Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 539

“Kyaaaaah!”

A chilling shriek, like a scream filled with dark magic, burst from the glyph, making hearts pound.

“Come to this world! Destroy everything! I want you to come, Heavenly Demon!”

And the mad Bishop’s cries mingled with the horrible sound.

If there was a hell, it would smell like this – of burning incense and something rotten. It would sound like this – the mad chanting mixed with that awful shriek. And it would look like this – this chaotic cavern filled with strange symbols and blood.

Chung Myung trudged through this hell, staggering silently.

Chung Myung trudged through this hell, the air thick with the smell of blood and strange magic.

“Heuaaah!”

The sword he swung struck the Bishop’s shoulder.

Thwack!

The sword hit the Bishop’s shoulder, but it was too weak to cut deep. It just bounced off.

Fortunately, it seemed enough to fell the weakened man, for the Bishop coughed up blood and tumbled sideways.

“Keeugh⋯⋯”

Both the Bishop, struck by the sword, and Chung Myung, the force of the swing made Chung Myung stumble back, writhed and groaned on the floor.

“Cough.”

Blood gushed from the Bishop’s mouth. Yet, even though he was about to die, he kept fighting.

“⋯⋯Filthy, tenacious bastards.”

Chung Myung grit his teeth and tried to rise. But halfway up, his strength gave way, and he collapsed once more.

“⋯⋯Damn it.”

He glared at the Bishop, his eyes bloodshot.

“Cough! Cough!”

The Bishop, having rolled over, returned the glare with equal venom.

“It’s no use.”

“⋯⋯What?”

He grinned triumphantly and cried out.

“It’s done! Too late! He’s coming back! No one can stop him now!”

The Bishop’s voice grew steadily clearer.

“Too bad for you, Plum Blossom swordsman⋯⋯”

But as he spoke, his face twisted in a strange way.

“You are…..”

It was then.

“Kyaaaaaah!”

The ice crystals scattered among the bizarre glyphs on the floor turned blood red. And an even greater, more chilling shriek echoed.

“Heh heh heh heh heh!”

Wild, mad laughter burst from the Bishop’s lips.

“No one can stop it. No one! The Heavenly Demon shall descend and cleanse the world with blood! The Order’s century-long desire is finally fulfilled!”

And he began chanting the spell crazily.

Chung Myung’s gaze turned towards the glyph, which was growing ever more radiant.

And at that moment.

Flash!

The massive tapestry depicting the Asura twisted and swirled, then began to burn from the bottom up.

In an instant, the tapestry was consumed by flames and turned to ash, finally revealing the figure hidden behind it.

Chung Myung’s eyes widened as if they would tear, upon seeing the figure.

“…..Th-this⋯⋯”

Chung Myung’s fingertips trembled, utterly shocked.

“These crazy bastards⋯⋯”

A man in perfectly white robes sat cross-legged in the center of the massive glyph.

His skin was as white as snow, his lips a shocking, bright red. Even with his eyes closed, his face was powerful, like a sleeping predator. His long black hair flowed around him, still and lifeless.

But what struck Chung Myung most shockingly was… the red line across the man’s neck.

Chung Myung knew this man very well.

No, he could never forget him, not even for a moment, not even in his dreams.

How could he forget?

The one who, though alive, should have been called ruin.

A god descended upon the mortal realm, He was the strongest warrior.

And the one he had personally beheaded.

“…..Heavenly Demon.”

A groan slipped out Chung Myung’s lips.

It felt as if his insides were burning.

– Remember. Disciple of Hwasan. This is not the end.

“Damn it⋯⋯.”

Chung Myung’s teeth ground together as if they would shatter.

He knew. That was just a corpse.

He had certainly beheaded the Heavenly Demon and killed him completely. As proof, the scar he had carved into the corpse’s neck remained clear as day, didn’t it?

“What the hell are you doing, you crazy bastards!”

He couldn’t know what means they had used. But one thing was certain: they had recovered the Heavenly Demon’s corpse from the highest mountain and preserved it until now.

Only now did he see the countless ice crystals piled up around the Heavenly Demon’s body. The ones placed on the glyph were not all of them.

No matter the purpose, maintaining the corpse of the dead in such perfect condition for a hundred years was not something that could be done with just being crazy.

