Geom Mugeuk, who had been exchanging swords with the Sword King, lowered his blade.
Shiiik.
The Sword King’s incoming sword stopped by a hair’s breadth in front of Geom Mugeuk’s neck.
If he had not trusted the Sword King, he would never have ceased defending himself so defenselessly.
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze was fixed on the Sound King. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon and the Ilhwa Sword Venerable, who had been attacking him, had vanished in an instant.
Without looking at the Sword King, Geom Mugeuk said,
“Brother Ak, I’m getting angrier and angrier.”
A quiet answer came back.
“I know.”
“Then that’s enough.”
Geom Mugeuk slowly began walking toward the Sound King. The Sword King silently followed behind him. Though he walked as if they were on the same side, it was clear that he was following to protect the Sound King.
Geom Mugeuk no longer paid the Sword King any mind. He regarded him as part of the scenery. He was a boulder blocking his path, and also a fallen log. He was an unreasonable Green Forest bandit, and also a girl weeping with a face full of stories.
And to Geom Mugeuk, he was still a fine piece of scenery.
Geom Mugeuk walked up before the Sound King. The soundproofing formation that the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and the Ilhwa Sword Venerable had torn apart earlier had already been deployed anew.
Thump, thump.
Geom Mugeuk struck the soundproofing formation with his hand. He could feel an invisible barrier.
“Where are those two?”
Staring straight into Geom Mugeuk’s eyes, the Sound King answered,
“In hell.”
It was a remark that might have made him flare up, but Geom Mugeuk did not get angry.
“They’ve gone in and out of hell as if it were their own home, so they’ll be fine.”
“This hell will be different.”
The Sound King began playing again the melody that had sent the two elsewhere. When that piece had reached its climax, the two had disappeared.
“This piece is called the Song of Despair. It is a piece I’m very fond of.”
The Sound King’s fingers, which had been plucking invisible strings, paused for a moment.
“It will likely not be easy to escape.”
The sound art he had unleashed was no ordinary sound art. It was a technique that used sound arts to imprison them within an illusion—the Illusory Sound Art.
Since it was the sound art that had made the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and the Ilhwa Sword Venerable vanish, it would indeed not be an easy attack to break, just as he said.
“No matter what kind of sorcery it is, there is always a way to break it.”
At that, the Sound King smiled leisurely from within the soundproofing formation.
“Does my performance look like mere sorcery to you?”
“I know it isn’t.”
But just as he trusted his own sound arts, Geom Mugeuk trusted the two Demon Venerables.
“But the people trapped inside aren’t mere experts either, are they?”
This was what Geom Mugeuk was curious about.
“Were the two of them trapped in the same place?”
“They were.”
When the Sound King nodded, relief brushed across Geom Mugeuk’s face.
“Then they’ll come out safely.”
“Why are you so certain?”
Why, you ask? Because you don’t know what that old man will turn into when he falls into hell together with the Sword Venerable.
“Have you ever tried to protect someone at the risk of your own life?”
The Sound King could not answer right away.
“You haven’t, have you? That’s why your music is mediocre.”
In that instant, the Sound King’s expression stiffened. Truly, no matter how much he tried to keep his mind composed, the Young Cult Leader kept turning his insides upside down.
“If you do not want to see the Demon Venerables come out torn to shreds, find out the location of the tomb from Family Head Dan.”
Geom Mugeuk looked back at Dan Sojin. He was staring this way with a tense expression. If they threatened the lives of the Demon Venerables, Geom Mugeuk would surely obey.
“If you say it so openly, would that man reveal the location?”
“That depends on you, Young Cult Leader. If you want to save the Demon Venerables, make him do so.”
“You overestimate me far too much.”
When Geom Mugeuk looked at him again, Dan Sojin made his will clear.
“I understand the situation is urgent, but I cannot tell you.”
Geom Mugeuk looked back at the Sound King.
“That’s what he says.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s almost playful response, the Sound King’s expression hardened.
“You said they were like parents to you. As expected, Young Cult Leader, you are a heartless man.”
Geom Mugeuk stared at him.
“Fine, let’s say I’m heartless. Why are you being so unreasonable?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know it too, don’t you? In this situation, even if the Lord of the Evil Alliance came in person, he couldn’t make him reveal it. You know full well it’s impossible, so why are you being so stubborn?”
“If it is you, Young Cult Leader…”
Geom Mugeuk cut him off.
“Yes, because you kept flattering me like that, I was confused at first. I thought, These people truly overestimate me. Well, yes, I am exceptional enough to be overestimated. They must be in quite a hurry. Yes, of course they’d be in a hurry.”
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze sharpened.
“But that can’t be right. Showing such a flaw at such an important moment? Yes, you might do that. Someone who spent all day plucking a pipa—what sort of thorough plan would you make? But the person who sent you isn’t that sloppy, is he?”
Geom Mugeuk stared into his two dead eyes.
“What is that person plotting? What order did he give you?”
Strictly speaking, this too was a remark that looked down on the Sound King. Geom Mugeuk kept provoking him without end, and the Sound King was struggling to maintain his composure.
