Chapter 248: The OJP Sect Master (3)

What was a clan? To me, a clan wasn’t quite a family, though ours was on the road to becoming one. People who were yet to be a family gathered together, and somehow formed relationships. They were struggling to keep their relationships afloat while carrying out their respective duties.

The head steward and the clan shadow—as long as they still had their roles, no one would abandon them.

Not yet, not yet, not yet

, they would tell themselves, this desperation encouraging them to keep going. We were here now because we would try our hardest until the day I could truthfully call myself someone’s father and the children could call themselves mine. Since I watched all of my children struggle, I was the clan’s patriarch.

“Uburka.”

“

Ugor.

”

He looked back at me with a somewhat satisfied expression after roaring toward the plains. His hot breath leaked out through the gaps between his fangs.

I said, “The enemy is a top-ranked warrior in the Tower. He also has an unfairly good item, so—”

“You’re saying this is an enemy I don’t need to go easy on.”

“That’s right. Fight to your heart’s content.”

Uburka grinned. “That was the command I’ve been waiting for, Patriarch! I love you, Daddy!”

Thump!

Uburka rushed toward the enemy army, his heavy footsteps shaking both the heavens and the earth. If Skians were born to be iron horses with spears, Uburka was a chariot and a battleship at the same time. On his own, he carried out the same charge that the Skians had done earlier with an army of nine thousand.

“Is there a warrior who can fight me?” Uburka roared.

The surviving Skians lost their grip on their weapons.

“No one? Do the Skians not have a single worthy fighter?

Aaaaah,

I understand! The only thing you have to show for is the horns on your heads!

Hahahaha!

”

Uburka was as large as a giant from a legend, and the Skians weren’t prepared to face something like that today. Therefore, the Viper had to do it for them.

“Skian Elites! Assemble!”

Twelve warriors possessed by the Viper rushed at the giant, swinging their dual swords. They were badly wounded because they had just died from Playhouse on Fire, but bloodlust burst from their wounds, not blood.

“We’ll stop you, Giant!”

“We’ll kill you!”

“The Skians haven’t been defeated yet! There are just a few fucking crises along the path to victory! Nothing has changed!”

Uburka scoffed lightly as he listened to the Skian Elites talk. Aura was heavily mixed in his scoffs, which alone was enough to fill the air around him. He grinned, showing his fangs. “Weaklings.”

When he smiled in his giant form, his fangs were so huge that it really looked as if a mythical devil was grinning. Even the Terra soldiers trembled.

“I am the chief warrior of the Death King Clan!” Uburka declared with a chuckle. “The Death King Clan reaps death! There is no demise without despair or resentment! And our clan carries all the despair and resentment, hence the name Death King Clan! Therefore, only my patriarch is qualified to lead us.”

Uburka slowly raised his ax.

“Those whose despair is more shallow than ours, do not try to stop us. Run away. If you try to stop us while your resentment is thinner than ours, brace yourself. I am Uburka, the son of the Death King and the Chief Warrior of the Death King Clan. This is the ax that will become your despair!”

Boooooooooooooom!

The huge ax struck the area where the Skian elites were standing. It dug into the ground, cracking it and sending shockwaves in all directions. Like a warrior staggering after receiving a powerful blow, the formation of the dead army was sent flying in an instant.

Rumbleeee!

Right where the twelve Skian Elites had been holding their ground like a fortress, the earth gave in due to the shockwaves, crumbling like a dried cookie. Uburka accomplished this strange feat with a single strike from his ax.

The Skian elites tried to dodge, but Uburka stopped them by swinging his ax to the right and slamming it into the ground. The Skians who attempted to escape fell to the ground, flinching a few times before they became motionless. They would never move again.

One shot. One kill.

“

Ugor.

”

The formation had been created by the Viper, a respected warrior who had put everything he had in training his people. He even cheated. Yet Uburka crushed the formation like it was child’s play, but the Viper did not give up.

“Gather up!”

The Viper was now possessing thousands of Skian soldiers who died in Playhouse on Fire. The good thing about a one-man army was that the disorganized formation could be immediately rebuilt.

“Pick up your weapons!”

The Vipers did as they were told.

“Strike!”

