His body had recovered to some extent.
In the end, Pahon did not leave the village.
Because he now understood.
That there were still good people in the world.
While there were selfish and cruel beings who betrayed others, drove their comrades to their deaths, and tore at each other out of greed.
There were also people who possessed such purity as this.
Since that day.
Pahon began to cultivate the herb-gatherers' village with his own hands.
It was difficult to grow crops in a village nestled deep within the mountains.
The slopes were steep, and the shallow soil lacked nutrients.
This was especially true for the land in this village where the herb gatherers lived, which was unusually barren.
At dawn, when no one was watching.
Pahon stood in the gravel field behind the village.
As he placed both hands on the ground, the dry pulse of the earth was transmitted to his fingertips.
He closed his eyes and pushed his energy deep into the earth.
Then, the ground that had been frozen throughout the winter twitched slightly.
And from within the seemingly dead, dry soil, green energy rose like a haze.
Using the power of his inner core, he slowly began to make the land fertile.
As he repeated the process of breathing energy into the earth day after day.
Green sprouts emerged in the field where only stones had rolled about, and it gradually took on the appearance of a rather substantial field.
―'You must live on.'
As he used his power to commune with the earth, Pahon could hear the voices he had forgotten for a while.
His comrades, who had been closer to him than his blood family.
What they had hoped for until the very end was not revenge.
He was the youngest of them, and the most fragile.
They had hoped that Pahon, who had never lost his purity, would live happily.
But he had witnessed their gruesome deaths.
He had forgotten that truth and walked the path of blood as an avenging demon.
"Is it done now."
The voice that burst out, breaking his long silence, was unfamiliar and cracked.
He had deliberately kept his distance from the villagers until now. He did not speak with them, nor did he meet their eyes.
Outwardly, he had constantly remained vigilant, like a wounded beast.
But there was the warm food they offered, and the worn coat they draped over his shoulders.
And his frozen heart melted.
Even though his body had not perfectly recovered and his wounds had not completely healed, he had to leave quickly.
Because he had already grown attached.
No matter how much he tried to deny it, he was the king of spirit creatures.
He would have to return to the forest and kill humans.
"Only the wicked, without fail."
However, he resolved that in the future, he would not kill people indiscriminately.
He would observe them for a long time and distinguish the good and evil dwelling in their hearts.
And then he would mercilessly execute only those irredeemable villains.
Rumble.
But a heavy vibration echoed from somewhere.
Following that, the sound of countless footsteps shaking the ground and the metallic clatter of armor clashing.
And barbaric shouts mingled together, shattering the tranquil silence of the village.
A punitive brigade.
The punitive brigade that had been persistently tracking his traces had finally barged into this place.
"If I leave, that is the end of it."
If he disappeared, these good people would be safe.
Pahon quietly turned his body and headed deeper into the mountain.
But he had to stop before taking even a few steps.
Because harsh shouts erupting from the village entrance below the mountain flew in on the wind.
―'Someone harboring an inner core is here?'
Perhaps the wanderers of the punitive brigade, creating a terrifying atmosphere, had taken children hostage and threatened them.
The faint sound of someone stuttering out of fear could be heard.
They were talking about the mysterious young man who was being treated in the village with injuries.
That information.
Ultimately, it became the spark that would burn the village down.
―'That is the very bastard who disguised himself as the Ten-Thousand-Year Black Centipede!'
―'Tell us where that bastard is! If you do not speak, we will burn this entire village to the ground!'
Silence briefly flowed through the village.
And that silence soon turned into desperate screams.
―'Kurgh!'
―'Aargh!'
The punitive brigade, having lost their comrades and friends, was drenched in anxiety and fatigue from tracking Pahon for a long time.
As the pursuit lengthened, they grew enraged, and it had morphed into a state of madness.
Yet upon hearing that the person being treated in this village harbored an inner core.
They were convinced he was the one disguised as the Ten-Thousand-Year Black Centipede, and they were committing cruel atrocities without any hesitation.
―'Aargh!'
As tearing screams rang out in succession, Pahon's mind went completely blank.
'I must save them.'
He ran madly toward the village. His rationality was paralyzed, and instinct moved his body.
The barely healed wound on his side burst open again, soaking his clothes crimson with blood, but he could not even feel the pain.
"Nngh."
While running, he tried to transform into the Ten-Thousand-Year Black Centipede again, but his body still refused to obey.
Left with no choice, he had to run in his ordinary body and fight.
"Do not harm the villagers!"
Pahon lunged at the wanderers with his bare body.
He swung his fists, but his body in its human state was far too powerless.
Seeing Pahon, the wanderers drew their swords and ruthlessly slashed him.
His flesh tore and his bones were exposed, but he charged in without fear.
And he crushed the neck bone of the man who had tried to harm a villager.
Squelch!
But in that moment, a spear flying from behind burrowed into his collarbone.
Along with dizzying pain, his arm hung limply, but Pahon gritted his teeth and kicked the enemy in front of him with his leg.
"Die!"
Instantly, three swords flew at him simultaneously.
Pahon twisted his body, but with his current reaction speed, he could not avoid them.
