Obsession of the Neglected 6-Star Heroes-Chapter 27

"...."

Keyal stifled a chuckle, pressing his lips together to keep the sound from escaping.

In the shadowy hut where the ancient Imoogi dwelled, an oppressive silence filled the air.

The atmosphere grew heavy, like a room filled with smoke.

“The mastermind, you say,” Byakhyang murmured finally, breaking the quiet.

It was the young man before her who both sustained the silence and shattered it.

Keyal spoke again, his voice calm and deliberate, breaking through the tension.

“…The mastermind, huh. Is that your answer to the hypothesis I posed earlier?”

Grit.

Byakhyang’s teeth clenched. His words didn’t just graze her hearing—they scraped at her nerves.

“Hah. Fine, let’s say I grant you that,” Byakhyang sighed, her gaze boring into him with an intensity that could burn through steel.

Her eyes blazed with such ferocity it seemed as if she might shoot lasers at any moment.

“But then tell me—how did this so-called mastermind manage it?”

What kind of being could disrupt the divination of Byakhyang, the Imoogi of the Plains, the wandering hero who once carried the hopes of entire kingdoms?

Byakhyang was not weak. Her abilities might have been limited in scope, but their essence had not diminished.

As if lost in a trance, she closed her eyes, testing the limits of her strength, recalling the times when her powers were at their peak.

She searched through her fragmented memories, trying to uncover answers hidden within the depths of her mind.

‘Hmph. No matter how I look at it, my powers don’t seem weakened…’

Byakhyang glanced at her palm. The fragments of fate spilled out, rearranging themselves into words that foretold her own destiny.

Peace. Serenity. Preservation. Eternity. Immortality.

The visions reflected the same as always.

A life preserved rather than prosperous. An eternal, unchanging existence. These were the descriptors tied to her being.

‘As I thought.’

Byakhyang let out a faint chuckle, her lips curling slightly upward.

Her powers hadn’t been weakened—they were merely distorted.

“Ahem… Excuse me?”

Byakhyang blinked, startled out of her reverie.

She realized she had allowed herself to relax too much in the presence of these visitors.

Letting out a weary sigh, Byakhyang straightened her posture, correcting her slouch.

If she had been in her priestess robes earlier, her current demeanor would have been their complete opposite—a posture that lacked all dignity.

“Ahem. Speak.”

“I’ve been speaking for a while now…”

“Ah…”

Byakhyang’s gaze drifted awkwardly to the side, her voice trailing off.

“Well, I suppose I’ll have to repeat everything from the start now, thanks to you,” Keyal said, pouting like a petulant child.

‘This brat… so infuriating.’

If he were one of the kingdom’s royal offspring, she might have smacked him upside the head already.

Byakhyang forced herself to calm down. Losing her temper now would be admitting defeat.

“…Fine. I apologize. Please, do explain again,” she said, her voice tinged with restraint.

“Oh, gladly. Gladly,” Keyal replied with a sly grin.

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‘Ugh, no, this won’t do. I really ought to knock some sense into this boy,’ Byakhyang thought, her composed smile cracking slightly.

She bit back her frustration, engraving the word patience into her heart.

For the hundredth, no, the thousandth time in her long life, she reminded herself to stay calm.

The Doctrine of Nonviolence (殺生禁斷)

Byakhyang remembered the thousand-year vow she had made to herself: to avoid harming others.

Breaking that promise now, after all this time, would only make her regret it later.

***

What Keyal explained was far from pleasing for Byakhyang to hear.

Though he claimed to have identified the culprit, a single word from his lips struck a nerve.

Keyal named the one responsible for tampering with fate.

“It’s likely a fox spirit from the underworld. That creature must have tangled with your divination, Byakhyang.”

More specifically, it had twisted the fate of the white tigress, Reina.

The man kept speaking, his words painting a vivid picture.

‘A fox… a fox, you say.’

Byakhyang repeated the word under her breath, letting it roll over her tongue.

A fox.

Yes, it made sense if it was a fox.

While foxes couldn’t divine the future like her kind, it was entirely possible that one, out of fear, had worked to unravel her spells as a precaution.

‘Once it was kings causing trouble. Now it’s spirit foxes.’

Foxes were known for their wisdom and cunning. Highly intelligent, they were also notoriously deceitful and manipulative creatures.

However, this wasn’t any ordinary fox. A regular fox could never wield the kind of power needed to disrupt Byakhyang’s magic.

Only a being capable of matching her—a thousand-year-old Imoogi—could achieve such a feat.

