Chapter: 513
“Father?”
I blurted it out without realizing.
I was so shocked that I had to cover my mouth after letting it slip.
Perhaps sensing my call, my father turned his head this way.
Our eyes met.
Then my father’s eyes widened.
Was he surprised to see me suddenly appear?
That thought crossed my mind, but—
‘Ah.’
I soon realized that wasn’t the case.
My father’s reaction was probably due to—
‘It must be because of how I look now.’
I had returned to my original form after releasing the gas transformation technique.
Although I still had remnants of my appearance before shedding, the difference was significant.
Just before this, I had talked about achieving a complete transformation.
So, with my son showing up like this out of the blue, it was only natural for my father to be surprised.
Furthermore—
‘What is this place?’
I took a quick look around.
How deep is it?
I came down quickly through the hole, but considering how long it took to descend, it was clear it was made quite deep.
Not to mention the hazy mixed smell of poison and blood in the air was quite unpleasant.
The malignant energy that filled the space, and even the heat mixed in with it—
Just feeling it made every hair on my body stand on end.
It was that dreadful, and it felt suffocating enough to make breathing a challenge.
What the heck? What on earth is this situation?
I looked forward and furrowed my brow.
Why is the Heavenly King suddenly on his knees, bleeding?
Has the clan’s elder lost his mind?
‘I was planning to deal with that old man by tomorrow.’
It was at a point where I had already figured out the route.
Knowing that waiting any longer would be pointless, I had Nahi prepare a space to quietly capture and torture him tomorrow.
‘This is going to be difficult.’
What do I do if things turn out like this?
‘Did father do this?’
To the elder? He suddenly went outside and caused all this?
‘Father…?’
It’s hard to wrap my head around.
I’m certain that my father isn’t the type to act without any meticulous planning or thought.
But how can a father like that appear so suddenly, working himself up like this?
Maybe—
‘… Is it because of me?’
Because I almost got poisoned at the clan meeting.
So, my father suddenly showed up after a few days and stirred things up?
‘…’
I don’t know.
If he were an ordinary father, he might have rushed in when his child was in trouble.
But I thought my father was different from those people.
‘No way.’
That’s the situation, but I can’t help but wonder if that’s really the case.
How did my father know that the elder was involved here?
It must have only been yesterday at the earliest since he arrived in Sacheon, but did he figure out the whole situation that quickly?
‘This is absurd.’
Even if he pieced it all together, it’s one thing to come out here so confidently.
Where does such confidence come from?
[Where does it come from? It’s a simple question. At least for a martial artist.]
‘… Noya?’
Noya casually provided an answer to the question popping into my head.
[Strength. Do you think a warrior would need more than that?]
Once you understand the issue, there is a central point from which you can take action to deal with it.
That ultimately means power for a martial artist.
A strength formidable enough to handle anything.
‘It might seem a bit ignorant, but it’s the simplest principle.’
At least in the Central Plains, it was indeed the most important principle.
That means—
‘… You just blew it all up. Is that it?’
I knew my father was strong.
I didn’t know exactly how strong, though.
At least—
‘Stronger than me.’
A being stronger than I was in my previous life. And perhaps not weaker than the Heavenly Demon.
That’s what I was thinking.
But—
‘… If you say you made the Heavenly King like that.’
I glanced at the Heavenly King kneeling before my father.
There was blood on his white beard, and one of his shoulders looked dislocated.
He probably got messed up by some powerful hit.
Based on the circumstances, it certainly seems my father is the one who put the Heavenly King in that state.
‘Even if it was a sneak attack. Could that really happen?’
In the past, my father had killed a martial artist from Hwagyeong through an ambush when he attacked the headquarters of the Black Night Palace.
I wonder if this is something similar.
‘But… the Heavenly King seems too fine.’
Every time I sensed the amount of energy in the air, I could guess a fight had taken place.
From the concentration, it seemed like there had been a battle only moments before.
That’s what makes it all the more strange.
‘Not much time has passed since my father left.’
Though I was in a hurry, it technically hadn’t even been a full day.
