Chapter 284: Entanglements (4)

It was when Six Offices Commander So Yerin and Nine Blood Sect’s Blood Demon Dam Baek-ha were having a long conversation.

The masked Embroidered Uniform Guard Ma Ra-hyeon, who had been worried that helping Mok Gyeong-un’s kidnapping of the underground golden prison’s prisoners might lead to trouble, was relieved and quietly observing.

As he stood there silently, Ma Ra-hyeon’s gaze had at some point shifted from So Yerin and Dam Baek-ha to someone else.

It was an old woman wearing a prisoner’s uniform, Holy Fire Priestess.

His initial interest in Holy Fire Priestess was due to her old age.

‘…How was someone so elderly imprisoned in the Eternal Hell Prison?’

He had heard that the Eternal Hell Prison was where only the worst felons were held.

Those imprisoned there were said to be mostly traitors or those who had reached an uncontrollable level, but that old woman seemed strange.

That’s because there were no signs of her having cultivated internal energy.

Even if she had concealed her martial arts, her footsteps were no different from ordinary people.

‘What crime did she commit?’

And why did Mok Gyeong-un bring her out?

As he was wondering, Ma Ra-hyeon, who had been intently staring at the Holy Fire Priestess’s face, frowned.

At first, it was just curiosity about who she was.

But strangely, her face seemed familiar.

‘Strange.’

Had he ever encountered a prisoner from the Eternal Hell Prison in the underground golden prison?

Like Six Offices Commander So Yerin, he had never been assigned to the Fourth Office.

But why did her face seem familiar?

After staring for a while, Ma Ra-hyeon’s eyes narrowed like needles.

‘I definitely saw her.’

Although it was very old and faint, he had seen that old woman before.

Ma Ra-hyeon’s pupils contracted as he couldn’t take his eyes off Holy Fire Priestess, trying to let it pass without much thought.

Ma Ra-hyeon tried to remember her somehow.

Instinctively, he felt that he shouldn’t just overlook it.

Obsessed with the compulsion to remember at all costs, he couldn’t even hear the conversation between So Yerin and Dam Baek-ha.

Then,

-Swish!

As if sensing the gaze staring at her intensely, the Holy Fire Priestess unconsciously looked at Ma Ra-hyeon.

As their eyes met, the Holy Fire Priestess wondered why he was doing that.

She had been instinctively avoiding his gaze because he was wearing the Embroidered Uniform Guard attire, but being stared at so intently made her uneasy.

However,

‘Huh?’

The Holy Fire Priestess’s eyes also narrowed.

She hadn’t noticed before, but she discovered the azure eyes visible through the gaps in his mask.

Seeing this, the Holy Fire Priestess couldn’t hide her shock.

She unknowingly twisted her body and muttered softly,

“Priest Mayera?”

However, as a skilled martial artist, there was no way Ma Ra-hyeon wouldn’t hear this.

‘Priest Mayera?’

The moment he heard this, Ma Ra-hyeon’s eyes trembled violently.

As he was concentrating with all his might to remember the familiar face, forgotten memories stirred and surfaced in his mind.

It was Ma Ra-hyeon’s childhood.

Standing next to his mother, Ma Ra-hyeon was watching someone who was busy packing and preparing to leave.

Unlike the mixed-blood Ma Ra-hyeon, he was a perfect Westerner with blond hair and azure eyes.

Dressed in Chinese attire rather than Western clothing, the Westerner approached his mother, hugged her, and patted Ma Ra-hyeon’s head.

(My son)

With those words, the Westerner turned and headed towards the door.

In front of the door stood a middle-aged woman with a graceful appearance, leaning on a cane with a blue jade bead embedded in it.

The middle-aged woman was none other than the old woman.

He now understood why her face seemed familiar but he couldn’t remember.

It was because it was a long time ago, and her face had become so haggard and wrinkled that it didn’t come to mind.

The Westerner spoke to the old woman in a clumsy manner,

[You’ve waited a long time.]

[No, Priest Mayera.]

[Let’s go now.]

[Thank you. Having Priest Mayera from the main order in the homeland accompany us will be a great strength to the believers of our order.]

At her words, the Westerner showed a peculiar expression.

That expression was utterly bitter.

It was as if he was going to a place from which he could not return.

And that bitter face was the last one Ma Ra-hyeon saw of the Westerner.

‘…Father.’

The Westerner was none other than Ma Ra-hyeon’s father.

Is foreboding always accurate?

When leaving, his father had promised to return.

But in the end, he never came back.

What returned were a few of his father’s belongings, and upon receiving the news of his death along with those items, his mother was unable to overcome her grief and passed away after a prolonged illness.

-Clench!

Now everything came back to him.

His mother, who had a bad feeling and begged his father to stay.

His father, who had been conflicted until the end.

And that old woman who had persuaded his father to go with her.

-Squeeze!

Ma Ra-hyeon’s nails dug into his clenched fists.

Anger suddenly surged.

If only that old woman hadn’t appeared and taken his damned father, his mother wouldn’t have died from grief, and he wouldn’t have been dragged around by slave traders for years, labeled as a mixed-blood.

‘This bitch!’

Nevertheless, that old woman never showed up in front of them.

She had babbled about personally coming to take his father because he was a priest of the main sect in the homeland, but in the end, the one who delivered the news of his death was a low-ranking believer they had never heard of.

Unable to contain his anger, Ma Ra-hyeon approached the Holy Fire Priestess.

‘This guy?’

The Holy Fire Priestess took a step back for a moment.

