Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 892

Chapter 892

The sky deepened to a rich scarlet as evening fell. The crisp autumn wind carried the fragrance of decaying leaves and the gentle rustle of drifting foliage.

It swayed softly.
That single word captured its motion perfectly.

The day itself was tranquil and mild, the sort that imparts a feeling of plenty just by being outdoors. In stark contrast to my own inner turmoil, the season and the weather were utterly serene.

“…”

I scowled, refusing to allow my focus to drift for even a second.

Damn it, it was happening again—that sensation.

I pressed my fingers to my temples. As if matters weren’t complicated enough, the instant I saw her, everything grew worse.

‘What is this?’

What was this, exactly?
Ever since that day, the day my cultivation broke through… No, to be more accurate, ever since the affair with Tang So-yeol, things had felt wrong.

A face, a voice—someone persistently rose to the surface of my thoughts. I couldn’t remember the specifics clearly, yet the haunting presence remained.

And then just yesterday, before I came to Hanam, it finally dawned on me whose face I had been longing to see.

“You… What are you?”

Cheonma. It was her I needed to see.

“What the hell are you to me?”

“…?”

At my question, Cheonma tilted her head, appearing not to comprehend. Of course she didn’t. How could she, when I couldn’t even understand it myself?

“What did you do to me?”

I was convinced she would know. Even if circumstances were different from my last life, she was still Cheonma.

If she was the same Cheonma I remembered, something like this would not be outside her capabilities.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

I snarled and closed the gap between us in a flash.

“You must have done something.”

“I did not.”

“You didn’t?”

Clench.
I shot my hand out and seized Cheonma by her collar, pulling her toward me without effort.

“There’s no chance you don’t know—”

Our eyes met at close range. Cheonma looked back at me with the same unreadable expression she had from the beginning.

Her violet eyes came into sharp focus. They were like a star-filled night sky—intense and brilliant.

Unlike other demons, her irises held a pure and singular color, making them completely unique.

That was the reason…
The reason I found myself thinking, against all logic, that they were beautiful.

“Damn it.”

The moment I recognized the thought, I let her go and stepped away.

“…I’ve lost my mind.”

I had to be going insane. There was no other logical reason.
To believe she was beautiful—such a thing couldn’t happen unless I had been tampered with.

‘Have I completely lost it?’

Perhaps something had malfunctioned in my mind.
Or… maybe it was because her face was so similar to Wi Seol-ah’s?

That could have been a plausible explanation.

‘No.’

But no, that wasn’t it. If that were the case, this would have occurred in my previous life as well.
Something was fundamentally incorrect. I narrowed my eyes at Cheonma, staring her down with intensity.

“What is the matter?”

Cheonma tilted her head once more, still watching me with that guileless look.
It only served to aggravate me further.

‘Why?’

Why had I felt the need to see her?
Why had this been occurring so frequently lately?

And, most pressingly…

“…Why do you behave this way around me?”

Why was she behaving this way around me? Her voice from earlier replayed in my thoughts.

«I missed you.»

It was similar to Wi Seol-ah’s voice, yet deeper and more resonant, with a weight that stuck in my mind.

Fury ignited within me.

“What the hell are you?”

I dragged my most deeply buried feelings into the light.

“What the hell gives you the right to miss me?”

I glared at Cheonma with a contorted expression, but her face remained impassive.

“Am I not permitted to miss you?”

Her tone was even and measured, as if she was sincerely inquiring.

“No, you are not.”

“Why not?”

“You are not supposed to.”

“Why not?”

She asked again, her tone not changing.
I could have listed a thousand reasons, but the idea of explaining them all was infuriating.

“At the very least, you shouldn’t.”

“…”

For the first time, her expression shifted slightly.
One of her eyebrows quivered, just enough to be noticeable.

A short silence hung between us.

“I do not understand.”

Cheonma spoke as if she had pondered it and reached a verdict.

“But I missed you.”

“…”

Crack.

My fist clenched tightly. I summoned my fiery energy and materialized the Flame Jade Holy Spear in my grasp, pressing its sharp tip against her throat.

“I despise you.”

“…”

“Until the moment you die, and even now, I hate you.”

