Chapter 188
Chapter 189: Nonsense Actions
Nonsense actions.
At the main branch of Black Night Palace.
It is one of the great organizations of the Demonic Faction, led by Black Night Princess, one of the Absolute Demons known as Samoaje.
Bang.
Bang.
An unknown, thunderous sound echoed, and someone was walking down a dimly lit corridor, devoid of any torches.
With a steady stride, neither fast nor slow, the man passed through the passage without a sound.
His presence felt remarkably faint, almost like he was walking on water, covered by the echoing rumbles around him.
Before long, the man arrived in front of a massive door.
The pitch-black door was adorned with small, purple gems.
“Greetings to the Princess.”
Upon the man’s appearance, those waiting at the door promptly bowed, paying their respects.
“Is everything normal?”
“Nothing unusual.”
Nodding in response to the query, the man reached out towards the purple gem embedded in the door.
The gem briefly shone brightly at his touch.
Thud.
An eerie sound echoed from the door.
Koooom!
With an effort that seemed trivial, the man pushed the extremely heavy door open with a single hand.
“Chilju.”
“Yes, Princess.”
“The gem has cracked, so summon the Taeeolgui later.”
“Understood.”
The man conveyed the message as he stepped inside the chamber.
The interior beyond the door was just as dark as the corridor outside.
Yet, the man walked forward without hesitation, as if he could see clearly in the darkness.
Only his faint, purple eyes shimmered dimly within the thick gloom.
Finally.
After walking for quite some time, the man came to a stop in a room devoid of light. However, he could see it all too well.
Glancing around for a moment, he slowly knelt before a certain spot.
“How have you been?”
His words scattered into the emptiness.
No answers came in return.
But he didn’t mind.
He merely spoke the words he intended to deliver.
“A lot has happened in such a short time.”
As if in response to the princess’s words.
Crumble. Crumble.
A subtle sound of something crumbling echoed before the princess.
It was the sound of dried flowers disintegrating into dust.
In the room shrouded in darkness, countless petals lay piled up like dust before the princess’s eyes.
These were flowers nurtured by an enormous tide of bets.
“Outside still resembles hell, but you need not concern yourself with it.”
The princess simply continued speaking.
“The sky merely looks down, while you…”
At that moment, the princess’s words were abruptly silenced.
Before her stood her sky.
With a cold sweat dripping from her brow, the princess lifted her gaze.
“Ah…”
A thin gasp escaped the princess’s lips as she beheld the sky.
Such a fragile body.
This frail and pitiful form seemed as if it would only frolic around for a moment.
Yet, the princess knew.
She understood how much extraordinary power lay hidden within that delicate body.
In the child’s hand was a wilted flower, shriveled and dry.
The other hand held a book.
Due to the long hair cascading down to the floor, the child’s face remained obscured.
However, the princess could perceive only the remarkably bright, purple eyes shining within.
“…Oh, Sky.”
In the princess’s eyes, it became clear.
That was an unbearable darkness.
The fact that light was extinguished in all directions was thanks to the sky.
Merely having it before her was a testament to the chaos driven by the princess’s accumulated bets.
The child raised a small arm, offering the book to the princess.
With caution, she accepted it.
“The end.”
A small voice of the child.
The princess immediately set the book ablaze. What a blessing it could be.
“…I shall prepare the next one.”
“I’m hungry.”
“I will also hurry with that.”
With the princess’s words, the child turned without further comment and headed back to where she had come from.
Was it just an illusion, or did the place where the child existed appear unusually dark?
The sky resembled nothing less than a blessing bestowed upon her by the gods.
The princess observed the child’s retreating figure and quietly rose to her feet.
Though it should have been an enclosed space with walls on all sides, she felt a strange sensation as if a breeze was blowing.
With her body now upright, the princess took in the sky’s visage a little more.
“I must reinforce the body.”
To contain that vast darkness, the vessel was far too small.
To prepare for that, she needed to gather more flowers.
Bowing her head towards the sky, which was looking away, she paid her respects before turning towards the entrance she had come from.
Bang!
As soon as the princess exited, the door shut as if it had been waiting for her.
