“Damned... fool.”

“What?”

I frowned at his words. What did he just say?

“...What did you say?”

“...You're a damn fool.”

“Ah... so that fool is the one who's damned?”

He nodded.

Du Ryeong, under the influence of the demonic power, nodded. Watching him, I rubbed my forehead.

“...What a response.”

Such a meaningless answer.

Should I just hit him? I hesitated for a moment but restrained myself.

“Forget that. Tell me something useful. Is he from the Moonlit Night Tribe?”

“...No.”

That was a relief. At least he was answering. Okay, got it.

‘This bastard. He shouldn’t be allowed to explain things.’

It seemed like yes or no answers were the only thing I’d get from him.

I was losing my mind, seriously.

“He’s not from the Moonlit Night Tribe... then does that mean he’s someone who received his master’s favor?”

“...Yes.”

“Hm.”

If he’s not from the Moonlit Night Tribe, then it’s pretty much certain. So, what’s next...

“Is he a general?”

“...Yes.”

I narrowed my eyes at his answer. As expected.

‘So, he’s a general too.’

If that’s the case, then he’s the last one.

‘The one with the least information.’

The one who was said to have the least information among the generals, and no one even knew what he did.

I’d heard that he was located in the center of Mount Marryeong and the Mount Hua Sect—at the Black Phoenix Palace. That’s where he was supposed to be.

‘So he appeared and was supporting Du Ryeong.’

Whether that was what Du Ryeong wanted or not, the fact that he appeared here was a problem.

What this means is—

‘The master might know about what I’ve done.’

The fact that a general supported him meant the current master—who has no memory of me and wants me dead—might know about this incident.

I frowned and asked Du Ryeong.

“Does he know that Yusa is dead?”

“...”

Du Ryeong’s body trembled. He nodded, shaking, as he looked at me.

‘This bastard.’

He knew.

‘How did he know?’

I wondered. I had killed Yusa near Yahwol, but—

‘There was no sign of anyone around.’

I made sure no one could notice that he was dead. I thought it would take a while for him to be discovered.

‘But the fact that he moved so quickly means he must have gotten the information fast.’

Where did he find out?

‘...Hmm.’

I couldn’t come up with an answer.

‘But that’s not the important part.’

The important thing isn’t how he found out.

‘What matters is that he knows.’

The problem is that he knows. That’s why I hadn’t taken a direct action against Du Ryeong.

‘It would’ve been dangerous if Cheonma wasn’t here.’

If I had fought without Cheonma, I could have ended up fighting two generals. That would have been a terrible situation.

‘Bringing Cheonma was a stroke of genius...?’

It seemed like asking Cheonma to come along had been helpful.

‘...Cheonma.’

Thinking about Cheonma made my head ache.

‘Damn.’

There’s more to deal with than I thought.

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

‘And I missed it...?’

Cheonma had said she was going to capture something, but I missed it. How is the situation progressing? She hadn’t left Mount Marryeong for three days.

She was waiting for me.

‘No way.’

A thought flashed through my mind. Could it be that Cheonma had set this up?

‘It’s possible.’

If it was the Cheonma from this life, I wouldn’t have thought so. But the one I saw before was definitely from my past life.

If I think of her that way, it wouldn’t be strange.

‘Is she trying to bind my feet?’

I quickly shook my head, dismissing the thought.

‘No.’

That couldn’t be it.

Although I thought Cheonma would do that, the Cheonma I knew wouldn’t have used such a strategy.

She would have just destroyed everything.

‘She wouldn’t need to use a trick like that.’

I clicked my tongue, loosening my body.

I turned and looked at Du Ryeong. I gathered my strength into my heart and lightly waved my hand, causing the demonic power that had entangled him to dissipate.

I sighed in relief after confirming this.

‘There’s probably nothing left.’

I didn’t have time to wait anymore. There was no telling if Cheonma would show up.

I looked up at the sky.

‘Night is still far off.’

It was midday.

Night was still quite far away. It was best to move at night, but...

‘...Tch.’

It seemed like it would be better to move now. If I kept waiting, it would only cause more problems.

No, the problem had already started.

“Ckugh...”

I looked at Du Ryeong, groaning on the ground.

“Hmm.”

What should I do with him?

‘Take ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) him?’

Would he even be useful if I took him? Honestly, he listens, but since it’s based on force, I can’t make use of him creatively.

It seemed impossible to take him along for a stealth mission or reconnaissance.

‘Then...’

What should I do? I thought for a moment, and one idea came to me.

‘Ah.’

That will work.

“Hey.”

