Endless waves of blood qi flew in and struck, but they could not pierce the Great Demon Wall.
Thudthudthudthudthud!
The blood qi that flew in to the very last, as though wrung dry, was all dispersed.
The dozen or so martial artists who had leapt into the air and used most of their own blood for the Art of Self-Destruction all became corpses with gaping holes in their chests, strewn across the ground.
The Great Demon Wall did not vanish immediately, but remained there in its majestic form, glittering in the sunlight.
The Drunken Demon slowly turned to look beside him.
Geom Mugeuk, who had been behind him, was now standing at his side, the Black Demon Sword thrust forward.
“I can’t let an attack like that injure you, brother.”
It was not an ordinary attack, nor was it some final ultimate technique unleashed at the end of a fierce battle. This was the Art of Self-Destruction, used the moment they saw them. Though the word “art” was attached to its name, it was an attack that could not be called martial arts.
Geom Mugeuk had deployed the Great Demon Wall because he did not want even a single hair on the Drunken Demon’s body harmed by such an attack.
This scene was something like a symbol.
—The only existence in murim capable of eliminating vile and vicious evil in an even viler, even more vicious way. I believe this is where we must find the reason for our existence. Because we can stop evils that ordinary people cannot.
The Drunken Demon looked at the Great Demon Wall and bowed his head respectfully in salute. It was courtesy toward the Nine Flames Demonic Art. Only then did the Great Demon Wall slowly disappear from that place.
Only after that did he look at Geom Mugeuk and speak solemnly.
“Thank you, Young Cult Leader.”
At this moment, when he had been saved by the Nine Flames Demonic Art, theirs was not the relationship of elder brother and younger brother, but of Demon Venerable and Young Cult Leader. Geom Mugeuk also conveyed his gratitude.
“I will never forget that the Demon Venerable stepped forward to protect me.”
He meant it sincerely. When the Drunken Demon had tried to block the Art of Self-Destruction with his own body, Geom Mugeuk had truly been moved.
After sharing their hearts in that way, Geom Mugeuk drew up his qi and examined whether there was anyone else. There was no one. Those who had been hiding near the ruined great hall were all of them.
Just then, the gate leading outside opened, and the Ice Palace Lord entered.
Far behind her, three or four corpses could be seen collapsed on the ground. All of them were frozen solid.
“A few of them caught my eye, so I dealt with them.”
She had tried not to involve herself in this fight if possible. She had stayed outside because she had promised to give the Drunken Demon priority.
Her gaze turned toward the dozen or so corpses lying fallen.
‘They used the Art of Self-Destruction all at once.’
She looked at the wall of qi-force that had towered up beyond the wall. How could she not know what an extraordinary realm it must have taken to create such a thing?
‘The Young Cult Leader has properly learned the Nine Flames Demonic Art.’
If the Young Cult Leader’s martial arts were like this, how astounding must the Heavenly Demon’s martial arts be? A chilling sense of awe filled her.
Geom Mugeuk said to her,
“They are people who won over an elder of the North Sea Ice Palace, joined hands with the North Blood Sect, and do not hesitate to use the Art of Self-Destruction.”
The Ice Palace Lord felt that the situation was more serious than she had thought. She had always paid attention to murim affairs so as not to fall behind, but she had never once heard of people like this before.
The Ice Palace Lord walked over to Seo Nak, who lay fallen on the ground.
Struck by the Drunken Demon’s attack, his entire body was a wreck, and only the barest thread of life remained.
‘Just who did you join hands with?’
The Ice Palace Lord looked down at him with cold eyes, then turned away without a word. She did not even want to offer him a single word of farewell.
As she turned away, Seo Nak spoke.
“……Han Igyeong.”
In that instant, the Ice Palace Lord flinched and stopped moving.
She slowly turned back again and looked down at Seo Nak.
Lying on the ground, Seo Nak smiled. Because his mouth was full of blood, the sight was ghastly.
Han Igyeong.
She was the Ice Palace Lord’s elder sister.
Long ago, she had fought with her sister over the succession, and her tenderhearted sister had left the North Sea for her sake. She had yielded the position of successor.
After that, she had not looked for her sister.
She had told herself that being entangled with her would only be bad for her sister.
But if she were to be honest, it was closer to saying she had deliberately left it buried. She had been afraid that if their relationship continued, her sister might once again grow ambitious for the position of Palace Lord. Back then, she had truly worried about such a thing.
So she had lived on, forgetting her. At first consciously. Later, she forgot naturally.
The reason she thought of her sister again was none other than that Geom Mugeuk.
When she received the report that Geom Mugeuk had concluded the succession struggle without shedding blood, she thought of the sister she had forgotten.
Looking back now, there must have been a way. Could she not have chosen a successor peacefully, just as Geom Mugeuk had done?
