1.
It rained that day.
-Ha. What the hell is the principle behind rain inside a tower?
The Venomous Snake grumbled as he trudged down a dark street. Several streetlights had been built, but they were sparse. It was as if an elementary school student had thrown a few bean sprouts to plant them. Some had even been destroyed.
-Fuck.
Glancing at a broken streetlight, the Venomous Snake frowned.
In the Tower's earliest days.
A time when the infrastructure had yet to be overhauled.
Buildings received power outages whenever they felt like, and all sorts of crimes happened on the streets without traffic lights or crossings.
Tired of this, the Sword Saint declared [I will make a civil militia], but… well, would it work? The Venomous Snake was skeptical.
This place was the hangout spot for scum and lunatics
-Ah! Chun Mu-mun Master!
Then came the voice of the man who could be called the leader of the lunatics. From behind him.
He really didn't want to turn around, but considering that lunatic's social status, he had no choice.
-…what is it?
-Ah. As expected, it's the Chun Mu-mun Master!
A gold plated smile.
Turning around, he saw a fairy-like child standing in the middle of the street like a garbage can. The child, who looked like they had never done anything wrong in their life, smiled. Their fresh blonde hair as if they had just taken a shower added a solid fragrance to the child's smile.
-Heretic Questioner.
The Venomous Snake knew the name of this dangerous being.
-It's raining, so why are you calling me?
-Ahaha, so stiff! I received advice from the Black Dragon Master! She told me to talk to you in public!
The Venomous Snake frowned.
-Meaning? By talking to me in public like this while it's raining, are you trying to give the impression that [Chun Mu-mun and the Ten Thousand Temple have a good relationship]?
-Hoh, indeed! That's exactly what I meant!
-How come I didn't know? You followed so well.
-I'm still learning. I had no other choice! Hmm, sticking to my goal, it would be more efficient to go to a cafe together and get out of the rain than to do this here!
The tip of the Venomous Snake's nose twitched.
'As expected, it's not right.'
Something, instinctively, [doesn't match] between the two of them.
After exchanging words, the other party would draw a conclusion and progress. Nonetheless, the Venomous Snake didn't have the feeling of [exchanging words]. Quite the contrary. It was as if they were exchanging words, but they were in a foreign language such that they would never be able to understand each other.
-Um. A cafe.
-Yes, a good cafe!
Again.
Even though they both said [cafe] he could feel a difference.
Was the word cafe that he was using really the same as him? Did he understand? If a parrot memorized the patterns and exchanged the questions and answers in a conversation with a human, could it be considered communication?
-....
The Venomous Snake gazed into the Heretic Questioner's eyes with his one remaining eye.
There was no reflection of him in the Heretic Questioner's eyes. His blue eyes seemed to only reflect the color of the sky.
In that case, it made no difference [talking to this guy] or [talking to the sky]. Either way, the conversation wouldn't work.
With a religion created out of a desire to talk to gods that could not be communicated with, trying to talk to the head of that religion could be considered ironic.
-Oi. Religious quack.
-Yes, sword quack!
-Ten Thousand Temple Master.
-Yes, Chun Mu-mun Master!
-Heretic Questioner.
-Yes, Venomous Snake!
-Right.
The Venomous Snake spoke to the raining sky.
-Right. Let's go to the cafe.
It rained that day.
2.
It rained.
"Death King…!"
A rain soaked roar resounded. The Chun Mu-mun Master. The Hunter with the title Venomous Snake, borrowing the body of an oni warrior with a broken horn, widened his red eyes.
It wasn't just his eyes that were red. Disheveled hair. Single horn. Chest muscles and dangling nails. Red rain water flowed over every part of him. The more his body was tinted red, the more the Venomous Snake's possessed body twisted as if in unbearable agony.
"Kuaaaaak!"
It was the aura from the Infernal Heavens Formation released by Estelle and I.
Gracefully Raining Grief of Heaven.
The fall rain that Estelle scattered around the world when she was the Devil King. Estelle's resentment and enmity flowed like endless rain water. The Venomous Snake, who had borrowed several possessed bodies, was struck by the red shower all at once.
"Hu, huuu… Huhu… Ahahahahaha!"
The possessed bodies fell one by one, and the one horned warrior laughed. That warrior rose up from the pile of oni corpses. He pushed aside the corpses of his own kind, stepped on them, and kicked them away as he made a path for himself.
The shape of the oni was a venomous snake*.(*:Not the title)
The warrior, no, the Venomous Snake chuckled. The light in his eyes was redder than the rain. It was a clear sign of Disharmony. The Venomous Snake's entire body was covered in blood, and he licked the rain water flowing into his mouth as if it was cool spring water
"Do you intend to stop us-! Me, Death King!"
"Yes."
I answered.
"I intend to stop you. Chun Mu-mun Master."
"Why?!"
"One of the kids I take care of told me something."
I glanced to where the Chairman of the goblins was.