Thousands of Vipers swung their weapons. Uburka scoffed and held up his large ax again to block the attacks. It looked like a group of locusts swarming around a rhinoceros.

Estelle laughed.

From afar, we watched Uburka’s show-off. Every time one of the Vipers hit the ground, a sound resembling hailstones slicing the ground rang out. Whenever Uburka moved, the early summer flower petals swayed and flowed toward the field.

“At this rate, Chief Warrior will take all the credit.”

“Are you feeling jealous?”

“No, I was just thinking about your advice to try being faithful to my role as a sister, Patriarch.”

Estelle smiled mischievously, snapping her fingers to bring up the Civilization Store.

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Descent

Grade: A

Effect: You gain a body of your own to descend in the world.

Cost: 10,000 species points

※Duration: 5 minutes.

“I just believe that I should solidify my position as his older sister.”

It seemed she was planning to descend. I did say that she was free to use all my species points, but she immediately brought out the item that even Yoo Soo-Ha hadn’t used in the past due to its low cost-effectiveness.

Slightly impressed, I said, “You really are reading my thoughts.”

“What good is an advisor if they can’t read the head of a family?” Estelle asked with a chuckle.

I laughed alongside her. “Good. My daughter and son want to fight and see who’s better, so I have no reason to step in. Okay, you have my permission to go on with your plan. Have fun until you are both satisfied.”

“Thank you, Patriarch!”

Estelle hugged my right arm. It seemed she was very embarrassed about it, so she used Lightness Art to put as much distance between us. I chuckled. Seeing my eldest daughter and second son joking around was cute.

“Are you having fun?” Sylvia Evanail, asked from the back, seemingly dumbstruck. “Gosh, you are all cheating. Actually, hearing the advisor talk about cheating and all that was pretty funny. After all, you are the king when it comes to exploiting loopholes, aren’t you?”

“I can’t deny that.”

“Congratulations. What a splendid debut. The Death King Clan will now be recognized as the strongest guild in the Tower. You’ll practically be the king of this Tower, but—”

“But none of that matters. That’s what you want to say to me, Sylvia Evanail.”

I wrapped my arms around her. She was so small that I could do it with just one arm. Sylvia would have normally shouted, “What are you doing?” or “I’m going to tell your spouse!” This time, however, she did no such thing.

With fear in her voice, Sylvia asked, “Patriarch, what are you seeking from this war?”

I took out my sword. “At any time, anywhere, there is only one thing I can show people. That there is a higher place in this world. Sylvia, use Descent.”

“What?”

“Use it.”

Sylvia reluctantly did as I said. Ten thousand species points were spent, and Sylvia descended on this land with a physical body. There were five minutes to go.

“Hold on tight,” I told her.

“

Huh? Eh.

W-Wait a minute, Mr. Kim Gong-Ja—

err

, Patriarch, I’m getting really nervous right now. I have reasons to believe that you’re about to do something absolutely outrageous. For example, we’re standing on the same mountain Uburka left without a peak yesterday. If some maniac tries to dive from here, I think it will be a brilliant act of suicide to shove their head into the ground. Patriarch—Mr. Kim Gong-Ja, that isn’t going to happen, right? Say it won’t, you fucking—”

I grabbed Sylvia tightly using my cloak and leapt in the air. I flew off the mountain, which became nothing more than a cliff after losing its peak.

“

Aaaaaaaaaaaah!

”

Sylvia, wrapped in my cloak, squirmed hard, trying to break free. It was all in vain.

“Even if you struggle to escape, you’re in the sky, so you’ll basically fall to your death,” I clarified.

“

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

”

“Just be quiet and do as I say. You spent ten thousand species points to descend, but if you fall, those points would have been for nothing.”

“You devil! Patriarch, my ass! What kind of evil god am I serving as the head of the clan? Oh, my life! It would have been better to serve a Demon King!”

“You’re used to manipulating aura, Head Steward, right?” I asked calmly.

“Whaaaaaat? Why would you mention aura all of a sudden? Well, of course I’m familiar with it!”

“Unleash your aura. Don’t overthink it. Just keep flying and feel the wind around you as you disperse your aura.”

“What?”

“Come on. I’ll take care of everything else.”

Her small head moved inside my cloak. It was hard to see, but I could tell that she nodded. Considering the circumstances, this was enough to consider this consent.

