The creature was intelligent.
The Bihyeolsa, which had been attacking his heart nonstop, changed its strategy.
It began tearing at Geom Mugeuk’s blood vessels. At first, it bit into vessels of little importance, testing Geom Mugeuk’s reaction. When Geom Mugeuk paid it no mind, it began gnawing at increasingly vital vessels.
It was a strategy that exploited the fact that if he dispersed his internal energy to protect his blood vessels, the strength guarding his heart would ultimately weaken.
Of course, that did not mean it attacked hard enough to kill Geom Mugeuk. It knew that if Geom Mugeuk died, it would die as well. The creature was truly close to a spiritual being with intelligence.
It moved so swiftly he could not catch it. In the end, he had no choice but to pretend to yield his heart and trap it.
He gave up half of his heart, then mobilized all his internal power to prevent it from entering the remaining half.
Once the Bihyeolsa entered his heart, it did not leave again. At first, it merely coiled up and remained still.
He thought that was fortunate.
It was not.
Through the heart, the creature absorbed power, becoming even stronger than when it had roamed his blood vessels. Conversely, Geom Mugeuk grew that much weaker.
Having replenished its strength, the Bihyeolsa began attacking the remaining half of his heart. It pushed in with a force incomparable to before.
Geom Mugeuk poured all his internal energy into stopping the Bihyeolsa.
He endured, and endured again.
At first, he had done so to keep his blood vessels from being harmed. Now, he did it to keep his heart from being damaged. The toll on his mind was immense.
Enduring with every nerve and every ounce of strength was truly agonizing.
He wanted to scream, but he did not. Surely Cha Iran was also doing her utmost.
If she learned of his condition, her urgency would make her commit a mistake. And so Geom Mugeuk endured, and endured again.
When that pain reached its peak, Geom Mugeuk saw an illusion.
He was blocking an enormous wall that came pressing toward him, all alone.
Little by little, he was pushed back. It felt as though the muscles and bones throughout his body were melting away. He wanted to let the strength drain from his arms and give up.
But Geom Mugeuk did not give up. He was not the kind of person who surrendered simply because things were hard.
How long had he endured like that?
Thud.
At the presence beside him, Geom Mugeuk turned his head. In that instant, he was startled.
Someone was pushing the wall alongside him, and it was the handsome evil spirit among the east, west, south, and north of the Guhwa Demonic Art.
‘How are you here?’
Thud.
Then an evil spirit appeared on the opposite side as well. The evil spirit that appeared this time was the frightening-looking one. He glanced once at Geom Mugeuk with that terrifying face, then began pushing the wall.
Thud.
This time, the one who gave off a mysterious air appeared beside the handsome evil spirit, and lastly, the clever-looking one joined beside the frightening fellow.
When the four of them pushed the wall together, it no longer forced him backward.
Geom Mugeuk was overjoyed.
And at the final moment, something blocked the light, casting a gigantic shadow around Geom Mugeuk.
When Geom Mugeuk lifted his head and looked up, something enormous began pushing the wall.
The Heavenly Demon Soul?
Yes, it was the Heavenly Demon Soul. It was dark, so he could not see clearly, but it was unmistakably the Heavenly Demon Soul.
With the evil spirits and the Heavenly Demon Soul together, the wall began moving forward again.
‘Ah! Since even the Heavenly Demon Soul has come, I can let go now.’
The strength gradually drained from Geom Mugeuk’s arms.
But this illusion was a heart demon created by Geom Mugeuk’s unconscious because he was in too much pain. In reality, the wall was being pushed backward.
Heart demons often shook one’s mind by using the person they trusted most.
Yes, surely it was all right to rest now?
It was just as the strength was about to leave his hands completely.
From within the darkness, he heard someone calling him.
……Young Cult Leader.
This voice? A familiar voice, heard as though whispering from afar.
The first voice calling him sounded distant, but the next words rang out loudly, as though sword energy imbued with light had pierced through the darkness and flown toward him.
