[Earth Demon’s Office within Hidden Truth Corps]
The text appeared and then disappeared in a flash of light.
And soon, a young man sitting in his seat was seen by Seol-Hwi.
It was the Earth Demon.
Seol-Hwi looked around, and spotted an old man on the other side. What was unusual was that he had a very long beard, that hung down in front of his neck.
White hair and white eyebrows. Even the clothes were white.
How could such an appearance not attract attention?
Elder Nok Jeong-gwan?
Seol-Hwi recognized the man at once. He was a master ranked in the top 100 of the sect. For Seol-Hwi, this was a man he had seen only a few times, and that too was from a distance.
He is a person who supports the Earth Demon and acts as his adviser. For some reason, he had a serious expression when facing the Earth Demon now.
“My Lord, Ma Taryong is missing.”
The Earth Demon looked up at those words. The eyes which were looking at the old man trembled a little as he nodded.
“I see…”
His voice was calm, despite the wrinkles on his forehead.
The Black Spear Demon Soul, Ma Taryong.
He was one of the ‘Core Force’, and one of the Seven Messengers under the Earth Demon.
It had been two months since he was asked to follow the actions of the Supreme Pavilion Lord.
And now, he had suddenly vanished.
“Elder Nok. Who used their hand? It would have been difficult for the Supreme Pavilion Lord to do this alone.”
“Hm.”
Elder Nok seemed troubled.
Ma Taryong was not just talented, but also loyal to the Earth Demon. His disappearance must have been threatening for the Earth Demon.
So after a brief silence, the old man said,
“This old man’s guess is, it must be Mount Hua.”
“… Mount Hua?”
“Yes. Wasn’t Ma Taryong asked to go behind not just the Supreme Pavilion Lord, but also to track the movements of Mount Hua? And he said that there is a secret group of Mount Hua people in the area. I think the problem came from there.”
“Hmm.”
The Earth Demon thought for a moment.
During the two months of monitoring, the Seven Messengers had been going around for information.
Among them, this man went further ahead to pursue and spy on the Mount Hua person he was tracking.
“My Lord.”
At Elder Nok’s call, the Earth Demon looked at him.
“Yes, Elder Nok?”
“The life and death of this man is important, but I think it would be better to get rid of the traces.”
What?
The Earth Demon’s eyes seemed shocked.
“After coming this far… you are going to say that?”
“My Lord. I know I am an old man, but, the reason why the Supreme Pavilion Lord and Mount Hua are communicating. This is something which is slowly coming out. Things are getting more dangerous.”
Elder Nok sighed and said softly,
“Ma Taryong is a warrior with the skills of a Peak Demon. If he is missing… obviously, the big names in Mount Hua must have intervened. And if that happened, the possibility that it entered the ears of the Supreme Pavilion Lord cannot be ruled out…”
“If that was the case, they would have attacked here right away.”
“…!”
Elder Nok didn’t respond to those words.
They weren’t wrong.
It was far too heavy for the Earth Demon to handle. Considering that he is just the fourth disciple, they would be able to take him down.
“Phew.”
After a moment of silence, the Earth Demon took a deep breath.
“Elder Nok.”
“… Yes, my Lord.”
“I am well aware of the concerns you have. My current actions are ones which could lead us to a dangerous situation. If it comes out from my mouth that someone in the sect with a high position is dealing with other sects, my life will not last long.”
“…”
“But, I cannot stand back now. How long do I have to live while being caught up in the worries of death? Without even fighting back? Should I just watch them all fight, and back out thinking I am lucky that they show mercy to me?”
The Earth Demon’s eyes were firm. Now, unlike usual, he was being emotional.
“Mount Hua hands over money and weapons to the sahyungs, and the sahyungs donate people from our sect to them for practical experience.”
“…”
“As a person of this sect, I find that absolutely unacceptable. So I need to use the evidence that Mount Hua is passing things into our sect and do something.”
“Something…”
“Second sahyung. I will have to use the Demon Lord.”
“…!”
At that moment, Elder Nok’s eyes widened.
This is it. It wasn’t a bad plan. No, it could even be a good ploy.
At present, the balance of power in the sect is compatible between the End Demon and the Demon Lord. In a situation like this, if it leaks out to the Demon Lord about what is happening around the sect, the chance of the ploy succeeding is higher.
“My Lord.”
Elder Nok, who had enough time to organize his thoughts, said,
“Tell me.”
“First, you select those who are good at tracking. There has to be something at Mount Hwanga. We need people who are agile and quick.”
