Chapter 215. Nine in the Fifth Place (11)
What the hell is he doing?’
The Ageless Demon Emperor approached the Martial Heaven God, who was completely motionless. Even as he walked among a thousand corpses of people who had been brutally murdered without being able to resist, the Ageless Demon Emperor felt no emotion at all.
His heart was already as dry as a desert.
‘Martial Heaven God...’
He looked every bit as withered as the corpses surrounding him.
However, that wasn't the important thing.
There were thick stakes driven into both sides of his chest, and golden needles were sealing all major acupoints.
A stake was even driven into his forehead and through his brain.
With all that considered, it was amazing that the Ageless Demon Emperor could feel a faint sense of life.
“As expected, you're a monster. To think you're still alive even though your brain is mush. But this is the end. I don't know why you're like this, but I'll end you anyway.”
The Martial Heaven God was clearly in some kind of abnormal state.
Considering this, the Ageless Demon Emperor was sure that the Sword Heart would be effective and, considering the strength of his Sword Heart, it would be able to shatter the Martial Heaven God's head and turn it into dust.
A considerable amount of Ageless Demon Emperor’s qi disappeared, and his Sword Heart blasted the Martial Heaven God’s head.
Bang!
However, the only thing that was shattered and turned into dust was the stake that was stuck in the Martial Heaven God's head. As for the head, it did not take even the slightest damage.
The Martial Heaven God's body, which had only been leaking a very faint aura, gradually began to emit a terrifying energy.
His eyes flashed open, and the gaping hole in his forehead was quickly regenerated.
“So it's you, little brat.”
“Y... you monster...! I'll kill you!”
The Ageless Demon Emperor pulled the corpses and stakes hanging from the ceiling around him and hurled them toward the Martial Heaven God.
They were all filled with a Transcendent Aura that surpassed ordinary qi aura.
Pfft.
There was no explosion or impact.
Everything that the Ageless Demon Emperor had thrown was turned to dust and disappeared before it even got within one zhang from the Martial Heaven God.
The Ageless Demon Emperor’s eyes widened.
He had absolutely no idea what method the Martial Heaven God had used to block his attack.
At that moment, the Ageless Demon Emperor's body suddenly rose into the air on its own.
“Since you were saved by that damned bastard who couldn't even ascend, you should have lived as well as you could have while being grateful for being saved. Why did you crawl all the way back here? You really don’t know what’s good for you.”
The Ageless Demon Emperor suddenly felt as if gravity was shifting. A force of unknown nature was pressing every part of his body, twisting into something impossible.
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
Just hearing that sound would make a person's stomach churn, and in the end, all of the Ageless Demon Emperor's bones were crushed.
It was a pain beyond imagination, a pain that would make anyone feel like they would rather die than continue to feel such agony. However, the Ageless Demon Emperor didn't even make a sound.
Instead, he just glared at the Martial Heaven God.
Squelch!
The Ageless Demon Emperor's head eventually burst open from the pressure. While he had been concentrating all of his qi on protecting his head, it was of no use.
And thus, the Ageless Demon Emperor died.
The Martial Heaven God was about to throw the remnants into a corner, but then a thought struck him.
“Oh, that's right. I've never eaten human flesh. Hmm. Good. I should gain new experiences. After all, any new experiences can help my cultivation.”
Crunch, crunch.
A grotesque sound filled the stone chamber.
The Martial Heaven God's body quickly swelled, gaining weight and growing larger.
“My secluded cultivation ended earlier than planned because of this bastard. Hoho... Still, it doesn't matter. Even as I am now, I can destroy that damned Daoist Woo Bok-Hee.”
The Martial Heaven God rose into the air. He didn’t even bother to take the stairs; whether rock or soil, water or vegetation, everything simply vanished as he approached. Nothing could even touch the hem of his clothes.
On this day, the Martial Heaven God left seclusion and returned to Martial Heaven.
***
“It feels like a dream.”
The meeting between the Heavenly Demon Cult and the Justice Coalition, mediated by Woo-Moon and Si-Hyeon, was set for the next day.
As for right now, it was the night of the full moon, and Si-Hyeon was leaning on Woo-Moon's shoulder, her cheek pressed against him.
No one knew that they were together like this except Yeo-Seol, Ma-Ra, and Woo-Moon's other close relatives. Ma-Ra and Yeo-Seol had even given up their places beside Woo-Moon and left him and Si-Hyeon alone for the night.
Woo-Moon reached out and plucked a strand of Si-Hyeon's hair, which was swaying in the wind, and brought it to his nose.
“Whew.”
After savoring its scent, he smiled with satisfaction.
“I missed this scent so much. I wanted to smell it again so badly I thought I was going crazy.”
Si-Hyeon’s face turned red.
Woo-Moon's face, full of love, grew bigger and bigger in her eyes.
Her lips felt cold yet hot at the same time; they were soft and moist.
The first time the two kissed was at the Heavenly Demon Mound, before what they thought was eternal separation.
Two whole years had passed since then.
That wasn't a short amount of time.
The two kissed as passionately as their longing had been for each other.
“Ah...”
Suddenly, Woo-Moon's tongue slipped through her lips. Si-Hyeon was surprised and moved back slightly.
However, Woo-Moon held her close, exploring her mouth with his tongue.
Curious at the soft touch and the subtle yet tingling sensation, Si-Hyeon also began to use her tongue carefully, quickly realizing the pleasure.
“Ha!”
When their lips finally parted, Si-Hyeon’s face was red and hot.
Woo-Moon hugged Si-Hyeon’s slender body tightly. He had to make sure he would never, ever forget this feeling.
It was as if their bodies were merging.
Woo-Moon suddenly felt a cold sensation on his shoulder.
