Chapter 441: Cutting Down Everyone with a Single Drawn Sword
Chapter 441: Cutting Down Everyone with a Single Drawn Sword
It had been a long time since I last visited the Seohwan Formation.
Ghostly Qi, capable of rattling a person's very soul, emanated from every corner—not just from the pagodas and bizarre decorations scattered about, but even from the garden flowers swaying in the breeze.
The ghostly Qi remained as chilling as ever, but the ghost practitioners I encountered were no longer hostile. They bowed politely, showing the deep respect due to the Young Cult Leader.
Following a guiding practitioner, I walked past houses built in the shape of snail shells. The surroundings were so eerie and dazzling that an ordinary master would have had to close their eyes to ward off the vertigo.
At the end of the path stood a cone-shaped building: the residence of the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord.
The walls, the ceiling, and even the floor were covered in swirling, hypnotic patterns. It was there that the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord greeted me.
"Young Cult Leader, you have arrived?"
The ghostly Qi flowing from her eyes was even more intense than when I had last seen her.
"I believe this is the first time I've seen you in these quarters," I remarked.
"Are you alright? If it is uncomfortable, we can step outside to speak."
The dizzying patterns in the room were enough to disturb one's peace of mind just by being there. She was worried I might be affected. Of course, with the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Art at the level of Great Achievement protecting me, her concern was unnecessary.
"When the previous Demon Lord was here, this place felt nauseating. But now, it feels beautiful and mysterious."
I could tell she was doing well. Though she had ascended to the rank of Demon Lord at a young age, she had already completely seized control of the Seohwan Formation and was recognized by the ghost practitioners as their true master. All that remained for her was to achieve mastery in her unique martial arts and accumulate experience as a Demon Lord.
"What brings you to see me?" she asked.
She was different from the other Demon Lords. Because she was so young, she felt less like my father’s subordinate and more like my Demon Lord. This meeting was a moment where the next generation's Heavenly Demon and Demon Lord stood face to face.
I explained the current situation exactly as it was. I didn't omit or sugarcoat anything just because she was young; I respected her as a fellow Demon Lord.
"To get straight to the point, only one Demon Lord has taken my side so far."
I hadn't revealed who it was yet, but surprisingly, the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord guessed correctly.
"Would that person happen to be the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon?"
"How did you know?"
She explained that during the Three-Party Meeting, she had felt a sense of kinship seeing the Smiling Demon standing alone, apart from the others.
"During the last meeting, the Smiling Demon told me he envied me. He said it was because I am young and can serve the Young Cult Leader for a long time. Based on the affection he showed for you then, I surmised it might be him."
She still vividly remembered the conversation they had shared that day.
"Do you know what I told the Smiling Demon in response?"
"What did you say?"
"I told him, 'You certainly enjoy difficult tasks, Lord Smiling Demon.'"
I laughed out loud. She, who had always been somewhat stiff around me, was now speaking comfortably. It meant her position had stabilized and her confidence had grown. Like the other Demon Lords—no, even more so because she still had a long way to go—she was growing faster than anyone.
"If it weren't for you, Young Cult Leader, I would never have reached the position of Demon Lord."
"You don't need to make this decision for that reason," I said. "Decide as you wish, Demon Lord."
At that, the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord looked at me with a peculiar, playful glint in her eyes.
"Are you serious?"
It was as if she were asking, Do you really not need my help? Of course, that wasn't the case. If it were, I wouldn't have come here in the first place.
"No. I desperately need your help."
At my honest answer, the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord smiled. Her silent smile now harmonized perfectly with her ghostly Qi.
"As I said, the situation is unfavorable. You might even fall out of my father's favor."
That was the most important factor for the other Demon Lords, but not for her.
"You don't need to worry about that. I am already standing outside the Cult Leader's sight."
She didn't mean that my father hated her. She meant that it would take much more time and effort to even enter his field of vision. To him, she was likely still seen as an incomplete Demon Lord. She understood exactly where she stood and what kind of person my father was.
"Would someone like me be acceptable?"
I gave her a polite fist salute.
"You may stand outside my father's sight, but you stand at the very front of mine."
That was enough. The ghostly Qi emanating from the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord's eyes grew even more intense.
"All the ghosts of this Cult shall follow the Young Cult Leader."
