Chapter 206: Demonic Arts (1)

Demonic Arts (1)

The Palace Lord couldn’t properly grasp the situation he was facing for a moment.

Sword Phoenix, who should have already died, was sitting over there.

Why was his Haneul sitting on top of him?

‘…What is this.’

The Palace Lord couldn’t easily control his trembling eyes.

Because it was an impossible event.

This matter was something that shouldn’t be twisted, even if by chance.

Rather, it was the stepping stone to making Haneul a more complete existence, and from this point onwards, it was the starting point to get closer to his wish.

Even more so, it was something that shouldn’t be ruined.

Haneul must be complete.

Haneul must look down upon everyone else from above all others, and must hold value as an absolute being.

‘But that looks like.’

Being held in a woman’s embrace and quietly reading a book was just like an ordinary child.

Haneul’s body was indeed the form of a young child, but it shouldn’t be like that.

How could a supreme being, incomparable to mere humans, possibly appear like that in the embrace of a human?

‘I must remove it.’

As the thought flashed, black mist immediately rose like a haze from the Palace Lord’s body.

The mist gradually solidified, forming a shape, and changing into a sharp spike, it headed towards Gu Huibi.

If Gu Huibi, unable to use his internal energy, were to face the energy, his head would be pierced and he would die instantly.

Knowing that, the Palace Lord was about to unleash the energy, but…

“…!”

The energy, which had been sharp, instantly lost its form.

This was not the Palace Lord’s will.

The energy had bowed its head on its own accord, acknowledging its master’s gaze.

Far away, Haneul’s gaze was seen directed towards the Palace Lord.

The Palace Lord bowed his head to that gaze.

Thump.

Small footsteps gradually approached the Palace Lord.

Only after hearing the same sound a few more times, did the Palace Lord’s gaze, fixed on the floor, see a pair of white feet.

“Don’t.”

Haneul’s small, delicate voice.

This was a phrase he hadn’t heard from Haneul in over ten years.

To this, the Palace Lord had to suppress his emotions inwardly.

As this was the first time something like this had happened, he couldn’t know what would happen if he carelessly revealed it.

‘If I mess this up, everything ends.’

If that happened, both the power that barely sustained his life and his own aspirations would end in an instant.

The Palace Lord knew.

No, perhaps only the Palace Lord knew exactly how vast the potential and power hidden within that small body he called Haneul was.

Only he knew.

“…I apologize.”

To the Palace Lord’s words, Haneul, who had remained silent, spoke to the Palace Lord after a brief silence.

“Book.”

It was a phrase he always heard, but the Palace Lord couldn’t shake the feeling that something about it had changed.

“…I shall prepare it shortly.”

Haneul, nodding at the Palace Lord’s words, turned back again and started walking towards Gu Huibi.

“Haneul-isiyeo.”

The Palace Lord grabbed him.

“…?”

“Did the thing I prepared perhaps not please you?”

He asked this, looking at Gu Huibi.

Not only from the information, but also from what the Palace Lord had seen with his own eyes, he could tell.

That Gu Huibi was truly the most perfect ‘Flame’.

Not Gu Cheol-un, known as the Valiant Hero or the Flame Ghost, nor Jin Ryong, destined to be the Young Master, but the purest and most complete form of flame.

‘It wasn’t wrong.’

Excluding the Gu family, as well as sects and families that used fire arts, even demonic beasts that used flames.

There were countless flames in the world, but Gu Huibi was the most special among them.

It was written in an ancient book Haneul possessed, and though it wasn’t originally the case, it had become certain recently.

And, that flame was what Haneul needed most, and Haneul was a being with enough strength and capacity to accept it.

‘Did he hesitate to accept it?’

It wouldn’t be so.

Until now, countless energies, not just Gu Huibi’s, had been offered to Haneul, and Haneul had consumed them all without exception.

In fact, he even seemed to enjoy it, so it couldn’t be the reason for hesitation.

‘Somehow, I must make Haneul-nim accept this.’

To do so, the flame was now necessary.

To encompass and blend all energies, the flame was needed, and according to what was written in the ‘ancient book’, this was the turning point.

For this, he hadn’t given Haneul any special energy for over a year.

‘Why…!’

The Palace Lord couldn’t understand.

Why Haneul hadn’t absorbed Gu Huibi’s energy.

The power to absorb and encompass all energies.

This was Haneul’s greatest divine power.

Haneul tilted his head at the Palace Lord’s words.

Did he not understand what was said?

Haneul’s purple eyes, scanning the surroundings, seemed to shine particularly brightly.

Haneul’s gaze turned towards Gu Huibi, and after blinking briefly, Haneul’s eyes widened slightly as if he finally understood what the Palace Lord had said.

“Ah.”

Haneul gave him a brief reply.

“Now. I can’t eat.”

The reason for his silence seemed to be that he was searching for the right words.

