Since this was already the third time, the Slaughter King was starting to feel almost familiar.
But the Heavenly Demon's thoughtfulness ran so deep that this time, the number far exceeded the originally expected five, reaching close to ten.
As if that weren't enough, he had even added a figure I had never known about.
It was an unnecessary kindness.
"How is a eunuch of the Imperial Palace here…?"
The Martial Palace Princess's voice trembled. In response, the eunuch—whose androgynous features made it impossible to tell whether they were male or female—offered a warm smile. As if they were looking at someone they truly cherished.
"Have you been well, Your Highness? You always showed such interest in the matters of the martial world and martial arts since you were young… It seems you've grown enough for His Majesty to entrust you with such an important task. As your former teacher, I am proud of you, Princess."
"Stop with the evasions, eunuch! How is it that you are here! And why are you standing as if you are leading the Slaughter Kings!"
"My, my. It seems Her Highness the Princess is quite angered. But please, calm yourself and listen. It is a very simple matter."
"Then speak."
"It is because I am the Slaughter King."
"…?"
The Martial Palace Princess's eyes widened, as if she could not comprehend what she had just heard. The eunuch, still wearing that pleased smile, added an explanation.
"To be precise, it is because I am the one who was meant to become the Slaughter King. Heh heh. When I first received His Majesty's order to investigate the surroundings because the Slaughter King seemed to be targeting him, do you know how surprised I was?"
"What do you mean…? Are you saying that you agreed to receive the Divorce Grand Ritual from the Heavenly Demon?"
"No, that is not what I meant. Your Highness the Princess must already know of the Divorce Grand Ritual. A Grand Ritual that moves one's soul into another body… Originally, it was a secret art of ascetics who sought to live forever, even by inhumane means."
"However, since no one ever succeeded, it was ultimately dismissed as a meaningless failure. …That is, until the Heavenly Demon succeeded in it, albeit imperfectly."
"You are well informed. To defeat an enemy, one must first know them. It seems my teachings were not in vain."
"…"
The Martial Palace Princess silently glared at the eunuch. He let out a wry smile under her gaze and continued speaking.
"My, it seems Her Highness the Princess has no intention of exchanging pleasantries with me, so I shall proceed with the explanation directly."
The eunuch shrugged his shoulders, as if savoring the gaze fixed upon him, glanced around the surroundings once, and then turned toward her with a meaningful smile.
"Assassin Valley is not a proper organization. But the Assassin Valley of old was, in its own way, a place full of human warmth. Specifically, in the sense that the Assassin Valley Lord's desires were laid completely bare."
"Money, you say."
"Yes. The previous Assassin Valley Lord was not satisfied with merely kidnapping talented-looking children and raising them as assassins through harsh training and brainwashing. He apparently ran a somewhat different business on the side."
"A different business… Ah, I see. You're talking about human trafficking, aren't you?"
"As expected of Her Highness the Princess. You're quick on the uptake. The Assassin Valley made a tidy side income dealing with wealthy men of peculiar tastes and madmen who needed people they could kill at will. But their biggest customer was the Imperial Court."
"…Eunuchs."
"Yes. There are those who become eunuchs of their own will, but most are children sold off by force. I had talent in martial arts, so I was meant to be raised as an assassin, but I still can't say which would have been better. Well, it doesn't matter anymore, anyway. I became a eunuch of my own accord, and the previous Assassin Valley Leader died at the hands of the Heavenly Demon."
I needed to stall for time on my end as well, and this seemed like a rather important story, so I listened for now… but honestly, I couldn't quite understand.
So the eunuch was actually one of the children kidnapped by Assassin Valley, and he was meant to be raised as an assassin, but the Heavenly Demon killed the previous Assassin Valley Leader and sent the eunuch to the Imperial Court to be raised as a eunuch instead?
So the eunuch was originally meant to grow into the Slaughter King?
And the Heavenly Demon's Divorce Grand Ritual was never about immortality—it was about creating a companion who would retain their memories even across regressions.
It's just that the attempts failed, which is why we now have a puppet-like replica of the Slaughter King.