“I am here, so open your eyes!”
The instant he clearly realized it was the voice of Geugak Soma.
The things around him began to vanish.
The evil spirits disappeared one by one.
Lastly, the Heavenly Demon Soul vanished. As the shadow cast by the Heavenly Demon Soul disappeared, the surroundings brightened. It was the moment the heart demon shattered.
“Young Cult Leader!”
At Geugak Soma’s call, Geom Mugeuk’s eyes flew open.
Geugak Soma was truly looking at him from right before his eyes. Only then did Geom Mugeuk understand. Everything he had seen in the illusion had been a heart demon.
“Are you all right?”
The two eyes within the mask were filled with worry for Geom Mugeuk. He had sensed that Geom Mugeuk’s condition was not good.
Geom Mugeuk wrung out the last of his strength.
“Stab my heart!”
“!”
At those words, Geugak Soma’s eyes widened.
He knew the moment of prophecy had come upon them.
Geugak Soma, too, had thought many things about the prophecy.
Would he merely pretend to kill the Young Cult Leader? Or would he kill a fake disguised as the Young Cult Leader?
But he had never imagined that he would have to stab the real Geom Mugeuk in the heart.
Geom Mugeuk’s hand grasped Geugak Soma’s wrist. Then he pulled that hand toward his heart.
‘Trust yourself and stab.’
With that gesture as his last, Geom Mugeuk closed his eyes. By the time he had fallen into the heart demon, the Bihyeolsa had already invaded even the remaining half of his heart. The more of the heart it occupied, the stronger it became.
The moment Hwa Domyeong heard Geom Mugeuk tell him to stab his heart, he shouted.
“No! Stop him!”
He had mistaken it for Geom Mugeuk trying to take his own life. He thought Geom Mugeuk intended to die rather than be completely dominated by the Bihyeolsa.
If Geom Mugeuk died, then killing the leader of the Evil Alliance would be a failure, but more importantly, he would be unable to retrieve the energies within Geom Mugeuk’s body.
More than twenty of Hwa Domyeong’s subordinates all launched themselves forward at once.
The Faceless Guests also drew their daggers in unison and faced them.
Whoosh.
Dodging the sword of the martial artist who charged in first, a Faceless Guest drove his dagger into the man’s chest.
Clang!
The martial artist who blocked the attack was no ordinary expert. He was certainly more skilled than those they had faced in the alley.
But the ten strongest Faceless Guests of the Valley of Villains were a type of enemy they had never encountered before.
Just as the man thrust his sword again.
Shuk! Shuuuk!
The Faceless Guest’s finger winds flew toward his face. Since he had never imagined his opponent could fire finger wind, he barely avoided the first, but the second took off his ear.
Pak!
The instant the enraged martial artist’s movements grew larger.
Puk!
The Faceless Guest’s dagger lodged in his excited heart.
Immediately pulling out the dagger, the Faceless Guest shot to the side.
Just as one enemy was about to ambush the back of an assassin woman in combat.
Shiiiik.
The Faceless Guest from before snatched the opponent and drove his dagger into the man’s throat.
Puuuk.
The martial artist who tried to attack the Faceless Guest who had saved the assassin fell to Ilgyo’s hand.
The Faceless Guests and the assassins moved in perfect harmony. They helped one another and fought together like comrades.
Having confirmed that the opponents were stronger than expected, Hwa Domyeong issued an order to the three bamboo-hatted figures standing behind him.
“Kill them all!”
At that, two of the three bamboo-hatted figures—one man and one woman—launched themselves forward first.
The woman used a sword, and the man used a saber; their skills were anything but ordinary.
Shiiiik!
Shwaaaak!
Sword energy and saber energy, fast and powerful, flew in a surprise attack toward the crescent-moon Faceless Guest and the spider-patterned Faceless Guest beside him.
It was too late to dodge.
At that very moment.
Puaang!
Another surge of force swept out.
Kwaaang!
It collided with the incoming sword energy and saber energy.
