Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 461 – Approaching Omens (3)

A dark hall.

The surroundings were in complete disarray.

Someone approached the figure in the shadows, who was barely containing their anger in front of the pulverized stone throne, and knelt on one knee in respect.

He was a man with long hair and prominent red lips, wearing a pristine white uniform.

The man could barely breathe due to the heavy aura filling the entire hall from his lord’s anger.

Eventually, after steadying his breath, the man spoke with a tense expression.

“Lord Mok Gan. All measures have been taken as you instructed.”

“…”

At these words, Mok Gan stared at the man for a moment before waving his hand.

As if by magic, the ominous aura heavily pressing down on the hall dissipated.

Finding it much easier to breathe, the long-haired man quietly let out a sigh of relief.

Then, he cautiously began to speak.

“However, there is one problem.”

“What is it?”

“We’ve lost all our brothers in the Heaven and Earth Society. We need to retrieve and release what you personally sealed there, but to do so, we’d need to send in new brothers…”

At that moment, Mok Gan cut him off.

“Have you already forgotten?”

“Pardon?”

“We haven’t lost everything.”

At these words, the red-lipped man’s eyes widened.

Come to think of it, there was one card he had forgotten about.

The single card they had kept in reserve for emergencies, even after mobilizing all their other resources.

***

[From today on, Jung-sun, you too are a member of our family.]

[Yes, elder…]

[Ahem.]

[Yes, father.]

[Good.]

[But father… who is that behind you?]

Behind the elder—no, father’s legs, I could see part of a face, or rather, just the eyes of a child peeking out.

The child was so pretty that it was clearly a girl.

Is this child to be my little sister?

I couldn’t help but smile a little.

But then father forcefully pulled the girl out from behind him and said:

[This child is your older brother.]

‘!?’

Older brother?

What does he mean?

No matter how I looked at it, it was clearly a girl.

I couldn’t understand why he was calling this child my older brother.

And when father first came to find me, he had clearly said:

-You have excellent qualities. I’d like you to become our family’s eldest son.

-M-Me, become your son, sir?

-Yes.

So, I was fortunate enough to be adopted into one of the most prestigious families in the association.

But why is he telling me to call this girl my older brother?

I thought the family had no male heirs, which is why they were accepting me?

As I was trying to understand, the girl who had been shyly hiding behind father reluctantly approached me under his pressure and held out her hand, saying:

[L-Let’s get along from now on.]

I reluctantly took her hand and greeted her.

[Nice to meet you, older brother.]

Perhaps our relationship was already skewed from that moment.

Five years passed since then.

During this time, I learned many things.

Originally, I was destined to be accepted as the eldest son, as father had said.

However, due to the last wishes of the late Madam, that damned brat is playing the role of the older brother with that ridiculous appearance.

A mere girl has stolen my position.

But I couldn’t express these complaints.

No matter how absurd this was, that girl truly carried the family’s bloodline, while I, despite being brought in to continue the lineage, was merely an adopted son.

There was only one thing I could do.

Prove that I was far superior to this girl in terms of qualifications.

However,

[Excellent.]

The one receiving praise from father was not me, but that girl.

I thought, how great could a mere girl’s qualifications be? But she was unbelievably outstanding.

Even though I had been accepted for my excellent qualities, this was a monster.

She was so clever that the saying “hear one, understand ten” wasn’t an exaggeration—when taught one thing, she understood ten.

Because of this, at some point, father began to habitually say this while looking back and forth between me and the girl in the training ground:

[What a pity. Such a shame.]

Damn it.

What’s a pity?

That the qualities of the adopted son they brought in are lower than this girl’s?

Or is it regret that this girl with such outstanding qualities isn’t a son?

Whatever it was, I was filled with rage.

But I never showed it.

I’m just an adopted son, so to survive here, I must never do anything to make myself disliked.

Two more years passed.

Despite my blood, sweat, and tears, the gap in our qualities still hadn’t narrowed.

At this rate, there were even whispers that this girl might receive the title of the most outstanding Five Peaks within the association in just a few years.

‘Damn it.’

I don’t understand.

I train longer than that brat, even cutting back on sleep to circulate my qi, so why can’t I catch up?

Could it be that father is paying more attention to her?

I knew he wasn’t that kind of person, but I couldn’t help but suspect it.

