The Ilhwa Sword Venerable extended her snow-white hand forward.
Srrrk.
The cloth that had fallen to the floor flew into her hand. After neatly folding the cloth that had wrapped the Heaven-Annihilating Great Saber, she tucked it into her robe.
“You lost the wager, so please grant what I want.”
She did not refuse what the Blood Heaven Saber Demon yielded. She believed that not refusing was the proper courtesy to show him.
“Very well.”
The Blood Heaven Saber Demon pulled up the Heaven-Annihilating Great Saber embedded before him and unleashed his demonic qi.
Until now, throughout the journey, he had kept his demonic qi hidden.
Craaaaack!
The demonic qi tore through the air ahead and spread forward. At first, it looked as if the ice on the ground was slowly cracking and splitting apart, but the collapse gradually accelerated.
Then, as though something long asleep had awakened—
Swaaaaaaak!
The demonic qi ripped through space with terrifying force and shot toward where the Saber King stood. It was demonic qi announcing the opening of battle.
At the threatening wave of demonic qi, the Dark Blood Apostles covered themselves with the cloaks they wore and raised their protective qi.
Puaaaak!
Struck by the oncoming demonic qi, they slid backward in a line. That was how powerful the force that had flown at them was.
Swaaaaak.
The Saber King received the demonic qi while standing in place. His hair whipped about, and the hem of his clothes fluttered.
Even before this powerful demonic qi, his gaze, still filled with hostility, was directed past the Blood Heaven Saber Demon toward Geom Mugeuk.
“A coward, are you?”
It was a taunt, mocking him for hiding behind the Blood Heaven Saber Demon.
At a glance, it seemed as though he had provoked Geom Mugeuk, but in the end, he had provoked the Blood Heaven Saber Demon.
After all, he was ignoring the Blood Heaven Saber Demon, who had released the demonic qi, and was dealing with Geom Mugeuk instead.
It was a provocation either of them could have responded to, but unfortunately, his opponent was Geom Mugeuk.
From behind the Blood Heaven Saber Demon, Geom Mugeuk asked,
“Do you have one?”
For a moment, it was unclear what Geom Mugeuk was asking.
“I mean, do you have someone who can make you a coward like this? You don’t, do you?”
In that instant, the Saber King’s face twitched. He had tried to provoke his opponent, only to be provoked in return.
Looking at the Blood Heaven Saber Demon’s back, Geom Mugeuk said,
“I trust only our Left Envoy.”
To the Blood Heaven Saber Demon, those words sounded like this.
Do not get angry.
It was not, Do not fall for the provocation. Geom Mugeuk trusted that he would not fall for a provocation of this level.
That was how provocation worked. You knew perfectly well it was a provocation, and so you did not fall for it, but it still made you angry.
Geom Mugeuk had not even allowed that. Since this was a Young Cult Leader who cared for him to such an extent, he ought to show at least this much composure.
“You’re certain the Left Envoy ranks higher, right?”
At his question, which he asked every time, Geom Mugeuk smiled and answered vigorously.
“Of course! After the Cult Leader comes the Left Envoy!”
The Saber King, who had been listening to their conversation, looked at the innocent Sword King standing beside him. The emotion in the Saber King’s gaze was clear. I cannot possibly understand you, being entangled with that Young Cult Leader.
The Sword King stood with his arms crossed and showed no reaction. After all, neither the Saber King on this side nor the Demon Venerable on that side could understand his relationship with Geom Mugeuk.
The Blood Heaven Saber Demon walked forward.
Geom Mugeuk did not intervene in this fight. Whatever their goal was, whatever had been prepared afterward, once the Blood Heaven Saber Demon stepped forward himself, this was a fight that could not be stopped.
When one had to fight, one had to fight. For experts like him or the Blood Heaven Saber Demon, the times they grew the most were when they engaged in real combat against powerful enemies.
The opponent was formidable, but the Blood Heaven Saber Demon was no longer the man he had once been.
After Geom Mugeuk’s regression, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon’s skills had steadily improved through constant training, and during this excursion from the cult, he had consumed the rarest of spiritual medicines: the Stalactite Immortal Embryo and the Immortal Peach Spirit Fruit.
And what Geom Mugeuk trusted most was the sight of the Blood Heaven Saber Demon sitting by the window and reading a book. It was a peaceful daily life that had nothing to do with martial arts, but he believed that what had been gained from that daily life would protect the Blood Heaven Saber Demon.
Of course, that did not mean this was a fight in which one could relax.
The opponent was the Saber King, who had once coveted the Sword King’s level of skill.
Geom Mugeuk provoked the Saber King one last time.
“Don’t worry. There’s an empty spot for you among those dolls over there.”
The Saber King’s angular face grew even sharper. It was impossible to imagine a pleasant expression on his face.
The Sword King silently watched Geom Mugeuk.
Geom Mugeuk had said he liked the Sword King’s free way of being, but whenever he saw him like this, the Sword King found himself thinking:
Though he complained that he was bound by all manner of worries and human relationships, the person far freer than himself was Geom Mugeuk.
