The Shadowy Guardian
“Were these bizarre things meant to obscure my vision?”
Just as the direct shockwave from Lion’s Roar reached the man, a pink semi-transparent barrier unfolded around him.
Lion’s Roar emitted a chilling sound as it slammed into the circular barrier, but the barrier remained completely unscratched.
“...A defensive Ineung?”
Lan’s brows furrowed deeply as he watched.
“What a pity. Not even a single strand of my hair touched it. Then it’s my turn, isn’t it?”
Lan hovered helplessly in mid-air, completely unprotected, yet the man simply watched him without moving.
The man casually brushed off the snowflakes clinging to his clothes, picked up the fallen straw hat, and pressed it firmly onto his head before sliding his sword back into its scabbard and assuming a stance.
Lan, still unable to land, hastily switched from his offensive stance to a defensive one.
“You’d better run. I don’t want to make any unnecessary corpses.”
Staring at Lan for a long moment, the man slowly and gently drew his sword.
Along with the sword, which began to emerge slowly, an enormous darkness erupted and sprayed outward.
Even though it was already dark night after sunset, the darkness was so distinct from its surroundings that it felt otherworldly.
“Horizontal slash—Yongjo.”
Swooaaah—
The pitch-black darkness once again dyed the night sky black.
“Kuhk…!”
Lan, swept up by Yongjo, tumbled across the white snowfield until he crashed into a rock.
Along the path he had taken, dozens of red flowers had bloomed anew.
Lan leaned against the rock with his body, gasping for breath.
From the moment the man had assumed his stance, something had felt off.
Even though it was supposed to be a mere show of power, he had failed to evade it perfectly, and the result was quite a serious wound.
Looking around, the entire area was now a complete wasteland from the technique’s aftermath.
I’m one of the Seven Pillars. It’s not something to be proud of, but if I were to search every inch of this vast continent, the number of people who could defeat me would still be countable on one hand.
His entire body was covered in wounds. The torn robes were soaked with blood, and blood pooled everywhere around him.
If Wolhyang were to see Lan’s pitiful state right now, she would probably roll her eyes and charge at the man.
I lost. I didn’t use my full strength, but neither did he. It’s surprisingly clean defeat—almost refreshing, actually. Besides, that technique is something only his lineage can use. What on earth is his real identity?
Crunch. Crunch.
Lan stomped the snow beneath him as the man approached calmly and asked about his condition.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. Thankfully, the wounds aren’t too deep. I’m grateful you held back.”
“Good. It’s fortunate they’re not deep.”
“If it doesn’t bother you, I’d like to ask about your noble name.”
As Lan tried to rise with his injured body, the man stopped him and simply sat down on the ground nearby.
“Noble name. Fine. And you don’t need to be so formal with me.”
At most, the man mentioned the strength of someone who looked like he was his age, his origins, and his purpose here.
Lan had many questions about him, but after the man’s firm refusal, he decided not to ask anything further.
“Then, if it’s all right, could you tell me the reason you’re here?”
“I was watching over them so that the lineage of that family would not end. I revealed myself to you only because the one who took away those children left a question mark in my mind.”
Lan felt a wave of relief. Contrary to his worries, the man was actually an ally.
“Why watch over them all by yourself, without revealing your presence at all? Wouldn’t support be necessary?”
“You mean because I’m arrogant? Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, no one will dare cross this land.”
It was an extremely arrogant statement.
If anyone had overheard the conversation, they would have called the man insane and laughed it off, or glared at him in contempt for being disrespectful to the Pillars.
But Lan, who had shaken hands with him, simply nodded repeatedly and quietly accepted it.
“Haha…”
Lan, scratching the back of his head awkwardly, suddenly remembered the corpses he had seen before meeting the man and spoke up again.
“Those who died somewhere over there… you said they were yokai, right?”
“First time seeing yokai? Well, it’s possible. The continent has been peaceful for hundreds of years. The ones lying there are half-human, half-beast or called beast people. Don’t they look like animals?”
“...”
Honestly, I find it hard to believe, but considering how bizarre their appearances were, it’s impossible to dismiss them as lies. Suddenly, yokai appear? What is going on?
Lan listened to the man’s explanation with a serious face and fell into deep thought, leaving the two of them in awkward silence.
After a short pause, the man broke the silence first and caught Lan’s attention.
“By the way, it seems the place you’re in right now isn’t here.”
“...What do you mean?”
“If the hidden place here has been invaded, the children might also have been attacked by the yokai.”
Whoa!
Lan shot up from his seat at the man’s words.
