Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 1019

Chapter 1019

Hss—!! Thud—!!

After being flung through the air, my body finally slammed into the earth.

I hit a rock, shook off the shock of the impact, and immediately slapped away the hand that was clamped on the back of my neck.

Scowling, I yelled.

“Hey!”

“What was that for?!”

I ripped my arm out of Cheonma’s grasp and fixed her with a glare. I had just been ready to fight—so why in the world had she pulled me out of there?

“You didn’t even get involved in the battle, and now you’re causing trouble. What’s wrong with you?”

I was demanding an explanation for her interference, but her reply was—

“There was another presence.”

“What…?”

I frowned. Someone else?

“Where?”

“Close by.”

“…You don’t mean that ox, do you?”

“No. Something different. A bird.”

“A bird?”

“Yes. A bird.”

Not the ox, but a bird? I sifted through my memories.

Was there something else…?

No matter how hard I concentrated, I hadn’t detected anything. Beyond the leader, there had been no other signs of life.

And yet, she had sensed something?

Cheonma insisted she had felt something other than the leader. That was her reason for yanking me away.

…Is she telling the truth?

I found it hard to believe. If I hadn’t noticed anything, how could she have?

“……”

But seeing Cheonma’s steady gaze on me, I was at a loss for words.

Maybe it was because we had been together for so long…?

A realization struck me—Cheonma never did anything without a purpose.

…Damn it.

This wasn’t good. The fact that I was starting to trust her was a problem.

And yet—

She hasn’t done anything to hurt me.

Recalling everything she had done up to now, she had never once put me in danger.

If anything, she had helped me more often than not.

That was why.

That was why, without me even realizing it, a subconscious trust in Cheonma had begun to form.

…Get a hold of yourself.

I shook my head, banishing the thoughts.

Even if things seemed fine now, I needed to stay cautious.

You never know.

She could be building my trust just to betray me later. I couldn’t let my guard down.

But—

…This time.

I had to accept that Cheonma wouldn’t have acted without cause.

And I had already heard her reason.

There was something else. Something so faint that even I had missed it.

What was it?

A bird, she said.

Not an ox—a bird. There must be a reason she described it that way.

A bird…

What could it be?

I was still pondering this when another, unrelated thought suddenly occurred to me.

“Hey.”

“Hmm?”

“You’re fast, aren’t you?”

“……”

At my words, Cheonma stiffened.

I had noticed it earlier—when she grabbed me and shot through the sky.

“You were moving almost as fast as I was, weren’t you?”

Back when we had raced each other before leaving Mount Hua, she had been much slower.

But now?

“You weren’t slow at all, were you?”

She had been at least twice as fast as before. The gap between us was nearly gone.

Maybe she was a little slower, but not enough to matter if we moved together.

“……”

Cheonma looked away.

“…You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“…No.”

“The hell you didn’t. Look at me when you say that.”

“……”

She kept her head turned but glanced at me sideways out of the corner of her eye.

This kid…

“…Ah, I’m hungry. I need to eat.”

And with that, she turned and started to walk off.

“You think talking about food will get you out of this? Explain yourself properly.”

I had carried her on my back for seven full days, and now it turns out she was fast all along?!

“Hey! Get back here!”

I ran after her as she hurried away.

**********

Some time later, we had finally stopped arguing.

The night was over, and the sun had risen.

I had not left Mount Marryeong. I stayed where I was, carefully studying my surroundings.

At the same time, I was reviewing my fight with the leader.

And I reached a conclusion.

He’s a difficult enemy.

He was another General, like Yusa, but fundamentally different.

His movements were still wild, without any formal technique.

And yet—

His method was unique.

As I predicted, he used his immortality to charge into battle without regard for his own safety.

But—

He was quick to analyze the situation.

He didn’t just mindlessly throw his body into the fray.

He moved with purpose.

Despite his savage appearance, he wasn’t a fool.

That makes him even more of a problem.

If he had been just a simple brute, he would have been easier to deal with.

But unfortunately, he wasn’t.

And his strength—

…It was overwhelming.

