Could there be a question as provocative and rude as asking the Poison King why he makes poison?
If our relationship wasn't as good as it is now, he might have immediately said something.
"What kind of question is that to ask the Poison King?"
Or, he might have retorted like this.
"Then why do you practice the sword?"
Fortunately, the Poison King knew my question was not thrown out without thought.
Instead of answering, the Poison King simply gazed at me.
I slowly walked between the display cabinets.
"There are so many poisons here."
Just in the aisle I was looking at, the number of poisons was staggering.
They must be poisons passed down in the Thousand Poison Forest for generations, but many were likely collected by the Poison King himself.
And there would be many newly created ones, like the one from before.
"Why do you put all your passion into making poisons, like you did earlier?"
This question was both fundamental and deeply personal.
He could answer as a Demon Sovereign, or he could answer for personal reasons.
It was a question whose answer would change depending on how he took it.
I turned back to the Poison King and added.
"You've dedicated your entire life to poison, haven't you? What does poison mean to you, Poison King?"
For a moment, I saw a small flicker of emotion in the Poison King's eyes that I had never seen before.
He must have been called strong countless times, and told he was a fearsome person countless times.
But had he ever been told that he had dedicated his life to poison?
Was that statement a burden? The Poison King's gaze shifted to the poisons on the opposite side of where I was looking.
A moment of silence passed.
The Poison King still did not answer my question about why he makes poison.
I asked a new question.
This, too, was the first time I had asked him this since we met.
"Or do you wish to one day stain the world with blood using your poisons?"
This was his life before my regression.
This time, the answer came quickly.
Without looking back, the Poison King replied.
"If I must."
I was actually relieved.
A reply like that felt farther from a sea of blood than an answer like 'that will never happen.' After all, the one who takes their own life is not the one who was crying yesterday, but the one who was laughing.
Was I not worried that he might do such a thing again? Not at all.
I know better than anyone how the same person can change depending on their situation, environment, and the people around them.
The Poison King before my regression and the Poison King now were completely different people.
No, they were the same person, but living a different life.
Just like me now.
"It seems I have asked a needless question. Please forgive my rudeness."
Just then, the Poison King, who had been staring blankly at the poison vials, slowly shook his head.
"I've never been asked such a question before."
Indeed, who would dare ask the Poison King why he makes poison?
And the reason he couldn't answer wasn't because of my question.
"I have never seriously thought about it either."
If it were my younger self, I would not have believed him.
I would have thought he was just trying to sound cool.
But I know now.
The higher the level of mastery one reaches, the less one thinks about such things.
"You must have. You just don't remember it now."
"Yes, I must have at some point. But I cannot recall when that was."
"It seems that even the Poison King cannot escape being swept along by life."
I said it playfully, but the Poison King's expression remained serious.
He walked over and picked up the bottle of Ten-Thousand Death Poison he had made today from the shelf.
The look in his eyes as he gazed at it seemed to ask.
-Why did I make this?
Without giving up, despite so many failures.
Before he could sink deeper into his own world of contemplation, I answered for him.
"To protect our Main Sect."
To the Poison King, that was clearly the wrong answer.
"The Cult Master is here, why would I need to protect it?"
Now, it was time to properly explain the reason for my visit.
"The people of the Righteous and Unorthodox Factions probably fear you more than my father."
At the root of that fear was this dread.
The fear of dying without even being able to fight properly.
It wouldn't be so bad to die fighting, no matter who the opponent was.
But a fight with the Poison King could end just by taking a wrong breath, by drinking a wrong sip of water.
The reason the Poison King is the most powerful deterrent to war might not be the fear of mass destruction, but the fear of not wanting to die a dog's death.
"There is a reason I asked you that question earlier."
I told the Poison King everything that had happened since I returned.
Including my worry that my father might be dreaming of unifying the Martial World.
Even after hearing the whole story, the Poison King's expression did not change at all.
