#57. Chapter 14. Silver Demon Mountain (3)
“Anyway, we came out ahead this time. Let's get going, Professor.”
“Hold on a second.”
I told Yoo Hae-bin, who had wandered over sleepily, to wait a moment. She looked puzzled and asked,
“Did you notice something weird? I didn't feel anything unusual.”
“It's not exactly weird, more like...”
I trailed off, staring at the statues crumbling like sand. It was my secret—one I couldn't share with Yoo Hae-bin or anyone else. I needed time to sort out my thoughts about it.
The center of Silver Demon Mountain's summit. That was when the Black Heart first reacted.
The ruins had identified me and Yoo Hae-bin as intruders, layering mana pressure on top of a dispel effect that lingered on her for a while. My guess was that it didn't see us as purely human.
The Black Heart had reacted during the trap attacks in the passage too, but nothing noticeable. It only pulsed strongly again when we reached this spot and prepared to fight the army statues.
And then the army statues halted without a proper fight.
So it meant this: The mana powering basic traps and even animating those army statues like living things—the fundamental energy source sustaining these ruins for over a thousand years—was hostile to my Black Heart.
I had another piece of evidence backing that hypothesis.
“...”
Power was flowing in.
The mana that had moved the statues. The mana rippling through this space, pressing down on me. It was all... flowing into the Black Heart.
(Rank B)
1) Target: Lee Sea
2) Condition: Physical threat exceeding minor injuries
3) Current Status: Condition not met
Thump, thump. My heart raced with joy. Not mine—the Black Heart pulsed as if grinning, saying there was plenty more prey ahead, urging me onward.
Then Yoo Hae-bin called out in surprise.
“Professor!”
I turned to see her face flushed with panic, her appearance subtly altered. She was still in her male disguise, blinking dazedly before yanking open the zipper of my jacket I'd lent her, right up to her solar plexus. She glanced down at her chest.
With nothing but a T-shirt underneath, her curves stood out more than usual, but even to my eyes, it wasn't dramatically different from before. She patted her chest with her palm to confirm, then said to me,
“Uh, this... the dispel on me is gone too.”
“Yeah... looks like it.”
It had to be fallout from the Black Heart's reaction. Had it absorbed not just the army statues' mana, but all the ruins' mana around me? That would explain why the dispel lost its effect on her.
Yoo Hae-bin had no clue it stemmed from me—from the Black Heart exactly. The amount absorbed was substantial, and as a dragon, her mana sensitivity was exceptional. Yet she sensed nothing. That meant an ultra-subtle, high-level mana absorption had occurred.
As I stared, she quickly zipped up the jacket. Then, in a slightly suspicious tone, she pleaded,
“Um, Professor... could I return this jacket later at the dorm? Y'know, in case the dispel hits again, and I don't have bandages anymore, so... I'd like to keep wearing it a bit longer.”
“Do whatever. Just give it back later.”
“Really? Thank you!”
Grinning ear to ear, she bowed her head, and I turned toward the next passage. I couldn't help but chuckle softly. Yoo Hae-bin had a knack for thanking even the obvious, showing a surprisingly polite side.
Why would I take the jacket back? Snatching it now would make me less a final boss and more a shameless jerk.
Anyway, we hurried down the passage again, my attention fixed on two messages.
'Disciples of Heroes' arc in progress.
Volume 2 Tags: [Academy] [Incident Focus] [Growth]
Progress: 47.5%
Clear Condition: By end of Volume 2, kill at least one of the 36 Heroes while keeping Phantom off the suspect list (Phantom affiliation must remain undetected).
Rewards scaled by achievement rate.
Yesterday—on the first day of the school trip when I left home—the progress was around 39%. Just before Silver Demon Mountain collapsed today, it hit about 43%. Now it had jumped over 4% more.
4% progress. Roughly one chapter's worth. Short if psychological, long if event-driven. A full chapter could be introspection alone, or packed with action.
Which was it this time? Lee Sea wasn't in danger now. But the progress spiked sharply in a short time. Unlikely to shift focus to outsiders when it's about Lee Sea and Jin Yu-ri.