‘Ice crystals, ice-hardened corpse, the Heavenly Demon’s corpse.’

Chung Myung’s gaze snapped towards the Bishop.

“Crazy bastards… You’ve been wasting your time.”

“Heh heh, it’s already too late.”

The Bishop staggered to his feet and bowed deeply towards the Heavenly Demon. Hot tears streamed down his face.

“Oh, great and mighty one! Your servant pays homage to you, please do not forsake this deepest wish, descend and punish this foolish one!”

Chung Myung’s blazing eyes stared intently at the Heavenly Demon’s corpse.

He couldn’t yet grasp exactly what was happening, but he knew for certain that he had to stop it somehow.

He gripped his sword and desperately tried to rise. And amidst the storm of energy coming from the glyph, he took a step towards the Heavenly Demon.

But he couldn’t move far.

“Kwaaaaah!”

A massive storm of energy began to rage within the cavern.

“Keugh!”

Chung Myung lost his footing and was thrown backwards. It was a terrifying force, so great that it was doubtful he could have broken through even if he were in perfect condition.

As the massive energy swirled around the Heavenly Demon’s corpse, the cavern began to collapse, too weak to handle the power.

Boulders the size of houses fell from the ceiling, and rocks were torn from the walls and crashed down, but none of them dared to get close to the Heavenly Demon’s body.

“Oooooooooh!”

The Bishop, watching the Heavenly Demon amidst the falling rocks, was filled with huge joy.

“Heavenly Demon!”

Ssssh.

The energy coming from the ice crystals mixed with the blood energy rising from the glyph and was sucked into the Heavenly Demon’s corpse.

Something unbearable seemed to be happening.

“Aaargh!”

Chung Myung gritted his teeth, gripped the floor tightly, and threw the Dark Plum Blossom Sword at the Heavenly Demon.

But the sword, flying weakly, failed to penetrate the swirling energy and was merely deflected.

Clang.

The Dark Plum Blossom Sword clattered across the floor.

“Hoo⋯⋯. Hoo.”

Chung Myung, with no strength left to rise, stared blankly as the end of the ritual unfolded before his eyes.

Ssssh.

The piled-up ice crystals all began to lose their light at once.

The red glow emanating from the glyph on the floor also slowly disappeared. The raging energies swirling around the Heavenly Demon were all sucked into his body.

“⋯⋯.”

A silence like death descended upon the cavern.

And… Chung Myung saw it. His blood ran cold. It was him.

The Heavenly Demon’s eyelids, thin and pale like old parchment, fluttered slightly. Dust danced in the single ray of light that pierced the gloom of the half-collapsed chamber, illuminating his still face.

Thump.

A heavy heartbeat, slow and deep, pulsed through the silence. It seemed to come from the very stones beneath their feet.

Thump. Thump.

No one needed to ask where it came from. The corpse on the altar, just moments before a chilling blue-white, was now flushed with returning life. Color bloomed in his cheeks like roses pushing through snow.

It was a resurrection, as real as the air they breathed.

A dead man was waking.

Slowly, so slowly, the Heavenly Demon’s eyes opened.

“Heavenly Demon!”

The Bishop’s cry, filled with extreme joy, echoed through the crumbling chamber.

“I am humbled by your return, Heavenly Demon! Ah, Heavenly Demon!”

The demon was returning.

The corpse of the evil one, who had once covered the world in darkness, began to breathe once more.

Even as Chung Myung watched, he did nothing. He simply stared at the Heavenly Demon, who was opening his eyes and breathing.

A chilling silence filled the chamber.

A moment of stillness passed.

“……”

The Bishop, who had been lying face down on the floor, slowly raised his head.

His eyes showed clear confusion and doubt.

As the Bishop looked up to see the Heavenly Demon’s condition, his face twisted into a horrible grimace.

The Heavenly Demon had opened his eyes. And he was breathing.

But…

“Why?”

There was no focus in those open eyes.

It was as if there was no soul inside him.

“This can’t be…”

The Bishop knew it in his heart.

That body was empty. It breathed and opened its eyes, but there was nothing within. It was just the Heavenly Demon’s corpse, breathing.

“This can’t be… This can’t be! No, this, this can’t be! Whyyyyyyyy? Whyyyyyyyy!”

