Chapter 26
『 Translator – Divinity 』
“Describe the appearances of those bastards. If I cannot catch who they are, I will take your lives instead, so know that!”
As Cheok Gyo-woon made his threat, the gambling den owner's eyes went round. Seeming to think that it wouldn't end as just a threat, he trembled and looked at his attendants. It was as if he was telling them to hurry up and remember something.
They clutched their heads with distraught faces. They had to remember something, but as if nothing was coming to mind, they just said all sorts of useless things.
Just then, Cheok Gyo-woon whispered quietly in the Fourth Demonic Marquis's ear.
“If we ask them to draw a picture from nothing, I doubt those bastards could do it. But if we show them a picture and ask if it's the right person, wouldn't they be able to answer?”
Hearing those words, an unusual light appeared in the Fourth Demonic Marquis's eyes.
“Do you have a good idea?”
“Yes, Mother. In my opinion, the one who could pull something like this off is likely the Second Marquis. Hasn't the Third Marquis's family been brought to the brink of ruin after it was revealed she sent an assassin after the Cult Leader? Although it seems he's hell-bent on cutting off his tail by framing it as something his underlings did on their own. Therefore, he wouldn't have been able to think of planning something like this.”
The Fourth Demonic Marquis nodded, thinking that was plausible.
“The Second Marquis is certainly capable of such a crazy act. Yes. This is definitely something the Second Marquis would do. Even if she's caught, isn't it just the killing of a few Head Instructors from the Martial Arts Academy? Even if what she did is revealed, she won't be punished severely…”
“Yes, Mother. It would be best to bring someone who is good at drawing portraits and have them show them a picture. This son has also already had some portraits drawn.”
The Fourth Demonic Marquis nodded, thinking her adopted son had used his head quite brilliantly. Before he had even said that, Cheok Gyo-woon had already sent someone to the Cheok Demonic Clan to have them brought.
The people who were there listened intently to their words, their nerves on edge.
And in doing so, they came to realize that the Fourth Demonic Marquis had no connection to the intruders who had broken into the Martial Arts Academy.
After several hours passed, Cheok Gyo-woon and the Fourth Demonic Marquis had confirmed very little. This was because the people from the gambling den could not recognize the person after looking at the portraits.
“In any case, if this is something the Second Marquis and the So Demonic Clan had some other bastard carry out, we won't be able to find out this way. Regardless, it seems there are no longer any bastards who think we did it, so this should be enough.”
The Fourth Demonic Marquis looked down at Bang Sun-taek, whose form had become almost unrecognizable, and spoke to Cheok Gyo-woon.
The people there, having now personally experienced the terror of a Marquis that they had only heard about in stories, dared not make a sound.
“If there is anyone who dares to speak the name of this Marquis and the Cheok Demonic Clan carelessly again, they will have to face something much worse. If anyone tries to frame us by saying we did something we did not, I will tear that bastard to shreds along with every single person in his household, so know that.”
The Fourth Demonic Marquis, thinking there was no more to be done, roughly flapped the hem of her clothes and left the spot. As Cheok Gyo-woon followed beside her, the Marquis looked at him and spoke.
“We are now at a crossroads. It means we have reached a point where we must choose quickly and concentrate our power.”
“Please speak, Mother. I am listening.”
“I will go to my family home and see my father.”
It had been a long time since the Fourth Demonic Marquis, the daughter of the Family Head, had married the Cult Leader and entered the Marquis Hall. She had barely ever visited her family home since then, but now she was saying she would go to the Cheok Demonic Clan.
Cheok Gyo-woon listened intently, not knowing what she was going to say.
“I will tell my father to give up on endorsing you as the Young Cult Leader.”
Cheok Gyo-woon flinched, but soon nodded his head.
Until now, his daily life had been relatively peaceful and stable. So much so that it felt boring. But after entering the Martial Arts Academy, so many things had been happening.
“Are you upset by your mother's words?”
“Not at all, Mother. I will follow your words. But it will be tiring for you to go all that way, so I will call for a carriage.”
“No. It's not that far. It has been a long time since I've walked with you like this.”
“Yes.”
Cheok Gyo-woon tried to figure out what his mother was thinking when she said that. Judging by her words, it didn't seem like she was disappointed in him.
“There is no guarantee that my father will do as I say just because I tell him to. If that's the case, what will you say?”
“I will implore him to do as you say, Mother.”
That was something even the Fourth Demonic Marquis hadn't expected, so she found it strange.
“Why do you say that?”
“If I hadn't entered the Martial Arts Academy and seen Head Instructor Cheon, I would not have thought this way. Until I entered the Martial Arts Academy, I thought I was the greatest in the world. I thought there was no one who could become the Young Cult Leader if not me, and that I could become the master of the Divine Cult.”
As he spoke, Cheok Gyo-woon laughed as if it were absurd. His face turned red as he spoke. It seemed it was because he had realized how foolishly he had been living.
The Fourth Demonic Marquis thought it was the first time she had ever seen Cheok Gyo-woon act like that. But then again, she thought her own state wasn't much different from her son's.
“But what can I say, I saw a mountain that was too high. The moment I faced that mountain, I realized what an insignificant being I was. Because of that, I don't feel wronged, nor do I feel angry. I can't even stubbornly insist that I will never let it go.”
