Childhood Friend of the Zenith

It was still too early for night to fall.

Lanterns were just beginning to light up around the residence, and the sky was tinged with the colors of dusk, waiting for the moon to rise.

A cool breeze swept through, signaling the arrival of autumn.

In a small storage room on one side of the residence, several individuals had gathered.

Each of them stood out with distinct traits, their appearances so varied that no two seemed alike.

Their genders, martial arts styles, and even the clothes they wore were completely different.

Yet, they all had one thing in common— They were all under the command of a single person.

They moved solely at that one person's orders.

No matter what the command was, once it was issued, they had no choice but to obey.

This meeting was also a part of those orders.

Among those gathered was a woman with short black hair—Bong Soon—who was quietly staring at a man in the corner.

“Ugh...

Ughh....

” A low groan echoed through the room.

It came from the corner, along the wall.

The man crouched there had a build so massive that if he stood up, his head might brush the ceiling.

His immense muscles and overwhelming strength made him likely the most powerful among those gathered.

Even Bong Soon, despite her confidence in her own abilities, was certain she would lose if she fought him.

Yet— “Ughhh...

Hnghhh....

” That same man was trembling, his head pressed against the floor.

Rumor had it he’d been in this position for two days straight.

Judging by the sweat pouring off him, it seemed his energy had been sealed.

Two full days spent with his forehead pressed to the ground.

It was an agonizing sight to imagine, yet not a single person in the room felt pity for him.

No— Even if they did pity him, they wouldn’t dare show it.

Especially not with the young man sitting on top of him.

Gulp.

Bong Soon swallowed nervously.

‘...

T-Terrifying.

’ She was scared.

Bong Soon, who rarely felt fear, found this situation more terrifying than anything she had ever faced.

The person she served— Her savior, and the man she believed would one day father her children.

The one they referred to as the Sect Leader.

‘The Sec Leader...

Why...

Why is he angry?

’ Bong Soon tried to steady her trembling hands and swallowed repeatedly.

And it wasn’t just her.

Everyone in the room was tiptoeing around his mood.

He often had a frown or an irritated look, but this time was different.

Now, his face was blank.

Expressionless.

The young man sat atop the punished man, Tang Deok, his face revealing absolutely no emotion.

No one could read him.

But the oppressive aura filling the room told a different story.

Every person present felt their survival instincts scream in alarm.

‘The Sect Leader...

He’s angry.

’ This was rage.

It seeped out from beneath his blank expression, filling the room and creating a darkness that swallowed the light.

It was suffocating.

What could have happened to make him this angry?

The pressure was unbearable—like a noose tightening around their necks.

Lost in the oppressive tension, Bong Soon’s mind wandered.

‘T-this is...

thrilling....

’ ...

A dangerous thought crept in.

The tension felt almost addictive, stirring something inside her that she couldn’t quite control.

‘Huff!

Huff!

’ Just as she feared she might completely lose herself in the sensation— “...

Ughhh....

” Tang Deok groaned again, drawing the young man’s gaze.

“Is it hard?

” “N-no...

No, sir....

” “Good.

It better not be.

” A sinister smile spread across the young man’s face, and everyone in the room flinched.

“If you can’t even follow orders properly, the least you can do is endure this, right?

” “...

I-I’m sorry.

” “No need to apologize.

I’m sure you had a good reason for ignoring me.

” Thud.

“Ghhhk....

” A sudden weight bore down on Tang Deok, forcing a pained gasp from him.

“The great Tang Deok, too important to listen to my orders, right?

” “Nghhh...!

” “So, you forgot to finish up and rejoin us because the fight was so fun, huh?

That’s your excuse?

What do you think I am?

Some idiot who plans strategies so you can play around?

” “...

I...

I’m sorry....

” Tang Deok’s massive arms began to tremble, shaking visibly under the strain.

After pressing down for a while longer— “Hey.

” “Y-yes...?

” The young man, Gu Yangcheon, turned to Cheol Ji-seon, who had been watching nervously.

“This is just hypothetical, but...

” “...

What is it?

” “What would happen if we dropped the Hwangbo family from our plans?

Would that be a problem?

” “...

What?

” Cheol Ji-seon blinked, unsure if he had misheard.

“What do you mean by that?

” “Exactly what I said.

What if we scrapped the Hwangbo family?

” “...

” Dropping the Hwangbo family at this stage?

Cheol Ji-seon quickly ran through the implications in his head.

“...

That’d be...

a huge problem.

” It wasn’t just a problem—it would be catastrophic.

Rebuilding their plans from the ground up wouldn’t even begin to cover it.

But— “Do you have something in mind?

” Cheol Ji-seon still trusted Gu Yangcheon.

He wouldn’t say something like this without a reason.

“...

No.

” “...

Huh?

” Cheol Ji-seon froze.

“I’m just pissed off.

