1286 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Sssss. The palm containing the secret skill and divine power of the Gu family was brought close to the tree, and I spoke to father. "If you try anything further, I'll burn this tree to ashes. And the person inside will go down with it. You understand?" As I brought my hand close, as if ready to ignite it at any moment, father hesitated. "......What are you doing right now?" His voice was flustered. Hearing that, I couldn't help but let a smile curve on my lips. "What does it look like? Isn't it obvious? I'm threatening you." Swoosh. Father seemed ready to move. The moment I noticed, I pressed my hand closer against the tree. "Don't move." Father paused. It was effective. "One more step, and I'll burn it." "......" Of course, I had no intention of truly setting the tree ablaze. No matter what, I wouldn't burn mother. But showing him I was serious might finally get through. "Don't believe me? Want me to show you?" "......Wait." Father said, his voice tinged with a subtle urgency. "Just wait." "I've been waiting quite a bit." I had no intention of relieving that urgency. Sssss. I intensified the heat in his hand, enhancing the flames so it seemed like it might incinerate anything upon contact. Feeling this, father furrowed his brow deeply. Whoosh! The flames enveloping his body vanished entirely. He returned to his original state as the manifestation dissipated. "......Stop." It was a request for me to cease his actions as well. Seeing this, I slightly withdrew my hand. "Who's to say you won't pounce the moment I let go? Step back." Upon my words, father retreated a little distance. Only after witnessing this did I relax the strength from my hand. Though there was always a possibility of an attack, the distance was sufficient to threaten again if necessary. Understanding this, father only grimaced and didn't charge forward. "That's good. Stay just like that." "......What do you want?" "What do I want?" Remarkable. "Wasn't it you who tried to charge in without listening?" "......" "Becoming an apostle seems to have made you quite fiery-tempered." I spoke with a grin. Even then, his father's gaze was fixed solely on the tree. Watching him, I asked just in case. "Do you remember anything from when you were human?" I was asking because, like Namgung Jin, there might have been issues with his father's memory upon becoming an apostle. "......" Father didn't answer. From start to finish, he just stared at the tree binding his mother. It became clear he wasn't in a normal state. Wasn't he capable of even determining whether he had memories or not? "What do you want?" Father repeated the question. What did he want? What did he want? "......Hmm." What might that question mean? He pondered briefly. "I don't want anything in particular. I just came to check things out, and... it doesn't seem like the right time to fight with you." The situation wasn't particularly favorable. He lacked energy, to say the least. 'The fact that Father can use manifestation is also a problem.' Mi Hyoran had asked whether I could return father to human. To do that... 'I need to suppress him somehow.' I needed to subdue father and then confirm. The fact he couldn't do that was the problem right now. In that case... 'Withdraw for now.' It was necessary to pull back from here. I hadn't expected to encounter father here, which was an oversight. "Can I leave?" "......" No answer came. But from father's eyes, I felt he understood the meaning. "I'm leaving." Knowing I still held the tree as a hostage, father couldn't outright reject his decision. '...Mother is his weakness.' I cautiously started stepping back, observing father's reactions and leaping slightly. Swish. As I widened the distance, father didn't chase him. Observing this, he swiftly moved away. Until I no longer felt father's flames. * * * "......" Only after the figure disappeared into the distance did Gu Cheolun begin to move, sensing that Gu Yangcheon was no longer present. Cautiously yet swiftly, he approached the tree. "......" He caught his breath, examining it. Thankfully, he found no issues, and the woman inside was unharmed. Feeling relief wash over him, he let out a soft breath, closing and opening his eyes amidst the sigh tangled with relief. Afterward, he looked in the direction Baek Yangcheon had vanished. 'How.' How did he find this place? And that he managed to break through was baffling. The Sword Queen had assured him that no one could breach this barrier. Yet... 