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< Who do you think I am? >
The man was astonished.
“So you made a chicken out of fire in the sky for me to see?”
[You took off your bracelet and turned off your communicator. So I thought you’d see me if I made a huge chicken in the sky.]
Lily spoke in a sad voice over the phone. I could tell without looking that her cheek was swollen.
“······.”
It was true that I had been practicing martial arts and had put all the artifacts in my bag, so I had nothing to say about that part.
‘So that was the strange bird that appeared in the sky above the Demonic Cult.’
Daein recalled the story he had heard from Cheongun earlier in the day.
A giant flame monster rose from the base of the Demonic Cult, and a strange character appeared above its head.
M a j g s iI
“···It was an old man.”
If the soldiers of the Murim Alliance, who are deciphering the text while pulling out their hair, find out, they will have a fit.
“And you’re the god of the Demonic Cult?”
[It’s an incarnation!]
“Either that or that···.”
The man had no idea where to start to handle this matter.
‘It doesn’t seem like a dangerous situation right now.’
I heard that the leader of the Cheonmasingyo cult is keeping an eye on the kid, intending to use him as an excuse for war. But since he is revered as a god, he will not be able to harm him or anything.
A very distorted voice came from the other end of the communication line.
[He even took off his bracelet so fatally···.]
“There was a reason for that. Anyway. What happened next?”
[Then… Ah? Wait a minute.]
After a while, Lily’s voice tone became calmer.
[Interpersonal. I will explain from now on.]
“···Abraxas? Is that you?”
The man gaped at the unfamiliar change. He was really surprised today.
[I borrowed Lily’s mouth for a moment. The Serpent’s oral structure doesn’t allow it to speak like a human. And it can’t use many magics yet.]
Even in the midst of all this, it was funny to imagine.
“You really have degenerated into a snake···. A dragon turned into a snake···. Wow···.”
[You don’t want to hear it?]
The man spoke while holding back laughter.
“Ahem. Explain the current situation.”
Abraxas sighed lightly and explained their situation.
[We’re in the midst of preparing for war here. The cult leader is propagating every day that this is a temple with God, and thanks to him, the morale of the soldiers is sky-high.]
“···So when do you think you’ll be dispatched?”
[At least a month. At the earliest, I’m ready to run away next week.]
“crazy···.”
The man was sweating profusely.
‘The future has completely changed.’
The original Jeongma War takes place about a year later. The Demonic Cult and the Murim Alliance prepare perfectly for each other and clash with strength.
But the future changed drastically when Lily came to Murim.
‘···We can’t just blame the kid.’
Lily followed the Great Man, and if the Great Man had not created the dimensional terminal in the first place, this would not have happened.
The man’s expression became serious.
It seemed wrong to just quietly take the Heavenly Sword and go back.
“Can’t we say something like God doesn’t want war? Like postpone the dispatch of troops.”
Abraxas sighed over the communicator.
[I was going to do that too… This leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult is completely crazy. Even a god would try to kill someone if they got in his way.]
“no way···?”
[Really. I don’t know about the other guys, but you shouldn’t mess with the leader. He’s a guy who values his own desires over his faith. If we openly oppose the war… I don’t know what he’ll do.]
“······.”
If that’s the case with Abraxas, then it must be so.
The man trusted his judgment, which was based on his experience of living for a long time and seeing countless people.
If that’s the case, we need to get the kid away from that crazy guy quickly.
“Do you think you can get out of there?”
[That doesn’t seem easy either. I’m being watched all day by some pretty strong guys.]
“They must be the warriors directly under the cult leader···.”
The man felt his insides becoming suffocated.
If the Demonic War breaks out like this, the kid will come out into the world of martial arts with the warriors of the Demonic Cult.
As he is an incarnation of God, security around him will be tight, and on the contrary, the sect will try to kill him by any means necessary.
‘Maybe more masters than Cheonma will rush in…’
What if the masters of the sect feel a greater attraction to killing gods than humans?
