Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 93
>Chapter Title: Master (2)
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“Il-mok is missing?”
In response to the Heavenly Demon’s question, Yeom Ga-hwi, who had come to the Heavenly Demon Hall to report, bowed his head and replied.
“Yes.”
The Heavenly Demon unconsciously suppressed the demonic energy that was about to rampage.
Crackle.
As a result, the tip of the armrest on the chair he was sitting in crumbled into dust.
It was the effect of the demonic energy that had momentarily leaked from the Heavenly Demon’s hand.
“Phew.”
Letting out a sigh, the Heavenly Demon calmed his mind and looked down at Yeom Ga-hwi, who had his head bowed.
‘Good grief. And here I thought I had fully mastered my emotions.’
The thought suddenly occurred to him that his expectations for his youngest disciple might have been greater than he had realized.
But that didn’t mean he could take out his anger on Yeom Ga-hwi.
It was a frequent occurrence at the Demonic Path Academy for students to die or suffer severe injuries.
Cases like getting stranded during exams, as now, or sneaking out during peacetime and getting stranded happened rarely but undoubtedly.
And the Heavenly Demon had never punished the Academy Master for it.
The Demonic Path Academy was a place to teach children practicing demonic arts—future talents who would fight on the forefront of the Divine Cult. Danger was inevitable.
Even now, the risks were much mitigated compared to the past, when half the students died during far more perilous training and exams.
If he punished the Academy Master every time, the position would change several times a year.
Thus, the Heavenly Demon had never punished the Academy Master for such incidents.
But now, punishing him because his own disciple had met the same fate would be inconsistent.
More importantly, it would violate the principle that all students at the Academy were treated equally.
So instead of raging over a past event, the Heavenly Demon focused on handling the aftermath.
“Order them to select personnel from the Silver Shadow Hall and Dark Shadow Hall. And tell those selected to head straight to the Demonic Path Academy and track Il-mok’s traces.”
“Understood!”
He issued the order to the Silver Shadow Hall Master waiting nearby, who responded with cupped fists and vanished into the shadows.
* * *
The Heavenly Demon’s orders were swiftly relayed, and soon after, those searching for Il-mok departed the main headquarters for the Demonic Path Academy.
But it wasn’t a massive force.
As befitting the leader of a great power, it wasn’t just because the Heavenly Demon distinguished public from private matters.
Searching for the stranded involved tracking traces. Too many people would interfere with each other’s trails.
In the end, only those without pressing major duties were mobilized from the Silver Shadow Hall and Dark Shadow Hall.
Among them were Jin Ha-yeon, who had been receiving special training from Team Leader Dam Bin of the Silver Shadow Hall’s first squad, and Seo Wan-pyeong, a Dark Shadow Hall member who was Il-mok’s senior brother and the Heavenly Demon’s third disciple.
In the dead of night, illuminated only faintly by moonlight.
“…Little bro. Where the hell did you go?”
Arriving at the wild mountain where the exam had taken place, Seo Wan-pyeong muttered while biting his nails, unable to bear his anxiety as he wandered, searching for Il-mok’s barely visible traces.
“Don’t worry, Third Young Master. Young Master Il-mok will surely be safe.”
Jin Ha-yeon, far less experienced and younger than Seo Wan-pyeong, calmly and coolly reassured him.
But even she, who appeared so composed, wasn’t at ease inwardly.
‘…I’ll believe he’s safe.’
Deep within her cool gaze, filled with earnest hope, her eyes thoroughly scanned ahead, lest she miss even the slightest trace.
How long had they wandered, searching for traces blurred by the natural wind or animals in the mountains?
“…Third Young Master.”
“…I sense it too, Miss Jin.”
Arriving somewhere together, Jin Ha-yeon and Seo Wan-pyeong stared ahead with grim expressions.
Having graduated from the Demonic Path Academy, and having received a briefing from the instructors for this mission, they knew.
This was the edge of the exam grounds. A place blocked by a formation.
But.
“To think the formation… was damaged.”
Of all places, a tiny gap had formed precisely here in the formation.
Their arrival here was nearly coincidental.
While endlessly searching the three mountains, they had coincidentally spotted faint traces leading this way.
They had debated ignoring it at first.
This side was blocked by a formation, designed to gather anyone caught in it at a specific point. If he’d been caught, there’d be no reason for him to go missing.
But with most of the exam grounds already searched, they came on a hunch and discovered it by chance.
“Little bro!”
As Seo Wan-pyeong hurriedly moved toward the gap in the formation, Jin Ha-yeon grabbed him.
“Calm down, Third Young Master. It’s not certain yet!”
“What do you mean? Haven’t we already searched everywhere else?”
“There’s still a chance it’s a false lead. And searching just the two of us will only drag it out. We should gather the others first, then search together.”
Caught in ominous thoughts, Seo Wan-pyeong regained some composure at Jin Ha-yeon’s persuasion.
* * *
The full-scale search resumed around dawn.
A minimal team began combing the unconfirmed areas inside the formation, while most spread out in a semicircle from the gap as the starting point. The rear semicircle was inside the formation anyway.
Then, after another half day passed, toward evening.
A report on the search results arrived at the Heavenly Demon Hall.
“A tiny gap in the formation… What do you make of this, Eight Trigrams Hall Master?”
An Hyo-gyun, Hall Master of the Eight Trigrams Hall overseeing the Divine Cult’s formations and mechanisms, spoke in a calm tone.