The person who descended before the crescent-moon Faceless Guest and the spider Faceless Guest was Cha Iran. She had thrust out both palms and released the Heavenly Maiden Night Rain Palm, saving the two of them.
“Your opponent is me.”
The two Faceless Guests glanced at Cha Iran once, then launched themselves back into motion. It was not a situation where they could exchange thanks.
Cha Iran’s gaze turned toward Hwa Domyeong, who stood beyond the bamboo-hatted martial artists. His gaze was not on her. He was looking past her, at Geom Mugeuk and Geugak Soma.
She could feel his urgency. Perhaps the reason he had so often hidden behind his fan in front of her until now was to keep that impatience from being discovered.
Hwa Domyeong personally launched himself forward and landed before Cha Iran. Then the last bamboo-hatted figure behind him flew in as well. Judging from his movement, he was surely the martial artist tasked with escorting Hwa Domyeong safely away.
Hwa Domyeong had no intention of conversing with her. He also knew she was not the kind of person who would move aside simply because he told her to.
Shwaaaak.
A line of powerful energy surged from his fan and flew out.
Just as Cha Iran sprang up to avoid the force.
The remaining man and woman in bamboo hats flew in again, attacking together.
She struck away the incoming sword with her dagger and unleashed palm techniques in succession.
Cha Iran blocked with all her might, determined not to let even a single person pass behind her.
But facing all three of them at once, including Hwa Domyeong, was beyond her ability.
In the end, amid the continuous attacks, she failed to avoid a streak of saber energy from the bamboo-hatted man.
Peok!
The saber energy struck her body. She instantly raised her protective energy, but the shock was tremendous.
Even so, she did not move aside. In the midst of it, she hurled a palm strike at the bamboo-hatted man who had unleashed the saber technique.
It was then.
Pat!
Before she knew it, the bamboo-hatted woman had flown over and was suspended in the air before her. It was a remarkable movement art, as though she had moved through space in an instant.
Shiiiik!
The sword was already flying toward Cha Iran’s face. If her body had been in normal condition, she could have avoided it, but right now she was in a terrible state.
She would not die, but she could not avoid a grave injury to her face.
At that very moment.
Shiiik!
A dagger flew swiftly toward the bamboo-hatted woman.
Clang!
The sword knocked the dagger aside in midair and continued on to cut Cha Iran.
But Cha Iran had already escaped the woman’s attack. The one who had thrown the dagger was the spider-patterned Faceless Guest she had saved earlier.
Shwaaaak! Shwaak!
Without giving her a moment to breathe, waves of force poured toward Cha Iran.
Unfortunately, the assassins were fighting behind her, so Cha Iran did not dodge and instead unleashed her palm techniques head-on.
Boom! Kwaaang! Kwaang!
From the left and right came the bamboo-hatted figures, and from the front came Hwa Domyeong. Thus the attacks of all three focused on Cha Iran. Under the barrage, her figure, now suffering internal injuries, staggered.
Someone threw themselves forward and saved her. This time, it was the crescent-moon martial artist.
The crescent-moon Faceless Guest took the internally injured Cha Iran and retreated.
The assassin women rushed over and protected her.
The Faceless Guests formed a circle around Geom Mugeuk and Geugak Soma. They did not fear death, and their eyes said they would not yield even a single step.
“Sweep them all away!”
At Hwa Domyeong’s order, the two bamboo-hatted figures stepped forward first.
Puuuk!
The sound of a blade tearing flesh rang out. It came from the place encircled by the Faceless Guests.
When the Faceless Guests turned around, Hwa Domyeong could see the scene through the gaps between them.
Geugak Soma’s dagger was embedded in Geom Mugeuk’s heart.
In that instant, Hwa Domyeong’s eyes widened.
‘He really stabbed the Young Cult Leader?’
He knew that the Demon Venerable closest to Geom Mugeuk was Geugak Soma. He had thought that other Demon Venerables might be one thing, but Geugak Soma would never be able to kill Geom Mugeuk.