“Stop wasting time. Even at this very moment, your Demon Venerables are dying.”
It was just as those words ended.
Pwaaaak!
The air in front of the Sound King tore open, and something shot out.
It was a sword covered in blood. The Sound King nearly had his face pierced by it.
Riiiip.
The sword began cutting through the air. As though an unseen curtain were being torn apart and revealing itself, a fissure formed in the empty space.
But soon the sword disappeared again. Through that torn gap came a rush of scorching heat, the smell of blood, and the repeated sound of something bursting apart.
Puuuk!
The sword shot out from that place again.
Riiiip.
This time, the sword descended straight downward, tearing the space open even longer.
Gush.
At that moment, blood trickled from the corner of the Sound King’s mouth.
The Sound King quickly began playing the pipa again.
Then the space that had opened began closing once more. From beyond it, the howling shrieks grew even louder.
But then.
Pwaaaaaak!
This time, something large burst through it.
It was the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s Heaven-Destroying Great Blade.
Blegh!
The Sound King spat blood. Unable to keep playing, he retreated backward.
Riiiiip.
The formless curtain was completely torn apart, and through the gap, the scene inside became visible.
It was a land entirely red, truly as though it were hell. Corpses lay strewn about, and blood flowed like rivers.
“Graaaaaah!”
What charged there in a frenzy were beasts that looked like savage monsters.
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable’s sword energy was sweeping through the place.
Swaaaaaak.
Paaaaak!
The Heaven-Destroying Great Blade spewed out astral energy. A wave of astral energy surged forward, shredding the monsters pouring in from that place and driving them back.
Boom! Kwaaang! Boom! Boom!
With explosive roars, the corpses of the monsters were smashed apart and sent tumbling.
The screams and explosions died down.
Then came silence.
Riiiip.
The space tore even wider.
Soon, the Ilhwa Sword Venerable walked out through it.
She went back inside again.
“That’s enough. Let’s go.”
And dragged the Blood Heaven Blade Demon out by force.
“Wait! I’ll take care of those things!”
Covered in blood, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was still swinging the Heaven-Destroying Great Blade until the very instant he emerged. Monsters were reduced to bloody pulp and sent rolling. Beyond them, terrified monsters could be seen fleeing.
Once the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had come out as well, that space completely disappeared.
Ssssss.
Geom Mugeuk teased the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
“Did you fight them all by yourself?”
Unlike the Ilhwa Sword Venerable, whose martial attire was clean, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was drenched in blood.
“Damn it! Where’s water? Something to wipe with?”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve and frowned.
“Why does someone with blood in his epithet hate blood so much?”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon said to Geom Mugeuk,
“You told me to cut off that man’s arms, didn’t you? Arms won’t be enough. I’ll cut off all four of his limbs.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon looked ready to charge in again at once, but Geom Mugeuk stopped him.
“Wipe off the blood first. There’s something in the leather pouch.”
After making the Blood Heaven Blade Demon step back, Geom Mugeuk walked forward.
A new soundproofing formation blocked his path.
“Will you mock my music again?”
He could have said that it had not been hell but a walking path for the two of them, but Geom Mugeuk shook his head.
“I told you. I’m doing this because I’m afraid of you.”
Without a word, the Sound King wiped the blood running from the corner of his mouth, then began to play again.
“The power of music is magnificent.”
As a strand of melody flowed through the place,
Taesu suddenly burst into laughter like a madman.
“Uahahahaha!”
Soon after, Jihan, standing beside him, burst into laughter as well. Their expressions and gazes showed that they could not control their emotions, but they could not stop laughing.
Geom Mugeuk did not get angry at his prank. Instead, he played along.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen these two laugh. Draw up more internal energy and play!”
But the Sound King did not do so. Whether he could make the two Demon Venerables laugh or not was unknown, but to make those two laugh, he would have to expend an enormous amount of internal energy.
“I could make them laugh until they die.”
“That would be better than dying while crying.”
The Sound King’s playing changed. Then Taesu and Jihan, who had been laughing, stopped laughing in an instant.
And then they suddenly burst into tears. They were not merely making crying sounds. They truly shed tears in torrents.
For the first time since becoming sensible, Jihan shed tears. He was astonished that so many tears had been pooled within his eyes.
The Sound King’s playing changed again.
This time, Taesu and Jihan, their faces full of anger, threw punches at each other. It was not some invisible force controlling them. This rage was certainly their own.
He controlled people’s emotions through his pipa performance. Geom Mugeuk had seen many masters of sound arts, but this was the first time he had seen someone control a person’s emotions like this.
“You do not know how fragile human emotions are, do you? All humans are broken somewhere. Young Cult Leader, you must be no exception.”
Geom Mugeuk answered calmly,
“That’s what makes it good, isn’t it? Light comes in through those broken cracks. And that light shines on the pitch-black holes inside the heart. Ah, so this is where my hole was. Ah, so there wasn’t just one hole. You come to realize that too.”
