I entered the Heavenly Demon Hall with my brother.
Father was in the Heavenly Demon Hall with General Strategist Sima Ming.
The fact that he was out here when he should have been asleep meant he had received a report that we had fought a round and were on our way to the Heavenly Demon Hall.
Together with my brother, I walked side by side through that place, where a strange tension hung in the air.
Father looked down at us in silence as we approached.
“Father.”
My brother, who had always addressed him as “Cult Leader,” called him “Father.” My brother, who had always found it difficult to even look at him, looked him straight in the eye today.
And then the words that were the hardest, the most difficult of his entire life flowed out.
“I will withdraw from the competition to be successor.”
Father was a man who usually never revealed his emotions, but in this moment, he showed a quiet passion. It was an emotion mixed with joy and pity.
“Will you not regret it?”
“No, I will not regret it.”
“Once you make this decision, there will be no turning back.”
My brother looked at me and said,
“I want to see the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult led by my younger brother.”
Our gazes intertwined in midair. For a very long time, this moment today would torment my brother. He would regret it, again and again.
Thank you, Brother. Though I may not be able to stop that regret, I’ll make sure it becomes the most precious emotion in your life.
My brother looked back at Father.
“This is my earnest request, Father.”
I had not expected my brother to come forward this actively. He was not the brother from before my regression.
After I regressed, my brother, too, had undergone various emotional changes and transformed. He had grown. Now that he could look at Father like that, his relationship with Father would also change.
I sent Father a sound transmission.
—I brought Brother here in truly splendid form, didn’t I?
—He was always a splendid child.
—Are you discriminating because he’s your eldest son?
The corners of Father’s mouth curled up slightly as he looked at me. Father, I’ll spend my whole life making jokes just to see that sneer. Please, don’t let that smile fade!
Father’s gaze returned to my brother.
Father must know how difficult a decision my brother had made.
And Father accepted my brother’s sincerity. Right here, right now.
Father gave an order to Sima Ming.
“Activate the Eight Demon Assembly Order at once.”
The Eight Demon Assembly Order.
It was a supreme command that summoned not only the Eight Demon Venerables, but every demonic practitioner under their command.
“I shall obey your command.”
Deep in the night, an order of truly unprecedented nature was given.
* * *
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was teaching Seo Daeryong late into the night.
At the technique Seo Daeryong displayed, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon smiled in satisfaction.
“Well done!”
At his master’s praise, Seo Daeryong felt as if he might fly. Because his master was stingy with compliments, the emotion was all the greater.
“Thank you!”
When he was with Geom Mugeuk, Seo Daeryong was full of every kind of flippant banter, but when he was with his master, he observed every courtesy. In his heart, his master was someone more precious than even the Heavenly Demon.
When their training ended, Seo Daeryong held out a book.
“I asked an investigator who was out in the field to obtain this.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was startled when he saw the book. It was one he had wanted to read.
“It couldn’t have been easy to get.”
“I was lucky.”
“What money do you have?”
It was a rare volume, so it must have cost quite a bit to acquire.
“I’m still unmarried, so my monthly stipend remains untouched.”
“For the crime of squandering money, your hell training resumes tomorrow.”
“Ah! But today was the day hell training ended.”
Though he had snapped out of spite for no reason, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was inwardly moved.
It was just then.
Dooong! Dooong!
The sound of a bell rang out.
“What bell could that be at this hour?”
It was no ordinary bell. It was a clear and deep sound he had never heard before.
At Seo Daeryong’s question, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon answered.
“It is the bell announcing the Eight Demon Assembly Order.”
At those words, Seo Daeryong asked in surprise,
“What could be happening at this hour?”
Looking toward the distant Heavenly Demon Hall, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon said quietly,
“Either a war has broken out…”
At the word war, Seo Daeryong tensed sharply.
“Or what was bound to come has finally come.”
Of course, a war would not have broken out, so it must be the latter.
“If that is what this is, you’ll have to train even harder in martial arts. If you want to keep serving as his right arm.”
