C133
"Raon, don't come in now."
-Understood, human!
Cale entered the smoke-filled space alone.
"Oh no!"
The Left Guardian, who had just regained consciousness, was surprised and reached out his hand towards Cale, who had entered the pavilion.
Woosh~.
But his hand was blocked by a transparent barrier, and he couldn't grab Young Master Kim.
"!"
At that moment, the Left Guardian could see a pair of pupils appearing out of nowhere.
The deep blue eyes had vertically elongated pupils.
"Don't stop our Human."
The voice was clear and young.
But the Left Guardian felt an inexplicable chill.
He had never seen a being with eyes like that before.
Just as he was wondering what to do, the blue eyes disappeared.
The transparent barrier had disappeared too.
So he could see...
"Ah-"
A space filled with black smoke where only darkness existed.
The bright reddish-golden color, the Left Guardian couldn't help but look at it.
And that the being enveloped in that reddish-golden light was Young Master Kim.
The moment the black smoke touched the red and golden light, it turned into gray ash and fell to the ground.
The dark space that evoked horror and fear looked as if it was snowing on a gray night.
Unconsciously, the Left Guardian lowered the hand he had been reaching out to Young Master Kim.
As the amount of gray ash on the ground increased, the darkness disappeared. But the reddish-golden light still shone brightly.
-Left Guardian.
At that moment, the Left Guardian heard a Sound Transmission from the Shadow Guardian.
-Stay alert to your surroundings.
To prevent anyone from approaching this place.
If anyone disobeys and gets close, expel them.
The Left Guardian lowered his head and quickly turned around, scanning the surroundings.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have been able to turn around to see the Heavenly Demon who was in this pavilion. But today, he didn't worry as much.
'Maybe-'
Faced with the unexpected possibility that a wish might come true, the Left Guardian's eyes and hands filled with strength.
At that moment...
"Wow, is all of this Dead Mana?"
The entire place was larger than he thought.
Cale walked down a corridor with several rooms on both sides.
He looked around.
All the rooms with open doors were filled with black smoke.
-Cale, this isn't ordinary Dead Mana.
The Cheapskate said with a serious voice.
-During the time I was sealed, I'm not sure what happened, but something has been added to the Dead Mana.
When it came to Dead Mana and purifying it, the Fire of Destruction was the most knowledgeable.
"What do you think was added?"
Cale asked as he walked down the hallway.
-While death is inevitable, it cannot easily bend the will to live.
It was still dark, and he couldn't see what was at the end of the long corridor.
Cale reached out his hand.
A small reddish-golden stream flew forward.
Crack, crackle.
"Kuughh-"
Someone's groans grew louder, and Cale could see the room at the end of the hallway.
The groans were coming from that room.
The room was shrouded in unparalleled darkness.
In the center of that darkness was the Heavenly Demon.
Meanwhile, the Cheapskate's voice continued.
While death is inevitable, death cannot easily bend the will to live, he said, adding:
-But it's not a Jiangshi, nor a Living Jiangshi, but rather seems to be a technique that turns a living being into a state of death.
-That is to say, it's supposedly done by implanting Dead Mana into the body, making Death Energy present in the body, and thus breaking the will of the living.
-Cale, I was thinking about this while listening to you talk about how to make a Living Jiangshi.
As soon as Cale could speak to the Cheapskate, he told him what he had learned about Living Jiangshi.
Information obtained from the Imperial Palace through Chief Eunuch Wi.
'To make a Living Jiangshi, a living human and 443 lives as sacrifices are required.'
'However, there is a medicine that is essential for the process, an absolutely necessary medicine to turn humans into Living Jiangshi, and it is unknown to the Imperial Family. We don't know the recipe, we don't know the identity, we only know that it's a black liquid.'
Cale speculated that the black liquid was Dead Mana.
However, he wondered if the black liquid could contain something else.
-If that method for making a Living Jiangshi is true, then something from the 443 deaths must have had some effect, in addition to the Dead Mana from the 443 corpses.
-Although I can't be sure. For example, feelings like hatred, resentment, and fear could have manifested in the Dead Mana. Or maybe the souls of those dead people became wandering spirits.
It's not that Cale hadn't thought about it.
"I don't know about spirits, but can emotions have substance and power?"
-Well. I've never experienced it, but wouldn't there have to be so much hatred, resentment, and fear to create such dense smoke?
-Cale, you must have felt that this Dead Mana here is particularly suffocating.
Cale silently nodded.
It wasn't like this when he purified Namgung Taewi.
But now, in this space filled with black smoke, there was a reason why he had told Raon not to follow him.
'It's different.'
Although it's smoke, it's sticky and viscous.
And it has an unpleasant, unfamiliar taste.
"For now, let's speculate and find out more."
-Good. Good. I'll have to observe a bit more.
Cale stopped walking.
The end of the corridor.
On the threshold of the room, Cale let out an involuntary sigh.
'Is all of this coming from one person?'
The smoke was so thick that he couldn't see.
Cale hesitated for a moment before taking a step forward.
But he couldn't hold back.
"Kuuuuugggh."
The groans continued.
Cale entered the room.
At that moment, he heard a Sound Transmission.
-The Heavenly Demon is in the center.
It was a voice he had never heard before.
But there was only one person who could have said it.
The Shadow Guardian.
'I don't think he's around here.'
The place was filled with Dead Mana smoke; it didn't seem possible for anyone else to be present.
Cale had his doubts, but he shrugged. It didn't matter as long as it wasn't an enemy.
-I will use more power.
The reddish-golden light surrounding Cale began to radiate more.
Crack, crackle.
The stream of reddish-golden light surged wildly, as if it were about to engulf everything, consuming the black smoke around it.
The power was so overwhelming that the windless space trembled, causing the wind to rise.
