Surviving in a Romance Fantasy Novel-Chapter 165: Final Reincarnation Cycle (6)

For Yeon Ri, the fact that the Plague Demonic Spirit had fully manifested could only mean one thing. Everything was over.

She could now truly grasp the despair of watching that colossal being rise, looking down upon the imperial capital as the demonic spirits spread like an endless tide.

Just how powerful must a demonic spirit be if it could grip the Great Star Gate with a single arm?

Whether or not such a creature could be slain was not something that could be judged within the realm of human capability.

One could not deflect a lightning strike, withstand a collapsing landslide, or halt an oncoming earthquake.

The arrival of the Plague Demonic Spirit was a disaster in itself, not a matter of whether one could fight against it or not.

“The right arm of the Plague Demonic Spirit?”

“…. If we open the Great Star Gate, we’ll probably see the hand clutching it whole.”

“Wasn’t its resurrection still far off?”

“It was.”

It was rare to see Yeon Ri wearing such a serious expression.

Even when demonic spirits filled the land and the world was thrown into chaos, she rarely showed any sign of solemnity.

Perhaps to her, this was nothing more than a fleeting moment in the long years she had endured.

And yet, even she could not help but momentarily lose her composure at the sight before her.

“I see. So it must have found a way.”

“The Plague Demonic Spirit?”

“Mhmm. Just as we have struggled through countless reincarnations, that monster has also been desperately trying to escape this prison-like cycle.”

A cycle of reincarnation that had continued endlessly until one of the two was dead.

Within it, the Plague Demonic Spirit had struggled and struggled again.

In order to break free from the iron bars that the detestable Heavenly Maiden had firmly put in place.

“You said it was strange that the Plague Demonic Spirit revealed its true form at the Birthday Ceremony, right? Of course, it did. It had finally found a way to fully resurrect. That’s why it was so confident when it tried to kill you.”

“…So there’s some method it discovered in this cycle of reincarnation that it hadn’t found before?”

“Mhmm.”

– Hwaaaaaaaah!

– Aaaaaaaaargh!

The screams of soldiers being torn limb from limb by the writhing tentacles echoed across the battlefield.

Those who were devoured by the right arm of the Plague Demonic Spirit could only twist and contort grotesquely before inevitably joining the ranks of countless severed heads.

It was a terrifying sight.

It would not have been an exaggeration to say that almost none of the soldiers remained in their right minds.

If this continued, they would all be wiped out.

The severity of the situation was evident just by looking at the two princess consorts who had followed them to the battlefield. The Vermilion Princess and the White Princess.

The Vermilion Princess, in a desperate attempt, had cut down several nearby demonic spirits, but her trembling hands betrayed her fear as her entire body quivered.

Even the White Princess who always maintained her composure no matter the circumstances could only swallow dryly and her shoulders shook as she took in the monstrous sight that loomed over them.

How could anyone hope to survive against such a creature?

It was a moment that left them with no choice but to send a resentful prayer to the Emperor of Heaven, yet instead of praying, I furrowed my brows and gripped Yeon Ri’s shoulders tightly.

“How do we stop its resurrection? Even if there’s the slightest possibility… just tell me everything you can think of.”

“I’m still sorting through my thoughts… ugh… ugh…!!!”

Yeon Ri clenched her teeth and shut her eyes, trying to organize her thoughts.

In the meantime, I quickly unsheathed my sword and dispatched a few demonic spirits that had charged toward us.

“Now that the physical body of the Plague Demonic Spirit has manifested, everything is already over. If it were the old me, I would have restarted time and walked the path of reincarnation again. But… that’s no longer an option.”

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

“Right. Whether it works or not, this cycle of reincarnation is the final one.”

“…Still, just because its physical form has appeared doesn’t mean it has fully resurrected yet.”

Yeon Ri carefully sifted through the countless memories of her past cycles, piecing together everything she had witnessed.

The arrival of the Plague Demonic Spirit.

At that point, she would have abandoned everything in this cycle and returned to the past.

Which meant that the resurrection of the Plague Demonic Spirit had always been something that occurred near the very end in her memories.

“The physical form of the Plague Demonic Spirit is, in itself, a colossal demonic spirit. For convenience, we refer to them as its arms and legs, but in the end, unless the demonic spirit fully manifests and becomes the central core, they are nothing more than rampaging monsters acting on their own.”

“…So? Just lay out every method you can think of.”

“The most realistic option… is to take down its limbs one by one.”

