As Jin Hyu’s breath ceased, the world he had created began to disappear.
Ssssssk.
The scene that emerged was the great hall where they had first arrived.
The body of Jin Hyu, collapsed on the floor, finally signaled that this affair was over.
'Finally, we're back in our world.'
Jin Ha-gun felt a sense of relief and immediately checked on his injured comrades.
To his subordinates with severe injuries, he fed internal injury pills and personally applied golden salve.
Although quite a few were hurt, thankfully, no one had sustained a fatal wound.
He then chose the one with the best lightness arts among his uninjured men and sent him to his grandfather.
"Inform him that we are safe!"
He had no intention of going to help his grandfather.
Going with their exhausted and injured bodies would only be a hindrance.
Since Geom Mugeuk and his grandfather were together, all he needed to do was convey the news of his safety.
Grand Master Hwa Song expressed his apologies to Jin Ha-gun.
"I am ashamed to face you."
Although it was because his former colleague, Jin Hyu, was an evil man, he had been defeated so powerlessly.
Jin Ha-gun did not reprimand him.
What mattered was what he did from now on.
Now that he had fallen, he had to get back up.
"We must use this as an opportunity to further develop the Great Soul Reversal Technique. Master Hwa, I entrust this task to you."
Hwa Song nodded, his face filled with determination.
Before leaving, Jin Ha-gun expressed his gratitude to the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
"We survived thanks to you. Thank you so much."
The warriors of the Demon Slaying Branch also bowed in unison with cupped fists.
"Thank you."
Truly, if it weren't for the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign and the Wind Heaven Sect Leader, all the warriors of the Demon Slaying Branch would have died in this great hall.
He himself would have become a hostage to threaten his grandfather.
It was a situation he didn't even want to imagine.
"I will never forget the grace you've shown us today."
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign then gave the credit to Geom Mugeuk.
"Repay that grace to the Young Cult Master."
Jin Ha-gun smiled and nodded.
The gazes of the two people looking at each other were gentle.
At least for today, they were friends and comrades who had broken through a life-and-death situation together.
Jin Ha-gun, in particular, could not forget the words she had spoken to him.
The words she said when he felt a boundless sense of powerlessness within the world of the Soul-Devouring Art.
—When it's fully grown, a tiger is frightening, but a snake is not.
These words had been a great comfort to him.
And they made him resolve this.
Let's meet when I become a real tiger.
Just then, the resounding voice of the Wind Heaven Sect Leader came from behind.
"Why repay the grace to the Young Cult Master? You should repay us. Repay me!"
Jin Ha-gun turned towards him.
He hadn't gotten to know the Wind Heaven Sect Leader well through this incident, but he could at least tell that he was a cheerful person.
"One day, I will visit you with the list of things the Young Cult Master took from me."
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader laughed loudly at Jin Ha-gun's joke.
He hadn't forgotten the joke he made when they first met, asking Jin Ha-gun what he had lost.
"Let's hold a grand meeting for the victims! And of course, the head of that meeting will be me!"
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign, who was listening, also smiled.
There would be quite a few people who would join that meeting.
Through this incident, she was genuinely impressed by her Master.
There is a saying that if you watch someone do something and think it looks too easy, that person is a true master.
Others might not know, but she could tell.
Although it seemed her Master dealt with Jin Hyu easily, it was far from it.
He was able to kill him because he had the insight to use his opponent's psychology and see through the surrounding situation and hearts.
The Soul-Devouring Art was a martial art that deceived the human heart, and today, her Master had shown its very essence.
In this world, he was the head of the victims' meeting; in that other world, an absolute being.
That was her Master.
"Well then, we will see you next time."
After bidding farewell to the two, Jin Ha-gun, who had left the great hall, said to Gwak Ju.
"Now, let's go meet your sister."
Gwak Yeong was currently at a safehouse of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
His plan was to first meet Geom Muyang and hand Gwak Ju over to him.
