The Ten Thousand Bone Blood King, still kneeling, glared at Bu Eunseol and spoke in a low voice.
“I will curse you even after death.”
Whoosh.
The Ten Thousand Bone Blood King’s body suddenly began to burn with black flames.
Since things had come to this, he had to at least preserve his final dignity and leave behind an immortal name. Just as people from the Central Plains severed their own meridians to commit suicide, they unleashed the Cheonchuk secret art, Karma Fire Annihilation.
They burned themselves to ashes in an instant.
That way, the name of the Ten Thousand Bone Blood King Vajra Khan would remain as a great one who had heroically set his own body ablaze and vanished.
Bu Eunseol’s eyes remained calm as he watched the Ten Thousand Bone Blood King engulfed in flames in the blink of an eye.
If the king had tried to humiliate him once more or show a miserable sight?
He would have extinguished the flames instantly and cut off his head.
But the king had chosen death.
Once a human chose death, there was nothing more he could intervene in.
Moreover, since the Illusion Dream Fortress Lord had submitted to him, the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect alone would not dare attack the Crescent Palace and the Elephant Sect.
Swish.
At that moment, a white figure descended from the distant sky and landed beside Bu Eunseol.
It was Soyo, who had been commanding the Crescent Palace forces.
With just a short exchange of glances, the two seemed to have shared countless words. They had reached a realm where they could entrust their lives to each other, and now they could understand each other’s hearts with just a look.
[You’ve worked hard.]
When Bu Eunseol made a sorry expression, Soyo bared her teeth and lightly shrugged her shoulders.
[Not at all. Thanks to you, I gained new experience commanding a large army.]
She was wearing white robes that flowed with mysterious radiance, as befitting the next Moon Queen. Her already fair skin and silver eyes made her beauty shine even more.
“You’ve worked hard.”
At that moment, the mechanism opened and the Moon Queen appeared again.
She had accepted Bu Eunseol’s proposal and hidden herself because she needed to protect the sacred object that would save the people of Ratna Fortress.
“Moon Queen.”
Bu Eunseol lightly nodded.
She had trusted Bu Eunseol and followed all his opinions.
For someone who had reached such a high position, trusting another person was no easy feat.
Rumble.
At that moment, around three hundred troops entered the Crescent Palace.
They were Ahwan and the experts of the Four Holy Clans, who had cooperated with the Elephant Sect’s experts under Bu Eunseol’s orders to stop the enemy army.
“Society Lord!”
Ahwan ran over with a bright smile.
Then she spotted the dazzling beauty in white robes—Soyo—and unconsciously let out a small gasp. Their faces were incredibly similar, except for the color of their eyes.
“Soyo, she is…”
“I know.”
Soyo smiled and approached Ahwan.
“You must be Ahwan, the saintess of the Yona Tribe who helped the young master find the sacred object, right?”
“Right now, I’m just a messenger for the Four Holy Clans.”
Ahwan asked in wonder.
“How can we look so alike?”
At that moment, the Moon Queen spoke.
“Because both of you are candidates for the Moon Queen.”
“Moon Queen candidates?”
“There is more than one candidate for the Moon Queen.”
The Moon Queen smiled faintly.
“You two were born with the same fate.”
“The same fate?”
When Ahwan asked, the Moon Queen nodded with a benevolent expression.
“You are beings derived from the same essential origin and fate. Your lives and purposes are twisted together like the wick of a candle, inseparably connected.”
“Then…”
“Both of you possess the qualifications to become the Moon Queen. Of course, this is merely one aspect of a deep connection formed by destiny.”
The Moon Queen continued.
“Your existences and fates are deeply intertwined. You can think of yourselves as two pieces sharing one great destiny.”
“One destiny…”
For a moment, Ahwan’s expression brightened.
It was because she recalled how Bu Eunseol and Soyo looked at each other with affection.
‘If she and I share the same fate…’
If Bu Eunseol and Soyo are connected, then surely she would be with him as well?
“It is time to use the sacred object.”
The Moon Queen smiled.
“It has been far too long.”
