Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 451 – Arrangement (4)

Mok Gyeong-un frowned as he watched the short sword spinning around as if alive.

At first glance, it appeared to be an ordinary dagger.

It didn’t seem to be made of special metal like Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron, so how did it change the trajectory of a concentrated power strike?

Was it because of that white lightning-like phenomenon that occurred on the dagger for a split second?

As he was pondering this,

-Excellent. To think you’d make even Sodam Sword step in.

‘!?’

What does this mean?

Not just making the sword be used, but saying the sword stepped in?

He’s talking about the sword as if it were a mortal.

-Gooooooo!

At that moment, natural energy from all directions gathered into the iron sword of the demon-masked man.

Along with that, a counter-force occurred, and,

-Chaeaaaaaang!

Mok Gyeong-un’s form, which had been grasping the demon-masked man, was flung backwards.

The force was so strong that he was instantly pushed back nearly twenty jang, causing him to be thrown over the mountain peak to the cliff.

It was a precipice with nowhere to place his feet, but,

-Pat!

Mok Gyeong-un kicked the air with true energy, deploying the Void Stepping Technique[1].

Just as he was about to launch his body towards the demon mask again after kicking off the air,

-Kwang!

At that moment, he saw the demon-masked man stomp on the ground with true force and extend his iron sword towards him.

Along with this, a sword force like a spiral whirlwind emerged from the sword tip, enveloping Mok Gyeong-un with the momentum of a storm.

‘This is?’

Mok Gyeong-un immediately recognized what he was deploying.

It was the True Chasing and Turning Sword, one of the Luminous Star Sword Art in Six Offices Commander Jin Ye-rin’s repertoire.

However, this True Chasing and Turning Sword was different from what he knew before.

While Jin Ye-rin’s True Chasing and Turning Sword was literally a technique that swept away the opponent with a rotating sword force in a spiral shape,

-Chwa chwa chwa chwa chwa chwak!

Inside this True Chasing and Turning Sword, another reverse spiral sword force was whirling.

Because of this, it had transformed into a nearly perfect sword technique with no weakness in the center of the whirlwind, which could be considered the only possible point of attack.

Moreover,

-Suk! Suk!

The short sword emitting white lightning had flown behind him, drawing trajectories to interfere with the paths Mok Gyeong-un might use to evade.

‘A situation with no way out. What will you do?’

The demon-masked man closely observed Mok Gyeong-un.

It was at that very moment.

-Suk!

Mok Gyeong-un raised sword hilts in both his left and right hands simultaneously.

And as he extended his left hand towards the trajectory of the white lightning,

-Kwang!

At that moment, the demonic sword Plundering-killing Sword, which had burst through the mountain peak floor, clashed with the dagger trying to block Mok Gyeong-un’s rear, drawing a black trajectory.

-Chae chae chae chae chae chaeng!

It was a magnificent sight as black and white lines filled the surroundings, competing in a complex manner.

However, the whirlwind of sword force was still approaching in front.

At that moment, as Mok Gyeong-un raised his right hand sword hilt,

-Woo woo woong!

Three giant formless swords appeared before his eyes.

In that state, as Mok Gyeong-un drew a circle with his sword hilt, the three formless swords that had appeared began to rotate rapidly like a windmill at regular intervals.

These rotating formless swords created a shield of wind pressure with their sharp sword force.

Seeing this, the demon-masked man chuckled.

-You should have known by now that formless swords are useless.

Along with this, the demon-masked man reached out his left hand towards the shield of formless swords Mok Gyeong-un had created.

He intended to disperse the sword energy.

But at that moment,

-Paaaaaaang!

The space at the center of the whirlwind created by the demon mask rippled, and then spread like waves, sucking in the whirlwind of sword force to its center.

-Paaaaaaang!

‘The Void Suppression?’

It was one of the Eight Thought-Shattering Techniques, the Void Suppression.