Those guarding outside were the same as before.
But there stood someone waiting for the princess, who hadn’t been there earlier.
“Greetings to the Princess.”
Before her was an elder, a Martial Master who held the position of Deputy Lord of Black Night Palace.
The people of Central Plains referred to him as the Ghostly Seven Swords, Seoncheogmun.
The princess looked at the elder with a different expression and asked.
“What is it?”
“I have an urgent message to convey, and I have taken the liberty to visit.”
“Speak.”
“I have found the whereabouts of the Flame.”
At Seoncheogmun’s words, the princess’s expression turned curious.
“Where is it?”
It’s said to be at the Front Line.
“The Front Line… It seems to belong to one of the Righteous Faction guys.”
Upon hearing this, Seoncheogmun cautiously handed over a letter.
The princess instantly accepted it and unfolded the contents.
As she swiftly read the written words, she suddenly halted at a certain part.
“Gu Clan…”
The name that escaped the princess’s lips felt as if it had snagged on a thorn at the back of her throat.
“Indeed, it’s the Gu Clan.”
Without questioning further, the princess merely nodded.
After all, if the coveted Flame belonged to the Gu Clan, then how fitting it seemed.
“You mentioned the Front Line.”
“That is correct.”
Front Line.
A region already reduced to ruins due to the impact of the Demonic Gate.
The hypocritical and shabby Righteous Faction, under the pretense of blocking this place, sends the bloodline and Sword Team to gain the trust of the common folk.
But it was all for nothing.
Seoncheogmun watched the princess and voiced his thoughts.
“…We are hastily organizing troops, but given the nature of the objective, I expect it will be somewhat challenging.”
At his words, the princess incinerated the letter in her hands.
Flame Burst.
The purple fire that spread from the princess caused Seoncheogmun to bow his head even lower.
“There is no need to organize troops.”
The princess’s statement left Seoncheogmun with a look of confusion.
Why would she react like this when she had discovered what she had been searching for?
“It shall be I who goes directly.”
“…Princess!”
The Black Night Princess, who had remained in the palace without ever moving, shocked Seoncheogmun with that declaration.
For over a decade, she had not moved from the palace.
“It’s too dangerous. If we’re not careful, the Flame Ghost might come out… Gkk!”
Seoncheogmun’s babbling was abruptly cut off.
The pressure radiating from the princess silenced him immediately.
Though her expression remained unchanged, Seoncheogmun realized that the moment he slipped up in speaking, his head would roll like a toy.
“Are you afraid of that toothless tiger?”
“No… No! How could I…”
“Exactly, you shouldn’t be.”
Hearing the suppressed response, the princess gently patted Seoncheogmun’s shoulder.
The suffocating pressure vanished instantly.
“The Flame Ghost of the past has long since died, and now it’s just an old man living peacefully in Mount Shan.”
The terror of the Gu Clan was not the Flame Ghost.
Moreover, there was no need to fear past martial artists who couldn’t step out of there.
“This matter shall be handled by me directly. Make sure to relay that.”
“…Yes, understood.”
After all, the Flame was essential for the sky.
Having realized that, there was no room for hesitation.
“If it were any other matter, I would have simply let it slide.”
However, since it involved the Gu Clan, there was a bit of curiosity.
Having previously received reports of the Gu Clan being involved, too.
‘Gu Yangcheong, wasn’t it.’
A boy who had killed the Grand Extermination Demon, a peak martial master who was, though useless, quite skilled.
He, too, was a figure from the Gu Clan.
Moreover, they said he was the only remaining heir of the Flame Ghost.
Hence, the princess recalled the name she glimpsed upon the letter before burning it.
Gu Huibi.
If all goes as planned, many would soon hear the name of the Sword Demoness.
“Deputy Lord.”
“Yes, Princess…”
“Prepare more flowers and books.”
“…I shall obey. I will inform Taewoo of the books.”
Having given those final orders, the princess walked past Seoncheogmun.
A few steps later, she faded away along with the suddenly rising breeze.
The objective was the Front Line, where Gu Huibi awaited.
It was the moment the princess, after a decade, finally set foot in the Central Plains.