Chapter 116: The Black Marriage (2)

The shadows were everywhere, their black robes fluttering in the wind. Even when they noticed the ghost army in the distance, they were not the least bit surprised because they already lived and died in a world overrun with

jiangshi

. Ghosts couldn’t scare them.

“You look pretty good today, Lord Young Heaven,” the Ghostfire Demon King said in a leisurely voice. He was one of the Four Demon Kings of the Heavenly Demon Cult, and had also fought the Shaolin Temple’s abbot in the last Great War of Good and Evil. “You even powdered your face. It’s like you’re about to get married.”

I nodded. “I am getting married.”

“... Pardon?”

All the cultists’ heads turned in unison. They were the martial artists of

murim

with the strength of their prime which seemed to have amplified their hearing through their qi.

“I’m getting married today,” I plainly informed them.

Silence fell upon the area. The cultists looked at each other, and then at me. They observed me intently to determine whether I was serious or not. I gave them a decisive answer by simply nodding.

“L-Lord Young Heaven,” the Ghostfire Demon King stammered. “L-Lord Young Heaven is getting married!”

The cultists lost it.

“Our Lord Young Heaven is getting married!”

“The supreme ruler of the Demonic Heaven is getting married!”

“It’s not even an engagement! It’s a marriage!”

The cultists went wild, forgetting about the ghost army approaching them. They cried out and shouted; my marriage seemed like something they had to urgently announce to the world.

“Who’s your bride?!”

“Over there.” I pointed politely with both hands. “The one over there with the silver hair is my spouse to be.”

Over there, Raviel was comforting the distressed guests. Her profile was as cool and dignified as always. When the cultists laid eyes on her, their jaws dropped to the ground.

“She’s beautiful...”

“Y-yeah, she’s pretty.”

“Our Young Heaven certainly aimed high.”

“Young Heaven, how much qi has your spouse accumulated?”

As expected from the martial artists of

murim,

the first thing they were interested in was her martial prowess.

“Mmm, my spouse doesn’t know how to use martial arts.”

The cultists boggled at me. Disgruntled whispers, tinged with defiance, soon spread throughout the venue; they were unable to accept this marriage.

“Still, she’s supposed to be the spouse of the Young Demonic Heaven...”

“Isn’t it a bit problematic if she doesn’t know how to use martial arts at all?”

“Authority comes from power...”

“We, the Blood Demons, cannot acknowledge this marriage!”

“I forgot to tell you this. My spouse is a duke, the second most powerful in this empire after the emperor,” I added.

The cultists started chattering again.

“That’s a different story... ... .”

“It’s not like she has to learn martial arts. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, power isn’t just about physical strength...”

“Congratulations on your marriage, Lord Young Heaven!”

In many ways, they were innocent.

Not all of the shadows were cultists—Preta, for instance. The child was once called the Demon King of Autumn Rain and feared by the entire world, but she had been blankly opening and closing her mouth ever since she heard that I was getting married.

“M-Master, you’re getting married?”

“Yeah, I am. It happened,” I answered.

“Impossible. You’re a world-class weirdo— Oh, no, I’m sorry. There’s nobody in this universe who can match your uniqueness, but someone actually wants to marry you?“

Preta, you... You’ve been calling me Master all along, but you think of me as a weirdo...

I sighed. I could feel another scratch on my heart.

“It turns out there really is. We can talk all about it at the reception, so focus on the battle now.”

“Uh, ah. Yes. Understood, Master. What kind of enemies are we dealing with...?”

“Apostles came from different worlds to conquer this one,” I said. “They’re also trying to ruin my wedding.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the air around the cultists tensed. The Blood Demon King, the captain of the Blood Demon Unit, ran his hand over the hilt of his sword. On the other hand, the Ghostfire Demon King, the captain of the Requiem Unit, smirked.

“Interrupting the wedding of the Young Heaven of the Heavenly Demon Cult...” The Moonlight Demon King, who led the Deceased Shadow Unit, tossed his hair.

The Sword Demon, the captain of the Execution Unit, stretched his neck. “Gosh, so they’re idiots.”

Lastly, Preta drew the sword which had sent me to my death hundreds of times, the demonic sword that released dark red laser beams.

“I see. I was thinking that I and the others had regained our original strength because you had another awakening... but it’s because of a Constellation’s blessing. I’m guessing they’re the Constellation’s minions.” Preta’s eyes were on the ghost army in the sky.

“That’s right.”

“May I ask which Constellation they’re mooching off?”

“Mahos. I heard that his title is the Eternal Plains Warhorse.”

The corners of Preta’s mouth twisted. “They’re idiots who know nothing but fighting.”