At that, the Fourth Demonic Marquis smiled.
“That is a good thing. A very good thing. But, Gyo-woon-ah. That mountain you met may be the highest mountain in the world. It may be that you were so intimidated because the first mountain you saw was the highest in the world. There is nothing to fear. There is no need. The other mountains will be much easier. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Mother.”
Until now, Cheok Gyo-woon, having been adopted by the Fourth Demonic Marquis, had strived to please his mother somehow. As a result, he was always tense, and he thought and worried about how his words would sound and how his actions would look. So he couldn't show his natural self or laugh comfortably in front of the Fourth Demonic Marquis. But today was strange.
It wasn't just because his mother treated him affectionately. If until now he had only cared about how he looked in others' eyes and had drifted like a rootless water weed, that was no longer the case.
He had found someone he wanted to be like. He had found someone he wanted to try and imitate.
At one time, he wanted to be like the Family Head, and after that, he wanted to be like the Cult Leader. But they were people who were too far away, so remote that he couldn't even dare to try.
But watching Cheon Ha-seong at the Martial Arts Academy, who acted according to his own beliefs without caring what anyone thought, behaving like a scoundrel, he thought it would be alright to live like him. And he found a benchmark.
Before, no matter what he did, there was almost no one who dared to scold him, but Cheon Ha-seong was different. So these days, while doing something, he would sometimes hear the auditory hallucination of Cheon Ha-seong getting angry.
As a result, his actions gradually began to be controlled. It was in the manner of thinking, 'This is something I don't really need to do, so let's just not do it and avoid getting cursed at by Cheon Ha-seong for no reason.'
As his actions were controlled, his words were controlled, and as his words were controlled, his thoughts were controlled. As his thoughts were controlled, his way of thinking also changed, and the Fourth Demonic Marquis had also vaguely sensed it.
“Right now, it may seem like we are taking a step back and falling behind others, but when time passes, we might find out that's not the case. No one knows the future, so this decision might be the wrong one. But this mother feels that this is the right thing to do. To protect the family and to keep you safe. Help Cheon Ha-seong, Gyo-woon-ah. Cheon Ha-seong will never forget the person who helped him in his time of need.”
“Understood, Mother. Strangely, I feel no sense of opposition.”
“That too is your good fortune.”
The steps of the two people heading to the Cheok Demonic Clan had become much lighter. Her peaceful appearance was to the point where it was hard to believe she was the same person who had wielded a whip and beaten a man half to death just a little while ago.
***
The incident that occurred at the Martial Arts Academy had also been relayed early on to the Family Head of the Cheok Demonic Clan.
Cheok Sa-gyeom had already been thinking that he should summon Cheok Gyo-woon and hear the story. In the midst of that, he was startled to hear that in addition to Cheok Gyo-woon, the Marquis had also come, and he went outside.
He could not dare to greet the Marquis from inside. It was the same no matter how much the Marquis was his own daughter.
“What brings the Marquis here?”
“Let's go inside, Father. I have something urgent to tell you.”
“Please come in, Marquis.”
He had not thought that Cheok Gyo-woon would follow. For that reason, he glared at Cheok Gyo-woon with eyes that asked, 'Where do you think you're going?' However, the Fourth Demonic Marquis stepped in and spoke.
“I would like this child to listen as well. Please let him enter with us.”
“…”
Cheok Sa-gyeom looked at the Marquis with a face that asked what was going on. Then he nodded to Cheok Gyo-woon and went inside.
A moment later, the three people, seated around a round table, began to talk.
The Fourth Demonic Marquis brought up again the words she had spoken to Cheok Gyo-woon on the way.
However, the reaction was completely different from when she had spoken to Cheok Gyo-woon.
“What are you saying right now, Marquis? Why are you telling us to run away without even putting up a fight? Our family is not like that! This father will absolutely not do such a thing!”
It wasn't as if the Fourth Demonic Marquis hadn't anticipated such a reaction.
“Father, you must listen to me. Until now, I have followed everything you have ordered. There were things that were different from my own thoughts, but I followed them because they were your orders. I did so because I had faith that you would make better judgments for the sake of the family.”
“Then! Are you saying that is not the case now!”
“That's right, Father. You too must have heard stories about Cheon Ha-seong.”
“I know that bastard has been on the lips of many people lately. But what of it!”
The Fourth Demonic Marquis thought it might be difficult to persuade her father while placating him. But she could not back down. It seemed that if she backed down, the Cheok Demonic Clan could disappear from the Divine Cult without a trace in a few decades.
Wondering how to say it, the Fourth Demonic Marquis decided to use the method Cheon Ha-seong had used.
“Father, can you perform the Heaven-Ascending Art?”
Cheok Sa-gyeom had firmly made up his mind to counter whatever his daughter said. But when the topic of the Heaven-Ascending Art suddenly came up, he was bewildered and at a loss for words.
“Why are you suddenly asking about that?”
“If you can perform the Heaven-Ascending Art, I would like to see it.”
“Of course I can!”
The Fourth Demonic Marquis nodded and made an expression as if telling him to go ahead.