Lee Sea was safe, progress rising—Kill the Evil was probably zooming in on their situation. Conclusions: three possibilities.
First: They're arguing big time over differences or debating how to find me and Yoo Hae-bin.
Second: Detailed dive into the leads' psyches—Lee Sea and Jin Yu-ri, potential protagonists.
Third: If not, maybe foreshadowing for a major later plot point in Kill the Evil. Buildup starting here, at Silver Demon Mountain.
If third... I had to figure it out.
But a doubt lingered. I'd never mentioned Silver Demon Mountain in writing World Guardian. I learned of it post-reincarnation.
Many such places exist—can't describe every spot or person. Even here in Gyeongju, mana ruins unknown to me as author abound.
But if it's a key foreshadowing spot in Kill the Evil, that's different. It'd tie deeply to world secrets—I should've known as author.
Yet I didn't conceive Silver Demon Mountain. Still, it existed a thousand years ago, before Kill the Evil, my childhood, everything. And linked to Black Heart, core plot?
Hard to swallow. My only clue: the hologram at the summit collapse.
Encountered traces of Eastward Flowing Moon!
I'd guessed Eastward Flowing Moon linked to Seo Yeon-hee. She's Long-lived Species, moon-close, born after they came to Earth.
But timelines clash now. Long-lived prophecy of doom mid-8th century. They fled to Earth to avert it, no return. Earth mana era began; some couldn't endure fading power, attacked humans.
Silver Demon Mountain legend: mid-9th century—overlaps. Seo Yeon-hee born much later.
So? Not linked to her? Or this trace post-legend, post her birth?
Unknown. Depends on what Eastward Flowing Moon is, but info scarce.
And amid my thoughts, another hologram flickered.
Always-active trait (Rank S)
The Black Heart's reactions persisted, pulsing fiercer as we advanced—or so it felt.
A bit further...
“Whoa...”
Yoo Hae-bin gazed distantly in awe. This chamber dwarfed the previous two. Height over ten meters floor-to-ceiling, width at least a hundred from our entrance.
Vast cavity with entry but no exit. She muttered, eyes gleaming,
“This time... not many numbers.”
No cavalry or infantry statues. No traps. Just three wooden coffins. That's it.
I told her,
“Don't let your guard down. Stay ready as we go.”
“Got it.”
We advanced slowly toward the opposite side, coffins in place. With each step, the Black Heart throbbed stronger. Now just ten meters away.
Then—
Boom—!
An explosion shattered a coffin lid. Figures inside bolted upright.
Yoo Hae-bin, mana surging, vigilance firm, muttered,
“Those... don't look like statues this time.”
“Feels more like corpses, artificially preserved.”
Over a millennium dormant, yet they burst free with flesh and hair intact—no skeletons. But no life spark. Tousled black hair, eyes suddenly glowing red.
And—
Rooooar—!
Jet-black mana swirled around them.
My Peeping Eye couldn't read it. At least A-rank, probably S from the aura.
Always-active trait (Rank S)
Thud! The Black Heart pounded hard, approaching the three figures to steal their mana.
But...
Snap—!
Not easy this time. Mana tugged taut in midair like a tug-of-war.
Not the soulless figures' doing. I glanced at the chamber wall—no exit. Beyond it... something countered the Black Heart's theft.
My final boss perk wasn't pure, but these ruin-makers were no pushovers.
These three weren't ordinary Awakened. Too suspicious for mere intruder defenses.
Next instant—
Shoooo...
Dark-red mist poured from their bodies. Behind them, a dark-red orb floated, moon-like.
Seeing it, I understood much.
Silver Demon Mountain. Legend of a silver hero slaying evil demons.
Hero unknown, but demons' identity clear. How the creators sealed them here—obvious now.
Grrr...
Heh-heh, ahahaha—!
Mad laughter from the mist-shrouded three. Silver Demon Mountain's demons. Ancients arranged their corpses as intruder traps.
And their true nature—I knew it too.
Dark-red mist. Moon-like pattern on exertion.
Only one race: Long-lived Species from the moon. Fallen ones who preyed on humans for power, dubbed vampires.