The Assembly of the New Demon
I didn't know how long the Sect Leader had been watching.
He was looking down at Song Mu-gyeong's corpse, which surely still held a trace of warmth.
Waiting for my answer.
In that moment, my mind regained its composure with bizarre speed.
As if my survival instincts had kicked into overdrive.
"I killed him."
"I know that. I am asking why you killed him."
I felt it instinctively.
What the best answer to give the Sect Leader was at this very moment.
And what Chief Administrator Song's dying plea truly meant.
And so, I spoke.
"Because he displeased me."
"..."
I picked up the dagger I had dropped earlier and casually wiped the blood on it against my clothes.
Then, with an indifferent expression, I tucked it back into my breast pocket and slipped it into my belt.
"From his face to his insolent attitude, nothing about him pleased me. I have wanted to dispose of him myself for quite some time. Ah, but do not misunderstand—I did not kill him without cause."
"And what cause would that be?"
"I deliberately showed him a weakness. For quite some time now, in fact."
"You deliberately showed him a weakness?"
"Yes. And as expected, he took the bait hook, line, and sinker. Would you believe the bastard actually dared to tell me to step down from the position of Young Sect Leader? Even I was shocked. I knew he was mad, but I didn't realize he was this far gone."
"And so you killed him?"
"It was a fair duel, mutually agreed upon. Surely you do not intend to punish me for executing a traitor to our sect?"
"..."
It was a strange thing.
I, an extreme introvert, had never imagined I could stand so boldly before the Sect Leader, let alone spin such a shameless lie with a straight face.
"Hmph."
In any case, it seemed the Sect Leader was quite pleased with my answer.
I could tell by the way the corner of his mouth twitched upward, even as he scoffed at my words.
But that satisfaction was short-lived.
The Sect Leader spoke to me again, his face and voice returning to a coldness so absolute that not a single drop of blood would spill even if he were pricked.
"He seemed to believe you were putting on an act."
"I did pretend to be weak to lure him into a false sense of security, so yes, I suppose I was acting."
"No. He believed that your cruel and violent persona was the act."
"Hahaha! Father, surely you do not believe the ramblings of a dead man?"
The Sect Leader stared at my face in silence for a moment.
As if trying to peer directly into my soul.
After a brief yet agonizingly long silence, he spoke in an indifferent tone.
"As I said, my original plan today was to destroy your dantian and cast you out. You must know what happens to a Young Sect Leader stripped of his power. I guarantee you wouldn't have survived a year."
To say something so terrifying to his own son, as casually as an office worker deciding on a lunch menu...
I tried my best to maintain my composure, but in that moment, my heart didn't just turn cold—it felt as though it were shattering into pieces.
The Sect Leader continued.
"It would be a waste to let your talent as a bearer of the Heavenly Killer Star go to rot. However, my patience ends here. This will be your final chance."
I felt a wave of relief at those words, but it was fleeting.
The Sect Leader still regarded me with deeply suspicious eyes.
"...Speak, Father."
"Two days from now. In front of all the sect's high-ranking officials, you will fight a challenger of my choosing. If you win, I will officially recognize your status as the Young Sect Leader."
As expected, the trials were not over.
And the Sect Leader was not finished.
"...But if you lose, I will have your head severed on the spot."
I might have dispelled a fraction of his suspicion with this incident.
But it was clear that the Sect Leader's true test was only just beginning.
"Leave the corpse as it is. I will have someone clean it up."
Leaving those final words, the Sect Leader turned and vanished.
Before I knew it, my vision had returned to normal, and the voice of the Heavenly Killer Star was silent.
It was true that by this era, the Sun and Moon Sect had lost much of its religious color, functioning more as a martial sect with the Sect Leader at its helm.
Yet, deep in its long history, its roots lay in a religion that worshipped Myeongjon, the divine incarnation of the Sun and Moon. The symbolic heart of that religious legacy was the Holy Fire.
At the very peak of Gwangmyeong Peak, where the headquarters of the Sun and Moon Sect stood, the Holy Fire burned—a flame that had never once been extinguished throughout its vast history.
Black bricks formed an altar as massive as a house, and within the ancient beacon tower, the Holy Fire blazed, casting eerie, alternating glows of mystical blue and crimson light.
"...And so, on this day, we convene the Assembly of the New Demon before Myeongjon to determine the worthiness of the Young Sect Leader..."
Presiding over the ceremony on behalf of those gathered was the Right Guardian of Light, the most senior figure in the Sun and Moon Sect aside from the Sect Leader himself.
Originally, the Assembly of the New Demon was an annual event where the Young Sect Leader stood before Myeongjon to have his succession validated.
But the religious ritual was a mere formality; the true test was the trial imposed by the Sect Leader that preceded it.
