Chapter 449

neverlikedstickingmynoseintootherpeople’sbusiness.

hadseentheendsthatuselessmeddlingledtooftenenough.Andmorethanthat,knew—notrationally,butinmysoul—thatgettingtangledincausalitywasneveragoodthing,nomatterwhatheartyouactedwith.

hatedinterferinginotherpeople’saffairs.

o—moreprecisely—

hatedknowinginthefirstplace.

Knowingthatsomethingwashappening.

nceknew,itbotheredme.Andonceitbotheredme,uselesscomplicationswereboundtofollow.

twouldhavebeenniceifwerethesortofpersonwhocouldjustignoreit.

Unfortunately,wasn’t.

hat’showruinedit.

verything.

Mylifeitselfhadbeenruinedthatway.hatwaswhatlearnedwhilelivingit.Ah.Soifmeddleinotherpeople’sbusiness,mylifegetsexhausting.

otjustexhausting.

tgetswrecked.

learnedthatmuch.Andwhenmylastlifeendedinruinandthisonebegan,madeupmymind.

Don’tgetinvolvedinanything.

Whetheritwashumanaffairsorghosts’affairs,don’tgetdraggedintothestormjustbecauseotherpeoplehadcausedtrouble.

hatwashowhadsteeledmyselfandlived,but—

tallgottwistedanyway.

tstartedtwistedfromtheverybeginning.

herewasnowayitwouldn’t.hesedamnedeyesalwaysruinedmeintheend.

hatwaswhyputonthering.

Sowouldn’tgetentangledwithanyone.

hadtriedbindingmyownwrists—

andeventhathadn’tbeeneasy.

Maybethatwasjustwhatlifewas.

randmotherusedtosay:

ivethewayyouwanttolive.

didn’tknowwhethershesaidthatbecausesheknewwouldnevertrulygettolivethatway,orbecauseshegenuinelywantedmeto.

Butifhadtoanswerhernow—

...hat’sadifficultthingtosay.

flivedexactlyaswanted,’dfallapart.

Soitwasbettertoendure.

hatwashowhadresolvedmyselfandgottenthroughthepresent,andyet—

“foundwheretheyare.”

herealwayscamemomentslikethis.

“hey’renotfar.”

AtFreakDemon’swords,turnedmyhead.heplacereallywasn’tfar.

“MySky.”

Stillkneeling,FreakDemonspoketome.

“fyougivetheorder,willhandleitmyself.”

isvoicewascold.

herewasnokillingintentinit.oneatall.

Butcouldunderstandhisemotionsanyway.

hereasonFreakDemonwasn’tgivingoffkillingintentwassimple.

Becausetheyaren’tevenworththatmuchtohim.

oFreakDemon,thoseunorthodoxmartialartistswe’dseenearlierwerenothingmorethaninsects.

Whatemotionwouldtherebeincrushingandwipingoutsomethinglikethat?

ookingathim,wasremindedagain.

heonestandinginfrontofme...

...wassomeoneclosetothebeingsbeyondheaven.

AndaDemonicCultistwhohadmovedthroughwar.

“t’sfine.”

fleftittohim,itwouldbeeasy.ereallywouldtakecareofitsimply.

But—

“’llhandlethisonemyself.”

“Understood.”

hadtostepin.

herewasonethingbotheringme.

*****

hedistancewasn’tthatgreat.

otbyamartialartist’sstandards.

oanordinaryperson,itwouldhavelookedlikeatleasthalfadayaway.

FreakDemonsaidthiswastheplacewaslookingfor.

“...”

couldsensepeopledeepinsidetheforest.

otjustpeople.

waswonderingwhythereweresofewspiritformsinthewoods.

heywereallgatheredoverthere.

heplacewasthickwiththetracesofevilghosts.

Andtherewereotherghostsallaroundittoo,reactingtothesoul-formsofthoseevilghosts.

hostswerespiritforms,soresonancecameeasilytothem.hatwasalsowhyghoststendedtogatherinlargenumbersincertainplaces.

hen—

“heoneswesentoutaretakingtheirtime.”

“Didsomethinghappen?Alltheyhadtodowaskillsomegirlsandbringthemback.owlongcouldthattake?”

Atthevoicescomingfrominside,theevilghostsoutsideflinched.

hewaytheywaveredmadeitlookliketheywerereactingtothosewords.

