The Young Cult Leader's Rotting Secret
"Heavenly Demon Cult's young cult leader, huh. Even if the Heavenly Demon grandfather says the young cult leader shares his blood, why did the rest of you come?"
"My child, this is an extremely important matter. The future of the Divine Cult hangs in the balance, so we must see it through, don't you think?"
At the military advisor grandfather's words, the others nodded in agreement. The Heavenly Demon's brow furrowed, making it clear their polished words were just for show.
"You just wanted to watch, didn't you?"
"Ahem."
The door slid open with a rattle, revealing a vast room filled with thick, hazy smoke. The space was so enormous that it seemed larger than our entire house, though the smoke made it hard to see clearly.
"A room this big would drive anyone insane, don't you think?"
"As the young cult leader of the Divine Cult, it is only fitting that you use a room worthy of your station."
Wide was one thing, but claiming a hundred-pyeong building with no partitions counted as a single room was ridiculous.
"Hmm. First, put out that noxious incense. Open the windows and air out the smoke too."
The moment the door opened, the scent assaulted my nose. It was so thick it could rival a smoke grenade. The Heavenly Demon gestured, and an attendant quickly extinguished the incense. In an instant, a rotten stench filled the room.
"Even the Poison Demon would run from this," the Poison Demon grandfather remarked, prompting the Heavenly Demon grandfather to furrow his brow again.
Walking deeper inside, I found the patient lying on the bed—the one causing all the fuss.
"At this point, isn't he basically a jiangshi?"
His appearance was horrific. His entire body was covered in rashes and scabs, blood constantly trickling from his nose. His fingers and toes had turned black with advanced necrosis. Now I understood why they said his body was melting away. He was little more than a breathing corpse.
"How did you even keep him alive?"
"The medical pavilion exerted their full power. They poured in so much money it nearly bankrupted the Heavenly Demon Cult's treasury."
Everyone nodded at the Poison Demon grandfather's words, confirming their truth.
"Heavenly Demon grandfather, are you asking me to save this person?"
It was hard to believe he was still alive.
"Will it be difficult?"
The Heavenly Demon, the leader of all demons and the very embodiment of terror in this world, spoke in a weary voice. Hearing him like that almost made me feel guilty.
"Hoo, just a moment. How long has he been like this?"
"About five years."
No matter how I examined the young cult leader lying there, the situation made no sense. Even the Poison Demon grandfather beside me showed no reaction, simply watching. I couldn't be certain yet, but it wasn't poison. The martial artists of this world reacted with extreme sensitivity to poisons, so they would have investigated that first when the young cult leader collapsed.
—Chik, chik.
"Hoo—"
Amid the rotten stench, the smell of cigarette smoke actually felt pleasant. Baek Seol, who had buried her face in my hair, had long since fled into my pocket.
"What was his private life like?"
"Private life?"
"It looks exactly like AIDS to me."
"AIDS? Could it be—you've identified the disease name?!"
His lips were crushed as if pounded in a mortar, and ulcers exposed raw flesh in several places. For a once-healthy person to rot away like this, his immune system must have been completely destroyed after the fact.
"There are things in this world invisible to the human eye—germs. They make people sick. But humans possess far greater self-defense capabilities than we imagine."
"Invisible to the human eye? Then what happened to Jinmyeong?"
"If a perfectly healthy person ended up like this, it means his immune system—his self-defense ability—disappeared afterward. Otherwise, there's no way a healthy person could collapse in so many ways at once."
"····This old man lacks the learning to understand the divine physician's words. All I know how to do is kill and rule, so life truly is fleeting."
"Hoo— Why are you suddenly getting sentimental? Everyone has their own strengths. Grandfather kills everything, and I occasionally save someone."
It still wasn't confirmed. Even if it was a contagious disease, AIDS had an extremely low transmission rate unless there was direct fluid exchange. Yet according to the Heavenly Demon grandfather, every physician and caretaker who had looked after the young cult leader for years had their bodies melt away as well.
"So, what was this person's private life like?"
"I cannot grasp the intent behind your question."
"The AIDS I mentioned is a sexually transmitted disease."
The Heavenly Demon grandfather, who had been meeting my eyes, nodded in understanding.
"I have not observed every aspect of an adult man's private life, but one thing is certain—he spent most of his time training."
"Hmm·····. I see."
"Jin-sal."
"I await your command."
"Aack, you startled me."
I had thought it would end with a simple "he lived diligently," but a figure clad entirely in black suddenly appeared beside me.
"Report every detail of the young cult leader's private life to the divine physician without omission."
