The Swordmaster Wants To Live Peacefully [EN]: Chapter 376

Swordmaster Wants to Live Peacefully – 375

War (7)

The rain, which had paused, began its descent once more.

The whirlwind, momentarily stilled, resumed its furious dance.

The fog, ever thickening, seemed determined to blind Yoo Seong-woo, its density reaching unprecedented levels.

Yet, Yoo Seong-woo remained resolute. He did not falter.

What difference would obscured vision make when the target was so clear? Besides, he had never been a swordsman reliant on sight alone.

He was a swordsman who would cut down what needed to be cut down, even if deprived of all his senses.

“Hoo…”

Yoo Seong-woo inhaled deeply, returned his blade to its blood-stained scabbard, and adopted the stance for drawing his sword.

Then, he expanded his senses. His aura, spreading in harmony with his heartbeat and breath, traced the contours of Dan-gun’s unique world, analyzing its structure and seeking a weakness to exploit.

There was not a trace of hesitation or uncertainty in his movements. Soon, his analysis complete, he drew his sword with lightning speed.

The crimson blade slashed diagonally, creating a fissure in reality.

Instantly, the rain, fog, and wind unleashed by Dan-gun were drawn into the rift and vanished without a trace.

“…”

As his vision cleared, Dan-gun stared at Yoo Seong-woo in disbelief.

For he had just witnessed the severing of an intangible concept.

Who could cleave the wind?

Who could slice through the rain?

Who could dissect the fog?

It was an absurd spectacle.

He had witnessed an incomprehensible swordsmanship that transcended even the gods’ understanding.

Yoo Seong-woo resheathed his sword. Then, the divine power emanating from him formed a circle, creating his own unique world.

His hair turned crimson and grew longer, flowing like an animal’s tail, and his eyes burned an even deeper red.

The circle behind him expanded, then contracted back into its original form, creating a void that swallowed even light.

[Unique World]

[Dark Annihilation Boundary (黑暗滅絶境界): A realm where even abstract concepts cease to exist, and all distinctions are erased.]

A world dyed in black, where everything is equalized.

Yoo Seong-woo stood before the black hole, gazing at Dan-gun. The form of Dan-gun’s unique world was slowly drawn into the abyss, losing its shape.

And what remained was utter darkness.

Life and death.

Light and darkness.

Gods and humans…

In Yoo Seong-woo’s world, such distinctions were meaningless. Only will held sway in this realm.

As he slowly drew the sword from its sheath, a red light overflowed from the exposed blade.

It was the sole source of illumination in the dark world. It was not aura or divine power, but pure will.

Yoo Seong-woo and his life’s will were infused into the sword, radiating a brilliant light.

And his purpose, of course, was singular.

“Wait, stop, stop!”

Dan-gun cried out in desperation. His youthful eyes were filled with fear, not resolve.

For the intent behind the action was clear.

Dan-gun frantically attempted to summon his power to shatter Yoo Seong-woo’s world, but it was futile.

Within Yoo Seong-woo’s domain, which had completely seized control of space, not only the Three Divine Heirlooms but also magic and divine power were rendered useless.

All he could do was plead for his life, uttering a desperate scream.

“Y-you won. Please stop now. I’ll give you all the treasures in the Jade Emperor’s Palace…”

“Why should I?”

“U-ugh?”

“If I kill you, all of that will be mine anyway, so why would I bother keeping you alive?”

But Dan-gun had overlooked a crucial aspect. Yoo Seong-woo’s mindset differed from that of ordinary people.

His sword descended. Devoid of divine power, devoid of aura.

It was a strike of unparalleled beauty. A straight line of unwavering conviction bisected Dan-gun.

Yoo Seong-woo had severed not only Dan-gun’s physical form but also the very foundation of his divine power.

He had amassed divine power by making this land, its nature, and its inhabitants his source of faith.

Of course, there were many impurities mixed in. He manipulated natural disasters to kill innocent people and further strengthen his faith.

He had engaged in such practices for millennia, until the separation of humans and gods.

Even after the separation, he manipulated nature to maintain his influence.

Poongbaek [God of Wind], Unsa [God of Clouds], and Woosa [God of Rain] were also divine beings complicit in his schemes.

“…Now that I think about it, it seems like a bunch of guys who deserved to die were all gathered together.”

Yoo Seong-woo retrieved his life’s work.

He had severed the connection between Dan-gun and nature. Having lost the foundation of his divine power, he rapidly aged and crumbled into ashes without uttering a final word.

It was the end of the supreme god who had reigned over the Korean Peninsula for thousands of years.

He slowly withdrew his unique world. The jet-black darkness was drawn into the void, and soon even the void diminished in size, revealing the world that should have been in its place.

Yoo Seong-woo floated in the air, glanced down for a moment, and then turned his gaze.

He had defeated Dan-gun, but.

The battle on the other side was far from over.

* * *

“Kuh…”

Dohwa, struggling with her battered body, took a deep puff from her long pipe.

Then, as she slowly exhaled and concealed herself in the smoke, Mae-gu approached from afar, her eyes gleaming with a chilling light.

“You’re quite tenacious, goblin.”

Dohwa focused on stalling for time from the moment the fight with Mae-gu began. She employed various sorceries and Taoist techniques to hinder Mae-gu’s movements and cloud her vision.

