Side Story Chapter 11 - Traces (1)

It was only recently that Cha Jeong-woo learned the truth.

[A new visitor has entered the ‘Machine God's Resting Area.’]

『Emperor Temper~ Emperor Temper~ What a fun song? I’m singing it too~?』

Machine God, also known as Cha Jeong-woo who was better known by the divine title of ‘Deus Ex Machina,’ put down the book he was reading in the warm garden and snorted. At the same time, he was pleased that a guest had come to visit him for the first time in ages because he was feeling very bored. On top of that, he knew who this visitor was. There was only one person he knew in this entire world who sang foul songs like that. “What are you singing this time?”

Shanon paused his singing to answer the obvious question.『The second verse.』

“Second verse? That song has more lyrics?”

『I made them recently. It’s no fun to sing the first verse over and over again.』

“Won’t Hyung be angry if he knows?”

『It’d be tough living, having to walk on eggshells around a man who’s gone away on a trip leaving all his annoying subordinates behind.』

“You’re probably the only person who can talk to Hyung that way.” Cha Jeong-woo shook his head. He supposed this was Shanon’s charm. It was ironic that such a mischievous and amiable guy was the Black King’s first sword and had the domain of domination. He was grateful Shanon was the same as ever despite his upgraded position and all the time that had passed… Of course, he was more pleased that he had a comrade to tease his brother with. That was most likely the reason why the two had become such good friends.

『What are you saying? There were a lot.』

“Huh? Really?”

『Emphasis on were.』

“…Past-tense?”

『I’m saying there are a lot of people who have gone missing after stabbing my owner in the back.』

Shanon wasn’t wrong, so Cha Jeong-woo couldn’t help but laugh loudly. Then, it suddenly occurred to him that he shouldn’t be laughing like this. No matter how far away Yeon-woo was, Yeon-woo could be observing them if he wanted to. ‘So annoying. I have to be wary of my brother whenever I’m trying to do something.’

While Cha Jeong-woo thought to himself, Shanon looked around the holy territory and stopped when he saw a particular person.『Hm…? That’s an unfamiliar face.』

“Ah! Is that so?”

Shanon’s gaze was on a beautiful boy who had white hair that reached his waist. He looked to be in his teens, but his dark eyes made him seem like an aged man. It was impossible to tell his age. The boy wearing a large-fitting training dobok was staring so intently at a sword planted in the ground that it almost felt rude to walk up and disrupt him.

Shanon recognized the sword the boy was glaring at. It was Dragon Slayer, Cha Jeong-woo’s divine artifact, but he had no idea who that boy was to be glowering at the Dragon Slayer like that.

“My disciple.”

『Oho! So then he’s the one…?』

Cha Jeong-woo nodded, and Shanon exclaimed in astonishment. Jeong-woo had told him about taking a disciple in passing, back in the past when the entire world had forgotten about the Black King. He had said there was a child he coincidentally came to meet while roaming the many world lines to search for Yeon-woo.

If Shanon remembered correctly, Jeong-woo had said he met his disciple when meeting a remnant of a beast. Jeong-woo had been pitiful of the boy who had outstanding potential and a brilliant nature but was waiting for his fated death, and Jeong-woo ultimately took him in.

But Shanon hadn’t expected the boy to be here. He was already interested in the boy. As he stroked his chin, he asked a question.『Didn’t you say he’s human?』

“He grew up quite a bit in the time that I hadn’t seen him. He’s almost ascended to being an immortal, so I’m thinking of leaving him the Jinmu Cabinet.”

『Is that so?』

Cha Jeong-woo created many legends while he wandered the countless world lines. Because of this, he had various divine titles other than ‘Deus Ex Machina.’ One of those was Jinmu Emperor, also known as True Martial Emperor. Jinmu Cabinet was an organization named after this title.

Jeong-woo had succeeded the Heavenly Demon’s Changgong Library librarian position. There were so many duties to organize the shelves that he had created the Jinmu Cabinet to work for him.

The Jinmu Cabinet belonged to neither absolute good nor absolute evil. They played the role of keeping the balance, so they had to be martially and militarily powerful.

Jeong-woo said he’d leave the cabinet leader position to Jeong-hyun. He didn’t choose him merely because he was his disciple, but he thought Jeong-hyun truly had the abilities that fit the position. Jeong-hyun was strong enough to stand above most lower-level gods, and he would most likely become the center of power in the heavenly world. The cabinet leader had to have a firm deposition to deny all requests and bribes.

‘This’ll be amusing.’ Shanon’s gaze on Jeong-hyun turned from curiosity to wanting to fight. After becoming completely “independent” from Yeon-woo, he became the Black King’s first sword, but many people avoided him because of this reason. Shanon was excited at the thought of finally having someone to spar. He wondered what the boy’s name was…

『Jeong…hyun』

Swish! The white-haired boy who had been glaring at the Dragon Slayer turned to Shanon. He looked as if he was asking who dared to say his name.

“…Haa. So much for reading.” Jeong-woo felt the tension and lightly tossed his book aside. Then, he took a few steps back. Shanon wasn’t someone who could be dissuaded, and his disciple wasn’t someone who avoided anyone who picked a fight.

