Chapter 1264: Scorched World

Mi Hyoran, who had an ice-cold appearance, wore an uncharacteristic blank expression. It was the look of someone who had heard something incomprehensible. While I found the sight amusing…

“You killed him…?”

In an instant, she changed her expression, returning to her cold demeanor.

“Literally.”

“No, no… What is that…”

“I went out earlier and killed that guy.”

“…You must be crazy.”

Does she think I’m talking nonsense? Mi Hyoran’s eyes were filled with doubt.

Well, I would have thought it was strange too if I had heard it.

But.

“It’s true. If you don’t believe me, call the Dark King and ask him.”

“Why are you bringing him up here…?”

“I got help from that guy to catch the fellow. It’s far, so going back and forth was a bit difficult.”

“…”

Her face looked as if she thought I was a total lunatic.

“…It’s true, though.”

“The Dark King helped you? Why would he do that?”

“Shall we call it a symbiotic relationship, where we each have something we want from the other?”

“…The Dark King wants something from someone like you… No, wait, he wants something from you?”

“You were about to say ‘someone like me’, weren’t you?”

“Answer my question first.”

She’s being rude herself and trying to brush it off slyly? I found it absurd, but decided to play along with her reaction for now.

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t think I need to answer that.”

“…”

Mi Hyoran fell silent. It seemed she realized it was a bit strange herself.

“Anyway, what the Young Sect Leader wanted was the Apostle’s death… Since I achieved the objective, shouldn’t I be able to hear it?”

“…It hasn’t been confirmed yet.”

“I told you to call the Dark King and ask!”

“That alone is insufficient for the verification process. I will check and let you know.”

“…Hmm.”

Does she really need to verify it to that extent? I wondered.

“Earlier, you gathered people and seemed troubled. Was that perhaps related to the Apostle issue?”

“…”

She wore an expression that showed my words hit the mark. It made sense. First, her sudden request to catch the Apostle, and now her insistence on verifying it after I claimed to have done so.

Something felt strange.

“What’s going on?”

I asked out of curiosity.

“…I don’t think there’s any reason I should tell you that.”

“…Oh.”

She threw my own words back at me.

Well, that didn’t matter either. It wasn’t important anyway.

“…Well then, go ahead and verify everything you need to. Call me again once it’s confirmed.”

I had killed him, so I had no qualms. It was simply a matter of Mi Hyoran confirming it.

As if having no lingering attachment, I waved goodbye to Mi Hyoran and walked away.

Until then, Mi Hyoran hadn’t spoken to me.

---

After finishing my talk with Mi Hyoran, I headed to my quarters. Poison Phoenix and Tang Cheon-gi were waiting for me inside.

“You’re here!”

Poison Phoenix smiled brightly. It was still an uncomfortably bright cheerfulness.

“Yes.”

“Where did you go last night?”

“Ah, I just went for a short walk.”

“Ahh. A walk.”

Poison Phoenix nodded as if convinced. Just then.

“Isn’t going for a walk all night long a bit strange?”

Tang Cheon-gi said, looking at me. It was a sharp observation.

Whack-!

Cough!

Poison Phoenix dashed like an arrow and smacked Tang Cheon-gi on the back of the head. She hit him so hard that Tang Cheon-gi’s head violently whipped to the side.

“Guh…”

Clutching his aching head, he groaned, but Poison Phoenix just stared at her brother with cold eyes.

“Do you really have to say things like that?”

“…What did I do…”

“You spoke rudely.”

“…No…”

Tang Cheon-gi protested indignantly, but only sharp eyes glared at him, as if his words wouldn’t work.

“Ugh…”

“Let’s behave?”

“…Yes. Big sister…”

Once the ‘lesson’ was over, Poison Phoenix looked back at me. Her eyes returned, looking quite different from how they looked at Tang Cheon-gi.

“You must be tired, right? Have you eaten?”

“…Yes. Roughly…”

I hadn’t slept or eaten, but I had to say everything was fine for now. Because if I said I was hungry here, I didn’t know what Poison Phoenix might bring me.

“Ahh. So are you going to rest now?”

“I think I’ll rest for a little while.”

I wouldn’t be resting for long, though, since I had to go out again later for a walk that wasn’t really a walk.

For now, I had to wait. Of course, I didn’t come here just to rest.

‘Because resting isn’t really resting when I’m with this woman.’

Poison Phoenix had something about her that drained people’s energy. So, if I were to rest, it was better to do it alone.

Even though I knew that, there was a reason I came here.

“Poison Phoenix.”

