Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 314 (Part 2)



314 (Part 2)

As I frowned in thought the man added more words.

– What do you think the Blood Demon is?

“Excuse me?”

What is the Blood Demon?

The man observing my expression fell silent for a moment before speaking to me in a chilling voice.

– The Blood Demon is a calamity.

A calamity.

It resonates with familiarity.

– It is the curse that has befallen the radiant Central Plains. A calamity.

I needed to find meaning in his words.

Is he calling the Blood Demon a calamity because it incited bloodshed?

From the man’s words I could tell that it wasn’t simply that.

The word calamity must carry another meaning.

– Did I not say that the Blood Demon has vanished and that several centuries have passed?

“Yes.”

– Even if it is not the Divine Iron your presence here ultimately signifies that the Blood Demon has reappeared.

That was indeed a valid point.

– It is a distant tale; in the end it is akin to saying that fate cannot be twisted.

If the being I faced through Jang Seon-yeon was truly the Blood Demon then he must be lingering in this era.

I didn’t know how that was related to my coming here but—

“What does that have to do with the current situation?”

– This land was originally destined to meet its end at the hands of the Blood Demon. That was its fate.

“What do you mean?”

It was supposed to have perished.

Is he referring to the bloodshed caused by the Blood Demon?

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If so then what nonsense is this having blocked it off themselves?

“Even if that is the case it means you all….”

– If we had managed to stop it the Blood Demon would not have appeared in this era.

“ ”

– It cannot be avoided; the best we could do was seal it.

This was the same as what Hwang Ah-bul-yeong had said.

What the five heroes could achieve together was merely to seal the Blood Demon.

‘But to say it was destined to perish?’

I still couldn’t understand the man’s words.

Why was it said that this land was destined to perish?

– That is why we had to make a choice. We had to prevent the Blood Demon from resurrecting after we died.

“…So you thought of the reincarnation of the Volcano Sword?”

– Yes.

“How could a mere human’s power….”

Are you saying that one can manipulate the reincarnation of souls?

I wanted to ask that but—

If the figure before me was indeed Yeon Il-cheon there was a word that came to mind.

Another returner like me.

A person who had defied time.

If that were the case was there another way?

– Seeing your expression it seems you know what I am talking about. Who told you? Did Cheol-yeong mention it?

“…No. I heard it from the Volcano Sword.”

– That guy still has a loose tongue. It’s truly fascinating; even after hearing such words you seem to believe them.

Well that’s because I too have returned.

“I have something I want to ask.”

There were countless things I wanted to ask.

There were so many things I had heard that it was overwhelming to organize them.

“What is fate?”

The notion that one sought to twist fate.

That it was a choice made to resurrect Shin Noya in this land.

I was curious.

Not how but why it had to be that way.

“I want to hear more about the claim that this land was destined to perish.”

– It is the literal meaning. The fate predetermined for this land… was to end with the Blood Demon.

“Who decided such a thing?”

– I cannot say.

What nonsense is this?

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“Why? Is it because I am not the Divine Iron?”

– Correct. It is because you are not Shin Cheol.

“I was told that he resides within me. Then can’t you tell me?”

– That is precisely why I cannot.

“…What?”

What kind of nonsense is this?

My expression twisted in irritation while the man’s expression grew increasingly cold.

– What we sealed was not just the Blood Demon.

“Not just the Blood Demon?”

– The most important thing was that we also eliminated the calamity that the Blood Demon would have brought.

“The calamity….”

It means that we dealt with the calamity that should have stained the Central Plains with blood and brought about destruction.

If that is the case—

“…Are you saying that with the resurrection of the Blood Demon that calamity has also resurrected?”

– No that will not resurrect. It was not sealed; it was burned away.

“Then doesn’t that mean it’s irrelevant?”

If the calamity has come to an end then their worries seem unfounded.

What is the problem then?

At my question the man let out a sound close to a sigh.

– That was our mistake.

I listened closely to the man’s words.

He was clearly stating it was a mistake.

“A mistake?”

– Calamities do not disappear. They are merely postponed. Just because the Blood Demon’s calamity has vanished does not mean the calamity itself has disappeared. It merely shifts.

“A calamity is not some object… that if you get rid of it another one pops up….”

As I spoke as if there was nothing wrong I suddenly had to close my mouth.

Calamities do not disappear.

They shift.

Fate cannot be severed.

After hearing his words a figure came to mind.

‘Heavenly Demon…?’

There was something that Shin Noya had once said.

The being known as the Heavenly Demon which I often recalled with fear bore a striking resemblance to the feeling of the Blood Demon.

Now as the man spoke of calamities merely being postponed I wondered.

‘Is the next calamity he speaks of the Heavenly Demon?’

The fate of destruction that would befall this land beyond the Blood Demon is soon—

Is it the Heavenly Demon?

‘If… that is the case.’

In my previous life the Heavenly Demon lost his life at the hands of the Divine Sword.

That means it signifies that the calamity was prevented doesn’t it?

The fate of this land and all that.

I don’t understand such complicated matters.

Isn’t it similar to the story that Wi Seol-ah ultimately prevented the calamity?

Wasn’t it resolved well?

As I thought that the man continued.

– Shin Cheol was our hope to prevent that calamity.

The man kept speaking.

What he described as Shin Noya’s role was akin to a device prepared to stop the Blood Demon and other calamities when the era of calamities would once again flood.

‘…That can’t be true?’

Then where does the problem begin?

There were far too many issues to consider.

First there was no being that could be called the reincarnation of Shin Noya in my previous life.

To say Wi Seol-ah was the reincarnation of Noya had many problems.

I wondered if it could be Yeon Il-cheon but considering the realm or situation he reached in his previous life that was also not the case.

‘…Did he die without anyone knowing?’

That could be possible.

But I had to consider that Shin Cheol’s soul was trapped in a spirit.

Ultimately the conclusion that arose upon returning to the beginning was that Shin Noya had originally failed in reincarnation and had his soul bound to a spirit.

I cannot know for sure.

But if they sacrificed so much and waited for hundreds of years bound as souls only to fail—

‘Is that why Cheol-yeong despaired back then?’

I could somewhat understand.

Thinking that far I asked the man.

“Why Shin Noya of all people?”

He was the greatest in the world at that time.

The man who was the center of the five heroes was Yeon Il-cheon.

Considering that Shin Noya occasionally mentioned the strength of Yeon Il-cheon if reincarnation were to happen it would have made more sense for Yeon Il-cheon to be the one.

– I said I heard it from Cheol-yeong. That I could not remain in this land with them.

“Yes.”

– That is correct. I could not remain in this land with them.

“…Then what are you now?”

Claiming to be Yeon Il-cheon what is he saying now?

– I am merely a thought. When Shin Cheol arrives I left this thought behind to convey information as I pass through this place.

A thought.

I had heard of it.

‘Can such a thing be done?’

Is it left behind in the formations and the notes?

When Shin Noya arrives can it be activated in this way?