1312 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Namgung Bi-ah and Namgung Jin fled with me. As I made my way out using the remaining skills, I caught sight of Tang Cheongi and the Poison Phoenix in the distance. I started toward them. "Young Master Baek...!" The Poison Phoenix shouted upon seeing me, her eyes full of concern. "What on earth just happened...?" "There’s no time for explanation." "Pardon? Ah!" I scooped up the Poison Phoenix effortlessly, hoisting her over my shoulder with one hand. "Hey, you!" Tang Cheongi reacted with blazing eyes at this action. It got noisy enough for me to lift him too. Leveraging the floating skill, he was carried appropriately. "Who-oah!?" His scream went ignored. "We’re moving." Thunk...! Whoosh...!!! I stomped the ground. I needed to expend all my energy to create some distance. Just as I was about to spring upwards with all the force in my calves, something appeared before me. "Halt." "......!" The voice was deep. Someone appeared before me. It was the Dark King. He had suddenly appeared. "Dark..." "Hold your breath." "......!" At his command, I immediately held my breath. In that moment, a dark aura obscured my vision. When the scenery returned, we were in an unfamiliar place. ‘Where is this?’ A place that felt both known and distant. "We’ve gained some distance." The Dark King had used his power to change our location. I slowly lowered those I had been carrying. Thunk-! Thud-! "Argh!" Tang Cheongi tumbled to the ground, yelling. Namgung Bi-ah landed gracefully, and so did the Poison Phoenix. Namgung Jin, unconscious, fell directly on top of Tang Cheongi. "Aagh!" Two rounds of pain made Tang Cheongi scream again. "Damn it...!" Ignoring his words, I spoke to the Dark King. "How did you get here?" "I came to fetch you." "I understand that, but..." I meant to ask how he knew our location and came all the way here. To my question, the Dark King answered nonchalantly. "I found you. There were traces." "…Traces?" There were traces? I thought I had erased everything. ‘…I see.’ I cleared my thoughts. When considering the caliber of the man before me, there was no need for such questions. Being the supreme dark master, finding something like this wouldn’t be difficult. Alright, let’s move on from this. "Thank you for coming. It was getting a bit dangerous." "……." Being honest, the Dark King gazed at me intently. What could he be thinking, looking at me like that? "The aura from before. Was it yours?" "If you mean before..." Ah. ‘He must mean Father’s aura.’ It seemed so. "No, it wasn’t. Did the Dark King also sense it?" "How could I not? It’s something I’ve never heard of. Just what happened?" "…Well." Was it impactful enough to make him react like this? He must have felt it firsthand from up close. "…I merely received some help." "Help?" "Yes. I used an artifact." "…An artifact." I showed him a broken bead from my possession. The Dark King’s eyes narrowed at the sight. "Was Grandmaster Gu here?" ‘Oh.’ It seemed the Dark King recognized what the artifact was. It made sense, given his long life. "That's close enough." "…Could Grandmaster Gu wield such an aura?" He appeared genuinely surprised. "Hmmm." There seemed to be a hint of skepticism, yet he didn’t press further. "…Anyway, we’ve managed to bring her here." The plan to rescue the Poison Phoenix had succeeded. That was the priority now to focus on. Of course. ‘Still, why?’ Questions about Father’s condition lingered. His battered state and odd reaction puzzled me. And also. ‘What did he leave behind?’ The flame implanted within me. I could still feel it now. The power he planted with the promise of returning. What exactly was it? Could it be a force for tracking my location? Perhaps. However. ‘Even if he can track my location,’ Being able to find me isn’t guaranteed. The fact that Father came here using the artifact’s power, rather than Grandfather, was strange. Why was it Father and not Grandfather? ‘Perhaps it’s a difference in the artifact’s effect.’ Incomprehensible. "Dark King." "What is it?" "I apologize, but I need to do something." Click. I snapped my fingers. A barrier formed as the energy exploded, blocking sound from passing through. "--." "--?" The Poison Phoenix and Tang Cheongi widened their eyes outside the barrier. Ignoring them, I pulled Namgung Bi-ah into the barrier. She entered. "Hey." "……." "You know something, don’t you?" "……." Namgung Bi-ah certainly knew something. "Father’s appearance. You know something, right?" "……." She remained silent, but her expression gave me the answer. ‘Is even this knowledge restricted?’ It was frustrating. To think I couldn’t even hear an answer regarding Father’s condition? I gritted my teeth in frustration. "…We need to find something." "What?" Namgung Bi-ah, seeing my frustration, spoke up. "Find it quickly." "What do you mean?" "What you’re looking for. It’s not far away." "What are you saying…?" ……! Her words struck a chord in my mind. ‘Does she mean to find Tolly?' It had been told that recovering my energy involved finding the Tolly. But how was I supposed to know where it was? I hadn’t thought about it before. ‘She said it’s not far away?’ She indicated that Tolly wasn’t far. "…If I find that fellow, will I know about Father’s issue?" "…Yes." "Darn it." I scratched my head. "Then-." "It ends here. We’re out of time." "What?" Just as the words left Namgung Bi-ah's lips, her appearance began to change. Her white hair vanished, and her blue eyes faded. Just like that. "Oh." She returned to the appearance of Hyun Soyeon. "Oh dear. It seems I’ve gone to sleep." She chuckled awkwardly. Great, this was frustrating. ‘Why now, of all times?’ My head throbbed. I suppressed a sigh. I deactivated the soundproof barrier. The Poison Phoenix and Tang Cheongi paused at the changed appearance of Hyun Soyeon. "Oh my. Hello?" Hyun Soyeon greeted me with her characteristic smile while I pondered the situation. 'So then.' I needed to find Tolly. Where was I supposed to locate him this time? It was all quite a headache. Everything seemed tangled in so many ways. * * * Fwoosh-!! Gu Cheolun landed, piercing through the gray flames. The place he arrived at through the forest was where there had been once a gigantic tree. "……." The spot, intended for observing the woman bound to the tree, remained deserted and tranquil. It was thanks to the tree's will that twisted the surroundings. Walking through the stillness, Gu Cheolun moved forward. Crunch. He stepped onto the grass, entering deeper. Whoooom. He brushed past an invisible barrier. Once past it, the tree came into view, significantly reduced from its original size. Gu Cheolun continued walking, observing it. In the sky above, the moon hung. Not the red moon of the Demon Realm, but a blue moon, something visible only here. "Kill Baek Yangcheon." "……." The Sword Queen’s words echoed in his mind. It implied that the woman would be spared. Narrowing his eyes, Gu Cheolun pondered the proposition. He thought it wouldn’t be too difficult. Yet, something nagged at him. 'What is it.' What indeed? He couldn’t tell what was irking him so much. His face involuntarily contorted. A sense of suffocation lingered in his gut. And then. 'The aura from then.' The intense energy hot enough to warp the very air. It was unquestionably an aura he recognized. Although, with much of his memory excised upon becoming a disciple, the details eluded him. 'The same power.' A power both familiar and identical. Whatever it was, recalling only its might drenched his hands in sweat. Furthermore, he kept getting drawn to memories of that time, almost as if entranced. As though grasping for something. As if it could indeed be seized. Admiration rather than fear? A sensation utterly new to him. Thoughts like these propelled Gu Cheolun’s steps forward, aiming to see the woman ahead. He put aside his thirst. Now was not the time to dwell on such matters. Crunch. He pressed on. Then. "……." He spotted something at the tree. Someone was there. At the sight, energy burst from Gu Cheolun’s body. Was it that intruder again? Apart from the Sword Queen, there was only one who could enter this space. That nuisance. The one who frequently crossed Gu Cheolun’s mind. Had he returned? Thinking such, Gu Cheolun approached the tree, spewing flames. Accelerating to seize the visible figure. Crash-!!! "Ahhh!?" He grabbed the throat and lifted them up. Preparing to incinerate, he attempted to cast the Inferno Blaze with his other hand. "Ungh…." "……?" His body halted. It wasn’t Baek Yangcheon. It was someone much smaller. A child, with a significantly petite stature. A child? How did they end up here…? 'And.' There was something familiar about the features. Unlike the chubby cheeks and the child’s clear eyes, a certain fierceness lay in their gaze. Where had he seen this face before? It was oddly familiar. "Who are you…?" Before he could ask, "Ngghh… uh?" The child met Gu Cheolun’s gaze from their lifted position. And then, "Huh?" The child reacted with surprise, then spoke to Gu Cheolun. "Dad…?" "……?" Gu Cheolun froze at the unexpected address. Dad? "No, that's not right." The child tilted their head. "…Dad isn’t this handsome?" "……." The tone was remarkably decisive.