At the words right arm, he realized it was related to Geom Mugeuk. But Seo Daeryong had no idea what, exactly, was happening.
“Open the wardrobe at the very end and bring me the blood robe!”
Seo Daeryong went into the house and opened the wardrobe at the far end. Inside hung a ceremonial robe as red as blood.
* * *
At that hour, the Drunken Demon was drinking with the One Flower Sword Venerable at the Chwimong Pavilion.
The third-ranked drunkard, Yeo Bin, had just set down the side dishes and was about to turn away when the One Flower Sword Venerable spoke to her.
“Accept a cup from me.”
Yeo Bin respectfully received and drank her cup.
Then, after pouring a drink for the One Flower Sword Venerable, she withdrew from the place.
Once she had gone far away, the One Flower Sword Venerable said,
“When she says she likes you, accept her. Don’t regret it later.”
The Drunken Demon drank the liquor in his hand.
“A woman suffers when she meets a man who loves drinking.”
“She’s one of the Three Great Drunkards too, isn’t she?”
“That’s exactly why. If both of us are drunkards, are we supposed to earn money just to spend it all on drink?”
The One Flower Sword Venerable shook her head at the Drunken Demon, who was making absurd excuses.
“You’re my friend, but you really are hard to understand…”
Dooong!
At the sound of the bell ringing out, the Drunken Demon, who had been leaning crookedly, rose. Before he knew it, the One Flower Sword Venerable was already flying across the lake, her white martial robes fluttering.
Looking at her, the Drunken Demon shook his head this time.
“If it were the Cult Leader’s command, you’d leap into hell that quickly too, wouldn’t you?”
Yeo Bin came running back into the Chwimong Pavilion.
Setting down the cup in his hand, the Drunken Demon said,
“Sober everyone up!”
* * *
The Poison King was concocting poison.
It was a poison called Seven Lives Paradise, whose main ingredient was the Seven Lives Herb the Demon Buddha had discovered in the Thousand Poisons Forest. It was a mysterious poison: those afflicted by it would feel pleasure for seven days, and on the final seventh day, they would die while experiencing pain equal and opposite to all the pleasure they had felt.
He was working while wearing the Poison-Repelling Heavenly Silkworm gloves Geom Mugeuk had gifted him.
Dooong!
Whether the bell rang or not, the Poison King remained focused only on his work.
At that moment, Sang Seon entered, carrying clothes. Without raising his head, the Poison King said,
“Tell them I can’t go.”
“Do you think you can withstand refusing the Eight Demon Assembly Order with that poison?”
Sang Seon went to him and held out the clothes.
The Poison King reluctantly accepted them and grumbled.
“When I get there, it probably won’t even be that important.”
“Please change your clothes first. The Poison Children are preparing.”
When Sang Seon brought over the poison pouches hanging on the wall, the Poison King was mixing poison again. Sang Seon had to drag him by force and make him put on the clothes.
Once the Poison King had properly dressed and even fastened twelve poison pouches to his waist, he was truly a tall and handsome young noble of murim.
As the Poison King left his quarters, he said,
“I’ve now made the Second Young Master do all the cleaning.”
He knew exactly what today’s summons was about. It had been worth playing along with him.
* * *
The moment he heard the bell, the Demon Buddha’s hand, which had been turning prayer beads, stopped.
He could tell that the First Young Master had finally made his decision.
It was the moment he had been waiting for, but at the same time, it was also the moment he had wished and wished would never come.
“…First Young Master.”
A golden radiance burst from his body. As if revealing his intense emotions, the light was more powerful than ever before.
Only after praying for the First Young Master did the Demon Buddha rise from his seat.
“First Young Master, let us see where fate leads us.”
* * *
The Extreme Evil Small Demon was circulating his qi.
He had now fully recovered from his injuries, and thanks to having taken the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, his internal energy had grown deeper and more majestic. His body itching for action, he wanted to rush out at once and fight alongside Geom Mugeuk.
At that moment, the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress, who was sitting beside him, said quietly,
“I had a dream that you went out for a stroll at night, Elder Brother.”