Gwak Ju asked in a trembling voice.
"Why are you doing all this for me?"
In any dangerous situation, the warriors of the Demon Slaying Branch took care of him.
Who was he? He was just the brother of an Iron Workshop artisan.
Just an ordinary person who knew nothing of martial arts.
Yet they cared for him more than their own lives.
Jin Ha-gun turned towards him.
The gazes of all the Demon Slaying Branch warriors around them turned to him.
"Our mission today was to rescue you. Even if everyone here had died and only one person remained, that one person would have saved you."
Gwak Ju looked at the Demon Slaying Branch members standing around.
Ah, so these are the warriors of the Righteous Path.
The people who silently protected him in that dazzling and chaotic world and brought him back to this reality.
The people who always keep their promises.
Gwak Ju bowed deeply to all of them to express his gratitude.
After they left, only the Wind Heaven Sect Leader and the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign remained.
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky.
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign also stood a step behind him, looking up at the sky together.
She was recalling the words her Master had said earlier.
The effort to live differently made my world strong.
Just then, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader opened his mouth.
His face had been utterly serious when he looked at the sky, but now it was full of mischief.
"We should go see the person who made us suffer so much yet doesn't even show his face. We should go meet the person who only calls when he needs something, after forgetting all about us, and tell him the Cult Master from back then is here."
Though his words were such, his face was filled with anticipation at the thought of meeting Geom Mugeuk.
It had been a really long time.
"The Young Cult Master is probably fighting a difficult battle as well."
When they first arrived and the Wind Heaven Sect Leader spoke ill of the Young Cult Master, Jin Ha-gun had said the same thing.
Of course, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader did not think so at all.
"Difficult, my foot. Your Young Cult Master is a kite, a kite."
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader started walking first and added.
"A kite that flies higher the stronger the wind blows."
The Heavenly Wandering Hermit, Hwa Yul-cheong, whose identity had been revealed, demanded that the Martial Alliance Leader, Jin Pae-cheon, kill Geom Mugeuk.
If you want to save your grandson, kill him.
But Jin Pae-cheon refused the offer.
Saying he came here today as an audience member.
He believed that Geom Mugeuk, at least, would not turn this stage into a tragedy.
And to Hwa Yul-cheong's confidence that it would be a huge miscalculation to think the Poison King and the Demon Buddha would save them, Geom Mugeuk showed even greater confidence.
"Do you really think they went to help my friend?"
Geom Mugeuk's words held the confidence and certainty that Jin Ha-gun would be safe.
"Don't bluff, Young Cult Master."
Geom Mugeuk responded to Hwa Yul-cheong's composure with his own.
"Bluffing is for those who have nothing. By now, his one remaining wing is probably falling off too."
It was a statement born from the conviction that So Jeong-rak was already dead, and the master of the Soul-Devouring Art was also being dealt with.
Hwa Yul-cheong stared at Jin Pae-cheon.
His target today, from the beginning, was Jin Pae-cheon.
"The judgment is yours to make. Just don't regret it later."
He knew.
For Jin Pae-cheon, who had already lost his flesh and blood, the well-being of his grandchildren was his greatest weakness, one he could not help but be shaken by.
But he overlooked one fact.
Jin Pae-cheon's faith in Geom Mugeuk was far greater than he had thought.
Jin Pae-cheon replied firmly.
"My judgment is already made."
He had already decided to trust Geom Mugeuk.
As Jin Pae-cheon's gaze turned to him, Geom Mugeuk answered confidently.
"If the person I sent cannot save Ha-gun, then even if you and I were there, Alliance Leader, we would not be able to save him."
At those words, Jin Pae-cheon thought of one person.
"Did you perhaps send the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign?"
Geom Mugeuk nodded.
A sense of relief, and at the same time, a sense of unease.
Hwa Yul-cheong poked at that unease.
