Chapter 462
Chapter 462
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 118
>Chapter Title: Approaching Omen (3)
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Dark main hall.
The surroundings were a complete mess.
Before the throne reduced to powder, someone approached the being shrouded in shadows, who was barely suppressing their rage, and knelt on one knee in respect.
He was a long-haired man in a pure white uniform, his red lips standing out prominently.
The heavy aura filling the entire hall due to his lord's fury made it hard even to breathe.
Yet the man soon steadied his breathing and spoke with a tense expression.
“Mok Gan. As you commanded, all measures have been completed.”
“......”
Mok Gan stared fixedly at the man before waving his hand dismissively.
As if by magic, the ferocious energy that had been pressing down on the hall dissipated.
With breathing now much easier, the long-haired man quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Then, cautiously, he broached the subject.
“However, there is one problem.”
“What is it?”
“We've lost all our brothers in the Heaven-Earth Society. To recover and release what you personally sealed, we'll need to deploy new brothers......”
Mok Gan cut him off.
“Have you already forgotten?”
“Yes?”
“Not all of them are lost.”
At those words, the red-lipped man's eyes widened.
Come to think of it, there was one single card he had forgotten.
Even after mobilizing every card at his disposal, there was that one card he had held back just in case.
* * *
[From today, Joong-sun, you are a member of our family.]
[Yes. Fath......]
[Tut-tut.]
[Yes, Father.]
[Good.]
[But Father...... Who's that behind you?]
Behind Father—no, the elder—peeked out only part of a face, just an eye, of a child.
She was so pretty it was unmistakably a girl.
Was this to be my little sister?
My lips curled up involuntarily.
Then Father forcibly dragged the girl out from behind and said,
[This child is your older brother.]
'!?'
Brother?
What was this?
No matter how I looked, she was a girl.
I couldn't understand why she was called a brother.
And clearly, when Father first came to me, he had said,
—You have excellent talent. I want you to become the eldest son of our family.
—M-Me, become your son, Elder?
—Yes.
In that stroke of luck, I became the adopted heir to one of the top families in the Society.
But why call this girl my brother?
I thought they were taking me in because there were no male heirs left in the family?
Bewildered, the shy girl, who had been hesitating, soon approached from behind Father's back and extended her hand.
[L-Let's get along from now on.]
Reluctantly, I took her hand and greeted her.
[Pleased to meet you, Brother.]
Perhaps that's when our relationship went awry.
Five years passed since then.
In that time, I learned many things.
Originally, as Father had said, I was destined to be accepted as the eldest son.
But due to the last words of the late Great Madam before I joined the family, that damned girl was playing the role of brother despite not even looking the part.
A wretched girl had stolen my position.
But I couldn't voice such complaints.
No matter how absurd it was, that girl truly carried the family's blood, while I was merely an adopted son brought in to continue the line.
So, I had only one option.
To prove that my talent far surpassed hers.
However,
[Excellent.]
The praise from Father was directed not at me, but at that girl.
I thought a girl's talent couldn't amount to much, but hers was ridiculously superior.
I myself had been accepted for my outstanding talent, but this was a monster.
She fit the saying "hear one, know ten" perfectly—one lesson, and she grasped ten.
Because of this, Father began alternating his gaze between me and the girl in the training hall, habitually saying,
[What a pity. Such a pity.]
Damn it.
What was the pity?
That my talent as the carefully chosen adopted son was inferior to hers?
Or regret that her talent was so exceptional despite not being a son?
Either way, rage boiled up inside me.
But I never showed it.
As merely an adopted son, to survive here, I absolutely could not incur dislike.
Two more years passed.
Despite my blood, sweat, and tears, the gap in talent didn't narrow.
Rumors even circulated that in a few years, this girl might claim the title of the Society's top later-generation disciple.
'Damn it.'
I couldn't comprehend.
I trained longer than her, minimized sleep, and focused on qi circulation—why couldn't I catch up?
Was Father favoring her more?
I knew he wasn't that type, but suspicion gnawed at me unreasonably.
'Haa.'
Surely he wouldn't give the successor position to this girl who couldn't inherit the greater rites?
If so, I might really want to kill her.
Days passed in such anxiety for me, but not for her.
-Tap!
A hand touched my shoulder. Turning, a finger poked my cheek.
It was the damned girl.
Annoyingly playful, she grinned and asked,
[Got you again. Hehehe. What're you doing?]
[What... is there to do?]
[You were staring holes through my room, so I thought you were mad at me?]
[M-Mad?]
[You're not?]
[Of course not. Aren't I your right-hand man? I'll support you and uphold the family. So don't worry.]
[......]
At my words, the girl's expression turned subtle.
Did she not trust me?
But she suddenly hugged me tightly and laughed.
[Yeah. My little brother. Thanks.]
Wretched bitch.
My little brother? ...Just because she was born three years earlier?
The more she acted like this, the more I hated her.
To the point I really wanted to kill her.
A few days later.
Father suddenly summoned us.
With an unusually solemn face, unlike usual, Father said,
[Both of you, go to Corpse Blood Valley.]
[Yes?]
I was stunned.
Corpse Blood Valley—wasn't that where minor sect disciples risked their lives for advancement?
Why send us there?
[It's for fulfilling our Society's long-cherished wish. The other Five Kings' heirs are all going, so you two lead by example.]
Damn it.
As the family's adopted son, I thought I'd never have to go to Corpse Blood Valley.
