Chapter 402. The Lecherous Demon’s Signature Technique.

The First Demon Ancestor, locked in a standoff, said to the Lecherous Demon.

“……I expected you would block at least this much.”

Contrary to his appearance, the way he put on airs felt slightly out of nowhere. What exactly had he expected?

At the First Demon Ancestor’s words, the Lecherous Demon replied.

“I also expected that you would expect that.”

Was I the only one who got chills?

I had no choice but to cut into their conversation for a moment.

“Stop expecting things, you lunatics.”

“…….”

The conversations men exchanged when fighting, whether in an alley or on Mount Hua, were childish regardless of location, so much so that it felt like an immutable truth.

Though the First Demon Ancestor had not given an order, an armed cultist strode in from outside, and as soon as he knelt, he presented a red longsword.

The longsword looked rather familiar, so I asked Eldest Brother.

“Is that Usa’s sword?”

“It’s similar, but no.”

The First Demon Ancestor spoke while gripping the fake Great Cloud Sword.

“Bring your weapon.”

The Lecherous Demon struck his hands together, knocked away the First Demon Ancestor’s strange weapon, and left only the Muk Clan Dagger.

“This will do.”

“By the way, I am of a similar age to your master. Must you speak to me like that?”

The Lecherous Demon answered in an indifferent tone.

“If you want respect, act in a way worthy of respect. I’m not the sort to treat you well just because you’ve eaten a few more years.”

I answered in the First Demon Ancestor’s stead.

“Rude bastard.”

Come to think of it, if I kept butting in like this, I would seem like I was on the Demonic Cult’s side, so I needed to restrain my mouth.

The Plum Blossom Manor Lord interjected.

“If you need a longsword, I will lend you mine.”

The Lecherous Demon answered briefly.

“No need.”

Strangely enough, the Lecherous Demon spoke informally to the First Demon Ancestor, but used a half-polite tone with the Plum Blossom Manor Lord. The First Demon Ancestor, who had been glaring at the Plum Blossom Manor Lord for no reason, drew the fake Great Cloud Sword and charged at the Lecherous Demon.

The Lecherous Demon was slippery by nature, so he kicked away the moon wheel lying on the ground. As the moon wheel flew off at terrifying speed, the First Demon Ancestor split it in two with the Great Cloud Sword in a single stroke and swung his blade.

Before I knew it, to my eyes, it looked like wavering flames and flurries of snow were clashing. The Lecherous Demon deflected the fake sword quite well with the short Muk Clan Dagger. Though the sharpness of the Demon Ancestor Sword had split the moon wheel without difficulty, it could not easily cut through the dagger made by the Muk Clan.

Watching like this, the Lecherous Demon’s choice had been correct.

Most longswords would have been split apart at once by the First Demon Ancestor’s blade.

As I watched, I could see the First Demon Ancestor’s inner power gradually increasing. The red aura on the edge of the Demon Ancestor Sword, much like when I used Violet Haze Qi, grew even thicker.

At times, when their palm forces collided, it sounded like drums bursting one after another. No matter how formidable the Lecherous Demon was, was the difference in years not something easily overcome?

Only after their palm forces clashed several times did I see the Lecherous Demon’s body being pushed back with every collision. Each time, he either regained his balance or used the force against his opponent to counterattack, but the superiority in internal energy was now clearly visible to the eye.

This was also an entirely natural thing.

Rather, the fact that he was fighting on such equal footing was abnormal, so it was a situation where anyone would be right to praise the Lecherous Demon.

At some point, perhaps he decided that internal energy alone would not do.

The Lecherous Demon reduced his palm force and internal energy even further, and his body was pushed back even more noticeably. It looked as if he had switched to defense while conserving strength. However, for the First Demon Ancestor as well, there was the inconvenience of having to catch up to the Lecherous Demon, who kept flying away as if being bounced off, in order to attack him.

In that instant, there was a crack, and a large tree planted in the manor split apart as if it had been struck squarely by lightning.

I saw the Plum Blossom Manor Lord beside me clutch his forehead with a trembling hand.

