The Madman (3)
What's this madman saying now?
I quickly erased the thoughts that had just flashed through my mind and asked Goe-gun.
“You still haven't reached the power of the Four Pillars yet, right?”
It was an obvious fact.
Even if I combined every little puppet, it might barely reach the level of Five Pillars, but...
Just looking at the power of the One-Ling tribe alone, I had heard they had countless Four Pillar level warriors.
And there were even Nascent Soul level ones.
But what Four Pillar power?
Just as I was puzzled, Goe-gun spoke with a chilling smile.
[So, we need more colleagues, don't we?]
[The puppet modification factory for Four Pillars is already in place. As long as we have the 'material', we can extract power smoothly within a month.]
That gave me the chills.
'He really has gone mad.'
What he meant was...
[First, I'll capture the Four Pillar ones nearby and take them in as new residents of the Wondrous Castle. Then, once we put those collected materials into the factory and run it...]
Goe-gun's mouth split into a grin.
[We'll have even more allies! Won't you agree?]
It sounded ridiculous, but for some reason, the reality of it felt tangible.
No matter what, because of this madman's madness, a war would spread across the entire Gwanghan Realm.
* * *
Kugugugugu!!
I stared at the situation before my eyes as if the heavens themselves were in chaos.
[That cruel bastard! He sent out a signal, so the nearby Four Pillar allies will all be rushing here to capture the wanted criminal!]
Goe-gun's actions were swift.
He quickly invaded the land where the Four Pillar cultivator lived, clashed with him, and drove the Four Pillar back.
Kugugugugu!
Goe-gun laughed while standing high above the Wondrous Castle, commanding the hundreds of millions of puppet legions through the castle itself.
[Replicated material? That's wonderful! Hahaha!]
[Why are you doing such a mad thing?! Are you trying to become the enemy of the entire Gwanghan Realm?!]
[Well, that might not be such a bad thing. Then, be obedient and become nourishment for the Wondrous Castle.]
[You bastard! You madman! Hwaaaaargh!]
Kugugugugu!
Countless Four Pillar puppets clung to the unfamiliar species' Four Pillar cultivator, dragging him inside the Wondrous Castle.
Kwoong!
That was it.
Inside the Wondrous Castle, the factory began operating with a deep rumble.
Probably in a month, the Four Pillar cultivator who had just caused a heavenly tribulation and fought would come out as a faithful puppet serving Goe-gun's orders once again.
Even the modification factory was still in its initial frame, and as Goe-gun continued modifying the Four Pillar cultivator, more data would accumulate...
'Perhaps the production process for Four Pillar puppets would become even faster, and later we might be able to mass-produce them without even needing corpses.'
It was truly chilling power.
Was there really anyone who could stop Goe-gun?
Perhaps the entire continent would be swept away by him.
'Why are these Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown cultivators not trying to capture this madman...'
Even near the Biseondaegun, I had heard there were Three Flowers cultivators.
But why weren't they pursuing Goe-gun?
Or rather, since Goe-gun had been wanted, why were there no one chasing him with burning eyes?
I was left with nothing but questions.
'Before Goe-gun grows any further, I need these Three Flowers level ones to stop him quickly.'
That way, Kim Yeon and I would be free from him.
* * *
Goe-gun's rampage continued.
He kept capturing the Four Pillar cultivators chasing him, modifying them into puppets, and with every battle, his power skyrocketed vertically.
Even the Four Pillar cultivators, fearing the threat, formed alliances and attacked Goe-gun...
'...He's really gone mad.'
[Haha! Replicated material!?]
It was no comparison to Goe-gun, who had already replaced so many Four Pillar cultivators and had the Four Pillar puppet modification factory at its peak evolution.
It had been ten years since he first killed a Four Pillar cultivator and created a Four Pillar puppet.
Currently, Goe-gun had killed forty-six Four Pillar cultivators and now held forty-six Four Pillar puppets in his possession.
And in ten years...
I had recovered my peak-level power.
And...
Kim Yeon had already become a Nascent Soul cultivator.
“Brother Seo Eun-hyun, may I ask about the Gimyoseongsimjeon?”
“...Alright.”
Crackle, crackle...
She who had condensed her Four Pillar consciousness into a Nascent Soul exploded with power the moment she reached it.
Entering the realm where the power of consciousness truly influenced techniques, she was using Three Flowers level techniques even though she had just reached Nascent Soul.
Just the fact that she was approaching made my entire body tingle.
'But the real problem is whether Kim Yeon can kill that bastard Goe-gun even after reaching Four Pillars.'
By the time she reached Four Pillars, Goe-gun would probably already have several Three Flowers puppets.
