Chapter 375

Chapter 375
## Chapter 375

Dragon’s Child (3)

[“Huu… Tam? I never anticipated discovering him in this place. And… deceased, to top it off.”]

[“Even with his wounds and running away from the hidden realm, I did not imagine he would perish so easily. Furthermore, two decades ago, throughout the Bloodbath, the Golden Island Sect sustained catastrophic losses due to the intelligence he betrayed.”]

White Dragon’s resonant voice, succeeded by Azure Dragon’s sharp and musical cadence, reverberated in Horus’s mind.

The Five Dragons, watching the intense clash below, concentrated on neutralizing the expanding necrotic energy,

…in order to assist the human combatants and impede the Heavenly Demon.

They were unable to directly engage in the conflict because of their nature, and they were already utilizing a great deal of vitality to steady the demonic realm.

[“It’s a positive outcome, is it not? We were constantly anxious about what he might plot, but now that concern is gone. Just like this instance.”]

As Red Dragon remarked, they had wasted considerable assets preparing for Tam’s prospective maneuvers.

It was a vital safeguard, given his temperament… but in their current state, every single resource was critical.

Therefore, validating his demise was undoubtedly excellent intelligence.

Yet there was something… troubling regarding the matter.

Who had slain him, and for what reason was his corpse interred here?

And why had they failed to perceive it until this moment?

[“…The Heavenly Demon?”]

[“I am uncertain. He possesses great might, but I doubt he could best Tam by himself.”]

[“Perhaps the Demonic Cult’s masters pooled their strength.”]

[“Or it could have been ‘him’, before he departed from this world…”]

[“That far back? But…”]

While the three dragons debated the issue,

Black Dragon showed greater curiosity about Horus, who had just returned.

[“Your performance earlier was incredible. How did you accomplish that? Is that a dragon capability from your world? How frequently can you employ it?”]

She possessed great beauty, her smooth, dark scales glinting as she glided through the night sky, her eyes resembling buffed jewels.

It was for good reason that dragons were frequently revered as sacred entities.

‘…But not by me.’

Horus, aware of her true temperament, could not bring himself to place total confidence in her.

As an individual who prized tranquility and alliance between humans and demons, he could not avoid being suspicious of her, since she represented the unyielding faction.

[“Hold on a moment, there is something I must declare first.”]

[“Oh? Very well.”]

Furthermore, he was beginning to feel the exhaustion of preserving his mature form via the 「Elder Dragon’s Heart」. He had exerted himself excessively just before.

He needed to advance his agenda rapidly.

[“Everyone, please attend to me!”]

[“Hmm? Horus?”]

[“What is the matter?”]

The remaining dragons, who had been occupied debating the circumstances, shifted their focus toward him, detecting his uncharacteristically resolute tone.

Horus, positioning himself in the middle of the array, identical to when he had initially arrived,

[“I have devised a method to rehabilitate the Dragon Heart.”]

…delivered a daring pronouncement.

[“Without forfeiting the Dragon’s Children.”]

A strategy he had been crafting for some time, presented as an abrupt epiphany.

[“What?”]

[“Is such a thing truly plausible…?”]

His eyes dropped downward, toward the Heavenly Demon, who was gradually being crushed by the combined onslaught of the Murim Alliance and the demon reinforcements.

Boom!

Crash!

He continued to offer a savage defiance, but his downfall was certain.

The ultimate engagement, which had commenced in the afternoon and persisted through the night, was approaching its conclusion.

‘…The final chapter.’

The moment for the grand conclusion had arrived.

—

Hugo, having saved Zhuge Hyemi and pulled back, did not re-enter the fray against the Heavenly Demon.

The remaining masters and the dragons were more than sufficient, and someone was required to safeguard her and the alternative Dragon’s Children.

“Hmm…”

“Are you unhurt, Young Miss?”

Hugo, who was monitoring the engagement, turned his head upon hearing a quiet whimper from Zhuge Hyemi, whom he was helping to stand.

A dark, hand-shaped contusion, a token left by the Heavenly Demon’s constriction, was distinctly visible on her pale neck.

Even a brief encounter with a supreme undead, while absorbing a living entity’s karma, could not occur without distress.

He scowled, his face shadowed with worry at the sight.

“…I am alright. And… thank you once more, Young Master Ha. I do not know how to requite your kindness.”

She offered a slight smile, her hand subtly shielding the contusion, as if perceiving his anxiety.

He experienced a pang of remorse, a prick of conscience he believed he had discarded long ago.

