WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈
Chapter 66: The Heavenly Demon (1)
──────
1.
Lord Heavenly Demon,
This cannot continue.
...Lord Heavenly Demon, half of the Blood Ghost Troops have been annihilated! The elders declared that they were taking the field and scattered across the martial world, but we have already lost track of them. This is no time to fight the fools of the Orthodox Faction. Our cult is in peril, and perhaps the entire world is as well. The beggars of the Beggars' Sect are spreading word that...
...Lord Heavenly Demon, as you ordered, we established a medical clinic without regard to sect affiliation. The sect leader of the Tang Sect has come, as have the masters of the Maoshan School. We have captured several victims of the zombie disease to use as live test subjects, so we should have results soon...
...Lord Heavenly Demon, even the Moon Shadow Demon and the Blood Demon have fallen. We destroy a hundred zombies today, but tomorrow a thousand new ones appear. We cannot contain this plague! The clinic says that blocking the Amun and Cheonchu acupoints with long needles can put a zombie to sleep, but beyond that...
...Lord Heavenly Demon, please flee to a remote island. If you enter seclusion on an island, then no matter whether the zombie victims number one million or ten million, the likes of them cannot cross the sea. Surely this is not the only martial world. Wherever our cult's banner takes root, that place becomes the martial world...
...Lord Heavenly Demon, what does the great war promise matter now? It was a vow made before the world fell into chaos. With the ways of heaven changing, human morality cannot remain unchanged. Forget the oath made with the Head of the Martial Alliance and please make a triumphant return...
Lord Heavenly Demon.
Lord Heavenly Demon!
2.
“How did you endure it?”
After a long silence, the first question I asked was this.
How did they survive all this time?
In a world where humanity has fallen and turned into corpses, even they have become half-dead. How did they endure three years, risking their hearts stopping if their internal energy flow was blocked even for a moment?
“......”
The Heavenly Demon and the Head of the Martial Alliance hesitated to answer. They exchanged a glance that I couldn't understand, then nodded together.
"Follow us."
They left the cave.
I followed them.
There was silence as we left the cave, being careful not to wake the others. Thus, we walked in silence for a long time.
The silence was broken only as we emerged outside.
"People will eventually die."
Dawn was breaking.
"A fascinating tale is told in the martial world. Once there was a master who reached the zenith of Perfect Poison Immunity and Indestructible Iron Skin. They were impervious to any poison and immune to any blade."
The Heavenly Demon let out a long breath.
"Truly invincible. Impervious to internal harm, immune to external injury. How could one kill someone who can neither be poisoned nor harmed by the sharpest sword?"
The dawn sky was turning blue.
"In ancient stories, one thing is never tolerated: invincibility."
In the dim light, the world was just a pale shadow.
"Indestructible individuals cannot exist."
As they walked through the shadowed world, only their footsteps distinguished heaven from earth.
"Child from another world,"
The Heavenly Demon glanced back at me.
We were walking toward yesterday's snowfield, the place where martial artists turned zombies had surrounded us.
"Can you guess how that master died?"
"How did they die?"
"They were killed by a Lustful Demon."
The Lord Heavenly Demon smirked.
"Erotic pleasure is neither poison nor a blade."
"But excessive pleasure is a kind of poison, isn't it?"
"Correct. Hence, the Lustful Demon didn't start with a storm of pleasure. It was cunning, gradual, starting with the slightest pleasure and eventually leading the master to indulge in the most fatal pleasures. The master was tamed and re-tamed."
Dawn broke.
The snowfield grew a little whiter. That whiteness resembled the breath the Heavenly Demon exhaled.
“The master ceased to perceive the palm strikes the Lustful Demon dealt during intercourse as pain. The master came to perceive the Lustful Demon's whip as pleasure. Every motion of the Lustful Demon's hands and feet, even the smallest glance, became a form of happiness to the master.”
The Heavenly Demon raised her hand.
"In the end,"
She caressed her own neck.
“Gently. The Lustful Demon merely, gently strangled the master's neck.”
“No great martial prowess was needed. No profound cultivation was required. Two hands. The Lustful Demon strangled the master with nothing but their own two hands. As the master's neck tightened and breathing failed, the master smiled radiantly, steeped in pleasure. They say even the corpse's face continued to smile happily.”
“......”
"The master died engulfed in ecstasy. They were immune to poison and blades but not unhappiness."
In the middle of the snowfield.
There lay the bodies. Dead yet undead, frozen still in the dawn light. They were motionless, like a forest made of shadows.
"The lesson is simple."
"Don't get entangled with Lustful Demons!"
The Head of the Martial Alliance grumbled.
“It was not merely an old tale. It truly happened! They were a master the Tang Sect had raised like precious jade and gold, but that wench secretly sent a Lustful Demon to assassinate them.”
"Haha."
Zombies lay scattered in the snowfield, seemingly remnants from their pursuit of our group the previous day. The Lord Heavenly Demon approached these zombies.