He must have known from the moment he brought me here that I had a separate reason for visiting the Thousand Poison Forest today.
"Even if everyone opposes the Cult Master's dream, shouldn't you, of all people, support it?"
"It seems he not only gave me good looks, but also his stubbornness."
"You intend to block the Cult Master's path?"
Though I felt very sorry for my father, I silently nodded and began to persuade the Poison King.
"I wish for these poisons to remain here forever."
"Do you want to make me useless?"
"It's the opposite."
"The opposite?"
I slowly touched a poison vial in front of me.
On the paper attached to the bottle were the words Flame Soul Death Poison.
It was a terrifying poison that, with just a few drops, would spread like flames, taking all life around it.
"Your fear and dignity will be maintained as long as these poisons remain here. The moment you use them on the Martial World, that fear will turn to anger. That dignity will be covered in resentment."
The Poison King said nothing.
"The essence of Poison Arts is not in administering poison, but in detoxifying it."
It was something I had told him once before.
Since he had taught his own successor this way, he clearly held such a belief.
"When you saved everyone by detoxifying the Poison Overlord's poison last time, you were so magnificent, Poison King."
I couldn't know what he was thinking at that moment, but I conveyed my true feelings.
"Please, do not live as the Poison King who administers poison in my father's Demonic Path, but live as the Poison King who detoxifies in my Demonic Path."
I felt I had lost to my father, who had left today after silently helping to make poison, so I said everything I wanted to say.
"I am sorry for the rude request."
I bowed my head respectfully.
It was a demand I was making without clearly knowing his heart.
The Poison King, who had been silent until then, suddenly spoke.
"You are mistaken about one thing."
That one thing was something I had not expected at all.
"Do you think the Cult Master intends to unify the Martial World by putting me at the forefront?"
"Is that not the case?"
"Four years and seven months ago, when I went to gather poisonous herbs with the Cult Master, he said this to me."
And then, a surprising truth was revealed.
The Poison King relayed the exact words my father had said to him that day.
"I will not unify the Martial World with poison. My world has no need for Poison Arts."
I was shocked.
I never imagined my father would have said such a thing.
I knew my father disliked Poison Arts, but I never thought he would say it directly to the Poison King.
"Were you not disappointed?"
"I was. But I wasn't offended. It was much better than him pretending not to dislike Poison Arts."
This was how my father treated the Demon Sovereigns.
And those two men had made poison together today without a single word.
I'm sure there was an understanding between them that only they shared.
The Poison King relayed the last words my father had spoken that day.
"To me, you are not someone who will strike the Martial World, but someone who will protect our Sect. Even if my unification fails, because of you, our Sect will not fall."
That was the position my father had decided for the Poison King, the final bastion.
"I promised that day to follow the Cult Master's will."
I could finally understand the Poison King's end in my life before regression.
When the Cult Master's Hall was overrun and my father passed away, the Eight Demon Sovereigns gave up on revenge.
Until now, I had thought it was because they were overwhelmed by Hwa Mugi's absolute martial prowess.
I thought they had chosen life over death.
So I considered it a betrayal, but I also understood, since it was a losing battle anyway.
But today, for the first time, a thought occurred to me.
Perhaps a different situation had unfolded that day, one I did not know about.
A situation where everyone had to give up on revenge.
Because I felt the Poison King, at least, would not have stood by.
But he did not seek revenge, and instead caused a tragedy later, meeting a miserable end.
We were probably thinking of the same person, but the Poison King broke the reverie.
"Because I like poison."
It was the answer to my earlier question.
He had failed to give this simple answer for so long.
It probably wasn't because he couldn't think of it.
Does he still truly like poison? Or has he forgotten that feeling and is now just making poison out of habit?
He must have been unable to answer because he was searching for the answers to the various questions that followed.
"Of course, it's because you like poison."
When I spoke as if I already knew the answer, the Poison King looked at me.
