Lee Taeseong’s empty eyes turned toward the man before him.
His gaze was still and silent, as if staring into the abyss.
“…I bear no malice. I am merely doing what must be done.”
The Greatest Blade Under Heaven.
Three beings, called gods despite their human forms.
Among the Three Gods, one was the Demon-Slaying Divine Blade—Han Yugwang.
He responded.
“You have erased three nations with your own hands. The number of dead is beyond counting.
You are already a calamity.
How can you say there is no malice in your actions?”
Taeseong scoffed at those words.
“A calamity, huh… I suppose I’ve become one before I realized it. Yes, I am a calamity.”
There were countless other names for Lee Taeseong.
Demon King.
Calamity.
Ghost King.
Massacre Fiend.
Butcher of Blood.
Apostle of the End.
The Last Fang of the Oldest Wolf.
The Crimson Mage.
Dreamer.
Heavenly Demon.
Master of the Sixth Finger.
King of the Lowest.
High Priest of the Nameless Religion.
All of these names belonged to a single man.
To some, he was a hero.
To others, he was the Demon King to be feared.
Enemies came for him, whether he wished it or not.
Followers gathered around him, whether he wanted them or not.
Regardless of his will, his actions had left behind a legacy that humans could only revere in awe.
Among those he had slain were both the vilest of evildoers and the kindest of saints.
This was why opinions about him were so divided.
Humans were self-centered.
Their judgments were subjective.
To some, he was a hero who had avenged their murdered mother.
To others, he was the butcher who had burned down their village.
But to him, whether someone was good or evil mattered little.
At some point, his humanity had long since faded away.
He was nothing more than a being clad in human flesh, blindly moving forward to fulfill his purpose.
Not everything that looks human is truly human.
And Lee Taeseong knew this better than anyone.
“A legend should have remained a legend…How is it that, even after hundreds of years, you still bring such ruin? What turned you into this?”
“What turned me into this? That is the question I want to ask. Who was it that called me to this place? Why was I forced to endure all of this?”
“…I cannot comprehend you. Wraith of the past, your very existence distorts the natural order of this world.”
“That is none of my concern. I will simply finish what I must…And return.”
The man did not know Lee Taeseong.
And Lee Taeseong did not know the man.
The man had no idea what Taeseong had been through to become what he was now.
He had no idea what Taeseong had done to survive after first arriving in this world, no idea what sacrifices he had made to find a way back, no idea how much betrayal and suffering he had endured.
No one knew—except Lee Taeseong himself.
No one could understand the wretched, disgusting, agonizing life he had led.
No one could fathom his hatred.
No one could comprehend his rage.
Even if someone claimed to understand, it would be nothing more than empty words—understanding in name only, a lie disguised as sympathy.
Did they know what it felt like…
…when the doctor who once saved his life turned him into a living test subject?
…when a scalpel dug into his flesh without anesthesia?
…when he saw his own organs with his own two eyes?
…when the master he had served for twenty years, just to learn dimensional magic, revealed that they had always been after his heart?
…when his comrades of ten years poisoned him for a handful of gold coins?
…when the child he saved sold him out to an underground cartel?
…when the woman who swore to stay by his side forever, upon learning he was from another world, went to the church and demanded his execution?
There had been far too many moments to make him sick of humanity.
Before he sought out Taegorang, The Primordial Wolf, Taeseong had made a decision.
He would never trust humans again.
“I will say it once more. I bear no malice.”
“…Neither do I.”
Yes.
We are both simply doing what must be done.
Crunch. Crack.
Rip. Chew.
Gulp.
“A single stroke of the blade, huh…”
Taeseong gazed down at his arms—severed just moments ago but now fully restored.
Though they had returned to their original state, the sensation of being cut apart was still unpleasant.
He had devoured countless beings, thinking he would no longer feel such things.
But the world was still infuriatingly vast.
And there were still far too many strong ones left.
Among them, this man was the strongest human he had faced in recent times.
Every time Han Yugwang’s blade flashed, Taeseong’s body was sliced into dozens of pieces.
For the first time, he understood what it truly meant to say that the sky had been split.
Han Yugwang himself was no different from a perfectly honed blade.
Every movement he made contained the essence of martial arts.
Fortunately, with such skill came an immense concentration of essence.
Next to Han Yugwang’s upper body—now torn apart—his sword lay stabbed into the ground.
A weapon wielded by the greatest swordsman of the Eastern Continent naturally carried a powerful presence.
“A magnificent blade.”