She was sensing the wind of fate blowing through the Divine Cult.
The Extreme Evil Small Demon opened his eyes and rose from his seat.
“If that is your dream, then I must prepare.”
The Extreme Evil Small Demon opened a cabinet hidden inside the white wall.
Srrrrrk.
Inside, more than ten masks were hanging. Each held a different meaning.
“You choose for me.”
“It seems it will be an occasion for celebration, so how about that mask?”
The one she pointed to, brilliant and dazzling in five colors, was the Pleasure Demon Mask worn during major events or banquets within the cult.
The Extreme Evil Small Demon took out the Pleasure Demon Mask as she told him.
The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress turned away and did not watch him change masks. She was walking the path of a fate in which she loved a man whose face she did not even know.
Only when the Extreme Evil Small Demon had changed masks did the sound of the bell begin to reach them.
* * *
During the midnight training gathering, the sound of the bell rang out.
The Fist Demon stopped training and said to Ian,
“You’ll need to prepare a congratulatory gift.”
Because the First Young Master had visited him, the Fist Demon could guess what this order of summons in the dead of night meant.
Quick-witted Ian immediately grasped the meaning of his words.
“Finally!”
Tears welled in both her eyes. Perhaps she had been waiting for this moment even more than the person involved.
“Today’s training ends here.”
Then came the order given to Cheon Sohui.
“You go ahead and prepare the Iron Fists!”
In such a major matter, an order had been given to her. Cheon Sohui accepted it with a moved expression.
“I shall obey your command.”
Cheon Sohui was the first to launch herself away and vanish.
Before leaving, the Fist Demon said one thing to Ian.
“The Second Young Master will want to see you. Hurry and go prepare.”
“Yes! Thank you.”
Ian launched herself toward her quarters. This was a moment she had waited so long for; she could not be late.
She would take out the clothes she had been saving, put them on, and do her makeup. At this important moment, she would congratulate Geom Mugeuk looking her prettiest and most splendid.
* * *
Torches flared up on all sides of the great training ground.
Geom Ujin was seated atop the central platform, and Geom Mugeuk stood facing him.
Geom Muyang had stepped aside and stood next to Sima Ming.
The elite demonic practitioners of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, including the Demonic Army, surrounded the great training ground like an iron wall.
Now, the Eight Demon Venerables and the demonic practitioners under their command began entering the place.
The first to arrive was the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, dressed in red.
With the colossal Heaven-Destroying Great Blade slung diagonally across his back, he entered the training ground, and behind him followed the Blade Ghosts of the Southern Blade Sect.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!
They were famous for being fierce and rough, but in this moment, they entered in perfect ranks without the slightest disorder.
The next to enter was the One Flower Sword Venerable, dressed in pure white martial robes.
Behind her followed the Demon Swords of the Northern Heaven Sword Clan. Usually, when they met the Blade Ghosts, they would bicker, glare fiercely, and exchange curses, but today, not one of them cast a glance at the other side. As if competing with the Blade Ghosts, they too lined up behind the One Flower Sword Venerable without the slightest disorder.
The next to arrive was the Fist Demon.
Those who followed him were the Iron Fists of the Eastern Fist Gate, who had plunged into murim with nothing but their bare fists. Having dressed themselves properly for the occasion, they wore protectors around their wrists, upon which was drawn the image of the evil spirit that symbolized the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Though bare-handed, they were not pushed back in the contest of presence at all. Whenever they gathered, their struggle for dominance was always fiercer than even that of the Demon Venerables.
Next, the Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable entered.
Though she was still young and her martial arts relatively inferior, the ghost art practitioners of the Western Phantom Hall who followed behind her were not lacking in momentum compared to any other demonic practitioners. Even amid the demonic energy filling the training ground, their ghostly aura eerily announced who they were.
The procession continued.
The next Demon Venerable to enter was the Drunken Demon.
