14 Weird

"Wait, I have a question" Frowning slightly, Seojun asked "What is the difference between inner energy and aura?"

"Energy is what we absorb from the world, energy that goes inside us and gradually nourishes our bodies and at the same time gives us a great boost of strength."

"That I know, but what is aura?"

"Each absorption method is usually different, for example mine is this" Raising her hand, Sujin suddenly formed a cloud of purple around her hand and continued "This is the aura that my absorption and refining method gives me. The heavenly demon method."

"How do you do that?" looking with great curiosity at the purple aura, Seojun asked.

"When you reach a high level of internal energy and meet certain requirements, your body can naturally manisfer the aura, as if it were a third arm" Slowly expanding the aura around her forearm, Sujin replied.

"And what is it for?"

"It has multiple uses, but in short, it serves to interact with our environment" Waving her hand in front of her, Sujin asked "Did you see that?"

"See what? You just waved your hand..."

"Look at the cave wall."

"Mn?" Turning his gaze to where his mother waved her hand, Seojun squinted his eyes to focus his gaze and opened his eyes a little wider as he saw the animal skin peeled off by a clean cut all over its center "How did you do that!?"

"It's my aura interacting with my surroundings at my will" Laughing, Sujin continued "But don't think everyone can do this. Only a handful of people were able to manifest their aura, and only a few of them can do what I showed you right now"

"How far can you do that?" remembering the rifles snipers, Seojun asked with interest.

"Mmmm... that depends on how much internal energy I use" Thinking for a few seconds, Sujin continued "If I use all of it... I really don't know, but that thing I just showed you I use almost none of my internal energy... a drop of sand compared to a desert."

"You could kill people from one mountain to another?"

"It's not quite as useful as you think" Shaking his head while smiling, Sujin continued "Although only a few can manifest the aura, everyone who has internal energy can sense it, so it's very easy to dodge this kind of attack if you're attentive."

"And can't you do it faster so they won't dodge it?"

"Sure I can, but even so those who have similar strength to me can still dodge it without a problem" Taking Seojun, Sujin sat him on her legs and continued "And sure, I can kill those who are weaker than me this way, but what would be the use of expending so much energy when I can simply crush them with a single slap?" 

"..."

"It's like using a butcher knife to kill an ant."

"I understand" Without taking his eyes off the purple aura, Seojun asked "I could do that?"

"Of course you could, but your aura would be different."

"Why?"

"Because your absorption and refining method would be different."

"Oh... what color would mine be?"

"The same color as the sword."

"Crimson?"

"Mn"

"Will I also draw smoke?"

"Maybe" Chuckling, Sujin continued "And that's not smoke you see, that's the aura seeping out."

"Doesn't that mean this will end someday? "

"Yes, but we learned how to repair it, so there won't be any problems."

"Repair it?"

"We use natural treasures."

"Oh" Nodding with understanding, Seojun asked "And what did you give this to me for?"

"It will help you a lot when you are starting to absorb your inner energy, it will also help you to practice your mental toughness when you start to feel her murderous intent"

"Wouldn't it be better for you to use it?"

"A long time ago this sword stopped being useful to me" Shaking her head, Sujin continued "I became too strong for this sword to be of any benefit to me. My killing intent is abysmal compared to what this sword has, and my cultivation method is not compatible with this sword's aura"

"I understand" Ignoring the slender fingers that began to squeeze his cheeks, Seojun asked "You have sword?"

"Mn"

"Can I see it?"

"Depends"

"On what?"

"Convince me and I'll think about it"

"You're too spoiled."

"I know."

"..." Pursing his lips, Seojun looked up at his mother and silently watched her amused smile, then stood up and turned around completely.

Sitting back down on his mother's lap, Seojun lifted his hands and held her soft cheeks, then squeezed them gently and murmured, "I don't understand why you like doing this so much... it's not fun."

"For me there's nothing more enjoyable than this" Laughing, Sujin grabbed Seojun's cheeks again and squeezed them contentedly.

"Whatever you say" Snorting with annoyance, Seojun carefully stood up and placed his face in front of his mother's, then smiled brightly at her and gently kissed her forehead "I love you so much mommy!"

"..." Blinking in a daze as she watched every movement in slow motion, Sujin felt her heart stop for a second as her breathing stagnated, and from one second to the next, she grabbed Seojun tightly and clutched him against her chest as a goofy smile formed on her face.

"Y-you'll knock the wind out of me!" Being trapped between two gigantic breasts, Seojun squirmed inside his euphoric mother's grip and exclaimed.

"Why are you so cute?" giggling, Sujin let Seojun free herself from her breasts and firm both her cheeks, then squeezed them gently and asked with a happy gleam in her eyes.

"Don't get confused, I'm only doing it because I want to see your sword."

"You're the one who got confused" Laughing with amusement, Sujin continued "I was going to show it to you regardless of whether you gave me an incentive or not, after all how could I refuse something so simple to my favorite son?"

"You would refuse me if it wasn't your favorite son?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"If you're as cute as you are now, I wouldn't mind indulging your whims, even if you're not my favorite."

