Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 953

Chapter 953

…Damn it….

By the time Yusa made it back to the prison, the person he was looking for had vanished.

His face was a mask of pure fury, all composure shattered.

His breath came in harsh, uneven gasps, disturbed by the storm of his emotions.

The casual, carefree act he had maintained earlier was completely gone.

What remained in its place was something feral, a beast unleashed.

‘…Hell, look at that aura.’

He wasn’t even trying to conceal it anymore.

The killing intent pouring from him was thick enough to choke on.

Gu Yangcheon had sensed it earlier, but now—under the cover of deepest night, with the moon high overhead—

Yusa felt different.

As if something within that compact frame was on the verge of detonation.

Huuuuuuu—

As Yusa fought to control his breathing, Gu Yangcheon put on a show of wariness and asked,

“Uh… General, is everything alright?”

Yusa’s sharp eyes snapped toward him.

“You. Have you been here this entire time?”

“…Huh? Oh, yes… I’m a prisoner. Where else would I be?”

“Is that so?”

Yusa’s gaze slid away—

To land on the woman seated beside him.

“Hey.”

“…?”

Cheonma lifted her head at the sound of her name.

Their eyes met as Yusa demanded,

“Was he truly here the whole time?”

“…”

Gu Yangcheon looked at Cheonma.

He held his breath.

‘I forgot about this.’

For some reason, Yusa’s Authority didn’t seem to affect him.

But that didn’t mean it wouldn’t work on Cheonma.

If she told the truth—

“…”

To his surprise, Cheonma shook her head.

Yusa’s brow furrowed even deeper.

“…So it truly wasn’t him?”

In that moment, Gu Yangcheon understood.

Yusa still suspected him.

‘…Damn, this guy doesn’t give up.’

Even after seeing the illusion created by his Authority, he still had doubts?

What a tenacious bastard.

But—

‘At least my power works on them.’

That much was certain.

Still, Yusa was visibly displeased.

His expression darkened as he turned toward the entrance.

“Parang, get in here.”

Parang?

Quite a literal name.

At Yusa’s call, a remarkably handsome middle-aged man entered.

The Blue Commander.

The master of this estate.

The father of that madman who had been obsessing over Cheonma.

“…You called for me.”

The Commander stepped inside, his expression rigid.

Yusa pointed a finger at Gu Yangcheon.

“This one says he wants to speak with you.”

The Commander’s eyes shifted to Gu Yangcheon.

His face plainly asked, Who is this punk?

Before he could voice it, Yusa added,

“Once you’re finished talking, release them and let them go.”

“…What?”

The Commander’s eyes went wide.

Release them?

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Of course he couldn’t.

These were the people who had publicly humiliated and beaten his son.

The Commander’s face twisted slightly.

But—

“Let them go. Are you deaf?”

Yusa’s icy glare cut him off.

“…Understood, General.”

He immediately bowed his head.

Even if he objected, there was nothing he could do.

“…Huuu….”

Yusa was still wrestling with his emotions, clearly straining to contain his fury.

He let out a heavy breath before turning back to Gu Yangcheon.

“…Something urgent has come up. I must leave. We will meet again.”

The forced smile he offered was deeply unsettling.

It was twisted—warped by feelings he could no longer suppress.

It was a face Gu Yangcheon never wanted to see again.

He wanted to say, “Absolutely not,” but obviously, that wasn’t a choice.

“…Understood.”

Gu Yangcheon forced a smile in return.

Yusa immediately dropped the false expression, turned on his heel, and strode out.

And then—

Kwooooom—!!!

A thunderous roar erupted from outside.

Yusa’s overwhelming presence faded.

Whether it was the night or his volatile state, his aura had never been more palpable.

Once Yusa was gone—

“…”

“…”

Only the Blue Commander and Gu Yangcheon remained.

The Commander was still struggling to process the command.

His breathing was unsteady, his face unable to hide his shock.

“…What in the world is happening…?”

He just couldn’t grasp it.

This was the opportunity.

“Commander?”

“…”

At Gu Yangcheon’s voice, the Commander turned to him.

Meeting his gaze, Gu Yangcheon drew something from his sleeve.

A black emblem.

The one given to him by the Black Commander.

“…That is…?!”

The moment he saw it, the Blue Commander’s eyes widened in shock.

Gu Yangcheon had only meant to show his connection to the Black Commander—

But he hadn’t anticipated a reaction this strong.

Why?

As the question crossed his mind, the Commander spoke.

“Why do you possess a Doryeong Emblem?”

“…I beg your pardon?”

Doryeong Emblem?

What was that?

He had heard the term before.

He knew the children of the Commanders were called Doryeong.

Which meant—

‘…Wait. Was this meant for his son?’

The emblem he thought was merely a token of trust—

Was actually a symbol of lineage.

He had severely underestimated its significance.

“…Are you the Black Commander’s son?”

“Uh… No, I’m not.”

“Then how did you come by this?”

The Blue Commander’s stare grew intense.

Gu Yangcheon answered quickly,

“The Black Commander asked me to bring you a message. He gave me this to act in his stead.”

“…The Black Commander?”

The Commander frowned deeply.

He didn’t believe it.

But—

“…And what message was so important?”

Despite his skepticism, he asked anyway.

The emblem’s importance, combined with Yusa’s order, seemed to make him hesitate.

“It’s nothing complex. He simply requested that you visit him before too much time passes.”

“What?”

The Blue Commander let out a scoff.

“You expect me to believe the Black Commander gave you that emblem… just to deliver such a trivial message?”