He walked with steps that seemed drunk and yet not drunk, and behind him followed the Drinking Guests. Though they were intoxicated, they too showed not the slightest disorder. Thus, the drunken air they emitted made even the demonic and ghostly energies that had dominated the venue seem drunk.
Next, the Demon Buddha entered.
The Demon Buddha wore a calmer expression than ever before.
But the Mad Monks who followed him were different. Draped in golden kasayas, they entered chanting Buddhist prayers with eyes full of madness, and the venue was swept up in yet another kind of energy.
This time, the Poison King entered.
The Poison Fangs following behind the Poison King wore expressions more confident than any other demonic practitioners there. Beyond confidence, they were filled with arrogance. If we so choose, all of you will die—that conviction was written all over their faces.
The final Demon Venerable to enter was Geukak Soma.
Behind the Pleasure Ghost Mask he wore, a searing heat could be felt in his eyes.
Behind him followed the Faceless Guests in white masks. Across each white mask were red lines, as if smeared with blood. With gazes as cold as they were chilling, they made it known exactly who they were.
As the elite demonic practitioners of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult gathered in one place, the hall was swept up in a heat that seemed ready to explode at any moment.
There was one person who could cool that heat in an instant.
The Heavenly Demon, Geom Ujin, slowly rose from his seat and walked forward. Even amid this multitude of demonic practitioners, he still revealed a presence that was utterly singular.
The demonic practitioners all bent at the waist and shouted in unison.
“Heavenly Demon Supreme, Divine Cult Invincible!”
It was a thunderous cry that truly shook heaven and earth.
When the repeated shouts ended and the surroundings grew quiet, only then did Geom Ujin speak.
“I have summoned you today to make one important announcement.”
His low yet weighty voice flew into everyone’s ears as if driving itself into them.
Tension flowed through the hall, and not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
“Mugeuk, hear me.”
Geom Mugeuk paid his respects and spoke in a loud voice.
“I receive your solemn command.”
In a voice more resonant and powerful than ever before, Geom Ujin declared,
“From this moment forth, I shall make Mugeuk the next Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
It was the moment Geom Mugeuk officially became the successor.
Geom Mugeuk raised his head and looked at his father. There were so many things he wanted to say to him, but now was the time to observe the proper rites and follow the mandate.
“For the future of the Divine Cult, I will devote my body and soul, and I will not bring dishonor upon the cult’s name.”
Geom Ujin patted Geom Mugeuk on the shoulder. The encouragement contained in his father’s gaze and touch was sincere.
—Well done, my son.
The moment he heard that single transmitted message, Geom Mugeuk felt as though every difficult moment he had endured until now had been repaid.
—Thank you, Father.
Geom Mugeuk slowly turned around to face the demonic practitioners gathered there.
Their gazes flew toward him.
Geom Mugeuk released his aura. Without concealing it, he opened up the entirety of his presence.
Those who knew Geom Mugeuk and those who did not were all overwhelmed by his presence and powerful aura. If his father was a blood-red dot in a black-and-white painting, then Geom Mugeuk was a dot as blue as the sky. If his father was a large dot, then Geom Mugeuk was a small one.
The eight Demon Venerables all bent at the waist in unison and paid their respects.
“We greet the Young Cult Leader.”
The demonic practitioners of the Eight Demons standing behind them, as well as the demonic practitioners surrounding the area, all cupped their fists at once and bowed their heads.
“We greet the Young Cult Leader!”
The resounding cry echoed throughout the hall.
The Second Young Master and the Young Cult Leader were positions as different as heaven and earth. Not only the demonic practitioners of the cult, but now no one in the martial world could treat Geom Mugeuk lightly.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Cheers that shook heaven and earth continued.
Geom Mugeuk’s chest swelled with emotion.
He had run all this way for this very moment. Now, not only for Geom Mugeuk himself, but for the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult as well, it was the moment a new history would unfold.
When the endless cheers finally subsided and the surroundings grew quiet, Geom Mugeuk slowly walked toward the Demon Venerables.
Toward his own Demon Venerables.
It was his first step as the Young Cult Leader.