Chapter 889
Kuuuuung—!!! Kwaaaaa!!
A lance soaring into the sky detonates.
In the aftermath of the explosion, traces of blue flames fell like rain.
Ta-da-dak.
The sparks that hit the ground created embers.
“Eww!”
“Watch out!”
The warriors below hurriedly ducked, seemingly startled.
Normally, they would have been able to adjust, but not this time. They had to focus entirely on the opponent in front of them.
‘Shinryongdaeju.’
A masked warrior gripping a sword.
Decked out in the uniform of the Murim Alliance, the golden embroidery shone vividly. It was the attire that symbolized the Divine Dragon.
Moreover…
‘What…’
I couldn’t sense anything from this character.
He stood firmly between me and the swordsman, and even though he simultaneously blocked their martial arts, I felt no energy whatsoever.
If there was anything I could sense…
‘Unpleasant.’
A faint feeling of discomfort brushed against the tip of my nose.
It always felt like that. Even when we first met.
‘Less than before.’
It felt completely different from the sensation I had back then.
‘…The presence of the Blood Demon has also become hazy.’
The damned feeling I sensed from him was somehow faint, the certainty that it was connected to the Blood Demon fading.
All that remained were shallow discomfort and an overwhelming sense of alienation, like I was in a peculiar dream.
“What are you?”
I frowned and asked, but there was no reaction from the Dragon Lord.
The tip of my finger shifted slightly, sparking a fire.
‘Should I try using Baekyeon?’
I pondered how Baekyeon might affect him. If he were linked to the Blood Demon, perhaps it wouldn’t even touch him.
Glancing around, the sheer number of witnesses made it impossible to recklessly unleash it.
In that case…
‘What about just killing them all?’
Wouldn’t it be easier to get rid of every single one of them?
For a fleeting moment, that thought crossed my mind.
Tsk.
But I held myself back because I couldn’t just do that.
Tick-!
I snuffed out the flame and fixed my gaze on the Dragon Lord.
“What did you ask?”
“…”
Shing—! Clank!
The sword he was holding twisted around and slid back into its scabbard.
As it spun, the golden aura surrounding it wafted through the air.
I squinted at it.
‘What…?’
It felt like an energy I had seen somewhere before.
It might be mistaken for the aura of Wi Seol-ah just because it’s golden.
‘No.’
It was fundamentally different from Wi Seol-ah’s energy. The similarity began and ended with the color.
The structure of the internal energy that formed it was distinctly different.
“Shinryongdaeju.”
The Swordsman spoke up from behind.
Though his attack had been lightly deflected, his expression remained placid.
“If you’re here, it means….”
As he began to speak, he suddenly glanced over at one spot.
I followed his gaze.
“Cough.”
I detected a presence amid a cough.
Startled, I widened my eyes.
‘Ah.’
The figure that emerged was none other than Mukyeon.
I let out a quiet gasp at his sudden appearance.
‘I didn’t sense him.’
I had just now become aware of Mukyeon’s presence. This was a significant issue.
‘Mukyeon had no aura.’
He certainly had some presence, but it was nearly absent, almost like a commoner.
How could I only detect Mukyeon’s presence after he got close? This suggested one thing.
‘Someone was masking Mukyeon’s presence.’
The one hiding his aura was likely the Divine Dragon Lord standing right in front of me.
‘He blocked the attack even with the aura concealed…?’
Erasing someone’s presence was a rather bothersome feat.
Doing that required extreme precision, and few warriors could afford to pull it off while fighting.
‘If it were me…’
It was certainly possible.
Not an impossible theory. The real question was, could this guy really withstand that last attack in that state?
‘It’s ambiguous.’
I didn’t quite have the certainty.
It seemed unlikely he couldn’t do it, but that didn’t mean it would be a straightforward task.
‘But he managed to do it.’
What on earth was his identity?
As I reached for my energy, I found I could see nothing beyond the mask.
‘Is it the same capability as the mask the Dark King gave me?’
That possibility existed.
“… Let’s call it a day.”
