Chapter 1023: What Did You Just Say? (Part 8)

Humans forget.

Humans who have ingested the poison of time slowly forget everything. What they've learned, what they've heard, and even what they've experienced themselves.

That's why humans can try again.

A human who has experienced bone-chilling failure can try again due to forgetting, and a human who has writhed in excruciating pain can move forward again because of forgetting.

Perhaps the majority of the dazzling progress that humans have achieved is a gift brought by "forgetting."

But at this moment, everyone in the Black Ghost Castle realized it painfully.

The fact that there are things in the world that should never be forgotten. Even if there is a heavy price to pay, there are things that must be remembered... and they had forgotten it.

Quaaaaah!

The unprecedented black whirlpool was so alien that it seemed to be sucking in the souls of those who watched it with their eyes.

"Uh... uh..."

Their breath was cut off. A thick and overwhelming force pressed them down, like the pressure of being submerged in the deep sea.

Even the elites of the Black Ghost Castle, even the Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold known as the greatest swordsman of the Evil Sect, lost their words in front of the scene they were witnessing.

"Is this... demonic power (魔功)?"

His body began to tremble as he felt a sense of crisis.

It's not just because it's strong. This is something different. The spectacle unfolding before his eyes seemed to deny everything he knew about martial arts.

Right, evil, and supernatural. It was different from any martial art.

What should he call it? That strange something that even naming it martial arts would be inadequate?

Kyaah!

The roaring magical energy tearing through the air sounded like someone's desperate scream.

The billowing black smoke swirled violently and enveloped the surroundings like a storm. The wind uprooted trees and turned the earth upside down.

Before they could resist the force, they had to crouch down to avoid being blown away by the wind.

But at that moment, something so strange happened that it made them doubt their own eyes.

Among those who didn't know what to do, the two at the forefront began to be gradually drawn forward.

"What, what is this?"

The followers felt the gravitational force ahead and widened their eyes. The storm-like force was clearly pushing them away.

However, inexplicably, their bodies were being pulled forward again and again. The fate of those who couldn't respond to the unbelievable situation and hesitated for a moment was harsh.

"What, what?"

The two at the front, who had been forcibly drawn forward, were eventually pulled at a speed as if they had thrown their bodies with all their might toward the enemy. Until then, they hadn't understood what was happening.

The whirlwind of black magic was rotating fiercely and welcoming them. It resembled a dark mouth.

"Uh, aah!"

The ones who sensed their fate instinctively let out an unparalleled scream. The storm of black magic instantly engulfed their bodies.

Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gak!

It tore. It split. It shredded. No words could do it justice.

If one had to express it in crude language, saying that they had been "ripped apart" seemed to be the most appropriate description.

The human body was too fragile to withstand the tremendous magic. The bodies swept up by the storm turned into a handful of blood in an instant. The crimson blood swirled around the whirlpool of black magic, endlessly rising upwards. It seemed as if the entire sky had been dyed red.

Thud!

The scattered blood rained down on the ground.

It was a literal "blood rain."

Those who had watched all of this with their eyes wide open, unable to even catch their breath, simply received the falling blood all over their bodies.

"What... is this?"

They couldn't understand what had just happened.

They hurriedly gathered, although they couldn't muster their full strength. Nevertheless, the people gathered here were those cultivated with great care by the Black Ghost Castle. They were the elite of the elites, unrivaled by any other martial sect in the world. Even such individuals were turned into a handful of blood without even attempting to resist.

It was a sight that could not be comprehended or accepted based on their common sense. However, there was no room for disbelief. The warmth of the blood flowing down their faces made it impossible for everyone present to escape from reality.

"S-Stop it...!"

Swoosh!

At that time, three black blades erupted from the black storm and cut through the body of the person who was trying to shout.

"..."

Not even feeling the sensation of his body being cut, he lowered his head and looked down at his body with a blank expression.

"Crack."

A long red line began to be drawn vertically on his body.

"That..."

Crack!

His body, split into four pieces, crumbled to the ground.

Thud.

A heavy and dull noise echoed several times. It was the sound of the body breaking and hitting the ground. The eerie feeling conveyed by the sound was unlike anything they had ever experienced.

"What, what...?"

At that moment, another person floated up into the air, only to be sucked into the storm of black magic.

"Uh, aah!"

A desperate scream burst forth. The person who had witnessed the raging storm of magic approaching closely even seemed to scream as if blood would gush from his throat any moment.

But right at that moment, as if it were a lie, the storm of magic that had almost swallowed him whole vanished.

