I Became the Youngest Disciple of the Martial God

Cold wind licked my cheeks.

I wanted to raise my cape but instead remained still as I looked at my opponent.

Sellen looked back and asked me, Are you really going to fight me?

Youre not going to get out of my way. We have to fight.

...Fuu.

Sellen let out a breath as if she had no choice before taking her own stance.

I slowly began to circulate my internal energy.

Now that I thought about it, was this the first time Sellen and I had fought?

This girl defeated Hector during their spar.

I wanted to observe her movements for a bit...

But I didnt have much time, so I launched the first attack.

Dash.

At the same time, Sellen charged toward me.

I saw something flash with silver, and I noticed that her claws had grown and were reflecting light.

The Blessing of the Silver Moon... Shes taking this seriously.

That was a bad omen.

With my current internal energy levels, facing those claws head-on will be difficult...

That was what I had thought just yesterday.

Clang!

...!

I covered my fist with fire ki as I deflected Sellens claws.

Sellen was the one who ended up being pushed away.

There was no need to hide it: this was thanks to the mystic bead.

While curing Sellens internal state, I had explosively absorbed the energy of the mystic bead and my internal energy reserves had increased threefold.

My power currently outclassed hers.

Sellen was probably well aware, but she didnt back down. She approached even closer to exchange blows.

...Somethings off.

Frankly, Id been confident I would be able to suppress Sellen without much issue.

I wasnt looking down on her, but the experience Id gained during the training camp wasnt insignificant at all.

However, the combat prowess Sellen was showing was easily beyond anything Id expected.

It wasnt just a small difference. She had grown so much that it felt like she was someone else.

Was this also related to Sellens secret?

Crack!

Sellens backhand slammed into my palm.

Through the numbing pain in my palm, I realized two things.

One, I had less than half of my full strength at the moment.

And two, Sellen was matching my level while fighting me.

...

Why are martial artists so stupid?

When I realized that my opponent was going easy on me, a fire erupted within my heart.

Of course, I was holding back attacks that could kill Sellen as well...

But... what was it that Third Senior Brother had said about situations like this?

Hypocritical?

Bam bam bam!

As punishment for having had those useless thoughts, Id suffered a minor wound.

I knew what the Blessing of the Silver Moon entailed.

It was the power of choice of the future hero Silver Moon and the blessing that allowed the power of the divine beast Silver Fox to inhabit her body.

Now that I think about it...

What Arzan had shown while we were in the Gem Mountains looked similar to what Sellen was showing now.

Did Arzan have a blessing as well?

Dash.

Suddenly, Sellen stepped back.

She looked at me like she was looking at a monster.

Arent you supposed to be in terrible condition?

Thats right. I cant even use half my full power.

Half...

Sellen laughed in disbelief.

I wiped the blood from my face.

It wasnt a lethal wound, but due to how terrible my condition was, that small amount had been enough to make my head feel light for a moment.

Perhaps Sellen had been aiming for that...

I knew that it was unfavorable to me to drag this out.

I knew that, but I couldnt help but ask. Is this on Goodsprings order?

What?

You heard about Evan from your house and entered the training camp to kill him... If I think about it like that, it helps explain the way youve been acting.

Sellen sneered at me.

Kekek. Thats a funny theory, but you missed one thing.

What is it?

Sellens smile turned cold as she responded, The way Im treated within House Goodspring. Did you know that Goodsprings bloodline is pretty strong? Interestingly, no matter which houses blood they mix with, their children all end up being born with the same characteristics.

Id had nearly no interactions with House Goodspring.

However, I had seen their family head once.

Hatehm Goodspring... He had warm golden hair that looked like melted sunlight and deep blue eyes reminiscent of the ocean.

He was so unlike the Lord of Blood and Iron that the imagery of the two standing next to each other had stuck in my mind.

...

I looked at Sellen.

I was similar in that I looked quite different from the average Bednicker, but at least I had inherited the dark-red eyes of the black fairies.

However, Sellen looked nothing like Hatehm.

Ive heard that this is the first time its happened in the history of House Goodspring. Thats why people hate me as much as they hate the Bednickers. Theyve treated me like a witch since the moment I was born.

Thats unexpected. I thought Goodspring and Bednicker were total opposites.

Total opposites?

I thought House Goodspring was like a warm spring morning, as the name suggests.

In response, Sellen burst into laughter.

When people laughed at something I said that I hadnt intended to be funny, it always made me feel disrespected. It felt like they were laughing at me.

But for some reason, Sellens laugh felt different.

Even though she was laughing loudly, I could feel a sense of sadness from her.

After she stopped laughing, she smiled and said, You cant live a life thats always like a spring morning. At some point, you have to face the cold. Thats why I hate the spring. That comfort makes humans weak, it makes them forget their suffering. The winter is cold, but it wakes them up to reality. Goodsprings order?

Sellen raised her middle finger.

They can go die. If theyd tried to do something like that, I wouldve been the one to mess it up.

Then why are you trying to kill Evan? Is it just because you dont want to die?

Although I hadnt known her for long, I knew that she wasnt the type to kill someone just for something like that.

