A single raindrop fell from the sky and landed—of all places—on the blade tinged with a violet hue. Normally, when a raindrop hits something hot, it vanishes with a sizzle—chiiik—but when it touched the wooden sword, it disappeared without a sound.

Was it because the surroundings were noisy?

Or had I simply missed the faint sound?

I looked around at the Four Heavenly Kings with a puzzled expression, and absurdly enough, I ended up sharing that question with them.

Even in this moment of life and death, the Red King asked me, “Sect Leader, what martial art is that, exactly?”

It wasn’t easy to answer. If I spoke and missed even a single breath, the four of them might surge at me all at once.

“......”

With a light tuk, tuk, raindrops began to fall, thin and steady. But I figured I wouldn’t be able to choose a proper counterattack unless I saw how the Four Heavenly Kings moved, so I opened my mouth.

“This is...”

All four of them attacked at once. Using the tensile force in my left hand, I smashed the ground and leapt upward. Even before the ceiling collapsed, all four were already airborne.

Soaring diagonally upward, I swung the wooden sword wrapped in the violet sword energy of Zaha toward the Red King. In that instant, the Red King’s sword was sliced cleanly as if it were tofu. He tried to pull back his shoulder to dodge the sword energy but ended up crashing to the ground, while I landed safely on the edge and glared at the remaining three.

When I split the Red King’s sword in a single slash, the expressions on the other Heavenly Kings were a sight to behold.

Watching the raindrops grow thicker, I finally responded, “...Zaha Divine Art.”

The White Sky King replied, “My congratulations.”

The Black Underworld King added, “Congratulations.”

A heavy silence followed before the three surged through the air, and from below, the Red King’s internal energy exploded upward. I kicked off the fragile rooftop wall and shifted to the opposite side.

At that moment, the sky flashed.

Lightning was about to strike. I extended my left palm toward the three and unleashed the thunder energy of the Hundred Battles Tenfold Technique.

It didn’t mean much.

It was just a bluff to look like I was in harmony with the heavens.

KWAJIJIJIJIJIK!

The roar of thunder swallowed all surrounding noise.

As the three countered with sword energy, a window beneath shattered and the Red King appeared, bursting forth with explosive force.

‘Brave bastard.’

I poured all the sword energy coiled around the blade toward the Red King’s body.

SWEEEEEIIIK!

As he reached out in the air to grasp the sword energy, the Red King collided with several walls and crashed to the ground.

The White Sky King looked at me and asked, “Red, are you all right?”

A voice came from below. “No.”

I heard a door open, then the sound of someone wounded—presumably the Red King—climbing the stairs.

I still stood at the edge, watching to keep the Four Heavenly Kings from crossing.

As the sound of the Red King’s approach grew louder, the Blue Earth King, White Sky King, and Black Underworld King, each from a different direction, unleashed sword energy and internal force as if performing their ultimate techniques. As I parried the three with the wooden sword, two hands suddenly burst out from below my feet.

When the Red King’s hands wrapped around my ankles, I readjusted my grip on the wooden sword and drove it into the ground. The moment it sank in with a thud, the three kings burst forward. As soon as I let go of the wooden sword, I raised a frost barrier of Moonlight Cold Heart Technique in front of me.

As the ice barrier shattered, I pulled a Flash Dagger from my robe and threw it at the Blue Earth King.

Dodging the Black Underworld King’s sword, I then clashed palms with the White Sky King.

Seeing the Flash Dagger embedded in the Blue Earth King’s palm, the White Sky King and Black Underworld King pressed their attacks.

Their combination was nearly impossible to dodge.

Since they’d already seized the initiative, it wouldn’t have been strange for a hole to open somewhere in my body. I bent my upper body all the way back and barely pushed off with Jeunjong to gain a single step. Floating horizontally like a ghost, I struck the ground with my left palm to rise again, but the trio’s next assault was already upon me.

I channeled Flaming Execution Palm through both palms and launched it forward.

