1309——————==

Soul of the Evil God

After defeating Musashi, I brought him back to Soeul Village. The moment Musashi arrived, I summoned Yeodong-bin to face him directly.

“Here he is, as promised—the Sword Saint Yeodong-bin.”

“……!!”

As soon as Musashi saw Yeodong-bin appear, he seemed to realize something and shuddered. The aura of the Sword Saint was beyond his imagination. Then, filled with pride, he drew his sword and shouted.

“Alright… Teach me a move, Sword Saint!”

Just as he was about to leap at Yeodong-bin, I charged in with Asura and blocked Musashi in the middle.

“Wait!!”

Clang!!

The sound of our ultimate techniques clashing echoed. Maybe it was because we didn’t use our strongest moves? Even with a 2-to-1 advantage, we ended up in a reasonable standoff because our combined strength far outmatched Musashi on his own. Musashi, pinned down by our pressure, suddenly looked startled and shouted angrily.

“What is the meaning of this!! Are you planning to break the promise, Baek Woong?”

I replied curtly to that.

“I never said ‘when’ I would let you fight.”

“What?!”

“You’re a battle junkie; I figured you’d disappear the moment you achieved your purpose.”

Snap

As I clicked my fingers, the projection of Yeodong-bin that appeared according to my will vanished. Musashi’s eyes widened as he watched Yeodong-bin fade away like smoke, and I smirked and said.

“You’ve become a member of Soeul Village and contracted to work under me. So you’ll have to work until I’m satisfied.”

“……”

“Why the silence? I clearly asked you to gather information on the Twelve Joules.”

Musashi, fuming, drew back his dual swords and said, “You’re sly. How long do you think you can use me like this?”

Seeing that he was letting go of his combat will, it seemed he quickly realized that if I could summon and dismiss Yeodong-bin at will, fighting would be pointless.

“Don’t complain; we haven’t even started yet. You were probably observing to defeat the Heavenly Unrestrained Technique of the Twelve Joules, so this proposal isn’t a bad deal for you, is it?”

“……!!”

“My goal is also to defeat the Heavenly Unrestrained Technique someday.”

Musashi looked at me cautiously before finally speaking after a while.

“…The Joules said to report back only when there’s a special movement among the Eight Parts of the Divine. If I return without any activity, it will raise suspicion.”

“Oh? So you’re cooperating with me?”

“I just hope you don’t say contradictory things.”

“Hmm…”

I glanced at my strategist, Mangnyang, nearby, and he stepped forward to speak.

“There’s no need to worry about that. A letter from Roland flew in yesterday, so there’s likely to be significant movement from the Eight Parts of the Divine within three days. When that happens, please return through the Manha Spiritual Gate and check on Ha Eun-cheon’s condition.”

He tossed the treasure, the Suspicious Fishhook, and as Musashi expertly snagged it, Mangnyang continued.

“That treasure allows you to communicate long-distance about what you desire from the heart. Use it to report the situation.”

“Oh….”

“And I’d like to request one more thing: lend me your divine sword, Amenohabakiri.”

“What?!”

In a flash!

At that moment, Musashi erupted with rage, his aura flaring up. A menacing killing intent swept through the room, and both Asura and I stepped forward to neutralize it. While we could easily suppress the aura itself, its sheer purity momentarily clouded my mind. It felt like a storm of blood was rushing toward me.

‘Unnatural talent of the Sword Demon, the killing intent of the Demon Mask… It’s still overwhelming.’

Despite having faced him multiple times, his talent was terrifying. The sheer purity of this killing intent was far beyond that of the martial artists honing their skills. It was something inherent to Musashi himself, making it a nuisance.

Asura, standing beside me, said bluntly, “The true power of Amenohabakiri is in defeating demons. When it comes to humans, it’s just a good sword at best. I’ll give you a great sword, so hand it over willingly.”

“What? Who the hell are you anyway?”

“I’m Asura.”

Creeeaaak…

Asura only revealed his name and took a step toward Musashi. But in that moment, the immense pressure of his true power burst forth, bearing down on Musashi, who staggered back momentarily. Musashi, unable to believe he was pushed back, widened his eyes.

“You… You are.”

With a frosty glare, Asura looked at Musashi.

“What’s wrong? Are you shocked to encounter someone stronger than you, thinking you’re invincible just because you reached the Absolute Realm?”