“…Do not speak of it. We will likely require one another’s assistance down the road. It is preferable to aid each other when possible, rather than keeping score of obligations and kindnesses.”

“Down the road… you say.”

She smiled sorrowfully at his commentary.

She was aware.

That her existence was also drawing to a close, alongside this conflict.

Even if Ha Seung-hoon and the Zhuge Clan attempted to shield her, it would be futile.

Her life force was bound to the destiny of this domain.

Even they were incapable of battling the entire world, humans and demons alike.

It was her lot in life, her inescapable doom, determined at her birth.

She had entered the world during the Great Calamity, causing her mother’s demise, and she had brought misery to countless individuals.

This was her sole track, her concluding performance.

“Hyemi!”

A cluster of individuals, their bodies battered and bruised, their garments ripped and smeared with gore and grime, sprinted toward them.

Zhuge Howon, the Patriarch, and the remaining members of the Zhuge Clan.

Their countenances brightened upon spotting her.

“Father… Everyone…”

And witnessing them, her determination solidified.

This offering was required.

It was preferable to surrender herself for a more luminous tomorrow than to await the certain obliteration of their realm.

“Young Miss.”

A low voice, near her ear, broke through her reflections.

The man who had rescued her life on numerous occasions, the one who had sustained her through her bleakest intervals.

“I grasp what you are contemplating, but… please do not surrender so readily.”

He looked down toward her, his face grave, his voice resolute.

“What? Ahaha… What are you…”

Before she could even reply, he pressed on.

“I have endured a great deal. You might consider me too youthful to have encountered much, but… events do not always match up with age.”

To be exact, he was the individual generating the events, utilizing his multiple physical shells… but that was inconsequential at present.

What signified was that the occurrences he had endured were world-shaking, each one a pivot point in history.

“And I have discovered something… that matters do not always unfold as intended. Even the most precise arrangements can be disrupted by a solitary, unpredicted factor. And occasionally, unforeseen occurrences can yield fresh prospects. Naturally, sometimes matters do unfold as intended, given a bit of fortune.”

Innumerable recollections flashed across his mind.

Obtaining the 「Avatar」 capability, Hans transforming into the Immortal King, unearthing the Heaven’s Turn Society and resolving to obliterate them, his avatars ascending to status in their respective domains…

And everything that had guided them to this exact juncture.

“I do not believe in a fixed fate. There are only decisions, innumerable tracks splitting at every fork. Even if it appears to be a restricted path… even if it appears to be a dead end… there is always an alternative choice.”

To shatter the barrier, to scale over it, to discover a concealed route…

Or…

…for someone to reach down and hoist you up.

“Ah, that sounded somewhat… conceited. Naturally, I am not claiming I am invariably correct. There are those who are genuinely cornered, with no option but to yield to their fate.”

He appeared to have perceived that his commentary might have sounded patronizing, and he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, a self-conscious look on his countenance.

Zhuge Hyemi grinned softly, her chest warming at his clumsy attempt to comfort her.

She recognized he was merely anxious for her sake.

‘But… ’

She grasped what he was endeavoring to convey,

…but she could perceive no alternative choices for herself.

“Thank you, Young Master Ha. Your commentary is… reassuring.”

“Hmm, it appears the conflict is concluded.”

She was positioned on a precipice, a slim shelf on a mountain face, a dead end.

“Hyemi, are you unharmed?”

“Yes, Father. Thank you for your anxiety.”

There was no exit.

She could either perish and pass away here, or leap from the precipice.

Unless… a phenomenon occurred, like a golden cord descending from the heavens.

‘…But still… I desire… I could possess a little more time… ’

To fantasize, to harbor hope, even if it was merely a passing fantasy.

She squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

[“Ah, is it concluded?”]

And then,

[“Then would you object to listening to me for a brief moment?”]

…an unfamiliar voice, a vibrating resonance, saturated the atmosphere.

Swoosh— Swoosh—

The noise of beating wings, coupled with a mighty blast of wind.

A massive weight, bearing down on the environment.

A golden radiance, like the daybreak piercing through the dark, gradually lit up the soil.

[“It is opportunistic that the Dragon’s Children are also present here.”]

And in this manner, a phenomenon descended from the heavens.

—

The conflict, which had persisted for practically a whole day, taking innumerable existences on both sides, at last ceased.

The Murim Alliance had desired to seize the remaining Demonic Cult combatants and wring intelligence regarding their sanctuaries… but it had proved unfeasible.

The surviving Demonic Cult members, as if compelled by some type of binding oath, had fought to their expiration, their desperation rendering them even more hazardous.

