Kwakwakwang!
It was just a snap of the finger.
However, from the tremendous shock, Hong Hwa-ryun bounced back, breaking down buildings and trees. He was able to stop only after getting stuck in a large tree.
“Haa… Haa…”
Hong Hwa-ryun let out a heavy breath.
Rather than bouncing back due to internal energy, it was a blow to the forehead. Hong Hwa-ryun came to a realization from this blow.
‘… Strong.’
This strength had surely surpassed the child’s father. Although he had been blind for 17 years, he remembered the strength of the man who was known as the Martial God. However, Mumu’s power surpassed it.
‘To be stronger than his father…’
Even though he was just 17 years old. It was shocking in this land of Murim. If he was this strong at 17, then he couldn’t imagine how strong he would be in the future.
‘I am afraid.’
If such an existence were determined to take revenge, no one can go against him.
Drip!
Cold sweat was dripping down his forehead. He wasn’t sure what he should do.
Mumu, who could be regarded as the result of the sin he committed, wanted to forgive him. But it could be a vain hope.
Actually, the child lost his entire family and was thrown off a cliff not long after. It was only natural for the child to be angry.
‘What do we do?’
He was confused.
The reason he tried to atone for the guilt of the past was because he had to pay for what he did. But now the worst was happening.
If he gave up his life for atonement, he did not know what this kid would do.
If they didn’t do anything now, the child would probably become a lot stronger.
Crack!
Hong Hwa-ryun gritted his teeth.
Was it the right choice to kill this child for the sake of the world?
In Hong Hwa-ryun’s hand, a sharp feeling rose.
It was the intangible blade. Although he lost his eyes, he didn’t lose his senses and his fighting instincts which he had honed since he was a child.
The form of the blade was something no one other than the Four Great Warriors could do.
‘Should I fight?’
He still felt conflicted inside.
[How… how… that young child…]
The image of Hae Ha-rang, who was screaming and crying in front of him, came to his mind. The gap between Murim and his guilt—
If he killed Mumu here, he would be taking away her child once again.
‘I…’
What to do?
Was it another atonement for a cause?
As if the concerns were being reflected on the intangible blade, it began to flicker like a candle.
And Mumu came.
“Why are you still doing it?”
“…”
“I didn’t hit you hard enough to be down.”
“… If it was at this level with a snap of a finger, your full power cannot be grasped.”
“Yes. Get up now.”
Fight or not, there was no other way out, and at the words of Mumu, he held the intangible blade in hand and said,
“Will you continue to take revenge for your father, starting with me?”
“Revenge?”
“Yes. Is it not because you crave it?”
Finally, before the end, he wanted to know the intentions of the child.
If he wanted revenge, then he would stop Mumu at the cost of his life.
And no matter what the result was, he would end up having to do something to the child again.
“Revenge… it is just resentment.”
“Resentment?”
Hong Hwa-ryun frowned.
What did the child mean?
“Because of you I think my mother has been struggling in sadness.”
“…”
He wasn’t going to deny it. Even her life had been painful.
However, because of the guilt inside, he didn’t even let her kill herself.
“I… I…”
“And when you already have something and want to be forgiven for it, while atoning, in the end, it is for self-satisfaction.”
“…”
“If you want to remain as a good person, you shouldn’t make excuses about things. You will just sound like a hypocrite.”
Nothing was wrong about it.
Hong Hwa-ryun’s face turned darker. What this kid said was right.
If he was going to suffer like this, he shouldn’t have tried to act faithful at all. Or if he thought it was for a greater cause, he should have stayed strong until the end.
The only thing he had done after doing the wrong deed was being obsessed with guilt and harassing the woman.
In the end, as the child said, it was all for his own selfishness.
‘Hypocrite…’
Yes, in the end, all of this was that. Even though what he had done could not be changed, he wanted to get rid of the guilt, so he tormented the woman.
“Ahh.”
A sigh escaped from Hong Hwa-ryun’s mouth.
“Then, so we continue? Resentment.”
Mumu approached the man, making him struggle to get up.
“You are right. After all, I continue to do nothing but act to ease my own mind.”
Mumu’s eyes shone.
“You seem to admit it too easily.”
“Yes. I do. I should have ended my life in front of her right at the start. In the end, I was struggling to let go of the guilt.”
Clench!
With those words, Hong Hwa-ryun’s hand clenched the intangible blade. As if he had made up his mind, the flickering had stopped.