Whenever he looked at Geom Mugeuk, he felt that true freedom was not something felt when one stood apart alone, but something gained when one was properly connected to those around him. Just as one needed wings on both sides to fly.
The Saber King slowly drew his saber.
“I wanted to cross blades with you at least once someday.”
But of his two sabers, the Saber King drew only the red one. From his eyes flowed confidence and superiority, as though he could kill his opponent with a single saber.
The Blood Heaven Saber Demon did not let that arrogance pass either.
“Don’t you need two chopsticks?”
He had been peaceful lately, but how could his temperament ever have been ordinary?
Swaaaaaak!
The two men charged toward each other.
Kaang!
The Heaven-Annihilating Great Saber and the Red Saber clashed in midair.
Though it was merely saber against saber, an immense force erupted from the collision.
“Old Demon Venerable, is that saber not heavy for you now?”
“If it’s too heavy and you’re struggling, you can use two sabers.”
Swaaaaaak!
The Heaven-Annihilating Great Saber pushed him back and cleaved through the air.
Kaaang!
The Red Saber blocked the great saber’s tremendous power. That small saber withstood the massive blade.
Kakakakang!
Saber and saber sparked in the air.
It was clearly different from sword against sword. They flew at one another with a force that seemed capable of shattering anything they struck.
One question naturally arose in the minds of those watching.
How are the sabers not breaking under that force?
Each time they exchanged moves, that precarious thought surfaced.
Swaaaak! Swaaak!
The Red Saber flew at the Blood Heaven Saber Demon again and again.
Its attacks were fast, and the trajectories the Red Saber found were always connected to death.
Attacks that would surely split the opponent’s torso apart.
Yet at the final instant, severing the trajectory connected to death—
Kaang!
There was the Heaven-Annihilating Great Saber.
One would think there was no way he could keep up with that speed using such a heavy great saber.
But the Heaven-Annihilating Great Saber was blocking every saber strike that came flying in.
Kaang! Kang! Kaaang!
The Blood Heaven Saber Demon was using his saber like a shield. Taking full advantage of the great saber’s strengths, he blocked the opponent’s attacks with the smallest possible movements.
The Saber King’s swings grew even faster.
Dozens of saber lines created by their blades embroidered the air.
With every collision, dazzling flashes burst forth, and sparks scattered like fireworks.
They were not using signature martial arts that raised astral qi; they were waging a contest of force and speed in its purest form.
I can kill you with this alone.
A clash of pride between men who wielded sabers.
The sabers grazed past each other’s faces. They narrowly avoided attacks that would have blown their heads away entirely. Only by dodging this way could each block the next attack.
An exchange where even a single inch of unnecessary movement would lead to death.
Ordinary experts fight their opponents. But experts who have reached the extreme fight their fear.
Watching the battle, the Ilhwa Sword Venerable turned her head toward the quiet heat she sensed beside her.
Geom Mugeuk was staring fixedly at the fight. With all his nerves focused, he was already fighting alongside them.
She could tell. If a truly dangerous moment came, Geom Mugeuk would intervene.
Even if the Blood Heaven Saber Demon scolded him afterward, scolded him again and again, he would definitely intervene.
She could feel that burning resolve: he would absolutely not let the Blood Heaven Saber Demon die.
And Geom Mugeuk would be hoping for it. Hoping that the Blood Heaven Saber Demon would grow even further through this fight.
Her gaze returned to the Blood Heaven Saber Demon. The Blood Heaven Saber Demon was smiling as he fought.
‘He’s rejoicing in this battle.’
The exhilaration granted by a fight against a truly powerful enemy reached her. She felt a desire to rush in and fight as well.
‘Brother, we no longer need to long for our youth. Because right now, we are living through days even hotter than those.’
At that moment, as the fierce battle continued—
An unexpected attack flew from the Blood Heaven Saber Demon. The Saber King could not understand it.
‘He’s thrusting with a great saber?’
A reckless move always demanded a price.
A chance to deflect the saber as though letting it flow past, ride along the side of that blade, and cut him down in one stroke! Just as the Saber King was about to move according to his instincts—
Whiriririririri!
The Heaven-Annihilating Great Saber spinning as it flew toward him. The speed was unbelievable, that such a massive great saber could be rotated so instantly, and so quickly.
It tore through the surrounding air and came flying toward his chest.
‘I can’t dodge!’
In that fleeting instant, countless thoughts flashed through the Saber King’s mind.
If he simply dodged, he would certainly be wounded by that rotation, and if he tried to knock it away at an angle, his own saber would be sent flying. It was too late to retreat. If he dodged clumsily, he would suffer even greater damage!
Teong!
A great sound like an explosion erupted.
The Heaven-Annihilating Great Saber had stopped in midair. Its rotation had stopped as well.
Even though his attack had been blocked, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon was smiling.
It was not only the Red Saber that had blocked the Heaven-Annihilating Great Saber. In the Saber King’s other hand was the Black Saber. Left with no choice, he had drawn the Black Saber and stopped the rotation by crossing his twin sabers to block.
The Blood Heaven Saber Demon grinned and said,
“Now it’s two, isn’t it?”
