Chapter 127 – Seeking the Ancient Power (1)

Attacking people without warning – this really isn’t like me.

[You’re smiling.]

“Ah, am I?”

I suppose I would have done this in the past. Initially, I intended to approach them politely, but the gatekeeper’s preemptive strike with his dagger caused the problem.

I’d like to meet your leader – is there any way I can do that? When they denied my request, I approached once more, respecting their decision. Please let me see your leader. But this time, they claimed they couldn’t understand my words and drew their sword. Left with no choice, I had to hold back my tears and blow the gatekeeper away. They betrayed my respectful intentions.

“Well, at least they weren’t seriously injured.”

For some time, I explored this area and carefully observed this place called Dowon.

After some gentle persuasion, I began discussing the warriors of Dowon. Strangely enough, while the higher-ups may be more tolerable, the lower ranks were filled with individuals harboring foul tempers.

‘With all the extinct warriors gathered together, it’s no surprise that there are many with detestable personalities. This place is teeming with people similar to me.’

[Similar?]

Like ambushing a woman in the dead of night or engaging in a knife fight among guests, resulting in a fatality. The atmosphere here has become so tainted that such tales are all too common.

The upper echelons of Dowon, where Cheondo resides, may not be like this, but the lower part of Dowon is another story. These people, nestled beneath the mountain range, discreetly engage in all sorts of deplorable acts while evading Heavenly Demon’s watchful gaze.

[Why is it similar to you?]

‘Because I’ve lived like a fool as well… Though I’ve been forgiven by that person, I still committed inexcusable deeds.’

[I don’t quite understand.]

I had always thought the water was pure, considering this was a garden where peach trees flourished.

‘…The Master wasn’t always a virtuous person either.’

They maintain order for the time being, but if trouble arises, they can kill without hesitation. It’s the same for Heaven and White Peach. Even the gentle Zodiac likely has several experiences of taking lives.

This garden, where Heaven grew up and I had envisioned, could not be the utopian paradise I had imagined.

Strength is everything. A nearby tavern owner informed me. Even a humble waitress knows the ways of the Heavenly Demon. The Heavenly Demon seized control of this place with the logic of power.

In the martial world, one abides by the martial world’s laws. Kneel if you are weaker than me; if you are stronger, I will kneel.

I plan to show mercy regardless. There will be no senseless killing.

“Ughhh…”

[Are you sure he’s not dead?]

‘I only struck the least painful places as much as possible. Even though it looks that way, there shouldn’t be any injured parts, right? There will be quite a few bruises, though.’

The scorched man shook his head, unable to gather his strength.
The Red Wolves had been struck. A commotion began to stir around them.

– Is he not dead?

He wasn’t dead. I had learned several things from Heaven while training before the midterm exams: where to strike, which nerves to pierce with what kind of magic to make someone collapse with ease. But the most important lesson was that people don’t easily back down.

His condition was barely at the level of fainting.

‘Especially those heavily-trained warriors – they’re like cockroaches. If I don’t do this, there’s no telling when they’ll get up and charge again.’

[You must have experienced many battles.]

‘Not really? I was the one getting beaten by my master. Even when I felt like dying, I never actually died.’

[Ah.]

With my arms crossed, I waited for the next opponent and looked around.

How much time had passed?

“Come here!”

From far away, atop a roof, the voice of Hae-nul reached me.

The voice of a playful tomboy rang out.

-Flutter!

A girl leaped into the air and appeared like a comet. She landed on the surrounding ground, creating a ruckus, as if imitating a walk through thin air.

“Did you say you wanted to see my father?”

With her hands behind her back, the girl confidently strode through the crowd. Warriors moved aside to clear a path for her. A few individuals failed to grasp the situation, but other warriors nudged their waists with their elbows to signal them.

– Move aside quickly.
– Why so sudden?
– Look at her white hair.

The eldest daughter of Heavenly Demon. She listened to the sporadic sounds that reached her ears.

Her white hair flowed, and her fist rested proudly on her waist. The V-shaped smile on her face resembled that of a mischievous cousin who barged into one’s room on a festive day.

‘White Peach. But wait, she’s the eldest daughter?’

As far as I knew, Heaven was supposed to be the eldest daughter. Come to think of it, Heaven once mentioned it.

It was a secret that no one knew she was the daughter of the Heavenly Demon.

“Who are you?”
“…Pay your respects.”

