Chapter 53
Chapter 53
『 Translator – Divinity 』
“You know I'm organizing the genealogies of the prestigious Demonic Clans, right? I thought the first summary was too vast and that you wouldn't need to know all of it, so I summarized and organized it again. But as I was doing it, a part I was personally curious about came up. So I dug into it, and something strange came out. The person who hid that commentary. I think I've found a trace.”
At Seo Hyo-eun's words, Cheon Ha-seong's eyes widened at once.
“The commentary? The person who wrote the commentary on the Heaven-Shattering Will Art? I thought the person who wrote the commentary was the person who created the art?”
“The person who wrote the commentary might have been him, but I think there was a separate person who hid it.”
Cheon Ha-seong looked at Seo Hyo-eun in surprise.
He had wondered if the person who had created the incorrect copies of the Heaven-Shattering Will Art and distributed them at the Martial Arts Academy, putting the candidates in danger of Qi Deviation, might have been the one who wrote the commentary.
Although the commentary had come into his hands by a chance opportunity, it seemed that the person who had hidden the commentary there had not wanted it to be discovered.
It was only natural, when he thought about it.
If the So Demonic Clan hadn't pulled that crazy stunt, that commentary would have never been found.
“Who is it?”
“I looked deep into the important figures of each of the Demonic Clans, you see. I thought it was necessary. When our child is born, they'll have to be betrothed to someone eventually, right? To do that, I thought I should know the other family well. Their roots can't be strange.”
Cheon Ha-seong held back his laughter at the words that she had been digging into the history of other families with such thoughts, even though the child hadn't even been born yet. But if she had found an important clue while digging for that reason, then that was truly an amazing feat.
Wasn't it a case of a cow catching a spirit beast while stepping backward?
“A strange incident once occurred in the Danmok Demonic Clan. It was about one hundred and fifty years ago; a few people from the family went on a mission together, but only one person, the Martial Force Leader who was from a collateral branch, returned. He said they were suddenly ambushed and he was the only one who barely managed to escape, but when they went to the scene, no one was there.”
“Who was it?”
“It was a man named Danmok Yeon, but an even stranger thing happened after that. From then on, the members of the Danmok Demonic Clan began to die off steadily, and the number of people who died each year was so overwhelmingly greater than in the other Demonic Clans that the number of people who died in a single year was well over two hundred.”
Cheon Ha-seong couldn't even guess how this story would end.
“After the members of the Danmok Demonic Clan died off like that for over eight years, the incidents suddenly stopped.”
“Did Danmok Yeon kill them? But why would he kill the people of his own clan? Could he not have known that he would be suspected if he did that?”
As Cheon Ha-seong asked, he also thought that Seo Hyo-eun probably wouldn't know either. However, it seemed Seo Hyo-eun had already found it strange and had even made a guess.
“I've thought about it, and it seems that a man named Danmok Yeon coincidentally found the commentary on the Heaven-Shattering Will Art. And with the thought of mastering it all by himself, he killed the people who had gone with him.”
“No way. Why would mastering the commentary alone be so important?”
When Cheon Ha-seong spoke, Seo Hyo-eun shook her head as if he were so ignorant of the ways of the world.
“Head Instructor Cheon, you're probably the only one who thinks it's good to master a supreme martial art together and raise everyone's power. Ordinary people, when they find something good, want to learn it by themselves, become stronger than others, and rise higher.”
“I'm like that too. But I don't think I would kill my own family members.”
“Isn't that also because you're too pure, Head Instructor Cheon?”
In any case, it wasn't a matter that would be concluded by the two of them arguing, so for now, he decided to hear everything Seo Hyo-eun had to say.
“Let's think under the assumption that my guess is correct. Danmok Yeon went with the people of his clan and coincidentally discovered the commentary on the Heaven-Shattering Will Art. He found the Pattra Leaves on which the commentary was written. The other people probably saw him find it, right? If not, there would have been no need to kill them. It's only natural that people would first suspect him if everyone who was with him died and only Danmok Yeon returned.”
“That's right.”
“After killing everyone who had discovered the commentary with him, Danmok Yeon must have started to look at it. But he probably couldn't understand it. It must have been too difficult. What do you think he would have done after that, when he had gone so far as to kill people for it, only to realize he couldn't understand it?”
Cheon Ha-seong tried to think about what Danmok Yeon would have done.
“Wouldn't he have thought about what he was lacking and tried to prepare that first? If it was a lack of internal energy, he would have needed time. Or he might have tried to obtain a spiritual elixir.”
“He probably would have. But you need time for that, don't you? And Danmok Yeon would have continued to get older. When the others died and only he returned alive, he was already over forty. Then he could have been impatient, right? He had gone to the trouble of obtaining the commentary, but he couldn't understand it, and only time was passing.”
“He would have wanted to stop time. But since he couldn't have done that, it seems he might have done something to stop aging any further. Maybe he learned some wicked arts?”
Cheon Ha-seong had said it as a joke, but Seo Hyo-eun said that was exactly it.
“There are quite a lot of wicked arts passed down in our cult, aren't there? Although they were forbidden because the materials needed to perform them were too expensive and they also required human sacrifices.”