"The fact that the new Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign is still a novice is known throughout the entire Martial World. The Young Cult Master is just trying to take credit. Claiming he tried to save Ha-gun."
How could Jin Pae-cheon not know about the young Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign? She was bound to be lacking compared to the previous Demon Sovereign.
Nevertheless, the reason he showed no agitation was not because he trusted the young Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign.
"Will it be alright?"
"Of course."
At Geom Mugeuk's firm reply, Jin Pae-cheon nodded.
Hwa Yul-cheong sighed mockingly.
"Foolish! Truly foolish!"
Just then, Geom Mugeuk spoke.
"The foolish one is you."
When Hwa Yul-cheong looked at him with a questioning expression, an unexpected remark came out.
"You didn't know I have anxiety?"
"Anxiety?"
The Young Cult Master of the Demon Sect has anxiety? Young Cult Master and anxiety, a combination that absolutely did not fit.
"This anxiety is both the pain that torments me and, at the same time, my greatest strength. It's like this. Ah, what if I send only one person and they make a mistake? The opponent could be stronger, right? What if another guy comes to help? What if a variable arises? I'm the kind of person who worries about all sorts of things like that. And the result of that worry is this."
Geom Mugeuk's gaze turned to Jin Pae-cheon.
"So I sent the Wind Heaven Sect Leader along as well."
The moment he heard those words, Jin Pae-cheon's expression relaxed.
If it was just the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign, then yes, he was honestly worried.
But if the Wind Heaven Sect Leader also went?
Geom Mugeuk was right.
Against an opponent who uses the Soul-Devouring Art, those two are better than himself and Geom Mugeuk.
"Then that's settled."
He truly felt that it was settled.
On the other hand, Hwa Yul-cheong's expression hardened.
"You're bluffing again."
Hwa Yul-cheong tried to persuade Jin Pae-cheon.
"The Young Cult Master is lying to survive right now."
Jin Pae-cheon stared at him silently and said.
"It is you who is afraid of dying."
A look of displeasure crossed Hwa Yul-cheong's face.
He, too, had already revealed his identity, so he no longer hid his emotions as meticulously as before.
Jin Pae-cheon stared at Hwa Yul-cheong and continued speaking.
"Until now, I have never once tried to read your emotions. Thinking back, that was arrogance."
Because he was the Alliance Leader and was busy?
No. It was because he didn't have to.
Because he had lived a life where he didn't need to read other people's expressions.
Because everyone read his.
Because he had lived a life where he only realized after decades that the Heavenly Wandering Hermit had never once gotten angry at him and had always catered to his mood.
"This is all something I brought upon myself."
But that didn't mean he intended to forgive the man who had lived wearing that mask.
"The moment you plotted using my grandson's life, all ties with you were already severed."
What more needed to be said, but he was curious about this one thing.
"Let me ask you this last thing. The righteousness you practiced your whole life, what kind of heart was that from? Was that, too, all a pretense?"
At Jin Pae-cheon's question, a sneer formed on Hwa Yul-cheong's lips.
"Why? Do you think your righteousness is real, and mine is fake? To be honest, there must have been times when you were conscious of me. Times when you disliked me for being revered as a more respected hero than you, the Alliance Leader. Am I wrong?"
Jin Pae-cheon could not deny it.
There really had been times like that.
But that was a very fleeting emotion.
He had soon controlled his heart and treated his friend with a good heart.
Hwa Yul-cheong dug into Jin Pae-cheon even more persistently.
"If you kill me, what will the people who survived with my help think? Will they really believe I'm an evil man who hid his identity for decades? Or will they think you killed me out of jealousy? Will they respect and follow you as before?"
Hwa Yul-cheong tried to shake Jin Pae-cheon.
Having watched Jin Pae-cheon from the side for a long time, he knew better than anyone what words would become daggers.
Jin Pae-cheon silently nodded.
"Yes, they might see me with a different heart."
Jin Pae-cheon seemed somewhat transcendent.
