Published at 13th of February 2026 4:01 pm

Chapter 392

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

A familiar space with a pure white background.

I opened my eyes inside the place known as Yu Chun-gil's Mind Realm.

'... What is this?'

I had only just managed to close my eyes, and now, regaining my senses, I found myself inside the Mind Realm.

'Where has Yu Chun-gil gone?'

I focused on my senses.

Wuuuunnng.

I tried to resonate my spirit to find Yu Chun-gil.

'... He's not here?'

Amazingly, I couldn't feel Yu Chun-gil at all. What? He's really not here?

'This is his Mind Realm, so why is Yu Chun-gil nowhere to be found?'

Normally, Yu Chun-gil would cast the Mind Realm and trap me here. But now, even though I was inside the Mind Realm, he was nowhere to be felt.

This was odd. I couldn't feel the owner of the Mind Realm.

'I was sure this whole thing was that guy's doing.'

What was going on? Frowning, I looked around.

'Should I get up for now?'

If forced, I could rise to my feet. It would take a rather rough method, but it wasn't entirely impossible.

I could do it, literally speaking.

'But not yet.'

I decided I should observe a bit more.

As I was looking around, thinking just that—

Wuuuuuuuuuunng-!!!

'Hm?'

A vibration resonated inside me. Not just inside, either.

'What now?'

The bracer on my wrist and the divine sword at my waist were vibrating as well.

'... These guys came along too?'

I realized it late. Now that I thought about it, how were these things here?

'Can you bring objects into the Mind Realm?'

It wasn't impossible. As long as it was a divine object, like the sacred blade used by a shaman, it could be brought in...

'Ah.'

Right.

'This bracer is a sacred blade.'

A shimmering object brimming with sacred power—that was this bracer. You could call it a sacred blade.

'... But it's not mine.'

It wasn't mine. Strictly speaking, it was something belonging to the Suan Muk family that I held, so it was odd for it to have followed me as if it were my own.

'Same goes for the divine sword.'

Why did these items come with me? It didn't square with what I knew. I rolled my eyes as I looked around—unlike the items, nothing else seemed amiss.

'What is this?'

What is this Mind Realm? It feels like one Yu Chun-gil constructed, but—

'There's something subtly off about it.'

It didn't feel like just any Mind Realm. What was it? While I puzzled over it—

Crack-crack-crack—!!!

A crack suddenly appeared in the white background. I frowned as the background began splitting apart all at once.

Krkkkkk.

Fissures spread everywhere and the background began to crumble. It was really just an instant. The entire space that had been created in a flash was utterly shattered, and altogether new surroundings emerged.

'This place...'

Ruins? These were ruins under the moonlight. It wasn't particularly dark. A brilliant moon hung high in the sky. It was illuminating the ground; and at that moment—

"...!"

My eyes widened. Something started to form on the ground—that was...

'... Corpses?'

Bodies. Dozens of corpses were strewn across the floor. What was this now?

'Everything's so vivid.'

Mind Realms are vivid dreams, but the state of the bodies was just too vivid. Even more—they were gruesome.

Bodies cut, torn, savage and scattered everywhere, pools of blood filling the ruins.

I'd seen worse, so it wasn't vomit-inducing; still, it was not an easy sight.

'What is all this?'

But the real issue was that this was a Mind Realm. Just where did all those bodies come from?

As I hesitated and inched away in caution—

"Were you still here?"

A voice called out. I flinched and turned toward the source.

'Ah.'

I knew instantly at a glance.

'Yu Chun-gil.'

The presence before me was Yu Chun-gil.

But.

'He's young.'

Young, indeed. It must be Yu Chun-gil in his younger days.

'... How old...'

I couldn't tell. It was hard to judge. But unlike the twenty-year-old Yu Chun-gil I'd last seen, the atmosphere around him was completely different.

Back then, he had emitted nothing but savage intent, utterly worn out.

'Not just the air—his physique as well.'

He had been tall and skinny, but now, though somewhat smaller than the Yu Chun-gil I knew, his body was packed with muscle.

Same with his expression. A wide grin, body completely soaked in blood.

'So that's it.'

I had wondered who had made these corpses—it had to be that young Yu Chun-gil.

Bathed in moonlight, smiling through blood, no matter how many times I looked, it was chilling.

"How did you survive?"

He was talking to me.

"You certainly shouldn't have survived, right?"

"..."

"Are you mute? Can't you talk?"

It seemed like he was misunderstanding something. Did he see me as the same kind of being as these corpses...?

'What—'

I cut off mid-thought, startled. I noticed something odd as I looked down.

'What's with my clothes?'

My outfit had changed. I was wearing the exact same black martial attire as the corpses.

"Ha."

As soon as I realized that, I let out a bitter laugh. Damn it.

"Did you just laugh?"

My laugh made Yu Chun-gil's grin grow even wider.

"... Ah, sorry. The situation's just so screwed up."

I suppressed a sigh.

"Oh, so you can talk?"

Yu Chun-gil's eyes sparkled as he questioned me.

Just then—

"You spawn of ■■. You still think you can defeat me?"

"... What?"

Who?

'Why did the sound suddenly blur?'

Spawn of who? I couldn't make out the first part of what Yu Chun-gil said.

What was he saying? Frowning from not understanding—

"Don't flatter yourself. What changes by bringing more people?"

Thud.

A huge sword slammed into the ground.

"You're still acting pathetic, even when you should've come to your senses by now."

"... Hmm."

I broke out in a cold sweat from the aura clinging to his sword.

'This is insane.'

The level of that aura scared the hell out of me.

What is that power? The blue told me it was for sure the Blue Moon Sect's sword aura.

'But why is it so dense?'

Just looking at that thickly condensed power gave me chills. It was different from Virtuous Moon Sword's chilling sword aura.

