Go underground together?
At a time when hiding it deliberately still wouldn’t have been enough, he wanted to dig for the underground treasure vault together?
“Are you serious?”
Even without asking, even if the man had not nodded like that right before his eyes, Geom Mugeuk could feel that he meant it. It seemed he had intended to go underground with him from the very beginning.
“Why are you trying to take me with you?”
Naturally, it had to be because he needed him.
The problem was what would happen when he found what he was looking for.
There was no way he intended to share it with him, so did it mean he would use him to his heart’s content and kill him then? Was he not worried about the possibility of having it taken from him?
The Sword King pointed a finger at Geom Mugeuk’s chest.
“Because of that.”
When Geom Mugeuk lowered his head, a white snake drawn on his chest showed between the open lapels of his robe. It seemed a waste to erase the snake Ian had drawn for him, so he had not wiped it off yet.
“I didn’t know you liked snakes.”
Of course, he knew very well that the man had not said it because he liked snakes or the White Snake Squad.
“You found the entrance down, didn’t you?”
At the Sword King’s question, Geom Mugeuk answered honestly.
“Yes, I found it.”
Geom Mugeuk walked over to where the chairs were arranged and operated the first mechanism hidden beneath the seats meant for the instructors.
Then, after sitting back down in the Hall Master’s seat, he operated the armrest.
Srrrk.
Geom Mugeuk descended together with the chair, then rose back up again.
In the meantime, the Sword King had come to stand before the Hall Master’s seat. Looking down at Geom Mugeuk, the Sword King did not hide the admiration that crossed his face.
“You found this entrance, which is difficult to locate, and in that short span of time even carried out a scheme to send me outside. I need a clever man like you. I’m in need of clever shoveling.”
“If that’s the case, you’ve chosen extremely well.”
“I do have a good eye for people.”
The Sword King sat down in the instructor’s seat beside Geom Mugeuk.
The two of them stared wordlessly at the empty training ground.
“Who drew that picture for you?”
“My heart drew it for me.”
He had already introduced Ian to him as someone like his heart.
“It was quite a good idea. If I had left my post for even a moment, there’s no telling what you might have done down below.”
That was not the only praise the Sword King gave.
“And on your way here, with instantaneous judgment, you let the four who could have become hostages escape.”
“I know you wouldn’t have taken them hostage.”
“Even so, it would have bothered you. That alone would have been enough.”
Both of their gazes were still turned toward the empty sparring platform.
“I understand that you promised the Hall Master an peerless divine art. Then what will you give me?”
“Greedy, aren’t you! You’ve already learned the greatest martial art under heaven.”
“You may not have known, but my nickname is the Incarnation of Greed.”
After a brief pause, the Sword King spoke.
“You said it yourself. That you wanted to become stronger.”
What he intended to give was also truly unexpected.
“Down below, you will be able to become stronger.”
If that was true? Then you’ll die by my hand.
Geom Mugeuk sensed that he would not be able to hear anything more detailed from him.
“As expected, you are an excellent instructor.”
At last, Geom Mugeuk accepted his proposal.
“I made a promise, so I should keep it. Let’s go.”
“Aren’t you afraid? How do you know what’s down there?”
“There will be earth to dig and hall members exhausted from digging it.”
“There may also be an instructor who will lead you into a death trap.”
At last, Geom Mugeuk’s gaze, which had been fixed on the sparring platform, turned toward the Sword King.
“I am cautious, and I’m not the sort of person to stake my life over pride or curiosity. Even so, the reason I say I’ll go down is because there is one thing I believe.”
The Sword King’s gaze also remained on Geom Mugeuk as he waited for his answer.
“I believe that the place where you intend to fight me is, at the very least, not beneath this earth.”
And then came an unexpected reason.
“Because when you die, you’ll want to die looking at that sky, not at a suffocating ceiling of dirt.”
“!”
“The same goes for me. So let’s do our digging toward death or our schemes of drawing snakes on chests beneath this sky. No, how about we have our final fight atop that sparring platform? Both you and I are people of this martial hall, aren’t we?”
The Sword King, looking at Geom Mugeuk, said nothing.
“Now then, the clever shovel is going down.”
Geom Mugeuk descended with a srrrk.
As he went down into the space below, Geom Mugeuk’s eyes deepened. He had spoken that way, but he must not forget for even a single moment that the man could kill him down here.
Originally, it was an adventure he would not have taken. But this time, he thought he might be able to obtain information through the Sword King about Hwa Mugi and that organization. He judged it worth taking the risk. And he had also prepared something, just in case.
As Geom Mugeuk waited in the space below, the Sword King also descended on the chair.
The two of them climbed onto the mechanism that led underground. Once they boarded, it was packed full.
Wooooong.
The mechanism carrying the two began to descend.
Facing forward, the Sword King said,
“You’re too sentimental.”