She created a fog maze to trap her and confused her mind with various illusions. Nevertheless, Mae-gu, proving her status as a Great Divine, saw through Dohwa’s tricks head-on.

She conjured blue ghost fire, slashed through the fog with her sharp claws, and dispersed the magical power by swinging her tail.

Several times, Dohwa’s location was exposed, and Mae-gu’s attacks tore at her body.

Dohwa chuckled as she watched Mae-gu approaching through the fog and said.

“Unlike when you’re flirting with men, you still fight so crudely.”

Mae-gu possessed a rather unrefined fighting style, contrary to her elegant appearance.

The reason was simple. She knew how to use various sorceries, but most of them fell into the categories of charm or illusion, making them unsuitable for direct combat.

These spells were ineffective against Dohwa, who possessed strong mental fortitude, so Mae-gu was attempting to overwhelm her with brute force and divine power.

“Goblin, goblin, where are you hiding? If you come out now, I’ll kill you without pain, so come out obediently.”

“Bullshit. You’ll chew my liver raw if I come out, won’t you?”

“I’ve been found out…”

Mae-gu’s eerie laughter echoed. It seemed certain that victory was within her grasp, and all that remained was to slowly tighten the noose and eliminate Dohwa.

Her claws tore through the remaining fog. The fog maze was no longer effective, and Dohwa smiled wryly as she met the gaze of Mae-gu, who was slowly approaching.

‘I tried to hold her back as much as possible, but I guess this is it for me.’

If Yoo Seong-woo didn’t arrive in time, her life would end here.

Her magical power was nearly depleted… There was one last resort, but it was a suicidal maneuver.

Of course, even if she attempted it, it was uncertain whether Mae-gu would die, so it could just be a waste of her life.

‘But if I can inflict a fatal wound…’

Then, she would gladly sacrifice her life.

Even if she died, Yoo Seong-woo was someone who would take good care of the goblins.

Dohwa, facing Mae-gu who was slowly approaching, overloaded her energy. Mae-gu’s eyes narrowed at her exponentially rising power.

Dohwa herself would know best what she was doing now.

“You think that’s going to be enough? Really?”

“There’s a saying in Korea. You won’t know what’s long or short until you measure it…”

Dohwa slowly formed a hand sign. She was planning to incinerate everything around her at the cost of her life.

But before she could complete the final hand sign, a figure descended like a god before her.

It was, of course, Yoo Seong-woo. Having dealt with Dan-gun, he had flown directly to Dohwa’s location, reaching out to stop her from completing the hand sign and saying.

“There’s no need for that, Dohwa. I’ll kill this fox.”

Mae-gu scoffed at Yoo Seong-woo, who had suddenly appeared.

To utter such words openly in front of her was an act of extreme arrogance. To anyone familiar with Mae-gu, it was akin to flaunting one’s liver for consumption.

What confidence did he possess to speak so boldly? In Mae-gu’s eyes, the man before her seemed to possess no power at all.

But that was arrogance born from Mae-gu’s lack of information. Having been confined within the Jade Emperor’s Palace for an extended period, she was unaware of the events unfolding outside.

She had descended to this land after hearing Dan-gun’s promise of amnesty and was wreaking indiscriminate destruction.

Therefore, she knew nothing of Yoo Seong-woo.

He muttered.

“Killing the fox is secondary.”

The primary target was Daji, who had attained divine power through countless human sacrifices…

The second was Mae-gu, standing before him.

There was no need to debate the number of people they had devoured. The number of people they had devoured to grow this much power would easily exceed tens of thousands.

Mae-gu’s eyebrows twitched at Yoo Seong-woo’s words. Her beautiful brow furrowed, and her human form began to shift, taking on the features of a fox.

The words Yoo Seong-woo had just spoken could not be ignored.

“…You killed Daji?”

“Are you acquainted? Yes, I killed her. I cut down the one who was pathetically begging for her life in China in one stroke. It was an unsightly death.”

“Don’t lie! She wasn’t the type to die like that…”

“It seems you can’t believe it.”

Yoo Seong-woo chuckled and extended his hand. Then, he grasped Palseong [Eighth Sword].

The eighth sword forged by Yamata no Orochi [Eight-Headed Serpent from Japanese Mythology].

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it.”

The fact that you will die will not change.

The sword in Yoo Seong-woo’s hand flashed. Mae-gu stretched out her hand to block it, but all her fingers were severed.

Blood gushed from the severed surface of her fingers, and while she was flustered, Yoo Seong-woo’s sword moved again.

A nearly perfect strike that was drawn diagonally from top to bottom.

Mae-gu couldn’t even react to his sword. It was an event that happened due to a combination of carelessness and panic. It was a miserable defeat that she faced without even unfolding her unique world once.

Even among the Great Divines, there was a hierarchy. Mae-gu was an enemy that Yoo Seong-woo, who had just defeated Dan-gun and absorbed his divine power to recover, could easily handle.

Mae-gu, who had been deeply cut from her right shoulder to her chest, stepped back and sweated profusely.

It wasn’t recovering. The severed fingers and the cut wound showed no signs of healing, and even more blood flowed out instead.

Her divine power slowly decreased through the form of blood.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it…!”

She desperately tried to escape, but somehow her feet wouldn’t move.

There was no need to think deeply about why her feet wouldn’t move.

The one human standing in front of her had chained her with the shackles of fear.

“Farewell.”