‘Sigh.’

Could they really be planning to give the successor position to this girl who can’t even continue the family line?

If that’s the case, I might really want to kill her.

While I was anxious day by day, this girl wasn’t.

Tak!

As I turned my head at the touch on my shoulder, a finger poked my cheek.

It was that wretched girl.

Annoyingly playful, she asked with a big grin:

[Got you again. Hahaha. What are you doing?]

[What… what would I be doing?]

[You were staring so intently at my room, I thought you might be angry with me or something.]

[A-Angry?]

[Am I wrong?]

[How could that be? I’m your right-hand man, aren’t I? I’ll support you in maintaining the family. So don’t worry.]

[…]

At my words, the girl’s expression became subtle.

Could it be that she doesn’t trust me?

As I wondered this, the girl suddenly hugged me tightly and said with a smile:

[That’s right. My little brother. Thank you.]

This hateful wench.

My little brother? … Is she showing off just because she was born about 3 years earlier?

The more she does this, the more I hate this girl.

To the point where I really want to kill her.

A few days passed like this.

Suddenly, father called us.

With an unusually solemn face, father said:

[Both of you, go to the Corpse Blood Valley.]

[What?]

I was dumbfounded at these words.

Isn’t the Corpse Blood Valley a place where only those from minor sects or those seeking fame go at the risk of their lives?

Why is he telling us to go to such a place?

[It’s for the long-cherished wish of our association. The descendants of the other Five Kings have all agreed to participate, so you two should also take the lead and join.]

Damn it.

I thought that by becoming an adopted son of the family, I wouldn’t have to go to the Corpse Blood Valley.

But now they’re telling everyone to go there?

Isn’t this too much?

But the girl calmly replied:

[I’ll keep that in mind.]

And as soon as we left father’s study, she turned to me with a bright smile and said:

[Don’t worry, little brother. I’ll protect you.]

Kwak!

At her words, I was once again filled with rage.

I could barely stand the thought of going there, and yet this girl acts nonchalant and even tries to encourage me?

Damn it. Who are you to make me feel so pathetic?

You really make me feel so small.

In the end, I was sent to the Corpse Blood Valley at the mere age of fifteen.

The first challenge was the iron ball competition.

[Huff huff… Brother…]

[Take it.]

[But isn’t this what you found?]

[You go on ahead. I can find another one quickly.]

[Brother…]

Damn brat.

Does she think I can’t even pass this kind of test, so she’s giving me what she found?

How little must she think of me to do something like this?

I sincerely wished for this girl to die.

But in the end, not only did she find another iron ball as she said, but she also beat down everyone who came at her and even obtained a prize.

The second challenge was the flag battle.

I deliberately avoided being in the same team as her.

I didn’t want to be with someone who made me feel so pathetic while calling me “little brother” and such.

While searching for flags, I was unexpectedly ambushed by a group from minor sects.

[If we get rid of you, passing the next test will be easy.]

I prided myself on being unbeatable among my peers, but I couldn’t handle a combined attack from six people.

Each of them wasn’t much individually, but why did I have to suffer like this at the hands of such people?

In the end, I fled to save my life while fighting them.

Then, while precariously using qinggong on a cliff, I fell into the ravine below.

Kurururu!

[Aaaaah!]

Is this better than dying at the hands of such people?

But I didn’t die.

Splash!

Luckily, I fell into a pool of water and survived.

But something felt strange.

Although the cliff ravine was dark, I wasn’t scared of such things, yet my whole body was trembling with goosebumps.

As I looked around, I was shocked.

‘W-What is this?’

There were countless bones scattered about, and judging by the clothes they wore, they seemed to be from students who had entered the Corpse Blood Valley.

What on earth is this place?

Seized by an ominous feeling due to the countless bone fragments, I fearfully tried to quickly climb back up the cliff.

But I fell back down due to some unknown force.

And as I was being dragged by something,

‘Huh?’

That something was a strange person with a terribly burned face and no eyes.

Terrified, I tried my best to escape, but it was useless.

This strange person was a monster.

[It’s impressive that you survived, but unfortunately, you’ve seen this place, so I’ll have to kill you.]

Kwak!

[Kek kek.]

You’re going to kill me just for seeing this?

It feels unfair somehow.

If I had known I would die so meaninglessly like this, I should have just done what I wanted.