I got too caught up and missed that.
Lan immediately tried to leave, but the man stopped him.
“Your injuries are serious. As a Pillar, why would you get hurt? You need to recover a bit before returning.”
After speaking, the man stood up and headed straight into the forest. But after only a few steps, he turned around again.
“Oh, wait.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“By the way, I almost forgot. I have two things to tell you. First, what happened today—especially anything about me—must never leave your lips. No one must know my existence. Second, as a Pillar, you’re certainly strong. But there’s still room for you to go higher. You already know that well.”
“...Yes, I do.”
“One more thing to add. You have your own form. Don’t get entangled with others’ forms. Once you realize your own form, take one more step, and when you have perfected your form completely, you can finally complete your ultimate technique.”
It was completely abstract and hard to grasp, but it seemed to help Lan a lot.
As a highly regarded strong person on the continent, the man saw that Lan had already started piecing it together and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“You talk too much. Take care of the children well for me.”
Lan answered by bowing deeply.
“Ah, yes. Before leaving, clear up those corpses over there. While you’re at it, clean up the traces here too.”
“Ah... Yes, I understand.”
* * *
The next day.
“...Ga sseu... e... a...”
Hmm...?
Slowly opening his eyes, he saw a ceiling he had never seen before.
Thinking back, someone had said something earlier...
Was it just a dream...? Or another hallucination?
Unable to shake off the unease, he tried to recall his memories, blinking and spinning his head in vain, but nothing came to him.
When he was trying to remember carefully, voices from nearby began to drift in.
“One person only lost consciousness from the shock with no external injuries. The other, however, suffered internal injuries from the aftermath of using their Ineung for the first time.”
“...”
“Although the wounds are severe, they won’t affect his life. As the Pillars know, thanks to the exceptionally strong bodies of that lineage, the damage isn’t as great as expected, and their recovery ability is unmatched.”
“I see. It must have been tough.”
“Not at all, Lord Pillar. Then I’ll take my leave now.”
One of the voices was familiar—the one he had heard recently.
Hearing that voice made him think of something far more important than recalling memories.
Lan and Teraden’s conditions.
“Maru...! Ah.”
Lan shot up and looked around. Maru was lying peacefully on the bed beside him, breathing softly in deep sleep.
Maru was safe.
“Kyuoooooooowww!!”
The loud snoring from next to him and the conversation earlier made him certain Teraden was also fine.
Thump.
But he was furious at someone else—himself.
It was his fault. Because he was weak, Maru and Teraden, and many others, had been injured.
Just as he moved closer to Maru and reached out to gently stroke her small hand, Lan approached silently.
“We meet again. The healers with Healing Ineung passed by earlier. It’s fortunate. I heard the situation was extremely dangerous, but none of you three suffered major injuries.”
“Thank you for healing us both.”
“It was only my duty. I apologize for letting you endure such a horrible ordeal.”
Lan bowed his head abruptly.
Lan was startled by the unexpected apology and waved his arms wildly, denying it.
“Apologize? What are you talking about? Please lift your head. Lan-nim has done nothing wrong.”
At his words, Lan looked up.
And just as he did, a man’s shout came from beyond the door behind him.
“We, we are honored to meet the great Pillar of the continent! Ahhh!!”
Knocking on the door followed immediately.
Tock. Tock. Tock.
“Lan-nim. The one who called for Lan-nim has arrived. Then I shall enter.”
Finally, the door opened and someone stepped inside.
It was a woman with a cold expression, beautiful enough to be called a national treasure.
“Um, good. Wolhyang, while you check on him, please take care of these people.”
Just as Lan tried to leave the moment he arrived, the woman called Wolhyang pouted while putting her hands on her cheeks.
“Why are you in such a hurry? A girl like me wants to stay a little longer before going.”
Her icy demeanor, and yet she was acting so coquettish? Honestly, it didn’t suit her at all.
“I’ll be back in a bit. Got it?”
With Lan’s smile, Wolhyang covered her blushing face with her sleeve and answered.
“O-Of course... I will.”
After ruffling her slightly irritated hair a couple of times, Lan opened the door she had entered and stepped out.
Beyond the door, Jubern stood with a tightly tensed and rigid face.
“I assume you already know who I am, so I’ll keep the introduction short. Nice to meet you.”
Lan extended his hand with his signature smile.
Jubern, too nervous, ignored the outstretched hand and dropped to one knee on the floor, shouting loudly.
“W-We are honored to meet the great Pillar of the continent!!”
“Ah...”