Chapter 904: Master of the Abyss.

Plum blossom petals continue to fall.

Looking up, it was filled with branches and leaves, so much so that the sky was nowhere to be seen.

Light pours down through the small gaps between them. The light spreads as if embracing the lush green floor.

It’s beautiful. It was so brilliant that even I, who had no interest in scenery whatsoever, felt that way.

Amidst the fragrant plum blossom scent and the coolly blowing wind, I followed Elder No, moving my feet.

The distance to our destination wasn’t that far. Walking with slightly faster steps, by the time I realized it, I had arrived at the place I wanted.

‘It’s big.’

It was big even from afar, but up close, it was even more massive.

I had never seen such a large and thick tree in my life.

And how tall was it? The terrain is dug out below, and its soaring tip almost touches the clouds.

“What on earth is this?”

What kind of plum blossom tree could be this big?

Even after looking again and again, I asked in disbelief, and Elder No looked at me and said.

“Well. I don’t know exactly either, but I’ve heard it called a Divine Tree (信木).”

“A Divine Tree?”

A tree of the gods? It sounds like a ridiculous name, but seeing its size, I thought it deserved to be called that.

“You shouldn’t be that surprised, haven’t you seen one before?”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“Where would I have seen something like this… Ah.”

I wondered what he meant. Could he possibly be talking about that?

‘Mu-ah.’

The World Tree whose name was forgotten. Originally the master of the Central Plains.

And, the very one who caused Yeonilcheon to return… .

‘The being who designated me as his apostle.’

That guy was also a tremendously large tree in terms of size.

It was just dry and twisted, looking like it would crumble if you touched it, but if you compare them, the feeling is similar.

However.

‘The presence is very different.’

The presence it exudes is on a different level.

Is the plum blossom tree in front taller? No, it wasn’t.

‘Mu-ah is far more overwhelming.’

In terms of existence, the level was different.

The one in front could simply be seen as a tree, but Mu-ah was not.

It was like… .

‘Mother or Kkureung-i.’

The sensation felt when encountering an incomparable being.

I felt that kind of feeling from Mu-ah, but the tree in front didn’t have that.

It was just a tree. A slightly large and beautiful tree.

Of course, there was an overwhelming presence emanating from its size.

It couldn’t possibly not have it, given how large it was.

Finally, I approached the one called the Divine Tree. Only then did I look around.

Where the light poured down, flowers were blooming. They were making the felt beauty even greater.

Taking all that in one by one, I tried to find what was important.

‘Where is it?’

According to Elder No, that Kkureung-i fellow was somewhere around here, but I couldn’t see anything like that.

There’s no way it could hide that size.

Where on earth could it be?

By now, it should be visible and then some, but no matter how much I looked, I couldn’t see it.

Even amidst this, Elder No continued to approach the Divine Tree.

Elder No, having approached, finally went to a gap in the base.

As I watched that, I was about to ask.

“Elder. Where on earth is that fellow…”

“Hey you. Are you alright?”

Elder No looked at the gap and asked a question.

“Hmm…?”

Seeing that, I frowned.

Due to the Divine Tree’s size, the gap was as large as a cave, but it wasn’t enormously huge.

But for him to speak towards that place, perhaps… .

[Grrr.]

“…!”

In response to Elder No’s words, a growl was heard from inside the gap. It was low and heavy.

As soon as I heard it, goosebumps rose on my arms.

It was just a growl, yet my body reacted the moment I heard it.

It automatically went into combat stance. My heart dropped with a thud, and my steps stopped, preventing me from moving forward.

It’s dangerous.

It feels much more dangerous than when I saw its massive form from afar last night.

Yes, this is it.

‘…The difference in level.’

Something I couldn’t even dare to look up at.

A being that makes me tense up just by feeling and seeing it, as if its very dimension is different.

Clutching my pounding heart, I caught my breath.

Just then.

“If you’re awake, hurry up and come out. It’s broad daylight, what are you doing sleeping like a log?”

Elder No spat out the words with a smirk. Then, dust fell from the gap with a ‘hududuk!’ sound.

Its presence hits me strongly! It’s felt throughout my body.

Something is coming out.

Something immense is walking out of the gap… .

[Kkeureureung.]

“…Huh?”

Looking at the thing that came out of the gap, I narrowed my eyes.

Compared to the gap it was in, something considerably smaller was walking out.

Compared to my expectations, it was… what should I say?

“It’s cute…?”

