"You... are not only strong."
The Blood Rakshasa gazed intently at Dong Bongsu, standing before him, and the lingering afterglow behind his shoulder.
"You are even sacred. Truly befitting of one of the descended beings."
"Descended beings?"
"Is this the first you've heard of it?"
"I've heard of the Karma Root Tribe. Is that something different?"
"They are the same. The Karma Root Tribe is but one of the clans among the descended beings."
"Ah, so that's how it is?"
Dong Bongsu's lips parted slightly, revealing his neat teeth.
"Kim Rae-won is great, after all."
"...?"
"I can ask and answer questions as I please. And I can cosplay as a normal human being to my heart's content."
"...As I thought, you are one of the descended beings. Seeing as you spout words and phrases this Honored One cannot comprehend."
"Yeah. It's not like I'm saying it for you to understand anyway."
As the Blood Rakshasa stared silently at Dong Bongsu, the human bone prayer bead between his fingers, which had stopped, rolled once more.
Click.
From within his kasaya, a stream of blood-red True Qi surged up and then subsided.
From the bundle of Evil Qi lying beneath his feet, a single strand slowly raised its head.
It was the starting stance unique to the Dark Rakshasa Way—light yet heavy, and containing a formidable power.
"Even if this Honored One were to die here, I must bring you to the Buddha."
"Hearing you still say such things, it seems you have a trump card left?"
"It is enough to take a filthy seed of the Karma Root with me."
"Ah, well, let's say so."
Dong Bongsu lightly swept his gaze across the entire field.
Many people were watching them from afar.
This is a good stage, indeed.
"Why?"
On a stage where one must sing, one sings.
On a set where one must act, one acts.
That is the standard.
And this was a place that required a great deal of acting skill.
"Let's hear why you're trying to take me to the Buddha."
"You..."
Na-mu-a-mi-ta-b-ha.
A Buddhist chant flowed quietly from within the Blood Rakshasa's lips.
The human bone prayer bead between his fingers rolled minutely along with the syllables.
"You... are an enemy of the Buddha."
"Enemy of the Buddha?"
"That is right. The Sacred and the Immortal are in themselves the enemies of our Dark Rakshasa, and you are the most sacred among them."
"Kh, khuhuhuhuhu."
Sacred.
This Dong Bongsu has become a 'sacred' being.
"Good, this is good."
The Blood Rakshasa watched Dong Bongsu laugh for a long while before opening his lips again.
"I do not know why you laugh so maniacally, but before I kill you... I will ask one thing."
"You're lucky. To have met me when I'm Kim Rae-won."
Though he did not know what that meant, the Blood Rakshasa soon continued speaking.
"Why have you interfered in this war? Did your kind, the descended beings, not hide thoroughly, moving like earthworms? But why... why are you so hostile to the Dark Rakshasa Way? Is it merely hypocrisy to embrace these Orthodox Faction curs who are worse than vermin?"
"You ask why I'm hostile to you?"
"That is right."
"And what, hypocrisy? I don't know anything like that."
Dong Bongsu wiggled his itching fingers, continuously gripping and releasing his twin swords as he spoke nonchalantly.
"Why does a baby drink its mother's milk?"
"..."
"Why does a child eat food?"
A formidable killing intent, enough to tear the surrounding atmosphere, erupted from Dong Bongsu's body.
"These sacred beings you call the Karma Root Tribe."
A harmonious collaboration of the Super True Qi Field and killing intent.
"They are eternal babies and children."
Dong Bongsu might not know, but as Kim Rae-won, it was an energy he could release to his heart's content.
"A tribe that feeds on slaughter and battle to grow eternally stronger."
"...A tribe that grows eternally stronger?"
"Yes. In that sense, you, the Dark Rakshasa Way, have an original sin."
"Original sin? What are you talking about—?!"
[Footwork].
Whoosh—.
With all his stats increased by 100% from the successful 1000-Chain Attack, the collaboration of Dong Bongsu's Super True Qi Field and [Footwork] allowed Dong Bongsu to...
"...?!"
...split thirty zhang of space-time and appear right before the Blood Rakshasa's nose.
"Yes, original sin."
Slice—!
"The original sin of being strong."
Dong Bongsu's twin swords quartered the Blood Rakshasa in the shape of a cross.
The black sword in his left hand drew a horizontal line across the middle of the waist, and from the same stance, the Evil-Slaying Sword in his right hand drew a vertical line from the crown of the head to the groin.
One horizontal line.
One vertical line.
It was before the Left Guardian even realized his body was being split apart.
The blood-red kasaya split into four pieces and fell separately onto the dirt.
Through the split surfaces, the human bone prayer beads scattered.
They fell to the dirt one by one, disassembled.
Never to make that soft clicking sound again, just like that.
"If you didn't want to die, you shouldn't have been so delicious in the first place."
The Left Guardian of the Dark Rakshasa Way, the Blood Rakshasa, second only to one and above ten thousand.
He vanished without even getting to use his hidden move.
Like an earthworm.
Because he was good experience points.
Swaaaaaaaaaaaaah—.
Faith Judgment.
An immense Sacred Light swept through the area once again.
The powerful Evil Qi still lingered faintly in the area, but it was meaningless.
Under the path of Sacred Light that purified flesh and bone, the Blood Rakshasa's body instantly turned to ash and dust, scattering away.