The Sword King, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, and the Ilhwa Sword Venerable understood what Geom Mugeuk’s words meant. After all, they were people who had been able to look into those holes because they had met Geom Mugeuk.
But the Sound King did not know the exact meaning of those words. He still thought Geom Mugeuk was mocking him.
“Young Cult Leader, look at your own hole!”
He began playing in earnest. The sound was clearly different from his earlier performance.
Trarararang.
The melody trembled finely and embroidered the space, planting a single illusion in everyone’s hearts. As if it were truly a lie, the scene changed in an instant.
Taesu saw his father. It was the very moment he had uttered words that wounded him.
—Are those principles of yours for the sake of good deeds? Or are they to justify thievery?
His father turned away without a word. At the time, Taesu had only vaguely thought that he had said something he should not have, but now he saw a wound far too deep on his father’s face.
‘Father, I’m sorry.’
Jihan saw the figure of Cheon Daeung, the Hwalong Unit Leader of the Sawanmun.
—You traitorous bastard! A bastard who betrayed the organization to save his own skin!
Leaving aside how much he had tormented him and treated him carelessly, Jihan was not someone who betrayed others. Without realizing it, that had remained as a deep wound.
Pungdo, a martial artist of the Evil Alliance, and Dan Sojin, head of the Baekchong Family, also each saw their own illusions for an instant.
And the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and the Ilhwa Sword Venerable, too, stopped moving for a brief moment.
Geom Mugeuk saw it as well. It was someone he truly had not imagined would appear before him at this moment.
It was Hwa Mugi from that day.
He was looking down with contempt at Geom Mugeuk, who lay collapsed after being pierced through together with Ian.
—The woman died, and you lived.
Of course, in reality, no such moment had existed. It was a scene created by his illusion.
It should have been a moment when rage exploded, but instead, a smile formed. I truly came a long way to see you.
—Good to see you, Hwa Mugi.
The next moment, Geom Mugeuk’s eyes snapped open, and he escaped the illusion. To Geom Mugeuk, Hwa Mugi was no longer a wound. Nor was he an object of hatred or fear.
It wasn’t that he thought, I’ll definitely kill you. Hwa Mugi was simply a part of his life. He must not fall ill, must not get into an accident, and must not lose to Hwa Mugi.
Was that why? The illusion truly passed in an instant. Because he felt no particular emotion toward him.
When Geom Mugeuk opened his eyes, the Sound King was plucking his pipa and shouting.
“Killing Sound!”
Swaaaaaaak!
The powerful energy created by the sound waves flew toward them all.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon came to his senses next after Geom Mugeuk.
Kwaang! Bang!
He struck away, one after another, the sound arts flying toward him and the One Flower Sword Venerable.
The One Flower Sword Venerable opened her eyes a step late. Seeing her dark complexion, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon wondered inwardly.
‘What did you see?’
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon did not ask. Nor would he ask in the future. From one step away, both the difficult things and the good things would be seen more clearly. Not so far as to be cold—only exactly that distance that became respect.
Puh-puh-puh-pung!
The one who blocked the attacks aimed at the others behind them was Geom Mugeuk.
The shock on the Sound King’s face deepened all the more.
“To awaken from the Soul-Wounding Melody so quickly!”
He stared at Geom Mugeuk with an expression of disbelief.
Soon, his shock turned to excitement. He cast aside the courtesy he had shown Geom Mugeuk all this time.
“Young Cult Leader, you truly are extraordinary. I admit it. You are qualified to hear my music!”
Light seemed to gleam in his faint, lifeless eyes.
“This is a piece I made recently! It seems you will be the first to hear it.”
As his hand brushed over the pipa, a clear, profound sound flowed out.
As the Sound King’s aura deepened, so too did the notes of the pipa.
Following his melody, the sounds flowing from the pipa circled around him. Gold and silver shone brilliantly, as though a score were being drawn in the air around him. The sight was like looking at stars in the night sky.
Music rang out from every direction, as if dozens of people nearby were playing in concert. That melody made the hearts of those who heard it pound.
Geom Mugeuk sensed it instinctively. This time, he intended to decide the match. Geom Mugeuk drew up his inner force.
A cold sneer formed on the Sound King’s face.
“You said you would protect them all? Then try protecting them. What are you? Do you think you’re a god?”
The moment his words ended, light poured from the things floating in the air.
At that very instant!
Shiiiiiiiiik.
There was a single streak of light cutting across that brilliant radiance.
Light cleaving light.
Seogeok!
When the light vanished, everyone could see it.
The Sword King stood before them with his back turned, facing the Sound King.
From the sword he held stretched out to the side, a single drop of blood fell.
The next moment.
Thud, roll.
The Sound King’s head fell to the ground and rolled to the side.
Formless Divine Sword, Seventh Sword: Formless Life.
With that single sword strike, the light was cut, the soundproofing formation was cut, and his music and neck were cut.
Swaaaaaaak!
Blood spurted into the air like a fountain from the Sound King’s severed neck. A rain of blood poured down over the Sword King’s body like a crimson shower.