Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 468 (Part 1)



468 (Part 1)

”’Chapter 469 – Nice to see you.

The first thing I felt when I opened my eyes was the sensation of being held by someone.

Swish—swish.

I felt a cautious touch.

It was the sensation of someone gently stroking my back.

I slowly lifted my head to assess the situation.

“… Huh?”

Perhaps because I stirred the hand that was stroking my back stopped and I locked eyes with the person holding me.

It was the Demon Sword Master.

She widened her eyes as she looked at me.

“… You… woke up?”

“…”

The Demon Sword Master looked utterly exhausted.

Seeing her I found myself at a loss for words.

“Why…?”

Why is she like this? I looked around with a puzzled expression.

“…!”

I had to gasp in shock at what I saw. The situation was far from normal.

All around were unknown black shapes piled up.

Though the traces were gradually fading they looked incredibly unsettling.

Moreover.

‘Did it burn?’

There were also traces of flames left in the surroundings.

I could tell at a glance.

Those were the flames I had emitted.

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Fwoosh.

The flames that were still warming the ground were dazzling.

And they were blue.

‘Blue flames?’

Normally the flames I emitted would be infused with a purplish hue.

It should have been black flames mixed with demonic qi.

Seeing the blue flames burning so brilliantly indicated the influence of my blood energy.

Why were such flames still lingering in this land?

Feeling something strange I tightened my fingertips.

Fwoosh—!

Flames flared up.

I frowned at the sight.

Blue flames.

“What the hell.”

I definitely hadn’t summoned my blood energy.

Since I had also kept the demonic qi dormant it should have been normal for purplish flames to burst forth.

‘… This…’

The flames that flared at my fingertips were unmistakably the same flames that appeared when I used my blood energy.

I immediately checked my insides.

The first thing I checked was the qi center.

I wanted to know what had happened to the space that had shattered and become empty.

Thud—!

“…!”

As I focused on the qi center I felt an unexpected recoil in a different place.

My heart.

To be precise it was the location of the middle qi center.

‘What the hell.’

Why is it reacting out of the blue?

I was flustered and began to circulate my energy to observe my body.

Fortunately the energy returned as I willed it.

Does this mean my vessel has returned?

But then again.

‘… The location is all around the heart.’

The starting point of all my energy was the middle qi center.

Originally I would fill the middle qi center through the lower qi center.

From there it was natural to fill the upper qi center as well.

‘If the starting point is the middle qi center…’

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It meant that the lower qi center which should be the source of qi had disappeared.

Then where did all that qi go?

I immediately scrutinized the middle qi center.

‘Huh.’

I found it.

The energy that had been in the lower qi center had all moved and was bound to the middle qi center.

How could this happen?

Just as I was struggling to understand this strange situation.

I felt a cold touch on my cheek.

“Are you okay…?”

It was the Demon Sword Master’s hand.

Startled by this I quickly sat up.

“Uh?”

As I sat up I suddenly felt unsteady.

Something was off.

‘Height.’

It felt slightly taller compared to the perspective I originally knew.

With the difference in perception my body momentarily didn’t obey me.

“…”

The Demon Sword Master who was watching this also slowly sat up.

Seeing her I finally grasped what the problem was.

‘My height.’

Looking at the Demon Sword Master for some reason she felt smaller.

I was already slightly taller than her but it wasn’t this much of a difference.

What used to be a finger’s width difference now seemed to be about half a palm’s length.

‘I’ve grown taller.’

Especially my limbs felt longer.

But that wasn’t the only change.

As soon as I looked at my right arm my eyes widened.

‘… What the hell is this?’

The purplish bandages that had been wrapped around it had suddenly changed to blue.

The state of my arm visible between the bandages was bizarre beyond belief.

It was covered in scales at a glance.

Originally there had only been a few scales on my right arm…

‘Now the right arm has even fewer.’

Compared to my right arm my left arm could be considered an entirely different creature.

The left arm covered in blue scales was definitely hard to see as human.

I pondered how my arm had come to this state.

‘Ah this…’

A memory surfaced.

When the blood energy charged in the form of a dragon it was my left arm that had been bitten.

Could it be that the influence from that time is still lingering?

The appearance was quite unsettling.

Though the bandages were covering it it wasn’t normal for it to have risen up to my shoulder.

‘… Is everything else fine?’

I checked my body and fortunately the other parts seemed to be fine.

Or there might be issues but at least the visible areas were okay aside from my left arm.

I clenched and unclenched my fist a few times.

Squeeze.

“…”

I felt the pressure being gripped stronger.

It seemed that not just my energy but my physical body itself had become stronger.

‘It feels like a Body Reformation.’

Aside from the energy gathering in the middle qi center and the physical transformation that had occurred.

It didn’t seem much different from what is commonly referred to as Body Reformation.

Moreover.

‘… The incomplete state of the realm has also been stabilized.’

The realm that had remained incomplete for so long seemed to have settled firmly now.

Overall aside from my appearance there didn’t seem to be any major issues.

‘So what has changed?’

They said that if the vessel breaks one would no longer be human.

Yet I didn’t feel such a significant change.

I thought I would suddenly turn into a monster or something.

It wasn’t as severe as I expected…

‘… Though looking at my left arm it’s not exactly normal either.’

While my left arm was indeed concerning it was still much better than I had anticipated.

As I examined my body I suddenly glanced at the Demon Sword Master in front of me.

She was looking at me with a strange expression.

At first she had been focused on my left arm but now she was looking into my eyes.

As I met her gaze.

“…”

I instinctively averted my eyes slightly.

Then I brushed my face lightly.

Looking at the Demon Sword Master made it hard to breathe.

‘Damn it.’

With the situation having escalated to this point it was even harder to ignore what I had been suspecting.

Moreover if I recalled the way she had been treating me.

I could no longer pretend not to know.

I redirected my gaze back to the Demon Sword Master.

She was still looking at me with those enigmatic eyes.

And that gaze felt particularly uncomfortable.

I tried to endure it and asked her.

“You.”

The casual tone slipped out naturally.

It felt much more comfortable than when I had addressed her as Vice Captain with formal speech.

“… You know who I am right?”

I finally let out the words that had been subtly pricking at me.

Ever since I had sensed that she was treating me differently I had expected that she would know my identity.

It wasn’t just a simple ‘guess’ so I hadn’t bothered to bring it up.

“…?”

Upon hearing my question the Demon Sword Master tilted her head and looked at me.

Did she not grasp the intent behind my question?

If not.

‘Could it be that she really doesn’t know?’

That was also a possibility.

After all when I first arrived my face had looked different.

And since my martial arts had been sealed she had no way of knowing.

The problem was.

‘She just saw the flames.’

She must have seen the flames I had directly ignited with my hand.

Could she really not know after seeing that?

Was my face still different now?

As those doubts and anxieties began to sprout.

“… What do you mean… by that?”

The Demon Sword Master asked me in return.

It seemed she truly didn’t understand my words.

‘Is it a relief?’

If she didn’t recognize me that might actually be a good thing.

In that case I would only need to understand why the Demon Sword Master was treating me differently.

For now I decided to let it slide.

Just as I thought to continue speaking.

“No forget what I just said…”

“Gu Yang-cheon.”

I froze.

I stared at the Demon Sword Master with wide eyes utterly shocked.

Just now she had definitely called my name right?

“… That.”

“Your name.”

“…”

Looking at me blankly the Demon Sword Master said that.

I stared at her in shock feeling flustered.

“… No matter what happens….”

The Demon Sword Master spoke to me in her usual tone.

“I will never…”

“Forget who you are.””’