Ian and Han Seol were in the Ice Palace.
There was a special reason for the two of them to visit the Ice Palace today.
“I’m sorry for imposing on you.”
The person Ian greeted courteously was the Ice Palace Lord.
“The Young Cult Leader gave strict orders that I must not leave the Palace Lord’s Hall under any circumstances.”
“The Young Cult Leader has already been here.”
Before leaving the palace, Geom Mugeuk had already asked him to look after Ian and Han Seol while they stayed together for a time. If it had been any other enemy, he would have brought Ian along as well to let her gain experience.
But not when it came to the Blood King. Even if Ian had achieved great mastery of the Flying Heaven Sword Art, he would still have made her stay in the Palace Lord’s Hall.
The Ice Palace Lord did not consider it an imposition at all. It was a matter tied to the safety of his daughter and the Ice Palace, and it was also a request made because Geom Mugeuk trusted him.
Only, there had been a small dispute before he accepted the request.
—Are you not underestimating the Ice Palace far too much?
It had sounded as though he were telling even him to hide inside the Palace Lord’s Hall.
—If it were an ordinary enemy, I would have entrusted the matter to you, Palace Lord, and already left the North Sea. But these are people who use the Self-Destruction Art without hesitation. There will be great sacrifices.
—Even so, they targeted this palace, so we should be the ones to deal with them.
Of course, the Ice Palace had many experts besides the Ice Palace Lord. If they stepped forward, they would be a great help, but many sacrifices would still have to be borne.
—They are not enemies. They are monsters. And we are good at hunting monsters.
To the Ice Palace Lord, who was still hesitating, Geom Mugeuk added one final persuasion.
—Please leave monsters to be hunted by devils.
How could he refuse when the man was humbling himself by calling himself a devil? He was grateful, but there was one thing he was curious about.
—Why are you going so far to help us?
Because the enemy is Hwa Mugi’s subordinate.
—Because I was treated to good liquor.
As Geom Mugeuk requested, the Ice Palace Lord withdrew all the warriors around the Drunken Demon’s residence. Since the Blood King himself was moving, he judged that whoever guarded the place would only become an unnecessary sacrifice.
After briefly recalling his conversation with Geom Mugeuk, the Ice Palace Lord looked at Ian. Ian was standing by the window, looking outside.
She had been a woman who strangely drew his attention from the moment he first saw her.
“You said your name was Ian, correct?”
Ian, who had been looking out the window, turned back to the Ice Palace Lord and answered politely.
“Yes, that is correct.”
“The Young Cult Leader seems to cherish you greatly.”
“He has always been an affectionate person.”
“An affectionate Young Cult Leader of the Demon Cult.”
“You are witnessing the birth of a new Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
Ian spoke as though making a joke, but the Ice Palace Lord took it seriously. After all, he was the Young Cult Leader who had restored his relationship with his daughter.
‘Perhaps, years from now, I may think back on today. I saw the Heavenly Demon when he was still the Young Cult Leader.’
Han Seol asked Ian.
“What was the Young Cult Leader like when he was young?”
The Ice Palace Lord looked at his daughter. It was the first time he had seen her show interest in someone else. She had never once been curious about others. Truly, thanks to Geom Mugeuk, he was experiencing many new things.
At Han Seol’s question, Ian hesitated for a moment before answering.
He hadn’t always been like that. He had been a good person, yes, but not this good.
Not until that day when Geom Mugeuk had changed as if suddenly hatching from an egg—the day the Divine-Demon Struggle was held.
From the moment he returned after finishing the spar, Geom Mugeuk was different.
That day, Geom Mugeuk had said this.
—Starting today, I’ve decided to live a changed life.
He had truly kept those words. Geom Mugeuk changed, and that change transformed everyone around him. Herself, the Demon Supremes, and even the Heavenly Demon.
Ian told the two of them what Geom Mugeuk had said that day.
“The Young Cult Leader said this: that he did not believe people changed little by little. When there is some kind of turning point, they change all at once.”
That was why she, too, had tried to change. To become an exception to the saying that people never change.
“He matured, and changed greatly.”
Just as she answered with a smile, something entered Ian’s line of sight.
Far outside the window, red smoke was rising into the sky. It felt ominous. It was unmistakably smoke meant to send a signal to someone.
“Ah! Smoke is rising over there too.”
As if answering that smoke like a beacon, another plume of smoke began to rise from far away in the opposite direction.
* * *
“I’ll raise your monthly wage next month.”
At the owner’s words, the cook smiled faintly in the kitchen. The cook was a man who could not speak.
But acquiring this cook had been the greatest stroke of luck in the life of the owner of the Northern Ocean Inn. His food tasted good. He had no major complaints about his treatment. He did not capriciously say he would quit after a short time. He simply stayed in the kitchen and cooked in silence.
Just then, a customer said,
“Looks like there’s a fire. Look at that smoke over there.”
