Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 972

Chapter 972

“Kwaaaah!”

A young man fell to the ground, a raw cry of agony tearing from his throat. Blood poured from the shattered cavity where his eye had been, drenching his shuddering form.

“Young master!”

Several figures rushed toward him in alarm, but before they could get close, I tapped my heel lightly against the floor.

*Thud—!*
*Whooosh—!*

An overwhelming force erupted, locking them all in place.

“Ugh…!”
“Guh…!!”

Their bodies gave way, crumpling under the weight. One after another, they dropped to their knees, twisting in place. I paid them no mind, my attention fixed solely on the wretched boy before me.

“Khhh… huuuuh…!!!”

He clutched the bleeding ruin of his left eye. His whole frame shook, fingers digging into the raw, gory flesh.

I lowered into a crouch, bringing my eyes level with his.

His remaining right eye spasmed wildly as it met my gaze.

“…Huu… khh… why…”

For a heartbeat, I faltered.

Ah. That was an error.
I hadn’t intended to tear it out—it was a pure impulse.

The eyeball lay in my palm.
Its surface was unpleasantly slick, yet solid.
A clean removal, at least.

Tch. Disgusting.

Revolted, I closed my hand.

—Squelch.

The eye burst within my grip, fluids oozing between my fingers. I shook my hand, flinging the remains onto the ground.

His face completely broke. Watching his own eye be crushed, he made a noise that was neither a scream nor a whimper.

I held his horrified stare and spoke.

[That eye didn’t belong to you.]

“…Huuuugh…!!”

A mistake, true.
But it was insignificant.
I had felt like breaking something anyway.

Sheer terror poured from him. He wanted to shriek, to fight back. But he didn’t. He was incapable.

And why would he?
His father, the so-called master of this place, was broken and sprawled out behind him—too shattered to even die correctly.

Not a single one of them possessed the courage to challenge me.

I glanced at the others still frozen in the distance. Their faces were bloodless, their postures rigid.

[Are you all just going to stand there and watch?]
[Your leader is dying like a stray dog in the filth, and you do nothing?]

“…!”

They flinched. Only then did they dare to look at their fallen lord.

His state was hopeless. Anyone with a shred of sense could see that. And yet, not one took a single step forward.

Why?
Because they were terrified.

Terrified of me.

—Tsk.

Clicking my tongue, I turned my back on them and walked away.

The gaping hole in the far wall was already there. I’d made it while hammering their leader into the ground.

As I neared it, I threw one last glance at the broken man and spoke.

[You put on a moderately good performance.]
[But it was only an act. How disappointing.]

*Krrrrk.*

His mutilated body twitched, his breathing ragged. Even now, his pride was still intact.

I smirked.

[Let’s hope the next one I encounter isn’t such a pathetic waste of effort.]

“…!”

Before he could muster a response, I leaped through the opening.

—BOOM!!!!

The instant I was gone, the mansion exploded with frantic, panicked voices.

It was only then that they understood—
The nightmare was already over.

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

The events of the night had concluded, and time continued its flow.

By the time the sun began to crest the horizon, the faint traces of moonlight had dissolved into the emerging dawn.

I moved toward the rear of the structure, searching for any hint of movement.
Nothing.
Even when I sharpened my senses, there was still nothing.

And then—

“Cough.”

Finally, I released the cough I had been suppressing.

A trickle of blood ran down. I wiped it away roughly with the back of my hand and pressed a palm to my chest.

Damn it all.

‘This is excruciating.’

No matter how well I had managed the fight, the repercussions were not minor. A deep, throbbing pain resonated through every part of my body.

The internal injuries weren’t critical, but the pain was intensely real. I had overextended my energy.

‘Trying to finish it quickly made me push even harder.’

I had poured everything I possessed into that confrontation. Knowing I’d sustained some internal damage, I aimed to end it as swiftly as possible.

‘…That bastard was far more resilient than I anticipated.’

Far more.
Particularly—

‘His body was absurdly durable.’

Every blow I landed felt weaker than it should have. Initially, I assumed he was concentrating his defensive energy in his legs. But that wasn’t it. His entire physique had been fortified.

‘With musculature like that, it’s not just toughness—his crushing power would be monstrous, too.’

The bastard was obviously a close-combat specialist who relied on his legs. His kicks carried brutal, devastating force.

And like a fool, I blocked one with my arm. The bones in my left arm had nearly cracked from the shock.

It would mend soon enough, but—

‘If I hadn’t reinforced it at the final instant, it would’ve shattered like kindling.’

If I hadn’t instantly enveloped my arm in energy, I would have looked utterly pathetic.

I flexed my fingers and shook out my left arm. Every motion sent a sharp jolt of pain through the bone, but it was manageable.

‘But the real problem isn’t my body…’

I clenched my fist, assessing something else.

‘My energy is exhausted.’