“

Mmm...

Head Steward.”

“Yes, Patriarch.”

“Do you remember the first banquet you saw as a child?”

“How could I forget that damn place?”

I readied my aura. “Then think about it and scatter your aura in all directions.

Every

direction.”

The thick cloak around Sylvia muffled her exclamation. Her aura was golden, the radiant color seemingly reminiscing of childhood glory. Tens of millions of golden petals began to flutter across the field.

Slowly, golden maple leaves fell on the plains. Golden ginkgo leaves suddenly joined their fall. Golden hydrangeas, lilacs, phalaenopsis, roses, lilies, peonies—all the petals and flower buds that ladies loved and cherished shone brightly and flew down to the ground.

Demonic Heaven Formula Arts.

Extra Form:

Golden Chaos Flower Garden.

That was the dream Sylvia had as a child. She looked down blankly at the flower garden that her aura created, forgetting that she was still slowly flying in the air.

“Patriarch, you—”

“I think it’s beautiful,” I said. “We all fail. We all make mistakes we shouldn’t have made, but still, when you look back, your beginning was indeed beautiful. Look.”

I pointed down. One of the Skian warriors who escaped alive from Playhouse on Fire carefully picked one of Sylvia’s golden flowers. He treated it like the most precious treasure in the world, then quickly turned around and ran away before anyone found him.

Although not many Skians ran away, some did. The meaning of this battle, the history behind this war, the resurrected corpses, and a living legend descending upon them—these aspects were all absurd in their own way.

Despite the overwhelming layers of irrationality presented in this war, some soldiers were undoubtedly captivated by the gorgeous flower petals that miraculously appeared before their eyes. This beauty made them decide to just run away, throwing away everything they had fought for so far.

“You aren’t nothing, Sylvia Evanail. You’re my head steward.”

After a long descent, we set foot on the mountain peak that Uburka had torn up and smashed in the middle of the battlefield, and where the Viper’s Skian army had passed through. Using this high ground to our advantage, we scanned our surroundings.

“You asked me what I wanted, Head Steward.”

“Yes.”

“I want to show everyone how much a person can do by themselves.”

Aura-sculpted golden petals filled the field. There, the Skians possessed by the Viper continued fighting hard. However, Uburka’s ax put an end to their efforts and a few slashes from Estelle cut off their limbs. By the time the possessed soldiers faced death once again, blood splattered on their old wounds and the lovely golden roses.

Kim Yul said, “This place is already a different world.”

Correct. The purpose of the Demonic Heaven Formula Arts was never about destroying enemies. It was the most trivial one of all purposes, so it would be embarrassing to even mention it.

“Is this what you wanted to see, Patriarch?”

The main purpose of the Demonic Heaven Formula Arts was to show a different world and scenery to others so that they could have new dreams.

“Yes, pride and old scars depend on this hegemony war between the Terras and the Skians. These aspects are so important that it takes up most of their hearts. I know that resentment very well. Still, there is more to the world than that.” I looked at the Skian warrior running away with a golden rose in his hand. “I don’t know who that guy is, but I still have a vague idea of what his life is like.”

Some Skians had become soldiers simply because that felt like the right thing to do. No one allowed them to ask why they wanted that, nor did they ask themselves such questions. Therefore, they accepted that becoming a warrior was the right path, like fish swimming in a great river. But one day, one brilliant day, a golden rose that seemed to not belong to this world fell gently at his feet.

“It may just be a coincidence, but from the moment that warrior decided to run away with that flower, it already became his fate. That child is no longer a soldier. He isn’t even a Skian whose heart has blackened after repeated defeats. He’s simply an artist who is fascinated by the golden rose and will pick up an art knife or a brush to express these emotions.”

I looked back. With a hazy look, Sylvia watched the deserters run away from the golden field before she decided to face me. Kim Yul had been looking at me from the beginning of my speech.

“There is no such thing as destiny you can’t change. All it takes is a little coincidence or a brief miracle for a person to become tempted to live as who they truly are. We don’t want to live when we feel like life is predetermined. We only want to truly live when life tempts us. Do you understand, Clan Shadow? We’ll tempt everyone who climbs the Tower so that they will want to live a little longer.”

