671 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Title: *Cheonha's Childhood Friends, Chapter 671: Northern Rabbit* The Night's Crusade Across the Sky As the wind brushed against my cheek, a brilliant crescent moon lit up the sky. It was an unusually beautiful night. Of all nights, it had to be tonight. Flying through the lingering heat of summer, I had no sense of how far I'd traveled. The landscape continuously morphed beneath me, indicating the considerable distance covered. Squeeeze-! I tightened my grip, prompting the one I was dragging to turn their head. The wind tangled their black hair, and the fierce air pressure caused a frown to crease their brow. Yet. ‘Is it not bothersome at this level?’ Despite being in my fierce grasp, they displayed no discomfort. How could that be, even with my firm hold? Just as I began to feel an anger-tinged curiosity, Cheonma's gaze flitted about. Trying to figure out how far we’d flown? Just as I thought that, I felt a touch against my wrist. Cheonma clasped my arm with her alabaster hand. And then. Squeeze-! “…!” Cheonma began to push me back with sheer gripping strength. Though I hadn't used my full strength, even accounting for that, her immense power was overwhelming. I frowned. As expected, Cheonma was indeed Cheonma. ‘Yes, this feels more natural.’ It's easier to proceed without hesitation. As I thought that. Vrooommmm-. Heat condensed behind me, and in an instant, I unleashed it. Boom--!!! A blast infused with energy erupted, using it to boost my speed towards the ground alongside Cheonma. Whooosh---!! BOOM---!!!! Not only did the tremor reverberate, but massive flames spread in all directions, ravaging the ground. The forest in the area was quickly destroyed. Lush trees were uprooted, and lively fields turned to ruins. The intense heat and impact from the flames raised a cloud of dust. Saaa-.. The dust obscured the view, but nothing could cloud my eyes now. I surveyed the surroundings with sharp eyes. In truth, there was no need to check. The opponent remained still, unmoving. I channeled energy to dispel the dust. Whooosh—! The dust receded, clearing my vision. With a devastated landscape behind me, Cheonma stood directly ahead. She tilted her head, massaging her neck. Watching her, I scowled and inquired, "Why did you follow me?" “…?” Cheonma's expression turned questioning. “You brought me here.” An attitude of 'what absurdity are you spouting?' though not entirely incorrect, I knew there was more to it. “You could have avoided it.” Cheonma could have easily evaded my ambush. Her energy, when she protected against the pressure and when held at bay, clearly showed she was capable. Cheonma deliberately allowed herself to be caught. So I asked her. “Why didn’t you evade and simply allow yourself to be captured?” It was a question of why she didn’t resist, to which Cheonma replied, “If I stayed there, my sister would get hurt.” “...” “It’s safe here.” An infuriating answer. “What nonsense.” What a ridiculous situation. The absurdity was beyond belief. To think such words would come from Cheonma’s mouth. The rising fury made me grit my teeth. Her brief response was enough to turn my insides, but... “…Forget it.” It subsided in an instant. It was pointless. I had moved past the time of rage and teeth-grinding. I reminded myself of the purpose for being here. Whoosh. Flames gathered in my palm. In a blink, a blue-hued incinerating jade formed. I stared at Cheonma, raising my will. Here, I would kill Cheonma. Thus, completing a part of the purpose I set in my regression. As that thought took hold, I swathed myself in energy. Cheonma spoke to me. “Do you hate me?” A question so natural. “Yes.” So much that I want to kill her. Hateful, ever so hateful. “Why?” To my response, Cheonma kept probing, as if she couldn’t comprehend. “I…I didn’t do anything to you.” Nothing was done, indeed, that’s true. “You did nothing.” In this life, she didn’t do anything. Through several encounters thus far. Cheonma had never acted first against me. Merely. “It’s just that you haven’t yet.” “I’ll continue to do nothing.” “...” I did not respond to that. Perhaps it’s possible. A life where countless small changes occurred. I altered many lives, and mine in turn was altered. So perhaps Cheonma could change as well. This is something I couldn’t be certain of, but. ‘Ultimately, it remains uncertain.’ That’s the extent of it. I have experienced too much with her to trust mere words. Whoosh. The condensed incinerating jade took a new shape. A sacred spear was formed. The speed at which I conjured the spear was much faster than before. In an instant, the Jade Sacred Spear was complete. Gripping it tight. Crunch-! I planted my foot firmly, rotating my torso. Using the rebound, I launched the spear with all my strength. Swoosh—!! Immense heat tore through the air, piercing forward in a straight line. “…!” Cheonma’s eyes widened as she deftly evaded the spear. The spear missed her and charged towards the distant forest. It wasn’t long before. Boom—! BOOM---!!! A distant explosion erupted just as a minor tremor reverberated. A pungent burnt smell wafted in the air. I narrowed my eyes observing it. The sacred spear missed its target. But that didn’t matter. ‘It wasn’t thrown to hit in the first place.’ In the moment of Cheonma’s brief surprise, I took a half-step forward. Half-step. A slight half-step infused with my energy turning it akin to teleportation. As the scenery shifted, I arrived before Cheonma. There was no time to conjure another spear. So, I gathered the incinerating jade and extended my hand forward. Cheonma’s eyes narrowed. Last time, she had crushed the jade with her hand. Would it be different this time? A blow filled with doubt headed toward Cheonma. As I wondered how she would respond. Whoooosh--!!! For a moment, a dark aura gathered around Cheonma's body. The energy formed a thin barrier in an instant, and the incinerating jade struck the barrier directly. Boom--!!! A blue flame filled with heat exploded. Seeing it explode so close, one might expect it caused damage, but my expression was not favorable. The moment I saw the black barrier, I realized. ‘It didn’t hit.’ With that judgment, I quickly retreated. Whoosh-! The heat that had gathered around Cheonma dissipated, revealing her hidden form within. A semi-transparent black barrier in a perfect circle. She stood there, untouched by any impact. “Click.” I clicked my tongue in frustration. ‘Seems she still has it.’ That barrier was a power Cheonma wielded in my previous life as well. Her overwhelming might was enough to crown her as the greatest, but not just that; the power of that barrier was also significant. ‘…Absolute Aura.’ I gritted my teeth, recalling the name. While martial artists used aura to protect themselves with defensive martial energy. This barrier wielded a power incomparably greater. ‘Cheonma’s aura doesn’t just block attacks or protect the body….’ It nullified all martial arts challenged against her. No divine skill or secret technique had meaning before Cheonma. The power couldn't penetrate the aura, leaving only flight as an option. Thus, even the mightiest three masters were mere weaklings before Cheonma. ‘That’s what makes it amazing.’ How did Father manage to wound such a formidable Cheonma? The question flickered through my mind. Perhaps it was a miracle? It might have been so. Martial artists couldn’t stand against Cheonma. Yet, it’s also martial artists who protect the world and fight against the bloodthirst. It seemed doomed to fail, but. ‘We have…no, they had the divine sword, and that made it possible.’ Among the countless people across the land, one person who could slice through the Absolute Aura. That was the divine sword. The so-called ‘Sword Against Demons.’ The divine sword was the only one who could ignore the Absolute Aura and wound Cheonma. Using this, they eventually succeeded in killing her. But, conversely. ‘Without the divine sword, Cheonma’s aura is impenetrable.’ Such was the picture, which also held true in my previous life. It was the reason countless people died trying desperately to keep the divine sword alive. Grit-! I gritted my teeth harshly. ‘How do I pierce that?’ As long as the Absolute Aura exists, everything becomes meaningless. ‘I had hoped it was incomplete and that such a thing wouldn’t exist.’ Unfortunately, it seemed Cheonma had already wrapped herself in a defensive system. So what should I do? What exactly should I do now? While grappling with rough thoughts. “Stop it.” Cheonma murmured at me. “…I don't want to fight.” Her face was laden with a strange sadness, and the emotion in her words faintly touched my heart. That made me briefly consider if she was sincere. But those thoughts burned away as quickly as they emerged. “Nonsense.” Such feelings vanished into flames. “You’re the last person who should say that.” Don’t want to fight? At the very least, you shouldn’t be saying such things. And if you did... “You should have done it a very long time ago.” Not now, not in this life, but much earlier than that. It would have been too late then as well. Whoosh. Flames enveloped my body. Blue flames flared murkily. The emotions mingled with demonic energy. I still didn’t know how. Perhaps I might never pierce the aura. But even so. Turning back now at this moment was something I'd stopped doing for good. Bang-! I kicked off from the ground and charged. Twisting my waist, I powered my lower body. I swung a kick at Cheonma with flames swirling around my foot. Whoosh-! I aimed it at her with condensed force but. Fwoosh-! The flames disappeared upon contact with the aura. The energy gathered in my leg was gone too. Strength faded. In that instant, my kick lost its speed. Thud-! Cheonma caught my foot and threw me with effortless ease. Whoosh-! “Ugh!” With considerable force behind her throw, my body flew at an incredible speed. Needing to maintain the distance, I immediately emitted flames to stop my movement. Sizzle-! Hssss-!! Just as I managed to slow down and prepare to attack again, I looked forward. “...” Cheonma had already closed the gap, staring at me up close. Damn it. Was she toying with me? “…Stop….” Her forlorn voice brushed against my ears. Damnably, using Weisora’s voice and face as she said it, made it all the more infuriating. ‘Find a way.’ This was when I needed to find a solution as before. I had managed so far. Thus, I would find it this time as well. Now was the time for that. I opened my mental eye, looking at Cheonma wrapped in her aura. Hoping there would be something to see through the mental lens. ‘Damn it.’ Seeing the barrier, I cursed openly. ‘Nothing’s visible?’ Even with the mental eye, the barrier showed no flow. How could that be possible? Every energy, after all, had a flow to it. If that barrier were aura, some flow should have been visible, yet Cheonma's Absolute Aura showed none. ‘Then again, it’s not odd.’ Right, it's not strange. If something had been visible in the first place. ‘There’s no way the Supreme Lord would have been defeated.’ The Supreme Lord, possessing a more precise mental eye than mine, and even the three masters wouldn't have been conquered so easily. They must have aimed to save the divine sword due to the difficulty of overcoming it. ‘What a dreadful situation.’ Is there truly no way? No matter how much I struggled to kill Cheonma, not overcoming this meant not even starting. For all the efforts since regression, it was absurd that I couldn’t penetrate one damn aura. ‘It’s an absolutely absurd power.’ An aura that nullifies all martial arts. Should such a thing even be described as aura? ‘Huh?’ I stopped my train of thought abruptly—something occurred to me. ‘What if...?’ If the Absolute Aura wasn’t actually aura to begin with. If the reason I couldn’t see any flow through my mental eye was because it wasn’t energy in the first place? ‘Could it be it isn't energy. If that's the case...’ I looked up at Cheonma. She was watching me with the same expression as before. “I...” I could hear her attempt to say something, her lips parting to speak words I could only wonder about. Yet, more pressing matters took priority over curiosity. “Tam (Greedy One).” Devour it. Crrrunch-! “…!” A large maw emerged from my shadow, clamping down on Cheonma’s aura. The greedy mouth created an opening. The barrier was torn apart. Cheonma’s Absolute Aura was ripped asunder by greed. “What?” Cheonma's face briefly showed disbelief at the torn barrier. I didn’t let the opportunity slip by. Whoosh-! I wedged compressed incinerating jade through the gap. And then— Boom---!!! An explosion erupted from inside the barrier. Smoke billowed out, spreading around. Fortunately, the smoke dissipated not long after. Where it once stood, Cheonma appeared, still standing there. Drip.... Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. As she wiped it with the back of her hand and looked at it. “Ah...” Her eyes were filled with disbelief. “It hurts.” She mumbled the words, almost as if they were unfamiliar to her. Saying she was hurt with fascination in her eyes—was she truly that intrigued by pain? It was astonishing, yet... The feeling was mutual for me as well. ‘...I had my suspicions.’ It had been odd that nothing appeared in my mental eye. The black barrier that protected her body hadn’t been aura at all. “So it was authority.” “Authority?” The sacred power used by demonkind. Remembering this, how many demonic beings had used Phenomena, it was strange I hadn’t considered it sooner. “For it to be considered martial arts didn’t make sense...” In the first place. “It wasn’t martial arts.” “...” I stood up. Just like Cheonma, I too wiped away the droplets running down my chin. Was that sweat? Did I unwittingly break into a cold sweat? My body wasn’t tired. My ki overflowed. Yet my body had broken out in a cold sweat. Was it an early sign of fear? How laughable. “Huu...” I let out a deep breath and lifted my head. And looked at the bleeding Cheonma. Was she a dragon? If she used authority, she must be, but... ‘I don’t feel enmity.’ The hostility I sensed whenever I faced a dragon was faint. No, I did feel enmity. But it wasn’t the instinctual kind of enmity felt towards a dragon. It was more akin to the enmity felt towards an entity meant to be slain. What was this about? A notion swept over me, but... ‘Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter.’ It became irrelevant. Now, the only thing that mattered was. “I can pierce through it.” A barrier that only the divine sword could penetrate—I could now break it. Thus... ‘I will devour you.’ The seed of the calamity would be swallowed here and now. That was all that mattered to me. Quiver. Heat surged within me. Thump-! The pulse that started from my heart seeped into my eyes. The once-blue eyes gradually took on a crimson hue. The colors mixed and turned purple. There was a possibility I could kill Cheonma. In so doing, I might fully take on the role of the divine sword. Such desires piled up in my head. “Tam.” The newfound possibility evolved into desire. The transformed desire turned into hope. And hope became the purpose. Crafted from that purpose, it ignited murkily, mixing with the purple. “Devour.” Hiss---!! To kill Cheonma. That was the sole thought that remained with me. ******************* Whoooosh---!!! As the purple hue painted the sky beneath the crescent moon. “…Hmm.” Sensing something, a man looked in one direction. Towards Hanam, where the Martial Alliance was. His original destination. Whoosh. But all he could see now was the rising blaze. “...” As he shifted his gaze, he took in the surroundings. On Mount Taisan, leading to Hanam, another fire burned. Taeseong Mountain. A towering peak on the route from Shanxi to Hanam. Usually, it would be lush and green, matching the season. But Taisan was now enveloped in flames, blazing red even in the night. Strangely, even though there were dwellings at the base of the mountain, the inhabitants showed no concern that Taisan was burning. As though they couldn’t see the flames at all. Amid this peculiar blaze, a man stood atop the mountain. The head of the Sanseo Gu clan, Ho-hyup Gu Cheol-un, stared ahead expressionlessly. To be precise, he was facing the master of the blaze that engulfed Taisan. At the end of his gaze, someone sat perched on a massive rock. An old man in tattered rags, his hair white as snow. The old man returned Gu Cheol-un’s look with eyes dyed in red. The oddity was. From one side of the old man’s forehead, a large red horn protruded. In the darkness, the horn glowed brightly, visible even at night. Gazing at that horn, Gu Cheol-un turned his own similar red eyes toward the old man, speaking. “It’s been a long time. Have you been well?” To Gu Cheol-un’s words. “Father.” The old man swapped his expression for a chilling smile.