Chapter 3: I am your older brother.
“Sob… They said… they said they’d take me to where Oppa is… Where’s Oppa? Dohyun Oppa!”
Dohwa, crying her eyes out, searching for me right in front of me.
Seeing her like this, I felt a pang of awkwardness and began trying to calm her down.
“Doh… Dohwa, it’s me… I’m your Dohyun Oppa.”
“…What are you talking about, mister?! How could you be my Oppa?!”
Dohwa shouted, her expression screaming ‘Don’t talk nonsense!’ at my words.
It’s true that when I crossed into this world, my appearance had changed slightly, and my age had regressed from 20 to my early teens.
As a result, after ten years, I was now in my early 20s.
My age wasn’t much different from my original world, but with my altered appearance, the hardships I’d endured, and the different life I’d lived here, it was only natural that Dohwa didn’t recognize me.
Realizing this, I felt a complicated mix of emotions but knew I had to find a way to make my little sister understand the situation.
“Hmm… So… even though my appearance has changed… I’m your Oppa, Dohyun. Uh… didn’t they explain it to you before bringing you here? That they’d take you to where your Oppa is…”
“I heard them! But you’re not my Oppa! My Oppa… my Oppa doesn’t look this ugly!”
“Well… honestly, I don’t think I look that much worse than before…”
Whether in my previous life or in this world, I’d never once been called handsome.
Still, hearing Dohwa say this so vehemently, I wasn’t sure whether to feel grateful or exasperated, and my head started to feel increasingly tangled.
At that moment.
– “This won’t do. I’ll handle this part.” –
“Huh? Uh… how?”
The Supreme Emperor, who had been watching from the side,
Its light now back to blue, spoke as if it couldn’t bear to watch any longer.
– “It’s simple. I’ll imprint a summary of everything that’s happened into this child’s mind. There won’t be any side effects, so don’t worry.” –
“Well… I’d appreciate that, I guess…”
– “No need to thank me. This whole mess happened because I couldn’t properly fulfill our contract.” –
With those words, a stream of blue energy extended from the Supreme Emperor’s glowing form, illuminating Dohwa’s body.
For a moment, Dohwa stopped crying, her expression turning slightly dazed.
Then, shortly after,
Her eyes regained focus,
And she looked straight at my face, her expression twitching again.
And then…
“O… Oppa…? Is… is it really… really you, Dohyun Oppa?”
Dohwa asked, her voice trembling with deep tension.
In that moment, feeling ten times more nervous than when I faced the Heavenly Demon, I spoke to her.
“Yeah… it’s me. I’m your Dohyun Oppa.”
“Sniff… Sob…”
My words carried not a shred of deceit.
Upon hearing them, tears began to well up in Dohwa’s eyes again.
And then…
“Waaah! Oppaaa!”
Bursting into tears, Dohwa threw herself into my arms.
I hugged her tightly, tears streaming down my face just like hers.
“Sob… Oppa… I missed you… so, so much… Sniff… sniff… Dohwa thought… thought you didn’t come home… that you abandoned me… Sniff… Like Mom did… I thought you left me too… Sob… Waaah…”
“No way… There’s no way I’d abandon you… Why would I ever leave you? Dohwa, you’re the reason I keep going. No matter what happens… no matter how tough things get… I’ll never abandon you.”
“Sob… Sniff… Oppa… Oppa…”
As I comforted my sister, who was crying tears of relief and joy in my arms,
I made a vow to myself once more.
No matter what happened, no matter how it unfolded,
I would protect this child with my own hands.
*
Yang Soyu, the greatest under the heavens, vanished like he’d evaporated.
After about fifteen minutes of hollow silence passed,
Namgung Taehyun, who was present at the scene, was the first to speak in a dazed voice.
“So… what do we do now?”
His voice still carried lingering confusion.
At his words, the other four snapped out of their stupor, their stiff bodies starting to move as if a switch had been flipped.
Among them, the one who recovered second fastest after Namgung Taehyun,
A woman with snow-white skin, silvery hair, and mystical blue eyes, exuding an air of aloof elegance,
The Ice Empress, Moyong Seolhwa, felt a surge of belated anger and spoke in her characteristic icy voice.
“What do we do? That b*stard insulted us and ran off, so obviously we chase him down and catch him. Say what you will, he’s the one who defeated the Heavenly Demon. Without him, there’s no moving forward.”
“Hmm… That’s true, but…”
Despite her cold, refined appearance, Moyong Seolhwa’s words were surprisingly coarse.
Namgung Taehyun nodded in agreement, acknowledging her point.
