Chapter 228: Eternal Heaven

Black Heaven.

Black Heaven was the sword spirit sealed within the Black Heavenly Demon Sword.

According to Black Heaven, the Heavenly Demon had sealed most of her memories. In fact, there were moments when she hesitated while teaching me martial arts. Black Heaven mentioned that the seal left by the Heavenly Demon forced her in certain ways, though she glossed over some strange points.

The Black Heavenly Demon Sword was designed so that if someone with the Energy of Defying Heaven possessed it, the sword spirit would awaken and assist the wielder with the Energy of Defying Heaven.

All of the Heavenly Demon’s lifelong dedication to Black God Martial Arts lay dormant within, and the sword was designed to summon the sword spirit to help the user escape in dangerous situations. Moreover, if that was not enough, there was even a berserker mode, where the Heavenly Demon’s essence remained to embed the Energy of Defying Heaven into the heart, enhancing the wielder’s power.

It was abnormally focused on safety.

It felt like she wanted to protect her successor at all costs, but there were many suspicious elements in the process.

“I was cherished far too much.”

To leave behind such power, just how much effort would have been required?

If it were me now, leaving power imbued in an object, I could embed enough power to kill one of the members of the Brigade of Eternal Heaven.

However, I would have to use the power of Conceptual Stat Alchemy, and the amount of power consumed would permanently diminish my stats. Not only that, as time passes, the power would gradually fade, and the alchemy method of using the Energy of Defying Heaven is not efficient.

Hundreds of times.

I aimed to inscribe the Energy of Defying Heaven using Conceptual Stat Alchemy. However, the Energy of Defying Heaven rejected the power of alchemy. It seemed to help establish the foundation, but that was as far as it would go.

The Heavenly Demon’s obsession with the successor to Black Heaven was beyond imagination.

But that left me indebted to her. The Heavenly Demon certainly left a massive debt to any future wielder of the Energy of Defying Heaven.

Despite my suspicions, I didn’t dig deeper into Black Heaven.

‘I received immense help, after all.’

Without her, I wouldn’t exist in my current state. Even if I did, it would have been after sacrificing a great deal.

Additionally, she was both a teacher who taught me Black God Martial Arts and an ally who spared no effort in supporting me.

However, through that process, I became certain of one thing.

The Heavenly Demon was suspicious.

I thought about it a few times.

Perhaps she intended to complete me to use me as a vessel.

That was my thought.

“There is no such function.”

Black Heaven spoke with certainty.

I smiled at those words.

“That only made me more suspicious.”

The Black Heavenly Demon Sword changed depending on the wielder’s strength.

In 《Epic World》, there was no mention of a force like a Sword Spirit existing within the Black Heavenly Demon Sword. It changed based on the wielder’s power. �

It had the complete form of a sword at first, but now, the Black Heavenly Demon Sword had shifted into a shape similar to a ringed blade.

Even now, at its highest level, the final function of the Black Heavenly Demon Sword remains locked.

However, I sensed that power would evolve the sword itself, so I left it alone.

The suspicions only deepened.

When I encountered the Heavenly Demon here, I was able to dispel some of those doubts. She had the temperament of a battle maniac. The Heavenly Demon was said to not regard humans as people.

As I thought about the Heavenly Demon a few times, one suspicion arose.

Perhaps the Heavenly Demon desired someone who could understand her.

That was my thought.

But then…

I looked at Black Heaven.

“…It was when I fought with you.”

It was not a voice filled with confusion.

Unlike the strange and incomplete Heavenly Demon who had sealed parts of her memories from her time as the Heavenly Demon, this was the image of a complete ruler, though with a hint of loneliness.

“My memories flowed.”

Heavenly Demon spoke calmly.

“It was a strange feeling. While I was having fun with you, memories flowed in. Memories of my time spent with you.”

Were they memories from when she was Black Heaven?

I looked at the Heavenly Demon.

“That’s why I stopped fighting midway.”

I felt that.

The killing intent had vanished from her hands.

When the Heavenly Demon stopped fighting, I found it curious.

But if Black Heaven’s memories flowed in, I could understand.

“So, what happened to Black Heaven?”

