episode_0316

Muyeongbobeop, fast.

Nari dashed through the air like a sliding phantom. In her hand, she held a pure white sword that emitted a light so intense it seemed to swallow the surrounding darkness.

When she had closed the distance with the Emperor to a certain degree, she stepped forward and swung her sword.

Muyeongsingeom (Shadowless Divine Sword) Style 2, Seongdan (Star Cluster).

The slash moved forward, tracing a galaxy of stars. It was a sword-energy so long that it was impossible to observe both ends simultaneously.

The Emperor stopped his advance and raised his sword. His obsidian blade clashed with Nari’s sword energy. At first, it seemed to falter slightly.

But gradually, dark energy began to seep from the Emperor’s sword. This dark energy started to devour Nari’s sword energy bit by bit.

Heukcheonmageom (Black Heaven Demon Sword), Ammachteon (Dark Demon Heaven).

The Emperor brought his sword down upon the pure white light. The technique of his sword energy was similar to Nari’s. In fact, Eve had learned and grown by observing her swordsmanship.

The demonic energy completely swallowed the light. Seeing this, Nari let out a wry smile.

“I have nothing more to teach you.”

“Shut up. Die.”

Ammachteon’s sword energy swallowed even the dark star’s energy. Slowly expanding, it flew toward Nari.

This wasn’t the time for jokes. Nari rested the blade on her palm and thrust it forward in a straight line.

Muyeongsingeom Style 1, Geukwang (Extreme Light).

A sharp sword energy advanced with the momentum to tear even time itself. In the process, remnants of Aether shimmered in seven colors.

The light pierced Ammachteon’s sword energy perfectly. Though only a single point broke through, the following shockwave wouldn’t leave the surrounding dark energy alone.

The Emperor raised his sword again. The obsidian blade darkened further, becoming one with the black star.

Heukcheonmageom, Amhyeoldo (Dark Hole Path).

A small black star was born before the Emperor. The star was like a gluttonous maw, consuming all things.

It swallowed everything that existed and could be perceived. Dark energy, Aether, even space itself. Even Nari’s extended sword energy was sucked into the center of Amhyeoldo.

That was the moment. Emperor Termina widened his eyes.

Whoosh—

It was because Nari had instantly closed the distance using Amhyeoldo’s suction. By the time he registered it, she had already flown to the Emperor’s very nose.

Muyeongsingeom Style 3, Ilju (Daily Cycle).

The sword strike described a slanted circle. By a hair’s breadth, the Emperor evaded the attack. It was a bone-chilling moment.

Had it hit directly, he would have been blasted with a day’s worth of starlight. Instinctively sensing death, the Emperor heightened his tension.

But that was as far as it went. The moment it took for the Emperor to regain his composure after losing his center was an eternity, enough time for Nari to swing her sword hundreds of times.

Muyeongsingeom Style 4, Eunha (Galaxy).

Endless sword strikes followed. Nari’s speed was too fast to follow with the naked eye. A small universe was painted before the Emperor’s eyes.

Stars, and more stars. By the time he saw that universe, hundreds of sword strikes had already ravaged his body.

Grin—

However, Emperor Termina smiled. After the light subsided, it was only the black tentacles that began to disintegrate into pieces.

Not even a tiny scratch remained on his main body. The Emperor realized something. Eve from a few months ago was still reflected in Nari’s eyes.

He was certain. Nari wouldn’t kill her.

“Aren’t you going to kill me?”

“No, I will kill you. You.”

Immediately afterward, he didn’t understand Nari’s words. He thought it was nonsense. But a small unease welled up.

Nari was not hesitating at all. She only swung her sword. Trusting herself, and trusting Eve.

‘Eve, it’s time to wake up.’

The pure white sword energy mercilessly sliced through the black tentacles. No matter how hard the Emperor tried to block, Nari’s sword had no gaps. It pushed forward like a bulldozer, cutting and tearing the tentacles.

Then it happened. The Emperor’s black hair scattered like ash, revealing underneath pale sky-blue hair.

“…!!”

“There you are, Eve.”

“Get… away… from me…!!”

The surrounding dark energy shattered, and the Emperor, revealed in her true form, seemed flustered as she gathered more dark energy. Countless black tentacles stretched toward Nari.

Her hair turned black again, and a deeper darkness began to engulf Nari.

Nari did not resist. Whether the tentacles shattered her Muyeonggeom, tore off her limbs, or swallowed her light, she didn’t show the slightest movement.

The black tentacles ran wild like fish in water. The black star, their mother, the greatest instinct of the demon god, was the conquest and destruction of light.

Nari, an intense light, remained there without resistance. Like a hungry beast, it left its teeth marks everywhere.

