Chapter 1889 – Return of The Mount Hua Sect

Chapter 1889. You Can Do It. (9) ❀ ❀ ❀

“Ghh… ugh…”

The hand clutching the diagonal wound was soaked in blood. Between the trembling fingers, bluish, discolored intestines kept spilling out.

“This…”

The Blood Palace Lord gritted his teeth and shoved the drying entrails back into his belly.

‘The wound…’

The cultivation that coursed through his body carried the power to instantly restore flesh wounds. Hadn’t even the arm that had once been torn off grown back as good as before?

But that Taoist bastard’s sword-qi that had cut him suppressed the power of his cultivation. No matter what he tried, it would not heal.

“Huff! Huff!”

Panting raggedly, the Blood Palace Lord looked around.

No one had followed. There was no pursuit, not even the palace warriors in sight. It meant that everyone who had attempted to escape with him had already lost their lives.

That he had even survived alone was nothing short of a miracle.

“Heo Do…”

The Blood Palace Lord gnashed his teeth.

“You alone I will never forgive.”

Murderous intent poured from his eyes. His face, twisted with hatred, looked no different from a fiend or a yaksha.

Heo Do jin-in was strong. Even at his peak, he would not have been an easy opponent. After all, Taoist energy [do gi, 도기(道氣)] was the natural nemesis of the Blood Cult.

But that was all. This battle had shown him something.

‘Virgin boys… If I could just absorb the pure blood of a hundred more virgin boys…!’

If he could manage that, his cultivation would reach perfection. Then, Heo Do would never be a match for him.

No, he would not stop at someone like Heo Do.

Perhaps even the Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword, or Jang Ilso, and if he dreamed bigger, even the Bishop of the Demonic Cult could be placed beneath his feet.

If only he could embody the realization he had just gained with the power of pure blood…

“Then… even the revival of the cult…!”

But at that instant, a voice spoke right by his ear, calm, far too calm.

“Revival. Do you still believe you have such a chance left to you?”

The Blood Palace Lord flinched as if stricken by a seizure. Terror and shock widened his eyes as he slowly turned his trembling head.

A figure cloaked in black stood before him.

“B-bishop…”

Heavenly Executioner stared at him with black, silent eyes. On that impassive face, there was no anger, no disappointment, not even the smallest trace of displeasure.

He opened his mouth again, very slowly.

“From the start, it would have been right to snuff out that paltry life of yours the moment you drew notice.”

The Blood Palace Lord’s body shook as though seized by a fever.

“To entrust you with a role was nothing more or less than a whim.”

“B-bishop. This is…”

The Blood Palace Lord’s red eyes darted desperately, directionless. Naturally so. Anyone facing death before their eyes, anyone facing an inevitable end, would feel the same.

“However… I must admit, within that whim, perhaps there lingered a shred of expectation for you insignificant ones. Unlike the ignorant masses of the Central Plains, you at least understood what ‘divinity’ meant. And yet…”

Heavenly Executioner stared blankly at the Blood Palace Lord, then shook his head.

“In the end, it served only to confirm my own foolishness.”

Step.

“Maggots remain nothing more than maggots after all.”

Heavenly Executioner began walking toward him, each step unhurried. Between the hastily wrapped bandages, the Blood Palace Lord’s face was deathly pale. His muscles twisted grotesquely with fear.

“B-bishop. I… we…!”

At that moment, he realized the only thing left for him to do. He threw himself to the ground, forehead slamming against it.

“S-spare me! I did my utmost! I gave everything  I had!  But that swordsman of Mount Hua was simply far too powerful…!”

Step.

The flowing footsteps halted for a moment.

“Cheong Myeong. You speak of him?”

The Blood Palace Lord’s eyes flew wide.

The Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword, Cheong Myeong, was indeed a dangerous man. He is the one who could move the vast Heavenly Comrade Alliance as if it were his own limbs.

But no matter how great he was, before the being standing here, he was nothing more than a fly. Then why… why would the Bishop remember his name so clearly?

“T-that’s right…”

At that, a low laugh rang out.

The Blood Palace Lord nearly lifted his head out of reflex. The fact that the Bishop’s icy face held even a hint of a smile was too great a shock.

“To think, that the best excuse you can muster is…”

“……”

“What have we been afraid of all this time? How could we not realize that He would never borrow the flesh of such filthy creatures, that such a thought was blasphemous?”

Hearing that voice, tinged with self-mockery, the Blood Palace Lord felt darkness swallow his sight.

He did not understand the meaning of those words, but he understood this much. There was not a shred of mercy in them.

And so he cried out once more.

“M-mercy! Grant one more mercy to this lowly being. If you do, both I and the Blood Cult will pledge eternal—urk!”

In that instant, his body was yanked up as though sucked into Heavenly Executioner’s grasp. The Bishop’s hand closed on his throat and twisted it to the side.

“Loyalty, you say.”

“Ghhrrrk…”

“What kind of man would desire loyalty from worms?”

“.....”

“And know this, ignorant one. Never dare to compare your filthy faith with our devotion. The Cult does not seek loyalty. The Cult does not need aid. The Cult exists for one purpose alone—to worship Him.”

“F-forg… forgive…”

The Blood Palace Lord’s face began to swell in uneven patches, bulging grotesquely.

