Chapter 113: The Sword’s Memory (2)

"Ah, I want to get out."

Beneath a massive rocky mountain.

A white-furred monkey had only its upper body sticking out. It looked as though its body was pinned under the enormous mountain.

For some reason, the white monkey—Windstorm Great Saint—remained lying there, his lower body trapped.

"What is this now? A new game?"

At the sound of a voice, Windstorm Great Saint twisted his head to look at the speaker.

Because he twisted his head while lying down, the world appeared upside down.

The sky became the ground, and the earth became the sky. In Windstorm Great Saint’s view, someone stood upside down.

Clad in a chaotic blend of white, blue, red, and green, the monkey-like being wore clothing so dazzling it was disorienting. It was a monkey monster with large eyes and blue fur.

Strangely enough, the blue monkey had grown his head hair long and swept it back—just like a human would grow their hair.

Though his build resembled that of an average adult male, his arms were long enough for his fingertips to touch his knees. Even among monkey monsters, his appearance was quite different from Windstorm Great Saint.

His head was more rounded, and his eyes were much bigger. Despite his bizarre outfit, his face looked rather cute.

The blue monkey monster slowly walked toward Windstorm Great Saint. Curiously, his steps made no sound.

He came to stand beside the reclining Windstorm Great Saint.

"A game? What game?"

"Isn’t it a game? I thought you were bored and decided to use a mountain like a blanket. Otherwise, why are you like this?"

"I'm being punished."

"Punished? You? That's a terrible joke."

"It's true. But why are you wearing that ridiculous outfit? Trying to be funny?"

"What’s wrong with my clothes?"

At the jab, the blue monkey monster stretched out both arms. His clothes, made of wide sleeves and multicolored fabrics, were so gaudy they hurt the eyes.

"You look like you should be dancing or tumbling around."

"Sheesh, what do you know, brother? Enough nonsense—just get out."

"I can’t. I’m being punished."

"For real?"

Windstorm Great Saint nodded while lying down.

"Who's punishing you?"

"My sister."

"Sister? Hmm... then what did you do wrong this time?"

"It’s not exactly wrong. I sent a projection to the Central Heavens Realm."

"Where in the Central Heavens?"

"Where the martial artists are gathered."

"How much power did you put in?"

"About the level of a Demon King."

"..."

A Demon King’s level would be what the humans in the Central Heavens Martial Realm called the Realm of Wish. Releasing that kind of power in someone else’s territory definitely warranted punishment. It was a blessing that his sister hadn’t torn off his limbs.

"Hey, that place has some nasty-tempered humans. You can’t just do that. I know you like playing around, but that would make your sister furious. Some of those people aren’t ones we can ignore, right? Didn’t she specifically warn you to be careful? Why did you do it?"

"Ignore them? I’d win in a fight."

At the childish remark, the blue monkey monster chuckled in disbelief.

"Of course you would. Still, this is something even our sister would get mad about. She warned you so many times, yet you caused such a mess."

The one they both referred to as "sister" was the second of the Seven Great Saints.

Since they were monsters, gender meant little among the Seven Great Saints. But if one were to assign genders, the second was the only female among the seven.

The second of the Seven Great Saints—

Ocean-Covering Great Saint, Demonic Martial King.

Born with the most noble bloodline among the Dragon Tribe, she was, contrary to her nature as a Great Monster of the Demonic Spirit Realm, gentle, graceful, and beautiful. But to her siblings, she was the most terrifying monster of all.

‘They just don’t know.’

Among the Seven Great Saints, only the youngest—who had gone down a different path—and the eldest—often mentioned in legends alongside the youngest—were widely known.

Windstorm Great Saint, who roamed around picking fights, had some recognition, but it was nothing compared to those two.

The remaining four were known mostly by name, not by their feats.

Demonic Martial King was the most extreme among them. Windstorm Great Saint believed that if people ever learned her true nature, they would fear her the most.

Even Windstorm Great Saint, known for being a troublemaker and constantly bickering with his siblings, found her daunting. When she got upset, her lectures lasted decades.

