Jin Haryeong and Yeo Jeong were hiding in a secret chamber of Cheonhwaru.
When the fighting began in earnest, the two of them had managed to slip into Cheonhwaru’s secret chamber amid the chaos.
Sounds of battle came from above. Things breaking, shattering, being smashed to pieces.
She was terribly curious and worried about what was happening outside, but Jin Haryeong remained hidden without moving an inch.
If it had been the old her, she would not have chosen to hide like this. She would have thought to help her older brother fight while protecting Yeo Jeong.
Because honor had mattered more than anything else. And because she would have been afraid that when she opened that door later and went out, she might find her brother’s corpse. Because she would not have been able to endure the terror of surviving alone.
But the Jin Haryeong of now had changed from back then. A promise mattered more than honor, and the person she had to protect mattered. Her faith in her older brother had grown beyond comparison as well.
All of these changes had been greatly influenced by her relationship with Geom Mugeuk.
Even the young cult leader of the Demonic Cult thinks and acts like that. Who am I to do otherwise?
She could imagine Geom Mugeuk’s reaction when he heard that she had hidden here.
—You did really well. You made the wisest choice!
And yet he would surely tease her too.
—Ah, I should’ve said I’d protect the Pavilion Master! Do you know how many times I almost died?
At the thought of that reaction, a smile formed at her lips before she knew it.
‘Honestly, you turn me into a madwoman who smiles even in a situation like this.’
Just then, Yeo Jeong spoke to her from behind.
“Miss Jin.”
“Yes, Pavilion Master.”
When Jin Haryeong turned around, Yeo Jeong’s expression was utterly calm. So much so that Jin Haryeong almost thought she might be the one being protected.
“If a moment ever comes later when you must choose, abandon me without hesitation.”
Jin Haryeong could tell. Yeo Jeong meant it sincerely.
“Yes, I will.”
Had she answered too easily? Yeo Jeong’s expression showed that she did not believe her. So Jin Haryeong said to her,
“I promised him. That I would protect you, Pavilion Master, no matter what.”
Yeo Jeong smiled and said,
“The person you made that promise to would understand you even if you survived alone, Miss Jin. He would probably comfort you more warmly than anyone.”
Jin Haryeong thought inwardly.
‘No. He would spit words of resentment at me. He would say vicious things, telling me he died because of me. Enough to make my affection run cold. So that I’d feel something other than guilt. Because he’s the sort of person who would think doing that was for my sake.’
She now knew that Geom Mugeuk was that kind of person. That was why. The reason she absolutely had to protect Yeo Jeong.
Jin Haryeong changed the subject.
“I wonder if my older brother is fighting well.”
She had lived believing that if someone had to die, it should be her, not her older brother. That was how important her brother was to the orthodox martial world.
“You don’t know, do you? How straightforward and inflexible my brother is. That’s why it’s almost surprising he became close to the young cult leader.”
“Then you don’t need to worry.”
“Pardon?”
Yeo Jeong smiled as she said to her,
“People who are straightforward are strong in a crisis.”
* * *
That place was a complicated maze. The walls were made of thick steel, and the paths were intricate.
The Blood Path Maze Formation.
A deadly ultimate formation from which, once trapped, one could never emerge alive.
The one leading Jin Hagun and the martial artists of the Demon Extermination Squad through that ultimate formation was Jeong Gyeong, a martial artist of the squad.
“This way.”
The martial artists of the Demon Extermination Squad were strong in martial arts as a matter of course, and each also possessed their own specialty outside of martial arts. Some were well versed in poison, some specialized in researching sorcery, and some were specialized in tracking arts.
Jeong Gyeong’s specialty was breaking formations.
Given the nature of the Demon Extermination Squad, they often encountered enemies who used evil arts or formations. To prepare for such times, they had all trained and studied how to break formations together.
But Jeong Gyeong, who was walking at the front, was tense.
He had read and reread every book on formations he could find. He had studied hard enough to memorize them all, but the Blood Path Maze Formation was truly dangerous.
The Blood Path Maze Formation was not merely a formation that made one lose their way.
Each time one took the wrong path and chose a death gate instead of a life gate, a terrifying price had to be paid.
Moreover, no matter how much one usually researched and studied, formations developed and changed endlessly. Those who sought to break them could not keep pace with that rate of change.
And so today, in this place, he had to make not only precise calculations but many adaptations and new choices as well.
