176 Chapter1064: Is This How You Do It? (Part 4)

Chapter 1064. Is this how it's done? (Part 4)

"Kkeureuk... kkeureureuk...."

Thick bubbles of blood oozed relentlessly from Danjagang's mouth. His body convulsed without respite, as if experiencing unimaginable agony.

This sight was shocking to everyone. It was incomprehensible and unacceptable.

Even though Danjagang was not in a normal state due to his encounter with Chung Myung, he was still Danjagang. How could one comprehend and accept the existence of someone who effortlessly subdued the Bishop, a formidable adversary who had brought both Chung Myung and Jang Ilso to the brink of death?

"Uh.... How...."

Each time Danjagang's mouth quivered, the sound of boiling blood could be heard. It was difficult to even notice the fact that he was trying to say something if one didn't listen carefully.

However, the man, dressed in white robes, the Heavenly Executioner (天殺魔帝), seemed to understand what he was trying to say, and he chuckled knowingly. His nonchalant laughter, with his hand inserted into a person's body, sent a chilling shiver down the spines of the onlookers.

"Are you asking how I ended up here?"

"Kkeu, kkeureuk...."

The Heavenly Executioner sighed as if he pitied Danjagang, who lightly lowered his head.

"Oh my."

"...."

"Why do you not know? You doubted the teachings, doubted the Heavenly Demon, but why did you not doubt such an obvious thing?"

"...."

"The Heavenly Demon never said we shouldn't head to the Central Plains. He was never that kind of person from the beginning. People may provide food to ants, but they don't give orders to ants, right?"

Danjagang's body began to tremble even more violently. His eyes, which had already lost their sanity, unknowingly turned towards Chung Myung.

For a while, Danjagang, who stared at Chung Myung, spoke with a trembling voice.

"T-Then.... Then why...."

"Tsk tsk. That's why it's inappropriate to appoint an unqualified youngster to the position of Bishop. Why is the Archbishop in such a hurry?"

"...."

The Heavenly Executioner chuckled lightly.

"There is no need for logic in serving him. What we want is complete obedience to him. We do not expect rewards from him. Do you understand?"

"Uh...."

Danjagang, covered in blood, grabbed the hand of the Heavenly Executioner, which pierced through his chest.

"Kkeu... kkeueeuueug!"

After that, instead of pulling the hand of the Heavenly Executioner, he tore his own body apart and pulled out his own hand. Danjagang, who had barely escaped from the Heavenly Executioner's hand in a gruesome and horrifying manner, soon crumpled to the ground without mercy.

"Ho-oh?"

Seeing that sight, the Heavenly Executioner burst into loud laughter.

"Indeed. Do you still have the qualifications to bear the title of Bishop?"

Forced to lift his head, Danjagang, groaning on the ground, stared at the Heavenly Executioner with eyes filled with chilling determination.

"If that's the case..."

With bloodshot eyes, Danjagang shouted desperately.

"Then what are we for! What have we endured all this time for! Answer me, Bishop Two! We... if it wasn't the will of the Heavenly Demon, why did we waste our lives bound by teachings that we didn't need to uphold! Answer!"

"Hmm."

"Answer!"

Even after hearing that desperate cry, there was no movement in the Heavenly Executioner's eyes. They only became colder.

"Why should I explain that to you?"

"...."

"To a filthy apostate like you."

For a moment, Danjagang's expression froze as if he had received a blow to the back of his head.

"An apostate?"

As if hearing words that should never be uttered, he spoke, losing himself for a moment.

"...Am I an apostate?"

"Did you not know?"

The Heavenly Executioner laughed brightly.

"If someone like you, who doubted the teachings, doubted the sacredness of the Heavenly Demon, violated the doctrines, leading the disciples towards the Central Plains, is not an postate, then who in the world can be called an apostate?"

"Then... the teachings are false!"

"Who said that?"

Danjagang was momentarily speechless in the face of an argument he couldn't counter.

"Who told you that everything is false? Have you ever personally seen the Heavenly Demon?"

"You... you..."

Even unable to perceive the worth of a response, Danjagang trembled all over. The Heavenly Executioner took a leisurely step toward him.

"Ah, you will never understand."

Another step.

"You've lost that opportunity forever. There can be no dialogue between those who have seen God with their own eyes and those who have not. You will never have the chance to see God with those two eyes again."

"I... I..."

Danjagang's body collapsed weakly. The pain inflicted by the betrayal of the two characters in 'apostasy' seemed greater than the physical agony that penetrated his body.

"I didn't! I didn't betray! I haven't abandoned my faith. You are not the representative of the Heavenly Demon! My belief is solely...!"

"Silence."

As if tired of listening, the Heavenly Executioner cut off Danjagang's words. Simultaneously, a tiny black flame emerged from his fingertips, fluttering like sparks. And it landed on Danjagang's forehead.

Kwaaaaah!

In that moment, an incredibly dense black flame enveloped Danjagang's entire body, surging up.

"Kuuuaaaaaaah!"

An agonizing scream, unbearable to hear, echoed across the almost lifeless desolate land.

"The death given to an apostate is only one."

An emotionless voice flowed from the Heavenly Executioner's mouth.

