Geom Mugeuk revealed his demonic energy.
Swaaaaaaaaaah.
An immense wave of demonic energy flew toward those standing ahead.
Unable to withstand it as they were, the Dark Blood Apostle wrapped his body in his wind-repelling cloak and retreated, while the iron-masked man also drew up his inner force to resist the demonic energy.
It was rough, powerful demonic energy. Geom Mugeuk usually showed an aura as smooth as a sea reflecting the sky, but now he was different.
It was demonic energy that chilled the spine and sent shudders through the body. The same thought surfaced in everyone’s mind.
So this is demonic energy.
Demonic energy so powerful that fear made it hard to move.
Geom Mugeuk intended to sweep away everything before him with the Great Annihilation Form of the Nine-Flame Demonic Art. In any case, this would only end when one side was dead.
Can you really stop my Nine-Flame Demonic Art, which has reached great mastery? You, too, sleep here in this tomb!
Then the next treasure map would wander through the murim wrapped in even more sensational rumors.
So hurry up and leave, Brother Ak.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward Ak Gunhak.
As though burdened by those stares, Ak Gunhak blinked, then slowly moved his feet. As if he truly meant to leave, he walked toward Geom Mugeuk.
The Saber King asked, half in disbelief.
“What are you doing right now?”
“He told me to leave, did he not?”
The Saber King’s expression hardened at once. The fact that he could not tell whether it was a joke or the truth annoyed him first of all.
“You were on the Young Cult Leader’s side from the start, weren’t you? This whole situation was arranged in advance.”
“Can’t you see the Young Cult Leader is truly angry? When someone like that gets angry, he’s genuinely frightening.”
The Sword King walked back toward Geom Mugeuk and his group.
He stopped in front of Geom Mugeuk.
“Why are you so angry?”
“I can’t tolerate insults to my parents, you see. And the two behind me are no different from my parents as well.”
At those words, the eyes of the two Demon Venerables listening deepened. They knew he had not said it merely to sound pleasing.
Just when it seemed he might leave as he was, the Sword King turned around again and walked toward the place where the Sound King stood.
“Calm yourself now, and enjoy the music for the moment.”
In truth, Geom Mugeuk had sensed it. That he had never intended to leave in the first place. If he were the sort to leave just because he was told to, he would not have come at all.
“Brother Ak, move aside. I’m truly angry.”
“I know.”
Saying he knew, the Sword King stood squarely in front of the Sound King, as if to make a point.
The Sound King’s eyes, as he stood behind him and looked at Geom Mugeuk, were colder than ever. He did not understand why Geom Mugeuk was angry. The one who was truly angry was himself.
Who was it who had mocked his music and looked down on him?
The Sound King raised the pipa as if to play it.
“I did not think the Young Cult Leader would obediently listen to me.”
Ting.
The moment the Sound King plucked the pipa!
A low, deep ripple crossed the air.
Kaang!
The Black Demon Sword thrust into empty space trembled.
It had been a light, playful pluck, yet its power was formidable. Moreover, it was not ordinary gangqi. Just as sound could not be seen, the incoming attack was invisible to the eye. It had to be blocked by instinct. With a single flick of his finger, one could tell this was sound art of the highest level.
“You said you would protect them all? Then let us see you protect them.”
The Sound King plucked the stringless pipa again. For an instant, it seemed the air itself burst.
Tuaang!
Boom!
This time, Geom Mugeuk was blocking the attack with his sword in front of Jihan. He had moved in an instant and stopped the attack flying toward him.
This attack was even more powerful than the last. But from his relaxed expression, one could tell that he still had not truly exerted his strength.
“For the force of someone plucking pipa strings, that’s far too strong. You’d be better off becoming a woodcutter.”
Taaaaang!
Bang!
This time, he targeted a martial artist of the Sado Alliance. The Sado Alliance martial artist was far stronger than Jihan or Taesu, but that did not mean he was skilled enough to block this attack from the Sound King.
Jiiiiing.
The Black Demon Sword vibrated in the air. The vibration left by the sound art flowed along the sword. His wrist tingled.
“As expected of the Young Cult Leader. Then can you block this as well?”
Since it seemed an extraordinary attack was about to come, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon tried to step forward.
But the Ilhwa Sword Venerable stopped him. It meant they should leave it to Geom Mugeuk unless he asked for help.
Tarararang!
This sound art flew toward three people at the same time.
Boom! Boom! Baaang!
Geom Mugeuk appeared in front of all three at once and blocked it. His movement was truly like a flash of lightning.
At that astonishing divine might, the Sound King was instead delighted.
“For our Young Cult Leader, I shall have to play a very exciting piece.”
Geom Mugeuk shouted at the Sword King.
“Brother Ak! At this rate, your younger brother will die! Move aside!”
He knew it was exaggeration, but even so, was he going to keep blocking the front in this situation where he was helplessly being attacked?
“Is he perhaps a hidden child of yours?”
At that moment, Geom Mugeuk saw it. The Sword King was forcing himself not to laugh. Yes, the Sword King was still the same Sword King as before. Such a sight told him more than a hundred words could.
