Chapter 673: It’s been a long time!

I scowled at the words spoken by the Heavenly Demon.

“How would I know that.”

What kind of conversation is this, anyway?

It seems like I just wasted my time.

‘What is this nonsense.’

In the first place, the name didn’t matter at all.

Because I didn’t even know the Heavenly Demon’s name in my past life either.

She’s just the Heavenly Demon (天魔).

She was a devil descended from the heavens, the very source of disaster.

Her name, or anything like it, meant nothing to me now.

That was enough.

No, it had to be.

So.

‘Don’t make that face in front of me.’

As if she were a different person from the Heavenly Demon of my past life. The way she acted before me like that was sickening.

“My mood’s soured.”

I twisted my waist.

The condensed energy felt unusually heavy.

Energy can’t have weight, so this must purely be pressure.

Can I kill her with this?

I wasn’t sure.

But I would act regardless.

“Greed (貪).”

Swoosh!

Crack!

“!”

Greed broke free and started devouring the barrier.

This time too, the Heavenly Demon didn’t dodge, and a larger space was created than before.

That’s the spot.

I took a deep step, stomping the ground, moved my shoulder to adjust the angle, and tightly gripped the holy spear.

“…”

Seeing that, the Heavenly Demon started to say something but stopped and readjusted her stance.

It didn’t seem like she was trying to run.

‘Rather.’

It seemed like she was showing an intent not to move.

‘Fuck.’

Is she telling me to hit her if I can?

I could tell how dismissively she viewed people.

Then I should show her.

“Fine, then just die here.”

I moved my arm as I spoke.

Just then.

“Little brother-!”

Gu Huibi’s voice came from the forest behind.

She seemed to have arrived late.

It was already too late.

Squeeze! I threw the tightly gripped holy spear straight ahead.

Whoooosh–!!

The holy spear flew rapidly towards the Heavenly Demon.

“No-!”

Seeing this, Gu Huibi urgently tried to intervene and block it, but there was no way she could stop it with her speed.

And so.

The holy spear finally reached the Heavenly Demon.

Seeing this, the Heavenly Demon casually closed her eyes.

Vwoom-!!

KWA-AAAAAA–!!!

An explosion erupted along with the vibration.

Whooooshhhhhh–!!

The heat-laden wind pressure violently burst, sweeping the area.

Thick smoke rose from a distance.

Watching it, I waved my hand.

I recovered the fire clinging to the trees, caused by the explosion’s aftermath, with my energy.

Whoosh!

Flames gathered and accumulated in my heart.

With that, I looked straight ahead with a deeply furrowed expression.

In front of me, the Heavenly Demon was still standing as before.

Looking as if she hadn’t been harmed even slightly.

Behind the standing Heavenly Demon, the ruined area was visible.

“Haa…”

I wiped my face with trembling hands.

“Fuck…”

You damn idiot.

It was a curse I spat at myself.

I couldn’t do it in the end.

To think I couldn’t even do it when it was spoon-fed to me.

What kind of worm-like failure is this?

“Yeon-ah…!”

Gu Huibi, who had run over from behind, passed me and approached the Heavenly Demon.

“Hello, Unni.”

The Heavenly Demon calmly greeted Gu Huibi, looking at her.

Watching that, I thought.

Why couldn’t I kill her?

‘Is it because of the anxiety that I wouldn’t be able to kill her?’

I have to kill her.

I know that only by killing her will even this shallow anxiety disappear.

But I couldn’t.

‘…Is it because she looks exactly like Wi Seol-ah?’

I couldn’t deny that.

However, it probably isn’t solely for that reason.

‘Then is it the thought that she might change?’

Could it be that, seeing the Heavenly Demon’s much-changed appearance, I held out hope that she might change like Zhuge Hyuk or Namgung Bi-ah?

I don’t know.

I couldn’t know anything, but one thing was certain within that.

‘I’ll regret it.’

The thought that I would regret it if I killed the Heavenly Demon now.

