𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟖𝟐
“. . .Heh, amusing. If you are so certain of your victory, then be quick about it.”
Although I had asked the question, Xue Laifu showed no signs of opening his mouth.
Of course, with his pride having been wounded, it would be even stranger if he were to adopt a cooperative attitude.
「𝙄𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙨𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙢. . . . . .」
In the midst of my contemplation, it was Arietta who once again proposed a solution.
Paht!
“. . .In exchange for the stolen mark, we will gain the right to ask you questions. According to the principles of the Oath, you must obey.”
“Cough, cough. Am I getting used to this? But it is foolish. If you were to use it well, you could gain even greater power than you have now.”
Xue Laifu looked regretfully at the remnants of the mark that had vanished from Arietta’s hand.
But Arietta replied to him without wavering,
“I have no need. I can become stronger without resorting to the same methods.”
“. . . . . . . . .”
“Junior. Ask your questions. You will be able to draw out the truth from him three times.”
Three questions. It was a golden opportunity, to say the least.
Even if we were to go out and subdue the other high-ranking yokai, there was no guarantee that they would cooperate with us.
I had to use these three questions to extract as much information as I could from Xue Laifu.
“I want to know everything you know about Polar Night.”
As I asked the first question I had prioritized, the mark that Arietta had just consumed appeared above Xue Laifu’s head.
At the same time, Xue Laifu, his memory recovered, slowly began to speak.
“He is a being who has all the monstrosities under his feet. It is said that when he appeared, all the demons in the world submitted to him. It is also said that he can use the powers of the yokai who have submitted to him, so the extent of his power is immeasurable.”
So far, this was information that I and my companions already knew, not much different from what Echinacea Lianqi had told us.
Just as I was about to be disappointed, Xue Laifu, who had caught his breath, continued speaking.
“I have never encountered him directly because our times did not overlap. . . . . . But I have met a yokai who was subordinate to him. I, too, was interested in Polar Night’s ability to use all yokai. And that person described his impression at the time like this.”
It was not a feeling that could be expressed simply with the words submission or subordination. It was as if he had no choice but to follow Polar Night naturally, as if it were something that should be done.
To put it another way, it was not a sense of having one’s own will controlled, but rather a sense of conforming to an absolute truth.
“Although it was a short time, I later became interested in Polar Night and conducted a great deal of research on him. But the conclusion was the same: he is an existence that cannot be explained by conventional wisdom.”
“. . . . . . . . .”
It was quite an interesting story. But in the end, it seemed that Xue Laifu did not have any key information either.
I was about to ask the next question right away, but I held back for a moment because Xue Laifu seemed to have something more to say.
And Xue Laifu told us one last fact.
“He is an unknown being, that much is certain. But that is why there is one thing I felt while I was researching him.”
“. . .What is that?”
“The argument is wrong. Some people call Polar Night the king of yokai, but I don’t think that even slightly expresses his true nature. Perhaps the domination of yokai or the use of their powers is just the tip of the iceberg. . . . . . .”
Somehow, I couldn’t just let Xue Laifu’s words pass me by.
I myself may have been completely mistaken about Polar Night’s true identity, and in fact, Ho-chung had chosen to seal him away instead of finishing him off at the last moment.
At the very least, what we currently knew about him was only superficial. It was a moment when I realized that fact once again.
“. . .Some of the mark’s power has disappeared. What he just told you is probably all he knew.”
“I understand. Then let’s move on to the next question.”
There was no point in continuing to press for an answer that I wouldn’t get. I was satisfied that I had gained some knowledge, and I slowly opened my mouth.
“You must also know something about Taotie, a yokai who is your equal. I would like to hear everything about him as well.”
“. . .Taotie is a being that originated from the Heavenly Dragon, and he is a great yokai who possesses the power of a truly evil spirit. I have heard that he ate most of the Nine Children of the Heavenly Dragon, who share the same origin, and gained immense power.”
At those words, I thought of Gonha, whom I had fought before, with some surprise.
Although she was inferior to Xue Laifu or Baekryeo, she was still a being who far surpassed the level of ordinary yokai.
To think that he had eaten most of the Nine Children of the Heavenly Dragon, I could not even begin to imagine the extent of Taotie’s power.
「𝙉𝙤, 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙂𝙤𝙣𝙝𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙨. . . . . .?」
The reason Gonha had set up camp around Cheongra, enticing people and desperately gathering energy, might have been to escape Taotie’s clutches while also gaining the power to fight him.
I could also understand the meaning of the curse-like words she had uttered at the last moment.
「𝙏𝙖𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙨𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙏𝙖𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙚’𝙨 𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡.」
Although it was in a different way than she had imagined, Taotie and I had ended up targeting each other, which was truly ironic.
As I sorted out my thoughts, Xue Laifu, who had noticed it, continued speaking.
“Taotie’s innate physical abilities are unmatched. He also possesses the power to unleash the potential of his body in an instant. When he does, Taotie becomes so powerful that no one can handle him.”