But it wasn't because Hwa Yul-cheong had shaken him.
"That's fine. My era is coming to a close now."
The moment he heard those words, Geom Mugeuk could tell.
That Jin Pae-cheon was finally about to name Jin Ha-gun as his successor.
He had a premonition that perhaps Jin Ha-gun, among the three from the Demonic and Righteous paths, would be the last to become a successor but the first to become the Martial Alliance Leader.
"Yes, I acknowledge your righteousness. You lived a fine life."
Just then, Geom Mugeuk cut in.
"I do not acknowledge it."
Where do you get off shaking the Alliance Leader with that worthless three-inch tongue of yours? Fight a three-inch tongue with a three-inch tongue!
"You seem to want to claim that righteousness is real, but it's fake, isn't it? For you, the more righteous deeds you accumulated, the more trust you built with the Alliance Leader, it was a kind of mission. You should rather claim to be a person with deep loyalty and sincerity towards the Palace of Darkness. I'll acknowledge that."
Struck to the core, the corners of Hwa Yul-cheong's eyes twitched.
He had lived his life thinking exactly that.
"If that righteousness was real, you should have stopped So Jeong-rak, who protected you, from killing innocent people with his Poison Arts experiments. You should have stopped him from harming people with the Soul-Devouring Art and ultimately forcing them to commit suicide. If you want to say that at least that righteousness was real, you should have aimed only for the Alliance Leader by yourself, without such subordinates."
Hwa Yul-cheong could not refute Geom Mugeuk's continuing words.
In truth, these words were not for him, but for Jin Pae-cheon.
Telling him there was no need to be hurt by being stabbed by a poison dagger that came out of a scabbard engraved with 'righteousness'.
"What? You managed to perform fake righteousness? Isn't that better than nothing? If it weren't for you, there would have been a more excellent person performing righteousness in that position. A true hero who didn't keep subordinates who use poison and the Soul-Devouring Art. So do not discuss righteousness with the Alliance Leader with that detestable mouth of yours."
A faint smile appeared on Jin Pae-cheon's lips.
How could he not know? That Geom Mugeuk's words were for his sake.
On the other hand, Hwa Yul-cheong glared at Geom Mugeuk with a terrifying gaze.
He had spoken so much, yet he couldn't refute a single word.
The emotion in his eyes was an aura of darkness, thicker than killing intent.
"Yes, this is who you are, isn't it?"
Hwa Yul-cheong revealed himself.
The aura of Hwa Yul-cheong, revealing his original aura, was incomparable to before.
A supreme master of the Palace of Darkness, who had cultivated his power in the darkness for the past three hundred years.
Just then, Jin Pae-cheon spoke in a calm tone.
"Although I came as a member of the audience, I must intervene on this stage. Is that alright?"
Geom Mugeuk smiled and replied.
"From the beginning, this stage was the Alliance Leader's stage."
Geom Mugeuk took a step back, and Jin Pae-cheon stepped forward.
"Ah, and I will be the one to bring down the curtain on this stage."
As he said this, he looked down at his sword and uttered unexpected words.
"After becoming the Martial Alliance Leader, I couldn't display my original sword style. The Alliance Leader couldn't display such a rough and violent sword style without regard for his dignity."
So, one would think the aura he revealed would also be more violent, but instead, it was quiet.
It wasn't the sea where a fierce wind raged, so strong that one couldn't even open their eyes, like his usual aura.
The sea in the darkness was utterly calm.
That's why it was scarier.
Because one couldn't know what would happen in that sea from now on.
The dark energy flowing from Hwa Yul-cheong's body grew even stronger.
In that energy, the surrounding bamboo trees began to wither.
"I have no intention of sending things like you to Ha-gun's era."
Now calling Hwa Yul-cheong 'things like you,' Jin Pae-cheon, who had properly stepped onto the stage, slowly drew his sword.
"You all will make your exit along with me as I bring down the curtain on my era."