Geom Mugik examined the interior and discovered one fact.
“It seems the secret chamber was moved here from another place not too long ago.”
How had he figured that out?
Just as Geom Mugik said, this was a newly constructed underground secret chamber. Originally, it had been beneath a secluded warehouse inside the medical hall, but a few years ago, So Jeongnak had built a new one beneath his own residence. Because using the underground space there had been too inconvenient.
At So Jeongnak’s questioning gaze, Geom Mugik gave a meaningful smile.
“Did I not say so earlier? At first, you must have been perfectly careful, but gradually, you grew complacent.”
So Jeongnak could not refute those words. Because he had indeed grown complacent.
Now, he was someone everyone respected. Even if this place were discovered, he could simply say it was where he researched and produced antidotes. That he had built an underground secret chamber because handling poison was dangerous.
But as Geom Mugik dug deeper, the situation changed.
If he pushed the narrative with his eloquent tongue that this place was where he refined his poison arts, he might truly become such a person in the eyes of others.
Geom Mugik was the one who had brought them here without drawing his sword once, without frowning once. The key that opened the door to this secret chamber was that three-inch tongue of his.
Soon, So Jeongnak composed his heart.
*Stay calm. He must be trembling with anxiety too.*
His gaze, which had been fixed on Geom Mugik, turned toward the two old demons. Now, the ones who had to make the gamble were the old demons.
No matter how dazzlingly Geom Mugik tried to deceive them with his eloquence, he couldn’t possibly be stronger than his poisons.
It was unlikely, but if the two old demons ultimately did not heed his words, he intended to have them killed by using a slow-acting poison under the pretext of an antidote.
“The Young Cult Leader is mistaken. I will release your seals right here.”
So Jeongnak walked over and spoke while looking at the large stone bed in the center.
“Look at this. Have I not even prepared a bed for the Grand Ritual?”
To anyone who saw it, it looked like a place where the Grand Ritual would be performed.
Ma Yeomgun and Baekgol Honma’s expressions had also relaxed considerably compared to before.
But Geom Mugik’s eyes were sharp.
“It seems this is a bed used for experimenting with poison arts.”
Ma Yeomgun furrowed his brow and asked Geom Mugik,
“What do you mean?”
“Look at the side over there.”
Red stains remained on the spot Geom Mugik pointed to. The two old demons immediately recognized them as bloodstains and hardened their expressions.
Geom Mugik ran his hand over the stone bed as he spoke.
“I wonder how many people died here?”
The two old demons stared at So Jeongnak with cold eyes.
Hadn’t So Jeongnak spoken just moments ago as if he had prepared this bed especially for them?
But performing a Grand Ritual on a spot where people had died from poison—how could anyone feel good about that?
So Jeongnak was inwardly flustered and annoyed, but he calmly acknowledged the fact with effort.
“That is correct. It also served as my research laboratory. One must perform the Grand Ritual in a familiar place to avoid mistakes.”
Though he didn’t deny it, Ma Yeomgun and Baekgol Honma’s expressions did not relax.
So Jeongnak quickly changed the subject.
“The Grand Ritual will proceed without any hindrance. The basic ingredients are already prepared, and the remaining ones will be brought on the day the ritual is performed.”
To his explanation, Geom Mugik looked at the medicinal herbs and said,
“Is that so?”
The two old demons’ gazes turned to Geom Mugik.
“There are only poisonous herbs here. Not a single ingredient for the Grand Ritual. You are deceiving them again, claiming they don’t know about herbs. You can tell just by looking. If the ingredients for the Grand Ritual were here, would you simply stand by when a fight is about to break out?”
So Jeongnak spoke calmly to the two old demons.
“They are basic ingredients that can be reacquired quickly. Please do not be swayed by that cunning tongue of his. He is doing everything he can to drive a wedge between us simply to survive.”
He had to kill Geom Mugik as soon as possible.
“Now that you have seen the site for the Grand Ritual, please kill the Young Cult Leader as promised. Whom to believe is for you two to judge.”
He was certain they would have no choice but to believe him in the end. No matter how much Geom Mugik tried to drive a wedge, the one who could eventually release their seals was on this side.
But what if they believed Geom Mugik, even by some slim chance?
If that happened, they would all die here together. Because they wouldn’t be able to withstand his poisons.
But those old demons wouldn’t just die quietly, so he wouldn’t be able to survive either.
In the end, only Geom Mugik would survive. So please, don’t think of turning on me, you old fools.
Geom Mugik spoke to the two old demons.
“Since you’ve come all this way, shall we do one final verification?”