...If we kill the vice-cult leader of the Church of Darkness, then the emperor will probably reward us for our achievement. Its a great achievement that even the elders of the House would have to respect. Sellen smirked. What you said isnt completely wrong. Rather than the order of the house, Im here by my own will.

You want to be respected by House Goodspring.

Who cares about respect? I just want to show Sellen to the house again.

What? I asked.

The way Sellen had said that was a little odd, but she just closed her mouth as if she had made a mistake.

Then she shook her head.

...Lets stop the useless discussions here. You arent in a position to be wasting time either.

Thats true.

I didnt know much about Sellen. However, I could tell that it wasnt simply because she hated her house like shed said.

I could understand her heart.

Living while leaving behind your house...

It was an easy thing to say, but completely distancing yourself from your birthplace was very difficult.

I had experienced it as well, so I knew.

That was why I also knew the answer to that problem.

It was actually quite simple: find a place more important to you than your house.

And I had found it.

Although it had happened after Id died, Id ended up finding my spring day.

On the other hand, it seemed Sellen hadnt gotten to that point yet.

...

Did I need to comfort her?

That didnt seem to be the case.

Ignoring my lame wordplay, I wondered if trying to comfort Sellen would in itself be mocking her.

She was accepting her winter just as she was looking for her spring.

A rash act of sympathy would only insult her.

Thus, the answer was simple.

We just needed to fight until both of us were satisfied.

Boom...

It was then that I heard what sounded like an explosion in the distance.

Just as we were about to charge at each other again, Sellen and I stopped to look in the direction of the explosion.

I could feel on my skin that a terrifying energy had been unleashed.

Thats...

...Demonic energy?

Sellen spaced out. She seemed worried.

No...

She gritted her teeth before running directly toward where the sound had come from.

I instinctively recognized that this wasnt the time to fight, so I followed after her.

* * * * *

* * * * *

The place we could feel the demonic energy coming from wasnt far.

Sellen and I arrived there quite quickly.

The scene we saw laid out before us...

Hector and Charon were lying on the ground.

The Instructor of Doctrine, Juniang, was covered in blood.

And...

...Evan?

[...]

An entity that looked like Evan was standing still between them.

Of course, he looked very different from before. His skin was completely black, and his eyes had flipped up so only the whites were visible.

I wasnt skilled in medicine, but I could clearly tell that his condition was abnormal.

The Instructor of Doctrine coughed.

Sellen quickly ran up to support her.

What happened? Did it fail?

...Fail? Yeah, I guess you can call this a failure.

What do you...

This might sound irresponsible... but I dont know... Evan definitely died...

Yes. He did die, Instructor of Doctrine.

It was neither I nor Sellen who had answered her.

With a creepy laugh, the sky turned black.

Oooooooh~

A sorrowful cry filled the forest.

Pshwoo!

Even though there wasnt any wind, the trees shivered as if they were possessed.

Suddenly, the quiet forest became noisy.

Creak!

The canopy that had covered the sky began to bend in odd ways. The trees creaked as if their joints were being twisted and broken.

Then, for the first time since entering the Forest of the Butterfly, I saw the sky above the trees.

Instead of the night sky, all I could see were the dozens of demons waiting in the air.

The winged beasts and banshees were flying in a circle around the high priest.

...Instructor Juan, Juniang spat.

Juan, the high priest, smiled brightly.

You dont look well, Juniang. Have you had a bad day?

The worst day. Because of you.

Because of me?

Juan acted surprised as he pointed at himself.

Cut it with that disgusting act of yours.

Its not an act, I am truly hurt. I saved your life, yet youre treating me like this?

Saved my life?

Do you think Im joking, Instructor of Doctrine? As a person of your station, did you really think you survived because you were excellent? Tsk, tsk, Juan said as he wagged his finger. Arent you looking down on high priests a bit too much?

What do you...

I know that youre an expert in demon hunting. For that reason, you were required for this training camp. The final piece, so to say...

The high priest seemed to be enjoying the situation.

He didnt seem to consider us a threat anymore. Rather, he was looking down on us like rats in a barrel.

Evan Helvin is different from regular cultists. Regular cultists must destroy their medium to recover their sealed memories, but the vice-cult leader awakens through death.

...Death.

Yes. That is why we needed you. You knew about the Church of Darkness as well as the cults memory-sealing techniques and ways around them.

Juniangs expression hardened.

And by our hands, you made him experience the worst death. Haha! Evan Helvin will be reborn as the strongest vice-cult leader!

That cant be...

Juniang shook her head. In the short time Id known her, this was the first time Id ever seen her despair.

It seemed she couldnt handle the fact that she had ended up birthing a great evil with her own hands.

In the end, you were right, Luan Bednicker, Sellen mumbled in a dejected tone.

Of course, if I shouted I told you so! at this moment, I would only look like an idiot.

...Hm. I told you so.

...But I couldnt hold back after what Id had to endure.

Sellen laughed a little at my absurd response.

Sure. Then Ill need to pay for the consequences of my actions as well.

Do you have a plan?

That thing I used to defeat the demons, Im going to use it again.LaTest novls on (n)velbi/(.)co

Oh ho.

Itll take some time for me to focus. You know what I mean, right?

I cracked my neck joints out of habit.

You want me to buy you some time. Roger that.