The Bishop, seeming to lose his mind, screamed and began to babble.

“I’ve checked it many times! The soul summoning ritual can’t fail! It even worked for the animals! Why not for him? Why not the Heavenly Demon? Whyyyyyyyy!”

Chung Myung, hearing the Bishop’s piercing scream that sounded as if his soul was being torn apart, chuckled softly and stood up.

“I knew it.”

The Heavenly Demon had not been brought back to life.

But Chung Myung felt no joy at all.

Not even a little.

“This can’t be. This can’t be… This can’t be. This can’t be. This can’t be. This can’t be…”

The Bishop muttered over and over, his face blank.

Creak.

The sound of Chung Myung gripping his fallen sword snapped him out of his daze.

His eyes followed Chung Myung blankly. Chung Myung held the sword tightly and said,

“Let’s end this now, you son of a bitch.”

Then, the Bishop’s body, which had been staring at him with empty eyes as if without any will, suddenly shook as if struck by lightning.

It was as if he suddenly understood something important.

“You…”

The tangled doubts in his mind began to clear.

“The soul summoning ritual…”

His voice became clearer with amazement.

“Yes. The soul summoning ritual cannot fail.”

He was becoming more and more sure.

“Then there’s only one possibility… only one!”

His eyes, as he looked at Chung Myung, were filled with joy, despair, and terror.

“You… You! You really are the Plum Blossom Sword Saint!”

“……”

Having realized everything, the Bishop began to laugh, his voice cracking.

“Hahaha! So that’s it! You really were the Plum Blossom Sword Saint! Yes, that’s right! It was! Hahaha! Now I understand! You really are the Plum Blossom Sword Saint! Really!”

Chung Myung simply walked toward him with a blank face.

“The soul summoning ritual is a ritual to call a soul! The fact that it doesn’t respond means only one thing! That the soul has already found another body!”

Tears streamed down the Bishop’s face.

“If you were possible, then he couldn’t have been impossible either. Yes! Then he is…”

Thunk!

The tip of the Dark Fragrance Plum Blossom Sword pierced the Bishop’s heart.

The Bishop, staring silently at the sword in his heart, opened his mouth with difficulty.

“The Heavenly Demon…”

His voice was fading weakly.

“Is already…”

Finally, his body fell.

Plop.

Not even blood flowed from his heart. He was a man who had lived only by his strong will, even though he was already dead. And when he lost that will, he returned to nothing as simply as could be.

The face of the dead Bishop was smiling, filled with joy. Chung Myung bit his lip.

“I knew it.”

His eyes slowly turned to the Heavenly Demon. The Heavenly Demon’s unfocused eyes were, strangely, looking in his direction.

No, he was just standing where the Heavenly Demon’s gaze happened to fall.

But…

Chung Myung staggered toward the Heavenly Demon.

Thud. Thud.

And he stood right in front of him. Just like long ago, when only the two of them were left among blood and corpses.

Of course, the Heavenly Demon’s eyes were unfocused, but the arrogant smile he had worn as he looked at Chung Myung in their final moment was still on his lips.

Crack.

A grinding sound came from Chung Myung’s lips as his face twisted.

The Heavenly Demon is already….

Whoosh!

Chung Myung’s sword, swung like lightning, cut off the Heavenly Demon’s head.

The head flew into the air and rolled to the ground.

His neck was cut, but that smile remained, never fading.

Seeing that mocking smile, Chung Myung, unable to hold back his anger, trembled and curled up.

He shook as if he was going to throw up, and covered his mouth with his injured hand.

Already?

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

He, that evil one, is in this world again….

“Ugh…”

The scene of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, with only blood and death, flashed in his mind.

Those who had died without a trace. The huge field of dead bodies.

And the Heavenly Demon, standing alone in that world.

Everything Chung Myung had was destroyed by him.

Filled with rage and hatred that burned his brain, Chung Myung groaned, his mouth open. And finally, he let out a terrible scream, as if throwing everything out.

“Kraaaaaaah!”

With his scream, the entire chamber began to fall apart.

The demon will return.

The Heavenly Demon’s clear laughter, which should never have been heard, seemed to echo in his ears.

“Aaaaaaaaaaargh!”

The falling rocks buried his scream.