1246 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

The ceiling looked rough, devoid of any patterns, and barely lit. The surroundings were dim, making it difficult to discern anything clearly. As she circled the oddly humid air, a sigh escaped my lips. Looking up at the stone ceiling, I pondered. “Ah….. life.” Why does it always end up like this? There was never a time when things went smoothly. Clang. An oppressive sensation gripped my hand. Chains bound her like shackles there. I gazed at them bluntly and let out another sigh. "......damn it......" The quiet murmur echoed through the space. Almost as if in response, someone began to speak to me. "Are you all right?" At the sound of the fresh voice, her head lifted. There stood Poison Phoenix with worried eyes fixed on me. "......Yes. I'm fine." Though it was a bit stifling, it wasn't unbearable. "I'm sorry." Poison Phoenix apologized, and I tilted my head inquisitively. "Why are you apologizing?" "......If I had done a better job of stopping them, you wouldn't be here now." “That’s a bit different.” Would anything have changed if Poison Phoenix had intervened? I was certain it wouldn’t have. “In that situation, there was nothing the lady could do.” The reason I ended up confined here. That armor. The armor reacted to confirm if I was indeed a cultist, and as soon as it did, everyone went into battle mode. The only thing she could do then was to surrender. And so, surrendering both hands and feet, I was chained and imprisoned here. ‘……Unbelievable.’ What made it suddenly react and cause such chaos? It was absurd. ‘Ridiculous.’ It looked to be some sort of relic, and the fact that it reacted made me sigh. I considered feigning innocence, but… ‘It wasn’t a trusting atmosphere.’ The real issue was. ‘I understand it myself.’ The moment it reacted, she understood. The armor reacts to cultists. There were countless doubts stemming from that fact alone. 'Does it really react to cultists? Or…' Could it possibly be responding to the fact that I am not entirely human? I wasn’t sure. Whatever it was, something suspicious certainly existed. Thus, she remained bound. “Anyway.” Looking ahead, she asked. “Is it alright for you to be speaking to me like this?” “Pardon?” “Miss Tang, do you still trust me?” The moment the armor reacted. Tang Cheongi and the other martial artists had immediately turned their backs on me. Yet Poison Phoenix continued to visit her, which was perplexing. Honestly, anyone would’ve doubted or felt betrayed. “Why are you doing this?” “Hmm…” Poison Phoenix pondered briefly and then asked. “Young Master Baek.” “Yes.” “Are you our enemy, as our fears suggest?” “No. I’m not an enemy.” If questioned whether he was a cultist, he might have hesitated, but being asked if he was an enemy—he wasn’t. He had neither the intention nor the objective to be one. “Then that’s enough.” “…Just like that?” “Yes. You said you’re not.” “You seem to trust people easily.” “Hmm? No. I don’t trust people. Is there anything more untrustworthy than people?” Poison Phoenix smiled brightly. Despite her innocent smile, the sincerity was palpable. It felt like a fake smile. This reminded him of the Tang family once more. Perhaps there was a faint understanding of the meaning behind that smile. “……So why do you trust me?” “I don't know. But, anyway.” Poison Phoenix deftly shifted the topic to something else. “How long do you plan to stay like that?” “Pardon?” “You can leave whenever you wish, can't you?” “……” Even that trust was surprising. Why would she think I could do that? What little had she seen of him to think so? Yet, the funny part was. ‘……Ironically.’ He could theoretically leave whenever he wanted. “Leaving now would only deepen their suspicions further. It seems better not to worsen the situation.” “Hmmm….” Poison Phoenix nodded. “If that’s your assessment, Young Master Baek, I understand. I'll try to persuade them for a peaceful resolution.” “Do you think persuasion will work? You needn’t attempt the impossible.” “I don’t know. I’ll try first… If it doesn’t work, should the two of us escape?” “Please focus on persuasion.” “……Alright.” Seeming a bit disappointed, Poison Phoenix gave a polite bow and ascended. Once the Poison Phoenix left, I leaned against the wall and contemplated the situation. “What should I do?” Of course, no brilliant idea struck. “A difference of one year….” Having entered later than others by a year. “And the cultists.” He arrived to find that even from the previous era, degradation by demonic influences had begun, and reapers were involved in hunting those demons. “……What’s troubling here.” There was the cultist identity and the intent behind her actions. ‘If.’ If cultists’ movements mirrored his past life’s scenario. ‘Their actions should have a reason.’ Recalling that the entity who had sent him there was the Blood Demon, another thought crossed his mind. More perplexing was that. ‘The number of cultists is suspicious.’ There were several cultists, not just one. It was said that not just one transcended to receive demonic influences but several after the descent. ‘What the…?’ His eyes narrowed. Assessing the scenario was proving difficult. How many were transferred here, and exactly how were things unfolding? ‘Hmm.’ Clang. Staring at the chains binding him, I pondered. Should I escape first? Understanding the situation seemed paramount, but. ‘Soon.’ For now, I thought it might be best to wait a bit. It wasn’t that Poison Phoenix held me back. ‘I feel there’s more information I can gather from here.' There might be more to learn from remaining. That was the intention. “Hmmmmm……” I closed my eyes. Maybe because I was tired, drowsiness washed over me. Since I am bound and had nothing to do, I succumbed to a brief slumber. Who knew how much time passed? “Can you really sleep in this predicament?” A voice filled with irritation roused him gently, and his eyes fluttered open. “Oh, you’re here?” Standing before him was Tang Cheongi, looking down with exasperation in his eyes. “Is it time to eat?” “You must be delusional. Do you think there's any food for a wretch like you?” “I was just making a joke.” “Hah.” His disdain for me was as clear as day. “The audacity. Pretending to be human when you're nothing but a cultist—what kind of attitude is that?” He clearly didn’t believe me. Why would he? If I were in Tang Cheongi’s position, he wouldn’t have believed himself either. “You wouldn’t believe me even if I said I wasn’t?” “The relic reacted. It's far more reliable than your words. No matter how you managed to deceive my sister, it won’t work on me.” “Hmm.” I expected as much. The Poison Phoenix’s attempts at persuasion likely wouldn’t work this time. In fact, the very fact that the Poison Phoenix trusted me was strange. “So, you plan to keep me tied up like this?” “Be grateful we haven’t killed you.” “Could you even if you wanted to?” A smirk tugged at his lips as Tang Cheongi’s face contorted in irritation. "......Disgusting scum." His words were dripping with spite. “I don’t like you.” “I know. It’s quite obvious to anyone who looks.” It had been that way from their first meeting. Tang Cheongi had never liked me. Despite the fact that, for me, there was some shared history with the Poison King, I didn’t harbor such disdain. Even now, I felt similarly. However. “For what it’s worth, I respected you as a warrior.” “Hmm?” “When I first saw you, I hoped you weren’t a cultist. Now, I could actually use your help.” He looked at Tang Cheongi with curious eyes. The disappointment was clear in Tang Cheongi’s gaze. “……But, in the end, you’re just like those other pieces of trash.” His fists clenched, and the knuckles turned white from the pressure. “It was a mistake to have held even a moment’s expectation.” With those words, Tang Cheongi turned his back. “Whatever you’re planning, do what you will. We’ll never fall like your kind.” “……” Leaving those final words, Tang Cheongi disappeared from view. Watching him leave triggered an involuntary click of his tongue. “As if they’d never fall.” I mused. “Why were his eyes shaking so much, then?” Despite the resolute words, Tang Cheongi’s inner turmoil was evident. Had something happened over the past year to cause such inner turmoil? “Hmmm.” Tap, tap. He gently tapped his thigh with his fingers. – Disappointment. Hearing those words again after so long felt oddly fresh. It was astonishing that someone had once held expectations for him. Now, watching them utterly disillusioned was somewhat amusing. What was more futile than expectations one imposes on others? “Damn it.” Might as well get some more sleep. I closed my eyes once more. A day or two—I would stick around for just a bit longer before taking action. It didn’t seem like lingering would serve any more purpose. Just as he was about to drift off to sleep again, BOOM---!!!! A massive earthquake-like tremor reverberated through the cave. “We’re under attack!” “……” Something must have happened, prompting him to open his eyes again. “An attack?” What attack out of nowhere? “The cultists...! The cultists have appeared...!” The cries of the martial artists reached his ears even from a distance. “Cultists?” It meant that the cultists they'd been discussing earlier had turned up. “Really now?” A smile tugged at my lips. *Snap.* He broke the chains binding his hands with sheer strength. Such shackles were no match for his physique. Cultists had shown up….. “So many questions, and they’ve come to me.” It seemed things had worked out perfectly.