Chapter 209: Sky Lord (1)
Translation: Nadu
Edit: Sephtair
However…
Muyoung frowned.
What Ataraxia said meant that he wanted Muyoung to go see Sungmin.
But, that couldn't be possible.
While Muyoung was away, it was good that Sungmin kept a connection with Ataraxia, but in this situation, Sungmin should have been the one to come see him, not Ataraxia.
“Where is Sungmin?"
“My master is at a very deep place. Please forgive him for not being here, due to unforeseen circumstances."
“Due to unforeseen circumstances, you say."
However, Muyoung couldn't feel any sincerity.
Plus, Ataraxia didn't even tell him Sungmin's exact location.
As if he was being tested.
That was right, Ataraxia made Muyoung feel like he was being tested.
‘How dare he.'
Muyoung spread his wings.
And shot thousands of feathers towards Ataraxia.
Swoosh.
Ataraxia avoided his attack.
Normally, thiswas something that could not happen since Muyoung created him and controlled him.
His undead usually accepted whatever Muyoung did to them.
But, right now, he avoided Muyoung's attack.
This also showed Sungmin's intentions.
“What a foolish thing to do."
Sungmin. He knew Muyoung's personality.
For him to still conduct this sort of gamble meant he had now totally left Muyoung for one reason or another.
If he had left him, Muyoung couldn't let Sungmin live.
Sungmin knew too much about Muyoung to let him live. Really, the one who knew Muyoung the best in this world was Sungmin.
At that moment, Ataraxia's body became faint.
He was cutting through space to move to another area.
He was trying to run away. But, Muyoung wasn't the type to just let him go.
Swaaak!
Muyoung took out Anguish and wielded it.
Then, the space Ataraxia opened up was sliced.
Muyoung Sword was a swordsmanship that could attack anything. Therefore, you could say teleportation-type mobile skills wouldn't work in front of Muyoung.
Ataraxia's body became vivid again.
Craaash!
Muyoung kicked Ataraxia's body with his foot.
As Ataraxia's body was shoved to the ground, Muyoung once again raised his wings to shoot out numerous feathers at his body, binding him.
After making him unable to move, Muyoung stretched out his hand.
The soul on top of Ataraxia's head was still intact.
In this condition, if he was to use Soul Exploitation, Muyoung would be able to fully absorb Ataraxia's soul.
This would be enough to send a warning to Sungmin.
“I'm sorry. You are really Muyoung."
As Muyoung was about to exploit Ataraxia's soul, another voice emerged from Ataraxia's mouth.
It was Sungmin's voice.
A voice that sounded glad and awkward.
Muyoung confirmed that Ataraxia and Sungmin's souls were in sync.
“Are you testing me?"
“I needed to confirm if you were truly Muyoung. As you had disappeared for the last two years. I had to also consider that you could be controlled by Luciferre."
Muyoung crossed his arms.
It didn't seem like he was lying.
Well, Muyoung did have a lot of problems internally. Although he had spent two years inside Diablo's flames, if he wasn't careful he could have lost himself within it.
If that did happen, his body would have been given to Luciferre, or became another being. It wouldn't be strange for only his body to be his, and the rest be something else.
To that extent, the last two years had been very dangerous for Muyoung.
Sungmin also knew about this a little. As Luciferre was inside Muyoung's body, and as Sungmin knew that Muyong was very unstable, he had to be cautious.
“I'm not corrupted."
Although there had been a possibility, this was not currently the case.
Now, Muyoung would not be shaken.
He spoke as if he was making a pledge.
“Please wait a moment. I will open the 'gate'. Ah, could you remove your feathers…"
Muyoung nodded and removed the feathers that restrained Ataraxia's body. The feathers emitted light and disappeared, as if they had disintegrated.
Then, Ataraxia got up and retrieved a small bottle.
When he opened the bottle and scattered the liquid in the form of a circle on the floor, the circle became black, and became a ‘channel’ connecting to another space.
Ataraxia looked at Muyoung once more.
Swoosh!
Bae Sungmin appeared through the channel.
His appearance had slightly changed.
He wore a black cloak, and held a staff made out of dragon bones. All of his flesh had been stripped, and only his bones were left. However, the the bones had become thicker and were black.
Black bones. But it wasn't due to an evil sort of energy dying them with darkness.
They had become black by absorbed all light and energy.
He was unable to feel any signs of magic from Sungmin. Like Muyoung, he was absorbing everything within him.
“Amazing."
Muyoung admired purely.
Sungmin had raised his 'level' on his own.
It was embarrassing to compare him with two years ago.
Muyoung had felt something like this before in the past.
The Lich King!
In the past, the lich that was called the Lich King gave him a similar feeling.
“They say I'm an elder lich. As I completed my work, my appearance has changed."
Sungmin's appearance, that Muyoung hadn't seen for a while, was truly extraordinary.
Of course, from the beginning, he was far from being a normal lich, but for him to be an elder lich…
Wasn't it the final form of a lich?
Well, this was probably the reason why he could control Ataraxia's soul as he wished.
“I have a lot of questions as well. And I would like to show you something."
Sungmin looked behind Muyoung.
An endless number of specters and Ellarsigo.
In front of them, it seemed like Sungmin was slightly overwhelmed.
“If you go through here, there is a village I created. Please come in."
Sungmin went back into the channel with confidence.
Muyoung pondered for a moment before he spoke to the specters.
