novelraw Chapter 186 : My Only Side
Chapter 186 : My Only Side
Namgung Cheon, Murong Yoo, and Paeng Yoo-ran searched the martial arts hall thoroughly.
"He's not here?"
"Yeah."
"It seems certain that he went outside."
The three of them had no choice but to go outside and look for the missing child. Before that, Paeng Yoo-ran said.
"Shouldn't we inform our senior?"
Namgung Cheon took her words.
"We have no way to contact him. And I don't think we need help just to find one child."
Murong Yoo was a little worried about the group of the Unorthodox Faction he had seen earlier, but as Namgung Cheon had said, this was just a small matter of a child going out without permission.
Would anything big happen?
"Who is the missing child?"
"They say his name is Do Mu-gyeol, and he recently entered the martial arts hall."
"Did he have trouble adapting?"
"That could be it."
The three of them hardened their faces, feeling that this had happened because they had not paid enough attention.
"Still, shouldn't someone stay behind at the martial arts hall and take care of the children?"
If another incident like this happened while they were out looking for one person, it would be like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted.
Namgung Cheon said with a hardened expression.
"I'll stay. Since this happened because of my mistake, give me a chance to make up for it so that I don't repeat the same thing twice."
Namgung Cheon bowed his head to the two people and asked.
"Alright. Don't worry too much. He probably just went out because he was frustrated. We'll find him no matter what."
"That's right. It's not your fault. It's all of our faults."
Murong Yoo and Paeng Yoo-ran left the martial arts hall.
* * *
Flame Guest Jeok-mu was looking at the captured child carefully.
"Is there something special about this kid that the sect leader ordered us to capture him?"
"Let go! Let go of me!"
No matter how he looked, he was just an ordinary kid.
Jeok-mu, who had thought of something fun, ordered his subordinates.
"Let him go."
"But the sect leader ordered us to capture him as soon as possible."
Jeok-mu glared at the subordinate who had talked back and then swung his sword.
Slice!
Blood splattered, and an arm fell off.
"Aaaah!"
"Be quiet, don't scream. I'll cut off your head this time."
The subordinate whose arm had been cut off desperately covered his mouth with his remaining hand.
"It's quiet now."
Jeok-mu crouched down and made eye contact with the child.
"Hiccup!"
The child, Do Mu-gyeol, was so surprised by the sudden sight of blood that he couldn't breathe properly.
Jeok-mu's blood-soaked hand stroked Do Mu-gyeol's face. Do Mu-gyeol's body trembled at the rough touch.
"Child. If you follow us, you will die. Do you want to live?"
"Y-Yes."
"Good. Unlike that one-armed bastard, you listen to me very well. If you just answer my questions properly, I will let you go. Do you understand?"
"R-Really?"
"Of course. I'm a person who always keeps his promises."
At those words, the people around Jeok-mu let out a laugh. Because the person with the least weight in his words among them was Jeok-mu.
"Now! What secret do you know?"
-Mu-gyeol, it's not your fault that we're dying.
-Don't trust the people of the world. Only trust yourself.
Jeok-mu recalled the last words his parents had left as they were dying.
"N-Nothing."
"Kikiki."
Rustle.
Jeok-mu drew his sword.
Seeing the sword that was bigger than himself, Do Mu-gyeol's heart pounded. Although he had secretly left the martial arts hall to get revenge, fear washed over him when he actually faced the sword.
"Didn't I tell you? I don't like children who lie."
Jeok-mu's sword fell towards Do Mu-gyeol.
Jeok-mu had no intention of killing Do Mu-gyeol.
The sect leader's order was to capture him alive.
So it would be okay if an arm or a leg was cut off.
'A leg would be good!'
It was a sword swung at a mere child.
Jeok-mu lightly swung his sword.
Just then.
A profound movement arose from Do Mu-gyeol.
Jeok-mu's eyes widened.
Do Mu-gyeol's hand gently wrapped around his sword and flicked it to the side.