"So if I were ugly you wouldn't want to?"

"Exactly, but how could that be possible? After all you are my son."

"I had never realized how arrogant you are."

"Arrogance? I'd call it realistic" Stroking the contour of Seojun's eyes, Sujin smiled "Don't you see those pretty gems you have as eyes? Who do you think you inherited it from?"

"Will you show me your sword or not?" rolling his eyes, Seojun snorted.

"Of course I will" With a last squeeze to Seojun's cheeks, Sujin suddenly disappeared from her place and just a single second later, she reappeared with what seems to be a sheathed katana in her hands "This is my weapon, it is said to be created by the first heavenly demon and is inherited to this day."

"May I take it out?" Touching the hard handle of the katana with interest, Seojun asked.

"Sure."

Grabbing the handle of the katana with one hand, Seojun pulled it back with all his strength and was surprised by the unexpected difficulty in drawing, noticing with surprise that despite using all his strength, the katana has not moved even a millimeter.

Chuckling, Sujin grabbed Seojun's hand and applied her own strength to pull the katana out, causing it to instantly come out of its sheath exposing its dark blade.

Unlike what anyone would think, the cult leader's weapon did not have even a small ornament on the blade, handle or sheath. Having only a striking dark color and having the peculiarity that the handle and blade of the katana seemed to be made of the same mysterious dark metal.

Feeling a strange coldness from the metal, Seojun asked "What material is it made of?"

"According to the cult founder's records, it was this weapon was created from a rock that fell from the sky. It took the 5 best blacksmiths in the central plains and it is said that even 2 of them died of exhaustion during the refining process, not to mention that it took them at least a third of their lives to finish it despite working day in and day out without rest."

"They were willing to die for a simple weapon?"

"Their only other option was certain death" Chuckling, Sujin continued "But they made such a good weapon, that even with the passage of time, the weapon has never needed maintenance and its edge is still as lethal as the first day."

"It has no smoke like the one you gave me."

"We don't know how that other sword was made" Shaking her head, Sujin continued "It is known that it has energy inside as if it were a human being, but no matter how many blacksmiths investigate it, no one manages to discover what material they made it out of or how they managed to combine it with internal energy."

"Haven't they sent ships to explore?"

"They always go out adventuring to look for places beyond the sea, but they never return, and if they do, it has never been made public" Shrugging, Sujin continued "We will not send strong warriors to possible certain death when we have so many enemies as neighbors, not to mention that even if they do come across new territory, they will not know how to return home to report it"

"You've never had people come from across the sea?"

"No, aside from the shipwreck we found, we have never heard of people from other areas" Shaking his head, Sujin continued "Though I can't know if it is that the murim alliance or the empire have any information, for even if they did, they would never share it with us."

"So bad do you get along with them?"

"We have wars every so often" Laughing, Sujin continued "Most of the wars were won by us, but we had one or two losses that caused us to lock ourselves away for a long time and even hide like rats"

"You hate them?"

"I wouldn't say I feel hatred towards them" Thinking for a few seconds, Sujin shook her head and continued "Certainly many of them displease me because of their hypocrisy, but the truth is that I don't feel any particular hatred towards them... but since I am the cult leader, I find myself in the obligation to face them until my last breath."

"Are you willing to do that?"

"To die for the cult?"

"Mn."

"Of course not, but I would certainly first wait for every last believer to die before I would retire."

"What would you do if the whole cult is destroyed?"

"It depends... if for some reason I have a hatred for the people who destroyed the cult, I would take it upon myself to slowly destroy them until nothing is left of them. But if I don't have a personal grudge, I would most likely just travel around until I die."

"How boring."

"Boring?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't know, maybe I was hoping for a possible future revenge story where you re-create forces from scratch and when everyone least expects it, you start the biggest war in history"

"Do you know how tedious that would be? Not to mention that I don't see the point of it at all." Snorting, Sujin put the katana aside and leaned back with Seojun in her arms, and then continued "I'd rather leave this place in peace a thousand times and live quietly in some comfortable cave with these nice cheeks for the rest of my life".

"Who said I'd go with you?" 

"Since when do you have a choice?" Snorting, Sujin replied.

"You're a tyrant."

"I am." 

"Do you think we could travel the world together someday?"

"Would you like to?"

"I'm very curious about the outside" Nodding quickly, Seojun slipped his hands under his mother's yukata and caressed her breasts as he continued "I'd like to know which is the biggest mountain in this place, which is the rarest plant and which animal is the most delicious...I'd also like to know what's on the other side of the sea and what kind of culture might have created this rare sword...there are many mysteries in this world that I'd like to discover."

"And what does that have to do with you squeezing my breasts? I remember telling you that no more milk will come out."

"Who says I'm looking for milk?" snorting, Seojun continued squeezing the large breasts and continued "I'm just doing it because it's relaxing and because I'm bored."

"You're weird."

"Says the one who forces his son to bathe in filthy blood just to cuddle him."

"Does that detract from my claim?"

"Enough."

"You're pretty smart for such a little guy."