Chapter 85. <A Reader’s Mind. (1) >

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Translator: thursdays Editor: Sasha PR: LightBrin

I held onto Master for a long time.

Even if a person’s breath ends, their body remains.

Death was a cruel and merciless thing.

“Sir.”

A long time later, I heard a voice calling me. The warriors in black uniforms, the elites of Demonic Cult, were surrounding me.

Even as I silently held onto Master, the Battle of Good and Evil raged on. Eventually, the Demonic Cult won the war.

“Since we were in the middle of a fight, we couldn’t confirm it, but… Several cult members overheard that our sect leader called you [disciple].”

The warrior asked nervously,

“Sir, are you the Heavenly Demon-nim’s successor?”

“…….”

I looked around.

All the Demonic Cult members who survived the battle were staring at me, including the ones that Master had called the Four Demon Lords. Some of them had nosebleeds, cut-up lips, arms that were chopped off. All of them, soaked in blood, waited for my answer with bated breath.

“…I don’t know if I am.”

“Didn’t our sect leader accept you as a disciple?”

“That’s right.”

I clung a little tighter to Master’s cold body.

“I am Master’s disciple.”

“…….”

The man’s face hardened.

“If our sect leader accepted you as her disciple, she must have taught you the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art. This request may be rude, but please. Sir. Demonstrate the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art in front of us.”

His tone was polite, but he clearly meant that he couldn’t believe I was the Heavenly Demon’s disciple without evidence.

‘I’m being treated as an heir just by being Master’s disciple.’

I realized then. Why did Master hesitate so much about taking me as a disciple? It was because being a direct disciple of the Heavenly Demon meant inheriting the leadership of the Demonic Cult.

Now, as the last of Master’s warmth left this world, the mantle of cult leader fell onto me.

“…All right. Is it enough if I use the Sword of Starvation?”

“Yes. The sect leader said clearly that [if it is even slightly unsatisfactory, do not accept them as my successor]. We may not be renowned swordsmen, but we have enough skill to discern the skill of other individuals.”

The other sect members began to whisper around us.

“Hey. What’s the Bloody Demon talking about?”

“What, you don’t understand? If you look at him do one technique of the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art, it’ll be clear if he really is the Heavenly Demon’s disciple.”

“Really? But why is that bastard acting like our representative?”

“I don’t think we have anyone else who can act polite. He’s from the Moyong family. Though he’s an illegitimate child.”

“What?” That son of a bitch is from the Moyong family?”

“Hey. Why are you acting so surprised? I told you this dozens of times before….. Whatever. A river is a river, a mountain is a mountain, and a blockhead is still a blockhead no matter how much you try to educate him.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m saying that your cancerous existence is comparable to the Sichuan Tang clan’s poisonous arts. Sword Demon. As evidence of that, I am currently suffering from cancer. You are an amazing being when you consider that I have mastered Thousand Poison Immunity.”

“Oh? Is that a compliment?”

“Fucking blockhead sonuvabitch.”

“Ahem.”

The Bloody Demon coughed. Then, he eyed the cult members who were handing back. It was a very dignified look. He seemed to be quietly pressuring the others to shut up.

However, the Sword Demon and the Flame Ghost Demon tilted their heads.

“What are you looking at? You wanna go?”

“You’re being rude. Go stare somewhere else. It feels gross.”

“…….”

The Bloody Demon turned his head again and looked at me. His eyes seemed to say something like, [Nothing weird happened just now.]

“Aha.”

I laughed a little.

‘That’s right. It was originally this sort of place.’

The Demonic Cult was made up of people who were mostly uneducated, falling back on the strength of their bodies. My Master was refined and graceful, but on the whole, the Demonic Cult members were naturally ignorant about etiquette and manners.

“Hunger is—”

I did not draw my sword. I didn’t want to bear a weapon while I was holding Master’s body. Instead, I coated my left hand in Aura and struck.

The attack carved into the snowfield.

“—children, waiting for the sun.”

Flinch.