“Why is the smoke so red? If there was a fire, shouldn’t black smoke be rising?”
The owner was looking at the smoke rising in the distance along with the customers when it happened.
“Good heavens, you startled me!”
The owner, who had casually turned to the side, was shocked. The cook had come out without a sound at some point and was staring at the smoke with them. He had never once left the kitchen during business hours.
“It seems a fire broke out somewhere over there.”
At the owner’s words, the cook spoke.
“That is not a fire.”
Both the owner and the customers were startled by the cook’s words. It was surprising enough that the cook had come out of the kitchen, but it was the first time they had ever seen him speak like this.
“You knew how to talk?”
The man who had opened his mouth felt like a completely different person from usual.
“It is a signal from our lord, calling us.”
“Me?”
Just as the owner opened his eyes wide, wondering what on earth he meant—
Puhk!
The cook’s hand pierced the owner’s heart.
“You need not raise my wage.”
The customer beside them screamed and fled. When the cook waved his hand, the fleeing customer’s body was torn apart, spraying blood as he collapsed.
The cook looked down at the blood streaming from his hand and arm with a smile.
He inhaled, smelling the scent of blood, then walked outside with blood dripping from his hand.
When he recited an incantation, red smoke began to rise from the blood that had fallen from his hand onto the ground.
It was smoke that would awaken someone else.
* * *
The Drunken Demon was sitting on a wooden platform in the yard, drinking liquor.
Dozens of liquor bottles were placed around him, and there was also a large liquor jar. He was drinking with clear intent.
It was not all the same liquor. He was drinking every one of the dozens of varieties of liquor found in the North Sea.
The Drunken Demon drank a cup of this liquor, then that liquor. Each time, he gave his appraisal. This liquor is good because it is light. This liquor is good because it is strong. This liquor is good because it is sweet. This liquor is good because it is bitter.
He judged every liquor not by saying it was bad for this reason, but that it was good for this reason.
Then he looked up at the top of the wall and asked,
“Care for a drink?”
A man was standing on the wall, looking down this way, though no one knew when he had arrived.
The man was the Blood King. He had been naked before, but now he wore a red martial uniform. The thick scent of blood revealed who he was.
On his way here from outside, he had encountered no obstruction at all. There were no warriors guarding the place. It meant they had known he would come and had been waiting.
Far behind the Blood King, red smoke was rising here and there. In that rising red smoke, one could feel the tension of the eve of war.
The Drunken Demon drank another cup.
“Come down and have a drink.”
The Blood King only looked down at the Drunken Demon without a word.
“If you don’t want to, never mind.”
The Drunken Demon drank deeply. Even as he drank, his gaze remained on the Blood King.
Hot and cold.
Cold and hot.
Both men possessed eyes that held heat and coldness alike.
The smell of liquor and the smell of blood.
In the space where the two faced each other, two primal scents that stirred human instinct mingled.
The Drunken Demon behaved as though he was not tense at all, but his body reacted differently. Instinctively, it tightened, preparing for the opponent’s attack.
‘He came to kill me.’
Geom Mugeuk had been right. He had said the one behind this would surely target him, and now that person had come personally.
And the Blood King had not come alone today.
A dozen or so warriors climbed onto the wall where the Blood King stood. The one who climbed up right beside the Blood King was none other than the Northern Blood Sect Master. Those who had come with him were the trusted limbs of the Northern Blood Sect Master.
The Northern Blood Sect Master asked the Drunken Demon,
“Where have you hidden the Extreme Cold Physique?”
Instead of answering, the Drunken Demon rebuked him.
“How does a man who is the Northern Blood Sect Master end up being led around by this filthy stench of blood?”
It was a remark that pricked at his pride, but the Northern Blood Sect Master pretended not to hear and asked again.
“I asked where the Extreme Cold Physique is.”
At that, the Drunken Demon drank his liquor and answered,
“Why do you keep asking? Did you leave it in my care?”
The Northern Blood Sect Master looked at the Blood King. At length, the Blood King spoke in a low, resonant voice.
“He is not someone who will speak obediently. Kill him.”
The Blood King had grasped precisely what kind of person the Drunken Demon was. Though he looked as if he were merely grinning and drinking, that liquor was as thick as blood. He was not an easy man by any means.
The Drunken Demon said to the Blood King,
“There’s one thing I’m curious about. May I ask?”
The Blood King stared at the Drunken Demon in silence, as if telling him to try.
“That Self-Destruction Art you people use—when you explode, does that red head of yours explode too?”
It was a deliberate provocation. Since the Northern Blood Sect Master was present as well, the Drunken Demon thought the Blood King would surely reveal some emotion. But not even the look in the Blood King’s eyes changed.
‘He’s calmer than he looks.’
The Drunken Demon also sensed what sort of person the Blood King was. The opponent was not a murderer who simply went mad and ran wild. When it was time to be hot, his heat operated; when it was time to be cold, his coldness operated. He was truly the most difficult type of enemy to face.