The timeline is so tangled in so many ways that I can't quite sort it out… but still, I think I get the general gist of it.
In the original history, where neither I nor the Heavenly Demon intervened, the current eunuch probably wouldn't have existed either. Some other eunuch would have taken his place.
Instead, he would have been raised as an assassin as planned, grown in strength, and… after taking down the previous Assassin Valley Leader he held a grudge against, he would have claimed the position of the next Assassin Valley Leader himself.
Even in the long history of the Central Plains, it's rare for an assassin to reach the Harmony Realm, so the alias "Slaughter King" would have been earned back then as well.
The Slaughter King of that time wouldn't have been a puppet like now, but a person with proper emotions and thoughts.
Well, of course. Thinking about it, it's only natural. The heartlessness of assassins is mostly the result of side effects from their martial arts and brainwashing.
But someone who achieved transcendence through their own martial arts and reached the Harmony Realm couldn't possibly still suffer from side effects or fail to shake off the brainwashing.
By the time the Slaughter King reached the Harmony Realm and earned that title, he must have regained all his former emotions…
Perhaps the previous Heavenly Demon built a bond with the Slaughter King after he had become so human again.
A bond so deep that he would want to be together with him even through countless regressions.
But this failed.
As the Heavenly Demon said, the Grand Ritual of Separation was not the answer, and the only thing he could bring from the previous cycle was the remnant of the Slaughter King.
At first, he must have despaired. He might not have been able to accept the sight of his old friend reduced to a state neither dead nor alive.
But as the cycles repeated, the Heavenly Demon, worn down and worn down until he finally went mad, must have decided to use even this.
He would have recruited the one destined to become the Slaughter King, made him a eunuch rather than an assassin, and helped him rise to the position of Chief Eunuch.
A person who had reached the Harmony Realm with the martial arts of a mediocre assassin—it wouldn't have been a difficult task.
Having planted his own man in a key position within the Imperial Court, he had Assassin Valley absorb the puppet Slaughter King by seating him as the Valley Lord, thereby naturally folding the valley into the Demonic Cult.
He used the assassins of Assassin Valley to receive real-time intelligence on the Central Plains, coordinating his plans, and sometimes even moving personally to pull strings.
When the time for the decisive battle came, he would use the eunuch planted in the Imperial Court to bring down the Imperial Court in one stroke.
Right. The Imperial Court knew of the existence of regression, possessed all manner of divine artifacts, and held Harmony Realm martial artists who rivaled the entire Central Plains martial world—they were simply mostly stationed at the borders.
Even assuming the worst incompetence, for it to be shattered in a single morning would be impossible without a traitor within.
Even the eunuch of the Eastern Depot. Naturally, he could freely manipulate the information delivered to the Imperial Court, so it would have been easy for him to hand over the inner secrets to the Heavenly Demon at the right moment.
The pieces clicked into place in my mind.
My own preparations were nearly complete as well, and I was pondering when to draw my sword.
The eunuch, who had been muttering to himself all along, finally broke into a wide smile.
"But! Even if the Grand Ritual of Separation the Heavenly Demon desired failed, the Grand Ritual of Separation I desired has succeeded! Now I can shed this current body and transfer into a young, healthy one—so what reason is there to hesitate!"
"Eunuch! Surely you don't believe the Heavenly Demon's words!"
"No. I only believe what I have seen with my own eyes. The Heavenly Demon has uncovered the secret of immortality, and I, having my contributions recognized, will be granted a portion of that secret! When the world without martial arts that the Heavenly Demon desires eventually arrives, I shall stand as one of the few absolute masters and reign over that new world forever!"
The eunuch was utterly beside himself with excitement, while the Princess of the Martial Arts trembled with a complex mix of emotions as she glared at him.
He spat out the words as if cutting off their conversation.
"You foolish fool."
"…Our conversation with the Princess is not yet finished."
"Whether the Divorce Grand Ritual truly succeeded, whether the Heavenly Demon's goals truly align with the Demonic Cult's… all of that is only a story for when you can escape this place alive."
"White Moon Sword Lord… I've heard much about you. I know well how strong you are. But! Can you say the same words to someone like me, who has failed so many times…"
"You talk too much. Were you trying to buy time?"
