Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 532 (Part 1)



532 (Part 1)

The room feels unusually dark.

It was even more so because I hadn’t turned on the light before sleeping.

I gather qi with my eyes to brighten my vision.

Only then does the room appear a bit brighter.

At the same time cold sweat trickles down.

Thump… thump…

My startled heart refuses to calm down easily pounding heavily in my chest.

It’s only natural.

Waking up suddenly to find an assassin in front of me how could I not be surprised?

Especially if that assassin is the king of assassins.

No to be honest if he had just come to visit I wouldn’t have been this shocked.

The problem is.

“…What are you doing over there…?”

The king of assassins was kneeling in front of me.

As soon as I opened my eyes there he was right in front of me.

Knees bent rigidly as if aligned perfectly.

His head bowed at a suitable angle and his gaze slightly lowered.

The king of assassins was presenting a near-perfect display of respect.

I would have thought if it were a prodigy that he had received proper upbringing!

‘This is insane.’

The fact that he was kneeling like that being the king of the night was a problem for me.

‘Why has that guy come here to cause a fuss?’

I thought he had been quiet lately.

I had completely forgotten about the fact.

‘That there’s also the king of assassins around.’

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Yes he was also here.

I had momentarily forgotten that the king of assassins was among the group that had changed their appearance to follow the patron.

‘Is it really okay here?’

As I looked at the king of assassins a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

The value of a single martial artist at the level of a Hwa-gyeong is immense.

Just reaching the peak would have them sought after by prestigious sword schools but being a Hwa-gyeong changes the narrative entirely.

Just looking at the current Elder-level figures of prestigious families they are all Hwa-gyeong.

Merely reaching the level of Hwa-gyeong signifies that one is worthy of such a position.

‘How many are here?’

How many Hwa-gyeong martial artists have gathered in the Tang Clan?

Even excluding those affiliated with the Tang Clan.

Just counting the ones from the Baekryeon Sword and the Gwaeseon there were at least five.

‘…This is a den of human weapons.’

It feels like I’ve drawn them all in but putting that aside for now.

If I were to evaluate the king of assassins who is among such high-level martial artists.

‘A being that can kill anyone.’

That’s how I could describe him.

The king of assassins who is said to be able to kill even the Three Sovereigns if he wished.

The master of the Cheolya assassin group.

No one knows his true identity.

Of course….

‘I know a bit even if not everything.’

I don’t know how many people have seen the king of assassins and lived to tell the tale.

But from my perspective I know a bit more than that.

‘Descendant of Yeon-ga.’

The king of assassins is actually a descendant of the infamous Yeon-il-cheon.

I don’t know who else knows this but judging by what I didn’t know in my past life it seems like it’s not a widely known story.

‘…Did he come because of that?’

Is it to silence me knowing that I know this?

I know that the circumstances don’t quite fit but I couldn’t help but think that.

In the midst of it all the reason I think this isn’t true is likely due to the king of assassins’ actions.

‘Why?’

Why is he kneeling in my room?

Even my drowsy mind feels cold.

I didn’t sense any killing intent.

However given the level of the king of assassins he could easily hide any killing intent so that part wasn’t important.

Then let’s consider something else.

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‘Since when.’

Since when has the king of assassins been here?

Even if I fell asleep I had set up a barrier to wake me if someone approached…

Ah.

‘It doesn’t matter. Not with him.’

If the opponent is the king of assassins that would be useless.

Oh what a damn situation.

‘Killing intent is such a pain.’

Even if I devise a means there are too many strong opponents who could break through.

A reality that feels like crap briefly creeps in.

Is that why? My mind feels a bit clearer.

‘It means not to let my guard down even in a comfortable situation.’

I’m glad I remembered a fact I had momentarily forgotten.

As I was gradually trying to grasp the situation my inner voice spoke to me.

[It’s been about an hour.]

The voice of Shin Noyage taught me.

‘…Is that how long the king of assassins has been in the room?’

[Yes. I tried everything to wake you but you wouldn’t budge.]

An hour.