*
The Demon Buddha was crafting a stone statue in a small clearing a short distance away from the Golden Great Buddha.
The sight of the Demon Buddha carving stone with a chisel and hammer felt both fitting and strangely foreign. The surrounding buildings, statues, and pagodas were all plated in gold, but the statue he was currently making was of ordinary stone.
"I'm winning, three to two," I started with a bluff.
Of course, it didn't work.
"Your lying has only improved since I last saw you," the Demon Buddha replied without looking up.
"And you are as sharp as ever, Lord Demon Buddha."
That was the real lie. The Demon Buddha felt much softer than before. Had he attained some kind of spiritual enlightenment?
I stood for a moment and watched the Demon Buddha, who had become a stonemason. He wasn't just good at gathering herbs; his skill in carving stone was exceptional.
"But how did you know? That I only have two on my side."
"Because even two is a lot."
I couldn't help but laugh. How could I deny it? My opponent was my father.
"There is a silver lining to this. I've been able to meet all the Demon Lords and see what they're thinking. Perhaps this is what my father intended—to make me know my place and realize reality!"
Clang! Clang!
The hammering stopped for a moment. From behind his hammer, the Demon Buddha glanced at me.
"Do you really think the Cult Leader created this stage just to show off how many Demon Lords support him?"
The Demon Buddha used the word 'stage.' In other words, he believed my father had created this situation intentionally.
"Did he want me to become closer to the Demon Lords?"
Clang!
The sound of the hammer was crisp, as if to say I was wrong.
"Or is my father using this opportunity to reflect on his own relationships with the Demon Lords?"
Again, as if it were the wrong answer, only the sound of the hammer rang out. Clang, clang.
How did the Demon Buddha view this matter? Though he was acting like a detached, enlightened man now, he was once the most political and pragmatic person among the Eight Demon Lords.
"Please tell me. Why did my father create this stage?"
The Demon Buddha stopped hammering and inspected the statue. He frowned and shook his head, as if the balance was off. Indeed, how could he focus on his work while having such a conversation?
The Demon Buddha set down his hammer and turned toward me.
"To seat us on that stage as the audience."
It was an unexpected answer. If the Demon Lords were the audience...
"Could it be? Do you mean he intends to fight me on that stage?"
The Demon Buddha looked at me as if the answer were obvious. In that moment, the words of the Fist Demon came to mind.
— The Cult Leader has already begun the war.
Did the war the Fist Demon spoke of mean a war with me?
"They say no parent can win against their child, don't they?" the Demon Buddha remarked unexpectedly. "But the Cult Leader will not lose to you."
I could feel that the Demon Buddha viewed my father through the same lens as the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
"Ordinary people think it's foolish to create another enemy when you already have one, don't they?"
"Is it not?"
"For ordinary people, perhaps."
"Then what about for my father?"
The Demon Buddha looked up at the Heavenly Demon Hall visible in the distance.
"The Cult Leader intends to cut down everyone with a single drawn sword."
"!"
"He will persuade you while the Demon Lords watch, and then, with that unified power, he will eliminate those behind the scenes. Furthermore, with that blood-dripping sword, he intends to cut down the Murim Alliance and the Unorthodox Path Alliance as well."
The words 'That can't be true' did not leave my mouth. Instead, a single scene flashed through my mind.
The empty Grand Tutor's chair.
The sight of the seat my father always occupied, now vacant. It was a more terrifying sight than imagining my father holding a blood-stained Heavenly Demon Sword.
"Is there a reason you're so certain?"
"There is."
A brilliant golden radiance shone intensely from the Demon Buddha's body.
"Because the Cult has never been this strong."
If the Demon Buddha's thoughts were true... in the end, I was the one who had set my father in motion.
*
"Young Cult Leader!"
The person looking at me with startled eyes was Go Wol.
After meeting the Demon Buddha, I had immediately used the Rapid Speed Step to run to where Go Wol was. I had truly run like the wind. While I was in the North Sea, Go Wol had been traveling between the Main Cult and the outside world, further strengthening Eun-wol.
The branch office I arrived at today was a distance that could be reached in half a day's run using the Rapid Speed Step.
"You must be busy; what brings you all the way here?"
The desk where he sat was still piled high with documents.
"Why is there so much work? I told you to leave it to your subordinates."
"I do leave it to them."
"You should just drink tea and nag them."
Knowing he wasn't the type to do that, I added one more thing today.
