Chapter 382: Good Work (3)

Crackle-…

Crackling noises and a burning smell filled the surrounding area..

The world was colored black.

Blaze-!

Flames rose across countless points.

Flames of opposite colors were clashing as if they were fighting for territory.

Both sides of the flames held such a strong and dense Qi that the impact of their clashes continuously shook the ground.

Slam-! Slam, slam-!

The air became heated as the flames clashed.

Ordinary people without Qi would die if they came even near this battlefield, let alone breathe the air around it.

The sky was strangely painted in both red and black, but the two colors were clearly separated, as if they were oil and water.

Roaaar-!

Huge flames rose and sounded like a beast roaring.

The flames took the shape of a dragon and slammed itself into the ground.

Crack-!

As soon as the flames made contact, the ground crumbled and began to split apart.

The shrapnel that flew due to the impact was half-melted.

It was hot, and flames were rising everywhere.

The fierce, twisting red flames engulfed all of the black flames scattered in the surroundings and returned to the caster.

Swish-!

While the flames in the area returned back to the caster, the area remained melted.

-…Whew…

I stared at my opponent with an exhausted expression.

We both used the same type of flame. However, my flames, flames that became black from my corruption, should have been much hotter and more powerful than before, yet the fierce red flames in front of me easily engulfed mine.

I tried to maintain my calm and gazed at my opponent.

He still looked as fierce as I remembered. A man with an emotionless face.

He didn’t really share a similar physique to mine.

Although… it probably made more sense for me to say that I didn’t resemble him than the other way around.

It may not have been a long time, but time had certainly passed, yet he didn’t seem to age at all.

The man’s red eyes stared at me.

-It has been a while.

-…

I paused after hearing the man’s voice.

That was the first thing Father said to me after we met for the first time in years.

-…Yes.

-I was expecting her to come but she’s more brutal than I thought, for her to send you instead…

Father was referring to the Heavenly Demon.

The Heavenly Demon was focusing on healing the injuries she took from her previous battle.

It was a fierce battle.

With that thought, I observed Father.

It was Father who gave the Heavenly Demon her injuries.

He was the only one able to harm the Heavenly Demon’s body, when nobody else was able to.

Not only that, but Father even seemed perfectly fine afterward.

He may have appeared to be on the outside, but I knew that on the inside, he wasn’t.

-I know that you are currently injured.

-…

Father’s eyebrows twitched when he heard my voice.

I was able to feel it just by looking at him.

Demonic Qi was slowly taking over Father’s body. It wasn’t ordinary Demonic Qi either, it was the Heavenly Demon’s Qi.

It shouldn’t have been easy for him to breathe, let alone walk around like that.

It was solely his willpower that kept him going.

I also couldn’t overpower his flames with my own even with this advantage, which showed just how powerful Father was.

-Third child.

I frowned after hearing his call.

-…Shouldn’t you have stopped calling me that by now?

-Are you not fond of it?

-Do you still see me as your son?

Father made a strange expression after hearing my response.

-Are you not?

I clenched my eyes after hearing him.

-Are you aware… that I killed the Crimson Sword?

The title of the Crimson Sword belonged to Gu Huibi who I killed. Father’s eyebrows shook slightly when he heard my words.

-Moreover, I came here to kill you now as well.

-…

-Do you still see me as your son?

Father still maintained his emotionless face despite hearing my words.

He knew that I was involved in Gu Huibi’s death, yet he didn’t show any anger towards me.

-I honestly don’t even know if you thought of me as your son in the first place.

If he thought of me as his son, perhaps he might’ve yelled at me for my actions.

He might’ve questioned my actions, or asked me to come back.

However, Father did none of those things.

Even when I turned into a Demonic Human…

or even now, Father didn’t do anything. It honestly would’ve been better if he became angry at me.

Was it because of my flames?

My body felt like it was heating up.

-Why did you spare me that day?

I asked Father.

As my name began to spread after becoming a Demonic Human, Father appeared before me.

I was expecting to die that day.

I didn’t think that Father would spare my life after I became a Demonic Human.

I believed that he would burn me alive on the spot, yet he closed his eyes, turned around, and left instead.

-After wondering for a while, I realized. You thought it was better this way.

-…

-A good-for-nothing bastard who was meant to become a Young Lord left on his own. You saw that as a positive thing, am I wrong?

Father listened in silence as I spoke with despair.

-And that’s why… you never got angry at me even once.

-Did you want me to be angry?

-I don’t know. I don’t know anymore, but maybe things would’ve been better if you did.

I once wanted to live a life free of attention.

That was what I thought I wanted in the past, but instead, I might’ve wanted the opposite.

Though of course, it was too late to think about that now.

-I see.

Father nodded after hearing my response.

Even that act of his frustrated me.

I asked him a question with a hollow expression.

-Just what was I to you…?

What was I to Father?

Was I just a bastard who went around causing trouble?

Was I an unwanted child of a concubine?

Or did I purely exist for the Gu Clan?

My head began to spin as all my Qi started to disappear.

Moreover, Father didn’t even answer my question.

Did he think that I wasn’t worthy of any answers?

That was fair enough. Father had always been like that.

After seeing him like that…

Blaze-

With a light smirk, I wrapped my body in black flames.

-I believe there is no point in continuing this conversation.

-…

Father also wrapped himself in flames after seeing me.