‘I’d rather just get into a fight.’

But Demonic Martial King wasn’t like that. She didn’t fight—she nagged endlessly. Even Windstorm Great Saint couldn’t bear the unending stream of lectures. Even the eldest of the Seven Great Saints found her difficult.

Having unleashed excessive power in the Central Heavens Martial Realm, Windstorm Great Saint got caught by Demonic Martial King and ended up being punished like this.

"You're not a kid. Just listen for once."

"What did I do?"

Seeing that shameless attitude, the blue monkey monster clicked his tongue. How could someone be so brazen?

"She’s too harsh. It’s not like you're the traitorous youngest. She didn’t have to trap you under a mountain."

"The youngest? Why bring him up all of a sudden?"

"Didn’t he also get buried under a mountain after causing trouble back then?"

"Did he? So what happened to him?"

"Didn’t he wander around looking for something after meeting a human? Said he was on some kind of penance or something."

"Did he? I don’t know."

"Of course you wouldn’t remember that. What’s so great about going around beating things up that you’d put yourself through this? Seriously. But, brother."

"Hm? What?"

"Did you send out that much power because there was someone you needed to fight?"

"No, not really..."

"Then why did you do it?"

"I just... got excited without realizing it..."

The more he heard, the more the blue monkey monster's face twisted in disbelief.

"Stay trapped. Be trapped for life. What even is this? Truly the height of foolishness. Just unbelievable. Get a grip already. You're one of the top figures in the Demonic Spirit Realm. When are you going to grow up? This is frustrating. If you’d just settle down and keep to your place..."

"Enough. I’m getting up."

Windstorm Great Saint was pinned as a form of self-reflection, not because he was actually unable to move. He could get up anytime he wanted.

And the blue monkey monster knew that. As the sixth of the Seven Great Saints—Old Spirit Great Saint—he fell silent.

If he said more, he might end up having to fight that battle maniac. That would only be a loss for him. If it meant fighting, the reclining older brother would eagerly leap at the chance.

Old Spirit Great Saint said no more and merely looked at him pitifully.

"So why did you come?"

"I discovered something interesting and thought I’d share it."

"Something interesting?"

"Take a look at this."

Old Spirit Great Saint pulled a broken stone tablet from his robes.

It was inscribed with strange characters. So odd they might have been mistaken for scribbles.

"What’s that?"

"You don’t know either, brother?"

"No, this is my first time seeing it."

"I brought it thinking you might recognize it since you’ve wandered all over. Waste of time, then. Well, I’ll be going."

"You came just to ask about that?"

"Exactly. Trying to find someone who can interpret this. Anyway, stay lying down. I’m off."

"Let me see it again."

Old Spirit Great Saint bent down and brought the stone tablet close to Windstorm Great Saint’s face.

"Hmm."

No matter how he looked at it, the letters were strange. Windstorm Great Saint was one to leap across worlds causing chaos when something piqued his interest. But even he had never seen writing like this.

'They look like letters... but what are they?'

Rumble.

As Windstorm Great Saint shifted while staring intently at the tablet, the massive rocky mountain trembled as if an earthquake had struck.

"Hey! Stay still! I’ll get scolded too if you move."

"Alright, alright. Just a moment. Let me see it properly."

He took the tablet and studied it slowly.

"Hmm."

It looked intentionally distorted—made to be decipherable only to those in the know.

"Can you read any of it?"

"No, not at all."

"Sheesh, wasting time when you don’t even know. Give it back."

At Old Spirit Great Saint’s grumbling, Windstorm Great Saint handed the tablet over.

"I’m off. Enjoy your punishment."

"Yeah, safe travels."

With a half-hearted wave, Windstorm Great Saint once more looked at the tablet in Old Spirit Great Saint’s hand.

[빿열섀벤쮀]

No matter how many times he looked, he couldn’t make out what the top characters meant.

Clatter.

As the Dragon King’s Scales fell from his body, Jang Woo-hyun came back to his senses.

"Brother!"

"Are you alright?"

