Chapter 684: I Am the One Who Kills
Chapter 684: I Am the One Who Kills
A dizzying shimmer flickered in the eyes of the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Master.
Geom Mu-geuk sensed a whirlwind of emotions in the gaze she directed at him: surprise, dread, and terror. The final emotion born from that dark mixture was hesitation.
"What version of me did you see?"
The Pavilion Master did not answer. Instead, she avoided his gaze entirely.
Lee An felt a surge of foreboding at the reaction. In a situation like this, what could possibly be left unsaid?
Just what did she see?
The Smiling Demon stared at her in silence. One might have expected him to press her to speak to the Young Cult Leader, but he didn't. He didn't force her; he simply waited for her to make a choice.
Geom Mu-geuk attempted to lift the heavy atmosphere.
"Let me try to guess the prophecy. Did you perhaps see me standing at the vanguard of the Great Demonic-Orthodox War? Toppling the Murim Alliance, then the Unorthodox Path Alliance... striking here, striking there. Did I end up achieving the Unification of the Murim? Were tens of thousands of heroes prostrating themselves in worship before me?"
The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Master slowly shook her head. She still couldn't bring herself to look Geom Mu-geuk in the eye.
"That’s a relief. Honestly, I was worried that might be what you saw."
Geom Mu-geuk took another guess.
"Then you must have seen something like this: me slowly climbing a set of stairs toward a Grand Tutor’s Chair at the very top. Only when I sat upon that throne did the surrounding scenery finally come into view—piles of corpses everywhere and blood flowing like a river. And at the end, I probably looked down at those bodies with a cold smile. Right? You saw a scene like that, didn't you? That’s why you can’t speak?"
But again, the Pavilion Master shook her head.
"I wish that were what I had seen instead."
The smile vanished from Geom Mu-geuk’s face. Lee An and the Smiling Demon tensed as well. Her words implied that the actual vision was far more horrific.
With everyone’s attention fixed on her, the Pavilion Master spoke in a low voice.
"The Young Cult Leader... was killing someone."
"!"
It was a statement that left no room for jokes. Who could he have been killing for her to say that a field of countless corpses would have been better?
"Who was I killing?"
If he had been killing some random villain, the Pavilion Master wouldn't be this grave. Her gaze slowly shifted. With trembling eyes, she looked toward the Smiling Demon.
"You were killing Brother."
"!"
In that moment, everyone was stunned. A heavy silence followed the shock.
I kill the Smiling Demon? That’s impossible!
Geom Mu-geuk was certain it could never happen. It was an utterly nonsensical prophecy. Then, a sudden thought occurred to him.
Wait. Did she see that?
The moment he had killed the Smiling Demon in his life before the regression!
The thought crossed his mind that it might be possible. Otherwise, there was no reason he would ever kill the Smiling Demon. Nor was the Smiling Demon the type of person to do something that deserved such a fate.
However, the prophecies of the Divine Maiden Palace were supposed to show the future. To show the past—and a past from before a regression at that? That was equally incomprehensible.
Geom Mu-geuk broke the silence with a laugh.
"Just what kind of trouble have you caused? Or rather, what kind of trouble are you planning to cause?"
The Smiling Demon played along with the joke.
"When you kill me, please make sure it’s painless."
The two men looked at each other and laughed. They were relaxed, but Lee An could not share their ease. She knew her next words might be a great rudeness, but since no one else was bringing it up, she had no choice.
"Is it possible for a prophecy to be wrong?"
The Pavilion Master answered with sunken eyes.
"A prophecy might not be granted, but it is never wrong." She continued with words no one wanted to hear. "What I saw will surely come to pass."
If that were true... Lee An’s heart began to pound. At this moment, though she felt sorry for the Smiling Demon, she was more worried about Geom Mu-geuk.
If such a thing were to happen, could Geom Mu-geuk simply move past the fact that he had killed the Smiling Demon? It would remain a lifelong scar. No, it might change him entirely—turning him dark and morose.
"But fate can be changed, can't it?"
At her words, Geom Mu-geuk nodded vigorously.
"Yes, it can be changed." He spoke confidently to the Pavilion Master as well. "Such a thing will not happen. So, do not worry."
The Pavilion Master remained unresponsive, her head bowed. Her mind seemed troubled, and she still refused to meet Geom Mu-geuk’s eyes.
"You must be tired from receiving the prophecy, so please rest. We’re going to go get some fresh air."
Geom Mu-geuk stood up and left the room, with Lee An following close behind. Once the two of them were gone, the Smiling Demon turned to the Pavilion Master.
"Care for a drink?"
"Yes."
The Smiling Demon stood up and brought some liquor from the cabinet. He brought the one she preferred.
Glug, glug.