If not now, I might not be able to kill her later.

She could become a disaster someday and cause bloodshed again.

While that anxiety existed, the fear of unknown regret was superimposed upon it.

Am I feeling guilty?

If so, I shouldn’t be feeling it now.

What could this mean?

I couldn’t know this either.

‘…What should I do?’

I asked the ill-tempered old man who was no longer here.

‘I don’t know the way.’

There was no way I’d get an answer.

There was no one else to ask.

If it were Noyah back then, what would he have told me?

-If you think you’ll regret it, don’t do it.

Would he have said that?

‘But what if something happens later?’

-Then, deal with it when it happens. You should be able to handle that much. Tsk, tsk. What good is a man with balls if he’s so cowardly?

‘…’

-Do as your heart tells you. That’s what’s right for you.

Noyah wasn’t here.

But it felt just like Noyah was speaking to me.

Remembering this, I looked at the Heavenly Demon.

“Let me ask just one thing.”

“Hm?”

“Why didn’t you take the Surveyor exam?”

I had gone through the trouble of getting her to pass the first round, only for the Heavenly Demon to suddenly disappear right before the second exam.

“Ah.”

Perhaps recalling that, the Heavenly Demon’s eyes widened.

And then.

“Because you’re weak.”

“What?”

“Unni said not to bully the weak. It’s a big deal if we fight.”

“…”

In an instant, everyone from top-tier to fully-mastered peak martial artists were turned into the ‘weak,’ but leaving that aside, it was absurd that the Heavenly Demon said something like that.

“Damn it.”

Tap, tap.

After hearing the answer, I dusted off my hands.

At the same time, I looked at Gu Huibi and said.

“Put away your sword, Nunim. I’m not doing this anymore.”

“…”

At my words, Gu Huibi, who had been gripping the hilt, flinched.

She was probably trying to stop me.

‘And she makes a face like that.’

Gu Huibi’s expression as she looked at me seemed incredibly pained.

It seemed like she hated the very idea of drawing a sword against me.

She’s known to have one of the worst tempers in the world, yet she seems so human at times like this.

“Little brother….”

“I’m not saying I’ll stop unconditionally. Right now… I just need some time to think.”

“I don’t know how you see it, little brother, but this child isn’t a bad person… She just doesn’t know the world well yet, so if she stays by my side a little longer-“

“Maybe so.”

I cut off Gu Huibi’s words.

That’s right. Maybe so.

The Heavenly Demon’s appearance, stating she didn’t want to fight and shouldn’t fight the weak, was bizarre even to my eyes.

Regardless of the reason, perhaps the Heavenly Demon could live a different life.

It’s possible to see it that way, but.

“But, for me to think that way right now, I’d have to give up quite a lot, you know?”

That was a very difficult thing for me.

There are only a few years left.

In just a few short years, the time when the Heavenly Demon descended will arrive.

Until then, it’s a time when anything could happen.

It was too overwhelming to conclude anything based solely on her appearance just now.

“So, I’m leaving for now.”

I needed time to think.

Thinking with her right in front of me, I couldn’t recall anything.

I looked at the ruined forest and the Heavenly Demon, then simply turned my back.

‘Is it okay to leave like this?’

Is it alright to leave with the Heavenly Demon behind me?

As that question lingered endlessly.

“Go safely.”

“…”

“See you later.”

At the Heavenly Demon’s naive-sounding voice, I finally took a step forward.

Whoosh!

I floated into the air.

The moon was still out in the night sky.

Taking a breath, I looked at the thinly-stroked crescent moon.

‘What is this.’

What the hell kind of situation is this?

Leaving behind the Heavenly Demon’s current state and myself for enduring it while watching her.

I recalled the circumstances that led the situation to this point.

‘Grandfather….’

My grandfather, the previous head of the Gu family and presumed dead, had entrusted the Heavenly Demon to someone.

