Chapter: 953
“…What the hell….”
When Yusa returned to the prison, the guy he had first encountered was nowhere to be found.
He had a look of considerable anger, with a completely ruined expression.
His breathing was even disrupted by his emotions.
Gone was the cheerful façade he had been putting on.
What stood before him was a monster.
‘…Whoa, look at that presence.’
He showed no intention of hiding it now, as his entire body radiated with an intense aura.
I had sensed it when faced with him before, but now it was even clearer.
The full moon hung in the night sky, casting a silvery glow below.
Maybe that’s why Yusa felt so different this time around.
It felt like something might burst forth from that small body at any moment.
Hooooo-.
As he was panting heavily, I asked cautiously, “What’s wrong with you?”
With a harsh glare, he shot back, “You. Have you been here the whole time?”
“…Yes? Oh, yes… I was locked up, so where would I go?” I replied, confused.
“Is that so?”
He then turned his gaze towards Cheonma, who was sitting next to me.
“Hey.”
“…?”
Cheonma looked up at Yusa’s words.
As they locked eyes, Yusa asked, “That guy, he really hasn’t gone anywhere and was just here?”
“…”
I glanced at Cheonma at Yusa’s words, holding my breath nervously inside.
‘How did I forget this?’
For some reason, it seemed that what he said didn’t quite reach me.
What if that didn’t extend to Cheonma either?
In such a scenario, I wondered what would happen if Cheonma answered truthfully.
“…”
Surprisingly, Cheonma shook his head and denied it.
Seeing that, Yusa’s brow furrowed even deeper.
“…Are you saying that’s really not true?”
That solidified my belief.
As expected, Yusa was suspecting me.
‘…That guy sure can hold a grudge.’
It almost made me chuckle in disbelief.
‘Despite showing him the power of the net, he still doubts me?’
Even after utilizing my abilities to turn his gaze away once more, the skepticism remained.
What an infuriating little brat.
But…
‘Fortunately, my powers seem to be effective.’
From the way he was looking, I could tell my abilities had an impact on them.
In the meantime, Yusa appeared dissatisfied with the situation, constantly frowning, and called someone from outside.
“Blue, come in.”
I found the name quite direct.
When he called, a handsome middle-aged man entered from within.
Sure, rabbit ears didn’t exactly match such a handsome face, but that wasn’t important.
“…Did you call me?”
The middle-aged man entered with a sullen expression, clearly the blue chief.
He was the owner of this mansion and also the father of the crazy guy who had been fawning over Cheonma.
“This guy wants to talk to you.”
At those words, the chief looked at me.
His gaze clearly spoke, “Who’s this crazy guy?”
With that piercing stare, Yusa added something to the chief.
“Once we’re done talking, let them go.”
“…What? What do you mean…?”
The chief widened his eyes at Yusa’s words.
Let them go? The look on his face showed he couldn’t comprehend that.
It was only natural. He wanted the guys who had assaulted his son in front of everyone to just walk away.
For a brief moment, the chief’s expression crumpled at such absurdity.
“Let me out. Don’t you hear me?”
Yusa said with a cold gaze, which made the chief suddenly mute.
“I’m following the General’s orders….”
He promptly lowered his head, secretly weighing his options.
It seemed he had no other choice but to comply with anger brewing within him.
“… Hooooo…”
Yusa was still desperately trying to suppress his anger, as if the feelings hadn’t washed away.
He appeared thoroughly bothered.
Then, he looked my way and said,
“…I need to go now due to some matters. Let’s meet again next time?”
The forced smile he wore looked deeply unsettling.
It seemed somewhat twisted, a face one would find truly begrudging.
Hearing that, I wanted to immediately express how much I didn’t want to see him again, but felt utterly trapped.
“…All right then.”
I also tried to wear a smile and nodded in agreement.
At that moment, Yusa wiped the smile off his face, swiftly turned, and left.
In that instant…
BANG—!!!
A loud crash echoed from outside as Yusa’s presence started to fade away.
Whether it was because it was night, or the emotions he displayed, Yusa’s aura felt particularly vibrant.