Father’s heat exploded out from his body and soared up into the sky. At the same time, my body began to feel his strong pressure pushing down on me.

It was the effect of his Red Heaven.

I didn’t back down and used my Black Heaven and initiated my attack.

Demonic Qi stormed around my hands and I proceeded to condense my Qi and created a Flaming Sphere.

I didn’t stop at one.

I created numerous Flaming Spheres which all levitated above my body. Then I directed them all towards Father.

It was more than enough to destroy this area, but all of the Flaming Spheres disappeared before it made contact with Father, as if they didn’t exist in the first place.

-…

Despite such a large amount of Qi disappearing all at once, it was completely silent.

I frowned at the sight. I then clenched my teeth and leaped towards him.

I observed Father’s hand as I went closer.

It was right there in his hand…

-That’s…

The Secret Art of the Gu Clan that one could only use after reaching the highest rank of the Destructive Flame Arts.

It was the power that damaged the Heavenly Demon’s body, the flame of the Gu Clan.

As long as he had that power, it was impossible for me to win against him.

No, even if he didn’t have that, I still stood no chance against Father.

I knew him way too well.

Despite that fact, I went to the Gu Clan all by myself.

Was it so that I could finish what the Heavenly Demon couldn’t?

It would’ve made sense for me to do that to show my loyalty as a Demonic Human, but that wasn’t the reason behind my actions.

I didn’t come here to kill my father, rather I came here to be killed by him.

Blaze-!

I directed my flames towards him.

My flames appeared blacker than before because I mixed my emotions into it.

Was I just seeing things?

I had to be.

My giant waves of flames endlessly attacked Father, but none were able to reach him.

I clenched my teeth hard enough for them to crack.

Swoosh-!

Father’s flames prevented me from continuing forward, but I brute forced my way through.

It was hot.

Father’s flames were unusually hot even though I trained using the Destructive Flame Arts myself.

My clothes burned away and my skin started to burn along with it.

I felt like I was going to lose consciousness due to the pain, but I didn’t stop.

Father’s eyes widened as he watched me charge at him.

I gathered flames into my hand once again.

I gathered everything I could and condensed my Qi into one spot.

This was different from the Flaming Sphere.

This wasn’t some advanced technique, but a ball of nothing. A ball that contained all my emotions inside it.

I will die here.

I couldn’t endure it any longer.

I became hardened to killing, but my mentality wasn’t going to keep up forever. Even if I was living my life for someone else, it wasn’t enough for me to keep going.

I had already lost my goal a long time ago..

What did I live for?

I could’ve sworn I had a goal originally, but I couldn’t even remember it anymore.

I became too tired and exhausted, and I just wanted it to end now.

Will this death of mine atone for anything?

-No.

I knew I was being childish, and I loathed myself because of it.

This wasn’t atonement for anyone or anything, but instead, a way for me to selfishly comfort myself.

However, none of that matters now anymore.

With that thought, I pushed forward.

Father’s red flames only became stronger as I approached him.

It seemed like he was really serious about burning me alive.

It is what I wanted, but I couldn’t help but feel a bitter emotion.

I didn’t want this kind of relationship.

For me to die at the hands of the father I resented and was so afraid of, what a miserable way to go.

I smiled when that thought entered my mind.

I believed that this kind of death suited me.

Crack.

Blaze-!

Flames in the shape of a tiger and a dragon wrapped around my body. Was it to ensnare me?

I immediately escaped from its grasp while flames scattered everywhere and blocked my vision. I proceeded to blow it all away.

Then, I saw Father standing right in front of me.

With red flames surrounding his body, flames that I originally would have shared with him, he stared at me with his red hair and eyes.

What expression was he making?

I couldn’t tell.

Father’s hand began to move.

His hands held the highest rank of the Gu Clan’s Destructive Flame Arts.

My life would end once that hand makes contact with my body. With this thought, I reached out.

I wondered what kind of expression Father would make once I died.

Would he maintain his emotionless face as he did now?

That would probably be the case.

I couldn’t even imagine him making a different expression.

Father’s hand came closer as I got lost in my thoughts.

It was a big, rough hand.

Surely it must have been fast, but it seemed slow for some reason.

Was my life about to flash before my eyes?

I hoped that it wouldn’t.

I only had nasty and pathetic memories in my life, so I simply wanted to close my eyes.

Before my hand could reach Father, his hand reached my body first.

Right as I thought that it was all over,

Swish-

-…!

The flames around Father’s body disappeared in an instant.

He restrained his strength and released his Qi.

His defensive Qi barrier around him disappeared along with the rest of his Qi.

I had no time to assess the situation.

Right as I was about to restrain myself alongside him, Father pulled my hand towards him despite my intentions.

Slam-!

My fist made contact with Father’s chest, resulting in a great impact that shook the area.

Swoosh-!

A powerful Qi wave exploded and I did my best to reassess the situation.

-What… are you…

I slowly lifted my head up to look at him.

When I finally looked at Father’s face…

-…!

I saw blood coming out of his mouth.

I quickly tried to withhold my power before my attack hit him, but I failed to retrieve all of my Qi in that instant and it hit his defenseless body.

It was more than enough to kill him on the spot, but Father was still standing on his two legs like he was perfectly fine, without being pushed back at all.

-What… Why did you just…!

Was it because I failed to understand the current situation?

I wasn’t able to speak properly.

I then felt something being placed on top of my head.

It was Father’s hand.