Chapter: 336
At the words spoken by the World Tree,
I had to stand there in a daze, as if I had received a major shock to my head.
How could it not be so?
“My mother is a disaster?”
Looking at the information we’ve received from the World Tree so far,
the term ‘disaster’ refers to an entity that seeks out and annihilates the world’s original owner,
all while erasing every living being on Earth.
It was like an agent sent by the world itself.
If the Blood Demon was indeed the one who first appeared when the incident broke out,
the next being that comes to mind should naturally be the Heavenly Horse.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Grr… I let out those words with a growl.
Not the Heavenly Horse, but… that was our mother?
“Does that even make sense?”
[Calm down, Apostle.]
“Calm down?”
Flare!
I couldn’t control the emotions rising up in my throat.
Before I knew it, sparks shot out from my body.
It was the first time I had reached a boiling point and was seething with anger because I couldn’t suppress my emotions.
I had been worrying about what was inside of me.
If it was true that it had been there since my past life,
I could understand that.
You said you couldn’t wake up,
so if in this life, you awoke because of something you ate,
I could grasp that too.
What I meant to say is that I’d try to understand it in any way possible, even if it meant fitting pieces together.
But…
“A disaster…”
Would erase every living being on this land,
and turn the world upside down while claiming to set things right.
That simply couldn’t be my mother!
Crash!
In a step filled with emotion,
the floor cracked and caved in.
“… Where does such an absurd story come from?”
I tried to cool my head and listen to the explanation,
but it didn’t go as I wanted.
The story of my mother, which had always lingered like a lump in my heart,
I never expected it would spill out this way.
Already overwhelmed by too much conflicting information,
the confusion only grew.
But still, it must be done.
Being able to obtain this information now,
is perhaps a rare chance.
“Why do you think my mother is viewed as a disaster?”
[Apostle.]
“Yes.”
Despite my voice laced with anger, the World Tree remained indifferent.
It was as if it had anticipated my reaction.
[What do you think the disaster you’re calling is?]
“… You’ve explained everything you needed to.”
That it was an agent sent by the world —
I’d heard that at least three times.
Seeing my scrunched expression, the World Tree seemed to add another explanation as if waiting for it.
[Then where do you think such a being comes from?]
“Yes?”
After hearing the World Tree’s words,
I had to make a strange expression.
Where does it think it comes from?
[To know about your mother, you must understand what they are.]
“What does that mean?”
I need to know what a disaster is?
As I racked my brain trying to make sense of it,
the World Tree, as if sensing my confusion, offered me the answer.
[What you think is a disaster…]
[Is the master of the otherworld.]
My eyes widened at the words the World Tree spat out.
The term ‘master of the otherworld’ implies that,
if my mother really was a disaster,
it meant she was the master of an alternate realm.
When I heard that the entity within me was also a master,
I had anticipated that not all the masters would appear in the form of a tree like the World Tree before me.
The Blood Demon is also a master of another world.
‘… Mother wasn’t human, to begin with?’
I recalled my mother’s face, smiling brightly.
In my memories, my mother was
a completely ordinary woman, just like everyone else.
She loved taking care of children,
enjoying the seasons, and had a particular fondness for flowers—
she was just a sweet woman.
If such a mother was, in fact, a disaster meant to wipe out everyone in the world,
“… That cannot be true! Then how could the world be so peaceful?”
If the world is functioning like this right now,
then it shouldn’t be happening!
Moreover, how could a being known as the master of another world
simply leave their world and come to this one?
If a disaster had indeed come,
if it truly were the case that my mother was a disaster,
‘What about father?’
I clenched my fist at that passing thought.
If this story were true,
did my father know about it?
“My mother was an ordinary woman! She was not a disaster or anything.”
The Blood Demon had thought so.
Just like the Heavenly Horse did.
With a form that might not appear human,
you could tell from their overwhelming presence that they were not ordinary beings.
As the World Tree stated,
even if the Blood Demon is the master of the otherworld,
it doesn’t feel especially strange to me.
Yet, if my mother is deemed a disaster,
no matter how hard I think,
it’s utterly incomprehensible.