After he left…
“…”
“…”
I was left with the blue chief, who still appeared disoriented by the previous events.
He too seemed unable to control his expression or breath from the whirlwind that had just occurred.
“What the hell is going on…?”
He still hadn’t snapped back to reality. Now was my chance.
“Excuse me, Chief?”
“…”
The chief turned to me at my call.
As he looked, he pulled something from his inside pocket.
It was a token handed to me by the black chief.
“What’s that…!?”
Before I could even process what was happening, the blue chief’s eyes widened in shock as if they were lanterns.
Honestly, I just meant to demonstrate my connection to the black chief—not expecting such a reaction.
Why?
Right at that moment, he spoke up, “Why do you have the Taoist badge?”
“…Excuse me?”
Taoist badge? What exactly is that?
I felt like I’d heard the term before. I knew that the children of the chief were called Do-ryeong.
So, surely it doesn’t mean what I think it does.
‘…Hold on. Was this some sort of seal given to my son?’
Could it have been a seal intended for his own children?
I initially thought it was merely a guest certification of sorts.
But judging by his reaction, it seemed like it was much more significant.
“…Are you the son of Black?” he asked.
“Uh… No, that’s not it.”
“Then how do you have that?”
Desperate, I replied quickly, “Oh no, listen. The black chief told me he had something to say to the blue chief… He gave me this badge to carry his message.”
“…From Black?”
The chief’s expression twisted, suspicion etched across his features. He clearly didn’t believe a word of it. But,
“…What did he want to convey?”
Pushing aside his doubts for now, he prompted me to explain.
Something about the token and Yusa was giving him pause.
“It’s nothing major… Just that he asked me to come see him before the time runs out.”
“What?”
The chief let out an incredulous laugh at my words.
“Wait. So you’re telling me that black sent you just to relay that? With a badge, no less?”
“That’s right.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
Well, I couldn’t blame him for thinking it absurd. But I shot back, “If you don’t believe me, then why not go ask him?”
“…Ha…”
And what if he didn’t trust me?
Even if his doubts grew, there was nothing he could do about it.
He could either go and inquire or let it go. I was simply following instructions.
I framed my response in such a way that it might shake him.
All that seemed to do was make the chief grit his teeth in frustration.
Crack.
I could almost see the fighting spirit leaking out of him.
Clearly, he wasn’t weak either.
‘Just by the looks of it, he’s about as tough as White.’
And given the nighttime setting, White might even be stronger right now.
“You… You’d better realize that if you’re lying, you’re in serious trouble,” he warned.
“Lying? I’m not the type to pull that kind of stunt.”
“…”
I could feel Cheonma’s gaze weighing on me.
I made a conscious effort to ignore it.
“While I faced some issues with my subordinate while delivering the news, what I’ve said is genuine. Look into it. The General knows I entered and left the Black House today.”
“The General too?”
“Yes.”
That was indeed the truth. I had actually been brought into the black house by a general.
The only problematic detail was the confrontation I had with that guy’s son.
“…”
Even at this moment, the chief couldn’t lay the blame on me.
Because…
‘The general said to let me out, didn’t he?’
Even if he had his doubts or perhaps even unresolved grievances against me.
Since the General had ordered that I be released after our conversation, he had no other choice.
‘It appeared the general’s influence here was strangely strong.’
And to affirm my suspicions, the blue chief ordered,
“…Open the door.”
Though he was grinding his teeth, he commanded his soldiers.
In almost an instant, the nearby soldiers approached, opening the prison door and releasing our shackles.
“Wow. I feel like I can finally breathe again.”
With my newfound freedom of movement, I grinned happily.
“Can we leave now?” I cheerfully asked, only to see the chief’s face harden further.
“Because the General has shown mercy, I’ll let this slide, but I will never forget this.”
“…Oh, how frightening! I promise to be more careful next time. Come on, you apologize too.”
“Sorry.”
“This one says sorry as well. I hope you can understand.”
“…”
The chief’s eyes carried no hint of acceptance.