“Attend to the survivors first, irrespective of their alignment!”

“Whew, I am spent. Hey, Crescent Moon Spear, let us share a beverage when we return. You preserved my life, so I will buy you my finest vintage.”

“That works. I will provide a whole roasted swine. You kept me from turning into a invalid.”

[“Grrr— Hey, human. Are you alright? Wake up.”]

“Ugh! I am fine, cease rattling me! My skull throbs!”

The survivors, having combated shoulder-to-shoulder, their lives woven together, blended openly, irrespective of their race, faction, or code.

Not everyone had entirely discarded their biases, but they were too spent to worry about it.

And with so many deaths, the bulk of their malice and animosity had been shifted toward the Demonic Cult.

While the battlefield was being organized,

…a grave debate was occurring among the chiefs of the various groups.

“Mad Demon, you were rather…”

“Old timer, if you address me by that absurd moniker again, I will tear out your facial hair. There is only one Mad Demon, current or past! We have already settled this matter!”

“…That disposition of yours. Are you certain you are fine with that menacing moniker? You were at the vanguard, you must be wounded.”

“Hahaha! This is minor! A bit of salve, and I will be perfectly fine! You are the one who ought to worry about your ancient skeleton!”

Gwak Cheol, the Heavenly Crushing Sword Emperor, scowled at Harley’s loud amusement and indifferent dismissal of his anxiety.

If he were a decade younger, he would have invited him to a challenge… but he had also observed Harley’s might firsthand, combating alongside him.

And had it not been for Harley’s prompt assistance, he would have surrendered an arm.

He had to concede that he was not an equal for him, not in his current condition.

“Amitabha, Benefactor Mad Demon, please inform us if you require any aid. Buddhist vitality is potent against malevolent vitality. We can assist your recuperation.”

“I am fine, truly.”

Master Wu Jin also conveyed his worry, but Harley merely gestured him away.

They were all so anxious because of the receptacle he was bearing on his back.

A dark timber coffin, its exterior plastered in spells and talismans, secured with a golden cord.

Its malevolent look implied that its cargo was… anomalous.

“Hmm, to confine the Heavenly Demon… It could prove hazardous. Ought we not simply… obliterate him?”

Heavenly General Jeongcheon, his right vision covered with a gore-soaked cloth, spoke, his voice saturated with disagreement.

He maintained the Heavenly Demon ought to be executed, not confined.

Naturally, there were diverse motives for his stance…

“It has already been determined, General. We cannot simply disregard a method to avoid redundant casualties. Or do you harbor some alternative… agenda?”

“Ahem.”

…but one of the primary drivers was to preserve the Dragon’s Children.

Sword Saint Namgung Woo’s pungent commentary muted him, and he coughed uncomfortably, shifting his eyes away.

He belonged to the Northern Army, a group commanded by Prince Choryang, a distant cousin of the royal lineage.

The survival of Zhu Gang-in, the final living member of the direct royal line, was a volatile topic for him.

‘It could turn into a complication down the line, after the Dragon Heart is rehabilitated and the state of affairs steadies. And the reality that one of the Dragon’s Children, the linchpin to rehabilitating the world, is the final royal scion… ’

…provided him with notable authority.

Until now, with might being the solitary rule, Zhu Gang-in’s survival had been irrelevant… but circumstances would alter.

‘…I will have to make arrangements for that.’

Yet there was nothing he could execute at this moment.

Not with the dragons, the chiefs of the demon groups, Master Wu Jin, Sword Saint Namgung Woo, Mad Demon Harley, and even the Heavenly Crushing Sword Emperor, who had been rescued by Harley, all concurring with the strategy.

Blood Asura was indifferent either way.

“Oh! The sun is climbing!”

And at that instant, Blood Asura, peering toward the east, shouted loudly.

The initial beams of daybreak, cutting through the shadow, lit up the conflict zone.

A magnificent view, as if sanctifying the destiny of this domain.

—

A number of days had elapsed since the ultimate engagement.

The Murim Alliance had departed Beijing, and the Five Dragons, having gone back to the hidden realm with the Golden Island Sect demons, were arranging for the ceremony.

And far below Beijing,

[“…The arrangements are finalized.”]

…a malevolent voice vibrated from within Tam’s confined remains.

Hans, concealed within Tam’s aura, directing the state of affairs from the shadows,

[“It is time to bring this to a close.”]

…uttered, his voice deep and threatening.

And so, the day of the ceremony, the day that would alter the destiny of Ganghwange,

…had arrived.