Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 545 (Part 1)



545 (Part 1)

**Chapter 546: Sword Demon**

– Yul-ah.

A gentle and kind voice.

As always the old man smiled at the young man.

– Yul-ah.

At that call the young man opened his eyes but he could not bring himself to lift his bowed head.

Because he felt he did not deserve to.

– Yul-ah. It’s okay.

It is not okay.

The young man spoke in a voice that would not come out.

‘Master…’

I am not okay at all.

Thinking this the young man lowered his head even further.

He knew this was all an illusion.

He also knew that those words were merely his imagination.

– It’s okay.

It was a voice he could no longer hear.

A voice he should not dare to listen to. The young man constantly repeated this to himself.

– Yul-ah.

The voice kept ringing in his ears.

Unable to bear it the young man covered his ears.

– Yul-ah… Yul-ah…

The sound pierced through the silence and infiltrated his body.

The once kind voice gradually became strangely unfamiliar.

This was something that always happened.

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Though he had experienced it countless times the young man had not grown accustomed to it at all.

He was simply filled with fear.

– Yul…ah… Yul-ah…

Something tightened around his throat.

With a chilling sensation the young man opened his eyes without realizing it. Even if he didn’t want to he could not stop it.

What came into view was.

– Yul…ah…

An old man bloodied and with a pained expression looking at him.

Eyes glaring at him from all directions.

The young man bit down hard on his lip trembling his body.

He tried to turn his gaze away but the old man gripped the young man’s neck and forced him to meet his gaze.

And then.

– How… how could you…

– Did you… kill your master…!

The young man uttered the fact he most wanted to forget.

*

“Cough…!”

He gasped for breath as he sat up.

“Haah… ha… haah…”

The body he had struggled to raise was drenched in sweat.

His back was soaked with cold sweat and his hair was completely damp.

“Ugh… ugh…”

The young man grasped his shoulders with his hands.

To stop his body from trembling.

Of course even doing that did not stop the shaking.

After trembling for a while the young man seemed to regain his senses and began to look around.

His face showed confusion.

At that moment.

“Why are you suddenly acting crazy?”

At the sudden voice the young man turned his gaze.

Not far away someone was sitting on a rock looking at him.

Holding a dumpling in one hand.

“…”

Seeing him the young man instinctively touched his chin.

He felt a sharp pain.

Gently touching it he could distinctly feel the swelling.

Feeling the pain brought back memories as well.

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Along with the actions he had taken he recalled the moment the author had subdued him.

“…”

The young man rolled his eyes and stared at the other person.

A youthful appearance just past adolescence with fierce eyes.

The strange blue eyes contained within felt oddly uncomfortable to look at.

Seeing that the young man asked.

“…Who are you…?”

As he spoke the other’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

It was a strange expression.

It seemed like a frown. It also looked like surprise.

Noticing that subtle change the young man steadied his breath.

‘Where is this…’

Exhaling he surveyed his surroundings.

He saw a dense forest and rocks.

It seemed to be a location somewhat distant from where he had been.

Had the author brought him here?

Having thought that the young man asked the other.

“…Are you someone who came from the Alliance?”

“Huh?”

Hearing the question the other scoffed. It was a reaction of disbelief.

“It seems you know you did something to be chased by the Alliance?”

“…”

Hearing those words his gaze fell.

It was a fact he knew all too well.

Thud-.

As he lowered his head he felt a presence approaching.

It seemed to have come right up to him.

“What the hell is this guy? Earlier he was charging at me like he wanted to kill me. Why is he like this now?”

With a sword filled with killing intent he had charged at him as if to tear him apart.

Now it seemed strange for him to act this way.

“…I’m sorry.”

In response the young man offered an apology.

Again.

Unable to suppress his desires he had gone mad.

And now he was offering an unforgivable apology to the other.

It was a continuation of experiences he had faced throughout his life.

“…Hmm.”

Was the apology the problem? The reaction he felt from the front was particularly vivid.

“Did I find the wrong person?”

At the sound of the voice the young man looked up.

He saw the blue eyes looking down at him from close range.

“I didn’t expect you to be like this. It’s a bit annoying.”

At those words the young man’s eyes widened slightly.

“Do you… know me?”

“I thought so but now it’s a bit ambiguous. Why are you pretending to be fine?”

“…What?”

“It’s normal to be crazy about killing people. Why do you look like that now?”

“…”

Hearing those words he bit his lip.

It seemed this person knew about his nature.

If that’s the case.

‘Is this how it ends?’

The young man sensed his end approaching.

He knew he was a Celestial Killer.

He had even referred to himself as someone who had come to capture him.

He had no intention of fleeing but he wouldn’t be able to escape in the first place.

The young man was already well aware of the gap in strength between them.

‘I couldn’t even graze him.’

It was an overwhelming defeat.

Even if he had been in a normal state it would have been impossible to move properly.

The difference was that significant.

‘…It’s actually a good thing.’

The young man smiled.

Yes it was actually a good thing.

He was exhausted from living.

As time passed the madness deepened and this cruel body craved the death of others even more.

It craved and craved again.

It was like an insatiable appetite that could never be satisfied.

He endlessly desired the death of others.

Eventually that desire led to the death of his master who was like a father to him.

‘At least that’s a relief.’

His mind which had been crazed in the past had returned somewhat.

Thanks to that he could recall his mistakes and face death.

The young man was satisfied with that and gently closed his eyes.

He was preparing his heart.

“Look at that expression. What are you doing?”

Seeing this the other Gu Yang-cheon spoke in disbelief.

The current situation was already hard to understand.

Why did the Sword Demon suddenly look like he had resigned?

‘What the hell?’

The more he looked the less he understood.

Gu Yang-cheon would rank this moment among the top three most bewildering situations he had faced right after his return.

‘What is he?’

What was this seemingly docile guy?

At the very least he was someone he did not know.

‘Surely he is the Sword Demon?’

In terms of appearance the power and aura he had used back then were undoubtedly that of the Sword Demon.

But his current demeanor was completely opposite.

The Captain of the Killing Unit of the Demonic Cult the Ghostly Sword Brigade.

He was someone who lived to kill completely fused with killing intent.

As such it was only natural that his personality was extremely eccentric.

He was known for being violent and cruel.

‘What the hell is this guy?’

The Sword Demon Gu Yang-cheon was seeing now was quite far from the one he had known back then.

Kneeling with his eyes closed he showed no signs of wavering.

The malevolent spirit that had rampaged in the inn was nowhere to be found; what remained was a calm young man.

A righteous person.

Yes.

That was the aura of righteousness often seen in martial artists from the righteous sect.