NOVEL NEXT Ch. 53
Kwoong-!
『Am I doing this right?』
『That’s not it. You need to narrow your stance and step more lightly.』
I tried again, following the instructions of the girl who shook her head and corrected my posture.
Sappeun-
But she just shook her head again.
『Not like that. I told you, don’t put your physical weight into it, but apply weight to the sole of your foot and press down firmly, didn’t I? Like this, with the feeling of stomping on Mount Tai.』
The words, “How the hell is that even possible?” rose to the tip of my tongue.
Jjeojeojeok-!
But my mouth automatically clamped shut at the sight of her shattering the floor with the Heavenly Demon’s Reigning Steps right before my eyes.
『…….』
『Tsk. For a man to be so lacking in strength. How will you ever be of any use?』
『…Hey.』
I couldn’t help but snap back at her scolding remarks.
『That’s because you’re an outlier. No one but me could even dream of imitating such a ridiculously overpowered technique in the first place.』
『It’s a joke, a joke. Anyone would think I’d just cursed you out, Orabeoni.』
『…….』
『…Tsk. No strength and so narrow-minded. It seems getting you married off will be impossible, Orabeoni.』
Her follow-up remark made my blood boil again, but I figured that expressing any more frustration would only make me look like an even pettier loser, so I changed the subject.
『…Let’s say I’ll never get married. I have a question.』
『Go ahead. Just know that if it’s a question about the Heavenly Demon’s Reigning Steps, I can’t be any more detailed than I’ve already been.』
『Is the Heavenly Demon’s Reigning Steps all there is to the Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art?』
It was a question I’d had for a while.
Most martial arts in Murim were a kind of philosophy of martial arts, compiled with the founder's will and ideology.
Therefore, a single martial art was bound to contain various movements, but Cheong-yi, while calling her technique the ‘Heavenly Demon's Divine Art,’ had never shown any other martial art besides the ‘Heavenly Demon’s Reigning Steps.’
Of course, I hadn't dismissed the idea that the Heavenly Demon's Reigning Steps might be the sole technique that constituted the Heavenly Demon's Divine Art.
No, to be precise, at the time, I had asked the question half-expecting that to be the case.
After all, the Heavenly Demon’s Reigning Steps, with just that one move, possessed enough overwhelming power to crush all the ultimate techniques of a top-tier Murim sect.
But contrary to my thoughts at the time, she shook her head at my question.
『No.』
『……!』
Meaning, the Heavenly Demon’s Reigning Steps was not the only thing that made up the Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art.
『The Heavenly Demon’s Reigning Steps isn’t even one of the five ultimate techniques of the Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art. It’s merely the basic footwork required to learn them.』
It was a shocking revelation.
A technique with that much power wasn't an ultimate technique, but merely the basic footwork that served as the first step of the martial art.
『Then what about the rest?』
At my urgent question, she answered with a faint, smiling expression.
『I don’t know either. There was originally a secret manual containing the esoteric secrets of the Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art, but it was lost before you came to find me, Orabeoni.』
『…….』
『All I know are the first few pages of the preface from that secret manual, which I read in secret behind my father’s back.』
Psik-
『That faint memory is all I have.』
* * *
Keoheok-!
Namgung Soso, who had been bleeding from the corner of her mouth, couldn't hold back the gush of blood welling up inside her and coughed up a mouthful.
Judging by her reaction, she seemed to have suffered internal injuries.
Fortunately, her Mana Circuit seemed to be robust enough that she avoided the critical situation of falling into Qi Deviation or having her mana run rampant inside her body.
However, her external condition was quite severe.
Indeed, her Mana Circuit had ceased its circulation and was no longer functioning.
Chaeng-
Using her sword as a cane, she stabbed it into the ground and barely supported her collapsing body. She looked up at me, breathing heavily.
‘…To think I’d see the Heavenly Demon’s Reigning Steps from someone else.’
It was an astonishing sight, no matter how I thought about it.
Of course, its effect and range were so lacking that it was embarrassing to even compare it to the original.
But the mana pattern and subtleties contained in her footwork, though insufficient, clearly resembled that of the Heavenly Demon's Divine Art that Cheong-yi used to use.
“Cough- Haa……”
“……”
“Do you… know something about this technique?”
“…Of course I do.”
That was the whole reason I came here after hearing the name ‘New Demonic Cult’ in the first place.
To find traces of the Heavenly Demon's Divine Art, the pinnacle martial art that contained the essence of the Demonic Cult and was said to have formed its backbone alongside the ‘Demonic Sword’, which had been lost before my Regression because I was too late.
…Though I never imagined I’d see it in person like this.
I didn’t know how Namgung Soso could use the Heavenly Demon's Divine Art, but in any case, it was good news for me.