His immediate death was averted, but he couldn't be happy. It was because there was a man standing absentmindedly in the place where the magic had disappeared.

Thud!

The man's face was caught in the grip of Danjagang's hand.

Thud. Thud. Thudddddd.

And slowly, he began to tighten his grip. Danjagang's fingers, piercing through the man's face, created five distinct holes.

"Kuh... Ugh...!"

The man, caught in Danjagang's hand, frantically scratched at the hand covering his face.

"Ugh... Rrr. Rrrrrr..."

In a state of half-madness, driven by the fear that his head might explode at any moment, he groaned while scratching Danjagang's arm as if possessed by a demon.

The sight of a martial artist trained in the martial arts, who was on par with the elite of the Black Ghost Castle, desperately digging his nails into the arm, made the onlookers feel an even greater sense of despair.

"...To such insignificant beings."

Danjagang, whose face contorted, exerted strength in the hand that was gripping the man's head.

Crack!

His head finally shattered into countless pieces, exploding in all directions. The headless body fell to the ground like a rotten bundle of straw.

The still-beating heart, with each beat, spewed out fresh blood from the corpse's neck. The blood further stained Danjagang's crimson robe.

Crack!

Danjagang, who trampled on the convulsing corpse, approached Black Ghost Castle at a leisurely pace.

The face of Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold, who had witnessed this entire process, lost its color.

Even his usually calm heart had now lost control and was beating irregularly, producing dissonant sounds.

'What is this? What is that monster?'

They were the elites of the Black Ghost Castle, nurtured with heart and soul. The elites of elites, created with an enormous amount of time and tremendous power. But that monster is crushing them as if squashing insects with his fingers.

'How can someone like that...'

Everything tends to be exaggerated. Humans always add three cents' worth of falsehood to what they see. So, the stories that are passed down and retold, distorted and warped by the accumulated falsehood, often turn into completely different tales in the end.

Thus, he thought that the stories about the past that flowed from a hundred years ago, drenching the Central Plains in blood, couldn't escape this rule. If there were a hundred elites of the Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold and Black Ghost Castle, they should be able to confront a small number of enemies at any time. Even if the worst-case scenario occurred, they should have had enough to bear some losses and prepare for the future.

However, he faced it.

That legend, the foul stench of blood that had now faded to the point of disgust, oozing from the past, couldn't be denied. It was a death smell so vivid that it couldn't be denied any longer.

Chop. Chop.

As Danjagang approached, the elite members of Black Ghost Castle involuntarily shouted.

"Stop him!"

"There's only one opponent!"

"Surround and attack!"

The Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold remained frozen in place.

He was a person who examined and calculated everything in the world. However, the appearance of the apparition from the past was beyond regulation. He didn't know what to do.

In the meantime, those who had not even grasped the opponent's size began to move instinctively. It was as if they were lifting their front legs like a warhorse, charging towards an oncoming chariot.

Compared to the storm of magic, the current bishop appeared no different from an ordinary martial artist. He exerted all the strength he had.

Even if it could be called courage, courage that excessively crossed its limits was no different from foolishness.

Shouting in anger, Danjagang extended his hand slowly towards the charging warriors.

Kyaah!

With a horrible groan, the blade of black magic that spewed from his fingertips tore the limbs of the charging warriors into hundreds of pieces.

Paaah!

Flesh and blood poured like rain.

Strangely, there was no fear. Instead, a sense of unfamiliarity overwhelmed them. Danjagang's created death was so different from the death they knew.

Chop. Chop.

Death dyed the earth a bright red color. Danjagang walked indifferently on this ground.

And at that moment, the Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold's mouth, which had remained shut until now, finally opened.

"It's you..."

Every sight they had seen so far had come to one conclusion.

"Are you... the Heavenly Demon of our time?"

Chop.

As soon as these words were spoken, Danjagang's steps, which had seemed unstoppable, suddenly came to a halt. His face, which had been calm all along, contorted oddly for the first time.

"What did you say?"

"Are you... the Heavenly Demon of our time?"

"Haha..."

A dry laugh escaped from Danjagang's mouth.

"Hahahaha."

Silence.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

His laughter grew louder and turned into insane laughter.

Everyone stared at him with nauseated eyes.

Tears streamed from his eyes as he laughed. He retched dryly and, with a face that had suddenly changed, glared at the Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold.

"How dare you... you insignificant wretch, utter the sacred name as filthy drivel?"

"..."

"You..."

Dud.

With a grimace, Danjagang ground his teeth. He shouted towards the Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold with a demonic expression.

"You will die, feeling the most excruciating pain in the world!"

And with a malicious force, he charged straight towards the Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold.