Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Episode 1 - Childhood (4)
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"I'll help you."
Ma Il-seok said upon returning to the thatched house.
Mok Seon-o blinked as he looked at him with an awkward expression.
For Mok Seon-o, it was something he couldn't comprehend.
Just moments ago, the man had been furious, insisting he had no desire whatsoever to help, and now he had suddenly changed like this.
A brief moment of contemplation followed.
In the end, all Mok Seon-o did was smile.
"Thank you."
Of course, what else mattered when his younger brother had a change of heart and approached him like this?
*
Finally, the three of them were gathered together.
With Mok Seon-o smiling and Ma Il-seok looking sullen before him, Mok Ri-won blinked as he gazed at the two men.
Then, Ma Il-seok spoke.
"From today onward, this Beggar King will assist in your training."
It was a declarative statement, but Mok Ri-won responded with a radiant smile.
"Really?!"
Ma Il-seok's body flinched.
He had tried to put on a serious front, but the boy leaped at the chance with such enthusiasm that embarrassment immediately welled up.
But that lasted only a moment.
Ma Il-seok hardened his expression once more and continued speaking to Mok Ri-won.
"Yes, because your nature has many peculiarities."
"Peculiarities?"
"Do you know what star you were born under?"
Mok Ri-won nodded.
"The Heavenly Slaughter Star!"
"Then do you know why that star is called the Star of Slaughter?"
Mok Ri-won, about to answer, suddenly froze and shut his mouth.
'Come to think of it...'
He didn't know much about this.
Even Mok Seon-o, who had first introduced him to the concept of the Heavenly Slaughter Star, had only vaguely said, "Those born under this star carry the fate of slaughter."
As Mok Ri-won fell silent, Ma Il-seok let out a sigh and muttered.
"I knew it would be like this...."
Ma Il-seok's gaze turned toward Mok Seon-o with a dissatisfied look.
Mok Seon-o cleared his throat awkwardly, responding to the glance as if making an excuse.
"I planned to tell him when he was a bit older."
"You must have, Elder Brother."
"Urgh...."
Ma Il-seok shifted his gaze back to Mok Ri-won and continued in a stern voice.
"Listen well."
"Yes!"
"The reason the Heavenly Slaughter Star is called the Star of Slaughter is none other than this."
He stepped forward.
Mok Ri-won swallowed dryly as he looked up at Ma Il-seok.
The firmly set gaze carried an even colder air.
The pressure emanating from it was an immense force unlike anything Mok Ri-won had ever felt.
"Those born under the Heavenly Slaughter Star have a certain quirk."
With those words, Ma Il-seok drew a dagger from his bosom.
He placed the blade against his palm.
"A quirk?"
"Yes."
Whatever he intended to do, Mok Ri-won sensed it wouldn't be pleasant.
His prediction was correct.
Ma Il-seok glared at Mok Ri-won with deeply sunken eyes and drew the dagger across his palm as he explained.
Crack-.
"It's that they become excited at the sight of blood."
Mok Ri-won's vision began to fill with red blood.
At that moment, he felt it.
Thump-.
His heart pounded heavily, heat rising through his body—a thrilling sensation he had never experienced before.
*
Mok Ri-won opened his eyes when the bright moon illuminated the night sky.
Staring blankly at the ceiling of his room, he suddenly recalled what had happened before falling asleep and bolted upright in shock.
'Master!'
That was the scene he remembered.
The moment his vision filled with the red, metallic liquid, his heart raced wildly, accompanied by a strange thirst.
His insides burned so fiercely that even breathing was difficult, and his gaze couldn't tear away from Ma Il-seok's palm where blood welled up.
So he lunged at Ma Il-seok.
Mok Seon-o had blocked him.
Only then did Mok Ri-won remember everything, and he rushed out of his room in a panic.
"You're awake?"
In the courtyard right before him, Mok Seon-o, who had been gazing at the night sky, spoke.
His calm tone, as if asking what had happened, made Mok Ri-won's body shrink involuntarily.
"Master...?"
"How is your body?"
How was it? Naturally, fine.
It had to be.
What had stopped his bite as he lunged at Ma Il-seok was Mok Seon-o's forearm.
Mok Ri-won's gaze turned to Mok Seon-o's left forearm.
Feeling the gaze, Mok Seon-o smiled and replied.
"This master is fine."
It was a gentle voice.
For some reason, Mok Ri-won felt tears welling up at the sound.
"Why are you crying?"
Mok Seon-o approached and stroked his head.
Mok Ri-won trembled, his throat tight.
"Master...."
"Yes, this master is here."
Pat.
Pat.
As he stroked his head, Mok Seon-o pulled Mok Ri-won into an embrace and patted his back.
Sobbing and gasping, Mok Ri-won continued.
"Am I becoming a demon...?"
It was fear.
The day's events had been so shocking that he was terrified he would do something horrifying whenever he saw blood from now on.
"Can't I become a hero?"
Ma Il-seok had said it.
The Heavenly Slaughter Star had the quirk of excitement at blood.
That's why it was called the star that brings slaughter.
It was truly apt.
Even in this fearful moment, just thinking of blood made his heart pound.
It was thrilling yet terrifying, filling him with anxiety at the thought of living like this forever.
Mok Seon-o's heart ached at the sight of Mok Ri-won on the verge of tears.
