Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 1047

Chapter 1047

Taechun had spoken.

“You will take Mangye.”

The command had come from the one he served.

Because it was the decree of the Supreme Heavens, he would obey without question.

The wings given to him—a gift accompanied by the order to fly high, bearing his master’s will.

The man traveled the skies, following his master’s word.

“You will claim Mangye.”

His master had declared it.

How was he to claim Mangye? The doubt formed within him, but he did not speak it aloud.

Even if he wondered, it changed nothing—his master’s will was now his own.

And then, as though sensing his unease, the master spoke again:

“Do not fear, my servant.
All will be done as the heavens have ordained.”

Taechun had spoken—so it would be.

The man believed it completely.

**********

Guooooooo—!!!

The ashen sky churned restlessly. Beneath it, a thin, glowing veil unfurled. A deep, emerald-blue shroud encircled the space.

It was the scattered flow of vitality that had not been fully absorbed. As the shimmering life-force billowed like mist, it began to veil the heavens.

“Hm.”

The man let out a soft breath as he gazed forward.

He saw Yarang, who had fallen, and the back of the figure kneeling before her.

There was no motion. Yarang had fallen, struck by his blow, but it was the one in front of her who remained frozen in place.

A dragon.

An arrogant race that should have been wiped out by the master of Mangye.

They had once sought to influence not only Mangye, but all other realms as well.

A race that defied the natural order, striving to become a world of its own—the Dragon Sovereign.

It was said the Sovereign had been sealed by Mangye itself, punished by the world’s wrath.

“How…”

How could one whose master had vanished still be alive before him?

The man voiced the question, but—

“Does it matter?”

Now, it no longer did. He indifferently opened his palm and looked down at it.

A pale white hand filled his view. Normally, that was all he would see, but now his eyes perceived far more.

“Brilliant.”

Luminous and overflowing with life.

By Taechun’s grace, he had filled his body with immense vitality.

Thanks to Du Ryeong, who had carried out their master’s will and expanded the vessel beforehand.

His body, elevated to a level beyond the ordinary.

A form incomparable to his original self.

‘This is…’

This was divinity.

A supreme and mighty existence, fit to become a master.

A vessel capable of fully receiving the power of an entire world.

It was a form only possible with the world’s consent—a profound difference that could not be compared to that of a mere mortal.

“Wonderful…”

Become the master of Mangye.

Hearing those words, every question he had ever held became irrelevant.

Taechun always had a purpose.

But—

“If there is one regret…”

It was truly regrettable that he could not become a vessel more perfect than this.

If the root of the problem lay anywhere, it was that Du Ryeong had proven far more foolish than anticipated.

The second issue was that their presence had been detected too early.

Fifty more years—even a hundred.

Had he only gained that much time, it would have been sufficient.

But that chance was lost.

And the third—

“It is because of you.”

The one who remained kneeling, motionless.

The dragon who appeared in Mangye and ruined his designs.

That was the problem.

Perhaps everything he had considered before was unnecessary.

If not for that wretched creature—

There would have been no issues from the start.

Or maybe—

Maybe it had always been—

“Because of him.”

How long ago was it? To him, it felt like only a moment.

The outsider his master had brought in as a new general.

Du Ryeong had been furious and rejected him, but Yusa, seeming to like the outsider, had followed him closely.

In the end, they were betrayed.

The outsider vanished, taking the Seed of the Divine Tree with him.

And he disappeared, founding some obscure faction called the Mount Hua Sect.

But the strange thing was—

“The master… allowed it.”

The outsider had stolen the Seed of the Divine Tree, yet he was permitted to roam free.

This must have been what Taechun meant.

‘The master of Mangye has encountered a problem.’

He remembered the words. They seemed correct. The disturbances from the Abyssal Pit, the master’s unusual actions—

Something was broken within Mangye. And—

“I will not miss this.”

The man had no intention of letting this chance slip away.

Rustle,

Vitality gathered, awakening the potential within his new form.

The very atmosphere became a wellspring of power.

Energy swelled.

“So this is what it means to be a master?”

A half-master.

Not yet the world’s sovereign, but a body with the potential to become one.

That alone placed him on a level beyond compare.

A gulf so vast that those below could not even lift their heads to look upon him.

The man felt this as he took a step.

