Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 325

Twitch!

Muk Bi looked at Gi Woo-Hui with a puzzled expression.

Gi Woo-Hui’s complexion was deathly pale. She had just finished her tea and was about to get up to go to her chambers when she froze in place.

Muk Bi’s face also turned serious.

“Doctor?”

“…….”

“Doctor!”

“……Yes.”

“What’s wrong? Are you perhaps ill?”

“No.”

Gi Woo-Hui let out a deep sigh.

“It’s nothing like that.”

“But why…?”

“I suddenly feel a bit unwell. It’s just a mood, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

“Are you really alright?”

Gi Woo-Hui smiled. It was a beautiful smile, but Muk Bi felt that it seemed somehow awkward.

“I’m really fine. Even if I were sick, wouldn’t a doctor be able to fix herself?”

“That’s true, but…”

“Don’t worry. Muk Bi, you should go and rest as well. You’ve worked hard today guarding me.”

Muk Bi smiled.

“It’s nothing. Rather, I think you were troubled by having to listen to me.”

“No, it’s really not like that.”

“Heh heh, then rest well. You haven’t forgotten that you can contact me right away if anything happens, since I’m in the next room, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll go. Rest well.”

With that, Muk Bi left the room.

Thud.

Gi Woo-Hui slumped onto the bed.

Her complexion turned pale again. Her beautiful blue eyes were filled with sadness, fear, and an unknown sense of pity.

“…Young Military Chief.”

Spiritual eyes allow one to see what ordinary people cannot.

It was an innate ability, or an ‘other power’ if you had to put a name to it. It was something she was born with, but it couldn’t be explained by medicine or martial arts, so it could only be described with the trite expression of being ‘divine and strange’.

Her spiritual eyes were special.

Since childhood, she had been tormented by all sorts of people wearing masks, and she had wished to be able to see into the hearts of others.

So, her spiritual eyes would tell her if someone’s words were true or false.

Of course, it wasn’t always like that. Like receiving a divine revelation from time to time, this ability, which she couldn’t control, would reveal the truth that Gi Woo-Hui desired and the emotions of others.

And lately, the person whose inner thoughts Gi Woo-Hui most wanted to know was Yeon Ho-Jeong.

However, her spiritual eyes did not work on Yeon Ho-Jeong. No, not only Yeon Ho-Jeong, but also Yeon-wi.

She couldn’t see through people who had broken through the limits of human martial arts and had developed their spiritual power to the point where they could create an absolute barrier around their upper dantian [an energy center in the body]. Her innate ability was great, but it was not all-powerful.

But at this moment.

She could see and feel it. It was the first time she had seen the emotions of someone so far away, but she had no time to feel the initial surprise.

Trickle.

Clear tears streamed down Gi Woo-Hui’s cheeks.

No one would know why she was crying.

Except for one person she had directly seen, one person her spiritual eyes had captured.

* * *

“Gasp! W-what is this?!”

Ga Deuk-Sang’s mouth fell open.

Everywhere was a sea of fire. Fortunately, the fire was not large enough to encroach on the village, but if it wasn’t put out quickly, the area would double in size.

“Damn it! Move quickly! Forget about stealth and everything else, just hurry!”

“Yes!”

About two hundred members of the Beggars’ Union, who had gathered through the lightning-fast communication network, scattered in all directions. They were there to carry soil and water.

It was more than a hundred miles away from the Martial Alliance, but considering the size of the Central Plains [a region in China], it was quite close. That was why so many Beggars’ Union members could gather with just one call.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Yeon-wi descended to the center of the fire and unleashed his energy in all directions.

The absolute internal energy of the Sword Demon’s Qi protected him perfectly from the intense heat. Smoke was more dangerous than fire, but the breathing of a master of internal energy was far beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

Without even taking a breath, Yeon-wi used his powerful energy to extinguish the fire at a terrifying speed.

“He’s amazing, as expected.”

Ga Deuk-Sang clicked his tongue at Yeon-wi’s calm and dignified presence.

It wasn’t something that could be done just by being strong in martial arts. Without the ability to instantly see the weaknesses of the fire and read the flow of the flames, such an impossible feat would be impossible.

“Damn it, the heat is too intense, making it hard to sense the energy. Where the hell is Young Master Yeon?”

Flap flap flap!

Ga Deuk-Sang climbed to the top of the tallest and most intact tree nearby and looked around.

Suddenly, his eyes widened. He had discovered a strange mark on the hillside that was engulfed in flames.

‘Why only there?’

Everywhere else was on fire, but only that spot was hollowed out in a circle. From this distance, that size meant that a radius of about twenty yards was free from the onslaught of the fire demon.

Ga Deuk-Sang shouted.

“Clan Head Yeon! It’s northeast!”

“I know.”

Even though he was quite far away, Yeon-wi’s calm voice reached Ga Deuk-Sang’s ears softly. It was an incredible display of internal energy.

“I felt Ho-Jeong’s energy. He’s much better than I thought. So, putting out the fire is the priority right now.”

“More of our Beggars’ Union members are coming! We can handle it!”

“I know. I’m just going to focus on putting out the fire at the center to speed things up. It’ll be over soon, so don’t worry.”

“Ah, yes!”

Yeon-wi’s words were accurate.

As he took control of the center of the fire, the flow of heat stopped abruptly. Even if it was an artificially created fire, it was still fire, but by cutting off the energy flow in the middle, the raging fire demon faltered greatly.