They responded by swinging their swords at my “shield” or countering with internal energy.

KWAHHHHHHHHH!

As the shockwave surged over my face, my robe and hair whipped wildly, and the rain began to pour even harder.

Facing off against the Four Heavenly Kings, I asked about the Red King.

“Did the Red King die? He must have my wooden sword.”

The Blue Earth King was bleeding from the palm that had been struck by the Flash Dagger—now that I thought about it, I’d pierced that hand once before. In any case, he wasn’t in perfect condition.

The White Sky King and Black Underworld King looked relatively unharmed. But when the Red King finally appeared again, his state was utterly wretched. The wooden sword was embedded in his shoulder and had pierced through to exit his forearm.

The Red King approached the White Sky King and said, “Pull it out.”

The White Sky King looked at me.

I had no intention of attacking them in this pitiful state, so I gave a slight nod.

“Go ahead.”

When the White Sky King pulled out the sword, the Red King’s face twisted in pain. Meanwhile, the rain grew even heavier, soaking us to the bone.

Originally, none of us—neither the Four Heavenly Kings nor I—were the type to cry. But as we stood there in the downpour, it looked like we were all weeping.

I spoke, giving in to emotion.

“The name Heaven-Earth-Human Fate probably wasn’t meant to be something that just kills people. Do you still want to live? I don’t know. Have you ever been forgiven by anyone? I don’t know. I was going to ask the ordinary people here if you deserve to die or not, but they’re not here. Where did they all go? It’s not time to be cooking rice. Let’s say your fate wasn’t decided by me ending your lives, but by the absence of the people who were here. Let’s finish this.”

The White Sky King silently stared at me, then threw the wooden sword to me.

I caught it wordlessly.

He said, as if asking for forgiveness, “Sect Leader, we didn’t know any other way to live. It always felt suffocating, and I think I’m just now beginning to understand why. Please spare Red.”

He then grabbed the severely wounded Red King by the scruff and lightly tossed him out of the building. It was hard to tell if he was trying to help or kill him, but even from my view, it wasn’t a fall that would kill him outright. Still, the Red King let out an incomprehensible yell as he plummeted.

Soaked in rain, the Blue Earth King pulled the Flash Dagger from his palm and threw it back to me.

“...Take it.”

“...!”

For a moment, I felt my eyes roll back. If they had a sense of shame, why had they lived so disgracefully?

“You miserable bastards...”

The Black Underworld King spoke.

“Some of the lingering spirits rampaged with bloodlust for the first time in a while—we failed to stop them. We are ashamed.”

Rain got in my eyes, and I blinked repeatedly, then saw that the downpour had turned violet.

“...This is why I can’t live in my right mind.”

Strangely, it wasn’t just anger—I also felt pity toward the Four Heavenly Kings. Especially the Blue Earth King—he was a man who had killed the leaders of many sects in my past life. Was he a different man now? I was in such a daze I could barely lift my sword.

I nodded.

“Come at me. Whoever dies, let’s meet again in the afterlife.”

The three exchanged glances, then surged toward me like raindrops in freefall, kicking up muddy water. Even as I swung my sword, it felt like I was slicing through space itself.

Maybe it was the Zaha Divine Art, but everything was being cut apart.

I severed their swords, the rain, and before I knew it, their limbs. Soaked in both rain and blood—but at that point, what was the difference? Even the Blue Earth King’s torso, which seemed protected by armor, couldn’t withstand the wooden sword.

I didn’t know if I was killing them with my own skill or just helping them commit suicide—but they were being cleaved so emptily.

It felt like only a moment passed, or maybe like I exchanged hundreds of moves in the rain. When I came to my senses, the Four Heavenly Kings’ mangled bodies were scattered all around. Due to the nature of the Zaha Divine Art, a blood-colored mist was rising around me, evaporating as if it were steaming. Maybe it was from the mixture of rain and blood. Or maybe I simply couldn’t distinguish colors anymore.