"Die with the utmost pain one can feel. Your soul will never be redeemed even after death. Forever, endlessly wandering the Nine Heavens, regretting the sins you committed."

The hellfire, a punishment that can only be imposed by those proficient in demonic arts.

"Kuuuaaaaaaah!"

The demonic fire surged, burning everything into ashes.

Even the formidable Danjagang, in the face of such agony, rolled on the ground, writhing and screaming like a child. He cried out like a wailing infant, his entire body contorting.

No one dared to speak. Even the disciples of Mount Hua, who harbored nothing but hatred for Danjagang, couldn't bear to witness the scene and averted their gaze.

However, in the Heavenly Executioner's eyes, there was only cold malice. In the realm of the Demonic Cult, unbelievers must be killed and eradicated, but apostates are treated as even more vile.

Danjagang's body crumbled slowly.

"I... I'm not an apostate... I... "

His feeble voice flowed like a sigh.

"Heavenly Demon... Heavenly Demon... Why... why..."

"Tsk."

"Why... my pleas..."

Thud!

The Heavenly Executioner mercilessly trampled Danjagang's almost burnt head. Then, as if shaking off something dirty, he lifted his foot, furrowing his brow.

"I'm sick of hearing this anymore."

Danjagang.

It was an incredibly miserable death for the Bishop of the Demonic Cult, who turned Hangzhou into hell and brought the world-famous Chung Myung and Jang Ilso to the brink of death.

The Heavenly Executioner, the one who brought about this gruesome death, turned his gaze away from Danjagang as if there was nothing more to see. And shortly after, he looked elsewhere.

A shiver.

The disciples of the demonic sect, laid out in front of the cold gaze, immediately prostrated themselves and kowtowed. They all trembled like dead trees. They looked as if they had just encountered the king of the underworld.

When the Heavenly Executioner frowned as if annoyed, a figure, who had been bowing, crawled forward.

"Th-this Disciple of Law dares to meet the bishop."

It was a voice filled with earnestness. The desperation in the voice was even greater than the pain of losing Danjagang and the terror of facing the Heavenly Executioner.

"In, in all this, it is my responsibility for not properly honoring the bishop. Please, let the bishop take my life as punishment, and forgive these people with a merciful heart! This humble one dares, dares to implore."

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The disciple continuously struck his head on the ground. However, the Heavenly Executioner watched the scene with indifferent eyes.

"...Responsibility."

The Heavenly Executioner chuckled softly. Even with that faint and subdued laughter, the disciple trembled as if struck by lightning.

"Entrusting the sect to someone without qualification? The appearance of the sect is a mess. How dare a mere Disciple of Law talk about responsibility."

Unable to figure out what to say, the disciple just held his breath like a corpse.

"No fool punishes a hand for a mistake made by the hand itself. Let alone someone like a Disciple of Law, who is not even worth that hand. Punishing him is meaningless."

"..."

"The bishop will not let you or the practitioners pay for the sins he committed. It would have been impossible for a mere Disciple of Law to defy the bishop's will."

"Th-thank you...."

"However."

The Heavenly Executioner spoke in an emotionless voice.

"Shouldn't a Disciple of Law like you pay the price for not knowing the subject and discussing responsibility?"

The disciple's pupils shook. As he looked at the Heavenly Executioner's face, which was lightly smiling, the disciple realized what he had to do.

"Hea...Heavenly..."

With clenched lips, he screamed until his throat burst.

"The Second Coming of the Heavenly Demon! Ten Thousand Blessings!"

Crack!

Suddenly, the disciple smashed his head with his own hands. In an instant, he became a corpse, losing his head, and fell to the ground.

The Heavenly Executioner, who watched the scene with a displeased gaze, turned his eyes to the practitioners who were bowing.

"Return to the teachings."

"Se-Second Comi..."

"Shut up."

Everyone held their breath.

"While you may not bear the responsibility according to the teachings, the sins of following the apostate cannot be judged by doctrine alone. For the next thirty sunrises, reflect on your mistakes in silence."

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Perhaps unable to defy those words, the practitioners, without a word, crushed their heads on the ground. Then, as if possessed, they all stood up and began moving in one direction.

The Heavenly Executioner's cold gaze shifted.

"Hmm."

Danjagang had now become nothing more than black ashes, leaving only traces. A strange expression crossed the Heavenly Executioner's face. He glanced at the disciples of Mount Hua, who were tense, and spoke.

"Indeed..."

A voice filled with admiration flowed.

"The Central Plains is an interesting place. No matter how much of a young idiot he is... still, I never expected the bishop to end up like this."

Amused, he looked at Chung Myung and Jang Ilso. The moment his gaze, which had not shown any particular hostility, met Chung Myung's eyes, a distinct change occurred.

The Heavenly Executioner's usually gentle eyes took on an entirely different intensity when focused on Chung Myung as if painted with a completely different color.

"You...?"

The Heavenly Executioner's eyes, which had been calm, now held a clear mix of enmity and hostility the moment they fell on Chung Myung and the group standing with him. Even his face began to show an unfamiliar fierceness that had never been revealed before.

Thud.

A grinding sound echoed eerily.

"Mount Hua... Is this that accursed sect!?"

The Heavenly Executioner's voice, roaring like a beast, made even the sky shudder.