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Everyone has memories they’d rather not recall. A martial artist is no exception.

After all, a martial artist is still a person.

Whether they are a highly skilled master or a lowly beginner, they too have memories they wish to erase.

Memories they’d want to rewind time and eliminate, or ones that send chills down their spine even at the mere thought.

And I am no different.

In fact, if we were to be honest, I’d say I’m worse than anyone else.

I wanted to not just forget them, but to tear them apart until there was nothing left, to burn them away completely.

So that I could never think of them again.

So I could bury them deep and let them sink away. Despite wanting to obliterate those memories.

Unfortunately, the more I wished to do so, the tighter they wrapped around my neck. My foolish head seemed to forget everything except those haunting remembrances.

So perhaps, this was a sort of karma.

A karma that insists I remember until the very end, never to forget.

A memory I wish to erase but cannot, has become my karma.

A shackle that will haunt me for life. And it was precisely—

“Little brat. Look at those eyes.”

That damned shackle was right before my eyes.

In that same state as before.

*

Torn and tattered black martial robe. It was ancient, to be sure, and I wrinkled my nose at the sight.

“Ah, get a better grip on yourself! The smell of blood is overwhelming.”

The outfit reeked of a strong blood scent.

How concentrated it must be! It’s been a while since I smelled anything so acrid.

Did I wear something like that back then?

Certainly not. No matter how reckless I was, I wouldn’t have let it get to that level…

‘…Would I?’

Denying it, memories suddenly flooded back. Was it during the time of the war with the Kunlun Sect? There were times I’d killed to the point of creating puddles of blood, so it could very well be.

Considering that makes it all the more vivid.

‘What a sight it is.’

What complaints could there possibly be in this world? Even with a fierce demeanor, those wide-open eyes seem so riled up.

As if they are releasing demon energy without even trying to hide it.

A vibe that screams it would kill me the instant I come too close.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.

“Seeing you again is such a joke. What are you, some sort of beast? Why are your eyes so wide open? Damn, it’s no wonder rumors have me doing things I didn’t.”

And the killing intent?

The thick pressure enveloping me and the weight pushing down on my shoulders, all stemming from that very guy.

As I mentioned earlier, killing intent deepens with high realms, but the hiding ability also increases.

“Yeah, you have never thought about hiding it.”

Tap. I walked over the hard floor.

“Why did you act like that? I’ve thought about it sometimes, you know?”

His eyes clearly fixated on me.

The murderous intent was thick, infused with all his insecurities and self-loathing.

I wanted to yank them out at that instant.

“I think about it shallowly and deeply. I’ve pondered over it, but there’s only one conclusion.”

Kugugugugu—!!! The vibrations grew intense as I approached the throne.

“You’re just an idiot. You’re just a complete idiot.”

Why did that happen? If I were to ask, that would be the only response I could give.

Hoping someone would see me as a villain.

Or perhaps, wishing for someone to acknowledge my existence.

Such a trivial reason was too much to bear, too bright to hold onto.

Merely because the person was foolish, a pathetic worm crawling on the ground, that’s the only method I knew to cope.

That’s how I should portray it.

“So.”

“Hey you idiot. Speak up or something.”

You are an idiot. A phrase I have long wished to say.

In response to my words, he stood there like a statue.

“You’re not dumb, are you? You spoke well last time, so what’s with the silence now?”

It wouldn’t be stiff.

His gaze was clear, and the vibrations only grew stronger.

Gugugugung—!!!

The ground shook so deep it felt like the world itself quaked.

Tch! I clicked my tongue and spoke to him.

“I didn’t just call you to give you the silent treatment. What are you doing?”

I called. At my words, a strange glimmer sparkled in his eyes.

“Why? Do you want to say you didn’t call me? Don’t mess with me. We both know that’s a lie.”

It was precisely as I said. It looked like I arrived here by my own feet, but that wasn’t the case.

This was a clear invitation.

“How could I not notice you causing such a commotion inside?”