“……”

“You little sword-swinger from a tiny island nation. Allow me to warn you; if you provoke me once more without knowing your place, you will find out what it means to die a dog’s death here!”

Crackling!

As Asura intensified his pressure, Musashi staggered even more, and I was genuinely surprised to see him stumble back two more steps.

‘His mind technique is that strong?! No way!’

Even Baek Woong couldn’t suppress Musashi’s spirit just with mental strength. They both remained on edge, unable to resolve their standoff due to Musashi’s immense lethality. But the fact that the great Musashi was pushed back merely by Asura’s mental control revealed one undeniable fact.

‘He’s gotten stronger in that time!!’

It was clear that after receiving memories from me just a few months ago, Asura had elevated his level!

“……”

“Don’t think that you’re the only one who enjoys fighting.”

Gnash

Musashi gritted his teeth but ceased to release his killing intent recklessly. Though a battle maniac, this particular “dog’s death” had a different nuance, and the reality that a fight awaited him with the Sword Saint kept him in check. He likely sensed that challenging Asura and me would lead to immediate extermination.

Seeing Musashi fall silent, Mangnyang sighed and said, “Huh. Asking a warrior to hand over their weapon may have been too much. How about this: you have something in your possession that could help us with understanding the Ming Dynasty’s language and literature. Could you give that to us?”

“If I give you that, will I not need to hand over Amenohabakiri?”

“Of course. However, if you hand that over, I can offer you a significant enough reward in return for Amenohabakiri.”

“…I’ll think about it for a moment.”

Musashi remained still in silence for a while before finally speaking up.

“I’ll give over Amenohabakiri and the Communication Device. But you must keep your promise.”

“Oh! Thank you.”

As Musashi willingly relinquished his dual sword, along with the Amenohabakiri, Mangnyang gleefully accepted the items. After quickly explaining how to use the Suspicious Fishhook to share information with Musashi, we sent him back to his quarters.

I turned to Mangnyang and said, “Unexpected success! Wasn’t this just a trick to get him to give up the Communication Device while pretending to part with Amenohabakiri? But Musashi just handed both over…”

Given my long experience, I could tell what kind of strategy Mangnyang had employed just moments ago. He responded, “He’s a battle junkie, but when he has a target, he knows how to relent for a moment. Judging that building a rapport with us was more beneficial, he just handed both over. That’s actually true. It would be hard for him to morally go back on a promise made with me…”

“Is that so…”

“Anyway, this worked out well. Whether it’s Amenohabakiri or the Communication Device, if we hand it over to Saint Germain, he can analyze what kind of item it is using his alchemy knowledge. That will be a tremendous help moving forward.”

Curiosity piqued me to ask, “You’ve emphasized before that the Communication Device is more important than Amenohabakiri, yet isn’t the latter much higher in treasure value?”

“It may be precious, but Amenohabakiri is ultimately a treasure derived from the Totsuka no Tsurugi wielded by Susanoo. Its origin is obvious: divine power and sorcery. However, the Communication Device is a completely different item that must be studied.”

With a gleam in his eye, Mangnyang continued, “The principle of the Communication Device deciphering human speech is undoubtedly science! It’s not a treasure, artifact, or a treasure tool, but a pure scientific invention. In other words, the one who can analyze it shouldn’t be a sorcerer like me or a priest, but an alchemist like Saint Germain, and this is the perfect timing we can’t afford to miss.”

“I see… But analyzing a science that decodes speech doesn’t seem to hold much meaning.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions. You never know where hidden meanings lie. Perhaps the Communication Device could be a hundred times more significant than Amenohabakiri.”

Mangnyang seemed to strongly believe in the importance of analyzing the Communication Device. Though I was still skeptical, I shrugged it off and scratched my head.

“…Wait. You mentioned that a letter from Roland came yesterday? So the ‘plan’ is finally starting?”

“Indeed.”

Mangnyang spoke with a confident voice, “The Eight Parts of the Divine are bound to move. Let’s head to Dongyoung first to prepare.”

I placed Mangnyang and Asura into my wooden armor and we sped toward Dongyoung, making our way to Kyoto. We sought out Susanoo’s palace located in Kyoto.

[You’ve arrived, Baek Woong….]

“What brings you here?”

[……]

The atmosphere within Susanoo’s palace felt oddly thick. It wasn’t as if something had been destroyed or someone had died, but an unsettling energy enveloped the entire palace, and even the priests and attendants wore troubled expressions.

