Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 436



436

”’〈 Chapter 437 〉 Regret. (3)

“…Who are you?”

Her voice made my shoulders tremble.

I looked at her with disbelief.

Namgung Bia… No the Demon Sword Queen.

She was undoubtedly the Demon Sword Queen.

There was no way I of all people could fail to recognize the Demon Sword Queen.

The woman who was Namgung Bia in my past life who had died for me stood before me.

Unlike the silver-haired Namgung Bia her hair was now completely white.

Though her appearance seemed unchanged the atmosphere she exuded was entirely different.

If Namgung Bia had a dreamy dazed quality about her.

The Demon Sword Queen felt like an impenetrable darkness.

It was a deep darkness that seemed ready to swallow me whole if I tried to delve into it.

“…”

What should I say?

I had to keep my mouth shut while gazing into the Demon Sword Queen’s blue eyes.

A heavy silence lingered for several seconds. The wind began to blow.

The wind carried with it the scent of blood that filled the surroundings.

Crack.

The Demon Sword Queen’s sword moved.

My body stiffened completely.

The energy emanating from the tip of her sword began to press down on everything around me in an instant.

‘This is….’

It was dangerous. Every instinct screamed that at me.

I felt no killing intent. The Demon Sword Queen was never one to express such a thing. She never displayed killing intent when taking a life.

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It was hard to grasp just how absurd that was.

Unless one accidentally kills someone killing intent is usually present.

That was how it was.

It would depend on how well one could control it.

The Demon Sword Queen was a person who from the very beginning had no killing intent.

So I thought back to the past.

It wasn’t that she lacked killing intent; it was that she had become killing intent itself which is why it was imperceptible.

I had even thought it was ridiculous to entertain such notions.

But now reflecting on it that wasn’t the case. She was not a person driven mad by slaughter.

At least at this moment I just didn’t know that…

I could feel the energy of thunder from the Demon Sword Queen’s shoulders.

I frowned at that.

‘…What should I do?’

It was dangerous.

I didn’t know if the situation I was experiencing was reality or an illusion.

But if I could be certain of one thing it was this.

‘If I die here I might really die.’

Just like the phenomena I had witnessed until now if I died here it might truly be the end.

Crack.

Even if I made that judgment the problem was that there was no solution.

Kugugugugung-!

“Cough…!”

I knelt halfway down under the absurd pressure.

‘…Emperor… Sword Form…!’

The secret technique of the Namgung Clan the one used by Namgung Bia.

It was unfolding from the hands of the Demon Sword Queen.

The thought that came to me as I felt it directly was.

‘The level is different….’

The Emperor Sword Form that Namgung Bia had wielded seemed like child’s play.

The power of the Demon Sword Queen was on a different dimension.

The momentum she exuded pressed not only me but also those around me down.

Kuaaaah-!

I couldn’t even guess the extent of its range.

Crack-! Trees crushed under the pressure fell and rocks cracked with a splintering sound.

The Demon Sword Queen looked down at me who could only endure.

Swoosh.

The sword moved.

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It appeared slow but I felt a chill as I sensed the realization contained within it.

The Demon Sword Queen was strong.

I knew that.

However.

It seemed I had momentarily forgotten this in the peace that followed my reincarnation.

If she was strong just how strong was she… I had completely forgotten.

Swoosh-!

The sword lightly sliced through the air.

It was just a simple upward motion without any complicated movements.

Boom-!

A small vibration resonated.

And I had to feel death approaching from that place.

Swoosh.

The tip of the Demon Sword Queen’s sword drew downward.

The direction in which the sword tip flowed was the end.

Paaah-!

The sky split apart.

A sense of awe naturally blossomed at that absurd phenomenon.

It was a single sword that could cross walls and reach the Sword Unification.

Hooouuuk-!

“Cough…!”

The backlash from that forceful wind pressure. I struggled to stay grounded and not be blown away.

Even after a long time it was overwhelming power.

It was a transcendent realm that couldn’t even be compared to the current Namgung Bia.

‘…Sword Queen.’

I could once again feel the power of the Demon Sword Queen who inherited the name of the Sword Queen.

