The Lord of the Dark Palace stood in the middle of the room.
Around him, the Five Great Scholars lay dead. Perhaps they had overexerted their internal energy; blood had poured from their noses and mouths.
Earlier, they had formed hand seals and created bizarre patterns and characters in the air, and each time, characters had been engraved into the floor where the Lord of the Dark Palace sat, glowing with light.
And those strange characters and symbols that had been carved into the floor had transferred onto the Lord of the Dark Palace. His body and hands, and even his face, were covered in all manner of incomprehensible writing.
The Lord of the Dark Palace exuded a presence far more intense than when they had seen him in the illusion. His eyes were filled with an unknowable rapture and confidence.
“At last we meet, Young Cult Leader.”
Gaye’s eyes trembled at the sight.
‘He succeeded in the Great Art using the Five Great Scholars.’
The Lord of the Dark Palace had not told even her what sort of Great Art it was. It must have been that dangerous and extraordinary.
Gaye looked at Geom Mugeuk, who stood beside her.
‘No matter how strong you are, can you handle that man?’
Whether he knew her thoughts or not, Geom Mugeuk remained at ease.
“You even locked the door. How did someone this cowardly ever think to take over the murim?”
Indeed, even in the world before his regression, the Lord of the Dark Palace had put the Twelve Branch Kings at the forefront while he himself never stepped into the world. No one had known of the Lord of the Dark Palace’s existence.
He was the sort of man who enjoyed manipulating the world from within the darkness like this.
“You drove me all the way into this corner. How could I not be afraid?”
The Lord of the Dark Palace was just as relaxed as Geom Mugeuk.
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze turned toward the dead.
“Just how many people have to die for that old carcass of yours?”
“The path to a great cause is one paved with corpses.”
“I’ve never seen anyone who speaks of sacrifice for a great cause sacrifice themselves.”
“They left behind great sentences and gladly welcomed death with joyful hearts.”
Geom Mugeuk stared intently at the incomprehensible characters carved into his face.
“It says this right here, though. ‘How unjust! How infuriating! The Lord of the Dark Palace is trash who used us up and threw us away!’”
The dark energy swirling around the Lord of the Dark Palace writhed violently, revealing its master’s mood. Maintaining composure in front of Geom Mugeuk was never an easy thing.
Geom Mugeuk looked at Gaye.
“Now, vent the anger you never got to release.”
Until she entered, she had been full of vigor. She had intended to begin by cursing the Lord of the Dark Palace the moment she saw him.
‘You wretch who defied the will of Heaven!’
But when she actually saw him, those words would not come out.
The Lord of the Dark Palace spoke to her with gentle eyes.
“Do not misunderstand. I did not open the door because I was certain the Young Cult Leader would not kill you.”
“Then why did you open it now?”
“As you can see, the Great Art has just ended.”
The very fact that she was asking such a question was proof that she was wavering.
“Heungno did not try to save me.”
The Lord of the Dark Palace’s excuse came without hesitation.
“Is he not a man who cares only for himself?”
Because it was not wrong, Gaye could not readily refute him.
“Do not be bewitched by the Young Cult Leader. You know well what kind of tongue he possesses.”
Naturally, Gaye’s gaze turned to Geom Mugeuk. As if he had expected this situation, Geom Mugeuk asked calmly,
“Do you know why you want to believe those words?”
Geom Mugeuk laid bare a part of her heart even she had not known.
“Because right now, you want comfort more than the truth.”
“!”
Her heart sank because the Lord of the Dark Palace’s words had indeed been a comfort.
Perhaps he did not abandon me.
Instead of rebuking her, Geom Mugeuk consoled her.
“That is what happens when a person grows weary. Even walking your own path is tiring. Walking a path that isn’t yours is bound to exhaust you even more.”
Geom Mugeuk did not try to persuade her any further.
“If you believe his words, you may go over there.”
In truth, Gaye could not determine which side was telling the truth.
As she wavered, the Lord of the Dark Palace extended a hand, beckoning her to come to him.
The moment she saw that hand reaching toward her, she realized something anew.
“From the time I was young until now, you have never once reached out your hand to me.”
The Lord of the Dark Palace’s outstretched hand twitched.
Though she had watched him for many long years, she did not know the Lord of the Dark Palace well. He was never one to reveal himself.
But even if she did not know him well, she was familiar with that dark smoke coiling around him. It had always represented the Lord of the Dark Palace’s emotions, like some living creature.
The black smoke flowing around him now was unspeakably sinister and anxious.
Come quickly, hurry! I’ll swallow you whole!
It lurked like a beast waiting for prey.
Now Gaye knew for certain. Which of the two had been bewitching her. That she had been brainwashed for far too long.
“Do you understand now? Why the Divine Maiden Palace should have been the one to lead them?”
At Geom Mugeuk’s words, the first thing Gaye felt was a sense of injustice.