"Youngsters entering the martial world often have this misconception. They think the goal of a martial artist is to reach invincibility, and the purpose of learning martial arts is to achieve immortality and eternal life."
With a grunt, the Heavenly Demon lifted a zombie.
“Hup!”
The Heavenly Demon and the Head of the Martial Alliance began moving the zombies.
"Those who reach Perfect Poison Immunity will die from something other than poison. Those who attain Indestructible Iron Skin will perish from something other than a blade. Understand this. Choosing a martial art isn't just about selecting a technique to learn."
The Heavenly Demon struggled to move the zombie.
"It's about deciding what kind of warrior you want to be and, at the same time, deciding how you will die."
Her movements were slow and labored.
Like a postman delivering heavy parcels, the Heavenly Demon took breaks, breathed deeply, and resumed moving the zombies.
"People will eventually die."
She continued this process.
"We understand this. How can we resent the fact that we die?"
The zombies had roamed around the night before. The Heavenly Demon and the Head of the Martial Alliance gathered them one by one.
"But we did not wish for a death like this."
It took a long time.
Their strength was minimal, and there were too many corpses.
“I would accept assassination. I would accept being poisoned. I would accept being caught in an inescapable net and overwhelmed from all sides, or taking a blow from those bald monks of Shaolin Temple. I would accept death through the betrayal of a trusted subordinate, and nothing could be better than dying after a rising junior challenged me to a duel.”
Midday.
By the time they finished placing the zombies back in their positions, the sun was at its zenith. Footprints filled the snowfield.
"However, such a death is intolerable."
The Heavenly Demon gasped for breath and looked at me.
"You asked how we endure?"
“……”
"We just wish to die as we desire."
The old man of the Orthodox Faction lined up hundreds of corpses.
The woman of the Demonic Cult did the same.
The zombies appeared as two armies, poised to clash.
I remembered then.
"The causes of death are the same, but the dates are different."
When we first encountered the zombies upon entering this apocalyptic world.
‘Someone must have deliberately moved the bodies...’
‘A kind of grave?’
‘A grave, yes. From a distance, it looks like a terracotta army.’
Zombies move on their own at night.
Yet nearly a thousand of them were gathered in one place on the snowfield.
Right.
Unless someone intentionally moved them to that spot.
"Not many strayed far today."
Five hundred from the Demonic Cult.
"The moonlight was clear last night. It's not as strong as sunlight, but the moonlight affects zombies too..."
Five hundred from the Orthodox Faction.
The Heavenly Demon and the Head of the Martial Alliance moved their respective followers. It was a massive task that took a full half-day, but they worked in silence.
As if it were a natural daily routine.
“We have been waging the Great Orthodox-Demonic War in this way.”
“And three years have already passed.”
The snow fell.
"The Orthodox martial realm will not fall to mere zombies."
People died.
"The destiny of our cult will not end being devoured by corpses."
The Ten Sect Alliance and the Five Noble Clans disappeared.
"Our Orthodox Faction will only fall by the treacherous hands of the Demonic Cult."
Even as every secret martial arts manual gathered dust with no one left to read it.
"If our cult is to vanish, it will only be at the hands of the Orthodox Faction."
This world has not yet perished.
For it to end, two more people must die.
Even if a billion people exist, and all but one die of the plague, the cause of death for that world would not be illness, but simply suicide.
At least, that's how the Head of the Martial Alliance and the Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Cult saw it.
“Head of the Martial Alliance. Former Head of the Namgung Clan. Namgung Woon.”
The old man assumed a formal martial salute.
"I’m the Great Axe Sage."
“Leader of the Demonic Cult. So BaekHyang.”
The woman also saluted.
"And I’m the Heavenly Demon."
The sun passed midday.
Years had gone by with only two people left in this world.
Their only task during those years was to decide the cause of death for this world.
"I challenge you to the 990th duel."
Will the demise of the Demonic Cult be at the hands of the Head of the Martial Alliance?
“A match to determine victory, or a life-and-death duel?”
Or will the Orthodox Faction perish by the hands of the Heavenly Demon?
"A duel to the death."
"Accepted."
The two martial artists dropped their salutes.
Five hundred from the Orthodox Faction and five hundred from the Demonic Cult faced each other in the middle of the snowfield, with the Head of the Martial Alliance and the Heavenly Demon charging at each other.
I still couldn't comprehend the martial arts they displayed. To me, they were barely stepping forward. Laboriously. Barely extending their arms.
Their movements were so slow that even a child couldn't have failed to catch them.
Their actions were so weak they couldn't have crushed a single tangerine.
“……”
A genre in decline.
A world in decline.
This apocalypse had been slowly dying over 990 days.
“This is...”
I spoke up.
Watching the duel from afar, I muttered unwittingly.
"This isn't right."
My heart was throbbing.
"It's unfair."
“......”
“This shouldn't be happening.”
In a world ravaged by an incurable plague, the two martial artists were strong enough to cling to life. But they were too weak to take each other's lives.