But Soyo stopped her.
“The Crescent Palace has now driven out its strong enemies.”
She spoke earnestly.
“It won’t be too late to use the sacred object after we clean up the chaos.”
“That is not the case. The people are waiting so desperately.”
She pointed at the citizens below the altar.
Even amid the chaos, the people were still kneeling with their heads bowed. They were earnestly hoping that the Moon Queen would quickly use the sacred object to bring down rain.
‘This isn’t right.’
For a moment, Bu Eunseol felt anger at the people’s attitude.
‘Why do they only seek unconditional help? Why do they never think of solving things themselves and always expect others to fix everything for them?’
In Bu Eunseol’s eyes, the people bowing and worshipping the Moon Queen did not seem to be doing so out of respect, but rather as silent pressure for her to sacrifice her life and bring down rain.
‘Does other people’s lives not matter?’
Step. Step.
At that moment, the Moon Queen stepped forward to the front of the altar.
In a clear voice, she declared,
“I will now use the sacred object!”
The name of the sacred object in her hand was ‘Sacrifice’—a destiny in itself.
As the Moon Queen inserted her hand without hesitation, the black liquid inside the vessel began to boil fiercely, like abyssal lava or suppressed primordial rage.
The sound was low and gloomy, heavily pressing down on the entire space.
Bubble. Bubble.
The rising liquid finally overflowed the edge of the vessel and flowed down to the floor, displaying its sticky texture.
Spreading like a black river, the liquid soon stopped moving.
But soon after—
Whoosh!
As if gaining strange vitality, it began to rise into the air.
Drip. Drip.
The rising black mass gradually took on a human shape.
It was an exact replica of the Moon Queen.
Only it was entirely black.
Every strand of hair and every eyelash tremor was perfectly copied.
It was like a mirror of death, created to absorb her life and hot essence without leaving anything behind.
Slither.
The black shadow—no, another Moon Queen—silently reached out toward her.
The gesture was slow and seductive, yet also like the inescapable touch of fate.
A deathly silence flowed inside the Crescent Palace.
The people only clasped their hands, waiting for the Moon Queen to take the black shadow’s hand and offer her life.
The moment she took that dark, empty hand, the deep longing the people so desperately wished for would be fulfilled.
In exchange, however, the Moon Queen’s breath and warmth would be entirely transferred to the black shadow created by the sacred object.
The Moon Queen stared at the sight without moving.
What stood before her was her own death, and at the same time, the fulfillment of her long-cherished wish. Without hesitation, she reached out toward the black shadow.
At the very moment when a solemn and tragic contract was about to be formed under the name of sacrifice—
Swish. Thud.
Suddenly, a figure in black robes descended beside her.
It was Bu Eunseol.
‘This is wrong.’
He had seen it.
The Moon Queen smiling even as she faced death.
It resembled a Buddha willingly throwing herself into flames to save the masses.
But in Bu Eunseol’s eyes, she was merely a victim forced by the demands of many into the demon’s den.
‘If this is a world that takes for granted the sacrifice of the few for the many, then it is better for such a world to disappear.’
This belief was also why Bu Eunseol had constantly clashed with the Three Realms and numerous abyss forces. Even though this was the distant Cheonchuk, far from the Central Plains, he had no intention of quietly overlooking such injustice.
Shake. Shake.
As if reading Bu Eunseol’s thoughts, the Moon Queen shook her head. Then, without hesitation, she took the black shadow’s hand.
Clang!
At that moment, with the sound of something clear breaking, light flowed out from the Moon Queen’s body.
The black shadow greedily began to absorb that light.
It was absorbing the colors the Moon Queen possessed and becoming the new Moon Queen.
‘This is not right.’
Bu Eunseol quickly approached her. Simply watching such a scene went against his beliefs.
It was no different from submitting to a dirty fate.
Thud.
He grabbed the hand that the black shadow had extended.
Clang!
Light also flowed out from Bu Eunseol’s body and began to be sucked toward the black shadow.
For a moment, his mind turned white and his body could not move.
