Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 457



457

**Chapter 458 – Change.**

‘… Hmph.’

No matter how much I think about it I don’t understand.

What could be the way to return to the original world?

What did the Heavenly Demon mean by regret?

Is it about the things I did in my past life? If not then…

‘Is it about the Demon Sword Master?’

I thought while feeling the pulse of the Demon Sword Master on my back.

It’s about the choice that the Heavenly Demon mentioned.

What exactly should I choose?

I had vaguely thought it would be about the Demon Sword Master’s death.

Given the timing I believed that in my current situation that was the only choice I had.

‘So… does that mean I should try to stop it?’

I don’t know.

It was certain that the Demon Sword Master’s death was one of my regrets.

‘If I manage to do that in this world… will my regrets truly disappear?’

I don’t even know if I can stop it.

Let alone whether I should even try to stop it even if by some chance I succeeded.

What would happen afterward?

In any case it’s an issue from another world; stopping it wouldn’t erase my regrets in my own world.

‘I don’t know.’

No matter how much I thought nothing was clear.

“Huh….”

I can feel the breath of the Demon Sword Master. Ignoring the tickling sensation in my ears I increased my speed a little more.

My back is damp.

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The Demon Sword Master’s blood is soaking into my back.

Feeling that I swallowed my saliva.

Although I had somewhat used qi to stop the bleeding it seems the wound is much deeper than I expected.

Right now rather than these complicated thoughts it would be better to return and treat the Demon Sword Master…

“…!”

I catch something with my intuition.

I twist my body.

Swoosh-!

A tree falls behind me having been cut down.

I roll on the ground taking a defensive posture.

I wrapped the Demon Sword Master in my arms to minimize the impact.

Immediately I draw my qi to its maximum and simultaneously fill my heart with demonic qi.

In that fleeting moment I raised my stance sweating profusely as I faced forward.

“Impressive.”

The owner of the attack that just flew at me approaches.

“I aimed to cut your legs yet you sensed it.”

“… Who are you?”

The wind blows.

With it the dark robe flutters. The presence is faint.

No it’s faint yet overwhelmingly vast.

Crackle–!

A thunderous aura fills the air.

The aura surrounding the figure is similar to the Demon Sword Master but it feels more refined.

As I look at the old man with trembling eyes.

Hehe—

The old man smiles and speaks to me.

“It seems I made a mistake.”

“…”

The old man.

Realizing the meaning of the mistake the Heavenly Demon spoke of I swallowed hard.

That strike just now was one I should not have been able to perceive.

Had there been no anomaly it would have been normal for my legs to be cut by that dark sword.

Yet I was able to evade it.

The reason is simple.

“… inner demons are truly sorrowful.”

Before the strike came I felt a dreadful killing intent.

‘This is maddening.’

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I licked my dry lips as I looked at the old man.

The last Namgung.

One of the three supreme beings of the world the supreme of Namgung.

Heavenly Demon.

An immense killing intent was emanating from his physical form.

My fingertips trembled.

It was the pressure stemming from the difference in levels.

‘This is genuinely dangerous.’

That killing intent is real. The Heavenly Demon truly intends to kill.

‘What are you planning?’

I frowned.

Since this is clearly the territory of Sichuan if the Heavenly Demon comes out like this it would be a situation where the Heavenly Demon could intervene.

Heavenly Demon must know that as well.

‘Are you disregarding the Heavenly Demon’s warning?’

Is this the outbreak of war?

It wouldn’t be strange. In fact the Heavenly Demon started a war in the past by breaking a contract.

The problem is.

Why is the timing now?

‘Hmph.’

I carefully set the Demon Sword Master down on the ground and stood up.

The situation was too sudden for me to comprehend.

“… Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”

I asked the Heavenly Demon while concentrating all my senses.

“This is Sichuan… Have you forgotten the Cult Leader’s warning….”

Whoosh.

“…!”

As I tried to spit out the Heavenly Demon’s warning to break through the situation.

Something sharp pierced into my chest.

I looked down.

The blade was deeply embedded in my chest.

“Cough-!”

As soon as I confirmed the situation blood gushed out of my mouth.

Swish-!

The sword was pulled out leaving a mark on the ground.

My knees buckled weakly.

“Cough….”

The qi that had been supporting my body vanished and my vision gradually darkened.

I recognized this sensation.

It was death.

Death was approaching.

… So suddenly?

“Huh… Hah….”

As my upper body slowly collapsed the Heavenly Demon walked past me with dry steps.

It seemed his target was the Demon Sword Master.

He reached out.

Even as my eyes were closing I tried to block the Heavenly Demon’s foot.

Thud.

I didn’t reach him.

All I felt was the cold touch of the ground.

In my fading vision the last thing I saw was the Heavenly Demon reaching for the Demon Sword Master’s neck.

No. I had to stop that somehow. But I couldn’t.

I couldn’t prevent the darkness from closing in.

In the end I had to face a sudden death.

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

The burning and crumbling building.

The blood that soaked the ground.

The day the Namgung Clan’s lineage which had been atop the world dried up.

The Heavenly Demon remembers that day.

How could he forget?

The grandson who was called Clan Head was rolling on the ground with only his body remaining.

It was the day the Namgung Clan which was supposed to reign over the orthodox sects from the heavens vanished overnight.

The Heavenly Demon could never forget that day.

“… Tragic.”

A dry voice slipped from the old man’s lips.

“Isn’t it so?”