"If the one who stands before Myeongjon is worthy of being the Young Sect Leader, the sacred fire shall protect his flesh..."
As the Right Guardian's voice droned on, I recalled the contents of the letter Song Mu-gyeong had left for me.
The letter he had secretly slipped under my pillow before coming to find me had read—
"Young Sect Leader. Step forward."
I stepped forward from where I was standing and turned around.
I could see the entire leadership of the headquarters lined up before me.
Even when my eyes met those of the Sect Leader, who sat upon the highest seat looking down at me with an expressionless face, I did not avert my gaze.
'Fight a challenger of my choosing in front of the sect's officials. If you win, I will recognize your worthiness as the Young Sect Leader.'
'But if you fail to win, I will have your head severed on the spot.'
No matter how dense I might be, I knew the Sect Leader's words hadn't contained a single shred of bluff.
Yet, if I hadn't made an impression on him by slaying Song Mu-gyeong with my own hands, I wouldn't have even been granted this opportunity.
So, there was no need for long-winded thoughts.
I would not waste the opportunity that Chief Administrator Song Mu-gyeong had sacrificed his life to create for me.
I will survive this place, no matter what.
"Let us begin."
Did the resolve in my voice reach him?
The Right Guardian stared at me for a moment, sensing a shift in my demeanor, before turning his gaze away.
"Now, let the challenger to the Young Sect Leader step forward."
A man strode forward with long, confident steps.
He was a young man who exuded the raw aura of a warrior, with a sharp, angular jaw, thick eyebrows, broad shoulders, and firmly set lips.
"That man is going to fight the Young Sect Leader?"
"The Young Sect Leader is barely eleven years old. That fellow looks to be at least twenty, doesn't he?"
The crowd began to murmur once more.
In terms of sheer physical build, the man was a giant, completely incomparable to my current eleven-year-old frame.
He was clearly no ordinary martial artist.
"I am Yeongho Bin. It is an honor to test my skills against you, Young Sect Leader."
Following Yeongho Bin's brief greeting, the Right Guardian offered an explanation.
"This man is a criminal who violated the laws of the Sun and Moon Sect and murdered a fellow believer. By rights, he should have been executed, but by the grace of Myeongjon, he has been granted one final chance. If Yeongho Bin defeats the Young Sect Leader, he shall win his freedom."
Under these circumstances, the challenger had no choice but to fight with his life on the line.
Which meant, for the Young Sect Leader, this would be an incredibly brutal and grueling battle.
Of course, the Sect Leader hadn't arranged this trial because he wanted me dead, but rather to test whether I could overcome such adversity... right?
It wasn't an absolutely unwinnable fight, but I certainly didn't think it would be an easy victory either.
"Young Sect Leader Baek Yeon, and challenger Yeongho Bin. Take your places upon the sparring stage before the Holy Fire."
Keeping a slight distance from each other, Yeongho Bin and I walked side by side toward the stage.
The Holy Fire, one of the sacred relics of the Sun and Moon Sect, was bizarre in its massive size, its wildly thrashing shape, and its eerie blue hue. But the most unnatural thing about it was its staggering temperature.
Fire was naturally hot, but this Holy Fire burned with a heat far surpassing any ordinary flame.
The sparring stage was a circular arena, roughly ten meters in diameter, ringed by a barrier of that very Holy Fire.
Glancing ahead, I saw that even Yeongho Bin seemed taken aback by the intense heat radiating from the flames.
And yet...
'It's hot, but it doesn't hurt.'
It was a strange sensation, but entirely true.
Though I could feel the intense heat washing over my entire body, rather than causing pain, it actually made me feel energized.
It was just as I reached the edge of the Holy Fire, utterly bewildered by this feeling.
For a split second, I thought the Heavenly Killer Star was speaking to me again.
But while the sensation was similar, the voice itself was entirely different.
I could feel an entity completely distinct from the Heavenly Killer Star speaking directly into my mind.
It was a voice whose gender was impossible to discern, and it carried a nagging, slightly irritable tone that made me suspect its owner had a rather nasty temper.
Yet, it also possessed a heavy, profound presence that exuded a deep and majestic energy.
Trying my best not to panic at the incomprehensible words, I looked around.
What kind of existence could possibly be speaking to me like this?
No matter how much I thought about it, there was only one possibility.
'Are you... Myeongjon?'
When I projected my thoughts back, I could feel the entity's sudden, utter bewilderment.
'Yes, I can hear you perfectly. You really are Myeongjon, aren't you?'
The very deity whom the Sun and Moon Sect had worshipped as a god since ancient times was speaking to me.
And for some reason, I could sense a profound feeling of sheer indignation radiating from Myeongjon's voice.