Aside from the fact that the king of assassins had been here for so long.

‘He came right after I fell asleep.’

If I consider the exact time I fell asleep it’s safe to say that the king of assassins waited for me to fall asleep before coming.

Recalling that I asked the king of assassins.

“…Do you have business with me?”

Fortunately my voice didn’t tremble.

If it had it would have been too embarrassing! That was the most fortunate part.

In response to my question the king of assassins finally raised his head and looked at me.

His white hair shimmered.

Even in the darkness that hair seemed to shine strangely.

Though the king of assassins usually wears a mask or changes his appearance.

I felt that this was his true form.

What about the white eyes contained within?

Despite being unusually white they felt dark enough to convey nothing.

A gaze that seemed to pull me in somewhere.

The eyes that had felt particularly frightening when I first saw them.

‘What is this?’

Now strangely they didn’t seem that scary.

As I quietly gazed into the king of assassins’ eyes suddenly—

Hoo-!

“…!”

The king of assassins’ eyes changed abruptly.

His pupils narrowed vertically.

Seeing that made goosebumps rise on my arms.

Was it because it was grotesque? No.

It was because those eyes looked familiar.

Where had I seen them?

I didn’t strain to recall.

It came to me immediately upon seeing them.

‘The eyes of the Blood Demon.’

The gaze I had seen during the orthodox sect meeting.

The blood-red pupils of the Blood Demon who had looked at me while using Jang Seon-yeon’s body were somehow similar to the king of assassins’ eyes.

But that wasn’t the only change.

Woo-!

Seeing those eyes I felt a vibration in my body.

My blood heated up.

Is it reacting?

A heat that was contrary to my will began to fill my body.

Eventually it even rose to my eyes.

I could feel it without seeing it.

My pupils probably wouldn’t be any different from the king of assassins’ eyes right now.

At that moment.

-Shaaah!

Doll who had been hiding in the drawer emerged.

In an instant flames wrapped around my body.

The flames quickly ignited and disappeared but what remained after the blue flames vanished was not the thin body of a snake but the form of a massive demonic beast.

Its size was so large that it made the small room feel cramped.

Doll curled up around me as if to protect me revealing its fierce teeth.

-Krrr…!

Doll trembled at the mouth showing hostility towards the king of assassins.

The king of assassins’ gaze also turned towards Doll.

Perhaps because of that.

Only then did the king of assassins open his mouth.

“It seems I was right after all.”

Seeing Doll showing hostility I had been tense wondering if the king of assassins would move.

But the king of assassins merely nodded as if he had expected it.

What is this?

Then the king of assassins’ gaze turned towards me.

Swoosh.

At the same moment the king of assassins moved I instinctively prepared to react thinking it might be an attack.

“Hmm…?”

I had to stiffen my body at the action the king of assassins took.

He suddenly bowed his head and showed me respect.

Just as I was about to ask why he was doing that surprised.

“…The protector born of Yeon-ga meets the great dragon.”

I was taken aback by the words that spilled from the king of assassins’ mouth.

Dragon.

That word made me involuntarily hold my breath.

A moment of hesitation.

Breaking through that I finally asked the king of assassins.

“…Senior why are you doing this?”

Is it the year of the three disasters?

Or have the old folks around me been cursed? They all seem to be going crazy on me.

Even now it felt the most terrifying.

Seeing the king of assassins of all people act like this towards me.

‘Am I already dead?’

Such a ridiculous thought crossed my mind.

While trying to lift the king of assassins who was bowing in respect I recalled what he had just said.

‘Dragon.’

It’s a word that sends chills down my spine.

A term used to refer to the top-tier demonic beasts.

The form I had seen while fighting against the manifestation of blood energy in the past. Seeing that form reminded me of a dragon.

Considering that Doll who had transformed resembled the form of the blood energy.

‘…A dragon.’

I also began to understand why that unfamiliar word didn’t feel entirely strange.

‘Am I a dragon?’

That unknown race.

Is the body I transformed into truly that of a dragon?

The scales that have sprouted on my arm and somehow the transformed body could it be his form?