Chapter 490: Side Story 10 Baek Sang-ah’s Melancholy

“They’re not the only ones?”

“In the worst case, it could be four. The possibility… it’s not that high, though.”

“Why do you say the chance is low?”

“If all four of them had gathered, and all of them were at the level I first saw them at… they would’ve come straight to pick a fight with me.”

If that was truly the case, then even I had no chance of winning right now.

At that point, I’d have to fight them together with Yura after she recovered her martial arts.

“…….”

So Cheon looked slightly hesitant at the mention of four enemies.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“…Are you serious?”

“I’m an assassin. An assassin never stupidly insists on a frontal confrontation.”

Of course, for someone claiming to be an assassin, I had only ever fought head-on until now…

“And anyway, there’s no need to kill them all, right?”

Surprisingly, So Cheon struck a crucial point.

“…That’s true.”

“Killing one or two of them should be enough. Ideally, we kill the bastard who started this mess.”

If he could just do that much, it would be more than enough.

“If you want, I’ll assign some support…”

“No, I don’t need it.”

So Cheon rejected my offer to send a few at the Extreme Demon Realm level.

“You said Lord Saber Demon was probably defeated, right? Then anyone below the Transcendent Demon Realm is basically a hindrance.”

“Hmm…”

Cold but true—So Cheon was right.

At best, in this situation, the most viable reinforcement would’ve been the Sword Demon…

‘But the Sword Demon is practically retired now.’

He was guarding Yura’s safety in the Supreme Demon Palace, but had already declared he would step down from his position as Great Guardian once she gave birth.

If I properly leveraged the authority of the Heavenly Demon and Saber Demon’s situation, I could probably get him to move.

But honestly, I wanted to respect the will of someone who had dedicated so many years to the Cult.

‘If Dao Zun were still alive, this kind of thing would’ve been perfect to ask her for… Such a shame.’

Who else was there? Someone we could deploy now who was at the Transcendent Demon Realm… or someone with comparable unique strength.

‘The Death Demon, Jin Gun-ak, or another elder of the previous generation…’

I was mentally narrowing down the list of candidates who could assist So Cheon, when—

Twitch.

Something, familiar yet repulsive, and alien in nature, tickled my senses.

And a few seconds after I reacted, So Cheon also seemed to feel it, widening his eyes.

“Th-this presence…!”

“It’s far.”

Judging by the distance I could faintly gauge, it was at least twenty li away from the main headquarters of the Murim Alliance.

If they could accurately snipe us with their presence from such a distance…

They were clearly above the Transcendent Demon Realm—a master of terrifying level!

‘But… what the hell is this?’

This presence that felt more like a beast than a human?

Of course, no beast could emit such refined killing intent, so I had to assume the opponent was human…

‘Strange. I’ve definitely never felt this presence before, but it feels familiar somehow.’

This seemed like one of those cases where I’d have to see them in person to make a proper judgment.

But then.

For some reason, So Cheon’s expression turned grave.

“…So Cheon?”

“…….”

“Do you recognize this presence?”

“Maybe.”

So Cheon frowned, clearly uncertain.

I wanted to press him for more, but he fell silent, deep in thought, and I couldn’t push further.

‘Well, we’ll know once we see the opponent.’

Together with So Cheon, I left the Murim Alliance building and headed toward the riverside north of Luoyang.

When we arrived at a desolate place, and met the source of that unidentified presence—

“Kuhuhuhu… Long time no see, you damn humans.”

A young man with long hair fluttering in the wind greeted us with a sinister smile.

I reflexively questioned him, faced with someone I had never seen in either my previous or current life.

“…Who are you?”

I swear, it was someone I had never seen before.

His long hair was messily left loose, but his face was quite handsome, so it didn’t really count as a flaw.

In contrast, his body was heavily muscular.

He had to be at least seven cheok tall. Despite the clean-cut face, his physique was strikingly wild.

It was clear he had undergone Rejuvenation, but to my knowledge, I had never seen someone like him from either the Unorthodox or Demonic path…

“…You really don’t know who I am?”

He looked at me like he couldn’t believe it.

“I honestly don’t.”

“Unbelievable. The weakling assassin next to you is better than you, at least.”

Surprised, I turned to look at So Cheon.

So Cheon was glaring at the man with a resolve I had never seen before.

“Four Atrocities, Gunggi.”

“…What?”

“It’s him, right?”

That bastard… was Gunggi?

I was genuinely startled, my eyes widening.

If a divine beast like Yinglong or a Qilin had transformed into a human, I would have noticed immediately.

But there was only one reason I hadn’t thought of Gunggi when I looked at him.

That bastard… no matter how I looked at him, he was ‘human’.

‘For beasts who take human form, it’s normal for their internal structures to be entirely different despite having a human exterior.’

Especially the more mystical they are, the more easily identifiable they become due to the formation of their internal organs around their core.

But this bastard who claimed to be Gunggi had an obviously human physical structure, despite the mismatch between his body and face.

I asked So Cheon.

“How did you know?”

Even now, the energy I felt from him was distinctly different from the Gunggi I had sensed before.

Only now, retrospectively comparing the two, did I feel that it was plausible.

Fortunately, it wasn’t that my senses had dulled.

“…I saw him once, just once, after he made a contract with me. Of course, he didn’t look like this back then—he looked like a very young child.”

“A child?”

“I remembered that impression. That’s how I recognized him.”

Whatever the case, it was true that So Cheon had a keen eye.

“Hehehe…”

Gunggi let out a low chuckle. Only after seeing that expression did I manage to superimpose the former Gunggi onto this young man.