In truth, if he resolved to kill, he could kill the Sound King behind him even with the Sword King blocking the way.
He only had to use the Extermination Form of the Nine-Flame Demonic Art on the Sound King. Could he truly block the attacks of the four evil spirits of east, west, south, and north, now that they had reached great mastery?
Even without the Extermination Form, there were other methods.
What if he drove the Soul-Severing Demonic Strike down into the crowns of all of their heads?
Even so, the only reason he did not kill him was because of the Sword King.
Because of his trust in him.
Was the Sword King truly a rigid man? Was the Sword King truly a frustrating man?
No. He was more clever and more composed than anyone. When someone like that acted this frustratingly, there had to be a reason for it.
He had not sent even a single word by sound transmission, but he was speaking through his actions.
The Sound King must not be killed.
The fact that he was not telling him the reason must also be due to circumstances of his own.
It was right then. The Ilhwa Sword Venerable, who had only been watching, walked forward.
“Young Cult Leader, please leave this to me.”
Geom Mugeuk looked at her. Now that she had stepped forward of her own will, he could not tell her no. It was not as if she had stepped forward without knowing the relationship between him and the Sword King.
Now this fight was theirs.
“Yes, I entrust it to you, Sword Venerable.”
Geom Mugeuk looked at the Sword King.
“Brother Ak, now you are in serious trouble. You should have moved when I told you to. Our Sword Venerable has stepped forward.”
Even though the Ilhwa Sword Venerable had come forward, the Sword King still stood there silently.
Geom Mugeuk coldly warned the Sound King behind the Sword King.
“If you interfere in this fight and try to attack the Sword Venerable, you really will die. Even Brother Ak won’t be able to stop that. I talk so much nonsense that you may be confused about what is sincere, but I do not joke when it comes to matters of life and death. The moment you twitch even one finger, you die.”
The Sound King looked at Geom Mugeuk with a strange gaze, then answered with a smile.
“I have no intention of interfering.”
The Sound King removed his hand from the pipa entirely and fastened it at his waist.
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable stood facing the Sword King. He had expected her to treat him politely out of consideration for his relationship with Geom Mugeuk. But she did not.
“Move.”
When they first met, they had at least exchanged a light greeting with clasped fists, but now the Ilhwa Sword Venerable was cold.
The Blood Heaven Saber Demon smiled faintly. Yes, it was not as if he was the only one living while suppressing his temper.
The Sword King, who had been quietly gazing at her, responded in kind.
“No.”
As if she had expected that, the Ilhwa Sword Venerable nodded.
“This is what I dislike. The fact that you have formed such a bond with the Young Cult Leader, those bare feet of yours, that ponytail of yours!”
Because the Young Cult Leader must have been drawn in by that unique charm that was hard to find in anyone else.
The Sword King tapped the hair he had tied tightly back.
“I cannot give this up, though?”
Geom Mugeuk cut in and said a word.
“That means you can give up on me!”
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable steadied her mind. She did not regard this fight as one against someone the Young Cult Leader knew. This fight was against an enemy trying to protect the force behind the scenes.
“The more I look at you, the more dangerous you are.”
Just seeing him block the way in a situation like this was enough to prove it. His relationship with the Young Cult Leader was their own matter.
Right now, she was looking at him as the Demon Venerable, Ilhwa Sword Venerable.
The Blood Heaven Saber Demon silently nodded. He thought the same. If he could, he wanted to step forward himself.
But just as he had crossed sabers with that expert wielding twin sabers, this fight belonged to her.
The problem was that this barefoot man felt stronger than the one who had pointed his saber earlier.
The Blood Heaven Saber Demon looked at Geom Mugeuk. The one who knew the barefoot man best was the Young Cult Leader.
Is it all right to let those two fight like this?
But for whatever reason, Geom Mugeuk was not stopping them.
Fine. If you believe in it, then I should believe as well.
But since it concerned the Ilhwa Sword Venerable, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon could not help feeling uneasy.
A cold chill flowed between the Ilhwa Sword Venerable and the Sword King. A tension as taut as the one between the Blood Heaven Saber Demon and the Saber King earlier—no, perhaps even more taut—filled the air.
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable had already heard from Geom Mugeuk just how powerful the person before her was.
A life-and-death battle against such a master was an opportunity that might not come even once in a lifetime.
The two charged toward each other.
Kaaang!
The moment sword met sword, the Ilhwa Sword Venerable felt the boundless power contained in the opponent’s blade.
He had looked like someone as light as the wind.
‘His sword is heavy.’
His sword was heavy, as though Mount Tai itself were crashing down upon her. This was not a matter of how much inner force was loaded into it.
Seen up close, the opponent felt different again. It was an entirely different impression from the way he had traded jokes with Geom Mugeuk.
Shiiik.
Letting the Ilhwa Sword Venerable’s blade slide away, the Sword King counterattacked.
Shiiik!
The sword edge flashed past before her eyes in an instant. Had she dodged even a little later, both her eyes would have been blinded by that move. It was truly a move that snapped her mind awake.
