Chapter 414: The Dark King’s Nightmare (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 414: The Dark King’s Nightmare (2)
The words Wi Seol-Ah had spoken echoed relentlessly in my mind.
…Wake up from it.
It wasn't a lightning-strike revelation, but I knew I had to decipher the meaning hidden within her words.
Wi Seol-Ah tilted her head, confused by my strange expression as I fell deep into thought.
Oh?
A realization surfaced. It wasn't earth-shattering, merely something I had never attempted during this entire month of training. For some reason, her answer had brought it to mind.
"...Now that I think about it, why have I never tried that?"
"Huh?" she reacted, bewildered.
I didn't answer, instead giving her head a gentle pat.
"Young Master Gu…?"
"Thanks. Because of you, I think I became a bit cleverer."
"T-That's a compliment, right?"
"Yes, of course it is."
Cleverness was survival in this world. Her words would prove invaluable.
However.
Would that really work against him?
I doubted the method I'd conceived would be effective against the Dark King. The solution was simple.
If it doesn’t work, then so be it.
I would just find another way. It was that straightforward.
* * *
Night fell.
Beneath a slender crescent moon in the heart of a dark forest, a man stood with his hands clasped behind his back. An aura of profound silence enveloped him. His striking white hair contrasted eerily with the surrounding darkness. He stood as motionless as a statue until a change began.
His shadow stirred at his feet, then began to expand.
Swoosh-!
An unsettling aura spread, swallowing the field and plunging the surroundings into deeper shadow. Soon, it devoured the faint moonlight, bringing absolute darkness.
Rustle-
Heavy footsteps approached. It was the person the Dark King had been waiting for—the one he had met most frequently over the past month.
The Dark King watched the young man approach. He had come again.
A month had already passed.
This timeframe held significant meaning for the Dark King, who had initially believed the young man would last only a week. He had to acknowledge his admiration for this tenacity.
The young man endured countless deaths each night—over twenty on average. An ordinary person would have lost their mind in less than three days, yet this young man appeared merely weary. He seemed little different from the first day. Even the Dark King had to admit he was impressive.
Though each death was painless, the young man had long surpassed any normal limit. This perplexed the Dark King. How could he maintain his sanity?
Only two answers seemed plausible.
The first: His mind was already shattered long ago.
But the Dark King didn't believe that was the case.
That left the second answer. If the young man had transcended human limits...
It means he isn't human.
The Dark King nodded. That seemed most probable. He had felt it since their first meeting. The sight of the young man made his cursed heart beat wildly.
Thump- Thump-
It was the same now. His blood resonated uncontrollably, screaming that the young man was kin. It demanded he kill him, stoking a boiling desire for murder that the Dark King forcefully suppressed.
He had no intention of killing the young man. He was potentially the key to freeing the Dark King from his curse, a being similar to himself. The Dark King watched from the shadows.
Whether the young man was human or something else, whether he possessed some secret, it was irrelevant. What mattered was...
How pointless.
This was a waste of the young man's time.
Does the bastard not realize this?
The Dark King frowned, recalling how the Dishonored Venerable had requested this training. The repeated deaths within his 'Territory' were meaningless. The young man couldn't even touch his robes.
It was inevitable. This darkness was a domain the Dark King ruled. Those trapped within found their senses disordered and their Qi difficult to harness. Only one sensation was amplified: pain. This ability was designed for torture.
The Dark King was speechless. The Dishonored Venerable knew this, yet he had thrown his disciple into such torment. The young man was no saner, accepting the challenge simply on his master's word. Their relationship was strange.
But that was all. The Dark King pondered it no further. He merely had to fulfill his part of the bargain with the Dishonored Venerable.
Furthermore, he didn't believe Gu Yangcheon could overcome this challenge. A month had not changed his mind. The person who should know this best...
Should be that child.
Gu Yangcheon himself, who had endured it all. While he hadn't broken, his exhaustion was proof enough.
The Dark King watched Gu Yangcheon's expression and gripped his dagger. How much longer could he last? He had already exceeded expectations, but seemed to have little left. A week, at most. Then the Dishonored Venerable would see his error and choose another method. Even a mad martial artist wouldn't want his hope for achieving his goal to go insane.
As the Dark King prepared to move...
Hm.
He sensed a change in Gu Yangcheon. He looked the same, but now held something in his hand. The Dark King's eyes narrowed.
A dagger?
It was indeed a dagger, seemingly of Tang Clan make, likely borrowed from the Poison King's daughter.
A dagger.