How did the Heavenly Demon, who left with the Palace Lord, end up entrusted to my grandfather?

And to Gu Huibi, no less.

I don’t know.

In the first place, it’s strange that Grandfather is even alive.

‘Does Father know?’

Does Father really know about this?

If he does, it means Gu Huibi knows, Father knows, and I’m the only one who didn’t.

‘…I don’t want to ask Gu Huibi right now.’

I didn’t want to go back and ask Gu Huibi again.

‘Anyway, Father said he’d be here around tomorrow.’

First, I need to ask Father about it tomorrow.

Thinking that, I left the forest, but.

An unexpected problem arose here as well.

The next day.

As scheduled, the Gu family members and Madam Mi returned to Hanam, but.

Father himself did not arrive with them.

And that continued for seven days and nights.

---

Cold air flowed all around.

Swoooosh…!

From within the space filled with chilling energy, the one who had been casually sitting and bowing his head slowly lifted it.

“Hmm.”

The youth opened his eyes, letting out a short hum.

Eerie, blood-red eyes revealed themselves to the world.

“Well now.”

Tsk.

The youth chuckled as if amused by the unexpected situation.

“Was it a mistake to leave it shallowly, so as not to arouse suspicion… The child has regained consciousness.”

Because a vast entity was coiled up within.

I had been proceeding in a way that wouldn’t be noticed as much as possible, but.

It seems that was the problem.

“What a shame.”

It truly was a shame.

It was a chance to easily obtain a precious key.

While the youth was lamenting his disappointment.

A veiled woman slowly approached him and knelt before him.

“Greetings, Master….”

The youth’s vacant eyes turned towards the woman.

“Mu-hui.”

“I came in such a hurry because I have something to tell you. Please forgive me….”

As Mu-hui spoke in a mournful voice, the youth nodded.

It meant ‘speak quickly’.

Seeing that, Mu-hui carefully continued.

“I’ve found the Gatekeeper.”

At that moment.

Click.

The youth stopped moving.

Simultaneously, everything in the space froze as if time had stopped.

Sounds.

Energy too.

Even the flowing wind.

Everything stopped.

“Heh… heh heh….”

The only sound coming from within was the youth’s laughter.

Heh heh heh heh.

The youth laughed as if he couldn’t contain himself.

Each time, cracks formed in the space.

“Where?”

He had long forgotten whatever disappointment he felt moments ago.

His vertically slit pupils expressed menace.

The aura emanating from his being spread in all directions.

“Where did you see the Gatekeeper?”

Tremble, tremble, tremble.

Mu-hui trembled violently from the pressure the youth exuded.

Crushed by fear, she couldn’t even speak properly.

But she had to answer somehow.

“…A few days… a few days ago. I detected an energy signature at Taeseong Mountain.”

“Taeseong Mountain…”

It was a mountain not far from Hanam.

Hearing this, the youth soon nodded.

“Yes…. I finally found him.”

He had found the Gatekeeper who hadn’t appeared for decades.

‘…No, that’s not right.’

It would be more accurate to say he revealed himself.

Hearing this, the youth slowly rose.

Creak, crackle.

Every time he moved his body, a sound like something breaking echoed.

The youth repeatedly opened and closed his hands, showing a hint of regret.

‘It’s utterly insignificant, but… this is the best I can do for now.’

A human body that was less than dust compared to my true form.

However, there was nothing I could do about it now.

Until I reclaim my ‘body’.

And gain ‘energy’.

“Mu-hui.”

“Yes. Master.”

“I’m going for a stroll. In the meantime, relay the message to the Heavenly Eye (天眼).”

“…Understood.”

“And.”

Passing Mu-hui, the youth’s blood-red gaze turned towards a wall.

There stood someone who had been there since earlier, eyes closed.

“It’s time to get moving.”

The youth.

Said the Blood Demon (血魔) with a smile.

Swoosh.

“Yes.”

The young master of the Peng family.

Peng Woojin opened his eyes and nodded.