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Chapter 864

Chapter: 864

Whoosh whoosh.

I squinted my eyes at the slowly burning flame.

No, can I even call this a flame? The color was ridiculously unexpected.

“What is this?”

It’s white. So white that I can’t tell if I’m looking at eyes or flames based on color alone.

Moreover, the way it flickered was different as well.

Slowly. Almost as if it’s swaying. It’s hard to explain in detail, but it was distinctly different from the rough and fierce flames I usually produce.

Should I say it feels soft and gentle?

“…”

I tried to make a fist.

Hwa-ruk-! The aura that had blossomed from my body vanished. I get it now. If I wanted to, I could summon flames, and it seemed possible to maintain my original form as well.

‘Is this Daesung?’

This is the greatness of the Nine Flames Fire Rune Technique.

Could this be the sensation of becoming one with the flame that my father talked about?

‘This is a strange feeling.’

It’s also difficult to put into words. However, I could vaguely understand what it meant to become a flame on my own. It was quite literal.

Whoosh whoosh.

When I originally used the Nine Flames Fire Rune Technique, I operated under the concept of kindling a flame.

Now, there was no need to struggle to ignite anything.

“…Hmmm.”

This feeling is indescribable from beginning to end. However, it’s not uncomfortable.

In fact, it feels nice. I tried hard to stifle the laughter that was bubbling up at this unexpected elation.

At that moment, the sensation I couldn’t grasp fully before was now completely embedded in my body.

I feel a bubbling excitement that makes me feel like I can do anything.

The problem is.

‘Why is it white?’

Why did the color suddenly change? If this is Daesung’s doing, then my father’s flames are definitely red.

I still can’t figure out why my flames have changed again.

‘Just how much stronger have I become?’

Now that I have reached Daesung, I should have felt some change in my state, but this part hasn’t registered properly.

Plus.

“Are you okay…?”

This wasn’t the time to be sorting that out anyway.

I had to care for the two people who were sprawled on the ground.

Especially the sobbing Wi Seol-ah, who needed my attention.

“Why are you crying? What’s the matter?”

Why is she crying like that? Just as I thought to comfort her, thud! Wi Seol-ah lunged back into my arms.

“Huh… Huh…”

“…No.”

What am I supposed to do about this? After pondering for a bit, I landed on one course of action.

I raised my hand and gently patted the back of Wi Seol-ah’s head.

Let’s calm down first. I thought, as I uttered words.

“Let’s calm down first…”

“I can’t… hit you… Huh… I can’t…”

“…”

I froze at Wi Seol-ah’s words. What could she possibly not hit? Momentarily lost in thought, I quickly realized the answer.

‘Oh no…’

It seems something must have gone wrong while I was unconscious.

I shifted my gaze from Wi Seol-ah to Namgung Bi-ah.

She wasn’t bawling like Wi Seol-ah, but she appeared a lot more dazed than usual.

Our eyes locked.

“…”

“…”

There weren’t any particular words exchanged. Looking into Namgung Bi-ah’s eyes, I grasped what she was longing for.

With that in mind, I waved my hand in the air.

Namgung Bi-ah promptly jumped into my remaining embrace.

Guk. I felt her grip my robe tightly.

“…I’m sorry.”

I still have no idea what happened.

My memory is blank. But I know I must have done something wrong.

Time slipped by as I barely managed to offer apologies.

I felt the strength gradually release from the hands grasping me, as if the two were calming down a bit.

Only then did I take a closer look at my surroundings.

‘…It’s a total wreck.’

I wondered what had transpired because everything was in shambles. In particular, I noticed something gasping for breath in the corner.

‘Gyecheon Gate Master?’

The transformed Gyecheon Gate Master was slumped in the corner, barely able to breathe.

From the looks of things, being alive was a monumental achievement.

‘…It doesn’t seem like the kids did this.’

Based on their temperaments, they might not have been capable of causing such chaotic damage. I suspected it was something I had done.

‘What did I even do?’

What could break things like this? It’s astounding.

The silver lining here is.

‘The kids seem to not be seriously hurt.’

Comparing the children’s condition to before I blacked out, it remained nearly unchanged.

That’s the most fortunate part.

If I had opened my eyes and found something irreparably broken.

