The sight of darkness opening its eyes was as if a new world were unfolding.
Those two eyes looked down at Geom Mugeuk. The pupils were as deep and dark as an abyss, and they resembled Geom Mugeuk’s own aura.
Geom Mugeuk had seen these eyes before. In dreams, and in visions, they had appeared before him many times, and the only thing he had ever seen clearly was those eyes. Yes, these were the eyes.
Realizing what the being before him was, Geom Mugeuk shuddered from the tips of his toes to the crown of his head.
‘It’s the Heavenly Demon Soul!’
It was the moment his own Heavenly Demon Soul descended into this world for the first time. And it had done so while saving his life.
The Heavenly Demon Soul slowly raised itself up. The two eyes that had been so close receded.
Thud!
The huge boulder on the Heavenly Demon Soul’s back fell to the ground.
Geom Mugeuk understood. At the decisive moment of crisis, the Heavenly Demon Soul had descended and blocked the boulder with its body.
‘The Heavenly Demon Soul saved me.’
What was even more astonishing was this.
‘It descended even though I didn’t summon it!’
In the moment the boulder had been falling toward him, Geom Mugeuk had thought of those who remained. Those who would grieve his death.
Had it read that feeling and saved its master? Or had it acted to save its own fate, doomed to vanish before it could even emerge into the world the moment it was born?
Beneath the moonlight, the Heavenly Demon Soul revealed its majestic form.
It displayed a truly overwhelming presence.
An absolute being that ruled over all devils and evil spirits in the world.
The pinnacle of the Nine Hells Demonic Art, and the ultimate essence of all demonic arts.
The face of the Heavenly Demon Soul revealed beneath the moonlight was truly terrifying. This was how it looked when it had only just appeared in the world? If it were to gain martial arts and grow from here?
‘We’ll have to make a new statue for the cult, Father.’
Near the Heavenly Demon Hall stood a gigantic evil spirit statue modeled after the Heavenly Demon Soul. But seeing it in reality, the statue could not compare in terror. Especially that cold pressure emanating from its gaze—no statue could ever express that.
But was it because it was his own Heavenly Demon Soul?
Geom Mugeuk found himself thinking that this frightening face was handsome.
It looked terrifying and yet handsome, and above all, when he looked into those arrogant eyes, he could feel that this was no mere killing weapon that only did as it was ordered.
It was far more magnificent than the image he had imagined dozens, hundreds of times.
‘I like you!’
What should his first words be?
But then, just as the Heavenly Demon Soul’s gaze seemed to turn toward Geom Mugeuk, it began to disappear soundlessly.
‘No!’
Because it had manifested on its own when Geom Mugeuk’s internal energy was completely exhausted, it could not remain long and returned.
His father had said that summoning the Heavenly Demon Soul required only will, not internal energy. But to make the Heavenly Demon Soul exist in the world and display martial arts, internal energy was necessary.
His regret lasted only a moment. Exhilaration filled Geom Mugeuk’s face.
“……I’ve finally reached great completion.”
A life flashing before one’s eyes was not something seen only at the moment of death. Truly, countless events he had experienced on the way here passed before him.
His life had been for the purpose of stopping Hwa Mugi and saving everyone. And this was the moment he achieved the most important thing for fulfilling that purpose.
Geom Mugeuk laughed loudly. He laughed like a madman. His laughter echoed through the mountains.
He was truly happy. He had achieved many accomplishments in martial learning, but had he ever been this happy?
Even if he obtained some peerless martial arts manual, even if he obtained the most precious spiritual medicine in the world, could he be happier than this? No, he could not.
He felt as if he wanted to dance. No, what was stopping him? He could just dance the dance he had once danced with Bisain. He would dance alone beneath the moonlit night.
Geom Mugeuk, who had been sitting with his back against the cliff, was just about to rise.
“Ugh!”
Geom Mugeuk grimaced and sat back down. His condition was not normal. Earlier, when the Space-Time Transposition Art had been broken, he had been flung away and slammed into the cliff, and his whole body ached as if he had been beaten all over. It was because he had crashed into it with his bare body, without internal energy.
Just moments ago, when he had been looking at the Heavenly Demon Soul, it had not hurt at all. But now that the tension had loosened, the pain came flooding in.
Geom Mugeuk first examined his body. Fortunately, though the bruising was severe, no bones were broken and he had suffered no internal injuries.
Even as he grimaced at the surging pain, he giggled like a madman. It was fine even if it hurt. So what if it hurt? He had achieved the great completion of the Nine Hells Demonic Art he had dreamed of.
Now he understood why the Space-Time Transposition Art had been broken during his final training.
As the Nine Hells Demonic Art reached great completion, Heavenly Demon Extinguishes the World had torn apart the Space-Time Transposition Art. It meant that the Space-Time Transposition Art could be destroyed with Heavenly Demon Extinguishes the World at great completion.
