Chapter 109: Is It You?
Chapter 109: Is It You?
The Extreme Evil Smiling Demon was asking about the state of our relationship.
Finally, the concept of "relationships" had entered his social vocabulary.
I walked over to him, looked down at the line I had previously drawn in the dirt, then picked up a fallen branch and drew a new one. This new line was placed a fair distance past the one representing my promise to spare his life.
"About here."
"It hasn't moved as much as I thought."
"We’ve been through a lot since leaving the Cult, but I feel like our relationship is just running in circles. The only reason it moved this much is because we shared a meal and drinks today. It was our first time doing so, after all."
"Sharing a meal and drinks moved it that much? Then what do I have to do to reach the end?"
"A vast amount of experiences and memories would have to pile up to cross that gap. And to get all the way to the end... wouldn't we have to save each other's lives at least once?"
"Aren't you being a bit stingy with the points?"
"I'm not the stingy one. You're the one who's too stingy when it comes to accepting other people's hearts, Smiling Demon."
Perhaps he didn't want to talk anymore, as the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon lay down on the spot.
"It's all futile. Other people are just other people."
I stared at his back as he stubbornly turned away, and I finished the rest of my drink.
Smiling Demon, it’s not that people don’t know how fleeting it all is. We do it because it’s the path we have to walk. We live while suppressing our tempers.
I leaned back halfway and looked up at the sky.
The Extreme Evil Smiling Demon, who had been lying with his back to me, glanced over and followed my gaze. The countless stars filling the night sky shone equally upon everyone—the wicked man who claimed everything was futile, and the man who persistently pretended to be kind.
After staring at the stars in silence for a long time, the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon spoke abruptly.
"We will have to have a real bout eventually."
At times like this, I felt a pang of pity for him. Even under this beautiful starlight, the bloody wind blowing through his heart showed no sign of ceasing.
"Sure. Someday."
* * *
The next day, we didn't rush.
We had to wait for Lee An and Blue Face to return with the location of the Black Murder Lord’s hideout, so we traveled along the agreed-upon route. Since Tongcheon Pavilion possessed the greatest information network in the Central Plains, they were bound to find it if they set their minds to it.
On the third night of traveling alone with the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon, my Heavenly Demon Body Protection Art jolted me awake.
I felt people approaching us from all directions. Judging by their stealthy movements, they were assassins.
I slowly sat up and drank some water from a bamboo tube sitting by the campfire. As I rose, the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon spoke without getting up.
"As expected. You wake up like a ghost the moment enemies arrive."
"Weren't you awake first, Smiling Demon?"
"I wasn't sleeping."
Come to think of it, the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon never slept well at night. Most of the villains I had encountered slept soundly with their legs stretched out, but he was a villain who couldn't find rest.
When we woke up and began talking, the approaching assassins halted their movements, but they didn't retreat. It seemed they had been given absolute orders to kill us.
The Extreme Evil Smiling Demon stood up.
"I'll handle this."
His voice was slightly elevated, perhaps excited by the prospect of seeing blood.
"It's dark. Will you be alright?"
"I prefer it this way."
The Extreme Evil Smiling Demon walked into the darkness. From the direction he went, I heard the sound of the Blood Calamity Finger being fired.
Phut!
Following that sharp sound came the noise of flesh being pierced.
Thwack!
With that, the battle began in earnest. The sounds of the Demon Extreme Wild Rage Palm and the Blood Calamity Finger erupted in succession. From all sides, hidden weapons were launched toward the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon’s position. Dozens of projectiles sliced through the night air.
I could tell he was still alive by the sounds of his techniques. The noise shifted from the left to the right. Each time, an inevitable scream followed. I sat there and imagined how he was fighting based solely on the sounds.
Thanks to my New Eye Technique, I could have seen the fight if I wanted to, but I kept my eyes closed and visualized the movements of the demon and the assassins through sound alone.