The Bloody Demon, who acted as the representative of the Demonic Cult, and the cult members who had been clamoring about all became silent. In the snowfield, my attack dug a deep valley into the ground that looked like a wound.

I didn’t finish with showing them just the first technique. Second form. Third form. Fourth form. All the techniques that I had learned to the extremes, I focused on my fingertips.

Our surroundings became quiet.

Was it thanks to glimpsing the desperate battle between Master and Bae Hu-ryeong? Suddenly, the power of my strikes were sharper than before. This was another thing that Master arranged.

“I haven’t fully learned the other techniques yet. It would be embarrassing to show you.”

“Is this much all right?”

Crunch!

The Bloody Demon kneeled in the snow

“I greet the successor of the Demonic path. The new Heavenly Demon.”

Behind him, the Flame Ghost Demon, the Wolyeong Demon Lord, and the Sword Demon prostrated themselves, one after another. Crunch, crunch. Snow was crushed beneath their knees. All the cult members who survived the Battle of Good and Evil fell to their knees on the field.

“We greet the successor of the Demonic path! Our sect leader!”

I slowly opened my mouth.

“The title of Heavenly Demon is too much. I am already known as the Death King, and I would like Master’s title to be forever in her name.”

“However……”

“Calling me the sect leader is also excessive.”

I turned my head. By my side, Bae Hu-ryeong was silent, arms folded and eyes closed. He was probably going over the match against Master in his mind. I looked at Bae Hu-ryeong’s face, then told the cult members,

“I’m still lacking in many areas. I have nothing that I could teach you. How can I call myself the sect leader?[1: 교주 is the term, meaning literally “schoolmaster”] That would be a title just for the sake of having a title.”

The Bloody Demon looked to be at a loss.

“…Heavenly Demon-nim, in her entire life, never chose the wrong person. Since she has accepted you as her direct disciple, you are certainly fit to be the next sect leader.”

“Thank you. However, I judge myself as still insufficient to take on the mantle of the cult’s leader.”

The cult members began to murmur.

“W-well then, how should we address you? We can’t continue calling you ‘sir’…”

“Young master,” someone suggested.

“Can’t we call him ‘Young Master’?”

It was the Flame Ghost Demon. He was the cultist who said he would yield three turns to the Shaolin monk. His nose was still broken, and dried tracks from his nosebleed were on his upper lip.

“Calling someone ‘Young Lord’ or ‘Young Heir’ is common enough. If you are just saying that you’re lacking to become our cult’s master and not that you’re refusing the lord, it should be all right to call you ‘Young Master.’”

“Huh.”

I nodded. That much was acceptable.

“That sounds fine.”

The cultists sighed from relief. They looked at me with more comfortable expressions.

“Young Master. I’d like to thank you formally. I don’t know what kind of technique you used, but we all remember being bitten by the Jiangshi. If it weren’t for Young Master, we wouldn’t have been able to finish the Battle of Good and Evil and show our allegiance to Heavenly Demon-nim!”

The martial artist bowed.

“I am the first rank of the Four Demon Lords. Bloody Demon. I command all of the Blood Guard. On their behalf, I swear loyalty to Young Master.”

Dozens of cultists bowed along with him.

“I am the first rank of the Four Demon Lords. Flame Ghost Demon. I command all members of the Memorial Squadron. I swear allegiance to Young Master.”

“First of the Four Demon Lords. Demon Lord Wolyeong. The Shadow Corpse Squadron swears loyalty to Young Master.”

“I’m the Sword Demon! With the Assassination Squad, I promise you our loyalty.”

Dozens more.

“…….”

I slowly placed Master down.

Master looked like a flower blooming on the white snowfield.

Placing down the single peony petal, I bowed to the Demonic Cult members.

“It is my wish that as long as my life does not end, the doctrine of shadows will continue on.”

It was at that moment.

[Stages cleared.]

[You have cleared the quest, ‘Remake the World. Volume 1’!]

How long had it been since I heard this voice?

[Today, the 22nd floor Stage has been cleared.]

[Announcing to everyone again.]