Originally, the breaking of the Space-Time Transposition Art was a bad outcome, but this was something to rejoice over. It meant the Nine Hells Demonic Art was that extraordinary.
“I did it!”
Geom Mugeuk’s shout echoed through the mountains.
Geom Mugeuk leaned against the cliff for a moment and looked up at the night sky. How could accomplishing something so great have been possible through his efforts alone?
“Thank you.”
After offering his gratitude to the heavens like that, Geom Mugeuk first recovered his internal energy.
He closed his eyes as he was and circulated his energy. He guided his true qi through one heavenly circuit, then a second, then a third.
When his dantian was filled with internal energy, he was able to manage the pain in his body as well.
After recovering his internal energy like that, Geom Mugeuk’s gaze turned toward the cave. A huge boulder was blocking the entrance. It was fine if it hurt, and he would not be embarrassed even if he danced. But there was one thing—one thing that absolutely must not have happened.
‘Please, at least let the go board be safe!’
If the inside of the cave had collapsed, the go board and stones would not be unharmed either. Ah, he truly did not even want to think about it.
Geom Mugeuk went to the cave entrance and pushed aside the boulder blocking it. That huge boulder was moved away lightly, as if a ball were rolling.
Fortunately, the cave had not collapsed.
Geom Mugeuk hurried inside. Since the go board and go stones had been covered with tiger hide, not even the fragments that had poured down had left a scratch.
Only then did Geom Mugeuk let out a sigh of relief.
Geom Mugeuk stroked the go board with his hand. The reason this was precious was not merely because it was a gift he would give his father.
He could feel it. The process of making this go board and these go stones had undoubtedly helped him reach great completion.
If so, then the person he should truly thank was his father. If not for his father, he would never even have thought of making a go board.
‘Surely you didn’t ask me to play go because you foresaw this result, did you?’
It was truly an absurd guess, but because it was his father and not someone else, the thought came to him.
In any case, though he wanted to pack his things and descend the mountain immediately, there was something he had to do in the morning.
Geom Mugeuk slept his final sleep on Daecheon Mountain inside the cave.
He was in such a good mood that sleep would not come.
He was afraid that if he woke up, all of this might have been a dream.
* * *
The next morning, Geom Mugeuk came out of the cave.
Fortunately, it had not been a dream. The area in front of the cave was full of collapsed boulders and stones.
Geom Mugeuk stretched in delight.
He could feel that his martial realm had risen another level. Whether he performed the Flying Heaven Sword Art or the Thunderbolt Asura Fist, he would be able to perform them better.
This was the first time he had ever felt so clearly that he had grown stronger.
Geom Mugeuk washed his body clean beneath the waterfall and changed into the new martial robe he had tucked deep inside his leather pouch. This was an outfit he had brought to wear when he achieved great completion. He placed the go bowls inside the leather pouch, wrapped the go board in tiger hide, and fastened it firmly on top of the pouch.
After finishing his preparations to descend the mountain, Geom Mugeuk drew his sword.
First Form of the Nine Hells Demonic Art: Man-Annihilation Form.
With a person-sized boulder at the center, four evil spirits appeared in the east, west, south, and north.
If the thing he had most wanted to see after achieving the great completion of the Nine Hells Demonic Art was the Heavenly Demon Soul, then the next thing he had wanted to see was these fellows. Just how had they changed?
The swords of the four evil spirits flashed.
Slice! Slice! Slice! Slice!
Their attacks were far faster and stronger than before.
The power at the ninth stage and the power at great completion were completely different. It could not be compared to the difference between the eighth stage and the ninth. If someone were trapped in the middle and hacked apart by those evil spirits, no one would be able to withstand it.
Power was not the only thing that had changed.
After shattering the boulder, the four evil spirits looked at him. Their appearances had also changed. As if to say this was their true form, they showed him their faces.
They had become more frightening, more handsome, more intelligent-looking, and more mysterious. Distinctive patterns had appeared on their faces and bodies.
He had seen his father’s evil spirits before. Their appearances and the impressions they gave off were clearly different from his own evil spirits now, so he thought their forms and auras must be related to the person performing the martial art.
“Good to meet you, Donggwi, Seogwi, Namgwi, Bukgwi.”
Geom Mugeuk called their names. Of course, the evil spirits did not answer just because he had achieved great completion.
But he felt it. The way they looked at him was different from before. What was contained in their gazes was undoubtedly some kind of emotion.
The four evil spirits of east, west, south, and north merely looked at him with deepened gazes, but Geom Mugeuk interpreted those gazes as he pleased.
—Were those names really the best you could do?
—Father gave you those names, so there’s nothing I can do about it.
Of course, there was no way they had actually asked such a thing, so it was a question and answer created by Geom Mugeuk’s own mind.
There was another change after reaching great completion.