His face, reflected in the metal of the mechanism, was smiling. Geom Mugeuk’s smiling face was reflected there as well.
“Say that after you take off those shoes, why don’t you?”
Yes, for now, these moments of enjoyment with him were still pleasant.
Because we had not yet peered into the pitch-black holes in each other’s hearts. Because we still did not know what we would see in that abyss.
And so the mechanism carrying the two of them continued descending into the darkness.
* * *
“Where are you taking us?”
In front of the martial hall, Gyo Seok asked Ian. They had been following the instructor, and then suddenly Ian and Seo Jin had taken them out of the martial hall. In that instant, even their mute acupoints and internal energy had been sealed, and they had been dragged along without being able to resist once. He had truly thought they were being kidnapped.
Only after they left the martial hall did Ian apologize and release their mute acupoints and internal energy.
“You’ll know when we get there.”
Unlike the anxious Gyo Seok, Yu Gwang obediently followed where Ian led.
They soon met a man hiding in a private house on the outskirts, a little away from the marketplace. It was Yeon Baekjin, who had been treated as having been killed by the White Snake Squad this time.
“Great Hero Yeon!”
Yu Gwang and Gyo Seok were startled to see Yeon Baekjin hiding in a place like this. Only then did they realize that something serious had happened.
Of course, they had still expected it to be something like a conflict between brothers over the position of Hall Master, but from Ian came words they had never imagined at all.
“We are going to our cult’s safe house right now.”
Our cult? Safe house?
At those unfamiliar words, Yu Gwang and Gyo Seok looked at each other, their eyes round. They were words they knew, but had never once used in reality or heard directly.
To the shocked pair, Ian spoke calmly.
“I’m sorry you got dragged into this. But from now on, you have to listen to me.”
Whether they wanted to listen or not, they had to. The aura Ian revealed was not that of an ordinary member of the White Dragon Class.
They had already thought she was no ordinary person, but now she was exuding an even greater presence than Yeon Baekjin, the Hall Master’s younger brother.
A carriage arrived there. It was driven by a farmer who looked ordinary. He looked so ordinary that, on the contrary, he felt extraordinary. In this situation, there was no way an ordinary farmer would come.
When the five of them climbed into the rear compartment of the shabby cargo wagon, which did not even have windows, the carriage set off.
Gyo Seok asked cautiously,
“What in the world is going on?”
If this had been the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult before Geom Mugeuk, they would already have been loaded in after even their paralysis and sleep acupoints had been sealed. Even if their lives had been saved, they would not have known who the other party was or why this was happening to them.
But fortunately, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult they were experiencing was the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult after Geom Mugeuk.
“A martial world conspiracy is underway here at the Yellow Dragon Martial Hall. We came to resolve that matter.”
Yu Gwang turned to look at Gyo Seok with an expression that said, See?
But right now, Gyo Seok had no time to pay attention to his conspiracy-theorist friend.
“Who are you people?”
Ian answered calmly and plainly.
“You’ll find out when we arrive.”
Gyo Seok was about to ask where that place was, but Yu Gwang, beside him, tugged at his sleeve and stopped him.
“We go where destiny leads!”
More like where the pretty woman leads!
That pretty woman, like destiny itself, quietly closed her eyes and recalled Geom Mugeuk’s sound transmission that she had heard at the last moment.
—There is an entrance beneath the Hall Master’s seat at the sparring platform. Go to the safe house and relay this message.
At the same time, he had transmitted another message to her.
After hearing all of it, Ian had been puzzled.
Just who was she supposed to relay this important message to? A warrior of the safe house? Or was someone waiting at the safe house?
How long had they ridden like that? After changing carriages twice and checking whether they were being followed, the carriage at last entered a manor.
When they arrived there, only Ian and Seo Jin sensed that they had even passed through a formation. Rather, Seo Jin sensed it more accurately.
Because Seo Jin had learned ghost arts, she was also well versed in formations, so she knew more precisely how remarkable the formation they had just passed through was.
The Martial Alliance and the Evil Path Alliance were likely the same, but in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult as well, safe houses in particular were protected with utmost thoroughness.
In the courtyard of the safe house, a man stood with his back turned.
At the sight of that familiar broad back, Ian flinched in surprise. Soon, her expression brightened radiantly. The person she had missed so dearly was waiting there.
“Father!”
The person who turned toward her was none other than the Fist Demon.
“Ian.”
Ian ran over and threw herself into the Fist Demon’s arms. When she had left the cult and returned to the main cult, she had barely managed to exchange greetings before parting from him, and now they had met again like this.
On the Fist Demon’s fearsome face blossomed a welcome permitted to only one person.
Of course, the other three were terrified by the Fist Demon’s frightening appearance. Even Seo Jin was overawed by his imposing looks. It was her first time meeting a Demon Venerable as well.
‘He’s the captain’s father? How could a daughter like that come from a face like his?’