"He rises at the beginning of the Mao hour and continues morning training until the end, takes breakfast at the Chen hour····."
"Aack, that's enough."
I waved my hand to cut off the endless stream of details about the young cult leader's private life.
"I said it's a sexually transmitted disease. Whether he had sexual relations is important. Did he engage in dual cultivation, yin-yang union, mating—any of that? The whole thrusty-thrusty thing."
"M-mating····. The young cult leader is not a beast."
The one called Jin-sal shook his head. I found it hard to believe, but it seemed the heir of the Heavenly Demon Cult had lived a rather pure life.
"Ugh."
Once the cigarette burned out, the foul stench seeped back into my nose.
—Chik, chik.
"Hoo— He wasn't spinning his thing around like a bamboo helicopter, so why did he end up like this?"
While examining the young cult leader, the open window had allowed some ventilation, and the dense smoke filling the room gradually began to settle.
"What's that?"
All eyes followed my pointing finger.
"That is a night-luminous pearl."
"What's a night-luminous pearl?"
"Think of it as a stone that lights up dark places. When darkness falls, it emits its own glow, making it more valuable than its weight in gold."
"Hmm····. Before it glows, is it normally pitch black?"
"The colors vary, but that one came from a silver mine entrusted to the young cult leader, so he cherished it greatly. Its size is also enormous."
A massive ore nearly a meter in diameter had been beautifully polished into an egg shape and placed decoratively in one corner of the room.
"So that night-luminous pearl just needs to be hung in a dark place to produce light?"
The grandfathers all nodded together.
"Could you draw the curtains? I need to check something."
The moment I finished speaking, an attendant lowered the fabric hanging over the windows. As the room gradually darkened, the egg-shaped ore began to emit a faint glow.
"Oh come on, this isn't some night-luminous nonsense—it's pitchblende mixed with uranium and fluorite."
"H-huh? What is that?"
Spontaneous luminescence without an energy source? A thermodynamics professor would clutch their neck while Madame Curie fainted from hypertension at such a claim.
"That egg over there, covered in various minerals, contains radioactive elements. Those elements undergo nuclear decay over time, and that's what powers the glow. Normally even high-concentration uranium can't glow on its own, but the fluorite seems to be making it emit light."
The fluorite visible between the pitchblende would release fluorine, making it a natural fluorescent material. That faint light was probably a combination of the fluorite's phosphorescence absorbing ultraviolet rays and the uranium's radiation.
"Nuclear decay? Power source? Explain it simply."
"When radioactive elements undergo nuclear decay, they release energy we call radiation. Here it's·····."
As the silence stretched, all the grandfathers' gazes focused on me.
"Formless extreme poison? That works as an explanation. It's an invisible, tasteless, odorless ultimate toxin."
"W-what?!"
"Formless extreme poison? Child, did you say formless extreme poison?"
Unlike the Heavenly Demon grandfather who only looked surprised, the Poison Demon grandfather approached with visible excitement.
"Neng. With something that stupidly large, high-concentration radiation must have been pouring out. The fact he's still breathing after years of exposure is actually impressive."
"Ho, the divine physician's certified formless extreme poison. You did well to stay alive until now."
"Poison Demon grandfather, you're not thinking anything weird, are you? This isn't something humans can handle. You can't even touch it, and it has no smell or taste. How exactly do you plan to deal with it?"
Even in the modern era, containing or emitting a certain amount is all we can manage. Even then, we can't fully control the leaking radiation, so we wear lead suits and protective gear. Technology has only raised the safety threshold—it's still far from perfect. Handling radioactive elements freely here was nothing but a dream.
"I don't need to explain what happens if you get exposed to this, right?"
The grandfathers' gazes naturally turned toward the young cult leader.
"Even the Great Sage Equal to Heaven would collapse with rotting skin."
"Kkueung."
No matter how safe natural uranium was said to be, that only applied to tiny amounts. Having an ore weighing several hundred kilograms sitting right next to the bed for five years meant everything was already said.
"Grandfather, I'll treat him now."
"I leave it in your hands. He's the only successor I gained in my later years, so I hold him especially dear."
"You're quite energetic. Instead of 'leave it to me,' how about I get to hit him a little once he wakes up?"
"Hit him? Why?"
The Heavenly Demon grandfather looked at me with eyes full of questions.
"He received all that affection yet ended up lying here making you worry."
"Haha. Very well, I leave it to you. Hit him soundly on my behalf."
"Neng, leave it to me."
Thwack!
White Peach Blossom Blooms