Kim Yul nodded. “Okay. There is no hypocrisy or lies in your words. I know that much.”

I stretched out my hand toward Kim Yul. He gently took it, as if he had expected it.

He said, “You’ve already made me want to live a little longer.”

Kim Yul descended. The clan shadow’s aura and mine mixed in our hands and flowed out.

Demonic Heaven Formula Arts.

Extra Form:

Fake Desert Under The House.

Kim Yul’s aura blew in the form of wind. It was the wind that brushed past the school rooftop and caressed the grains of sand in the yard. By the time we looked down, the grass on the field had already turned into old grains of sand. The wind blew forlornly, carrying the smell of dying sand.

He nodded. Just like when he stood on the rooftop and looked down at the school yard one day, Kim Yul now stood on the mountain peak and looked down at the sand beneath.

“When I looked up from the rooftop, everything beneath my feet looked like a desert. I wanted to stick my head in that fake desert and die. Perhaps there was an oasis somewhere that could quench people’s thirst, but I didn’t know if that was really the case. But it was obvious that the little water spring would soon evaporate, and I did not want to bear the sight of millions of pretas fighting to steal the few drops of water left. So I threw my chance away.”

Kim Yul smiled. “But even a rotten desert can be beautiful if it has rolling flower petals.”

In the Demonic Heaven that Kim Yul and I manifested, Sylvia’s golden flowers were still rolling in the wind. The moment was breathtakingly mythical. Wind blew without stopping across the sandy desert. Golden roses, lilies, hydrangeas, chrysanthemums, and tulips were still slowly flying in the wind in a thousand different directions.

Kim Yul didn’t stop smiling. He whispered, “If my life is as dry as a fake desert, all I have to do is wait for a few flower petals to enter my desert. I didn’t know this when I was young. I had no idea that a vast desert can tempt a single flower, and that the flower can do the same for the desert.”

He looked back at me with a smile. “Thank you, Patriarch. Your language of flowers and the class presidents’ petals have already entered my desert. I’m happy I get to witness this beautiful sight.”

Boooooooom!

The Skians possessed by the Viper unleashed their aura ferociously where Uburka and Estelle were fighting.

“Why?”

Among them, there was one who spread their aura more intensely than the others. His hair was disheveled, and his horn was broken, indicating that the Skian warrior had already fallen once. He was small and scrawny, so it was easy to guess that his tenacity was the only thing that kept him going on this battlefield.

“Why!”

Behind the warrior, the Viper was hovering like the Guardian. Overwhelmed with anger, he shouted, “Why? The children I take care of—”

Skian warriors rushed out from all directions.

Boooooom!

The corpses that had died twice and could no longer be possessed were knocked away by Uburka’s attacks.

“It was just like this before! Nothing has changed! Death King, why? Why can't my children be like yours?”

The Viper’s eyes burned with raw venom. His venomous purple aura burned hideously. I once witnessed a similar sight in a snowfield.

Aura deviation.

He looked just like when Teacher had before she became my mentor. It wasn’t difficult to deduce why. People Possession required a tremendous amount of willpower. He had split himself into thousands of pieces and took over many Skians to control them. Sane people wouldn’t be able to pull off something like this. If the Viper wasn’t a master martial artist, he would have gone crazy long ago.

“Even then! It was like that then, too, Death King! Even then—!”

What was the Viper talking about? I wanted to ask, but it seemed like any chance of getting a proper answer was gone. His aura went berserk and surrounded the Skians.

Someone grabbed my hand. “Don’t worry,” Estelle told me. “Everything will be okay.”

I wasn’t sure when she came back, but she was smiling softly and reassuringly and holding my hand tightly.

“He’s your colleague. Smack him in the head and tell him to wake up to reality, Patriarch. Just like you always do.”

“Yes, yes, I should,” I agreed with a nod.

Our aura resonated where our palms met. Since she was the closest to me, Estelle had watched me learn the Demonic Heaven Arts from beginning to end. Not many of my vassals were able to match her in understanding the arts. Perhaps this was why, on the battlefield where golden rose petals fluttered alongside the sand in the fake desert, red rain of autumn fell.

Drip. Drip, drip...

Demonic Heaven Formula Arts.

Extra Form:

Radiant Rain of the Tragic Sky.