As the whirlwind of sword force rotating in reverse at the center, the very core of the whirlwind, disappeared, it reverted to the form of the original True Chasing and Turning Sword.

In that state, Mok Gyeong-un’s form blurred and a black line was drawn towards the center.

-Chwak!

He was concentrating his power into a single point to penetrate the center.

Then,

-Suk!

The demon mask extended the index finger of his left hand.

At that instant, the space right in front of the demon mask spread out in a wave-like form, compressing the surrounding space.

-It’s a pity. The strategy was good, but writing characters in front of this old man…

-Heumchit!

At that moment, the demon mask sensed sharp auras flying in from above and both sides.

The formless swords he had tried to use as a shield were now rotating like windmills and flying towards him from three directions.

He was in the middle of deploying the True Chasing and Turning Sword, so he couldn’t move.

The demon mask’s choice was,

-Wudeuk!

To withdraw his true energy and endure the overload on his physical body.

As he stopped deploying the True Chasing and Turning Sword, the demon-masked man immediately jumped upwards while gently drawing a circle with his sword.

At that moment,

-Pa chi chi chi chi chik!

Lightning struck from the clear sky and wrapped around the iron sword.

This was not just at the level of simple lightning energy.

‘Thunder Splitting Heavenly Concealed[2] Divine Path Luminous Star Sword Art Loach Form Sword[3]!’

From the lightning-wrapped sword, sword force enveloped in thunder power spread out in all directions like soft willow branches.

It undulated like waves and clashed with the formless swords rotating like windmills flying in from three directions.

-Chae chae chae chae chaeng! Pa cha cha cha cha chang!

As the rotating sword force of the formless swords collided with the sword force wrapped in thunder power, dazzling sparks flew in all directions, causing tremendous aftershocks as thunder power and wind pressure mixed in the surroundings.

-Pa chi chi chi chi chik! Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwang!

It reached the point of splitting and scorching the mountain peak.

Fragments of the shattered mountain peak flew in all directions, and as the support disappeared, the violently colliding formless swords and the sword technique imbued with thunder power were neutralized.

-Tat!

The demon-masked man lightly leapt from the collapsing ground and moved his eyes to search for Mok Gyeong-un.

Although it seemed he had been sucked in midway by the Void Suppression, Mok Gyeong-un had escaped from it.

He was clearly targeting himself with ultra-high-speed movement.

-Seureuk! Seureuk!

‘Found him.’

Through the gaps in the demon mask, his eyes could see Mok Gyeong-un approaching, using the fragments of the collapsing peak as footholds to deploy his movement technique.

The way he flew in all directions, stepping on the fragments, was truly unpredictable.

‘His innate sense and adaptability are extraordinary.’

The demon mask inwardly clicked his tongue.

It was admirable how he responded without being affected at all by the terrain and adapting to it.

-It’s been a while since my fighting spirit has been roused like this.

He didn’t expect the fight to last this long.

There were constraints such as the artificial space and consciousness, and the original purpose was to test him and make a decision.

But as he continuously grew even during the fight, a competitive spirit gradually arose.

-Woo woo woong!

A resonating sound flowed from the iron sword the demon mask was holding.

At this, the demon mask smiled with his eyes and muttered.

-You feel the same, I see. Namcheon.

As the demon mask, with his fighting spirit properly aroused, firmly gripped the iron sword he called Namcheon and took a proper fighting stance, the dagger flew to his side and made a resonating sound.

-Woo woo woong! Woo woo woong!

It looked almost as if the dagger was chattering and speaking to him.

The demon mask frowned and then waved his hand as if understanding.

-Alright, alright. Enough.

Soon, his eyes caught sight of Mok Gyeong-un fiercely flying towards him,

–Cheolkang!

The demon-masked man, who had sheathed his sword, immediately extended both hands and made a gesture of waving them to the sides.

At that moment,

-Kwa reureureureuru!

The fragments of the shattered peak were pushed to the sides by an invisible force.

