Lee Ahn and Han Seol were at the Ice Palace.
There was a special reason for their visit today.
“I apologize for the trouble.”
The person Lee Ahn was politely greeting was the Ice Palace Master.
“The Young Cult Master gave strict orders that we were not to leave the Palace Master’s Hall under any circumstances.”
“The Young Cult Master has already visited.”
Geom Mugeuk had already made the request as he was leaving the palace.
He had asked her to look after Lee Ahn and Han Seol while they stayed together for a while.
If it were any other enemy, he would have had Lee Ahn move with him to gain experience.
But the Blood King was different.
Even if Lee Ahn had achieved Great Mastery in the Flying Heaven Sword Technique, he would have had her stay in the Palace Master’s Hall just the same.
The Ice Palace Master did not consider it a bother at all.
It was a matter related to the safety of her daughter and the Ice Palace, and the request was made out of trust in her.
However, there had been a small squabble before she accepted the request.
—Are you not underestimating the Ice Palace too much?
It had sounded as if he were telling her to hide in the Palace Master’s Hall as well.
—If it were a normal enemy, I would have left it to you, Palace Master, and already departed from the Northern Sea.
But these people use the Self-Destruction Art without hesitation.
A great sacrifice will have to be made.
—Even so, since the enemy is targeting our palace, we should be the ones to handle it.
Of course, besides the Ice Palace Master, there were many other masters in the Ice Palace.
If they stepped forward, they would be a great help, but they would also have to endure many sacrifices.
—They are not enemies, but monsters.
And we are good at catching monsters.
To the still-hesitant Ice Palace Master, Geom Mugeuk's final persuasion was this:
—Let the demons catch the monsters.
How could she refuse a request made while he humbled himself by calling himself a demon? She was grateful, but one thing made her curious.
—Why are you going so far to help us?
Because the enemy is Hwa Mugi’s subordinate.
—Because I was treated to good wine.
As per Geom Mugeuk’s request, the Ice Palace Master had all the martial artists around the Drunken Demon’s residence withdrawn.
As long as the Blood King was moving personally, she considered any guard to be an unnecessary sacrifice.
The Ice Palace Master, briefly recalling her conversation with Geom Mugeuk, looked at Lee Ahn.
Lee Ahn was standing by the window, looking outside.
She was a woman who had intrigued her from the first time they met.
“You said your name was Lee Ahn?”
Lee Ahn, who had been looking out the window, turned to the Ice Palace Master and replied politely.
“Yes, that is correct.”
“The Young Cult Master seems to cherish you a great deal.”
“He is a naturally affectionate person.”
“An affectionate Young Cult Master of the Demon Sect.”
“You are witnessing the birth of a new Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.”
Lee Ahn said it like a joke, but the Ice Palace Master took it seriously.
He was, after all, the Young Cult Master who had helped restore her relationship with her daughter.
‘Perhaps in the years to come, I will recall this day.
I saw the Heavenly Demon when he was still the Young Cult Master.’
Han Seol asked Lee Ahn.
“What was the Young Cult Master like when he was younger?”
The Ice Palace Master glanced at her daughter.
It was the first time she had ever seen her show interest in someone else.
She had never been curious about others before.
Truly, thanks to Geom Mugeuk, she was having many new experiences.
At Han Seol’s question, Lee Ahn hesitated for a moment before answering.
He was not always like this.
He had been a good person, but not this good.
Not until that day, the day the Divine Demon Tournament was held, when Geom Mugeuk changed as if he had suddenly hatched from an egg.
From the moment he returned after the tournament, Geom Mugeuk was different.
That day, Geom Mugeuk had said this.
—From today, I have decided to live a different life.
He truly kept his word.
Geom Mugeuk changed, and that change transformed everyone around him.
Herself, the Demon Sovereigns, even the Heavenly Demon.
She told the two of them what Geom Mugeuk had said that day.
“The Young Cult Master said this. He does not believe that people change little by little. He believes they change drastically when there is a certain trigger.”
That was why she, too, tried to change.
To become an exception to the saying, ‘people never change.’
“He changed a lot after he matured.”
As she answered with a smile, something caught Lee Ahn’s eye.
Far outside the window, red smoke was rising.
It felt like no ordinary smoke.
It was undoubtedly a signal to someone.
“Ah! There’s smoke rising over there too.”
As if in response, like a beacon, another plume of smoke began to rise from the opposite direction, far away.
“I will raise your monthly wage next month.”
At the innkeeper’s words, the chef smiled faintly in the kitchen.
The chef was a man who could not speak.
But acquiring this chef was the greatest stroke of luck in the Northern Sea Inn keeper’s life.
The food was delicious.
He had no major complaints about his treatment.
He did not whimsically say he would quit soon, and he was someone who just cooked silently in the kitchen.
Just then, a customer spoke.
“Looks like there’s a fire. Look at that smoke over there.”
