Chapter 404

Chapter 404

Eat The World Tree.

Episode 404: Mozi Weeps For Silk

Her disciple had grown significantly in less than a year.

-Rustle.

She adjusted the cup of her black bra, which she always wore, pulled on her underwear that barely covered her lower body, and then pulled up the full-body stockings, embroidered with peach tree petals, to her neck.

-Whoosh!

Wind entering through the open window made the black dragon robe draped over her shoulders billow widely, as if a dragon was rising from the floor.

Cheondo slowly dropped the cigarette from her mouth.

“Hoo…”

An ominous feeling seeped in beneath her long eyelashes.

She wanted to rush to her disciple right now. But did she, who couldn’t do anything for him, even deserve to meet him?

A building was burning before Cheondo’s eyes.

Her hometown. Dowon. In a single blink, the hallucination vanished instantly. Her sisters and father. A cluster of stars in the sky.

The more she thought, the blurrier her vision became, the same desperate crisis as then, but what was different this time was her own power.

‘…Never again. I thought I wouldn’t be swayed by emotions, but…’

After organizing her thoughts, the answer came quickly.

‘……I am wavering.’

The calendar by the bed flipped to the next year due to the wind.

She turned her head and flipped the calendar back, and it was already October, autumn.

Autumn was the season of fallen leaves.

All the flowers and fruits she had bloomed were destined to fall.

The role of trees in autumn was either to die for the next generation.

Or to preserve their bodies for the following year.

-Whoosh.

Thick cigarette smoke filled the room.

It took quite a long time to make a decision.

Was the feeling in her chest just her imagination? It had to be her imagination.

Cheondo’s eyes calmly settled.

[…….]

[…….]

For now, none of her sisters said a word.

They had much to say, but they were waiting for the judgment of Cheondo, the owner of this body.

‘I’m sorry.’

A low apology.

[Mmm. No.]

Hwangdo, who had been silent, finally spoke, and Cheondo closed her eyes.

[Are you feeling better now?]

Baekdo’s gentle, not fierce, voice.

‘I-’

It was at that moment.

-BEEEEP!!!!

An emergency alert from her phone echoed through the room.

The TV, which was on an arbitrary channel, suddenly switched to a news screen and froze, and soon the content began to broadcast.

Breaking news. The disaster level for the Seoul Gangdong area has been raised to stage 5… Additionally, individual heretic Lee Shiheon is designated as an A-grade disaster from this point forward.

The atmosphere changed in an instant. Amidst the commotion that swept across the entire nation, Cheondo could not just passively listen to the news.

[…Little Brother?]

Hwangdo was astonished, and Baekdo was too shocked to speak. What was he thinking to have done such a thing?

Even Cheondo, who had caused many incidents until now, couldn’t find words to follow.

They weren’t the only ones surprised.

Correction. The disaster level for individual heretic Lee Shiheon has been revised to S-grade. Citizens in the disaster zone should evacuate to a safe place, or absolutely refrain from going outside.

Many students at the academy, and Jin Dallae.

“Beep? Mom? Why are you covering Shiba’s eyes?”

“…It’s nothing. Shiba, what do you want to eat today?”

All sorts of harsh criticisms flooded the student community.

Jin Dallae fiddled with the bandage on her still unhealed finger, holding back tears.

The stage 5 disaster zone was Seoul Metropolitan City. Additionally, North Chungcheong Province and South Chungcheong Province were designated as stage 3 disaster risk zones…

Vice-President Byeol stared blankly at the TV with vacant eyes.

“…Why?”

She mumbled silently, but within a few seconds, she had to dispatch personnel to kill the person she loved.

Just a few days after she had sent her best friend to prison.

Byeol’s mind also gradually fell into a dead end, and it was the same for Lee Seyeong.

Fortunately, Lee Seyeong hadn’t heard the news.

As of the current situation…

Mugung, the president of the Korean Hunter Association…

How much turmoil an individual’s power, even below the master level, could create.

