Chapter 1602: It's Not Even Funny (Part 7)

Thud.

"..."

The heavy eyelids that were pressed down trembled slightly. With great effort, the eyelids opened, revealing deep, inscrutable black pupils.

In those eyes reflected the golden bell-shaped object placed in front, the Vajra Bell.

The Vajra Bell was split lengthwise, with gold adorning its surface.

"Om mani...."

The voice quivered.

"Bamme...hum."

The fragmented voice barely completed the six-syllable mantra. A young hand cautiously touched the split Vajra Bell.

"...Dharma King."

The boy, the Dalai Lama, raised his head. The face of the golden Buddha gazing down at him was tinged with indescribable sorrow.

For a while, the Dalai Lama stared at the statue, then closed his eyes again.

"It's inevitable."

The Bansen Lama, his complexion hardened, observed the Dalai Lama's back with a fixed gaze.

At times, the Dalai Lama muttered incomprehensible words alone. Words filled with spirituality, incomprehensible to imperfect beings of the secular world.

"People cannot escape from suffering, as it is inevitable."

This was a message to Bansen Lama, yet not directed at him.

"But just..."

As Dalley Lama opened his eyes again, a single tear streamed down his cheek.

"May the suffering not be too deep."

❀ ❀ ❀

It was gruesome. Could words describe this scene?

Ho Gakmyung had traversed numerous battlefields, witnessed countless deaths, and seen the obscure misery within.

Rather, it was difficult for him to comprehend.

That such a sight could lead his master, Jang Ilso, to this distant place. Yet, on the other hand, he could understand.

Indeed, the sight before him was both gruesome and eerie.

All that was visible was a rather large puddle. More precisely, a plot of land, about twenty feet in diameter, stained a deep red compared to the yellowish surrounding soil.

There was no trace of people. Only occasional scraps of clothing and scattered bones hinted that countless individuals had 'been here.'

Ho Gakmyung suddenly felt a parched sensation in his throat.

'How can...'

Swallowing even dry saliva brought no relief. It felt as if thorns were digging into his throat, continuously sharpening and scratching.

'How can this happen...'

Even the tongue inside his mouth felt like clumps of sand.

Even if the shredded remains lost their original form, the clothing still bore the distinctive pattern of the Honggyeon.

They were here. Clearly, they were here.

Unbelievable, but unmistakably, the Honggyeon they sent existed here. The special forces meticulously planned and executed to turn this Hwaeum into hell.

How on earth could these special forces be defeated to such an extent?

How?

No, in fact, the word 'defeated' doesn't fit at all.

To use the term 'defeated,' there should at least be traces of a collision, a fierce battle that ended in defeat. Even if it was entirely one-sided, there should be some evidence of resistance. However, there was no such trace here.

Countless words flashed through his mind, disappearing. Among them, the only phrase that could somewhat express this scene was 'evaporation.' That was all.

Literally, they evaporated. The elites nurtured with great care by him and Jang Ilso.

Who in the world could make such a thing possible?

Even if the Shaolin exerted their full strength against them, it shouldn't have ended like this. Perhaps even if the Ten Great Sects as a whole attacked, it would still be an impossible feat.

It might be possible to surround them, corner them, and kill them. That could be done with the power of the Myriad Man Manor alone, without necessarily needing the Ten Great Sects.

However, annihilating the elite warriors without leaving a trace of resistance... That couldn't be considered the work of human strength.

Therefore, this scene was both minor and overwhelming.

Jang Ilso, standing in front of Ho Gakmyung, remained silent for a long time. The one who thwarted Shaolin and ended the dominance of the Ten Great Sects.

Mocking the world, holding the entire martial world in the palm of his hand, a formidable presence that no one in the world could dare to match – that was Paegun.

His shoulders were trembling. Not just anyone's, but Jang Ilso's shoulders.

"Ryeonju..."

"Ha..."

A faint smile escaped from the mouth that had been silent all along.

Ho Gakmyung only saw Jang Ilso's back, but even so, he could infer the expression.

The momentary smile turned into a sigh, neither laughter nor tears. The ambiguous voice just faded away. 

Finally, Jang Ilso muttered in a dry voice.

"...It's not even funny."

The hand hanging below his sleeve was trembling so visibly that it could be seen by Ho Gakmyung as well.

Ho Gakmyung couldn't bring himself to mock or encourage Jang Ilso.

People see more as they know.

Those who understand the greatness of the divine come to worship it. The more one understands this sight, the more they will be crushed by this immense power.

The suffocating fear Ho Gakmyung felt was nothing compared to the tremendous pressure Jang Ilso must be experiencing.

"Could it be a devil? No... Perhaps it's better to call him a god."

The unfinished laughter turned into a sigh and flowed out.

"...It's a bad joke."

Even the usual leisure and distinctive laughter in Jang Ilso's voice were absent.

The Ryeonju of the Evil Tyrant Alliance, now more appropriately referred to as the Grand Master of the Evil Path, should have been reveling in the joy of his achievements by now. But there was no such great figure here. There was only one human who had realized the inescapable limits and had fallen into despair.

"...Who was it? Who discovered this place?"

When Jang Ilso asked, those who had been trembling and couldn't approach began to step forward with hesitant, shuffling footsteps.

"Speak."