“Rather… if you at least had shown reverence to Him, perhaps a path to preserving that pitiful life might have opened. But in the end, worms can only think as worms do.”

“Grrhh… rrkkk…”

The Blood Palace Lord eyes rolled back, a ghastly sound forcing its way out of his throat.

Even without words, his figure alone made clear the torment he was suffering. The man who hadn’t so much as flinched when his arm was severed was now thrashing, convulsing, like a beast in its death throes.

“Gh… gghhh… uurrk…”

Blood-red tears streamed from his bulging eyes.

“Ki… kill… me… kill… me…”

But to the one begging for death, the Bishop granted no such mercy. Leisurely watching the Blood Palace Lord writhe in agony, Heavenly Executioner spoke in a voice utterly devoid of emotion.

“Rest easy. Your cultists will follow right after you.”

“…d–demon…”

Splurt!

With a sound like a ripe watermelon bursting, the Blood Palace Lord’s head exploded. Blood, brains, and shattered bone sprayed in every direction.

The Bishop glanced at the gore dripping down his hand, then tossed the corpse aside as if discarding something filthy. He brushed his hands off with indifferent flicks.

By the time he turned his head, the existence of the Blood Palace Lord had already been erased cleanly from his mind. His eyes, like those of a tiger stalking prey, fixed upon the Central Plains sprawled far in the distance.

‘Heaven’s fortune, they say…’

To some, it might sound like ridicule. But to Heavenly Executioner, such words could never be ridicule.

More than anyone, Heavenly Executioner knew the bitter truth. That the existence of Heaven’s fortune had cast the Cult, had driven them all, into this hell.

That was why now, Heavenly Executioner felt a powerful urge.

‘It was only for a brief instant. But that was unmistakably…’

The image of ‘him’ resurfaced vividly.

The being he had faced countless times in the past. The one who had carved scars into Heavenly Executioner’s body that still remained to this day.

And… the most hated man of all. The one who had taken from the Cult a being that should never have been lost.

‘The Sword Saint.’

It was his aura. Without a doubt.

“Cheong Myeong…”

A man bearing the same name as the Sword Saint. Or perhaps, an impostor usurping that name. Heavenly Executioner clenched his hand tight, murderous intent blooming around him.

‘Or perhaps…’

Even he did not know whether the storm of emotions surging within him was hatred for the Sword Saint, hatred for Mount Hua, or just the disgust he felt the first time he had crossed paths with this present Cheong Myeong.

Perhaps, though he did not want to admit it… it was something else entirely: unease, fear, long buried in the depths of his heart, now awakened again. Ridiculous as it was.

Whatever the source, one thing was certain: Heavenly Executioner now felt an intense hatred and killing intent toward Cheong Myeong.

A single instant would be enough. That was all he needed to tear out his throat.

He had already broken the sacred prohibition. What harm was there in taking one step further…?

[tl note: geumgye, 금계(禁戒) literally ‘forbidden precept/ban.’ In a religious or cultic tone, ‘forbidden vow’ / ‘sacred prohibition’ works better than just ‘taboo.’]

Crack.

Lost in thought, his face twisting, Heavenly Executioner ground his teeth.

And then, all at once, the killing intent and demonic energy swirling around his body vanished.

Heavenly Executioner expression returned to its usual blankness. With a long sigh, he spoke, voice low.

“Come out.”

From the edges of the forest, five shadows emerged.

As they carefully approached, surrounding him in the five directions, Heavenly Executioner let out a faint laugh.

“The Archbishop must have been in quite a hurry. To send as many as five bishops, when so few of us remain.”

“Second Bishop, the Archbishop is greatly angered.”

“This time, Second Bishop, you have committed a grave sin. The order is to escort you back to our church in custody.”

“In custody…? Hah. Like day-old pups, barking without knowing fear.”

A flash of scorn crossed Heavenly Executioner’s eyes.

Though they all bore the same title of bishop, to compare them to him was absurd. If he wished, he could rip all five of them apart with little effort.

Yet instead of unleashing his demonic power, Heavenly Executioner merely nodded.

“Lead the way. I will walk there myself.”

His calm compliance made the bishops hesitate.

“What? Did you think I would resist?”

“N-no, Second Bishop. We have never once doubted your devotion.”

“Hmph.”

Heavenly Executioner snorted, as though mocking them.

If this had been a personal transgression, he would have acted differently. But what he had done was neither betrayal nor heresy. It was nothing more than a dispute over the correct interpretation of doctrine.

Thus, though his stance differed, he did not disdain or disregard the Archbishop. He respected the weight of the burden the man bore, and had no wish to add further pain to it.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

The five bishops closed in around Heavenly Executioner and began to move.

Just then, Heavenly Executioner, who had seemed willing to follow quietly, suddenly halted and turned his head.

“Second Bishop?”

Without a word, Heavenly Executioner stared intently into the distance.

‘You’ve bought yourself time, Cheong Myeong.’

The murderous intent he had suppressed leaked out once more, chilling the air. The faces of the surrounding bishops paled in terror.

‘But do not rest easy. On the day of His Second Coming, you will meet your most miserable end at my hands.’

With eyes burning with venom, Heavenly Executioner cast one last glance toward the Central Plains, then turned away without hesitation.

“Let’s go.”

The most barren of lands.

Heavenly Executioner set foot upon the land of advent.

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