And how many forces a single man, Lee Shiheon, could mobilize.

It was erupting everywhere right now.

As if a single flap of a butterfly’s wings could overturn the world’s entire landscape.

The summoning of all Korean hunters happened in an instant.

And. Sansuyu.

-Thud!

A woman who entered through the roughly opened door looked down at Sansuyu, who was sitting blankly.

“Hey.”

Champi Tree.

She, who had adjusted her schedule to avoid her duties as a hunter by feigning injury from Lee Shiheon, leaned against the entrance and asked Sansuyu.

-Drag, drag.

The long dragging sound continued. There was no reply.

“Sansuyu, can’t you hear me? Lee Shiheon called me, so I came.”

On the laptop screen visible beyond Sansuyu, countless articles.

Many people were discussing the day’s events on the screen displayed in the video.

“Hey. Hey!”

She had come so boldly, but there was no answer.

Sansuyu needed to evacuate right now. Whack! Champi grabbed Sansuyu’s shoulder.

As Champi approached and spoke, Sansuyu’s head slowly turned.

“……”

Lips trembling uncontrollably due to anxiety. A pale face.

Even Champi couldn’t help but be flustered.

“Cha… Champi, Teacher.”

“……”

‘Why am I your teacher? In truth, I haven’t taught you anything.’

‘She’s finally calling my name properly.’

Champi tightened her grip. Sansuyu’s lips, staring wistfully, opened once more.

“Shiheon… save him. I can’t live without Shiheon.”

Depression and obsession. The attachment that had grown to an unmanageable degree during the past few days with Lee Shiheon had shattered Sansuyu’s mind.

Severe lovesickness was also a disability, they said.

Seeing Sansuyu convulsing her hands as if on the verge of fainting, Champi recalled what Lee Shiheon had told her recently.

-I shouldn’t be with Sansuyu anymore.

-Why? Is protecting her the reason?

She understood exactly why he had said that.

If Lee Shiheon had shared even a little more affection with Sansuyu, her attachment would have grown even more than it was now.

How on earth did he realize that?

It was a power that dealt with human psychology, not just external aspects.

‘Amazing bastard.’

Champi couldn’t help but genuinely admire Lee Shiheon’s abilities.

Watching Sansuyu kneeling and pleading, Champi couldn’t hide her conflicted feelings.

Still, she couldn’t go to save him.

“No.”

Champi said.

Tears streamed down Sansuyu’s eyes.

The reason Lee Shiheon entrusted Sansuyu to her wasn’t just because she was friends with Sansuyu.

It was in case Sansuyu went berserk. He needed someone with enough power to stop her.

A significant reason was also the considerable emotional burden she herself carried for Sansuyu.

A blood vessel burst in Sansuyu’s eye, dyeing the white part red.

“…Don’t.”

This time, Sansuyu spoke.

“Don’t… don’t, do it. Don’t…”

“Hey, calm down. Sansuyu. Hey!”

The resentment imbued in that single word seemed about to burst forth.

Lee Shiheon’s broken status window.

Even though it wasn’t working and the letters were garbled, the favorability of only one person could be confirmed.

【 Fav□r Menu 】 -San□yu: ♥□♥♥♥♥□♥□ (2□□/100)

Her pupils trembled violently.

I have much to apologize for.

To the people I knew. To the people I had formed bonds with.

Perhaps, Jung Siwoo and the others must be truly disappointed.

There were quite a few people who tried their best to trust me. But even then, I was treated as a traitor by the world.

This matter wouldn’t end unless I died.

I had been forced by the world to the point of exhaustion.

“…What.”

“It’s fine if you don’t know.”

Interfering from the past, drawn into the present. An undeserved destiny has been given to me.

Now, I could run wild as much as I wanted.

If I delayed any longer, there’s a high possibility that my surroundings would be targeted.

If I died before that… the people around me would be beyond the World Trees’ concern.

My teacher’s case was a little different.

Those people, well… they’d manage on their own.

