Chapter 518 - Let Me Hold It Just Once.
When I was slightly surprised at the words I had unwittingly blurted out.
"What the...?"
Upon hearing those words, Dang Soyeol started to collapse, so I quickly supported her.
Why is she suddenly fainting?
I lifted Dang Soyeol's unbelievably light body into my arms. If I'd left her as she was, she would have fallen to the floor.
Dang Soyeol had lost consciousness with a bright red face.
Up to here, it was fine.
No, since a person had fainted, it absolutely wasn't fine... but there was a bigger problem than that.
'...What do I do?'
The moment I supported her, gazes stuck into me from all directions.
The dozens of martial artists positioned around Dang Soyeol's quarters at the time the incident erupted.
Between them, Dang Soyeol, who had lost consciousness, and me.
"..."
It was the perfect moment to be misunderstood.
Their presence became sharp. Cold sweat trickled slightly.
Srring.
The sound of a sword being drawn came from somewhere.
"Hmm."
Hearing the sound, I nodded.
It seemed things were too far gone to clear up the misunderstanding peacefully.
Immediately after Dang Soyeol fainted.
Since dozens of martial artists were all radiating killing intent, I first carefully set down Dang Soyeol, whom I'd been holding.
After setting her down, I called over a servant woman who had been watching this place worriedly and told her to take care of Dang Soyeol. The woman hesitated before tending to her.
From then on, I had to confront the martial artists who seemed ready to rush at me while contemplating what to do.
I had two choices right now.
Either get caught quietly and explain the situation.
Or subdue them all and leave.
The former was ideal, but it was a waste of time.
Then should I go with the second?
'That's a bit annoying too.'
It was troubling.
Killing them all would be easy.
Subduing them all was a rather annoying method.
I'd have to adjust my attacks so that not a single one got injured.
'...Fifteen first-rate, four at peak. Plus one perfected peak.'
As expected of a prestigious clan, the martial artists' level was quite high.
It seemed they had brought an entire sword squad belonging to the Dang Clan as guards.
If they rushed me in a combined assault, it would be a troublesome level.
What should I really do?
As I lightly clenched and unclenched my fist, surveying their movements,
I saw someone cautiously approaching.
By my senses, it was the man with the highest realm among the deployed martial artists.
As I watched him quietly, the man came close and abruptly cupped his fists toward me.
"...I am Seong Uihyeok, commander of the bodyguard unit belonging to the Dang Clan. I greet the bloodline descendant of the Gu Clan."
So he was indeed the commander.
His level was higher than expected, so I had figured he must be a figure who held a position.
As expected, it seemed he was the commander of the sword squad.
"I am Gu Yangcheon."
While I was introducing myself,
the man was clearly extremely tense.
"...Might I hear an explanation of the situation?"
Hearing his words, I nodded internally.
Fortunately, it seemed he wasn't about to start swinging his sword outright.
"...We were talking, and suddenly Lady Dang fainted."
"The young lady suddenly...?"
"Yes."
Even though I explained it as it was, his eyes couldn't believe it.
Of course. I wouldn't have believed it either.
If it were me, I might have started by breaking the opponent's arms and legs.
Rather, the fact that this man named Seong Uihyeok was talking rationally was the unusual state.
"It's a story you might find hard to believe, but it's really true."
I spoke with an awkward expression.
"No. I believe you."
Seong Uihyeok gave an unexpected answer.
He believes me? I was rather bewildered by those words.
"...Pardon?"
"The young lady spoke of the young hero very often."
Seong Uihyeok quietly added under his breath, 'So much that I grew tired of it,' but I pretended not to hear that.
Talk, huh....
"There weren't any... bad stories, were there?"
"There were, on occasion."
"..."
I had expected him to add something like 'I jest' afterward. But it didn't come out, damn it.
I slightly furrowed my brow and looked at Seong Uihyeok, and he smiled helplessly as he spoke.
"There were far more good words."
"...I see."
I was already slightly hurt at this point.
It felt a bit too late to fix it.
As I pouted my lips slightly, Seong Uihyeok spoke.
"...At the very least, based on what I heard from the young lady, I have judged that the young hero is not someone who would harm her."
Perhaps because that talk grated on me, I fired back slightly.
"Is it alright to judge based on just that? For someone called a bodyguard."
If you're a bodyguard who protects your master, you shouldn't judge based on just this.