Anyway, as it was now, the only way to escape Goe-gun was to maximize Kim Yeon's growth.
The Gimyoseongsimjeon, which Goe-gun had mastered, was not like Hofung Eungdanbyeon's trickery, and it was an excellent technique without any flaws.
Mastering Gimyoseongsimjeon stabilized the consciousness, greatly increased control over every part of it, and made the consciousness even purer.
It also had the effect of making the consciousness itself larger than that of cultivators of the same level, so it was quite a wonderful technique.
The only drawback of this perfect technique was that it was too obscure and difficult to master.
“If Brother Seo Eun-hyun hadn't been here, I wouldn't have been able to master Gimyoseongsimjeon this far, and my head already hurts thinking about it.”
But.
As soon as I received the real essence of Gimyoseongsimjeon, I understood it.
Gimyoseongsimjeon was the interpretation of the color of will, as seen by a martial artist at the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown stage, through the eyes of a cultivator.
And by evolving from that will perspective, reaching the realm where one fully sees the mind and controls the mind—Woldoipcheon—I could immediately perceive the true meaning of Gimyoseongsimjeon.
That's why, even though she was Nascent Soul and I was only at the peak, my understanding of the technique was superior, creating a strange situation where Kim Yeon often came to me for guidance.
'Probably the end of this technique is Woldoipcheon.'
No, honestly, it was one step short of Woldoipcheon.
Because mastering Gimyoseongsimjeon would only give one the 'view' of Woldoipcheon, where the mind is materialized.
But I felt, somehow...
Goe-gun must have already reached Woldoipcheon.
'If I scan the Gimyoseongsimjeon created by Goe-gun, it probably evolved closer to convergence than true Woldoipcheon.'
Just like how I had reached Deungbongjogeuk and my Naedan had undergone convergence like the Ocean of Compassion.
Goe-gun's Gimyoseongsimjeon had also converged infinitely toward Woldoipcheon through his efforts.
'Just one step.'
The extreme pointed to by Gimyoseongsimjeon was truly one step short of true Woldoipcheon.
'If I go beyond that, I could truly become Woldoipcheon. Maybe Goe-gun has already reached Woldoipcheon without even knowing it...'
Simply because he hadn't known it himself, he hadn't recorded that part in the Gimyoseongsimjeon.
'Amazing person. How did he reach Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, Ogijowon, Deungbongjogeuk, and approach Woldoipcheon without even practicing martial arts himself, just by researching consciousness...'
Gimyoseongsimjeon was also quite an important technique for me.
I had only ever handled consciousness from the complete martial artist's viewpoint until now, but Gimyoseongsimjeon was a technique that thoroughly analyzed the consciousness realm from the completely opposite perspective to mine.
“By the way, Brother Seo Eun-hyun. Have you heard what the captured One-Ling cultivator said?
“Hm?”
I looked at the One-Ling puppet walking around among the puppets from afar.
Goe-gun had, over ten years, steadily dug into the One-Ling territory and mass-produced One-Ling puppets.
And many of the One-Lings captured by Goe-gun had helped us understand the Gwanghan Realm.
The general flow of the Gwanghan Realm.
Or the major species of the Gwanghan Realm.
Recent trends in the Gwanghan Realm...
Those things, we could learn.
“There are no Three Flowers level cultivators in the Gwanghan Realm, and there's only one Star Plate one called Baekun Seongsa. All the Star Shattering ones have vanished into other dimensions with no return, and even recent Three Flowers cultivators have shown strange signs... Perhaps it's not impossible for Goe-gun to conquer the Gwanghan Realm. In that case...”
Kim Yeon gave a bitter smile.
“If that's the case, will we be able to see the scattered former colleagues again?”
“...That must be it.”
She missed the world of humans.
Living with puppets every day inside this madman's castle was an enormous psychological burden.
Because of that, recently she had been spending more time talking with me.
Somehow, lately she had been sitting closer to me.
“Um, Brother Seo Eun-hyun?”
Kim Yeon sat a little closer to me.
“There's something I want to ask you...”
“...I'm sorry. Goe-gun is calling me now.”
I turned away from her, who was coming closer.
I knew her feelings.
But I couldn't accept them.
Because I already had a lover.
I couldn't casually share hearts with others.
* * *
[Come on, disciples. The One-Ling extermination will soon be over. Once we occupy Gwangryeongseong, the Lake of Bright Spirits will be in our hands, and [she] will reach the Three Flowers realm! Hee hee! Then, the Wondrous Castle will be one step closer to completion...]
“...Did you call me?”
[Ah, the reason I called you is different.]
Goe-gun said.