The Faceless Guests also stared at the sight with shocked faces before turning their eyes forward again.
The assassin women looked back and forth between the two of them in horror.
Geugak Soma had truly stabbed Geom Mugeuk in the heart.
While Cha Iran, the Faceless Guests, and the assassins were fiercely fighting the enemies.
Geugak Soma had his palm pressed against Geom Mugeuk’s heart and was focusing his mind.
For Geugak Soma, all sound around him had vanished, and he could feel only the beating of Geom Mugeuk’s heart. In this moment, Geugak Soma was both divine physician and demonic physician.
An alien energy could be felt within the heart.
He could feel the Bihyeolsa taking control of the heart. He knew instinctively. To kill the Bihyeolsa, he had to stab that head—no, that skull—precisely.
But Geugak Soma hesitated. If he stabbed incorrectly, Geom Mugeuk would die.
The problem was that the Bihyeolsa was moving in directions he could not predict, advancing toward the other side of the heart.
There would be only one chance.
The moment the creature seized the final portion of Geom Mugeuk’s heart.
The instant it occupied that last empty space.
Geugak Soma waited for that instant.
He knew a fierce battle was taking place outside, but Geugak Soma focused only on the Bihyeolsa.
And finally.
The moment the Bihyeolsa completely occupied Geom Mugeuk’s heart.
Geugak Soma’s dagger silently cut through the air. The character for laughter, 笑, engraved upon the dagger, cleaved the air.
With the dagger Geom Mugeuk had given him, with the martial art Geom Mugeuk had taught him, he stabbed Geom Mugeuk’s heart.
Puk!
He did not merely pretend to stab. He drove it in deeply enough to touch the heart.
In that instant, silence flowed there.
Everyone stared at the sight.
When Geugak Soma pulled out the dagger, Geom Mugeuk lowered his head, blood flowing from his chest.
Geom Mugeuk did not move at all. He truly looked dead.
The one who shouted belatedly was Hwa Domyeong.
“No!”
He thought Geom Mugeuk had died.
But the one that had died was the Bihyeolsa.
Geugak Soma’s dagger had succeeded in precisely stabbing the Bihyeolsa’s vital point.
Paaaaak.
The Bihyeolsa, its skull pierced, seemed to convulse once.
Paaaaaaa.
Then the Bihyeolsa’s body slowly began to scatter.
The energies of tremendous elixirs, rare herbs, and various divine objects filled the heart. That mysterious energy joined together the wound in the heart torn by the dagger.
Geom Mugeuk’s body began refining that energy.
It was the first time. Until now, no elixir had ever been refined starting from the heart.
The energy squeezed out by his heart flowed through his blood vessels and spread throughout his entire body.
An immense energy he had never felt before.
Geom Mugeuk began transforming the Bihyeolsa’s energy, which filled all his blood vessels, into internal energy.
Geugak Soma silently looked at Geom Mugeuk.
Geom Mugeuk’s aura was so faint that only he, being so close, could barely sense it.
But Geugak Soma could tell.
Geom Mugeuk’s expression had become peaceful. There was even a faint smile at the corners of his mouth, as though he were having a pleasant dream.
‘It worked.’
He had stabbed correctly. Never in his life had he ever been this tense. Even if it had been his own heart, he would not have been this nervous.
The prophecy had come true.
That unbelievable prophecy, that he would stab Geom Mugeuk, had come true exactly as foretold. The fact that the location had changed from a stage was probably because of that assassin woman.
When she changed her mind, the stage for selecting the greatest beauty under heaven had vanished.
At that moment, Hwa Domyeong’s furious voice rang out.
“You lunatic! Even so, how could you kill the Young Cult Leader?”
Geugak Soma slowly turned his head and looked at Hwa Domyeong.
The two eyes within the mask smiled coldly as he spoke.
“Then now you must understand.”
Blood dripped from the dagger in Geugak Soma’s hand.
“That there is no one I cannot kill.”