I called out to Du Ryeong.

“Crrr...”

Instead of answering, he silently groaned. I gave him my order.

“Perfect timing. You’ve got a job to do.”

I summoned the demonic power I had removed earlier.

Now, Du Ryeong had a job to do.

**********

I returned to Mount Marryeong. Over the past three days, there had been changes in Mount Marryeong.

Unlike the usual quiet and serene atmosphere, as if under some seal, I could now hear murmurs gradually growing louder.

Was it that they were finally realizing that Du Ryeong was gone? That could be the case, but...

In contrast to their increasing activity, the spirit’s condition remained the same.

Sitting silently by the Divine Tree, either feeling the wind or writing out charms, I could tell she was wearing a sorrowful expression.

Seeing this, I approached and spoke.

“Still acting like a fool today.”

“Ah...”

The spirit responded to my voice, weakly moving her body to look at me.

“Why? You begged to be free, but now that you’re truly free, does it feel empty?”

“...”

She had longed for freedom, first from her position as the servant of her master, then from being bound to Mount Marryeong. I had given her that freedom, yet she was like this.

‘Ah, that’s right.’

I realized it belatedly as a thought crossed my mind.

‘I never asked Du Ryeong this.’

I had forgotten to ask why he came to Mount Marryeong and started taking other creatures. I had temporarily overlooked it.

‘I’ll ask next time.’

Du Ryeong would likely have left Mount Marryeong and was on the move now, due to my orders.

‘It might be a good opportunity to check.’

I could observe what happens when the distance grows. It would be a good test.

Would my command release if the distance between us grew? It could be different in the Abyss, even though other demons didn’t behave that way.

“It looks like I need to step out for a moment, so keep yourself occupied.”

“...Are you serious right now?”

“Yeah. Something came up.”

“...”

The spirit’s eyes turned to somewhere. Her gaze fixed on my chest.

The spot where the gem was embedded.

I smiled faintly as I watched.

“I don’t know what you’re hoping for, but forget it. Isn’t this exactly what you wanted?”

“Master... Do you hear your master’s voice?”

“My master? The master of the Abyss?”

“...Yes.”

“No. Not at all.”

There was no way she could hear the voice after absorbing the gem.

She continued to stare in that direction, clearly longing for her master’s voice.

“Don’t get your hopes up. It’s not going to happen.”

I couldn’t hear it.

As much as I wanted to hear it, I didn’t.

“...Anyway. I’ll be back soon. Tell her to wait when I return.”

I didn’t need to return to Mount Marryeong. My business here was already done, and I could leave without any issues. However, I told the spirit I would return.

There was only one reason for that.

‘Cheonma might appear.’

It made sense to tell her to wait while I went out, as I would be back soon after conducting a simple reconnaissance.

The mission was short, and I would return before long.

“...”

The spirit didn’t answer. I had sensed something broken in her since the last time.

But I didn’t really care.

‘Whatever the circumstances.’

It wasn’t something I needed to concern myself with. My own path was pressing.

I turned my back and put strength into my legs.

I leapt toward the ceiling, which was no longer blocked.

Whoosh!!

The spark ignited, and my speed increased.

My destination was the Black Phoenix Palace.

Where the general, known as the Crow, was.

**********

Thud.

I arrived at my destination and landed on the ground.

I retracted the fire that had wrapped around my body and surveyed the area. It had taken about two days to get here.

I had moved at the fastest speed possible and reached my destination.

Unlike the rocky Mount Marryeong, the place I arrived at was now a space covered with dense foliage.

Compared to the lifeless Mount Marryeong, this place was full of the presence of living creatures.

“Hm.”

It was almost too vivid. I could even feel the presence of insects. Compared to Mount Marryeong, where there had been almost no presence except for the Abyss, this felt unsettling.

‘...This is very different from what I expected.’

With names like Black Phoenix Palace and all, I had expected a place as desolate and ominous as Mount Marryeong.

‘It’s just a forest.’

It looked like an ordinary forest. Could this really be the place where the Black Phoenix Palace is?

As doubts filled my mind, I focused my energy and spread my senses.

Whooooosh—!!!

My energy expanded outward.

If the information the turtle had told me was correct, it should be somewhere around here.

I thought as I spread my senses, and after a short while, something was caught at the edge of my perception.

‘There... Hm?’

It was good that I had caught it, but the sensation made me frown.

It was similar to last time, but different.

When I was at Mount Marryeong, there had been no presence at all, which had surprised me. This time, however—

‘There’s a lot.’

There was, in fact, an overwhelming amount.

And it was disgustingly abundant.