Chapter 519: The One Who Dwells in a Father’s Heart
Chapter 519: The One Who Dwells in a Father’s Heart
It was Geom Wu-jin’s Great Annihilation Form.
The malevolent spirits summoned by his father multiplied in the blink of an eye. The moment Geom Mu-geuk saw them, he knew.
It’s different.
His father had shown him the Great Annihilation Form once before. On that day, their versions of the technique had clashed head-on.
It had been a collision of forty-four against four.
On that day, his father’s spirits had utterly obliterated his own. Mu-geuk had been forced to push his Body Protection Qi to its absolute limit just to withstand the sheer force of the aftermath.
Mu-geuk’s own spirits were far stronger now than they were then, but the same held true for his father. The elder Geom’s ghosts had grown massive, radiating a far more oppressive presence. The sheer density of the Demonic Energy they emitted was undeniable proof of their evolution.
Father’s Nine Calamities Demonic Art has surpassed the Ten-Star Great Achievement. He is reaching an entirely new realm!
Mu-geuk looked at his own spirits and sent a silent command.
You lot need to eat more and grow bigger.
If Mu-geuk felt this way, the pressure weighing on Honma and the remaining masters was unimaginable.
Wooooooo—
A low, heavy vibration echoed through the air. The Demonic Energy radiating from the ranks of ghosts sent cold goosebumps crawling across their skin. Honma realized instinctively that they could never block the martial art unfolding before them.
“It’s the Nine Calamities Demonic Art! Protect the Young Cult Leader!”
Honma threw himself forward desperately. The four remaining masters moved in unison with him.
Escape was impossible; they couldn't flee through the walls or the ceiling. When the Great Annihilation Form was unleashed, the overwhelming Demonic Energy seized control of the very space they occupied. It was as if they were trapped within invisible walls, confined to the domain where the ghosts stood.
Since Honma and the four masters had shifted their positions, Mu-geuk expected his father to halt the Great Annihilation Form and adjust his aim before unleashing it again.
Then, something unexpected happened.
Sssssss.
The ranks of malevolent spirits pivoted in perfect unison. Mu-geuk was stunned. In his version of the Great Annihilation Form, the ghosts simply multiplied and surged forward in a straight line.
But his father’s ghosts could change direction.
Mu-geuk realized that the reason his father hadn't crushed the traitors immediately was to show him this very evolution. If the technique already possessed such versatility, he couldn't imagine what the Nine Calamities Demonic Art would look like once it reached the Twelve-Star Great Achievement.
Of course, even now, the technique was likely consuming a staggering amount of internal energy.
Staring at the swords the spirits leveled at him, Honma felt his entire body turn to ice. His gaze shifted toward Gyo Cheon, who stood in the distance.
— Are you just going to watch? Use whatever you’ve prepared!
Despite the desperate Voice Transmission, Gyo Cheon merely watched the scene unfold in silence.
His stillness told Honma everything. Gyo Cheon had intended to use them as expendable pawns from the very beginning. He wanted them to drain as much of the Cult Leader’s internal energy as possible before he stepped in to finish the job.
Gyo Cheon had sought Honma out while he was living in quiet retirement. He was a man Honma had long believed dead, and the first thing he had said was this:
— Join me, and let us take over the Murim.
When he first heard those words, Honma should have rejected him immediately, calling it madness. Out of respect for their past friendship, he should have told Gyo Cheon to leave and promised not to report him to the Cult.
— Why are we forbidden from dreaming such dreams? Why are such grand ambitions reserved only for them?
Those words had made his heart flutter. He had thought that if he played his cards right and exploited this man’s thirst for revenge, he might be able to spend the final years of his life in splendor.
You only live once, after all.
He had lived long enough, anyway.
He couldn't resist the temptation. At the time of his retirement, his life had become far too dull and tedious. At an age when desires should be allowed to flow away like water, they instead burned through his body like fire.
And now, staring at the demons lined up against him, Honma finally woke from the dream.
I thought I was using him, but in the end, I was the one being used.
For Gyo Cheon, revenge was everything. His goal was to sacrifice everyone else to drain the Cult Leader’s energy, only to step forward at the very end to claim his vengeance.
Would he really stop at mere revenge after preparing all this? After going through the trouble of gathering these experts?
Apparently, he would. He was nothing more than an incarnation of vengeance who had scraped together the lingering desires of old men.
Honma only realized this now, at the very end.
Now, there was only one thing left to rely on.
“Cult Leader, stay your wrath! Surely you don’t intend to unleash the Nine Calamities Demonic Art while your son is right here?”
Geom Wu-jin stared at Honma with an unreadable expression.
From behind, Mu-geuk spoke up.
“That’s because you don’t know how cold-hearted my father can be.”
