---

Chapter 7: The Unlucky One

“Unlucky… bastard.”

“What?”

I frowned at his words. What did he just say?

“…What did you say?”

“He’s an unlucky bastard.”

“Oh… so that guy is the unlucky one?”

He nodded.

The Duryeong nodded under the influence of the demon energy. Seeing that, I rubbed my forehead.

“…What a brilliant answer.”

Truly a response packed with nutritional value.

Should I just punch him? I barely held myself back.

“Forget about that. Tell me something useful. Is he from the Moon Night Clan?”

“…No.”

Thank goodness. At least he was responding this way. Ah, I get it now.

‘This guy should not be given an explanation.’

It seemed I needed to get a yes or no answer from him.

This is driving me insane.

“Not from the Moon Night Clan… then does that mean he’s someone who received the Master’s grace?”

“…Yes.”

“Hmm.”

If he’s not from the Moon Night Clan, then that’s a hundred percent certainty. So next…

“Is he a general?”

“…Yes.”

I narrowed my eyes at the answer. Just as I thought.

‘He was a general too, huh?’

That meant he was the last of them.

‘The one with the least information.’

The guy who supposedly knew the least among the generals and no one even knew what he did.

He was said to be at the Black Phoenix Palace, located in the central area between Spirit Mountain and Hwasan Sect. I heard he was there.

‘So he appeared and gave strength to the Duryeong?’

Whether that was what the Duryeong wanted or not, the fact that this guy showed up here was a problem.

This meant…

‘I might have made a blunder, and the Master could know about it.’

If a general has lent his power, it could mean the current Master—my mother, who has no memories and wants to kill me—might know about this incident.

I frowned and asked him.

“Do you know that Yusa is dead?”

“….”

The Duryeong’s body trembled. Then, shaking, he looked at me and nodded.

‘Oh no.’

He knew.

‘How did he find out?’

I questioned. I did kill Yusa near Yawol, but…

‘There shouldn’t have been anyone around to sense it.’

I made sure it was impossible for him to know he was dead. I thought it would take a while before it was discovered.

‘For him to move this quickly means he got the information faster.’

Where could he have picked up on that?

‘…Hmm.’

Nothing specific comes to mind.

‘But that’s not what’s important right now.’

It wasn’t how he figured it out that mattered.

‘What matters is that he knows.’

The fact that he is aware is the problem. Isn’t that why the Duryeong had been cautious?

‘If it weren’t for the Heavenly Demon, things could’ve gotten dangerous.’

If I fought there without the Heavenly Demon, I might have had to confront two generals. That would have turned the situation truly dire.

‘Bringing the Heavenly Demon was a stroke of genius…?’

It seemed my insistence on asking the Heavenly Demon to come with me turned out to be helpful.

‘…The Heavenly Demon.’

Thinking about the Heavenly Demon made my head throb.

‘Darn it.’

I had too many things to deal with.

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

‘And to think, I missed that!’

I said I would catch the Heavenly Demon. So what would be happening now? I hadn’t left the Spirit’s Den for three days.

I was just waiting for the Heavenly Demon.

‘No way…’

A thought crossed my mind. Could this whole situation be the work of the Heavenly Demon’s scheme?

‘There’s a possibility.”

If it was the clumsy Heavenly Demon of the present, well maybe not. But the form I had seen before was surely the Heavenly Demon from my previous life.

Thinking of her, it wouldn’t seem unexpected.

‘Is she trying to bind my feet?’

I quickly shook my head at that thought.

‘No way.’

I doubted it. While I thought the Heavenly Demon might do that, I also believed she wouldn’t act like that with the nature of the Heavenly Demon.

If it was the Heavenly Demon I knew—

‘She would smash everything in her path.’

She wouldn’t bother with schemes.

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue and loosened my body.

I turned my gaze back to the Duryeong. Putting strength into my heart, I lightly waved my hand, and the demon energy wrapping around him disappeared.

After confirming this, I let out a sigh.

‘There shouldn’t be more.’

I didn’t have time to wait. It was uncertain whether the Heavenly Demon would show up or not.

I looked up at the sky.

‘It’s still far from night.’

Broad daylight.

It would take a while for night to arrive. While moving at night would be the safest choice.

‘…Tsk.’

I felt like it would be better to move right away. If I waited any longer, it would become problematic.

No, the problems had already started.

“Ugh…”

I glanced at the Duryeong, groaning on the ground.

“Hmm.”

What should I do with this guy?

‘Should I take him with me?’

Is he even useful if I do? Honestly, he listens somewhat, but since his power is enforced, I can’t utilize him flexibly.