Moreover, the ground rose from the collapsed peak, creating a flat surface.

Despite this strange phenomenon, Mok Gyeong-un did not stop his momentum and tried to unleash his sword technique towards the demon mask.

It was a sword technique that concentrated killing intent and power into a single point.

As his senses became sharper, Mok Gyeong-un was bringing that sword closer and closer to its perfect form.

At that moment, as the demon mask reached out his hand towards Mok Gyeong-un,

-Pu shu shu shu shu shu shu!

Suddenly, a stream of water like a waterfall shot upwards from the ground.

As a result, Mok Gyeong-un had to break through the upward-flowing waterfall, getting his entire body wet, and when he emerged,

-Pak!

A strange sight unfolded.

‘!?’

The surroundings had somehow changed into a green meadow, and in the center was a round table with teacups placed on it.

Moreover, the demon mask was sitting there, pouring warm tea into the cups.

Seeing this, Mok Gyeong-un became even more wary.

The man before his eyes was not just strong, but within this space, he seemed almost omnipotent.

Mok Gyeong-un, who had stopped momentarily, spoke to him.

“What are you trying to do now?”

-Can’t you tell by looking? I’m suggesting we have a cup of tea.

“Tea?”

-Yes. I’ve confirmed what level you’ve reached, so there’s no reason to fight anymore.

“Confirmed?”

One of Mok Gyeong-un’s eyebrows raised.

Is he saying he just tested himself?

As a strange sense of displeasure was about to rise,

-Do you feel bad about being tested?

As if seeing through that thought, the demon-masked man shrugged and spoke.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un let out a faint sigh and opened his mouth.

“Where exactly is this place?”

-I’ll answer if you come and have a drink to catch your breath. Unlike me, who is a thought-form, you actually exist and must be quite tired.

‘Thought-form?’

Did he just say thought-form?

Mok Gyeong-un moved his eyes to survey the surroundings.

It certainly felt vivid, but was the feeling that nothing around could be properly sensed originating from this?

‘Mental image? No. It’s more high-dimensional than that.’

-It’s constructed to seem real, beyond the realm of returning to the origin. Mortal.

Mok Gyeong-un nodded as if agreeing with Cheong-ryeong’s voice.

If it were a thought-form, it should literally occur as a mental image in one’s mind, but this place was similar to actually existing.

Thus, it was deceiving all five senses.

It was probably like casting a wide-ranging suggestion, similar to the Suppress technique.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un turned his gaze towards the demon mask filling the teacups and spoke.

“Who are you?”

-You’re stubborn. I’m kindly offering you tea, you know.

-Jeobeok jeobeok!

Mok Gyeong-un approached the demon mask and continued speaking.

“A high-dimensional Luminous Star Sword Art surpassing Jin Ye-rin… The skill to freely utilize the Eight Thought-Shattering Techniques, said to have been left by that person from Mushang Fortress, even better than me, and that demon mask identical to the one in the residual thoughts at Shaolin Temple.”

-Hoo.

“You… Are you Jin Ye-rin’s ancestor?”

This was the conclusion Mok Gyeong-un had reached from various clues.

Even if it didn’t make sense, this was the answer he had come to in his mind.

Then, the demon mask finally rested his chin on his interlocked hands and opened his mouth.

-The heavenly secrets are unexpectedly like fog and simple, only allowing one to read their general trends. So I wondered if an opportunity would arise to meet you like this, and it has come to pass.

“……”

-Suk!

The man finally grasped the demon mask and continued speaking.

-I’m not sure how it’s remembered now, but there was a time when I was treated as a villain and called the Blood Demon, and another time when I was called the Sword Immortal, the exemplar of a good person.

-Tak!

The demon mask was removed.

Along with this, his face was revealed.

He was a handsome man with pupils that strangely contained both blood-red and golden colors simultaneously.

-But as you said, I too am just myself. My name is Jin Woon-hwi. As you guessed, I am the ancestor of that child, Jin Ye-rin.

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