I consoled the Plum Blossom Manor Lord.

“Manor Lord, this is only the beginning.”

“Pardon?”

“More will be smashed. It’ll become a complete mess.”

“I see.”

The First Demon Ancestor’s voice rang out.

“……Do you think you can win by doing nothing but running away like that?”

The Lecherous Demon murmured.

“I’ll run away for seven days and nights for you.”

When the First Demon Ancestor swung his sword, just as I expected, the wall was cut like tofu, and the dueling space grew even wider.

This was better, actually.

Because it was a wall I would have felt a bit bad about destroying with my own hands. In any case, the First Demon Ancestor turned the manor into a wreck, and the dueling space gradually became vast.

Only then did we confirm that the outside of Plum Blossom Manor was entirely surrounded by cultists.

The encirclement looked extremely tight.

Even so, despite having brought this many troops, I could not help but admire the fact that he was personally engaging in a one-on-one duel.

You could say he was not some shoddy demonic practitioner.

The First Demon Ancestor’s attacks were like raging flames sweeping in.

If the Lecherous Demon had not cultivated ice arts, it looked as if he would have burned to death long ago. That did not mean his swordsmanship was lacking, either, and his internal energy was clearly superior to the Lecherous Demon’s.

Even so, the duel continued fiercely.

As the situation continued to flow in this repetitive fashion.

Now, even the First Demon Ancestor, who was unleashing indiscriminate attacks, did not seem that advantaged. It was because there was an air about the Lecherous Demon, as if he were continuing to keep a hidden trump card concealed.

But there was no way to know what that one move was.

And if that move were blocked by the First Demon Ancestor, there would be no guaranteeing the Lecherous Demon’s life or death. So this fight was one-sided yet taut, taut yet so precarious that a single mistake seemed as if it would bring the duel to an end at once.

I, too, maintained my silence and committed each moment of the fight to memory.

Because even we did not know when our final fight would be.

At some point, the Demon Ancestor Sword and the dagger clashed, and their palm forces collided as well…….

This time, unlike before, the Lecherous Demon was not pushed back.

Had the First Demon Ancestor expended his power, while the Lecherous Demon had conserved his, and now they had gauged each other’s circumstances?

That last exchange seemed equal to some extent.

As soon as he confirmed it, the Lecherous Demon’s expression suddenly changed as well.

Resolve to decide the match filled his eyes, and while he fought on without being pushed back, blocking the First Demon Ancestor’s attacks, he shifted the Muk Clan Dagger to his opposite hand.

He swung the Muk Clan Dagger, vexingly alternating between his right hand and left, and it seemed to carry some intention.

Had the First Demon Ancestor sensed something ominous as well?

Now, each time palm force was unleashed, not only the walls and trees but even parts of the ground were scooped out in round chunks. As if he had realized that the Lecherous Demon was preparing a consummate technique, the First Demon Ancestor’s attacks grew even fiercer.

‘What the hell is it?’

Before long, the clothing of the Lecherous Demon, who had been focusing on defense, was scorched by fire and torn until it hung in tatters.

If the one move the Lecherous Demon had prepared was not fatal, the scene before us was such that it would not be strange for him to declare defeat then and there. In truth, if he declared defeat, there was at least a high chance he would remain alive.

But Eldest Brother and I both knew the Lecherous Demon’s personality, so there was absolutely no reason to advise him to declare defeat.

At some point, the Lust Demon, who had sprung lightly into the air to evade Ilmajo’s attack, swung his right arm like a whip. The instant I confirmed the trajectory and speed of that swing, I realized he was staking the match on this.

Unexpectedly, the Mukga dagger shot toward Ilmajo.

Shweeeng!

Ilmajo extended his sword and struck it aside, merely twisting the direction of the Mukga dagger.

Shweeeng!

The Mukga dagger came flying at tremendous speed and arrived right before my eyes, so I caught it between my index and middle fingers.

Tak!

Was this a deliberate assassination attempt?

With Ilmajo’s skill, it was certain he had sent it toward me on purpose.

‘To be worrying about me in the middle of this—is he stupid, or just arrogant?’

