The first emotion I felt upon hearing Pilduma's words was disappointment.
‘What?’
I had wondered if he was going to do something grand.
And this is it?
‘The resurrection of a hundred-grade demon?’
It was unexpected.
And in a rather bad direction, at that.
No, under normal circumstances, it might have surprised me, but….
‘Right now, it’s not much of anything.’
Perhaps because I had already seen all sorts of things at this point, it felt like I had heard something tremendous, yet it didn’t resonate much.
‘It’s an incredible story, sure.’
It wasn’t anything else—a demon was sealed beneath the land of Henan, and Pilduma was trying to resurrect it.
Just hearing it made it sound like an immense situation.
‘This is fucking crazy.’
They’re hiding everywhere. If this is how it is, why not say they’re sealed evenly by region?
My head began to ache.
‘If his words are true.’
Why is it buried in the ground? How did he know of it? And how does he plan to resurrect and use it?
All of that had to be left as questions.
No, even if not for that.
‘I have to remind myself that this never happened in my previous life.’
To begin with, the very figure called Pilduma was a survivor of the Jegal Clan.
That they were preparing something in Henan around this time was also unexpected.
‘In my previous life, Pilduma was merely one of the martial artists of the Demonic Path.’
A reclusive eccentric gradually making a name for himself.
An old man who demonstrated his might by killing two Great Lords of the Alliance the moment he appeared.
He later entered under the command of the Heavenly Demon and came to rule the Cheonra Heukmangdae, but.
‘Looking at it now, it’s strange.’
I hadn’t even known that he harbored dreams of vengeance against the Martial Alliance and the revival of the Jegal Clan in Henan from the start.
Even if he had, it was an unknown fact, which meant.
‘It means he failed.’
It was proof that Pilduma had failed to accomplish his will.
‘Then, is what that old man is trying to do now also doomed to fail in the end?’
I don’t know.
There had been so many things that happened differently from my previous life so far, and what Pilduma was currently trying to do might itself have occurred because I had stirred things up.
There was simply no way to be certain of anything.
‘This isn’t easy.’
The handling of matters seemed to have gone well, but what he was trying to do was somewhat vague.
I had thought perhaps he possessed some foreign power like sorcery or whatnot, and planned to use that to carry out his work.
‘To think he planned to use a demon.’
Of course, if it was true, being nothing less than a hundred-grade demon, it would cause immense ripples.
‘They probably haven’t heard the news from the Northern Sea side yet.’
The fact that the Northern Sea was currently at war and that the Palace Lord, their greatest combat force, was in a weakened state was classified.
The moment this news spread, who knew how the Alliance side would react.
Therefore, word of a hundred-grade demon appearing in the Northern Sea wouldn’t have reached them either.
‘The Central Plains are already in an uproar over the crimson demons.’
Three years had passed since the outbreak of the Crimson Demon Realm Gate, which hadn’t appeared for hundreds of years.
The peace that had been falling apart because of it was barely being patched up by the Alliance, to the point where they were pretending to be ‘outwardly’ fine.
But if a hundred-grade demon appeared here on top of that?
It would obviously become a complete mess.
‘Could he have caused all this to aim for that?’
With the current situation being exactly what it is, perhaps he’s trying to resurrect the hundred-grade demon.
If he did so, he could destroy the forced peace the Alliance was trying to build.
‘Then the reason he didn’t bother with it in my previous life is….’
The appearance of crimson demons, faster than in my previous life.
Events that should have appeared alongside the Heavenly Demon’s emergence had burst forth by now.
With the Alliance’s role wavering due to disasters like those at the Divine Dragon Hall, could Pilduma have appeared aiming for this moment?
‘If so, does this too mean I have a share in it?’
I looked at the old man beyond the mask.
The imposing old man somehow seemed nervous as he looked at me.
My actions until now had been aimed at him, yet strangely, he seemed far more nervous than expected.
Why? I hadn’t done anything unusual today.
Could it be that his expression was bad not from nervousness but because I had torn down some barrier or something?
If so, I could understand, but….
‘…Who knew it would tear so easily?’
Who would have known it would be ripped apart so easily?
At this point, wasn’t it the fault of those people for not making it properly?
Yes, that must be it.
‘Anyway.’
In the end, there was no denying that this situation was partly my fault.
‘Well, when has it ever not been my fault?’
I didn’t feel guilty about it.
No, I had tried not to feel it.
[…A dragon, you say? Something like that exists beneath Henan?]
“That is correct.”
