Chapter 462
The south had been seized by the Demon Force, causing a state of emergency to be declared. And with Ha-Rin’s funeral taking place quietly on the outskirts of the city, strange rumors began circulating.
“Of all people, I just can’t believe she died...”
“Exactly. It might even be more convincing to believe that she had sided with the Demon Force—”
Thud!
“Are you insane? Don’t you know where we are? Do you want the Sword Demon to kill all of us?!”
“Ugh... I’m sorry. I’ve just been pulling all-nighters recently...”
“Just shut up and keep walking.”
The whispering people in the hallway hurriedly moved away, as if fleeing. Yet, the one they feared—Kwang-Soo—did nothing, despite hearing every word.
“...”
He just sat quietly in the memorial hall, gazing at Ha-Rin’s portrait that was surrounded by numerous flowers while clutching Celestial Night close to his chest.
He was clearly broken, so vulnerable that the mourners didn’t dare to speak to him. Instead, they all quietly departed, leaving the funeral hall silent.
Eventually, no one remained except Kwang-Soo—which was when a certain woman entered the hall.
“Even if we are in a national emergency, this is going too far. If not for her, the Demon Force would’ve pushed beyond the southern region and reached the central area by now... tsk, those idiots up there are something else.”
She was clearly disgusted, yet for some reason, her voice carried a strange curiosity.
Disturbed, Kwang-Soo finally turned his gaze toward her. The woman had long hair that reached her waist, a tall stature, eyes of mismatched colors, and a contemptuous expression that seemed to scorn the entire world.
Every aspect of her seemed to suggest she was a crazy person, and when paired with her horrid attitude, Kwang-Soo recognized her.
“Natalia Kanayeva...” He quietly uttered her full name.
“Oh? You know my name? I thought I was only known for my grand nicknames like ‘Archmage’...”
“I’ll give you ten seconds,” Kwang-Soo cut in, tightly gripping the cloth wrapped around Celestial Night’s handle. “Ten seconds for you to disappear from here if you don’t want to die.”
He emitted murderous intent, ready to attack at any moment. Celestial Night also responded to him, trembling faintly.
Swish-
Thin sword marks appeared on the ceiling, walls, and floor of the funeral hall. At the same time, several strands of Natalia’s hair drifted to the ground.
“Oh, interesting. It doesn’t seem like you’re deliberately holding back.... Did the sword respond to your intentions by only cutting my hair because you’re not ready to kill me yet? This is quite fascinating.”
Despite the thin cuts appearing non-stop on her face and neck, Natalia just tilted her head and examined Celestial Night’s mechanism curiously. And naturally, that just made Kwang-Soo’s murderous intent run wild.
But just as he was about to swing Celestial Night at full speed, Natalia suddenly spoke again. “Ah, right. I treated Sophia Green.”
Kwang-Soo paused and turned toward her.
“I removed all the demonic aura that was corroding her body and sealed the mutated areas. The corrosion won’t progress further... at least for now.”
“...”
“As for her synesthetic mindscape... there are ways to treat it, but they’re not very effective and can negatively affect her brain. If she wants treatment for herself after waking up, just contact me. I’ll come right away.”
Processing her words, Kwang-Soo remained silent for a long while.
“...What do you want?”
He knew she would never show kindness without a reason.
“Well... nothing much, really.” Natalia shrugged at his openly expressed suspicion. “If anything, that black sword interests me, but even I’m not so tactless as to steal it away from you in a situation like this.”
Only now did Kwang-Soo relax his stance.
“You really want... nothing?”
“That’s right. This is more of me cleaning up the aftermath.”
Natalia glanced at Ha-Rin’s portrait, scratching the back of her head.
“I came to deal with the Demon Force, not to get involved in messy affairs like this.”
“...”
“But by the time I received the signal and confirmed the target, Ha-Rin had already turned into a demon, leaving me no other choice... you know what? Forget it. Whatever I say now would just sound like an excuse.”
With a heavy sigh, clearly annoyed by the entire situation, Natalia looked directly at Kwang-Soo.
“Anyway, what I want to say here is that there was no dirty deal where I promised your master’s remains or anything like that. I’m well aware my reputation often leads to such misunderstandings.”
“...”
“But whether you believe me or not, I’ll leave it up to you... ah. Actually, there is this one last piece of advice I want to give you before I leave.”
Natalia stared coldly at Kwang-Soo.
“You’d better settle things clearly with Park Sung-Jin. Otherwise, in the near future, both of you will end up in danger.”
“...”