How could I possibly view her favorably?
Even if the world had transformed and so many others had changed since my past life…

Cheonma had not.

“The only reason I’m holding back is that I’m stopping myself from killing you where you stand.”

Initially, I couldn’t kill her because I lacked the power.
Even now, it wasn’t so different.
As long as Cheonma stayed quiet and didn’t challenge me, I had no cause to move.

But one day, I would have to finish her.

“I don’t know what game you’re playing with me, but it’s useless.”

“…”

Cheonma didn’t answer.
She simply watched me with those same violet eyes, as calm as a still night.

Even with the spear at her neck and its scorching heat radiating against her skin, she didn’t react. Was it because my energy held no intent to kill? Or did she truly believe I wouldn’t go through with it?

Grit.

I clenched my jaw. If that was what she thought, she was dangerously wrong.

I tightened my hold on the spear, prepared to thrust at such close range.

But—

“…”

For some reason, my body wouldn’t obey.

‘What is wrong with you? Move!’

It wasn’t due to any outside force.
My own will was holding me back.

My mind screamed for my body to act, but every part of me resisted.
It felt as if a primal instinct was warning me that I must not hurt her.

I fought against it, straining to push the spear forward, but in the end, I remained frozen.

“Damn it.”

I swore under my breath and pulled my hand back. The spear vanished, its residual heat searing the grass beneath our feet.

Boom!

A gust of wind erupted and swept across the field, leveling the vegetation in its wake.

The lingering warmth stayed on my palm, and I dragged it across my face, trying to smother my building anger.

“Haaa…”

However I considered it, this was not right.
Why had it come to this?

As I battled the tempest of emotions raging inside me—

“Do you hate me?”

Cheonma’s voice cut through the silence.

“I already told you—I despise you.”

“I heard that.”

Then why ask?
Just as the question formed in my head—

“But… you did not say you hated me.”

Her words caused my scowl to deepen.

“What?”

“You did not say you hate me.”

“What kind of nonsense is that—”

Was she attempting to split hairs between hate and disdain?
It was a foolish debate over semantics.

“Do you hate me?”

Cheonma asked once more, her calm voice touched with curiosity.

I let out a harsh laugh before answering.

“I—”

«Yeah, I hate you. Hate you so much I could kill you.»

That was what I intended to say, but the words wouldn’t leave my mouth. I could state that I despised her easily, so why was it impossible to say I hated her? My body seemed to be rebelling against me in ways I couldn’t comprehend.

Still, this was an improvement over before.

“…Yeah, I hate you. Enough to want to kill you.”

“…”

I forced the words out, and they finally left my lips.
Cheonma’s eyes widened just a fraction at my declaration.

Simultaneously, a faint tremor passed through my chest.
It was deeply unpleasant. Even as I spoke, I felt a powerful revulsion—not toward her, but toward myself for saying it.

Why did I feel this way?
I had only spoken the truth.

“…What the hell did you do to me?”

I began to challenge Cheonma, but then I stopped cold.
Her expression was odd.

Her gaze, which had been fixed on me, dropped to the ground.
Her pale hand tightened into a fist, and her crimson lips pressed together faintly.

She looked…

‘She looks hurt.’

Could Cheonma actually feel pain?

The entity who laughed in any circumstance, no matter how dire or vicious, was wounded by a simple confession of hatred?

‘Don’t make me laugh.’

It was impossible.

Cheonma wouldn’t be affected by something so trivial.
That’s what I insisted to myself.

But my chest hurt.

Was it because she so closely resembled Wi Seol-ah?
Yes, that had to be the reason.

“Why are you making that face?”

“…Do you hate me that much?”

“I do.”

“…Why?”

“Do I really need to explain it? You said it yourself earlier, didn’t you?”

There was an inexplicable yearning in her eyes.
Disregarding it, I spoke as if her gaze were claws scraping at my spirit.

“You claimed you wanted to see me. I feel the same.”

I suppressed my irritation and made myself go on.

“I just don’t like you.”

“…”

There were those I had spared, believing this life could be different from the last.
But…

‘You are not one of them.’

No matter how I considered it, I could not grant Cheonma the same mercy.

