Chapter: 991
What the…?
What on earth just happened?
Putting aside the fact that I got caught off guard, it was the unexpected voice and situation.
‘Why…..’
How did my mother—no, my master—end up here?
There was no need to turn around and see their face.
I recognized the voice the moment I heard it.
That alone made my mind snap to attention and my body involuntarily tense up.
What should I do now?
‘Why.’
Why are they here?
Of all places, why here?
‘Where the black chief is.’
This is the residence of the black chief whom I corrupted into a demon.
I couldn’t help but feel flustered that the master had come here to find me.
What is my current state?
‘What’s it matter? It’s a complete mess.’
I was wearing black clothes to pretend to be a demon, and my body had been transformed.
“Uh, excuse me? Can’t you hear me?”
“……”
I swallowed dryly at the sound of my master’s voice.
“Hmm.”
A soft voice. I instinctively felt that if I stayed silent any longer, things would get awkward.
“…Why are you talking—”
Before I could hear any more, I turned around.
“…Who are you?”
“Oh.”
When I turned to face them, my master exclaimed in surprise.
Her eyes widened as she looked at me. Seeing her face made it clear.
‘This.’
As expected, it was the master. Just like the last time I saw her, she was wearing a veil, but I recognized her immediately.
She fiddled with the mask she was holding.
She had been hiding it behind her back, so it wasn’t visible at first.
As she slowly looked at my face, she tilted her head slightly.
Did she notice something strange? Just as I began to feel the tension rising inside me.
“Are you going inside?”
“……”
My master pointed towards the door with her hand.
I stared at her hand before replying.
“…I think I will.”
“Oh, well then, could you let me through? As I mentioned earlier, I have something urgent to handle.”
She frowned slightly at my polite request, as though she was asking for a favor.
The gentle smile she wore was identical to one I’d seen in the past, and I unknowingly closed my mouth.
But.
“That might be a bit difficult.”
Still, I had to speak up. When I couldn’t act with expressions, I had to maintain a blank face. That was the choice I made based on past experiences.
I maintained a stern expression and observed my master. She made a strange face upon hearing my words.
What kind of expression is that? Is she feeling upset because I dared to refuse?
Or perhaps she was displaying the expression of someone who had caught on to something. A whirlwind of thoughts rushed through my mind.
“Excuse me.”
My master spoke to me.
“Have we seen each other somewhere before?”
“……”
I almost flinched in surprise at her words.
Can she not recognize me? Even though I used a magical technique to change my appearance, how can she not see through it?
‘Especially not my master.’
Could it be that she noticed but is pretending not to? Just as that thought crossed my mind,
‘Well?’
However, my instincts suggested that might not be the case.
I wasn’t entirely sure, but that was the feeling I got.
“Well, this is our first meeting.”
“Uh-huh… is it?”
My master tilted her head. Then she stepped closer and reached out her hand.
I paused while looking at her hand. Should I brush it off? I could have easily done so, but for now, I let it be.
I wanted to understand what she meant by that gesture.
My master halted her reach and firmly placed her hand around my cheek.
What the… is she trying to touch me? I glared at her hand as if to say, “What are you doing?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“……”
With a look of embarrassment, my master withdrew her hand.
“That’s odd. I feel like I’ve come across you somewhere.”
“……If you have no business, may I go in first?”
“Ah.”
The moment my master seemed ready to nod at my comment, she interjected.
“But.”
Just as I thought she was finally going to let me off the hook, my master grabbed my arm.
“Are you someone who works here?”
I hesitated for a moment at her follow-up question.
Am I someone who works here?
As I contemplated that in a fleeting moment, I quickly responded. I couldn’t afford to take too long.
“No, that’s not it.”
“Oh, I see. Then a guest?”
“Something like that.”
My master nodded as if satisfied with my answer. Is that good enough? I felt a brief sense of relief, thinking it had worked.
“But why don’t I find you suspicious?”
With a glimmer in her eyes, my master inquired boldly.
“……!”
I almost lost my breath.
Her calm and gentle voice remained, but I could sense a ripple in the air.
This wasn’t something she could have recognized until recently.
No, perhaps she sensed it during the day but only realized it at night.
Every sense heightened and responded instinctively.
Be careful now. If I make a mistake here, it could be disastrous.
I felt every nerve in my body alert.
My mind that was dazed and dull began to spin wildly, blood racing through my system.
“Someone important must be staying here. Aren’t you surprised that I’m approaching so casually?”
Why wouldn’t she inquire about my identity when I said I would go inside?
That thought made my back feel chilly.
I had the sensation that I shouldn’t say anything careless here.
So, I took a moment to choose my words carefully and then said,
“I just came as a guest, and seeing you stroll around so peacefully, I thought you were a guest like me. Am I wrong?”
“Hmm.”
At my explanation, my master narrowed her eyes slightly.
I hastily threw those words out. Will it work? What if it doesn’t?
Should I resort to a fight?
‘…with my mother?’
No matter how much she may not remember me, she’s still a dangerous entity.
Am I really expected to fight my mother here?
