Published at 2nd of April 2026 5:12 pm

Chapter 419

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*Clang!!*

*Thud!!*

With the mechanism opening, the door swung wide. As I peered inside, my body froze in place.

"...... Ha."

A hollow sound escaped me. An unexpected sight unfolded before my eyes.

It was completely different from anything I'd seen up until now.

*Rustle.*

I stepped forward and felt something soft beneath my feet.

'Grass.'

It was grass. The moment I entered the vault, a field spread out before me.

"This is insane."

I was dumbfounded. Why is there a field in a vault?

The ground was covered with lush grass, and I could even hear the sound of water nearby.

*Saaaahhhh.*

Refreshing water flowed gently around, wrapping the area in its presence.

At a glance, it was clear this place was beautifully maintained but even so...

'It's a bit much for the inside of a vault.'

Inside a vault built in a cave, decorated like this? It was simply bizarre.

No, it went far beyond just bizarre.

'What is this?'

It was absurd. What the hell did they build here? I was at a loss for words.

Was it that old man who did this, or was it the Poison Sovereign?

I couldn't tell, but whoever it was, I was certain it wasn't someone normal. After all, none of that old man's friends were even remotely sane to begin with.

'I forgot for a moment.'

I forgot things I should never forget. I nodded.

Though faced with an unbelievable situation, everything made sense if I considered the vault's owner: Yu Chun-gil.

"...... Right."

Well, whatever.

*Clink.*

I slid the sword I was holding back into its scabbard. As the Divine Sword locked in place, I took another step forward.

*Rustle.*

The grass was crushed beneath my step.

"How is this place even sustained?"

The ceiling and walls. No sunlight could ever reach in here, judging by the way it was built.

So how could this space and grass exist?

It was even bright inside. Why was it so bright? I glanced up at the ceiling but nothing was hanging from it.

There were no lamps, so how was it this bright?

Was this some kind of special device, too? What sort of mechanism could maintain something like this?

'... And this is ancient Central Plains, not modern Korea.'

If it were my previous life in Korea, maybe. But pulling off something like this in olden-day Central Plains...

'Is the Poison Sovereign a monster or something?'

It was impressive not just his tempering skills, but his ability to create places like this.

I couldn't even fathom how he'd done it.

'... Anyway.'

That was secondary. I turned my attention to the walls further inside. What I really needed to find was:

'The way to the next place.'

I had to find the door leading to the next vault. Instinctively, I focused my power into the Moon Eye and scanned my surroundings.

But

'What's this?'

I couldn't see anything. There wasn't even the trace of a passageway to the next area.

What was going on?

'Am I missing something?'

Or was this the end? Still, this fieldafter everything I'd seen so far, it actually seemed plausible that this might be the last surprise.

'Still.'

If Yu Chun-gil was the owner, I doubted he'd end it with just this.

'... There must be something else here.'

Since nothing was visible, I decided to focus elsewhere for the time being.

'What else could be in this vault?'

I looked around. A field, flowing water and at the center...

'A tree?'

A single tree stood out. Ah, then I understood.

"The light's coming from over there."

The light was coming from the tree. What was that? Why was it emitting light?

'It's so bright.'

It was dazzlingly bright. The light from the tree was almost as if there was a giant lamp inside it.

I walked toward the tree. Nothing else caught my attention.

'Why is there really nothing in this vault?'

How could there be so little here? Was this single tree really all there was? I was still dumbfounded as I watched

'... Hmm.'

Eventually, I reached the base of the tree. Its radiance was so curious that I tried to reach out and touch it

Don't touch that.

"...!"

At the sound of the voice, my body immediately froze.

Ha.

It was Heavenly Demon. His voice.

*Clatter!*

The Divine Sword trembled violently. What was happening?

Yu Chun-gil, that damned bastard.

His voice was full of rage. Perhaps it was his emotion resonating with the blade; the Divine Sword was shaking like crazy.

He stole the Divine Tree and stuck it in his vault. Ha!

Divine Tree? Was that the name of this tree? That was quite a grandiose title.

The Divine Tree.

'A tree named after a god...'

At a glance, it certainly seemed fitting. Where else would one find a glowing tree like this?

No wonder it was called that......

"Oh."

As I stared at the tree, looking deeper, something appeared before my eyes.

"This is..."

I told you

Heavenly Demon spoke to me.

Don't touch that.

"...... What is this?"

As I expectedyou'd be able to see it.

"What's... inside this tree...?"

I was creeped out by the thought. This was

"It's a god."

It truly was a god.

They didn't just call it the Divine Tree for show; it literally meant a real god was contained within it.

What was this?

'A godamong them...'

A high-ranking one. One with direct influence over the natural worlda lofty deity.

In my previous life...

'I would've had to risk my life to take it on.'

It was a far-reaching god up against whom I would've had to be prepared to die.

Thankfully, it didn't seem like an evil god.

"Why is something like this inside here?"

Could a god of such rank really be sealed inside a tree?

That's why it's called the Divine Tree. Did you really think it was named that for nothing?

"...... Usually, yes. Who would imagine such a thing?"

That a real god would be housed in a tree.

'Maybe an object, but a tree...?'

