Published at 24th of March 2023 9:08 am

Volume 11, Chapter 5 – He Who Aims for the Heavens, Part 4

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Selene was hit with a slash from the side, and he retreated, his face contorted with intense pain.

“Gahah!”

“Even though you don’t stand a chance in all likelihood, how can you be upset over the death of a soldier?”

“This… won’t stop me.”

“Don’t be silly. You can no longer serve as my opponent.”

The Faceless King pointed at Selene’s chest. While looking down, through the gap between the torn clothes, you could see the chest was hidden, which was strangely bulging for a man. Selene unintentionally hid his chest with his right arm, but a smirk came on the wind.

“The “curse” is weakening. It means that death is approaching. The more you return to your original form, the closer you will be to death.”

The Five Demon Emperor Swords have the same “curse” as the Five Emperors of the Spirit Swords. In the case of the Five Emperors of the Spirit Sword, the “curse” occurs when they are forced to obey. However, in the case of the Five Demon Emperor Swords, if a person other than a “demon tribe” possesses them, they will be “cursed.”

“How does it feel to have pretended to be the second prince? The Second Princess of Grantz.”

“…..It’s the best.”

The blood from the wounds did not stop flowing. Selene knelt on the ground with a pale face.

“Well, then, I have something good to tell you before you go to the underworld.”

“What?”

“I was the one who killed your brother, or more precisely, I was the one who lent my power to the Nameless and the First Prince Stobel.”

In a daze, only Tupoeus’ joyful voice echoed in her brain.

“If I may add one more thing―the massacre of the rear palace caused by the first queen, that was also a part of it, and come to think of it, your mother died too. And there are others――”

Tupoeus, who had been monologuing with a laugh, closed his mouth, perhaps having lost interest when Selene fell to the ground.

“Boring. I’ll have you give me back the Kanshou and Bakuya. I will need it for the coming battle.”

He was about to snatch the weapon from Selene’s fallen hand, but just before he did so, a large shadow fell over his head, stopping him in his tracks. He looked up and saw a giant of the “Marked Tribe” looking down at Tupoeus. Without a hint of panic, Tupoeus spoke to him.

“Zwieben… why did you come before the main group?”

“Is it okay for Zwieben to eat that woman?”

Tupoeus wrinkled his nose at the Marked Tribe giant’s refusal to answer his question, but he cowered and raised one hand.

“Well, all right, I’ll give it to you. Don’t make the mistake of eating Kanshou and Bakuya.”

“Hey, King. Is she better than the five great generals?”

“What, you didn’t eat one of them at the Spirit Wall? There was an old man there, wasn’t there?”

“There was an old man whom I crushed due to a miscalculation of my strength, but… that was one of the five great generals?”

No one else reacted to these words. It was only Selene, who had fallen to the ground, who reacted to it. Her fingertips twitched, and she angrily tried to get up.

“You killed… Hermes?”

“Oh, you knew him. He was too weak and boring.”

“Is that so―then let me avenge him!”

Exploding with anger, Selene gave an inarticulate cry and vigorously thrust out Bakuya, one-half of Kanshou and Bakuya. The “Marked Tribe” giant caught it with his hand, but the blade pierced through his instep. Instantly, a cut was made from his shoulder to his side, and blood gushed out in torrents.

“Oh, what is this…?”

The marked tribe giant knelt down on both knees, staring in dismay at his own blood, which stained the ground red.

Seeing this, Tupoeus nodded his head in admiration.

“Oh… it is Bakuya’s ability to transfer. The user is forced to transfer all the wounds they have received to another person. Incidentally, the sharpness of the Kanshou increases as the user’s wounds increased. Both of these characteristics are difficult to handle, but they have extraordinary abilities. However, if the user is not fortunate enough to have them, they are a waste of treasure.”

Tupoeus turned to Selene, whose face was still pale.

“From the beginning, you were going to kill me even if you had to stab each other in the back. However, as you see now, it is too reckless to think of what would have happened if you had failed to kill me. The blood you have lost will never return, and you will never regain your strength.”

“…Shut up. After I kill him, you’ll be next.”

With unsteady steps, Selene attempted to choke out the marked tribe.

“Don’t get carried away! You half-wit!”

With his extraordinary vitality and endurance, Zwieben counterattacked.

