Chapter 382: Destiny (1)

The Union of Villains.

It’s been ten years since that name was buried in the annals of history. There were several attempts at resurrection, but they never took real shape.

Even if they found people aligned with their cause, they always ended up disbanding because of “someone.”

As usual, villains are wicked beings who yield to strength. A strong and evil figure is needed as a center of gravity.

Someone like a corps commander, for example.

But one day, the former executives of the Union felt chills at the same time.

The so-called Parsy Incident.

A disaster. An atrocious calamity.

But to the villains, it felt like fireworks celebrating the beginning of a new era.

From that day on, they began seeking a way to contact that unknowable entity that appeared during the tragedy.

Sacrifices were inevitable.

They kidnapped people, tortured them, and in the end, some managed to make contact.

With the main emissary of that unknowable entity.

— ■■ you must ■■ fulfill ■■ —

They couldn’t understand a single word.

Everyone who heard those words began to bleed from every orifice.

Some even emitted smoke from their ears, as if their brains had been boiled.

But the villains of this decade were different from those of the past. They were true fanatics.

They were willing to sacrifice everything, even lose their sanity, just to change the world.

To bring down Kang Geom-Ma.

To return the world to the chaos that, according to them, rightfully belonged to it.

And finally.

“Ah… Aaaaah…”

They arrived.

At the origin of this world.

The villains thought,

‘This entity is like the chaos we longed for. We weren’t wrong.’

Emboldened by that conviction, they were filled with pride. They dreamed of reclaiming the glory of antiquity.

But it all came crashing down soon after.

‘Instant’ was the right word.

In a matter of minutes, the Union’s cells were wiped out.

As in the past. As now. At the hands of Kang Geom-Ma.

***

“F-Formation A…!”

A desperate scream.

The villains, with trembling hands, cast fire spells.

Most used fire magic.

No special reason. Of the five elemental natures, fire is the most basic.

And despite that, also the most powerful.

Especially, against Heavenly Sword, fire had a minimal chance.

They weren’t aiming to win. If necessary, they were ready to set themselves on fire. After all, they weren’t even using their own bodies.

Fwoooosh!

The flames rose in a spiral, like a snake crossing a wall. They intertwined with one another, forming a braid.

A red cascade defying gravity.

Soon, a fire net covered the entire corridor. A spark caught the edge of my clothes.

“Fiiireeeee!”

A guy in a tracksuit shouted like a victorious general.

The net dropped a bit.

Just fast enough to hide the panic he felt. It was a major advancement. Ten years ago, villains fell without even reacting.

Unlike back then, these at least kept their cool. Well… to a point.

Because deep down, they still haven’t learned anything. There they are again, repeating the same mistakes.

“I don’t expect you to repent.”

I wrapped Murasame’s cord around my hand.

Then turned.

The sword’s trajectory covered a wide space like a serpent. With a subtle wrist movement, I struck.

The fire net formed a grid pattern.

Murasame slipped through the flames, bending and slicing. The net disintegrated instantly, and the burning lines holding it up were cut like threads.

The last spark of hope in their eyes also extinguished.

I never get tired of that expression.

I took down the net effortlessly. Since I let them have the first attack, it was time to counter.

Boom!

My feet pushed off the ground. I swung Murasame.

Not even a full second passed, and three were already down.

Like puppets with their strings cut. I touched the red threads protruding from their heads.

An apt comparison.

They passed out with blank eyes. I was relieved to see they were still breathing.

‘They’re still alive.’

I didn’t have time to breathe easy. I launched myself at the villains again.

Each time my sword’s glint flashed, another one fell. No blood was spilled.

I aimed only at the threads controlling them.

A flame grazed my ear, letting out a Ssshhhk. I dodged it with a slight move, and slashed downward on the caster’s head.

His eyes gently shut.

In less than three seconds, I had already neutralized ten.

Ah, let there be no misunderstanding.

I didn’t kill anyone.

Although there was one I nearly killed.

I focused entirely on my slashes. No matter how hard they tried, they weren’t a match for me.

Since I lack talent for captures, I had to concentrate to the extreme.

‘I mustn’t hurt them.’

I kept repeating it in my mind as I took them out.

The souls separated from the bodies, and a gloomy wail echoed.

A ghostly lament that spread across the empty fields of Texas.

***

This place is Texas, United States.

On the way here, I eliminated a few cells.

Four, more or less.

The first was in an old abandoned building in Gangnam, Seoul.

Since Choi Seol-Ah called me, I went with her.

And of course, there were villains.

All with those red threads on their heads, like antennas.

But, who am I?

I grew up fighting non-human beings. My youth was never peaceful.

