* * *
Sima Ryunju was lost in thought. He had listened to all of Abel’s stories and had a better understanding of everything that was about to happen around his disciple… no, everything that had already happened to his disciple.
Sina Ryunju spent his whole life trying to pursue being the strongest in the world, and a hundred years ago he hid in the Forest of Fairies to train.
For most of his life, he walked the path of nothing but arduous training, only to reach a higher and more absolute place than any other. And as strong as he was now, the idea of all living beings in the world being completely exterminated did not sit well with him.
“Hmm…”
Sima Ryunju was lost in thought, caressing the mask on his face.
The end. It was something sounded rather ominous. Like a foreboding sense of dread.
“It’s unpleasant to have to die for something I don’t even know about.”
Sima Ryunju murmured. He asked Abel, who was sitting directly in front of him.
“I understand what you’re saying. The end…… No… the apocalypse. You said that you, yourself, do not know the ending despite suggesting it will be like an apocalypse. The fact that you are suggesting that this old man’s disciple is the one to bring forth such disaster actually even sounds plausible itself.”
However, Sima Ryunju shook his head.
“However, I can’t agree that you are suggesting that this old man will not be of help when the time comes. This old man does not intend to throw away his disciple so easily like that.”
“……I didn’t mean it that way.”
“I know…. He is quite the mysterious creature.”
Sina Ryunju looked at Lee Sungmin and spoke.
“The fact that I took in this incompetent disciple… Well, I thought it was a coincidence, but I can’t say it’s a coincidence, considering your words. That fate itself was protecting him. He did not die in situations where he surely should have died, but accidentally caught the eye of this old man and made me take him in as a disciple after he had survived several of these tribulations.”
“I don’t know about your relationship with your disciple, and I’m not curious. However, it is certain that the end will not be long from now. The ominous flow of an irreversible fate is beginning to move already…….”
“You.”
Lee Sungmin, who had stayed silent, opened his mouth. He squinted and looked at Abel with narrowed eyes.
“You are not much different from your brother.”
“…… What do you mean?”
“Your brother too, tried to kill me, preaching about fate.”
“I know.”
Abel sighed. He leaned back and scratched his head. Abel, lost in thought for a moment, rummaged through his arm sleeves and pulled out a large pipe.
“Do you mind if I smoke in here?”
“Fee free to do it as much as you want.”
At the word of Sima Ryunju, Abel immediately bit the pipe. Lloyd, who came with Abel, felt like he was sitting on a thorny cushion while Abel was puffing out, the smoke from his pipe.
It was because he was unaware of the ‘end’ and was still confused despite having the general gist of it. Not only that, but the past few days for him had been already a wild ride, full of unexpected events.
“…… Okay, let’s admit what we have to admit. Part of my behavior, I admit, resembles my dumb brother. But you know what? My brother was afraid of his own death, so he abandoned his fate and ran away.… not me.”
“What do you want to do with yours then?”
“To be frank, I don’t care if I die. I don’t have any lingering feelings for my life or attachments left.”
Beyond the hazy smoke, Abel spat out. His eyes held a distinctly different light from Envirus, which seemed indifferent, compared to Envirus, who was emotional.
“But it’s a different story if the whole world dies, not just me. What I mean to say is that I don’t want to simply ‘know’ that it’s going to happen and do nothing about it.”
Abel cracked a slight smile as he brushed the hazy smoke with his hands.
“I’m not saying my brother didn’t do anything stupid. You too. In your own way. It’s true that he struggled to prevent the end of his fate. However, the first priority of his brother was his own life, not to prevent the end of the world. Although it has become rather meaningless to talk about him, breaking an Oath is fatal for a Wizard.”
“……hmm.”
Lloyd coughed as if he was uncomfortable. For he, who was completely unaware of the circumstances, could not laugh and simply listen to his teacher being berated like this.
Abel glanced at Lloyd and uttered.
