Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 476 (Part 1)



476 (Part 1)

**Chapter 477 – The Decayed**

“Damn it.”

As soon as I returned I spat out a curse at the sight before me.

It was the very place where I first encountered the Tangje-mun.

‘Have they been chased away?’

Ha.

I let out a sigh at the absurd situation.

To be driven away while talking only to have them say their piece.

“Why do all these so-called heroes end up like this?”

I hadn’t even had a proper conversation yet.

To throw me out like this after saying something that seemed to imply they knew something—does that make any sense?

I had to bite my lip at such a ridiculous situation.

‘What about Noya?’

In the midst of it all I tried to check if Noya was there or not.

But there was nothing in particular that I could feel or hear.

‘She can’t have fallen asleep again.’

Since the issue with the vessel was more or less resolved it didn’t seem likely that Noya had fallen asleep.

Then….

‘Did Tangje-mun do something again?’

For now it seemed right to think so.

Hoo….

I suppressed my somewhat heated emotions.

Then I recalled the conversation I had with Tangje-mun.

She had clearly mentioned that there was something I had forgotten and that I would feel it through the test she showed me.

‘What could it be?’

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I couldn’t figure it out.

If she said I had forgotten something it wouldn’t be the Demon Sword or the Divine Sword.

The ones who had already died back then were definitely not it either.

‘Should I examine the anomalies I experienced?’

Thinking that way there was only one person who could be brought to mind.

Someone flickered in my mind but I didn’t delve deeper into it.

‘That can’t be.’

It was absolutely impossible.

‘… It absolutely shouldn’t be.’

To be precise it shouldn’t be that way.

If I were to list a few anomalies that occurred in that world I could mention the Murim Alliance’s strange behavior and the movements of the Heavenly Lord as issues but ultimately the biggest event would be the appearance of the Heavenly Demon.

‘What does the Heavenly Demon have to do with me?’

That’s why I didn’t want to attach any significance to it. The very idea of being connected to the Heavenly Demon made no sense.

However if I were to point out one problem from that it would be.

‘…’

The biggest problem was that I couldn’t deny it with certainty.

‘… What is this?’

What is this unsettling feeling that I can’t quite grasp?

I don’t know.

Whether it was right after meeting the Heavenly Demon from another world or right after facing Tangje-mun.

Or perhaps it was much earlier.

Maybe it was after I had shattered the vessel and absorbed all the bloodlust.

From some moment on I had been feeling an inexplicable unease.

And this feeling arose whenever I thought of the Heavenly Demon.

‘What is this?’

Why do I feel this way?

Along with this annoying sensation the words Tangje-mun had spoken intertwined leading to a jumble of thoughts.

It didn’t seem like I had forgotten anything to be asked if I had forgotten something.

Yet that statement strangely bound my heart.

Could it really be that there is something?

‘… About the Heavenly Demon?’

Thinking back there were more than a few strange things.

The person who had caused my regression was most likely the Heavenly Demon.

‘Why?’

If that’s the case how and why did the Heavenly Demon regress me?

Did the Heavenly Demon truly have some intention towards me?

‘There are too many strange things to consider that.’

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If I recall the time when I first met the Heavenly Demon.

I can tell that her goal was not me.

It was when she had formed a unit in the alliance to hunt demonic practitioners.

It was during the time when the unit had gone out for a mission.

I had encountered the Heavenly Demon there.

The Heavenly Demon had slaughtered the martial artists of the alliance around her as if crushing bugs.

I had to escape from there with Wiserah.

The Heavenly Demon had attacked targeting the Divine Sword… Wiserah.

In that process I had fallen into corruption as a demonic practitioner but looking at this.

‘The goal wasn’t me.’

I could see that the goal was not me.

At that time I had certainly thought so.

‘… What about now?’

As time passed and I reached this point questions arose.

Was it Tangje-mun’s words that were the problem?

Or was it something else?

There was definitely something.

As I forced myself to calm my emotions and think thoughts began to surface.

The fog had thinned.

I felt as if the fog that had been obscuring my mind had lifted a little.

Or perhaps I hadn’t even realized that there was fog to begin with.

‘… I don’t know. Not yet.’

It might not be about the Heavenly Demon.

It could be something else entirely.

But right now I couldn’t tell.

‘It’s funny that I’m thinking about this now.’

It’s amusing that I’m recalling things I hadn’t thought about until now one by one after hearing Tangje-mun’s words.

‘…’

While I was quietly pondering.

‘This.’

I was able to recall something strange.

Indeed why hadn’t I thought of it?

Questions about the Heavenly Demon.

It was something I hadn’t deeply considered until now. Isn’t that strange?

Even though I thought it was the biggest problem I hadn’t thought deeply about it and I knew it was dangerous yet my consciousness had not been clear.

Why am I thinking about this now?

As I began to feel it one by one I swallowed dryly.

I had just realized.

I had been intentionally avoiding thoughts and questions about the Heavenly Demon.

‘Every time I tried to think about it I unconsciously avoided it.’

I had brushed it off as something for the future or that there were urgent matters to attend to.

Now I realize that there was a problem with all of that.

It felt as if someone had been forcibly blocking me.

What is this?

Then what is the reason I’m thinking about this now?

‘… Could it be?’

I recalled swallowing tea during my last conversation with Tangje-mun.

Was it called ‘Fragment of Oblivion’?

Tangje-mun had definitely said that.

Could it be that? Did I consume that and that’s why this is happening?

At the moment when an inexplicable certainty began to rise in my heart.

Krrr….

I turned my head at the sudden sound of crying.

Instinctively I drew energy into my body.

Was there something else besides me?

Whoosh—!

I ignited flames.

‘Tsk.’

As soon as I saw the brilliantly burning blue flame I couldn’t help but click my tongue.

I could manage with the crimson flames but such a conspicuous color was troublesome.

For now I pushed the flames back and heightened my senses as I prepared to rush toward the source of the crying.

Krrr—

“… Hmm?”

With another sound of crying something that had been hiding behind a pillar revealed itself.

Upon confirming its appearance my eyes widened immediately.

“Bloodlust?”

It resembled something I had seen not long ago.

It was the dragon that had been frantically trying to take over my body.

Krrr….

Its size wasn’t as massive as that creature from before.

It was smaller than me but its appearance was definitely similar.

Beautifully stretched blue scales that adhered to the rules.

Shallow fur and limbs running down its back.

Along with a torn snout and sharp fangs.

‘What is something like this doing here?’

Just before I could question it my body was already in motion.

The intention was to catch it first and think later.