“Why is the smoke so red? Shouldn’t black smoke rise if there’s a fire?”
It was at that moment, as the customer and the innkeeper were looking at the smoke rising in the distance.
“Oh, you startled me!”
The innkeeper, who had inadvertently glanced to the side, was startled.
The chef, who had come out without a sound, was looking at the smoke with him.
He had never once come out of the kitchen during business hours.
“Looks like a fire broke out somewhere over there.”
At the innkeeper’s words, the chef spoke.
“It is not a fire.”
Both the innkeeper and the customer were startled by the chef’s words.
It was surprising enough that the chef had come out of the kitchen, but this was the first time they had seen him speak.
“You could talk?”
Having opened his mouth, he felt like a completely different person from his usual self.
“It is a signal from our master, calling for us.”
“Me?”
Just as the innkeeper’s eyes widened, wondering what on earth he meant.
Puk!
The chef’s hand pierced the innkeeper’s heart.
“You do not need to raise my wage.”
The customer who was with them screamed and fled.
The chef waved his hand, and the fleeing customer’s body was torn apart, collapsing as he spewed blood.
The chef looked down at the blood dripping from his hands and arms with a smile.
He inhaled, smelling the scent of blood, then went outside with his blood-drenched hands.
As he chanted a formula, red smoke began to rise from the blood that had dripped from his hands onto the ground.
It was smoke to awaken another.
The Drunken Demon was sitting on a small wooden bench in the yard, drinking.
Dozens of wine bottles were placed around him, and there was also a large wine jar.
He was drinking with clear intent.
It was not the same kind of wine.
He was drinking all of the dozens of types of wine found in the Northern Sea.
The Drunken Demon drank one cup of this wine, then one cup of that wine.
Each time, he evaluated the wine.
This wine is good because it’s light, this wine is good because it’s strong, this wine is good because it’s sweet, this wine is good because it’s bitter.
He evaluated every wine not as bad for this reason, but as good for this reason.
Then, he looked up at the wall and asked.
“Care for a drink?”
A man was standing on the wall, having arrived at some point, looking this way.
The man was the Blood King.
He, who had been naked, was now wearing red martial robes.
The thick scent of blood revealed who he was.
He had met no interference on his way here from the outside.
There were no guards.
It meant they knew he was coming and were waiting.
Far behind the Blood King, red smoke was rising from various places.
The tension of the eve of war could be felt in the rising red smoke.
The Drunken Demon took another drink.
“Come over and have a drink.”
The Blood King just looked down at the Drunken Demon in silence.
“Suit yourself if you don’t want to.”
The Drunken Demon drank deeply.
Even as he drank, his gaze was fixed on the Blood King.
Hot and cold.
Cold and hot.
Both men had eyes that held both heat and cold.
The smell of wine and the smell of blood.
In the space where the two men faced each other, two primitive scents that stimulate humans mingled.
The Drunken Demon acted as if he were not tense at all, but his body was reacting differently.
His body instinctively tensed, preparing for the opponent’s attack.
‘He came to kill me.’
Geom Mugeuk had been right.
He had said the one behind it all would surely target him, and now he had come in person.
And today, the Blood King had not come alone.
A dozen martial artists climbed onto the wall where the Blood King stood.
The person who climbed up right next to the Blood King was none other than the Northern Blood Sect Master.
Those who came with him were his most cherished subordinates.
The Northern Blood Sect Master asked the Drunken Demon.
“Where have you hidden the Extreme Cold Body?”
Instead of answering, the Drunken Demon reprimanded him.
“How can a man like the Northern Blood Sect Master be drawn to this filthy smell of blood?”
Though the words were meant to wound his pride, the Northern Blood Sect Master pretended not to hear and asked again.
“I asked where the Extreme Cold Body is.”
The Drunken Demon then replied, drinking his wine.
“Why do you keep asking? Did you leave it in my care?”
The Northern Blood Sect Master looked at the Blood King.
Finally, the Blood King spoke in a low, resonant voice.
“He is not one to speak willingly. Kill him.”
The Blood King had accurately assessed the man known as the Drunken Demon.
He might look like he was just grinning and drinking wine, but he knew that wine was as thick as blood.
He knew he was by no means an easy opponent.
The Drunken Demon said to the Blood King.
“I have a question, may I ask?”
The Blood King looked at the Drunken Demon in silence, as if to say, ‘go on.’
“That Self-Destruction Art you guys use, when you explode, does that red head of yours explode too?”
It was a deliberate provocation.
He had thought that, especially with the Northern Blood Sect Master present, the Blood King would surely show some emotion, but his expression did not change one bit.
‘He’s calmer than he looks.’
The Drunken Demon also got a sense of the man called the Blood King.
The opponent was not a mad killer who rampaged indiscriminately.
He was the type of foe who was hot when he needed to be hot, and cold when he needed to be cold—truly the most difficult type of enemy to face.