The moment she saw Ma Ra-hyeon’s azure eyes, she was reminded of someone.

But that someone had died.

A long time ago.

So it meant it was someone she didn’t know, but the moment she saw those burning eyes, she could instinctively tell it was anger.

-Step!

As he approached silently, the Holy Fire Priestess’s eyes wavered.

At first, she didn’t understand where this anger came from.

But the moment Ma Ra-hyeon took two steps forward, someone flashed through her mind.

It was,

‘Could it be?’

The mixed-blood boy she had seen at Priest Mayera’s house.

A boy with black hair because he was a mix of Chinese and Western blood, but with an exotic appearance and azure eyes that resembled his father’s.

The Holy Fire Priestess was momentarily engulfed in shock.

If that boy were alive, he would have grown up and become an adult by now.

‘How could this be…’

Was he really alive?

When she went back there, no one was there.

Even if she wanted to ask someone, they lived deep in the mountains, so she couldn’t even inquire about their whereabouts.

At this, Holy Fire Priestess spoke to the approaching Ma Ra-hyeon,

“Could you possibly be…”

Right then,

-Swish swish swish swish swish!

Mok Gyeong-un suddenly unleashed a sword technique.

Although it was a technique she had never seen before, the grandeur contained in the sword path was so tremendous that everyone couldn’t help but have their attention stolen by it for a moment.

The sword technique, reminiscent of a full moon, had many sword intentions despite its uncomplicated trajectory.

‘…Ha!’

Even Ma Ra-hyeon, who had been consumed by anger, couldn’t take his eyes off it.

As a martial artist, it was impossible to ignore the sword technique Mok Gyeong-un was demonstrating.

‘How can such complexity be contained within simplicity?’

It wasn’t just Ma Ra-hyeon who had this thought.

Even from the mouths of So Yerin and Blood Demon Dam Baek-ha, who knew what sword art Mok Gyeong-un was using, exclamations of admiration flowed out.

As she watched the sword technique, So Yerin’s eyes widened.

The reason was that the Moonless Void Sword Mok Gyeong-un was using was different from what she knew.

‘Different.’

The trajectory of the sword moves was different.

The unnecessary sword paths that existed in the original sword stances were gone, and each of the original sword paths was thoroughly focused on killing the opponent.

However, the sword stances of the Moonless Void Sword that Mok Gyeong-un demonstrated even broke away from the framework of the existing sword paths.

-Flow!

Tears flowed down So Yerin’s cheeks as she watched this.

It was a sword path that made even her heart swell.

Even though the sword path moved freely, breaking away from the framework of the original stances, it didn’t deviate from the framework of the Moonless Void Sword.

‘Was it real?’

Blood Demon Dam Baek-ha even opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue.

The sword technique Mok Gyeong-un was demonstrating now was close to perfection.

If the sword she had seen from the Elder in the past was filled only with killing intent, the current sword was the embodiment of freedom itself.

‘Undoubtedly. It’s the Elder’s sword.’

Even if the form was different, the sword intent couldn’t change.

However, what was astonishing was the Moonless Void Sword, which was known as one of the Five Great Sword Arts of the Central Plains even back then.

To think that such a sword art could evolve to this extent.

Indeed, the Elder was an unparalleled genius.

-Plop!

At that moment, someone was seen sitting on the ground.

It was none other than the masked Embroidered Uniform Guard Ma Ra-hyeon.

Ma Ra-hyeon, who had been staring intently at Mok Gyeong-un’s sword, closed his eyes as if he had gained some enlightenment and entered a state of meditation.

‘Ha? Look at this guy.’

He was a very lucky fellow.

The sword Mok Gyeong-un was demonstrating now was close to the pinnacle of swordsmanship, surpassing the state of transcendence.

If one couldn’t  gain  any enlightenment after seeing that, it could only be said that they lacked talent.

Dam Baek-ha glanced at So Yerin.

Judging by her flushed face and inability to take her eyes off the sword technique, it seemed she had also gained enlightenment.

‘…As expected of his descendant.’

Dam Baek-ha had briefly clashed with So Yerin.

Her martial prowess was not inferior even when compared to herself, who had cultivated martial arts for a long time.

No, it was difficult to fathom its end.

Yet despite that, she gained further enlightenment here.

She was indeed a person of great talent.

Blood couldn’t be deceived.

-Swish!

Meanwhile, Mok Gyeong-un stopped demonstrating the sword technique.

It was to prove that he had met the old man, so there was no need to display the entire stance.

As Mok Gyeong-un stopped midway, So Yerin’s eyes were filled with regret.

‘Ah…’

That’s because it was a moment when she was about to grasp something.

It wasn’t a small enlightenment but a huge starting point that could lead to a higher realm.

However, as Mok Gyeong-un stopped the sword technique, the starting point she was about to touch and enter a state of contemplation also ceased.

As a result, she couldn’t help but smack her lips in disappointment.

To her, Mok Gyeong-un said,

“As you can see, I received teachings from the Elder. But I don’t know if it’s the same Elder that Officer So knows…”

“Wait… Did you say you received teachings just now?”

“Yes.”

“Directly from him, Young Master Mok?”

“Well, yes.”

Thanks to that, he was able to create the Demonic Sword Art on his own.

However, at Mok Gyeong-un’s answer, So Yerin and Dam Baek-ha looked at each other with surprised eyes.

Then,

-Bam!

Blood Demon Dam Baek-ha knelt on one knee in front of Mok Gyeong-un, suddenly clasped her hands together, and paid her respects.

‘!?’