The assassins were no amateurs. They were as skilled as the ones who had ambushed us in front of the gambling house. The sound of daggers cutting the air, the whizzing of hidden weapons, the rustle of light body techniques moving between trees, and the sound of tearing flesh and crushing bone—all sorts of noises filled the darkness.
With my eyes closed, I continued to simulate the battle.
How would I move? How would the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon move? If I were the assassin, how would I strike?
In the darkness of my mind, I was also leaping through the air. I took the side of the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon, then the side of the assassins. When I attacked him as an assassin, I predicted how he would react.
Meanwhile, the assassins continued to die. The darkness, which had always been the assassins' ally, had betrayed them. Tonight, the darkness belonged to the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon.
Zip!
I instinctively tilted my head to the side, and a Blood Calamity Finger grazed my ear. A scream erupted from the spot where the finger wind landed. He didn't need to attack that way, but he had clearly fired it toward me to test me. If I hadn't dodged, my ear would have been taken off. What a nasty temper.
Then, a desperate assassin tumbled down in front of me.
"Did you come to me to hide? Or did you come to kill me at least?"
Perhaps even he didn't know.
"Die!"
The assassin lunged at me.
How could the darkness belong only to the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon? I was the true master of this gloom.
Slash!
The lunging assassin fell, his chest sliced open down to the bone. I reached out and closed his wide-open, dead eyes.
The screams echoing from all directions gradually diminished until, finally, silence returned. A moment later, the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon returned to the camp.
I held out the bottle of liquor to him. Instead of the alcohol, he grabbed the bamboo tube and gulped down the water. He no longer hesitated to lift his mask to drink. The heat radiating from him wasn't just from the scent of blood clinging to his body; he was still thirsty for more.
"This time, they seemed like people who came here to commit suicide."
I corrected him.
"It wasn't suicide. They were murdered."
"Murdered? By me?"
"No. By their own leader. No matter how large a sum a million taels is, the moment they accepted a contract to kill a Demon Lord, they had to be prepared for total annihilation. If they succeeded in killing you, the Cult would hunt them down; if they failed, they would fall to you. So why would they take the contract?"
"Were they perhaps threatened?"
"I think it's the opposite. It means they were guaranteed something else besides money by the mastermind behind the Unorthodox Path Alliance who commissioned this. They were likely promised key positions within the Alliance."
The Extreme Evil Smiling Demon nodded in agreement. "And that's the reason for today's reckless attack?"
"Yes. The Black Murder Lord is currently cleaning house. He’s eliminating all the assassins who know his face so that no one can recognize him. He’s discarding the men who earned him money and served him loyally for years. And then, he will live under a new identity."
"He's a bigger villain than me? This makes me feel quite unpleasant."
"With this choice, he’s fallen from a villain to mere trash."
"You've seen through everything, Second Young Master."
I felt a bit bad for him. I only knew because I had already experienced these things; how else could I have known the background of such an event so clearly?
"Second Young Master, when you become the Heavenly Demon later, you must spare my life."
The Extreme Evil Smiling Demon spoke as if joking, but I knew this was a moment where I had to be on guard. For a split second, he must have thought: If he's an opponent like this, shouldn't I kill him before he becomes the Heavenly Demon?
You're right, Smiling Demon. If I were to become your enemy, you should definitely kill me first. I am on this journey with you precisely to prevent that situation from ever happening.
I spoke with a voice full of conviction. "Let's work together to reach that survival line."
When I called the line we drew a "survival line," the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon burst into laughter, as if he found it hilarious.
"The stench of blood is overwhelming. Shall we leave?"
"Isn't it a better scent than the perfume of women?"
"Not to me."
Just as we finished packing our things to leave, Lee An and Blue Face arrived. Lee An was startled by the corpses scattered around, but she looked relieved to see that I was unharmed.
"Tongcheon Pavilion has found the Black Murder Lord’s hideout."
Blue Face showed us a piece of paper with the location written on it. It wasn't very far from here. If we had found out even a little later than this, the Black Murder Lord would have vanished into the protection of his backer in the Unorthodox Path Alliance.
