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Things happened—many things.
Perhaps I didn't do it the "Murim way" this time.
But it felt much better than ever before.
Giving mercy and a second opportunity was something I never did back in Murim.
The King wasn't exactly a good man, but he already paid for his offense toward me; after all, I defeated him and killed him.
I suppose that should be more than enough; there was now a new chance for him to make things right.
Everything was filmed—the defeat of the king and then his revival.
People all around the world were clamoring in shock; some were joyous, others furious, and there were all kinds of reactions.
Yet I would not care about any of them if it weren't for Ruby constantly showing me her phone.
"Holy sh*t, sis, you're trending on Tweeter!" she said. "A lot of people loved what you did!"
"Ruby, that's enough," sighed our mother. "Stop bothering your sister about things like those. I don't think she even cares to begin with!"
"But she asked for a phone, so I bet she cares a little bit," she said.
"I mean... Hmm," I said. "Well, I find it interesting from time to time. Back in Murim, it was very hard to understand the intentions of the masses, but here, we got social media for that."
As I walked inside my pagoda, leading the King and his family, without allowing anybody else inside, my family kept asking me questions. Some were a bit worried too, which I guess is understandable; the King was strong.
"Are you really okay?" wondered my mother.
"I'm fine, Mom; don't worry." I smiled. "And the King is here too."
"A-Ah, my bad! Your majesty…" My mother bowed her head.
"There's no need," the tall, muscular man told her. "You must be Bing Xue's mother, right? It is an honor to see you. I would love to talk more with you later and learn how you were able to raise such a powerful person."
"E-Eh? I mean… It's not like she's strong because of how I raised her," my mother sighed. "Thank you for your consideration, though, your majesty."
"She's not?" The King wondered, "My father personally taught me almost everything I know... I suppose it is different in other worlds."
"O-Of course it is different, dear! Don't say such things out of nowhere…" His wife, Elphiette, sighed. "I'm sorry if he's a bit weird. Despite how intimidating he might look, he's quite the dork sometimes."
"Elphiette, don't talk about me in such a way," the King said, crossing his arms. He looked slightly hurt by her words.
"I'm sorry, but I have to be honest sometimes, honey." She caressed his face. "You screwed up big time right now, so it's my time to do more of the talking, okay? If it weren't for my tears and Bing Xue's mercy, you would... you would be dead right now."
"I know," he said. "Okay… fine."
He was rather prideful, but he was slowly softening. I guess the shock of dying was a strong enough excuse for his wife to finally try to... Well, have more of a saying as a queen.
"Hi! What's your name?"
Hekita, in the other case, ran towards their daughter to greet her.
"Eh? A beast girl?" wondered the princess. "I'm Cecil… And you?"
"I'm Hekita! Nice to meet you!" Hekita smiled. "Sorry for what happened... Mommy went a bit too hard. But she helped your dad be revived, so it's fine now, right? We're friends?"
"Friends?!" she asked. "So Bing Xue is your mother?! Hmph… I don't want to talk with you then."
Cecil then walked away, leaving Hekita with her eyes wide open.
"Eeeh? So mean!"
Urbosa and I went to check on her.
"Hekita, don't try to act too friendly with that girl; she went through a lot and has yet to fully process everything." Urbosa sighed. "After all, her father did die against Bing Xue, so... it is understandable that even now she harbors a lot of hatred."
"I suppose it couldn't be helped." I sighed. "I only hope she can forgive me one day."
"Hmm…" Hekita nodded, looking very sad. "Okay…"
Once the King and his family walked inside a separate room, I took a few minutes to communicate with my disciples and family about what happened. Everyone had something to say after all.
"Master Bing Xue are you sure this is the right thing to do?" wondered John. "King or not, he still tried to kill you! I wouldn't have forgiven him if I were you."
"I understand if you feel that way." I nodded. "There was a part of me that thought the same thing. But there was also a part of myself that thought otherwise. I have changed more than I thought I would in the last few months. All thanks to my family, and perhaps also to my disciples and friends. It doesn't mean I am weaker, but perhaps I am now. Well, be more thoughtful of my actions and the danger they can bring to others."
"Hmm…" John sighed. "Still…"
"Are you saying you would be happy with leaving his wife and daughter alone, John? You sure are a scumbag," Nicholas said, crossing his arms. "The King is a reckless and powerful man, yes... But he's not evil."
"You're saying it is okay for our master to be offended like this, Nicholas? You and your nonsense again; you're only saying that because you have two daughters, but I can't relate to that," John sighed.
"Of course you don't, you big fucking jerk! Come here, I'm going to beat some sense into you!" Aiyana entered the conversation and was about to beat John.
"Enough," I said, stopping them. "Fights between disciples are forbidden inside the Heavenly Golden Pagoda. Stop this at once."
"They started!" John said.
"Okay…" Aiyana sighed.
"Anyways, master Bing Xue, about this... Is it about Yanisse, right?" wondered Jackes. "I suppose this entire fight was for her freedom... The King seemed too interested in her as an asset, though, to the point he would come and fight you head-on."
"Yes, there's something more about Yanisse other than her power." I nodded. "And I intend to learn about it now. Yanisse, you're coming to the meeting too."
"Me?!" She wondered; she was still having breakfast. "B-But…"
"Don't be nervous, dear; it'll be fine." I patted her shoulders. "I will be there to protect you."