Mokyeon’s voice brought a small chuckle to my lips.
“You want me to stop? Just like that?”
“Seongryongdaeju.”
“What do you mean stop? I’ve been busting my tail working in Sichuan as told, and now I hear my father is locked up. What part of that means I should stop here?”
“Do you think this is what the previous master wanted?”
“I’m not doing this because it’s what my father wished.”
Gyiying.
I summoned flames into my hand, and in an instant, the holy lance was ready.
“I’m just doing this because I’m angry.”
“Then you intend to go against the guardian and the main temple?”
“If that’s necessary, count me in.”
“… That’s not a wise choice, Seongryongdaeju. You’re well aware of that.”
“People can’t always make the best choices. Today happens to be one of those days for me.”
Clang.
A sound rang out. The Swordsman, along with the Dragon Lord, gripped their weapon handles.
One step. Just one more step, and it would escalate into full-scale warfare.
What were the stakes in this fight, and was victory even possible?
‘There’s nothing to gain.’
But that didn’t mean there was no chance of victory.
I had felt it during my battle with the Swordsman.
‘I won’t lose.’
Winning was uncertain, but I knew I wouldn’t easily be defeated. If I put my all into it, I was confident I could win without too much trouble.
Of course, if the Swordsman had hidden cards up his sleeve, that was another matter entirely.
‘The issue is…’
The guy right in front of me, the Dragon Lord, along with the warriors from the alliance.
Could I take them all on and still win? Obviously, that was a no-go.
‘It’s still too much.’
Sweeping them all away at once would be reckless, even using spells was risky.
In other words, it’d be wise for me to back down right now.
“So, what I’m saying is, stop provoking me.”
Despite that, I didn’t want to lower my head.
“…”
Mukyeon regarded me with a peculiar expression.
It was too neutral to be labeled anger but too intense to be interpreted as sadness.
What kind of expression was this? I briefly wondered.
“I know why the old master ended up in prison.”
“I’ve heard something about it.”
There had been too many tales swirling around to avoid hearing even if I didn’t want to.
“The imprisonment of the old master was a justified result. A trial regarding this matter is expected to be held shortly.”
A justified result. That was true.
If he had marched into the main temple attempting to kill the strategist, he certainly wouldn’t have been free from consequences.
“Well.”
I couldn’t fully believe that.
“Then I’d like to ask you a question.”
I looked straight at Mukyeon.
“Could you please tell me why that happened?”
“…”
I hadn’t heard why my father acted this way.
Upon hearing this, Mokyeon’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“Isn’t that so? I find it more crucial to understand why my father is in prison than merely learning that he is a criminal.”
My father would never have attacked Mukyeon without a reason. And also…
‘He wouldn’t have simply been caught.’
The idea that he had walked quietly into prison without a fight baffled me.
“I won’t withdraw until that part is resolved.”
Fwwww—!!!
Flames erupted as the ring around my heart spun rapidly.
“I have no intention of backing down from here.”
I would not back off, even if my plans fell apart right here.
With that resolve, my fighting spirit flared up.
“… Seongryongdaeju.”
Mukyeon narrowed his eyes at me.
Just as he opened his mouth to speak, a sudden commotion erupted.
Whafl—!
“…!”
A burst of flames suddenly exploded in front of my eyes.
This wasn’t the blue flame I possessed. It was a bright red.
‘This is…’
I recognized it immediately. My heart reacted upon seeing it. This was the flame of the Gu Flame Wheel Technique.
Looking at the texture and intensity of the flames, there could only be one person responsible for igniting them now.
‘Father?’
It was undeniably my father’s flame.
Just as I processed this, a voice echoed to me.
– It’s okay.
The moment I heard that, my eyes widened.
‘Where?’
This wasn’t a normal sound. The voice resonated from within the flame.
How could he have embedded his voice in the flames? If that was possible, it meant he wasn’t trapped. Why wasn’t he escaping?
I couldn’t figure it out. The energy felt quite distant.
Yet, even so, a clear voice and these vivid flames.
