Chapter 286

“…You’ve done something utterly outrageous.”

Though for her, it must have been the fastest path to growth.

However, it wasn’t something one could undertake with ordinary resolve, so I could grasp how firm Seo Jian’s determination must have been to join this journey.

“Incredible. Unnie. If you refine your energy just a bit more, you’ll be worthy of being called a Great Specter.”

“…Who is this child?”

“It’s a long story. I’ll explain later.”

Kwimae was honest when it came to evaluating strength, so I could tell without even thinking that it wasn’t an empty compliment.

‘I thought this side had grown tremendously too… but if we’re just comparing the rate of increase, I might not be able to match her.’

Due to all we’d been through and the exceptionally favorable conditions, everyone in our group had already crossed the threshold of Level 70.

However, even Han Seoa, who received a significant growth bonus from her Late Bloomer Trait, had only barely reached Level 73 a few days ago, which made Seo Jian’s achievement all the more astonishing.

“Anyway, welcome back. Above all, I’m glad you’re safe.”

And so, we were now fully reunited, possessing combat power greater than originally intended.

Even if our opponent was the Great Specter Docheol, whose power everyone acknowledged, I didn’t feel like we would lose so easily now.

We celebrated Seo Jian’s return and, with hearts more tightly knit than ever, consolidated the gains we had made.

And two weeks later, with about two and a half months left until our return to the present world, we finally decided to take action.

“As you all know, we must settle everything within the remaining two and a half months.”

We must gather all clues, defeat notable Specters to uncover information about Polar Night, and in the process, defeat Docheol if possible.

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy, but there was no more room to retreat.

The time to truly decide the outcome was approaching.

“I, too, will be with you all from now on. Also, I wish to organize the known traces of Polar Night one final time.”

Polar Night’s first appearance was 400 years ago. At that time, it didn’t display the absolute majesty it does now, but its inherent power was still so immense that clear records remain.

“When Polar Night first appeared, the one who defeated it was Master Yuhak, the ancestor of Master Yugong, who was the former master of this Jinyeonsan and my teacher.”

After that, it didn’t show itself again until over 300 years later, when it finally began to wreak havoc once more, marking the birth of Polar Night, the absolute king ruling over all Specters.

“The Polar Night of that time had gathered the power of all kinds of Specters into its own hands, becoming an entity that was simply impossible to oppose. In the end, my teacher Yugong concluded that he would use the divine artifact, the Oracle Bone Casket, to seal away the demonic energy filling the world and weaken Polar Night’s power.”

While capturing notable Specters left and right during that process, a full-scale battle broke out when Polar Night sought out Yugong. In the end, it is said Yugong succeeded in inflicting a great wound upon it by immolating his own life.

“Thus, Polar Night entered a long period of recovery, and I have been training here at Jinyeonsan, preparing repeatedly to embark on the same journey once more, upholding my teacher’s will.”

It was at that time we came looking for Hochoong, leading to the current situation.

Also, Hochoong called Yugong his teacher, but he explained that was because he studied the teachings Yugong left for later generations and achieved enlightenment, thus considering him as such, though they never actually met.

“However, I truly regard him as my teacher, so I will devote all my strength to helping you all achieve the complete eradication of Polar Night.”

Up to this point was content we had heard before, but this time Hochoong added one personal opinion.

“Observing your actions so far, I too have felt one thing from the sidelines.”

“What is it?”

“The content is that unless one experiences it directly, one cannot know the complete truth.”

In other words, just before throwing down the final gauntlet, Hochoong was saying this.

“Before verifying for oneself, no record can be trusted. So, it might be better to use past secret histories as reference but constantly question them.”

It seemed Hochoong had an intuition that there might be some unrevealed secret within the past secret histories.

We nodded at Hochoong’s words and finally left Jinyeonsan, throwing down the gauntlet truly aimed at the decisive battle.

“The first thing we must do… is indeed meet Master.”

As Shin Pyoeul said, before taking full-fledged action, we needed to meet Seo Cheonye.

Because she had learned the various truths Seo Cheonye had been hiding, Shin Pyoeul wore a somewhat complicated expression, but on the other hand, she didn’t seem overly concerned.

“Actually, they’re secrets that wouldn’t do any good if told to someone. The one who must have had the hardest time was Master herself.”

We used the clouds summoned through the Secret Art of Kwimae that Shin Pyoeul had learned as our mount.

It was an art notoriously difficult to master, so I had given up long ago, but Shin Pyoeul, prioritizing diverse arts over simply increasing firepower, had surprisingly managed to learn it.

“Actually, your abilities are already far superior to mine… I thought it would be more practically helpful if someone like me focused on a different direction.”

Even so, it couldn’t have been an easy decision. Having no way to repay Shin Pyoeul’s devotion, I pointlessly soothed my aching heart.

Moving repeatedly like that, we were able to set foot in Hoobaek, the city across from Cheongra, faster than expected. I expressed admiration at the scenery of the quite developed city in just that time.

“Oppa, did you say you came here last time?”

“Seems so.”

“I just passed through directly, but I came too. No, maybe that’s obvious?”

Well, Sophia, like me, passed through Cheongra on the way to Jinyeonsan, so our paths must have overlapped one way or another, whether we knew it or not.