“I’m going to leave now. Let’s meet again when things get better.”
Natalia turned and left, leaving Kwang-Soo alone. He turned again to gaze at the portrait.
Park Sung-Jin’s aim is complete control of the country, and if I don’t settle things as Natalia warned, Sophia and I will be in danger.... But...
If he killed Park Sung-Jin now, the country would lose its focal point and descend into chaos—the perfect opportunity for the Demon Force to invade. It would be by his hands... that everything they had protected would vanish completely.
For Kwang-Soo, such an ending was akin to erasing all of Ha-Rin’s legacy.
Should I really compromise with Park Sung-Jin for the greater good? With the ones who killed Master and now wish to trample her honor?
Just the fact that he was even considering it enraged him, making him grip Celestial Night until his knuckles whitened. For his master’s honor, he wanted to slaughter everyone involved, starting with Park Sung-Jin. However, how far would his revenge extend?
Park Sung-Jin’s allies, his supporters, the bystanders who didn’t help Master... and even... those who forced Ha-Rin to choose sacrifice.
What started with Park Sung-Jin cascaded endlessly downward in revenge, eventually extending toward all humanity. Kwang-Soo’s face contorted.
I... I...
The heroic path Ha-Rin wished for and the path of vengeance for Ha-Rin—neither path could be undone, leaving Kwang-Soo trapped in endless contemplation.
Unable to break free, he ended up ignoring orders from the government army to return to the battlefield and secluded himself at home.
—Government troops have successfully driven out the Demon Force from the southern line. General Park Sung-Jin participated in the decisive battle personally, saving countless heroes and defeating the demons...
“...”
Sitting in a dark room, Kwang-Soo stared blankly at the radio announcing the end of the war in the south. From the praises over the radio, it was clear Park Sung-Jin had been steadily expanding his influence, continuing efforts to erase Ha-Rin’s legacy—all while he wasted his days away.
“He’s still holed up in his room? Is there really something to it?”
“I heard Sophia Green ignored the summons too. There must be something going on.”
“Then does this make those rumors true? That would explain why her disciples went into seclusion. It was out of shock—”
“You should watch your mouth. A junior I know had his arm chopped off for saying something similar near Sophia’s house.”
“W-Why didn’t you mention that first?! Let’s just drop this and get out of here.”
Placing the summons notice on the door, the officials hurriedly left. Again, Kwang-Soo had heard everything, yet did nothing.
He turned his gaze toward the stand Celestial Night was resting on.
What am I even doing...
The seclusion had been so he could make a decision, yet at some point, Kwang-Soo stopped agonizing altogether. Or more accurately, he had simply stopped thinking about it, overwhelmed by the dilemma.
I don’t want to become a hero... nor do I want revenge.
His wish to betray neither his own wish nor Ha-Rin’s—the desperate desire to lose nothing more—plunged him into lethargy.
And once again, time without him making any choice.
Eventually, on the day Park Sung-Jin returned from the battlefront and was to hold a grand victory ceremony...
Thud-
Kwang-Soo fainted.
“...!”
Regaining consciousness a while later, Kwang-Soo jolted upright, his eyes widening in shock. He had been forcibly knocked out, and Celestial Night, which should’ve been on its stand, was now gone.
“No way...”
At the dreadful thought that crossed his mind, Kwang-Soo rushed outside in a panic toward Park Sung-Jin’s residence.
“Huff... Huff...”
The mansion stood dark and silent. Although it was unsurprising given the late hour, the complete absence of guards, even at the main gate, hinted that something was terribly wrong.
Hurrying up, Kwang-Soo entered the mansion and froze at the sight he found.
“...”
Ceiling, walls, corridors—everything visible was stained with blood, the only traces being slender sword cuts. Seeing such a thing, others would logically assume that the bodies that had likely littered the area were just cleaned up. Kwang-Soo, though, instantly knew the actual truth.
They were all ground away.
As if determined to erase every trace from existence, someone had unleashed countless sword auras to shred the bodies completely. Feeling his heart pounding violently, Kwang-Soo rushed to Park Sung-Jin’s office on the second floor: the culprit he suspected was most likely waiting.
“Ah, you’re here.”
And just as he thought, Sophia was standing calmly inside with Celestial Night in her hands. The office was as bloody as the rest, with no survivors except her.
“Sophia... you...”
“It’s messy, isn’t it? It was quite hard to control a sword that responds to my synesthetic mindscape,” Sophia indifferently remarked, covered head-to-toe in blood.