Engraved along the bloodstained edge were the words:
尸山血海 (A mountain of corpses, a sea of blood)
Taeseong stared at the inscription.
How much blood had been spilled by this sword?
For a moment, he thought—
There was no difference between this blade and himself.
After a long pause, he reached out and took the sword in hand.
It suited him well.
After all, he had already built mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
He took a step forward.
Though he had just eaten, hunger gnawed at him once again.
The influence of Gluttony.
“…Damn it.”
There were still many pieces left in the Eastern Continent.
That was why he had traveled from the Western Continent, where he had resided, to this distant land.
This world was far larger than he had imagined.
It was as if multiple worlds had been stitched together into one.
Taegorang’s body fragments were scattered across this entire world.
“How much longer must I continue this wretched task?”
At the hidden sealing site of Taegorang at the summit of Seolbong Mountain.
[What brings you here?]
“…….”
[I asked what brings you here, Lee Taeseong.]
“It has already been over 600 years.”
[Yes, so it has. All this time, you have carried out your duties as my apostle. Yet you have not even recovered half of my body. Considering that you have received my power, isn’t your progress far too slow?]
Taeseong murmured with a twisted smile.
“……Too slow, you say.”
[What are you trying to say?]
Taegorang exuded an overwhelming presence, far stronger than before. This was the result of Taeseong’s relentless efforts to recover his body.
“You made a promise. That after 500 years, in recognition of my service, you would give me a clue to return to my original world.”
[Indeed, I did.]
“……As I said, it has already been 600 years. So why have you given me no word about it?”
[How dare you question me? You are nothing but a worm sustained by the power I bestowed upon you.]
A shadow darkened Taeseong’s face. He lifted his gaze to the colossal wolf, its vast form stretching beyond sight.
“You promised.”
Taegorang blinked once.
At that moment, Lee Taeseong’s entire body twisted like a wrung-out cloth—
And then exploded.
Paaah!
Blood and flesh scattered in all directions.
Moments later—
The splattered blood and flesh began to merge, reforming into their original shape.
[Do not pester me. I will handle it in due time. Do you dare to doubt me?]
“……No.”
[Do not concern yourself with useless matters. I have not forgotten our pact. I am researching a method to designate the coordinates of a specific dimension. Progress is being made. So you need only focus on your task. Do you understand?]
“……Yes, I understand.”
All Taeseong could do was give that answer.
He was powerless.
He knew he could not defeat Taegorang. He knew he could not return to his original world without his help.
No matter what, the one who was more desperate was Taeseong. Taegorang was his only hope of going back.
Even knowing he was nothing more than Taegorang’s puppet, there was nothing he could do.
[When I make progress, I will summon you myself. Until then, do not come here uninvited. If you dare to return and spout nonsense again, I will sever our contract. Do you understand?]
Taeseong bowed his head politely and answered.
“Yes, I understand. My apologies.”
[Get lost. I don’t want to see your disgusting face.]
As Taeseong left, Taegorang muttered under his breath.
[Tsk. That worm dares to be bothersome.]
Taeseong woke from his sleep, cursing under his breath.
“That damned son of a—”
From this memory, he now knew for certain—
That he had utterly despised Taegorang.
And yet, despite that hatred, he had clung to him, unable to abandon hope.
‘But regardless of my memories, I’ve returned to Earth now. That means Taegorang must have kept his promise in the end.’
From Taeseong’s perspective, that was the only possible conclusion.
The memories were the past. His present self was safely back on Earth.
“What the hell happened…?”
Could they have reconciled somehow?
Who knows—
Perhaps, despite his hatred back then, they later became quite fond of each other.
Opening a subspace, Taeseong retrieved a single blade. A razor-sharp sword with crimson letters engraved along its edge—
尸山血海 (mountains of corpses and a sea of blood)
As he gazed at the blade, Taeseong let out a breath of admiration.
It radiated an even more potent aura than he had seen in his memories.
“Not bad.”
It would work perfectly in sync with Hoirang.
After steadying his emotions with a deep breath, Taeseong rose to his feet.
He washed up quickly and prepared to leave.
His destination was the Japan branch of Tree.
More precisely, the branch director’s office.
He had made his decision last night.
Knock, knock.
“This is Lee Taeseong.”
“Come in.”
“I’m here to give you my answer regarding your proposal.”
“I see. And your answer?”
After a brief hesitation, Taeseong opened his mouth, his gaze resolute.
The conditions offered by the Japan branch director were too good to refuse.
“I—”