Of course, we need to get Lily out of the cult quickly. We can’t leave her alone in the enemy camp without any friends…
“···wait for a sec.”
The man remembered what Lily had said when the connection was first established.
“Kid. What do you mean when you said you made friends at the Demonic Cult?”
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[That’s… Wait a minute. It would be better if Lily said it.]
After a while, Lily’s voice returned to normal.
[The elder grandfather is kind to me, the younger leader is kind too… and the older sisters here too. They are all kind to me.]
The voice changed back to Abraxas.
[The kids here. Except for the leader, most of them are very religious. But the sub-leader seems a little different.]
“So it’s not like there’s no one around you who can help?”
[That’s true, but the leader’s authority is so strong these days. And he’s the strongest here.]
The martial arts world is ultimately about the strong, and the Cheonmasingyo religion has an even stronger tendency towards that.
Unless someone more skilled than the leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult appears, the tens of thousands of warriors will only follow the leader’s orders.
[···Even if the savior mentioned in the scriptures of the Cheonmasingyo appears, it will be of no use if he is weaker than the leader.]
“Savior? What is that?”
Abraxas explained about the savior mentioned in the scriptures of the Heavenly Demon Church.
[Humans here believe that they come from another world. Whether this is true or not is unknown, but the Savior is a very important figure in their faith. He is supposed to take them back to the paradise they originally lived in.]
“There is such a thing… A savior.”
The man stroked his chin and became lost in thought.
Cheon Mu-han, the leader of the Cheonmasingyo religion.
An absolute master known as Cheonma in the martial arts world.
‘I know that he killed the leader of the martial arts world, Yul-gi, in the Jeongma War and that he was on good terms with Geomseong.’
Although Daein had not experienced the Great Battle of Jeongma, he knew the general flow of the battle and its outcome.
Cheon Mu-han was stronger than Yul-gi, who was mentioned as one of the ten best swordsmen, and was a master on par with the sword masters called the Three Great Swordsmen of the World.
‘But I know a master who might be stronger than the three great swordsmen in the world.’
As he thought about it that way, a rough picture began to form in the man’s head.
‘Plus, I have an artifact that will make that master even stronger.’
The man said.
“First, try to cook the people around you a little more. As much as possible. That way, you can increase your influence.”
[That’s not difficult, but why?]
“I have an idea. Let’s do it.”
Quickly, the plan in his head was becoming more and more concrete. At times like this, he was a man whose mind worked surprisingly quickly.
“And while we’re at it, let’s ask for another favor.”
[What favor?]
“You little brat, since you’re a god, you can go anywhere within the Demonic Cult, right?”
The voice that answered changed from moment to moment depending on who was being called.
[Maybe it’s possible?]
“There must be a place like a library where martial arts are collected. I’ll call out the names. Find a few books there and memorize them for you. Ah. Is it possible with magic?”
[You can memorize a few books without using magic.]
“Okay. Then···.”
The Great Man called out the names of the divine beings that would make the martial arts people tremble just by hearing their names.
Minor magic attack. Blood magic attack. Flame magic attack. Sura magic attack.
Although they may be one level lower than the Heavenly Demonic Spirit or the Heavenly Demonic Spirit – or they may be better depending on the constitution – each and every one of them was a peerless divine spirit.
Abraxas, noticing what the man was thinking, said.
[The magic here… or was it martial arts? Are you telling me to steal that?]
“Strictly speaking, it’s not stealing. I’m not going to take the book with me.”
Abraxas clicked his tongue at the impudence.
[You think like that even in this situation. You really···.]
“I think I’ll take the donation.”
[······.]
“And one more thing.”
It didn’t end there. The man rummaged through his bag and took something out.
It was a map hidden inside the first Cheonma stone statue that I found when I went to North Korea.
‘I really thought I’d come here later···.’
The place the map pointed to was within the territory of the Cheonmasingyo.
The man said, placing the map on top of the communicator.
“I’ll send you a map using the scan function. Please take a look at it when you have time. It’s not a must, so don’t worry.”