“First, it’s possible someone tampered with the formation to create the gap, but…”
After discussing the possibility of deliberate sabotage, An Hyo-gyun shrugged indifferently and added flatly.
“The traces from the exam and search have mixed completely, making it impossible to identify the culprit.”
The Heavenly Demon kept his eyes fixed on the Eight Trigrams Hall Master while using his senses to observe the reactions of those gathered in the Heavenly Demon Hall.
He already knew the site was too disturbed to pinpoint a culprit.
That was why he had assembled the Cult’s key figures to question the Hall Master.
Anyone showing surprise, anxiety, or relief would likely be connected.
Unfortunately, no one showed a notable reaction.
Whether they were all sly foxes hiding their true feelings or it truly was an accident was unknown.
Meanwhile, An Hyo-gyun addressed the second possibility.
“There’s also a slight but real chance it formed naturally. The formation for this exam was vast, and being a temporary one for testing, damage by animals wouldn’t be surprising. Academy records show it happened occasionally in the past, no?”
The Heavenly Demon nodded as if convinced.
‘My gut says sabotage, but with precedents, forcing an interrogation would be ridiculous.’
He hadn’t fully accepted it. He planned a secret investigation via the Silver Shadow Hall, but something more pressing came first.
“Then, rescuing Il-mok from Peach Blossom Ridge takes priority. Eight Trigrams Hall Master, when does the Life Gate of the Bewildering Dream Phantom Return Formation at Peach Blossom Ridge open?”
“In six days.”
Nodding, the Heavenly Demon addressed those gathered as if issuing an order.
“Then tomorrow at dawn, this old man will go to Peach Blossom Ridge with the Silver Shadow Hall Master.”
“!?”
Everyone present looked at the Heavenly Demon in astonishment.
Amid this, An Hyo-gyun, who had been conversing with him, asked without hiding his unease.
“You don’t plan to break the Bewildering Dream Phantom Return Formation on the way out, do you?”
His foreboding was simple. The thought of the Heavenly Demon shattering the formation again—after they’d repaired it and caught the escaped elders—made his vision go dark.
But fortunately, the Heavenly Demon hadn’t completely lost control to worry over his disciple.
“Worry not. After securing Il-mok’s safety, we’ll exit through the Life Gate in five days. I gathered you all to prepare for my absence.”
Finding suspects via reactions was a reason too, but he didn’t voice it.
As the Heavenly Demon finished speaking, those gathered prostrated themselves in unison.
“We shall obey!”
* * *
One by one departing the Heavenly Demon Hall, heading to their quarters.
- Tomorrow the Heavenly Demon will head there himself, but is Young Master Il-mok’s death certain?
Even at the sudden transmission, the elder showed no sign as he walked, replying via transmission.
- Have you forgotten what that place is? No matter how talented the youngest, a mere Academy student can’t survive two days there.
At the response, the elder who had first transmitted inwardly sighed in relief.
Any conspicuous behavior might draw the Heavenly Demon’s suspicion.
* * *
The previous evening. Before the dwelling of the elder practicing the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword.
While forcibly teaching Il-mok the follow-up forms.
Rustle.
With a small noise, another elder emerged from the bushes.
“Who are you lot to cause a ruckus at my dwelling!”
As the newcomer bellowed in rage, the elder teaching Il-mok replied.
“Who are you to barge in claiming my house as yours!”
“What? You must want to die!”
The intruder swung his arm in fury, crimson-hot energy surging along his palms.
Slash.
But the elder had already drawn his sword, slicing the energy cleanly with a simple flourish.
“Fine! Let’s settle this!”
“Hah. You think that level can beat this old man!”
As the two elders clashed with shouts, Il-mok stealthily edged away.
‘Now’s my chance.’
He planned to slip away while the senile pair fought.
But.
“You rat!”
“Sneaking like that, you must be the one!”
“!?”
Who’s ‘the one’? The question arose, but logic wouldn’t help now.
As both elders directed killing intent at him, Il-mok bowed low and shouted.
“Master! Your disciple Young Jin is here!”
“I have no disciple named Young Jin!”
“Wait, it was Young Jin!”
The two, uttering different lines, glanced at each other briefly.
“Hahaha. Fancy meeting you here, old friend.”
“Indeed, it’s been ages. Hahaha.”
Suddenly, they greeted each other warmly.
After a brief chat with Il-mok’s new master, the intruder bid farewell and returned whence he came.
“What are you doing? Time to practice the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword follow-ups.”
He promptly resumed training Il-mok.
Even with his faltering memory, his duty to teach his disciple remained clear—a true master.
After enduring the new master for a while longer, the elder rubbed his belly and said.
“My stomach’s empty.”
Sensing the opportunity, Il-mok sheathed his sword and cried out.
“Your disciple will prepare food at once, Master!”
A pretext to halt training had appeared.
“Hahaha. Food prepared by a disciple brings back old memories. Hahaha.”
The elder gazed blankly, reminiscing, then tilted his head.
“Who are you?”
“…Just a passerby.”
Il-mok saw this as his chance to escape, but he was a bit hasty.
“A Martial Alliance assassin hiding your identity! Think you fooled me!”
“!?”
As the elder reached for his sword, Il-mok desperately bowed and shouted.
“I-it was a joke, Master! Your disciple Young Jin is here! You said you were hungry, so I wanted to prepare food!”
Amid his delightful kidnapped-and-imprisoned life with his new master, Il-mok felt tears welling up unbidden.