Return of the Mount Hua

You can do it. (9)

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“Nngh… Ugh…….”

The hand clutching the gaping, diagonal wound was soaked in blood. Through his trembling fingers, entrails turned a sickly bluish hue, kept slipping out.

“Damn……”

Grinding his teeth, the Blood Palace Lord shoved the drying entrails back into his abdomen.

‘The wound…’

The qigong [기공(氣功)] coursing through his body possessed the power to restore mere flesh wounds in an instant. Hadn’t even his severed arm grown back as if nothing had happened?

But the sword energy of that Taoist bastard, which had carved through his flesh, was suppressing the power of qigong he had mastered. It simply would not heal at all.

“Huff! Huff!”

Gasping, the Blood Palace Lord scanned his surroundings.

No one had followed. There was no pursuit, and not even his palace warriors were in sight. It meant that every one of those who had tried to escape with him had, one and all, met their end.

The losses were so great that surviving alone bordered on a miracle.

“Heo Do…….”

The Blood Palace Lord ground his teeth.

“You, I will never forgive.”

From his eyes poured forth a suffocating killing intent. His face, twisted with grudge, contorted like that of an Evil Spirit Rakshasa [악귀나찰(惡鬼羅刹)].

Heo Do Jinin was strong. Even at Blood Palace Lord’s current peak, Heo Do Jinin would not have been an easy opponent. For the Taoist Qi [도기(道氣)] was a force that stood in perfect counter to the Blood Cult.

But that was all. He had learned as much from this battle.

‘Virgin boys [동남(童男)*]… If I only could consume the pure blood of a hundred more virgin boys!’

If he could do that, the Blood Palace Lord’s qigong would reach completion. Then the likes of Heo Do would not dare to stand against him.

No, not merely someone like Heo Do.

Perhaps even that Hwasan Geomhyeop or Jang Ilso – and if he dared to dream bigger, even the Bishop of Demonic Cult – might be brought under his feet.

If only he could embody the realization he had gained today with the power of pure blood…

“Then, the Cult’s revival, too…!”

But at that moment, a voice far too calm swept past his ear.

“Revival, you say. Did you still believe such a chance remained for you?”

Startled, the Blood Palace Lord flinched as if seized by convulsions. Eyes widening in terror and shock, the Blood Palace Lord turned his head, trembling.

A figure wrapped in a black long robe came into view.

“B-Bishop…”

Heavenly Executioner was gazing silently at the Blood Palace Lord with his black eyes. On that emotionless face there was neither disappointment nor anger, not even the slightest hint of displeasure.

He opened his mouth again, painfully slow.

“From the very start, the proper course would have been to cut off that worthless life of yours the moment it caught my eye.”

The Blood Palace Lord’s body trembled violently, as if seized by ague.

“Entrusting you with a role was nothing more or less than whim.”

“B-Bishop. This is…”

The Blood Palace Lord’s crimson eyes darted about without focus. Of course they did. Before the face of death, when one is forced to confront an inevitable end, who could remain composed?

“But I suppose I must admit that in that whim there was, perhaps, a touch of expectation for you insignificant creatures. Unlike those ignorant ones of the Central Plains, at least you understood what ‘the sacred’ is. And yet…”

Heavenly Executioner stared at the Blood Palace Lord with a blank face, then shook his head.

“In the end, it became nothing more than confirming my own folly.”

Step.

“Vermin are, in the end, nothing but vermin.”

Heavenly Executioner advanced slowly towards the Blood Palace Lord. The Blood Palace Lord’s face, glimpsed between the hastily rewrapped bandages, had turned bloodless and pale. His facial muscles twisted grotesquely under the weight of terror.

“B-Bishop. I…!”

In that moment, the Blood Palace Lord realized what the most proper thing for him to do was. He immediately drove his head into the ground.

“S-Spare me! I gave it my utmost! I did everything I could. But that swordsman of Hwasan was far too strong…!”

Step.

Heavenly Executioner’s steps, flowing like water, halted for a moment.

“Chung Myung, you mean him?”

The Blood Palace Lord’s eyes flew wide open. 

Hwasan Geomhyeop Chung Myung was certainly a dangerous figure. He could move the vast alliance of Cheonumaeng like his own hands and feet.

Yet no matter how impressive that bastard might be, to the one standing before him now he should be no more than a fly. Then why would the Bishop remember his name so precisely?

“Y-Yes……”

At that moment, a low chuckle reached his ears.

Startled, the Blood Palace Lord almost lifted the head he had pressed to the ground without realizing it. The sight of the Bishop wearing a faint smile on that icy face was far too shocking.

“So the best excuse you can muster is…”

“…”

“What have we been fearing all this time? How did we fail to realize that He would never borrow the bodies of such filthy creatures, and that such a notion is, rather, an act of blasphemy?”

Hearing that voice tinged with self-mockery, the Blood Palace Lord felt his vision go dark.

He could not grasp the meaning behind those words, but one thing was painfully clear – there was not a shred of mercy or goodwill in them.

Thus the Blood Palace Lord could only cry out once more.

“M-Mercy! One more act of mercy for this wretched being, if only that! Then I, and the Blood Cult as well, shall devote eternal loyalty to you, Bisho- Kugh!”

In an instant, his body was drawn as if sucked into Heavenly Executioner’s grasp. He seized Blood Palace Lord’s throat and twisted it to the side.

“Loyalty, is it?”

“Grrrk….”

“Have you ever known anyone who sought loyalty from mere vermin?”

“…”

“And know this, ignorant one. Do not dare to compare your filthy faith with our devotion. The Cult does not desire loyalty. The Cult has no need of aid. The Cult exists for one purpose only: to worship Him.”

