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Chapter 328: Listening to the Demonic Gate (2)

Right after starting the practical training.

Cheol Jiseon walked behind Jang Seonyeon, filled with hesitation.

He had felt the same for several days.

Moreover,

‘Should I just stop now…?’

While following her trudging steps,

His mind was a chaotic mess.

The Holy One in front remained silent, yet,

The faint energy he sensed from behind made Cheol Jiseon break into a cold sweat.

Even without words, he could sense it.

How deeply the Holy One’s emotions were sunk in darkness.

It was palpable enough for Cheol Jiseon to silently weep within his heart.

‘Is this really the Holy One?’

His first impression had already been shattered during their initial meeting.

Still, he thought,

As the son of the Clan Leader,

Being so kind-hearted was renowned, yet he felt there was too much contrast between the exterior and the interior.

‘If that’s the case…’

A certain person’s face floated in Cheol Jiseon’s mind.

A fierce-looking guy, closer to the demonic side in personality than the righteous, but at least he didn’t seem to be different on the inside.

‘…If only I could have that instead.’

Cheol Jiseon’s steps came to a halt.

Although he had been instructed by Jang Seonyeon to obey her every command,

It wasn’t easy for him to simply follow along.

‘To open the door right below where a person is standing…?’

A handful of fragmented memories from his childhood came rushing back.

The house consumed by flames.

His father who had stood above it.

His screams from the depths of his throat.

And his sister holding him tightly, stifling her breath.

Not to mention his mother, who thereafter never looked him in the eye again.

For Cheol Jiseon, it was a hellish memory.

‘…To have me commit that act again…?’

His fists clenched tightly.

Shivers raced through him, and the cold sweat trickled down his forehead to the tip of his nose.

As Cheol Jiseon was engulfed by past horrors and his mind began to waver,

“Cheol Gongja.”

The Holy One’s voice reached him.

“…!”

Did she notice he had stopped in his tracks?

Jang Seonyeon called out to Cheol Jiseon.

Startled, Cheol Jiseon glanced at Jang Seonyeon,

Holding his mouth with his hands in astonishment.

Because the light in her eyes gazing at him was simply too dark.

“It seems you’re hesitating.”

The Holy One’s words exchanged with Cheol Jiseon met his gaze.

“Ah, no…”

Hearing Cheol Jiseon’s trembling voice, Jang Seonyeon slightly smiled.

That smile chilled him to the bone.

“Yes, indeed. One shouldn’t hesitate now.”

“Kyuu, …!”

“Don’t we have things to hope for?”

Jang Seonyeon spoke, turning her head away once again.

Hoping for…

The moment the Holy One spoke, Cheol Jiseon’s mind immediately leaped to his own hopes.

‘The revival of the clan.’

For the Jiegal Clan to shed its false accusations and rise again as the core of the righteous faction.

‘…My sister’s happiness.’

For his sister to lead a happy life.

That was the only life he wished for.

Simultaneously fulfilling the dreams his father couldn’t achieve.

And fixing his sister’s…

This was the purpose of his journey to the Central Plains.

Jang Seonyeon claimed she’d assist in revitalizing the Jiegal Clan.

Although he hadn’t mentioned his sister,

If that was included in their agreement,

He might have claimed without hesitation that he would give everything for it.

‘…If I hadn’t met Jin Ryong.’

Yes, if he had never encountered him.

No longer just an existence that thoughts of killing him arose from.

The strength of his presence was simply overwhelming.

Just looking at the Shinryong Temple confirmed that.

At first, the fact that all bloodlines from the Four Great Clans entered the temple astonished him.

More than half of the Six Dragons Three Peaks had been admitted.

Each of them showcased an unthinkable level of presence.

But that wasn’t all.

The Sword Dance Hero, renowned for his beautiful appearance and the masterpiece of the Nangong Clan.

The son of a Clan Leader, and recently the Holy One who had made waves with outstanding achievements.

Even the Successor of the Sword Sovereign who had supposedly retired and gone missing.

In a place filled with nonsensical monsters,

Two months passed.

The one displaying the most presence wasn’t anyone else but Jin Ryong.

From the entrance exam to securing the top position,

Right from day one, he clashed with instructors and even emerged victorious.

Jin Ryong had been at the center of numerous incidents as if he were stirring up a storm.

‘…Because of that, they call me a madman; it’s made me odd, too.’

Just thinking about that churned his insides, but now wasn’t the time to focus on that.

Jin Ryong stood tall and proud.

Rumors surrounded him in droves, many of them tainted with malice,

Yet Jin Ryong attributed no significance to them.

As if dismissive of the rumors from the lower ranks, he listened once and moved on.

Meanwhile, he didn’t neglect murmurs about people around him.

Once, when someone slandered the Poison Phoenix,

Jin Ryong even went to the source and eliminated them.