Even if that’s the case,
‘That’s implying I’m not human either.’
My doubts about my identity deepened.
[Your mother is indeed a disaster.]
“So I keep asking you why you think that!”
[…]
When I asked as if confronting it,
the World Tree fell silent for a moment.
A brief pause, like it was choosing its words.
Then, it reached out and stroked my hair as though to apologize, before saying,
[To be precise, she is the master of a world that has already vanished, but this is… something for your father to explain, not me.]
“…What?”
At the World Tree’s words, I found myself breathless.
“Are you saying my father knows too?”
The word ‘father.’
It had been years since I uttered that.
If I included my past life,
it would seem like a considerably long time.
That also meant it was a shock.
And then—
“You too…know my father.”
The implication was that the World Tree also knew my father.
How far does this go?
What on earth is the connection?
[…]
The World Tree often fell silent in response to my queries,
whether it was choosing its words or something else entirely.
For whatever reason,
I strongly despised that silence at this moment.
As my patience wore thin, did the World Tree grasp that?
Only then did it finally share the story it had been holding back.
[This was a very long time ago.]
By the world’s standards,
it felt so long ago indeed.
[Your father—it was around the time he discovered this place.]
“Are you saying my father came here?”
[Yes, he was holding the hand of a woman with pure white hair.]
Pure white hair?
Who could that possibly refer to?
For a moment, I thought of my mother, but she had black hair and dark eyes.
[How could a human find this place on his own? I was utterly astonished.]
He arrived here personally?
How could that even be?
This is a place I wouldn’t have been able to come to if it weren’t for the power of the Iron Line.
This place isn’t just any ordinary magical realm.
After hearing the truth, it made even more sense.
[I recognized her the moment I saw her. She was the second calamity.]
“…!”
That meant you realized she was a disaster!
Then, the white-haired woman spoken of by the World Tree is my mother?
‘But, my mother’s hair…’
That definitely wasn’t the color I remembered!
[I didn’t know why that woman sought me out. She had no reason to come this way.]
The original master was already confined, no longer in this world.
If it was a calamity meant for the world,
then just erasing all living beings would be enough.
Yet, she came to find the World Tree.
“… What, what on earth did she come here for?”
[She asked to be told how to rid herself of the karma residing in her.]
The World Tree explained,
my mother wished to free herself from the karma of disaster placed upon her.
“Is that… possible?”
The laws of the world are taken so seriously,
that the World Tree is trapped here.
Yeonilcheon turned back time using the power of the World Tree,
but in the end, couldn’t stop the Blood Demon and merely sealed him away.
So is there really a method to erase karma?
[No, that’s impossible.]
Just as I suspected.
As expected, the World Tree delivered a negative response.
Even I, merely human, can see it…
Actually, I wonder if I can even continue calling myself human.
But let’s set that aside for now.
It was a story that could or could not be feasible.
In that situation,
[One, your mother might be able to do it.]
“Yes?”
[As I asked at the beginning, what is your karma? I said to understand what’s inside your body, you need to know about your mother.]
That was the gist I heard.
[Even if they share the same master… they can’t all be the same.]
They can’t be the same?
Just as the Blood Demon and World Tree are distinct,
even if my mother is a master of the world,
does it imply something sets her apart?
I still can’t convince myself that my mother isn’t human.
Just as with the World Tree,
it was impossible to regard her as a being from a completely different dimension.
No matter how much I thought about it,
in my mind, my mother was just an ordinary woman.
Even as I continued to gaze at the World Tree in disbelief,
the Tree seemed unaffected by my stare.
[Master of all worlds.]
The World Tree continued speaking to me.
[This is your mother’s true name.]
“…”
Just hearing that gave me the impression that she was definitely not an ordinary being.
In a basement filled solely with cold air,
through the gaps in the steam that had settled like shapes on the floor,
a woman veiled in cotton knelt, her head bowed.
She was the so-called ‘dancer.’
She had no other name.
That was how her master called her;
that became her identity.
The dancer, though she merely existed for a moment,
made not even the tiniest movement.
She simply sat there, quietly breathing.
How much time passed?
In technical terms, it was merely a few seconds.