“There are those who are prepared for just that.”
“Hidden Truth.”
“Right.”
“And for the sake of one, there is Cheol Gun-song.”
“Ah.”
Hearing that name, the Earth Demon’s expression subtly changed.
Cheol Gun-song.
The one man at Peak Demon level, and the most inactive one among the subordinates of the Earth Demon.
“Because this is something which should never fail. At any rate, we need to be prepared in case of being captured by the enemy.”
At that, the Earth Demon nodded.
The need to have someone strong for safety is good.
He slowly raised his hand, and shouted to those outside.
“Call for the vice-commander.”
It was then.
Seol-Hwi’s vision began to change. And words appeared in front of him.
<Before the Story, a note.>
-First, a new combat method ‘Free’ will be introduced. It is fixed as such.
-Second, if you choose a combat method other than the free system, the effect will disappear after a very short period of time (You have to wait half a day to use it again). So be thorough.
-Third, from now on, even when you head back to your residence, you will not be able to save. There will be several places you can however, so look for them.
And then they all vanished.
<Story begins now. Good luck…>
And Seol-Hwi found himself in front of the door.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Seol-Hwi stepped inside.
Elder Nok isn’t here?
It’s strange.
He was sitting in this room just a while back.
Well, I arrived as soon as the Earth Demon called for me.
If he thought about it, with the passage of time, this situation made more sense.
“You came? Take a seat.”
The Earth Demon smiled and looked at him, and Seol-Hwi did as he said.
“Have you eaten?”
“Just now.”
“Okay.”
The Earth Demon smiled slightly.
“I heard news from time to time. Have your skills grown? I was told your subordinates improved too.”
“It is all thanks to the Earth Demon. I am always grateful for the grace you showed me until now.”
“I am grateful for that too.”
While saying that, Seol-hwi pondered.
A mission?
A dangerous mission which could lead to death.
If he did something wrong, he could die without even learning anything. A task which needed one to be prepared.
To be strong…
Still, Seol-Hwi wanted to take this mission.
Mount Hua.
That man killed him, and insulted the deaths of his subordinates.
Because of that, the thought of meeting them stirred something in Seol-Hwi’s heart.
“I have something to tell you…”
As soon as the Earth Demon said that, Seol-Hwi bowed his head.
“Ask anything.”
“Hm. It is a dangerous mission. And if you are not confident, you can leave now.”
“No. I will do it.” Seol-Hwi said. “In the past, I have been training to get stronger. If you give me an order, I will make sure to do it.”
“If you think so, then, thank you.”
The Earth Demon’s voice was soft. Thinking for a moment, he continued.
“One of my subordinates is missing. It is unknown whether he is dead or taken as a prisoner. I need to know what the situation is.”
“Where do I need to go?”
“You will find something at Mount Hwanga.”
Seol-Hwi nodded his head. Everything up to this point, he already knew.
“Even if there are enemies, try to avoid fighting them. The purpose is to look for my subordinate.”
“I understand.”
Seol-Hwi bowed his head and nodded.
“Can I ask a question?”
“…What is it?”
He decided to ask about something he was curious about.
“This sword that you handed to me.”
The Earth Demon nodded, looking at the sword at Seol-Hwi’s waist.
“Right. I gave it to you. What about it?”
“isn’t this a precious sword?”
“Precious… Yes, it is.”
“Then why give me such a thing?”
At that question, the Earth Demon smiled.
“What reason do you think?”
“I…”
“Seol-Hwi.”
He flinched. He didn’t expect the Earth Demon to call his name.
“Do you know who I am?”
“…Uh?”
Seol-Hwi remembered what Jeokpa told him.
-Do you know of the Heavenly Killing Star?
Heavenly Killing Star. As he pondered the meaning of it, the Earth Demon smiled.
“It looks like you’ve heard about it. Well, I wasn’t trying to hide it. It’s the Heavenly Killing Star.”
“…”
“Then I will ask you again. Do you think those born under such a star will need any precious weapons?”
“Ah…”
It was then that Seol-Hwi realized.
A person who cannot win against time and will someday die using his body.
If he uses the Heavenly Killing Intent, he could kill anyone.
So there was no need for a weapon. Rather, if it’s known that he had such a precious weapon in his hands, the people around him will be even warier.
“When do we leave?”
Seol-Hwi changed the topic.
He felt bad for some reason.
“Now.”
“…!”
When Seol-hwi looked up, the Earth Demon nodded and continued,
“Go right away.”