The suction force coming from the black shadow was like the power of nature itself; no strength or martial art could resist it.
“No!”
Sensing something wrong, Soyo quickly approached Bu Eunseol and grabbed his hand.
Clang!
She too was enveloped in radiance as an immense suction force began to drain the life force from her body.
“Young master!”
Ahwan, realizing the situation had gone wrong, quickly ran to Bu Eunseol.
“You must not go.”
At that moment, one of the warriors from the Four Holy Clans shouted.
“That is the sacred object of sacrifice. If you join in, your life force will be taken in vain.”
Despite the warning, Ahwan ran forward without hesitation.
She instantly grabbed Bu Eunseol’s outstretched hand.
“A world without the young master… I would rather die.”
Bu Eunseol had thought Ahwan’s love for him was mere youthful impulsiveness or curiosity.
But in this world, even with a short meeting or a fleeting connection, there were cases where one fell into a deep love worth waiting a lifetime for. Ahwan loved Bu Eunseol with exactly that kind of heart.
As soon as she took his hand, pure white light flowed from her body as well and began to be absorbed by the shadow.
“Damn it. Damn it.”
Yu Cheongrim, who had been watching, bit his lip.
Although he was a thief who had thrown away his conscience to steal others’ belongings, he had not thrown away his sense of loyalty.
When he saw Bu Eunseol rush in without hesitation to save the Moon Queen and offer himself up for sacrifice as well, his chest grew hot and his courage surged to the heavens.
“To hell with it!”
In the end, Yu Cheongrim also ran toward the altar.
He tried to grab Bu Eunseol’s hand.
Suddenly, he noticed the blank expressions of the citizens watching the scene.
“You damn bastards!”
He roared at the people standing below.
“Is it natural for people to die because of you? If you have any conscience, stop sitting there with those dazed faces and come up here!”
But the people only stood there with their mouths open.
“You disloyal bastards…”
Hot flames burned in Yu Cheongrim’s eyes.
“Happiness built on the sacrifice of others—is that even real happiness?!”
His voice, as if spitting blood, rang throughout the entire Crescent Palace like a temple bell.
It began to strike the minds of countless people.
Yet there was still no reaction.
“Do as you please.”
Muttering lowly, he approached the altar and took a deep breath.
“Hoo. Hoo.”
He breathed deeply.
To think he would die in the Cheonchuk like this.
But it was fine.
If he could heroically perish together with the Martial Soul Command Lord, who had already become a legend in the martial world, then his immortal name would remain forever.
Hoo. Hoo.
But when it came time to reach out, it wasn’t easy.
‘Ah, I really can’t do this.’
Come to think of it, he hadn’t even gotten married yet.
Moreover, there were endless treasures in the world that he didn’t know about.
Weren’t there many unknown treasures scattered across the Cheonchuk and other places?
He didn’t know what kind of joy they might bring.
He didn’t want to die in this desolate and old holy palace of the Cheonchuk without even leaving a corpse.
“Everyone, I think I’ll…”
Just as Yu Cheongrim was about to scratch his head, the warriors of the Four Holy Clans who had been waiting below began running toward the altar.
Seeing Bu Eunseol and Ahwan in danger of death and hearing Yu Cheongrim’s passionate cry, they too could not contain their burning emotions.
“Uh… Uh?”
Yu Cheongrim was pushed by the rushing experts of the Four Holy Clans toward the altar.
“Wait, just a moment!”
He flailed desperately.
“No, I changed my mind!”
But they were all people who could use the power of the sacred object, and they came all at once.
Yu Cheongrim was inevitably swept away by the wave.
“Save me! Aaaah! I’m dying! It hurts so much!”
In the end, as he connected with the shadow’s hand along with them, Yu Cheongrim screamed.
An excruciating pain he had never experienced before spread through him.
It felt as if his head was melting and all the bones in his body were being crushed.
The Moon Queen and Bu Eunseol’s group had been silently enduring this terrible pain.
“Somebody save me! Aaaaah! I’m dying! It hurts too much!”
Then something strange happened.
