I did not particularly like meddling.

I had experienced plenty of times what the end of useless interference looked like. And I knew, not with reason but on the level of the soul, that getting tangled in causality itself was never a good thing, no matter what kind of heart drove the act.

I hated getting involved in other people’s affairs.

No. To be precise—

I hated learning about them in the first place.

Knowing that something was happening.

Once I knew, it bothered me. Once it bothered me, useless trouble was bound to follow.

It would have been nice if I had the temperament to ignore it, but unfortunately, I was not that kind of person.

That’s why I ruined it.

Everything.

My life itself had fallen apart that way. It was something I had learned by living.

Ah. If I got involved in other people’s business, my life became exhausting.

Not just exhausting. It got destroyed.

I had realized that, and when my previous life fell apart and this life began, I had steeled myself.

Don’t get involved, no matter what it is.

Whether it was human business or ghost business, do not get swept into the storm together by stepping into the accidents other people caused.

I had lived with that resolve.

And it all got tangled anyway.

It had been tangled from the very beginning.

Of course it had. These damned eyes always found a way to ruin me. That was why I had put on the ring.

So I would not get entangled with anyone.

I had tried binding my own wrists, but—

That wasn’t easy either.

Was that what life was?

Grandmother had once said,

“Live however you wish.”

I did not know whether she had said it because she knew I could not live that way anyway, or because she genuinely hoped I would.

But if the person I was now had to answer—

...That is a difficult thing to ask.

If I lived however I wanted, I would break.

That was why enduring was better.

I had made up my mind that way and held out until now, but—

“I have located them.”

There were times when I ended up doing this anyway.

“They are not far.”

At Freak Demon’s words, I turned my head. The location really was not very far.

“My Sky.”

Freak Demon spoke to me while kneeling.

“If you command it, I will handle this at my level.”

His voice was cold.

There was no killing intent in it, nor anything like that. I could understand Freak Demon’s emotion.

The reason he was not emitting killing intent was simple.

Because they aren’t worth enough for him to bother.

To Freak Demon, the unorthodox faction martial artists we had just seen were no more than insects.

What emotion would he put into something that only needed to be stepped on and erased?

Looking at him made it sink in.

The being in front of me...

He was someone close to the beings beyond heaven, and a Demonic Cultist who had moved through war.

“It’s fine.”

If I ordered him to do it, it would be easy. He really would handle it simply.

But—

“I’ll do this one myself.”

“Understood.”

I had to step forward.

Because there was one thing bothering me.

*****

The place was not that far away.

At least, not by a martial artist’s steps.

By an ordinary person’s steps, it looked about half a day away.

Freak Demon said this was the place I was looking for.

“...”

I felt human presence deep inside the forest.

And not only human presence.

So that’s why there were so few spirit forms in the forest.

They were all gathered there.

The presence of evil ghosts filled the area. Other ghosts were packed around it as well. They were resonating with the soul-forms of the evil ghosts.

Because ghosts were spirit forms, they resonated easily. That was also why ghosts often gathered in large numbers in specific spaces.

Then—

“The ones who went out are late.”

“Did something happen? They just had to kill some girls and bring them back. What’s taking so long?”

At the voices coming from inside, the evil ghosts outside flinched. The way they trembled seemed to be a reaction to those words.

“Shouldn’t we go look for them? If the captain finds out, we’ll be in trouble.”

“Who knows how many necks he’ll cut off if he gets angry again.”

“And one of those necks will be yours.”

“You bastard.”

A growling fighting spirit filled the space.

I was watching it and steadying my breathing when—

[A curious thing.]

The Heavenly Demon, who had been quiet all this time, murmured.

[I did not think you were the sort of person to grow heated over something like this. Were my eyes mistaken?]

Whether he found it strange or interesting, the Heavenly Demon spoke to me in an intrigued voice.

He was right.

I’m not particularly angry.

I really was not furious.

Human life was short and simple. Especially in this world, stained with blood and swords.

In my previous life, there had been times when I had been furious even at the death of a small life, swayed by every joy and sorrow. But even those were things I had let go near the end of that life.

[Then what is your reason for stepping forward now?]

Who knows.

Maybe because, even though I had let go of everything, there were still a few things I could not let go.

That was probably it.

I’m a little irritated.

Taking out my anger on something I saw in front of me.

If I had to put it that way, that was fine.

[Venting anger, is it.]

The Heavenly Demon lowered his voice at my answer.

[Not a bad phrase. In a world where the strong reign, there is nothing strange about such a thing.]

Maybe because he was a man who had even started a war, his reaction was positive. As expected, there was {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} not a single normal person here.

[However, do not become buried in it. It is hardly a fitting shape for one who would stand at the summit.]

Sorry, but...

Shing.

I thought as I drew my sword.

As I told you before, I have no intention of standing anywhere like the summit.

What was he trying to slip in so casually?

I let out a faint laugh and moved forward.

“Hm?”

When I revealed myself, the eyes of those inside turned toward me.

“What?”

“What are you...?”

“Who are you?”

They pulled out their weapons and pointed them at me. It felt fresh. Normally, I would not step out like this when there were so many of them.

I’ve gotten arrogant.

Even while knowing there were monsters crawling above me.

The fact that I had reached transcendent peak had apparently sent some blood to my head.

