Chapter 91
Chapter 91
Chapter 91
Separation (1)
I hate this atmosphere. A calm yet awkward atmosphere. Two contradictory feelings constrict my body. An evening with a setting sun.
-I want to go there.
-Where?
-The place where we first kissed.
We ended up coming to that forest. Jang So-yeon, sitting perched on a rock, was silent for a long time. Then she opened her mouth as if regretting something.
"I should have learned martial arts too."
"Why are you saying that?"
"If you learn martial arts, you don't age."
"To reach the point where you don't age, you'd have to risk your life from childhood. Even then, you need exceptional talent to make it possible."
"Tsk."
Jang So-yeon spoke in a deflated voice.
"I'm going to be thirty soon."
Women are obsessed with age. Especially sensitive about their twenties and thirties.
"You'll never age, will you?"
Her voice was forlorn. It was painful to listen to. Her words continued, spilling out like a lament.
"Let's go on a trip."
She made a sudden proposal.
"When?"
"Now. Let's be alone together for just three days."
Having said those words, Jang So-yeon bowed her head and smiled bitterly, as if she found it absurd even to herself.
"I'm sorry. For only saying useless things."
The corners of her eyes reddened.
I held her hand.
"Let's go."
"Huh?"
"I have plenty of time. Three days or so is nothing."
I embraced her.
"Where should we go?"
"Is it really okay?"
I just smiled. And immediately deployed my lightness skill.
***
I rode the bike on the cool road. Jang So-yeon, her face hidden by a helmet, hugged my back tightly. We rode like that until the road ended. The place we arrived at was the sea. What the place was called didn't matter. What mattered was simply being at the sea with her. In this life, I'd never been able to relax and be comfortable like this.
These three days were time I needed not just for her, but for myself too.
-Please rest well.
That was the end of Jimun Seo-saeng's message. Since it was the winter sea, it was quite cold. I took off my clothes and draped them over her shoulders.
"I blew off my schedule. What should I do?"
"Leave it to So Iryeon. She'll handle it."
We watched the sea like that until night fell.
***
It was leisure I'd had in a long time. The three days passed quickly, and I spent every moment with Jang So-yeon. All the lines we had maintained with each other collapsed, and neither of us regretted it. It was time we truly loved. And when we returned to the Heavenly Demon Cult headquarters, she said,
"I want to stop now."
I just nodded my head. For those past three days, she had been more proactive than ever. She seemed like someone desperately trying to eliminate any lingering attachment. It was a scene I'd seen in my previous life too.
"Tsk, you could at least try to hold onto me once."
"You know. I'm the Heavenly Demon."
She laughed. "Live well, you bad guy."
"That doesn't seem like something the person saying let's break up should say."
"We won't be awkward, right?"
"Then like me again. I'm fine with it."
"I won't. I also have happiness I want to enjoy as a woman, you know. You can't give me that."
Painful words. I could only nod my head again. She waited for my answer for a moment. I knew what words she wanted, but I didn't say them. Because they wouldn't be sincere.
'At times like this, experience is cruel.'
I love passionately, but I quickly rationalize away anything that would hurt my heart. This is also training to reduce wounds. It comes naturally to me.
She turned around. And moved away from me.
***
When I arrived at the conference room, Jimun Seo-saeng asked, "How did it go?"
"There was no miracle."
"Did you break up?"
"I got dumped cleanly at the happiest time."
"Well, aren't you used to it?"
"Can't you comfort me a little?"
"If you're sad, I'll comfort you."
Jimun Seo-saeng smiled. I should have smiled back at him, but I couldn't.
"It's just that you're not meant to be."
"Is that comfort?"
"You look sad."
Still, it was fortunate—that I had the emotion called sincerity left in me. Jang So-yeon made me realize that.
"Will you rest a few more days?"
"That's too much comfort. Stop there."
"Then let's work."
Jimun Seo-saeng held out documents.
