944 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

In the fading glow of the setting sun, a brief silence passed as Mong Mong and I exchanged glances. The pressure on my neck tightened slightly, but there was a hint of hesitation. "Is it really not true...? Are you sure it's not?" Mong Mong asked, the same sensation settling in. My heart tingled. I replied after hearing his question. "Yes. It's not." My answer hadn't changed. It was delivered without the slightest hesitation. What is this? Is it not unlike the power of a spell? The sensation reminds me of the force the Blood Demon used on me, though the outcome was different. It's like a slight nudge. Nothing else is felt. "Is it really not true?" He asked again. What is he trying to say? "I told you, it's not!" I retorted with a tinge of frustration, and his eyes narrowed. It was clear that he was perplexed, as though what I said made no sense. Silence descended between us once more. What does he want? The grip on my neck remained firm. Should I just brush it off and confront him? It was a tough decision. Glancing to the side, I peered at the Heavenly Demon. There was a subtle intensity in her gaze. If left alone, she might do something too. If things went this way, it would surely be catastrophic. I gathered strength in my heart, ready to shove Mong Mong's arm aside. But just then— Sleek-! The hand that was clutching my neck withdrew. The enormous arm shrank back to its thin, white form from before. With a rustling sound, debris from the wall dispersed, and my feet touched the ground. I rubbed my sore neck and brushed off my clothes with my other hand. "Strange... Why isn’t it?" Mong Mong muttered, and I frowned. "What exactly are you denying?" "...No, it's just..." "Were you guiding me for this purpose?" "No, that's not it..." Mong Mong waved his hands in denial and then rubbed his chin. "What is this? What could it be? This shouldn’t be happening. My instincts can't be wrong..." I couldn’t help but exhale in disbelief. "What exactly do you want from me...?" "..." Mong Mong scanned me from head to toe, his light-green gaze quickly passing over me as if clueless. Then, with his head bowed. "...I’m sorry... truly sorry," Mong Mong said, lightly patting my shoulder with an apologetic smile. Although his casual words irked me, I chose not to make an issue of it. 'There's something about him.' It was unmistakable. Though I couldn’t tell what, he was someone with something. "Seems I was mistaken. Hahaha." "You suddenly grabbed my neck over a misunderstanding..." I was about to question him further when— Whoosh-! A gust of wind swept through. Boom---!!!! A loud rumble echoed from the left side. When I turned my gaze, I saw a large circular hole where the wall used to be. "..." It was the aftereffect of Mong Mong's punch. 'This guy.' I narrowed my eyes. His presence felt much more significant than before. 'He's unstable.' It's as if he's forcibly compressed his body, and it's wavering. Unleashing a fraction of his hidden strength, his presence rose with it. '...He's strong.' I was certain. I thought he resembled that warden guy from before. That wasn’t just a guess but a correct observation. 'To what extent, though?' In Zhongyuan's standards, he’d at least be one of the top ten masters. Comparison to the Sword Saint would not be out of place. 'Can I win against him?' I quickly calculated. It was a familiar routine whenever I assessed an uncertain opponent or a strong adversary. If I engaged him now, what would my odds of victory be? Squeezing my fists lightly, I circulated my energy in a brief moment. I assessed the state of my body. 'Hmm.' It wasn't perfect. My left palm was shattered, and the impact of using the Heavenly Demon Divine Art last time had wreaked havoc internally. What would happen in my current state? 'I'm not sure.' Even in a perfect state, the outcome was uncertain, so it felt particularly ambiguous now. Especially. 'That punch just now.' I couldn’t clearly perceive his punch. Even without an enhanced sense of intuition, it wasn’t weak by any means. 'This isn’t good.' Although having the Heavenly Demon with me might not lead to a low chance of victory, ‘It's strange to factor her into calculations.’ She was undoubtedly an enemy. Right now, while it felt uncomfortably like a temporary alliance, I had to keep in mind that she was still an adversary. Therefore. 'I shouldn’t engage him.' I concluded internally. This wasn't the time to fight. Then, "If you continue down this path, you'll reach the Black Clan." Mong Mong offered an awkward smile, gesturing towards the passage he had just created with his punch. Indeed, the Black Clan's manor was visible there. 'No way.' Did he carve a path for me to hurry onward? Demolishing all the walls in his way...? 'What a reckless fellow.' I narrowed my eyes. "My apologies. I didn't know. Haha, really, I'm sorry." Whether he understood my thoughts or not, Mong Mong continued to project an awkward smile. "It was a misunderstanding, so can you forgive me?" "...Who exactly are you?" I asked, voicing my curiosity. In response, Mong Mong widened his eyes briefly. "Well. You won't like it if you know, so is it okay?" "Then I'll just pretend I don't know." "Quick to decide, aren’t you?" "I tend to avoid troublesome matters." Notwithstanding, I seem to get tangled in the world's most bothersome situations lately. "Hmm, that works." Mong Mong nodded repeatedly at my words. "That’s a good approach." He then added with the same smile. "If you're really curious, go ask the black child over there." "..." The black child. I immediately understood who he was referring to. The issue was. '...He calls the leader a child.' I might not fully grasp the context of this place yet. Still, I know the nobles here hold considerable sway. Among them, the leader functions like an administrator for a region. Yet Mong Mong referred to the leader as a child. I was preoccupied with considering this angle. "It was fun. I'm truly, truly sorry." Mong Mong clasped his hands together, as if in prayer, as he spoke to me. "I'll treat you better next time. Farewell." He waved his hand as if urging me to go quickly. Just moments ago, he had played the whole drama by himself, and now he was the one sending me off. Despite how absurd it was, I thought to myself, 'Is he really just letting me go?' At least for now, it seemed like we could