Chapter 48. The Third Bet (1/2)

Chapter 48. The Third Bet

The boy licked off the blood on his hand with his tongue. He could feel pain as he tasted the blood in his mouth. Come to think of it, no part of his body was undamaged at that point.

His whole body was filled with injuries. But he still managed to laugh. He laughed while being covered with blood. He was happy. He was happy taht he survived.

He was happy that he survived that hellhole. He managed to survive by using his comrades as a stepping stone.

Krrrng–

Suddenly, the giant stone that covered one of the stone walls began to move, letting in a stream of light. The boy held up his hand to block it. After a while, his eyes began to adapt to the light.

“Is this it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Hm, he looks useful.”

“He’s the boy that made it out of the the Prison of Life and Death (生死獄) in the shortest amount of time. His body is very solid, too. Even the Medicinal House approved of the boy’s physique.”

“Hoh?”

The boy didn’t know who the people outside were. Actually, there really was no need for him to know them.

“What is your name, child?”

The boy spat out the intestine he had been chewing, and answered.

“7984.”

He had forgotten his name a long time ago. After all, it was necessary to throw away useless things like names or memories in order to survive in this hell.

“Ke, I like your eyes. Good. Let’s use him. I hope the Pope likes him, too.”

“If he doesn’t like this boy either, I really don’t know who to choose.”

“Don’t worry. We’re sure to get a decent result this time.”

The old man approached the boy with a satisfied smile. The boy flinched, and instinctively swung his sword, but it was useless against the old man.

Deng–

“Kuk!”

The boy had swung his sword straight at the old man’s neck, but the one to get hurt was unexpectedly, the boy. Looking at the boy, who had been stumbling backwards due to getting his hand ripped, the old man spoke.

“Che, looks like I’m going to have to teach you some manners before I take you to the Pope. Damn it, isn’t this boy more like an animal than a human right now?”

“I’ll fix him right now.‘

The man who had been standing behind the old man. He took out the whip hanging on his waist, and spoke with a dreary face.

(TL: Whoa, this is way more hardcore than the way Tang San learned manners…)

“It would do if you come back after four days, sir.”

“Alright. I’ll leave it to you.”

* * *

After four days, when the old man came back to visit, the boy looked very different from before. It was evident by the fact that the boy, who were a clean white robe, greeted the old man properly.

“Un Hui (雲輝) of the Earth Sword Party (地劍黨) greets Guardian Ju Sang San.”

The white leader from the Earth Sword Party. This was the new form of the boy.

“Hoh? You look quite nice like this. But Un Hui? Is that your real name?”

“……..Yes.”

“How about your surname? Did you forget about it?”

“……..Yes.”

Since it’s been so long since he had been called by that name, he just barely managed to remember his name.

“Well, fine. It should do. Follow me for now. We need to go see the Pope.”

Un Hui quietly followed Guardian Ju. He didn’t know what would happen in the future, but he definitely wouldn’t act foolishly like before.

This place was filled with monstrous experts like this old man here. If he made trouble here with the little power he had, he would die in an instant.

“This is where the Pope is. Act politely in front of him.”

“I understand.”

Un Hui breathed carefully, and waited. Like the giant plaque of the building that read “Temple of The Sacred Heart (聖心殿)”, the door was equally giant.

Krrrrrr–

After a while, the doors opened outwards, and the Pope who had been sitting inside could be seen.

The man who held the most power in the history of the church, and the Pope who was the strongest out of all others in history.

“Is this child the one?”

Gongson Chun Gi. He greeted his little visitor with a bored face.

“Yes. He’s the boy that passed the Prison of Life and Death in the shortest time. He’s 18 years old.”

“Hm. He looks younger though? What was the time it took him to pass the prison?”

“Eight months.”

“Eight months? He’s pretty good.”

But unlike what he was saying, one couldn’t really sense any thrill coming from Gongson Chun Gi. Ju Sang San became a little agitated when he saw this.

“Please look carefully, your holiness. This is a boy with a good physique that even the Medicinal House approved of. As he has solid foundation, and plenty of talent, he should be worthy of becoming your disciple.”

“Yeah? You might be right.”

Gongson Chun Gi looked at Un Hui with dull eyes.

Right then.

‘Eh?’

Un Hui flinched, and stepped back. Without even knowing why he was doing it, he began to look around urgently.

‘What was that?’

Gongson Chun Gi, when he saw the boy’s actions, became a little interested, and stood up.

“You actually brought something quite good this time.”

Gongson Chun Gi, who had been so far from the boy previously, suddenly appeared right in front of Un Hui. While Un Hui had been gulping in air out of surprise,

Gongson Chun Gi walked even closer to Un Hui, and looked down at the boy. Then, the man brought up Un Hui’s chin, observed the boy for a while, then grinned.

“He certainly has some potential. A boy who can feel when he can’t even see……. a strange one, he is. Quite interesting, actually.”

“Y, you mean…….”

When Guardian Ju made a expectant face while trembling, Gongson Chun Gi looked at something, clicked his tongue, and shook his head.

“He’s still lacking. And he already developed too many skills. He developed too much, so it’s useless. It’s too bad, Guardian Ju.”

“Kuk! No way!”

When Guardian Ju made a face of despair, Un Hui, who had been quiet till then, opened his mouth.

“Just what about me is lacking?”

“Mm?”

A rather defiant voice. When Ju Sang San frowned and tried to reprimand the bot, Gongson Chun Gi nodded.

“Mm, you have something missing. It’s something so small, that the likes of you wouldn’t even be able to notice it. But the difference between having that one thing and not having it is tremendous.”

“I can fix it.”

“It’s something that you can’t really fix.”

“I can do it.”

Un Hui looked straight at the Pope as he replied. The boy’s eyes were filled with a certain thing. A strong energy was contained within those eyes. It was desire.

“You! Impudent!”

When Ju Sang San tried to subdue Un Hui with a angered face, the Pope blocked him.

“Hey! Don’t get so angry, Guardian Ju. You’re going to get a stroke that way. We’re going to finish this by tomorrow at most anyway, so why are you being like this?”

“B, but that boy dared to…… in front of you……..”

“Just wait a bit. Let’s try handle this like adults, yeah?”

Gongson Chun Gi pushed away the raging Guardian sideways, and walked over to Un Hui. He opened his mouth.

“You said you can fix it?”

“Yes.”

The Pope smiled. It was a smile that contained a hint of his mischievousness.

“Interesting. Yes, a man needs to have that kind of an arrogance. Fine, I’ll give you a chance.”