Chapter 624: Martial King (18)

A deep silence followed after the Martial King's disappearance. No one even thought about speaking. The incredible reverberation of power that had shaken the Tower and the great holy territory that extended far up into the sky both disappeared in an instant. The forces that shook all four corners of the land completely disappeared as if nothing had happened. However, the agitation that everyone felt didn't vanish. The impact that the Martial King had on every one of them was great—from the Head Elder and the Baekseon family members to the tribesmen, the Ghost Giants, and dragons of death—even Kronos, Cha Jeong-woo, Yeon-woo, and Nocturne, as well those looking down from the heavenly world...

[The godly society is silent.]

[The godly society is silent.]

[The godly society is silent.]

...

[The demonic society is silent.]

...

No one knew how to react to the Martial King's sudden disappearance. In one moment, they'd seen the birth of an emperor-level being—an entity that many had only heard about. And then, in the next moment, the Martial King had disintegrated. Who would dare speak in such a somber atmosphere, especially after such a shocking scene?

"Summon of the Dead." After a moment, Yeon-woo spoke with trembling lips, his voice choked with emotion.

Whoosh! Everyone else was as stiff as stone as the three parts of the Cast of the Black King trembled to carry out Yeon-woo's will.

['Summon of the Dead' has been activated.]

[Who do you want to summon?]

"Nayu."

[The summoned target could not be found.]

A cold, unemotional message appeared. However, the words did not register in Yeon-woo's eyes.

"Summon of the Dead."

['Summon of the Dead' has been activated.]

[Who do you want to summon?]

"Nayu."

[The summoned target could not be found.]

Yeon-woo called out Summon of the Dead several times...

['Summon of the Dead' has been activated.]

[Who do you want to summon?]

"Nayu."

Yeon-woo repeated the same words over and over. However, the messages he received in return did not change.

[The being you are attempting to summon cannot be found.]

[The being you are attempting to summon cannot be found.]

[The being you are attempting to summon cannot be found.]

[After a detailed investigation, it has been confirmed that the being has been deleted from all universes, including this one!]

[No further searches for this being are possible.]

[Error: Existence deleted]

[Error: Existence deleted]

[Your ability cannot be applied to the being.]

Once Yeon-woo read the message that the Martial King's name and existence had been permanently deleted from the Tower's system, he grew angry. Achieving exuviation and transcendence meant one freedom from the cycle of reincarnation. When transcendent beings died, it meant total annihilation. Death was not a simple matter of going into the Underworld anymore since the transcendent being's soul was deleted. In other words, someone who ascended to the emperor level and suffered the disruption of Gaia's Curse would never have a chance to reincarnate. The Martial King's situation was different from Cha Jeong-woo's, whose soul had crossed over to the darkness. Therefore, no matter how great the power of the Black King was, it was impossible to call back a deleted existence.

It was only now that Yeon-woo became fully aware of this, and his thoughts were consumed with tearing apart the person who had planned the Martial King's death. Rumble! Rumble! Black flames flickered around Yeon-woo. Yeon-woo raised Vigrid and gathered Sword Thunder. Nocturne was still, as if he were in shock, and even though it was clear that Yeon-woo's Sword Thunder strike would hit him, Nocturne didn't resist. It seemed that he was prepared to die.

Right before the moment of impact, the Head Elder shouted urgently, "Grab him!"

The One-horned Tribe members and Phante had been waiting for his order, and they rushed towards Yeon-woo at the same time. Normally, most of them would have been blown away by Yeon-woo's Sword Thunder strike, but the Sword Thunder strike faded and disappeared. While Yeon-woo was momentarily stunned, Phante and the One-horned Tribe members grabbed and held down his limbs, making it impossible for him to move.

"Let go of me! Let go!" Raising his magic energy level, Yeon-woo tried shaking them off, but his magic was quickly extinguished, just like his Sword Thunder. The same force also bound him as Kronos, who understood the Head Elder's intention, moved to bind Yeon-woo's movements through their unity.

However, it was not easy to contain the power that Yeon-woo had built up himself, and it was difficult to hold him back. It was possible that Yeon-woo could push them away at any moment. Luckily, Yeon-woo had expended an enormous amount of power trying to break through the barrier, so he was already in a weakened state. Even the Head Elder used his powers to suppress Yeon-woo.

The Head Elder yelled at Nocturne, who was still in a daze, "Leave! Hurry!"

In an instant, Nocturne's eyes focused. "Why are you trying to save me?" His trembling eyes filled with confusion as he looked at the Head Elder and the One-horned Tribe members holding Yeon-woo down. "To you, I shouldn't be anything more than the person who helped assassinate your king."

"Right. If I were true to my feelings, I'd have your head already!" Though the Head Elder was known to be an even-tempered, calm person, his face was already bright red with suppressed anger that was as overwhelming as Yeon-woo's.

"But why...?

"Because that's what the Martial King wanted!"

Nocturne couldn't reply.

"That damn bastard was so worried about his surviving disciples! Both you and Cain! This is what he wanted, so should I go against his will and finish you off? Nonsense! I can't fail his last will!"

Nocturne was speechless. The words that the Martial King left before his disappearance were still stamped in his heart.

"You're not Allforone. You're not Vivasvat's simulation. You may have originated from him, and even if you were originally a simulation created by the Tower's system, you've lived your own life. Isn't that right?"