That sneer had the arrogance of the time before she fell to me.

The enemies numbered ten thousand, but there were only around one thousand of us. However, the cultists were chatting as they prepared for battle. Preta slowly raised her sword. We had the advantage. No one on our side thought we were at a disadvantage—none of us.

“Master, command me. What do you want me to do?”

“Wipe them out.”

“As you wish.”

Preta brandished her demonic sword and the bloody red sunset was bisected by a laser beam that was redder than blood.

Words could not dare describe the laser beam’s power and the awe it inspired.

The ghosts caught in the red laser beam screamed and disappeared. It even almost got the general leading the ghost army.

—

What is this...? This doesn’t make sense. A Constellation...? How can he order around a Constellation when he’s not even a Constellation...?

The general stared at me in shock.

“Kick their asses!”

The cultists let out wild roars.

“They’re small fries! We don’t even need to recite our prayer!”

“Which asshats are interfering with our Young Demonic Heaven’s wedding!?”

“Our wedding gifts to the Young Heaven shall be the heads we take! Do you all understand? I’ll kill any brat that brings less than five heads today!”

“Hahaha! Did you hear that, Execution Unit? You should all bring at least ten heads!”

“This is the problem with the ignorant...”

Some were angry, others roared, and a few clicked their tongues in disapproval. The ghost army was still far away, but the distance was meaningless to them. Around a thousand shadows performed the lightness art at once.

—

Huh?! Stop them!

the general shouted, panicking.

The ghost army was also made up of elites. They raised their shields and formed a seamless phalanx. The lines of spears were so dense that they looked like a hedgehog.

“Idiots.” The Ghost of the Autumn Rain sneered. “The fodder is making itself easier to be swept away.”

The red laser beam tore through the sky again.

The ghost army’s tight formation made them easily swept away, leaving a gaping hole behind that the surviving soldiers hastily tried to fill. However, the cultists were highly experienced fighters. They would never miss an opportunity like this one.

“Kyahahaha!”

“Bite their heads off!”

The cultists lunged like animals. The legion of shadows and the army of ghosts collided.

With their qi unleashed, the cultists butchered the ghosts. Unlike the last battle of the Great War of Good and Evil, the cultists didn’t bother to recite the prayer of

Whish

.

No one said why, but I could guess that it was because this wasn’t a great battle for them, or even a fight. It was a simple hunt. The cultists slaughtered the ghost army like mere beasts.

The ghost army didn’t have the strength to surmount the shadows’ arrogance. When the cultists brandished their swords, the army’s formation broke. When the ghosts’ shields and spears were broken as well, the followers stabbed into the cracks and struck down the ghosts with the ends of their own broken spears.

It was a massacre.

—Regroup by squadrons!

the general shouted, waving his flag.

Do not panic, warriors! There’s no need! Follow your decurion—

Someone landed nimbly on the tip of the general’s flagpole.

“Hey, there.”

It was the Sword Demon King, the most foulmouthed of the Four Demon Kings. The Sword Demon had his back against the sunset, hiding his face in the shadows.

“So the word is that you’re the reason that my Young Heaven can’t get married.”

—You...

“You motherfucker, just die already. ”

His sword flashed. One, two, three. The trajectories of the three strikes intertwined like a spider web. One strike severed the general’s right arm, the next cut his chest, and the third attack ripped the flag.

The apostle of the God of War’s apostle vomited blood. Even that was brief—right after that, the Sword Demon King delivered his final sword strike on the general’s neck. The general’s scream went flying away with his head.

“Gotcha.” The Sword Demon jumped off the flagpole and snatched the general’s head out of the air. “Oh, no. I can’t lose something as precious as this. Man, did you see that, you brats! I’m the Sword Demon King, the captain of the Execution Unit! We, the Execution Unit, are the first to secure a wedding gift for our Young Heaven!”

“Shit.”

“Of all the people here, why is that bonehead the first...?”

I could hear “Fuck” from all over the place. The other cultists were upset about losing their chance to be cool to the Sword Demon King. Was there a strange sort of competitiveness even though they were in the same cult?

[The apostle of the Eternal Plains Warhorse has been annihilated.]

The general’s head hand dispersed into particles of light in the Sword Demon’s hand. The general’s headless body and his ghost soldiers crumbled to dust moments later. They were all gone.

“Huh? Huh?” The Sword Demon King looked at his now-empty right hand, flustered. After a moment, he gave me a blank look. “Umm... Ummmm... Does the thought count as a gift, Young Heaven?”

I chuckled. “I’ll count it as half a gift.”

—La. La.

It was then that the apostles of the Immortal Happiness Preacher began to sing.