I lifted my head and gazed once more at the night sky, now shrouded in darkness.

The right arm of the Plague Demonic Spirit was slaughtering soldiers as it streaked across the heavens.

A countless mass of tentacles of unknown origin had become execution platforms, scattering the soldiers’ corpses across the sky like a gruesome display.

And three more of these monsters were yet to arrive.

Worse still, once the Plague Demonic Spirit fully manifested, those creatures would merge into one, giving birth to the largest and most fearsome demonic spirit of all.

“That’s completely unrealistic. We’re severely lacking in manpower, our formations have collapsed, and we don’t have time.”

“I agree. Then we have no choice but to pierce through its core and kill it.”

In the end, the key lay in discovering where the demonic spirit’s soul resided.

If cutting off its limbs was meaningless, then the only option left was to sever its head. That much was obvious.

“That’s at least a more feasible approach.”

“The problem is… we have no way of knowing where the Plague Demonic Spirit’s soul is.”

Yeon Ri slowly closed her eyes again.

Then, she sank to her knees on the dirt-covered ground.

The soldiers fighting the charging demonic spirits widened their eyes in shock as they turned to look in our direction.

Amidst the carnage where soldiers were dying one after another, a girl stood motionless. She was drenched in blood.

She was the former Heavenly Maiden Ah Hyun.

Perhaps it was because the sight of her, seated on the dirt with her eyes gently closed and lost in thought, seemed utterly surreal.

In this gruesome battlefield where fleeing would have been the most natural choice, she instead chose to close her eyes in meditation. How could that possibly make sense?

But she knew.

She knew that while she gathered her thoughts, I would take care of the demonic spirits surrounding us.

I drew my sword.

A wave of killing intent rippled through the horde of demonic spirits.

The scent of their blood mixed with the gusts of my blade, stinging my nose.

A hellish scene unfolded. Human flesh and demonic spirits flesh intermingled in the air. They got torn apart and scattered.

And at the center of that gruesome spectacle, the girl continued to organize her thoughts.

The end of a cycle of reincarnation that had stretched on endlessly.

Standing at the edge of a cliff with no path forward, the only thing left to contemplate was the road she had walked thus far.

A path no one else could ever know.

The first time she felt disappointed with the world, the first time she witnessed its end, the first time she despaired, the first time she turned back time, the first time she struggled against fate…. those distant moments from a past long forgotten.

Only upon reaching her final reincarnation cycle did she finally look back on the arduous path she had taken.

“…….”

And now, only when she had reached the very limits of her strength, did a new path reveal itself.

Seol Tae Pyeong had brought all four princess consorts under his influence, risen to the position of vice general, and secured full command over the military. Those who could have stood in his way had all but disappeared.

Only at the very end. Only at the final moment had the tangled threads of the story finally unraveled, revealing truths she had not seen before.

Even though the Plague Demonic Spirit had been hiding within the palace, no one had noticed its presence. This was because, with each cycle of reincarnation, it had concealed its identity by possessing a different person.

After repeating the cycle countless times, the Plague Demonic Spirit had finally discovered a way to hasten its resurrection.

And so, it had carefully preserved that method, holding onto it until the very moment Yeon Ri’s strength was completely drained.

Only in the final reincarnation did it finally reveal its true intentions, aiming to consume the world.

To devour the Heavenly Dragon and rebuild a realm of demonic spirits.

Crack! Whoosh! Clang!

Squelch! Splat!

Even amidst the hellish storm of sword winds and blood spraying in all directions, Yeon Ri never ceased retracing the past.

What had she overlooked?

How had the Plague Demonic Spirit managed to hasten its resurrection?

What was the common thread among those who lost their sanity under its control?

And whose body within this palace housed the core soul of the Plague Demonic Spirit?

As if all those questions were converging toward a single point, Yeon Ri’s eyes snapped open.

“Seol Lee Moon.”

***

The White Immortal Mountain, where Seol Tae Pyeong had departed.

Conversations passed between those gathered in the front courtyard of Taehwa Pavilion.

The Azure Princess who was still recovering her strength struggled to offer words of comfort to the Black Princess who was gagging from nausea.

– Black Princess, you’ve been through a lot. It must not have been easy to examine all those corpses up close.

– Urgh, I thought I was going to die from the stench… but it had to be done. Still, it’s hard to find any clear pattern among the bodies. The only thing that keeps bothering me is that they were all high-ranking officials of the third rank or above.