Flames seemed to rise in the Saber King’s two eyes.
His aura became even more intense.
Since no one knew what kind of move would come next, Geom Mugeuk spoke to everyone.
“Now, now, everyone, let’s move back farther.”
Geom Mugeuk had Jihan, Taesu, Dan Sojin, and the Sado Alliance martial artist withdraw. As he did, he had Dan Sojin and the Sado Alliance martial artist come closer to his side.
The two, who had been standing a little distance away, obediently came toward Geom Mugeuk.
While everyone’s attention was focused on the Blood Heaven Saber Demon and the Saber King, Dan Sojin discreetly handed something to Geom Mugeuk.
When he received it, it was a single medicinal pill.
—It is the antidote to the poison you suffered earlier.
—How can I trust that?
—The you I know is someone who can see the truth. I trust you will judge wisely.
Geom Mugeuk looked at him silently. In any case, it would not matter even if this pill he had given him was poison.
—I will trust you.
Geom Mugeuk swallowed the pill before his eyes. After taking it, he found it was not poison. It seemed it really was the antidote.
—I trust you, but do you trust me?
To Geom Mugeuk’s question of whether he was truly on their side,
—If I had not trusted you, I would never have come here in the first place.
With that voice transmission, he said nothing more.
Why had those bastards sought this man out? Why was this man helping him?
And there was one more question.
Why had they told him to keep that Sado Alliance martial artist alive?
The iron-masked martial artist had said so earlier. He had said he had been ordered to keep him alive.
From the feel of those words, the person who had given that order was neither the Sword King nor that Saber King.
‘There is still an enemy who has not come to this place.’
Geom Mugeuk was certain of it. The fact that they had called the Sword King and the Saber King meant they, too, had staked everything. There were still enemies remaining.
Geom Mugeuk did not relax his vigilance inwardly.
For now, he intended to protect Dan Sojin and the Sado Alliance martial artist sent by the leader of the Sado Alliance as much as possible.
The Saber King said coldly,
“Old Demon Venerable, you are worthy of receiving my twin sabers.”
“Yes, showing off is something you do in your prime. Once you get old, it becomes too much of a bother.”
The Blood Heaven Saber Demon never lost a war of words. Geom Mugeuk thought it was all because he had read so many books.
The Blood Heaven Saber Demon and the Saber King charged toward each other.
Kaaang!
The twin sabers blocked the Heaven-Annihilating Great Saber.
The Saber King swiftly brought his twin sabers down. The two blades flew in, crossing at terrifying speed.
Two sabers defeat one saber.
If he had not held that belief, he would never have chosen twin sabers in the first place.
And yet, though he believed he could surely suppress him with twin sabers—
The Heaven-Annihilating Great Saber was not pushed back by the two blades in the slightest.
At the very moment that taut exchange reached its peak—
When the two powers, each exerted to the utmost, collided, what erupted was not an explosion, but silence. A fleeting instant passed in which sound devoured sound.
Kwaaaang!
An ear-splitting boom followed.
Slide—
The one who was pushed back several more steps was the Saber King. The Blood Heaven Saber Demon had overwhelmed him with inner power.
“You were this strong?”
Surprise was contained in the Saber King’s dry voice.
The Blood Heaven Saber Demon had definitely grown stronger.
He felt the vitality overflowing within his body. It was not simply a matter of having more or less inner power.
The energy flowing through his body was young. When the power born from vivid youth combined with the seasoned Blood Heaven Saber Demon, it produced truly tremendous results. His mind worked better, and his true qi moved more smoothly. This was not a matter of inner power.
‘Yes, this was what it felt like back then.’
This feeling that he could fight all day and never tire.
Hooooooo.
The moon drawn on the Red Saber in the Saber King’s hand and the sun drawn on the Black Saber began to shine.
He began to release an even more powerful aura.
At that tremendous energy, the surrounding space began to distort.
Swaaaaaak.
Taesu and Jihan trembled all over. It was truly the first time they had ever experienced such a terrifying aura, one that seemed as though it would tear their entire bodies apart.
Geom Mugeuk released his inner force to protect the four people standing behind him. Without it, they would have suffered internal injuries from the aura alone.
But within the storm-like surge of his aura, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon was not shaken in the slightest.
Through this aura, one could tell what sort of person the Saber King was. Cold, heartless, merciless, cruel. It was an aura in which not the slightest trace of warmth could be found.
“Yes, you’ve got quite the temper too, don’t you?”
Demonic qi erupted from the Blood Heaven Saber Demon’s body. It was powerful demonic qi that could not be compared to what he had released at the beginning.
Swaaaaaaaa.
It was the Blood Heaven Saber Demon’s rough and violent demonic qi, something neither Geom Mugeuk nor the Ilhwa Sword Venerable had ever seen before. It was also demonic qi he had hidden from everyone for a long time.
As the Blood Heaven Saber Demon’s demonic qi tangled with the Saber King’s aura, the place felt as though they were standing in the very heart of hell.
Resting the massive Heaven-Annihilating Great Saber upon his shoulder, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon said,
“I am the one who went through all that filthy temper and made it this far.”