“I will not make an excuse for it. But do not underestimate this. If I can stop you from getting revenge, I will come to the other world with you.”
He made up his mind. To erase his confusing emotions and focus on handling Mumu.
Mumu stared at the man and sighed,
“It is not revenge, but you think of it as so. If that was the case, I wouldn’t end it with crippling the arms and legs of the Four Great Warriors.”
At the words of Mumu, Hong Hwa-ryun frowned.
The child already met with the Four Great Warriors besides him?
As he looked puzzled, Mumu said,
“Ah… you must have not heard. I have met with Eastern River Sword and Poison Air of the West. You are the third.”
“… You mean you met them first?”
“What about it?”
At the words of Mumu like he didn’t care, Hong Hwa-ryun wondered. From the tone of Mumu, it was like he fought them but didn’t kill them.
So he asked,
“Why did you let them live?”
“Why?”
“Aren’t you trying to get revenge for your father?”
Mumu scratched his head.
“I said it before too. It is my own resentment for what you people did.”
“Resentment?”
“If revenge was my purpose, I would have killed them and all their friends in the academy and the seniors too.”
“Academy?”
“Yes. I have been attending the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy since the start of this year.”
At those words, Hong Hwa-ryun was shaken. Wasn’t his daughter there too?
‘This child?’
What is the purpose of joining the academy when he already held this much power? He could have taken the kids of the Four Great Warriors as hostages and made them suffer too.
“… If not for revenge then what is this for?”
“I told you, resentment.”
“You have been saying it for a long time…”
Bang!
But before he could end it, Mumu appeared right in front of the man and Hong Hwa-ryun, being sensitive to this, tried to cut down the chest of Mumu with the intangible blade.
Paaang!
‘!?’
However, the blade didn’t cut Mumu’s muscles. Rather, it was scattered around.
Hong Hwa-ryun couldn’t hide his shock. There should be nothing that the intangible sword with concentrated energy couldn’t cut, but the muscles weren’t?
To which Mumu said,
“You asked why I am venting it out like this?”
“Your body is…”
“I thought it would be better to show that places like Murim can be organized and changed whenever I want it to, like the Four Great Warriors.”
“What?”
“So it will not bother me or my precious people.”
Puak!
“Kuak!”
As soon as he finished talking, Mumu did a light kick at the stomach of Hong Hwa-ryun.
Hong Hwa-ryun’s body, which had been hit, didn’t have a chance to fight back and bounced back.
And it had a greater impact than the flick.
Kwakwakwang!
Hong Hwa-ryun, who had been flying for a long time, rolled on the ground. It was difficult to tell how far back he bounced back this time.
Kaaang!
“Kuak”
Being pinned down to the ground, he coughed up blood. It seemed like his internal organs took damage despite trying to defend himself.
Hong Hwa-ryun thought this was absurd.
Because he was blind, his senses were sensitive. So he knew.
‘… Is this child even human?’
Every single movement, starting from the muscles and the power, wasn’t at its best.
This meant that if Mumu wanted to kill, he would be dead.
[I thought it would be better to show that places like Murim can be organized and changed whenever I want it to.]
Now he understood what the child said, his chaotic power. He had a force which couldn’t be compared to his father, who made the entire Murim shake in fear.
-There is no chance of surviving… but if you do, it is luck for you, and bad luck for me.
Hong Hwa-ryun remembered what he thought. Did he create this monster when he threw the child off the cliff?
“Sigh…”
Everything felt like a cause and effect happening.
Would this much effect have happened if the child wasn’t thrown? Now the head was filled with other kinds of thoughts.
It was then.
“What is… this?”
‘!?’
With the injuries, his senses felt weakened, so he didn’t even know when someone came.
It was Hae Ha-rang. He wasn’t sure how far he bounced back, but it seemed like she could see him.
‘How is?’
Hae Ha-rang was shocked looking at the man. And she was startled by the roar, which made her rush out of the kitchen.
And she came to see the man who was known as the best in Murim collapsed on the ground.
Thud
Someone fell down from the sky.
It was Mumu.
And the moment the eyes of Mumu and Hae Ha-rang met—
‘!!!!!’
They couldn’t help but wonder.
They were two people who hadn’t met even once in 17 years. But at this moment when they were suddenly faced with each other like this, Mumu’s eyes turned red.