Shanon waved his finger at Jeong-hyun to come closer, and Jeong-hyun raised his eyebrows. Whoosh! Jeong-hyun suddenly disappeared with the Dragon Slayer planted in the ground. Then, suddenly, a sharp blade was at Shanon’s neck.

『Nice spirit!』

Clang! Shanon pushed the Dragon Slayer back with his Sword Breaker and shouted. He could already tell this was going to be a fun fight from the way his blade was shaking.

Clang! Clang clang! Rumble, rumble! The holy territory Jeong-woo created as a getaway instantly became turned over with explosions.

* * *

『Hegh… Hegh…!』

“Haa… Haa…!”

Shanon and Jeong-hyun lay on the ground wearily, panting roughly.

『You’re…pretty good…!』

“And…you…!”

Shanon knew the battle would be over instantly if he used his domains too, so he fought Jeong-hyun with just the sword. And what he felt as a result of his fight was that Jeong-woo had every right to be proud.

Even Shanon, who had sharpened his sword-wielding skills for hundreds of years in the lower year, thought Jeong-hyun was quite the opponent. The outcome of the sparring was a tie. Yeon-woo would’ve been surprised to hear of this result. However, Jeong-hyun seemed dissatisfied with himself by this, and he responded curtly.

Smirk! Shanon was amused by Jeong-hyun’s reaction. He wanted to fight him again.

“You done now?” Jeong-woo looked down at them from where he was sitting on a tree, the only intact thing in the holy territory.

『Of course not. We don’t even have a victor yet. Isn’t that right?』

“Of course.” Jeong-hyun responded as if that was obvious.

Jeong-woo made a fatigued expression. “This is enough, causing a mess in someone else’s house for today. Anyway, what’s the real reason you’re here? Didn’t you have something to ask?”

『…Hm? Oh! Right.』Shanon belatedly remembered why he came visiting and scratched the back of his head. He’d forgotten it while sparring with Jeong-hyun.

“So there really is something?”

Shanon nodded.『Yeah. I was wondering if there’s anything you’ve heard from our Emperor Temper.』

“My brother? What about him?”

『I suddenly can’t reach him. To be exact, my Channel to him has been dysfunctional for several months now.』

“Isn’t that because he rewound the wheel?”

Shanon shook his head.『No. Even if he’s in another timeline or world line, our Channel to him is always connected. We communicate through it if there’s ever need.』

Cha Jeong-woo nodded, knowing that Shanon was right.

The same gods with the same name and ability had their own personalities and identities in parallel universes or other universes. It was because only their soul was the same, and their lives were all unique.

However, emperors like the Heavenly Demon, Black King, and Jeong-woo were different. Emperors were the only one of their kind throughout all the universes and worlds, with their distinct identity and body.

That was why although Yeon-woo rewound the wheel and went to another world line, it was only his ego that was there. His body existed the same in all other world lines and timelines. That meant his connection with his subordinates could never be disconnected. But…Shanon’s connection with Yeon-woo being gone was strange.

『So I was wondering if you’re contacting master separately.』

“No. I figured he’s doing fine on his own. It’d be weird to take interest in every little thing he’s doing too.”

Even the closest of brothers didn’t share every little detail, and Jeong-woo and Yeon-woo tried to respect each other’s privacy.

Thinking something was really strange, Jeong-woo opened his palm. A circle made of light grew and grew until it became a book.

[You are browsing for information in the library with your qualification as first-class librarian!]

[Keyword: Darkness, Cha Yeon-woo, Location]

Flutter! The pages quickly turned over. This browsing feature was one the librarian of the Changgong Library had. However, because of the vast amount of information, it took some time.

Jeong-hyun felt the tense atmosphere and took a step back from the two.

Looking at the book with half its pages turned, Jeong-woo asked, “What about Hanryeong or Rebecca? Nothing?”

『Hanryeong has been unreachable for a while because he’s traveling with his son…and Rebecca has returned to Cernunnos, and she’s started going into intense training, so there’s no way to contact her.』Shanon had come here thinking the situation wasn’t too serious and that Jeong-woo would definitely know of Yeon-woo’s whereabouts. However, his voice turned grave when he realized that wasn’t the case.

“And Boo?”

『He was the one who asked about master.』

“What?” Jeong-woo wrinkled his forehead.

Just then, the last page turned over and the cover was shut.

[The Black King is currently asleep on Earth with R'lyeh.]

[No other information can be found.]

Jeong-woo quickly added other keywords.

[The keywords ‘Main Ego,’ ‘Location,’ and ‘Whereabouts’ have been added to the search.]

…

[Cannot be found.]

[The keywords ‘Wheel,’ ‘Phante,’ and ‘Edora’ have been added to the search.]

…

[Cannot be found.]

…

[Cannot be found.]

…

[No information has been yielded.]

[You require higher clearance to search for more information.]

Snap! Jeong-woo closed the book of light. His face was now stiff. It occurred to him that a greater danger from when the entire world forgot about Yeon-woo had come about.

“Let’s go see Mr. Heavenly Demon first.”