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The cold, lifeless body of Yusa. I frowned as I touched it.

“Is this bastard really dead?”

He’s dead.

Just a moment ago, he was chatting fine, and suddenly his heart exploded, taking his life.

I could feel the energy from his physical body rapidly fading, as if to prove that he was dead.

“What the…?”

Why did he suddenly die? Even more so—

“Of all the ways to die, he had to have a heart explosion?”

His heart burst.

What does this mean? I knew, at least for myself.

This is—

‘…the same effect as the Heavenly Demon’s Golden Binding.’

The binding that the Heavenly Demon placed on all Demons.

One that couldn’t be undone. Anyone who tried would also explode and die from it, an absolute binding.

Thanks to that, even if they were tortured, they couldn’t say a word.

Who would dare speak when instant death was the consequence?

The excellent Formations experts of the Righteous Faction studied the Golden Binding repeatedly.

But the results were devastating.

No one could break the Heavenly Demon’s Golden Binding.

This would remain true even until the moment I die.

Now, Yusa’s death mirrored the same condition as the Heavenly Demon’s Golden Binding.

‘…I can’t say for certain if it’s a binding or not.’

Without it, nothing made sense.

Dying the moment I mentioned the Divine Tree. If that’s not a binding, then what is?

‘Hmm.’

I stroked my chin. This became troublesome.

Out of nowhere, Yusa just died? That’s a problem, but what I’m concerned about isn’t that right now.

‘I lost a valuable pawn.’

The fact that Yusa died before I even got to properly use him.

To me, that was the biggest issue.

I could say White was a loss due to my mistake, but Yusa’s situation was different, which made this troublesome.

“…Huh.”

I stroked my chin while looking at Yusa’s corpse.

What should I do?

‘I never planned to kill the General.’

No, to be honest, I had thought about it, but if I had succeeded in Demonizing him, I planned to use him more effectively.

But now that he’s dead, my head became a bit complicated.

“Ha.”

I tiredly swept my hair back and moved my hands.

Sparks flew from my fingertips and attached to Yusa’s body.

<Flame Burst>—!!!

A blue flame ignited, engulfing Yusa’s body. Soon, nothing remained, not even bones.

Watching the flames consume Yusa’s flesh, I pondered.

‘Is it similar to the Heavenly Demon’s Golden Binding?’

If that binding was what he was under, then was it the same as the one the Heavenly Demon placed on the Demons?

If so—

‘Despite being Demonized, the binding remained intact.’

How could that be?

In cases where I had corrupted others, I would wash away whatever binding they had and overlay it with Demon Energy.

The Demon Energy took precedence over any binding because it was fundamentally stronger.

In fact, there had been several instances where I used it to erase a binding.

‘In such a situation…’

For Yusa to die under a binding after becoming a Demon means—

‘There was a binding that had priority over the Demon Energy.’

If such a thing could be placed, then that means…

‘…was it my mother?’

The current Master of Mankye, my mother.

Could it be that she placed a binding on Yusa?

It would be the most probable scenario, yet strangely, I had no faith in it.

Rather, it was closer to not wanting to believe it.

I hoped my mother wouldn’t be someone who could place such a terrifying binding.

Thinking that, I clicked my tongue.

‘This is pointless.’

Haven’t I already sorted this out? She is my mother, yet she’s also not my mother.

A being who entered a state of forgetfulness and forgot everything about me.

If she saw me, she might harbor ill will and try to dispose of me.

She’s not my mother.

Can’t consider her as one. Hence, the binding shouldn’t concern me either.

‘Thinking about how that could be possible is meaningless.’

If I knew anything, I could determine if it was possible or not.

I didn’t know much about this place.

‘For now, focus on the information I’ve gathered.’

Even for a General, there is a way to corrupt. It can be achieved at a slower pace, but even if one became corrupted—

‘It does not breed loyalty.’

The efficiency was not great compared to humans.

Even more so—

‘The binding doesn’t get covered.’

Even when corrupting someone, the binding remains intact. It meant there was a power present above that of Demonization.

What could it be?

What was overlaying onto him? That was what kept nagging me.

‘For now…’

With Yusa dead and the binding behind me.

‘I need to resolve my primary objective first.’

I looked up at the sky. Eventually, the moon that had risen released light upon the world.

Even having erased the <Flame Wheel Sun>, my body proving I was of the Moon Night Clan.

‘What did Yusa say again?’

I recalled the location he mentioned.

‘In the banquet hall’s basement.’

The place he mentioned right before dying. Thankfully, I knew it.

I steeled my legs.

Sparks flew as I took off into the sky.

From above, the ground looked utterly devastated.

What once appeared to be a refreshing forest had vanished entirely. The aftermath of battle made me shudder.