[Today, the 22nd floor Stage has been cleared.]

It really felt like a long time since I heard this.

[Calculating challengers.]

[Calculation complete.]

Not releasing my stance, I spoke.

“I have a request for everyone. Please take care of Master’s funeral.”

[The four challengers are being announced.]

The snowy mountain, split in two at Master’s beckoning.

Characters were engraved in the sky above the mountain peaks.

+

[Level of Contribution Rank]

Rank 1. Death King

Rank 2. Alchemist

Rank 3. Venomous Snake

Rank 4. Medicine King

+

“Don’t make the funeral fancy. Master wouldn’t want it that way. Master will be happy if you just stay where you are until the funeral ends. For Master, please—.”

Please. I didn’t finish my sentence.

I didn’t have to, nor could I finish it.

In the blink of an eye, I was no longer in the snowfield.

“Welcome. Death King-nim.”

The Great Library of All Things.

“I’ve been anxiously waiting for you!”

The Constellation, the Librarian, smiled and looked at me.

2.

“Congratulations!”

The Librarian was floating in the air.

His 5-meter-long sleeves fluttered like goldfish fins.

“Hmm. The last word in [The Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon] was the word ‘please.’ Hmm. The word ‘please’ is a wish for someone. Wish, prayer. In the Demonic Sect, they memorized it as ‘Baraya.’ ‘Please’ and ‘Baraya’ can be regarded as synonyms. In that sense, it’s a really suitable ending……”

“Just a moment.”

I ended the Librarian’s long lecture.

I felt a sense of [discomfort].

This was my second time coming to the Great Library. I stayed up several nights reading books. I had become quite familiar with this place.

However, I could clearly see something different from last time.

“…Why are all the other hunters passed out?”

The Hunters who participated in the Apocalypse challenge.

All 250 of them, Hunters who had titles and nicknames, were collapsed on the floor.

“Hmm.”

The Librarian raised the corner of his mouth.

“Don’t worry. I just put them to sleep for a while.”

“Put them to sleep…?”

“Yes. It’s a fragrance that’s harmless to the human body.”

The Librarian reached out his hand. Dozens of books floated around the Constellation. One of them was a book titled [The Story of Yeonhyang City].

“There are many worlds like yours that communicate with words, but there are also worlds that communicate with songs and others still that communicate through scent. In this Apocalypse, people talk with the scent of anger, the scent of sorrow, and the scent of joy.”

“…….”

“Of course, there’s also a scent of sleep.”

I was tense and alert.

“Ah, please don’t look at me with those eyes. I wanted to talk to Death King-nim, so I made the surroundings quiet for a while.”

A talk.

“What kind of thing are you going to tell me after making my colleagues faint?”

“Ah, [colleague]. As expected, Death King-nim! You can regard them as tiresome, useless luggage, but you say it so naturally that you think of them as colleagues. I have no choice but to shed another tear at the admirable heart of Death King-nim.”

“…….”

“I could see every move that your party made from here. It was like a movie. It was a moving and exciting scene. Really. Everyone here would have welcomed you enthusiastically.”

The Librarian giggled.

“But if I let them, it would have been a long time before I could speak with you! Since my turn would be pushed back by a lot.” The Librarian shrugged.

“I had to settle down the others for a moment so that I could talk with you. Don’t worry. Even if it looks like this, I used the most moderate method to put them to sleep.”

It was hard to believe.

I looked around my surroundings. I saw the Witch. She was leaning against a bookshelf with her long hair hanging down. I approached the Witch and lightly searched for her pulse.

Thump.

Thump.

Thank goodness.

Her complexion looked fine and her breathing was normal.

After checking that my colleague was safe, I looked back at the Librarian.

“…If you have something to say, please say it quickly and wake everyone up.”

“Aren’t you hurrying too much? I want to talk more slowly with the two of us. I deliberately left the other challengers to summon just you.”

“I haven’t finished everything on the 22nd floor yet. I also have to find a sword…”

“Next time.”