‘…’

I really didn’t want to contemplate that.

‘For now…’

What do I need to focus on from here? Rather than assessing my physical condition after reaching Daesung, I decided to prioritize that.

I turned my head this way and that. As I shifted my gaze.

Bump.

I caught sight of something and froze in place.

‘What’s that?’

Toward the back of the space, I noticed a tree. Was it there before?

‘If it was, why didn’t I notice it sooner?’

It should have caught my attention long ago. Now that it’s visible, I wondered if it was just me who could see it, prompting me to immediately ask Namgung Bi-ah.

“Can you see that?”

Namgung Bi-ah turned her head at my gesture.

“…Yeah…”

The tree didn’t seem to be an illusion, then. If so…

“…Was it always here?”

“Yeah… since the beginning.”

“Hmm.”

It was there from the start. It’s more accurate to say that I was unaware of its presence.

‘How could I fail to notice something so bizarre?’

If it’s normal, I wouldn’t have missed it. But how could I be unaware of it?

I stood up. The two people I was holding seemed disappointed, but I dismissed their expressions and walked toward the tree.

It’s small. Closer to a sapling.

However.

‘The leaves.’

The leaves on the bare branches are unnaturally white.

Almost like the flames I was emitting. Or.

‘It has a resemblance to Wi Seol-ah’s state… or Gyecheon Gate Master’s current condition.’

It feels inherently strange to simply call it white. The existence of this tree looking like that in the first place doesn’t make sense.

Nevertheless, I wasn’t surprised.

‘After all, I have experience with something like this.’

I’d seen it once before.

How could I forget? At that time, it was Sacheon.

When was that?

‘During the search for the commentary of Geumcheon Yeon-ga.’

At that time, in the area Wi Seol-ah had uncovered for me, there was a tree exactly like this.

Of course, the size was colossal in comparison. That tree back then was almost gigantic enough to be called an ancient tree.

‘What the heck is this?’

What I had seen back then vanished with the space, including the tree itself.

What exactly is this tree?

Just by glancing at it, I can tell it’s not an ordinary tree. But what on earth could it be?

‘Is this the aura that it gives off?’

There are energies that can’t be perceived from an ordinary tree.

Divinity? Or perhaps wonder?

I felt those emotions radiating from the tree.

‘And this.’

I turned and looked at Wi Seol-ah.

‘It feels vaguely similar to what I sensed from Wi Seol-ah.’

Could this all be a mere illusion? Somehow, I think it’s not.

I didn’t realize it then, but now I do. I understand how Wi Seol-ah discerned the location of the commentary back in the day.

Also, why do I feel this connection between this tree and Wi Seol-ah?

‘There’s something interconnected.’

For some inexplicable reason, this tree and Wi Seol-ah seem to share a connection, which implies.

‘Could Wi Seol-ah and Yeon Il-cheon also be linked?’

Without that, the situation doesn’t make sense.

‘How can that be?’

If there is a connection, how does that manifest?

Moreover.

‘What even is this place?’

What scheme was Gyecheon Gate Master concocting here, and what’s the meaning behind his bizarre state? So much needs to be figured out.

Well then, how about I investigate this tree first? With that thought, I reached out to lightly touch the leaves.

As I moved my fingertips toward a leaf.

At that moment.

Swishhhhh—!!!

“Hmm?”

“Uh…?”

The previously still tree began to move. The branches danced, and in response, the leaves swayed along.

There wasn’t a hint of wind. This was a subterranean and enclosed space where the wind could not possibly blow.

“What’s going on?”

Is something amiss? Just as I was about to step away from the tree.

Swish.

Leaves dropped from the swaying branches.

I widened my eyes as I watched.

While leaves do fall, they don’t simply drop to the ground.

The leaves that fell from the branches didn’t head toward the ground; instead, they flew toward me.

Moreover, they weren’t sticking to me, but they twirled around me in the air, forming a circle.

“…What in the world?”

What kind of bizarre phenomenon is this? I tried to voice my confusion, but before I could, the leaves reacted again.

Thud—!!

The swirling leaves suddenly halted, scattering apart like dust.

The leaves floating in the air sparkled, resembling fireflies.

What are they attempting? As I observed while maintaining my guard,

Swishhhh—!!!