“…?”
Cheon Ha-seong looked at Seo Hyo-eun, wondering if the reason for so many victims from the Danmok family was because of that.
There were conditions for the sacrifices needed to perform the wicked arts. For example, a condition like being a young woman who had not known a man. If one were to seek victims from other clans, it would be difficult to know such details.
“Go on and tell me more.”
When Cheon Ha-seong said that, Seo Hyo-eun wore a triumphant expression. Watching Cheon Ha-seong's reaction, she thought that her guess must have been correct.
“Let's say Danmok Yeon extended his life with those wicked arts. And let's say that man is still alive. Danmok Yeon is a person who should have already died, so he wouldn't be able to show his face in front of others, right? If not that, he would have had to live under the guise of another person. It goes without saying that he wouldn't be able to carry the commentary around carelessly.”
“But if he hid it inside the wall of the Martial Arts Academy, he wouldn't be able to look at it comfortably whenever he wanted, would he?”
“Perhaps he has given up by now? What if he came to realize that he could never succeed, after trying his utmost to understand and master the commentary until now? It's of no use to him, and he can't let it fall into someone else's hands, so it would be best to get rid of it, but he has lingering attachments.”
Listening to her, it really sounded like she knew the person well. If he were a person with that kind of personality, he really might have done so.
“So he hid the commentary there, thinking it would be safe, but the wall was destroyed?”
“That's right.”
“Then would he have come to the Martial Arts Academy to look for the commentary?”
“Isn't it possible? Or maybe not. But he made and distributed the copies and erased that deed from the minds of the Head Instructors. If he has mastered wicked arts, couldn't that be possible?”
Cheon Ha-seong was stunned. It was so surprising that she could make such a deduction.
“That gives me the creeps, Head Instructor Seo.”
“What's the big deal? But it's really plausible, isn't it? To be honest, I was surprised too. It's like I'm the genius.”
Cheon Ha-seong did not deny that.
“I wonder how amazing our child will be. Their father is a martial arts genius and their mother seems to have a heaven-sent brain, don't you think?”
“But this is no time to be so happy. If everything I've said is true, then that man named Danmok will be strong beyond our imagination. Think about a man armed with wicked arts, who hasn't died for over a hundred years, aiming for you, Head Instructor Cheon. For now, he probably doesn't know that you have the commentary, nor that you have mastered the Heaven-Shattering Will Art, but we don't know how long that secret will be kept.”
Cheon Ha-seong was also worried, but he wasn't just being pessimistic.
“That man tried to master the Heaven-Shattering Will Art for all that long time. But in the end, he couldn't do it. Even with the commentary in his hands. In comparison, I have already mastered it. Now, if he and I were to fight, who would win?”
“...That's true. Why was I worrying? You're far more amazing, Head Instructor Cheon.”
Suddenly hearing those words, Seo Hyo-eun, as if getting angry, stomped her foot on the floor in frustration.
“Still, it's not like I can always be by everyone's side, so it would be good to be careful. Thanks to you, Head Instructor Seo, the things that were unresolved until now have been solved all at once, so I feel relieved. So where could that person be staying now? If he is using another person's identity, whose identity is he using?”
Cheon Ha-seong asked, but even Seo Hyo-eun had no clue about that.
She had been able to piece together the other things to some extent by looking for data, but for what Cheon Ha-seong was asking, she couldn't even get a feel for where to begin.
“Should we tell the Cult Leader in advance? Should we see the act of deliberately writing the mnemonic verses incorrectly and distributing the copies as him just venting his anger?”
“It seems he wants to eliminate by any means necessary anyone who is stronger than him or has the potential to become stronger.”
Cheon Ha-seong shook his head. He was a person who was absolutely incomprehensible from Cheon Ha-seong's way of thinking.
“How should I go about telling the Principal? And just how strong do you have to be to be able to use wicked arts on everyone in the Head Instructors' meeting room at once?”
Seeing Cheon Ha-seong's questions piling up, Seo Hyo-eun felt sorry and tried to read his expression.
It was because she thought that in a situation where not a single problem had been clearly resolved, she had brought him yet another, bigger problem. When she thought about it, it wasn't a matter to think of that way, but her apologetic feelings did not easily subside.
“This won't do. If we don't handle the things that have happened so far one by one, I feel the Divine Cult could be turned into a wasteland in an instant. Because problems are arising, but they're not being solved.”
Cheon Ha-seong stood up, speaking as if he had firmly made up his mind.
“Head Instructor Seo, for the time being, even if it's a little uncomfortable, stay with the Cult Leader. Don't leave his side. The person I am most worried about is you. You, and the child in your womb. As long as the two of you are safe, I can solve the other problems. There are trustworthy people, but the only one whose skills can also be trusted is the Cult Leader. And there are the Seniors who guard the Secret Treasury, but… for now, stick close to the Cult Leader's side.”
“I will. Don't worry about that. Even if my father tells me to go somewhere else, I'll be sure to stick to him. You take care of yourself, Head Instructor Cheon. Don't overdo it.”
Those words seemed to make Cheon Ha-seong even stronger. The thought that his body was no longer his alone made that feeling grow even stronger.