‘Did he really do this to the Heavenly King in such a short time?’
What’s more, my father looked no different from when he stepped outside.
He appeared completely unassuming, with not a hint of fatigue visible.
If there had been a battle before—
‘He must have overwhelmed him… right?’
I would be justified in saying he trampled on the Heavenly King with an overwhelming force.
I’m referring to the heavenly figure known as Samjon.
Gulp.
As those thoughts flooded my mind, I involuntarily swallowed.
No matter how I look at it—
‘I definitely should never provoke my father again!’
I had suspected that my father was concealing his strength, but I never imagined it would be to this extent.
…Well, I better keep my mouth shut from now on; I decide that on the spot.
‘For now, that aside.’
I let the weary Heavenly King behind and focused on my father.
My father’s left hand gradually approached the Heavenly King while unfastening his outer garment.
It glistened a deep red, blazing vividly.
A swirling mist began to rise slowly, but surprisingly, I felt no heat from it.
It was obvious—
How much energy was packed within that palm?
I silently gasped at the sight.
‘That…’
I’ve seen that before.
Just once, the day I fought my father in my past life.
That was the power I witnessed back then.
‘… The ultimate technique of the Gu Flame Wheel.’
The last secret technique belonging to the Gu family.
It was the ultimate martial art that could only be utilized after mastering the Gu Flame Wheel technique.
“Third.”
“…!”
I trembled at the sound of my father’s voice.
“I told you clearly to wait, didn’t I?”
“Oh, that’s… I’m sorry…”
My father shifted his gaze from me back to the Heavenly King.
The atmosphere felt ominously charged.
‘Could he be planning to kill him?’
The Heavenly King?
Oh, that won’t do.
‘What should I do?’
It would be problematic if the Heavenly King died here under my father’s hand.
I didn’t mean to act all high and mighty now, though.
The reason was simple.
‘I haven’t learned anything yet.’
I still lacked the necessary information.
The reason the Heavenly King was in this strange place seemed closely tied to the elder.
‘Even the divine words are making me suspicious.’
It reminded me that the divine being had warned me to be cautious of the Heavenly King.
Just then, as I rolled my eyes around, trying to figure out a way out of this predicament—
“How did you find this place?”
My father asked.
“Y-yes…?”
“It should have been impossible as long as the Fire Star was maintained.”
Fire Star?
My father’s words brought to mind the small sun hanging in the sky.
Is that what he calls it?
That means—
‘So that’s why I couldn’t sense anything.’
The theory I had predicted was correct. It was indeed the power of thought that Noya had mentioned.
That’s right; I couldn’t feel any presence at all.
“How did you manage to find this location?”
“…I burned the link to create a resonance.”
My father’s eyes sparkled at my answer.
“Resonance… So there’s such a method, huh?”
‘Huh?’
Seeing my father’s expression, I flinched.
‘… Is he smiling?’
It felt like the corners of his mouth jerked up a bit.
I only saw that expression for a moment.
“Well done.”
“…!”
Suddenly, my father complimented me.
After hearing this, I found myself feeling oddly pleased.
Bam!
“Ugh…”
My father gripped the Heavenly King’s face.
Oops!
“Father…! Wait…!”
Whoooooosh!
A tremendous explosion of flames burst forth.
The Heavenly King’s body was engulfed in flames.
Even if it was a flame, it glowed a hue of red that seemed almost unnatural.
‘This is bad.’
I bit my lip upon witnessing this. The Heavenly King is really about to be burnt to ashes!
If he’s wrapped in flames like that, it’s obvious he won’t even have bones left.
While I was panicking in disbelief, my father looked back at me again.
My eyes met his, which widened in surprise. He said:
“Don’t worry. I didn’t kill him.”
“…Yes?”
I had to wear a bewildered expression at my father’s words.
Even now, he was engulfed in absurd flames, and my father says he didn’t kill him?
Well, he may not be dead yet, but how long until that changes, right?
I found myself breaking out in a cold sweat at his somewhat cold demeanor.
“Because he was covered in useless things, I burned them away.”
My father continued, as if to elaborate.