Little White Peach, or Baekdo, was snorting as if she were the Jade Emperor herself.
This caused the surroundings to cool down.

-Draw your sword.
-What? Didn’t you just see that person fight?
-Though we may be fools, we can’t just stand by. If something happens to her, everyone here will be purged.

Anyone could see they were worried about Baekdo.
Or, more precisely, their faces showed fear that Baekdo might get hurt, and they would suffer the consequences.

A sinister aura approached just before the battle commenced.
In contrast to the atmosphere, Baekdo was wearing a pink apron.

“Baekdo! Don’t just jump out all of a sudden.”

Another child followed behind little Baekdo.
A girl who had run from afar, gasping for breath.
Looking at her hair color, it seemed quite clear who she was.

‘I didn’t expect to encounter you here. Was the turmoil greater than anticipated?’

Hwangdo stealthily clung to Baekdo’s back and observed me with intrigued eyes.
Not with the gaze of one regarding an enemy. It seemed Hwangdo had always looked at me this way.

“I told you to bow your head and show respect!”

Baekdo raised her voice once more.
Gazing at her nonchalantly, I scratched the back of my head.

“If it means seeing Heavenly Demon, anytime.”

Meeting him is my objective. If things go smoothly, it’s all the better for me.
As I bowed my head, gasps of amazement echoed around me.

-Baekdo has tamed that monster!

My lips curled into a triumphant grin.

Baekdo approached me with a playful smile.
She was smaller than Cheondo, but her skin was fair.
Her body was also well-honed in its own right.

“Hehehe. So, you want to see my father?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Then it would be wise for you to follow me.”

After uttering a word, I took the lead and walked towards an unknown destination.
Should I follow that path?

I had my doubts, but I soon followed White Peach.
The others seemed to know that White Peach was the daughter of the Heavenly Demon, so at least we wouldn’t be attacked.

Passing through several doors, we reached the middle of Do-won. From there, we headed upwards.

– Tuk-tuk.

As I continued to follow, I noticed that Zodiac, who had previously kept the most distance from me, was now looking at me with great interest from right beside me. It seemed she had concluded that I was not a bad person since I had gone along with White Peach’s insistence without protest.

“…Who are you, older brother?”
“Um, well? Who are you?”
“I am called Zodiac.”

As I suspected.
I had thought she resembled Zodiac from her appearance.

“Did you come from outside?”
“Um, yes, I did.”
“Wow, older brother. My sisters always say that everyone from the outside is handsome. Is it really true?”

If one were to measure based on charm alone, there would be few people who could compare to me.

As he shook his head, Zodiac appeared noticeably sullen.

“But all the men in the magazine are handsome…”
“Well, the magazine only features the top 1%.”
“Hmm.”

Zodiac lowered her head like a puppy caught in the rain.
She was so adorable that one might want to bite her cheek.

“Hmph.”

Perhaps our conversation was irritating to overhear.
White Peach grabbed Zodiac’s arm and pulled her to her side.

“Zodiac, don’t mingle with that person.”
“Why? They don’t seem like a bad person.”
“Can’t you see that someone like that is likely cunning on the inside?”

‘I can hear everything, you know, kids.’

White Peach had always used that polite tone since she was young, or so it seemed. When speaking with Zodiac, she retained her childlike manner of speech.

It must have been her true tone when she was drinking.
The memory of White Peach’s tone, teasing and playful as she enjoyed a drink, still lingered in my mind.

“When will we arrive?”
“…Mind your manners. We’ll be there soon.”

White Peach fired off a shot and attempted to step forward boldly, but suddenly caught sight of something and hid right next to Zodiac.

In the distance, a group of women were approaching, carrying laundry.

“What are you two up to?”

Zodiac responded to my question.

“We’re doing this secretly, so if my sister and the lady find out, we’ll be scolded again for not doing our household chores.”

“Zodiac! Don’t say such pointless things!”

“But our elder sister asked, didn’t she? The older girls also said that we should answer truthfully when someone asks.”

“Ugh, this is frustrating.”

White Peach puffed up her cheeks as she angrily pounded her chest. Even though she seemed genuinely upset, I couldn’t sense the life-or-death intensity that I had previously felt from the adult White Peach. To my eyes, both White Peach and Zodiac were just young sisters.

‘Anyway… I can clearly tell as we get closer.’

