Chapter: 673
I frowned at the words of the heavenly demon.
“How am I supposed to know that?”
What kind of conversation is this?
It feels like I’ve just wasted my time.
‘What the hell are you doing?’
In the first place, the name didn’t matter at all.
I didn’t know the heavenly demon’s name even in my previous life.
It’s simply the heavenly demon (天魔).
A devil sent from the sky, the very cause of disaster.
Her name is of no concern to me right now.
That’s enough.
No, it had to be just that.
So then.
‘Don’t make that face in front of me.’
As if she’s a different person from the heavenly demon I knew in my past life. Watching her act like that in front of me was just plain disgusting.
“I feel dirty.”
I twisted my waist.
The condensed energy felt particularly heavy.
Since energy itself has no weight, this must purely be pressure, right?
Can I kill her with this?
I’m not sure.
One thing’s for sure—I just have to act.
“Greed.”
Shh-!!
Kwajik-!
“!”
The greed escaped and tore through the curtain.
This time, the heavenly demon didn’t avoid it, and a larger space was created than before.
That’s it.
I stepped deep into the ground, crushing it underfoot, swung my shoulders to adjust the angle, and gripped the spear firmly.
“…”
Upon seeing this, the heavenly demon seemed like she wanted to say something but then tightened her posture instead.
She doesn’t seem like she’s trying to run away.
‘Rather.’
It felt like she was showing a willingness not to budge.
‘Damn.’
Does that mean she’s challenging me to try and hit her?
I started to understand how much she looked down on people.
Then I guess I should show her.
“Okay, then just die here.”
I spat the words and moved my arms.
At that moment…
“Little brother—!”
I heard Gu Hee-bi’s voice from the back of the forest.
Looks like she arrived late.
But it’s already too late.
Kwahk-! I threw my gripped spear as is.
Shh…!
The spear rapidly flew towards the heavenly demon.
“Don’t—!”
Seeing this, Gu Hee-bi hurriedly tried to intervene and stop it, but there was no way she could catch up with it.
Just like that.
The spear finally reached the heavenly demon.
When she saw this, the heavenly demon lightly closed her eyes.
Woooom-!!
Kwaaaaaaaah—!!!
An explosion burst forth accompanied by a vibration.
Shh…!
The hot blast swept through the area like a storm.
Thick smoke rose from a distance.
I waved my hand at it.
The explosion’s aftermath extinguished a fire that had burned on a tree.
Hooook-!!
The sparks gathered around my heart.
I looked straight ahead, my expression crumpled.
In front of me, the heavenly demon still stood as before, looking unscathed.
Behind her, the destruction of the surrounding area was visible.
“Ha…”
I wiped my face with trembling hands.
“Damn…”
What a moron.
That’s a curse I spat at myself.
In the end, I couldn’t do it.
Even when it was practically served on a plate, I still couldn’t.
What kind of humiliation is this?
“Yeon-ah…!”
Gu Hee-bi, who had just run up from behind, passed me and approached the heavenly demon.
“Hello, Sister.”
The heavenly demon calmly greeted Gu Hee-bi as she looked at her.
I pondered while watching.
Why couldn’t I kill her?
‘Is it because of the anxiety that I might not be able to?’
She has to be killed.
I know that if I do, even this shallow anxiety will disappear.
Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
‘…Is it because she looks just like Wi Seol-ah?’
I can’t deny that.
But I doubt it’s only that reason.
‘So is it the thought that she might change?’
Do I have any expectation that the heavenly demon, looking very different, might change like Jegal Hyuk or Namgung Bi-a?
I don’t know.
I can’t know anything, but one thing is certain.
‘I’ll regret it.’
I think I’ll regret it if I kill the heavenly demon now.
If not now, I might never get the chance again.
She could one day turn into a disaster and bring about another bloodbath.
That anxiety lurks, but it’s overshadowed by the ungraspable fear of regret.
Do I feel any pangs of conscience?
If so, that’s something I shouldn’t feel right now.
What’s happening here?
That, too, is unknown.
‘…What should I do?’
I asked the now-nonexistent, foul-mouthed old man.
‘I don’t know the way.’
There’s no way I’ll hear a reply.
There’s no one to ask.
If Noya were around, what would he have said to me?
– If you think you’ll regret it, don’t do it.
Would he say that?
‘Then what if something happens later?’
– If you do, think about it then. You should be able to manage at least that. Ay, tsk tsk. How can a man with a tail be so scared?
‘…’
– Do what your heart tells you. That’s what’s right for you.
But there’s no Noya.
Yet, it felt like he was speaking directly to me.
Thinking of that, I looked at the heavenly demon.
“Let me ask you just one thing.”
“Huh?”
“Why didn’t you take the written test?”
I barely got her to pass the first exam, but she vanished right before the second.
“Ah.”
Seemingly recalling it, the heavenly demon widened her eyes.
And then…
“You’re weak.”
“What?”
“My sister said that you shouldn’t bully the weak. If you fight, big trouble will come.”
“…”
In an instant, the top-class and fully-ripened peak warriors turned into weaklings, but it was absurd to hear the heavenly demon say something like that.
“Damn it.”
Tap tap.
Hearing her response, I shook my hand. At the same time, I looked at Gu Hee-bi and said,
“Put the sword away, sis. I’m done here.”
“…”
At my words, Gu Hee-bi, who had been gripping the hilt, flinched.
She was probably trying to stop me.
‘With that expression on your face.’
The look on Gu Hee-bi’s face as she gazes at me appears quite painful.
It looked as if she doesn’t even want to point a sword at me.