“…!”

The radiant fragments swiftly darted and burrowed into my body.

They were so fast that I couldn’t even muster a defense.

By the time I realized it, the leaves had fully absorbed into my body.

“…What the hell….”

I hastily shook myself off. Why did this bizarre situation arise?

What exactly was it that I just absorbed…? Should I say it was forced into my mouth?

Nervously assessing my body for any changes.

[No… No…!!!]

A scream echoed from behind me.

When I turned, it was Gyecheon Gate Master, who seemed to be at death’s door.

In that fleeting moment, he must have regenerated, for he looked at me with bloodshot eyes and yelled.

[You bastard… You dare—!!!! How dare you appropriate His miracles…!!!]

Why did that old man suddenly have a meltdown after lying quietly?

Seemingly infuriated, he struggled to rise, still not fully restored.

[I can’t forgive you… I can’t forgive you… This… this is our plan—!!! Aaaah—!!]

Bang—!! He stomped on the ground and lunged toward me.

I narrowed my eyes at the sight.

Wi Seol-ah and Namgung Bi-ah responded, but I was quicker than both.

Since I was planning to kill him anyway, this works in my favor.

I clenched my fist. In that moment, my body transformed.

Whoosh whoosh—!! My hand ignited in flames.

Feeling the heat, I hurled my fist forward.

Thump—!

My heart raced. It felt different from usual.

‘Huh?’

What was this? It felt peculiar. Still, my motion didn’t waver.

The fist shot straight from my shoulder.

It felt no different than before. Just the same sensation as when using Gu Yeom-tae-ahn.

Whoosh whoosh—!!!

My heart pounded like crazy.

The white flames danced chaotically.

Gwaaaaaah—!!!

White flames engulfed Gyecheon Gate Master.

[Khah—!!!]

Gyecheon Gate Master screamed in the intense heat. The flames pierced through him and continued toward the wall, melting it as if to showcase their ferocity.

This was undeniably tremendous heat.

At this rate, it would melt everything down to the bones.

But.

Whoosh!

Just after the flames dissipated, I squinted at the sight before me.

“Huh?”

The flames had melted the wall, creating a large void like a show of strength.

However, Gyecheon Gate Master was still intact.

There wasn’t a hint of damage. What was going on? Had he held on?

‘That can’t be right.’

The strength I just unleashed was so astonishing that even I was taken aback. The enhanced firepower from consuming White Horse Stone felt completely real.

So there’s no way he could be fine like that…?

I examined Gyecheon Gate Master, noticing something was off.

[Ah… No… No… .]

He staggered and almost sank to one knee.

Which is not surprising. Given his body’s condition, collapsing like that makes perfect sense.

[Don’t… No… .]

Crunch.

“Hmm?”

Shortly after collapsing, Gyecheon Gate Master began to undergo a transformation.

Crunch… Crunchhh—!!

[Khah…!]

“What the heck?”

With a rough sound, his gradually shrinking form was becoming increasingly smaller.

His once-white hair faded slowly to black, and the scales on his skin, along with his eyes, reverted back to what they originally were.

So he was morphing back from a monster to a human.

Crunch…!!

Before I could count to ten, the Gyecheon Gate Master had reverted to his original state, a despairing expression on his face.

“This… this… How…? No… I said it won’t work!!”

He rubbed his face as if he couldn’t believe what was happening.

Then he crawled towards me.

“Return it… Return it… Please give it back…”

“…”

What a deranged sight.

As if he had lost something he should never have lost, the Gyecheon Gate Master cried out for me to return it.

“…Hahaha.”

I chuckled at the sight of him.

It’s not because Gyecheon Gate Master’s state was funny.

But because what just unfolded was utterly fascinating.

At this point, Gyecheon Gate Master was completely irrelevant to me.

I raised my hand and inspected the flame. The white flames continued to burn brightly.

I pondered what had genuinely changed. It appeared that this was the source.

‘This power…’

This was the power of the flames I had just employed.

After unleashing it, I realized what it was.

This is it.

‘I think it’s similar to the Break Devil technique?’

Break Devil.

The strength wielded by the Divine Sword in my previous life.

The reason she was able to push back against Cheonma and save the world.

It seems I’ve been granted the same power.


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