Ultimately, they pierced deeply into his thigh, his side, and even his back.
"This bastard was the Black Centipede?"
"His skills are pathetic, though?"
The wanderers of the punitive brigade tilted their heads.
Because it was only after falling from a cliff and plunging into the river that he had returned to his human form.
They had not properly seen Pahon's face.
Thud.
Having sustained deep wounds and bleeding, Pahon felt dizzy and dropped to one knee.
A ringing sound filled his ears, and his vision was blurring.
Just then, the cries of the villagers could be heard.
"Please spare us!"
"My child, our child!"
In the eyes of Pahon, whose consciousness had been fading, a brilliant light flared once again.
Anger toward humans and toward this cruel world burned his entire body.
"You bastards!"
At that moment, his heart beat violently, and his forgotten instincts awoke.
Crack, crack.
Gradually, his body was covered in black fur, and his skin turned into something like armor.
His bones twisted, his muscles swelled, and his height began to multiply several times over.
The form of the Black Centipede gradually began to emerge.
"It is the Ten-Thousand-Year Black Centipede!"
"It really is the bastard who disguised himself as the Black Centipede!"
Seeing Pahon's true form, the punitive brigade burned with fighting spirit and pushed him into a corner.
Grooooar!
Pahon roared and swung his massive body.
The wanderers nearby flew away like broken branches, but his movements were sluggish.
In the past, he would have swept away dozens with a single strike, but now he could only knock down a mere ten.
His hundreds of sharp legs lacked the strength they once had, and he could not spew venom from his mouth.
Squelch!
In the meantime, the arrows fired by the wanderers easily embedded themselves in his body.
His skin, which would have deflected them in the past like armor, had grown soft.
Swoooosh.
Ultimately, Pahon returned to his human form.
Because his body had not yet recovered, he could not unleash the full power of the Ten-Thousand-Year Black Centipede.
"That bastard has lost his strength!"
"Kill him at once!"
On the contrary, though the punitive brigade had the forms of humans, they possessed the hearts of evil spirits.
There was neither mercy nor hesitation in their eyes.
Whenever they slashed Pahon's body with their weapons, they wore expressions overflowing only with the pleasure of slaughter.
Before long, the punitive brigade narrowed their encirclement, and countless weapons dug into his body.
Spurt!
Black blood poured from Pahon's body like a waterfall.
He, a demonic creature, was trying to protect the villagers.
And the humans, the punitive brigade, were trying to kill their fellow humans.
Pahon rolled on the ground several times, but like a roly-poly toy, he raised his body again and stood before the villagers until the very end.
"We must steal his inner core while he is still alive!"
The punitive brigade's eyes were covered in red madness.
"Kill the villagers first. That way, that bastard will not be able to resist!"
At their shouts, Pahon stopped his movements.
From the start, this fight was a fight he could not win.
"Ugh!"
"Kraagh!"
However, a strange thing happened.
Screams erupted from the rear of the punitive brigade surrounding the village, and then their formation broke apart, the wanderers going down one after another as they vomited blood.
Especially the wanderers who tried to touch the villagers invariably shuddered and collapsed as if struck by lightning.
-'Uuurgh. Aaaaagh!'
The wanderers screamed as they watched their comrades fall incessantly.
-'Divine punishment, it is divine punishment!'
Their persistent madness crumbled in the face of death.
The people of Cheonchuk had worshipped countless gods and spirits for generations.
As their perfectly fine comrades died as if struck by lightning for no reason.
They regained their clear minds, as if splashed with ice water.
They believed they were receiving a great punishment because they had harmed innocent commoners.
Rumble.
The punitive brigade members who had swarmed the village even abandoned their weapons and fled madly.
For the only way to escape the curse of the gods was to leave this place.
"Huu, huu."
Pahon panted heavily.
His body was a mess, but in the end, he had protected the villagers.
The villagers carefully approached the blood-soaked Pahon.
And they bowed down to him, who had risked his life to protect them.
"This happened because of me."
Pahon opened his mouth and spoke to the villagers for the first time.
"Therefore, there is no need to thank me."
Then he took a step and left the village.
The land had become fertile, and he had changed it so that many spirit creatures would live here and there... The village would greatly prosper in the future.
When he reached the village entrance, Pahon's steps halted.
Because the young girl who had saved him was standing there.
In her small hands was a basket full of medicine that could treat his wounds.
Instead of taking the basket, Pahon carefully placed a hand on the girl's head.
Then, a gentle warmth was transmitted.
As the girl looked up in surprise, Pahon offered a faint smile.
It was a noble and warm smile, like a lotus flower blooming amidst all the filth of the world.
Before Pahon, who had left the village, a lush green forest appeared.
Looking around, he slowly stopped walking and said in a low voice.
"Come out now."
At Pahon's words, a gray shadow descended out of the empty air. It was none other than Bu Eunseol.
"You kept following me, so I watched for a chance to kill you."
Looking at Bu Eunseol, Pahon shook his head.
"But you have saved me several times. I will let it go."
After merging with the Ten-Thousand-Year Black Centipede, Pahon could feel a peculiar gaze.