Its appearance was incredibly cute.

Very much so.

---

I sat down with Elder No beneath the Divine Tree.

Whether someone had made them or not, chairs and a table were placed below. Seeing Elder No sit down familiarly, it seemed they had been there for a long time.

Sitting there, I quietly stared at something.

[Grrr.]

“…”

[Grrrrreung.]

Every time I heard the growl, I couldn’t help but flinch.

The sensation I felt was still heavy and tingling, but… .

“Hey, stop barking already. How long are you going to keep growling?”

[Geureung.]

At Elder No’s words, the creature shrinks back dejectedly.

Seeing it like that gave me an indescribable feeling.

Unlike the massive being I saw just before, it felt completely alien.

I definitely felt an incomparable gap… .

‘What is this?’

Now, all I feel is confusion.

It couldn’t be helped.

[Geureung.]

The being I was looking at was quite small.

If I had to estimate its size, maybe about the same as a stray dog in the neighborhood?

Its appearance was the same.

It was just a dog.

It looked more like a wolf than a dog, though.

Since both are pretty much the same, I don’t think it matters much… .

Moreover, it doesn’t even feel like an adult dog, but rather like a puppy.

Cute. Its appearance naturally made me think that.

‘…So this cute fellow.’

[Kkeureung.]

‘Is the terrifying one I saw last night, right?’

Kkureung-i. He was the one they called that because he cried ‘kkeureung-kkeureung’ every day.

He was the one who made noise whenever he arbitrarily occupied my body along with Elder No and did whatever he pleased.

When he was a bit hungry, he’d whine and chatter for ages.

He was an endlessly bothersome fellow I wanted to get rid of.

And yet.

‘That kind of fellow was actually the one even Blood Demon feared.’

I recall Blood Demon calling him ‘Bottomless Pit’ and being wary of him.

Before falling here, the fight with Blood Demon was extremely one-sided.

Even though we were both Yong-eon, the level was different, and I was utterly powerless before him.

To the point of being protected by the Heavenly Demon, whom I should have killed.

It was humiliating.

I had surpassed my previous life’s realm and reached the upper ranks of the Ten Great Masters.

It’s a situation where I might even win if I fought against Sword Emperor, whom I expect to be the strongest.

And yet, even after coming this far, I’m powerless before Blood Demon?

It was a shocking event for me.

Just how much stronger do I need to become? How far do I need to reach?

A faint sense of despair was creeping in.

‘Kkureung-i, who was enough for Blood Demon to be wary of.’

[Kkureureung.]

“…”

He was wagging his tail in front of me, lying flat and rolling around.

He looks like a real puppy.

He didn’t look dangerous at all.

“This… this is really that guy?”

At my reaction, Elder No asked with a chuckle.

“Why. Is he too pathetic compared to your expectations?”

“Yes. Very pathetic.”

I answered without hesitation.

There was no need to beat around the bush.

He was genuinely excessively pathetic.

This is a puppy, what else… .

[Kkeureung.]

At my words, the creature glared at me as if displeased, but… .

Even that looked pathetic.

“…”

Is this truly that vast being?

Doubt naturally arose.

“Don’t be like that. That fellow didn’t want to end up like this either. In a way, it’s also your fault, kid.”

“Huh?”

My fault?

Besides, it’s not an intentional form?

As I focused on those words, Elder No added an explanation.

“He acted rather violently to draw attention, and seems to have used a bit too much power. That’s why he ended up like this.”

“Draw attention?”

“Yes, otherwise a big disaster would have happened. Be grateful.”

Draw attention.

Hearing that, I thought deeply.

If he drew attention, from whom did he draw it?

“…Perhaps.”

“That’s right.”

Elder No nodded.

“From your mother.”

“…”

What I had perhaps suspected was correct.

The situation back then was exactly like that.

‘Then, hiding me with a barrier too.’

And the reason I endured even while being beaten by Mother.

Was it all because of that?

If so.

“…Why?”

Why did that fellow go out of his way to draw attention from Mother?

“Didn’t I tell you? Meeting your mother is dangerous. If this fellow hadn’t drawn her attention then, you might have been dealt with right there.”

“I cannot understand. Why would Mother attack me?”

“Well…”

Elder No said, looking at me with a calm gaze.

“Because you are a Dragon.”

“…What’s that?”

“I explained earlier why this place is called Man-gye. Do you remember?”

“…Yes.”

A world where the master disappeared.

He said it was a place where some of the beings who would perish because of that came, without becoming monsters.