"If Uburka blows you away, will it be their victory, or Uburka's victory."
"Oho."
"By the same principle, if you use a crowd to win in this situation, that's your victory, not your race's victory."
"Uhahaha,"
The warrior, who had fallen into a state of Disharmony, howled loudly in the rain.
"If it's the race you lead. There's nothing to say about uprightness or righteousness."
"…"
"Ahhh, I'm so pissed… Right. That's right. That's what a guy like me does, fuck."
"Chun Mu-mun Master,"
"How did you raise those kids to be so upright and righteous, fuck!"
Crackle-
An electric current danced at the Venomous Snake's feet. As if in response, lightning struck from the raining sky. Boom! The turbulence of aura shook the ground. The raindrops puddled on the ground splattered, and the rain water embroidering the sky that was caught in the lightning evaporated.
"Damn it!"
The electric current flowed through the puddle on the ground. Electrified raindrops wriggled in every direction. The Venomous Snake, who was in the middle of the electrified puddle, stood firmly on both feet.
"My kids!"
Amazingly, the color of the electric current and lightning was purple.
"Why are they having so much trouble putting a guy like me on top!"
"…"
"Huh? Death King!!"
The Venomous Snake howled while drawing lightning from the sky.
3.
It rained that day.
-You didn't have to kill them.
In front of the cooling corpse in a back alley, the Venomous Snake muttered.
-Why did you kill them? Did you really need to? Heretic Questioner. You're an amazing brat. But why do you always do that ….
-Um, that…
With both hands stained with blood, the Heretic Questioner tilted his head to the side.
The Venomous Snake couldn't tell if he was receiving an answer from the Heretic Questioner or the raining sky.
-Because that way is more efficient!
-…
-Corpses can't talk. They can't act. So they can't break promises or become future threats! That's why it's better to kill those who show hostility when I can!
As the number of rainy days increased one by one, the time that passed doubled.
Now, on a street where the number of streetlights increased, the child of a broken god who had made people a part of the street many times, eventually, as if he'd grown tired of it, cupped his chin and said.
-Chun Mu-mun Master.
-…
-I know you're trying to 'fix' me.
The Heretic Questioner smiled brightly.
-Your efforts have paid off and now, the two of us can be said to have a relationship where, instead of going to a cafe to show the closeness between our guilds, we can go to order coffee.
-…
-However, that is all.
The Heretic Questioner looked at the Venomous Snake.
His eyes, which looked like the sky, reflected neither the corpse, nor the Venomous Snake in front of him.
-You can only use me like everyone else. You cannot change the principles of my behavior.
Old vehicles raced down the road.
They were all cars that should have been sent to the antique shop already, but in Babylon, seeing such junk rolling around was normal. Bang! Bang! The sound from their exhaust pipes was like the wheezing of weak lungs.
-Why?
-Because you cannot take responsibility for me.
Although they were cruel, the pointed words in the rain were simple pure facts.
-I was born like this. I have lived like this. This is the only way I can live, and your attempts to instill a different way of life in me, despite your good intentions, are bound to fail.
A broken streetlight was knocked down by the rain.
Despite that, the Heretic Questioner smiled brightly with his arms spread out.
-Nevertheless, Chun Mu-mun Master. Is that such a bad thing?
-I define those who try to kill me because they cannot take responsibility for me as my enemies. Sadly, 99% of the world is made up of enemies. In that regard, Chun Mu-mun Master is a very rare case. You probably wouldn't kill me even if there was a chance!
Lightning struck.
In the torrential rain, the lightning seemed purple. Startled by it, a car drove nearby and landed heavily in a puddle. As if splashed by an invisible hand, a spray of water rose up and hit the two of them.
-To say it plainly, the two of us are friends and colleagues.
-Isn't that enough?
That wasn't enough.
However, if it was the best option, he had no choice but to be satisfied.
That's what he thought.
Thought.
4.
Lightning struck in the rain.
All auras have a different color. However, it's not just the color that is different. Even with the same red aura, it could have the meaning of [blood] or [rose]. Depending on the image that the aura user has in their heart, and the image that is embedded in their core, the aura would also be different.
My aura resembled blood and flames.
And the 6th Ranked Hunter, the Venomous Snake, seemed to have [damaging purple lightning*] in his heart. (*:contextually… the 'damaging' part is still unclear)
"…that, I,"
I grabbed the saber of a corpse that had fallen close by.
"How would I know?!"
"Why don't you know, bastard!"
The Venomous Snake rushed forward.
Just as the form of his aura was lightning, the Venomous Snake, who had fallen into a state of Disharmony and released his true ki, was as fast as lightning. It was almost impossible to follow the Venomous Snake's movement with the naked eye. In an instant, the Venomous Snake's figure flashed past me.
Whoosh!
"Shit,"
A line of blood burst from my shoulder. Blood spurted out.