Even when she had been young, the Lord of the Dark Palace had been an old man and had held the position of Palace Lord. Even the previous Divine Maiden Palace Mistress, who had placed her in the position of Palace Mistress, had not dared think of resisting the Lord of the Dark Palace.
“I had no power.”
“You had the greatest power of all.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your backing is Heaven, is it not?”
Gaye could say nothing.
“You possessed the strongest power. You simply did not recognize it, and no one beside you told you.”
Gaye thought Geom Mugeuk was right.
Instead of using weakness as an excuse, she should have tried to change things somehow. If someone like Geom Mugeuk had been by her side, could she have changed them?
“The Heavenly Will Palace was annihilated three hundred years ago because the Heavenly Will Palace Lord did not listen to the Divine Maiden Palace Mistress.”
The Divine Maiden Palace Mistress had said that the Heavenly Will would arrive three hundred years later, but the Heavenly Will Palace Lord had denied her words.
“You speak as though you saw it with your own eyes.”
At the Lord of the Dark Palace’s words, Geom Mugeuk smiled with clear, deep eyes.
Because he truly seemed to possess the leisure only someone who had seen the past could have, the Lord of the Dark Palace’s heart sank coldly.
Geom Mugeuk looked at Gaye and said,
“Now, say what you wish to say. If you cannot say it now, you will regret it for the rest of your life. There will be no next time.”
Gaye did not rage at the Lord of the Dark Palace. Rather, she spoke calmly. They were words she should have spoken long ago.
“The way you have lived, the way I have watched all my life at your side, was wrong.”
It was the first time in her life she had spoken negatively to the Lord of the Dark Palace.
“You, and I, who failed to stop you—we will have to pay the price.”
Tears flowed from Gaye’s eyes. She had lived as though entranced. She had thought it only natural to live helping the Lord of the Dark Palace. Instinctively, there had been many times when she had thought, This isn’t right, but she had forced herself to ignore it.
Geom Mugeuk asked her,
“Has your anger eased a little?”
She lowered her head and gave no answer.
“Even so, you did well. When you look back on this later, you will think you were right to say it today.”
Later? Would there truly be a later for her? Her life felt as though it might not even have another two hours.
“Why are you being so considerate of me?”
“Because I used you to open this door, and because I want to look good in your eyes so I can hear the answer to the question I asked earlier.”
Even though he said it so openly, she did not feel repulsed.
The Lord of the Dark Palace cut into their conversation.
“Young Cult Leader, you truly are remarkable. To change a person so much in such a short time.”
“I’m not the remarkable one. The Divine Maiden here is.”
Geom Mugeuk looked at Gaye.
“The ship called the Divine Maiden Palace has been anchored in harbor until now. You, its captain, have lived without knowing what the ship’s original purpose was. Even now, set out to sea.”
He was telling her to live as the true Palace Mistress of the Divine Maiden Palace.
“Do you think Heaven has abandoned me?”
“I think you have never once properly looked at Heaven. Only when you set out to sea will you be able to see the true sky. Lightning may strike, or a typhoon may descend, but first, go out. Do not die by my hand, and do not die by that man’s hand. If you must die, die on that sea.”
A surge of emotion swept through Gaye’s chest. Even if she lived only one more day, she wanted to live as the true Divine Maiden Palace Mistress.
And having experienced it for herself, she felt she understood. Why Ak Gunhak and Cha Iran had followed this Young Cult Leader.
At last, the answer to the question he had asked earlier flowed from her lips.
“Those six powers are energies called the Six Paths Origin Qi.”
The Lord of the Dark Palace did not stop her and merely watched in silence.
“Why did you seek them so desperately?”
“Because only that power can control that man.”
Geom Mugeuk flinched in surprise. Naturally, he had assumed those six energies were powers Hwa Mugi would use. But they were powers meant to control him?
Just what kind of martial art had Hwa Mugi learned that only the Six Paths Origin Qi could control him?
The Lord of the Dark Palace, who had remained silent until then, finally opened his mouth.
“The murim ruled by him will become a murim entirely different from everything until now. Evil, which has been treated as bad, will become good, and good will become evil. The weak will die and be mocked. The strong will be worshipped, and those who kill more people will be respected. Like the murim of the primordial age.”
An abyssal dark energy flowed from the Lord of the Dark Palace’s body.
“Young Cult Leader, if only you die, a new murim will unfold.”
* * *
At the Poison King’s words, silence flowed through the hall.
Geom Ujin silently gazed at the Poison King. Having said all he had to say, the Poison King bowed his head and said nothing more.
Looking down to the floor below, Geom Ujin said,
“Bring a bottle of liquor here.”
“Yes.”
The Fist Demon took the liquor and went up to the second floor.
Geom Ujin held out a fresh cup that had been turned upside down on the table to the Poison King. The Poison King respectfully accepted the cup.
Glug.
After filling the Poison King’s cup, Geom Ujin said,
“Pour me one as well.”
“Yes.”
