Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 1036

Chapter 1036

Upon hearing those words, my eyes narrowed as I fixed my gaze on Du Ryeong.

The Dragon Lord—no, the Blood Demon—had been sealed by the master of Mangye. That sound lodged itself deep in my ears.

What… did I just hear?

Did that truly happen?

If so, when did it occur? If he was sealed…

Did it happen before or after he invaded Zhongyuan?

The timing was everything. If the Blood Demon had been sealed…

It meant he had invaded Zhongyuan while still under that seal.

I didn’t know the exact nature of the seal, but whatever it was, it must have weakened him.

Even so, if he had launched an invasion in that condition…

…What kind of monster did that make him?

It meant that grasping the true depth of the Blood Demon’s power was nearly impossible.

That was… deeply troubling.

I’m still not strong enough.

I may have achieved transcendence, surpassing the power I held in my previous life. Yet, I remain weak.

I still cannot say with certainty that I could defeat Shin Noya in battle.

And yet… several beings of that caliber had faced the Blood Demon together.

And he was sealed at the time?

“That’s absurd.”

It was so unbelievable the words escaped my lips before I could stop them.

I pinned Du Ryeong with a sharp look and spoke.

“A seal? What are you talking about? Explain it properly.”

I summoned my demonic energy once more. The aura closed around Du Ryeong’s throat.

“Ghhk!”

A choked gasp burst from him.

“Khhh…!”

I watched as he struggled, fighting against the pressure of my demonic energy. Seeing his resistance, I increased the force.

Kuuuuuk—!!!

The demonic energy around him grew heavier, answering my will.

The fact that he could withstand this much was commendable. I continued to pour more power into it, until—

“…The Dragon Lord broke the law.”

Du Ryeong began to speak again.

“The law?”

“One may not interfere with another world without its permission. He violated that law… and so, the master intervened.”

Interfering with another world without permission—the phrase made me tilt my head in thought.

Who grants that permission? A thought surfaced.

‘The world itself.’

The world.

Or perhaps, existence itself.

An unknown will that had etched laws into reality and moved according to its own design.

It was that same will that had carved a destined path for me through my mother.

The Blood Demon’s invasion of Zhongyuan was also a result of that will’s machinations.

And yet…

‘So that will did not permit him to invade another world without consent?’

Was it my mother who moved to stop him? And after clashing with her, was the Dragon Lord defeated and sealed?

Then…

‘Is that why he spoke of the Dragon Realm’s destruction?’

The fall of the Dragon Realm, which once ruled over the lesser races, allowing them to scatter into Mangye. The claim that the dragons were gone.

The profound hatred so many held for dragons—

‘Was it because the Dragon Lord kept invading other worlds?’

Because his actions had led to the ruin of countless worlds…

That brought another question to mind.

‘Then why—’

Why send the Dragon Lord to Zhongyuan after he broke such a law?

It made no sense.

Furthermore…

“Then… is that why you hate dragons? Did they destroy your world as well?”

As I questioned the root of Du Ryeong’s hatred, his body suddenly began to expand—

Kugugugung—!!!

A murderous aura, dense and saturated with loathing, manifested and erupted outward.

“Khhh…!”

“…”

So, I was correct.

‘I see.’

He wasn’t from the Moonlit Night Tribe. In fact, he wasn’t even originally from Mangye.

That meant he was from another world, one to which Mangye had offered refuge.

But for Mangye to grant such asylum…

‘His world must have been destroyed.’

When a world perishes with its master, its remnants fall into the Abyssal Pit.

Some of those lost souls eventually emerge onto the surface of Mangye. Du Ryeong was likely one of them.

I didn’t care what he had been in his world, or what his world was like.

What mattered was—

‘His world was destroyed by dragons.’

That was the source of his burning, endless hatred for them.

“…Dragons must be eradicated.”

Chijijijik—!!!

“Krrgh—! Dragons…!”

The demonic energy, raging with power, pierced into his flesh, causing him immense pain.

Even through the agony, his hatred for me—no, for dragons—continued to burn without cease.

“Hmph.”

I felt his control slipping. He was resisting by sacrificing his body entirely.

Crack—!

Bones fractured, and his skin split open. Though weakened, his immortality allowed him to regenerate constantly.

He was barely hanging on.

‘The sun is about to rise.’

Once it did, he would lose access to his authority.

‘If I leave him like this—’

It was obvious he wouldn’t stop. Letting him go could lead to catastrophe.

“Tch.”

Clicking my tongue, I clenched my fist.

Then, I drove it into his jaw.

Boom—!!

The impact shook the rocky ground, sending tremors through the earth. Knowing a light blow wouldn’t work, I had put significant force behind it.

“Ghk!”

He let out a faint groan, and then his large body crumpled to the ground.

He seemed to have lost consciousness. Without delay, I placed my hand over his chest.

Wuuung—!!

Demonic energy—thoroughly filtered and refined—flooded into him.

I forced it deep into his body.

‘Find it.’

I began to search, tracing the root of his energy.

‘Not the dantian.’