The Librarian’s eyes looked like an upside-down half moon.

“You can investigate later.”

“…….”

The air was filled with tension.

The Librarian was small, so some people may look down on him. However, he was someone who could summon strange monsters from another world at will. Didn’t he swallow up 50 hunters at once last time?

‘No matter how much I’ve learned of the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art, I’ll lose for certain if I fight him now.’

I swallowed my spit.

“…What do you want to talk about?”

The Librarian’s smile deepened.

“It’s a very intimate story.”

Flutter.

The Librarian fluttered his sleeves and landed on the floor. He approached me and pulled something out from his sleeves.

“Mm.”

It was a pair of scissors.

“Why scissors, all of a sudden…?”

“Your hair is quite long. Death King-nim. I will trim it for you.”

The Librarian tiptoed and started to cut my hair with a snip, snip. He didn’t cut much. Maybe about half of the hair from the back of my head? The Librarian put the cut hair in a red silk pouch.

“…….”

“Your nails are long, too. It’s a big problem if someone who claims to be a martial artist doesn’t care for their nails. I’ll clip them.”

The Librarian pulled another object out of his sleeves.

It was a nail clipper.

The Librarian grabbed my right hand and cut my fingernails. He did all of them, from the pinky to the thumb. And each nail was put in a different silk pouch.

Um.

“Hey, Librarian-nim?”

“Yes.”

“What are you going to do with these?”

“Death King-nim.”

The Librarian stooped his back. He kneeled on the floor. And, as if it were natural, he took off my shoes.

“Say that you really, really, really like someone. Really.”

“…I’ll try. Why?”

“There’s nothing you don’t like about that person, from their toes to their head. It’s love. It truly is a noble and pure love. But the problem is that the person doesn’t exist in reality, but only on paper. It is a character that exists only in a novel.”

The Librarian took off my socks.

“But then, tada! What providence is this? My ideal novel character appeared in front of my eyes.”

“Uh…”

“Now. At this time, what do you think I feel about Death King-nim?” the Librarian said seriously.

As he held a toenail clipper.

“Yes. That’s what it is.”

“…….”

“It’s like that.”

What’s like what?

“Ah, ah! Don’t move! What are you doing? If you move, my nail clippers may leave disgusting scars on your marble-like toe! That’d be a big problem!!”

“Why are you getting angry at me?! Get away from me right now!”

“Wait a moment! Just a moment, please! I’ll stop with just your pinky toe! Just one toenail! You can concede this much, right?”

“Why is a Constellation acting like such a pervert?!”

“Ah! Ah! If you don’t want to give me your toenails, how about three eyebrow hairs?”

Only then did I realize the source of my [discomfort].

“You weren’t the type to speak so politely before!”

That’s right.

The Constellation, the Librarian, did not use honorifics like “-nim.” He used to speak while looking down on us. That was definitely how it used to be, but now, for some reason, he was using honorifics for me. This was why I felt something was off.

“Use your normal speech patterns!”

The Librarian’s lips wobbled.

“Impossible! H-how could I, a lowly creature, dare to speak down to the shining Gongja-nim?!”

This was insane.

[The Librarian wants your pinky toenail clipping.]

Totally crazy.

‘Character window!’

While I was struggling, determined to not give up my toenails to the Librarian, letters popped up in front of me.

+

Name: Chief Librarian

Favorability: 95

Favorite Genres: [Fusion], [Romance], [Mystery], [Adventure], [Horror], [History], [War], [Sports], [SF], [Myth], [Fairy Tales]…

Disliked Genres: N/A

Favorite characters: [Character], [Constellation Killer]

Hated Characters: N/A

Favorite Plot: [Story]

Hated Plot: [Serial Discontinuation]

Psychological State: ‘Toenails! If possible, I should get his eyebrows too! Ah, I’d like to ask him for some beard hair after he grows a beard, but that probably won’t work. Ah, shining Gonja-nim. Shine! Shine! Shine! What a brilliant protagonist! I want to make you a bookmark and keep you forever!’

+

He’s deranged.