"You okay?"

Despite the three people’s concerned questions, Jang Woo-hyun couldn’t answer right away.

‘What in the world was that.’

Unknown memories. Unfamiliar scenes.

They appeared to be the memories of the black sword.

It hadn’t shown them perfectly, so he couldn’t grasp the exact content.

A sword born from countless sacrifices shattered the world, then itself shattered again. And someone wielding its fragments stood against the Blue Smoke—but even that sword was broken anew.

Jang Woo-hyun raised his hand to signal he was fine to the three. He shook his head, brushing away the dreadful sensations, then gathered his thoughts.

After about a single Il Dakyung of time—

"I saw a scene."

"A scene?"

"The memories seemed to be what the sword showed me."

Jang Woo-hyun explained what he had seen.

"You mean the Dragon King’s Scales showed you that?"

"Yes, that’s how it felt."

Everyone’s eyes turned toward the Dragon King’s Scales, which had returned to its sword form as if nothing had happened.

Even when Jang Woo-hyun swung it again, it showed no reaction this time. It neither separated again nor transmitted any will.

"I had guessed from the curse it exuded, but if what you saw in that memory is real, then it’s a sword born amidst the grudges and resentment of countless people."

Though he had suspected it, the scale of it was far beyond what he imagined.

From what Jang Woo-hyun felt, no less than hundreds of millions of lives had been extinguished.

"A sword created through the death of so many, for the sake of revenge..."

"Seems too dangerous. Why not just leave it behind?"

"……"

To Cho-su’s concerned words, Jang Woo-hyun couldn’t readily respond.

At present, the black sword didn’t possess the overwhelming power shown in the vision. Still, it was undoubtedly something extraordinary.

While Jang Woo-hyun silently mulled over it, Cho-yul gathered his thoughts and spoke.

"Are you leaving now?"

"I’ve retrieved Ha-un’s sword, and I’ve repaid the favor to both of you, so yes, I suppose it’s time. There’s a place I must go. Why do you ask?"

"I was hoping you’d give us just a few more days. I’d like to examine the sword again. What do you think?"

"You mean this sword?"

When Jang Woo-hyun lifted the black sword, Cho-yul nodded.

"If we inspect it once more and still find nothing, at least we should install a safety mechanism. Would it be difficult to delay your departure by a few days?"

Since a few days’ delay wouldn’t change much, Jang Woo-hyun agreed. He then handed the black sword over to Cho-yul again.

A few days later.

As Jang Woo-hyun and Jin Ha-un prepared to depart, they saw Cho-su, who was also packing his belongings.

"What… what’s going on here?"

"I’m the safety mechanism. Since we don’t know what kind of sword it is, I’ll be traveling with you for a while. I also want to observe how the sword changes."

When Jang Woo-hyun looked at Cho-yul with disbelief, he merely spread his arms and shrugged as if to say he didn’t know either.

"And you haven’t heard how the Dragon King’s Scales has changed, right? This thing has absorbed so much that it can now exert a different kind of power. It's not very strong, though."

Unlike Jang Woo-hyun’s reaction, Cho-su said whatever he had to say. Judging by the situation, it seemed there was no avoiding taking him along, so Jang Woo-hyun gave in and accepted him into the group.

Upon reflection, they didn’t have a bad relationship, and since Cho-su knew the Central Heavens Realm well, traveling together could only be beneficial.

With a brief farewell, the now trio—including Cho-su—left the house and boarded the Flying Apparatus.

"Alright! Let’s go! To the world of adventure!"

Seeing his overexcited demeanor, Jang Woo-hyun shook his head. Judging from how he acted, it seemed Cho-su wasn’t interested in the black sword at all—he just wanted an excuse to get out and about.

"So what’s the destination? Since we came from the Samcheong Tai Chi Sect area, are we heading into the Beast King Sect’s territory? Or somewhere else?"

"Giant Tree Grove."

"Ah…"

At the unexpected destination, the smile vanished from Cho-su’s elated face.

It was a place he hadn’t anticipated at all.

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