—Lala.

The children held hands and danced in a circle in the sky. With each step they left in the sunset sky, another melody was added.

“Nnngh.”

“Urgh.”

The cult followers frowned. Some of them tried to counter the song by drawing up their qi, but it ended in failure because the AOE buff ended after the apostle of the Eternal Plains Warhorse died.

“Ah...” Preta let out a weak sigh of despair. The black wastewater that had covered her quickly slipped away. She glared at the Sword Demon King and clicked his tongue. “That idiot... He’s on our side, but he’s certainly not helpful. I’m sorry, Master. Unless I’m in my prime, I’m vulnerable to psychological attacks like this one... Umm... the fight...”

The reason Preta’s speech was becoming drawn out was that she was falling asleep. Like her, the cultists who had been rampaging across the battlefield a moment ago collapsed down one by one. The same was true for the guests who were following Raviel. The humans were helpless in the face of the lullaby sung by the apostles of dreams.

“Please hold on a moment, Mr. Death King.” The Inquisitor made a hand seal. “I’ll create a barrier!”

“No, don’t.” I grabbed the Inquisitor’s hand.

The Inquisitor tilted his head. “Mr. Death King? Unless we do something about it, we’ll also fall victim to the apostles’ song.”

“Maybe so. But if I’m right, we and Raviel will be fine.”

“Hmm.” The Inquisitor smiled and stopped creating the hand seal. “Okay. I’m sure you have a good reason.”

The sunset reached its peak.

—La. La, la.

—La, lala. La.

The blazing sunset shone down on the children, their shadow stretching all the way to the horizon. It kept moving farther away before coming close again. At times, it also shrank, only to grow bigger once more.

“It’s a type of psychological attack. When you hear that song, you’re forcibly buried in your happiest memory.”

The wedding venue became quiet. The cultists were sitting on the ground and leaning on each other’s shoulders, dozing off. Some guests were lying down, sleeping. Was everyone immersed in their own happiness?

But three people were still left to speak aloud.

“Whoa. You were right.” The Inquisitor looked back and forth at me and Raviel and stroked his chin, amused. “As Mr. Death King said, the three of us are fine. I feel a little sleepy, but I’m pretty much normal. What wonder have you pulled off this time, Mr. Death King?”

The Inquisitor wasn’t the only one who was curious about the current situation. The apostles of dream slowly stopped dancing and cocked their heads at me in confusion.

—They are strange humans.

—They do not sleep. Do you not dream?

—Do you not have any happy memories?

“No.” I shook my head and then slowly looked around at the wedding venue. “It’s not like that.”

There was Preta, who was sleeping softly. The cultists were leaning on each other, also sound asleep. I had the life I took in, and the proof of Teacher’s life was around me.

I had many reasons to be unhappy. There were countless reasons, actually. No one would blame me even if I said my life was unfortunate. I had been burned to death, committed suicide thousands of times, and witnessed my colleagues killing each other out of suspicion. There were times when I had to give up my life dozens of times to take one step forward. I had my neck bitten off by a corpse, and I had to let go of the person who told me I was beautiful.

“This is my happiest moment.”

The person I loved was here. One reason to be happy mattered to me more than hundreds of reasons not to be happy.

“I don’t know if you know this, but today is my wedding. It might have been different on another day, but it’s difficult to find someone happier than I am today. You guys chose the wrong date to invade this world.” I shrugged. “... Though I doubt you’ve ever been unhappy in your life. Every day is happy for you, Mr. Inquisitor.”

“Oh, I see! I’m definitely always happy! I really can’t fool your eyes, Mr. Death King. Hahaha.” Then the Inquisitor whispered, “

Divine Formula: Teleportation.

”

The next moment, the Inquisitor and I were teleported behind the apostles. Unlike the other apostles, the Immortal Happiness Preacher’s apostles didn’t know how to fight. The childish beings didn’t attack when they saw us, they simply stared up at my face.

—You are a strange human.

I braced myself and swung my sword.

[The apostles of the Immortal Happiness Preacher have been annihilated.]

We returned to earth using the Divine Formula again after defeating all of the alien beings that had invaded this world. Actually, not all of them yet.

I adjusted my grip on the holy sword and turned to where the apostle with the huge hammer stood, still panting. When our eyes met, she flinched, despite the distance.

“I’ll kill you and take you in,” I slowly said. “This is your last chance to fight back. ”

—T-take me in...?

“You don’t need to understand it now. You’ll find out sooner or later.” I aimed my sword at the apostle and called her by her real name. “Come at me, Sylvia Evanail.”

Goldencup’s shoulders trembled.