That someone was observing him from afar, watching how he lived.
He had tried to find a chance to catch and kill him.
But that presence was extremely faint, and no matter how much he spread his senses, he could not pinpoint the exact location.
However, that persistent and bothersome gaze did not merely bring discomfort.
When he was chased by the punitive brigade, he had been able to jump into the river.
That, too, was because the owner of that persistent gaze had disrupted the punitive brigade's formation.
He had barely survived the river.
But Pahon's entire body was torn, his bones were broken, and even his true strength was depleted.
His breath was so precarious it seemed it would extinguish at any moment.
His consciousness was growing hazy.
The owner of that gaze approached and carefully laid him on the ground.
-'...The Cloud Splendor Pearl is not here.'
Spitting out strange words, he placed a hand over his wounds.
Instantly, a soft and warm golden radiance bloomed.
It was a power of mercy and healing based not on internal energy but on life force.
The torn wounds began to heal, and the broken bones found their places.
―'Why?'
Pahon felt a strange sense of wonder, but ultimately lost consciousness.
When he opened his eyes again, he was in a somewhat recovered state, and he had the strength to drag his body to a cave in the mountains.
Afterward, he met the girl and recovered his body.
While resting his body in the village, he eavesdropped on the people's conversations and found out.
That there was someone who had already persuaded the villagers in advance that he was not an evil person.
He soon realized who that person was.
Because when the punitive brigade attacked the village, that persistent gaze was felt once again.
He had evacuated the villagers one by one to a safe place.
And even so, the wanderers had attacked the villagers.
With transcendent power, he struck the punitive brigade and sent them fleeing in terror.
"You knew."
As Bu Eunseol opened his mouth, Pahon asked.
"Why are you following and helping me?"
"Because I owe you a debt."
"What?"
Bu Eunseol answered with an immensely serious expression.
"I wanted to repay the debt I owed you, and I merely wanted to know exactly what had happened here."
And he spoke as if apologetic.
"However, in the cave of the Blood Birds... because I waited outside, I could not save the people."
Pahon calmly shook his head.
"You are not a god, so there is no need to be sorry for such a thing."
Then he asked.
"Do you want something more from me?"
"Do you know of the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl? It is an orb that looks like this..."
After listening to the explanation for a long while, Pahon shook his head.
"I do not know. I have never seen it."
"I see."
"Was that what you wanted from me."
"No, I was just asking."
After hesitating for a moment, Bu Eunseol asked.
"The one you met in that cave before... the person who gave you power. Is he the True Demon?"
"A True Demon?"
Pahon shook his head.
"In return for giving me the power to take my revenge, that person told me to become the king of spirit creatures. That is all."
"I see."
He had already expected this.
If he was the True Demon... he would not be trying to gain something directly in return for giving Pahon power.
He would be executing a greater plan, piecing things together like a god.
"Then what do you plan to do now."
Taking a deep breath, Bu Eunseol said.
"I have repaid my debt and somewhat understood the situation, so I should do what I must do now."
Thanks to continuously following Pahon.
He was able to know why Pahon had lived mingling with wanderers in Jiaozhi, and why he had unhesitatingly given his inner core to save him.
And how Pahon had come to trust the will of good people.
And how he had come to believe in the goodness of humanity.
Since he knew all the truth.
He now had to find the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl and escape these memories of Cheonchuk from a thousand years ago.
"Is that so."
Pahon could not understand everything Bu Eunseol said, but he could feel that Bu Eunseol was leaving him.
"Thank you."
Pahon politely expressed his gratitude.
If not for him, he would have died in the punitive brigade's pursuit, and he would never have met the girl and regained his dignity and his faith in humanity.
"I will repay this debt someday."
"You have already repaid it."
Bu Eunseol offered a bright smile.
"Sufficiently, more than I deserve."
Then he turned his body and vanished in an instant.
Pahon wore a dazed expression for a moment.
When Bu Eunseol smiled, it was as if the dark world instantly found its true colors.
For some unknown reason, he felt a longing as if he had known him for a very long time.
* * *
After parting ways with Pahon, Bu Eunseol let out a deep sigh.
"Are they connected after all."
It was only after experiencing this matter with Pahon that he could realize it.
The past is the past, and it seems to have nothing to do with the present.
In reality, they are very closely connected to each other.
"If this was something that actually happened."
Did he change history?
Or was there actually someone from Cheonchuk who had helped Pahon like him?
It was probably the latter.
"Because a person cannot return to the past."
Perhaps he was... merely experiencing the events that had occurred in the past.
Fwooosh!
He drew upon his Wind-Cloud Divine Qi and floated into the air.
"......!"
He suddenly felt a bizarre sensation, and the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi circulating in his body vanished in an instant.
Thump.
Bu Eunseol's expression stiffened rigidly as he landed back on the ground.
An alien vibration came with it, as if the air itself were freezing over.
Vwoom, vwoom, vwoom.
The space before his eyes distorted.
Far away, a pitch-black darkness began to clump together into the shape of a person.
It was the one who had first given power to Pahon.
That very man with a worn piece of cloth draped over his head, the one suspected to be a True Demon, had appeared.
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