You underestimate people. (5)

Slowly, the gaze that followed the lowered head fell on his hand.

The hand holding the sword. It was trembling slightly.

‘Is my stamina depleted?’

No. It couldn’t be.

He had rested enough. Even if the enemies come endlessly, his stamina doesn’t deplete so easily.

Gathering the purest energy, his inner strength provided endurance beyond that of his past self.

Nevertheless, the reason he felt limited was probably because his mind, not his body, was worn out and falling apart.

Why?

That was the part he couldn’t understand.

Chung Myung of the past remained unshaken. Despite experiencing situations more dire than this countless times, he always prevailed, always overcame every obstacle.

Throughout that process, he had encountered the limits of his physical body several times, but never once faced the limit of his mind.

But why?

“There!”

Enemies emerged endlessly from the bushes. Without hesitation, he dashed towards the enemies, his eyes gleaming like blades, ready to confront them head-on.

Plunging a blade into the fleeing enemy’s back is easier than anything else. If you truly want to deal with your enemy, you must act unpredictably.

Just like now.

“Aaaaargh!”

Perhaps the enemies struggling against his unexpected attack hadn’t anticipated that Chung Myung would rush at them, as they flailed and screamed before collapsing.

Crimson blood spurted, accompanied by desperate cries.

Those two things would surely draw more enemies to this location.

No, perhaps they already had.

Chung Myung’s sharp gaze turned behind him. He could sense the enemy forces maneuvering to encircle him. It was more of an instinct than perception.

“Yaaaah!”

Chung Myung propelled himself forward, moving like a whirlwind towards the rear while striking the ground.

“Dieeee!”

The enemies, as if waiting for him, surged forward, filling his entire field of vision.

After only a few exchanges of blows, and by the fact they were able to catch his back in that amount of time, their skills were obvious even without looking at them.

Sharp attacks flew toward Chung Myung head-on, intended on slashing his flesh, shattering bones, and engraving the determination to snatch his soul that day.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Chung Myung’s sword, akin to a dancing serpent, deflected the weapons aimed at him one by one. In the brief moment of countless clashes, sparks ignited by the clashing metal illuminated the dark forest brightly.

In the midst of that light born from the darkness, the grim reaper’s blade plunged into the enemy’s throat.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

With a single stroke, Chung Myung severed the throats of three foes. He didn’t bother to ascertain their fate, and dove into the midst of those falling miserably.

His sword, wrapped in their flesh, swung around him like an explosion, creating a crimson crescent shape around his body.

Paaaat!

With the earsplitting sound, those who rushed toward him were reduced to waist-severed corpses collapsing to the ground.

“Hoo!”

Rough breath escaped Chung Myung’s lips.

But there was no time to catch his breath.

Immediately, hitting the ground, he propelled himself forward.

Spears that had been aimed at his previous position consecutively impaled the ground.

⁃ You’ve effortlessly achieved everything so far. What was so difficult for others must have been so simple for you.

Something was flashing from all directions.

Swords and spears. Heavy axes and scythes with long chains.

Countless weapons were flying towards Chung Myung, aiming for him alone.

⁃ People admire you for that, and they fear you as well. Perhaps you feel the same.

Chung Myung bit his lip until it bled.

“Aargh!”

Around him, plum blossoms bloomed like explosions. The rapidly spreading crimson plum blossoms resembled not petals but rather blood droplets bursting from wounds.

⁃ But, Chung Myung, you haven’t obtained anything on your own. Perhaps all of it was just given to you. Things that were simply handed to you, even if you didn’t want them.

‘So what?’

Chung Myung’s eyes were ablaze. What does it matter? What’s the point of saying that? How does that even matter?

Kwaang!

Chung Myung, charging forward as if to shatter the ground, had only one destination.

Straight ahead. It’s where the thickest resistance stands in his way.

Without a single hint of hesitation, Chung Myung charged toward his enemies, bringing down his sword with indiscernible fury.

Kwaang!

The hefty sword blocking his path was severed in an instant. Before the wielder’s eyes could widen in shock, Chung Myung’s Dark Plum Sword cleaved through his entire body vertically.

Blood spurt from the split flesh, covering Chung Myung’s entire body.

The heat felt like it could scorch flesh. The screams of lives cut short echoed. All of it accumulated layer upon layer at the tip of Chung Myung’s sword.

⁃ That’s why I hope you understand its weight.The value of what you achieve through effort and sacrifice.

“It’s me!”

He hasn’t acquired anything without doing anything!

It may seem that way to you! But! At least!

⁃ But, Chung Myung..

In that moment, the tip of Chung Myung’s sword wavered.

⁃ On the other hand, I am afraid. Someday, when you truly obtain something of value, when you understand the meaning of what you’ve created with your own hands, not merely given to you.

The sword cut through the air.

Chung Myung beheaded the enemy, his sword piercing through the heart, yet nothing about his sword has changed.

Just…

⁃ Will you ever be the same as you are now. Will you be able to continue living as you do now.

Thunk!