“What verification?”
“You said you would show us the person who will perform the Grand Ritual together, did you not? Let’s see that person too.”
So Jeongnak couldn’t understand why Geom Mugik was so fixated on this place and that person.
“Do not fall for his tricks.”
Geom Mugik rebutted as if he had been waiting for this.
“If this were a trick, I wouldn’t have asked to see another person. That would mean one more enemy for me. Is it not?”
It wasn’t wrong, so Ma Yeomgun and Baekgol Honma nodded slightly.
So Jeongnak was bewildered.
Yes, he had a point. Why would he keep asking to see someone when it meant gaining one more powerful enemy?
At that moment, a chill ran down his spine.
So Jeongnak’s trembling gaze turned to Geom Mugik.
*You… could it be! Are you trying to gather everyone in one place and kill them all at once?*
He felt that might indeed be the case. How else could he explain the composure filling that face?
That naturally led to one question.
If he was so confident in his strength, why hadn’t he just killed them back in the medical hall? Why did he insist on coming here?
*There or here…*
At that very moment, So Jeongnak realized there was one difference between there and here.
Something that was there but not here.
The sleeping medical hall staff, patients, and their guardians.
*The reason he asked to come here was because of them?*
To avoid fighting there?
If a fight had broken out there, many of those who had been sleeping would have been injured or killed.
It would have been the same even if they fought outside the medical hall. Everywhere was packed with patients.
Only this place was somewhere they could fight without people getting hurt. Had he really thought that far ahead?
*Ah! Now that I think about it!*
Earlier, to prove he had internal energy, Geom Mugik had cut the line connected between himself and the patients.
Throughout their conversation in the medical hall, Geom Mugik had never once shown concern for the patients, which was why he hadn’t noticed. Even when leaving the place, he hadn’t given them a single glance.
*Was that all an attempt to hide his inner concern for them?*
That wasn’t what was surprising.
He already knew well that Geom Mugik was no ordinary Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult. He might normally value human life. He himself had lived such a life on the surface.
But what mattered was the current situation. When the situation was favorable, what mask couldn’t one wear?
But now was not a situation where one could put on a mask and enjoy a banquet.
In the midst of a life-or-death situation, he had worn a mask of indifference and still cared about those people’s survival?
So Jeongnak found it hard to believe. Even he, who had been treating them until this morning, hadn’t been able to pay attention to the sleeping patients.
“Did you ask to come here because of the patients?”
Instead of answering, Geom Mugik asked So Jeongnak,
“Aren’t those people the ones you are supposed to take care of?”
“What?”
“You are a doctor, and they are patients. So I thought you readily brought us here?”
So Jeongnak could tell. That Geom Mugik was rebuking his actions.
He had taken them hostage rather than protecting them. He had even threatened that if he died, they would die too, having connected himself to them.
Geom Mugik was prodding at the reverse scale of a man who had lived his whole life as a respected doctor.
“Stop your mockery there.”
Geom Mugik gazed at him quietly. Those deep eyes seemed to peer into the deepest recesses of So Jeongnak’s heart. Into that pitch-black hole.
“I believe Hwa Yulcheong is the same. Just as you satisfied the desires you suppressed by killing innocents in this underground chamber, he must have something too.”
Feeling a strange sense of shame, So Jeongnak urged the two old demons.
“Will you simply continue watching like that?”
Then the two old demons stepped forward.
They had already decided to kill Geom Mugik. That was a fact that had never changed from beginning to end.
Not because they believed So Jeongnak. But because they believed the one who had come to persuade them.
Ma Yeomgun looked at Baekgol Honma and spoke.
“I will handle this junior.”
Then Baekgol Honma shook his head.
“Let us do this together.”
“You want to join forces?”
Surprisingly, Baekgol Honma nodded. Ma Yeomgun knew that Baekgol Honma was an old man with as much pride as him—no, even more.
*But joining forces?*
Ma Yeomgun knew that ever since Baekgol Honma had peered at Geom Mugik with his Dark Heart Eye earlier, his words had grown fewer and his actions more cautious.
“What did you see in that Young Cult Leader?”
An even deeper darkness flowed from Baekgol Honma’s pupils as he looked at Geom Mugik.
The people Baekgol Honma had seen until now had shown various appearances.
Some had shown the appearance of savage beasts, and some the appearance of a crying child lost on the road. He had seen a well-honed sword, and he had seen darkness.
And what he saw in Geom Mugik was Geom Mugik.
Geom Mugik was looking down at him from above a pit. And he was standing in a pit of exactly the right size to fit a coffin, looking up at him.