Leaving aside that the situation was resolving well, if this man who was Dang Soyeol's guard had that kind of feeling, I really didn't like it.
Upon hearing my words, Seong Uihyeok instead laughed.
This bastard, laughing...?
"I didn't say that so you could laugh."
"Yes, thank you for your concern. However, hearing those words makes me think my judgment was correct instead."
"What are you saying...?"
"One can tell by looking at the young hero's gaze when you look at the young lady."
"..."
"I believe the young hero cherishes her no less than we do."
At Seong Uihyeok's words, I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Damn it, they all say they can tell by looking at my eyes. Do they think they're using mind-reading techniques?
Even so, I averted my gaze slightly.
Because though I hated to admit it, I couldn't deny it either.
That childish behavior was laughable, but this time Seong Uihyeok turned his face expressionless and cupped his fists toward me once more.
"I ask you to take good care of our young lady in the future as well."
"...Yes."
As I answered, something fuzzy rose in my heart.
How should I put it.
It was an emotion difficult to describe.
******************
After spending roughly a few minutes,
I left Dang Soyeol's quarters and moved my steps.
"...Whew."
As I walked, I lightly wiped away cold sweat.
Fortunately, it seemed the matter had passed over well.
Though I was worried about Dang Soyeol's sudden fainting, when I checked with my internal energy while briefly holding her, there didn't seem to be a big problem.
If need be, I should ask the Divine Physician for a diagnosis.
After all, it was strange for her to suddenly faint.
[...No matter how I look at it, is it not your fault?]
"What did I do...?"
[Forget it. You are originally like that.]
Why is this old man picking a fight with me again all of a sudden?
I tried to say something back but held back.
Because now was not the time to bandy words with Old Man Sin.
Not to mention the Dang Clan was still in an uproar.
I looked at the jewel in my hand and thought.
'If Dang Soyeol says she won't accept this....'
What should I do? I had snatched it from the First Elder.
I had to think about where to use it.
'Should I eat it?'
Should I just eat it? If I wanted to use it most effectively, this was the right choice.
I felt like it would be better to just eat it.
If I had to pick a problem,
'it would be that the conditions don't match.'
They say there is a risk of the energy exploding because I'm not a woman.
But I knew. I knew that eating this wouldn't cause any problems for me.
[You are certain.]
"Yes."
I could tell by feeling the energy.
If I ate this, I could absorb it completely.
Whether this was due to the influence of the Mado Cheonheupgong, or a transformation arising from the shedding, I didn't know.
I could naturally tell.
That I could eat this.
The amount of internal energy contained in the jewel was roughly one baekma stone.
It was an enormous amount for something artificially refined.
Moreover, if I considered the benefits, there was the point that my toxic qi would be strengthened.
However.
'If we're talking about toxic qi....'
Since becoming invulnerable to all poisons, toxic qi faintly permeated one corner of my body.
I could use it if I wanted, but since I had demonic energy, it wasn't exactly a necessary energy.
It was difficult to mix into the martial art I was currently using.
It was incompatible with fire.
In other words, for me, eating this jewel would only increase my internal energy; aside from that, it was meaningless.
'The problem is that now is not the time to be increasing my energy.'
There was no need to consume an elixir right now.
I still had to manage energy I hadn't yet settled,
and I needed to devote effort to assimilating my body and energy.
In that sense, too much energy was overexertion.
'So giving it to Dang Soyeol would have been best.'
If someone filled with a chivalrous spirit received this, they might have destroyed it for the sake of the sacrificed.
I was not.
How much sacrifice had gone into this, what it had been made for.
Even knowing that, it wasn't important to me.
'So what.'
What did I care about that?
I didn't need to feel guilty for other people's shit.
[...You're fucked. To think this guy is my successor.]
'Aren't you very satisfied?'
[This life is ruined....]
What is a dead geezer doing talking about finding life.
I could understand why Old Man Sin didn't like it,
but this was my way.
I turned the jewel over in my hand, examining it while troubled.
Dang Soyeol had said she wouldn't eat it. If I shouldn't eat it either....
"Hmm."
I turned my head and asked.
"Then will you eat it?"
She flinched.
When I turned and asked, someone trembled.
It was Nahi. It wasn't strange. I had told her to come.
The moment our eyes met, Nahi knelt down rigidly.
Her expression looked somewhat different from usual.
"You don't want to?"
"...What do you mean?"
"This is something the First Elder made. By the feel of it, it seems connected to you."
"...!"