But Selene saw right through him. The wounded Zwieben’s attack was visibly slow. But there was no way to avoid it. A huge fist struck her directly, and her slender body bounced repeatedly on the ground and was enveloped in a cloud of dust. It was not that she was late in reacting. It was just that in her current state, fighting was too reckless an act.

“Ugh…―Goooah!”

She writhes on the ground but cannot get up. The half-hearted attack made it impossible for her to even faint. Her face was contorted with intense pain as she crawled on the ground, but she suddenly looked up when she noticed a warm, fresh feeling dripping down from above her head. Zwieben was looking down at Selene with eyes filled with hatred. The red liquid that was dripping from his head was actually blood spurting from his chest.

“How can you… still alive?”

Despite the massive amount of blood loss, the amount that could have killed a person, Zwieben’s gait was firm, and he was spilling a lot of saliva from his mouth as if he was trying to devour Selene.

Despite the frightening sight of his black teeth, Selene had no strength left to run away from him. The man opened his big mouth with enough force to bite Selene’s face off. As it was, he covered Selene’s face―and just before he did so, Zwieben’s movements came to a halt. Tupoeus grabbed his leg from behind and stopped him.

“Even this is a failure. You have failed to reach the “Majin” that the Five Great Heavenly Kings, including myself, created in the past. I have tried many different methods over the past thousand years. I have tried to give the “Demon Spirit Pill” to many “humans,” and most of them turned out to be “flesh eaters”… But very rarely, they turn into something like the Marked Tribe. I’ve tried crossing the two, but all I get are ‘monsters.'”

Sighing wearily, Tupoeus’ shoulders slumped.

“So I gave up. I have decided that there is only one Majin before and after, and he is the only one who is special. And then I realized… or should I say we realized, that the “Five Great Heavenly Kings,” who are as powerful as “gods,” are the same as “humans.” They cannot create a “human.” In other words, we have come to the conclusion that he may have accidentally stepped into the “divine realm” that we have longed for―that he may be the form of God.”

Tupoeus clapped the marked tribe giant on the back as if ashamed of himself for speaking so excitedly.

“I think I spoke a little too much… Well, Zwieben, kill this woman.”

With his permission, Zwieben let out a shout and stuck his hand out toward Selene.

“Damn it…”

Pathetically, her body did not move. The recovery of Kanshou and Bakuya could not keep up with it either. The blood that she had lost would not return so easily. A funny smile came to her face when she thought of this new discovery, which would be her last. Still unwilling to give up, Selene moves her head and tries to crawl on the ground with the strength of her jaw, but this does not make any difference.

Soon, the impact comes. Her vision went dark as she was hit by a violent jolt. Selene involuntarily coughed and opened her eyes as her back was slammed against the ground, as her body got the sensation of being suspended.

Blue skies opened up, and red rain poured down. It’s my own blood―she thought but realized that there was no pain in her body. Soon after, Zwieben’s screams deafened her, and Selene’s consciousness was clearly awakened. Caught by the voice, she rolled on the ground and went from an elevated position to prone.

When she looked up, she saw the marked tribe Zwieben yelling at the sky, his body pierced by countless spirit weapons. Perhaps because of his huge size, the word ‘mountain sword’ fits him perfectly.

Then Selene noticed an object flying from the sky.

――A black dragon that tore through the sky.

The raging black mass flew in a straight line toward Zwieben, his arms bursting from his body.

Screaming, Zwieben tumbled to the ground, and where he had originally been stood a black-robed boy.

“I meant to aim for his neck, but he dodged… He is very agile for such a big figure, isn’t he?”

The boy appeared with an aloof demeanor―nostalgic, it had been years since she had seen his back, and for some reason, Selene breathed a sigh of relief. However, this feeling of nostalgia soon faded away. She noticed something strange about her surroundings.

The two members of the “Black Death Village” who were following the Faceless King were standing there as if in a daze. Not only that, the ‘monsters’ who had been on the rampage were also stiffening as they stared at the boy.

The soldiers of both families seemed to have no understanding of the ‘monsters’ who had suddenly stopped attacking, and all of them had puzzled looks on their faces. Then, Selene, who was suddenly concerned about the condition of Tupoeus, the Faceless King, looked at him, but only one of them was expressing a different emotion. His mouth was agape as if he was about to explode with joy, and he was simply looking at the boy, not even taking in the scenery around him. The Faceless King had such an expression on his face as if he had been waiting for a long time for his lover to come to him.

