novelraw Chapter 38
Chapter 38
Chapter 38
『 Translator – Divinity 』
If even the onlookers were shocked, the shock felt by those directly involved was indescribable. Seeing that they still did not quell their fighting spirit even after that, Cheon Ha-seong firmly decided to eliminate them.
With an air-rending sound that seemed to tear the eardrums, Sword Qi cut through the sky. A bloodcurdling scream erupted for the last time, and two men's bodies were bisected; their upper torsos, separated from their waists, floated in the air before splattering blood and falling.
Everyone looked back and forth between the corpses and Cheon Ha-seong with eyes full of shock.
However, Cheon Ha-seong, as if this were only the beginning, moved even faster and more boldly than before. He kicked off the ground, landed in another spot, and swung his sword, and it collided with an opponent's Sword Qi, creating an explosion of sound.
One person momentarily unleashed his palm force to block Cheon Ha-seong, but was instead the only one pushed back.
Cheon Ha-seong didn't even check the others' attacks and just continued with his own.
The blue energy shimmering on his sword blade was much more vivid than before.
Cheok Gyo-woon grabbed the nape of Gi Mun-yong's neck, who still hadn't come to his senses, and leaped upwards. Only after landing on the roof did he relax.
“What did you think you were going to do, stepping forward like that? If we want to help Head Instructor Cheon, it's better for us to stay safe.”
“Young Master, how can we do that? There are so many of them.”
When Gi Mun-yong spoke, Cheok Gyo-woon shook his head as if to say he still didn't get it.
“Can you tell who we're supposed to attack? If it were a matter of killing everyone there, then we could help too. But right now, Head Instructor Cheon is separating his prey and cornering them. His goal is not to annihilate the So Demonic Clan. The So Demonic Clan is still a pillar of the Divine Cult.”
Only then did Gi Mun-yong realize that he had been thinking wrongly.
“There is no need to be so impatient. Now we just have to do our part. Broadening our horizons by watching Head Instructor Cheon is also an important task.”
Gi Mun-yong thought that it was a great fortune that he could be by Cheok Gyo-woon's side.
“Head Instructor! Please stop! Our Elders will now know that what they did was wrong!”
Someone ran out in front of Cheon Ha-seong and said.
Cheon Ha-seong's sword was just about to be swung towards So Yu-yang.
However, Cheon Ha-seong had no intention of stopping his sword strike. Thinking that he absolutely had to kill So Yu-yang, he imbued the single blow with a considerable amount of inner power.
But several people threw down their swords and cast their bodies forward, begging for him to be spared.
Seeing that they had thrown down their swords, it was clear they were not trying to fight Cheon Ha-seong.
Cheon Ha-seong stopped his attack and glared at So Yu-yang. So Yu-yang looked at Cheon Ha-seong, as if he had never thought things would escalate in this way.
“It seems you're an Elder. If you're an Elder, wouldn't it be better to choose an honorable death on behalf of your family's people?”
However, another person stepped forward and tried to placate Cheon Ha-seong.
“It seems there was certainly a mistake in this matter. The leadership of our family will form a group to visit the Cult Leader and apologize, so how about you return for now, Head Instructor Cheon? Then I will speak to the Family Head and see to it that you are not held responsible for what you have done today.”
Cheon Ha-seong didn't want to let them get away with evading responsibility with just that, but suddenly, another person spoke from a different place.
“Head Instructor Cheon, aren't we all followers of the Divine Cult anyway? What meaning is there in us killing each other? Instead of punishing us, how about you have us go out to the Central Plains and carry out missions for the sake of the Divine Cult? We too would rather do something for the Divine Cult before we die than lose our lives meaninglessly like this. Only then can we hope for the Demonic God's grace even in death, wouldn't you agree?”
If that too had been something hastily concocted by the So Demonic Clan's leadership to vaguely evade responsibility, Cheon Ha-seong would not have listened to those words.
However, it was the words of a martial artist from a collateral branch who had only belatedly realized what was going on. Cheon Ha-seong had also seen him at the Martial Arts Academy. Unlike a typical candidate from a prestigious Demonic Clan, he was someone who had followed Cheon Ha-seong well and had strived to improve his skills by any means necessary. Come to think of it, he had passed the Martial Arts Academy but had been unable to enter the Divine Cult's leadership and had remained here.
It seemed this had happened due to entangled interests within the family.
Those words piqued Cheon Ha-seong's interest. And he also felt that they must have sufficiently learned their lesson after being stirred up to this extent, and it also seemed that if he were to take further action, the Cult Leader should know first.
As Cheon Ha-seong's movements stopped, the people, thinking his words had gotten through, added their own from here and there. Although he didn't have faith in what the others were saying, Cheon Ha-seong thought it was at least worth considering and looked up at the roof. At that, Cheok Gyo-woon and Gi Mun-yong, who had been watching him the whole time, stood up.
Cheon Ha-seong gestured with his head for them to leave, and Cheok Gyo-woon, who understood his meaning with astonishing clarity, took Gi Mun-yong and left the place first.
A moment later, Cheon Ha-seong also leisurely left the place. He left no words behind, but no one stopped him.