avoid a fight, and I was relieved. With an unchanged expression, I began to walk away. "Ah, by the way..." Mong Mong added one more thing. "You're from Mount Hua, right? You go by Cheol Jiseon?" "...Ah, yes." Mount Hua. It seemed he had recognized me by my attire. I was wearing a martial robe given out there. "Alright, I'll remember that. See you next time?" "..." Frankly speaking, I hope not to see him again. I wanted to say that outright, but... '...Not good.' I had a hunch that I might encounter him again soon. My instincts told me so. *************** I made my way to the Black Clan through the broken streets. Although this hadn’t been my intended destination, somehow I ended up here. "Who goes there?" The guard at the gate prepared to point a weapon at me just as fiercely as at Shengmen, yet upon seeing the token in my hand, he stopped immediately. After that, everything went smoothly. By merely displaying the token, I bypassed all formalities and entered. Given to me as it was, it turned out to be a wise decision to have received it. Inside, I stood before a massive door. Before the guide, with slightly trembling hands, could knock, a voice sounded from the other side. [Come in.] The door swung open on its own, and I walked in naturally. The interior was no different from my last visit. A dark, unilluminated room. In its midst stood a solitary table and a man with black hair seated there. "We meet again." "Nice to see you." "The company you keep seems to have changed this time," observed the Black Clan leader as he glanced at the Heavenly Demon. "Yes. Your son was a bit busy." Of course, he was not busy at all, but there was no need to bring him along. The leader also did not seem to mind. In any case, it seemed this household was as chaotic as mine. "So, what brings you here again...?" He was about to dive into matters when I raised my hand to interrupt. "Ah, there's something I want to ask first." There was something more urgent at hand. "...?" The leader looked at me quizzically. I explained about Mong Mong, whom I had just encountered. As I continued, the leader's expression grew increasingly troubled. Judging by the reaction, he seemed to know who he was. Frankly, I had my suspicions too. After explaining how I had walked through the hole he had punched. "...I see." The Black Clan leader spoke with a tinge of concern. "The general has taken note of you." On hearing this, I narrowed my eyes. Just as I suspected. ‘So it was him.’ The individual who casually referred to the clan's head as a child and moved around the fortress like his own chamber. One of the four rulers that my mother had mentioned. Mong Mong, that guy, was the true ruler of this dark domain. ************* -So, about what I was saying last time.... -No, listen. At the weapons store.... Above the bustling street filled with myriad sounds, On the roof of a building that wasn't particularly high. A young man with green hair tilted his head in puzzlement. Youth in form, closer to a boy in looks. "Hmm..." He rolled his eyes conspicuously as if pondering something. "That's strange." No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand. The young man reflected on the individual he had just encountered. A sharp-looking young man in white clothes with black hair and a beautiful woman standing beside him. Among them, his thoughts lingered on the man. "What is it?" What could it possibly be? "It definitely felt strange, didn't it?" Even now, thinking about it felt odd. His intuition had never been wrong, so he assumed it was the case this time too. The moment he looked down from the night sky and saw that child. A peculiar vibration ran down the young man's back. An overwhelming urge to approach and verify that boy consumed him. Thus, he attempted to confirm without delay. Yet. "He said he wasn't?" That boy denied it. "Uh...?" This was incomprehensible to him. "He truly said it wasn't him...?" Though a mere verbal negation shouldn't have meant much, why should he believe it? "He spoke despite the 'Command'." The question he posed wasn't just a simple inquiry. For beings of Man Gye, the Inscription was something they all possessed. The Master of Myriad Worlds. Right beneath them, the general. These ranks could imbue their commands with authority to exact absolute obedience from lesser beings. Crawl when told to crawl. Die when told to die. These were the absolute laws inscribed into the essence of the world. 'Did he really deny it?' When the young man charged his question with intent, the response was a negation. "How strange…." How could there be such a deviation? When instincts declared them to be the right ones, yet the answer was negative. This was a first for him since becoming a general. Unheard of. For one's intuition to error, this was inherently linked to their authority and status. "Hmm..." Was his intuition truly misleading him? Though hard to believe, this was the reality. Else, it could not be explained. A commanded individual could not utter falsehoods. An unchangeable law, fundamental as gravity. However. 'There was one exception.' One scenario existed where someone commanded by the general could lie. That was. ‘If he were a being higher than the general.’ Above the general, right under the Master herself. Should that be the case, naturally, the command wouldn't apply. "Hahaha! That's ridiculous." The young man entertained the thought and immediately dismissed it. Directly above him was only the Master's presence. There was no way that boy was above him. "Sometimes, your instincts can be wrong," the young man nodded to himself, convincing himself that such a thing was simply impossible. He was certain. "If it comes to it, I can just verify next time," he mused. He was sure he would encounter him again soon. His instincts told him so, and he had unwavering faith in their accuracy. --- 2 Martial Arts, 4 Comments 3.1 / 80 JolsuJegi 2024.09.26 14:34 Report This series about Man Gye is fascinating. 0 Hideto 2024.10.17 17:58 Report This is getting interesting now. 0 hwawol72 2024.10.22 18:55 Report What? The general is at the level of top ten masters? This world is weaker than I thought. 0 Yeon Woo 2024.10.29 07:33 Report Considering his rough condition, if he's still uncertain of the outcome, Yangcheon has gotten quite strong. 0 Only logged-in members can post comments. 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