For some, it might have felt just like a fleeting moment,
but for her, it was something completely different.
Her master was absent from this nest-like place.
The impact of that absence was not minor.
Therefore, the dancer held her breath as she awaited her master.
At that moment.
Thud.
A massive vibration echoed in the room.
Thud thud thud.
Dust fell from the ceiling due to the tremor,
but even so, it sullied the dancer’s hair.
She showcased not the slightest movement.
Just a few seconds passed like that.
After a brief interval,
Hooooo…
When the smoke covering the floor began to thicken a bit,
the dancer lifted her bowed head, gazing forward.
Woof.
A vibration emanated from something enveloped in mist ahead.
A very faint glimmer twinkled.
[Not bad.]
The voice of her returning master tickled the dancer’s ears.
It sounded pleasant, as though mingled with laughter.
“… Are you okay?”
The dancer asked, her tone filled with concern.
That concern was warranted.
For her master could not just carelessly retreat from this realm.
[It’s okay. I had a truly delightful experience.]
Hearing the dancer’s words, the Blood Demon continued,
speaking with a voice that seemed satisfied.
[Since only traces remained, I was curious about what transpired… It really was amusing.]
With only a tiny remnant remaining,
nothing else was left behind.
The Blood Demon had been curious all this while,
what the master of this world had done.
And,
why an illogical being could prevent him.
[It was for an utterly trivial reason.]
The master was contained within the nether realm due to breaking the laws.
Yet, despite that, was he trying to struggle due to some lingering attachment to this world?
Whatever the case may be,
[It’s not all that bad.]
Even if it strayed from the course laid out,
the world refused to allow it, bringing it back to its original path.
Still, the image of him trying to break free from that path
was bound to be entertaining in its own right.
One.
[The issue is that the price to pay was greater than anticipated.]
The Blood Demon felt something unusual occurring with him.
To send his consciousness to the nether realm where the original master was imprisoned,
it required a considerable amount of effort.
Moreover, it was concerning,
given that it was an act to enter a vessel which had already lost its physical value.
It was bound to be more strenuous.
[Dancer.]
“Yes?”
Upon hearing the Blood Demon’s words,
the dancer’s veil fluttered.
[Prepare the scales.]
The dancer’s shoulders flinched at those words.
To prepare the scales.
That meant
the Blood Demon, who had been holding his breath for a long time,
was indicating he would move himself.
“That means….”
[It seems as though the time I’ve been waiting for has arrived sooner than expected.]
Joy shone through the Blood Demon’s voice as he spoke.
It was a voice filled with excitement, unlike anything the dancer had ever heard.
Hearing that voice,
the dancer cautiously asked,
“… What should I do about the vessel?”
[The vessel.]
If the Blood Demon decided to make a move,
a body was necessary.
The dancer already knew the answer to this question.
If he were to take direct action,
he must have plenty of means at his disposal.
He just hadn’t wanted to employ them yet.
Just as the dancer was about to rise and search for a solution,
[The vessel of Jang Ga is dead.]
The dancer froze at the Blood Demon’s proclamation.
Just like with the issue surrounding Namgung Cheonjun,
the death of Jang Ga’s vessel carried multiple meanings
– and for the dancer who understood its identity,
the implications were even greater.
[It seems he isn’t completely dead yet, but he will inevitably meet that fate.]
Even though he wasn’t fully gone,
the way the Blood Demon spoke indicated that he would certainly face ‘death’ again.
Taking in the information, the dancer slowly looked at the Blood Demon and opened her mouth.
“I will prepare a new vessel. I can also….”
[No, that’s unnecessary.]
The negative reply from the Blood Demon caused the dancer to bear a puzzled expression.
Why refuse?
Jang Seon-yeon was still a vital figure for the Blood Demon’s plans.
That’s why, despite the trouble it might cost,
he had continued to keep her.
How could he say such a thing?
As the dancer focused her gaze on the Blood Demon,
[Though the soul and memories have been gathered, there’s no need to put memories back within the vessel.]
It was as if he addressed the dancer’s question directly.
[I will reside within it.]
The Blood Demon provided the answer.
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