It seemed unwise to take him along for infiltration and reconnaissance in this situation.

‘Then…’

What should I do? I pondered, and one method popped into my head.

‘Ah.’

That would work.

“Hey.”

I spoke to the Duryeong.

“Grgrowl…”

Instead of replying, he quietly whined. Watching him, I issued my command.

“Looks like you have a job to do.”

I pulled the demon energy I had erased back up again.

It was time for the Duryeong to fulfill his role.

*

I returned to the Spirit’s Den. There had been changes in the Spirit’s Den over the past three days.

Unlike the always calm and quiet atmosphere that felt like it was sealed, buzzing sounds were slowly starting to be heard.

Could it be that they were beginning to realize the Duryeong was gone? That might be possible.

While they seemed livelier, the spirit’s state remained the same.

She was sitting still under the Divine Tree, feeling the wind or wearing a veil, yet her expression was sullen.

Seeing this, I approached her and asked.

“Are you still making a fuss today?”

“Ah…”

At the sound of my voice, the spirit stirred, moving weakly as she looked at me.

“Why? You wanted out so badly, yet now that you’ve actually gotten free, you feel empty?”

“….”

From her position of serving the Master, and in the bound Spirit’s Den, she longed for freedom. Yet, after I had given her that freedom, why was she in such a state?

‘Ah. Right.’

As I recalled, I realized too late.

‘I didn’t ask her why she came to Spirit Mountain to capture other beings.’

I completely forgot to ask her about that.

‘I guess I’ll ask next time.’

The Duryeong must have already left the Spirit Mountain. It was because of my order.

‘In this situation, also finding out would be helpful.’

What would happen if the distance increased? This would allow me to grasp what it meant.

Would my order be lifted if I moved far away? While that might not be the case for other demons, it would still be a valid experiment in Mankye.

“I need to be gone for a bit, so take care while I’m away.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Yeah. I have something to tend to.”

“….”

The spirit’s gaze shifted somewhere. Her eyes were directed at my chest.

Where the gem had embedded.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I don’t know what kind of greed you have, but forget it. Isn’t this what you wanted?”

“Lord… Do you hear the Master’s voice?”

“The Master? You mean the Master of Mankye?”

“…Yes.”

“No. Not at all.”

How could her voice be heard if I had absorbed the gem?

Though it seemed she longed to hear the Master’s voice, maintaining her gaze in that direction.

“Don’t get your hopes up. I can’t hear it.”

I couldn’t hear it.

More than anyone, I wanted to listen.

But I couldn’t hear it.

“…Anyways, I’m going to take off. When I return, tell her to wait for me.”

There was no need for me to return to the Spirit’s Den. My business here was already done, and I could just leave.

Instead, I called out to the spirit that I’d return.

There’s only one reason.

‘The Heavenly Demon might show up.’

So it was right to say I would come back and tell her to wait.

This time, it was merely a reconnaissance mission, so I would return shortly.

“….”

The spirit didn’t respond. I had felt a sense of something being broken since before.

But I didn’t bother to concern myself with it.

‘Whatever her situation may be.’

I had no reason to be bothered by it. My path was busy.

I turned my back. Gathering strength in my legs.

Now leaping towards the unblocked ceiling.

Flame Burst!!

The flames surged, increasing my speed.

My destination was the Black Phoenix Palace.

The place where the general known as the Crow was located.

*

Thud.

I landed on the ground and looked around. I had flown for about two days at the fastest speed.

My arrival was at a place filled with dense greenery, unlike the Spirit Mountain, which was constructed solely of rocks.

In contrast to the Spirit Mountain, which had no sense of life, this place was teeming with the presence of living beings.

“Hmm.”

It felt too vivid. I could even sense the presence of insects. Compared to the almost non-existent presences aside from the Spirit’s Den, this was almost uncomfortable.

‘…It looks nothing like its name.’

They had said it was the Black Phoenix Palace, so I expected it to be a ruin or ominous, much like the Spirit Mountain.

‘But it just looks like a normal forest?’

It appeared to be an ordinary forest. I wondered if this was really where the Black Phoenix Palace was located.

Pondering this, I focused my energy and expanded my Qi perception.

Flameeee—!!!

My energy spread everywhere.

If the turtle’s previous information was correct, then something should be around here.

As I thought this, not long after spreading my Qi perception, I caught something at the edge.

‘There they are… hmm?’

Having caught something was good, but I frowned at the sensation I received.

It felt different from what I sensed last time.

When I felt the Spirit Mountain, there was no presence at all, but this time—

‘There are a lot.’

In stark contrast, there were far too many presences.

Especially an overwhelming number of them.

 

---