She may be one of the most foul-tempered people around, but moments like this reveal her humanity.
“Little brother…”
“I’m not saying I’ll stop right now. Right now… I just need some time to think.”
“I don’t know how you see it, but this kid isn’t really bad… She just doesn’t know much about the world yet, so let’s keep her around a little longer.”
“Maybe so.”
I cut off Gu Hee-bi’s words.
That’s right. Perhaps it is.
The heavenly demon’s refusal to fight and her refusal to harm the weak was so bizarre I could hardly believe it.
Regardless of the circumstances, maybe the heavenly demon can live a different life.
That’s one way to look at it.
“But if I’m supposed to think that way right now, I’d have to give up a lot, wouldn’t I?”
That’s something I found really difficult.
There are only a few years left.
In just a few years, the time will come when the heavenly demon descends.
Until then, it’s a phase where anything could happen.
Just thinking about what just happened is too overwhelming.
“So, for now, I’ll take my leave.”
I needed time to think.
In the face of her, I couldn’t come up with anything.
I turned my back to the chaotic forest and the demon.
‘Is it okay to just leave like this?’
Can I really walk away from the heavenly demon?
Just as that question kept popping into my mind…
“Goodbye.”
“…”
“I’ll see you later.”
Hearing the heavenly demon’s voice, spoken in a somewhat childish tone, was the final nudge I needed to step forward.
Wooosh!
I lifted off into the air.
The moon still rises at night.
I took a deep breath while gazing at the slender crescent moon.
‘What is this?’
What on earth is happening here?
Now I leave both the heavenly demon’s form and myself who endured it behind.
I recalled how things had come to this point.
‘Grandfather…’
My grandfather, the former lord of the Gu clan, who was already believed to be dead, entrusted the heavenly demon to me.
How could the heavenly demon, who left with the princess, end up in my grandfather’s hands?
Especially to Gu Hee-bi.
I don’t know.
To begin with, it’s odd that my grandfather is even alive.
‘Does my father know?’
I wonder if my father is aware of this?
If he knows, that means Gu Hee-bi and my father know, but I didn’t know at all.
‘…Right now, I don’t want to ask Gu Hee-bi.’
I don’t want to go back and question Gu Hee-bi again.
‘Anyway, my father said he’d be coming tomorrow.’
First, I need to ask my father tomorrow.
With that thought in mind, I left the forest for now.
But here, an unforeseen issue occurred.
The next day.
As planned, the Gu clan members and the lady returned to Hanam.
Yet, my father did not arrive with us.
Seven nights and days have passed since then.
Cold air flows everywhere.
Swish…!
In a space filled with cold air, a figure who had been sitting around with their head down slowly raised it.
“Hmm.”
The young man opened his eyes with a soft sigh.
A chilling bloodshot gaze was revealed to the world.
“Ah.”
Drag drag.
The young man laughed, as if he found the unexpected situation amusing.
“I wonder if the problem was that I let it slip so easily without anyone suspecting it… The child has come to her senses.”
Because a vast being is coiled up.
I was trying to proceed as unnoticed as possible.
It seems that was the issue.
“That’s too bad.”
It truly was a pity.
It was a golden opportunity to seize a precious key.
While the young man consoled his regret…
A woman wearing a veil slowly approached and kneeled before him.
“I meet you, master…”
The young man’s bright eyes turned towards the woman.
“Dancer.”
“I came here in a hurry because I had something to tell you. Please forgive me…”
As she spoke in a pitiful voice, the young man nodded.
It was a gesture to say, ‘Get on with it.’
Seeing that, the dancer cautiously continued.
“I found the gatekeeper.”
In that moment.
Stop.
The young man halted all movement.
At the same time, everything in the space seemed to come to a standstill.
Sound and energy, even the flowing wind, froze.
Everything ceased.
“Ugh… Ugh…”
The only thing that resonated was the young man’s laughter.
Heh heh heh heh.
The young man laughed uncontrollably, and with each chuckle, cracks appeared in the space.
“Where is it?”
I had completely forgotten the disappointment I felt just moments ago.
His vertically split pupils gleamed with oppressive intensity.
The energy of his existence radiated out in all directions.
“Where did you see the gatekeeper?”
Tremble, tremble.
The dancer trembled at the pressure emanating from the young man.
Overwhelmed with fear, she struggled to articulate her words.
However, she had to answer somehow.
“… A few days… A few days ago, I observed energy at Taesungsan.”
“Taesongsan?”
It was a mountain not far from Hanam.
Upon hearing this, the young man nodded.
“Yeah… I barely found it.”
We found the long-lost gatekeeper.
“Decades without a sight of the gatekeeper…”
No, wait.
This is not about simply locating it; it’s about having it reveal itself.
The young man took a slow rise.
Crack, crack.
As he moved, there was a shattering sound from somewhere.
Opening and closing his hands repeatedly, he displayed a look of regret.
‘It’s utterly trivial, but for now, this is my best.’
Compared to his true form, this human body is less than mere dust.
But for now, that’s all he could do.
Regain his ‘body.’
Until he acquires his ‘energy.’
“Dancer.”
“Yes, master.”
“I’ll go for a walk briefly. Until then, leave a message with Cheonan.”
“…Understood.”
“And.”
The young man’s blood-red gaze focused on one wall beyond the dancer.
There stood a person with their eyes closed.
“Begin to stir.”
At the young man’s command, the Blood Demon spoke with a grin.
Swish.
“Yes.”
The small man of the Peng family, Peng Woo-jin, opened his eyes and nodded.
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