At my words, Nahi raised her head sharply and stared at the jewel.
At the same time, she clenched her fist tightly.
Seeing that, I realized. It seemed Nahi immediately understood what this was.
Her expression crumpled in an instant.
I didn't know the details of how she had been captured and made to work for the First Elder.
What I knew was, at most, that she was one of those used for this experiment,
and that despite her young-looking appearance, she was fairly old.
Additionally, that she had been under a restriction by the First Elder.
I wasn't very curious about the rest, so I hadn't asked.
'I already released the restriction.'
Since I had covered the restriction with demonic energy and filled it with a binding oath, she would now be free from the First Elder's restriction.
"Do you need it?"
"..."
Nahi's eyes turned red as she looked at me.
Her expression was filled with resentment.
This is absurd.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Why are her eyes so wide?
When I asked with a furrowed brow, Nahi spoke to me in a hoarse voice.
"...How... how could I eat that...."
"Why can't you?"
"I remember those who died for that. And yet.... you tell me to eat something made of their blood and flesh...!"
Nahi shouted.
From her perspective, it might be a terrible thing.
Whether it was Dang Deok or Nahi, I knew both harbored great vengeance toward the Dang Clan, and furthermore those who had planned this matter.
Vengeance for those who had died? Something like that?
I understand.
I understand how it feels, but.
"So. What's the reason you can't eat it?"
"...You...!"
Crackle-!
"Urggh...!"
As Nahi tried to rebel against my words, the restriction activated and gripped her heart.
The restriction blocked her attempt to defy me.
Seeing that, I approached her slightly.
As she wished, the First Elder was dead.
The ones called the Third Elder and Fourth Elder would likely meet similar ends.
'Though it wasn't me who did it.'
I had laid out all the plans to do it, but Father appeared and took care of it.
In the end, everything worked out well, so that was that.
The Dang Clan had been shaken,
and if this became known to the Central Plains, a scandal might erupt and the Four Great Clans might be forced from their positions.
It was that significant an incident.
"Huff... huff...."
Nahi coughed roughly.
I lifted her chin with my hand and spoke.
"Honestly, I thought about just eating it. But doing so would be a bit of a waste, and there's something I want to check."
If not Dang Soyeol, Nahi was the only one around I could test this on.
I looked at the trembling Nahi and thought.
'Perhaps this was the reason the First Elder left Nahi alone despite knowing of her existence.'
It was likely he had left her to use as a test subject later.
If there was one thing that bothered me,
'it was that she might be over the age of thirty.'
Thinking of her relationship with Dang Deok, that might be the case.
Even if she had passed it,
'it doesn't matter.'
Even if a problem occurred, it didn't matter much.
If a problem did occur, there were things I wanted to try accordingly. And even if it didn't work and she really died,
'that doesn't matter either.'
Unlike when I looked at Dang Soyeol, I gazed at Nahi with dry, parched eyes.
Did she sense something in my eyes?
Nahi bit her lip.
"...Do you truly intend to make me eat that?"
"You don't want to? If you eat this, you can become incredibly strong."
"Nonsense! If I were to eat that, I would rather...! I will die right now!"
Nahi was serious.
Although it wasn't the revenge she desired, those she had wanted to kill were dead in the end.
The restriction that would make her heart burst and kill her?
Now she didn't care when she died.
Sensing that mindset, I smiled and spoke.
"Why? Because your revenge is all done? You think it's fine to die now?"
"If you know... then right now...!"
"Who said that? That your revenge is over?"
She froze.
At my words, Nahi's expression stiffened.
"What... what do you mean?"
"The First Elder is dead, and some nameless old men might die too. So you think your revenge is over?"
"What are you trying to torment me with now...."
Nahi's eyes trembled.
Though she had spoken as if she would die at any moment, she was quickly shaken by my words.
That felt funny.
"Don't get the wrong idea. Those old men were nothing from the start."
"Ridiculous...! I saw it with my own eyes...!"
"Yes, you saw it. But that's all you saw, so what do you know?"
It was a plan carried out without even the Patriarch's knowledge.
No matter how great the standing of the First Elder or the other elders was within the family.
Could they truly have advanced this plan with their own power?
These were things carried out over several decades.
From the time of the one called the Poison Lord until now, continuously.
You can tell just by that.
'You think they could secretly bring all those test subjects using only the Dang Clan's power? Bullshit.'
That is truly absurd.
When you think of that, you can now connect the dots.