It’s so frustrating to die without accomplishing anything, always being cautious about being an adopted son.

If I had killed that girl when I had the chance, would it have been a little better?

Just then, a voice was heard from somewhere.

[Wait.]

[What? How?]

At the voice’s command, the burned being loosened its grip on my throat.

Then I saw someone approaching.

Flinch!

Surprisingly, it was a being with an eye on its forehead.

This bizarre being looked at me with an evil smile and said:

[You, you have an interesting desire.]

‘!?’

This was the turning point of my fate and my first encounter with Him.

Thanks to Him, I obtained everything I wanted.

Not only the position of the family’s successor but also the title of one of the Five Tigers, the highest Five Peaks in the association.

It seemed like everything would continue to go as I wished.

I thought that as long as I followed Him, who protected me, everything would go according to plan.

However, now a crisis has come to that.

Although it was just an avatar, even with His intervention, everything has gone awry.

There are no more allies left in here.

It could be said to be the worst situation, as all of His subordinates who existed within the association have been killed off.

‘What should I do about this?’

As he said, I didn’t participate in the war under the pretext of closed-door training.

But because of that, I’ve become suspicious.

Even if my father understood, the Shadow Clan was demanding an investigation because I didn’t respond to the Society Leader’s summons.

I was pondering how to handle this situation.

Then my eyes caught sight of insects swarming under a tree.

Thinking “Could it be?”, I approached the spot, and the corners of my mouth twitched before curling up into a sinister smile.

As expected, he had made all the arrangements.

***

Around the hour of the Ox (1-3 AM) in the dark dawn.

A group was stealthily moving towards the location of the hidden vault near the Corpse Blood Valley.

There were about twenty masked individuals.

They were all experts, a small elite force whose footsteps were barely audible.

After the internal conflict of the Heaven and Earth Society, they were short on manpower, so the Corpse Blood Valley Master and the remaining forces had all entered the inner city, making it easy for this group to move.

Seuseuseuk!

The group reached the cliff peak in front of the hidden vault and stopped there.

The imposing bamboo-hatted figure at the lead spoke in a low voice to the person beside him.

“Are you sure that’s what he promised?”

“Didn’t you see His power yourself, father? he will protect us.”

“…I understand. Five of you stay here to guard, the rest follow me.”

Pat!

With a hand gesture, he took the lead and climbed the cliff.

Despite his imposing physique, he nimbly scaled the cliff and entered the hidden vault.

Once inside, he ordered ten people to guard the entrance and its vicinity, then climbed to the third floor of the vault.

He had been told that it would be in a small cave in the corner of the third floor.

They soon discovered a small cave marked with a red line.

“It’s there.”

They entered the small cave marked with a red line and began searching for ‘it’.

However, after searching for a while, they noticed something strange.

They were told it would be here, so why wasn’t it?

Puzzled, the imposing bamboo-hatted figure asked the person next to him:

“Wasn’t it supposed to be here?”

The bamboo-hatted person beside him also seemed confused, tilting his head as he replied:

“This can’t be right. he clearly said it would be here…”

-Why would it be there?

Flinch!

At that moment, they all turned their heads towards a voice coming from outside the small cave.

‘!?’

But there was nothing visible there.

The bamboo-hatted figure slightly lifted his hat, narrowing his eyes as he scanned the surroundings.

If someone were there, it would be impossible for them to deceive his sense of qi, being one of the Five Kings and Eight Stars of the association.

But something felt off.

‘What is this?’

There was clearly nothing visible, yet he sensed a strange energy stimulating his qi sense.

Unable to find the right words to describe it, he felt goosebumps rising – it was similar to ghostly energy.

Just then, the person next to the bamboo-hatted figure suddenly showed a bewildered expression.

“What’s wrong?”

Tak!

Despite his question, the person next to the bamboo-hatted figure even took a step back.

“Jung-sun!”

The bamboo-hatted figure called out the name of the person beside him and grabbed his shoulder.

Jung-sun then spoke with trembling eyes.

“…How are you here?”

‘You?’

What on earth is he talking about?

While the bamboo-hatted figure and others were puzzled, only Jung-sun’s eyes clearly saw someone’s figure.

That someone was a young girl with half of her hair turned white, her entire body wrapped in chains.

‘Gyu, Gyu So-ha?’