Changchangchangchangchang!
The swords of the two grew fast in an instant. There was no feeling each other out. Their swords raced at top speed from the start, flashing sword light through the air.
Aside from Geom Mugeuk, the Demon Venerables, the Sound King, and the Saber King, no one else could follow that speed with their eyes.
Flashes burst in all directions, one after another. It was like watching fireworks.
The trajectories and afterimages of the swords piled up, forming a single painting.
It was like bamboo swaying in the wind, and plum blossoms were blooming in the depths of winter.
Those who properly appreciated the painting were Geom Mugeuk, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon, the Sound King, and the Saber King. Even while seeing the same painting, each felt a different impression according to their own skill and inner state.
At times the sword strokes were thin; at times they were thick, like ink swept on with a broad brush.
And the empty spaces.
In the empty spaces they created, there were chances for counterattacks and surprise assaults.
The empty spaces were opportunities and, at the same time, the greatest danger. If one used an empty space wrongly, it meant immediate defeat and death.
Each time a new sword stroke filled an empty space, the two faced a moment between life and death.
‘This person’s sword is real.’
The Ilhwa Sword, a treasured blade, was unable to break that old iron sword.
The moment she sincerely acknowledged her opponent, the Ilhwa Sword Venerable felt it. Something was awakening in her heart.
‘I will win.’
Their fight was graceful and yet fierce. Moves that led to death with a single mistake came and went, but they did not fear those moves.
There was not even an opportunity to display their secret arts. The moment either tried to unleash a great martial art, an arm or a neck would be cut off as it was.
Those watching held their breath.
The chance to witness a sword duel between masters who had reached such a realm might come once or twice in an entire lifetime. For that reason, everyone watched the fight without even blinking. If they blinked, the two would already be exchanging a different move.
The Sword King was surprised. He had not known the Ilhwa Sword Venerable could fight this well.
At first, when he saw Geom Mugeuk permit this fight, he had thought it meant to teach her a move.
‘So it was not permission only for her sake.’
It was Geom Mugeuk’s goodwill, telling him to learn and grow through this fight as well.
‘Honestly, you!’
Even knowing this would become such a terrifying fight, you push your precious Demon Venerable into it.
Just how far do you trust me?
For that reason, to the Sword King, this fight was also a fight with Geom Mugeuk. His opponent was pressing him with skill that could not be taken lightly, yet he had to take care.
The Sword King exercised concentration to its absolute limit. Since the day he first took up the sword, this was the first time he had fought with such all-out devotion.
Shwaaaaaak.
The domain of the fight gradually widened.
The two exchanged swords as they passed before Geom Mugeuk, then passed by the Blood Heaven Saber Demon.
The Blood Heaven Saber Demon glared fiercely at the Sword King, but the Sword King had no leisure to receive his gaze.
The remaining four people stood like dolls, eyes tightly shut. Sword light was flashing beside them; if they moved rashly, it would mean death.
Astonishingly, even while fighting such an incredible battle, they did not injure anyone around them.
But the same could not be said for elsewhere.
Chwaaaaaak!
Hundreds of sword lines had already appeared on the wall, and one side of the ceiling had collapsed.
And this was even though they had not yet truly used sword qi or sword aura. That was how fiercely the two fought.
Sword fought sword, momentum fought momentum, and the lives the two had lived fought each other.
Through this fight, the Ilhwa Sword Venerable instinctively felt that she was growing. It was different from when she had sparred with Geom Mugeuk.
This fight was real. She attacked with the intent to cut off the opponent’s arm, and she had the resolve to lose her own arm in return.
At some point, she fell into a state of selflessness.
Gradually, the sound of sword striking sword lessened, and the surroundings began to grow quiet.
Everything began to move slowly.
Pat!
A drop of blood rose into the air. It was impossible to know whose body it had flown from.
At that moment, the Ilhwa Sword Venerable experienced time flowing slowly.
A single drop of blood suspended in midair.
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable saw her own face reflected in that blood. Was it an illusion? Or could she truly see it? Or had she already been cut?
Puaaaak!
Her face reflected in the blood split in half.
The next moment, time flowed as it should, and sound returned.
Chwaaaaaak!
Shwaaaaaak.
A silence that arrived in an instant.
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable’s body was twisted to the side.
One of her shoulders was soaked with blood. If she had failed to avoid it, perhaps her body would have been severed like the version of herself inside that drop of blood.
At the same time.
Srrrk.
The Sword King’s forelocks were cut off and slid down.
A faint sword line had appeared on his forehead. Fortunately, it was only a cut on the skin.
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable and the Sword King looked at each other. They could not hide the emotion in their eyes. Would they ever again meet such a magnificent opponent in their lives?
It seemed like a situation where they would clasp fists politely and say that it had been a good fight. It seemed like someone would say it had been the finest battle.
“I simply cannot allow this.”
One might have thought the Ilhwa Sword Venerable would say she could no longer fight because of her injury. But that was not it. She was saying she could not allow it because she was angry. She was saying she could not allow it because she was dissatisfied.
“I absolutely must cut off that ponytail today.”