Something more had been added to the reason Dang Deok fell into becoming a demonic human.
"No matter how large the Dang Clan is. They can't handle such matters secretly."
"...That...!"
"This means it's impossible unless someone turns a blind eye."
"..."
Nahi bit her lip.
I looked at her and laughed hollowly inwardly as I spoke.
"You already knew, didn't you?"
"...!"
At my firmly spoken words, Nahi flinched.
Yes, Nahi must have known too.
Even a dullard like me could guess it from a few fragments.
Unless she was an idiot, there was no way she wouldn't know.
To say her revenge was over despite knowing that meant
"You simply gave up because going further was impossible."
"...Such...!"
Nahi tried to flare up as if to protest, but my words came first.
"Revenge? What do you think you're ending on your own? If you just get rid of the ones in front of you, is that revenge? A heart worthlessly trivial. If you're going to be like that, just die. I don't need you."
If she wasn't going to do it, she wasn't needed.
Nahi had been a piece to use for a moment and discard anyway; discarding her now was no problem.
As I said that and tried to get up,
"Then, what... what must I do...!"
Nahi shouted explosively.
The restriction didn't burst.
Thanks to me deliberately adjusting it so the restriction wouldn't activate.
"Young master... do you know who the opponent is...! That place is not something one can recklessly touch...!"
"It's the Murim Alliance."
"...!!"
At the words I spat out nonchalantly, Nahi's eyes grew wide.
I looked at her and smirked.
"What are you surprised about? It's obvious."
Yes, it was obvious.
That the Dang Clan could handle affairs so secretly. That they could conduct such experiments for so long.
In the end, it was impossible unless the Murim Alliance turned a blind eye.
Isn't it obvious?
'All those test subjects disappeared, and they didn't investigate the missing persons cases?'
No matter how much money the Dang Clan had, there were limits to its influence.
As long as they belonged to the orthodox faction, they were inevitably in the embrace of the Murim Alliance.
If they had prepared such a massive experiment, the Murim Alliance would have caught a clue somehow.
Yet, the experiment proceeded without a hitch until now?
Then it was obvious.
'The Murim Alliance is involved in this matter as well.'
It was nothing very surprising.
I already knew their insides were rotten too.
However, at my words, Nahi wore a greatly shocked expression.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"...How... can you assert that so confidently?"
Was it so amazing that I had declared it was the Murim Alliance?
'Well.'
I could understand why.
The Murim Alliance was the orthodox faction itself. At least on the surface.
In such a situation, for me, who belonged to the orthodox faction, to assert that the Murim Alliance was deeply involved in this filthy incident, Nahi couldn't help but be surprised.
'To me, it's not that strange though.'
I knew all too well how politically narrow-minded and selfish those people were.
I just didn't think they'd be doing such shitty things too.
'So is that why Dang Deok joined the Demonic Cult?'
The Heavenly Demon's goal was said to be to push out the Murim Alliance and rule the world.
Dang Deok saw here that if he went to the Demonic Cult, he could annihilate the Dang Clan.
I suspected he had joined after seeing the Heavenly Demon's will to overthrow the Murim Alliance.
It was purely speculation, but.
'That's not bad.'
It wasn't bad.
Afterward, I spoke to Nahi again.
"Given the situation. Do you still think your revenge is over?"
As I spoke with a chuckle, the sound of Nahi grinding her teeth was heard.
"...The opponent is the Murim Alliance. It is not something the young master should help me with, is it?"
"The word 'help' is a bit strange."
"Then... I am merely...."
"It's something I have to do anyway, so I'm telling you to join."
"...Yes?"
At the words I spat out, Nahi, who had been growling until just now, put on a blank expression for a moment.
It was an expression of having misheard something.
Should I say it again?
Then I should say it again.
"I'm thinking of destroying the Murim Alliance."
"...!"
"So if you're going to get revenge, do it properly."
Destroy the Murim Alliance.
When I heard that the Dang Clan was rotten, and when I heard that the Murim Alliance was involved in this affair, I made up my mind to do so.
Since the Blood Demon was connected to the Murim Alliance, leaving it alone would be strange.
Therefore.
"Don't put on some petty pride. Eat what you're given and help out. Don't be annoying."
I had no intention of sharing any more useless emotional talk with Nahi.
It had always been that way, but I had never given Nahi another choice.
She just does what I tell her to.
That was the only remaining choice for Nahi, who had become a demonic human.