“Yes? Yes, yes!”

I just called her name, but why is she reacting like that? She’s really not easy to deal with.

“Um, actually… I have something to ask you.”

“What is it? I’ll answer anything. Ask me anything!”

“…It’s nothing major.”

I don’t know what she’s expecting, but it probably doesn’t align with what I want to ask. Still, I had no choice since Poison Phoenix was the only one here who could give me reliable information.

“How many other shelters for survivors are there?”

“Huh?”

As expected, it wasn’t the question she was expecting, and Poison Phoenix looked flustered.

“Uh, why…?”

“I was just curious about how many more there are.”

“Hmm.”

Poison Phoenix hesitated for a moment, seemingly thinking.

“There probably aren’t that many. And what I know might not be everything.”

Fortunately, she seemed willing to provide information, laying the groundwork.

“Ah, that alone is fine. Please tell me.”

I needed to get any information I could, as it wasn’t the right time to ask Mi Hyoran.

“Then… hmm…”

Poison Phoenix organized her thoughts for a moment, then continued.

“As far as I know, there are a total of three major locations, including this place. There might be smaller places too, but they’re probably too insignificant to count.”

“Three places.”

“Yes. One is here. It’s the place Baekhwa Young Sect Leader created and protects. It’s the largest among the shelters.”

I thought it looked big just by looking at it, so it really is the largest place.

“Another place… is quite far north. It’s the second largest. As far as I know, it’s where the Dragon General resides.”

‘The Dragon General?’

It was Tae Ho-an. He too had survived and seemed to have created another place.

‘North.’

I filed it away in my mind. It might be useful later.

“And the last one is…”

The final location. Poison Phoenix hesitated for a moment as she was about to mention it. What is it?

“Why the hesitation?”

“Ah, well… I heard some bad news about this place recently.”

“Bad news, you say…?”

“I heard it was attacked by an Apostle and disappeared. The problem is… it had already been attacked by an Apostle once before, so the probability of it having disappeared is high.”

“…Hmm.”

A place that was attacked once before?

I nodded at the news. In that case, it might have disappeared. It was a plausible scenario.

But.

“…Besides that.”

As if there was another reason for her hesitation besides that, Poison Phoenix hesitated, looking at me.

“What is it?”

“…Well…”

Since she couldn’t get the words out, I felt frustrated too. I tried to urge her on, but…

“The person in charge of that place was Pae-jon.”

Tang Cheon-gi answered instead of Poison Phoenix.

“What?”

“Your master. That means it was the region he was in charge of.”

“Huh?”

This means…

The shelter Pae-jon was in charge of…

Had been attacked by an Apostle.

And furthermore.

‘You mean… the old man might have been taken down?’

The thought that Pae-jon might have been defeated was truly unbelievable.

---

Swishhhhh.

The sound of water gently spreading could be heard. In this world filled with red skies and barren land, it was an inexplicably clear space.

A green forest.

Light air.

A space composed of a forest that seemed even cleaner than the original Central Plains.

In that place, a man dressed in dark-colored clothes.

Gu Cheol-un calmly walked forward.

Squish. Squish.

As if not to startle the grass, adjusting his large frame, he walked slowly and lightly. Soon, he reached the riverbank ahead.

Splash.

Gu Cheol-un walked without concern, pushing his feet into the water, whether they got wet or not.

If he wanted, he could fly there anytime and reach his destination. But he chose to walk.

After walking like that for a while, the destination was soon visible, despite his slow pace.

The large tree visible ahead. Gu Cheol-un reached out towards it, but…

Woooong.

Surprisingly, his hand didn’t reach the tree. It was as if a transparent barrier was blocking his hand.

“…”

Seeing that, Gu Cheol-un finally retracted his hand.

He thought maybe applying force would let him reach it, but he had already tried hundreds of times.

He decided not to dwell on such things.

So.

“Have you been well?”

All he could do now was speak to the unreachable tree.

No answer came. Gu Cheol-un’s gaze was fixed on the tree, specifically towards the base below it.

Someone was lying beneath the tree.

A woman lay there demurely, eyes closed as if fast asleep. Gu Cheol-un watched her for a moment, then turned his back.

It seemed there were no issues with the space. It was proof that the Sword Empress was keeping her promise.

“Sleep a little longer.”

It’s not much longer now.

Gu Cheol-un whispered that and moved away from the tree.

“…”

After Gu Cheol-un disappeared. The woman who had been sleeping soundly with her eyes closed… her eyelids twitched slightly.

Just for a moment.