Chapter 299
Chapter 299
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 299
>Chapter Title: The Cult of Evil (4)
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"It's not certain, but given the circumstances, it seems highly likely."
Il-mok answered while sweating coldly down his back, and the Heavenly Demon reined in his demonic qi before letting out a deep sigh.
"Hoo."
The culprit who had tried to kill Il-mok had already been dealt with long ago. By the Heavenly Demon's own hand.
The former Elder Council Leader had been that culprit.
And the Heavenly Demon had made a promise with the former Elder Council Leader.
To kill only the Elder Council Leader and spare those who followed him.
But now, things were different.
'I merely thought it was part of preparations for the cult leader struggle.'
Because of the Divine Cult's doctrine that the strongest would become the leader, the former Elder Council Leader's assassination plot was nothing special.
But borrowing power from the outside was a different matter. Especially borrowing power from the Central Plains, which had driven the Divine Cult to the borderlands.
'...No way, the claim that he would bear all the blame himself—was that because of this?'
I'd thought it was just him taking responsibility as the head of a faction, but now it was clear it was to hide evidence of collusion with some Central Plains faction.
"Silver Shadow Pavilion Lord."
"Command me, Lord of Ten Thousand Demons."
"Mobilize the full power of the Silver Shadow Pavilion to dig into everyone connected to the former Elder Council Leader from now on. They might cover their tracks, so handle it as secretly as possible."
"I shall obey your command."
The Silver Shadow Pavilion Lord offered a deep bow to the Heavenly Demon with utmost courtesy, then left the Heavenly Demon Hall to carry out the order.
A thought crossed his mind that blood might rain within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult for the first time in who knew how long.
After the Silver Shadow Pavilion Lord departed, the Heavenly Demon sighed once more, then recalled a question and looked at Il-mok.
"By the way, back when the Black Chariot incident occurred, didn't you say you learned of the Black Chariot's existence thanks to the innkeeper?"
"Yes, Master."
"Hmm. It's not just hard to obtain in the West—few in the Central Plains even know of it. How did that innkeeper know about it?"
"......"
The Heavenly Demon had asked offhandedly as the thought occurred to him, but Il-mok suddenly felt a knife at his throat.
'D-dangerous.'
All the lies he'd piled up over time were on the verge of being exposed.
Il-mok, who had been about to fabricate some plausible excuse, decided to play ignorant instead.
"...This disciple found that point puzzling as well. Perhaps Senior Tae-hyeon had worked for a merchant caravan traveling the West before opening his inn."
"Hmm. That might explain why he was so erudite. You learned about disinfectant alcohol from that innkeeper too, didn't you?"
"Th-that's right."
"Thinking back on it, it's truly a shame. If that Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord hadn't killed the innkeeper, we could have recruited him into our Divine Cult along with you."
The Heavenly Demon muttered regretfully, and Il-mok gave a bitter smile before slightly lowering his head to gaze at the Ascension Sword.
He recalled the soul of the Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord, who had died by his hand and been absorbed into the Ascension Sword.
Misinterpreting Il-mok's demeanor, the Heavenly Demon resumed his usual affable expression.
"Hahaha. It seems I've brought up needless talk."
Seeing Il-mok with his head bowed, the Heavenly Demon mistook it for him missing the innkeeper.
"For now, we'll discuss the Black Chariot matter again once the investigation yields results."
"I shall follow your will, Master."
"Yes. I believe you also mentioned a city called Samarkand. What happened after that?"
The Heavenly Demon tactfully changed the subject out of consideration for Il-mok, who continued his tale with a much lighter heart.
He spoke of forging a pact with the Majid House, and of Merv, a massive city within the Huihui Church's territory.
"On the night after concluding the deal in Merv, Huihui Church followers attacked."
Zafir and the soldiers from the Omar House.
While explaining the insights gained from the battle with them, Il-mok omitted any mention of his alter ego, 'Seo Ji-hoon.'
"In the midst of fighting that expert Zafir, the koan you gave me came to mind, Master. And I realized just how contradictory and feeble I truly was."
"Hahaha. Thanks to the Huihui Church's greed, you gained enlightenment instead—the ways of the world are truly mysterious."