Sorry to say, but there was no way in hell she created the Heavenly Demon’s Reigning Steps from scratch. And if she managed to learn it with a talent that would make her a dud at a mere 1-Star…
It meant she either had a master, or there was another source, like a secret manual detailing its principles and subtleties.
‘…Looks like I wasn’t too late.’
I had been worried that I might have been too late to find its traces even after regressing, so this was truly welcome news.
“……”
“……”
A moment of silence fell upon the area, and the Black Wind Captain, who had guided us here, belatedly stepped in front of her.
“Y-Y-Y-You baaastard……!”
“……”
“B-Back away!!! How dare you harm the Cult Leader!”
It seemed like an act to protect Namgung Soso, but his body and voice were trembling too much for that.
Finding it unbearable to watch, I was about to say I had no intention of doing anything more, when—
“…Step aside, Black Wind Captain.”
“…Pardon? Cult Leader, but……”
“You are no match for him.”
She composed herself and personally ordered him to step aside.
The Black Wind Captain, glancing back and forth between her and me, squeezed his eyes shut and sheathed the sword he had drawn.
“…Let’s talk, just the two of us. The others here know nothing.”
“Well, whatever.”
…Being in this situation really made me feel like the villain.
I was the one who was invited and then attacked without warning. How unfair.
“…Call me immediately if anything happens, Cult Leader. I will be waiting outside.”
“……”
…I really could have just settled this with words.
I even got stabbed…….
Seueuk-
When I turned my head to look at Loxy, she was sending a pitying gaze toward the Black Wind Captain, as if she understood his feelings.
“……”
Jerry, on the other hand, was fiddling with his eyebrow with his usual expressionless face.
…It seemed I had no one on my side.
Kkiiik-
And so, the Black Wind Captain and the others left, and a private meeting between me and Namgung Soso began in the Demonic Cult’s main hall.
Having composed herself to some extent, Namgung Soso wiped the blood from her lips and stood up, murmuring with a calm expression.
“…I heard a request was registered by Hwasan’s Constellation to designate us as ‘remnants of the Demonic Cult’ and subjugate us.”
“……?”
Gadeuk-
“…It seems our ill-fated connection with Hwasan is truly inescapable. I thought they wouldn’t know, since it was an item I acquired by returning my Hero’s medal……”
Then she muttered some incomprehensible words and ground her teeth, before dragging her staggering legs to a crude wooden chair placed in the middle of the hall.
And then.
Seueuk-
She pulled out an old book from a hidden compartment on the back of the chair.
A book so old and worn that the rough storms of time were visible at a single glance.
It was a book I had never seen before, and I hadn't even opened it, let alone read its contents. But the moment I saw it, I could feel my heart pounding.
『…I don’t know either. There was originally a secret manual containing the esoteric secrets of the Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art, but it was lost before you came to find me, Orabeoni.』
『…….』
『Whether my father, enraged that I secretly opened the secret manual, sold it or threw it away, I couldn’t find it anymore.』
It was unmistakable.
That had to be the ‘secret manual containing the esoteric secrets of the Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art’ that Cheong-yi had mentioned before my Regression.
Of course, I couldn't get ahead of myself based on intuition alone, so I activated
But.
[
[Checking summary information for .]
Tiring-!
[There is no information that can be viewed with your current access level.]
[A higher-grade access level is required.]
Unfortunately, I couldn't check the information.
Of course, that wasn't to say I was displeased.
It meant that the item was so important that the access authority of a mere 1-Star Trait couldn't even glimpse a single fragment of it.
Ssiik-
“…If this is what you want, take it. It no longer has any meaning for us anyway.”
“What are the conditions?”
“…Pardon?”
“…There must be a reason you’re handing this over right away without resisting to the end. Pulling it out with your own hands.”
“……”
After a moment of silence, she bit her lip and muttered in a drained voice.
“…Take this book as proof for the request, and give us just one day.”
“……”
“…I will disband the Demonic Cult myself.”
Psik-
From her words and expression, it seemed she was completely misunderstanding the situation.
That I had come here to subjugate the Demonic Cult on a quest from Hwasan.
When in fact, I hadn't even uttered a single word about subjugation.
“What if I refuse?”
“…Then I have no choice. Rather than handing it over to that damn Hwasan without a fight, I’d rather just rip it to shreds right here.”
“……”
“…Stop probing and take it. It’s not like I have anything else to give you.”
Seueuk-
I accepted the secret manual as Namgung Soso offered it to me again.
And then.
“Well, since you’re giving it to me, I’ll gratefully accept… but I didn’t come here on a quest.”
“…What?”
“I don’t care if you guys disband or go conquering.”
“…What are you talking abou—”
Namgung Soso’s brow furrowed in incomprehension.
“That’s what I was really curious about. What connection does the new Demonic Cult have with the Demonic Cult that was dismantled during the Righteous-Demonic War 100 years ago.”
Ssiik-
“Looking at this, it seems there’s definitely a connection.”