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Chapter 7: The Burden of Fear

Under the crushing pressure, my knees buckled, and I could only stare at the ground without lifting my head.

<Thud-! Thud-! Thud-!>

The heartbeat reverberated through my entire body.

Right now, that was Yusa’s condition.

“Huff… huff…”

He gasped harshly.

With each breath, a bead of sweat trickled from his face, dampening the floor beneath him.

‘What the hell…’

What on earth had happened?

Why was he in this state?

Even now, Yusa couldn’t comprehend the situation.

Why was he kneeling? Why couldn’t he utter a single word?

It simply didn’t make sense.

Let alone—

Creeeak!

What was this nauseating feeling rising from within him?

A lifetime of hunger had dulled him.

The ever-present gnawing of hunger was more shallow than ever before.

Was he not hungry? No, that wasn’t it.

‘This is…’

Something was layered atop this hunger.

Something heavy and dense that made it impossible to feel anything else.

What could this be?

In pondering this, Yusa suddenly realized.

‘…Fear?’

Looking at his trembling fingertips, he grasped the answer.

But.

‘That’s absurd.’

He couldn’t believe it as he denied the thought.

The idea that he was feeling fear—the impossibility of it was overwhelming.

Moreover.

‘Move. Move, now!’

It was unthinkable to be kneeling in such a state.

He was a general!

To be suppressed to kneeling by a single word?

By a mere servant of the night?

‘Move!’

He should immediately rise and devour that one whole!

Leave not a bone behind!

As he thought that, Yusa tried to move his body, but—

Screech—!!!

It still wouldn’t budge.

The trembling at his fingertips only intensified.

“Grrr….”

He bore down, straining, almost feeling as if his eyes might burst with blood.

At that moment.

“Oh, how pitiful it is to see you struggle.”

A figure spoke to Yusa.

“As always, watching a weakling thrash about is quite uncomfortable…”

With a finger, the figure lifted Yusa’s chin.

“I want to trample you. I can’t hold back.”

Meeting the gaze of those purple eyes, Yusa’s heart began pounding even more violently.

Now, the pounding was so strong it felt like his very body was tremoring.

“Isn’t that right? That’s how I feel.”

The eyes altered. Even with a mask, Yusa could tell that the figure was grinning.

It was humiliating.

So incredibly humiliating.

That a general like himself was being subjected to such a state by an unknown figure.

And.

‘What the hell is that thing?’

Something that wasn’t even the master was commanding him.

Nothing made sense, and all was chaotic.

Above all, the strangeness of that figure’s identity was far worse than the emotions he felt.

Commands were the very essence of power rooted in one’s soul.

A force that wouldn’t activate unless one was immensely superior.

‘…Why?’

How could that being issue commands to him?

It was utterly incomprehensible.

Or perhaps.

‘…Has the master appointed another general?’

Was there a possibility that another general had been added without his knowledge?

He considered this but soon shook his head.

‘No…. The seed of the Divine Tree has not sprouted again.’

To become a general, one needed to receive the Divine Tree.

Only by receiving it could one be baptized under the master and be bestowed the power to be recognized as a general.

Though there was an anomaly with Yarang who gained power without the seed, that was an extraordinarily rare situation.

The master had also stated it would never happen again; thus, there should not be any aberrations.

In that case.

‘What in the world is that being?’

Even if they were both generals, they couldn’t issue commands to one another.

If so, it could only be explained by that figure’s substantially higher soul quality.

‘…What the hell is going on?’

Yusa frowned at the questions that simply wouldn’t resolve no matter how much he thought.

At that moment.

Thud-!

“…!”

Suddenly, the pressure on Yusa’s body vanished.

He realized the restraint had faded, and freedom had returned to his limbs.

What was this? Why had the pressure disappeared?

It felt strange, but there was no time for contemplation.

Yusa fixed his gaze on the figure.

The entity still looked at him; seeing that, Yusa gathered the strength he had been curling into.

Creeeek.

The fear evaporated from within him.

An overwhelming hunger rose up instead.

He was starving.