"B-Bing Xue..." she blushed a bit. "Thanks…"
She ended up hugging me; she was quite cold today too.
"It's fine; calm down." I smiled, caressing her blonde hair.
She slowly calmed down and then finished her breakfast.
However, some still didn't like that I was growing closer to Yanisse.
"Hey! Why does she get all close to her master?" wondered Aiyana.
"Aiyana, don't bother them!" Jackes groaned.
"Haha, she's jealous!" laughed Francisco.
"Well, if you want to be one of her concubines, you will first need to earn her interest, Aiyana," said Urbosa.
"That's right," said Merkite. "Yanisse had already been closer to her before you, so it's quite hard. Be more patient if possible."
"Hahh… Nah, it's fine; this is getting embarrassing." Aiyana simply decided to drop the subject entirely.
It was better that way; she's a strong disciple. I am flattered that she's so interested in me and so open about it. I might give her some time later, though; my schedule is quite full right now.
"Can I join the conversation?" Seth asked.
"Oh? Why?" I wondered.
"I would like to talk with the King about what I've gone through and my identity," said Seth.
"Is that so? Do you think it would be of some help?" I wondered.
"Of course, if we can make the King our ally, it would be much easier to mobilize powerful groups towards several areas of the world. Hell, even if North America, that would be enough," he said. "Bing Xue, I have barely told you everything that will happen in the future. Aside from what could be in the tower, our planet will go through countless hardships. We must prevent them, but us alone might not be enough, and because you are busy and could go to the tower, we will require his assistance."
"Hmm…" I nodded. "I suppose we could try, but that depends if he's someone we can trust."
"That's why you will be there, right?" Yanisse asked, smiling cutely as she suddenly held my hand. "You can detect lies and intentions in people."
"I suppose…" I nodded. "Very well, let's test them first, and then we'll let them know the truth, Seth. Don't be too hasty to reveal your identity to others."
"In the past, I would have kept everything a secret, but right now, that's definitely not a possibility," he said. "Thank you for opening my eyes, Bing Xue. You've helped me learn that there are good people out there. I could trust the knowledge of the future after all."
"Hmm, fine, fine, alright~" I sighed. "Now, now…"
I walked back to my wife and my daughter and hugged and kissed them.
"Be careful, and don't let them try to intimidate you or something," said Urbosa. "You're strong and even smarter; use them to your advantage, my dear."
"That's right! This is for the benefit of the pack after all," nodded Merkite. "Good luck!"
The two kissed my cheeks together.
"Haha, okay, fine."
I didn't think they had this scheming side to them; I suppose I am still getting to know them.
"Mommy, do your best!" Hekita said. "And… Tell Cecil I'm sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry about," I said, petting her head. "But I will try to tell her that you do not fault what I did. Anyways, I'll go; just wait here for now."
"Hm? Katherine?" wondered my mother, as I dragged her with me. "W-Why am I coming with you?!"
"You're my mother, so of course you're coming with me," I said. "What's wrong with that?"
"There's nothing wrong with that, but it's a bit awkward, don't you think? Is there any need for my presence?" She wondered, lowering herself down.
"Mom, perhaps you haven't realized, but you're very strong right now, probably stronger than all the other S-Rank hunters I recruited," I said. "Your strength will make the King recognize you, and your authority as my mother could also make him respect me more."
"You… might not be wrong; for some reason, he put a lot of emphasis on family," she nodded. "Okay, I will try to help if I can."
"Come on, don't be like this; you're more capable than you imagine, Mom." I patted her shoulders. "Let's go."
With Yanisse, Seth, and my mother, I walked inside the room where the King, his daughter Cecil, and his wife Elphiette were waiting for us.
There was a Holy Spirit I created using the Divinity of [The Brilliant Mother of Light] that was serving them some tea and snacks.
Cecil was eating all the rice cookies, while his wife and he had not eaten anything yet. They looked very tense, despite how they tried to act.
After all, just an hour ago, a battle where we tried to kill each other happened.
It's normal for them to act this way, but there's no helping it.
I wasn't going to give them a week to recover or something either; I wanted to solve this issue now.
"Sorry for the wait; there were a few people I had to talk to beforehand," I apologized.
We sat down, bringing Yanisse, Seth, and my mother.
"Yanisse," said the king. "So you were here..."
"Your majesty…" Yanisse muttered. "I… I'm sorry…"
"There's nothing to apologize for," I said. "He has no right to have you on a leash. And the very reason he fought was because he wanted to keep controlling you. Isn't that right, King Caesar?"
"…" he remained in silence for a brief moment before nodding. "Yes, that's right... Not only because she's powerful. But Yanisse is... something that my father calls "The Vessel of the Void," someone incredibly powerful, and the key to attaining a power beyond the Tower's limitations."
"Your father… said that?" I asked. "Tell me more about this father of yours, your majesty. Who is this man? And... did you fight me because he told you to do so?"
"That's…" He seemed hesitant at first, but after his wife held his hand and smiled gently at him, he decided to open up to us. "To an extent... Yes, I follow my father's orders. He ordered me to slay you."
"And?"
"And he's indeed very important; he's the sole god of Floor 74, the {Golden Lion Crimson Emperor}."
So his father is a god.
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