Srrrng!
The one who drew his sword was the Northern Blood Sect Master. Since the Blood King had given the order to kill, they had to step forward. Besides, the Drunken Demon was provoking the Blood King like that; if they simply stood by, they might be killed by the Blood King.
When the Northern Blood Sect Master drew his sword, his subordinates drew theirs all at once. Their momentum was no ordinary thing.
They revealed their killing intent, but the Drunken Demon’s gaze remained fixed on the Blood King.
The fact that he sent them out first while knowing perfectly well they would be sacrificed meant—
‘He wants to confirm my skill?’
And there was likely also the intention of making him consume his inner force. Though the Blood King gave off such a thick scent of blood, he himself was a man with neither blood nor tears.
‘And that smoke! It is surely a signal calling someone.’
Meanwhile, the Northern Blood Sect Master was just as ruthless.
He had come along because he had no choice due to the Blood King, but he knew very well how dangerous a situation he was in. He was being driven out to face a Demon Supreme.
‘Even if I have to sacrifice all my subordinates, I alone must survive.’
First, the Northern Blood Sect Master ordered three of his subordinates to attack.
The three subordinates lightly leaped down from the wall. In any case, the number of people who could launch a coordinated attack was bound to be limited. The best course would be to wage a wheel battle, taking turns to wear down the opponent’s strength.
The three warriors approached the Drunken Demon from three directions.
The Drunken Demon was still sitting in place, drinking liquor.
Whoooosh!
Suddenly, alcoholic qi surged up around them, and in an instant, all of them vanished into the mist.
From within the mist came the sound of swords swinging through the air. There was also the sound of flesh and bone being cut away, and the sound of neck bones breaking.
Ssssst.
When the mist disappeared again, the Drunken Demon was sitting in the same spot, drinking liquor.
The three men who had approached to kill the Drunken Demon lay sprawled as corpses around him. Because it had happened inside the mist, no one had seen how they died.
“If you like the smell of blood better than the smell of liquor, I’ll let you smell your fill.”
The Northern Blood Sect Master’s expression hardened. He had expected the three to be defeated, but he had not expected them to be defeated so quickly.
Moreover, fighting inside a mist that completely blocked their vision was overwhelmingly disadvantageous.
“Pour out sword energy and sword aura!”
At the Northern Blood Sect Master’s command, the remaining subordinates unleashed sword energy all at once. Once again, alcoholic qi blocked their vision.
Swish swish swish swish swish swish swish swish swish!
Only after they had poured out a storm of sword energy did the Northern Blood Sect Master make them stop attacking.
The mist cleared, revealing the ruined state of the courtyard. The ground had been overturned and shattered.
The Drunken Demon was sitting on the edge of the broken platform, drinking liquor.
What was astonishing was not that the Drunken Demon was unharmed. It was that not a single liquor bottle scattered around him had been broken.
In other words, amid the flying sword energy, the Drunken Demon had protected the liquor bottles.
‘This is possible?’
Not only the Northern Blood Sect Master, but the remaining warriors as well were intimidated.
The Drunken Demon looked up at the Northern Blood Sect Master and said,
“I told you to come down and drink.”
When no one answered, the Drunken Demon drank straight from the bottle.
Since the Blood King still did not so much as open his mouth, the one dealing with the Drunken Demon was the Northern Blood Sect Master.
“You seem to be trying to buy time, but it would be better not to expect help from the Young Cult Leader.”
“You’re the ones buying time.”
It was a rebuke asking why the Blood King and the Northern Blood Sect Master did not step forward first and instead sacrificed innocent subordinates.
“Are you worried? That the Young Cult Leader might arrive before you kill me?”
Of course the Northern Blood Sect Master was worried.
He could sense that the Blood King regarded the Young Cult Leader’s martial arts highly. If he had been confident in eliminating both of them together, he would not have had Yang Seok lure the Young Cult Leader away.
“The Young Cult Leader cannot come. He is already in our hands.”
It was a statement meant to shake the Drunken Demon’s composure, but he did not fall for it.
“If that were true, you would be saying right here and now that we should exchange the Young Cult Leader for the Extreme Cold Physique.”
The Drunken Demon was not only more intelligent than anyone, he also had absolute faith in Geom Mugeuk.
That was why he even made this joke.
“Don’t worry. The Young Cult Leader always comes to me last.”
The Drunken Demon picked up a bottle and slowly rose from his seat. It was merely a drunk man standing up, yet that presence made everyone tense.
“The person you should be worried about is not the Young Cult Leader. It’s me.”
Even in this moment when taut tension filled the air, the Drunken Demon gulped liquor straight from the bottle.
“Because instead of keeping me company over drinks, you people keep swinging blades around at me, so I’ve been drinking alone.”
The color of the alcoholic qi wavering around the Drunken Demon’s body began to change.
“And I’m very drunk.”