“Amazing. You completely abandoned your body… and reincarnated as a human?”

It seemed impossible that such a thing could be done in such a short time.

But that must be some form of divine sorcery or authority.

“Well, yes. I lost much, but after Heavenly Evil’s death, this was my destined end anyway,”

Gunggi said, in a tone that made it sound like he truly didn’t care.

“I made my choice before everything I held turned to sand and slipped away.”

“That couldn’t have been an easy decision.”

This wasn’t a matter of entering another endless slumber as before.

“You can never go back. You knew that when you made your choice, didn’t you?”

The bastard had transformed into a human so perfectly that even I hadn’t noticed.

In other words, not just his body, but even the quality of his soul had been adjusted to match that of a human!

“If Heavenly Evil had been resurrected, you might’ve returned to what you were. But not now. You will now be reincarnated through human bodies for eternity.”

The Four Atrocities Gunggi, who had once shaken the Mythic Era, was now essentially extinct.

“Hehehe, of course. You think I wouldn’t know that?”

Gunggi didn’t mind my statement at all.

“For the final battle, this much effort is only fair.”

“…Final battle, you say.”

So the ‘contract’ So Cheon had mentioned during the duel had meant this, after all.

“So? Why did you call us here?”

“Ah, right. There’s still a few years left on the contract…”

Suddenly, a thick smile curled at Gunggi’s lips.

“You know, right? That those sly and gloomy bastards have started moving again.”

There was no way I didn’t know who he meant by ‘those sly and gloomy bastards’.

“…To some extent.”

“If left alone, they’ll cause big trouble—not just for you, but for the future of all humans.”

He was being unnecessarily verbose. I knew Gunggi could be surprisingly talkative for someone with that massive build…

“So, I thought this old man would lend a hand in reducing their numbers a bit.”

“……!”

“Especially the Ghostly Demon Immortal—I want to kill that one no matter what. He’s the weakest of the four in terms of strength, but the trickiest for humans.”

He was talking like he was doing us a favor.

But his tone betrayed a personal grudge toward the Ghostly Demon Immortal. I couldn’t miss it.

‘Is there a reason?’

“Their circumstances are not much different from mine. If I kill them now, they won’t awaken again—at least not until the human era ends.”

As he said, unless something artificial intervened, no new Heavenly Time would arrive.

But… could I trust those words?

Gunggi had immense pride. Even slightly doubting his intentions might provoke his fury.

‘Even if he keeps his promise, there’s no guarantee he won’t stab us in the back right after it’s all over.’

The lives of two precious comrades were at stake. Even if he got angry and destroyed everything, it was best to be certain…

“Let’s accept.”

Before I could finish thinking, So Cheon made the suggestion to me.

“…Are you serious?”

“We’ve got to take it if someone with that level of power offers help. More importantly…”

A sharp aura flowed across So Cheon’s whole body.

“He can’t kill us until the day of the promise arrives. That’s what the contract says.”

A fighting spirit toward his rival.

He had seemed slightly intimidated earlier when we mentioned the previous Gunggi, but now none of that showed.

“Fine. If that’s your opinion.”

For now, I had no choice but to trust him.

So Cheon slowly walked up to Gunggi.

Then, he held out his hand to him.

“The contract is sealed. It’s only for a while, but I’ll be counting on you.”

At that, Gunggi looked a bit dumbfounded for a moment, but soon let out a soft laugh and clasped So Cheon’s hand.

“Kuhuh! Very well, I’ll be counting on you too.”

And so, the contract with Gunggi concluded.

So Cheon disappeared to go see Baek Sang-ah, and Gunggi vanished somewhere as well.

I considered sending someone to pursue Gunggi, but it didn’t seem like it would be useful, so I gave up.

Judging by his outfit, which would let him blend right in with the Green Forest Bandits, he was ten to one living a wanderer’s life.

Thus, even the faint trace of presence disappeared completely from the riverside of Luoyang.

“You may come out now.”

“……”

When I spoke toward a certain direction, a shadow parting the bushes split open and someone stepped out from within.

That person was Baek Sang-ah.

“I thought I had been discreet, but you still noticed.”

Baek Sang-ah calmly nodded.

“If it were somewhere else, maybe not. But within the Alliance, I always extend my sensing range.”

No matter how skilled one is with Sword Intent, keeping up sensory awareness for twelve full hours is mentally exhausting.

That alone was proof that she was already beginning to surpass even the Extreme Demon Realm.

“So, what are your thoughts?”

“My thoughts…”

After mulling over my words briefly, she suddenly let out a soft chuckle.

“You could say it feels like a world of difference. I never thought Young Master So Cheon would say something like that.”

“What do you mean by something like that?”

“‘A flame once ignited cannot be extinguished without injury.’ It really struck a chord with me.”

Her sudden words left me speechless.

Even though Heat and Cold Immunity should’ve been perfect, I felt a cold sweat trickling down my back for some reason.

She smiled gently when she saw my flustered expression.

“Huhu! Well, teasing Young Master Jin ends here.”

“……”

“I have a request.”

“…Please speak.”

She didn’t speak right away and paused for a moment.

“If this journey ends safely…”

The next part came not with her voice, but through telepathy.

-…….

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, I know it’s a difficult request… but still, if possible…”

After considering her request for a moment, I gave a slight nod.

“It should be possible. Especially if it’s the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”

“Thank you, Young Master Jin.”

“It’s not even that difficult of a request to begin with… but are you sure about this?”

If her request really did come true, it would certainly create waves in many ways.

Her eyes slowly closed, then half-opened.

“Yes, I’ve already made up my mind.”

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