A bizarre quick sword. If he had cut a bit deeper, I might have lost my left arm, but I was angry for other reasons, not the injury.
"Dammit, why are you just standing there in a daze!?"
Before I regressed, the Chun Mu-mun Master was one of the great figures that I dare not even look up to.
Even after finding out that he was an Emperor of Lightnovels with a sloppy temperament, on a fundamental level, I still respected this man.
Even taking into account that it was impossible for him to think clearly while in a state of Disharmony, I couldn't bear the fact that such a man was acting like this.
"Acting like this to your junior, aren't you ashamed!?"
"Junior? Ha. Where in the world is there a junior like you!"
The Venomous Snake's voice came from every direction. This was because the Venomous Snake was moving his body in every direction without stopping.
At a speed that divided one second into several pieces, before I knew it, the Venomous Snake appeared in front of me. I used aura to increase my senses as much as possible. But in the infinitely increased time, the Venomous Snake struck at my stomach, chin and head.
A lethal blow.
The determination to kill me was contained in every blow.
Moving my feet, pushing my hands, and twisting my waist, I avoided the blows.
"Why!"
The Venomous Snake didn't stop.
Taht, before the sound of his step disappeared, the Venomous Snake appeared on the other side. He swung his sword. Pushing my aura to the limit, I narrowly evaded the Venomous Snake's sword strike.
"Death King! Why is it you?!"
The moment I dodged the sword strike.
The Venomous Snake's eyes met mine. His eyes burned with poison*. It was poisonous enough to wonder if that was what poisonous gu** looked like when they were put in a jar. (*:also malice/spite)(**:Referring to the sealing of several venomous creatures (e.g., centipede, snake, scorpion) inside a closed container, where they devoured one another and allegedly concentrated their toxins into a single survivor, whose body would be fed upon by larvae until consumed.)
The Venomous Snake's pupils became jars of gu poison that shined dark red
"Why are you, the only one making those other guys happy!"
"What are you suddenly…"
"You inherited the mantle of the Infernal Heavens!"
That story.
It was sudden to me.
And to me, who froze, the Venomous Snake screamed as if vomiting blood.
"You set up the best moment for the Heavenly Demon! You gave her a gift. Despite being eaten away by the agony of death, the Heavenly Demon was still able to laugh heartily at the gifts you gave!"
He, too, was a colleague who joined me in the [Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon].
I fought on the side of the Demonic Cult's faction, while the Venomous Snake fought for the Righteous Sects' Faction.
I took the Heavenly Demon as my teacher, and the Venomous Snake took the Murim Lord as his teacher.
"Why!"
A colleague, who shared the winter with me, screamed.
"Why didn't the Lord do that!"
"…"
That scream had the power to freeze my feet for a moment.
The Venomous Snake's sword ki swept across my cheek, causing blood to splatter, but I couldn't help but stand still.
"Grandpa Namgung Yeon also lived desperately! He wanted to become a human that could confront the Heavenly Demon, somehow… He devoted his entire life to training and practice! In my one eye, the Murim Lord looked sublime! But why… why did such a noble man meet such an end, why did he always have to find happiness in taking care of people who knew nothing…"
The Venomous Snake's aura became darker.
Purple aura rose up from his shoulders, slowly flailing upward, stretching into the air.
"It's my fault."
"…"
"That is also my fault. Just like I didn't take good care of these guys, I didn't try to understand Grandpa Murim Lord more deeply…"
The Venomous Snake's head was still lowered.
But just as quiet as he'd become, just so was the amount of aura flowed from his body. Now, the Venomous Snake's aura hung from his back, wriggling like tentacles.
Silence.
The fight between the Chun Mu-mun and the Death King Family was already coming to an end.
Every time Kim Yul swung his sword, one or two possessed bodies died. Every time Uburka swung his ax, five or six people fell apart. Every time Estelle swung her sword, a row of possessed bodies that were trying to counterattack, evaporated in an instant.
"…"
The only sound was the Venomous Snake's own screams.
As the defeat deepened, so too did the silence.
"Death King…"
"Yes, Chun Mu-mun Master."
"I, why…."
Then.
The Venomous Snake raised his head.
Our eyes met.
As I saw his shaking jet black eyes, I realized.
'Ahh.'
It was only after meeting those eyes that I was certain. I understood the meaning in the Venomous Snake's eyes and the shaking in his voice. It was probably the thing I understood most at my age.
Because it was the eyes and voice that I had in the past.
My very first wish. The resentment that could not be fulfilled until my first death. My wish, my essence to stand atop a high ridge to breathe the fresh air as I please, swing my sword as I please, walk only the path I want to walk on, and live the life I want to live.
The first skill I got.
[I Want To Become Just Like you].
As soon as I looked into the Venomous Snake's eyes, I understood the name Venomous more than anyone else.
"I also…"
The Venomous Snake asked this.
"I also want to be like you."
That's right.
At some point, I had become an existence like this for others.