The broken blade of the sword lodged itself into his shoulder. The vivid sensation of the thick blade piercing through flesh. In the midst of that terrifying pain, Chung Myung took a step forward.

‘Sect Leader Sahyeong.’

Chung Myung bit his lip.

Chung Mun has always been like this. Chung Myung cherished him. But he never quite understood what he meant.

Because their perspectives were so different.

‘You really..’

Aargh!

Chung Myung, spinning his body like a top, pierced the enemies in all directions.

“Aaargh!”

“Aaaargh!”

Those rushing towards him stumbled, holes punctured in their bodies. Absentmindedly, Chung Myung gazes up at the sky amidst the exploding bloody fireworks.

‘Did you hope I’d become an adult?’

It seems likely. Now, he finally understood.

Chung Mun always urged him see more, to understand more, to stand where those unlike him stood.

Always. Yes, always.

But only now, in this moment, could Chung Myung truly grasp what was in Chung Mun’s heart.

While Chung Mun always encouraged Chung Myung to understand others, perhaps deep down, he wished that Chung Myung would never stand in the same place as others.

Only Chung Mun understood what burden Chung Myung would carry when he came to understand others.

Carving out his own path.

Because Chung Mun, who had been walking that path before anyone else, understood how treacherous and painful that path was, perhaps… Perhaps Chung Mun wished that Chung Myung would never walk down the same path as him.

Even if it went against the duty of a Taoist.

“Hoo…”

A life that prioritized others over oneself.

Chung Mun walked that path his whole life. Putting others before himself, prioritizing others’ lives over his own.

If sacrifice was necessary, he was the first to sacrifice, and if someone had to be sacrificed, he sacrificed the one he held most dear.

‘What kind of heart… endured that? Sahyeong?’

It’s impossible to know.

But it felt like he did.

“Over there!”

The entire forest is suddenly engulfed in a surge of persisting energy. Chung Myung’s hand trembled once again as he faced the oncoming onslaught.

“Ah…”

In that moment, Chung Myung understood.

Why his hand kept trembling. Why he was suddenly facing limits he hadn’t felt in the past.

‘I am now…’

Chung Myung’s gaze sank, colder than ever before.

‘I’m afraid of death.’

He had never thought death was something to fear. Even if there was a chance of dying, he had considered it enough as long as he did what he had to do. He had never placed such great value on his life.

What he feared was not death itself. It was the prospect of an unfinished and messy end, not completing what he was meant to do. That was all.

But now, for the first time, Chung Myung felt the fear of dying.

Never to meet them again.

The people he knew.

He can’t return to the place he was once so familiar with, nor can he laugh heartily at silly jokes. When he turns his head, the faces that should naturally be there are absent.

Everything remains the same.

But only Chung Myung is absent from that place.

Chung Myung stifled a sob.

Suddenly, a sense of nausea overwhelmed him. Despite there being nothing in his stomach, his body keeps trying to expel something.

What was the reason he tried to protect everyone?

Yeah. He was afraid. Afraid of the emptiness that would arise in those precious relationships he had created.

The names Baek Cheon, Yu Iseol, Yoon Jong, Jo Geol, Tang Soso and Hye Yeon disappearing from his world.

Suddenly, turning his head and facing the empty space where they should be was more terrifying than anything in the world.

No one else could feel as acutely as he did how terrifying it was for their presence to be absent.

But…

Is that really okay?

Is everything good just because they exist? What meaning does it hold if Chung Myung isn’t there?

If everything disappears the moment Chung Myung vanishes, then shouldn’t he be the one to survive?

Even if he loses some of them, wouldn’t it be a better choice than losing everything?

It’s not too late even now.

With his current physical condition, he could probably escape this encirclement. If he just ran forward without looking back, he could survive.

Even if as a result, most of those present here end up chasing after Hwasan and Haenam, even if as a consequence, Haenam is wiped out, and he never sees some of the faces he knew again, he would still survive…

“Uwaaaaagh!”

Blood gushed from Chung Myung’s mouth.

He looked at the blood on the hand covering his mouth with blurred eyes and let out a low laugh.

“…The inner demons have come, and they came dirty.”

Yes. It’s terrifying.

Death is too terrifying.

What’s even more terrifying is dying alone again, with nowhere to turn. He once again vividly felt the sensation of dying alone in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Enemies swarm towards him like black waves.

“…Hey, Sahyeong. Are you watching?”

Chung Myung looked up at the sky.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t done a single thing Sahyeong wished for.”

Chung Myung griped his sword.

His feet dug into the ground, as if he was trying to anchor himself, to keep them from moving involuntarily.

“So… don’t expect anything from me. I’m just that kind of guy.”

The enemies descend upon him.

His trembling hands had still not calmed, and his heart was still crying.

But despite that, Chung Myung held his ground.

The deep regret that still lingered within him would continue to connect what he had preserved with what was to come. Even if he didn’t exist at the point where the past and the future met, it didn’t matter.

Willpower wasn’t something tied to life.

Aargh!

The cold determination, honed and sharpened, pierces through the air with the sword.

It was the sword of the Sword Demon, and also the sword of the Sword Saint.