Gazing at the peak of the distant mountain range, I calmly examined the magical aura I could sense.

Black magic akin to mine.

Yet, its intensity and potency are incomparable to my own.

A cloud of spine-chilling emotions, which even Heaven had not experienced before, welled up from deep within her heart.

* * * * * *

“It’s quite the commotion.”

“Yes.”

In response to the old man’s words, Heaven replied without so much as a flinch.

Seated on the chiseled wooden stone, legs crossed, Heaven absorbed the words he relayed, paying no attention to anything else.

“It seems a visitor has arrived.”

At that single phrase, Heaven felt a jolt. Her brow furrowed.

The old man narrowed his long, slitted eyes.

“Do you know this person?”

“…I’m not certain.”

Heaven brought to mind the face of the man she had met the night before.

No, surely not. Even so, would that man have done something so foolish?

It was unthinkable, stepping into the abode of the master.
An act not even the Heavenly Demon, with his vast knowledge, would dare to attempt. For in an instant, one’s limbs could disintegrate without a trace.

“This is the first time I’ve seen someone with such a thick frame.”

The old man swept up his graying hair and adjusted the sleeves of his attire with wrinkled hands.
Despite the feeble act, the mana surrounding him fluctuated in response to the old man’s movements.

Easily surpassing 2 meters in height,
he scrutinized the man far away with his serpent-like, three hundred eyes.

Heaven worried about what might happen, her heart tightening.

“Oh my… A truly curious fellow.”

Not until the words left the old man’s mouth did she react.

“Pardon?”
“Have you ever revealed this power to anyone?”
“No. I lack not only the skill but also the position to do so. I’ve never done such a thing.”
“Right, of course. Huh. It seems connected to a tree struck by some calamity. Heaven, expand your senses.”
“…Yes.”

Heaven stirred the magical energy within herself, gradually heightening her senses. A familiar silhouette emerged: two women and one man. The image of a well-known male figure flashed across her mind.

‘That fool… Why are they together?’

Swallowing her curses, Heaven parted her trembling lips.

“I… I felt it.”

“Then, give him a taste.”

“What?”

Heaven hesitated.

“Just watching them makes me so curious that I’m going mad… Show him everything I’ve taught you up until now.”

“Are you saying… I should challenge that man to a duel?”

The old man offered no response to Heaven’s question. There was no other choice. The master’s words were absolute. Heaven swallowed her bitter sigh, regretting not having warned him earlier in the morning.

‘I didn’t want it to be like this. I never thought I’d be the first to challenge him, not knowing his name.’

Cheondo readied herself to leap into action at any moment, her hands cloaked in a dark, mysterious magic.

Slowly, a man approached, oblivious to her presence.

‘If this goes on… it will end in a single strike.’

Tensing her fists, Cheondo held her breath and concealed any sign of her presence.

He drew closer.

– Thump.

He arrived.

Only one strike before he passed her. The instant the man appeared in her line of sight, Cheondo’s body kicked off the ground, launching at him like a fired cannonball.

– Kwaang!

Ripples spread out, and a thunderous roar pierced the sky. In a mere second, an almost imperceptible instant, Cheondo reached the man and hurled her magic-infused fist at him.

Until that moment, the man hadn’t shown any reaction.

The first to respond to Cheondo’s movement was Baekdo. Eyes wide with surprise, she swallowed her breath and stumbled backward.

Next to react was Hwangdo.

Startled, I tightly closed my eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

Simultaneously apologizing, knowing he couldn’t hear me, my outstretched fist nearly reached his body.

Of course, it wasn’t meant to make contact.

*Thud!*

My fist was effortlessly deflected, causing Heaven’s center of gravity to shift forward. An inexplicable gust of wind had abruptly swept in, disrupting her balance.

“Ah!”

In this sudden turn of events, Heaven was pushed down by the wind.

For a moment, a short, delicate voice escaped her lips.

*Whoosh!*

The man caught Heaven as she fell from midair, holding her in his arms and gazing at her with a puzzled expression.

“What are you doing?”

He hadn’t noticed her reaction. Although she took pride in studying under Heavenly Demon, Heaven was left dumbfounded in a situation she couldn’t comprehend.

Nevertheless, her carelessness didn’t go unnoticed. Heaven furrowed her brow as she pulled her face away from the man’s embrace.

“…Ah.”

Now, all that awaited her was the profound humiliation of having faced defeat before her master.