"Strategist Go. You know how important you are to me, right?"
"I know."
"Then don't make me worry about your health."
I wasn't worried about his safety, as I knew he was protected by the masters sent by the Pungcheon Cult Leader. But I had to nag him about his health.
"You must be busy meeting the Demon Lords; how did you manage to come here?"
As expected, Go Wol was well-informed about the affairs of the Main Cult.
"I came because I missed you. Come, let's get some fresh air for a moment."
I left the office with Go Wol. Stepping out of the back courtyard led directly to the marketplace. We walked side by side through the bustling crowd.
"Don't sit in your chair for too long. They say your lifespan decreases the longer you sit. Stand up and walk at least once every half-hour."
"I understand."
"I'm nagging too much after not seeing you for a while, aren't I?"
Go Wol didn't deny it and simply smiled. I knew how well Go Wol teased the Pungcheon Cult Leader. If the Pungcheon Cult Leader had given this lecture, his reaction would have been quite different.
"Do you hear from the Cult Leader often?"
The Pungcheon Cult Leader had remained at the Pungcheon Cult for the sake of his disciple, the current leader. I thought he would return after a month or two, but he had stayed quite a while. Since their relationship had been restored, it seemed he had much he wanted to teach.
"I receive missives occasionally. Half of them are complaints about his disciple."
"Is the other half cursing me?"
"How did you know?"
We laughed together.
"Judging by how the intervals between his missives are getting shorter, it seems the Cult Leader is also getting restless. I expect he will return before long."
"I miss the Pungcheon Cult Leader as well."
After chatting about this and that, I brought up the main point.
"While meeting the Demon Lords this time, one thought kept crossing my mind."
"What thought was that?"
"Do I have the right to break my father's dream?"
The Demon Lords all understood my father's ambition. Though they didn't express it as openly as the One Flower Sword Venerable, they likely felt similarly. That was the source of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's conflict, and surely the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon was no different.
"Even so, what is the reason you wish to stop him?"
Because too many people will die.
But that answer didn't come easily. Just as it was hard for the Poison King to say 'Because I like poison,' I couldn't say those words easily either.
Are you truly the kind of person who worries about the safety of all martial artists?
That question immediately sprang to my mind. Normally, I should have said this: The purpose of my regression was to save those who should live and kill those who should die.
But if a war breaks out, people who shouldn't die will perish. There's no telling who that might be. It could be one of the Demon Lords, it could be Lee An, or it could be Seo Dae-ryong. It could be Go Wol standing before me, or the Pungcheon Cult Leader. It could be Jo Chun-bae, or even the customers at the Pungryu Tavern. This matter wouldn't end with just a broken table.
In addition to that, there was my feeling for my father.
In my life before regression, I experienced so much. I saw many lives and felt extreme loneliness. I endured unbearable hardships and crossed the threshold of death several times. I endured all of it for the sake of revenge.
That is what revenge is.
Killing someone is an act that creates that kind of vengeful spirit. If humans can't forget someone for a few hurtful words for the rest of their lives, then this act would take the lives of countless people. The friends, colleagues, and families of the dead.
Through war, thousands, tens of thousands of vengeful hearts like mine would be born.
Tens of thousands of 'me.'
Tens of thousands of Hwa Mu-gis.
That burden would fall upon the shoulders of my father, who started the war. I do not want my father to carry that weight of resentment. I do not want him to stand at the tip of those countless swords of vengeance.
Is it not his dream? Is it not his ambition?
I think my father was the same as I was before my regression. We never had the chance to dream a different dream. My father lived as the Heavenly Demon, unable to open his heart to anyone, and I lived as the kin who had lost that Heavenly Demon. We were stronger than anyone, but we were people who had never been able to dream a proper dream.
Added to this heart was one more belief. The heavens surely didn't give me the chance to regress just to drive countless people to their deaths.
After many thoughts circled around, they returned to the starting point.
"Because too many people will die in that war."
Go Wol watched the people passing by in silence for a moment. Then, he looked at me and spoke softly.
"If that is the reason, is it not enough to justify stopping it, regardless of the cost?"
Yes, it seemed I had wanted to hear those words from Go Wol. That was likely why I had run like the wind across the long distance. To hear those words from my strategist.
Now, the moment had come to return and face my father.
"I think I am ready to step onto the stage as well."