[The One-Lings hate losing the Lake of Bright Spirits and will resist desperately. Perhaps a Three Flowers cultivator will appear. You two have a high chance of dying. So, I have a proposal.]
“What is it?”
[I intend to completely accept both of you into my 'world'.]
“...!?”
[If you both become much superior puppets, you won't have to worry about dying, right? If so, I'll personally make you both into couple puppets. Kim Yeon seems to like you. Wouldn't that be a good thing for both of you?]
Thud—
I felt like vomiting at those words, but somehow I held it back.
'Calm down.'
Actually, following this madman for ten years, I had expected something like this.
'It's impossible to stop Goe-gun by getting angry.'
Even if I said no, he would go berserk and most likely modify us right away.
So.
I had to compromise according to the madman's logic.
Fortunately, over ten years following Goe-gun, I had a rough grasp of his logic.
“There is one thing I would like to request.”
[Hm? What?]
Since this guy had brought up such a topic...
It meant there was some kind of singularity in my mind or something, but rather than those, Four Pillar and Three Flowers puppets were more appealing, so he no longer cared about my Muhyeong.
Then.
“Anyway, I am inferior with the lowly quality of becoming a complete resident of the Wondrous Castle in Master-nim's eyes, aren't I?”
[That's right. So I'm helping you become even more superior.]
“That's correct. But Kim Yeon still has more potential for growth, doesn't she?”
By sacrificing me, I would further entice him regarding Kim Yeon's growth potential that he would find appealing.
“Rather than making her into a puppet, it would be more efficient to properly raise her as a puppet maker. Above all...”
I presented one more reason according to Goe-gun's logic.
“If you make me into a puppet, I would like to be controlled by Kim Yeon, who has a vast consciousness.”
[Ooh...]
“Isn't being controlled by an excellent puppet maker also happiness for a puppet? Please don't make us couple puppets and instead make just me a puppet, then leave the control to Yeon...”
I hid my true feelings from Goe-gun with the mind control of Woldoipcheon and continued speaking.
“We both would be able to be happy.”
[Yes, yes...! Perfect! Perfect!]
Goe-gun's eyes sparkled with madness as he shed tears and clapped wildly.
[I'll make you both happy! Yes, since the moment I saw Yeon liking you, I knew it. You two will be able to do the perfect love I couldn't achieve!]
“...”
[Come, lie down! I'll make you the perfect puppet right away! You, you will be the greatest puppet! You will become the guardian deity of the entire Wondrous Castle and a general of the castle!]
On the outside, I put on an ecstatic expression, but I ground my teeth inside.
'I'm sorry, Yeon-ah.'
Somehow.
It seemed this was my limit.
I had allowed myself to be modified whenever Goe-gun wanted to modify Kim Yeon as much as possible.
But even that stopped here.
My short, thick this loop seemed to end here.
'But since Goe-gun listened to me, he probably won't modify her completely into a puppet.'
With her talent, it would take some time, but eventually she would surpass Goe-gun.
And she would help me with my revenge.
Definitely.
Klock, klock, klock...
I climbed onto Goe-gun's workbench and waited for his modification.
It wasn't just body modification.
Goe-gun's statement that he accepted me into his world meant, in other words, that he would modify me into a puppet with only a thin shell left.
Today, I would die.
Klock, klock...!
Chilling mechanical sounds enveloped my entire body.
I thought it was my fourteenth regression.
* * *
Klock...
'...?'
I slowly opened my eyes.
“Ooh, perfect. Wake up!”
Kiiik!
'I' stood up from the seat.
'Eh...?'
The whole body moved.
“I did my best to create you. Even though you couldn't reach Nascent Soul, with the precious material poured in without reservation, you will have power close to Four Pillars. From now on, please take good care of the Wondrous Castle, General Seo.”
And.
“Please leave it to me, Lord Mayor.”
From my mouth.
A strange mechanical sound came out on its own.
“Well then, go to your place. The battle with the One-Lings is imminent.”
“Understood, Lord Mayor.”
'I' moved my body and left Goe-gun's workshop.
The whole body pierced through space, moving directly to the outer wall of the Wondrous Castle.
Four Pillar level space movement!
And.
'I' began patrolling the outer wall of the Wondrous Castle.
'What...?'
I moved my consciousness in a bewildered state.
Didn't I just die after being modified by Goe-gun?
Didn't I regress?
But without a trace of that expectation.
'I' maintained consciousness as is, in the state of becoming a living puppet.
'W-what...!'
I shouted inside my body that had become a living puppet in bewilderment.
I had become a body that was modified by Goe-gun into a living puppet and could neither die nor live.