“It’s been a long time… since our first encounter after a thousand years. My avenging enemy, my sworn enemy, and my favorite foe.”

The Faceless King outstretched his arms, but then, as if remembering something, he put his hand to his chin and tilted his head.

“I had forgotten. I forgot that this body belonged to the first emperor, Altius. Then, should I have said, brother?”

Provocatively speaking to the boy―Hiro gave him a cold smile.

“Such a cheap provocation made me fail to kill you… a thousand years ago.”

An enormous amount of murderous intent overflowed from Hiro. As if cold air was flowing on the ground, the plants and flowers lose their vigor and shrivel up rapidly. As cracks appeared in the ground, the air cracked, and the sky also began to be covered with clouds.

“That’s wrong. It is not right at all. It is not that you failed to kill me but that you cannot kill me.”

Hiro did not deny it. He accepted the words of the Faceless King in silence and pointed his left hand at the Heavenly Emperor.

“This time, I will prove it to you… And we will settle the score of a thousand years ago.”

“As much as I would like to, but…”

The Faceless King’s head swiveled around. The “Raven Army” had taken advantage of the stiffening of the ‘monsters’ to make a sudden attack. Even though the ‘monsters’ were many times taller than themselves, they were not intimidated and challenged them to a fight. The ‘monsters’ seemed to be tossed about and unable to cope because of the presence of several more men of exceptional fighting ability.

The Fairy King’s “toys”… It seems that you still have a habit of picking up abandoned “children” or discarded items.”

Apart from the two outstanding soldiers, even ordinary soldiers are fighting as hard as they do. The Faceless King wondered if this was strange but nodded his head in understanding when he saw the equipment worn by the soldiers.

“You even prepared ‘Spirit Weapons’… But still, the Spirit King left behind some troublesome items. This is why humans are so hard to deal with. Don’t you think so, Black Dragon King?”

“Thanks to it, the humans can now fight the demons on equal terms.”

“But because of this excessive power, a thousand years ago, the peace of the world was destroyed, and chaos ensued. Because of your rampage as pawns of the Spirit King.”

“It was you who manipulated the demon tribe into starting the war.”

“No way, even without me, the other “Five Great Heavenly Kings” would have started the war. The Spirit King who is still hiding and looking on from a high place, for example. Compared to him, I, who am on the front line, am the epitome of a commander.”

The Faceless King put his hands on his hips, looked up above his head in disgust, and let out a deep breath.

“Black Dragon King… even after a thousand years, do you still intend to act as a pawn of the Spirit King?”

Hiro did not answer. The Faceless King whispered sweetly to him as if to shake his silent heart.

“It’s time for you to stand on your own feet. You haven’t forgotten it, have you? How many of your loved ones have you lost because you followed the Spirit King?”

“It was you who took them from me. Faceless King.”

“No, you are mistaken. I did not take you away but gave you power. I gave you the power to protect those you love, the power of the Majin.”

The Faceless King, who was trying to force his gratitude on him in a haughty manner, snickered and responded.

“I am grateful to you for that. That is why I used that power to end your time.”

“Indeed, I was interrupted at the last moment. Thanks to you, I had to endure for a thousand years.”

“It must have been hard for you. So, I’ll end it here.”

The Faceless King looked at him with calmness and nonchalance, without anger, without laughter, and with nothingness in his eyes.

“Fumu… I will ask you once again, are you sure you want to do this?”

“I know what you’re going to say.”

“I know. The Spirit King will take over everything again. Just as he did a thousand years ago, he will bind you to this land and take all the credit while he himself remains unseen.”

Spreading out his arms, the Faceless King calmly and matter-of-factly told Hiro the truth so that he could hear it.

“Because the Spirit King also has the same goal as I do.”

Perhaps he meant it as a once-in-a-generation monologue, but Hiro’s expression did not waver, not even a little, and he threw a sharp look at the Faceless King with a wry smile on his face.

“I knew it. So you can disappear without any worries. After I kill you, I will eat the Spirit King.”

A gust of wind stirred his black robe, causing it to sway violently. As if in response to Hiro’s feelings, the Heavenly Emperor on his hand flickered violently. The Faceless King stepped back as if in alarm, his irreverent behavior giving way to a calm and composed demeanor.

“Do you dare to spit in the heavens?”

“It’s the other way around. You people spat at the heavens.”

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