Come on, get your face up to meet mine. The sensations I felt that screamed ‘evil spirit’ and the inability to conjure flames.

All of it is your doing.

However.

“Now that I’ve come, speak up. What the hell is going on?”

What reason did he have to call me like this? And.

“Why were you able to come to this place as part of the Poison Heavenly Pill? Isn’t the entrance fee pretty damn steep?”

Why the Poison Heavenly Pill, of all places? Wait, it’s more accurate to say it’s inappropriate to label it that. Consuming it increases resistance to fire techniques, so if we’re quibbling over names, wouldn’t it be more fitting to call it the Fire Heavenly Pill or the Flame Heavenly Pill?

Anyway, my assumption that I had to consume this expensive thing to come here turned out to be correct.

I found myself facing him in this very spot as if to prove it.

“Brat, do you know how much this costs….”

[You talk too much.]

“What?”

Just as I was about to unleash a torrent of complaints, his words left me frowning.

“What do you mean?”

Talk too much? That bastard?

I was about to lose my patience and start lecturing him about how I consider myself the most talented when it comes to blabbering.

[You didn’t even want to hear my voice, so you remained silent. Are you finally feeling resilient now?]

“…”

I couldn’t spit out the hundreds of curses swirling in my mind and could only twitch my throat.

But that wasn’t all.

[Is that habit of chewing your lip still around?]

I’d often unconsciously do that when I had to do something I despised.

[Is the completely crumpled mask to hide my insides still there? If not.]

A uniquely violet gaze shone through. I wanted to turn away from that hideous stare.

[Did you leave those fangs intact to keep everyone at bay?]

His once silent lips opened, and he began to bombard me with words.

The weight of those words was so heavy that I couldn’t even catch them.

Creek.

He got up.

[No. You have nothing now.]

The figure rising from the throne was small.

Having gone through a metamorphosis into a dragon, I was at least a hand’s breadth taller than before.

Yet for some reason, I felt like he appeared larger than me.

I looked into his eyes, and even though I was looking down, this ominous feeling lingered.

Frowning at him, that guy kept talking.

[Why are you even alive?]

I had heard that before.

After hearing it, I barely managed to reply.

“Why does this damn bastard keep cursing me? Is it that repulsive that I’m still breathing?”

[It was the opportunity you long desired.]

“What opportunity?”

[The chance to punish yourself after so much time has passed without anything happening. That was your opportunity.]

His tone made it clear he found it utterly incomprehensible.

[Yet, why didn’t you do it?]

“…”

I couldn’t reply. No, I couldn’t.

Was it because I didn’t have the answer? No, that wasn’t the case. I already knew the answer. I simply didn’t want to recall it.

Perhaps he knew this as well; he revealed the answer I wished to avoid.

[No one remembered, so you indulged in it.]

My heart ached.

[No one should know. If nothing ever happened, would it be possible? Did you entertain that hope?]

Words that almost reached the tip of my tongue steadily fell back.

The words I could say flickered and dimmed within me.

[So, you dream of happiness? How utterly disgraceful.]

The extreme contempt hidden behind that indifferent expression began to extend toward my heart.

[You do not deserve that.]

Each day, I repeated those words to myself. Hearing them through his mouth struck deeply.

[Are you remembering everyone you killed as an excuse?]

I didn’t remember.

There were far too many to recall. If I tried to remember them all, I wouldn’t be able to take it.

That was the sort of life I lived.

[Then, what did you gain by living like that? At what end did you reach when you killed your own father with your own hands? Nothing was there. Such was your life.]

Nausea surged. I struggled to swallow my spit, but it wasn’t easy.

[So, let me ask you again.]

Holding back, my neck muscles tensed.

[Why are you still alive?]

I still had no answer to give.

“…”

I tried to form a response, but my mouth wouldn’t open.

My voice wouldn’t come out either.

Then the realization struck me.

I was chewing on my own thick tongue inside my mouth.