That was the case with the mindless tentacles. However, the Emperor felt a sense of unease.

No matter how much of that light it devoured, it showed no sign of diminishing.

“Eat. Eat as much as you want. Until you burst.”

Crack-

A tentacle’s tooth broke off. The failed-to-hunt tentacle died and was replaced by a new one.

Another tentacle next to it also broke a tooth.

“What… what’s going on…?”

Too much of anything is poison, or so they say. But that wasn’t the problem.

The tentacles were dying just from the flowing light? It wasn’t an illusion and the hunting instinct of the tentacles was undeniable. These tentacles shouldn’t meet such an end.

Then the Emperor realized. Each glimmer of light contained the essence of the Muyeonggeom. Blinded by victory, she only noticed now.

Nari wasn’t resisting. Her body remained still, but she wielded her sword solely with her mind.

Muyeongsingeom Style 0, Cheonsang (Celestial Thought).

She was painting her own unique heaven with all her body and soul.

The Emperor was captivated by this fantastical sight. Due to the extreme consumption of dark energy, she could no longer maintain her imperial body.

Crackle-

Black ash fell from the Emperor’s eyes. Revealed within were flawlessly clear and beautiful blue eyes.

“Did you sleep well, Eve?”

“No…a, aah… no, no, no, no, no—”

Darkness filled the blue pond once more. Having rapidly lost her strength, Emperor Termina sacrificed some of her life force to restore her dark energy.

That time, the ‘thing’ inside her almost burst out. The one existing there now as Emperor Termina was another self of Eve. An enormous amount of dark energy was needed to suppress her original self.

It wasn’t like that at first. It was because Eve had given up everything and chosen self-annihilation. But her self was too immense, and even as the demon god-possessed Emperor Termina, sealing her was the best option.

The biggest reason was failing to confine Nari to the demon god’s realm. Giving the sleeping Eve a glimmer of hope caused her to reassert her existence.

She was an inhuman monster who had endured hope torture for tens of thousands of years. With her strong heart that even Emperor Termina couldn’t kill, Nari had ignited a new spark.

The crisis drew closer.

“Remember… that time? You suddenly said you wanted to go on an adventure. While we were drinking.”

“St… stop it…!! I never experienced such things with you!”

“We hunted magical beasts together, camped in the forest and spent nights there, walked across fields and crossed rivers… and looked at the night sky and asked me…”

Emperor Termina clutched her head. That didn’t exist in the memories with Narita Florine Naifrantz, nor with Narias Philbrogue.

But something surfaced from Eve’s brain. The fiercely carved memory of that day. The man she had once loved more than anything in this world.

The face of Adam, whom Emperor Termina also so desperately yearned for, came to mind.

“Why… did I follow your sudden actions without any suspicion?”

“That’s not you…!! Don’t impersonate Adam, you thief!”

“The truth is, I was extremely flustered. I had to hide my true feelings, but I couldn’t make it too weird either. I had to give you power.”

The crisis was approaching. No, Nari was approaching. Emperor Termina had already lost her obsidian sword. She could only raise her hands as she backed away.

“D… don’t come closer…!!”

“Actually, I shouldn’t have spoken for so long. What I wanted to say then was…”

“Sh… shut… up…”

Pure white light radiated from Nari. Emperor Termina felt her mind becoming hazy.

And her lips moved involuntarily.

“…What was it?”

Crack-

Blue eyes looked at Nari. Nari looked at Eve and said the words she had wanted to hear for tens of thousands of years.

“I fell in love with you from the moment I first saw you. Only now do I realize it was love.”

Eve laughed brightly. Simultaneously, the black star’s tentacles began to crumble.

Nari was relieved and stroked her trembling chest. No matter how many times, no matter how old she got, confessing her love always made her heart pound.

“…Eve?”

Then she felt a sense of unease. Eve’s expression was frozen. She regained her composure and drew in more Aether.

The source of the unease was the dark energy. A never-before-felt dark energy. The kind that just by smelling it, a person would faint and die… an unimaginable, overwhelmingly thick dark energy.

The black star’s tentacles shattered and flew toward Eve all at once. Darkness began to envelop Eve. Nari quickly reached out to Eve.

Slash-!

Her hand was gone. The intense dark energy had cleanly severed Nari’s hand, which was protected by Aether.

By the time she finished healing her severed wrist, Eve was gone.

Before her was Tenebris’s exalted presence, having completely possessed Eve’s body.

“Finally… I have completely mastered this human body.”

Nari raised her Muyeonggeom. Its tip trembled. Her face was devastated. She gritted her teeth and shed tears.

“Eve… must have felt this way too, back then.”

“Hmm, you’re not dead yet?”

“You… I’ll kill you now.”

Nari was filled with nothing but killing intent.