Chapter 514: We Are Demon Lords; Whose Help Would We Seek?
Chapter 514: We Are Demon Lords; Whose Help Would We Seek?
"Shut up!"
Gyo Cheon’s shout rang out like a clap of thunder.
Whoosh!
The hem of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s robes fluttered violently. It was a roar unlike any he had ever heard from his master. Infused with immense internal energy, the sound struck him like a physical gale.
Had he not braced himself by circulating his own power, he would have been sent flying, crashing ignominiously into the dirt. This single outburst revealed the staggering depth of the internal energy still hidden within his master’s aging frame.
As the fierce wind subsided, one might have expected the Blood Heaven Blade Demon to be cowed by such overwhelming power. Instead, he bellowed back.
"You’re the one who should shut up, Master!"
Because he had always treated his master with the utmost devotion, Gyo Cheon’s eyes widened in shock. Now, it was the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s voice that shook the clearing.
"Is this what your revenge looks like? Exterminating clans that have nothing to do with this? Trying to spark a war through manipulation and discord... using poison? Is this pathetic display really the culmination of all those years of resentment?"
Crack!
The other armrest of Gyo Cheon's chair shattered. When he had broken the first one, it had been reduced to fine powder, but this time, jagged chunks of wood rained down. He was so consumed by rage that he didn't even realize he had crushed it.
But the Blood Heaven Blade Demon refused to back down.
"You should have made a grand return! If you weren't ready to face the world properly, you shouldn't have come back at all!"
After that outburst, he added one last thing, his tone dropping into a low register laced with profound regret.
"…Only then could I have died for you gladly."
The gazes of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and Gyo Cheon locked in midair.
Was it because of the grief and sorrow reflected in his disciple's eyes? Gyo Cheon had convinced himself that even the man's apologies were mere hypocrisy and acting, but in this moment, he couldn't bring himself to believe that lie.
‘You came here prepared to die?’
However, that flicker of sincerity could not scale the high wall blocking his heart. After staring at his disciple for a long moment, Gyo Cheon turned to the two old men.
"Kill him. Kill him in the most gruesome, miserable way possible!"
A smile of relief, rather than fear, spread across the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s lips. Indeed, no matter what words they exchanged, the conclusion of today’s meeting was already set. The only variable was who would be the one to die.
In a way, he was grateful his master had taken this stance. Now, he could fight without a shred of lingering hesitation.
"I shall obey your command, Master."
The one who answered loudly was the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. It was a mockery, a joke played as if he were the one who had received the order to kill.
In contrast, the two old men remained expressionless. This was how his master must have raised them—devoid of emotion, existing only for this single moment. And these two surely weren't his master's only subordinates. No one knew what else might emerge from his master’s decades-old bag of grudges today.
Vroom!
Infused with internal energy, the Heaven Extermination Great Blade let out a long, low hum. It wasn't a cry of fear; it was a resonance filled with the trust of a cherished weapon that felt its master’s resolve.
‘Yes, I’m counting on you, Myeol-cheon.’
The red-robed old man approached from the right, while the blue-robed old man closed in from the left. All three of them had reached Great Achievement in the Heaven Extermination Demonic Blade Form.
At this level, the battle would likely be decided in an instant. Furthermore, they were all too familiar with each other's martial arts. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon imagined how his master must have trained these men. It must have been harsh—all for this moment. To use the Heaven Extermination Demonic Blade Form, and no other style, to kill him miserably.
‘I will take back the martial arts I bestowed upon you using those very same arts.’ That was undoubtedly his master's intent.
‘Is that so?’
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was the first to move.
The moment his feet kicked off the ground, he was already swinging his blade at the red-robed man.
Screeeech!
The Heaven Extermination Great Blade flew through the air at a speed that defied its massive size. His opponent did not retreat, swinging his own great blade to parry. Just before the steel collided, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon twisted his weapon. The blade, its angle shifted, sparked as it slid along the opponent’s steel.
Whoosh!
Having calculated the opponent’s reaction, the Heaven Extermination Great Blade grazed the old man’s face. The elder was deeply startled. It was an unexpected variation. He hadn't anticipated a deceptive move aimed at his life on the very first strike, and he had nearly lost his head.
It was a preemptive strike by the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, exploiting the fact that masters of the blade often begin a duel by testing each other's strength with a direct clash.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon did not let up, pressing his advantage. The old man was not so unskilled that his footing would crumble just because he was nearly caught by the first move, but he had clearly lost the initiative.
Clang! Cl-clang! Clang-clang-clang-clang!
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s attacks grew faster and more violent. The resonance of clashing blades deepened with every exchange. The old man in the blue robe could not find an opening to intervene.