What he said was, “If you do that again, I’ll shut your mouth for good and incinerate you.”

Those who witnessed the situation knew instantly

That those words were not empty threats.

The killing intent Jin Ryong emanated suffocated the entire room.

When people claimed Jin Ryong wasn’t different on the inside, that’s what they meant.

He didn’t care about the gazes of others.

He moved according to his own will.

If he disliked something, he crushed it.

If it was favorable, he kept it close.

It’s such a simple and straightforward idea,

But acting without regard for others’ gazes was another matter entirely.

Of course, Jin Ryong seemed to have many thoughts and hidden matters within.

Yet he didn’t exhibit a feeling of gloom as heavy as the Holy One.

‘…In that respect, he’s better than the Holy One.’

In Cheol Jiseon’s eyes, Jin Ryong wasn’t someone who craved superiority.

Rather,

‘The person in front of me seems to be more concerned about that.’

It would be more accurate to say that the Holy One felt inferior to Jin Ryong.

Even now, he emanated enough aura to be visibly noticed.

In such a scenario,

No matter how much Jin Ryong told him to do so,

He still wondered if it was right to confront him with a sword.

Cheol Jiseon was lost in deep contemplation.

Jin Ryong didn’t truly understand his own powers.

Not only the Demonic Gate that spewed forth demon beasts,

But also the force that opened dimensions beneath the ground, swallowing everything above and sending it elsewhere.

If an opening were created in the ground, those above couldn’t move.

Even masters who surpassed the peak couldn’t move.

And those swallowed by it had yet to return.

Just as his father once hadn’t.

Cheol Jiseon hesitated, advancing on his steps,

And soon, they were headed towards the highest point of the mountain.

As they silently walked,

Far away, Gu Yangcheong came into view. The Holy One had truly come to find Gu Yangcheong.

He expected some disruption,

Yet Gu Yangcheong flowed as predicted.

At that moment,

“Stay here.”

It was a command from the Holy One to Cheol Jiseon.

Following Jang Seonyeon’s instructions, Cheol Jiseon hid in the bushes.

Hoo-oo-!

As soon as he cautiously sat down, an unknown barrier formed around Cheol Jiseon.

A gentle energy wrapped around him, and at the same time,

A faint vibration was heard.

It seemed to be a delicate energy barrier.

Cheol Jiseon felt a moment of shock at the intricate application of energy, but it was fleeting.

He could see clearly.

The gaze of Gu Yangcheong, confronting the Holy One from afar,

Flickered briefly toward him.

‘Did he feel it…?’

Despite the distance,

Even with the energy barrier spread wide, he recognized it instantly.

Gu Yangcheong briefly met Cheol Jiseon’s gaze, grinned, then returned his attention to Jang Seonyeon.

Watching that made Cheol Jiseon swallow hard.

It seemed Jang Seonyeon had prepared a lot.

Ultimately, from Cheol Jiseon’s perspective, it appeared that Gu Yangcheong was controlling the scene.

As if he had known everything from the beginning, without the slightest hesitation.

‘What on earth is his identity…?’

The question lingered.

Though younger than him, his demeanor and eyes were far from naïve.

He might act like a punk or a delinquent,

Yet he moved with an air of cunning that left no room for error.

In that manner,

If he wished to, he’d decisively stomp out any chance of standing again.

It seemed with a twist, he belonged to the righteous faction.

The same applied to those thoughts of killing him.

If Cheol Jiseon found the Holy One to be unsettling,

Gu Yangcheong was a figure of fear.

Scary.

The more he probed or attempted to decipher him, the more complex Gu Yangcheong became.

Even if they were similar on the surface,

Who knows how many stories lie beneath?

In this situation,

Cheol Jiseon kept hesitating about whether he could do such a thing to Gu Yangcheong.

With anxious eyes, he glanced at the Holy One and Gu Yangcheong.

The two continued their conversation, shrouded in mystery.

The reason it was deemed unknowable was simply that

He couldn’t hear it.

Perhaps the barrier the Holy One had set not only blocked Cheol Jiseon’s presence but also muffled any sounds from outside.

Even so,

Cheol Jiseon could tell the atmosphere between the two was tense.

Gu Yangcheong wore a grin,

But the Holy One’s expression was bone-chillingly fearsome.

That made him ponder.

‘Is this really okay…?’

Cheol Jiseon still questioned more than how the Holy One knew his secret.

Whether this power could be used here in such a manner.

Those were the thoughts he had to contemplate.

In a situation with a cadre of instructors present,

What on earth was the Holy One planning?

Though he said to not worry and do as he pleased…

How could he not worry?

As Cheol Jiseon swam through the doubts and hesitations,

-Now!

“…!”

The Holy One sent a signal telepathically.