At that moment, Jeok-mu looked at the surrounding subordinates.
His thoughts were short, and his actions were swift.
Jeok-mu swung his sword wide.
The heads of his subordinates fell off at the same time.
A few subordinates who had survived because they were a little further away and the sword couldn't reach them ran away.
Blink.
Jeok-mu closed and opened his eyes.
A sensation of his vision expanding.
Clairvoyance was activated.
And in the new field of vision, a new situation was perceived.
One person running straight towards this place.
Jeok-mu grabbed Do Mu-gyeol and ran.
The survivors, who had been left behind, left to inform the sect leader, Gu Gyeong-bang, of Jeok-mu's betrayal, and Murong Yoo and Paeng Yoo-ran arrived a step late.
The corpses scattered around.
"This, it seems something big has happened."
"I know, right."
The thought that something they couldn't handle might have happened passed through their minds.
* * *
Jeok-mu's face was full of joy.
To think that this kid's identity was the successor of the former Heavenly Dragon Sword Emperor, the best under the heavens!
No wonder the sect leader's attitude was suspicious, there was a reason for everything.
If he could just get his hands on this, it wouldn't be a dream to have the world at his feet.
"To think the Heavenly Fiend would appear then."
The Heavenly Fiend he had seen with his clairvoyance was not heading this way. But if he had dragged on for even a little longer, the Heavenly Fiend would have noticed.
"Hmph! If I can just have all the martial arts of the Heavenly Dragon Sword Emperor, I won't be afraid of the Heavenly Fiend or the sect leader!"
Jeok-mu, holding the fainted and sleeping Do Mu-gyeol gently as if he were a treasure, ran to a secret place that only he knew.
* * *
Nam Ji-hyuk, who had returned to the One Thousand Martial Arts Hall after a short outing, heard everything about the incident from Namgung Cheon.
The incident was not very big.
But the timing was not good.
This had happened when the Closed Heaven Sect was showing suspicious movements.
Nam Ji-hyuk first moved quickly to find Murong Yoo and Paeng Yoo-ran, and in the process, he felt that he was missing something important.
'Don't tell me?'
In each world, there exists a main character designated by the world. That was the world's arrangement that Nam Ji-hyuk had naturally learned as he traveled through various worlds.
Until before, nothing special had happened. But from a certain point, something was changing rapidly.
Nam Ji-hyuk found Murong Yoo and Paeng Yoo-ran, who were wandering the streets.
"You two, what kind of trouble are you causing!"
Murong Yoo and Paeng Yoo-ran, realizing their mistake, naturally hunched their shoulders when Nam Ji-hyuk appeared.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry."
"Sigh."
Nam Ji-hyuk, who had sighed, also knew the general situation, so he didn't say anything special.
"For now, let's go back to the martial arts hall. Because it seems something unusual is happening in Henan. It would be better to find out the detailed situation after this."
To Nam Ji-hyuk, who was about to return, Murong Yoo asked without moving his feet.
"I just found a lot of corpses. If we go back like this, what will happen to the missing child?"
"I don't not know how you feel. But your safety is more important to me."
There are things in life that can't be helped. Paeng Yoo-ran, knowing that, took a step. Nam Ji-hyuk also took a step. Only Murong Yoo was still firmly planted on the ground.
"I'm not going."
Nam Ji-hyuk, with a hardened expression, turned back and opened his mouth.
"I am here as your guardian and supervisor. If you do not listen to my orders, I will disqualify you from this promotion examination."
At those words, Paeng Yoo-ran was startled. And at Murong Yoo's following words, Paeng Yoo-ran froze.
"Then, disqualify me."
"Haa!"
For Murong Yoo, the child named Do Mu-gyeol was a being he had met only once here. He had no particular connection, and he had never even spoken to him properly.
But he couldn't just leave him alone.
Because he overlapped with his past self.