“Even you, with all of the marks absorbed?”
At my words, Xue Laifu laughed as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Compare what you should compare. He is a demon of a different origin than me, from the very beginning. If you simply compare our power levels, the difference is clear.”
Of course, Xue Laifu would not be an opponent that I could not defeat if he used all his tricks and went all out, but it seemed certain that Taotie possessed immense power.
“That is just my opinion. I don’t know for sure. . . . . . . I’ve never seen him go all out. . . . . . .”
“What if he were to fight us?”
This time, there was no change in his expression. Xue Laifu simply answered my question as if stating a fact, without any emotion.
“You would be defeated. Of course, you, who are beings from outside, also possess an incomprehensible potential, but Taotie is already a complete being. . . . . . . If Polar Night did not exist, Taotie would be the being closest to being the king of yokai in this era.”
His words were certainly tantamount to saying that Taotie was a being one level above him.
As I realized that the journey ahead would not be easy, Arietta spoke up again.
“Junior, that’s the second one. There is only one mark left.”
“. . .Is that so?”
I had already obtained all the information that I needed to prioritize for now. So there would be no problem in choosing a slightly broader topic for the one question remaining.
After much deliberation, I addressed the subject of my last question to Xue Laifu.
“Please give me information about Seo Cheon-ye.”
I am convinced that she, too, is one of the beings who are intertwined with the great currents of this era.
Perhaps if I could only learn about Seo Cheon-ye, all the facts I had learned so far would become a little clearer.
And soon, after hearing all the information Xue Laifu had about Seo Cheon-ye, I could see that it was somewhat correct.
「. . . 𝙎𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙.」
In the past, Seo Cheon-ye had made a pact with the four most powerful yokai on earth.
They agreed that they would not interfere with each other more than necessary and that they would minimize their influence on the mortal world.
The four were Baekryeo, Hong Lin, Guimei, and Taotie, and they had readily accepted the pact because they were also wary of Seo Cheon-ye’s formidable power.
「𝙄𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙎𝙚𝙤 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣-𝙮𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙙.」
Hong Lin, for one, was seeking a life in harmony with humans, and it was clear that the other great yokai did not trust each other.
I was also able to resolve many of the questions I had felt in the past.
「𝙎𝙚𝙤 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣-𝙮𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙋𝙮𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜-𝙚𝙪𝙣-𝙝𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙏𝙖𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙚.」
Taotie’s approach to Pyeong-eun-ha in such a strange way must have been a way for him to circumvent the limitations of the pact and acquire power in his own way.
Seo Cheon-ye must have realized such a move and approached the Pyeong Clan, but because of the pact, she could not take direct action, so she stayed by Pyeong-eun-ha’s side to watch the situation, right?
Now everything seemed to fit together.
And at the same time, I could think of one possibility.
「𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙚, 𝙎𝙚𝙤 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣-𝙮𝙚. . . . . . 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙏𝙖𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙚’𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙨.」
As she was clearly wary of Taotie, she must have already investigated that much.
If we could keep a close eye on the opponent first, we would be able to deal with any crisis that might arise.
I set another goal of contacting Seo Cheon-ye as soon as possible and quickly finished all three questions.
“. . . . . . . . All the marks have been consumed. It’s time to finish this.”
“Cough, cough. There’s no need for that.”
Xue Laifu, with a meaningful expression, pierced his own stomach and pulled out two books from it.
Pwah-ahk!
“All my essence is contained here. Take it.”
The target was Arietta, but she shook her head with some distaste.
“. . . . . . I don’t want it.”
“Don’t make a fuss and take it. You certainly have more potential than I do now. . . . . . . But you are still far from being complete. This will surely help in that process.”
Did he feel some kind of sibling affection for Arietta, who had originated from Xue Laifu’s forbidden technique? But I didn’t know for sure, but it didn’t feel like that.
“. . . . . . I don’t like it, but in the end, I can’t bear the thought of everything about me ending up unfinished.”
It was only then that I felt like I understood Xue Laifu a little bit.
And Xue Laifu, just like when we first met, let out a hollow laugh and grabbed his own neck.
Kwahk.
“Who can blame me for being born as a weak being and simply wanting to reach the extreme!!”
Pur-reung─!
Sprinkling blood and flesh, Xue Laifu, the master of Myung-yul and a great yokai of the era, thus ended his life.
A madman who pursued a realm beyond his own capacity and sought to reach the extreme. That was the essence of Xue Laifu.
And the vast energy that flowed out of his corpse was absorbed by Arietta, who had stepped forward.
Hoo-woong!
Hwa-ahk!
“. . . . . . . . Even so, you were not the right person for it.”
But it was a single word that seemed to imply that she could.
At the same time, I could sense with my own skin that Arietta had taken a step forward at this moment.
Her eyes, which had always glowed red, seemed to have become even more intense.
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