Seeing this, I turned away, a little disappointed, and made my exit. Even then, the chief and soldiers didn’t attempt to stop us.
As we stepped out from behind the bars…
“Hmm…”
I stared at the large hole left in the ground.
That was the aftermath of the shockwave made when Yusa leapt up.
‘…Just by jumping, to generate such a big impact.’
Taking it all in, I grabbed Cheonma and stepped outside.
After walking for quite some time outside Yawol,
We finally reached a spot where the castle was barely visible.
Entering the thick forest, we paused at the crossroads heading back to the volcano.
“Cough…!”
I expelled the blood I had been holding back.
Rivulets of blood poured from my mouth and pooled onto the dirt floor.
Kneeling down in exhaustion, I barely managed to prop myself up with my hands.
“Cough….”
As I fell into pain, I sensed a touch behind me. It was Cheonma’s hand.
“Back off… I’m fine….”
“…”
At my insistence, his hand slipped away. Feeling that, I gathered my energy within.
“Whew… Whew…”
Coughing up a handful of blood, I gathered my energy to soothe my insides.
Regardless of my efforts, the pain remained ever present.
‘…Damn it.’
If I had stayed a second longer, I wouldn’t have been able to hold back and would have vomited it all up.
Honestly, it was a miracle I had even managed to endure up to that point.
I wiped the blood from my lips and reflected.
‘…I had no idea holding on would be this tough.’
Back when I faced Yusa while in the form of Cheonma.
The issue was that I utilized a power akin to a key against him.
‘At best, I barely managed to endure for a heartbeat.’
When I tried to suppress him, all my insides twisted, and I nearly blacked out.
Even releasing control midway meant allowing him an opportunity to strike back.
‘That was a terrifying moment.’
When the pressure unexpectedly lifted and Yusa swung his arms.
Back then, I couldn’t even move properly, likely due to the aftereffects of the power I had used.
It felt like I was bound to get hit, utterly destroyed.
‘It was close.’
My power leapt from the shadows and devoured that guy’s arm.
That was certainly not my intention.
I never intended to invoke Tam.
‘Yet, suddenly, that guy popped out and started chomping down on him.’
Tam reacted to that guy’s arm and devoured it.
This revelation suggested that…
‘…It responds to them and can be used against them.’
I had thought it only applied to dragons.
What about Tam?
‘Is it reacting to other powers?’
What if it could respond to the powers they possessed?
Such thoughts flickered through my mind.
No, I was sure of it.
Why?
‘The moment Tam devoured his arm, I could perceive his true strength.’
At that split second of him biting into Tak’s power, I was able to tell what power Yusa wielded.
‘Predation.’
Predation.
It wasn’t just a term—it was the name of his entire power.
An ability capable of consuming anything and everything.
Furthermore…
‘To eat, he can maximize the scent and presence of his prey to track them down.’
When he was hungry, all his physical capabilities, including his senses, would launch into overdrive.
This power could be utilized until something got consumed.
In addition, the power itself carried its own unique strength.
‘But even considering all of that…’
Tam had the capacity to swallow that guy’s powers whole, rendering them ineffective.
That meant all of his strengths were utterly pointless against me.
“… Hooooo…”
I stood, wiping the blood off myself.
It was still painful, yet I felt rejuvenated.
“Now I’ve definitely figured it out.”
Previously, the focus on my objectives had been vague but now everything felt clear.
First—
‘We pull the rug out from under Yusa.’
I’d need to take down the general first.
And to achieve that…
‘…I’ll need to meet the turtle.’
It seemed a bit of magic might be required.
‘…Hmm.’
As I grasped this much, everything started to become a bit intricate.
It was because I recalled the words the turtle had spoken.
What had he said?
‘He mentioned I’d know when I come across myself again.’
The turtle definitely said that…
‘Could he possibly have predicted this as well?’
A situation in which I would find myself again.
This couldn’t be the same circumstance he had described.
As I pondered this, I tilted my head in confusion.
‘…Too much of a coincidence.’
My instincts screamed at me that everything was aligning too perfectly.
Somehow, it felt deeply unsettling.
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