The First Sin. (2)
The heat swirling around the room was intense enough that even I, who had reached the fifth star of the Nine Flames Wheel Art, felt the heat.
The Hwagyeong martial artist collapsed on the floor....
So his name was....
'What was it? I didn't hear it.'
It seemed like he tried to introduce himself.
But I didn't hear it properly.
Leaving behind the man who met his end by my father's single strike.
I immediately observed my father's state.
His daoist robe was fluttering due to his internal energy.
The red daoist robe fluttered along with it.
The profound internal energy was so heavy that just his walking made it hard to breathe.
The important thing amidst all this was.
'That he doesn't have a single injury.'
My father's condition was entirely unscathed.
The fact that his hand was torn and bleeding.
Was probably just a scrape from forcefully tearing through the formation.
Other than that, he was perfectly clean.
"...Patriarch."
Gu Huibi looked at my father with quite surprised eyes, as if his appearance was that unexpected.
Well.
It was indeed a miraculous thing that such a blunt and cold-hearted person would leave the family to come save her.
'If you know nothing, you'd think so.'
When I became a Demonic Human in my past life.
Or when Gu Yeon-seo suffered a tragedy due to the First Elder's scheme.
Recalling what kind of situation my father created and in what manner.
I could tell he wasn't someone who completely disregarded his children.
'Though others wouldn't know that.'
My father, who was quietly observing Gu Huibi.
Shifted his gaze from me to Namgung Bi-ah, and then back to me again.
Facing that fierce gaze, my father's mouth opened.
"Third."
A tone that felt somewhat cold.
"...Yes."
"Why are you here?"
That's what I'm saying.
Why am I here.
Unable to answer, I subtly averted my gaze.
Seeing that, my father looked at Namgung Bi-ah once more, then added in a low voice.
"I will hear about the situation after we return."
It seemed he intended to pass over it for now.
Certainly, the current situation wasn't relaxed enough to hear the whole story from beginning to end.
Seeing my father turning his back, perhaps having finished speaking, this time I asked.
"Patriarch."
At my call, my father slightly turned his head and looked at me.
I almost flinched at my father's murderous glare.
But I had to ask what I needed to ask.
"...What happened to the Lord of the Black Night Palace?"
"Lord of the Black Night Palace?"
"Clearly, the Palace Lord was heading towards your direction, Patriarch."
The location the black mist headed towards was the center of Cheokcheon.
It should have been where my father was.
"Palace Lord, you say..."
My father fell silent for a moment, as if lost in thought at my words, then.
"Yes, I saw him."
He continued as if he had just recalled it.
"Our eyes met from afar. And then he disappeared."
Disappeared?
I thought they would at least confront each other.
If I went by my father's words, it seemed as if the Lord of the Black Night Palace had fled.
"Did you not capture him?"
At my question, my father shifted his gaze from me, looked straight ahead, and spoke.
"I merely prioritized the order."
My father's words meant that finding Gu Huibi was a higher priority than the Lord of the Black Night Palace right now.
As soon as he confirmed Gu Huibi's safety, my father walked away without any lingering attachments.
"You cold-hearted things!"
Then, the silent Muk old man yelled as if he couldn't hold back any longer.
"Hey! This old man is lying here like this! Don't you feel pity?!"
Perhaps because he heard the old man's voice.
My father briefly shifted his gaze towards the Muk old man.
"Even if the kids are like that, you shouldn't be like this!"
The Muk old man, meeting his gaze, shouted at my father.
Hearing that, my father looked at the Muk old man and spoke.
"It's been a long time."
At that greeting, my eyes widened slightly.
Was my father acquainted with the Hao Sect Lord...?
At the blunt words, the Muk old man snorted.
"Your greeting is quite fast. You should have noticed a long time ago."
"I heard you were dead, but you're alive."
"My lifeline is a bit longer than I look. You know that too, don't you?"
The sight of him laughing hollowly, as if desperately seeking a connection, was somewhat obnoxious.
Seeing that, perhaps knowing the old man's intention, my father looked at me and gave an order.
"Third."
"...Yes."
"Bring the old man."
With those final words, my father moved his steps.
At the same time, Gu Huibi's body floated up and flew towards my father.
Seeing that, I let out a deep sigh.
'In the end, it means I have to bring him.'
With my father's order given, there was nothing I could do.
I immediately grabbed the old man's shackles and released them.
Breaking them was no different from what I did for Gu Huibi, so it wasn't very difficult.
"Fortunately, it seems your father can be reasoned with."
The Muk old man said something, but I ignored him and roughly carried him on my back.
"Ugh! Be a bit gentler!"
"Please just stay quiet before I drop you."