"I think I need to rest a few more days after all. My heart hurts too much."
I escaped the documents and went to the Ice Castle.
***
I was training at the Ice Castle.
"Cult Leader!" So Iryeon called me.
"What?"
"I heard you got dumped!"
So Iryeon held something out. It was alcohol.
"I thought you might need it."
"I don't drink."
When the new year comes soon, I'll be nineteen. And just one more year after that, twenty. All prohibitions on me will be lifted. I wanted to keep this rule, if only because it would be a waste of all the restraint I'd practiced for my own growth.
"Then I'll drink it for you."
So Iryeon turned the strong liquor upside down and gulped it down in one go.
"Kya!"
"Are you teasing me?"
"So-yeon unnie is crying too."
This is how pain has to pass.
"Want to spar once?"
At my suggestion, So Iryeon's eyes widened.
"What's gotten into you?"
"Trying to relieve some stress."
"Sounds good."
Come to think of it, it was the same in my previous life. When a woman left, the Protectors would immediately fill that spot. They always stayed by my side like this, quietly and not excessively.
'Maybe that's why I could endure it.'
I looked at So Iryeon at this newly realized fact. She had already gotten up from her seat and was clenching her fists tightly.
"What are you doing? We have to fight."
The grateful feeling I'd momentarily had disappeared.
"I'm really not holding back today."
"Come at me as much as you want."
Stress relief began.
***
The new year dawned. Before meeting my parents, I stood in front of the mirror. Today, I wanted to show a neat appearance. At one time, the me in the mirror felt strange, but now I was used to it.
At nineteen years old, my body's growth was almost complete. My height had grown to 185cm, and my skin maintained a baby-like state at all times due to martial arts training.
My features were also quite distinct, and my eyebrows had darkened compared to when I was younger. When I tidied up my shaggy hair, even I thought I'd become a decent-looking man.
-Cult Leader, you've become more handsome than in your previous life.
So Iryeon's words came to mind. This was definitely true. In my previous life, I had a rough impression that people said looked manly. In contrast, in this life, I gave off a more refined feeling.
"Hurry up."
The Witch said one thing and left.
'I heard she's the most popular these days.'
The Witch always had a neat appearance. So neat that the flaw was she gave off a cold feeling. However, if you asked people to name the most popular woman worldwide, the Witch would unfailingly be included.
-The mysterious Ice Witch.
Even while calling her the Witch, the photos were full of high praise.
'Well, she is pretty.'
She lacks humanity, but appearance-wise, there's nothing to criticize.
Thinking this and that, I entered the main house. The Protectors and the Hundred White Blood Corps were already all waiting.
"Hehe, I'm going to have to give out a lot of New Year's money."
Father's joke started the new year. After the New Year's bows ended, I went to the Heavenly Demon Cult headquarters. A feast was already prepared there. We had breakfast together among ourselves without outside guests. Now we all got along like family, so warm words were exchanged. Among them was Fairy too.
"Eat a lot."
I deliberately took care of Jang So-yeon's food. Jang So-yeon smiled and accepted it. Rather, the other Fairy members glanced around subtly.
'If we avoid each other, it'll become endlessly awkward.'
Jang So-yeon also seemed to know this and accepted it naturally.
"Hyung!"
There's always an uninvited guest at a feast. It was Kim Mu-jin.
"Without me, isn't that too much?"
"You're busy these days."
"Wow, that's really too much. Even so, you could have given me a hint that there was a feast like this, couldn't you?"
"You're loud, and now that you're here, just eat."
He sat among the Fairy members all too naturally. Fairy was used to it now too, so they just left him alone.
"Your mystique is disappearing."
Kim Mu-jin lamented this point. He was skilled at making the atmosphere cheerful. His ability to incite people to sing together and make a noisy commotion was unparalleled.
'So he's not just good at hanging out with women.'
It was a talent I couldn't match. Thanks to him, the start of the new year was cheerful.