Shhhring!
The one who drew his sword was the Northern Blood Sect Master.
Now that the Blood King's order to kill had been given, they had to act.
Moreover, with the Drunken Demon provoking the Blood King like that, if they just stood by, they might end up being killed by the Blood King.
When the Northern Blood Sect Master drew his sword, his subordinates also drew theirs in unison.
Their momentum was extraordinary.
Although they revealed their killing intent, the Drunken Demon’s gaze remained on the Blood King.
To send them out first, knowing full well they would be sacrificed, meant…
‘He wants to test my skills?’
It must also be his intention to make me expend my inner energy.
Despite reeking so strongly of blood, the man himself was truly bloodless and tearless.
‘And that smoke! It must be a signal calling someone.’
Meanwhile, the Northern Blood Sect Master was just as ruthless.
He had come along reluctantly because of the Blood King, but he knew very well how dangerous his situation was now.
He was being pushed to face a Demon Sovereign.
‘Even if all my subordinates are sacrificed, I alone must survive.’
First, the Northern Blood Sect Master ordered three of his subordinates to attack.
The three subordinates leaped down from the wall.
The number of people who could attack simultaneously was limited anyway.
The best strategy would be to wear down the opponent’s strength by taking turns in a wheel formation.
The three martial artists approached the Drunken Demon from three directions.
The Drunken Demon remained seated, drinking his wine.
Fwoooosh!
Suddenly, a thick wine spirit erupted around them, and in an instant, they all vanished into a fog.
From within the fog, the sound of wind sliced by swords could be heard.
There was also the sound of flesh and bone being cut, and the sound of neck bones breaking.
Ssssssk.
When the fog cleared again, the Drunken Demon was sitting in the same spot, drinking his wine.
The three men who had approached to kill him were strewn about as corpses.
Because it had happened within the fog, no one had seen how they had died.
“If you like the smell of blood more than the smell of wine, I will let you smell it to your heart’s content.”
The Northern Blood Sect Master’s expression hardened.
He had expected the three men to be defeated, but he had not expected it to be so quick.
Moreover, fighting in a fog that completely obscured one’s vision was an absolute disadvantage.
“Pour out your Sword Qi and Sword Force!”
At the Northern Blood Sect Master’s command, the remaining subordinates unleashed their Sword Qi in unison.
Once again, the wine spirit obscured their vision.
Shwissh, shwissh, shwissh, shwissh!
Only after unleashing a barrage of Sword Qi did the Northern Blood Sect Master order them to stop the attack.
The fog lifted, revealing the ravaged state of the yard.
The ground was overturned and shattered.
The Drunken Demon was sitting on the edge of the broken wooden bench, drinking his wine.
What was astonishing was not that the Drunken Demon was unharmed.
It was the fact that not a single one of the wine bottles scattered around him was broken.
In other words, it meant that the Drunken Demon had protected the wine bottles amidst the flying Sword Qi.
‘Is this even possible?’
Not only the Northern Blood Sect Master but the rest of the martial artists were intimidated.
The Drunken Demon looked up at the Northern Blood Sect Master and said.
“I told you to come over and have a drink.”
When no one answered, the Drunken Demon drank from the bottle.
Since the Blood King still had not uttered a word, the one dealing with the Drunken Demon was the Northern Blood Sect Master.
“You seem to be trying to buy time, but you had best not hope for help from the Young Cult Master.”
“You are the ones buying time.”
It was a rebuke, questioning why the Blood King or the Northern Blood Sect Master did not step forward first, instead sacrificing their hapless subordinates.
“Are you worried? That the Young Cult Master will arrive before you can kill me?”
Of course, the Northern Blood Sect Master was worried.
He could sense that the Blood King held the Young Cult Master’s martial arts in high regard.
If he had been confident of eliminating both of them together, he wouldn’t have had Yang Seok lure the Young Cult Master away.
“The Young Cult Master will not be able to come. He is already in our hands.”
It was a statement meant to rattle the Drunken Demon’s composure, but he did not fall for it.
“If that were true, you would be here now, offering to trade the Young Cult Master for the Extreme Cold Body.”
The Drunken Demon was not only exceptionally intelligent but also had absolute faith in Geom Mugeuk.
That was why he even made a joke like this.
“Don’t worry. The Young Cult Master always comes for me last.”
The Drunken Demon picked up a wine bottle and slowly rose to his feet.
A drunken man had simply stood up, yet his presence made everyone tense.
“The one you should be worried about is not the Young Cult Master, but me.”
Even in this moment of tense standoff, the Drunken Demon gulped down wine straight from the bottle.
“Because of you lot, who don’t drink with me and just swing your swords around, I’ve been drinking alone.”
The color of the wine spirit shimmering around the Drunken Demon’s body began to change.
“And I’ve gotten very drunk.”