“The existence called Black Heaven lives within me.”

“….”

“At first, the soul called Black Heaven tried to reclaim my soul. Black Heaven was strong. Just in terms of soul strength, it surpassed me.”

The Heavenly Demon spoke with a blank expression. Her eyes showed a slight tremor.

“Probably. If the entity called Black Heaven hadn’t conceded, I would have been devoured.”

That must have been the case.

Black Heaven was the Heavenly Demon’s future. The inexperienced Heavenly Demon, who had just become a transcendent, couldn’t have resisted.

“It’s a bit sad to know that’s my future. Strong in power but lacking in intellect. Perhaps suffering from dementia.”

The Heavenly Demon’s words were sharp.

In a way, it made sense. The Heavenly Demon said Black Heaven was part of her. The memories were likely fragmented.

“Perhaps…”

I suddenly had a thought.

Could her strange behavior be due to memory gaps? If Black Heaven wasn’t a part of her but rather some side effect of the Heavenly Demon’s long neglect…

I stopped thinking.

There was something more important.

“Then what about Black Heaven?”

“The entity called Black Heaven lives within me. It’s not in a different sense. Some of Black Heaven’s memories flowed to me, and I isolated them.”

“I see.”

“You don’t ask why?”

“…Why?”

“Because I am purely myself. Even if it is my future, it cannot affect me.”

The Heavenly Demon spoke confidently with a firm tone.

“However, I haven’t completely isolated that entity. That’s why sometimes strange speech patterns come out.”

“Strange speech patterns…?”

“Uh, uh, I don’t know what you mean, master.”

Black Heaven’s speech patterns were indeed a bit lacking.

I silently agreed while listening to the Heavenly Demon.

“Then if there’s a similar entity to Black Heaven…”

“Perhaps it could find its former body in this world.”

The Heavenly Demon’s words made me frown.

Eternal Heaven must also be looking for its body. But the process was the problem.

Three months have passed since I arrived here.

Most of that time, I had been focused on training. Although I spent a lot of time with Kim Seo-hyun, I also spent a considerable amount of time with Black Heaven and Eternal Heaven.

During that time, I didn’t sense anything suspicious from them.

“Could there be any incident…?”

An Apostle.

There was an incident where an Apostle descended. The Holy Evil offered its life as a ‘sacrifice’ to call upon the Apostle in an unstable state. But such an Apostle…

“…There could be.”

An entity related to cognition and transformation.

Perhaps the most troublesome yet possibly the simplest being.

“Hm.”

The Heavenly Demon looked at me with sparkling eyes.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Seeing you up close, even if I combined all my wives, they wouldn’t match your looks.”

“It’s not to that extent.”

“Just think of it as a preference. Is it because you’ve been molded by Black God Martial Arts?”

…Could it be that Black God Martial Arts was designed to match Heavenly Demon’s taste?

I took a slight step back.

“Now that I think about it, we haven’t properly introduced ourselves. My name is Garyeong. You can affectionately call me Baek Garyeong.”

“I’d rather not add affection to that. Just call me Lee Seo-ha.”

“Seo-ha, huh. I like it. I would want to make you my fifth wife, but… no, in this case, would it be a husband?”

The Heavenly Demon—no, Garyeong—said, giving me a sidelong glance.

“Well, you’re definitely worth your looks. Seducing people without even distinguishing between men and women.”

“What are you talking about?”

I was unfairly accused.

I was just giving advice to people, hanging out with them, saving them from danger, helping them regain self-esteem, and stoking their desire to win.

It was just part of the process of turning from friends into exes, though in that particular case, the girl was just unusual.

‘Maybe not?’

Anyway, I felt unjustly accused.

“Don’t make that pitiful face.”

Garyeong said as she left.

Baek Garyeong had said it before.

Eternal Heaven probably went through something similar.

‘What will happen?’

She wanted her own body.

She wanted to enjoy her freedom. She had no choice when she was held by the Heavenly Demon in her previous life, but whenever she saw others freely walking around beside me, she would look at them with envious eyes.

-Can you make me a body like you did for the Electronic Witch?

She had even asked me that.