Without unwelcome guests, it seemed like today could continue to be pleasant all day, and I hoped for that. But pleasure is always followed by an equal amount of trial.
Kung!
A rumbling that started at the entrance of the Heavenly Demon Cult headquarters was transmitted all the way to the lake park. It was a rumbling as if an earthquake had occurred. That sound ruined the pleasant atmosphere.
I went directly to the entrance for a quick resolution. Naturally, the Protectors followed, and Kim Mu-jin, unable to contain his curiosity, also accompanied us.
"What is this?"
"Ure! I have come to perform my coming-of-age ceremony!"
It was a bald black man whose head reflected sunlight. His height approached 2 meters, and his body was muscular like a bodybuilder. Despite the cold weather, he wore only sackcloth-like shorts and his upper body was bare. He definitely had a native feel. He wore bands of three colors around his head, elbows, wrists, and thighs. They seemed to carry tribal significance.
"Speak so I can understand."
I stepped forward.
"Ure will plant this flag in the Heavenly Demon Cult according to the Sage's teachings and leave!"
In one hand, he held a spear carved from a blade. A triangular flag was tied to the spear tip. I organized the situation.
"Your name is Ure, right?"
"That's right!"
"So you came here because someone called the Sage told you to plant a flag in the Heavenly Demon Cult, and that's your coming-of-age ceremony?"
"That's right! Heavenly Demon! You're smart!"
"Well, thanks for the compliment. It was actually a bit hard to understand."
Two questions remained.
"Who are you? You need to tell me that. And who is the Sage?"
"I am Ure, the young warrior of the warrior race!"
The Barbarian Tribe. It was a warrior race with headquarters in Egypt.
"Who's the Sage?"
"The Sage is the Sage!"
At his answer, Jimun Seo-saeng quietly approached.
"He seems to be referring to their Fifteen Shamans."
Now I understood everything. I looked at the young warrior named Ure and asked,
"What did you do wrong to the Sage?"
He didn't understand.
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it. The fact that the Sage gave you such a coming-of-age ceremony mission means they want to kill you."
Kwang!
He brought down the hand he had raised above his shoulder. The ground rumbled again as if an earthquake had occurred. Only then did I know the identity of that rumbling. He was holding a crudely shaped hammer. The shape was simple, but the weapon was quite sophisticated, with the handle made entirely of metal.
"Warrior Ure! I will definitely perform my coming-of-age ceremony and return to fulfill the warrior's mission!"
"Alright. Come in."
At my words, Ure was surprised once more.
"Are you accepting it?"
"Let's talk about that later." I said as I turned around.
"Still, you're a New Year's guest, so come eat."
"Eat?"
"What are you doing? Looking at you, it seems like you haven't eaten properly either. On New Year's, we share. Come in."
Ure's conflicted mind showed on his expression.
'He's naive.'
I drove the point home.
"There's not much food left. If you're late, there won't be any."
"I'll go! But the coming-of-age ceremony must definitely..."
"I got it, so let's eat first."
He eventually followed behind me.
***
I actually served Ure food. He put his hands together to express gratitude and began eating earnestly. But while he was eating, children approached.
"Wow."
The boys were amazed at Ure's muscles. And the girls were fascinated by Ure's huge build. Ure, perhaps feeling the children's gaze, subtly held out the food he'd grabbed.
"Want some?"
The children didn't understand his words. Instead, finding the sight amusing, they smiled brightly. Ure smiled too, seeing the children's laughter.
'He really is naive.'
I quietly watched that scene.
"Jimun Seo-saeng, why do you think they sent that guy here?"
"There are three possibilities. The purpose of showing off their power to the Heavenly Demon Cult, the purpose of simply killing the warrior named Ure, and lastly, the purpose of making us kill Ure and using that as leverage."
I didn't particularly like any of the three.
"He eats well, though."
Whether Ure knew the situation or not, he was focused on his meal.