[How did the Great Lord know of it?]
“…It is part of the information left behind by my ancestors.”
‘Ancestors?’
The word ancestors meant information from the Jegal Clan, which had already been annihilated.
As they were called ones with considerable insight into formations, it held some credibility.
‘But verifying whether this is true is another matter.’
For now, I had to look at something else rather than that.
‘Hundred-grade demon.’
Assuming Pilduma’s words were true, the things that would happen when the demon descended….
And what could be obtained by doing so.
‘Advantages.’
I recalled in my mind the conveniences of using these things.
‘Pilduma isn’t a foolish old man.’
Henan, where public order was good thanks to the Alliance.
Moreover, with the Martial Tournament right around the corner, many experts were already gathering.
Renowned clans and prestigious sects with deep roots would gather.
‘What’s the point of summoning a demon onto such land?’
I knew because I had faced a hundred-grade demon.
It had certainly been strong.
A power incomparable to something like crimson demons.
But.
‘That doesn’t mean it can’t be killed.’
I had been able to win because Father came, but if a horde of experts swarmed it, it wasn’t to the extent that they couldn’t kill it.
‘There would be casualties, but it’s impossible to destroy the Alliance.’
Perhaps if he had outstanding military force, but aside from Pilduma, he didn’t have such strong martial artists.
Could Pilduma not know this?
He likely knew.
He wasn’t incompetent. At least, not that I knew of.
‘If he’s doing it despite knowing, there must be something to it.’
Meaning there was something that made it worth pushing forward even after unleashing this.
[Hmm.]
I rested my chin on my hand, pretending to be lost in thought for a moment.
At my actions, wrinkles on Pilduma’s face trembled.
He still looked strangely nervous, more than necessary.
But.
‘It doesn’t matter. It’s actually convenient.’
It would be advantageous if my opponent saw me as a threat.
‘If Pilduma’s plan truly succeeds and a demon appears upon the land of Henan….’
Tap-tap-tap.
I tapped the table where the wine cup sat with my fingertips.
Aside from that sound, the surroundings were silent, as if breathing had stopped.
About a minute passed like that.
Tap.
The tapping fingers finally stopped.
The calculation was complete.
[So.]
I spoke directly to Pilduma.
[What is it that this seat can help with?]
The end of the plan wasn’t bad for me.
No.
It wasn’t merely not bad.
‘It might be useful.’
I felt I could execute my plan a little faster using this.
******************
When I escaped from the cave, it was still night.
Not much time had passed.
It seemed thanks to not dragging the conversation out.
Thud.
I walked through the grass and surveyed my surroundings.
The sound of grass insects that had been audible until now could no longer be heard.
It seemed the energy I had touched earlier was the problem.
‘Not just the sound.’
The terrain seemed subtly distorted.
To be precise, it wasn’t distorted but had returned to its original state.
‘Had they inverted even the visible?’
Had they concealed the location by overlaying an illusion on the terrain?
At that bizarre method, my mind naturally recalled something from the past.
‘It’s just like what I saw in Sichuan.’
The secret residence of the Yeon Clan that I had seen in Sichuan around the time less than a year had passed since my regression.
What I had seen there was similar to this.
It had been disguised as a cliff, and upon entering, there was a tree with pure white leaves falling.
‘…’
Recalling this, I felt the ring in my heart.
‘If this is sorcery, does that mean what I saw at the Yeon Clan was also sorcery?’
I had thought it was alien to be called a formation, but could it have been sorcery?
‘They said sorcery was brought by the dragon. How did the Yeon Clan hide that place using sorcery?’
The Yeon Clan’s secret residence had been hidden by the dragon’s power.
His descendants had been cursed and became half-dragons.
How did things turn out that way?
While frowning at the strange connection.
“Master.”
Nahi, who had followed out behind me, spoke to me.
I turned around and simultaneously removed the mask I was wearing.
Crack-creak.
Then my bones and muscles spasmed, energy was withdrawn, and my body returned to its original form.
Thanks to my increased realm, the duration and refinement with which I could use the Body Metamorphosis Technique had increased.
I loosened my returned body this way and that and spoke to Nahi.
“What.”
“…Are you truly going to do as that man says?”
“Hm?”
Unexpected words to come from Nahi’s mouth.
Hearing that, I narrowed my eyes.
“What do you mean?”
“That man does not seem to be a trustworthy figure….”
Hearing this, I tilted my head.
It was a sign for Nahi to say more.
“The feeling is one thing. There are many suspicious parts.”
“Your basis?”