Is this truly an illusion?

It was too vivid to be called that.

The wind pressure that had been raging madly began to lessen.

Once it became bearable I found myself exhaling harsh breaths repeatedly.

I looked back.

“Crazy.”

Fortunately the Demon Sword Queen hadn’t swung her sword at me.

Behind me.

She had swung her sword as if targeting something far away.

As a result the sky had been split.

I looked up at the sky.

There were still traces of what the Demon Sword Queen had cut and the aftermath had caused the clouds to stop unable to pass through.

Just what was she aiming at when she swung her sword I wondered.

Kugugung-! The energy of thunder trembled.

‘What is this?’

It wasn’t the Demon Sword Queen’s thunder.

I felt an unknown energy of thunder coming from the direction she had attacked.

As evidence the Demon Sword Queen slightly frowned.

Just what kind of situation was this?

Bang….

A small explosion echoed from the direction where the energy of thunder was felt.

Before long I realized.

That a vast energy was flying in from that distance.

As I widened my eyes in surprise at the energy I felt.

The Demon Sword Queen was already in motion.

She swung her sword.

Kwagagagagak-!

Something flew in and collided with the sword enveloped in enhanced qi.

The rebound was tremendous.

Just being close to the sharp release of energy made my cheek bleed as it was cut.

The Demon Sword Queen briefly clashed with the energy and then with a clang.

She straightened her sword and cut through the energy.

Kwadak-!

The energy that had been split in two at the sword’s tip shook briefly before bursting apart.

Paaah-!

Another wave of wind pressure.

This time it was a bit more difficult because the energy of thunder was mixed in.

“Cough….”

Just after barely enduring it I looked around. The area was already in chaos.

The corpses scattered everywhere had been tossed around by the wind pressure creating a mess.

The puddles of blood that had filled the ground were now splattered making a terrible sight.

‘What just happened?’

As I was momentarily dazed by the unexpected situation.

Clank.

Someone was approaching from this side.

Naturally it was the Demon Sword Queen.

The rough wind pressure seemed to have blown away the blood that had splattered on her leaving only a few traces.

As the Demon Sword Queen approached me.

“Cough…!?”

Suddenly my body began to float.

It was psychokinesis.

The Demon Sword Queen was using psychokinesis on me.

The pressure that lifted my body was no joke but I could release it if I wanted to.

Still I held back for now.

I knew that if I resisted like this her sword would come flying at me immediately.

“…What are you?”

The Demon Sword Queen having said that came closer and seemed to sniff me.

“…Why… is there… no smell…?”

What smell was she talking about?

She approached me who was floating and continued to sniff.

What is this…?

‘This is…’

A fleeting illusion crossed my mind as if this had happened often in the past.

Even in this life didn’t Namgung Bia do this?

‘What kind of ridiculous hobby is this?’

It was neither a dog nor anything else; I didn’t understand what she was doing.

Moreover we were in a situation where we were being attacked.

Was there time for this?

The Demon Sword Queen who kept sniffing briefly looked at me and asked.

“…Where?”

“What…?”

I was surprised to find myself speaking informally without realizing it.

This habit was frightening.

Fortunately the Demon Sword Queen didn’t seem to care much about it.

She asked me without any interest in that.

“…Affiliation… answer….”

“…!”

I swallowed hard at the Demon Sword Queen’s words.

I never expected her to ask this here.

It seemed the Demon Sword Queen regarded me as a demonic practitioner belonging to the Demonic Cult.

‘Could it be that she doesn’t recognize me…?’

It seemed she didn’t know who I was.

Should I consider that fortunate?

As I turned my thoughts the Demon Sword Queen tilted her head slightly and grasped her sword.

Crazy.

She seemed to be thinking of killing me.

It appeared that her momentary hesitation was a sign that she truly intended to kill me.

Seeing that I immediately spoke up.

“Uh… I’m from the Black Flame Corps…!”

I uttered the name I didn’t want to say even if I died.

Damn… I never thought the day would come when I would say this.

Perhaps due to the feeling of spitting blood the Demon Sword Queen’s eyes widened slightly and the sword that had been moving stopped.