A fox that had wandered the world for a thousand years, perhaps even ten thousand.

A Yohō (妖狐).

Yes, it would take a Yohō to overturn the threads of fate.

"...."

“You don’t seem convinced,” Keyal remarked, cutting into her thoughts.

Correct. There was one more possibility.

“How could I be?” she replied sharply. “I may not be as I once was, but I am no mere novice.”

A creature capable of reading and disrupting the fate foretold by the Imoogi of the Plains…

Byakhyang thought deeply, recalling a shard of fate that had slipped through her vision earlier.

One single fragment.

Salvation (救援).

Its meaning was clear. The savior was not someone Byakhyang had foreseen or crafted into existence.

No, the one who would bring salvation was someone else entirely—someone who embodied magic, not mysticism.

It was Keyal Klein who would walk the road of salvation.

While salvation often stemmed from complex and tangled relationships, its core meaning could vary greatly.

Byakhyang clicked her tongue bitterly, her sharp eyes glinting with intrigue.

“Aren’t you going to help?” Keyal’s voice brought her back to the present.

“Hmm. Hold on. I’m still thinking,” she replied.

This was the first time a man she had only just met had impacted her fate.

From Byakhyang’s perspective, it was nothing short of fascinating.

“Hah.”

Byakhyang let out a low sigh, though her answer didn’t take long to follow.

“Fine. I’ll cooperate.”

She was certain.

“So, I’ll take that as a yes?”

Byakhyang knew one thing for sure: refusing this persistent man now would only mean he’d return, likely more stubborn than before. He was the kind who would doggedly chase her down for months if necessary.

Her eyes glinted faintly as she gazed at him.

The man, shrouded in shadowy magic, held a fate worth examining.

Salvation (救援).

The fragmented threads of fate began to take shape, spelling out the lone word tied to Keyal’s destiny.

‘...’

How curious. It was truly extraordinary.

Humans were born with desires ingrained in their very being, and while some might choose altruistic paths, few genuinely walked the road of salvation.

Even those who started with nothing often changed once they gained something—they became driven by greed. Byakhyang had seen and experienced this countless times.

But this man was different.

The road Keyal would walk led only to salvation.

What, exactly, he was meant to save remained unclear.

As she had admitted, Byakhyang’s divination only extended so far, offering glimpses of the truth, never the full picture.

Why her fate was tied to this salvation, she didn’t know.

That was a question only the savior himself could answer, one no one else could unravel.

***

“Phew…”

Keyal let out a sigh of relief as he descended the mountain path.

“Status Window,” he said firmly, addressing the air.

Reina, walking beside him, tilted her head quizzically at his sudden command.

[!]

A familiar alert sound rang out, and the empty space around Keyal filled with dense text, projected midair.

The “status window” was something intrinsic to Keyal—different from Byakhyang’s divination, yet similarly mysterious. Unlike hers, however, it was something he could define, something within his grasp.

=====

Quest

Gather the missing heroes and form an adventurer party. [2/5]Reestablish the "Edric" Guild with the missing heroes. [0/1]

Legendary Mission

Recruit the thousand-year-old Imoogi "Wangsaeng Anrak" as a companion. [1/1]

Success will yield rewards.Failure will result in significant stat reductions.

Would you like to accept this quest? [YES]

Status Window

Name: Keyal KleinRace: Half-DemonAge: 24Title: CommanderAdventurer Rank: 1st Grade → 2nd Grade [Pending]

Skills

Regression: A-Arrogant Detriment: C-Command: S-System Adjustment: A+Demonlord’s Command: A+Demonic Traits: A-Dark Energy (Magi): B-Demon’s Eye: F-Chains of Limitation: F-

Attributes

Strength: 21Endurance: 19Agility: 20Regeneration: 20 + 2Magic Power: 10Dark Power: 20 + 10

Party Status

[‘Queen of Elves’ has gone to sleep.][‘Gold Hoard Dragon’ has gone to sleep.]

Keyal slowed his steps and paused, rubbing his chin as though lost in deep thought. He stood still, like a detective piecing together a mystery.

Reina tugged at his sleeve.

“Master, is something the matter?” she asked, her voice tinged with concern.

“...”

He didn’t respond, his lips refusing to part despite her question.

Keyal’s gaze grew distant, his expression softened by a mix of nostalgia and melancholy.

“...A fox…”

The word carried both longing and sorrow in his eyes.

After a long moment of silence, those were the only words he spoke.

It was the last thing Keyal said that day.