Not a sound was made.

It was as if the very earth bowed before his presence.

“Have you surrendered?”

He asked.

Yarang’s fragile form breathed weakly.

Her body was nearly torn in two. If regeneration did not begin, she would surely die.

But regeneration would not occur.

The man would not allow it.

Yarang was slowly dying.

As he watched her, he thought.

“Unexpected.”

Frankly, it was a surprise.

Yarang possessed only speed and knowledge—he never imagined she concealed such power.

Even more, that she could break through a level and strike him.

What was this? It was a force he had never witnessed.

“To strike at divinity…”

A lower-tier power should not even be able to touch such a being.

Yet this power had pierced through, and struck true.

Was it divine power? No.

It was something else.

What was it? The thought lingered briefly, but it no longer mattered.

It was a power that would soon be erased.

“She will be gone now.”

He revealed the strength of his ascended tier.

Rumble—!!

The sky roared. The ashen heavens, attuned to his will, began to shift.

Clouds swirled. This was the personal domain granted to him by Taechun. But now that his level had risen, it would not be long before his influence spread across all of Mangye.

Though he could not yet oppose the master of Mangye directly.

“She cannot move regardless.”

Now was the ideal moment.

Even an imperfect vessel could be compensated for by the circumstances.

Thinking this, the man approached the kneeling figure.

“You have already given up, haven’t you?”

Behind Yarang, whose breathing was growing faint, the figure did not stir.

He drew near to the young dragon.

Even compared to the general, its strength was unthinkable.

Perhaps this was the next Dragon Sovereign, successor to the fallen one.

“That cannot be.”

He had glimpsed the strength of the Dragon Sovereign long ago.

This weak power was no match. It was likely the feeblest of the surviving dragons.

Thinking so, he moved his hand.

“Now. Die.”

There would be no more interruptions.

Everything would proceed as Taechun willed.

With that certainty, the man swept his hand.

Swish—!

A casual, effortless motion.

But—

“Hm?”

Something was wrong.

“What is this?”

Why had nothing happened? His vitality should have poured forth, erasing them without a trace, yet nothing occurred.

“What is going on?”

Just as he scanned the area with bewildered eyes—

“Huh?”

He realized.

“What…”

His arm, the one he had swung, was gone. The ragged marks of its separation were still visible.

What was happening? The man’s eyes widened in confusion.

Thud.

He heard something drop. His eyes shifted downward.

His own arm lay on the ground.

At the same moment, the figure that had been kneeling now rose.

It was the young dragon he had dismissed. Just as he began to frown—

“You…?”

The dragon turned to look behind.

In that instant—

Boom—!

The man’s vision blurred.

Crack—!

He heard the sound of collapse.

Fragments of the sky struck his face.

“…?”

Where was he? Inside a crumbling structure.

He had been thrown through it, causing the building to fall. The man immediately pushed himself back.

Boom—!

As he moved, the distance felt distorted.

He was at the very edge of the domain granted by Taechun.

The center, where he had stood moments before, now felt immeasurably far.

Could it be…?

“Was I unconscious?”

Had he lost awareness?

Had he been thrown so far that he blacked out for a moment?

“Impossible…”

How could that be? It made no sense.

He scowled and spread his wings.

Whoosh—!!!

Three pairs of white wings unfurled and propelled him. His body lifted, flying back toward the center.

In a flash, his view changed. Soon, he returned to the heart of the domain.

“…Hm?”

When he arrived, he narrowed his eyes.

They were gone.

“Where did they go?”

The two figures that should have been there had vanished.

Seeing this, the man reached out with his senses toward the earth. They must have hidden somewhere—he needed to find them.

But even as he searched, he could feel nothing.

Perhaps they had taken to the sky instead of the earth?

Just as he gathered energy to check—

“…!”

He felt it.

Directly behind him—

Crack—!

“Gah!”

Boom—!!!

The man was struck and slammed into the ground.

A tremendous impact shattered the earth.

Creeeak—!!

“Ugh—!!”

A force pressed down on him from above. The man struggled, pushing back with all his might, but it was useless.

His eyes rolled upward to see what was pinning him.

There—

“Grrrrr—”

A beast, wrapped in white fur, stood over him.

A massive body with violet eyes, a great white creature wielding multiple tails.