Cheok Gyo-woon and Gi Mun-yong had done almost nothing; it was an incident caused by one man, Cheon Ha-seong. As a result of one man running rampant, the So Demonic Clan had become like a stirred-up hornet's nest.
So Yu-yang could not control his boiling anger.
He forcefully bit his trembling lips. As he was about to return to his quarters, unable to quell his rage, the leadership followed behind him. After they had gone some distance, So Jeon, who had not shown his face at all until then, appeared.
So Yu-yang knew well why this bastard had only just appeared now. He could also guess to some extent what So Jeon was going to say.
“Eighth Elder, how on earth do you handle things! Why did you have to create such a mess out of something that would have succeeded if you had just stood by and watched! All we had to do was step back and share the results that the Third Demonic Marquis and the Danmok Demonic Clan had obtained through bloodshed. But why did you have to kidnap a completely useless bastard and make things like this!”
So Yu-yang had nothing to say. It seemed this bastard, even while knowing who had given birth to him, was trying his best to thoroughly ignore and deny him, as if he himself were the Cult Leader's child.
When this story came out, So Jeon had actively agreed. It was So Jeon who had added flesh to the story that had first come out as a passing remark and actively had a plan formulated. But now it seemed he was trying to blame someone else just because that person had planned it in detail and put it into action.
So Yu-yang sighed inwardly and chewed on his lip.
What good would it do to blame others? It was all his own doing.
“Why are you not saying anything?”
“You are right. I am sorry. I will rectify the matter.”
So Jeon was his son, but he was also the adopted son of a Marquis who would become the Young Supreme One in the future. And depending on the situation, he was a person who might become the Young Cult Leader and later even rise to the position of Cult Leader.
Even he could not speak carelessly to So Jeon, the adopted son of a Marquis and the future Young Supreme One.
“You'd better. If you dare let that lowly Head Instructor bastard disgrace our family again, then you, Eighth Elder, will have to take responsibility with your life!”
So Yu-yang answered silently without raising his head.
He even had the thought that perhaps this was what he had wanted from the beginning.
As long as he was alive, So Jeon could at any time think that his and the Second Demonic Marquis's positions were unstable.
‘I suppose I can't say it's a completely baseless thought.’
He thought of the expression on Cheon Ha-seong's face when he had seen him. Cheon Ha-seong had clearly seemed to have recalled So Jeon from his face. He didn't know how many more people would recall So Jeon while looking at him in the future.
‘It's right to step down now. If not that, then it's right to at least hide my face. The position of Elder may be more than I deserve.’
So Yu-yang's thoughts became more and more firm as time passed.
He had held on for a long time, and now he also felt that it was difficult. However, it seemed he had to do what he could for his child one last time.
For So Jeon, and for his own lover whom he could not protect in the end.
While he was firming his resolve, the eyes of So Jeon, who was glaring at him, blazed with anger. It was as if he were looking at a person who had left a single stain on his own noble blood.
***
Instead of going to the Cult Leader's Hall, Cheon Ha-seong looked at Cheok Gyo-woon and Gi Mun-yong and spoke.
“The people who will first notice what the So Clan has done will probably be the people of the Danmok Clan. And they will soon go to the Third Demonic Marquis. They might wonder what is going on, since they were supposed to be in the same boat, but then they suddenly pulled a foolish stunt. I will go there and see how the situation unfolds, so from now on, Gi Mun-yong, keep your wits about you and don't go around alone.”
Then he tapped Cheok Gyo-woon's shoulder.
“Thank you for today. I will be sure to remember it.”
“Not at all. I am grateful just for allowing me to have such a great learning experience.”
When Cheon Ha-seong said that first, Cheok Gyo-woon was thinking that that was really enough. That too was a strange thing. He couldn't tell how much he himself would change, and was just bewildered.
“Then let's part ways here.”
Cheon Ha-seong, who was heading to the Third Demonic Marquis's Residence, thought it would be nice if Seo Hyo-eun could come with him. He needed to use a stealth technique, and he had the thought that when it came to just the Stealth Technique, Seo Hyo-eun might be a little better than him.
‘No. No. I have to be careful now, especially for the baby in her womb.’
Just having that thought was enough to make the corners of his mouth creep up and form a smile. If someone else had seen him, they might have called him foolish, but it couldn't be helped. Just the thought that his child was growing in Seo Hyo-eun's womb made him smile automatically.
‘This is no time for this. I have to focus more intently. I have to at least see my child born before I die, don't I? I can't let them grow up without a father, so I have to be by their side while the child is growing up, too. And it would be nice to see a child that resembles that one, so I have to hold on until she gets married and has a child of her own. To do that, I cannot remain complacent in my current position.’
After finding out that Seo Hyo-eun was pregnant, Cheon Ha-seong's resolutions only increased.
On the way to the Third Demonic Marquis's Residence, he recalled the Heaven-Shattering Will Art he had unleashed at the So Demonic Clan's residence.
‘Can I still call that by the name Heaven-Shattering Will Art? It felt very different, too different to be called by the same name.’
The people of the So Demonic Clan must have been surprised to see what had happened at their home, but in truth, the person who was most surprised in that place might have been Cheon Ha-seong himself.