“For…give……nes…s…!”

The Blood Palace Lord’s face began to swell grotesquely in irregular patches.

“Had you instead shown true worship towards Him, perhaps a path might have opened for you to cling to that pitiful life. But in the end, it seems vermin can think only in the manner of vermin.”

“Grrr…rrr……”

The Blood Palace Lord let out a grotesque sound and rolled his eyes back.

From his appearance alone it was easy to guess that he was suffering pain beyond imagining. The Blood Palace Lord, who had barely been shaken even when his own arm was torn off, was now thrashing with his whole body in desperate frenzy.

“Ggghhh… U-Ugh..”

Bloody tears streamed down from his wide, bulging eyes.

“Ki…ll… Ki…ll…me….”

Rather than grant death to the one who now craved it, the Bishop did not so easily bestow mercy. Watching at leisure as the Blood Palace Lord writhed in pain, he spoke in a voice with not a single trace of emotion.

“Be at ease. Your cultists will follow after you.”

“….De…vil…..”

Splat!

With a sound like a ripe watermelon bursting open, the Blood Palace Lord’s head exploded. Blood and brain matter, and a shattered skull, sprayed in all directions.

Casting a sidelong glance at what ran down his hand, the Bishop flung the Blood Palace Lord’s corpse away as if discarding filth. Then he casually flicked his hand a few times.

By the time he turned his head, the existence of the Blood Palace Lord had already been wiped clean from his mind. His eyes, like those of a predator stalking its prey, fixed on the distant Central Plains.

‘So, heaven’s fortune is upon him…’

Some might take it as a ridicule. But for Heavenly Executioner, those words could never be an expression of mockery.

No one felt more keenly than Heavenly Executioner that the existence of ‘Heaven’s fortune’ had driven the Cult – had driven them – into this hell.

And so now Heavenly Executioner felt a burning, irresistible impulse.

‘It was but a brief moment. But that was unmistakably…’

Vividly, his image rose up in his mind.

A being he had faced more than once in the past. The one who carved into Heavenly Executioner’s flesh a vicious scar that has not faded to this day.

And the most hateful one, who stole from the Cult a presence that should never have been lost.

‘Geomjon.’

It was his aura. Without a doubt.

“Chung Myung……”

A man bearing the same name as Geomjon. Or perhaps one usurping that title. Heavenly Executioner clenched his fist tight, suffocating killing intent surging from his body.

‘Or perhaps……’

Even Heavenly Executioner could not tell whether the emotion surging now like a raging tide was hatred for Geomjon, hatred for Hwasan, or the distaste for what he had undergone when he first crossed paths with this ‘new’ Chung Myung.

Perhaps – though he did not wish to admit it… It was the revival of feelings long asleep deep in his heart: unease and fear. Absurdly enough.

Whatever its source, Heavenly Executioner now felt an overwhelming hatred and murderous intent towards Chung Myung.

Just one fleeting moment would suffice. Then he could rip out his throat.

He had already broken the commandment [금계(禁戒)]. Even if he took just one more step from here…

Crack.

Heavenly Executioner, his face contorting more and more as he sank deeper in thought, ground his teeth.

At last, the killing intent and demonic energy that had wrapped around his body vanished as if washed away.

Returning to his customary impassive expression, Heavenly Executioner let out a deep sigh and, in a voice not all that loud, gave an order.

“Come out.”

From the edges of the forest, five shadows revealed themselves.

Seeing them take up the five directions as they approached with caution, Heavenly Executioner let out a faint chuckle.

“Seems the Archbishop was in quite a hurry. To send as many as five Bishops when there are hardly any left.”

“Second Bishop [이(二)주교], the Archbishop is greatly angered.“

“This time, Second Bishop, you have committed a grave offense. There is an order to escort you to the Main Church.”

“Escort me…? You whelps dare…”

A flicker of contempt crossed Heavenly Executioner’s eyes.

Though bound under the same title of Bishops, to compare these men with him was unthinkable. If he chose to, it would not be difficult to tear all five of them to pieces.

However, instead of letting his demonic energy spill forth, Heavenly Executioner opted to nod obediently.

“Lead the way. I will go on my own two feet.”

At that calm response, the Bishops flinched instead.

“Why? Did you think I would resist?”

“No, Second Bishop. We have never once doubted your devotion.”

“Hmph.”

Heavenly Executioner snorted, as if he found it laughable.

Had this been a matter of personal deviation, Heavenly Executioner would have resisted without hesitation. But his actions were never rebellion nor apostasy. They were nothing more than a struggle over the proper interpretation of doctrine.

Thus, though his stance differed, Heavenly Executioner neither shunned nor disdained the Archbishop. He respected the weight of the burden the Archbishop bore, and he had no wish to inflict further suffering upon him.

“Set out.”

“Yes.”

The five Bishops began to move, encircling Heavenly Executioner.

But then, just as he seemed ready to follow them obediently, he paused for an instant and turned his head.

“Second Bishop?”

In silence, Heavenly Executioner stared intently behind him for a while.

‘You’ve kept your life, Chung Myung.’

The killing intent he had forced down in his chest leaked forth once more. The faces of the Bishops encircling him paled with fright.

‘But do not be at ease. On the day He returns, you will meet your end at my hands, in the most wretched manner imaginable.’

Casting a brief, venom-laden glance over the Central Plains, Heavenly Executioner turned his body without a trace of hesitation.

“Let’s go.”

Towards the most desolate land.

Heavenly Executioner set foot upon the land of Descent [강림(降臨) or Advent].

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*This is so evil. The counterpart for it would be 동녀(童女) – virgin girl/pure maiden. 

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