"...The way you talk is exactly like your father when he was young."
That somehow sounds like an insult.
'How on earth does the Hao Sect Lord know my father?'
It was an unknown matter.
To think that the Hao Sect Lord, unknown to the Central Plains, was acquainted with my father.
'...Well, I don't even know what my father did when he was young.'
I just vaguely thought he didn't seem to have lived an ordinary youth.
This could be fully understood just by looking at the Hwagyeong martial artist lying on the floor, having met his end.
'A Hwagyeong martial artist in one strike...'
Even if it was a surprise attack, it was absolutely not an easy feat.
Let alone the fact that he didn't even spark the flames of Hwagong.
It meant he hadn't revealed even a fraction of his full power.
'Has Father reached the extreme realm?'
The extreme realm of the Nine Flames Wheel Art is a realm even I couldn't reach in my past life.
Perhaps, I thought, my father now might have reached that place.
That makes sense.
Excluding Wi Seol-ah.
The one who left a wound on the Heavenly Demon that even the Three Venerables couldn't do anything about.
Was my father alone.
Coming out of the prison and outside, the martial artists of the Black Night Palace were already subdued.
The Ilgeom Squad, the Patriarch's direct unit, was welcoming us.
As my father walked out, the captain of the Ilgeom Squad, who was waiting in front, approached.
"Subjugation is complete. A few have fled, but there is no need to worry about them escaping."
'It's already over?'
At the captain's words, I had to frown.
How much time has passed for them to have subdued the main palace of the Black Night Palace?
Even my father seemed to feel something was off, wearing a deeply troubled expression.
'...The number of personnel isn't small.'
Although it certainly wasn't a small number.
It was too low-level to be called the number one faction of the Demonic Path.
The man called the Vice Palace Lord had reached Hwagyeong, so he was a sufficient fighting force.
'Even so, it's too lacking.'
I could tell that excluding him, it was only a negligible fighting force.
...This was almost like.
'They were preparing to flee from the start.'
No matter how I looked at it, that was the case.
The reason the fighting force seemed small.
The reason the guard was secretly lax.
'Did they intend to throw it away from the beginning?'
As of now, if that wasn't the case, no other reason came to mind.
So I had to think of it.
'Why on earth?'
If so, the Lord of the Black Night Palace must have a reason to abandon the main palace.
'...Like that flower, what is the Black Night Palace trying to do?'
The flower obtained from the Hwasan Sect was definitely the work of the Black Night Palace.
Seeing that, was there really only one flower?
'If there are more, what could they be making them for?'
I don't know much about the Black Night Palace.
Not only is there little information recorded in the world.
But with things happening in succession, there wasn't enough time to properly gather information.
It wasn't just this; I also needed to find out the reason why Gu Huibi was kidnapped right away.
'Can I find out?'
It's unknown whether they left any information behind.
And, right now, Gu Huibi's stability came first.
I thought as I examined Gu Huibi's body.
'I can purify the demonic energy, but...'
Purifying that demonic energy currently blocking her from using her internal energy is the top priority.
However, as she endured for days with a weakened body.
Resting and recovering her body came first.
And if possible, I had to secretly extract the demonic energy before arriving at the family estate.
It would be much more convenient to do it before the Divine Doctor or my father noticed.
"I need to find the missing Palace Lord, too..."
No matter how strong the Palace Lord was as a martial artist, and even if my father came to the prison to find Gu Huibi first.
Disappearing this quickly was incomprehensible.
Let alone.
'If so, why did he bother to go see my father?'
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My father definitely said he saw the Palace Lord.
It seems it's true that he went to see him even for a moment.
While I was organizing my thoughts, Gu Huibi, who was resting while receiving light treatment.
Was explaining what happened at the Black Night Palace to my father and the Ilgeom Squad.
Her encounter with the Palace Lord.
Entering an unknown room.
Meeting a child.
Listening up to that point only gave me more questions.
'A child?'
A child.
Gu Huibi was saying, out of nowhere, that there was a child in the Black Night Palace.
The child, who was said to have a strange atmosphere.
Had a withered body, perhaps from not eating properly.
And poor language skills, perhaps from not receiving proper education.
Up to this point, I might have just accepted it as there being 'something' going on.
'Someone's pulling strings behind the scenes.'
Just to that extent. I might have thought just that.
However.
The words that followed were the problem.
"...What?"
"What's wrong, little sibling?"
"What did you just say?"
I grabbed Gu Huibi's arm and asked.
At this, Namgung Bi-ah approached as if to stop me, but this wasn't the time to mind that.
"...Who did you say the child resembled?"
This was something I shouldn't have heard.
Right after hearing the words from Gu Huibi.
