Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: The Colorless Demon King
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Before I could even grasp what had just happened, a strong wind suddenly whipped up from somewhere.
*Whooosh—*
The wind instantly blew away the surrounding darkness, the space I had simply thought of as black walls.
“Ah…”
In the next moment, I realized I was standing in a place all too familiar.
A rocky mountain where not a single blade of grass could be found,
A strange mist that swirled about, disorienting the senses,
A hazy sky.
…The place where I had spent ten years.
A place that was now like a second home to me.
Spirit Mountain.
In the shabby pavilion at the very peak of that rocky mountain.
“…Master?”
My master was sitting there.
***
It was an surreal sight.
Feeling as though I were truly in a dream, I stared blankly at the scene before opening my mouth again.
“Mast—”
“Why do you call?”
“……”
His world-weary voice made me hesitate for a moment.
But then, doubt crept in.
“Is it really you, Mast—”
*Thwack!*
“Ack!”
I clutched my head and crumpled to the ground.
A withered branch was now in my master’s hand.
That, too, was familiar.
It was the wooden stick that had struck my head countless times back on Spirit Mountain.
“Youngest.”
“Yes…?”
“You’ve grown foolish in my absence.”
As I stood there, lost for words, my master’s leisurely tone continued.
“‘Is it really you?’ Of course, it is. In the first place, no being in all the heavens and earth could ever imitate me, Baek Rogwang, the World’s Greatest.”
“……”
That arrogant, self-important tone was definitely my master.
In fact, I’d realized it the moment I felt the pain on the crown of my head.
I gently rubbed my head and said.
“…What in the world is going on?”
“I have resorted to this method to give some advice to my foolish disciple.”
“Advice?”
“It is about your Eldest Brother.”
“……”
At the mention of my Eldest Martial Brother, my expression turned serious.
“I have many questions about that matter. Why did you send me to the past, telling me to capture my Eldest Brother? Was it so I could grow diligently from a young age? And what is this ‘Forgotten Era’? The Martial God of this world seems to know you, so what is all this—”
A sudden surge of emotion caused the words to spill out of me in a rush.
My master studied me with a calm gaze, then smiled faintly.
He rose from his seat in the pavilion.
Then, with his hands clasped behind his back, he walked step by step toward the cliff’s edge.
I fell silent and followed behind him without a word.
A moment later, we stood at the peak of Spirit Mountain, gazing out at the misty world.
“So, how have you been lately?”
“……”
My master’s questions often carried many hidden meanings, and this seemed to be one of those times.
I hesitated, unable to answer readily.
“Much must have already changed from your previous life. Though not even a month has passed, many things must be different.”
“……”
“The Arts of the Greatest of All Time have firmly settled in your body, and you even encountered a fortunate opportunity along the way. You have also experienced your fair share of life-threatening crises.”
His tone was calm.
But the more my master spoke, the more I found myself unable to say anything.
Because I knew.
I knew what it meant when my master—Baek Rogwang, the World’s Greatest—spoke in such a tone.
“Do you think you are doing well right now?”
“……”
It was precisely when he was reprimanding a disciple that my master adopted a gentler demeanor.
That fact made my heart sink.
“I…”
“I know. You have by no means been idle. But you should know that is not what this master is asking.”
“……”
“Was the month you spent there more valuable than a month on Spirit Mountain? Are you certain that time will serve as a foundation for your future? Truly, these questions are difficult to answer. There is no set answer; you can only judge for yourself.”
I couldn't answer.
It wasn't that I was simply holding my tongue; I truly couldn't think of anything to say in response.
“Youngest.”
“…Yes.”
“You must have many questions. None of the doubts you harbor now are trivial.”
“……”
“But if that were all, I would not have appeared at this moment, in this manner.”
My master’s transparent gaze turned toward me.
“Do not let your guard down.”
I had never let my guard down.
At least, until this moment, that’s what I had thought.
That I had spent my time being meticulously careful and fiercely dedicated.
…Was that really true?
After returning to the past.
Hadn’t I harbored a thought somewhere in my heart that life was too easy, that everything was simple?
Of course, I had faced several near-death crises, and the month I spent in the past was certainly eventful.