Though he looked human, that was only superficial. His energy core wasn’t in the dantian, where a human’s would be.

Then…

‘The heart?’

I redirected the flow of my energy toward his heart.

‘Bingo.’

His energy was bound within his heart, not his dantian. I saturated that point with my demonic energy.

With his immortality, he would wake soon enough.

I used the demonic energy to delay that moment—

‘Using my authority might cause problems. I’ll use pure demonic energy for now.’

If I sealed his power completely with my authority, who knew what side effects might follow? Besides, the effect would weaken the farther I was from him.

So, I channeled an intense surge of demonic energy into him, ensuring he wouldn’t awaken.

Additionally—

Sssss—!!

I poured power into his heart, weaving threads of sorcery that scattered through the air around us.

This technique was an adaptation of the spellwork I had witnessed at Mount Marryeong.

I wasn’t entirely sure it would work—it was my first attempt—

But…

‘I can do this.’

A firm belief rose within me. I knew it was possible.

Guided by that certainty, I completed the spell.

Snap—!

A sound, like something locking into place, echoed—

And the world seemed to shift.

It was as if a giant boulder had encased the space.

From the outside, nothing within was visible.

‘Got it.’

It worked.

The area was small, just enough to cover Du Ryeong’s body, but it would suffice.

I withdrew my hand from him and stood up.

Sssss—

Stepping out of the sealed space, I emerged outside.

The timing was perfect. The sky was gradually growing lighter.

‘Hmph.’

Depending on the intensity of the demonic energy, Du Ryeong would remain unconscious for about two shichen.

If his immortality failed to activate, it might last even longer—but I wouldn’t rely on that.

‘Four hours.’

That was a decent amount of time.

With that thought, I started to move.

**********

I returned to Mount Marryeong.

Now that the gemstone was absorbed into my body, navigating back was far easier than before.

By now, night had completely given way to day.

As I arrived and moved forward, the figures within Mount Marryeong came into view. Some of them hadn’t been visible the first time I came here.

‘No—more accurately, I can only sense them now.’

Back then, during the night, I could feel the presences within Mount Marryeong, but…

‘There were those I couldn’t sense at all.’

If someone was inside a building or otherwise concealed, their presence would vanish entirely.

‘But now, I can feel every one of them.’

Unlike before, I could sense everyone within Mount Marryeong.

It could only mean the sorcery that once shrouded this place had completely faded.

Sensing this, I took a step forward—

And in an instant, the scenery changed, and I stood right at the edge of the lake.

“Ahh!?”
“Hik!”

The people nearby jolted back in shock at my sudden appearance. Ignoring their reactions, I pressed on.

The lake. And beneath it—

The Divine Tree.

The sacred tree, once encased in a black shell, had shed it, now looking like any ordinary tree.

Beneath it, a woman sat collapsed on the ground.

It was the Spirit.

“Ah…”

She reacted when she saw me.

Though her face was veiled, I could see it in her eyes—a hollow emptiness, utterly drained of strength.

“You…”
“You look pitiful.”

“…”

“This is what you wanted, isn’t it?”

What the Spirit had desired for so long—

To be free of Du Ryeong. To break every chain that bound Mount Marryeong.

She had gotten exactly what she wished for.

“So… now that it’s done, why do you look like this?”

She had asked for this—

Yet now, with it all undone…

“Does it feel… empty?”

“…”

The sorcery that had veiled the surroundings had dissipated completely.

The gemstone she once held was now inside me.

And though Du Ryeong still lived, his time as a commander was surely over.

So, then…

“Isn’t this freedom?”

Wasn’t this the liberation of Mount Marryeong?

But—

“…”

The Spirit offered no reply.

Seeing that, I gave a faint smirk. I understood why she was like this.

“You were so desperate to be free… but now that you are, you have no idea what to do with yourself, do you?”

“…”

Perhaps it wasn’t the severed tie to her master that truly pained her.

I knew that feeling all too well.

To be released from bondage—only to realize a life in chains had left you with no direction.

That had been me.

I opened my mouth, about to speak—

—Chiiiik—!!

“Hm?”

A sound—sharp and sudden—came from beside me.

What was that? I turned my head.

Wuuuuuung—!

“What… is this…?”

The very air was tearing apart.

A rift—

A sudden split in space.

‘A Magyeong Gate…?’

Or was it the same kind of rift that once delivered troops to Du Ryeong?

But…

‘No. It doesn’t feel… threatening.’

Still, uncertain of what it was, I moved to guard myself—

And then—

“Oh.”
“…Huh?”

From within the rift—

Cheonma stepped out.

“You…?”
“Hey.”

“You—where in the world did you… No, wait. What…?”

Stunned, I demanded—

“…You can open a rift?”

“Hmm?”

Cheonma tilted their head at my question—then, with a slight nod—

“Yeah.”

They said it as if it were the most obvious thing.

“You could always do that?” I asked, my voice trembling slightly.

Cheonma narrowed their eyes just a bit—

“You never asked.”

…Ah.

I dragged a hand down my face.

Infuriating—

But they were right.