It was as if the carriage had already departed. A fight had begun that allowed no interference. Because the two were locked in such close, fierce combat, unleashing the Heaven Extermination Demonic Blade Form would likely sweep the red-robed elder into the Gang Qi as well.
Yet he couldn't simply jump in to help, either. Their exchange was too intense, and this was a battle of great blades, not swords. There was no gap for another heavy blade to wedge itself in.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was fighting a battle of fundamentals. His opponent had likely spent years honing nothing but the Heaven Extermination Demonic Blade Form, expecting to face him with those specific techniques. In a contest of pure fundamentals, the specialized forms would naturally be at a disadvantage.
Indeed, it was the Blood Heaven Blade Demon who dominated the fight. His skill had improved not just through training, but through a more crucial factor: his life had changed.
When a life changes, the martial arts change with it. This grand principle of martial studies was being proven here.
Watching the fight, Gyo Cheon’s eyes darkened. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was fighting better than he had anticipated. The moment he realized his disciple was stronger than he himself had been during his time as a Demon Lord, jealousy and rage surged within him.
Then, the words the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had spoken earlier flashed through his mind.
—Your mind must be filled with fog, Master.
Was that why only these instincts—hatred, jealousy, and anger—were surfacing? But he could not find a wise way to resolve the thought. He could not overcome the massive wall he had built over so many years on his own. If he could have, he wouldn't have had to hear such words in the first place.
Ultimately, that jealousy manifested as further condemnation.
‘Cunning wretch!’
Several of the things the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had said earlier remained lodged in his chest. Among them, the claim that Geom Wu-jin wasn't the cunning one, but rather that his master’s own cunning had been exposed, left a bitter dreg.
‘You cunning bastard! You’re the one who’s more devious!’
He repeatedly hurled the word "cunning" in his mind. To him, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s intelligent fighting style was nothing but trickery.
Driven back, the red-robed man leaped into the air and unleashed the Heaven Extermination Demonic Blade Form. It was the Extermination Blade Single Strike, the fastest technique in the repertoire.
But that was the exact moment the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had been waiting for—that split-second opening when a major technique is unleashed and internal energy is forcefully redirected.
Screeeech!
As if he had been waiting, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s blade lunged forward like a bolt of lightning to cleave the red-robed old man in two—!
Sh-sh-sh-sha!
A unique whistling sound accompanied a blast of Gang Qi. One could tell just by the sound: it was lethal. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon twisted his body, raising the Heaven Extermination Great Blade to block the incoming attack.
Boom!
As the Gang Qi slammed into him, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was pushed back, his blade acting as a shield. The power was staggering. Had his internal energy been even slightly lacking, his wrists would have snapped.
The one who had saved the red-robed man by firing a palm strike was Gyo Cheon.
"Is this how it’s going to be?"
At the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s question, Gyo Cheon laughed with satisfaction.
"You’re the one who should stop with the cunning tricks!"
He had finally managed to throw the word "cunning" back at his disciple.
Their conversation could not continue. Having regained his composure thanks to Gyo Cheon’s intervention, the red-robed old man immediately unleashed another technique of the Heaven Extermination Demonic Blade Form.
Screeeech!
Normally, he should have regrouped for a coordinated attack, but his pride was wounded by the fact that his life had been saved by Gyo Cheon. Blade-shaped Gang Qi swirled toward the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
It was an unavoidable attack. If it could be easily evaded, the technique wouldn't have been named the Fourth Form: Extermination Blade Blood Wind.
The solution to the Blood Wind was the Blood Wind itself.
Blade Qi erupted from the Heaven Extermination Great Blade, spiraling outward. Within both versions of the Extermination Blade Blood Wind, tiny blade-shaped shards of Gang Qi were spinning. The two blood winds collided.
At the moment the Gang Qi neutralized each other with an ear-splitting explosion...
Squeltch.
Silence fell at the sound of flesh being pierced.
The red-robed old man looked down at his chest in disbelief. A shard of Gang Qi, like a bird escaping a net, had flown through and impaled him. They had clearly used the same technique with similar power, but there was one difference.
The number of blades in the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s Blood Wind was greater. As his martial realm had recently ascended, his mastery of the Heaven Extermination Demonic Blade Form had deepened.
"…Can the number... be increased even further?"
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon answered him.
"How could a senior brother's technique be the same as his juniors'?"
The red-robed old man asked with fading eyes.
"Then why... didn't you use it from the start?"
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon slowly turned his head to look at his master.
"I was saving it for the Master."
Gyo Cheon’s cheek twitched again. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon realized that it wasn't just his martial arts that had improved; he had also learned much from Geom Mu-geuk on how to handle his master. He was using the very tactics that had worked on him against Gyo Cheon.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon now charged toward the blue-robed old man. Once again, he did not use the Heaven Extermination Demonic Blade Form.