Even though I had endured internal injuries and my energy was quite depleted, it didn’t matter.

It was night. The body of the Moon Night Clan would swiftly resolve the situation for me.

That was what I believed.

Like a leaf fluttering in the wind, I flew while gazing at the ball of flame burning on the ground.

All burned away, the embers dissipating in the wind.

What once was Yusa vanished before my eyes.

At that moment, my eyes were devoid of interest or emotion when looking at Yusa.

If there was even a slight feeling left—

‘Such a pity.’

The fact that I had won at the cost of my life in the end.

That was the only thing I felt regretful about.

Just that.

The sentiment I had toward the fading Yusa was—

Just that much.

*

I arrived at Yawol riding the embers.

As expected, even in this brief moment while flying, my body was quite restored.

I landed on the fortress walls and shook off the remaining embers on me.

Then—

“What the—!”

The soldier atop the walls reacted, prompting me to flick my fingers.

Thunk-!

“Cough!”

The soldier, hit by the energy, fell. I nodded at the sight.

‘The troops have increased.’

There were considerably more soldiers surrounding the area. Normally, there wouldn’t be many on the walls, but now there were soldiers all over.

‘Hmm…’

Although I thought I could hide my presence, there’s no need to stick around, so I flew straight away.

<Flame Burst>—!!!

Flames left a trail as I ascended atop the tallest building within Yawol.

This wasn’t the exact location. It was a little lower than here.

‘I found it.’

I scanned the surroundings to pinpoint the location.

It wasn’t the tallest spot in Yawol, but indeed the largest building.

That was where Yusa mentioned the Meeting Room.

I gently floated down and landed on the ceiling of the Meeting Room. Naturally, the soldier below fainted.

I gripped the doorknob of the Meeting Room.

Creak.

The door was locked. So, I extended my hand, exuding heat as I reached towards the door.

Sizzle.

I melted the door. My hand penetrated and grabbed the doorknob inside.

The locked door swung open.

I entered inside.

It was a wide and dark space.

I ensured to close the door and then melted it shut.

If I was caught, I wouldn’t be able to hold on for long anyway, but at least I could buy some time.

And…

‘It doesn’t matter if I get caught, though.’

In this moment, being caught didn’t faze me. I just accepted it.

<Flame Burst>.

I created flames in the air, illuminating the space like a torch, and examined my surroundings.

Thud.

Was it because the space was large? The sound echoed.

‘Looks like there are no troops inside.’

There was no sign of patrols, just an empty space. I even spread my Qi Perception widely, but nothing caught my attention.

I rolled my eyes.

Where could it be?

‘Since it’s underground, there should be a way down.’

Of course, there wouldn’t be an obvious entrance, but I hoped there might be some hidden mechanism.

Thus, just in case, I activated my <Heart Eye> and began scanning the area.

If there was sorcery or formations, the Heart Eye would pick them up.

I combed through the entire area for quite some time.

‘…Nothing?’

I couldn’t feel or see anything.

Is there really no way down to the basement?

Or…

‘Could the Meeting Room be somewhere else?’

There was a chance the Meeting Room Yusa referenced wasn’t this location.

He hadn’t explicitly stated this was the place.

The problem was—

‘There’s really no reason it shouldn’t be here.’

Would there be a need to refer to another location as the Meeting Room?

I didn’t think so.

No matter how I looked at it, this seemed logical.

‘Where could it be?’

Where could the entrance to the underground be? I felt like I’d thoroughly searched every room.

‘This feels strange.’

Something was off about this.

What could it possibly be?

I was completely at a loss, standing still.

I simply remained still, looking around.

Suddenly—

“Ah.”

A thought appeared in my mind.

It was something that had happened in the Hwasan Sect.

The changes in my body after consuming the Fruit of God. I recalled that.

‘The energy of the Divine Tree.’

The Divine Tree possesses energy. I had felt an immense presence from the Divine Tree at Hwasan. Slowly, I closed my eyes.

Could I feel it this way?

As a moment passed…

Hmm.

“Ah.”

At the faint sensation that brushed against me, I opened my eyes wide.

“I found it.”

It felt clear.

I could definitely sense it beneath my feet.

‘It’s really underground.’

It seems to be just as Yusa had mentioned.

But what now?

‘In that case, doesn’t this lead to the same result?’

If there’s no way to go down, then it’s all for nothing.

In the end, I still needed to find an entrance leading to the basement…

What should I do about this?

“…Hmm.”

I folded my arms and, after some deliberation…

“I guess there’s no choice.”

Nodding, I came up with a solution.

“Let’s just break it down.”

Let’s simply smash our way in.

I swung my fist down towards the ground.

Boom-!

<Sound of Impact>—!!!

The ground crumbled under the force.

 

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