He had to devour the figure right in front of him!

With the thought of that, Yusa lifted the corners of his mouth and swung his hands.

With a massive arm, he charged toward the figure.

“Devour.”

As Yusa spoke, cracks began to form in his enormous palm and—

Rrroooar—!

As if it were a mouth, it opened wide.

He lunged forward, aiming to swallow the being whole.

‘Whatever it is, I’ll devour it now.’

No matter what questions lingered, devouring it was all that mattered.

At that moment when his powers were freed, he would never miss.

His powers were supposed to allow him to engulf anything.

Surely the one before him would be no different.

With that thought, just as Yusa reached out to seize the entity—

Crash-!

“…Huh?”

Yusa stammered.

It was inevitable.

His arm, which should have swallowed the being whole, was instead caught by something.

“What the hell…?”

The form was black.

Something sprang from the figure’s shadow and bit down on Yusa’s arm.

Creeeeak.

“Grrrgh!?”

Yusa reacted in shock to the pain, hastily pulling back his arm.

Fortunately, he pulled it free, but—

Drip drip.

Blood streamed from Yusa’s arm onto the ground.

“…Ugh…”

Flesh was torn away, leaving grotesque bite marks.

At that moment, a voice whispered to Yusa, who was still in shock and trembling.

“Devour, huh… That’s not bad.”

“…You…”

The being spoke the name of his own power.

It seemed unfazed, simply watching Yusa wordlessly.

And then, a form emerged from the shadow, climbing up the figure’s body like a serpent up a tree.

‘What the hell…?’

It sent chills down his spine.

Just watching it made his knees tremble.

“You…! What have you done?!”

“What have I done? I’ve merely done what both of us enjoy.”

“Enjoy what?”

“Yes, like you enjoy consuming.”

Smoothly.

The black shape slithered up the figure, coiling around its arm.

“I’m rather confident in that regard as well.”

“…”

Yusa grimaced.

Could it be?

‘Is that also a power?’

Was that thing also a form of power?

Yusa glanced pain at the ragged flesh of his arm. The excruciating pain gnawed at him.

How could this be so painful? That alone raised questions.

‘…Is it not regenerating?’

His injured arm wasn’t recovering.

It should have healed long ago, yet healing showed no signs.

Seeing that, Yusa shifted his gaze sideways.

He could see the moon rising beyond the spear.

It definitely meant it was night.

But why wasn’t he regenerating?

Even—

“…Why aren’t you moving?”

The devour, which was supposed to engulf everything, was only half-heartedly manifesting.

No matter how much force he exerted, his palm did not reveal its mouth like it had before.

Realizing this, Yusa screamed at the figure.

“What did you do to me?!”

It had to be that one. It had to be that entity that had done something.

Thus, it was why his powers were disobeying him.

“Hmm.”

In response to Yusa’s words, the figure simply nodded.

“I don’t know how far I should continue to be disappointed.”

The softly uttered words pierced into Yusa’s heart.

Creeeak-!

Finally, Yusa grit his teeth.

Upon seeing that, the figure suddenly turned its back.

“I came to see what a general was like, but… at this rate, I have no desire to waste my time.”

“What?! You can’t be serious?”

What did that mean? Could it be—

“You’re going to run away?”

Yusa spoke fiercely to the figure as it turned away.

“Run away?”

The figure’s masked gaze flickered over, and it added,

“Running is something meant for the weak.”

There was no need to escape with him still standing here. That’s what it implied.

“Indeed, if I were to put it simply…”

The figure paused, seeming to contemplate before speaking.

“It would be called picky eating. My policy is to eat only what tastes good.”

“You bastard…!!”

As those words ignited Yusa’s rage, he attempted to gather his strength.

“Grrrgh—!”

“Ugh…!!”

The pain in his arm impeded his strength.

His power would not emerge, and his very energy refused to move.

Moreover,

“Huff… huff…”

It felt as if something was wrong with his body, causing his breaths to become increasingly ragged.

Yusa staggered, clutching his knees, and the figure turned its head once more.