I said to the Blue Earth King, White Sky King, and Black Underworld King, “...Farewell. I have ghosts to slay now.”

Only then did I notice the Flash Dagger embedded in the White Sky King’s chest. When had that gotten there? As I pulled it out and stowed it, I grew irritated by the silence.

“Find peace. Find peace!”

Maybe it was because the fight had happened at such a height—I didn’t even know where I was anymore. I walked to the railing and looked down at the chaos below. Frozen corpses stood like statues, and ghosts were tangled with Sword Demon, Ghost Demon, and the Lecher, all trapped in hell.

Suddenly, I looked up to find two men watching me—one dressed in white robes like a warden of hell, the other with white eyebrows. Their titles came to mind.

I looked at the White-Robed Scholar and the Grand Duke.

“What are you staring at, you sons of bitches?”

I thrust the wooden sword toward the Grand Duke.

“You better get lost now. If you don’t, I’ll ask the Scholar for the location of Simwon Valley and go there myself. Scholar, where’s Simwon Valley? Tell me. Do you want to die too?”

The White-Robed Scholar looked at me. “Sect Leader, get a hold of yourself. You’ve fallen into internal deviation.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“Fine. I’ll calm down.”

I regulated my breathing and let out a trembling exhale as I looked at the Grand Duke.

“I’m not fully in deviation yet. White Robe, let’s kill the Grand Duke.”

The White-Robed Scholar looked at him. “Grand Duke, leave for today. If you don’t, I’ll go down right now and kill the Red King first. If you’re a general, you should know when to retreat.”

“......”

Yang the Grand Duke looked at us, sighed briefly, and said farewell.

“See you again.”

He stepped back and leapt between buildings. To my eyes, it looked like he was falling into another hell.

The reason I let him go was because it was better for him to join the Four Great Villains quickly. If I dragged the fight out with the Grand Duke, the Four Great Villains might fall to the ghosts. If you ask what comes first—killing or saving—then saving comes first.

Now I looked at the White-Robed Scholar, who remained.

“Mu-je, you help too. The enemies are ghosts.”

“Why should I?”

“If you’re Mu-je, you should avenge the former ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) Murim Alliance Leader. If you’re the Scholar, you should avenge the Sword God. And if you’re my comrade, you should help your sworn brother. What the hell are you? With skills like that, all you do is watch like some pervert. Come down with me. Comrade, I’m asking you.”

The White-Robed Scholar grinned.

“‘Asking,’ huh? A meaningful word.”

“If I can borrow Mu-je’s strength, I’ll ask.”

In the rain, he laughed.

“You’re the kind of man who distinguishes favors and grudges clearly, aren’t you?”

“You know my nature.”

Suddenly, a massive explosion echoed below. I looked down, then said my farewell to the White-Robed Scholar.

“I’ll go to hell first.”

“All right.”

I stood precariously at the rooftop’s edge—then dove headfirst. As the ground neared, I twisted my body and landed. The ground squelched under the downpour.

I walked through the rain-drenched hell in search of villains.

If they were fighting here, it meant they were guilty of much. Same goes for me. Villains and those who’d forgotten whether they were villains or not were all tangled in a painting of hell.

It looked like the merging of a freezing hell and one where bodies are dismembered.

Drawing my wooden sword, I asked, “Eldest brother?”

From somewhere, Sword Demon answered, “Here.”

As I stabbed the sword into the neck of a still-breathing ghost, I asked, “Second brother?”

From the left, Ghost Demon replied, “Here.”

I nodded and lopped off the frozen ghost’s neck.

“Diaper shitter?”

Nearby, the Lecher shouted angrily, “Ppppfffft! Bastard, I’m right here! What the hell are you doing?!”

“You’ve finally gained some self-awareness about what kind of bastard you are. Not bad.”

The Four Great Villains danced among the ghosts. If you wanted to survive hell, you had to dance well.

If I don’t go to hell, who will?

I danced like a madman as I entered hell and raised my sword to the pouring rain.