'How did you.' How did Baek Yangcheon manage to break through the barrier here? Moreover... "The tree reacted." The tree binding the woman seemed to react, Gu Cheolun noticed. What in the world had happened? It was contradictory to what the Sword Queen had stated. More surprisingly... "......Those flames." The blue flames used by Baek Yangcheon, albeit a different color, unmistakably the Shanxi Gu family's martial art, the Gu Flame Wheel. The flames on his own body and Baek Yangcheon's flames resonated with each other, proving it. "......" What exactly was this sudden appearance of Baek Yangcheon? Moreover. 'Why did I let him go?' Why did he let Baek Yangcheon go? Though he held the tree and the woman as hostages... 'I could have caught him.' Had he used the situation well, he wouldn't have missed Baek Yangcheon. Even if he had accurately judged the distance as Baek Yangcheon departed, capturing him wouldn't have been so difficult. Yet Gu Cheolun let Baek Yangcheon go. Indeed, saying he let him go would be accurate. He chose not to capture him for some reason. 'Why.' Even though Baek Yangcheon was someone holding the tree hostage. Why did he let Baek Yangcheon walk away? It didn't quite make sense. The one thing he could gather was. 'At that moment.' During the threat as Baek Yangcheon held the tree hostage. 'He trembled.' Gu Cheolun saw it. Baek Yangcheon's hand was trembling. As if he couldn't truly set the tree ablaze. Even the look in his eyes revealed as much. Gu Cheolun felt a strange sensation as he noticed the conflicted expression of someone forced into an unwanted action. "What on earth." What was that boy? What was his true identity that kept stirring his insides with such disquiet? Gu Cheolun couldn't ascertain, but... "......" With a quiet sigh, he reached out to touch the tree, trying to clear his mind. No matter what might happen... 'For now.' This was more important than anything else. Touching the tree, Gu Cheolun maintained his impassive demeanor. To save the woman. That was the only thought remaining in Gu Cheolun's mind. * * * Whoosh!! He landed on the ground with a burst of flames. "Whoo." The moment he arrived, he let out a breath of relief. "I thought I was done for." He narrowly escaped. He was worried he might be followed, but fortunately, his father hadn't pursued him. He glanced back. He had flown quite a distance. Though he still had some energy left. "......Tsk." His suddenly appearing father and his mother inexplicably bound to that tree. On top of that, he was dissatisfied with the vague conversation with Muah. Nonetheless, it wasn't entirely without gain. 'Even though I can't sense it.' Muah had moved far enough away that tracking him became impossible again. 'The seal remains.' Muah's apostle seal, etched into my soul, still lingered within me. Using that, finding Muah again shouldn't prove difficult. "However... meeting him again might not resolve anything." Muah had spoken as if he had no strength. His diminished size, as well as his inability to convey his message clearly, seemed to be for that reason. 'How did my mother end up entangled with that tree?' If mother was the cause, it was even stranger. 'And what about father?' It was odd that his father, now an apostle, seemed intent on protecting his mother. The whole situation was bizarre. "Where did things go wrong?" It was frustrating. Nothing seemed easy to untangle. "......Should I have tried asking father more questions?" Perhaps that might have been better, but if it had escalated into a fight, he likely would have borne the greater loss. "Tam doesn't work." His father's flames were impervious to Tam. That was the core issue right now. "An apostle immune to Tam..." It was different from Cheolhyun Buseon. That opponent seemed to block with wind, whereas father... 'Tam outright refuses.' It was as if Tam simply couldn't consume the flames. 'In that case.' It raised the possibility that I couldn't return his father to being human. I furrowed my brow. "That's not good." The situation was unfavorable. Not that it ever really was. "......Hmm." I ran a hand through my hair and thought. The conclusion was always the same. Muah had also told me. '...First.' The focal point of this issue, the one said to be wielding the power of the Ten Thousand Realms. "I need to meet the Sword Queen." The Eulryeong Sword Queen. It seemed he needed to meet the so-called source of the apostles. Furthermore, if possible... "Could I kill her?" It would be even better if I could kill the Sword Queen. Rising with a cold determination in my eyes, I pondered. As for how to meet her? That shouldn't be particularly difficult. After all... 'If I cause enough chaos, she'll come to me.' Rather than going directly to meet her, it was more important to bait her into seeking me out. I intended to act on this plan. But first... "......I need to eat. Haven't eaten for a while." He prioritized filling his empty stomach first. Grrr. Tam growled quietly with hunger.