“My brother, who taught you magic, was an idiot. He had a magical talent, but in the end, he was a fool who knew nothing but himself.”
“Are you saying you’re different?”
“I’m trying to be different.”
Abel answered Lee Sungmin’s question with a loud laugh.
“The end was supposed to be fixed, and there was no way to stop it when it would start. But now that it’s time……I’ll try to stop it. Yeah, I guess I should apologize for that. I apologize for implying that you’re not worth living. If the Queen of Fairies told you that, there would be a good reason for it, but it seems there’s more to be revealed. Also, the key. I don’t know what it is, but……I’m sure there’s a place to use it.”
“You said to put our differences aside and work together.”
Sima Ryunju spoke out.
“Let’s say we join forces to fight against this apocalyptic ending. The opponent is not clear, and we don’t even know when the extermination of the planet will begin. How the hell should we be prepared for something like that?”
“To be conscious of it.”
Abel replied.
“As you said Lord Sima, you never know how the end will even come to be. Maybe it’s already started, and we don’t even know it yet. Isn’t this world incredibly wide?”
“I still don’t get you.”
“Take this for example then : It’s not like a meteorite will suddenly collide with this world, and we all die, or an Arch-Devil descends with their powers intact. None of that has been confirmed. So you have to be conscious of the fact it will even come and pay attention to the smallest of details. The end is bound to come. We have to make sure that’s all.….”
“Are you saying I should stop it?”
Sima Ryunju asked with a smirk.
“You’re mistaken for something. I’ve heard all your stories, but this old man has never said that he will join you in preventing this from happening.”
“……what?”
“I have lived long enough. It’s not that I don’t have any regrets, but if it’s an inevitable end, then I’ll accept it. As long as it’s a fixed ending that is.”
“Didn’t you say you’d be offended if it was fixed just earlier?”
“A bad feeling is just a bad feeling. How can you take everything in the world in a good mood and full of smiles? What can’t be helped is what can’t be helped. I’m not a child, so I understand that much.”
“It doesn’t matter if everyone in the world dies?”
“What have they done for this old man?”
Sima Ryunju asked again with a menacing and mocking tone.
“My parents died a long time ago. The martial arts of the Sama Order was created by this old man, himself. The world didn’t do anything for me. But why should this old man take care of them?”
Abel was speechless when Sima Ryunju posed the question. Looking at Abel’s anxious eyes, Sima Ryunju continued.
“Don’t get me wrong. The name of this old man is known as the Demonic Emperor, and I am the Lord of the Sama Order. The world has branded me as a demon and a tyrant that stands above all just because I practice a martial art that I have created myself and grown stronger because of it. Why should I save the very world that condemned me?”
“But……!”
“Stop.”
Sima Ryunju shook his head.
“You cannot persuade me…. Hm… but there are a few people who can. That would probably be this old man’s incompetent disciple or the Fairies in the Forest of the Queen, Oslo.”
Suddenly, at Sima Ryunju’s words, all three of them turned to Lee Sungmin.
Lee Sungmin was surprised and looked at Sima Ryunju. Beyond the mask, he could see the eyes of his master smiling right back at him.
“You’re a dumb disciple… but what do you want your master to do?”
“…… Why are you asking me that?”
“Because I think your choice is important in this decision.”
When Lee Sungmin asked, Sima Ryunju replied without any hesitation.
“I think that’s what Oslo said to you, isn’t it? You’ll have to make a choice one day. This old man doesn’t know what that choice will be or the time of that choice, as Oslo said. The end of this world? Destiny? Fate? This old man doesn’t know a thing about that. But Oslo is someone I respect. You too, but only just a little bit.”
Sima a Ryunju indicated a slight gap between his thumb and index finger and looked up toward Lee Sungmin.
“This is how much. So you get to choose. What should this old man do?”
“…… You already know my answer, don’t you?”
“Say that ‘obvious’ choice of yours with your own mouth, you dumb disciple.”