I'd sometimes seen things contained in items long used or imbued with intent, but a tree holding something like this was unprecedented.

Even more so since it was radiating light.

'Is this light from the god's influence too...?'

I halted my hand before touching it. With something like this, there was no telling what might happen if I carelessly disturbed it.

"Hmmm..."

The Divine Tree. According to Heavenly Demon, Yu Chun-gil had taken this tree and brought it here.

"But for what...?"

Especially since he apparently stole it.

"Was this... originally yours?"

Yes, it belongs to me.

'If it's Heavenly Demon's'

In other words

'Isn't that an artifact of the Demonic Cult?'

The Heavenly Demonic Cult. Meaning, this item belonged to the very people who started that great war in the past.

'Tsk.'

Why did that crazy old man keep stealing things like this? What was he thinking?

'The Divine Sword, the Divine Tree...'

I didn't know what kind of scheme he had in mind.

'... And this is the only thing in the vault Hm?'

As I turned my gaze, I spotted something else by the tree.

"Oh."

There was something. It was

'A sword?'

A single slender sword. It was leaning against the tree.

"......"

The moment I saw it, a memory surfaced.

Please find the sword.

It was Chun Hye-in's voice. The sword her mother once possessed.

'A weapon made to slay the Virtuous Moon Sword.'

The sword described as capable of killing him.

'Could this be it?'

I had a hunch.

"Hmm..."

I hesitated, but then noticed the crescent moon emblem on the hilt. This...

'Didn't Chun Hye-in's sword have the same symbol?'

I recalled the same symbol on the sword she used. This must be it.

'So this is the sword Chun Hye-in was searching for.'

I lowered my head to inspect it closely.

"... Tsk."

I recoiled slightly.

"It's already been tainted."

The spiritual ki was overpowering.

Perhaps because it had been next to the Divine Tree, all sorts of things that shouldn't have stuck to it had clung to it.

It's already been affected by the Divine Tree. It's no longer an ordinary item.

Heavenly Demon spoke knowingly. Perhaps, having wielded the same divine vision as Ior perhaps in the pasthe could see it too.

Are you thinking of taking it with you?

"I'm considering it."

At this point, things were different.

"This will be tough."

Should I bring Chun Hye-in and have her pull it out herself? That would be a bit much, too.

"... If I have her do it..."

Everything attached to this sword would be directed right into her.

"And if that happens..."

Even if it wasn't an evil god, there was no question it would have an effect.

'Honestly...'

What happened to Chun Hye-in wasn't really my business. But letting that power spill over to a human would be a problem.

"Agh, damn, why did I make that promise?"

If I hadn't found it, that would've been better. Now it was an unnecessary hassle.

Tsk. I clicked my tongue shortly.

I reached inside my sleeve. Along with the rustling sensation, I pulled out a few talismans.

Busybody.

Heavenly Demon's voice was somewhat cold.

"Yes, I'm a busybody."

He seemed to know what I was about to do.

Maybe that's why I could hear an inexplicable note of disappointment in his voice.

Why was he disappointed, I wondered.

I didn't really care about his disappointment.

"There's not that much blood..."

Taking the pig's blood I'd collected, I dabbed some on my finger and wrote a spell on the talisman.

Crumpling it up, I stuck it to my hand and reached out to touch the sword.

*Woooooonnnnng!!!*

The spirits howled.

"Whoa, hey now."

It was strong. Blood dripped down. The writing on the talisman was instantly wiped away. Was this not enough?

In that case...

'I'll probably have to purify all the spiritual ki in the sword.'

I crumpled the talisman and tucked it away. A simple method wouldn't cut it.

I pulled out two more talismans.

Grabbing a stone nearby, I stuck a new talisman on it, then gripped another one tightly in my hand, just like before.

Then, grabbing the hilt

*Woooong!! Woooong!!!*

A different vibration came through than earlier.

Fortunately, I managed to push aside some of the accumulated power, but only for an instant.

'Inside.'

There was something inside the blade. An object brimful of divine energy. This wasn't just exorcism.

'I have to ask it to move aside.'

Its owner was already homeI'd have to ask them to step out. That was what it meant for a god to reside somewhere.

I closed my eyes.

And I focused.

'This is why...'

You shouldn't make pointless promises.

*Creak!*

I poured my focus into the sword.

When I opened my eyes again...

...... Save me... save me...!

I was inside someone's memory.

Please... please save my mother.

A little girl. Kneeling on the ground, tears welled up in her eyes.

Her hands were stained with blood, as she clung to a grown woman with her tiny body.

The woman.

'She's dead.'

It was clear her life had already ended.

Had she been stabbed?

There were slash wounds to her abdomen, with blood flowing from them.

I calmly gazed down, studying the child. I knew who she was.

Her baby-faced features had lost their blue eyes, now black, but her distinctive appearance gave things away.

'Chun Hye-in.'

The child was Chun Hye-in.

'... And standing before her...'

The man in front of Chun Hye-in, holding a bloodied sword and looking down upon her

'... Virtuous Moon Sword?'

Virtuous Moon Sword, Chun Seonghwa.

He was her father.

Gramps' Notes:

What did the Virtuous Moon Sword do?

Did he kill Chun Hye-in's mother?

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