“It doesn’t really matter who I am.”

Sssss.

I gripped the Divine Sword and let my arm hang lightly downward.

“I’ll spare exactly one of you. The one who works hard to answer my questions. Any volunteers?”

“What the hell is he saying?”

“Kill him!”

Boom!

Inner qi burst outward as they charged at me.

With one hand, I swept my hair back.

“Fine. I’ll choose for myself.”

That was something I was good at.

Clack.

Moon Eye reacted, and sword paths burst open from every direction.

They were rough, monotonous sword paths with no proper angles.

There was no need to dodge them.

I lightly set my sword on top of them.

Slice—!

“Ghk.”

One man’s neck was cut, and he collapsed to the ground.

I spun the sword in a circle.

I threw the Divine Sword at the face of a man flying in from above, piercing his forehead, and wrapped hard aura around my knee to smash the jaw of the man charging from below.

Crack.

Blood splashed onto my clothes.

I ignored it.

“Hard aura...!?”

“...Damn it, he’s a master!”

Maybe they noticed the aura I had briefly wrapped around myself, because panic rose in their eyes.

“...What does it matter if he’s a mast—!”

The head of the noisy one was severed.

There were many of them.

Boom—!!

I drove strength into my foot and shattered the ground. With the shock, fragments rose into the air. I grabbed a handful of small shards and shot them out after filling them with energy.

Ten Thousand Flowers Rain.

Crack-crack-crack-crack—!!!

I applied the technique Poison Dragon was so hopelessly bad at.

When I wrapped hard aura around each stone fragment and fired them, the flying shards punched through their bodies.

Crack-crack-crack—!

“Aaaagh!”

“Aaaargh!”

They screamed and collapsed.

“Mo... monster... He’s a monster...”

One man slumped to the ground, trembling as he crawled backward. I glanced at him and flicked my finger. A small stone in my hand embedded itself in his forehead.

“Ghk.”

Just like that, another one died and vanished.

“Hiiik...!”

At some point, only one was left.

I pushed the Divine Sword back into its scabbard.

Clack.

The world really is frightening.

There had been dozens of them gathered here, yet they had been wiped out before enough time had passed to finish a cup of tea.

It was easy to understand what happened when someone with power poured out malice.

“S-spare... spare me... please...”

“I did spare you.”

“...Hik...”

I approached and looked down at him.

“...Blue eyes...?”

The man checked my eyes and belatedly realized.

“Don’t tell me... Azure Moon Sect? And those clothes... Lesser Moon Unit...?”

“You know quite a bit.”

“H-how did the Lesser Moon Unit come all the way here...?”

“That isn’t for you to ask. What are you people?”

Who the hell were they, coming all the way to Liaoning to do this filth?

“Why are you killing young girls and bringing their corpses here?”

“...”

At my words, the man sealed his mouth shut.

Seeing that, I moved my hand slightly.

Crunch—!!

“...!!!”

I bent his thumb back roughly, and he let out a scream that was almost a roar.

“What are you?”

I asked again.

“Hah... haah... hah...”

“Next is your pinky.”

“S-Sama Sect...! The Sama Sect...!”

Sama Sect.

At those words, my hand stopped as it held his pinky.

Sama Sect?

Where is that?

I did not think I had heard of it before.

“The Sama Sect.”

“Y-yes. The Sama Sect... We came from the Sama Sect.”

“For what?”

“W-we heard there was a sparsely populated village nearby... so we were going to take the girls...”

“Use your words properly. There’s a difference between saying one thing and another.”

Killing them and taking them.

That was the important part.

“If you were kidnapping them to send to a brothel or simply trafficking people, you wouldn’t kill them and take them away. So why are you killing them first?”

“...That is...”

The man’s pupils shook.

“I... I do not know. We are only doing as we were ordered...”

“Ordered? By whom?”

“...The captain...”

“You mean the captain of the Sama Sect?”

“Yes...! I really... really don’t know! We were truly only doing what we were told—!”

Thwack—!!

“Grk.”

Before he could finish, his head drooped.

He was dead.

Looking closely, I saw a dagger embedded in his forehead.

It was not my doing.

I looked behind me.

“Well, now.”

Someone was standing there.

“Looks like it was a good idea to come a day early.”

A woman.

A woman wearing clothes that clung tightly to her body, with a veil over her face.

“I came ahead just in case. And now look at this. Something interesting was happening?”

“Who are you?”

I asked as I rose.

“Oh my... look at you.”

After seeing me, the woman’s voice turned sweet and lilting.

“You look like a jewel. I’ve never seen anything like you.”

I placed my hand at my waist.

“Do you want to be mine?”

At that seductive question, I drew my sword.

The man in front of me had died, but I was not particularly surprised. I had sensed her approaching.

I had also simply let him die.

After all, one more person had arrived.

And besides—

“Sorry.”

It seemed there were things I needed to ask this woman.

I could not see her face, but the energy behind her told me what she was.

“Older women aren’t my type.”

“What?”

“Auntie.”

“Aun—”

I tilted my head slightly and said,

“Are you from the Sky-Crushing Palace?”

“...”

For an instant, silence fell.

“Ha...”

The woman laughed.

At that moment, her body shot toward me along with the dagger.