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“Ugh.”

Zhuge Sa felt a wave of gloom wash over him while looking at Jin So-cheong’s declaration. He had no clue how much stronger she could get, but he knew one thing: her talent was incredible. So, what’s that supposed to mean?

‘Wrong…’

Jin So-cheong didn’t have the weapons or means for Divine Killing. Sure, she could deal a temporary hit to a divine being with her intent, but that was nearly pointless against those above the Eight Parts of the Divine. To defeat an invincible enemy, one must find a weakness to exploit, but Jin So-cheong just charged in recklessly.

Sure, she might grow to the level of performing Divine Killing someday, but even Zhuge Sa, lacking martial skills, knew that was a stretch. Jin So-cheong was already badly injured and lacked the stamina to endure much longer. She’d be dead for sure, in no time!

He suddenly felt the absence of Baek Woong. If Baek Woong were here, Jin So-cheong wouldn’t have gone berserk like that. Just having a Reborn Person around made adventures feel less risky. His anxiety over Baek Woong’s absence must’ve pushed Jin So-cheong over the edge.

No matter how brilliant his strategies were, there was a limit to filling Baek Woong’s shoes. Though Baek Woong seemed like a fool who did nothing, simply existing was enough to keep the balance.

But Zhuge Sa’s sense of powerlessness was short-lived. His sharp mind quickly spun to find a way out of this situation, and he realized immediately that acting on that strategy would come at a huge cost to himself. For now, the situation was still recoverable, but if he tried to rescue Jin So-cheong, he’d lose everything.

‘There’s no helping it.’

He couldn’t blame Jin So-cheong. It’s not easy to just walk into a trap, even with a talent like his. Jin So-cheong gambled her life to get stronger enough to escape, but she just failed at her bet. So now, he had to focus as her strategist to save her.

Taking responsibility for a teammate’s failure was part of being a strategist.

After a moment of contemplation, he concentrated his psychic energy and spoke.

“Cheon Woo-jin. Can you hear me?”

[What’s going on?]

He had to maintain a link with Cheon Woo-jin, so even though he was far away using the Instant Movement Technique, they could still have a brief chat through a magical communication device. Of course, it was all thanks to Cheon Woo-jin’s skill. Zhuge Sa said to him,

“I probably can’t make it to the meeting place. You continue with the plan.”

[What do you mean? You can’t be…]

“Jin So-cheong is in danger. I’ll leave her at the Heretical Sect’s temple in Seo-jang, and you can wait for Baek Woong’s return to retrieve her at the right moment.”

[… Just stop.]

Cheon Woo-jin warned him in a low voice.

[What will happen to those left behind if you disappear?]

“Ha ha… Even a losing hand can still score some profit. I won’t give up on Jin So-cheong.”

[You crazy idiot. Fine.]

Piiit!

The communication cut off. Zhuge Sa felt his strength waning and the world around him beginning to fade. He could feel his physical abilities fading in real-time as his magic drained. Checking that he still had some energy left, he began to chant a spell.

Come forth.

Great Demon Sorcerer – King of Samaria.

Shh…

The dark spirit began to summon itself at Zhuge Sa’s call. It writhed into an amorphous shape, exuding wicked energy, quickly filling the secret room where Zhuge Sa was. Though he could not see well, he already knew what that entity looked like.

It spoke.

[It seems you’ve made up your mind… my disciple.]

“Did we ever have a close relationship like that?”

[That’s a bit harsh… If we only use each other, everything in this world is the same.]

“I see.”

Zhuge Sa internally scoffed. This entity, who had taught him forbidden laws and sorcery, was not someone he could trust and was the very embodiment of evil. He could consider himself lucky to have his soul remain intact while learning from this creature. Even now, while pretending to care, it surely looked forward to devouring Zhuge Sa’s soul.

Zhuge Sa said,

“Please save Jin So-cheong. And I need protection as well.”

[On what terms?]

“In return, I will become subject to your torment.”

[That’s strange… Aren’t you already subject to me as my disciple? That’s not a condition for trade.]

“I mean to add contract conditions. I’ll give up the position you promised.”

[Oh…]

The Demon King easily accepted Zhuge Sa’s follow-up proposal. There were hardly any geniuses like Zhuge Sa, so there was little room to find faults in his offer. The Demon King summoned a new contract and struck it against Zhuge Sa’s chest.

Thump!

The contract seemed to get absorbed into Zhuge Sa’s heart.

“Ugh…”

[The contract has been established.]

Zhuge Sa smirked bitterly. Originally, he planned to steal the contract from the Demon King’s subspace when the opportunity arose and nullify the deal, but as things turned out, he was now bound even tighter. Now, if he died, he would have no escape and would be fully enslaved, facing a living hell.

“Then let’s get to work.”

[Heh… I feel like I’m the one getting the short end of the stick. Getting a human out from a place like that?]

“No need to whine. You’re definitely not an existence that’s on par with the Eight Parts of the Divine.”

[True… heh heh heh.]

Whoooosh!

Moments later, dark mist seeped from Zhuge Sa’s eyes, nose, and mouth. He realized the mist was curling inside him, making his body change into something abnormal. He began to fully grasp that his humanity was coming to an end.

‘There’s no going back now.’

Such was the price for summoning the Demon King.

Paash!!

In the next instant, the being that opened its eyes in Zhuge Sa’s body bore gleaming dark pupils and transformed into a mist before dashing out. Surrounding its body were hundreds of ancient spells swirling, each possessing horrific power.

Demon King Simon Magus soon arrived at the battlefield where Jin So-cheong was fighting, and he thought,

[That human is crazier than I thought. He’s about to die.]

Though Zhuge Sa’s consciousness still lingered within, Simon Magus was so pleased at the thought of making Zhuge Sa obey like a slave that he extended his hand, releasing clouds of dark mist.