The moment I caught the Mukga dagger between my fingers, I realized the blade was not cold.

Ilmajo charged at the Lust Demon, who was now empty-handed.

At that moment, the Lust Demon muttered as though declaring his signature art.

“……Desire (慾望).”

It was quite a shocking declaration.

Desire?

What desire was he talking about?

With his index and middle fingers extended and pressed together, the Lust Demon swung both hands.

The finger technique stretched out like blades.

He truly swung it about at random. Even so, Ilmajo was no fool. He rushed in, urgently striking away all sorts of cold qi with the Majo Sword.

For the first time in my life, I was witnessing with my own eyes a madman retreating while unleashing his signature art.

How was I supposed to describe that thing?

It looked as though he had dipped both hands into a white swamp, pulled them out, and was flinging it everywhere. Yet attacks in the shape of blades were certainly mixed in.

Ilmajo charged while busily spinning the Majo Sword as though whirling a spear, but in the end, he could not touch the Lust Demon’s body.

The Lust Demon, who swung white blades without ever letting them break off, employed his finger technique in various forms. He swung them like a great brush, swung them like hooks, at times poured out cold qi as though scattering clouds, and at others poured it out like a whip with a curve to it. In other words, every varied method of attack within ice arts continued without pause—that was the ultimate technique named Desire.

In a word, it was utter raving madness.

The two blades of cold qi eventually cut Ilmajo’s hand, his forearm, and his shoulder, and even in the midst of that, the Lust Demon kept retreating. He continued unleashing his signature art as though fleeing, but unfortunately, only the name Desire kept lingering in my mind.

Just how great was this desire of his supposed to be?

Before long, Ilmajo, soaked in his own blood, stood and swung his sword, while the Lust Demon, his face pale, still expelled cold qi from his fingertips and lashed out. If the Lust Demon’s internal energy maintaining that finger technique ran dry here, his body would immediately be separated by the Majo Sword.

The Lust Demon could not possibly be unscathed either.

Parts of his body were cut by Ilmajo’s sword qi, and exposed to the sword wind, his entire body was stained with blood.

It was truly a grand sight.

In the end, the swords that could cut off each other’s breath did not reach one another……

Because the two did not stop, even as they were drenched in blood by each other’s ultimate arts. Other than the sound of the two of them tearing into each other’s bodies, everything joined in the silence.

At this point, was it a fight over who could avoid a fatal wound?

The Lust Demon, who had been wildly swinging blades of cold qi and gradually freezing Ilmajo’s body, stepped forward and extended his hand as if asking for a contest of palm force.

Ilmajo’s eyebrows rose, and he thrust out his left palm.

At that moment, the Lust Demon moved with the footwork he had displayed when using the White Flower Palm Technique, gliding as he swung both hands at close range. In the end, a single blade of cold qi finally tore deeply into Ilmajo’s upper body.

Blood spurted out in thick streams.

Even so, the two stood facing each other and swung sword and finger technique at one another.

‘How vicious.’

In the end, the one whose speed gradually slowed was Ilmajo. Cold qi had clung to his entire body. The Lust Demon, covered in blood, avoided Ilmajo’s attacks and still did not stop. At last, when Ilmajo staggered first, the Lust Demon extended his left palm.

Kwaaaaaaang!

Ilmajo’s body flew horizontally and, before long, was rolling across the ground.

“……”

With his left hand, where cold qi still lingered, the Lust Demon wiped his blood-soaked face and said,

“Ilmajo, do you admit defeat?”

Ilmajo seemed to have fainted for a moment, as there was no answer.

When Ilmajo’s subordinates tried to enter from outside, the Lust Demon stretched out one hand.

“……Stop. I must hear his answer first.”

The Lust Demon waited for a while without approaching Ilmajo, then asked again.

“Do you concede?”

Only then was Ilmajo’s voice heard.

“It is my defeat.”

Only then did the Lust Demon let out a long breath and look at Ilmajo’s subordinates.

I asked the Lust Demon.

“Why is your signature art called Desire?”