Not only Seo Jin, but everyone looked back and forth between the two with similar thoughts.
At that moment, a woman walked out of the building. She was a woman with beautiful features that were completely opposite to the Fist Demon’s.
With deep eyes that suited her snow-white hair perfectly, she was none other than the Ilhwa Sword Venerable.
Seeing her, Ian cupped her fist respectfully and greeted her.
“I greet the Sword Venerable!”
“Captain Lee, it’s good to see you.”
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable welcomed Ian with a smile. She knew very well how much Geom Mugeuk cherished Ian, and now Ian was the Fist Demon’s daughter. Naturally, the gaze she turned toward Ian was gentle.
The presence of the two Demon Venerables was tremendous. They were two people who had recently attained achievements in martial learning through blood-soaked training. And that effort was still ongoing even now.
On the day Geom Mugeuk confirmed that the Sword King was at the Yellow Dragon Martial Hall, he had gone out and returned. At that time, Ian had guessed that his outing was to prepare for this matter. Geom Mugeuk had sent urgent messages asking the Fist Demon and the Ilhwa Sword Venerable for help.
Once Geom Mugeuk knew the opponent was the Sword King, he did not intend to face him alone. All the more so because Ian and Seo Jin were also with him.
The reason he called the Fist Demon was because of Ian, and the reason he called the Ilhwa Sword Venerable was because the opponent was the Sword King. He had sensed that this battle would become a great stimulus to everyone who wielded a sword.
Everyone held their breath as they watched Ian exchange greetings with the two.
A man more terrifying than anyone in the world and a woman more elegant than anyone in the world?
‘Just who are they?’
Ian first revealed her and Seo Jin’s identities to the two friends.
“I am Ian, captain of the Ghost Shadow Unit of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, and this is Team Leader Seo Jin.”
Shocked, Yu Gwang and Gyo Seok froze and could not say a word. It was the moment they finally understood with certainty the meaning of “our cult” and “safe house.”
“You two… no, you two esteemed ones are from the Demonic Cult—no, the Divine Cult?”
Gyo Seok trembled as he stammered. He should have known from the moment Yu Gwang started saying, “Ominous, ominous.” This is all your fault! That bastard’s conspiracy theories had drawn in the most terrifying beings in the world.
“Yes. As I said earlier, we came out because there was something to investigate.”
But the surprises began from here. Ian formally introduced the two Demon Venerables.
“This is Lord Fist Demon, one of our cult’s Eight Demon Venerables, and this is Lady Ilhwa Sword Venerable. Seo Jin, greet them formally first.”
At the word Sword Venerable, she had thought, Surely not, but they truly were Demon Venerables. Seo Jin respectfully greeted the two.
“I am Seo Jin, Team Leader of the Ghost Shadow Unit. It is an honor to meet such esteemed personages.”
Her voice trembled. Truly, it was the moment she was seeing the Eight Demon Venerables she had only heard about in words, and two of them in one place at that.
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable was especially impressive. She was incomparably beautiful and elegant, to the point that Seo Jin naturally thought she wanted to age like that.
If even Seo Jin was this shocked, how great must Yu Gwang and Gyo Seok’s shock have been? How could they have known they would meet the Eight Demon Venerables in their lifetimes?
“Oh my!”
“Please spare us!”
The two of them prostrated themselves flat on the ground. It truly felt like they were dreaming.
Of course, they were not the only ones surprised. Yeon Baekjin, who had been standing awkwardly, also bent at the waist and greeted them. He, too, was startled enough for his heart to drop.
Originally, he should have been more shocked when Geom Mugeuk revealed his identity, but he was more shocked now.
When he saw Geom Mugeuk, it had not felt very real. Geom Mugeuk felt far too removed from the image of the Demonic Cult’s young cult leader.
But now it was different. He realized he was dealing with the real Demonic Cult and its demons. Had he ever in his life met people who were this frightening and gave off such an intense presence?
He could now feel that this fight had entered a new phase. It was not a situation where he could step forward and speak recklessly. The vague Demonic Cult had now revealed its substance before his eyes.
“Now, everyone, go inside and rest.”
Ian called a warrior of the safe house and had the others taken inside.
Now only Ian, the Fist Demon, and the Ilhwa Sword Venerable remained there. Ian told the two of them everything that had happened so far, exactly as it was.
“It was the first time I had ever seen the Young Cult Leader so tense.”
At those words, the Fist Demon and the Ilhwa Sword Venerable looked at each other and exchanged glances. They sensed that this enemy was stronger than any they had faced before.
“Where is the Young Cult Leader now?”
At the Fist Demon’s question, Ian shook her head and only relayed the message she had been told to convey.
“He told me to tell you that there is an entrance leading underground beneath the sparring platform.”
What Geom Mugeuk had told her to relay at the very end was this.
“And he said that if he does not appear at this safe house even after ten days, you should come rescue him.”