How could he not know?
For this child, so soft-hearted he couldn't even bear to watch a rabbit caught in a trap, how terrifying this quirk must be—he could fully understand.
In truth, Ma Il-seok's method wasn't entirely welcome to Mok Seon-o.
The intent to awaken caution through shock was good, but it had first instilled fear in the child, and that thought lingered.
Mok Seon-o hugged Mok Ri-won tightly.
In a soft, soothing voice, he replied.
"You're wrong. You can become a hero."
"But...."
"Ri-won."
Releasing the embrace, Mok Seon-o placed his hands on both shoulders and looked at him as he continued.
"Do you know what separates a demon from a hero?"
Mok Ri-won didn't answer.
Mok Seon-o smiled gently at him and went on.
"It's not using the power you possess recklessly. And even when evil thoughts arise, enduring and suppressing them."
Explaining for a child was difficult.
Since he was still naive about the world, it wasn't abstract concepts or ideologies but words that stirred the heart that were needed—and visualizing the abstract was key.
Mok Seon-o gazed at Mok Ri-won thoughtfully, then posed another question.
"Ri-won."
"Yes...."
"If someone with pure inner energy uses that power rightly, would they be a hero?"
Mok Ri-won held back his tears and pondered.
Then he nodded.
"Yes...."
He could answer confidently.
Because right before his eyes, Mok Seon-o was such a person to him.
Smiling, Mok Seon-o asked the next question.
"Then, if someone with pure martial arts exploits others with that power, would you call them a hero?"
Mok Ri-won shook his head.
The heroes he knew helped others, not exploited them.
Mok Seon-o continued.
"What if someone with malevolent inner energy uses that power to help others?"
Mok Ri-won's body trembled slightly.
Mok Seon-o smiled a bit playfully as he pressed on.
"Would you call them a hero, or because their inner energy is malevolent, label them a demon?"
Mok Ri-won's lips quivered.
His eyes now met Mok Seon-o's.
"Ri-won."
"Yes...."
"Swords have no eyes. They do not distinguish opponents, nor speak of good or evil. To a sword, there is only the swordsman who wields it."
Mok Seon-o's hand brushed Mok Ri-won's face.
Teardrops fell one by one onto his hand.
"What if it's a somewhat malevolent sword, or an ugly-looking one? If you, who wields it, know justice, isn't that enough? Then wouldn't that sword be a hero's sword?"
Mok Ri-won listened to the words and peered into his eyes.
The pupils were the only black part in his otherwise pure white eyes.
Black was often likened to evil.
Mok Ri-won knew that too.
Yet he understood that black and evil were different because the black in those eyes held brilliant starlight.
"No matter how malevolent a quirk you have, if you suppress it and direct that killing intent toward unjust deeds, wouldn't that suffice?"
Mok Seon-o didn't stop there.
"There is a man called the Demonic Hero."
"Demonic Hero...?"
"Yes, the Demonic Hero. A man who, despite possessing wicked demonic arts, punished the wicked with that power. You can find him in the bookshop in that town— he's featured in a book called 'Tales of the Jianghu Heroes.'"
Curiosity lit up Mok Ri-won's eyes.
Mok Seon-o smiled awkwardly and continued.
"There's no law saying you can't become like that man."
In truth, it was a lie.
The Demonic Hero didn't exist, and the 'Tales of the Jianghu Heroes' he mentioned was merely a frivolous tale written for amusement.
No, it was even a book criticized for defending demons.
But Mok Seon-o didn't care.
'What of it?'
Even such a lowly tale could become hope for someone as desperate as this child.
"Ri-won, you are a kind child who can direct the killing intent within you toward the right path."
Finishing his words, Mok Seon-o awaited Mok Ri-won's response.
Mok Ri-won fidgeted with his fingertips as he looked at Mok Seon-o.
He gazed at the star in his eyes, the stars adorning the night sky, and the pale moon embracing them.
It was a breathtakingly beautiful scene, an achingly tender one.
Silently taking it in, Mok Ri-won slowly nodded.
"Yes...."
"Yes, you are a good child who knows justice. You will surely become a hero."
Mok Seon-o's laughter tickled Mok Ri-won's ears.
In that moment, Mok Ri-won realized.
'My heart...'
It no longer raced breathlessly.
"I'll have my servant fetch 'Tales of the Jianghu Heroes' for you. You'll like the Demonic Hero's story too."
Too.
At that word, Mok Ri-won asked.
"Does Master like the Demonic Hero?"
Mok Ri-won didn't know the Demonic Hero.
Nor did he know the 'Tales of the Jianghu Heroes' or the martial world.
Thus, what mattered to him was one thing.
Would his master and fatherly figure love him, who belonged to the demonic path?
Would he deem the righteousness achieved through demonic ways as right?
Mok Seon-o blinked at Mok Ri-won's tense expression, then burst into hearty laughter as he replied.
"Of course! He's a hero, after all—how could I not like him?"
A child's world is small.
Confined to a single thatched hut in the mountains and the stream before it.
Thus, the child felt overwhelming emotion at the old man's words.
He rejoiced alongside the affirmation from the father figure who supported his world.
On this day, the child finally gained a clear dream.
To follow in the footsteps of the Demonic Hero, a man he had never even known existed.