Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1

Chung Myung stared at the scene before him. “This…” he thought, his teeth grinding together so hard he felt they might break.

His fist clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palm, drawing beads of dark red blood. He couldn’t stop his body from shaking.

Rage filled his mind, so strong it felt like everything else disappeared.

Red.

Everywhere he looked was red. The ground, the broken trees, even the sky seemed to reflect the crimson stain of blood.

Death.

Only death was left here now.

Why? Why did so much blood have to be spilled here?

Chung Myung raised his hand and grabbed the sword piece stuck in his shoulder. He pulled out the broken piece of plum blossom sword.

His body was badly hurt. His left arm was gone, only the sleeve moved in the wind. One leg was half cut off, so he couldn’t use it. Worse than that was the huge hole in his stomach, big as a child’s head.

But Chung Myung felt no pain in his body. The terrible pain in his mind, like his heart was being ripped apart, was much worse.

“…Sect Leader Brother.”

The awful sight of the Sect Leader’s body, Cheong Mun, came into his view. What was so unfair? What was so unfair that he couldn’t close his eyes even in death?

It wasn’t just the Sect Leader.

“…Disciple brother.”

He couldn’t forget the awful sight of Cheonggong, cut in two at the waist.

“Junior disciples.”

Everyone was dead.

The senior and junior disciples who had climbed this mountain with him, promising to protect the Kangho and spread the name of Hwasan throughout the world, had all departed to a place from which they could not return.

All the junior disciples who had followed them up this mountain, too.

Chung Myung gritted his teeth.

They call this a noble sacrifice? A great and brave death? Who are they kidding!

Chung Myung slowly turned his head.

Filled with immense hatred, he glared at the source of all this, the mastermind behind it all.

The devil from legends.

The leader of the demonic cult, a group of evil spirits who had stained the world with blood.

The one the world called the Heavenly Demon.

Even in this terrible hellscape, the Heavenly Demon seemed utterly serene. This made Chung Myung feel strange, even though he thought he hated this demon more than anyone.

No, ‘serene’ was the wrong word.

How could the word ‘serene’ be appropriate for someone with over a dozen swords embedded in his body and two spears piercing his stomach?

Everyone had sacrificed their lives to bring that devil to that state.

The final suicide squad, composed of the elite of the elite from twenty or so sects, including the Nine Great Sects. The clash between them all and the Heavenly Demon ultimately resulted in mutual destruction.

Would they be satisfied?

Could those who died here close their eyes, content with this outcome?

Of course not.

Even if they were satisfied and happy, Chung Myung alone could not be. All he could do was control the hatred and anger that seemed to be burning his entire body.

At that moment.

The Heavenly Demon slowly opened his eyes.

His transparent, empty eyes stared at Chung Myung.

And his lips slowly parted.

“…Hwasan.”

The first words that came from his mouth were ‘Hwasan’.

Hwasan.

Those two words, branded on Chung Myung’s heart like a seal, flowed from the mouth of that devil.

“It’s a pity. Disciple of Hwasan. If you could return alive from this place, you would enjoy the glory of having killed me for the rest of your life.”

“…Shut your trap.”

“You can be proud enough. Although it was with the help of many, your sword ultimately reached me. In the name of the Heavenly Demon, I acknowledge that your sword, the sword of Hwasan, is the best in the world.”

“I said shut up!”

Even the thought of that cursed mouth uttering the name of Hwasan was hateful.

“It’s a pity.”

The Heavenly Demon was dying.

No matter how great his martial prowess, even if he was the greatest demon of all time, he could not survive with his dantian pierced and all his internal organs severed.

He was like a dying flame, almost gone.

The Heavenly Demon’s current state was nothing more than the last struggle before his life was extinguished.

But why? Why was the appearance of a dying man so relaxed?

Chung Myung couldn’t understand the Heavenly Demon at all. He was a mystery.

“If I had been given one more day, I would have become a being truly worthy of the name Heavenly Demon. But this, too, must be my destiny.”

Chung Myung gripped the sword blade he had pulled from his shoulder with all his might. The sharp blade cut into his hand, but he didn’t care.

One step.

Another step.

Toward the end of this long and terrible war, Chung Myung limped toward the Heavenly Demon.

Even as he watched Chung Myung approach, the Heavenly Demon’s eyes remained colorless and transparent.

“Remember, disciple of Hwasan. This is not the end. Demons will come back. And when they do, they will create a truly evil world. No one will be able to stop them…”

Wham!

The sound of the sword cutting through the air echoed across the silent mountain peak.

Thud.

The severed head of the Heavenly Demon rolled to the ground. Chung Myung stomped on the Heavenly Demon’s head, which was still looking at him with those transparent eyes.

“This…”

The war was over.

People would remember this war as a victory for the brave warriors who sacrificed themselves. But Chung Myung knew. There was no victory here. No one, no one at all, had won.

Finally, Chung Myung’s legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground. Inevitable death was coming for him as well.

Chung Myung raised his head and looked at the sky.

So much blood had been spilled, so many had died, but the sky was still just blue.

‘What will become of Hwasan now?’

All those who had climbed the great mountain to kill the Heavenly Demon were dead. Even if there were any left, they would groan under this near annihilation.

But no sect had suffered as much damage as Hwasan.

“Sect Leader Brother… I told you.”

I told you not to give up everything for honor.

All the warriors of the Cheong generation from Hwasan were dead here.

And all the Baek generation who came after them had died too.

All that remained were children who were not strong enough to fight.

And…

Regret. Only regret.

Was there any meaning?

Did the blood that Hwasan shed here have any meaning?

“I don’t know. Sect Leader Brother…”

Chung Myung’s body slowly fell to the side.

In his fallen eyes, he saw white martial robes stained with red blood, and the five-petaled plum blossoms embroidered on those robes.

Just the death of a martial artist.

A lonely end, closing his eyes in a place where no one was watching. It was the end of Hwasan, his plum blossom sword his only sign.

“…Still, it’s better than me.”

Because there is someone to cry for them.

Because Chung Myung is crying like this for them.

Chung Myung’s fading gaze followed the figure of the Sect Leader.

‘I’m sorry. Sect Leader Brother.’

If I had devoted myself more to martial arts, could I have saved even one more person?

If I hadn’t ignored the words of my teacher and senior brothers and lived a foolish life wandering outside the sect.

If I had really become a master of the Hwasan sword, instead of just being known as the Plum Blossom Sword Saint… would things have been different?

It was futile.

It was all futile.

All that remained was regret.

And worry for the sect.

‘The plum blossoms are bound to fall someday.’

And after the bitter winter comes, they will bloom again.

‘Hwasan.’

Chung Myung’s consciousness faded further and further away.

Chung Myung, the Plum Blossom Sword Saint, one of the three greatest swordsmen in the world, and the 13th disciple of the Great Hwasan Sect…

He beheaded the greatest demon of all time, the Heavenly Demon, who had plunged the world into chaos, and passed away peacefully on the summit of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

These were the few lines he left behind in the world.