At that time, he had his mom and grandmother on his side. So although Murong Yoo was alone in the family, he could endure. But this child now had no one.
In that child's life, he was just a passerby. But Murong Yoo knew well that such a small trigger could become the driving force for that person to live.
Nam Ji-hyuk's words continued.
"As the supervisor of the promotion examination, I declare. From this moment on, Murong Yoo is disqualified from the promotion."
"Senior!"
Although Paeng Yoo-ran tried to protest, she couldn't say anything when she saw Nam Ji-hyuk's hardened face.
Nam Ji-hyuk continued.
"And from now on, I will not be responsible for anything that happens. Do you agree?"
"Yes."
And so, Murong Yoo left.
Paeng Yoo-ran couldn't figure out what to do at this moment. Because the situation was flowing too quickly. Just as Paeng Yoo-ran, who had finally made a decision, was about to follow Murong Yoo.
"From now on, we will follow Murong Yoo."
"What?"
Nam Ji-hyuk continued.
"The Divine Cult never abandons its disciples carelessly. And I'm sorry to Yoo, but there's something I want to check."
"Then, everything that has happened so far..."
"It's an act. You can't predict all the incidents that happen on the spot. This can also be said to be an extension of the test."
And Nam Ji-hyuk swallowed hard.
If the assumption he was thinking of was correct.
Because this matter might be beyond his ability.
'I should request help from the higher-ups first.'
He hoped that his concern would end as just a concern. On the other hand, the opposite feeling was also growing.
Nam Ji-hyuk and Paeng Yoo-ran secretly followed Murong Yoo.
* * *
Murong Yoo was running, tracking the energy of the red-haired man as much as possible.
When he looked around, it was a deep mountain he didn't know.
"The energy stopped here."
As Murong Yoo slowly moved forward, the scene suddenly changed.
"There was a formation?"
The formation was rather sloppy, as if it had been set up in a hurry. When he dismantled the formation and came inside, he felt that evil energy again. Murong Yoo ran straight to the place where he felt the energy and was able to find the red-haired man.
"Give me the child."
"Oh! You've managed to find my location."
"Where is the child?"
The red-haired man, Jeok-mu, glanced behind him and shrugged his shoulders.
Do Mu-gyeol was awake, but his pupils were dazed, so it was certain that Jeok-mu had done something.
"What did you do to the child?"
"I just gave him a little sleeping potion to get some information. Don't worry. Except for his mind being a little strange, his life is not in danger."
"That's the problem!"
"Hehehe. But did you come alone?"
"Yes."
"You're really fearless. To come find me with such a skill."
"It's a bad thing for an adult to persecute a child."
"So?"
"An adult should protect a child. Because that's the role of an adult."
"A stereotypical logic. In this world, the strong take everything. The weak are robbed and persecuted. Child, the world is not so beautiful."
I know. Because Murong Yoo had also experienced the same thing.
Nevertheless, Murong Yoo wanted to reject the natural law of the world.
Even if it's just one person.
Even if that person is a relative weakling.
Even if it's no help in the end.
Even if it's unreasonable, unfair, and unjust.
Because just having someone on his side would allow this child to live without hating the world.
So Murong Yoo was in this place.
"Die! Brat!"
-Don't you need to help?
The gap was clear to anyone.
Paeng Yoo-ran, who was watching this in hiding, was anxious. Her heart was pounding so fast. But Nam Ji-hyuk was just watching with his eyes sunken. That was strangely very annoying to Paeng Yoo-ran.
Nam Ji-hyuk had something he wanted to check.
The situation in the 3rd martial world was stabilizing.
But from the point of the promotion examination, the situation was changing rapidly.
As if the world of the 3rd martial world were rejecting something.
If what Nam Ji-hyuk was expecting was correct.
An anomaly will appear.
Because the protagonists of the world are always beings who bring about anomalies.
'Who are you?'
Just a supporting character.
Or a special being like him.
(End of Chapter)