But what my master was talking about was on a different level.
He was telling me to be wary of the complacency that had sprouted somewhere in my heart while I was resolving all those matters.
My master, who was now looking at me, patted my shoulder.
“I did not send you to the past simply to foster your growth. You may not believe it, but reversing time is a troublesome affair even for me. Watch the world you belong to more carefully. As a piece of advice, you have already felt a sense of wrongness.”
*Pat, pat.* The moment his wrinkled hand touched my shoulder, I felt the fatigue in my body strangely fade away.
It was as if I had been completely freed from the muscle aches that should have lasted at least two more days.
Around that time, the surrounding scenery began to blur again.
The darkness that had vanished with the gust of wind began to swallow my surroundings once more.
Without any particular discomfort, my own body began to sink into the darkness.
“Remember this, Youngest.”
Through it all, my master’s even voice continued…
“If we had not met today, you would have died in a month.”
***
I blinked my eyes.
I had clearly lost consciousness for a moment and then regained it, but strangely, my mind was clear.
“……”
“……”
I was still standing on the platform, a fact I realized a moment late because…
the surroundings were shrouded in silence.
[Child, just now, did you…?]
The moment the Martial God’s voice was heard.
*Murmur—*
A small commotion spread through the crowd like ripples.
I could see the seated nobles whispering among themselves with bewildered expressions.
Only then did I realize their gazes were not on me, but on what was behind me.
I, too, turned around to look at the mirror.
More precisely, at the number on the mirror.
[1]
That’s right.
I had received a Blessing.
But…
‘What kind of Blessing is it?’
I didn’t feel any different about myself.
In any case, there were still others waiting to receive their Blessings, so I stepped down from the platform.
After returning to my seat, I recalled the recent events one by one.
It didn’t feel like I had seen a hallucination or had a dream in the slightest.
What I had just witnessed was truly my master, and his advice was something I had to take to heart.
‘The reason he sent me to this world.’
I lifted my head.
I had a question, but there was no one suitable to ask.
Left with no choice, I asked my one and only friend.
“Hey, friend, let me ask you something.”
At that, Seren, who was sitting next to me, scowled.
“Friend? Have you lost your mind? Did you receive the [Blessing of the Moron]?”
“Should I call you my fiancée, then?”
“……”
Seren, who had been sneering, clamped her mouth shut at my words before speaking.
“What is it?”
“Do you know much about the Calamity Gods, no, the Demon Kings?”
“Are you taking me for a fool? Any scion of a Great Family hears about them from the time they’re nursing.”
I nodded and asked.
“My memory’s a bit hazy. Could you confirm if what I know about those Demon Kings is correct?”
“…Go on.”
And so, I recited the names of the Demon Kings one by one.
Hadenaihar, the Demon King of the Crimson Moon.
Tangtata, the Demon King of the Green Tongue.
Kingarodtus, the Demon King of the Golden Horn.
Ahop, the Demon King of the Black Swamp.
And the worst of the Calamity Gods, the Empire’s greatest threat, and the one known as the sole Great Demon.
Behemoth, the Great Calamity.
“……”
After listing all the Demon Kings’ names, I looked at Seren.
She tilted her head and said.
“You’re a strange one.”
“What is?”
“You know about a minor Demon King like Tangtata, but you don’t know about the Colorless Demon King who appeared most recently?”
As I listened to Seren’s words.
I was contemplating the sense of wrongness I had felt during my conversation with the Council of Elders.
—*This can’t be.*
—*To think a subordinate of the Six Demon Kings had infiltrated the Bednicker Family.*
The unease I felt at the words ‘Six Demon Kings’.
—*Truthfully, I don’t know much about the Calamity Gods either.*
—*I’ve had no contact with them, and no interest.*
—*I mean, I thought there were Five Demon Kings, not six, so that says it all.*
The thought that had crossed my mind then.
“…What’s the name of the Colorless Demon King?”
I asked.
“Haru.”
Seren answered.
I had to force myself to suppress a sigh.
Haru.
Haru, the First Supreme Sword.
That was the name of Baek Rogwang’s first disciple, my Eldest Martial Brother.