However, since the assassination attempt had only just failed, there was a chance he hadn't left his hideout yet. He wouldn't dream that we could uncover his identity and find his lair so quickly.
"Let's have a proper race of light body techniques this time."
Without waiting for my answer, the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon leaped away first.
"I'm starting first this time!"
Blue Face was shocked as he watched the demon's retreating back. Normally, the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon would have leisurely yielded and let me go first, so seeing him dash off while even breaking the rules was surprising. What was even more surprising, however, was my relaxed demeanor.
I even took the time to greet Lee An. "Did you have a good trip?"
"Yes. I was very busy. Moving here and there... I learned a lot this time."
She bowed her head again to Blue Face. He responded with a polite bow. I could feel the relationship between the two of them progressing bit by bit.
"But shouldn't you be going? It looks like you're having a race."
"I should."
I had to win again so I could tease him.
"You two pack up and follow slowly."
In a flash, my figure vanished from the spot.
* * *
The Black Murder Lord was in an empty courtyard, burning everything he owned.
Secret documents related to contracts, clothes, personal items—he burned everything associated with his past. Every assassin who knew his face was dead. No, he had killed them all.
Now he could leave with a light heart. He would quit being an assassin whom everyone pointed fingers at and live a respectable life. He would enjoy wealth and fame in the bright light of day. It was the start of a new life.
As he was about to leave the hideout, he happened to glance at the wall and recoiled in horror.
Someone wearing a white mask was perched on the wall. What terrified him was that he had no idea how long the person had been sitting there.
"Extreme Evil Smiling Demon?"
His voice trembled. If it was the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon, he was a dead man.
"No. I am the winner of the contest."
The man who smiled as he pushed his mask up onto his forehead was none other than Geom Mu-geuk. The Black Murder Lord didn't understand what nonsense he was spouting, but he felt inwardly relieved that his opponent was at least a young man.
Geom Mu-geuk said to him, "You could have just left."
"What are you talking about?"
"If you wanted a fresh start, you didn't have to go this far. You could have just left the Black Kill Organization to a trustworthy successor and lived anywhere with your skills. Even without that million taels, you've made plenty of money, haven't you?"
The Black Murder Lord flinched as I correctly guessed his situation.
"Do you think assassins are so diligent that they'd track down their former leader's secrets just because he wanted a new start? Everyone is too busy trying to survive. But you couldn't do that. Every time you closed your eyes, you probably saw your subordinates betraying you. You couldn't live with the anxiety. Do you know why? It's because that's the kind of person you are. If it were you, you would have blackmailed or killed your leader to take everything for yourself."
The Black Murder Lord listened quietly, but his entire focus was on his sleeve. The moment his unique hidden weapon, the Wind Wheel, slid down into his hand, he broke into a triumphant smile. At this distance, it was a certain kill.
"Are you done with your bullshit?"
"I'm done, but you should be careful. Someone is very angry right now because he lost the bet."
"What the hell are you talking about!"
The very moment the Black Murder Lord tried to throw the Wind Wheel—!
Phut! Thwack!
A finger wind, flying like a bolt of lightning, pierced through the Black Murder Lord’s shoulder. It was too fast to dodge. Immediately after, someone soared through the air and slammed down onto the Black Murder Lord.
Boom!
A horrific scream erupted from the Black Murder Lord’s mouth.
"Aaaaaagh!"
The person standing on the Black Murder Lord’s mangled shoulder was the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon. He was venting his frustration on the wrong person instead of Geom Mu-geuk. His Blood Calamity Fingers punched holes into the surrounding walls.
"Why are you so fast! Why!"
The pain in his crushed shoulder was so intense that only screams could escape the Black Murder Lord’s lips. Overwhelmed by his opponent's aura, he couldn't even think of counterattacking; pleas for mercy came out naturally.
"Ugh! It hurts! Please! It hurts! Aaaaaagh!"
Only then did the cold gaze behind the white mask look down at the Black Murder Lord.
"Is it you? The one who's been running around acting like a bigger villain than me?"