The power stored in my heart—completely drained.

I had incinerated every last bit in that fight. And yet, despite that, a smile touched my lips.

Why?

‘Because this is intriguing.’

Something was different.
Normally, I’d be wheezing for air by now.

But during that battle, I perceived a shift. Even when I drove myself past my limits, my energy had endured longer.

‘It isn’t that my total energy grew.’

So what was it? A change in my efficiency?

I couldn’t be certain. But the distinction was unmistakable.

‘The only thing that’s changed is my grasp of sorcery.’

I had learned from that old turtle. And I had successfully performed the Cheonma Divine Art once.

That was all.

Could that alone have reshaped something fundamental?

I had no way to confirm it.
But one thing was clear—

‘Because of it, I concluded the fight much more rapidly.’

The same quantity of energy had yielded substantially greater power.

It wasn’t a breakthrough in my cultivation base. It wasn’t an expansion of my energy reserves.

And yet, my raw destructive capability had increased.

‘So… does sorcery truly amplify martial arts?’

The greater my proficiency in sorcery, the stronger my martial arts became.

If that was true—

‘It seems I’ll need to start pestering that old fossil more frequently.’

The turtle clearly detested me for some reason, but that was irrelevant now. I had a motive to cling to him relentlessly.

Even if he loathed me, I’d suck him dry of everything he knew.

I had just steeled my resolve to do exactly that when—

—Tsk.

A sharp, clicking sound made my eyes snap open.

I turned my head—

*Thunk—!*

Something hit my neck. Not a blade.

A finger.

A dry, bony finger had jabbed into my throat.

I slowly lifted my gaze.

From the shadows, a pair of crimson eyes glowed down at me.

“…What is it?”

“You idiot.”

It was Shin Noya.

He was staring at me as if he’d discovered something repulsive stuck to the sole of his shoe.

I hadn’t even sensed his approach. Realizing this, I bit my lip.

“Just because you spread your senses out doesn’t mean you can drop your vigilance. The battle’s over, but that doesn’t mean you can turn your brain off, you fool.”

Noya’s words struck precisely where it stung.

“…”

“If I’d been holding a sword instead of my finger, you’d be dead right now.”

“Yeah, well, that’s only because you’re Noya. Anyone else, and I’d have been fine.”

“Hah.”

I fired back a reply, but Noya only let out a derisive snort, shaking his head as if in pity.

“You do understand that’s a pitiful justification, don’t you?”

“…”

I didn’t answer. That silence was an admission in itself.

“Be more careful.”

“…Understood.”

He didn’t elaborate further, leaving his warning hanging in the air. That was worse.

I scratched the back of my neck, forcing a weak grin.

Only then did he withdraw his finger from my throat.

“Did you wrap things up properly?”

“Yeah. I took care of it all—”

Before I could finish, Noya poked a finger into my chest.

—Thump.

I instantly clamped a hand over my mouth. I had almost cried out.

“…Kh—damn it…”

“You’re acting all casual, but your body’s a disaster.”

He shook his head, looking at me like I was some kind of bizarre creature.

“You insane lunatic. If you’re injured, then act like it.”

“…And who’s the lunatic here? You could’ve just asked instead of jabbing me.”

“Oh, so you would’ve given me a straight answer if I’d asked?”

“…”

…Well, probably not.

So I had no retort.

—Tsk.

Noya clicked his tongue again.

“Your body, your business. But at least try not to be a complete idiot about it.”

“…I’m telling you, it’s not that serious.”

I swallowed a groan and pushed myself upright.

This was acceptable. Nothing was broken. Nothing was missing.

—Crack.

I rolled my shoulders, settling my bones back into place.

Noya clicked his tongue a third time.

“…Freak of nature.”

“So? Why are you here? Shouldn’t you just head back already?”

“Back? The sun isn’t up yet.”

“…Right. You don’t leave at night, do you?”

I nodded. He had told me that before.

“Do you still have unfinished business?”

“Not exactly. I handled everything, but…”

I looked toward the distant manor. The territory of the Blue Clan.

“I want to see how they deal with the aftermath before I go.”

Once full daylight arrived, chaos would erupt. I wanted to watch it unfold before deciding what to do next.

Specifically—

“Do you know where the Divine Tree is? I don’t believe it’s over there.”

A more urgent matter came to mind. The Divine Tree, concealed somewhere within Yahwol.

I needed to locate it.

Noya had confirmed it existed somewhere in Yahwol, but I had sensed nothing within the Blue Clan’s grounds. Actually, was it even something I could detect?

‘I need to know its location before I decide my next move.’

Destroy it.
Or perhaps do something else with it.

But I couldn’t act until I knew exactly where it was.

And so, I turned to Noya for an answer—

“Oh, that?”

He replied without a moment’s pause.

“I know where it is.”

“…What?”