Since he began using the Dark Heart Eye, this was the first time he had seen not only his opponent but himself together as well.
If there had been killing intent, hatred, or rage in Geom Mugik’s eyes, he wouldn’t have been this bothered.
But those eyes held no emotion whatsoever. They were as indifferent as looking at a stone by the roadside. That gaze felt unpleasant and concerning.
When he finished using the Dark Heart Eye, he felt as if he hadn’t been looking at Geom Mugik but at himself. The reason he had greeted him so docilely was precisely because of that intense discomfort.
Baekgol Honma didn’t tell Ma Yeomgun what he had seen, but how nervous he was came through clearly.
Because of that, Ma Yeomgun didn’t let his guard down either.
Watching that scene, So Jeongnak was inwardly pleased.
*Perfect.*
As long as those two didn’t let their guard down, no matter how excellent the Young Cult Leader’s martial arts were, they could kill him.
Just as the two old demons began to raise their ki in earnest, Geom Mugik raised his hand and spoke.
“Wait! Please wait a moment.”
So Jeongnak nearly burst out shouting.
*What now! Please stop talking and fight! Fight and die!*
This time, it wasn’t words but actions.
And actions that were utterly incomprehensible.
“One step, two steps, three steps…”
Geom Mugik measured the distance from one end of the wall to the other in paces.
“What are you doing?”
An answer came that made him wish he hadn’t asked.
“I’ve grown larger recently. It’s hard to gauge.”
So Jeongnak looked at the two old demons. His gaze was filled with the sentiment of *just get rid of him*, but they simply watched what Geom Mugik was doing. He had piqued their curiosity that much, and also because they didn’t fully trust So Jeongnak.
After measuring the width of the underground chamber, Geom Mugik made one more request.
“Ah, there is something else I must do. Something very important! Something that can settle our seniors’ retirement.”
How could anyone not be curious when he spoke like that?
Geom Mugik picked up a leather sack placed in the corner and began gathering poisonous herbs into it.
“You’ve collected quite a lot of Qihwa Grass even though it can only be obtained beyond the frontier. And there’s Yin Wind Flower root here too. This is truly precious.”
With an ominous feeling he couldn’t explain, So Jeongnak shouted. Thinking Geom Mugik was up to some trick.
“Kill him quickly!”
Then Geom Mugik scolded him instead.
“Then you are unfit to be a doctor and unfit to be a poisoner!”
“What?”
“You mean you’re fine with these precious poisonous herbs being ruined in the fight? Are poisonous herbs nothing but such trivial things to you? You abandon your patients, you abandon your herbs. What exactly are you?”
So Jeongnak hadn’t expected Geom Mugik to scold him like this, so he couldn’t retort. Though he couldn’t retort, it was absurd. Who was the reason he had gotten into this mess?
Geom Mugik gathered mainly the precious poisonous herbs stored separately inside a display cabinet.
“You just stay there. Even if I can’t make poison, I know well which herbs are precious. These are things money can’t buy.”
So the talk about settling retirement meant that after killing him, they should take these herbs and sell them.
It wasn’t just a trick. Geom Mugik was sincerely gathering the poisonous herbs.
He packed them tightly into the leather sack, trying to fit in even one more. They were truly such precious poisonous herbs that their value couldn’t even be calculated in money.
So Jeongnak watched with half resignation. As he said, since they could be damaged if caught up in the fight, having him organize them like this was actually a good thing for him.
After killing Geom Mugik, would the two old demons covet the poisonous herbs? It was unlikely, no, impossible. Would they harbor such greed when they needed their seals released?
“Seniors, please step aside for a moment.”
Geom Mugik gathered the herbs behind the two as well.
Though they tensed inwardly in case he might launch a surprise attack, Geom Mugik focused solely on gathering the herbs.
Watching that, So Jeongnak scoffed coldly.
“Stalling for time like this won’t bring anyone to save you. Though I thank you for packing my herbs.”
“Sorry, but I’m not giving them to you.”
“What?”
“I’m giving them to our Poison King.”
So Jeongnak made an absurd expression. In other words, it meant Geom Mugik would win this fight. At the same time, rage welled up. He would give these precious herbs to the Poison King of all people?
Geom Mugik tossed the leather sack filled with poisonous herbs to him.
“If you want to live, hug that and stick tight to the wall. Step forward, and you die.”
Then Geom Mugik turned toward Ma Yeomgun and Baekgol Honma and drew his Black Demon Sword.
“Now, thank you for waiting. Let us have a conversation in our cult’s proper manner.”
Absolute Regression, Episode 648