It was absurdly powerful.

Even one solid hit could have been deadly.

That means—

Against a reckless fighter like him, my only choice was to keep evading while landing precise blows.

The good news is that Myeong worked on him.

If I used that, I could manage him without too much difficulty.

But I wish I had been able to test it more.

I hadn’t gotten a full chance to examine him.

Tam should be able to suppress him.

I had seen his immortality for myself. Yusa had also regenerated lost limbs and injuries instantly, but—

His recovery speed and quality were on another level entirely.

The way his destroyed abdomen repaired itself in an instant was still vivid in my mind.

Can Tam really hold down something like that?

I hadn’t tested it yet, so I couldn’t be certain. But I had to believe it would work.

And then there was the final thing.

That transformation at the end.

When his whole body turned red.

It was as if he had drawn all the heat into himself.

His blackened skin and fur had become crimson.

And when that happened, his presence vanished completely.

What was that?

I had gotten away before I could find out, so I didn’t know.

But the real problem was—

His perception.

Even after I had completely erased my presence, reducing my aura to nothing, he had still locked onto me.

That was what troubled me the most.

That wasn’t just instinct.

This feeling was different.

It didn’t make sense to say he had simply sensed me with sharp intuition. There were too many odd details that didn’t fit.

There’s something more to it.

There had to be a secret behind his senses.

Whether it actually helped him in combat was another question, but—

Even judging by his reaction…

He hadn’t found me because he felt energy I was emitting. At first, I thought that was it.

But after hearing what the leader said, I knew that wasn’t the case.

He had already known.

From the moment I stepped onto Mount Marryeong, the leader had been aware of my presence.

How in the world is that possible?

Was his sensory range that vast and precise? That couldn’t be everything.

Even Yusa had great intuition, but this is completely different.

This wasn’t just about having good instincts.

It was something beyond perception.

Could he still know where I am, even if I run?

If the worst-case scenario was true—if he could track my presence simply because I was on Mount Marryeong—

Then escaping is pointless.

My goal was here on Mount Marryeong, but if he could tell exactly what I was doing, no matter where I went…

Things are going to get very complicated.

This meant I had to make killing him my first priority.

“Tsk…”

I clicked my tongue. I had collected a lot of information, but the situation had become much more difficult.

This whole place is strange.

A huge, towering mountain—and yet, not a single trace of life? That was impossible.

Even dead trees have insects.

Even barren ruins have wild animals living in them.

No matter the environment, life doesn’t just vanish.

And yet—

Why here?

Why was Mount Marryeong completely empty of any presence?

That creepy, unsettling wrongness kept nagging at the back of my mind.

Dig deeper.

Something told me there was more to find.

There was something here.

Something I needed to figure out.

That instinct prodded at me.

Poke. Poke.

The feeling was so distinct, so physical—

Poke. Poke.

—Wait.

This wasn’t just a feeling.

Someone was actually poking me.

“…What are you doing?”

I turned and glared at Cheonma.

She was the one poking me.

“I already have enough to think about. Why are you bothering me?”

“Look.”

“What.”

Ignoring my annoyance, Cheonma pointed into the distance.

It was the same desolate, rocky mountain.

The landscape looked no different than before—

Just endless stone.

“…What?” I frowned at her. “There’s nothing there.”

“There’s someone there.”

“…What?”

“There’s someone there.”

“What do you mean there’s— Wait. What?”

Someone was there?

My eyes widened at Cheonma’s words.

Immediately, I focused my energy into my heart.

I activated my sensory field—but unlike before, I didn’t expand it too far.

I had to be careful.

If the leader detected it again, it would be trouble.

Cautiously, carefully—I extended my perception toward where Cheonma had pointed.

Little by little, I pushed my awareness forward.

Then, at the very limit of my range—

“…Huh?”

Something was there.

I drew a sharp breath.

“What is this?”

Just last night, I hadn’t felt a single thing.

But now—

I could sense them.

Living beings.

And not just one or two.

“There’s… a lot of them.”

A huge number of presences—far more than I could have imagined.