Shhh…

The dark mist stealthily enveloped Jin So-cheong before suddenly expanding, covering a radius of fifty miles in darkness. Neither Zhu Rong nor the Eight Parts of the Divine were affected by the dark mist, but anything less than a divine being would perish instantly. Simon Magus recited an ancient spell once more.

[I command in Nezach’s name. During the day, the sun’s teats shine bright, and at night, the moon’s bow stretches tight. Evening comes and morning arrives; this is the fourth day of creation.]

At that moment, Jin So-cheong was shifted far away. This was Simon Magus’s malevolent magic that could teleport anything within his mist.

Simultaneously, Zhu Rong noticed that a disruptor had entered the battlefield and roared,

[You!! Hand over that human!]

Flick!

The azure whip zipped through time and space, aiming at Simon Magus. That attack was so powerful that it could seriously injure even the Eight Parts of the Divine, causing Simon Magus to realize he was in deep trouble. Directly confronting Zhu Rong was too much of a burden.

Crack!!

[Gah.]

Though he defended against Zhu Rong’s whip with spells, Simon Magus felt his left arm burn. He had descended into Zhuge Sa’s body, but he was still quite lacking in strength. Nevertheless, he didn’t view it as disgraceful since Zhu Rong was in a state where he’d struggle even by bringing his true body.

Instead, Simon Magus snickered, mocking Zhu Rong.

[Just a big, dumb giant… Kek.]

Crackle!

Simon Magus suddenly flinched from getting hit by the whip. Zhu Rong seemed furious, striking with several times more power, and with that blow, Simon Magus’s vision went blurred. Only after that did the Demon King snap back to reality.

‘What the hell? Why is that guy so strong?’

Having controlled hundreds of thousands of humans, orchestrated human sacrifices, and gathered heretical magic over thousands of years to achieve the level of a Demon King, Simon had figured he was no longer afraid of the divine. But the strength of this ancient giant, Zhu Rong, far exceeded his expectations. He thought he was just an ancient being, but he was on a different level of divinity altogether! He never imagined a being not included among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors could be that formidable!

‘Could he be as strong as the king of Muspelheim?!’

If so, that’d be a problem! Terrified by the overwhelming power that seemed to nullify all the magic he possessed, Simon Magus hastily unfolded his magic and spatially retreated. Regardless of the gap in strength, he could manage a retreat like this.

[Get lost!]

With Zhu Rong’s admonition, the azure whip crossed miles of space and struck at Simon Magus, but he managed to block it using the Fourth Sphere’s Demon Magic of the Sephiroth.

[Just because you say to ‘stay’ doesn’t mean I will!]

Paash!

He successfully abducted Jin So-cheong from the battlefield and went straight to the Temple of the Bandit Juuban. He then placed the gravely wounded Jin So-cheong into subspace to begin recovery, as that was one of the contract conditions with Zhuge Sa.

Moments later, smoke began to seep from Zhuge Sa’s body as the Demon King emerged. As Zhuge Sa slumped down, the Demon King looked down at him and said,

[I’ll take you to the depths of the Underworld as per the second condition. In your current state, avoiding the eyes of the Hell Gatekeeper would be impossible.]

“Isn’t that a bit too kind?”

Simon Magus smirked with a cunning smile.

[If you come fully under my command, it won’t be a loss for me…]

“Is that so?”

[Until now, I’ve kept your human shell intact because of the minimum contract conditions, but… if I reincarnate you as an artificial demon, it would surely… turn out amazing.]

The ‘status’ Zhuge Sa had cast away was his human essence. Having thrown away those contract conditions, his soul would be tortured after death by the Demon King and would degrade into a demon of the shadow dimension. Once transformed into a demon, he would become dozens of times stronger than he was as a human—the obvious choice.

“……”

And that would definitely not be him, but rather some entity wearing his shell.

This guy had mastered the Soul Exchange Technique to a shocking degree and wanted to claim the strongest demon as his subordinate.

To fulfill the prophecy of the end and become Demiurge.

Zhuge Sa thought this but couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Instead, he felt an invigorating sensation.

‘That fool knows nothing.’

By his hypothesis, this trade was not a loss at all.

No—Zhuge Sa was sure he had come out ahead.

He decided once he was done with everything, he would smash his own mind.

If the secrets regarding the Reborn Person and his knowledge got out, it would spell trouble.

At the point Zhuge Sa was rescuing Jin So-cheong, the Sword Demon stood alone at a desolate riverside.

Severely injured, he was using his internal power to recover his stamina and strength, and before long, he regained considerable power. Thanks to the spiritual pill Baek Woong had given him, his power was now substantial, leading to great recovery. However, his physical injuries would take time to heal.

He decided not to wait for Zhuge Sa’s orders and head to the rendezvous point as promised since he had completed his task. However, he found himself unable to move any closer and remained standing by the riverside.

Someone was approaching from the horizon across the river.

As the figure grew larger and closed the distance, the opponent finally spoke.

“What a coincidence.”

It truly was a coincidence. The other party hadn’t come all this way to seek the Sword Demon.

They simply found themselves here, having avoided Dokgo Jun, the messenger of the Law of the Righteous Sect.

“What brings you here?”

“… Are you injured?”

“I am.”

The other party sat on a nearby rock and said,

“Wait a day. Get yourself back to your prime condition.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“When a warrior meets another warrior, there’s only one thing left to do.”

“……”

“Since we’re both likely off mission, let’s have a proper match.”

The Sword Demon, feeling the mood, finally made his decision.

“Alright, Miyamoto Musashi.”

Is this also fate?

The life-and-death duel with Miyamoto Musashi awaited the Sword Demon, who had just emerged from battle.

 

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