The Pavilion Master emptied her cup in a single draft. Perhaps it was the worry that the Smiling Demon might die, but she continued to drain cup after cup in quick succession. The Smiling Demon silently refilled her empty glass.
After being lost in deep thought for a long time, a look of resolve finally appeared in the Pavilion Master’s eyes.
"Brother." She spoke with difficulty, her voice trembling. Never in her life had she felt this much fear. "Brother... I lied. I told the prophecy... differently."
Despite the shocking confession, the Smiling Demon’s eyes behind his white mask showed no surprise.
"Did you know?"
To her surprise, the Smiling Demon nodded.
"How did you know?"
"I know you. How could I not?"
In truth, there was a decisive reason. She had been far too calm for someone who had just seen him die. The Yeo-jeong he knew wasn't that kind of person. Especially since she believed prophecies were inevitable, she would have viewed his death as unavoidable.
Furthermore, she hadn't been able to meet the Young Cult Leader’s gaze. It wasn't because he was the man who would kill the person she loved; he had clearly sensed a feeling of guilt from her.
"The Young Cult Leader might have noticed as well. He is an exceptionally brilliant and perceptive man."
"I'm sorry, Brother."
"It’s alright. I’m sure you had your reasons." The Smiling Demon refilled her glass again and asked, "What did you see in the prophecy?"
The moment had come for her true prophecy to be revealed.
"It wasn't the Young Cult Leader." After a brief pause, shocking words tumbled from her lips. "You were the one who killed the Young Cult Leader."
"!"
The Smiling Demon’s startled eyes were visible through the holes of his white mask. He had laughed when she said he would die, and he had laughed when she said she had lied. But he wasn't laughing now.
"You stabbed the Young Cult Leader through the heart with a dagger."
*
Geom Mu-geuk and Lee An strolled through the inner court of the Heavenly Flower Pavilion. Though the grounds were beautifully landscaped, Lee An didn't notice any of it.
"If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have come. I ran away to avoid my worries, only to find a worry like this waiting for me."
She had been agonizing over the conflict between the First and Second Divisions, but now she was worrying about Geom Mu-geuk killing the Smiling Demon.
"That’s why you have to see the world. Now that you’re out here, that other problem doesn't seem like much, does it?"
"What do you mean, 'not much'! That was a conflict within the direct units of the successor to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult! It’s just that the problem here is too enormous!"
Geom Mu-geuk laughed as if amused, but Lee An didn't join him.
"Why? Are you afraid such a thing will actually happen?"
"Aren't you scared?"
"Don't worry. It won't happen."
"I'm sure it won't, but still..."
What weighed on her mind was the fact that the one who gave the prophecy was the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Master. If it had been anyone else, she would have dismissed it as nonsense, but the Pavilion Master wasn't the type to give false prophecies.
"Ah! Let’s go back in and ask."
"Ask what?"
"Where the place is that you kill Lord Smiling Demon. If we know, we can just never go there, right? Then fate will change."
"Oh! You're smart."
"If I were smart, I would have asked earlier. We always realize these things after the fact. Come on, let’s go ask."
However, Geom Mu-geuk didn't budge.
"But what if defying fate like that causes it to change for the worse?" As Lee An flinched, Geom Mu-geuk spoke with a deep gaze. "What if it changes to Lord Smiling Demon killing me? What then?"
Lee An was momentarily speechless. Geom Mu-geuk dying? That would be the moment her world ended.
"What do you mean, 'what then'? I’d shout for joy and say I’m finally free."
"Then that’s that."
Geom Mu-geuk laughed and started walking again, with Lee An following behind.
What do you mean, 'that’s that'? If you die, Young Master, I die too! So for my sake, you absolutely cannot die!
When the two of them finished their loop of the inner court and returned, the Smiling Demon and the Pavilion Master were waiting in front of the residence. When they had left the room, the atmosphere hadn't suggested they would meet again so soon.
The Smiling Demon spoke to Geom Mu-geuk.
"She says she has something to tell you, Young Cult Leader."
The Pavilion Master then dropped to her knees. Geom Mu-geuk and Lee An were startled by the sudden action.
"I lied to you, Young Cult Leader. The prophecy I saw was a different scene." This time, she didn't avoid Geom Mu-geuk’s gaze as she delivered the truth. "The prophecy I saw was a scene where Brother kills you."
Lee An froze in shock.
"I was so startled and confused that I lied in the moment. I am sorry."
Geom Mu-geuk didn't look surprised or angry.
"Please, stand up." He hurried to help her to her feet. "I understand. I would have done the same."
From Geom Mu-geuk’s calm reaction, the Pavilion Master realized the truth.
Just as Brother said, the Young Cult Leader already knew.