"Don't waver. Don't be scared. Don't be afraid. What is there to be afraid of? You're living your life, so don't create stress from things that don't matter to you."

"Your adolescence was pretty long, no?"

Nocturne's heart pounded loudly.

"Because that's what a teacher, a parent, and an adult should do for you."

"I'm proud of you."

Nocturne felt like the Martial King was still around. He felt as though he could still feel his master's hand gently stroking his head. The Martial King had reacted the same way when Nocturne first opened his eyes. The Martial King had stayed by Nocturne's side and taught him many things. The Martial King would often pat Nocturne's head and say Nocturne had done well after doing something difficult, giving him words of encouragement whenever Nocturne fell into depression after another unsuccessful bout of recalling his lost memories.

At the thought of that warm hand, Nocturne clenched his teeth. Forcing down his rising emotions, he got up, determined to continue living. It was the only thought in his mind; the thing his master had wanted for Nocturne.

"All right, go and never let me see you again! This will be the last and only chance my tribe will give you. The next time we meet..." Seeing Nocturne get up, the Head Elder revealed his savage intent. "I might tear off your head with my own hands."

After placing his clenched hands on the ground and bowing, a traditional One-horned Tribe farewell, Nocturne left. Nocturne had shown to the Head Elder the proper respect and gratitude of a disciple for his master's close relation.

The Head Elder did not take his eyes off Nocturne until Nocturne was gone. He wanted to make sure that he had fully carried out the Martial King's final will. The Martial King had said that he would attain his own immortality and stay by his disciples but the Head Elder had no idea how the Martial King planned to achieve this feat.

The unwritten stories of the future did not belong to old people, the Head Elder thought, but to people like Yeon-woo and Nocturne. There was nothing the Head Elder could do but help them write these stories.

"Let go! Let me go!" Meanwhile, Yeon-woo was still struggling against everyone pinning him down. At some point, the Ghost Giants, dragons of death, Shanon, Rebecca, and many others also appeared to hold Yeon-woo down. The wise Kronos looked at his son with a complicated expression.

The Head Elder quietly watched the scene before walking up to the struggling Yeon-woo and slapping him across the face. Bam! The loud slap was so strong that it left a red handprint on Yeon-woo's cheek.

Kronos' eyes widened, and the Ghost Giants and dragons of death all looked in bewilderment at the Head Elder. Phante looked terrified, worried that Yeon-woo would shift his anger to the Head Elder. However, unexpectedly, Yeon-woo only calmed down and stopped struggling.

The Head Elder looked at Yeon-woo and asked with a solemn expression, "Have you regained your wits?"

"I was out of line." After a while, Yeon-woo finally came to his senses. Phante and the others who were struggling to hold him down looked at each other before slowly stepping away. Fortunately, Yeon-woo no longer showed any signs of wanting to chase after Nocturne. He remained seated on the ground.

"I'm sorry. You're probably the one feeling the largest heartache. Like an irresponsible child, I was only thinking about myself." Yeon-woo bowed to Phante.

For a moment, Phante's eyes flickered, but he started speaking nonsense as if nothing serious had happened. "Huh? Maybe it's because I've been fighting for a while, but I seemed to have misheard something? There's no way Temper hyung would say sorry to me, his junior, right?"

Yeon-woo smiled at Phante's response, but his smile quickly turned bitter. After observing Yeon-woo, the Head Elder left, followed by Kronos, Phante, and the others. It looked as though Yeon-woo needed some time to gather his thoughts.

***

"I'm sorry," the Head Elder said as he bowed to Kronos. It was only natural for the Head Elder to apologize since he had raised his hand to someone in front of his own parent. Of course, Kronos didn't care at all.

『No. That kid doesn't know how the world works and does whatever he wants. He needs to get some sense knocked into him from time to time. If you see him going astray again, please don't hold back and scold him harshly.』

Only after hearing Kronos' words did the Head Elder feel peace of mind. The Head Elder put on a gentle smile. "I see that you're passing on your work as a parent to someone else."

『Hahaha. Educating my own children hasn't been my strong suit. However, I'm glad that Yeon-woo has adults around him.』

The two briefly exchanged a few pleasantries. Then, his smile dropping a little, Kronos asked,

『What do you plan to do next?』

"We just experienced a lot of unexpected things. It seems like it will take some time for the whole tribe to regain our bearings. We'll probably sort things out after some time passes."

『It's important for you to keep a sharp eye out in times like this. If an adult doesn't act as a pillar, everything might come tumbling down.』 Kronos offered some sincere advice based on his own experiences.

The Head Elder nodded and agreed as he adjusted his glasses. Although their conversation was brief, it seemed that they understood each other deeply and could communicate well with each other.

"The wind is quite cold." Even though the Martial King had caused a ruckus just a moment ago, the surroundings were already cooling down. The traces of the Martial King's presence were disappearing very quickly. The Head Elder quietly mumbled about their rapid disappearance to himself.

***

It was around that time that Yeon-woo suddenly stood up despite not organizing all his thoughts. 'I don't feel it... Pairing.'

There was no news from Hanryeong, whom Yeon-woo had sent to find Edora. Since Yeon-woo had focused all his energy on what was happening to the Martial King, he hadn't had a chance to ask Hanryeong how things were progressing. Hanryeong also did not contact Yeon-woo.

Possibly...the fight was not over yet.