The silence was thick with killing intent. After a few seconds, he nodded, speaking again.

[You can’t answer.]

His tone felt as if he already expected that. It was so irritating, it could drive anyone mad.

At that moment.

[Fine, then it’s settled.]

Woooon–!!!

“…!!”

With the end of his sentence, the vibrations reached a peak. At the same time.

Fwoooosh!!!

Thick and dark black flames erupted from his core.

[If you can’t provide an answer.]

Seeing that, I moved my legs.

[Then you might as well die.]

The fiery night loomed over me.

“…Hmph.”

About half a minute after Gu Yangcheong swallowed the spirit pill. It wasn’t a long time, but during those moments, the Poison King wore a worried expression as he exhaled shallow breaths.

‘…Is it really alright to leave him like this?’

The reason for his unease was Gu Yangcheong.

After swallowing the spirit pill, Gu Yangcheong stiffened and closed his eyes.

For just a moment, not a single movement could be observed.

He wasn’t even breathing.

If he were just standing still, it would have been one thing, but the fact he had even stopped breathing made it all the more alarming.

‘He did this last time, too.‘

It resembled the first successful craft of the Poison Heavenly Pill. When he swallowed the spirit pill back then, Gu Yangcheong had frozen up just like this.

Fortunately, he had come to his senses shortly after, but now, much more time had passed.

Why had this happened?

‘Was there something wrong with the spirit pill?’

Considering he had consumed the same thing and crossed a slight threshold, it shouldn’t be the case. So why was it happening only to Gu Yangcheong?

Though the Poison King pondered such questions, he had no course of action to take.

It was due to the last words Gu Yangcheong spoke.

“Do not touch me, no matter what happens.”

He had made that earnest request to the Poison King, and the Poison King had wanted to honor it.

But.

“What in the world is going on?”

Reaching this point, he couldn’t simply stand idly by.

Especially.

‘What in the world is this energy…?’

Gu Yangcheong stood motionless, yet the energy radiating from his body was wavering violently.

It was a phenomenon that hadn’t occurred last time he was there.

‘And the quantity…’

The undulating amount was unheard of.

Just from that sight alone, it rivaled the total energy the Poison King himself possessed.

That meant that the amount of energy Gu Yangcheong held was several times greater than that.

‘How on earth…?’

He had never witnessed such overwhelming energy. Perhaps it could even exceed the joint energy of the Three Eminent Beings. It was enough to make that thought occur.

That made it all the more pressing.

“Why is so much energy roiling around?”

What in the world could be happening that could cause such chaotic energy waves?

It was like a storm. Standing still, it seemed he was in the midst of an intense battle.

In that moment, the violent bursts left him feeling as if he were under attack. The display was that of a martial artist fighting.

If he was indeed fighting, then who was he fighting against?

The Poison King found himself utterly at a loss and needed to continue contemplating.

‘Should I really just let this be?’

Just because he had been told not to touch, was it alright to just let this situation develop?

If the Gu Yangcheong he envisioned followed through with his word, then it would be proper to trust him, he concluded.

– Daddy.

The image of his daughter, who was living bound to a cursed man, flashed through his mind.

If anything were to happen now, that girl would crumble. Just as he realized that, the Poison King sprang into action.

He couldn’t leave it like this.

He stepped closer. As the energy swirled, carelessly touching it could lead to serious repercussions.

Thus, the first step was to get closer and investigate the energy.

With that in mind, the Poison King approached Gu Yangcheong…

And in that moment.

Flare-!

“…Huh!”

Gu Yangcheong opened his closed eyes.

Thank goodness, he had finally regained consciousness. Just as the Poison King felt relief.

“Gu Gongja. Are you okay…”

“Cough.”

Gu Yangcheong suddenly clutched his heart, collapsing to his knees.

“Cough…!”

He began to cough up a handful of blood.

“Gu Gongja!”

The Poison King’s eyes widened in desperation.

The amount of blood was enough to soak the ground.

And it was black.

 

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