The one who wanted to hear a response closed his eyes and kept silent.

For the Heavenly Demon it was a face he had longed to see.

The enemy who had annihilated his everything the Namgung Clan. The last remaining bloodline of his in this world.

Moreover it was also the reason the Heavenly Demon continued to live.

“I wanted to ask.”

Why did you do that?

The Heavenly Demon wanted to ask her this. Why did you burn the Namgung Clan with your own hands?

Did you harbor enough resentment to cut off your father’s neck?

What made you into such a monster?

He was so curious about these questions but now they no longer mattered to him.

“…”

The Heavenly Demon’s gaze turned to the hilt held in the Demon Sword Master’s hand.

Even though he had lost consciousness he was gripping the sword as if he wouldn’t let go.

That was the symbol of the Namgung Clan. A product that carried the names of the ancestors.

The one recognized by the Thunder Blade.

He was the master of Namgung.

It was the words left by the Thunder Blade.

Crack.

The Heavenly Demon ground his teeth.

“… What a ridiculous statement.”

It was merely the falsehood of the ancestors.

The Heavenly Demon thought so.

If it weren’t it wouldn’t be possible.

The Heavenly Demon could not use the Thunder Blade. Yet he still fulfilled the role of Clan Head.

Because he was the strongest.

The Clan Head of the next generation was the same.

The grandson who was called the Sword King could not draw the Thunder Blade yet he became Clan Head.

The story of the Thunder Blade was no longer an important part in determining the Clan Head.

However.

‘Why are you…’

The granddaughter before him could use the Thunder Blade without a care.

And how could someone like her annihilate her own bloodline?

The Heavenly Demon could never understand.

This remained a deep regret that tormented the Heavenly Demon.

That night.

If only he had not heeded the words of the blind man and had not gone to the Murim Alliance.

Or.

“If only I had killed you when I first saw you.”

Then perhaps this wouldn’t have happened.

The Heavenly Demon recalls.

When the Thunder Blade was reclaimed this child must have held it.

The true form of the Thunder Blade which burst forth with light.

The ambition of the Clan Head watching that and the jealousy he felt from her.

“…”

Where did it all go wrong?

No it no longer matters.

The Heavenly Demon slowly reached out to the Demon Sword Master.

The thin white neck was easily grasped.

He must not step into the territory of Sichuan.

This was a warning that the past Heavenly Demon had given to the three supreme beings.

As a result the three supreme beings had not set foot in Sichuan for several years.

The reason the Heavenly Demon had shown such despair and fear was not only because of that.

The most important reason was that the dancer had directly told him not to go.

That now was not the time.

There would surely be opportunities.

The Heavenly Demon who had never followed anyone’s orders absurdly did not go to Sichuan after hearing those words.

He knew.

He had secretly hoped for a justification.

He needed a reason not to fight the Heavenly Demon who had given up the fight out of fear.

It was truly disgraceful.

It was so embarrassing to carry the Namgung surname.

So perhaps it was a relief.

Now the Namgung Clan had vanished leaving only himself and the child before him.

“… Tsk….”

The Heavenly Demon smiled bitterly.

In the end this is all he is.

The embodiment of contradictions. A family overflowing with vengeance yet cowardly refraining from taking steps due to fear of the Heavenly Demon.

A person wrapped in arrogance and pride covered by a sense of inferiority.

That is who he is.

The inner demons deepen.

The Heavenly Demon wanted to end it now.

With the last of the vengeance that kept him alive he wanted to finally put an end to it….

“….”

As the Heavenly Demon was about to snap the Demon Sword Master’s neck he suddenly stopped his hand feeling a sense of alienation.

“… Something….”

Something felt off.

Just moments ago he had hesitated out of fear of the Heavenly Demon’s power yet why was he now in Sichuan?

Moreover….

‘… Why now….’

Rather than the revenge of his clan.

Where did the old man’s greed to die on the land of the Namgung Clan right after all wars had ended go?

It should have been there yet why was he holding the Demon Sword Master’s neck here?

In this subtle sense of alienation the Heavenly Demon felt a moment of dizziness.

Why? How did it come to this?

The Heavenly Demon tried to recall why he was here.

I don’t know. The Heavenly Demon felt a sense of blackened confusion in his mind.

The only thing clear amidst the haze was.

– I will allow it.

The sensation that someone had granted permission.

The moment he recalled that the Heavenly Demon’s eyes sharpened and strength returned to his hand.

As if entranced he was about to carry out his revenge once more.

Crack.

“…!”

The Heavenly Demon felt something and quickly turned his head back.

But there was nothing behind him.

Was it an illusion? Just as he began to think that.

“Huh?”

The Heavenly Demon immediately realized it was not an illusion.

The reason being there should not have been ‘nothing’ there.

There should have been a corpse lying there.

He had surely killed it with his own hands by stabbing its heart.

In the direction the Heavenly Demon was looking there was nothing left.

Not even the blood that had been spilled.

No traces of a fall.

Nothing at all.

As the Heavenly Demon confirmed that absurd situation just as he was about to check the situation.

Vroom.

He felt a vibration.

The direction was to the left. The Heavenly Demon turned his head.

“…!!”

In the place where he felt an unknown vibration.

A look of horror filled the Heavenly Demon’s face.

There was something there.

Upon closer inspection the doll standing there seemed to be staring directly at the Heavenly Demon.

The reason he couldn’t be sure about its gaze was none other than.

The blue flames that wrapped around its body were burning the doll completely.