The Lust Demon answered seriously with his bloodstained face.

“The desire to survive and meet beautiful women.”

For the first time in a very long while, Eldest Brother praised his disciple.

“Impressive. Truly.”

Was that praise, or sarcasm? Still, it was true that he was impressive. Moyong Baek’s voice rang out.

“Young Master Mong, are you all right?”

The Lust Demon answered with his face a complete mess.

“No?”

“Understood.”

Moyong Baek rose, then passed right by the Lust Demon and approached Ilmajo. Even I, watching, was bewildered.

Why had he asked if he was going to do that?

Before long, Ilmajo’s subordinates had leapt down around Ilmajo and blocked the way.

Moyong Baek said to Ilmajo’s subordinates,

“I am Physician Moyong Baek of the Moyong Medical Clan. I will examine him. With so many troops here, how could I possibly try anything else? The only thing I surpass all of you in is medicine. Please do not worry.”

The subordinates seemed to ponder for a moment, then opened a path.

Even in the midst of this, Moyong Baek’s lie shook my heart. That was because medicine was not the only thing Moyong Baek excelled at; there was also poison arts.

Bravely entering through the path the subordinates had opened, Moyong Baek sat beside Ilmajo and examined the largest wound. Then he took a cloth and a small bamboo tube from his bundle, wiped the wound, and said to the subordinates,

“This is wound medicine I made. Is there anyone who would like to test it first?”

One man took a dagger from his robes, cut the back of his own hand, then extended his hand to Moyong Baek. Moyong Baek poured out a little powdered medicine from the bamboo tube. The man spread the powder over the back of his hand, glared at Moyong Baek, and said,

“Nothing wrong with it.”

“Yes.”

Moyong Baek sprinkled on the wound medicine, examined the other wounds, then took out more cloth and wrapped it around Ilmajo’s chest. Because there was not a single unnecessary motion, there was a mysterious quality to it, as though even his medical arts looked like martial arts. In other words, Moyong Baek had been a man destined to become strong from the very beginning.

After finishing the emergency treatment, Moyong Baek said to Ilmajo, whose eyes were open,

“Senior, you’ve been through a great deal. You must return and recuperate properly, or your wounds will worsen.”

Ilmajo replied.

“You said your name was Murong Bai?”

“Yes.”

“I won’t forget it. Might I perhaps repay you?”

“I will not accept.”

“I expected as much.”

“Mm, yes.”

“Help me up.”

In any case, Ilmajo was a man who was good at predicting things. With Murong Bai’s support, Ilmajo raised his upper body and asked the Lust Demon.

“Why did you not end my life?”

The Lust Demon, who had been wetting his throat with wine at the table, answered.

“……Killing and being killed has no end. In the end, someone has to stop it, so I tried. If I had been born twenty years earlier, the Jade Flower Palace would not have been pushed back. Ilmajo, can you acknowledge that?”

Ilmajo replied.

“Since the Cult Leader is there, would it not have been pushed back in the end regardless?”

“No. Back then, the Cult Leader would have been young as well. It was just a figure of speech.”

As he spoke, a line of blood flowed straight down from the crown of the Lust Demon’s head. When the Lust Demon wiped it away with his hand, Ilmajo sighed with an expression of emptiness.

“……I lost, so I will return. Some of you remain and report to the Cult Leader. Tell him I was defeated and went to recuperate in order to keep this old life clinging on. He is not someone who accepts excuses anyway, so there is no need to make any. Tell him exactly what you saw.”

“Understood.”

With my arms folded, I was slightly impressed. Though he had been defeated, aside from acting proud, he had shown no disgraceful conduct, so I rose from my seat.

“Ilmajo, you have worked hard.”

Ilmajo glanced at me once, then left Plum Blossom Manor with his subordinates without answering. Since all the walls had collapsed, there was no particular exit, yet Ilmajo deliberately left through the gate by which he had entered.

We…….

That is, the Lust Demon, Eldest Brother, Murong Bai, the Lord of Plum Blossom Manor, and I only then let out, all at once, the sighs that held each of our feelings.