Seeing this, Gyo Cheon grew even more enraged. Hadn't he just said it? That he was saving the Heaven Extermination Demonic Blade Form for him? Yet he still wasn't using it.
‘You truly intend to kill me with your own hands?’
It was ultimately this rage that drove Gyo Cheon to intervene in the fight, which was exactly what the Blood Heaven Blade Demon wanted. Whenever the blue-robed old man was in danger, Gyo Cheon fired Finger Wind to assist him.
It shouldn't have been easy to help in such a chaotic melee, but Gyo Cheon’s attacks were sharp and precise.
Slice! Slice!
The Finger Wind fired by his master grazed his arms and legs, while in front of him, a master who had achieved Great Achievement in the Heaven Extermination Demonic Blade Form was trying to kill him. Normally, he would have become agitated and tried to kill his opponent as quickly as possible, but the Blood Heaven Blade Demon did not. He even managed his internal energy carefully as he fought.
A handful of internal energy was worth a drop of blood. He intended to survive until the end to fight his master. This calculated and thorough battle by the Blood Heaven Blade Demon finally reached its end.
Thuck!
The Heaven Extermination Great Blade pierced the blue-robed old man’s heart. The old man’s resentful gaze was directed not at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, but at Gyo Cheon.
Gyo Cheon’s "help" had actually been a hindrance. If he was going to help, he should have stepped in properly. He hadn't done that. Instead, he had only distracted the man, preventing him from displaying his full skill. Help tainted by emotion had been no help at all.
Gyo Cheon looked at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, who was drenched in blood. He offered not a single word of mourning for his dead disciples, nor did he regret their deaths.
"You’ve become quite something."
Wiping the blood from his face, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon spoke.
"Why do you think I’m the only one among the Demon Lords with 'Blood' in my title?"
His eyes were glowing with a terrifying light. Gyo Cheon met that gaze and spoke coldly.
"No one will come to help you. Your arrogance will ensure you die here, all alone."
As if accepting everything, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon gave a lonely smile and asked back.
"We are Demon Lords. Whose help would we possibly seek?"
Those words became a thorn that pricked Gyo Cheon’s heart once more. If his disciple was a Demon Lord, then he was a man who had once been a Demon Lord himself. Demon Lords are beings who live for their pride. A Demon Lord is one who stands tall alone, never losing to anyone in battle and never seeking help from anyone.
"I know you’ve prepared much more. Well then, who’s next?"
Seeing the Blood Heaven Blade Demon standing so tall, Gyo Cheon roared. He had considered him a mere fledgling disciple, but now, every single word the man spoke pierced his heart.
"You brat, until the very end—!"
Unable to contain himself, Gyo Cheon unleashed his palm force.
Siaaaaaang!
A terrifying force surged forward. Unable to dodge, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon used the Heaven Extermination Great Blade as a shield, hiding his body behind it while pouring his internal energy into it to the limit.
Boom!
The Heaven Extermination Great Blade shook violently from the impact. His wrists nearly snapped, and he came close to suffering internal injuries.
Siaaaaaang!
Bang!
A second palm strike followed immediately, and then a third.
Boom! Crash!
The Heaven Extermination Great Blade shook as if it might break at any moment. Under the relentless assault, the blade began to tilt. His master’s voice echoed from beyond the steel.
"I shall break that arrogant blade of yours!"
Swoooooosh!
The sound was different from before. A palm strike carrying an astronomical amount of internal energy was flying toward him.
‘The blade might actually break.’
But that was unacceptable. The Heaven Extermination Great Blade was his symbol. Instead of pushing his Body Protection Qi to the limit, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon poured all his internal energy into the blade itself. Even if he suffered internal injuries, he intended to protect his weapon.
K-booooom!
A massive explosion erupted.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was still standing in the same spot. He hadn't suffered internal injuries, nor had he been thrown back. And the Heaven Extermination Great Blade stood tall, unbroken.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon saw it—a hand reaching out from behind him, pressed against the back of his blade. Startled, he turned around. The moment he saw the person standing there, his face filled with intense emotion as he called out.
"Cult Leader!"
Geom Wu-jin was standing behind him.
Perhaps he had hoped the Cult Leader would come. Perhaps, deep down, he had believed he would. But just as much as he had hoped, he had also wished the man wouldn't come.
On the day he had killed his own master, the Cult Leader had killed his own brother. They had both desperately hoped things wouldn't turn out that way, but they had. He could only guess what kind of scars the Cult Leader lived with. Since that day, he had never once asked about it. They never asked each other.
Because he didn't want the Cult Leader to relive that past, he had resolved to handle this matter alone. Yet, the Cult Leader had come. And today, the look in the Cult Leader’s eyes resembled the young eyes that had looked at him so long ago.
"We were together that day," Geom Wu-jin said firmly. "So we must be together today as well."