Thinking that everyone’s lives rested in his hands, Jeong Gyeong felt both afraid and excited.
“This door.”
The place they entered after opening the door was a room filled on all sides with bronze mirrors. Dozens of small mirrors were attached everywhere, enough to make one’s head spin.
Once they had all stepped inside,
Srrrrk.
A mechanism on the platform in front activated.
Sand began to pour down onto one side of a balance scale whose arms had been tilted. Then it slowly began to descend.
Seeing it, Jeong Gyeong shouted,
“We must find the life gate before that scale touches the floor! It is one of the bronze mirrors.”
There was not much time given. How were they supposed to discover which of those many mirrors was the life gate in such a short time? Jeong Gyeong was flustered as well, for this was his first time encountering this method.
The Demon Extermination Squad martial artists rushed over, touching the mirrors and examining them for anything different.
Even as they did, the scale sank lower and lower.
Just before the scale touched the floor,
Jin Hagun hurled himself forward and shoved one of the mirrors with all his might.
“Here!”
The moment he pushed the mirror hard,
Everyone braced themselves tensely for what might happen next. They did not know whether poisonous smoke would gush out or hidden weapons would pour down.
At that very moment, the falling sand stopped, and the scale began to rise back to its original position.
The mirror Jin Hagun had chosen had been the life gate.
With a clack, an exit door opened in the wall.
Everyone sighed in relief and swept a hand over their chests.
“How did you know it was that bronze mirror?”
At Jeong Gyeong’s question, Jin Hagun gave an answer none of them had expected.
“I just guessed.”
“Pardon?”
Everyone stared at him in surprise.
Then Gwanghyo of the Demon Extermination Squad laughed and said,
“That’s even better. Isn’t luck what we need most right now?”
In truth, Jin Hagun’s words were half right and half wrong. At the last moment, Jin Hagun had noticed that his reflection did not appear in that mirror.
Still, since he had chosen it in an instant without checking all the other mirrors, it was no different from a guess. But that instinctive choice had been right.
After leaving the mirror room, they continued searching for the path.
In that way, they steadily made their way through the maze until, in the end, Jeong Gyeong mistakenly chose a death gate. He had made his choice through precise inference and calculation, but there had been a trap within the process.
Clank!
The floor tilted like a slope.
Kururururung.
From somewhere unseen above, there came the sound of something rolling toward them.
“Dodge!”
At Jeong Gyeong’s shout, everyone was about to throw themselves to the opposite side.
But at that instant, Jin Hagun hurled himself toward the direction from which something was rolling.
“We stop it before it gains more speed!”
This was the method to break the trap that he had thought of in that instant.
The Demon Extermination Squad martial artists followed after him.
Gururururung!
What came rolling down was a giant iron ball.
Jin Hagun’s choice was correct. If they had left it alone, it would have reached an uncontrollable speed and crushed them. But now—
Gritting hard!
Jin Hagun blocked the iron ball with his back and raised his internal energy. The Demon Extermination Squad martial artists who had followed him joined him.
Kurururururung.
As those clinging to it drew up their internal energy with all their might, its speed gradually decreased, and at last the giant iron ball stopped.
Then the floor that had tilted returned to its original position.
“Phew!”
Jin Hagun let out a breath of relief.
“Are you all right?”
At his subordinates’ question, Jin Hagun nodded.
“I’m fine.”
“If not for your choice, Captain, we would have been in serious trouble.”
They would not all have died to this trap, but several could have been injured or killed.
It was truly not easy to think of running in the opposite direction in that instant.
For that reason, the subordinates of the Demon Extermination Squad looked at Jin Hagun with renewed eyes. He was strong in righteousness and profound in martial arts, but they had not had many chances to see him display this sort of quick thinking and wisdom.
Jin Hagun was showing strength in a crisis. Once he resolved to get everyone out alive, that sense of responsibility was producing astonishing concentration.
Jeong Gyeong came over and lowered his head with a shamefaced expression.
“I made a mistake. I apologize.”
“It’s all right. If not for you, we would not even have made it this far.”
He was not simply saying it to comfort him. If not for Jeong Gyeong, they would have faced this kind of crisis any number of times already.
“It will become harder and harder to find the life gates. It’s all right if you make a mistake. Aren’t there so many methods of breaking through behind you?”
When Jeong Gyeong turned around, his comrades were looking at him. It meant that even if he made a mistake, they would all break through together.