But it was impossible. Eternal Heaven had received the Energy of Defying Heaven.

If Eternal Heaven had obtained a body, what should be done? While it would be something to celebrate, it would also mean killing her past self.

I put off the thought.

However, I needed to deal with another matter first.

The Divine Maiden was created by the Murim Alliance.

And there, she was subjected to terrible things. Instead, she was waiting for her revenge here.

“P-please save me. I, I… cough!”

The sword pierced through. I involuntarily frowned.

It had stabbed the most important part of the man. Yet the Divine Maiden stared at them with wild eyes.

‘I thought she was a puppet.’

Her emotional expressions were clear.

Though most of them expressed killing intent, which was concerning.

“Is there no way to save her?”

Kim Seo-hyun looked at the Divine Maiden and asked.

I looked at her. Tremendous magical power enveloped her. It was golden magic. But most of it was preventing her from being fully restricted.

My seven-colored eyes gazed at the golden magic.

Was it because I had Conceptual Stat Alchemy? I could see the rough restrictions imposed on her.

I reached out. As faint golden magic flowed from my hand, the restrictions began to loosen.

“…Thank you.”

“For what? If I had more time, I could have loosened them further.”

“It doesn’t matter. Either way, my life is over because of what they’ve lodged in my heart.”

The Divine Maiden spoke with a somewhat sorrowful expression.

“Still, I’m relieved. I was worried about giving my heart to you. I was concerned that when this heart was transferred to you, it might impose restrictions.”

“…”

Kim Seo-hyun said nothing. The Divine Maiden continued, moving her hand, her eyes fixed on the subdued or resisting ones.

“But I’m sorry. It seems you were going to use them for something.”

“It’s fine. Those kinds of people would have fled to save their own lives anyway.”

It wasn’t a lie.

You needed a small number of troops to fight against an Apostle. In the process, most under a certain level would perish. Even those of the highest level, with enormous combat power, would likely face death in the Apostle subjugation battle.

‘Honestly, I was planning to use them as meat shields.’

The Divine Maiden’s forces, along with Murim’s major strength, had been diminished. This wasn’t a good thing.

However, if Kim Seo-hyun became stronger by taking the Divine Maiden’s heart, it wouldn’t be such a loss.

‘She should reach the highest level.’

Considering the uniqueness Kim Seo-hyun possessed, she could aim even higher.

Logically speaking, that made sense, and even emotionally, I felt anger when hearing what they had done.

I looked at Kim Seo-hyun.

Perhaps if the Thousand Sorcerer hadn’t saved her, Kim Seo-hyun might have walked the same path. That was something I didn’t even want to think about.

“P-please save me! I was only caught up in this…!”

“You’ll die too if you keep this up, so why…?”

The Divine Maiden didn’t respond.

She just stabbed her sword into him. She didn’t aim for the vital points. But she pierced him, targeting those spots, and destroyed his dantian. That was all she did.

Though consumed by anger, the Divine Maiden only subdued those who hadn’t crossed the line.

‘Some died from shock. Others from excessive bleeding.’

I didn’t feel any pity.

As a man, he should have known that playing carelessly with his lower parts could end disastrously.

‘I mustn’t end up like that.’

He should have been more careful, like me.

I clicked my tongue internally as I walked outside.

As soon as I stepped out, martial artists were gathering from all directions.

“It’s an assault! Gather all the forces immediately!”

“It’s a rebellion! The Divine Maiden has entered inner demons and is killing the leaders!”

So that’s the excuse they were using?

I took my position and prepared myself.

The strongest-looking one was probably of the highest rank. For that, I didn’t even need to use Black Heaven.

Then, I sensed a strange aura outside.

It was both familiar and unfamiliar.

‘This is the Energy of Defying Heaven?’

Absolute Stat, Black, captured the aura faster than my senses.

It was telling me that someone with the Energy of Defying Heaven was approaching.

Boooom!

A figure appeared, crashing through one side of the wall, dressed in a disheveled white Chinese outfit.

A being with gray hair and eyes looked at me and smiled broadly.

“Yoohoo! Seo-ha, your most loyal servant, Eternal Heaven, has descended!”

It was Eternal Heaven.