This time, the Poison King filled Geom Ujin’s cup. He was a man who had declared he would kill everyone in the world, but at this moment, his tense hands were trembling.
“Let us drink.”
Geom Ujin emptied his cup first, and the Poison King emptied his.
After drinking, Geom Ujin sent the Poison King back to his seat. He said nothing else.
“That is enough. Go and be at ease.”
The Poison King bowed respectfully and returned to his seat. As if he had never spoken so well, he looked out the window and entered his own world.
The Fist Demon could understand, at least a little, what kind of person the Poison King was. Because he was someone who had a world completely his own, he could show such a side as he had earlier.
‘You said the Young Cult Leader was the most frightening? To me, you are the most frightening.’
Feeling anew the terror of the Poison King, the Fist Demon said to Geom Ujin,
“Please wait a moment. I will prepare the meal and bring it up shortly.”
Even apart from the minute change in the Cult Leader’s expression that only the Fist Demon could sense, anyone could see that Geom Ujin seemed to be in a good mood right now. A smile was on his lips.
The Poison King’s answer had passed. And not just passed—he had graduated at the top.
On the first floor, Cult Leader Pungcheon quietly said to the Sword King,
“You got out well.”
Cult Leader Pungcheon glanced up at the second floor and added,
“If you hadn’t, you would have had to fight those people. Could you have handled them?”
Geom Ujin sitting silently, the Poison King looking out the window, and the Fist Demon quietly descending the stairs.
There were only three of them, yet Cult Leader Pungcheon absolutely did not want to fight them. Even without that dreadful Geom Mugeuk, they were giving off this kind of pressure. And there were still more Demon Supremes besides them.
As if he had no interest, the Sword King resumed wiping with his rag and asked Cult Leader Pungcheon,
“Please just give a name to the inn you mentioned earlier.”
* * *
The Heavenly Killing Star did not come.
They continued staying at the Pungryu Tavern. They could have moved to an inn with beds, but they did not.
Geom Ujin had decided to remain here. It must have been because this place held meaning in many ways.
Geom Ujin, the two Demon Supremes, and Cult Leader Pungcheon replaced sleep with circulating their qi and regulating their breath. They were absolute masters, so there was no problem at all.
The Sword King pushed several chairs together on the first floor and slept lying across them. Cult Leader Pungcheon wanted to do the same, but his snoring was severe, so he had no choice.
No matter how brave and valiant he was, he was not brave enough to disturb the Heavenly Demon’s sleep.
They cooked meals, and laughed at Cult Leader Pungcheon’s jokes.
Was it all right to be this relaxed when the Heavenly Killing Star was coming?
Days that naturally made one think such thoughts continued.
And today, Geom Ujin rolled up his sleeves and personally entered the kitchen.
“I will prepare the meal.”
At those words, the four masters were startled.
They were going to eat a meal prepared by the Heavenly Demon?
“Would we even be able to digest such a burdensome meal? I would rather do it myself.”
Cult Leader Pungcheon tried to step forward, but the Fist Demon stopped him.
“Why not take this chance to see His Lordship’s skills?”
The Fist Demon knew that the Cult Leader’s cooking skills were excellent. The Cult Leader was about to show off those skills for the first time in a long while.
Just then, the Poison King entered the kitchen. He had been sitting by the second-floor window like a stone statue until now.
“I will help.”
More than Geom Ujin saying he would prepare the meal, the Poison King stepping forward to help was even more astonishing.
He had answered the earlier question, and liquor had been poured for him. Through that process, it was clear the relationship between the two had changed from before. At the very least, the Poison King had changed.
Geom Ujin nodded.
“Peel those onions over there.”
“Yes.”
The sight of Geom Ujin trimming meat while the Poison King peeled onions was even rarer than the sight from the first day, when the Fist Demon had chopped at the cutting board and the Sword King had wiped with a rag.
The Poison King, who handled deadly poisons freely, had tears gathering in his eyes because the onions stung.
Watching the scene, Cult Leader Pungcheon shouted to the Poison King,
“Don’t get distracted and mix up the salt with the powder in that pouch!”
At that worried joke, even Geom Ujin’s lips curved into a smile.
But in the next moment, Geom Ujin’s smile vanished.
His calm, sunken gaze turned toward the tavern entrance outside the kitchen.
Soon after, the other four naturally looked there as well.
Someone was coming here.
Everyone’s expressions hardened.
They felt the presence of someone walking down the streets of Maga Village toward this place. The other party was deliberately not hiding it.
A short while later, one person stepped inside.
A man dressed in light martial attire.
Astonishingly, it was the Evil Path Alliance Leader, Baek Jagang. He had arrived at the Pungryu Tavern before the Heavenly Killing Star.
A moment of silence passed.
The one who broke the silence born of that astonishment was Geom Ujin. Instead of the Heavenly Demon Sword, he held a kitchen knife as he poked his head out from the kitchen and asked,
“Have you eaten?”