"Someone who doesn't like poison couldn't spend hours crouched down, watching a poisonous insect crawl, could they? Such a person wouldn't give names to venomous snakes. You truly love poison, Poison King. Please, be sure to show me what lies at the end of that love and dedication for poison. Be sure to let me know."
These were words he likely had never heard from anyone, being the Poison King.
I believe that the Poison King, my father, and even the regressed me... no, even the old man who made me regress, have words they want to hear, words they need to hear.
In any person's life, there are words that must be heard.
I just said those words to the Poison King.
The Poison King smiled at me.
Joy and gratitude filled his eyes as he looked at me.
"I can't let this good atmosphere go to waste. So, are you on my father's side, or my side, Poison King?"
The answer to this question came quickly.
As the Poison King walked out of the storehouse, he said calmly.
"I am on no one's side."
*
The person who gave a clear answer was the Plum Blossom Sword Sovereign.
"I will follow the Cult Master's will."
She made her decision without even feigning hesitation.
After listening to my explanation while practicing her sword arts in the Training Grounds, she delivered those words as she executed her final form.
Having finished a round of training, she strode to the edge of the Training Grounds and gulped down some water she had placed there.
There had been a change since I last saw her.
For some time she had stopped wearing makeup, but now her hair was white.
"This is my natural, unadorned hair."
The red camellia flower engraved on the Plum Blossom Sword's scabbard contrasted with her hair, creating a stylish effect.
"You become more magnificent with each passing day, Sword Sovereign!"
"Of course! I knew you would say that."
Was her appearance the only thing that had changed? Her martial arts mastery, which had already risen a level, felt as if it were advancing toward another realm.
"I appreciate your compliment, but I will still follow the Cult Master's will."
I had expected as much.
When it came to respect for my father, she was second to none.
What if I couldn't persuade her?
The remaining Demon Sovereigns were the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign and the Demon Buddha.
Even if the younger Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign sided with me, if the Demon Buddha followed my father, half of them would already be on his side.
Since the Poison King said he was on no one's side, even if the Blood Heaven Blade Demon sided with me, it would be four to three.
"This is too much! Have you forgotten? I am your sparring partner, Sword Sovereign."
The Plum Blossom Sword Sovereign gave a smile filled with apology.
"We've become quite close, haven't we?"
"Yes."
"And you know how grateful I am to you, don't you?"
"I do."
"No, you probably don't. How grateful I am. But I must say this."
The Plum Blossom Sword Sovereign revealed her honest feelings on the matter.
Words I never expected came from her.
"I am worried that the Cult Master will not start a war."
Our friendship was one thing, but her conviction was a separate matter.
"I believe the Cult Master can achieve the great task of unifying the Martial World. As you know, he is a truly outstanding man. An opportunity to fulfill the long-held wish of our Sect has come, and if we let this chance slip by, the future generations of our Sect will regret this time for ages to come."
It occurred to me that perhaps the biggest reason she trained so bloody hard was to one day fulfill the dream of unifying the Martial World with my father.
"Perhaps the birth of a son like you is a trial for the Cult Master. Great undertakings are always accompanied by trials. That fate has been applied."
Though her words could have hurt me, she looked at me and continued to speak calmly.
By being honest with me instead of deceiving me, she was offering her apology.
"I hope the Cult Master overcomes the trial that is you. I sincerely hope he achieves his great work."
The Plum Blossom Sword Sovereign asked with a gentle gaze.
"I apologize if you are offended."
I answered with a smile.
"Not at all. Thank you for speaking so honestly."
"I'm grateful you think so."
"Next time I visit, I will come as your sparring partner."
I bowed respectfully to her and turned to leave.
Just then, from behind me, the Plum Blossom Sword Sovereign said something unexpected.
"Don't be too disappointed. From what I can see, you are winning this match right now."
Unable to understand, I turned back to her.
But she had already drawn her sword and resumed her training.
"That is why I am unconditionally on the Cult Master's side."