered [Star Swallowing Art].

Combined with the Black Dragon Blade’s power, it had allowed him to devour countless lives.

That was why he had risen again even after being killed.

In his current state, no living being could defeat him.

‘Now.’

Watching the incoming strike, Park Chan-woo swung his sword.

Rumble!

The sword imbued with Baal’s power clashed with Gang Si-chan.

Gang Si-chan smiled.

‘What delicious energy!’

[Star Swallowing Art] was working steadily.

It was devouring all the power poured into the sword.

Soon it would devour Park Chan-woo’s life force as well.

But Gang Si-chan’s smile did not last.

“Keuh…?!”

Crack!

Crunch!

Gang Si-chan’s body, which had been in the middle of devouring that power, bent at a grotesque angle.

Bones shattered.

His organs tore apart.

“Wh-what is this insane energy… Kaff!”

The moment he absorbed Baal’s power, every Mana property inside Gang Si-chan began to change.

The Mana turned on itself and attacked.

…It was rage-filled Mana.

A power that could never be controlled.

A power no one should ever wield.

And that was not all.

Tear!

Thud!

The Black Dragon Blade fused with his body fell away.

No—

it had not fallen away.

The Black Dragon Blade itself had been severed.

Destroyed.

It made no sense.

He had blocked it.

Then how?

That final blow.

That utterly ordinary-looking swordsmanship had cut through everything Gang Si-chan possessed.

“Y-you… what are you…?!”

“I’m the one who should be asking. Why is a half-human, half-demon standing on the Mountain of Practitioners?”

“……!”

An Incarnation contracted with a creator.

When that Incarnation received a creator’s power too deeply, it became a half-human, half-demon.

Park Chan-woo was certain.

Gang Si-chan was an Incarnation.

And not just that, but an evolved half-human, half-demon.

The moment he fused with the Black Dragon Blade, he had become one completely.

“Guh, gaaaaah!”

Gang Si-chan could not deny it.

Because the rage-filled Mana had already scattered all of his Mana apart.

Whoosh!

“H-hot! It’s hot, damn it!”

Soon, flames erupted across Gang Si-chan’s body.

And not long after, he burned to ashes and vanished completely.

“……”

“……”

Everyone stared in stunned silence.

Gang Si-chan was dead.

But the manner of his death was even more shocking.

“Gang Si-chan… was an Incarnation?”

“The most promising successor of the Undead Sect…?”

Burning to death was one of the traits of an Incarnation.

Which meant Gang Si-chan truly was one.

But who could have imagined that the successor of the Undead Sect, one of the Nine Families, would be an Incarnation?

No one could gather their thoughts.

‘It’s a special kind of Incarnation. One that can hide its half-human, half-demon form.’

It seemed Incarnations could evolve as well.

Or perhaps Gang Si-chan had not been contracted with an ordinary creator.

‘…An Incarnation of the Demon King.’

If what Anton said was true, and the Demon King’s corpse was hidden deep within the Undead Sect, then it was possible.

Park Chan-woo looked up the mountain.

None of this felt like mere coincidence.

Somehow—

‘…It looks like the entire Mountain of Practitioners has already been devoured by demons.’

===

“Gang Si-chan is dead?”

“He was defeated by an Arahan from a Hidden Realm?”

“What? Gang Si-chan was an Incarnation?”

Beneath a beautiful cliff that looked like paradise, inside a great hall built over a river, young Arahan had gathered.

They were the successors destined to inherit the Nine Families, known as the Nine Dragons and Nine Phoenixes.

Hearing the news about Gang Si-chan, they clicked their tongues.

“An Incarnation. Filthy and blasphemous.”

“Wasn’t the Demon Jiangshi said to be Anton’s fault too?”

“The Undead Sect… I wonder what excuse they’ll make this time.”

Though they were bound by the same name, they were all rivals.

If Gang Si-chan had removed himself from contention, that was something to be grateful for.

“By the way, just how strong is this Park Chan-woo?”

“He doesn’t seriously think that beating someone like Gang Si-chan means he can beat us too, does he?”

“From what I’ve heard, he passed all the trials of the Sanctum of the Sword.”

“Should we go take a look?”

A few of the younger successors left the hall.

Soon, they would see for themselves the face of Park Chan-woo, who was about to ascend to the upper levels of the mountain.

But not everyone moved.

“…Han Mir. Aren’t you going to take a look? It’s been a while since a Non Selected Individual like you came up to the upper levels. Though you weren’t from a Hidden Realm.”

The man called Han Mir shook his head.

“Not interested.”

“Tsk. Who’d believe you’re not a Pandarian? You act like you’ve detached yourself from the world.”

Han Mir.

He was one of the Pandarian race, the race of sages.

The sole survivor of a world that had already been destroyed.

With emotionless eyes, he looked down at the flowing river.

‘…I just live as the water flows.’

With nothing left to protect, with nothing remaining at all, he was merely alive.

As proof, the [Gem of Wisdom] embedded in his forehead had turned a dull gray.

Han Mir rose from his seat.

‘All I have left is this one sword.’

…Because when he swung a sword, his worries naturally drifted away.