“Shouldn’twegolookforthem?fthecaptainfindsout,we’rescrewed.”

“Andifhegetsangry,whoknowshowmanyheadshe’llcutoffthistime.”

“neofthoseheadswillprobablybeyours.”

“Youbastard.”

heirgrowlingkillingintentfilledthespace.

wassteadyingmybreathingaswatchedwhen—

[owstrange.]

heeavenlyDemon,whohadbeenquietthewholetime,suddenlyspoke.

[didn’tthinkyouwerethesorttogetheatedoversomethinglikethis.Wasmistakenaboutyou?]

Whetherhefounditstrangeorinteresting,hisvoicecarriedanoteofamusement.

ewasn’twrong.

’mnotespeciallyangry.

trulywasn’t.

umanliveswereshortandplain.

naworlddrenchedinbloodandswordslikethisone,thatwasevenmoretrue.

nmypreviouslife,therehadbeentimeswhenburnedwithangerevenoverthedeathofsmalllives,tossedaroundbyeveryjoyandsorrow.

Buteventhosethingsweresomethinghadlaiddownneartheendofthatlife.

[henwhyareyousteppinginnow?]

Whoknows.

Maybebecausetherewerestillafewthingshadn’tmanagedtoletgoof.

hatwasprobablyit.

’mannoyed.

akingitoutonthethinginfrontofme.

fsomeonewantedtocallitthat,wouldn’targue.

[akingitoutonthem—]

heeavenlyDemon’svoicesank.

[hatisnotabadthing.naworldwherethestrongarerevered,thereisnothingstrangeaboutit.]

Afittingresponsefromamanwhohadstartedawar.

Asexpected,therereallywasn’tasinglenormalpersonanywhere.

[Butdonotburyyourselfinit.tisnotanespeciallygoodlookforonewhowouldstandatthesummit.]

Sorry,but...

Shrring.

Asdrewmysword,thought,

liketoldyoubefore,havenointentionofstandinganywherelikethat.

Whatwashetryingtoslipinthere?

letoutafaintsnortandsteppedforward.

“uh?”

hemomentshowedmyself,everygazeinsideturnedtowardme.

“Whatthehell?”

“Whoareyou,youlittle—!”

“Whogoesthere!”

achofthemdrewaweaponandpointeditatme.

twasafreshfeeling.

ormally,iftherewerethismanyofthem,wouldn’tstepoutinfrontlikethis.

’vegottenfullofmyself.

venknowingthereweremonsterscrawlingallovertheworldaboveme.

Justbecause’dreachedtranscendentpeak,thebloodhadgonetomyheadalittle.

“Whoamdoesn’tmatterthatmuch.”

Ssssss.

grippedtheDivineSwordandletmyarmhangloosely.

“’llleavejustonealive.nemanwho’llworkhardtoanswermyquestions.Anyvolunteers?”

“Whatthehellareyoutalkingabout!”

“Killhim!”

Boom!

nnerqiburstoutastheychargedme.Withonehand,sweptmyhairback.

“Sure.’llchooseformyself.”

wasgoodatthatsortofthing.

Clack.

Moonyereacted,andswordpathsburstopenineverydirection.

Crude.Rough.Monotonousswordpathswithoutanyrealshapetothem.

herewasnoneedtododge.

simplylaidmyswordacrossthem.

Slash!

“hk—”

neman’sthroatwascut,andhedroppedtotheground.

spuntheswordonce.

threwtheDivineSwordintothefaceoftheonecomingatmefromabove,drivingitstraightthroughhisforehead—

—andwrappedhardauraaroundmykneebeforesmashingthejawoftheonerushinginbelow.

Crack.

Bloodsplashedontomyclothes.

ignoredit.

“ardaura...?!”

“Damnit—he’samaster!”

Maybetheyhadnoticedthebriefwrapping.Panicflashedintheireyes.

“...Sowhatifhe’sama—!”

heloudmouth’sheadcameoff.

herewerealotofthem.

Boom!

stampedthegroundhardenoughtoshatterit.heshocksentbrokenfragmentsintotheair.snatchedthesmalleronesinonehand,pouredenergyintothem,andfiredthemout.

enhousandFlowersRain.

Kra-kra-kra-kra-kak!!!

hadadaptedthethingPoisonDragonhadbeensodamnbadat.

wrappedhardauraaroundeachstoneshardandfiredthem;thefragmentspunchedstraightthroughtheirbodies.