"We, we are... We followed to take care of the horses."

"Horses?"

"Yes! To, to change the horses... We, we were about to pass by without feeling anything special, but..."

Their gaze turned towards one person who was sitting on the ground, staring into space like a fool.

Jang Ilso unknowingly clenched his fist.

Because the complexion of the person who had lost his senses was so familiar.

"He, he... That person..."

"Bring him here."

"Yes?"

Unable to figure out what to do, Ho Gakmyung took matters into his own hands, moving towards the people who were hesitating. The vacant-eyed Honggyeon was dragged along with a cruel touch, but he showed no reaction whatsoever. It seemed as if his soul had been completely consumed.

Thud.

Honggyeon was seated in front. Jang Ilso, who had been staring down at him, bent his waist to meet his gaze.

"Look at me."

"... "

"Look at me."

The eyes, which had been unfocused, cleared slightly.

"What happened?"

The eyes, which previously lacked focus, gradually moved as if trying to revive something, swaying hazily.

"Dead..."

"What?"

"Dead... All... All dead..."

"..."

"Dead. All dead. All dead. All, all will die. All! Dying. Will die. All will die! Aaaall!"

The Honggyeon turned his eyes inside out, convulsing in a fit. He screamed as if his throat would tear apart, hands flailing like someone drowning. Then, suddenly, he grabbed his own neck in a stranglehold.

"Grrrk... Grrrk! Grrrr..."

Foam formed at the mouth, and with eyes rolled back, he violently scratched at his face and neck. His face was soon covered in wounds and blood.

Jang Ilso silently watched this spectacle.

"Grrrk."

Eventually, the collapsed individual twitched and fell limp. Heavy silence filled the air. Ho Gakmyung's hands were damp with cold sweat.

Observing Honggyeon intermittently convulsing even after losing consciousness, Jang Ilso spoke.

"Is he the only one who saw this place besides you two?"

"Th-that's right..."

Crack!

Before their answer could finish, the heads of the two who had been kneeling, as well as the Honggyeon's convulsing head, exploded.

Ho Gakmyung bit his lips tightly, shocked.

In retrospect, it was the natural course of action. This kind of information shouldn't be revealed. No one should know about this. The terror of dealing with the inevitable can destroy everything.

Jang Ilso, who had been silently staring at the three bloody bodies and the crimson puddle, finally let out a laughter-like sigh.

"You were spared."

"..."

"Like stepping aside when an ant swarm passes by. There's no need to chase and crush a single ant that's slightly off course."

Although it wasn't a genuine smile, it was more of a tired smirk.

"An illusion..."

Jang Ilso chuckled.

"No matter how hard you try... anyway, the result is already determined, isn't it? What I get my hands on is something I can't have or protect anyway?"

There was a terrible mixture of hatred, anger, and profound disappointment in his voice.

Jang Ilso chewed his red lips for a moment.

An unstoppable force. A colossal presence that one couldn't even think of opposing. This was a 'calamity.' It was something beyond human control.

In front of that, human actions, such as the fear-inducing illusions they created, were nothing more than a trivial joke.

At this moment, Jang Ilso was the one most acutely aware of this fact.

"Ha... Hahaha."

The suppressed laughter broke free.

"Hahahahahahahahaha! Ahahahahahahaha!"

Roaring madness. However, the sensation was quite different from the laughter he usually unleashed.

"Let's go back, Gakmyung."

"Yes..."

Turning his body, Jang Ilso, with his crimson robe fluttering, looked out over the vast world. The world that had been vivid just a moment ago now felt ephemeral, like a mirage that could disappear any moment.

'Don't make me laugh...'

Jang Ilso's two eyes held a deep blue resolution.

'If it's going to disappear anyway... I'd rather destroy it with my own hands. That's my... No, it's the last dignity of a human.'

Jang Ilso's heavy steps finally began.

Leaving traces that would vanish at any moment.

❀ ❀ ❀

Thud.

Thud.

Pallid, bare feet stepped slowly on the short overgrown grass.

Certainly not a fast pace. There was no sign of hurry whatsoever. The face, partially hidden by a straw hat-like wind, hadn't fully grown yet. Only the eyes seemed completely empty.

Thud.

The footsteps continued.

Without knowing exactly where to go, the awakened one moved according to instinct.

But eventually, they would find it.

By walking and walking, they would come to know. The moment they arrive at where they should be, where they must reach.

Thud.

The one who had been walking slowly, almost as if in penance, slowly turned their gaze somewhere.

A large mountain range that touched the southern sky. And at its center, rising high and filled with rocks, a lofty peak.

It might be too far away for human eyes to see, but the individual saw it vividly, with their empty eyes.

Staring silently at the mountain, the one who had been walking soon seemed to lose interest and turned their gaze again.

They remembered.

Without having heard or learned about it, they knew what they had seen a little while ago.

"Mount... Hua..."

Uttering that short phrase like a song, they continued walking.

One step. One step.

It felt like it would never end, but soon enough, the steps that would end like a lie.

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Hello. This is Biga.

I sincerely thank the readers who have always been with Return of the Mount Hua Sect.

As this marks the end of an arc, I will take a break for 10 days to prepare for the next series.

I will strive to come back with better content.

See you again on October 16th for the next serialization.

Thank you.