Why bring one now? Over the past month, Gu Yangcheon had tried many methods to reach him. When hand-to-hand combat failed, he attempted to illuminate the darkness despite his hampered Qi. He had tried to burn him with flames. The closest he had come was when he grabbed the Dark King as a dagger pierced his own neck—a suicidal move fueled by sheer determination.
That was when the Dark King realized: Bijuu had found a disciple cut from the same twisted cloth. Master and disciple were both warped.
The Dark King regarded Gu Yangcheon with a strange look.
He still has a plan after all this.
He admired the persistence. But persistence alone wouldn't change the outcome. As long as the secret of this Territory remained hidden, Gu Yangcheon would fail.
The Dark King watched. Then, Gu Yangcheon pointed the dagger not outward, but at himself.
Before the Dark King could wonder...
"...!"
As the blade moved towards Gu Yangcheon's throat, the Dark King shot forward without thought. He seized Gu Yangcheon's wrist just as the tip touched his neck.
Kwak-!
In the same instant...
Kwak-!
Gu Yangcheon's other hand clamped onto the Dark King's wrist.
It happened in a flash. The Dark King's white eyes widened in shock.
Gu Yangcheon looked back at him, a broad smile on his face. "I caught you."
"...Hah."
He sounded happier than ever. The Dark King could only laugh incredulously. He was speechless.
"...How did you know?" the Dark King asked.
"Know what?" Gu Yangcheon tilted his head.
"This method. How did you figure it out?"
The Dark King was genuinely curious. If someone died in this Territory by any hand but his own, they would not revive. They would die for real. Gu Yangcheon would have been permanently lost. The Dark King couldn't allow that, which was why he had intervened. This implied Gu Yangcheon had chosen this method precisely to force the Dark King's hand. He had known the Dark King would save him.
But how?
Gu Yangcheon met his gaze. "I didn't know."
"What?"
The Dark King frowned. He didn't know?
"How would I? I never learned any assassination arts."
"Then why did you do it?"
Gu Yangcheon replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I just did it. For no reason."
"...What?"
No reason?
Gu Yangcheon continued, staring at the bewildered Dark King. "I thought about ways to wake from a nightmare. The first thing you try is to wake yourself up, right?"
"What does that have to do with this?"
"It's nothing special. I'd just never tried to wake up from this particular nightmare. So I chose the simplest method. It's what anyone would do."
"…"
The Dark King was rendered speechless by the calm answer. Over such a trivial reason, he had tried to kill himself? Without knowing the consequences? The Dark King was certain now.
"...You are insane."
"Truly crazy."
"What would have happened if I hadn't stopped you?"
"I'd have revived like always. Then I'd just have to try something else."
Hearing this, the Dark King felt compelled to reveal the truth. "Child, you would have died. Permanently."
"I believed you would save me if I were truly about to die."
"Why? What made you think I would prevent your death?"
It was one thing to hope for rescue, another entirely to trust the Dark King, of all people. What reason could he possibly have?
Gu Yangcheon's answer was simple. "Oh, I never really thought of a reason."
"What…"
"I just believed you would. It was a feeling."
"…"
The Dark King gave up. I didn't think another bastard like Bijuu would appear. This disciple was even worse.
He hadn't expected Gu Yangcheon to overcome the training like this.
"Sigh…"
The Dark King rubbed his face, a gesture he hadn't made in decades. Regardless, Gu Yangcheon had succeeded. The Dark King imagined the smug smile on the Dishonored Venerable's face and felt annoyed.
Then...
Blaze-
A wave of heat emanated from Gu Yangcheon. The Dark King didn't need to look for the source.
"What are you doing?" he asked coldly.
"I was personally curious about something. I might as well try it now," Gu Yangcheon said, his heat intensifying. His pupils glowed red, the energy becoming threatening.
What was he planning now that the training was complete? The Dark King watched, doubting Gu Yangcheon was foolish enough to challenge him.
"There was something I couldn't do because I died every time I tried."
"And you're trying now?"
"Yes."
His expression, once that of a dying man, was now bright, almost cheerful. How could he recover so quickly? The Dark King couldn't understand him.
"I'm wondering if this Formation is truly indestructible."
"…"
"Just a small curiosity."
The Dark King didn't respond. This wasn't a 'Formation' in the martial arts sense. It was an 'Authority' born from his curse. While Gu Yangcheon might have the potential to wield such power, the Dark King saw no reason to teach him. There was no benefit in learning this cursed ability.
He remained silent, neither cautioning nor stopping him. He would let Gu Yangcheon try.
Gu Yangcheon looked at him and spoke quietly.
"Red Heaven."
In that moment, a torrent of scorching heat erupted from Gu Yangcheon's body, flooding the darkness.