“…Among several bases, the greatest is that he did not give up all the information and twisted it.”
I nodded at her words.
She was right.
Pilduma had hardly given me complete information.
He was afraid of me, and while saying he would match my will, he was subtly calculating something behind my back.
Thus, Nahi had spoken because she judged there was a problem with this, but.
“I know.”
I already knew.
“That he didn’t tell me everything. That he would likely try some trick on me too. I knew it all from the start.”
“Then….”
“It doesn’t matter. I was planning to use him and throw him away anyway.”
…!
Nahi’s eyes widened at the words I spat out so casually.
Is this something to be so surprised about?
“Why?”
“That is….”
“Did you think I was going to keep dragging that old man around with me?”
“…”
If you thought so, that was disappointing.
“Aha. Surely not.”
I had not the slightest intention of doing so.
Pilduma is an old dog.
An old dog with ambition, at that. Trusting such a bastard was the act of an idiot.
Hadn’t I suffered and experienced plenty of such things long ago?
I had no intention of trusting Pilduma.
I had merely thought to use him for now since he was useful.
Furthermore.
‘When this is over, I’ll have to clean him up too.’
I would kill and dispose of him before the plan ended.
The Heavenly Demon had absorbed and used even him, but….
‘I have no taste for eating something already spoiled.’
I was different from the Heavenly Demon.
“Nahi, it wasn’t bad that you spoke out of worry….”
I spoke while looking at Nahi.
“But you overstepped just now.”
…!
At my words, Nahi hastily knelt.
Watching her, I continued speaking.
“When did you start offering your two cents on things I haven’t even brought up? Or is that an order?”
“…I… I apologize….”
Nahi trembling despite me not having said much.
Looking at her, I couldn’t help but click my tongue inwardly.
“Rise.”
Upon my command, Nahi immediately rose. I had considered tormenting her a bit more but quelled the thought.
My relationship with Nahi was created through demonic energy.
To me, she was not a very trustworthy figure either.
I trust no one.
Pieces that can be discarded at any time.
That is the value of the demonic humans I keep.
As such, such pointless actions were not very welcome.
It was unlikely, but if Nahi were to possess loyalty, it would be even more so.
Ignoring the unpleasant feeling, I took a letter from my breast pocket and handed it to Nahi.
“Send this to that bastard Hyeok. And tell that bastard Jiseon to come to Henan if he has nothing better to do.”
“…I accept your command.”
“Ah, and.”
I grabbed Nahi, who was about to disappear the moment she received the letter.
“Tell that spear brat to come here.”
…!
Surprise flashed across Nahi’s face at the mention of someone.
“Shall I deliver the word immediately?”
“Yes, tell him to come by next month at the latest.”
“I shall bear it in mind.”
Nahi finished her words, paid her respects, and instantly turned to smoke and disappeared.
After confirming that, I scratched my cheek.
It was because of the ‘spear brat’ I had mentioned with my own mouth.
‘To be honest, I don’t really want to call him.’
Over the past few years, I had created a few more demonic humans and trained them as subordinates.
The spear brat was one of them.
However.
‘He’s a bastard that’s annoying to handle.’
Even among the demonic humans—gathered from those who would later go mad or be steeped in slaughter—he was an exceptionally crazy bastard.
So much so that he reminded me of the Sword Demon of my previous life.
I didn’t know if he was worse, but the feeling was comparable.
‘That’s why I tried not to call him if possible, but….’
He was the perfect guy for what I had in mind, so I thought I had to use him somehow.
‘If not for that, I should be calling them all soon anyway.’
The demonic humans I had scattered in all directions.
It was time to call them all in.
The time for the planned matters was approaching, so it was time to gather them.
‘…Will it be okay?’
Since they were all crazy bastards, even I hesitated slightly.
‘It can’t be helped.’
There was no other way, so I had to do it.
Because I had to succeed in the plan no matter what.
Swoosh.
‘The plan, huh…’
Trying to recall it made my stomach churn on its own.
I turned around.
In front of me, Seongyul, who had been waiting outside, approached and stood there.
I spoke while looking at his murky yellow eyes.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
As I walked forward, Seongyul slowly followed behind.
I raised my head as I moved. A crescent moon was rising in the sky.
I moved my steps while looking at it.
The first night since returning to Henan was slowly passing.
Less than roughly a month remained until the Martial Tournament.
‘…Once that time passes.’
I had to become a villain that the world feared.
And at the same time.
I intended to become a hero who shone brighter than anyone else.