Back then, what had she been so afraid of? Thinking about it now, her sister and she herself had been perfectly fine, yet the people around them had gone into hysterics.
In any case, the Ice Palace Lord felt indebted to her sister.
Because all that she now enjoyed could have been enjoyed by her sister.
And now, the dying Seo Nak had mentioned that sister.
‘Why?’
Under her cold gaze, Seo Nak said,
“I chose you, not Igyeong.”
It was not the delirium of a man on the verge of death. Seo Nak’s eyes, lit by the final flare before death, were clear.
“Do you not want to see her?”
She did not want to hear any more, so the Ice Palace Lord’s hand shone white.
Just as she stretched out her hand to end him—
“She may have family.”
Seo Nak smiled with an expression that said he knew something. The blood filling his mouth spilled down.
‘Is this it? Your final revenge?’
Knowing some secret, yet refusing to tell.
He knew that at this moment, matters concerning her sister would deal her the greatest blow. No matter what else he said, she would not even blink.
“What if she has a daughter? She would live her whole life without knowing that her aunt is the Ice Palace Lord, wouldn’t she? Losing her parents early and suffering somewhere as a maidservant, perhaps. Or maybe she became a courtesan and sells her smiles.”
The Ice Palace Lord gazed into his eyes and said calmly,
“I am not curious. Whether she lives as a maidservant or as a courtesan.”
The Ice Palace Lord did not speak rudely to Elder Seo. As if to say none of his provocations would work, she remained courteous.
“I have lived all this time forgetting her. Did you think I would grow curious now? Did you think I would feel some pang of conscience at words like these? You are foolish to the very end.”
The corners of Seo Nak’s eyes twitched, and the smile vanished from his face.
Pure white energy extended from the Ice Palace Lord’s hand and engulfed Seo Nak’s body. Terrible pain spread through him.
“Aaaaaargh!”
His entire body froze as he writhed in extreme agony. He screamed for her to please kill him.
“Even if you know, do not tell me where she is. It will only bother me for no reason. Keep your mouth shut!”
Even then, Seo Nak writhed in pain.
He died struggling in agony more intense than any he had ever felt in his life.
The Ice Palace Lord looked down at the corpse with complicated eyes. Inwardly, she had hoped. She had hoped he would beg her to spare him, to stop the pain and he would tell her everything he knew.
But seeing him die without speaking even through this pain, she thought it must have been something he had brought up at the end simply to torment her. Even if it was not, she would think so. She had no intention of dancing to his tune.
The Ice Palace Lord said to Geom Mugeuk,
“I have unintentionally exposed my palace’s shame before you.”
“Shame? Palace Lord, you too concluded a succession struggle splendidly, without bloodshed between kin.”
“My sister was the splendid one.”
“If she was such a wise elder sister, then wherever she is, she must be living happily.”
She knew he was saying it out of courtesy, but even so, Geom Mugeuk’s words gave her a little comfort.
The Ice Palace Lord changed the subject.
“What do you intend to do now?”
“Next, I intend to strike the North Blood Sect.”
In her heart, the Ice Palace Lord wanted to lead her subordinates there and sweep away the North Blood Sect at once, but if she did, it would cause many sacrifices.
Then Geom Mugeuk said something unexpected.
“If you permit it, Palace Lord, I would like to visit the North Blood Sect with the Young Palace Lord as a reconnaissance.”
Send her daughter to the North Blood Sect? The Ice Palace Lord was silent for a moment. The enemy was so powerful that she hesitated.
“Do so.”
She judged that when war broke out, it would actually be safer for her daughter to be beside Geom Mugeuk. She had seen the wall of qi-force beyond the wall, and she had drunk tea with her daughter. She trusted him because he was the person who had made that possible.
“Please leave the sweeping away to yourself, Palace Lord. This time, I will give you priority.”
The Ice Palace Lord nodded. The reason the Drunken Demon and the Young Cult Leader had come was to uncover the truth behind Wonju’s death. Now that they had revealed that death and even taken revenge, they could simply return.
And yet they were saying they would fight the enemy together with her. The Ice Palace Lord was grateful to Geom Mugeuk, and reassured by him.
“Then I will see you later.”
After bidding farewell to Geom Mugeuk, the Ice Palace Lord also exchanged a courteous farewell with the Drunken Demon.
Once she left, Geom Mugeuk turned to the Drunken Demon.
The Drunken Demon handed the Blood Tear to Geom Mugeuk.
“Drink.”
He never handed the Blood Tear, his absolute signature weapon, into another person’s hands.
The only one to whom he allowed it was Geom Mugeuk.
Geom Mugeuk drank the ice wine in the Blood Tear refreshingly.
“Ah, that’s good. The most delicious ice wine in the world!”
Taking back the Blood Tear, the Drunken Demon drank the wine.
“It really is delicious!”
The two of them deliberately spoke loudly. Because the person who had filled it with liquor would be listening from somewhere in the sky.