Boom!
I ran, overturning the space that had been tidied up.
Even though I shouldn't recklessly use my internal energy because I hadn't fully recovered yet.
As if I couldn't afford to care about such things.
I drew up energy, ignoring the pain.
'Damn it...'
[Kid, calm down...!]
No-ya panicked at the surging energy and tried to calm me down.
But I couldn't.
'Damn it, what the hell is going on?'
The characteristic Gu Huibi mentioned was something I could have just brushed off.
Even if the Black Night Palace was plotting something.
That wasn't the important thing right now.
The most important goal was ultimately the rescue of Gu Huibi.
Finding the Palace Lord afterwards.
Suppressing or killing the Palace Lord alongside that was not my domain right now.
It would be good if I could, but it meant I shouldn't forget my place and act rashly.
However.
The problem hidden within wasn't something to be easily passed over.
'So it wasn't related to the Demonic Cult.'
Regarding why the martial artists of the Black Night Palace could use demonic energy.
The clouded picture felt a little clearer.
'The Black Night Palace was the root from the beginning?'
It was too foul to be usable.
I had only looked for what kind of connection there was.
I was too indifferent, thinking it naturally wasn't the case.
'I wish it was just my misconception.'
I hoped my current assumption was a misconception.
As always, bad premonitions were never wrong.
Kuwung!
I pushed through as if breaking the walls, descending underground little by little.
Even deeper than the prison where Gu Huibi was.
"Ah...! First Young Master?"
As I went down, I encountered sword squad members who had set up a formation.
That this many people were gathered meant.
That there was a place they could no longer enter.
Sure enough.
Far in the distance, at the very end, the vice-captain of the Ilgeom Squad was inspecting a giant door.
It was identical to the door Gu Huibi had described.
"...First Young Master?"
As I approached, catching my breath, the vice-captain looked at me with a puzzled expression.
It was an expression that said, 'Why on earth is he here?'
I ignored it and asked the vice-captain.
"...Can you not open the door?"
"Ah, it seems there is some kind of formation set up, so I was inspecting it."
Perhaps he thought it was a formation because the door wouldn't open.
I looked at the giant door in front of me and swallowed a gasp.
'A formation? That's not it.'
I could tell as soon as I saw it.
Because it was a familiar door.
Especially the purple gemstone embedded in the door.
I reached out my hand to it without hesitation.
"First Young Master...! It's dangerous to touch it carelessly...!"
The vice-captain tried to stop me at my sudden action.
Kuwung!
He stepped back in surprise, seeing the door react to my energy.
Truly, couldn't they feel it?
The vicious energy felt from beyond this door.
I was feeling it all too clearly.
It was an all-too-familiar sensation, enough to reach my soul past my heart.
Kuwung... Kuwung!
I forcefully pushed open the door that moved as if resonating with the demonic energy.
As the door opened, the sword squad members tried to enter the room.
...!
They flinched and stopped moving, startled by the energy coming from inside the room.
It was a natural reaction for a martial artist with internal energy.
It was instinctively fearing or rejecting the demonic energy.
Leaving them behind, I stepped into the room.
Inside the door, the room was too dark to see.
Hwarreureuk.
I immediately ignited flames to light up the room.
"...This."
The illuminated room was much wider than expected.
The floor was filled with dried flower petals.
Burn marks of unknown purpose were clear.
Judging by the traces, it looked like books had been burned.
Following the abundant traces, I moved my gaze towards the wall.
...Uh.
There was someone.
"...Interesting."
Surprisingly, one was the Lord of the Black Night Palace who had disappeared.
The other was an old man covered in age spots.
It was also a face I knew.
'Taejeol-gwi...'
The old man in charge of the Demonic Cult's intelligence.
For some reason, his face looked older than in my past life, but the old man was definitely Taejeol-gwi.
Behind them, the air distorted and a gate to the Demonic Realm was open.
It was a door emitting purple light, one of the four colors representing the gates of the Demonic Realm.
A gate to the Demonic Realm open deep underground, not outside.
It was an absurd situation, but.
I wasn't surprised.
This was surely one of 'that guy's' abilities.
"How were you able to open that door?"
The Palace Lord looked at me as if it was amazing.
But my gaze wasn't directed at the Palace Lord.
I was staring piercingly at the child in his arms.
A body so emaciated that the bones were visible.
Disheveled, drooping black hair.
And the vivid purple eyes visible in between.
Even seeing just this, I could clearly tell.
As if to confirm the kill, there was clear evidence on the child's face.
"Ha, fuck..."
The face of the child in the Palace Lord's arms, tilting his head as he looked at me.
Was unmistakably, chillingly identical to Wi Seol-ah's.