971 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

The dusk gradually transitioned into night. As always, the crimson glow of the sunset was prominent, and more than one moon filled the night sky. As the stars and moons passed by, I moved towards my destination. Time in the realm of Man Gye flowed particularly slowly, yet there was one peculiar aspect. The transition from dusk to night was inexplicably brief. It was all over in the blink of an eye. By the time I became aware of it, dusk had passed, and it was already night. Despite noticing this oddity, I continued to soar through the sky. Before long, I arrived at my destination. Concealing my presence, it wasn’t difficult to enter, partly due to the residual effects of the spell. Surprisingly, the defense of Ya Wol wasn't particularly strong. Even after several attacks, the ease of entry puzzled me. ‘There must be a specific reason they aren’t doing something.’ It wasn't simply about how they deployed their personnel. There were definitely members present, yet they weren't creating a domain with their sensed aura. This implied it was relatively easy to infiltrate, which was convenient for me. ‘It’s strange.’ The lack of security was indeed questionable. Typically, after an incident, they'd increase personnel or expand the range of their sensed aura to form a proper defense stance, but this place was lacking in those measures. Why? While contemplating this oddity, I began to descend slowly, having reached my destination. Thud. My toes met the ground. It was a mansion, one I had visited before, so reaching it wasn't difficult. After landing, I scanned my surroundings. I could sense movement on the mansion's roof, so I headed directly toward it. With a small spark, I darted in the direction of the sensation. As I descended slightly, someone came into view. Their eyes widened as they noticed me. "What!" Just as they were about to open their mouth to shout. “Sneak –!” Smack! “Urgh!” I lunged forward, covering their mouth with my hand. Then, Bang! “Gah!” I slammed their head against the wall, rendering them unconscious. Once I ensured my action was effective, they slumped to the ground. Twitch. There were a few more presences within my sensed aura. It was tedious to deal with them all, so I focused only on those along my path. “Ugh!” “Gah!” “Urgh!” They toppled one by one without making a sound. There weren't many people, but still a significant number. Once I had brought down over a dozen individuals, “Click.” I clicked my tongue, letting out a sigh. "Annoying." Sneaking in like this was exceedingly tedious. Honestly, under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have approached it this way. However, knowing that Ya Wol's presence wasn't limited to just Yusa, ‘Making a fuss would be unwise.’ I opted to restrain myself for the time being. Still, ‘Nonetheless.’ Holding back too much was frustrating. ‘Let’s see what happens if I stir things up a bit?’ Flare—!! I surrounded my hand in black flames. As always, seeing the black flames left me uneasy. They were a testament connecting my past life to the present, making me feel unchanged from before, a sentiment that felt dirty. Yet, at this moment, I had no choice but to use them. ‘The location should be roughly.’ Upstairs from here. It should be there since that was the spot last time as well. Judging this, I reached my hand upward. Roooar—!!! Boom—!!! The black flames shot from my hand, piercing through the ceiling. At the same time, I enveloped the area in pressure, preventing the sound from escaping. Thud—!!! I had penetrated the desired location. After verifying, I retracted the flames and leaped lightly through the hole to ascend to the target destination swiftly. “…What in the…” As soon as I rose up, someone looked at me with eyes wide in shock. Though they appeared to have crossed thirty, their longevity was likely greater than their appearance suggested, making it impossible to determine their exact age. From what I had seen, beings like Wol Ya seemed to have a longer lifespan than humans. ‘Anyhow, they're older than me.’ No matter what I imagined, it was clear they were older than me. Blue hair, a handsome face, and rabbit ears that didn't quite fit in. Even though I had seen them before, I never seemed to get used to them. While other creatures’ ears and tails were quite pronounced, rabbit ears seemed particularly unusual. “…You… who are you…!” The head of the blue clan who was with Yusa. He stared at me in astonishment. Fortunately, ‘He’s here.’ The guy was right here, as expected. I lightly landed on the ground and straightened my posture. With my hands behind my back, I gazed steadily at him. His face contorted. “Why have you returned to this place…!” [Hmm?] I tilted my head. I needed to convey an attitude that said I couldn’t comprehend why they would think such a thing. [What do you mean?] “What…?” [There isn't a place on this land that I cannot go.] Arrogantly and grandly. I paid attention to each word. Since my face wasn't visible, I didn't need to concern myself with expression. With my hands clenched behind my back, I walked with a stride filled with confidence, as if I wouldn't back down to anyone. This was akin to mimicking a posture, replicating something I had observed. Emulating the actions of someone I envisioned. There could be no question of who that person was since I mirrored their very stance. [I came to greet you as I couldn’t last time. Are you prepared?] “…You vile fiend…!” [It seems the general isn’t present….] Chuckle. Smirking, I said to him. [As entertainment, you’re not bad at all.] Crack—!!! Hearing my words, the blue-haired head’s face contorted. With his exceptional appearance, the change wasn’t drastic, though it was irritating nonetheless. "Your arrogance knows no bounds. Do you even realize where you are right now—?!" Boom—!! His body suddenly recoiled violently. Unlike the rapid transformations seen in Baeksa or Gubong, his change was more about the increased proportion of fur covering his body. Additionally, ‘His muscle mass is increasing.’ I noticed his physique was enhancing, particularly significant changes were occurring in his lower body. [Hmm.] I watched with interest while also glancing at the window behind me. With night falling, the moon had risen. A sky painted in darkness signified the presence of the Ya Wol. ‘This in itself is quite a gamble.’ I clenched my fist slightly to both elevate my tension and activate my own body. [Planning to amuse me?] Crack—! My foot, imbued with energy, smashed the ground. [Show me what you’ve got.] The night of Ya Wol, particularly a leader-level being. I questioned whether I could really defeat him, enveloping myself in energy as I did so. In that moment, Boom—!! The blue beast lunged at me. ******************* Crash—! Debris fell from the broken ceiling, which could no longer maintain its structure. The supporting pillars and the pristine, luxurious floor lay in ruins, raising questions as to how the space was even holding together. Within this chaos, something thudded to the ground. “Groan…” The beast with vast blue fur knelt, spitting out blood. It seemed to exhaust all its strength, collapsing into a heap. Soon, the colossal body began to shrink gradually. Ssss—! Energy became smoke and dissipated. The shrinking body returned to the humanoid form of the blue chief I had faced earlier. “Urgh…” He appeared to be in significant pain. And he would be, considering the gaping hole in his torso. “You… what do you...want…” […Huff….] Peering into his despairing eyes, I sighed deeply. [Your act wasn’t bad.] Despite saying that, my internal turmoil was immense. ‘I almost died there.’ Though maintaining a façade of calm, my body was quite worn out. Two ribs were cracked, my left arm had a fracture, and the wound in my palm, temporarily bound with internal energy, throbbed with pain. The recent battle had left me in a poor physical state. Fortunately, ‘At least they aren’t obvious flaws.’ Perhaps it was the fact that these weren't visible externally that allowed me to keep up my façade. “What…what is your goal…” The blue chief asked, quivering. A goal? [Hmm, let’s see.] I tilted my head as I approached him. [I see no reason to tell you.] “Ugh…!” Even as I taunted, I pressed a hand against his chest a few times. With that, the bleeding stopped. “How…how did…” He seemed bewildered that I had suddenly stopped his bleeding. [Since your show wasn't bad, I won’t take your life.] While I had considered killing him, keeping him alive was prudent for future events. Plus, I had accomplished my first verification. To verify something: could I defeat a leader under the moon? Given that the Ya Wol supposedly grew stronger at night, I was curious to see if I could actually defeat them at my current level. ‘Looks like I can.’ From what I’ve just witnessed, the answer was clear. ‘I can win.’ I'm not sure about others, but compared to the blue chief, ‘If I was at full strength, he'd be of no concern.’ Even in my current state, it was at a seven out of ten. Additionally, ‘If I employ the Heavenly Demon Divine Art with reckless abandon,’ there’d be no need to consider defeat. ‘…That’s reassuring.’ The power displayed by the blue chief during our fight was, at the very least, comparable to a top ten expert in the martial world. ‘Comparable to a sword master perhaps?’ While I hadn’t directly fought a sword master, it seemed close to what I imagined. This implies that, ‘I can now handle top-tier experts with ease.’ My strength exceeds that realm. ‘...Now, I should aim for the Triumvirate’s level.’ The Triumvirate, the three powerhouses once considered absolute in the Central Plains—they were within reach. ‘It’s still a daunting gap, though.’ The gap between a top-tier expert and the Triumvirate is enormous beyond imagination. It will definitely take time to bridge it, but, ‘I don’t have the luxury of time.’ I wasn’t planning to wait for an indefinite period. Somehow, I need to close this gap. Reflecting on these, I turned away from the blue chief. “W-wait…!” Desperately, he called out to me, trying to stop me. Naturally, I didn’t listen. “I told you to wait…!” [Your tongue wags too long for the weak.] “Grr…!” He attempted to move, clenching his veins. [Tch.] My foot shifted slightly at this sight. Thud—! “Gah!” The qi expelled from my foot struck him squarely on the chin. Slump—! Falling unconscious, he collapsed. Finally calmed down? I gazed at him briefly and was about to move when, “Chief!!” Someone entered, swinging the door open. Darn it. ‘My senses dulled post-battle.’ Having expended a lot of energy, it seemed my acute senses had diminished momentarily. The people likely heard the aftermath of the battle and approached. At their forefront was, ‘Ah.’ A familiar face, just like the chief. ‘That fellow.’ The one who had taken a fancy to the Heavenly Demon and declared she’d become his. A relative of the chief, no less. [...] Realizing this, “Chief…! What on earth—!” Even before he could utter another word. Splat! I had already grabbed and plucked out his left eye. [Oh. How unfortunate.] I realized my body had moved on its own. A mistake. “Arghhhh!” He screamed loudly in agony at the sudden loss. Comments: 연우 2024.10.29 16:55 신고 Instinctively pulling out an eyeball—reminds me of a certain arm collector from somewhere. 0 (Note: Only logged-in members can post comments.) 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