– But it doesn’t make sense for the Plague Demonic Spirit to selectively target only high officials. After all, the bureaucratic system is something humans created… It wouldn’t be easy for that demonic spirit to manipulate that.

The Black Princess rested her chin on her hand and fell into deep thought.

– But you know… all the people who were consumed by the Plague Demonic Spirit’s blood were elderly.

– Well… they were all high officials. They were bound to be experienced and of a certain age.

– Not necessarily. Even among third-rank officials, those with strong backgrounds or exceptional talent can rise to power at a young age. Look at General Seol…. he’s young. If we search, we will find plenty of others like him… so why were only the older ones chosen?

– That… that’s true….

The Black Princess took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and sank into thought.

Countless pieces of information flitted through her mind in a chaotic, unstructured mess.

As she organized the details of all the victims she had examined, various commonalities surfaced, yet it was difficult to determine if any of them held real significance.

However.

High-ranking officials of the third rank or above.

Elderly.

Those two details lingered in her mind like a thorn caught in her throat, refusing to be dismissed.

Beyond that, she noticed an odd imbalance.

Almost all military officials of general rank had been devoured by the Plague Demonic Spirit, yet most civil officials, aside from a select few, showed no signs of being affected.

People who had remained in the palace for a long time…

Military officials, especially generals, had almost all been consumed…

Yet most civil officials were unharmed… though a handful of them had also fallen victim…

If the Plague Demonic Spirit can devour any high-ranking official indiscriminately, wouldn’t it be more efficient to force them all to take their own lives? Why was there this strange disparity?

It felt as though there was a connection hidden among the scattered clues, something she had yet to uncover.

One thing was certain. The Plague Demonic Spirit could not control just anyone. There had to be a specific process required.

It was able to control military officials easily, but not civil officials…?

As that thought settled in her mind, a new possibility suddenly emerged.

If it had used Taoist magic or spread demonic power, it must have been able to approach its targets unnoticed.

Someone who could get close to military officials yet remained relatively distant from civil officials.

The body that the Plague Demonic Spirit had possessed before this disaster.

Sword Master Seol Lee Moon.

– Grand General Seong Sa Wook is the Plague Demonic Spirit.

– We must find out where he buried Seol Lee Moon’s corpse.

The last will of Chief Councilor In Seon Rok.

Vermilion Princess Seol Ran wore a grim expression as she supported the Crown Prince and hurried down the White Immortal Mountain.

If the Chief Councilor had left such words as his final will, then this could very well be the key to the entire disaster.

Even as she helped the Crown Prince, her thoughts never stopped racing.

Where was Seol Lee Moon’s corpse?

The Plague Demonic Spirit that had devoured Grand General Seong Sa Wook’s body….where had it buried him?

“The Imperial Tomb.”

It was then.

Emperor Woon Sung who had been walking ahead lowered his voice and spoke with quiet authority.

“Your father, Seol Lee Moon, the head of the Huayongseol Clan, is buried in the Imperial Tomb, the innermost chamber of the imperial ancestral shrine.”

“…What?”

“You must be curious. Why is the corpse of Seol Lee Moon, the most heinous traitor, enshrined in such a place?”

Seol Ran’s eyes widened in shock.

In the deep darkness of the night, Emperor Woon Sung spoke quietly.

“Grand General Seong Sa Wook came to me in the dead of night and personally advised it. He claimed that the Sword Master’s body was a secret that must never be revealed to the outside world.”

“……”

“You have earned great merit. If you survive this crisis, I shall recognize your service… and allow you to pay respects at your father’s grave. That is if you do not resent him.”

“Your Majesty….”

“So… let us make it to the palace.”

Clenching his teeth, Emperor Woon Sung pressed forward.

He carried a heavy burden on his shoulders.

“We must survive, no matter what it takes.”

***

Rustle, rustle.

Crunch.

Deep within the Imperial Tomb. In a secret chamber, there lay the Imperial Ancestral Shrine.

In that sacred burial ground, sealed beneath countless layers of stone, a corpse stirred with a dry rustling sound as it slowly rose.

Years had passed. Enough that only bones should have remained…. yet the body still retained its form.

Though its flesh was rotting and decayed in places, a chilling gleam flickered in its eyes.

Beside the tomb lay the “Heaven and Earth Sword”, the sword its owner had once wielded in life. Without hesitation, the corpse reached for it and gripped it effortlessly as it stood.

Once, that body had belonged to the greatest Sword Master of Cheongdo.

Now, it was the king of all these demonic spirits.