[You’re using us properly?!]
[Just make me do the work! This is bad, really!!]
Abraxas and Lily took turns complaining.
It was strange that the same mouth had a slightly different voice.
The man gently coaxed the two people.
“Now that we’re there, we should pack everything we can. I’ll finish up here as quickly as possible and head over there, so just wait a little bit.”
[When are you coming?]
“As soon as possible.”
As the man spoke, he made significant changes to the plan in his head.
‘If this continues, I might end up listening to the Emperor’s will.’
But the method will be different from what the Emperor had thought. The detailed plan hasn’t been perfectly drawn up yet, though…
“Let’s hang up for today. If we keep talking, the leader will get suspicious.”
Then Lily shouted from the other end of the communicator.
[Sir! Call me every day from now on! Don’t miss it, every day!]
“Okay. Let’s talk every day around this time. Oh, and don’t forget to brush your teeth before you go to bed.”
The person ended the call.
***
dripping.
The man knocked and entered the room. Manbaknogoe, who was still drinking alone, looked back at the man.
“Hey, who were you talking to for so long?”
It was the man who took something out of his bag earlier and then ran to the next room after hearing a girl’s voice.
When the disciple returned after a long time, Manboknogoe urged him to speak quickly.
The man sitting across from Manbaknogoe spoke hesitantly.
“That’s… Something a bit difficult has come up. I might have to give up the non-competition.”
Manbaknogoe laughed as if it was impossible.
“You idiot. Stop making excuses and just tell me. Are you trying to ask me to do something annoying again?”
He was a man of few words who had roughly figured out his disciple’s personality while teaching him for a month.
“Anyway, I get the feeling···.”
The man poured the soju he had brought into Manbaknogoe’s glass. He gave and took. The two bottles of soju disappeared in an instant.
“My younger brother, who should be on Earth, is now in Murim. And he seems to be in a pretty dangerous place.”
“So, you want me to bring the kid to you?”
The man shook his head, saying, ‘Oh. No way.’
“Even if you are a teacher, you can’t go in there.”
“···What is it?”
The proud Manbaknogoe did not ignore those words. He opened his eyes wide and said.
“Where is it that you can’t go as an old man? Even the Murim Alliance is like a home where old men come and go!”
The man sighed and shook his head.
“But you can’t do that. If you go in there, your life will be in danger.”
Even though he knew it was an obvious trick, Manbaknogoe fell for it.
“This guy? Tell me. Unless he becomes the leader of the Cheonma Sect…”
“There it is.”
“···what?”
“The leader of the Cheonmasingyo sect. They say he’s imprisoned somewhere nearby···.”
“Are you kidding me right now?”
“No way.”
The man spoke frankly about Lily’s situation.
When all the stories were over, Manbaknogoe was as silent as a mute who had eaten honey.
“Even you, Master, wouldn’t be able to do it?”
“······.”
“I understand. No matter how much of an expert you are, there are things that can’t be done.”
“······.”
‘Strange? Isn’t it time you said you would go, even if it was just for the sake of pride?’
The man carefully observed Manbaknogoe’s expression. Contrary to expectations, he had a bitter expression on his face.
“Master?”
“······.”
The original plan of the Great Man was to lend his artifact to Manpakunokai and ask him to rescue Lily.
Doppelganger’s mask.
Shadow Cloak.
The Demon Sword Charlotte.
A short-range movement scroll for escape.
Several types of potions.
With Manpakunokai’s skills, this much would be enough to rescue Lily.
If I had been a little more greedy, I might have just killed Cheonma.
however···.
‘The reaction was so different from what I expected.’
As the heavy silence continued, the man first apologized.
“I’m sorry. I asked too much of you… Please pretend you didn’t hear me.”
“Kkul kul… You bastard. That’s not it.”
Manbaknogoe, who had been smiling sadly, let out a long sigh. He drank the remaining soju one after another.
And after a long time, Manbaknogoe finally opened his mouth with difficulty.
“You… who do you think I am?”
ⓒ Ganjjajang