“Next time we meet, I hope you entertain me better.”

It grasped the door and walked outside. Just before the door closed—

“There will be no second mercy.”

Thud.

As soon as the words ended, the door slammed shut.

“Grrr…”

Faced with that sight, Yusa hurriedly pushed himself up.

His oddly weakened body had finally regained some strength at that brief moment.

With urgency, he burst open the door and peered outside.

“…Where are you?! Where did you go?!”

The hallway beyond the door was empty.

In that desolate corridor, Yusa furrowed his brow as he tried to sense anything nearby.

But.

“Damn it…!!”

There should have been a presence he could sense, but it felt utterly barren.

It seemed the anomalies with his power affected this area as well.

“You! How dare you…!”

Yusa clenched his fists in fury, his eyes ablaze.

Where had that being gone? He needed to find it immediately.

As he briefly searched his surroundings, Yusa’s eyes lit up.

“…!”

He caught sight of one particular place.

That was none other than the prison within the Blue Family estate.

Without hesitation.

Yusa rushed toward the prison, his speed faster than a gust of wind.

*

Bam-!

Yusa arrived at the prison and threw the door open.

No one was there to stop him.

In the sudden chaos, the soldiers stationed there had vanished.

Even if that weren’t the case, Yusa had intentionally left the guards behind.

In that situation, he dashed into the prison and peered through the bars.

But then.

“…Huh?”

What lay inside was far from his expectations.

“Why…?”

Yusa’s eyes widened at what he saw.

Inside were—

“Hmm?”

A woman with black hair sat there quietly, and beside her—

“…Ugh… What time is it?”

The young man, who introduced himself as Cheol Jiseon, was waking up groggily.

“…”

“Oh, you’re here?”

Cheol Jiseon greeted Yusa indifferently.

In response, Yusa’s face contorted.

The bars were as they were, and the shackles were just the same.

There were no signs of anyone having left.

Then—

“Was it you?”

“Huh?”

“Were you not the one I just met? Answer me.”

“No… What are you talking about…?”

“Answer me!”

His booming voice echoed throughout the prison.

It was at that moment Cheol Jiseon finally turned flustered and replied.

“…I don’t know what you’re saying, but no! I’ve been here the entire time.”

“…”

Once more he denied it. Was that really true?

‘…That being also couldn’t issue commands.’

The masked figure had been unaffected by his commands; hence, this one could be the same.

‘Could it be true?’

Yusa repeatedly considered this in his mind.

Something kept nudging him toward that figure.

In that case.

“I need to confirm something with you.”

Let’s check this out.

Just as Yusa was about to exert his strength—

“General!”

A voice from outside called out to him.

“The skies above—!”

“…!”

Hearing that, Yusa hurriedly opened the door and looked up.

And then—

“That guy…!”

Beneath the dark night sky and the scarlet moon.

Someone was floating in the air, gazing down at him.

That was the one.

The one who had mocked him and humiliated him; that very being now hovered above, looking down.

“You!!”

Thud-!

Yusa immediately stomped on the ground and leaped into the air.

With that, he shot forth his razor-sharp claws, aiming to slice through the being.

Crash-!

Whoosh—!

Yusa’s claws failed to cut anything and merely whizzed past.

It felt as if he had sliced right through thin air.

“What the hell…?”

Why did it feel like this?

Yusa’s expression turned vacant due to his failed attack.

“General, I must remind you once again.”

The being only continued to speak as if Yusa were irrelevant.

“There will be no second mercy. Next time, you’d best avoid disappointing me.”

With that, the figure faded away like mist.

“…Where did you go?”

Yusa snarled, baring his fangs as he shouted.

“Where the hell did you go?!”

Whoooosh—!!!

A torrent of pressure crashed against him.

It was an overwhelming force.

So immense that it swept through the estate, even stirring up the prison.

“Hmph.”

Feeling the gust, Cheol Jiseon, or Gu Yangcheong, secretly wiped blood from his lips, filled with certainty.

‘I can kill him.’

He was certain he could slay the general.

 

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