A fierce fight unfolded on the snowfield. The Heavenly Demon and the Head of the Martial Alliance, who had once displayed dazzling martial arts while contending for the title of greatest under heaven, could now manage nothing beyond a child's scuffle. They rolled through the snow. They stumbled and kicked at empty air. They seized a beard and tore at hair.
"To you, the Sword Emperor, this may appear as a grand battle. Yes, I'm just a novice in swordsmanship. But no matter how profound the principles hidden in this scuffle, no matter how magnificent the logic behind it..."
The day turned to evening.
The Head of the Martial Alliance and the Lord Heavenly Demon did not cease their struggle for a moment.
"It's a mockery."
The sun set.
Yet again, no victor emerged today.
"It's an insult to both of them."
In this declining world.
In a world where people were decimated by an unstoppable plague, the two martial artists were strong enough to barely cling to life. But too weak to take each other's lives.
"We can't let it end like this."
A world where one cannot choose how to be born is cruel. What then is a world where one cannot choose how to die?
An incomplete ending.
A life abruptly cut short.
-What are you planning to do?
The Guardian Spirit asked quietly.
-Are you going to kill the Heavenly Demon and the Head of the Martial Alliance yourself? Yes, that could be a merciful gift. I would do that. But remember, whether it's me or you, we're just 'outsiders.'
"I know."
The two martial artists don't wish for suicide.
If they must die, their only hope is to be killed by the other's hand.
The Demonic Cult should not perish from a mere plague but fall to the Orthodox Faction.
The Orthodox Faction should not succumb to a disease but be destroyed with the rise of the Demonic Cult.
Such an end.
A proper conclusion.
An acceptable terminus of life.
If I intervened and killed them, it wouldn't be an 'end' or a 'conclusion'. It wouldn't even be a merciful gift.
That would be nothing more than a 'doodle' scribbled at the back of a fairytale book by a child.
It can't end that way.
"I will,"
I told the Guardian Spirit.
"I'll conclude this world in my own way."
-And what is that way?
I didn't answer Guardian Spirit's question.
Dusk fell.
"Already evening, huh? Old Demon."
“Maybe because it is winter... Hah. The day passes quickly...”
“Tomorrow, I will settle this once and for all.”
“That's my line...”
Evening deepened.
The 990th day of the Great Orthodox-Demonic War naturally ended in a ceasefire.
The Heavenly Demon and the Head of the Martial Alliance stopped fighting, looking more exhausted than the day before, and returned to the cave.
"Where have you been?"
The group greeted us.
Viper stood guard at the cave entrance, while the Apothecary and the Medicine King busied themselves researching the zombie, the Sect Leader of the Wudang Sect we had encountered yesterday.
"We were observing the patient. We couldn't yesterday due to the circumstances..."
"Any progress?"
The Medicine King and Apothecary looked at each other. The Medicine King sighed first.
"Not yet."
"It's, uh, a new virus for us..."
Understandable.
The Head of the Martial Alliance and the Heavenly Demon headed further into the cave to rest. I watched them walk away, then turned to the Apothecary.
“Boss.”
"Yes?"
"Be honest with me. How long do you think it will take to develop a cure?"
"Ah. Um, uh."
The Apothecary hesitated.
"To be completely honest... at least 120 days."
"Could be twice or thrice that. Schedules for these things should be set generously. Even then, it usually falls short."
The Medicine King added tersely. The Apothecary looked dejected.
"In the worst-case scenario..."
"Shortest, 100 days. Longest, 300 days, correct?"
"Uh. That's..."
The Apothecary lowered her head.
"We might not be able to develop it at all. The facilities and environment are too poor. I can't make any promises right now. I'm sorry, King of Death. After you trusted me and brought me to this stage... It's impossible to develop a cure within the time limit."
Time limit.
The Head Librarian had said when sending us to this apocalypse.
“When you open your eyes, you will be in the world as it was ten days before The Veritable Records of the Heavenly Demon met its unfortunate cancellation.”
"Looking forward to a splendid ending."
Meaning, no matter what happens.
In 10 days, the world will truly end.
The Heavenly Demon and the Head of the Martial Alliance will die.
That ten-day period was what the Apothecary referred to as the time limit.
"I'm really sorry..."
"No."
I shook my head.
"That's enough."
"Ye-yes?"
“Don't worry, Boss.”
I slowly ran my hand over the hilt of the dagger at my waist.
"I'll handle the time issue. Don't give up and continue researching."
“......”
"Do you remember what I said when we first landed in this world?"
This isn't just a book.
It's a world.
We came here to save this world.
“......”
The Apothecary cautiously nodded.
The two of us exchanged a meaningful look.
"...I, I remember. Of course, I do, King of Death..."
I nodded back.
"My words remain the same as yesterday. Forget all worries about the time limit or failing to complete this stage. I'll do my best in my position, and you do your best in yours."
"Forget all distractions..."
"Yes. I promise. I'll handle everything else."
I said.
To the one who would eventually be known as the Master Alchemist.
"Trust me and do your job."
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