As Yu Cheongrim let out his desperate screams, the people’s eyes began to change.
—Even that young man is making a sacrifice.
Yu Cheongrim had a very youthful face and a body no different from a girl’s. In the eyes of the Cheonchuk people, he looked little different from a teenage boy.
When he screamed as if falling into hellfire, cracks slowly began to form in their stone-hard consciences.
—Let’s save the Moon Queen!
Dozens of determined people among the citizens ran toward the altar.
—Even that child jumped in. We have no choice but to go too!
Then the remaining citizens also began climbing onto the Crescent Palace’s altar.
Even in his fading consciousness, when Bu Eunseol saw the people rushing forward, a smile flowed across his lips as he watched them with blurred vision.
‘They weren’t foolish after all.’
The people were not foolish.
They had simply never been led.
They had only followed the belief because the Moon Queen considered sacrifice natural.
If someone had passionately and desperately told them that life was precious, that the sacrifice of the few for the many should never be taken for granted, the people would have gladly followed.
In the end, Yu Cheongrim’s desperate screams and cries had awakened their consciences and thoughts, finally making them act on their own.
—Waaaaah!
At someone’s shout as the signal,
The countless citizens who had been silently watching the noble sacrifice surged forward like a wave.
Farmers covered in dirt, mothers carrying tear-stained children on their backs, and even elderly people leaning on canes—
Men and women, young and old, all desperately reached out their hands toward the Moon Queen who had joined hands with the shadow.
The black shadow, like a starving demon, greedily began to accept even their life force.
The single ray of light flowing from the Moon Queen soon merged with hundreds and thousands of faint, delicate lights, forming a massive river of light.
Each individual light was faint, but the radiance they created together was more dazzling than the sun.
On everyone’s faces, instead of the fear of death, only firm resolve to share the pain together and earnest wishes burned like sacred flames.
At that moment, a miracle occurred.
—Haaaaah!
With desperate cries, hundreds and thousands of hands reached toward the black shadow.
—Shaaaaaaa!
Suddenly the sky opened, and rain poured down as if it had been waiting.
It was the water of life moistening the parched earth.
Dust-covered leaves regained their sparkling green color, and cracked rice paddies filled with moist vitality.
The black shadow grew increasingly larger, looking at the Moon Queen and the countless people holding her arm.
As if satisfied with their pure hearts, it revealed a white mouth in a smile and then—
Flash!
It suddenly turned into millions of points of light and vanished into the sky in an instant.
Even after the shadow disappeared, surprisingly, the Moon Queen, Bu Eunseol, Soyo—none of them collapsed. They all stood perfectly fine.
They held hands and looked at each other.
What the black shadow had absorbed was not their life force, but the warmth of their trust and sacrifice for one another.
The Moon Queen fell to one knee in relief.
The sacred object had brought down the rain, and none of the people had been hurt.
For that alone, she could be grateful.
“Moon Queen.”
At that moment, Soyo approached and helped her up.
Although it had only been a few short days, Soyo had learned many things from her in order to succeed as the next Moon Queen.
The two had lived together like master and disciple.
“I’m fine.”
Their gazes toward each other were filled with trust.
Without needing words, the two held each other’s hands while receiving the rain of life.
She nodded toward Bu Eunseol.
“Thank you.”
—Waaaaah!
At that moment, along with the sound of rain, the citizens burst into cheers and sobs.
It was not the sound of sorrow, but tears of deep emotion—the song of hope blooming at the end of despair. The Moon Queen looked up at the sky with a gentle face, while the people embraced one another.
In truth, the sacred object’s real name was not ‘Sacrifice.’
It was ‘Solidarity.’
If everyone connected their hearts, cooperated, and took responsibility together, it would grant the earnest wish that all desired—not through death.
However, due to people’s greed and selfishness, the sacred object had at some point been given the cruel name of ‘Sacrifice.’
—Waaaaah!
The citizens’ cheers continued for a long time.
The Crescent Palace, which had been shrouded in the shadow of death, was now filled with the brilliant light of life and a refreshing, beautiful energy.
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