The Reversal of Fate (2)
The Heavenly Demon was unusually cautious, as if he had hesitated to ask this question several times before.
“What was the final technique that killed me?”
Hearing it, I understood why he was so careful. For someone as proud as the Heavenly Demon, it must have been a difficult question to ask.
“The Great Annihilation.”
I answered him straightforwardly.
“The Great Annihilation, the Great Annihilation…”
He repeated the words several times. This confirmed what I had suspected: even though he was in my mind, he didn’t know everything about me.
“Is the Great Annihilation also part of the Soul-Devouring Sword Technique?”
“Yes, it’s the final move.”
“What a pity. If I had endured just one more move, I might have won.”
He was probably right. If even the Great Annihilation hadn’t worked, I would have faced an opponent I could never defeat.
Now it was my turn to ask.
“What was the technique you used at the end?”
“Hmph!”
The Heavenly Demon scoffed.
“Why the reaction?”
“I don’t need your pity.”
“It’s not pity.”
”…”
“With you, I could make a fortune.”
After a pause, the Heavenly Demon couldn’t resist his curiosity.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Gather the martial artists and charge them to see the Heavenly Demon sulking! We could make millions. They’d come back at least five times each, so we’d earn tens of millions.”
Finally understanding my meaning, the Heavenly Demon shouted in outrage.
“You madman! How dare you say that!”
“Hahaha.”
After a hearty laugh, I spoke again.
“Your martial arts were truly terrifying. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have used the Great Annihilation. To confess, using it could have killed me too. The fact that I had to use it means you were incredibly strong.”
After a long silence, the Heavenly Demon asked quietly.
“Do you really think so?”
Baekpyo was meeting with Galsaryang in Blue.
He had received an urgent message to meet.
“What’s going on?”
“We’ve lost contact with the Lord.”
“What?”
Baekpyo was taken aback. Galsaryang explained the situation. The internal affairs had been communicated to Galsaryang by Byeokridan before they went dark.
Since then, there had been no news.
“We investigated through our spies within the Martial Alliance, but everything seems normal from the outside.”
“Hmm.”
Baekpyo groaned. Having been in the organization for a long time, he knew this was not a good report.
It meant there had been a problem, but it had been quietly resolved internally.
“So we’re looking into it from all angles.”
Ban Seojeong, the leader of the Heavenly Network, chimed in.
“We’ve activated all our information networks. We should hear something soon.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than a man wearing a bamboo hat entered the room.
He was not a member of the Heavenly Network but one of Galsaryang’s subordinates. Galsaryang had spies and informants in key positions throughout the land, and this one was active within the Martial Alliance.
After delivering a message to Galsaryang, the man left.
“It seems the Lord is currently imprisoned in the underground dungeon.”
At the mention of the underground dungeon, Baekpyo and Ban Seojeong were shocked.
“What happened?”
“There was an explosion in the underground of the Medicine Hall. It seems he was caught in it.”
Baekpyo jumped to his feet.
“Is he badly injured?”
“Fortunately, it seems he’s not seriously hurt.”
“Phew.”
Baekpyo sighed in relief and sat back down.
Galsaryang asked Ban Seojeong.
“Do we have anyone planted in the dungeon?”
“Yes, we do.”
“Have them make contact with the Lord.”
“Understood.”
“We must proceed cautiously.”
Galsaryang felt a pang of guilt as he spoke. His last words were unnecessary. She had run an information network her entire life, just like him.
Understanding Galsaryang’s urgency, Ban Seojeong replied with even more determination.
“Yes, I will.”
She disappeared into the kitchen to give orders.
Left alone with Galsaryang, Baekpyo asked quietly.
“Should we go in?”
He wanted to lead the Black Panther Unit into the dungeon for a rescue mission immediately.
But it wasn’t an easy task. The defenses of the Martial Alliance’s underground dungeon were beyond imagination. Many of the Black Panther Unit would likely be sacrificed.
But if it meant saving Byeokridan, he was willing to risk his life.
Galsaryang replied calmly.
“The Lord is safe, so let’s wait for now. But be ready to move at any moment.”
“Understood.”
Baekpyo agreed with Galsaryang’s judgment. Though his heart was anxious, he knew they couldn’t act recklessly. They needed to move carefully and strategically.
And above all, they had to trust Byeokridan.
”…Father.”
The man was dying, and the old man looked down at him with a complex mix of emotions.
”…Please take care of So-seon.”
Even as his son made his final plea for his grandson, the old man’s eyes remained cold. He blamed himself.
‘How did it come to this?’
The conflict with his son had run too deep. He resented his son for not understanding him, and it pained him. He had turned away from his son, hated him. His son felt the same. Now, they were both cold.
A tear rolled down his son’s cheek.
”…I’m sorry, Father. We fought all our lives, but… in the next life, I want to be your son again.”
With those words, his son breathed his last.
A deep sigh escaped the old man’s lips. He never expected his son to say such words at the end.
”…You fool!”
Saying such things at the moment of death was unfair. Especially to someone he had conflicted with all his life.
He thought it was a lie for the sake of his grandson, hoping he would take care of him.
Even if it was, his heart was overwhelmed. If only they had shared such words sooner.
The old man collapsed to the ground.
“Damn it!”
The old man, who had lived through decades, sat in the corner of the cave.