Thanks to that experience, I instinctively knew I had to cut those threads. It was a good decision. I felt proud.

…Eh? Why do I feel like crying?

The bodies they used were civilians’. I don’t know how they did it, but the villains had possessed them.

They put a lot of thought into it.

At first, I almost made a big mistake. If not for Choi Seol-Ah…

— Noooo!

Just when I was about to slash the wrong spot with my sword, Seol-Ah intervened.

By reflex, she cast lightning magic. But that magic isn’t for capturing, it’s for killing.

She almost turned a civilian into a roast.

Choi Seol-Ah threw herself to stop the lightning.

She said she knew her.

I was embarrassed, but I also found it admirable.

I thought: ‘Wow, this villain really has changed.’

But then. Turned out she was one of her graduate students.

She said the right to kill slaves belongs only to the professors. I was speechless.

— Heh, hehehe.

She seemed a little embarrassed.

Anyway, since then I decided to shelve lightning magic for a while.

‘Besides, I wanted to use the sword more. I’m a swordsman, magic is just support.’

After eliminating the first cell, I found a torn paper in a trash bin. It was the location of another cell.

Then I realized.

‘They wanted to waste my time.’

Damn bastards. I hate dirty tricks.

So I decided to surprise them.

I went to the nearest Daiso and bought a bunch of sashimi knives. Then, I imbued them with lightning magic and launched a multiple attack.

The sashimi knives flew around the world at the speed of light. By linking them with lightning, I created teleport routes.

I used a technique I’d recently developed: “Electrocut.”

Didn’t expect to use it so soon.

With that technique, I traveled the entire world. It was my first time using it in real combat, and it was more effective than expected.

In just a few minutes, I dissolved all the cells. About four were annihilated.

The response was so fast that some died without even knowing what hit them.

And just as I was reaching the end, I realized.

‘This isn’t right.’

It wasn’t a worthy death for a villain.

‘Too easy.’

So I hardened my heart. Left the remains to Choi Seol-Ah and came to Texas, my final destination.

There I met unexpected faces.

‘Rachel and All Mute.’

They realized instantly what the villains were planning. If they acted, civilians would be harmed.

If they didn’t, they would be the next to die.

At that critical moment, both showed the pride of being heroines.

Honestly, it was admirable.

A moral rationality that shines at the edge of life and death. So bright that it even outshone my lightning.

And that’s why I started hating these villains even more.

I tried not to show them something too horrible out of respect for the bodies they used.

But at least one of them needed to be taught a lesson.

Yes, you.

That idiot in the Squid Game tracksuit.

Right now, I’m holding your hair.

“Ggrrrkkk.”

I promise I’ll apologize to the body’s owner. Yeah, without fail.

It’s not out of hatred.

Just wanted to make that clear.

***

All Mute shrugged, still with a rigid body. After all, they had just escaped death, so it was natural to feel that way.

Rachel also let her shoulders drop, as if the tension had finally released.

That’s when a high-pitched moan, almost like a scream, struck their eardrums.

When they turned their heads, they saw the man in the tracksuit being restrained by Kang Geom-Ma.

“H-how…?! How the hell?!”

Thwack.

A bloody tooth fell to the floor. The man coughed up blood and hung his head.

Kang Geom-Ma crouched to his level and spoke.

“That’s exactly what I want to know. How did you manage to enter someone else’s body? What kind of bastard is behind this, teaching you such an advanced technique?”

“…”

“Ah, right. You can’t talk, can you? Villains always shut their mouths at the least useful moments. And besides, since that body isn’t even yours, the pain doesn’t transfer to the soul, right?”

The tracksuit guy wore a look of pure shock. That’s how Kang Geom-Ma was — his words were like needles. Sometimes, they hurt more than a sashimi blade.

“Well, if you don’t want to talk…”

Kang Geom-Ma turned his gaze backward. All Mute looked around; Rachel was also watching intently.

“Me?”

All Mute pointed at herself, a bit confused. Kang Geom-Ma nodded.

“Come here for a moment.”

“…Alright.”

After all, she owed him her life, and he also outranked her. She had no choice. As All Mute approached, Kang Geom-Ma suddenly grabbed her wrist.

“Eh?”

All Mute’s hair stood on end. That sudden contact paralyzed her.

Wasn’t this guy married? And he’s holding a woman’s hand so casually?

Even though her face flushed inside, she didn’t show it. In America, it wasn’t that rare for a famous hero to flirt despite being married.

Hero or womanizer… in the end, Kang Geom-Ma was still a man. Or maybe he just had a bold personality. Maybe he was so strong that he enjoyed danger now.

“What are you imagining?”

“Eh?”

