DEB 91

“…I’m sorry.”

“You’ve already apologized before, so I don’t understand why you’re trying to do it again.”

“…I know that my words were hurting you.”

It was clear that Vina was referring to the time he had confronted Yasha about why he hadn’t revealed the truth before his death. Now that Vina realized his previous actions were wrong, he couldn’t forgive himself for making a similar mistake again. 

With a troubled expression, he apologized, and Huiyun, smiling, patted his back.

“Yasha, will it really be okay to just pat him like that? Maybe you should just give him a good whack with this instead?” 

Vita suggested, swinging the Guardian’s sword as he looked disapprovingly at Vina.

As the tension eased momentarily and the others started to squabble again, Vina suddenly narrowed his eyes and glared at Huiyun.

“But the fact remains that you still bear responsibility. What kind of master in this world hides the truth like that? Why do you sacrifice yourself for others and endure being blamed for it?”

“I accepted it because I believed it was my share to bear and the consequence of my choices.”

“From now on, don’t accept it. You don’t need to shoulder such responsibilities.”

“Alright, alright.”

Vina had always been the type to cling to something and nag about it for ten years once he got fixated on it. Although he was now human and likely wouldn’t dwell on it for that long, it was best not to let him continue nagging in this state.

When Huiyun quickly agreed, Vina sighed deeply and then scanned the faces of the other disciples. Finally, embarrassed by his earlier behavior, he leaned his forehead against Huiyun’s shoulder, like a child playing hide-and-seek who believed that if they couldn’t see the other person, the other person couldn’t see them either.

“Hey, look at him trying to sneak in!” 

Ash taunted as he strode over and tugged at Vina’s collar. 

Despite Ash’s rough handling, Vina stubbornly leaned against Huiyun and spoke slowly.

“I still have much to learn.”

“I thought I taught you enough, but now it seems like I was mistaken.”

“…There are many things I lack, and there are many parts where I still rely on you.”

“Indeed.”

“So please, don’t leave.”

“…….”

“Let’s pretend we didn’t hear what the Bird Without Eyes said. This time, I want us to fight together until the end, not with you bearing everything alone.”

“…….”

“We now understand each other’s mistakes. This time, the outcome must be different.”

Vina slowly lifted his head, looking at Huiyun with unwavering eyes. Caught off guard by the unexpected request, Huiyun struggled to hide his discomfort. 

Cold sweat beaded on the back of his neck.

Just a few minutes ago, he had thought that if this was the will of the divine and his role, he would gladly do it for the sake of his disciples… 

But what had they learned in the ten thousand years since? 

Some kind of mind-reading technique?

Stunned by how accurately Vina had guessed, Huiyun’s mouth opened and closed silently, while Vina’s gaze grew sharper.

“Yasha?”

Noticing Huiyun’s hesitation, the disciples all turned their eyes toward him, their expressions filled with suspicion and unease.

“Yasha, why aren’t you giving us an answer?”

“Yasha.”

“Yasha, right?”

“…No way. Yasha wouldn’t do that again, right?”

“No matter how stubborn Yasha is, he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.”

Every one of their comments pricked his conscience. 

It was frustrating to see them all united in their efforts to corner him at a time like this.

“If only you showed this level of cooperation and unity in other situations, how proud I would be….”

“Yasha, stop trying to change the subject.”

Moot, noticing Huiyun’s attempt to deflect, promptly shut him down. 

It’s troublesome when his disciples are this perceptive.

“Uhmmm….”

“Yasha!”

As Huiyun finally showed signs of discomfort, Vita clung to him, shaking him as if demanding an answer. 

Normally, Ash and Zenith would have stepped in to stop such behavior, but this time, they didn’t intervene and even seemed to encourage it. 

Huiyun felt betrayed.

But that feeling wasn’t exclusive to Huiyun.

“We’ve been through so much, had so many conversations to get here, and yet you want to come to the same conclusion as before?”

“Isn’t one foolish choice enough?”

Moot and Vita worked together to argue that Huiyun’s decision was wrong. 

Huiyun began to wonder if his respect from his disciples was slowly slipping away. 

Finally, he managed to pry Vita’s hand off and explained.

“I have no intention of sacrificing myself if I can avoid it. But isn’t there always a ‘what if’?”