To me, she was that kind of existence.

“…”

Cheonma didn’t reply to my words.
A weighty silence fell over us.

“Then…”

Finally, as if she had been holding it back, Cheonma asked,

“…Why did you come to me?”

“…”

If I hated and loathed her so intensely, why was I here?
This time, her question left me without a response.

It was a question I desperately wanted answered myself.

‘Why?’

Why had I come here to find Cheonma?

With Madam Mi’s letter, my father’s business, and the troubles with the Demonic Cult occupying my thoughts, I had no purpose in seeking her out.
I had even abandoned the others to come here.

And yet, here I was.

Wanting to see the woman I despised, the woman I hated, the woman I planned to kill.

‘Why?’

The question echoed in my mind.
It had been there throughout the entire journey, even as I walked to her.

Why was I walking toward Cheonma?
It wasn’t to kill her.
Then why…?

‘…’

It was a question I couldn’t answer. Or perhaps, I knew the answer but refused to accept it.

«I missed you.»

When Cheonma spoke those words, the emotions that awoke within me—
I detested those feelings.

Because they were emotions I should never feel.

Clench.

I balled my fists so tightly they shook with the strain.

“…”

Cheonma’s gaze dropped briefly to my trembling hands before returning to my face.

“…I see.”

Though I hadn’t uttered a word, she seemed to have found her answer in my silence.
A faint trace of pity showed on her features.

It maddened me.

That look, her voice that seemed so altered,
the relentless turmoil of emotions within me—I hated all of it.

Her slender shoulders caught my attention.
So slight and fragile, as if I could shatter them with one grip.

Before I realized it, my hand began to rise.

Startled, I halted myself immediately. But then—

Clench.

“…!”

Suddenly, Cheonma seized my wrist.

“What are you—!”

And that wasn’t all.
What followed made my eyes widen in disbelief.

Buzz!

Cheonma, still holding my wrist, began to gather energy in her other hand.

Dark energy swirled forth, dense and powerful.

The instant I saw it, I sensed the threat.
The concentration and force of the energy were severe.

A direct hit would be catastrophic.

‘What is she doing?’

Was she planning to kill me just for saying I hated her?
Swiftly, I summoned my own energy, ready to defend myself. Flames erupted around me as I prepared to retaliate.

Whoosh!

But instead, Cheonma pulled me into an embrace.

Sizzle.
The heat of my flames burned against her, but she appeared indifferent.

Her extended hand released the dark energy she had gathered.

Boom!

The blast of dark energy shot forward, ripping through the space ahead of us.

Her abrupt actions left me disoriented.
Why had she done that?

I stared at her, my confusion evident.

But her focus wasn’t on me.

She was looking ahead, to where her energy had just struck.
Her face was twisted with animosity, her expression overflowing with malice.

“What are you—”

I started to speak, but—

Shiver.

A cold shudder ran down my spine.
I immediately turned my head to follow her line of sight.

And then I saw.

In the distance, someone was approaching.
Their hands were clasped behind their back, their steps leisurely.

Thump. Thump.

The sight of them made my heart pound erratically.

Thud! Thud-thud!

My breathing grew ragged, nausea rising in my throat as I stared at the figure.

‘Why is he here?’

The figure was someone I recognized.

Even from afar, my instincts roared his identity.
Even without that, those crimson eyes were unmistakable.

Chuckle.

A dry, chilling laugh reached my ears, as if to corrode them.

“What a warm welcome.”

“…”

Cheonma stood her ground, her energy flaring again.

Buzz.

Dark energy coiled around her hands once more, radiating an overwhelming hostility.

“What a shame…”

The crimson-eyed figure—Dokgo Jun, no, the Blood Demon—shook his head in feigned disappointment.

“Your manners are severely lacking.”

The nearer he came, the hotter my blood burned.

“Blood Demon…”

Yet—

“Good to see you.”

For some reason, the Blood Demon wasn’t looking at me.
His eyes, still curved in a smile, were locked on Cheonma.

He spoke, his voice saturated with malice.

“My daughter.”

“…!”

At his words, the metallic stench of blood saturated the air, unbearably thick and inescapable.