## C514
Now, Cale decided to focus on Seventh General Hinari instead of paying attention to the God of Death.
“It’s been a while since you’ve seen your father’s face, hasn't it?”
“....”
Cale, having returned to the bedroom where the Grand General lay asleep with his heart stopped, silently observed Seventh General Hinari, who was kneeling and tied up in front of him. She said nothing.
“What’s wrong? Do you not have the courage to look at your father’s face?”
*Twitch.*
The Seventh General’s body reacted slightly, but she only lowered her head, avoiding Cale’s gaze.
“T-this—”
Ashifrang looked at her with a face full of anger, resentment, and a deep sense of betrayal. On the other hand, the 16th General Pery said with a blank expression:
“Young Master Cale Henituse. I think it would be better to lock her in the underground dungeon. Or perhaps, killing her immediately is the right thing for the future.”
“!”
Ashifrang was shocked by those words, but neither Cale nor the Seventh General flinched.
*Pshh.*
On the contrary, Seventh General Hinari let out a dry laugh. General Pery didn’t even pay her any attention.
*‘How can she be so—’*
Ashifrang knew better than anyone the closeness between the two of them, who were like blood sisters. Furthermore, he knew how much General Pery followed her older sister, Hinari. If the Grand General was like a master to Pery, Hinari was her predecessor or her role model. Ashifrang could feel it vividly, but at this moment, the one showing herself to be colder than anyone was General Pery.
“Haha.”
Ashifrang felt a bit of fear seeing Cale laugh in this situation.
“General Pery. We must keep the Seventh General alive. She knows about the Second Emperor.”
“!”
For the first time, a clear emotion instantly crossed Seventh General Hinari’s face.
“Why, were you surprised?”
Cale looked at her with a smile still plastered on his face.
“…….”
However, seeing the Seventh General quickly compose herself and lower her head, Cale thought to himself:
*‘She is smart’.*
The Seventh General abandoned the fight immediately after seeing Cale’s power and the strength of his companions. She only tried to escape once and then let herself be tied up docilely. However, she would not open her mouth under any circumstances.
*‘And I have to provoke this Seventh General’.*
The reason is simple.
*‘None of the three Wanderers saw the Second Emperor use her power’.*
Second Emperor. The Wanderers on Cale’s side said they had never really seen her use her power, which has the nature of devouring souls.
*‘She doesn't talk much’.*
*‘The Second Emperor? That woman always walks around with her mouth covered. I’ve never had a conversation with her outside of official business’.*
*‘…I saw her talking to the eldest brother Third Emperor, but the Second Emperor, no, she is always mysterious, so to speak. It’s a bit peculiar’.*
These were the common points of information provided by Ryŏn, Cho, and Mujeon. The Second Emperor spoke little and was mysterious.
*‘There is a lack of information about the Second Emperor’.*
Neither the God of Death, nor the Water Dragon, nor Team Leader Lee Soo Hyuk, nor Choi Jung Soo (with whom he performed an urgent video communication) knew anything. Choi Jung Gun was not responding because he was doing who-knows-what, but regardless, the current information on the Second Emperor was too scarce.
*‘I must obtain more information at least from the Seventh General’.*
The Seventh General, who directly faced the Second Emperor, was an excellent subject for obtaining information.
“Fuuu.”
General Pery let out a sigh. Cale remembered what she said before capturing the Seventh General.
*‘She won't open her mouth for just anything’.*
There was a reason for saying that.
*‘She is someone who has deceived everyone using a mask until now. How heavy will her tongue be? Her determination scares me’.*
That determination that deceived the Grand General, Ashifrang, and the rest of her family.
*‘In addition, the Seventh General is an intelligent person, besides having outstanding strength’.*
*‘Especially, her insight is so extraordinary it seems supernatural. Thanks to that, she excels in strategy and politics. That’s why I, who am evaluated as someone honest but slow to judge political situations, followed her a lot’.*
General Pery had revealed her feelings by speaking honestly even about her own weaknesses. Back then, betrayal and a wounded heart caused by the Seventh General were visible in her eyes, but now there was only coldness.
*‘It’s incredible’.*
To Cale, on the contrary, General Pery seemed amazing. She was someone with a truly firm will.
*‘On the other hand, it seems the Seventh General is a bit different’.*
The corners of Cale’s lips rose.
“The Seventh General must think she is smart, right?”
“…….”
She remained silent.
“That’s why you allied with the Second Emperor to overthrow the Grand General. Because you thought that was the only way to get an opportunity.”
“…….”
“That judgment was also, probably, because you knew that with your own military power you couldn't win or overwhelm the Grand General or the other generals of the upper islands.”
“…….”
“In a way, it could be said it was a smart action taken after evaluating your own capabilities. Isn't that so?”
“…….”
Although the Seventh General did not respond, internally she agreed with those words.