Everything dark red that had filled the field vanished completely.
The kasaya, the corpse, the remnants of Evil Qi, not even a single grain remained.
Just then.
Hwaaaak—!
Sacred Light surged from Dong Bongsu's body once more.
It merged with the halo lingering behind his shoulders and spread out over the entire field beyond.
The Auspicious Light spreading along the outline of Dong Bongsu... of Kim Rae-won, advanced like the coming dawn, as if embracing the entire area.
It was warm.
Unlike the previous light, this light was filled with warmth.
"Ah..."
It was a dazzling ray of light, yet like the cozy spring sun, it seemed to tempt one to keep looking, to look on.
And.
The light did not stop at once.
Hwaaaak—.
Twice.
Hwaaaak—.
Thrice.
The same light that had brightly illuminated the area near Colorful Lake before now covered the eastern sky of the River Capital three consecutive times.
[A Critical ERROR has... occurred in the Murim Online System. There will be no issue in proceeding with the game, but... ...is.]
Critical Error.
It was a mechanical sound that blared madly after a long time, but it was a good sign.
Dong Bongsu's mouth opened slightly, revealing his white teeth.
On Earth, he never had a reason to laugh, but here, things that made him laugh so often occurred.
He could even laugh to his heart's content.
Because it suited this stage, and it was also genuine.
Leveling up three times at a high level.
What in the world could make a veteran player happier than this?
.....
....
...
..
.
In the same spot.
On the field, the man in the black robe stood still.
Silently, yet with a gentle smile, he stood.
He knew better than anyone that what he had to do now was to simply give the people a lingering feeling, like a blank space.
That is the nature of the beast called man.
When there is a special situation, a special person... or a situation that seems so, a person that seems so.
They will spread their own wings of imagination to fill in the blanks.
And they will expand the lingering feeling as they please.
Because humans are creatures of imagination.
"..."
The tip of Yeop Bihwa's sword, which had been moving fiercely, was now trembling minutely.
She just kept staring at Kim Rae-won, her gaze fixed.
On the ridge of the hill.
Myo Jinheo's fan was also unconsciously open and trembling finely.
The Formation Tower's External Affairs Elder, Baek Hando, was also just standing blankly, gazing at one man's back.
The gazes of a dozen Formation Tower members, Jeon Rahwa, Hoae, Seok Gyeong, and other members and family members of the Hero's Sect were all drawn to one place, their postures frozen as they were in battle.
On the side of the northern field.
It was the same for the sharp auras of the forty or so swords of the Vast Heaven attack squad.
Even though it was their first time seeing Kim Rae-won, they remained frozen on the spot.
That was not all.
Far beyond the field, on the streets inside the walls of the River Capital.
Where the light reached over the earthen walls, the clasped hands of those on their knees shot up in unison.
The name of the Hero's Sect Leader, Kim Rae-won, was being mentioned everywhere.
Praised.
Revered.
Before long, Kim Rae-won had perfectly established himself as an object of worship in this River Capital.
And so.
Where the Left Guardian Blood Rakshasa had stood, only a deep silence remained.
Not a single human bone prayer bead, not a piece of a banner, not a hem of a kasaya was left on the dirt.
He had concluded his life well, as good experience points and a good stage prop.
Jeobeok.
Jeobeok.
Dong Bongsu, who was trudging across the field toward the ridge, stopped in front of the severed head of a nameless Vast Heaven warrior lying on the ground.
For some reason, his eyes had not closed.
Thankfully.
Dong Bongsu slowly bent down and gently stroked the severed head with his hand, from the forehead to the chin.
Dong Bongsu indifferently straightened up and silently looked over the battlefield once more.
On the battlefield where blood, death, and all sorts of vulgarity had raged, a chillingly static sacredness was now spread wide.
At this moment, everyone on the battlefield was looking only at this one person, Kim Rae-won.
The Murim is truly a good place.
A place where perfect proselytizing is possible with just one's own sword.
"The battle is over."
A low but firm and unwavering voice flowed from Kim Rae-won's mouth.
"The small fry of the Dark Rakshasa Way are all dead."
"..."
Swaaaaaaaaaaaaah...
While the afterglow, like the lingering feeling of a level up, and a silence gently settled over the area, all sorts of system error messages from Murim Online still floated up like certificates of merit in Dong Bongsu's indifferent vision.
However, he lightly ignored them and moved on to the What is Hero system.
Main Quest — Punishment of the Evil Cult
Progress: 7.8% → 27.7%
'27.7%.'
For having eliminated the Left Guardian, three of the Upper Four Rakshasas, and about two thousand Rakshasa Monks, the progress hadn't even reached 30%.
This meant that more than 70% remained at the Dark Rakshasa Way's main base.
'Was it called Nirvanic Extinction Mountain?'
The real feast is prepared elsewhere.
Dong Bongsu's indifferent gaze went beyond the eastern ridge, reaching toward the direction where the sun was high in the sky.
"There are still many who are unjust. I, the Hero's Sect, will sweep such things from this Jianghu."
There is no need for darkness anymore.
There is no reason to hide in the darkness.
I shall smile brightly like a child and shine eternally in the sun.
Keukeukeukeu, keuheuhuhuhuhahahahaha...