There wasn’t a big reason for me to enter this deadly situation.

It’s fine if I died, and it’s fine if a miracle happened.

My mind was ready.

In front, a talented hunter, a hero who saved the National Tree.

Behind, the leader of the White Ants and the successor of the Tree Spirit King. A candidate for the World Tree’s husband, and the Young Heavenly Demon of Dowon.

Mugung, whom I saw during my time in the past, was now drawing his sword against me.

Mugung’s reaction to my words was natural. Though that person didn’t see me.

“Hoo…”

A sigh.

Grand causes, accepting fateful encounters.

Killing people was hard enough… I didn’t want to have nightmares every time. The occasional hallucinations were tiresome too.

Now that I had shed everything, it even felt refreshing.

Mugung must know.

“Why does everyone hate me so much?”

Dismissed. Then praised.

“On the internet, I’m a dead man. What did I do so wrong?”

“……”

Mugung looked at me. With his hand on the scabbard, he just stared into my eyes without a word.

His upright posture was admirable.

I was facing a legend of this world.

“…I have no personal feelings. Child.”

Of course you didn’t.

If it benefited the nation, you were the kind of person who would cut down even a saint who is an exemplar to many.

-Slice!

Right next to my ear, the sound of space being cut.

With a distant voice, my head falls off.

Plop, hair buried in the floor. Eyes stained with blood, a life ending without stiffness, and a fleeting panorama.

…That was an illusion.

-CRASH!

My hand, extended reflexively, blocked the sword attack.

I twisted my hand to the side, deflecting the sword strike, and the building to my right instantly disappeared.

It was as if I had drawn a straight line on the skyscraper myself.

“You are a man who must die.”

-FLASH!

Regardless of his character or anything else.

Mugung’s movements, right in front of me, were impossible to discern.

Approaching by folding space, a sword strike that cuts space.

Truly elegant.

-Swish.

Because the sword had pierced, half of my neck was sliced off like butcher shop meat.

I muttered emptily.

“…Now I understand that old man’s feelings.”

“What?”

The Heavenly Demon who was subjugated after returning to his hometown to spend his remaining years.

And what about my teacher, who became a slave to the World Tree despite doing nothing wrong?

‘Ah…’

My heart felt at ease.

No matter what I did, I could not be good.

I was born with a life that cannot be recognized by the world.

I saved many and killed many.

At least I kept my principles, and even while traveling, I never disregarded life.

The surroundings turned hazy white. This time too, my hand reacted without fail.

My wrist slowly rose.

One strike (Iljang).

The black demonic energy flowing from my glove spread out in a circle.

-BOOM!!!!

An explosion erupted.

The air in the void was instantly sucked out, giving the illusion that space itself had detached.

A basket of flower petals bloomed within the impact.

In an instant, Mugung’s body vanished and was flung far away.

“……”

An expression of half-surprise.

He must know. The weapon I was currently using was created with the power of a master who transcended realms.

Dongcheong.

Mistletoe, green in winter, mistletoe.

-Tremble, tremble, tremble.

The chill of death brushed past my nape.

In every brief interval, I felt the danger of my neck being severed.

Fighting against someone who had reached the master realm. Of course, there’s no room for complacency.

But my mind was cold.

The Hunter Association, which had no fatalities despite the massive disaster.

-Thud!

A hunter’s head exploded.

The smile I always wore during the thrill of battle was gone now.

One-sided killing, regardless of good or evil.

My eyes, shadowed by my bangs, grew moist with tears at the realization that a huge burden had been lifted.

It felt as if something massive had been cut off and dropped from somewhere in my chest.

-Thump, thump, thump.

My heart pounded as if to burst. The sensation of my first kill returned, and my hand, gripping the mistletoe, trembled violently.

‘I’m just… no…’

I erased weak thoughts from my mind. This too would only be an excuse.

In the end, I was also my father’s son.

【 Heukdo · Gae 】

A disaster that abandoned humanity.

Blood seeped out as the skin cracked over dried tear stains.