“There shouldn’t even be a ‘what if’! Why would you even worry about that? If you go ahead and die again, I swear I’ll follow you. And not just me—everyone will! Let the world fall apart; let humans sort it out themselves!”

Vita, growing more and more agitated, shook Huiyun even harder, demanding to know if he was really willing to sacrifice himself again. 

If Vita weren’t from the fairy race, Huiyun might have chided him for speaking like that now that he was human. 

But the circumstances didn’t allow for it.

In the end, Huiyun was handed over to Ash, and it was only after another 15 minutes of being shaken by him that he promised to notify them if he ever felt the need to sacrifice himself. 

The disciples wanted a more definitive assurance that he wouldn’t sacrifice himself at all, but Huiyun couldn’t give them more than that; this was his final line.

“I understand your concerns, but isn’t it necessary to have some precautions in place? I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep and disappoint you.”

“Hmm. Yasha, it seems a bit late to say something like that now.”

“Ugh… Argh! This is why the gods are the problem! I mean, is Yasha the only primordial being in existence? Why do they keep messing with Yasha alone?”

“Vita! That’s bordering on blasphemy!”

“Well, if they don’t like it, they can come here themselves! Stop using Yasha as a pawn!”

Vita shouted and, in his frustration, grabbed Verita by the collar and started shaking him.

Huiyun watched in relief, grateful that he wasn’t the target this time. 

He decided that if he ever had the opportunity to issue another command, he would direct it toward Vita.

“Vita, stop and put Verita down. Anyway, Yasha has promised to avoid sacrificing himself as much as possible, and he will do his best to keep that promise. As his disciples, if we don’t believe in him, who will?”

With his characteristic calm tone, Zenith gently soothed her agitated twins. 

Though Huiyun’s feelings were still mixed, he maintained a composed exterior.

Instead, Huiyun decided to change the subject completely.

“Now that we’ve made our promise, let’s discuss what we’ll do next.”

There had been two purposes for meeting the Bird Without Eyes.

One was to reveal the reason for his death to his disciples, and the other was to find out when the war would begin.

Now that they had the answers to both, it was time to prepare accordingly.

When Huiyun brought up the topic that had been overshadowed by the more shocking discussions about his death, the disciples gathered their emotions and grew serious, realizing that this was not a light matter.

“Hmm… To determine our next steps, we need to interpret the prophecy given by the Bird Without Eyes.”

“Are you talking about the people who will worship the demons?”

“Yes.”

“Is there really anything to interpret? It seems like a common occurrence during wars—religions form. Humans are good at believing in things like that.”

“What Ash said is somewhat correct. Although the Bird Without Eyes didn’t speak clearly, it didn’t make things difficult to interpret. Most likely, when the existence and history of the demons are revealed, a group that believes in and follows them will emerge.”

Huiyun agreed with Ash’s point, causing Ash to hum a little tune in satisfaction. 

Vita, looking exasperated, plopped down on the dusty ground, an action that worried Zenith.

“Vita, your clothes will get dirty.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. But it’s surprising that a group worshiping demons would emerge. There wasn’t anything like that before, was there? Back then, humans instinctively believed in the divine and didn’t follow demons.”

Except for a few evildoers, most humans feared demons and instinctively avoided them. 

That fear had helped them resist the demons’ temptations and protect their bodies and emotions.

The idea of them worshiping demons was indeed surprising.

However, for Huiyun, who already understood the situation, it wasn’t.

“The circumstances have changed since then. Just as some humans have received the power of the celestials and now fight for good, there will be others who side with the demons.”

“Hmm. That makes sense. Just as hunters replaced dragons, there will be humans who take on the role of the demons?”

“Exactly. So, when those people appear, it will signal the start of the war.”

More precisely, the war would begin after dealing with that group. 

Reflecting on the words of the Bird Without Eyes, Huiyun looked over at his disciples.

Would his disciples be able to protect humanity and lead them to victory when the war began?

Narrowing his eyes, Huiyun stroked Siho.

“…Ten thousand years is indeed a long time.”

While the demons had been focusing on their resurrection over the ten past thousand years, his disciples had been busy searching for him. A time war had been too peaceful, and that peace had inevitably dulled their combat instincts.

From the perspective of ten thousand years ago, his disciples were now far too weak. 

Realizing this, Huiyun made a decision.

“First, let’s start with some training.”

At his smiling declaration, the disciples flinched.