This was a lie so grave that she wouldn't have been able to complain even if the Young Cult Leader had killed her for it. It was a lie concerning the life of the successor to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Yet he had already sensed it and had been feigning ignorance. If she had never spoken up, Geom Mu-geuk would have likely kept pretending not to know forever. The Smiling Demon would have been the same. Honestly, these men.
"Whether I kill Lord Smiling Demon or he kills me, it’s the same thing in the end. There’s no need to distinguish between the two."
The Smiling Demon’s eyes were smiling. They were of the same mind. Come to think of it, this was a matter that concerned the fates of all four of them. If one person died, the aftermath would shake the remaining three to their cores.
"Thank you for telling me the truth."
The Pavilion Master bowed her head to Geom Mu-geuk, who was actually thanking her. The Smiling Demon walked over and gave her shoulder a light pat. If there hadn't been witnesses, he would have hugged her.
A moment ago, in the room, when she had asked if she should tell the Young Cult Leader, the Smiling Demon had told her this:
— What I learned from the Young Cult Leader was how to build relationships without misunderstandings.
That was why Geom Mu-geuk told him everything. Even this time, when he returned from his trip, he had told him everything that happened at the Murim Alliance.
You have to know to win. Problems always arise from what we don't know.
The Smiling Demon had relayed Geom Mu-geuk’s philosophy to her.
— The moment we decide to handle it ourselves, things will start to go wrong.
At those words, the Pavilion Master had stood up immediately and come out to wait for Geom Mu-geuk. Geom Mu-geuk guessed that the Smiling Demon was behind this swift confession.
"Thank you, Lord Smiling Demon."
"I'm the one doing the killing. You don't need to thank me."
Geom Mu-geuk smiled at the Smiling Demon’s joke. The two men were composed, but the women were not.
The Pavilion Master looked at Lee An. Lee An stood there silently, her face pale. The Pavilion Master knew better than anyone how she felt, as she herself had lied to protect the Smiling Demon.
The Pavilion Master approached Lee An and said, "I'm sorry."
"No, I'm the one who’s sorry."
Lee An felt truly sorry to the two of them. She hadn't been nearly this shocked when she thought the Smiling Demon was the one who would die. She shouldn't have let her selfishness show in front of them, but she couldn't help it.
The Pavilion Master silently squeezed her hand. Then, the Smiling Demon pulled a dagger from his robes. It was the Ten-thousand-year Cold Iron dagger he had received from Geom Mu-geuk.
"Was this the dagger that killed the Young Cult Leader?"
The Pavilion Master nodded slowly. The Smiling Demon looked down at his dagger.
Of all times, just when he had been gifted a Ten-thousand-year Cold Iron dagger and the manual for the Laughing Fragrance Dagger Technique, a prophecy appeared showing him killing Geom Mu-geuk with a dagger.
The Smiling Demon couldn't just let it slide, so he handed the dagger to Geom Mu-geuk.
"Please hold onto this for a while."
Lee An’s face brightened as Geom Mu-geuk took the dagger.
"Ah! If the Young Master has the dagger, then that will never happen."
But Geom Mu-geuk thought differently.
"Wouldn't that just lead to a worse result?"
He knew better than anyone that fate wasn't so easily swayed. Geom Mu-geuk handed the dagger back to the Smiling Demon.
"If Lord Smiling Demon and I are bound by a single fate, then let’s face it head-on and untangle it. Even if I am stabbed by that dagger, I will survive."
The Smiling Demon looked at the dagger. He saw the character for 'Smile' (笑) that Geom Mu-geuk had engraved himself. Yes, just as they had done until now.
The Smiling Demon took the dagger with a smile.
"I am ready."
Lee An knew she couldn't stop the two of them. They weren't the type to run from fate. So, she said in her heart, I’m ready too.
Geom Mu-geuk asked the Pavilion Master, "Do you happen to know where the place you saw in the prophecy was?"
The Pavilion Master closed her eyes for a moment, recalling the scene.
"It was a place with a high platform, watched by a vast crowd."
"Was it a sparring arena?"
"It seemed like it, but I’m not certain. What I saw was that there were truly many people there."
"Fortunately, it won't be a lonely death then."
It was then, as Lee An was glaring at Geom Mu-geuk for his senseless joke, that someone entered the area. It was the General Manager of the Heavenly Flower Pavilion. He approached and handed a letter to the Pavilion Master.
"What is this?"
"It is an invitation for you to serve as a judge, Pavilion Master."
"Me? As a judge?"
If it required judging, it meant it was a competition. The Pavilion Master opened the invitation. Her eyes widened as she confirmed the contents.
"Where is the invitation from?"
At Geom Mu-geuk’s question, the Pavilion Master held the invitation out for everyone to see. Only then did they understand why she had been invited as a judge. The name of the competition was written at the very top of the letter.
The World’s Greatest Beauty Contest.
Just as they decided to face it head-on, fate had sent an invitation.