After they drank all the wine left in the Blood Tear, the two stood side by side and looked up at the sky.
The Drunken Demon smiled brightly.
Geom Mugeuk had such a thought. Perhaps, right now, Wonju was looking down at him from that sky and smiling.
* * *
“Do not worry.”
At the words that came from behind her, Ian, who had been standing by the window, turned her head. The one who had spoken to her was Han Seol, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Mother went with them.”
Since Ian had been staring blankly out the window, it seemed she had looked as if she were worried.
Ian answered honestly.
“To tell you the truth, I was thinking about something else. I don’t worry about what the young master does. I already have a mountain of worries of my own, so why would I worry about whether the sun will rise tomorrow or not?”
Han Seol stared at her for a moment, then said,
“Because he is a transcendent being?”
Ian thought she was teasing her. Of all things, she had used that expression, so now she would suffer for it forever!
“Yes, to me, he is a transcendent being.”
Because she wanted to talk about this matter someday, Han Seol asked again.
“If the Young Cult Leader told you to die, could you die?”
It was a question she thought Ian would not be able to answer easily, but Ian answered without hesitation.
“Yes. I could die. I would throw the gates of hell wide open and say this: My young master sent me here! Ah, if it were the young master, he would become friends with King Yama and be exempted. I would be the one suffering in the pit of fire, wouldn’t I?”
Han Seol shook her head and barely held back the words that had risen to her throat. They had only spent a few days together; she could not say it outright.
Ian said those words in her stead.
“You were thinking I’m a crazy bitch, weren’t you?”
At Ian’s words, Han Seol made an expression that said, If you know, then fine.
Ian smiled brightly and looked back out the window.
“Actually, that question was the easiest one to answer. Because he is absolutely not someone who would tell me to die. It’s a question where I can boast loudly that I could die.”
Han Seol looked at her back. Could such a deep bond truly form between people?
“Wouldn’t the Young Cult Leader feel burdened if you were like that?”
If it were her, she thought it would feel burdensome. If someone looked at her with such expectation, she would think she had to do better, had to show an even better side of herself. The pressure would be no ordinary thing.
“He won’t.”
“Why are you so sure?”
“Because he is not foolish enough to take words like that from me as a burden. He will simply be happy. He will think, So all my efforts were worthwhile.”
Honestly, Han Seol envied Geom Mugeuk. Gaining someone’s absolute trust and support was truly no easy thing.
Just then, Geom Mugeuk and the Drunken Demon returned to the residence. Seeing the two of them, Han Seol asked urgently,
“What about Mother?”
“The Palace Lord went to the Ice Palace.”
The news was conveyed that Elder Seo had truly been a traitor, and that he was dead.
Han Seol found it unfamiliar. What felt unfamiliar was not Elder Seo’s betrayal, but the fact that there was someone behind him.
Since childhood, she had treated him like an uncle, so to her he had been like a great elder. And yet there was someone else who moved such a person. He had seemed so strong.
Han Seol grew worried for her mother. Even so, her mother must have trusted and relied on Elder Seo greatly.
Suddenly, she realized this was the first time she had felt such an emotion.
‘I am worrying right now.’
To her surprise, she realized that until now, she had not once worried about her mother. Her mother had always been strong. And nothing had ever happened that required such worry. But just moments ago, she had asked after her mother first, and now she was worrying that her mother might perhaps have been hurt. For the first time in her life, she felt a kind of heat in her heart.
Could a person’s heart change this easily? No, was it all right for it to change like this?
If it could change like this, did that not mean it could also change to harbor even greater hatred?
Han Seol suddenly felt that she wanted to ask Geom Mugeuk about such matters. Somehow, she thought that if it were Geom Mugeuk, he would give her a clear answer, saying it was this or that. Well, that did not mean she asked.
“What do you intend to do now?”
“By killing Elder Seo, we have declared war on them.”
Now the true fight had begun.
“The next target is the North Blood Sect. Before striking them, the most urgent priority will be to find out why the North Blood Sect sought the Extreme Cold Physique. It would be good if we could enter their inner ranks.”
At that, Han Seol recalled one fact and, even though Geom Mugeuk had not asked, spoke first.
“When I met the second young master of the North Blood Sect before, I told him I would visit again with the Young Cult Leader. Let us go together.”
Geom Mugeuk honestly told her the current situation.
“It will be extremely dangerous. Someone you were speaking with just moments before may suddenly use the Art of Self-Destruction right in front of you.”
Was it because she felt in her heart a burning heat she had never felt in her entire life? Strangely, Han Seol was not afraid. Since this was the Ice Palace’s affair, she only thought that she should take the lead in resolving it.
“Someone said she’d open the gates of hell.”
Han Seol looked at the smiling Ian and added vigorously,
“I will open the North Blood Sect.”