Whoosh!

Having done his part, Yeon-wi moved towards where Yeon Ho-Jeong was in an instant.

‘Is he alright, that boy?’

Even for Yeon-wi, it was difficult to find Yeon Ho-Jeong’s internal energy from this distance. It was only possible because the source of their power was the same, making him more sensitive to it.

Whoooosh!

Closing the distance in an instant, Yeon-wi felt a humidity that made it hard to breathe.

Even though the fire was quite intense, the humidity was high only here. It was absurd.

‘Is this the source of the water energy Ho-Jeong mentioned, the Black Tortoise energy?’

Whoosh!

As Yeon-wi landed at the source of the humidity, he finally saw his son.

‘……!!’

Yeon-wi’s eyes wavered.

Crackling! Crackling!

The threatening sound of the flames burning in the distance tickled his ears.

The sky was dark, but the surroundings were bright because of the fire burning everywhere. However, the place Yeon-wi was looking at seemed so dark that neither the firelight nor the moonlight could reach it.

Yeon Ho-Jeong was there.

His body was covered in blood, and he held an axe dripping with blood in his hand.

His hair, disheveled from the fierce battle, was soaked and clung haphazardly to his neck and shoulders. It was a truly miserable sight.

However, Yeon-wi couldn’t easily move his feet.

Swoosh.

Like a phantom, or a hallucination.

Darkness was swirling around Yeon Ho-Jeong, who was standing with an axe in his blood-soaked body, looking up at the sky.

It must be an illusion. But even knowing it was an illusion, the terrifying darkness did not disappear.

Thud. Thud.

The sound of blood and flesh falling from the axe and hitting the ground was eerie.

It was an overwhelming sight.

Neither the fire demon, the moonlight, nor the thunder could penetrate the place where Yeon Ho-Jeong was.

He stood shrouded in darkness. In that illusory realm where not a single ray of light could enter, it was as if only he existed.

Yeon-wi’s eyes deepened.

“Ho-Jeong-ah.”

His son, his child who had lived an extraordinary future and past, was back.

What was he looking at, standing in that inhuman place? What was he thinking, and what future was he seeing?

Even Yeon-wi, who had begun to fully understand his son and had begun to live a more exemplary life than any parent in the world, found it difficult to read his son’s mind now.

But he knew one thing.

‘Are you sad?’

His son was sad.

He didn’t know why. If he had been angry and screaming like a madman, he would have been worried but would have understood.

But sad? Why was his son so sad?

Was he sad because he had returned to the past and faced his old enemy again, realizing the miserable fate of having to live a life full of bloodshed?

Was he sad that he could no longer become a demon like before? Or was he sad because he had already realized that he had gone too far?

Why was his son so sad?

“Have you come?”

Yeon-wi was startled and looked at Yeon Ho-Jeong.

The darkness that had been swirling around his son had disappeared. In its place was his son’s tired and bitter face.

Yeon-wi walked towards Yeon Ho-Jeong.

Thump. Thump.

The sound of his father’s footsteps was heavy, as if reflecting his own feelings.

The distance between him and his son was not far. Yet, Yeon-wi felt that the distance was as vast as a hundred thousand miles.

Slowly closing the distance, Yeon-wi’s eyes turned towards the other side of Yeon Ho-Jeong.

‘……!’

There was a man, horribly mangled.

Surprisingly, the man, who had already lost his human form, was still alive. How he had done it, his arms and legs were in dozens of pieces, and his abdomen was open, yet he was still breathing weakly.

It was a truly gruesome sight. It was like looking at a corpse left behind by a beast.

‘…….’

Yeon-wi closed his eyes.

And when he opened his eyes again, his son was already in front of him.

Yeon-wi asked calmly.

“How is your body?”

“I’m fine.”

He had expected the answer to be ‘fine’. Yet, Yeon-wi felt that his son’s words and voice were strangely unfamiliar.

Yeon-wi looked once more at the one who was not dead, or rather, could not die.

Twitch. Twitch.

He was still alive, but not for long. He would stop breathing before half an hour passed.

Yeon-wi’s gaze returned to Yeon Ho-Jeong.

His son’s face, which had been so bitter, had become expressionless. It would be fair to say that he had become numb.

Whatever it was, it was not a human face. It was like looking at a wooden doll that resembled a human.

‘…….’

There were many things he wanted to ask. There were many things he wanted to hear.

Yeon-wi, who had been quietly watching Yeon Ho-Jeong, took the axe from his hand.

Clang!

The battered axe fell carelessly to the ground.

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Yeon-wi.

“Father?”

“It’s a hideous thing. Holding such a thing makes your face look hideous too.”

It wasn’t that the axe was hideous. It was hideous because of the blood on it, the vengeful spirits of the unknown enemy, and the anger that Yeon Ho-Jeong had unleashed.

Trickle.

Yeon-wi’s hand, which had been holding the axe, was covered in blood. But he didn’t care.

Yeon-wi took Yeon Ho-Jeong’s hand with his clean hand that was not covered in blood.

“Let’s go.”

He led Yeon Ho-Jeong and walked towards the Martial Alliance. Yeon Ho-Jeong followed his father, holding his hand as he led him.

While following his father, while taking his son, ‘he’ did not say a word.

It was not a beautiful night.