All Mute’s eyes went blank.

“Activate your Blocking Blessing.”

The Blocking Blessing — a special blessing that shuts off all senses except one. Unlike other blessings that didn’t affect third parties, this one could directly influence others.

“Don’t ask anything. Just do it.”

“…”

A faint gesture of disappointment crossed All Mute’s face. But she had no choice.

After all, this too was an order from the Seven Stars.

All Mute activated the Blocking Blessing. Kang Geom-Ma, as if waiting for it, activated his own blessing — Transfer. He transferred the effect to the body of the man in the tracksuit.

“¡Hk!”

The man let out a strangled gasp. Then, his eyeballs stretched sideways, as if being forced by something invisible.

His eyes were dyed a single color, as if diluted in ink. They looked like those of an alien.

“W-wait! He’s a civilian!”

Kang Geom-Ma grabbed him by the hair. All Mute was alarmed. Was he planning to kill him? Her hands itched from the nerves, but Kang Geom-Ma beat her to it.

“For a human being, the five senses are a weakness. You know that, right?”

“…Sort of.”

The five senses were a disguise. A subconscious defense layer that hid internal darkness. Only by tearing off that layer could one see what lay beneath.

“Watch closely.”

Geombaek brought Muramasa close to the man’s diaphragm. All Mute was horrified. That looked like a summary execution!

Before she could stop him, Kang Geom-Ma struck the man’s throat with the back side of Muramasa’s blade, like flipping sashimi.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

“…”

The man’s body began to convulse, as if shifting gears.

Then, a black cloud emerged from his open mouth and began to fill the empty hallway.

Black smoke. In its center, three will-o’-the-wisps floated in a triangle. Like demon lanterns, those lights seemed to look at him with supernatural awareness.

From them, the smoke began to shape a body. A humanoid figure emerged in silhouette, made entirely of mist.

The creature had multiple heads, arranged around a central one.

It had eight pairs of arms. On its back, a gigantic halo spread out like wings of light.

Despite the grotesque form, its face was overwhelmingly beautiful. As if every beautiful feature possible had been combined. The strangest thing was that, despite being surrounded by black smoke, its figure appeared clearly, as if drawn in crystal.

That figure moved its lips.

■ Urgk.

Its voice stuck to the eardrum like melted honey. All Mute and Rachel stood hypnotized.

BeautifulbeautifulbeautifulI’mhereTopraiseyouForGod’ssakeWhatbeautyImustgiveyoueverythingToloveyoutoloveyouLetmeservantyoubelongtoyouinallEssences

¡Slash!

Kang Geom-Ma gave Murasame a slight flick. The smoke shattered with a sticky sound. Only then did both regain their vision and judgment.

An unbearable pressure weighed on their heads. As they regained consciousness and looked at the smoke…

What once seemed beautiful was now repulsive to the point of nausea.

Both spat out a piece of pink flesh. Probably had bitten their tongues. Kang Geom-Ma figured he’d have to heal them later with the Regeneration Blessing.

“The choice is yours.”

Kang Geom-Ma stared at the mass of smoke, split in two like a double-flavored ice cream. That transcendent gaze watched him from above.

“I’ll be waiting.”

He didn’t back down.

“Because I’m going to send you to the same place as Ragnarok.”

He was the one attacking now.

Even if that meant facing the second apocalypse.

Kali Yuga.

The smoke left behind a lingering gaze like an ember, and then vanished.

The tracksuit guy collapsed with his waist bent, as if his soul had been drained.

“It wasn’t the result I wanted, but at least we got something.”

Kang Geom-Ma released the man and stood upright. All Mute had a thousand questions. She wanted to grab him by the collar and shake him.

But after so much impact, her legs felt like jelly. And the strangest thing — the image of that creature was beginning to fade from her memory.

In just a few seconds, both All Mute and Rachel had completely forgotten its face. All that remained was extreme exhaustion, to the point that staying upright was a feat.

All Mute spoke.

“…Let’s go to Lancelot Company.”

“You don’t sound like you’re up for such an emotional reunion. Why don’t we go home and rest instead?”

All Mute frowned, annoyed.

“I owe them my life. If I play dumb after being saved, it’ll make the company look bad. Do me a favor… no, please, cooperate, Heavenly Sword.”

“All right.”

“I know you’re not big on that whole debts thing, but…”

“…Hm?”

“What did you say?”

“That it’s fine.”

“Just like that?”

“Would you prefer if I resisted more?”

“N-no, that’s not it.”

It was more that his answer was so direct, it was scary.

“Lately, with the grad school stuff, I’ve had too much going on.”

“U-understood…”

“…Thanks.”

Huh? Thanks for what exactly?