Gray ashes scattered in the wind.
Swooosh~
Even in the midst of that, Cale continued to walk towards the center of the room without hesitation.
"Kugh, kuugh."
The groans continued, mixed with the sounds of breathing.
They sounded as if someone were struggling to breathe in a place with scarce air, a desperate breath.
-Phew...
At that moment when the Cheapskate sighed, Cale could see the Heavenly Demon.
He was speechless for a moment.
It was a very different person from the one who had appeared not long ago as a messenger, told Cale what he needed to say, and disappeared.
'It's amazing.'
But it wasn't a bad look.
The Heavenly Demon sat cross-legged, with his back straight.
But his entire body was trembling and covered in sweat.
And his eyes were closed.
The corners of his eyes were closed, his nose was breathing, his mouth was groaning, and black smoke was coming out of both ears.
His contorted face betrayed his pain.
Cale opened his mouth.
"What's the situation?"
Only the Heavenly Demon and Cale were nearby, but the response came quickly.
-The Heavenly Demon always releases black smoke like this when he's in the process of fighting against the other version of himself.
Cale silently listened to the full Sound Transmission from the elderly lady. (Note: It is confirmed that the Shadow Guardian is a woman.)
-From what I've heard, it's an attempt to extract the contaminated energy from the body by stimulating the upper Dantian.
The upper Dantian is the brain.
Hearing that, Cale believed he understood why black smoke was coming out of one side of the face.
"It must have been quite difficult if he has always gone through this process."
-At first, it wasn't like this, but as the days went by, the amount of black smoke increased, and I don't think it's my place to go into further details.
Cale nodded and squatted down in front of the Heavenly Demon.
-Cale, I don't think we can purify it now, right?
He agreed with the Cheapskate.
'The main battle is in the brain. In the midst of stimulating the upper Dantian, he might try to purify it, but a serious situation could arise.'
Cale opened his mouth.
"I don't know."
The situation was too ambiguous to do something spontaneously, so he thought it would be better to ask... the other party...
"Heavenly Demon. What do you want me to do?"
-The Heavenly Demon now...
The terrified voice of the Shadow Guardian could be heard, but Cale shook his head.
"You're listening to me, and you know I'm here, right?"
The Heavenly Demon didn't answer, just groaned.
But as soon as Cale saw the darkness dissipating and his face revealed, he knew that he had already been recognized.
"Nice... to see you..."
The voice of the Heavenly Demon came through the groans.
Cale shook his head.
"Now is not the time for useless greetings, tell me what you need."
After spitting out the words, Cale had a sudden thought.
'Can I speak informally?'
Last time, in the carriage, he inadvertently responded informally to the unexpected Heavenly Demon.
'Well, he started with informal language, so it shouldn't matter.'
Cale stared at the Heavenly Demon while thinking that.
"I want you to... do the same as now..."
Barely hearing the Heavenly Demon's words, Cale asked immediately.
"Do you want me to remove the black smoke like I'm doing now?"
"Y-Yes..."
The Heavenly Demon barely managed to suppress a groan.
Right now, he felt like his head was about to explode.
The black smoke attacked his upper Dantian.
As he tried to free himself from the brainwashing, the black smoke pulled him in like a viscous swamp and tried to swallow him deep.
'But it's easier to breathe than before.'
That was after someone entered this place.
The Heavenly Demon's eyes were closed, so he couldn't see anything.
But he was more aware than ever that someone was approaching.
'The air has changed.'
The dense, insidious, suffocating air had receded slightly, giving way to fresh, warm air.
Crack, crack, there was a glimpse of lightning around him, and he could feel a murderous power, but more than that, a clear warmth gradually settled around the Heavenly Demon.
It was enough to keep him alive.
Furthermore, he felt the headache in his head diminishing.
Therefore, the Heavenly Demon asked a favor of Young Master Kim, who had come to visit.
To make the black smoke disappear like it was now.
All of it...
"...Everything."
He asked for everything to disappear.
And he received an answer.
"That's easy."
The Heavenly Demon wanted to laugh at that moment, but he couldn't.
Instead, he felt an immense force.
But it was never aggressive towards him.
Instead, he felt everything change.
The black smoke, the darkness, disappeared.
Starting around him.
Beyond this room, down the hallway, and in the rooms on both sides of him.
In their place was clear, fresh, warm air.
Just like a mother's arms hugging him when he woke up from a morning dream as a child.
The fresh morning air and the warmth of a mother's embrace filled the surroundings of the Heavenly Demon and the inside of this place.
'It's done.'
The Heavenly Demon took a deep breath.
The headache was gone.
Now, he could finally use his power to its fullest.
He took a few minutes to calm down, finally soothing all the headaches in his upper Dantian and suppressing the malevolent energy that had been shaking his body.
The Heavenly Demon slowly opened his eyes.
"Are you okay?"
He could see Young Master Kim looking at him with an indifferent expression.
Cale watched as the corners of the Heavenly Demon's mouth twitched.
For someone who was supposed to be in their thirties, the Heavenly Demon looked quite young. He seemed to be at the end of his adolescence.
Cale heard the words as the Heavenly Demon smiled.
"The answer has been here all along."
Suddenly, Cale's face wrinkled, and a chill ran down his spine.
He had to stop pretending to be the kind Young Master Kim; his unease was reflected in his expression.
-Oh, human, are you okay? I came here because the black smoke has completely disappeared! said Raon, who had followed him, and then continued.
-Oh, here is a Human who is laughing like the Crown Prince. Be careful, Human! This Human might be thinking of swindling you!
That's right, in a nutshell.
At that moment, the Heavenly Demon spoke up with a resolute yet smiling face.
"Young Master Kim, we can finally have a conversation under proper conditions."
For some reason, Cale didn't feel like having a conversation.
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