Ignoring Mu-geuk’s words, Honma shouted to the others.
“As long as the Young Cult Leader is there, he will never release it!”
Two of the four masters turned to guard their rear, bracing for an attack from Mu-geuk and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
Thump.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon planted the Heaven Extermination Great Blade in the ground in front of Mu-geuk.
“This won’t stop it, but it might help a little.”
Mu-geuk looked at the elder.
“As expected, you know my father all too well, Elder.”
He understood that the elder also believed Wu-jin would unleash the attack despite his son’s presence.
Honma grew even more frantic at the Blade Demon’s reaction.
“Cult Leader, withdraw the Nine Calamities Demonic Art! If we launch a combined attack simultaneously, the Young Cult Leader won’t survive. Think of your son!”
But his opponent was not a man moved by threats.
The moment the corners of Geom Wu-jin’s mouth curled upward, the Great Annihilation Form was unleashed.
Rumble!
The malevolent spirits surged forward all at once.
Honma and the remaining masters pushed their Body Protection Qi to the limit and unleashed their own Gang Qi.
Swish! Shing! Whoosh!
Boom! Crash! Thud!
The unleashed Gang Qi collided with the ghosts. Their attacks carried enough power to grind boulders into dust.
However, the spirits only wavered for a moment; they were not destroyed. They continued to push forward relentlessly.
“No!”
A ghost struck Honma. He could not block the massive concentration of Gang Qi created by the Nine Calamities Demonic Art.
Splatter!
Honma’s flesh and bone were pulverized instantly, reduced to a crimson mist.
The other four masters met the same fate, with only slight variations in timing. They swung their swords, but the blades snapped like glass. They tried to endure with Body Protection Qi, but they were torn to shreds. They tried to leap away, but they were dragged back by the Demonic Energy and blown to pieces.
Rumble!
After sweeping the traitors away, the spirits surged toward Mu-geuk and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
Mu-geuk stood his ground, watching the ghosts of the Great Annihilation Form rush toward him. The terrifying demons surged like a tidal wave. Even Mu-geuk, a practitioner of demonic arts himself, felt suffocated by the Demonic Energy they emitted.
So this is what it feels like to be on the receiving end of the Great Annihilation Form.
ROAR!
The surging ghosts tore through the wall behind where the two men stood.
Then, one ghost came to a halt.
Right in front of Mu-geuk and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, a single spirit stopped. It was a demon larger than the Heaven Extermination Great Blade planted in the ground. His father had halted only the ghosts that occupied the space where his son and the Blade Demon stood.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon looked at the ghost and gave a respectful fist salute, showing his deference to the Nine Calamities Demonic Art.
Mu-geuk stared silently at the ghost before him. The demon stared straight ahead with terrifying, cold eyes. It looked as vivid as if it had just crawled out of hell.
Mu-geuk had originally intended to set up the Great Demonic Wall. But at the last moment, he had changed his mind. Surely he wouldn't kill his own son? He had trusted his father.
Fwoosh.
The ghost, which had been standing tall and proud, slowly began to fade. Just before it vanished, Mu-geuk had the illusion that the demon lowered its gaze to look at him.
Once the ghosts were gone, the scene within the hall was finally revealed.
Amidst the silence left by death, blood that had not yet cooled flowed across the floor. The twelve masters who had been here were all dead at Geom Wu-jin’s hand. It was impossible to even tell how many there had been originally.
Now, only Gyo Cheon remained.
“Hahahaha!”
Gyo Cheon laughed. Reflected in the pools of blood, he looked like a madman. He looked like someone who had given up on everything, yet also like someone who had expected this outcome.
Geom Wu-jin’s gaze turned toward Gyo Cheon. Mu-geuk and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon also stared at him.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon shouted at Gyo Cheon.
“Did you truly not know it would end like this?”
Gyo Cheon stopped laughing abruptly and looked at the Blade Demon with sunken eyes. He looked as if he had something to say, but he remained silent.
Geom Wu-jin turned to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
“Leave the rest to me.”
Mu-geuk understood. Regardless of what Gyo Cheon had prepared as a final move, his father wanted to spare the Blood Heaven Blade Demon from the fate of having to kill his master again. Even if he didn't express it outwardly, Mu-geuk could feel that his father was looking out for the Blade Demon.
Geom Wu-jin walked slowly toward Gyo Cheon, his sword hanging low. He had considered the Blade Demon’s feelings until the very end, as he intended to kill Gyo Cheon while leaving the corpse intact.
“Do you have no last words for your disciple?”
Gyo Cheon glanced at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and snorted. Then, with a meaningful look, he asked back.
“And you? Do you have no last words for your son?”
The moment he finished speaking—
Pop!