Jin Hagun said to everyone,
“Let’s break out and tell the bastard who made this who we are.”
“Yes!”
The Demon Extermination Squad martial artists answered thunderously.
They began walking once more toward the next choice between life and death.
* * *
At the sudden downpour of sunlight, the Fighting King closed his eyes.
It was not ordinary sunlight. It was scorching sunlight that seemed as if it would dry up the entire world.
He narrowed his eyes and shielded them from the sun with his hand. His palm grew hot.
The Fighting King was bewildered by the sudden situation.
The place where he stood was parched earth, cracked all over.
And what hung in the sky was truly the sun. A blazing midday sun in a sky without a single cloud.
“What is this?”
Ahead of him stood Geom Mugeuk and Geugak Soma.
The very moment the sound of Geugak Soma flicking Geom Mugeuk’s sword rang out as the two of them walked toward him,
Their surroundings had suddenly changed like this.
Unlike him, who was confused, the Dark King knew what sort of situation this was.
“It is the Space-Time Transposition Art.”
The Dark King recognized the Space-Time Transposition Art at a glance. Surprise flashed through the eyes of the woman wavering as she overlapped with the Fighting King.
“It is Cult Leader Pungcheon’s unique secret art. How astonishing. To think that greedy old man passed this on to the young cult leader.”
What the Dark King was curious about was this.
“If you knew how to use the Space-Time Transposition Art, why did you not use it from the beginning?”
There was only one reason.
“Because my friends were fighting there with me.”
If he had dragged in only the Fighting King, the Dark King might have killed Bisa-in or Jin Hagun.
But he could not bring the Dark King in as well. It was possible to bring someone nearby into the Space-Time Transposition Art, but not someone riding in a palanquin and invisible to the eye.
Even if he could have brought her, it was a method he would not have chosen. If he had to face the Dark King as well, it would take a long time, and who knew what variables might arise in the fights of his friends or Geugak Soma outside?
He had intended to endure as long as possible and use it once at the very end.
Earlier, however, he had seen the cord connected to the palanquin snap, confirming that Bisa-in was safe.
Geugak Soma was safe as well, and Jin Hagun had entered the formation anyway.
Finally, the moment the Dark King descended into the Fighting King’s body,
He judged that it was time to use the Space-Time Transposition Art. But his opponent was an absolute master of dark sorcery. He absolutely could not let his guard down.
Even right now, the Dark King’s emotions were closer to surprise and admiration than agitation or unease.
“Because of your friends. So the anxiety that your friends might die was true.”
Geom Mugeuk nodded.
“At the same time, that anxiety is also my strength.”
The Fighting King, who had been listening, said,
“Do you think I can’t kill you just because it isn’t night?”
Geom Mugeuk nodded.
“I don’t think you can. The Dark Heaven Night Divine Art won’t be able to exert its full power.”
Indeed, the white rims that had been in the Fighting King’s pupils had grown so thin that they could hardly be seen.
“Now that the two of us have joined forces, it does not matter even if it is not night.”
“If that were really true, you would have attacked in broad daylight from the start. You wouldn’t have caused this commotion in the dead of night like rats.”
At the word “rats,” the Fighting King shouted in fury.
“Shut your mouth!”
The Dark King restrained the agitated Fighting King.
“Endure it. The more you speak with the young cult leader, the more you will lose.”
Then the Dark King spoke in a calm tone.
“The young cult leader is right. If we fight here, we lose.”
She was grasping the situation precisely.
The Fighting King glared at them fearsomely like a wounded beast, but the Dark King overlapping him had calm eyes.
Her gaze moved back and forth between Geom Mugeuk and Geugak Soma.
At that moment, the two men’s eyes resembled each other.
That was why she could tell, even though they had not yet fought. How fantastically in sync these two would be in battle.
“Knowing that, why are you so relaxed?”
At Geom Mugeuk’s question, the Dark King answered,
“Because where there is light, darkness is always there as well.”
He had the feeling that the Dark King, wavering from within the Fighting King’s body, was smiling.
It was right then.
Suddenly, the surroundings began to darken. This world was one Geom Mugeuk had created, a place that should never be able to grow dark.
Geom Mugeuk and Geugak Soma turned to look behind them. They could tell where the darkness had begun.
Both of their gazes turned toward the sky.
The moon was covering the sun.
It was a solar eclipse.