Thought about throwing everything away.

” “W-what...?

” Was he serious?

Cheol Ji-seon bit his tongue to stop himself from blurting it out.

“Never mind.

Half-joking.

” “...

” Half-joking meant half-serious.

And that was even scarier.

“...

Is the Hwangbo family the reason you’re mad?

” “Hmm?

” Gu Yangcheon’s expression shifted slightly.

“What are you talking about?

I’m not mad.

” “...

” “...?

” “...

” Sure.

Everyone in the room thought the same thing.

He had no idea how terrifying the aura he was giving off actually was.

Should someone point it out?

Cheol Ji-seon debated it briefly before deciding against it.

‘If I say the wrong thing, I’ll die.

’ Better to stay quiet and let it pass.

But then— “Oh, right.

What about that situation?

” “...

What situation?

” “The Jegal clan descendants we captured.

” “Ah....

” Cheol Ji-seon finally understood.

The Jegal clan members who resisted the Martial Alliance had been used as pawns in Gu Yangcheon’s strategy.

“It doesn’t matter.

” Cheol Ji-seon’s voice turned cold.

“They’re not real.

” “I see.

” Gu Yangcheon nodded slightly.

The strategy involving Pillduma had been set.

And Cheol Ji-seon’s only condition was— “Keep your promise.

” “Of course.

” Gu Yangcheon’s gaze lingered on Cheol Ji-seon.

‘Not real, huh?

’ The words nagged at him.

‘Pillduma were once elite guards of the Heavenly Wanderer.

’ Now, that truth was buried in mystery.

Pillduma was originally a branch of the Jegal clan.

The Heavenly Wanderer was also connected to them, raising the question—was this truly just a coincidence?

‘For Cheol Ji-seon to be so indifferent about Pillduma’s fate...

’ Cheol Ji-seon was a softhearted man, prone to guilt even over the deaths of strangers he’d never met.

Yet he seemed completely unbothered by the deaths of Pillduma.

‘It must mean he hated them.

’ But why would a descendant of the Jegal clan hate another branch of his own lineage?

‘It’s the same with Divine Doctor and Jegal Hyuk.

’ Their attitudes toward Pillduma and Divine Doctor had been similarly cold.

Clearly, there was a reason.

‘I need to look into it.

’ Sooner or later, he’d have to [N O V E L I G H T] investigate.

He already had plenty of reasons to dig deeper into this matter.

Once this situation was resolved, he’d make his move.

Having come to that decision, Gu Yangcheon pulled a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Cheol Ji-seon.

“What’s this?

” “It came from the Martial Alliance today.

” Hearing that it was from the Martial Alliance, Cheol Ji-seon immediately unfolded it.

And then— “What the hell...?!

” His eyes widened as he read the contents.

Gu Yangcheon smirked at his reaction and continued.

“They’re asking me to become their Great Leader.

” “Great Leader?

They want you to take that position?

” “That’s what they said.

” “Has the Martial Alliance lost its mind?

” “Seems like it.

” “How could a supposedly righteous sect— No, are they trying to destroy themselves?

” “Honestly, it sounds like it, doesn’t it?

” “What the hell is—” Cheol Ji-seon cut himself off mid-sentence, suddenly covering his mouth as though he’d misspoken.

“...

I didn’t mean it like that.

” “Really?

Because it sounded pretty sincere.

” “No, really!

” Cheol Ji-seon’s face paled as he scrambled to backtrack.

Gu Yangcheon clicked his tongue in irritation.

Even bickering felt like a hassle right now.

“Never mind that.

Just tell me what you think.

” “About the conditions?

Or...

” “The conditions are insane—obviously.

Forget those.

I want to know if it’s worth doing.

” “...

” Cheol Ji-seon narrowed his eyes.

“Are you actually considering it?

” “Maybe.

Depends.

” “...

It’s dangerous.

” He gave his honest opinion.

“It’ll mess up your entire schedule.

And even if you’re strong, that place is still a den of tigers.

” “You’re not wrong.

” The Demonic Cult’s name was already spreading far and wide.

The Martial Alliance was trying to suppress the rumors, but it wasn’t working.

How could it?

‘It’s the death of the Blade King we’re talking about.

’ Blaming the Jegal clan for the attack was one thing.

But the appearance of Cheonma and the death of Blade King, one of the Six Seats, couldn’t be so easily covered up.

The Peng family blamed the incident on Tang Deok, claiming he had been secretly detained by the Martial Alliance.

According to their report, Divine Sword was critically injured, the Blade King was killed, and several martial artists from the Alliance lost their lives.

But there was a problem.

Tang Deok hadn’t killed the Blade King.

It had been verified using a binding spell.

Which meant— ‘Someone else killed the Blade and framed Tang Deok.

’ That was the logical conclusion.

And Gu Yangcheon already had a suspect in mind.