He could make the four evil spirits of the Man-Annihilation Form remain continuously.
However, the internal energy required to maintain the evil spirits doubled, tripled, quadrupled as time passed. It increased to an unbearable degree.
From this, he could guess something. The longer the Heavenly Demon Soul remained manifested, the more enormous the internal energy it consumed would become. Well, it was only natural that such a terrifying being could not remain descended forever.
Regretfully, Geom Mugeuk bid farewell to the four evil spirits.
“I’ll see you again next time.”
The four evil spirits vanished, and this time he performed the Great Annihilation Form.
Sssssss.
An evil spirit with a terrifying face appeared.
As he had seen earlier, it had become even more frightening than before, and the demonic energy flowing from it had also become far more powerful.
And the number of evil spirits that had once split into twenty-six now split into forty-four.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwak!
When the Great Annihilation Form was unleashed, they swept away everything before them and advanced.
The clearing, which had been a mess of fallen boulders and debris, was cleaned out. The Great Annihilation Form swept through without leaving anything behind. Naturally, its power was stronger, and he could control them with greater precision.
The place became a clean clearing, just as it had been when Geom Mugeuk first settled there.
After tidying up the area like that, he shouldered his leather pouch and walked the path he had strolled along every day.
Since coming up to Daecheon Mountain, two seasons had passed, and the third had arrived. During that time, after finishing his training, he had not missed a single day of walking.
He felt that these walks, as much as the arduous training each day and the process of making the go stones, had undoubtedly helped him achieve great completion in the Nine Hells Demonic Art. Good thoughts always came when one was moving.
And one more thing.
While walking, Geom Mugeuk had tried to loosen the tightly wound life he lived. During these walks alone, he had tried to make himself relax in a life where he had lived sparing even a single quarter-hour.
In truth, that had been harder for Geom Mugeuk. Blood-soaked effort was possible through his will, but having ease in life was something that required wisdom.
After finishing that final walk, Geom Mugeuk climbed to the summit of Daecheon Mountain.
The wind that blew in fluttered the hem of Geom Mugeuk’s robe.
Just then, a tiger’s roar sounded in the distance. He thought it might perhaps be the tiger he had spared when he had come here with his father and elder brother.
Geom Mugeuk fully savored the energy of Daecheon Mountain, brimming with mystery. His father’s words had been correct. This Daecheon Mountain had helped him achieve great completion.
After standing there a while and gazing at the scenery from the summit, Geom Mugeuk turned around.
And he summoned the Heavenly Demon Soul again.
Yesterday, he had met it while injured and without internal energy, so he intended to greet it properly.
He worried that perhaps he might not be able to summon it now, since he had only just achieved great completion. Yesterday, it had descended on its own in a situation where his life hung in the balance.
But his concern was needless. With a whoosh, the Heavenly Demon Soul was suddenly standing before him.
The Heavenly Demon Soul he had seen beneath the moonlight and the Heavenly Demon Soul he saw beneath the bright sunlight felt different.
The fact that such a pure, pitch-black being existed in this bright world seemed wondrous.
Srrrk.
Geom Mugeuk’s body rose into the air and ascended until he was before the Heavenly Demon Soul’s face.
In front of the Heavenly Demon Soul’s face, he met its eyes. Because it was something he had created, he could look at it from this close, but it was emitting such intense demonic energy and light from its eyes that no master would dare meet its gaze.
Geom Mugeuk introduced himself to the Heavenly Demon Soul.
“I am Geom Mugeuk, Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
The Heavenly Demon Soul showed no reaction.
“I am your master, and your friend.”
At times, it looked as if it had thoughts; at others, it looked like a being that merely obeyed orders without thinking at all.
But Geom Mugeuk believed it. The Heavenly Demon Soul was undoubtedly a being with reason.
When it had appeared in dreams and visions before, and when it had saved him yesterday as well, there had surely been some kind of emotion contained in those eyes of the Heavenly Demon Soul.
“Thank you for saving me yesterday.”
Perhaps the reason it had not yet revealed any emotion was that it had not accepted him as its true master. From now on, he would have to show this Heavenly Demon Soul what kind of person he was.
Geom Mugeuk wanted to become its true master and share an emotional connection with this Heavenly Demon Soul. He wanted to converse with the Heavenly Demon Soul.
And so, on the beach within the Space-Time Transposition Art, he wanted to lie beside it and speak with the Heavenly Demon Soul. Of course, for that, he would need a larger island and an enormous, sturdy chair.
Geom Mugeuk stopped looking at the Heavenly Demon Soul and turned around.
Together, they looked down from the summit over Daecheon Mountain.
They stood like that in silence until all his internal energy was exhausted.
Just before the Heavenly Demon Soul vanished, Geom Mugeuk told it this one thing.
From his life before regression to his life after regression.
“I have wanted to see you for a very long time.”