Si-Hyeon could also feel the cool, wet, tickling sensation that came from her eyes, dripping down her cheeks and pooling under her chin as she held Woo-Moon with all her strength.
I won't forget it either. No, I won't forget anything with you from now on.'
Si-Hyeon's tears were the first she’d cried in a long, long time.
As his shoulder grew soaking wet, Woo-Moon's heart ached as he thought about how hard it must have been for her.
'Si-Hyeon had just as hard of a time as I did. It must have been so painful and heart-breaking, almost impossible to bear... Thank you for enduring it all.'
Woo-Moon was truly grateful for the fact that Si-Hyeon had endured all that pain and had persevered until now.
Her engagement to Hwi Ji-Gang, everything else that had happened—he forgot it all. Nothing mattered except the sensation of Si-Hyeon's touch right now.
After a while, Si-Hyeon asked carefully.
“You won't tease me for crying, right?”
Woo-Moon laughed mischievously at her words.
“Of course I will.”
“You're so mean! I'm not going to look at you, then.”
As she spoke, Si-Hyeon hugged Woo-Moon even tighter.
“It's okay. Your tears are so clear that I can't even tell if they exist or not.”
“Hmph.”
Woo-Moon quietly patted Si-Hyeon’s head.
“Was it really hard?”
Si-Hyeon shook her head sideways.
“Let's talk about that later. For now, let's... let's not talk about sad things. Okay?”
Woo-Moon smiled faintly.
“Okay, let’s do that.”
The two naturally pulled away before growing a little closer again.
As they started kissing again, Woo-Moon began to trace the tears streaks on her cheeks with his lips.
“Eek!”
Si-Hyeon burst into laughter at the ticklish feeling as Woo-Moon laughed, too.
“How salty.”
“By the way, senior brother.”
“Hmm?”
“It seems like you’ve added another woman to the family?”
Woo-Moon flinched and laughed awkwardly.
“Ahahahahaha...”
“Hmpf. You're such a playboy.”
She punched Woo-Moon in the chest.
“Ugh!”
“Stop being a little baby! Why are you acting like it hurts when I hit you?”
“What do you mean? Si-Hyeon, you know you’re no longer a normal human, right? Just who in the world wouldn't feel pain after getting hit by a Heavenly Demon?”
“Shut up.”
“Oh, and speaking of that... That guy, Hwi Ji-Gang. Do you like him?” Woo-Moon asked bluntly.
Instead of answering, she just hit him again. This time, she put some power into it.
“Ouch!”
“You really haven’t been beaten enough!” she said, hitting him over and over again. “Do you really need to ask me to know the answer?”
Woo-Moon scratched his head.
“Well, no, it's just... I know it in my heart, but it doesn't hurt to hear you say it out loud. It's different hearing this officially than just assuming.”
“I swear... What kind of man are you to be so insecure?”
She leaned her ear against Woo-Moon’s chest. It felt good to hear his heartbeat.
“So you don’t like him?”
“You’re so cheap.”
“What?”
“You already know exactly how I'm going to answer if you ask me that.”
“Hahaha.”
Si-Hyeon lifted her head off Woo-Moon's chest and stared at him.
“What?”
“You're not going to throw me away just because I got engaged, are you? You won't reject me just because you already have Ma-Ra and Young Lady Ha... right?”
Gulp.
“What is it?”
“Isn't that something I was supposed to ask?”
“I'm asking if you're still going to accept me even though you already got other women.”
“Of course.”
“Tsk, tsk. Well, in that case, what can I do? I've already fallen for you. I can't go to anyone else, so I guess it can't be helped.”
“Hahaha, what a relief.”
Si-Hyeon rested her head on Woo-Moon’s chest again.
“If... if you hadn't accepted me, senior brother, I might have just died.”
Woo-Moon’s heart skipped a beat.
While he knew it was only a “might have,” he still couldn't help but be shocked. Just thinking about her dying made his heart seize in pain.
“Do you know how much it hurt when I found out you had died? I don't ever want to feel that pain, ever again.”
“Hehe...”
Si-Hyeon laughed softly, overcome with happiness.
“But it's true. Even... even if you are still alive, if I can't be by your side, then the world isn't worth living in, senior brother. I thought about this yesterday, too.”
There was a point, after all, when the two of them were ready to kill each other because they each thought the other had betrayed them. At the same time, they... had made their preparations to die as well. Yet how could they not be anxious? What if... What if it was a misunderstanding? What if they ended up hurting each other because of a misunderstanding?
Just thinking about it made Woo-Moon’s heart ache as if a spike had stabbed him in the chest, and tears welled up in his eyes.
“It's a relief that you didn't think of doing anything foolish.”
“Because it really, really, really could have been a misunderstanding, I thought, maybe, maybe there was even the slightest chance that it could have been a misunderstanding, I... I believed it could have been a misunderstanding, and I came out to the battlefield because of that hope.”
“And you realized it was true when you saw me for real and when we pretended to fight, right?”
“Yes! Even though I wasn't completely sure, I knew it in my heart.”
“You knew? Or was it that you were planning on dying by my hand?”
Si-Hyeon shivered when she heard these words.
“So you noticed...”
“I thought we were going to trade fatal wounds, but you changed your target from my heart to my shoulder at the last moment. I may be an idiot, but I am not that much of an idiot.”
“Was I too obvious... Ha... How embarrassing.”
Si-Hyeon had indeed made her decision before fighting Woo-Moon.
If he truly despised her and didn't love her anymore, she would rather die by his hand. Then he would be remembered as the hero who had killed the Heavenly Demon Cult's witch.
She would have been satisfied with that.
“Whew... dummy. You should have killed me instead, asking why I betrayed you. Why would you be the one to die?”