‘Peng Woojin.

’ Divine Sword, Peng Woojin.

That bastard killed his own father and blamed it on the Demonic Cult.

Regardless of how he pulled it off, the Demonic Cult didn’t bother refuting the claim.

‘No one would’ve believed them anyway.

’ Their reputation was already in shambles after the chaos in Hanan.

Even if they had protested their innocence, who would have believed them?

‘Not necessarily a bad thing.

’ In fact, the bad reputation worked in their favor.

Tang Deok had been elevated to the status of a rising star.

And his infamy only benefited Gu Yangcheon.

That was why he hadn’t bothered clearing the Demonic Cult’s name.

Meanwhile, public sentiment against the Cult continued to rise, with many demanding that the Alliance officially issue an Extermination Order.

Such an order required absolute elimination.

Whenever reports of Demonic Cult activity surfaced, local branches and high-ranking members of the Alliance would mobilize immediately.

Gu Yangcheon had faced this before in his previous life.

‘Couldn’t even take a proper shit back then.

’ Later, he burned anyone who tried to track him down, but in the beginning, he’d had to be careful even going to the latrine.

It was that kind of situation.

He knew better than anyone how insane it would be to accept this position.

“But on the other hand, what better opportunity is there?

” “What?

” “All the people I need to deal with are going to be there anyway.

Wouldn’t it be easier to wipe them out all at once instead of picking them off one by one?

” Aside from Mugwon— There were still plenty of things he needed to take from the Alliance.

And— ‘I haven’t used Bong Soon properly yet.

’ This was the perfect chance to make full use of her.

“That’s absurd.

” Despite Gu Yangcheon’s reasoning, Cheol Ji-seon was completely opposed.

“If you’re really going to do this, you’ll need to overhaul every plan we’ve made.

” “Yeah.

” “And you’re willing to risk all that?

” “Maybe.

” “What?

” Cheol Ji-seon gaped at him.

“Maybe?!

” “Yeah.

I don’t know.

” “What do you mean you don’t know?!

” “I don’t know.

I just feel like I have to.

” “That’s not rational at all!

” Feeling like he might explode, Cheol Ji-seon struggled to hold himself back.

But— “I always do what feels right.

That’s how it’s always been.

” Gu Yangcheon’s answer was final.

“You realize this means—” “Yeah.

Plans are going to get messy.

” ‘Messy’ didn’t even begin to describe it, but before Cheol Ji-seon could argue— “Go figure it out.

” “...

What?

” Cheol Ji-seon froze.

What had he just said?

“I’ll be reaching out to others too, but you need to figure out a plan.

” “A plan for what?

” Praying that he’d misheard, Cheol Ji-seon asked again.

“A plan that makes this work—even if I go through with it.

” “...

” “Thanks in advance.

” It was a ‘request’ in name only.

And that was when Cheol Ji-seon realized— Gu Yangcheon had already made up his mind.

This meeting had been called solely to issue that command.

****************** The next day, at the Martial Alliance.

I was sitting in a completely different space than yesterday.

The room I had been in before wasn’t bad, but this—this was something else entirely.

This was a proper VIP room, radiating refinement and exuding deliberate preparation.

‘So the Alliance had a room like this?

’ It was my first time entering such a place.

I hadn’t even known it existed.

Then again, why would I?

A room like this would’ve had nothing to do with someone like me.

‘It’s refreshing.

’ And yet here I was, sitting comfortably inside it.

It was enough to make me reflect—on many levels.

While I was quietly taking in my surroundings— “This is unexpected.

” A voice broke the silence.

I immediately turned toward the speaker.

Across the table sat an old man.

A man I’d hoped never to see again.

Renowned as the brain of the Martial Alliance, the strategist who had led it to its golden age.

Before Jegal Hyuk emerged, he was the one hailed as the pinnacle of strategy, a nightmare on the battlefield.

The Nightmare of the Battlefield.

Looking at Muk Yeon, I asked, “Is that so?

” “Yes.

I truly didn’t expect you to return in just one day.

” Hearing that, I couldn’t help but smirk.

“Once a decision is made, it’s better to handle things quickly, isn’t it?

” “Indeed.

So should I take this to mean that the Star King has reached a conclusion?

” “Yes.

That’s why I’m here.

” “I see.

” A brief silence followed.

Muk Yeon sat quietly, studying me as if waiting for my next words.

I met his gaze for a moment before finally speaking again.

“About the ‘request’ you made of me.

” “Yes.

” “I’ll accept it.

” “...!

” Muk Yeon’s eyes widened at my swift answer.

Did he not expect me to agree?

I was curious about his reaction, but I didn’t dwell on it.

There were more important matters to address.

“However—” I shifted the conversation.

“There are a few conditions.

” This was it.

From this moment on— I was stepping into a fierce negotiation with the Martial Alliance’s mastermind.