At Haneul’s words, the Palace Lord snapped his head up from where it had been lowered.

This was because it was something that absolutely could not happen.

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Now, I… can’t….”

He shut the mouth that had been speaking, and judging by the shape of his closed lips, he looked annoyed.

However, the Palace Lord couldn’t snap out of his shock.

He had to ponder what Haneul’s words meant.

‘Cannot eat?’

Haneul cannot lie.

If anything, he would ignore something, but he felt no need to utter a falsehood.

Then what was this statement?

Could it be that he could no longer absorb the power of others?

‘Why, suddenly…?’

The last time Haneul absorbed someone else’s energy was around this time last year.

Even then, the Palace Lord remembered Haneul absorbing all the energy.

Moreover, the target of absorption was one of the Four Demonic Emperors, just like the Palace Lord.

It was Hyuk Eo-chun, the Ghost Twin Sword.

He might have been a martial artist lacking compared to the others called the Four Demonic Emperors, but compared to Gu Huibi, a later generation disciple, he was worlds apart.

For Haneul to easily absorb even someone like him’s energy, for Haneul to not be able to absorb just Gu Huibi’s power!

It was impossible.

‘Has something gone wrong?’

If so, what on earth had happened in the past year?

Grind.

The Palace Lord quietly ground his teeth.

Because he sensed that a problem had arisen at the most crucial juncture.

It was truly a crack.

And from that crack, a vague sense of unease was leaking out.

‘This isn’t good.’

To have an unknown crack appear in a painstakingly built tower spanning over ten years!

How could one feel good?

The Palace Lord stopped speaking and slowly got up.

“I shall take my leave now.”

Haneul showed no reaction to the Palace Lord’s words.

As the Palace Lord gestured, Gu Huibi’s body floated up into the air and flew towards the Palace Lord.

“Kk…!”

Gu Huibi, who was flying, let out a groan.

It was because Haneul had grabbed Gu Huibi’s hand, which was trying to fly away quickly.

“Where?”

Haneul asked Gu Huibi, tilting his head, but Gu Huibi was not in a situation where he could answer.

He had so much he wanted to say from before, but due to the inexplicable atmosphere and the energy emanating from the Palace Lord, he felt suffocated and couldn’t utter a word.

Rather, Gu Huibi found it more astonishing that the child was acting so nonchalantly in this situation.

‘…I knew right away he wasn’t an ordinary child.’

Not just the situation, but the aura he gave off was enough to tell.

The child was holding onto his body, being dragged by the Palace Lord’s technique, yet acting nonchalantly.

The energy the Palace Lord emitted was the same.

It was as if he couldn’t even feel it, remaining perfectly calm.

The problem was, if this continued for long, it would only be a problem for Gu Huibi.

Finally, under the pressure, Gu Huibi dragged his trembling body and forced himself to speak.

“See… you later.”

It was a phrase containing countless meanings.

Saying just a few words was incredibly difficult.

Especially since his body couldn’t use even a speck of internal energy.

But, perhaps his words got through.

The child slowly let go of Gu Huibi’s hand.

Then Gu Huibi flew to the Palace Lord’s side, and after confirming this, the Palace Lord bowed deeply to the child, closed the door, and went outside.

Bang!

The door immediately closed, and a loud sound echoed in the room.

The child, left alone, stared silently at the door and muttered to himself.

“Again?”

He tried to understand the words Gu Huibi had uttered, repeatedly recalling them, but they were still incomprehensible.

The child sank down again and closed his eyes.

He extinguished the purple light flame he had conjured at his fingertips, and slowly melted back into the darkness.

Only then could the child feel comfort again.

---

Bang!

“Gasp!”

Gu Huibi’s body rolled onto the floor of the spacious prison.

The location was the same prison where Gu Huibi had been held for days.

Controlling his shock, Gu Huibi barely managed to get up and said,

“It seems the treatment is a bit too rough. Isn’t this perhaps what you wanted?”

Perhaps he fell too hard, as his arm felt like it had cracked.

The Palace Lord frowned at Gu Huibi’s words.

“What I wanted?”

“Didn’t you want me to be a nanny for the child? To take good care of the child and play with him. I thought that’s what it was.”)

At Gu Huibi’s words, the Palace Lord’s expression turned cold. Because he could clearly tell there was sarcasm mixed in.

Seeing that, Gu Huibi thought inwardly.

‘It seems it didn’t go as planned.’

He was certain.

When he first encountered the child, he momentarily thought he was the Palace Lord’s son.

However, seeing the Palace Lord’s attitude towards the child just now, it didn’t seem like it, so what could their relationship possibly be?

And before that.

‘What is that child?’

Gu Huibi was curious.

When he saw the Palace Lord.

The purpose of bringing him here seemed to be because the child needed something, but because the situation unfolded differently from what the Palace Lord currently desired, he couldn’t properly figure it out.