"Hmph. Then what do you plan to do?"
"It's because I'm glad. I feel the same way."
"I don't know what great thing you've prepared, but even after losing the precious ones you've hidden so tightly behind you…"
"That's enough. Just die."
Cutting off the eunuch's words mid-sentence, I drew my sword.
At the same time, the internal energy and Intent hidden within the scabbard burst free, seizing control of the surroundings in an instant.
Intent that I had concentrated, compressed, and refined until now.
The pressure that followed was so heavy that not only the eunuch who sensed it, but even the other Harmony Realm martial artists standing beside me, froze for a moment.
A single strike containing the full results of my training over the past few weeks. An absurdly vast amount of internal energy drained from my Dantian to match the Intent imbued within it…
In other words, this was a sword strike of correspondingly overwhelming power.
The sword does not cut because it passes through, nor does it sever because it tears apart with Aura.
It cuts because I have decided to cut.
And in the mind, there is neither distance nor limit.
The sword that transcends space—which I had used without fully understanding when I first rose to the Harmony Realm—unfolds once more. This time, while fully reflecting on its meaning.
The sword, swung in a grand arc, splits my vision horizontally.
It splits everything in sight horizontally.
"…Huh?"
The eunuch looks down at his own belly with a flustered voice. Red blood begins to seep through his waistband.
"This is impossible…"
Before he could even finish his words, the eunuch's body crumbled and slumped, his upper half dropping to the ground.
The other Slaughter Kings were in similar states. Some, like the eunuch, had been split clean in two. Others, having been shown too much martial art over the past two exchanges, had suffered serious wounds and barely managed to dodge. And a few had simply gotten lucky and escaped unscathed.
It was true that most of the power that could have put up a fight against the Murim Alliance had been wiped out.
…Most of my internal energy had been wiped out along with it.
BOOM!
The main gate of the Murim Alliance, which had been in my sight, collapsed in half with a thunderous sound. Taking that as my signal, I shouted.
"I'll head to the rear! The rest of you can handle yourselves, right?"
"R-Right. Don't worry, go on ahead!"
The Murim Alliance Leader flinched as if struck by a bad memory at the sight of the collapsed buildings, but he nodded and stepped forward to the spot where I had been standing just moments before.
"Being surprised is for later! At the very least, I can't show a shameful face to my junior!"
Shouting that, the Murim Alliance Leader charged forward gripping his long staff. The others followed behind him, their Auras flaring up, and before long, Tang Jincheon's thick Poison Mist shrouded the surroundings like fog.
I glanced back to confirm this, then spurred my Lightness Skill onward.
I had left Seomun Hwa-rin and the Sect Leader of Wudang in the rear in case of a situation like this, but that didn't stop the unease.
***
"Kugh!"
The Sect Leader of Wudang. At the same moment the Taiji Divine Sword severed the neck of the Slaughter King who had lunged deep, another Slaughter King drove a blade deep into his back.
"You wretch! Get lost!"
Boom!
Seomun Hwa-rin rushed over urgently and knocked away the one who was about to finish him off. Thanks to her, the Taiji Divine Sword managed to cling to life, but the fact that he could no longer fight remained unchanged.
Seomun Hwa-rin clenched her fists as she heard the screams of the Martial Artists behind her, dying one by one every time her Concentration wavered.
She could not retreat.
Had she not proudly promised Cheon Hwi just a few days ago? That she would guard the rear, so he could charge ahead and fight with an easy mind.
And yet, she could not fall here. She could not let anything happen to Tang So-wol and Seol Ri-hyang.
Perhaps because they shared the same martial arts and the same memories, the Slaughter Kings' coordinated attacks meshed perfectly, and Seomun Hwa-rin's fighting spirit swelled greatly in response.
"I hereby declare."
Wrapped in a crimson Aura, her normally gentle impression completely gone, Seomun Hwa-rin continued in a growling voice.
"From this point forward, not even a single ant shall pass."
It was a resolve born of not knowing that Cheon Hwi was on his way back, having settled the situation with a single sword stroke.