“Wait here."
“Please let us follow you."
The five nine-tailed foxes requested.
It seemed like they still felt that Sungmin, who had suddenly appeared, wasn't trustworthy.
Muyoung nodded after thinking about it for a bit. The chunglangs and songsongis should be enough to control the group.
“Let's go."
Tacan was already standing beside him. It seemed like he was also curious about Sungmin, and glad to be reunited with him.
After watching Tacan for a short while, he walked into the circle.
Although Muyoung didn't expect much from what Sungmin called a village, what he saw after passing through the circle was amazing.
A few hundreds of houses were spread out in the middle of a mountain range.
And the people gathered here seemed familiar for some reason.
They had a murderous look in their eyes. There were even some whose flesh sagged like a corpse’s..
However, they were still very familiar to him.
“They are…"
Muyoung couldn't finish his sentence.
He couldn't help it.
How could he forget them?
As if Sungmin knew what Muyoung was feeling, he commented:
“It wasn't easy to find them. They were so spread out. I was only able to find their locations by secretly gathering information from Mulalan City and the Great City."
“The assassins of the Forest of Death… you found them?"
“Yes."
“How did you know?"
Muyoung had never spoken about them to him.
Although he did react more regarding them, it would beuld hard to make the connection just from that.
Sungmin spoke as he walked into the village.
“Your soul and mine were connected. Especially, for me, it was stronger. Even now, doesn't it connect from time to time? Thanks to this, although very rarely, I was able to see a few things that were engraved into your soul. I'm sorry."
“This is the first time I'm hearing of this."
He had never heard of something like this.
Sungmin bowed his head and spoke.
“I also thought it was just something like a dream. Like a dream, I would forget it. But, as time passed, I realized that I wasn't the person concerned."
Sungmin's memories weren't exact. There were a lot of blank areas. Even enough for him to forget about Suzy.
But now, he seemed to be stable in many ways.
“Should I have not done this?"
“No. You did well."
Muyoung spoke sincerely.
After killing Wung Chunglin, Muyoung had entered Diablo's Trial right away.
Normally, he would have found all the locations of the Forest of Death and liberated the people.
But, because he was trapped inside, he wasn't able to do so. Sungmin had done it for him.
How could he not be happy?
Then, Sungmin spoke with a concerned tone.
“Although I have found them, they were already having a lot of problems."
“As I'd expect."
“Especially in terms of brainwashing, there wasn't much I could do. I'm able to keep their minds stable by integrating with their soul but…"
If Chunglin's brainwashing was rooted deep within them, there was nothing Muyoung could do as well. If he were to forcefully remove it, they could lose their self entirely. They could even become braindead.
“How is the village maintaining itself?"
Unlike specters and Ellarsigo, humans were creatures who 'consumed'.
To maintain a village on such a scale for a long period, it would be hard without a tremendous amount of resources.
“I'm acting as an information trader. Sometimes, there are people who become free from brainwashing and choose to become my underlings. I'm using them as my informers."
Muyoung nodded his head.
Even though it was very unlikely, if they became free from brainwashing, the afteraffects would definitely be there.
If they didn't serve someone, or weren't given orders, they would become anxious and commit suicide.
Either way… Muyoung couldn't take his eyes off of them.
There were also faces he had missed. Although they didn't remember Muyoung, he remembered them.
Afterwards, Muyoung looked at Sungmin who was walking in front of him.
As for Sungmin, it was a situation where still he needed to be doubtful of him.
If he had shown this village to Luciferre, he would have killed them all.
“Thank you."
“…"
Sungmin couldn't reply right away. It was the first time he had heard Muyoung thank him.
And Sungmin answered a bit late.
“It was something obvious that I needed to do. You don't need to thank me."
Muyoung had a long talk with Sungmin.
Although it was mostly Muyoung listening to him, what Sungmin had accomplished in the last two years was quite interesting.
“I have been following Diablo's footsteps. And, I have confirmed that like the other demon gods, he has been collecting the 'Fissure Stones[1]'."
“Is there a reason why Diablo is collecting the Fissure Stones?"
“Diablo has summoned numerous armies, and they were all called by using the Fissure Stones."
Diablo was collecting Fissure Stones?
A Fissure Stone was a stone that opened and closed fissures. Muyoung had been asked to collect 3 Fissure Stones by Gremory.
“To stop his army, the demon gods have placed a strong evil spirit on the border of the Demon God's Territory."
“Sky Lord."
“Yes, it is an artificial evil spirit that was created solely to fight against Diablo. Thanks to this, they say Diablo is unable to enter the Demon God's Territory."
“Artificial evil spirit? You mean someone created it?"
“I'm not sure who created it. But, it is clear that it's a strong evil creature, strong beyond comprehension."
“I also need to enter the Demon God's Territory."
Muyoung needed to go to the Demon God's Territory to advance to thenext step in his quest. However, if the Sky Lord was blocking the path, it would be problematic.
Sungmin pondered for a moment before he spoke again.
“Devils are able to cross freely. I know a devil. If it is him, he would be able to help us cross."
He knews a devil?
And a devil was going to help them?
It was something he had never thought of before.
Sungming continued to talk.
“He is a devil who is obsessed with trades. If we give him something that he wants, he will surely guide us pass the Sky Lord."
[1] Fissure Stone – I think it is just another name for the Fragments of the Fissure.