Gyo Cheon’s form vanished into smoke.
Simultaneously, everything around them began to disappear. The walls, the tables, the chairs, and even the corpses on the floor.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
Even Mu-geuk and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon scattered into smoke. It was as if everything up until now had been an illusion.
Geom Wu-jin spoke softly.
“An illusion!”
When everything vanished, they were in the middle of a deep mountain range. Geom Wu-jin recognized it immediately. This was Daecheon Mountain, the home of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. This was the place where he had been hunting on that fateful day.
Not only had his surroundings changed, but he had changed as well. The sword he carried was not the Heavenly Demon Sword. When he drew the blade and looked at his reflection, he saw his younger self. It was the version of him before he had mastered the Nine Calamities Demonic Art.
Right then.
“Wu-jin.”
Startled, Geom Wu-jin turned around to see his older brother from his youth standing a short distance away.
Wu-jin’s eyes trembled. His brother stood there exactly as he had looked on that day. He had hated him so much back then. Even as the years passed, his brother was a figure who never disappeared from his life. If anything, his brother’s traces had only grown deeper.
His brother repeated the exact words he had said that day.
“Didn’t you know it would turn out like this anyway?”
A cold killing intent radiated from his brother. On that day, even though he had known it was coming, he had been furious to see his brother actually trying to kill him. But seeing him today, his heart felt different.
“I suppose I did back then.”
For the first time, Geom Wu-jin let out a sigh. Like his younger self who had worn his emotions on his sleeve, Wu-jin allowed his regret to show.
“There must have been a way, Brother.”
It wouldn't have been an easy path, but there must have been a way. His son had proven it by accomplishing that difficult task himself.
“There was no other way. Neither you nor I would have ever backed down.”
Even so, they should have found a way. His younger self hadn't been able to find it. But what about now? Now that he had watched everything his son had achieved.
It was then that someone else appeared from behind.
“Second Young Master, I am sorry it has come to this.”
It was Gyo Cheon, holding a great blade. He wasn't the withered old man he was now, but the Blade Demon of his prime, burning with ambition.
However, as if to show this wasn't a perfect recreation of that day, Gyo Cheon spoke with a knowing look.
“That day, I failed to kill you because of that disciple’s betrayal, but today will be different.”
Killing intent swirled in Gyo Cheon’s eyes. He had tried to kill Wu-jin like this back then as well. Because it was a day both of them remembered, this illusion was manifested with terrifying detail.
Then, a voice came from behind.
“Today is certainly different.”
Another figure emerged.
“Because instead of a disciple, a son has come.”
To Wu-jin’s surprise, the one who appeared was Geom Mu-geuk.
“Perhaps because of the Nine Calamities Demonic Art, I was drawn into this illusion as well.”
The younger version of the father and his son stood facing each other. The two looked at one another with intense gazes.
“To see you in your youth, Father… I am truly moved.”
Geom Wu-jin’s gaze as he looked at his son was infinitely deep.
Mu-geuk’s eyes shifted toward Wu-jin’s older brother.
“So that is what my uncle looked like.”
Mu-geuk gave a polite fist salute and greeted him.
“This is my first time meeting you. I am Mu-geuk.”
The brother glared at Mu-geuk with a displeased expression. His reaction was as vivid as if he were a real person. Mu-geuk asked his father.
“What kind of illusion art have we fallen into?”
Geom Wu-jin knew exactly what kind of technique it was.
“It is the Illusion Heart Demon Art. It is a technique that uses the person who dwells most deeply in the target’s heart to kill the one caught in it.”
In other words, it could be the person one hated most, or the person one loved and cherished most.
“So the person who dwelt most largely in your heart was your brother, Father.”
Most illusion arts belonged to the Unorthodox Faction, but the Illusion Heart Demon Art was a technique passed down through the Orthodox Path. Since all demonic arts were powerless before the supreme Nine Calamities Demonic Art, Gyo Cheon had used an Orthodox technique. He must have trained his whole life to conclude his revenge with this art.
“But he didn't account for a variable like me.”
Mu-geuk drew his sword and walked up to stand beside Geom Wu-jin.
“Father, it may be painful, but please let go of the past now.”
Geom Wu-jin nodded and walked forward.
Step. Step.
He moved toward his brother. In the illusion, only the sound of his footsteps could be heard.
His brother also drew his sword and walked forward, just as he had that day. Gyo Cheon walked out beside him.
Just as Geom Wu-jin was about to face the two of them at once, something unimaginable happened.
Geom Wu-jin thrust his sword with the speed of light.
Slash!
Stab!
The person who coughed up a mouthful of blood as the blade pierced his chest was Geom Mu-geuk.
Geom Wu-jin had turned with lightning speed and stabbed his son behind him.
“…Father?”