Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 404 (Part 1)



404 (Part 1)

The field of vision remained dark. My dulled senses had yet to return.

How much time had passed? With my senses shattered even the passage of time was hard to gauge.

All I could ascertain was this.

Thud-!

“Ugh!”

This made it the ninth time.

Exactly nine times.

The number of times I had been killed.

Dizzy from the overwhelming sensation I staggered and collapsed.

Blood began to pour from my pierced neck and in that moment I felt a wave of dizziness wash over me forcing me to lose consciousness.

Just like that a few seconds passed.

“Hah…!”

Once I regained my senses I shot up.

What had just happened? It felt like my throat had been stabbed.

Cautiously I felt my neck with my hands but there was no pain nor any sign of injury.

‘…Damn it.’

This sensation had now become the ninth time.

Killed by the Demon King’s hand.

Frowning deeply I surveyed my surroundings.

I hadn’t moved an inch from the plain where I had been with the Elder.

‘What the hell is this?’

Could it be that I was experiencing an illusion? Yet the sensation of having my throat slit and my heart pierced felt far too real.

The feeling of my throat being pierced by something sharp was the same.

Looking at that I could be certain. I had indeed died nine times.

The problem was.

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‘But how am I still alive?’

How on earth was I still alive?

‘Shit.’

Cursing involuntarily.

No matter how much I thought about it I couldn’t understand what was going on.

The Elder that damned old man… what was he thinking throwing me into this situation?

After telling me to just endure the Elder had vanished and since then I had been continuously meeting my death at the hands of the Demon King.

In many ways it was a frustrating sensation.

Illusions and hallucinations and whatever else to be subjected to this kind of shit at night.

“I really want to give up on everything.”

Should I just abandon being the Heavenly Demon and hide in the mountains?

The thought that it might be better crossed my mind.

Crack.

I bit down on my teeth.

I knew I couldn’t do that so it was just a fleeting thought.

Regaining my breath I turned my gaze.

Tension lingered in the darkened field of vision.

Before I could assess the situation there was something I needed to do first.

‘Where am I?’

I focused on raising my senses.

Whether it was due to residual recoil or something blocking me my senses weren’t spreading properly but it was still better than doing nothing.

‘Where is it?’

I spread out all the areas I could cultivate and concentrated my senses.

The Elder had said.

This was also part of my training.

And to complete this training I just needed to catch the Demon King at least once.

‘What the hell this training is for I don’t know.’

Even if I didn’t understand I knew it wasn’t a situation where I could just ignore it.

I had to grit my teeth and push through.

“Hoo…”

I exhaled filled with heat.

The Demon King was still attacking me so I was trying to seize the moment to catch him.

But that wasn’t going to be easy.

Crisp-

“…!”

I turned my head toward the sound. Just as I instinctively reached out my hand.

I noticed that there was no one in sight.

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It was an illusion…

Thud-!

“Ugh!?”

I couldn’t help but scream as the pain of a blade digging into my thigh hit me.

Where did it stab me?

It seemed to come from behind.

So the presence I felt in front was meant to induce carelessness?

It was just my thigh that had been pierced but the pain felt particularly intense.

Could this also be the power of the martial arts used by the Demon King? I thought I had become quite accustomed to pain after training in the Tua Pacheon Martial Arts.

But this was enough to make even me scream.

‘Where is he?’

Despite the immediate pain I judged that moving to catch the Demon King took priority.

Ignoring the pain in my leg I turned around to look for the Demon King.

Crack-!

“…!”

Before I could do that I felt the tip of the Demon King’s sword piercing my abdomen.

Blood surged up to my throat.

The pain digging into my bones made my eyes widen.

Thanks to the darkness I couldn’t see the Demon King’s figure right in front of me.

But still.

I reached out my hand. I had no way to evade.

My fingertips reached out hoping to make contact but before they could touch anything I saw something approaching in front of me.

The tip of the sword.

Just as I recognized that and tried to move my head.

Suddenly it stopped mid-air.

It was just about to touch me.

Why?

As my mind filled with questions.

“It’s over.”

The Demon King withdrew the dagger he was holding and took a step back.

I wanted to ask him what he meant by that but—

Suuuuuuuuuu-!

As if answering for him the surroundings suddenly began to brighten.

The sky which had been pitch black until just now brightened in an instant and I could see the sun rising in the distance.

Seeing that I thought.

…It’s daytime?

‘Then what was just now?’

The space that had been so dark that I couldn’t see an inch in front of me until just now.

To brighten up so suddenly… it was an absurd situation no matter how I looked at it.

‘Could it be….’

Only then did I realize that the darkness that had enveloped this area aside from the deaths I had experienced was also the power of the Demon King.

As I recalled that chills ran down my spine.

‘What a madman.’

They said no one could defeat the Demon King at night but this man could create night itself.

They say assassins wait for the right moment and environment to attempt an assassination.

Isn’t it too much to be able to create the time and place to suit himself?

‘…Moreover.’

The thigh that had just been stabbed was perfectly clean without a single wound.

Just like the previous deaths this phenomenon was so absurd that it was hard to believe.

‘Is this what they call martial arts?’

I thought it was closer to formations than martial arts.

The pain was far too vivid to dismiss it as mere hallucination.

Could this even be called training?

It felt more like torture than training.

‘But it’s too clean to be called torture.’

The method of leading to death was so clean that it was a bit ambiguous to call it torture.

I swallowed hard and looked at the Demon King.

“That’s enough for today.”

The Demon King said that and like mist dispersed before my eyes.

It seemed there was no need for further conversation.

Only after confirming that could I let out a breath of relief.

“…Is it really over?”

They said this training only took place at night.

Did the Demon King disappear as soon as morning arrived for that reason?

This meant.

“So every night I have to go through this?”

I had to be killed by the Demon King like this until morning came every day?

“…”

Thinking that far I pondered.

‘Should I really just give up and run away?’

I had to seriously consider that.

******************

While Gu Yang-cheon was seriously contemplating escape.

The Demon King had arrived somewhere in the forest with light footsteps.

As he revealed himself he reached his destination.

“You’ve come.”

The Elder was sitting on a rock pouring himself a drink alone.

Seeing two cups it seemed he had already known that the Demon King would come here.

The Elder tossed one of the cups toward the arriving Demon King.

The cup flying through the air suddenly changed direction and slowed down landing on the palm of the Demon King.

Seeing that the Elder chuckled and said to the Demon King.

“You could have just caught it without using any effort.”

“It’s more convenient this way.”

“Tsk tsk.”

The Demon King having caught the cup slowly approached and plopped down next to the Elder.

As he poured alcohol into the empty cup of the Demon King without a word the Elder looked at him and asked.

“How was it?”

There was no need to ask what he meant.

The conversation that needed to be shared was already predetermined.

The Elder was asking about the time Gu Yang-cheon and the Demon King had spent together.

Upon hearing the question the Demon King took a sip of his drink and replied to the Elder.

“He’s a strange one.”

“Oh?”

At the Demon King’s response the Elder’s eyes sharpened.

It was a response rarely seen from the Demon King who usually only spoke in terms of good or bad.