Having heard Il-mok's tale of enlightenment, the Heavenly Demon burst into a refreshing, hearty laugh.
Afterward, Il-mok discussed the slaves purchased in Merv, the Ohallak tribe, and matters related to future plans.
Once he had heard it all, the Heavenly Demon nodded and said,
"Those matters would be best discussed again after gathering those who will handle them. You must be weary from the long journey, so retire for today and rest."
"I shall follow your command, Master."
With his return report complete, Il-mok left the Heavenly Demon Hall, and the Heavenly Demon watched his retreating figure with a warm expression.
'Hahaha. What a blessing for my twilight years. Even after this old man departs, as long as that child remains, our Divine Cult's future will shine brightly.'
The Heavenly Demon felt as if all the worries sparked by the Black Chariot story had been washed away.
* * *
Upon reaching the main peak after ascending the Heavenly Myriad Mountains,
the English slave James could scarcely conceal his shock.
He never could have imagined a temple like this hidden somewhere in such a vast range.
'It has to be the demon worshippers' cult!'
The cult of demon worshippers from legends—ones said to have existed only in the distant past during the height of witch hunts—truly existed.
And not in Europe, but nestled at the foot of these far eastern mountains.
Frozen in terror, James obeyed the Black Tiger Squad members to survive.
He had traveled with them for over twenty days now.
Already gifted at picking up languages, James strove diligently to learn theirs.
Thanks to his efforts, with gestures added in, he had reached a level of basic conversation.
Moreover, with slaves of various nationalities gathered together, he had naturally come to be treated as their representative.
"Rest here today."
Whenever a Black Tiger Squad member addressed James, he would relay it to the other slaves who had been sold into bondage.
The next day, after they had rested,
"Come along alone."
When a man with the difficult-to-pronounce name of Goo Yang-hyuk suddenly singled him out, James followed with a vague sense of foreboding.
They soon arrived before a grand palace hall, where a familiar young man stood waiting.
'D-demon king.'
It was Il-mok.
"Enter."
James went inside the Heavenly Demon Hall with Il-mok and Goo Yang-hyuk. At the center of the vast chamber, upon the grand dais, sat an old man of unremarkable appearance.
Even as he felt a profound sense of incongruity from the kindly old man who seemed utterly out of place in an evil cult,
James soon beheld a sight that nearly made him faint.
"Black Tiger Squad Leader Goo Yang-hyuk pays respects to the Sovereign of Ten Thousand Demons."
"Your eighth disciple pays respects to Master."
Both the Goo Yang-hyuk who had brought him and the demon king offered utmost obeisance to the old man.
'Someone even higher than that one!?'
And it didn't end there.
"Pays respects to Demon Horse Pavilion Lord."
"Pays respects to Eldest Senior Brother."
The demon king and Goo Yang-hyuk proceeded to pay their respects to a middle-aged man as well.
While James stood frozen amid the bizarre spectacle, Il-mok quietly approached and handed him a slip of paper.
- My master and my brother.
It was English, written as simply as possible to avoid misunderstanding.
At Il-mok's succinct introduction, James went rigid.
'The demon king's master... Does that make him Satan?'
James realized just how terrifying a being that kindly old man truly was.
Even in his terror, James recalled all he had seen and heard thus far, then trembled violently as he prostrated himself deeply before the Heavenly Demon.
"Jjen-ma-ttorae! Man-ma-ang-bop!"
At James's garbled pronunciation, the Heavenly Demon let out a casual laugh.
"Hahaha. Receiving obeisance from a blue-eyed foreigner—now that's a novel experience."
Once the Heavenly Demon finished speaking, Wi Jin-hak formed a fist salute and asked him,
"Master, may I ask why you summoned the Black Tiger Squad Leader and this blue-eyed foreigner here?"
He had come solely at the Heavenly Demon's summons and had yet to hear the details.
The Heavenly Demon glanced at Il-mok in response to Wi Jin-hak's question, and Il-mok stepped forward.
"I'll explain briefly. Eldest Senior Brother, this man is a slave I purchased on my trip to the West."
"A slave?"
Wi Jin-hak's reaction was subtle.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had never held slaves in high regard—at least not aside from treating its fanatics as such.
Yet here was the youngest disciple bringing in a blue-eyed foreigner as a slave, leaving Wi Jin-hak inevitably puzzled.