At that moment…
“She’s not wrong. Though he’s from a lowly unorthodox sect, he defeated the Heavenly Demon and rose to the title of the greatest under the heavens. It’s only right to treat him with the respect he deserves. However…”
Another member of the Four Heavenly Flowers, dusting off her clothes with an air of graceful nobility,
Baek Cheonhyang, the Plum Blossom Swordmaster of the Huashan Sect, adjusted her signature pale pink hair and continued in a calm voice.
“Before that, I have a question. Can either of you tell where Hero Yang has gone?”
“Well, that’s easy. Just use our senses to…”
“…Ah.”
At Baek Cheonhyang’s words, they extended their limited inner energy to sense their surroundings.
But soon after, they realized a critical fact.
Yang Soyu’s presence was nowhere to be felt within the range of their senses.
“I’m the same. I extended my senses as far as possible, but I couldn’t detect Hero Yang’s presence at all. He’s likely gone somewhere beyond our reach.”
“Hmm…”
At Baek Cheonhyang’s words, Namgung Taehyun and Moyong Seolhwa began to frown deeply.
At that moment…
“Does… does that mean there’s no way for us to find Hero Yang anymore?”
A woman, showing deep shock as she overheard their conversation,
With black hair, deep green eyes, and a more mature, curvaceous figure compared to the others,
Dokgo Dangmiryeong spoke in a trembling voice, clearly more shaken than the rest.
“Just now, Hero Yang said it, didn’t he? That he never wants to see us again. Does that mean… he’s leaving the martial world… or maybe even leaving the Central Plains entirely?”
“N-no way, it can’t be that extreme…”
“No way… He just became the greatest under the heavens. Even if that idiot doesn’t know much, he must know how much he could gain with that title alone…”
“!”
A sudden voice interrupted.
Their gazes turned to her, still rubbing her red, swollen cheek as she slowly stood up.
Jang Seonhwa.
“Lady Jang? What do you mean…?”
“Didn’t you all see it? The way Hero Yang acted toward us just now. Sure, we’ve treated him poorly at times, but for him to show that kind of attitude to us, who are meant to lead the Martial Alliance in the future… It might mean he truly intends to cut all ties with us.”
During the war against the Heavenly Demon, Jang Seonhwa had observed Yang Soyu closely.
He was someone who thought carefully about the future and acted with composure, possessing considerable patience.
Even if he was caught up in momentary anger,
For someone like him to recklessly say things that could turn the entire martial world against him suggested he was either declaring his intent to live completely detached from this world or to leave the Central Plains for good.
“Th-that means… he’s really abandoning the martial world?”
“Damn it… That blasted guy, pulling something like this…”
“No way… Hero Yang… Really…”
Jang Seonhwa’s words sank in, and the women were struck with deep shock, realizing Yang Soyu might have truly deserted the Martial Alliance forever.
Meanwhile, separate from their reactions,
Namgung Taehyun began to think seriously, calculating the best course of action for himself in this situation.
‘If Yang Soyu has truly left the Martial Alliance for good, the position of the greatest under the heavens is essentially vacant. In that case…’
At that thought, Namgung Taehyun began to form an idea.
Looking at the Four Heavenly Flowers, who were steeped in despair, he spoke in a calm voice.
“If that’s how it is, this is a serious matter.”
“Huh?”
“Serious… how?”
Namgung Taehyun’s unexpected words caused a flicker of confusion to cross the women’s faces.
Seeing this, he began to express deep concern.
“Think about it. Hero Yang defeated the Heavenly Demon and ascended to the position of the greatest. If it gets out that he left the Martial Alliance right after vanquishing the Heavenly Demon, what do you think will happen?”
“Ah!…”
“Hmm…”
At Namgung Taehyun’s words, the women’s faces began to harden.
Though the Demonic Cult’s stronghold had been crushed and the mighty Heavenly Demon had fallen, the matter was far from over.
Across the Central Plains, the seeds of the Demonic Cult, sown by the Heavenly Demon, still lingered in countless numbers, like poisonous mushrooms waiting to sprout and seize any chance to rise again.
In such a situation, if word spread that Yang Soyu, who defeated the Heavenly Demon and reigned as the greatest under the heavens, had deserted the Martial Alliance…
It would naturally mean the deterrent force capable of suppressing the Demonic Cult’s future movements would be significantly weakened.
“In short… for the sake of the Central Plains and the martial world, this must not be made known.”
Jang Seonhwa spoke in a quiet voice.
Nodding, Namgung Taehyun looked at the four women and said:
“So… since it’s come to this, how about we all get our stories straight?”
“W-what do you mean?”
“No way…”
At Namgung Taehyun’s words, the women began to show slight discomfort and suspicion.
Looking at them, Namgung Taehyun gave an inward smile and began to share his idea.
It was…