But now, sending everyone there?
This was too much.
The girl calmly replied,
[Understood.]
And as soon as we left Father's study, she smiled brightly at me.
[Don't worry, little brother. I'll protect you.]
-Grip!
Her words made rage surge again.
I could barely stomach going there, yet this girl encouraged me as if it were nothing?
Damn it. How dare you make me feel this pathetic?
You really make me feel so small.
In the end, at just fifteen, I was thrown into Corpse Blood Valley.
The first trial was the iron orb scramble.
[Huff huff...... Brother......]
[Take it.]
[But you found this, Brother.]
[You go first. I can find another quickly.]
[Brother......]
Damn her.
Did she think I'd fail even this simple test, so she handed over her find?
How much did she look down on me to do this?
I sincerely wished that girl would die.
Yet, as she said, she found her orb, knocked down all comers, and even won top prize.
Second flag trial.
I deliberately avoided teaming with her.
I didn't want to be with someone who made me feel pathetic calling me little brother.
While searching for the flag, absurdly, I was ambushed by minor sect disciples.
[Without you, the next trial will be easy.]
I prided myself on beating most peers, but six together overwhelmed me.
Individually worthless, why must I suffer this?
Desperate to survive, I fled from them.
Then, precarious lightfoot on the cliff—I fell into the ravine.
-Rumble rumble rumble!
[Aaahhh!]
Better to die by this than those scum?
But I didn't die.
-Splash!
Luckily, I landed in a water puddle unharmed.
Something felt off, though.
The cliff ravine was dark, but not scary—yet chills wracked my body.
Looking around, I was horrified.
'W-What is this?'
Countless bones scattered, clothes suggesting initiates of Corpse Blood Valley.
What was this place?
Seized by dread from the innumerable bone fragments, terrified, I hurriedly tried climbing the cliff.
But an unknown force made me fall back.
Then something dragged me—
'Gasp?'
It was a monster with a horrifically burned face and no eyes.
Terrified, I struggled to escape, to no avail.
This fiend was a monster.
[Impressive you survived, but unlucky to see this place. You must die.]
-Crush!
[Guhk.]
Killed just for seeing this?
Injustice welled up.
If I'd known I'd die so pointlessly, I should've done as I pleased.
Catering as an adopted son, dying without achieving anything—pure resentment.
If only I'd killed that girl when I had the chance?
Then a voice came from somewhere.
[Wait.]
[Yes? How?]
At the voice's command, the burned being loosened its grip.
Someone approached.
-Flinch!
Shockingly, it had an eye on its forehead.
The grotesque being smirked evilly at me.
[You have intriguing desires.]
'!?'
That was the turning point of my fate, my first meeting with Him.
Thanks to Him, I gained everything I wanted.
The family successor position, and even the title of Five Tigers, top later-generation disciple in the Society.
Everything seemed to go my way.
As long as I followed Him, who protected me, all would bend to my will.
But now, crisis struck.
Even with His avatar intervening, everything unraveled.
No allies remained inside.
With all His limbs in the Society dead, it was the worst scenario.
'What to do?'
Per His words, I skipped the war under closed-door pretext.
But that bred suspicion.
Father aside, ignoring the Alliance Lord's call drew investigation demands from the Dark Sect.
Pondering this, I spotted bugs swarming under a tree.
Approaching, my lips twitched into a sinister grin.
As expected, He had prepared everything.
* * *
Around ugly hour in the dark predawn.
A group moved stealthily toward the pavilion near Corpse Blood Valley.
About twenty masked figures.
Elite few, all experts—footsteps barely audible.
Post Heaven-Earth Society civil war, manpower short; Valley Lord and remnants all in inner fortress, so their movement was easy.
-Swish!
Reaching the cliff before the pavilion, they halted.
The burly-hatted leader said lowly to the one beside him.
“Is it truly as He promised?”
“Didn't Father witness His power? He will protect us.”
“......Understood. Five stay to guard; the rest, follow.”
-Swoosh!
He gestured and led the cliff ascent.
Unlike his bulk, nimble form quickly entered the hidden pavilion.
Inside, he assigned ten to guard entrance and vicinity, then ascended to the third-floor report room.
Supposedly in a small cavity in the third-floor corner.
They found the small cavity marked with a red line.
“There.”
They entered the red-lined cavity, searching for 'it.'
But after searching, they sensed something wrong.
It was supposed to be here—why gone?
The burly-hatted man asked beside him, puzzled.
“You said it was definitely here?”
The other hatted man tilted his head, confused.
“No way. He clearly said it was here......”
-As if it would be.
-Flinch!
A voice echoed from outside the cavity; all turned.
'!?'
Nothing there.
The hatted man slightly lifted his hat, scanning narrowed eyes.
No one could fool his senses—one of the Five Kings and Eight Stars of the Society.
Yet something odd.
'What?'
Eyes saw nothing, but bizarre energy stimulated senses.
Indescribable, chilling—like ghost qi.
Then, the one beside the hatted man showed sudden distress.
“What's wrong?”
-Tap!
Despite the question, he stepped back.
“Joong-sun!”
The hatted man grabbed his shoulder, calling his name.
Joong-sun spoke with trembling eyes.
“......How are you here, you bitch?”
'You bitch?'
What was he saying?
While the hatted man and others puzzled, only Joong-sun's eyes clearly reflected someone.
A young girl, half her hair white, bound in iron chains.
'G-Gyu, Gyu So-ha?'
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