He simply assumed the wise youngest must have his reasons and intended to hear him out. Had anyone else brought back a slave, Wi Jin-hak would have unleashed a thunderous rebuke on the spot.
"It's not that I bought him to keep as a slave or treat him as one. Our Divine Cult lacks influence in the West as yet, so killing all the slave traders and freeing the slaves outright wasn't feasible—that's why I bought them."
"So you're saying you bought the slave in order to free him?"
As Wi Jin-hak replied with evident understanding, Il-mok added,
"Beyond freeing them, it's to bolster our shortage of manpower. And this idea came to me upon seeing you, Eldest Senior Brother."
"???"
Wi Jin-hak wore a puzzled look, and Il-mok spoke with a smile.
"Before departing for the West, I saw you and Sixth Senior Brother suffering from overwork and racked my brains for any way I could help, even a little."
"Uhahaha! As expected, only our youngest and Master truly think of me! Hahaha!!"
Wi Jin-hak erupted into boisterous laughter at Il-mok's explanation.
"The slaves purchased this time number only forty, but if we continue merchant voyages between the West and Gansu Province, we can recruit far more manpower. Moreover, with the money earned in the West, we can buy rice and provisions in the Central Plains—enough to sustain the increased numbers with ease."
"Our Divine Cult's greatest shortages right now are people and funds—this is truly the ideal solution."
With the Heavenly Demon chiming in approvingly, Il-mok pressed on with his explanation of the grand vision he had drawn.
"The issue is that they don't speak our language, but that can actually benefit the Demon Horse Pavilion. Before assigning them to teach the children, attach them to the textbooks and trainee instructors from the Demon Horse Pavilion to learn our doctrine and language—it should prove immensely helpful."
"Haha. Not a bad plan at all. And if we have them handle carrying goods or letters, it would cut down on time wasted by our key personnel as well."
Thereafter, Il-mok, the Heavenly Demon, and Wi Jin-hak eagerly discussed ways to make the most of these new recruits to the Divine Cult, their eyes alight.
Beneath the increasingly voracious gazes of the trio, James unwittingly gulped.
'Wh-why are those demons eyeing me like that? Are they planning to offer me up as a sacrifice!?'
For some reason, in James's eyes, they resembled demons conspiring in malice.
The demon trio chattered away excitedly for quite some time.
Then, the Silver Shadow Pavilion Lord—who, as always, stood silently at the rear—spoke up unexpectedly.
"Sovereign of Ten Thousand Demons. I have one matter to report."
"Hahaha. You must have hit upon some brilliant idea."
At the Heavenly Demon's casual gesture to speak freely, the Silver Shadow Pavilion Lord bowed once before replying.
"This comes from the report submitted by Jin Ha-yeon, who traveled to the West with Eighth Young Master. Since Eighth Young Master himself hasn't mentioned it, I thought to bring it up instead."
"???"
Even as the person in question, Il-mok, looked puzzled, the Silver Shadow Pavilion Lord continued.
"Another reason Eighth Young Master purchased these blue-eyed foreigners and nomadic slaves ties into the grand vision he envisions. By mastering languages from every corner of the world, Eighth Young Master aims to spread our Divine Cult's doctrine across the entire globe."
The Silver Shadow Pavilion Lord—quite unlike himself—gazed at Il-mok with profound admiration as he spoke, and silence instantly blanketed the Heavenly Demon Hall.
Soon after, a torrent of praise rained down from the Heavenly Demon and Wi Jin-hak, their eyes round as saucers.
"Hahahahaha! Truly splendid!"
"Hahaha! As expected of the youngest! This senior brother never even dreamed of such a thing."
"Jin-hak speaks truly. This old man never so much as imagined such a grand design."
Amid their effusive praise, Il-mok hastily bowed his head in obeisance.
To conceal his twisted expression.
Dyeing the entire world in the colors of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?
Setting aside the nightmarish horror of that spectacle, the real problem was Il-mok's own future.
He could already envision just how thoroughly he would be ground down in pursuit of that absurd goal.
Now that he had succeeded in Transcending Demon and his mental affliction had vanished, for Il-mok—whose sole aim was to idle and feast—this was nothing short of catastrophe.