*‘Was it wrong?’*
While she asked herself that:
“You made a very stupid and erroneous decision.”
“!”
Her eyes involuntarily turned toward Cale. He was still looking down at her.
“Is it wise to ally with a demon to try to defeat a tiger?”
*Smirk.*
One of the corners of Cale’s lips rose. It was an obvious mockery.
“That action only creates one more puppet manipulated by the demon.”
“!”
The Seventh General tried to open her mouth to ask what that meant. But:
“What is in that body of the Grand General is not the Grand General.”
“!”
She was shocked at the words that followed.
*‘He knew even that?’*
She had felt something since he mentioned the Second Emperor.
“The Grand General’s soul must be with the Second Emperor.”
“!”
“How foolish.”
Cale, shaking his head as if he couldn't stand to watch it anymore, directed his gaze toward the door.
“I will show you how stupid it was to ally with the Second Emperor.”
He called the person standing in front of the door.
“Choi Han.”
“Yes.”
“Let him in.”
*Click.*
The door opened. And the Wanderer Cho, who was waiting outside, entered dragging someone who was tightly bound.
“!”
The Seventh General recognized the person being dragged.
“The intelligent Seventh General must know who he is, right?”
“…….”
Instead of her, who remained silent, Cale asked and answered for himself.
“It is the closest confidant of Third General Wo-ho. Mujeon.”
Generals of Seventh General rank or higher were clearly strong. In a situation of mutual surveillance, it was impossible not to know a general and his right-hand man.
“Do you know whose subordinate that man actually is?”
The Seventh General’s body trembled. An inexplicable fear invaded her.
“The Second Emperor’s.”
And the moment she heard Cale’s words, her face turned pale.
“What was the content of the video communication you sent to the Second Emperor? Ah, it was this.”
Cale recited part of the information that Mujeon, Cho, and Ryŏn had found out.
“Second Emperor. General Pery has appeared with a doctor who says he can destroy the soul prison. It is said that this doctor will soon heal the Grand General. This is different from what you said. What do you plan to do?”
The Seventh General’s face turned even whiter. It is exact. It is the same content as the message she sent.
“You promised to help me become the Grand General. Please give me a quick answer.”
The more she listened to Cale, the more incapable the Seventh General was of lifting her head.
Was it fear because everything was discovered? It wasn't that. Fear of Cale? Not that either. Clearly, that man had said he wouldn't kill her. With her life guaranteed, what could she fear?
However, she was afraid.
*‘I... was I wrong?’*
The Seventh General felt immense fear at the situation that her choice might have been wrong, or rather, that it undoubtedly was. Because— that is—
*‘Hinari—, Hinari—!’*
She shrank involuntarily.
*‘Hinari—, Hinari—!’*
She heard the Grand General’s voice. She heard her father’s voice screaming.
*‘T-this isn't right—, Hinari, this guy is dangerous! You must not join someone like that...! Avoid him! Run!’*
She remembered her father’s soul crying out while being extracted by the Second Emperor. Her father’s voice shouting at her even in the middle of that.
*‘You must not join someone like that……!’*
Fear invaded the Seventh General.
“… Father—”
Was her father right? She barely managed to hold back the words that were about to escape. They were words she could never let out of her mouth.
“Kugh!”
At that moment, she felt a hand grabbing her head.
“!”
Looking up, she saw Cale Henituse’s indifferent eyes looking at her. Eyes that contained no emotion and where her own image was reflected crudely. In those pupils was the terrified face of the Seventh General Hinari herself. When her mind went blank at that image:
“Look.”
Cale turned her head. At the sudden action, Hinari’s head moved in that direction involuntarily. But soon she realized where it was pointing and tried by all means not to turn her head.
“Why? Can you not look at your father’s face?”
Cale’s whisper reached her ear.
“Can you not see the result you created believing you had made a smart decision?”
Hinari closed her eyes. But the dead body, or rather, the soulless body of her father, which seemed already deceased, was engraved in her mind.
“What is there is not the image of a dying Grand General.”
Even with her eyes closed, the image was drawn. Cale’s whispering voice pierced her ear like a thorn. That was not the dying Grand General.
“It is you, having failed after making a stupid decision.”
Ah—
A sigh escaped Hinari’s lips. Did it mean she was wrong?! That all that opportunity she had been looking for for more than ten years under a mask was a useless act?! But it wasn't a problem that ended simply as nonsense.
“The goal of the Second Emperor and the Third General on the day of the great conference is to kill you all, not just the Grand General, but also you.”
She herself had sought her place of death. The Seventh General felt a wave of anger and self-contempt.
*‘You must not join someone like that……!’*
Her father’s voice resonated in her ears.
“No, I will say it precisely.”
However, Cale’s words did not end there. The original plan of the Wanderers that Cale heard from Mujeon, in which he did not intervene.