Kwang-Soo had seen her similarly bloodied in battle countless times, but knowing that the blood was all from fallen comrades... she looked drastically different.
“By the way, our suspicions turned out to be right. They did find Master’s presence troublesome when trying to seize control of the country. Park Sung-Jin then made a deal with the Demon Force, lured our main force away, and planned to kill us all together.”
“...”
“At first, I thought it was just Park Sung-Jin who laid hands on the scheme. But as it turns out, plenty of others helped him. Everyone we suspected before actually did lend him their strength.”
“So... you just killed them all...?” Kwang-Soo’s voice trembled.
It was a stark contrast to Sophia’s impassive one. “Yes. I killed them all.”
She sounded as if she had done no wrong, like everyone even remotely connected to Ha-Rin’s death deserved to be slaughtered by her.
“Do you even realize... what you have just done...?” Kwang-Soo questioned through gritted teeth.
“So you still think the path you’ve been walking so far is the right one...” With a bitter smile, Sophia looked down at Celestial Night in her hands. “It was because of that way of thinking... that Master ended up like that.”
Kwang-Soo froze. Ha-Rin died at the hands of those wary of her influence, which, turned around, meant they—the disciples and master—had enough power and foundation to keep all enemies in check.
“If we’d paid just a little more attention and planned seriously for the future, none of this would’ve happened.”
“...”
“But neither of us did any of that. We just settled in our comfort zone, relying on Master whenever things didn’t go our way.”
Although they hadn’t directly caused Ha-Rin’s death, they’d undoubtedly missed the chance to prevent it. As Kwang-Soo grimaced at this irreversible truth, Sophia slowly raised her head.
“But I don’t want to blame you for that. After all, I was the same, and it’s already too late.”
“...”
“Doing nothing after Master’s death, though... that
I can’t forgive.”Sophia glared fiercely at Kwang-Soo, her face twisted with rage.
“At first, I intended to wait until you made your choice. Because I know you’ve completely understood Master’s will and inherited it fully. Whatever the choice, I could have accepted IT!”
“...”
“So why did you do nothing?! Why did you just watch silently while Master’s sacrifice and honor were trampled by these BASTARDS?!”
Boom!
Sophia’s rage echoed through Celestial Night, unleashing its sword aura. Yet Kwang-Soo didn’t move, allowing his body to be thinly sliced.
And upon seeing the blood on his unmoving body, Sophia calmed down slightly.
“Why?” she asked again, yet she was met by a brief silence.
“...I’m sorry.”
And an apology—what else could he possibly say?
Taken aback by the pitiful reply, Sophia stared at him in a daze, then softened sadly.
“I see... so that’s it. You died that day too, with Master.”
She finally understood. Kwang-Soo... was just a hollow shell, living reluctantly to honor Ha-Rin’s last will that was embedded in Celestial Night. With her last question resolved, Sophia’s expression disappeared entirely as she grasped her own face.
“Then... I must replace you both.”
Rip!
She tore away her skin, revealing a face of swirling darkness: demonic aura.
Horrified, Kwang-Soo stared at her.
“You... went that far...”
“That day, the Abyss of Demons whispered to me. It said that I had potential, urging me to dive inside.”
Crack- Snap-
Sophia’s body twisted grotesquely, growing larger and larger. Her voice and mannerisms became cold and emotionless.
Seeing himself reflected in her transformation, Kwang-Soo was stunned.
He could only watch as her transformation finished, and Sophia calmly let out a decree.
“Today... we’re all going to die together here.”
Crash!
Kwang-Soo and Sophia’s Celestial Infinity Blades collided against each other, destroying their surroundings. When they were both under Ha-Rin, Kwang-Soo always dominated—but not anymore.
Boom!
Weeks of starvation and psychological torment left Kwang-Soo weakened, while Sophia—now a demon—wielded Celestial Night. The gap in their strength reversed, and the situation spiraled quickly. And naturally, it didn’t take long for the outcome of the battle to be decided.
“Ugh...”
Exhausted and bleeding, Kwang-Soo collapsed as Sophia silently approached and swung Celestial Night without a word.
Clang!
However, with a clear ring, the blade snapped cleanly in half.
“...”
“...”
Silence filled the air at the unexpected event as both stared down.
And in the end, it was Sophia who spoke first, her voice bitter. “If this is what Master wishes... I guess it can’t be helped.”
Tossing the broken blade at Kwang-Soo’s feet, she picked up the fallen blade instead and looked at the motionless Kwang-Soo.
“You couldn’t keep your promise after all...”
For that one line, her original voice came back.