Black Flame Corps.

That was the name of the unit I had just mentioned.

Originally the main units of the Heavenly Demon Cult were known to be three.

The Celestial Black Net led by the First Horseman.

The Ghostly Sword Unit led by the Sword Demon.

The Green King’s Green Wind Unit led by the Green King.

These three units were said to be burning the entire Central Plains in the name of the Heavenly Demon.

That wasn’t incorrect.

The officially recognized units were indeed those three.

However it was not just those from the Central Plains.

Most demonic practitioners belonging to the Demonic Cult knew.

That there were a total of four units within the Demonic Cult.

The unit that oversaw the three mentioned above and the direct unit operating under the name of the Heavenly Demon.

The Black Flame Corps.

The unit to which the Demon Sword Queen before me belonged.

And.

‘…The place where I am the Captain.’

I was the Captain of that damned unit.

Damn.

Upon hearing my words the Demon Sword Queen frowned which was a rare sight.

“…Lies…. I haven’t heard… of any new recruits….”

As expected she didn’t believe me.

But it didn’t matter if she didn’t believe me.

I had a way.

“…I only follow the words of the Cult Leader. There is not a single lie.”

“…”

The Demon Sword Queen looked into my eyes after hearing my words.

She stared quietly at my purple-tinted eyes.

Thud.

“Ugh.”

Only then did she release my body which had been floating in the air.

It was a sign that she would trust me for now.

‘…Hoo.’

I let out a sigh of relief. After all she had no choice but to believe me.

Demonic practitioners cannot lie while invoking the name of the Heavenly Demon.

To invoke the name of the Heavenly Demon while lying is no different from saying you would burst the demonic qi bound to your heart.

However having seen me alive after invoking the name of the Heavenly Demon she would have no choice but to believe me for now.

Since I was already disconnected from the demonic qi of the Heavenly Demon it didn’t matter what I did while invoking the name.

But she wouldn’t know that.

The Demon Sword Queen who had thrown me aside was about to put her sword back in its sheath.

At that moment clang-! The sword shattered and broke in half.

“…”

It seemed she hadn’t absorbed the previous attack properly.

The Demon Sword Queen looked at her broken sword and then casually tossed it away.

She showed no signs of regret.

‘Where does she keep her spare sword?’

I looked around her waist but I couldn’t see anything that looked like a spare sword.

It seemed she hadn’t brought one.

As I scanned around with my eyes the Demon Sword Queen turned her back to me.

“…Follow… me.”

“Excuse me?”

I reflexively asked back at her words.

Follow her…? Where to?

The Demon Sword Queen glanced back at me and added a bit more explanation.

“…The Celestial Lord… he is coming.”

“…!”

“…We must… return…. It’s an order.”

Upon hearing the Demon Sword Queen’s words I realized what the previous energy of thunder had been.

It was none other than the assault of the Celestial Lord one of the Three Lords.

That man is here?

Then this was not the time to be standing around like this!

It seemed the Demon Sword Queen had judged me as an ally and was thinking of taking me with her.

But….

‘Where to…?’

Even amidst the complicated situation that thought crossed my mind.

It was fortunate that I hadn’t died at her hands but if I went with her like this where would we end up?

That was the question.

“Demon… Queen.”

At my call the Demon Sword Queen stopped walking and looked back at me.

Her blue eyes still felt devoid of any vitality which was awkward.

This was proof that I had become accustomed to the Namgung Bia of this life.

Her eyes didn’t look at me like that.

Seeing those awkward eyes I calmly asked.

“…Where are we headed?”

“…”

After hearing my question a brief silence passed.

The expression on the Demon Sword Queen’s face seemed to say “Why are you asking that?”

“…The Great Hall….”

“…”

After finishing her words the Demon Sword Queen resumed walking.

I broke out in a cold sweat at what I had just heard.

The Great Hall she mentioned.

It was like the headquarters of the Black Flame Corps and there was.

‘…I’m there.’

The place where the Captain of the main unit the Black Flame Demon resides.

Realizing that I understood.

…Things were getting increasingly complicated.”’