“Man-gye is a space that mercifully accepts any being without discrimination. That is the meaning and purpose of Man-gye’s existence.”

“However, there is a race that Man-gye does not accept and has banished.”

“…”

Hearing that, my eyes narrowed.

It was because I could roughly guess what would come next.

“That is the Dragon.”

As expected.

Hearing that, I thought it was likely, and the answer came out as expected.

The problem is.

“I don’t understand.”

Questions inevitably arose from that answer.

Dragons were banished? If that’s true, putting aside the immediate… .

“Didn’t you say Man-gye is a place only for those whose masters have disappeared?”

Those who lost their way because the world’s master disappeared.

If Man-gye is the place that brings them by showing mercy.

“Is there any reason for beings called Dragons to come here?”

I don’t even know how many Dragons there are in the first place, but if there was a world where they gathered… .

I thought their world should still exist.

That’s understandable.

‘Because the master must be alive.’

He must have been the one called Dragon Emperor, so how could he be banished from Man-gye?

Elder No seemed to understand my doubts and said, narrowing his eyes slightly.

“Kid. I understand your doubts, but I don’t know the details of this part either.”

“…Yes?”

“There weren’t enough ways to know… And besides, doesn’t it seem strange if you think about it that way?”

Kkirik.

Elder No leaned his body deep into the chair.

“Why would Blood Demon… If that fellow had a world of his own, there would have been no reason for him to appear to claim the master’s seat in the Central Plains.”

“…!”

Hearing that, my eyes widened.

…Indeed.

‘…Right?’

If Blood Demon had his own world, there’s no reason for him to come to become the master of the Central Plains.

Then, for what reason did that guy appear, causing the Blood Calamity?

And why does he still remain in the Central Plains, dreaming of paradise?

Something was strange all over.

‘Besides. Why express hostility here, calling me a Dragon?’

It seems Blood Demon did something to cause that.

If there were other Dragons besides me who were banished, where did they go?

In addition to that.

“…Elder.”

“Yes.”

“In the first place… If Man-gye rejects Dragons, what’s the reason that fellow saved me?”

If Man-gye truly rejects me, or rather Dragons, and furthermore tries to eliminate us.

What could have been Kkureung-i’s intention in trying to protect me?

“You definitely said it was related to Mother.”

“I also cannot understand why Mother attacked that fellow.”

“The fact that you said I shouldn’t meet Mother. Mother’s reaction too. What on earth happened?”

Hearing my questions, Elder No calmly looked at me.

Within his still calm gaze, I felt something subtle.

It was clearly pity.

Why is he looking at me with those eyes?

Just as I was looking at it questioningly.

“The reason this fellow became like this while saving you is also because of your mother’s request.”

“Huh?”

“The fact that this fellow’s spirit resided in your body was also for the same reason.”

“That…?”

Because of Mother’s request? I frowned.

The words didn’t add up.

“Then even more so…”

This situation shouldn’t have happened, right?

I tried to say that, but… .

“In such a situation, how could your mother attack this fellow and you?”

Elder No’s words were faster.

“…Yes.”

If he was the one protecting me by Mother’s request, there’s no reason for Mother to attack Kkureung-i.

Furthermore, I couldn’t understand why she tried to kill me for being a Dragon.

However.

“It’s an obvious reason.”

At Elder No’s continuing words, I finally had to shut my mouth.

“The her of now is not the mother you knew.”

Hearing that, my eyes widened.

“You say she isn’t?”

How could she not be?

I could understand everything else in the world, but not this.

She was clearly my mother.

This was close to a certainty.

“Didn’t I tell you? If you expect even a shred of maternal love from her, give up that expectation.”

Elder No’s voice, speaking to me like that, clearly contained a sigh.

“The her of now holds no mercy or affection for you.”

The more I heard, the more my gaze wavered.

My heart seemed to shake along with my wavering gaze.

Kkiik.

Elder No stood up from the chair he was sitting on.

“If you fail to fulfill your karma, you receive punishment. That is the rule the world has set. This was no different even for your mother.”

“…Punishment…?”

“This fellow said so.”

Elder No stroked Kkureung-i’s head.

There was a somewhat strong force in the stroking hand.

“Your mother, who did not perform her destined karma, received punishment… . And that punishment…”

Plum blossom petals continue to fall to the ground from the sky.

“…Is oblivion (忘卻), where one remembers nothing.”

The fallen petals were like my heart.