We immediately entered the city, had a light meal, and headed for the Pyeong Clan residence we had visited last time.

Whoosh.

“Wait, state your identity and purpose!”

“I am Han Kangyoon, who accepted a request from the clan before. You should recognize this Mark.”

“…Indeed. Please wait a moment; I will send word.”

When I showed the Mark received upon accepting the previous request, soon one of the subordinates who had been behind Pyeong Wonmyeong appeared and confirmed my face.

“Oh… the young Taoist Master from that time. Has there been some progress?”

“Yes. We have obtained various pieces of information and came to have a discussion. Where is Pyeong Wonmyeong-nim?”

“He was in the inner hall until just now, but as word has been sent, he should be preparing to receive you.”

Worried there might be a problem, I asked if I could bring my companions along. Fortunately, there were no restrictions on entry.

And so, we headed to the prepared reception room and could face Pyeong Wonmyeong, one of the clan’s influential figures.

“It’s been a long time indeed. I’m truly glad to hear there have been results.”

Not falsely, Pyeong Wonmyeong was treating me with genuinely warm demeanor, which also meant Pyeong Eunha’s condition hadn’t improved.

Well, it was a matter entangled with a Great Specter counted among the top five, so for ordinary Exorcists, even approaching the truth would have been impossible.

“So how… have you found a way?”

“To conclude, sufficient possibility has arisen. However, before that, there is someone we must absolutely speak with.”

At those words, Pyeong Wonmyeong trembled with excitement.

“I, I see. What do you need? I’ll help with whatever I can.”

“We need Ms. Seo Cheonye’s help. Is she still staying at the residence by any chance?”

“Oh dear… She is staying, but she left the residence temporarily this morning, saying an urgent matter arose. Will you wait until she returns?”

It was troublesome, but as I had a guess, I simply turned my head and spoke towards somewhere in the room.

“You lied to Wonmyeong-nim. Aren’t you actually listening to the conversation from this very spot right now?”

“What! That can’t be…”

Pyeong Wonmyeong shook his head as if to say what nonsense, but my guess wasn’t wrong, as Seo Cheonye’s voice came from near the window frame by the door.

“Tch. I guess this much isn’t enough…”

Swish.

Thud.

The girl, who landed on the floor after spinning once in the air just like when we first met, then swept her indifferent gaze over everyone in the room once.

Pyeong Wonmyeong spoke to that Seo Cheonye.

“You, why on earth were you doing that?”

“Hey, Pyeong Wonmyeong. Let me be clear. Far more karma is entangled in this place than you think. Honestly, as a friend, I don’t want to get you involved.”

“What do you mean…”

Be that as it may, Seo Cheonye let out a deep sigh and spoke to us with a disgusted expression.

“Brought quite the entourage… Seven humans hard to see through, all your companions, I presume? I know your true identities now too.”

“…”

“No wonder it felt strange… When some unheard-of monster appeared out of nowhere, I almost mistakenly thought the world was vast again at my age.”

Listening to that, it indeed felt like she hadn’t known my true identity last time.

When I asked about it, Seo Cheonye answered like this.

“Docheol came and blabbered all sorts of facts I didn’t even ask about. Suggested we team up and capture all of you.”

That was literally one of the ‘just in case’ possibilities we had considered, so we grew greatly tense and began to stare at Seo Cheonye.

But as expected, she didn’t seem to harbor any different intentions.

“Of course I refused. Why should I do someone else a favor?”

“…That’s a relief. Honestly, I didn’t want to fight you, Seo Cheonye-nim.”

Seeing our reaction, Seo Cheonye clicked her tongue once and finally delivered her verdict to Pyeong Wonmyeong.

“Get out. We’re going to have a serious talk now.”

“…Seo Cheonye, if it’s related to our young lady, I have the right to hear it too.”

“Yeah. No. This time it’s really not something to be stubborn about.”

Swoosh.

Thump.

As Seo Cheonye’s words ended, Pyeong Wonmyeong collapsed as if falling into sleep, and instantly, a Barrier aimed at noise cancellation unfolded throughout the entire room.

“So, you guys. You’re planning to capture Docheol in the end?”

“I won’t say absolutely, but I think it will likely come to that. Rather, isn’t this an opportunity for you too, Seo Cheonye-nim?”

Frankly, I was a bit puzzled.

Seo Cheonye also created that pact to keep the Great Specters in check, so wouldn’t our existence, capable of defeating Great Specters while ignoring that influence, be like a godsend for her?

“Kwimae here is also cooperating with us, so the only one left is Docheol. Wouldn’t it be more reasonable to lend your strength on this opportunity?”

“Ah… that thing next to you was Kwimae? No matter how many times I see her, I just can’t figure her out.”

As we pressed on with our questions without backing down, Seo Cheonye hesitated somewhat, pondering her answer.

“Why is that? Is there some problem we are unaware of?”

“Ugh. There is… a bit of a problem. The restriction I placed on Docheol is just too special…”

Seo Cheonye, who had been watching us warily, continued in a voice that grew small like a guilty person’s.

“Um, well, you see. If a situation arises where Docheol is threatened by another human… according to the restriction, I have to protect it.”

At those words, the room was momentarily dyed in silence.