“I don’t want to die.”
Lee Sungmin spoke with a sigh.
“Why did this have to happen to me? Why did I have to get caught up in all of this? Is it really so wrong to try and live a different life than the miserable one I had before? …… I don’t know…. But I know I don’t want to die. I’ve come back to the past and lived a completely different life. One that I don’t want to throw away like the one before.”
“I hear you.”
When Lee Sungmin answered honestly, Sima Ryunju just laughed. He already knew that Lee Sungmin would make such a choice.
Lee Sungmin felt that it was mischievous for his master to force him to say such shameless words out loud.
“If the apocalypse comes, this old man will try to stop it. But what are you going to do? Will you stay in love with your little magic books and simply wait for it to come?”
“…… I’m thinking of going to the Wudang.”
Abel answered Sima Ryunju’s question with a disapproving look on his face.
“The power of the Wudang will also help.”
“Why don’t you go to the Murim Alliance then?”
It was Lee Sungmin who asked the question this time. Although the Sama Order and himself were hostile with Beyond the Heavens, it was likely that they had the most power other than Predator.
Even if three of the six Divinities were killed by Lee Sungmin, there were still five Transcendent Beings in their organization, including Musin and Jehu.
When asked by Lee Sungmin, Abel just shook his head.
“I know about the group behind them known as Beyond the Heavens. And I know very well that nobody can trust them.”
“How come?”
“I don’t know what kind of future they’re trying to predict or hoping for.”
Abel pointed his hand at the Weiss.
“I’ve devoted my lifespan into this book, peeping into knowledge no man should ever know of. Although this book can do several things, including the fact that it revealed to me that you were the anomaly that caused all of the laws of causality to distort, it does not allow me to peer into the future.”
“…… Are you saying that Beyond the Heavens has a way to look into the future?”
“I’m not sure. But based on their movements, if not predicting the future, they are certainly moving with a clear and definitive purpose…. And their purpose is centered around one person from what I can tell.”
“The Minor Heavenly Demon.”
Sima Ryunju nodded and spoke about Wijihoyeon, agreeing with Abel.
“I don’t know why their organization is so obsessed with her.”
“Unless I know their clear purpose, I don’t want to be in touch with them. Likewise, Predator’s Vampire Queen, Geniella, is a very dangerous person and borderline fanatical.”
Abel knitted his eyebrows.
“But… I know the Vampire Queen has an eye that can glimpse into the future. I don’t know what kind of future she witnessed……but I don’t believe the future she sees will be favorable for humanity. She has been nothing but idle since settling in the North…… A monster with that level of power has been silent for such a long time and it must be for a reason.”
“Are you going to the Wudang because you think they are slightly neutral?”
“Since the Wudang is not a political faction, but rather a group focused on Taoist beliefs, it might be easier than trying to convince you.”
At Abel’s sarcastic remarks, Sima Ryunju just giggled.
“I’m not going to put up an act. But let me tell you. It’s a long way to the Wudang Sect, so be careful…… don’t take that bastard Geom-Seong as a light opponent.”
“Thank you for your advice.”
There was no need to speak in secret any longer. They had discussed everything that needed to be talked about in secret, so the other apostles of the end couldn’t intervene with any cause.
The Weiss exuded a bright light again, and the translucent barrier around the 4 of them disappeared.
“I’m going to take a break.”
Abel picked up the pipe he had put down and bit it in his mouth. Sima Ryunju glanced at Lee Sungmin while raising himself up.
“Follow me.”
Lee Sungmin came out of the room with Sima Ryunju. As soon as he came out of the room, Sima Ryunju hurriedly grabbed Lee Sungmin by the shoulder and sent a telepathic message with an urgent tone that Lee Sungmin had never seen before.
[The Minor Heavenly Demon.]
Lee Sungmin’s shoulders trembled slightly at the sudden words that followed.
[You need to find her immediately.]