“Yes.”

“And I am to believe that?”

It was ridiculous.

Even Gu Yangcheon thought so.

But—

“Yes. If you don’t believe me, why not go and ask him yourself?”

“…Hah….”

What other choice did he have?

If he didn’t believe it, he could go confirm it personally.

Gu Yangcheon’s words made that perfectly clear.

The Blue Commander gritted his teeth.

Grkkk.

A dangerous energy leaked from him.

He was not a weak man.

‘Judging by his aura, he’s on par with the White Commander.’

And given it was night, the White Commander would likely be even stronger now.

“If you are lying… you are inviting your own destruction.”

“Lying? I wouldn’t even know how.”

“…”

He felt Cheonma’s eyes on him.

Gu Yangcheon ignored her.

“I was only delivering a message when an unforeseen conflict broke out with your son. That is all. If you still doubt me, go verify it. Even the General is aware I visited the Black Clan today.”

“The General knows?”

“Yes.”

That part, at least, was true.

Yusa had personally taken him there.

The only complication was that he and Cheonma had also fought the Commander’s son.

But—

“…”

The Blue Commander could not hold them.

Because—

‘The General ordered him to release us.’

Even if he suspected something—

Even if he wanted revenge—

He could not.

The General had given a direct order.

And here—

‘The General’s authority is absolute.’

As if to prove the point—

“…Open the cell.”

Gritting his teeth, the Blue Commander gave the order.

The soldiers approached and removed their shackles.

“Ahh, that’s much better.”

Gu Yangcheon stretched his newly freed arms.

“Are we free to go now?”

He smiled.

The Commander’s face contorted further.

“The General may have granted you mercy this time, but I will not forget this.”

“…Oh no, how frightening. I’ll be more careful next time. Now, hurry up and apologize.”

“…Sorry.”

“He apologizes as well. Please be understanding.”

“…”

The Blue Commander’s look made it abundantly clear—forgiveness was not on his mind.

Gu Yangcheon simply smiled and turned away.

The guards did not stop him.

Stepping out of the cell, he looked down—

“Hm….”

A massive crater was torn into the floor.

Undoubtedly left by the raw force of Yusa’s leap.

‘…He did that just by jumping?’

Mentally noting the display of power, Gu Yangcheon took Cheonma’s arm and walked out.

 

******************

They walked for a long time.

Leaving Yahwol Palace behind them.

Now, finally—

The fortress was distant enough to vanish from sight.

Deep within the forest, on the path leading back to Mount Hua—

“Kuhak—!”

Gu Yangcheon coughed up blood.

Drip, drip.

Scarlet liquid spilled from his lips, soaking into the earth.

His knees gave way.

He barely caught himself with his hands.

“Keuk….”

Agony wracked his body.

A hand touched his back—Cheonma’s.

“Move. I’m fine.”

“…”

At his words, she withdrew.

He focused on circulating his energy.

“Huff… Huff….”

He had spit out a significant amount of blood.

Even after stabilizing his internal flow, the pain persisted.

‘…Damn it.’

A moment longer, and he wouldn’t have been able to maintain the facade.

It was a miracle he had held himself together until now.

Wiping the blood from his mouth, he reconsidered the events.

‘…I didn’t expect holding back to be this hard.’

Facing Yusa while disguised as Cheonma—

That was the problem.

Using a power akin to Dragon Speech against him had taken a severe toll.

‘I couldn’t even hold for a moment.’

Just suppressing Yusa for a single instant had nearly torn him apart inside.

And then—

Because he had lost control partway—

He had let Yusa attack him.

‘That moment scared the life out of me.’

When the suppression broke and Yusa swung his arm—

Gu Yangcheon had been completely unable to react.

The lingering backlash had left him paralyzed.

He thought it was over.

‘But I got lucky.’

His Authority—

The thing that emerged from his shadow—had sunk its teeth into Yusa’s arm.

‘That wasn’t me.’

He hadn’t summoned Tam.

‘It moved on its own.’

Tam had lunged forward independently, biting into Yusa’s arm.

Which meant—

‘Tam doesn’t just react to dragons. It reacts to Authorities.’

He had assumed its ability only worked on dragons.

But—

‘It targets powers.’

That thought solidified into certainty.

Because—

‘The instant Tam bit Yusa, I understood his Authority.’

In that moment, he knew what Yusa’s power was.

Feast.

That was its name.

The power to devour anything.

And—

‘To heighten its senses to hunt prey.’

When Yusa was starving, his perception and physical abilities surged.

The Authority remained active until he consumed something.

It had other uses, too—

But—

‘Even so.’

Tam had disregarded all of it.

It had devoured Yusa’s power.

Leaving him helpless.

Meaning—

‘His Authority is useless against me.’

“Huuu….”

Gu Yangcheon wiped away the last of the blood and stood.

The pain remained.

But despite it—

He felt clear-headed.

“Now the path is clear.”

His objective had always been set.

But the method had been uncertain.

Now, he had direction.

Step one—

‘I’m going to tear Yusa down.’

One of the Generals.

He would be the first.

And to do that—

‘…I need to find the Turtle.’

He would require a measure of that power.

‘…Hmm.’

Thinking that far, a nagging doubt resurfaced.

The Turtle’s words.

What had he said?

“You’ll understand when you return to me.”

That’s what he had told him.

‘Could he have foreseen this?’

That events would unfold this way?

That Gu Yangcheon would seek him out again?

The timing felt—

Too perfect.

Too precise.

‘…Calling it chance feels wrong.’

A cold shiver traced its way down his spine.