"Blame your weak master. Seeking me out was a sin itself."

Crrrk—!!!

"...!"

The sound of sword scraping ground and Yu Chun-gil's form appeared right before my eyes.

So fast. I had no idea when he closed the distance.

Bang—!!!

'Shit.'

From behind came an explosive sound—the result of Yu Chun-gil's leap.

Just a simple charge, but the gap in speed was clear as day.

But—

Swishh—!!

"Hm?"

I dodged his sword. When I evaded, Yu Chun-gil's eyes grew large.

"Look at this one?"

He seemed genuinely surprised that I dodged.

'Fucking hell.'

I saw his speed. If I got sloppy, it would mean nothing. Every Mind Realm had been like this from the start.

'A fight that can absolutely never be won in just one try.'

Not barely scraping by—this was a fight that made you feel an overwhelming wall.

"Shew—"

I focused hard.

As Moon Eye opened, I read his sword path, and at the same time—

Crackle-crackle-crackle—!!!

I gathered all my strength and invoked Moon Heaven.

"... What?"

Yu Chun-gil frowned upon seeing that.

I drew my divine sword and attacked Yu Chun-gil. Rotating at the waist, I poured all my strength into the spin.

Kwagang!

Radiant Moon Annihilation surged through. I swung the divine sword with all my might at Yu Chun-gil.

Bang—!!

A roaring sound. Yu Chun-gil blocked it, swinging his greatsword. The blades shuddered against one another. But, I was pushed back a lot more.

"Ugh!"

I was overpowered by sheer strength, barely managing to plant my feet and minimize the damage.

"Hey."

Blue eyes appeared right in front of me.

"What is that? It definitely carries Blue Moon Sect's power, but something's different."

He read my sword path.

'Two.'

Which is it? I had no time to think.

I grabbed the divine sword at a diagonal angle.

Crack-!! Sccccraaaape-!!!

It was the right choice. I parried the attack coming from the left with the flat of my blade.

Thud! The sword bounced up as if it had exploded.

My shoulder throbbed. This guy had some monstrous strength.

"Hoo."

I tried to steady my breathing and hunched down. The situation being what it was, my stance was a bit compromised, but—

'Do it.'

Even so, I had to.

I invoked Moon Wave.

A crescent moon shot swiftly toward Yu Chun-gil.

"Ha!"

Yu Chun-gil recognized Moon Wave, and his face twisted.

Then—

"Insolent."

Crack—!

"...!"

Moon Wave shattered. Yu Chun-gil had casually countered with his greatsword.

Our blades met. Even though I put in more speed—

'Insane.'

Yu Chun-gil brushed off my attack as if such things didn't matter at all.

"So it is..."

As my attack was deflected and my body staggered—

"You're that thing."

Yu Chun-gil's eyes sparkled, as if he had realized something.

"Stupid copy. Only idiots, the lot of you."

His mouth split in a wild grin. That smile paralyzed my body.

Killing intent.

It was an even more intense killing intent than the Yu Chun-gil at twenty. Unlike the undefined disaster of before, this time, a profound terror wrapped around my neck.

I tried desperately to will my body to move despite the killing intent.

"Vanish."

Shraaaak—!!

Before I could even react, Yu Chun-gil's sword aura sliced my body clean in half.

That was—

"... Hrk."

The end of my memory.

* * *

I shot up.

I immediately grabbed my face with both hands.

"... Wow..."

As expected, my whole body was drenched in cold sweat. The aftereffect of the Mind Realm.

"Huff... Huff."

My breath came in ragged gasps, as if I still hadn't fully recaptured it.

"... Unbelievable."

What did I just go through? The difficulty of the Mind Realms was always monstrous, but—

'But wasn't this just going too far?'

What was I meant to do about that monster?

'... His speed just then.'

It was on another level from his initial charge. He must have been holding back, even then.

'This is crazy.'

I hadn't even had time to react. In the end, my body had frozen under the killing intent, and there was nothing I could do.

'... And I was supposed to win that?'

Was I supposed to beat that kind of monster? No matter how I thought about it, this Mind Realm was insane.

'Besides—'

What was strange was—

'... Was this really a Mind Realm Yu Chun-gil prepared?'

A Mind Realm of Yu Chun-gil, without Yu Chun-gil's presence.

I really had to question if Yu Chun-gil had made this Mind Realm.

"... Hoo."

I wiped away the rest of my sweat. The sense of mental exhaustion was overwhelming.

I wanted to rest, but the moment I lay down I was dragged here, so there was no way I would be fine.

"What now..."

What should I do? The bracer was one problem, but what should I do about the Mind Realm?

As I pondered, troubled by the difficulty of the situation—

Woom.

"... Hm?"

I sensed a presence from across the residence.

What was this? This was the residence Virtuous Moon Sword lent me. No one should be able to approach so freely.

'Could it be the Tyrant King?'

For a moment I wondered if it was the Tyrant King, but that couldn't be.

If it were the Tyrant King, he wouldn't be leaking his presence around so carelessly. Then who...?

While puzzling over it—

― It is Moonlit Delight.

"...!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin—a transmission had suddenly come through.

It was Ghost Demon. He had sent a voice transmission.

'... He was nearby?'

I hadn't seen him lately and had forgotten about him, but Ghost Demon was around.

― My apologies. There were simply too many eyes on me to stay at your side... Please punish my incompetence...

No, I wasn't really planning to punish him.

Leaving the guilt-stricken Ghost Demon be—

'... Moonlit Delight, huh?'

Chun Hye-In.

I focused on the fact that she was coming to see me.

Knock knock.

Her presence drew nearer until it reached the door.

"Are you there?"

Chun Hye-In's voice came through.

TL's Corner:

What she want?

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