Whether it resulted in a win or loss was irrelevant.
A deep-seated resistance rose from my core.
One.
Creak.
I gradually tightened the grip on my concealed hands.
If it comes to it, I can’t retreat. Even if I can’t win, I can’t just sit still and perish.
With that in mind, I focused my energy on my heart steadily.
“I see.”
My master spoke.
“That does seem accurate.”
With that, she abruptly turned her back.
“It was indeed urgent, but since you say the same, I’ll let you through. I am indeed a bit late.”
“……”
She walked delicately away. The way she walked was truly deserving of the term ‘lightly.’
“Take care. Whoever you are… oh.”
She paused mid-step, turned to me, and said,
“If you can, could you please pass on a message?”
My master’s face was radiant,
“When the next full moon rises, come up the hill.”
Her smile was full of warmth like a beautiful flower, akin to how I recalled my mother in those days.
*
After sending my master off, I stood there for quite some time.
My anxious heart showed no signs of calming down. I was so preoccupied with wiping the cold sweat off my body that I barely had the energy to think.
“Whew…”
I let out a breath I had been holding. It was a sigh that had built up and gotten stuck inside me.
Perhaps it was due to the tension that had solidified and couldn’t be released, but even sighing didn’t bring me any ease.
‘… Phew.’
I rubbed my chest with my hand.
This is ridiculous.
‘What the hell was that?’
What in the world was that?
What on earth should I label that?
Though I felt as if I grasped nothing, paradoxically, I perceived an overwhelming amount of information.
It was comical that I had felt no indication of movement.
The presence of the master I witnessed firsthand was chilling enough to rattle my teeth.
Could this all have been because she grew stronger after becoming a member of the Wolya Tribe?
What once eluded my gaze became visible.
There was nothing extraordinary about the master herself, but rather was it her aura perhaps?
‘They contain vast depths.’
Blurry or transparent.
The delicate ripples that were barely noticeable on her exterior.
Moreover, though delicate, it was strangely unsettling, exuding a presence so potent it could send shivers coursing through someone merely by observing.
How could something so nebulous feel so immense?
I couldn’t wrap my mind around it.
‘This is… different from just being strong.’
This was not simply to be described as a strong being.
What I felt was…
‘It’s towering.’
Not strong but towering.
An essence so elevated, I could hardly dare to look up at it.
That was the sensation I had to glean from my master.
“……”
I forcibly wiped away the cold sweat that had gathered. Was my master really gone?
Still, I had been thinking of her as my mother.
After witnessing that sort of presence, I began to question whether I could genuinely consider her my mother.
“Phew…”
After releasing one more sigh, I grasped the doorknob before me.
Until this very moment, I had debated whether or not I should enter.
creak-
Finally, I made the decision to step inside.
As the door swung open and I crossed the threshold, the presence inside turned to look at me.
In that moment, their eyes widened, and they sprang up.
“You…!”
The black chief gazed at me with caution. I had already replaced my mask.
I assessed what lay beyond his line of sight.
‘There’s magic.’
The magic I had planted last time was still there.
Confirming that, I directed my words at the black chief.
“How have you been?”
“……”
“Looking at you, it seems you haven’t been doing well.”
This was our first meeting since I had corrupted him with demonic energy.
His face was flooded with defensiveness and hostility.
Just by seeing that, I understood perfectly.
‘I sensed it before, but complete corruption seems impossible.’
I had infiltrated him with magic to initiate his demonic transformation.
However, it didn’t seem feasible to make him totally obedient.
Was this a trait of the Wolya Tribe? I wasn’t certain about that.
This was rather intriguing, but I chose to set that curiosity aside for now. I spoke up directly to him.
“I think there were other guests besides me?”
That was a reference to the master I had just encountered.
“What…?”
“When the next full moon rises, come up the hill. That’s the message to deliver.”
I hoped to gauge the black chief’s reaction to the master’s words.
It felt like some sort of coded signal, so I thought he might react.
“What does that mean…? What is a full moon, and what’s this hill?”
“Huh?”
The black chief’s reaction was odd.
Was he playing dumb?
So, I mustered my resolve and boldly asked him again.
“Answer truthfully.”
Thud—!!
“Ugh…”
As the command activated, the black chief winced in pain and addressed me again.
“Really… what do you mean…?”
‘What?’
Once again, his answer was the same. Hearing that made my eyes widen.
He didn’t understand? Then why would he ask me to convey that…?
‘Huh?’
Lost in thought, I whipped my head around.
It was in the direction my master had vanished.
A dread-inducing thought coiled through my mind.
‘…Those words.’
‘When the next full moon rises, come up the hill.’
My master’s directive to relay that.
‘Could it be…’
It wasn’t a message intended for the black chief…
‘…was it meant for me?’
From the very start, did he realize I wasn’t a guest?
‘Is that what she wanted me to hear?’
A chilling realization shot through my psyche.
I creaked my neck to gaze at the black chief.
To be precise, I looked outside the window of the black room.
Two moons were rising in the sky.
One of them had already taken on the form of a crescent moon.
The remaining one was about to reach its full moon phase.
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