937 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Episode 937 “...” It was an unfamiliar ceiling. That was my first impression upon opening my eyes. Or rather, it was a ceiling I must have seen somewhere before, but it wasn't familiar enough for comfort. It must be the ceiling of my accommodation. It would be the space prepared behind Shin Noya, a place I've barely visited and thus not well-acquainted with. ‘Not that I ever came here to sleep.’ Since arriving at the sect Shin Noya established, I'd never slept here. It seemed I never really slept at all. Constantly doing or organizing something, there was hardly any time for rest, and my body wasn't one to deteriorate from merely missing a few hours of sleep. So, I simply kept busy. Having lived like that, there was never a reason to look around the accommodation, leaving the ceiling unfamiliar. Ceiling aside, I decided to lift my body. As that thought flitted through my mind, I braced my arms against the floor. Woodddddk-! “…!!!” Pain shot through my entire body, nearly tearing a scream from me. “Gah….” I barely managed to hold back, letting out a suppressed groan. Avoiding any vocalization was impossible due to the considerable pain. I stayed rooted to the spot for a while, body rigid. My body wouldn’t obey, quivering uncontrollably. Minutes passed before the tremors subsided. “Phew….” Exhaling a deep sigh, cold sweat drenched me. “What’s…?” The pain was unbelievable. What on earth happened? Every part of my body hurt, especially my left arm, which throbbed intensely. These sudden waves of pain begged explanation. ‘…Ah.’ Recollecting the events before I lost consciousness helped clarify things. “That must be it.” In those final moments, I had attempted to bind inner forces. I had used the existing friction and pressure to wield power. Ultimately, I had barely managed to launch a single punch. And then…. ‘Did I collapse?’ I had exhausted all strength and blacked out. ‘Just from that one time.’ It was merely one punch. In fact, I hadn’t even executed it properly. The stance was subpar, and it was a clumsy swing at best. Yet. ‘To think it resulted in this.’ The outcome, from such a meager punch, exceeded my expectations. Of all the martial arts techniques I could execute, it might carry the most destructive force. That thought crossed my mind naturally. ‘Because I combined everything.’ The incendiary power of Guyeomhwaryungeon, the compression and explosion of Tuapacheonneom, and the trained mental strength. Every last bit of my art, woven into this result. On its own, Guyeomhwaryungeon couldn’t produce such destructive force. Tuapacheonneom couldn't unleash wide-ranging incendiary power. Blending them together, it was perhaps only natural such results manifested. “Eugh….” Suppressing another groan, I examined my body again. I had no way of knowing how long I was out, but assessing my state was abysmal. I could feel inner energy swelling up, but only halfway. The blood channels within me were all swollen. And what about the joints? ‘Although they aren't broken, they're nearly shattered.’ How long has it been since such a physical mess resulted from a fight? A body that regenerates shortly after being pierced can turn into this ruin from just one unworthy fight, not even a proper battle, with a mere punch? ‘Hmm….’ In actual combat, it's unusable. That became certain. The execution time isn’t feasible, and the technique lacks completion. If Shin Noya hadn't allowed me the chance to wield this art, I would have been decapitated long ago. Just maintaining energy concentrated in one place brings such intense pain. Lashing it out leaves my body in this condition. In essence, it requires a life-risking impulse to use. Not practical for actual combat. Yet even so. “…Haha….” I couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “See? I was right.” I was right. Despite my body being wrecked and my energy reserves depleted, ‘I managed to succeed.’ Somehow, I pulled it off. That gave me immense satisfaction. Proving my methods weren't wrong. The result crafted from such efforts was satisfactory. ‘Should this be considered fortunate?’ Though unsure if this was entirely a good thing, I was satisfied. Destruction proportional to the energy and physical state used. ‘Surpassed my expectations.’ If this succeeded, I wondered how extraordinary the results would be. The result exceeded what I had imagined. ‘Considering it’s something normally unusable, forcing it must yield this much.’ Undertaking what was not doable or permissible. Who else would contemplate using two internal forces together? Typically, an ordinary body can’t accommodate two internal forces. ‘Even if contained, there’s no body capable of enduring both used simultaneously.’ This fact was known not from this success, but from the initial attempts. ‘…An average body can’t endure it.’ It withstands due to my strengthened form, like shedding skin. In contrast, my former life’s body would have burst instantly. Yet should one persist in using it? ‘The friction it generates becomes strength.’ Martial arts essentially harness the friction and pressure of a moving body imbued with energy. This concept stemmed from observing Pejon create powerful waves from brief, concise actions. What is martial arts? Some say it's about conveying willpower through the body and expressing it as energy. ‘What nonsense?’ That explanation made no sense to me. Martial arts are meant to strike and break things. Rather than focusing on naive understandings, determining how to efficiently embed it into the body seemed more logical. ‘Martial arts comprise energy friction, pressure, rotation, and release.’ Thus, by increasing friction, applying more pressure, and inducing greater rotation for release— That would be the culmination. That defined my understanding of martial prowess. Then, where was I to find greater friction and pressure? Drawing solely from my internal imagery was one method, but I believed there was another way. It was through: ‘Collision.’ Colliding energy against energy internally. By using the friction and pressure this would create, could it not result in tremendous power? That’s the idea I pondered. If anyone could pull this off, it’d be me. No one else in the Central Plains could create friction using conflicting energies to generate power—only I could. I was fixated on that possibility. Could I achieve it? The opportunity to succeed lay with none other than myself. For some reason, I was deeply absorbed in that notion. And succeeding, feeling this elevated state afterward, surpassed my expectations. ‘Though calling it a success might be an overstatement.’ Since it’s unusable in actual combat, in the end, it's akin to failure. Yet, having managed to wield it gave me a sense of achievement, albeit incomplete. Even if my body ended up trashed in just that one attempt. “…Huuuu….” Suppressing another moan, I barely managed to hoist myself up. Painful, but bearable. First, I should try to leave. As I thought so and tried to get out of bed... Soft. “…?” My hand grasping the floor encountered something soft. It didn’t feel like cloth. What is this softness? Curious, I lowered my gaze. “...” And met eyes with someone lying next to me, looking at me. It was the Heavenly Demon. She lay next to my bed, watching me. And my hand was on her chest. A few seconds passed as we locked eyes. “Hello.” The Heavenly Demon greeted me calmly. “Holy crap--!” I screamed and fell off the bed. *********** After letting out a full scream and some moments later... “…What’s with that face?” That was the first thing Shin Noya said as soon as he saw me outside. I grimaced at his words. “…What kind of face am I making?” “You look like you’ve chewed on dung.” “...” Remaining silent, I frowned even more, causing Noya’s expression to change peculiarly. “Did something happen last night?” This old man? “Nothing happened.” I sighed and said. Even if something did happen, what could possibly have occurred? ‘It’s not a lie.’ At least not at night. There was certainly something during the day. “Huum…. Really?” “It’s true, so stop giving me that suspicious look.” Noya chuckled at my words. I was at a loss. “What on earth is it…?” I had to ask something I didn’t want to. “What do you mean?” “…Why was she lying next to me?” Noya’s eyes widened at my words. “What? You slept together?” Despite the feigned surprise, his show of emotion made my brow knit like crumpling paper. “Don’t joke around….” Noya’s expression was overly dramatic, suggesting he knew everything all along. “Tsk.” Clicking his tongue as if displeased that I realized it. “No fun.” “Is this the time for jokes?” “What’s a little joke? You said nothing happened.” “...” I didn’t know where to start my rebuttal. I simply had a headache. ‘Damn it.’ The scene from before wouldn’t vanish from my mind. Why was she beside me? And to meet the Heavenly Demon's gaze like that... And also, “...” The lingering sensation kept nagging at me. I tried hard not to focus on my hand. Seeing me like this, Shin Noya spoke with an air of disdain. “Young fool.” “…Yes.” “When you collapsed yesterday, that woman supported you, you know.” “...” “Don’t you remember?” I remembered clearly. How could I not, when the last thing I saw before collapsing was the Heavenly Demon’s eyes and her touch? “And when she disappeared, having supported you, I wondered where she went. Seems she went right there with you.” “Why didn’t you stop her…?” “Stop what?” I was speechless at Noya’s audacious reply. “I was busy trying to manage the commotion you caused. How the hell was I supposed to stop that?” Noya gestured along with his words. “Do you have any idea how much effort it took to restore everything around here?” I followed his gesture. “…Huh?” Seeing it, my eyes widened. There was only an empty field, precisely where chaos had reigned not long ago. A force had swept through with such intensity that the surroundings bore the brunt of it. Yet, no trace of that remained. “…How… How did you…?” How could the chaos have been restored so swiftly? Could more than a day have passed? As confusion stirred, Noya explained. “Kurung or whatever it was, they put in some effort.” He smiled while explaining. ‘Kurung?’ The black entity known as the Abyssal Pit's master. Noya explained that this being had used their power to restore the area. “I found it amusing to see them struggling for a change.” Noya chuckled. The smug look on his face irked me slightly. “…Though, Noya.” So, with a bit of mischief in mind, I said: “You finally drew your sword, huh?” “...” Noya fell silent at my words. “You said you wouldn’t draw your sword for tricks. But eventually, you drew it out.” Despite his insistence on never unsheathing his sword, Noya had done exactly that in the end. I intended to tease him about it, but... “Indeed.” Noya’s response wasn’t as anticipated. “You made me draw my sword. A truly curious event.” His quiet follow-up had me pausing. His once-smirking eyes turned serious. “Thus, let me ask, young fool.” “…Yes?” “What exactly have you concocted?” “...” What on earth have you created? Noya’s eyes held a mix of questions, slight curiosity, and an emotion I couldn’t identify. “…Well, Noya, it seemed a bit strange to you, too.” “It did. What madman would use such a thing?” Noya reacted as if my question was an obvious one. It seemed he had realized how I chose to manifest my power. “I called you a madman all this time, and you went and did something truly crazy. Don’t you have any sense?” His voice was scolding, causing me to awkwardly scratch the back of my head. “…But it worked out, didn’t it?” “Yes, it worked out, luckily. But what if it hadn’t?” “I thought I’d worry about it when the time came.” “Ha.” At my thoughtless response, Noya sighed, exasperated. “Do you even hear yourself…?” Just as he seemed ready to scold me further, “...” Suddenly, Shin Noya stopped speaking. Confused, I looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue. After a brief pause, “Phew….” He let out a deep sigh, appearing exasperated. And then. “…Fine.” He shook his head as if resigned, seemingly giving up. “Enough of that. Why don’t you tell me the name?” “Pardon?” A name, suddenly? His unexpected question left me puzzled. “You did create something after all, didn’t you? And yet, you haven’t given it a name?” “Ah.” I realized what he meant. “…I wasn’t particularly thinking about naming it.” I understood why Noya mentioned it, yet wondered why he brought up naming now. “Then name it now. Since you went this far, at least give it a proper name.” “...” His words finally made sense to me. If I was going to make it, I should do it properly, starting with a name. In other words, ‘He respects my choice.’ It seemed to be a rough way of showing approval. “…A name… a name, huh.” But naming it suddenly? It’s a power I can’t successfully use in real combat yet. Moreover, ‘I don’t intend to use it without disguise.’ Ideally, it was a technique to use when impersonating the Heavenly Demon. Using Guyeomhwaryungeon or Tuapacheonneom would be too conspicuous even with mixed demonic energy, so I figured I’d use something like this instead. ‘Then… since it’s related to the Heavenly Demon….’ Why not create a name linked to the Heavenly Demon? I brainstormed numerous words. After much thinking, the only name emerging was the one I initially thought of. So ultimately, “…Cheonmashin Gong (Heavenly Demon Divine Art)?” “...” I uttered the name that I'd had in mind from the start. Shin Noya’s face twisted immediately upon hearing it. Why? I thought it sounded rather cool…? Was I wrong?