The child’s eyes, which held a strange aura, came to mind.

Having a resemblance identical to someone Gu Huibi knew, even the aura felt similar.

Could this truly all be a coincidence?

In this situation, the Palace Lord simply stared at Gu Huibi.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

To the persistent gaze, Gu Huibi asked the Palace Lord, but the Palace Lord still didn’t answer.

He just slowly raised his hand.

As Gu Huibi slowly began to sense the Palace Lord’s intentions amidst the inexplicable atmosphere,

Bang!

A noise came from somewhere, and dust rained down from the ceiling.

Gu Huibi couldn’t feel it properly, but it seemed the building had shaken slightly for a moment.

“Hmm.”

The Palace Lord retracted the hand he had raised and frowned slightly.

It seemed that unlike Gu Huibi, who couldn’t use his internal energy, the Palace Lord had sensed something.

Soon, he flicked his black robe and walked towards the entrance, leaving Gu Huibi behind.

Gu Huibi, who had re-entered the prison, heard the snoring of the old man Muk behind him and was certain.

If not for the noise just now, he would have died by the Palace Lord’s hand right now.

---

The first floor of the main palace.

The Palace Lord set out to find the residual energy he had felt just before, along with the noise.

Due to the formation array covering the palace, he couldn’t clearly sense the energy, but it was clearly a heat.

And, it bore a strong resemblance to a certain heat the Palace Lord had felt in the past.

As proof, his abdomen, deeply scarred, ached.

“Greetings, Palace Lord…!”

As the Palace Lord appeared, the personnel already gathered bowed their heads, but his gaze was solely fixed on the wall.

“What happened?”

“…That is.”

One wall of the building was severely collapsed.

As if a giant demonic beast had crashed into it, the collapsed traces, along with the lingering embers clinging to the debris, were enough to make the Palace Lord recall someone.

The Flame Ghost, Gu Cheol-un.

A martial artist of fire arts capable of finding the Dark Night Palace and leaving such traces.

Moreover, just from the unique energy felt from the flames, the Palace Lord was certain of the culprit.

“You’ve arrived.”

Even the old lion, who had grown rusty with age and spent his days confined to his cave, seemed to cherish his offspring.

The Palace Lord dispersed the air pressure to extinguish the embers and pondered a question.

‘How did they find this location?’

Even if they found the location, how did they break through the formation array’s barrier in a state where they couldn’t even use their internal energy?

‘How, exactly?’

The formation array created by Taejeol-gwi’s mechanisms was by no means simple.

One couldn’t easily find the existence of the formation array itself, let alone the Palace Lord himself, who couldn’t easily break it by force.

Even if a descendant of the annihilated Zhuge family, who was knowledgeable about formation arrays, appeared, it wouldn’t be easy.

“Taejeol-gwi.”

“Yes, Palace Lord…!”

“Was the barrier broken?”

At the Palace Lord’s cold voice, Taejeol-gwi bowed his head deeply and replied.

“No, it wasn’t. Upon checking now, the barrier was still intact.”

Then what could have happened?

The Palace Lord looked at the wall and held his breath.

Whatever the case, it was certain that the Gu family’s tiger had entered this place.

Black mist slowly rose from the Palace Lord’s shoulders.

The Palace Lord, who had been quietly closing his eyes, suddenly opened them wide.

His murky purple eyes gleaming, the Palace Lord spoke.

“Find him. He must be somewhere here.”

As soon as the order was given, countless personnel disappeared to carry out the Palace Lord’s command.

Why the Flame Ghost would choose such an unsuitable method, he couldn’t understand, but as the ‘Flame Ghost’, there must be a reason.

In truth, it didn’t matter.

‘I can just meet him and ask.’

The Palace Lord gradually filled the surroundings with black mist.

And from afar.

Hiding their presence, someone watched this.

The main culprit behind the wall’s collapse.

Gu Yangcheon and Namgung Bi-ah were watching this from afar.

Perhaps thanks to minimizing their presence among the bushes, they weren’t discovered.

At this moment, Namgung Bi-ah was sweating from the inexplicable energy emanating from the Palace Lord’s body.

Just seeing it from afar sent chills down her entire body.

‘…Is that… martial arts…?’

She felt the word ‘martial arts’ was insufficient to describe it.

How on earth could such martial arts exist in the world?

Namgung Bi-ah instinctively calmed her trembling heart and glanced at Gu Yangcheon beside her.

He too had eyes wide with surprise, no less than hers.

However, Gu Yangcheon was surprised for a different reason than Namgung Bi-ah.

The Dark Night Palace Lord’s unique martial art, seen for the first time.

Spreading like it was consuming the surroundings, along with the true nature of that energy, Gu Yangcheon could recognize just by seeing it.

How could he not know?

‘Demonic Arts (魔功)…?’

That was surely the divine power bestowed by the Heavenly Demon.

Because it was Demonic Arts.