He instructed him to open the Demonic Gate immediately.

Hearing the call, Cheol Jiseon reached out towards the direction Gu Yangcheong stood.

As he subtly waved his fingertips,

He felt something snag on the tip.

This part.

If he relied on this touch and tore it open,

Disaster would unfold.

Gu Yangcheong would be trapped, as if bound by something,

Pulled into the Demonic Gate opening below.

And perhaps he wouldn’t be able to return.

Just as his father had once done.

“Grr…”

Without opening the rift he clutched, resisting it would entail considerable pain,

But Cheol Jiseon still hesitated until the very end.

Memories of that day danced in his mind.

Even if he saved the clan and his sister this way,

Doing it like this,

His sister wouldn’t look favorably upon him.

– Cheol Gongja.

The Holy One called out to him once more, urging him.

As he shifted his gaze,

The Holy One bowed his head, steadfastly drawing Gu Yangcheong’s attention.

To fulfill the promise, the time for hesitation was over.

One.

‘Really… really can’t do this.’

Cheol Jiseon simply couldn’t muster the strength.

No matter how it was, he couldn’t commit such an act.

‘I am…’

Oh,

‘…!’

As he sought to ease the pressure on his grip and slowly lower his hand,

A vicious voice sliced through his ears.

It wasn’t the voice of the Holy One.

-Stop dawdling and open it quickly. Are you just going to keep staring like that, waiting to die?

The voice that rang out was undoubtedly Gu Yangcheong’s.

It penetrated through the Holy One’s barrier, made so vividly clear.

He couldn’t even consider how could he be doing this.

“W-what the…”

-Why aren’t you opening it? If you’re not, what’s the point of having arms? Should I just chop them off for you?

Gu Yangcheong’s voice, laden with irritation.

Ultimately, Cheol Jiseon’s trembling hand moved in line with the sensation.

The long-held hesitation had been shoved aside by Gu Yangcheong’s annoyance.

Szzzz-!

He felt the sensation of tearing paper in the air.

Cheol Jiseon utterly loathed that feeling.

Right after,

Kuuuuun-!

As expected, the dimension twisted beneath Gu Yangcheong’s feet, forming the Demonic Gate.

Seeing that, the Holy One smiled,

While Gu Yangcheong’s eyes widened in surprise.

Just as predicted…

Gu Yangcheong, too, froze, realizing what was happening.

– It won’t take long. Just stay put.

‘…Huh?’

Unlike the surprised expression on Gu Yangcheong’s face as he turned to look at the Holy One,

The voice Gu Yangcheong sent to Cheol Jiseon was utterly calm.

Before he could ponder what was happening,

“Hey, it’s fine to close it now.”

A real voice, not telepathy, seeped through the barrier.

“…Huh!?”

Thinking Gu Yangcheong would be completely immobile, he started moving without a care atop the Demonic Gate.

With shocking speed.

He seized the Holy One’s neck and pulled him into the Demonic Gate.

“How can…?”

Cheol Jiseon couldn’t help but voice his shock.

His father, who surpassed the peak, couldn’t even take a step,

Yet how could Gu Yangcheong move freely like that?

Especially at a speed so fast that even the Holy One couldn’t respond.

Kuuuuuuu!

That became the signal,

Slowly, the Demonic Gate began to devour the two of them as the space closed in.

Cheol Jiseon hadn’t intended to do so.

He rather wished it wouldn’t close if possible.

Though the struggling Holy One fought against it,

It seemed as if the restraints were firmly set, leaving the Holy One’s body laid out stiff atop the Demonic Gate.

That meant,

That only Gu Yangcheong could comfortably navigate the situation.

Before Cheol Jiseon could even voice his doubts about how that could be,

Kuuuuun-!

The Demonic Gate opened beneath them, swallowing the two into darkness in the blink of an eye.

“Uh… what?”

Dazed in an incomprehensible situation, Cheol Jiseon found himself sitting there blankly.

He silently stared at the ground where the two had vanished.

Moments later, after regaining his wits, he thought,

‘Now…’

‘Now… what do I do?’

Though he opened the Demonic Gate as the Holy One wished,

Gu Yangcheong had seized him and dragged him in.

His thoughts weren’t functioning properly.

Now he didn’t know what to do.

Was it possible Gu Yangcheong wanted to commit suicide?

He hardly seemed like the kind of person who would do such a thing…

Still, the bizarre thought might have crossed his mind given the situation.

“Ah, what now…?”

That aside, with Gu Yangcheong gone,

And evidently the Holy One who promised to back him up had also vanished…

What should he do now?

As Cheol Jiseon pondered his bewildering future,

His instincts suddenly kicked in, telling him.

Whether it was a consequence of what just occurred or not,

Something strange seemed to be starting around him.

 

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