– It’s fine, go back.
I had to scowl at the weight of that voice.
“What do you mean it’s fine?”
Why did he throw himself into that situation out of the blue? I wanted to ask that too.
– Go back and take care of Hyo-ran.
“…”
– Please.
I was rendered speechless at my father’s request.
Hyo-ran.
It was the first time I heard my father referring to my wife by name.
Let alone asking for my help?
‘I’m going back.’
I wiped my forehead and fell into thought.
My impulse was to destroy everything and cause chaos, but I had to consider my own losses as well. Above all, I was troubled by my father’s request.
‘Is there a deeper reason?’
Sending flames to relay a message clearly meant there was a significant purpose behind it.
Even so, if it were the same as before, I wouldn’t have cared.
Yet,
‘Why is he acting in a way he never has before?’
Hearing my father suddenly mention “Madam Mi” made me curse inwardly.
If this was his way of asking for help, then what was I supposed to do?
‘If you’re going to do something, why not have done it sooner?’
If I had known he could do this, I would have preferred he had done it much earlier.
Such silly thoughts flitted through my mind.
No, that’s not for me to say.
Images of my father from memory resurfaced.
A middle-aged man hesitated, unable to approach as he watched me cry, eventually turning his back.
Tsk.
I clicked my tongue and waved my hands dismissively.
Pop-! The holy lance that had been established vanished, and the fighting spirit radiating from my body instantly quelled.
Clank.
At that sight, the Dragon Lord released his hold on the weapon.
I turned to face Mukyeon silently. Meeting the old man’s eyes, I eventually turned away.
“… I came in a rush, so I didn’t bring anything with me. I’ll submit the report later.”
“…”
“I’ll come back tomorrow to listen to the detailed explanation. Please provide as much detail as possible so I can understand.”
With those words, I kicked off the ground and soared upward.
*
Immediately after Gu Yangcheon vanished, Geomje looked at Mukyeon and asked.
“… Muk, why didn’t you catch him?”
Geomje’s face was filled with questions.
In response, Mukyeon covered his eyes with his dry hands and replied.
“There was no justification to detain him.”
No grounds? Geomje couldn’t believe that.
“The Holy King attacked the main camp and created chaos. What greater justification could there be?”
“If you say that, I should have answered differently.”
“In what way?”
“He should have said something, yet I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
There was a hint of guilt laced in his weary voice.
Upon hearing that, Geomje understood.
The justification Mukyeon mentioned was a personal one, not the kind defined by the alliance.
“I will take responsibility for the attack by the Holy King. I said I’d come back tomorrow, so if you want to hold him accountable, we can do it then.”
“…”
Murim’s chief frowned briefly, his displeasure evident, but that was the end of it.
And then,
“I trust you will agree.”
Mukyeon spoke to the man beside him, the Dragon Lord.
The Dragon Lord briefly glanced at Mukyeon through his mask.
Hwaak—!
With a flash of golden light, he vanished without a trace.
“…”
Mukyeon sighed softly upon seeing that sight.
A deep, cold breath escaped his lips.
*
He made his way straight to Madam Mi’s quarters.
There was a call from my father, but I had to hear the situation immediately as well.
In a display of urgency, I passed through the escort and stormed into the residence.
“Oh, wait…!”
The guards belatedly noticed my presence, but by the time they did, I was already inside.
“Madam, are you here?”
After collecting myself and calling her name in front of her room, I sensed a presence from within.
Druruk—! The door opened, revealing Madam Mi.
She greeted me with wide eyes, as if taken aback.
“… How did you…?”
“I came straight after reading the letter you sent, having just come from the alliance.”
“What?”
At my words, Madam Mi’s expression shifted even further.
Perhaps she was shocked that I arrived immediately after receiving the letter? That was my thought.
However,
“First, I should hear the situation…”
“A letter from me? What does that mean?”
“… Huh?”
“It’s only been a few days since I sent the letter. It’s impossible that it arrived so soon, isn’t it?”
Madam Mi’s words chilled my blood.
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