Susanoo gazed at me with a downtrodden look for a moment before speaking.

[I will step back from blocking the Great Flood.]

“……?!”

[I won’t obstruct what you do going forward, but I will also not offer any help.]

An unexpected declaration of withdrawal!!

I was flustered and said to Susanoo, “Why the sudden change? You were the one who insisted on blocking the Great Flood! Now you’re backing out… Are you mad because you think I’m not trying to stop it?”

[No… It’s not that.]

“Then why?”

[Apologies. Don’t ask me anymore.]

What?! Why this all of a sudden?

“Just wait a moment.”

While I was bewildered, I suddenly realized I hadn’t let Mangnyang and Asura out of my wooden armor yet. I took them out and sneaked behind them to whisper.

“Suddenly Susanoo says he’ll withdraw from blocking the Great Flood, but he won’t tell me why.”

“Baek Woong. There’s no need to whisper like this. Even if it’s dropped fifty floors, a god of Susanoo’s caliber would hear our conversation. Gods are fundamentally attuned to their physicality.”

“I know that, but…”

Mangnyang smiled knowingly, “Don’t worry. I took precautions to secure ‘that’ just in case.”

“What ‘that’?”

“That thing, the Wu Dao.”

“……?”

What is the Wu Dao about?

“Oh…Wait…Why can I remember the trivial stuff at times, but can’t recall something simple like this…”

“Huh…?”

Mangnyang seemed a bit exasperated as he twisted his body, while Asura spoke calmly, “Watch my lip movements closely…”

“Huh?”

Gyu… Long…?

“…Ah-ha!!”

I finally caught on to their intentions. I confidently stepped back in front of Susanoo and said, “Susanoo!! What are you hiding?”

[Umm…!!]

Shing!

Then, from the hilt of the Wu Dao I pulled from my wooden armor, a red light began to flow, manifesting characters above Susanoo’s head.

[I have discovered the source of the Great Flood, but if the culprit is Tsukuyomi, there is nothing I can do to stop it, and trying would be pointless.]

……!!

I was taken aback by those words. I turned to Susanoo and asked, “Susanoo!! Who is Tsukuyomi and what is he up to?”

[So it’s true. I sensed a powerful aura, realizing my opponent has activated the ability to read truths about them.]

“I see, I found out using the power of the Dragon of Regulation.”

That’s right.

The power of the Dragon of Regulation!

When I traded with the trapped King Gon and obtained that ability, I could uncover any truths my opponent wished to hide. It could only be used three times a year. I had just exhausted it in this instance, uncovering what Susanoo was hiding. However, I had forgotten that I possessed such power until Mangnyang and Asura prompted me to recall it.

With a sigh, Susanoo said, [Under normal circumstances, such an outrageous power would mean a life-or-death struggle between us, but since this issue stemmed from me, there’s nothing to be done.]

“Huh? What do you mean by a life-or-death struggle?”

[Just think for a moment. You would likely feel utterly displeased. It would make you want to tear out the head of whoever mocked you.]

“……”

“Oh…that’s true…”

[Your strategists will have read my tendencies and suggested using the Dragon of Regulation, but know that if I had felt even slightly offended, I would have killed you immediately.]

I fell silent, and Asura interjected, “O Mighty Susanoo! This matter is indeed of your own doing. It’s far more shameless to hide the truth from us than to mention uncivilized powers!”

[That makes sense… I acknowledge it.]

As Susanoo readily nodded, Asura bluntly continued, “What exactly is Tsukuyomi that requires such alarm? Is he a monster so overwhelmingly powerful that he can’t be contained?”

As Asura pressed, Susanoo responded, [Tsukuyomi is one of the Supreme Gods of Dongyoung, the Three Divine Characters, and my blood relative. And… he is the Executor, the Moon God, and during the activation of the predetermined execution, he can draw upon the powers of all gods to whom he gives commands….]

“What do you mean by the [Executor]?”

[He is a peculiar being. Even from birth, he has been distinctly different from his siblings. Thus, he never appeared in history.]

Mangnyang’s expression changed, beaching concern. Fully realizing something was amiss, he anxiously asked, “O Susanoo! What is Tsukuyomi’s ability?”

[Simply put, Tsukuyomi intends to unleash a Great Flood by deploying his domain of [Night].]

As Susanoo continued, we were momentarily shocked into silence.

[And as long as Tsukuyomi maintains [Night], he is invincible.]