“Extermination.”
“!”
“All the leaders up to the 18th island who gather at the great conference will die tomorrow.”
*Gasp.*
The Seventh General inhaled without realizing it. Such a future, such a moment, never—
“All the protectors of the sea will disappear, and the Second Emperor will take the place.”
She did not desire that.
“It is the future that you created.”
But it was the future created by the Seventh General.
“Do you like it?”
“Haaa, haaa.”
Hinari’s breathing became agitated. She had to say something. In this situation! She didn't intend to—
“No, I didn't have... another choice— I wanted the Grand General to—”
Her truth came out without hesitation.
“Hey.”
But Cale didn't want to hear the Seventh General’s intimate feelings.
“I have no intention of listening to your excuses.”
The position of Grand General. After all, hadn't she caused all this mess for that? Cale was not interested in the heart of someone he couldn't understand. Rather, he needed information for the people surrounding him.
“If you want to live, tell everything you know. Like that guy.”
“…….”
Cale’s finger pointed at Mujeon. Hinari could remember Mujeon’s situation and her own.
“Didn't you say you were smart? Then you will know. your only way to live is for me to eliminate both the Second Emperor and the Third General.”
“……."
She caught her breath, but did not open her mouth easily. However, Cale waited.
Someone who betrayed her family. Someone who responds to cunning and instinctively seeks her way to survive. What action would someone like that show in this situation?
Repentance? Reflection?
Well. Cale didn't want to know the feelings of someone like that. He just thought he knew more or less how she would act. She would look for a way to live.
“What was the Second Emperor you met like?”
Cale asked for information.
“…….”
Seventh General Hinari, unable to control her trembling lips, looked around. Then, she bit her lip hard. As expected, she judges the situation quickly. Only she didn't know how to measure if the person she was allying with was the right one or not.
“Then I will also ask a question first.”
Look at that. Since she is smart and knows she won't die, she dares to ask first. But how stupid.
“Haha.”
Cale let out a laugh. Truly stupid.
“Do you think you are in a position to ask me anything now? Are you going to make the same error in judgment as with the Second Emperor?”
“……!”
Finally, the Seventh General’s countenance turned pale and her pupils trembled. It was the expression of someone who felt that her life was really at stake. Of course, Cale had no intention of doing anything with the Seventh General’s life. He couldn't arbitrarily decide on someone whom the directly affected and related parties in this matter should decide upon. He only thought that, for someone who uses their head this way, this type of pressure would make her despair more efficiently.
One day of time. Cale had to do everything necessary within this timeframe.
“Fine. Since you are curious, I will listen to you.”
Cale smiled smoothly and patted the Seventh General on the shoulder. He even fixed her hair, which was messy from having held her by the head, and asked kindly:
“Come on, ask. What are you curious about?”
“……!”
The Seventh General tried to shake her head.
“It’s okay, ask.”
When Cale spoke softly once more, the Seventh General knew she must not reject this and opened her mouth. Pale, Cale waited for the words she was about to release.
*‘I’m curious’.*
What was it that Hinari was trying to find out even in this situation? A trembling voice was heard slowly.
“… W-which Second Emperor, from which day of the week, did you meet?”
Eh? At that moment, an unusual glint appeared in Cale’s eyes. However, the Seventh General, enveloped in fear, did not notice it and let out the words as if apologizing for her own question.
“I met the Second Emperor of Wednesday and Friday. The... my father’s soul must be inside the body of the Second Emperor of Friday. This is the best I know……!”
“Lift your head.”
“!”
Hinari could see Cale crossing gazes directly in front of her.
“You, tell me that story in detail.”
The Second Emperor of Friday. Doesn't that sound like there is a Second Emperor for each day of the week?
*‘The three Wanderers didn't mention this’.*
Wanderer Cho, Ryŏn, and Mujeon. The three only said the Second Emperor spoke little and was mysterious. Those words now sounded different to Cale. And suddenly, he thought again about what General Pery said.
*‘In addition, the Seventh General is an intelligent person, besides having outstanding strength. Especially, her insight is so extraordinary it seems supernatural’.*
It was said the Seventh General had supernatural insight. Perhaps, there was a reason why she had acted as if she were testing Cale even in this dangerous moment.
“Seventh General.”
Cale sensed that this was an important moment. The strongest Wanderer after the First Emperor: the Second Emperor. He had obtained information about her.
“In the beginning, how did you meet the Second Emperor?”
Cale realized he had obtained something crucial.
“… In the beginning, she approached saying she was a puppeteer. That day was Wednesday.”
Puppeteer. Cale’s eyes shone as he watched Hinari mention that word.
I can barely wait! I've been manirating it but I still catch up.😭
ReplyDeleteBtw, thank you for the effort, thank you for the chapters!
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