Outwardly calm, his heart was a storm of past regrets. He could kill thousands without batting an eye, so he hoped his feelings for his son and grandson were genuine.
If even these feelings dried up… he would have no human emotions left.
At that moment, a man approached quickly. The old man smiled slightly at the sound of his light, lively footsteps. His intuition had been correct.
“Fortunately, the Heavenly Child is unharmed.”
The old man finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“He won’t be able to use martial arts for a while. He’ll need continuous treatment in Cheonran.”
“As long as he’s alive.”
“You look exhausted. You should rest more.”
“Do you have any liquor?”
“I have some I was drinking.”
“Bring it.”
“You haven’t had any in a while, have you?”
“Today calls for a drink.”
“Understood.”
The man went to the edge of the cave and brought back the stored liquor.
The old man took a drink.
“Cough!”
Perhaps because it had been so long, he choked and coughed.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
The old man drank again. This time, he drank a lot, perhaps too much at once.
The man watched him with concern.
But the old man knew well. The man’s expression wasn’t genuine; it was all trained. He had taught him himself from a young age.
After his son’s death, the old man had not allowed himself to form attachments. Even the presence of Cheonsoseon felt burdensome.
‘It’s not in my nature. To genuinely care for someone.’
That was the conclusion the old man had reached while raising Cheonsoseon. It was the right decision, as proven by the headache he felt even after hearing Cheonsoseon was alright.
“Go get more liquor. I need a drink today.”
And he would mix these emotions swirling in his head with vengeance and cast them away. Just as he always had.
“Hey.”
The Heavenly Demon spoke again. Whatever his situation, being trapped in my mind must have been frustrating. My mind wasn’t as vast as the ocean, after all.
“I’m busy.”
“Busy with what? I know you’re not. It’ll only take a moment!”
When I didn’t respond, the Heavenly Demon shouted repeatedly.
“Cheonhajin, Cheonhajin, the Martial Alliance Leader Cheonhajin, Cheonhajin, the one who believes in love, Cheonhajin…”
I almost burst out laughing at the mention of “the one who believes in love.”
“Enough. I get it, so speak.”
“About what you said before, I’ve been thinking.”
“What did I say?”
“That I lost because I didn’t believe in love.”
“To be precise, I said you lost because you were selfish.”
“I’ve been thinking… what does that mean?”
“It means exactly what it says.”
“Fine, I admit it. Let’s say I’m a selfish bastard. Why did that make me lose?”
“Have you been seriously pondering that? It was just something I said.”
“You little…!”
Teasing the Heavenly Demon was amusing. Perhaps because we died around the same age.
Oh, come to think of it, how old was the Heavenly Demon when I killed him? I imagine he was around my age or perhaps a bit older.
“Hey, Cheongwang.”
“I told you not to use my name so casually!”
“Alright, then.”
I stopped the conversation.
After a moment, the thirsty Heavenly Demon dug deeper.
“What were you going to say?”
”…”
“What were you going to say? Tell me, you bastard!”
I decided to speak up before he could grumble about it all day.
“You and I, our martial arts are impressive, aren’t they? We can cut through stone, slice through metal. If we wanted, we could even bring down a cliff.”
“You sure like to brag. So what?”
“But in the end, aren’t we just facing other people?”
“What?”
“We didn’t learn martial arts to cut through metal or stone. I learned to kill you, and you learned to kill me, didn’t you?”
“So what? What are you trying to say?”
“You really don’t get it, do you? That’s exactly it. We’re dealing with people.”
“And?”
“It all comes down to trust. The final, paper-thin difference between us isn’t about technique.”
“It’s about the heart?”
“Exactly.”
For a moment, the Heavenly Demon said nothing. This was something worth pondering, beyond the realms of orthodox and unorthodox martial arts. It was a conversation only possible because both of us had reached the pinnacle of our skills.
After a long pause, he asked, “Do you really believe that in the ultimate fight, the selfish one loses?”
“No.”
“What?”
“Personality doesn’t matter. The stronger one wins.”
“You crazy bastard! Are you mocking me?”
I replied to the suddenly irate Heavenly Demon. My previous answer had been playful, but what I was about to say was my true feeling.
“I just hope that the stronger one is a bit more human.”
Silence fell again. I wondered what he was thinking.
I could sense it.
He had changed a bit from the Heavenly Demon I once fought against.
Back then, he was a villain. As the absolute ruler of the Demonic Cult, his position lent him a certain allure and dignity, but at his core, he was a demon and a villain through and through.
But now, he felt different. Just as I had changed with a new life, so had he.
“Attaching such pointless meaning to martial arts is why you orthodox fools are pathetic and stupid.”
“Yet this pathetic fool defeated you, didn’t he?”
“Damn it! How infuriating! To think I’d die to a future orthodox geezer like you!”
I chuckled and focused on releasing the energy in my dantian.
Though I acted as if he was a nuisance, talking with the Heavenly Demon made me reflect on many things.
It might sound crazy to anyone else, but I genuinely enjoyed our conversations.
He wasn’t someone I needed to protect or impress. Besides, we were on similar levels in martial arts, and we had once fought a life-and-death battle.
I had a vague premonition.
Meeting him might once again change my martial arts, my life, in a significant way. Or perhaps, that change had already begun.