Useless stuff? I still don’t grasp what he means.
“Originally, I would have burned him to death, but since I saw your fiancée, I decided to let him off.”
“…Ah.”
After hearing my father’s words, I belatedly remembered.
This means the Heavenly King belongs to the Namgung family.
Caught up in the moment, I had totally forgotten about it!
‘Right… I also shouldn’t have killed him for that reason either.’
I think that way, but—
Even if I had remembered, would I have just spared him?
In contrast to the situation, my suddenly-sobering mind told me, no way!
‘You know I wouldn’t let it slide!’
That old fool was already despicable before, but ever since the transformation, he feels even less like a proper human.
Pushing aside the nauseating feeling, I asked my father.
“…Father.”
“Speak.”
“What’s going on with that old man, along with the Heavenly King…?”
I pointed at the elder.
Watching the burning Heavenly King, I clenched my fists, resisting the urge to flee.
“…”
My father’s gaze shifted to the elder.
As soon as they met, the elder’s body began to tremble.
“They told me you were poisoned.”
I clenched my fists as my father said this nonchalantly.
What my father said effectively meant that he had come because I had ingested poison.
Turning my head slightly, I felt an unfamiliar emotion wash over me.
“…How did you know it was the elder? You must not have been here long.”
This was information I hadn’t even told the Poison King yet.
My intention was to catch the elder and find out all the details afterward.
But how could he be confident that the assailant was the elder?
To that question, my father simply replied:
“I didn’t know.”
“Pardon?”
He gave me an unexpectedly candid answer.
“…What do you mean…?”
Just now, he said the elder had poisoned me, but now he claims not to know?
“That’s rather different from your previous statement…”
In response to my questions, my father explained further.
“What I could be sure of was that there was a culprit among the elders of the clan. Hani.”
“…Hani?”
“It’s something that could be resolved by capturing all the elders and verifying them.”
“…”
When I heard my father’s words, I felt my head turn white.
What exactly did I just hear?
So—
‘… Since I don’t know exactly who it is, I can just catch all the elders to find out?’
It struck me as utterly dizzying in so many ways.
As I struggled to collect my scattered thoughts, my father continued looking at the elder.
“It took half a day. That was how long it took to track the presence of the elders affiliated with the Tang clan.”
Just half a day.
Only then did I grasp why my father had suddenly gone out.
That time was spent remembering the presence of the elders within this vast clan.
Are you saying that’s what it was meant for?
“I just sought out the most suspicious one, and judging by your reaction, it seems I was right.”
“…Yes.”
My father walked over to me, continuing to speak.
“I’ve sent a message to the Poison King, he should arrive shortly.”
When did that happen?
“The Heavenly King’s flames will be quenched before the Poison King arrives, so don’t worry about it.”
In other words, that was a warning not to poke around.
Not that I was planning to touch it anyway—because I was terrified of those flames!
Having walked slowly, my father finally reached me.
His icy gaze swept over my body.
Feeling that stare made me break out in a cold sweat.
I had just made excuses about having completely transformed, moments before.
How should I explain this state I’m in?
I can’t help but feel regret.
‘Honestly, if it was going to be like this, I shouldn’t have come at all!’
I should have just listened to my father and waited.
Now I’m just embarrassed after doing something pointless.
There simply aren’t words to excuse me.
The bluish tint began manifesting in my eyes.
With blue-tinged hair, traces of scales on my skin, and an overall hefty build.
As for my size, I could attribute it to the powers of transformation.
Unless I could explain away my appearance—
There was truly nothing else I could do.
As various thoughts flitted through my mind, I pondered what to say.
“This is….”
At my father’s words, I squeezed my eyes shut.
No matter how I looked at it, there didn’t seem to be an answer.
As I prepared myself for the scolding,
“…I see.”
I opened my eyes slightly at the change in tone.
The emotions I perceived were unusually clear.
It was a sentiment I had never felt from my father before.
In his voice, that seemed just like usual, I could distinctly detect it.
“You are indeed….”
That feeling is unmistakable.
“You are indeed your mother’s blood.”
It was nostalgia.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.