Kra-kra-kra-kak!

“Aaaagh!”

“aaaah!”

heydroppedscreaming.

“M-monster...e’samonster...”

neofthemcollapsedtothegroundandscrambledbackward,trembling.glancedathim,thenflickedafinger.

helittlepebbleinmyhandburieditselfinhisforehead.

“hk.”

Andthatmadeonemorecorpse.

“iiik...!”

Atsomepoint,onlyonemanwasleft.

slidtheDivineSwordbackintoitssheath.

Clack.

heworldreallyisfrightening.

herehadbeendozensofthem,andthey’dbeenwipedoutbeforeenoughtimehadpassedtofinishacupoftea.

treallyshowedwhathappenedwhensomeonewithpowerletmaliceloose.

“S-spare...spareme...please...”

“didspareyou.”

“...hk...”

walkedupandlookeddownathim.

“...Blueeyes?”

hemanonlyrealizeditafterseeingmyface.

“Don’ttellme...AzureMoonSect?Andthoseclothes...theesserMoonUnit...?”

“Youknowyourstuff.”

“-howistheesserMoonUnitallthewayouthere...?!”

“hat’snotwhatyoushouldbeasking.Whatareyou?”

Whatthehellwerethey,tocomeallthewaytoiaoninganddosomethinglikethis?

“Whatwereyoutryingtodowiththosegirls’corpses?”

“...”

Atmywords,themanclampedhismouthshut.

Watchinghim,movedmyhandslightly.

Crack!!

“...!!!”

benthisthumbbackuntilitsnapped,andheletoutashriekthatsoundedlikeascreamtorninhalf.

“Whatareyou?”

askedagain.

“aa...haak...”

“henextone’syourcock.”

“S-SamaSect...!heSamaSect!”

SamaSect.

Atthosewords,stoppedthehandthathadbeengrippinghiscrotch.

heSamaSect?

Where’sthat?

didn’tthinkhadeverheardofit.

“heSamaSect?”

“-that’sright.’m...fromtheSamaSect...!”

“Forwhat?”

“-there’savillagenearhere,onedoesn’tgetmanyvisitors,so...weweregoingtobringbacksomegirls...”

“Youshouldsayitproperly.here’sadifference.”

Youkilledthemandbroughtthemback.

hatwasthepointthatmattered.

“fyouwerekidnappingthemtoselltobrothelsortraffickingthemtheusualway,youwouldn’tbotherkillingthemfirst.Sowhykillthem?”

“...hat...”

heman’seyesshook.

“...don’tknow.Wejustdowhatwe’retold...”

“You’retold?Bywho?”

“...hecaptain...”

“hecaptainoftheSamaSect?”

“hat’sright...!really...reallydon’tknow!’mjustdoingwhat’mtold—!”

hwack!!

“hk.”

isheadslumpedbeforehecouldfinish.

Dead.

ookingcloser,sawadaggerburiedinhisforehead.

hatwasn’tmydoing.

lookedbehindme.

“Wellnow.”

Someonewasstandingthere.

“oodthingcameadayearly.”

Awoman.

er⊛оvеlιght⊛(Readthefullstory)clothesclungtightlytoherbody,andaveilcoveredherface.

“cameaheadjustincase.ookslikesomethinginterestingwasgoingon.”

“Whoareyou?”

gottomyfeetasasked.

“My,my...lookatyou.”

ervoiceshiftedthemomentshegotalookatme.

“You’reprettyasajewel.’veneverseenonequitelikeyoubefore.”

Myhandwenttomywaist.

“Youwanttobemine?”

Attheseductivequestion,drewmysword.

hemaninfrontofmehaddied,butwasn’tparticularlysurprised.

hadalreadysensedsomeoneapproaching.

Andhadlethimdieonpurpose.

herewasonemorepersonnow,afterall.

Andbesides—

“Sorry.”

tiltedmyheadslightly.

“lderwomenaren’tmytype.”

“What?”

hiswomanlookedlikeshemightknowsomething.

couldn’tseeherface,buttheenergybehindhertoldmewhatshewas.

“Auntie.”

“Aun—”

crookedafinger.

“You’refromtheSky-CrushingPalace,aren’tyou?”

“......”

Foraninstant,silencefell.

hen—

“a...”

hewomanlaughed.

Andinthenextmoment,withadaggerinhand,herbodyshottowardme.