Spirit energy flowed from the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress's eyes.
In her gaze, Geom Mugeuk sensed several emotions.
Surprise, fear, terror.
The final emotion, a mixture of those negative feelings, was hesitation.
“What vision of me did you see?”
The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress did not answer Geom Mugeuk's question.
Instead, she avoided his gaze.
At her reaction, Lee Ahn felt a sense of foreboding.
What could there be in this situation that she couldn't speak of?
'What in the world did she see?'
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon silently gazed at her.
He could have urged her to speak to the Young Cult Master.
He did not force her to speak, simply waiting for her choice.
Geom Mugeuk tried to lift the heavy atmosphere.
“Let me try to guess the prophecy. Did you perhaps see me at the vanguard of a great war? Striking the Martial Alliance, and the Unorthodox Alliance. Striking here, striking there. Did I perhaps unify the Martial World? Were thousands, tens of thousands of heroes prostrating themselves and worshipping me?”
At that, the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress slowly shook her head, as if that wasn't it.
She still couldn't meet Geom Mugeuk's eyes.
“That’s a relief. I was honestly worried you might have seen that.”
Geom Mugeuk guessed again.
“Then you must have seen something like this. You probably saw me slowly walking up a flight of stairs. At the top, there must have been the Grand Advisor's seat. Only when I sat on that throne did the surrounding scenery become visible. Bodies piled up on all sides, and blood flowing like a river. In the end, I must have looked at the corpses and laughed coldly. Right? Is that the scene you saw? Is that why you can’t tell me?”
But, as if that wasn't it either, the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress shook her head.
"It would have been better if I had seen that."
In that moment, the smile vanished from Geom Mugeuk’s face.
Lee Ahn and the Evil Heart Laughing Demon also tensed.
Her words meant that the scene was even more terrible than that.
As everyone’s eyes focused on her, the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress spoke quietly.
“The Young Cult Master was killing someone.”
“!”
Her words left no room for a single joke.
Who could he have been killing for her to say that a scene littered with countless bodies would have been better?
“Who was I killing?”
If he had been killing a passing villain, the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress would not have been this serious.
Her gaze slowly turned toward one person.
The one she looked at with trembling eyes was the Evil Heart Laughing Demon.
“You were killing my brother.”
“...”
In that moment, everyone was stunned.
A heavy silence, born from surprise and shock, fell.
‘I kill the Laughing Demon? Impossible!’
Geom Mugeuk was certain there was no way that could happen.
It was a truly unbelievable prophecy.
Then, a thought suddenly occurred to him. ‘Could it be! Did she see that moment?’
The moment he had killed the Laughing Demon in his life before regressing.
He thought it might be possible.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to ever kill the Evil Heart Laughing Demon.
And the Laughing Demon would never do anything to deserve such a fate.
But the prophecies of the Divine Maiden Palace were supposed to show the future.
The past, and the past before his regression at that? He could not understand that either.
Geom Mugeuk broke the silence with a laugh. “What in the world did you do? No, what are you planning to do?”
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon took Geom Mugeuk's joke lightly. “When you kill me, please send me off without pain.”
The two men looked at each other and smiled.
They were relaxed, but Lee Ahn could not be.
Although she knew it was a great impoliteness, she couldn't help but ask, as no one else would.
“Can the prophecies be wrong?”
The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress replied with a somber gaze, “A prophecy might not descend, but it is never wrong.”
Words she did not want to speak, and they did not want to hear, followed. “What I saw will surely happen.”
If that was truly the case? Lee Ahn’s heart began to beat violently.
In that moment, though she felt sorry for the Evil Heart Laughing Demon, she was more worried about Geom Mugeuk.
If such a thing happened? Could Geom Mugeuk simply move on from killing the Evil Heart Laughing Demon? It would remain a scar for the rest of his life.
No, because of that, Geom Mugeuk himself could change.
Become very dark and somber.
“Destiny can be changed, can’t it?”
At her words, Geom Mugeuk nodded vigorously. “Yes, it can be changed.”
Geom Mugeuk also spoke confidently to the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress. “Such a thing will not happen. So, do not worry.”
The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress kept her head bowed and showed no reaction.
Her heart seemed troubled, as she still did not meet Geom Mugeuk’s eyes.
“You must be tired from receiving the prophecy, please rest. We’ll get some fresh air.”
Geom Mugeuk rose from his seat and left the room, and Lee Ahn followed.
After the two left the room, the Evil Heart Laughing Demon asked the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress, “Would you care for a drink?”
“Yes.”
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon rose and brought out wine from the cabinet.
There was wine that he favored, and wine that the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress favored; he brought out hers.
He poured the wine, and the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress downed it in one breath.
Was it out of worry that the Evil Heart Laughing Demon might die? She drank cup after cup.
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon silently refilled her empty cup.
Then, after being lost in thought for a long while, a look of determination appeared in the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress's eyes.
“Brother.” The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress spoke with difficulty, her voice trembling.
Never in her life had she felt such fear.
“Brother, I lied. I… told you the prophecy differently.”
Despite the shocking confession, the eyes of the Evil Heart Laughing Demon behind his white mask showed no surprise at all.
“You knew?”
Surprisingly, the Evil Heart Laughing Demon nodded.
“How did you know?”
“I know you. How could I not?”
In truth, there was a decisive reason.
She had seen him die, yet she was too calm.
The woman he knew was not like that.
Especially as someone who believed the prophecies always came true, she would have considered his death unavoidable.
On top of that, she couldn't meet the Young Cult Master’s gaze.
It wasn't because he was the one who would kill the man she cared for; rather, he could clearly sense her feeling of apology.
“Perhaps the Young Cult Master noticed as well. He is exceptionally sharp and quick-witted.”
“I’m sorry, brother.”
“It’s fine. You must have had your reasons.”
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon refilled her cup again and asked, “What did you see in the prophecy?”
This was the moment the true prophecy she had received would be revealed.
“It wasn’t the Young Cult Master.” After a brief pause, shocking words came from her lips.
“You killed the Young Cult Master, brother.”
“!”
Through the eyeholes of the white mask, the Evil Heart Laughing Demon’s startled eyes were visible.
He had smiled when he heard he would die, and he had smiled when she said she had lied.
But now, he was not smiling.
“You stabbed the Young Cult Master in the heart with a dagger, brother.”
Geom Mugeuk and Lee Ahn strolled through the inner courtyard of the Heavenly Flower Pavilion.
It was a beautiful and well-tended place, but Lee Ahn’s eyes saw none of it.
“If I had known it would be like this, I shouldn’t have come. I ran away to escape my worries, but how could I have known this kind of trouble would be waiting for me?”
She had been worried about the conflict between the First and Second Squads, but now she had to worry about Geom Mugeuk killing the Evil Heart Laughing Demon.
“This is why you have to see the world. Now that you’re out, that other problem doesn’t seem like a big deal, does it?”
“Not a big deal! It’s a conflict within the personal unit of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect’s successor! It’s just that the problem here is so much more immense!”
Geom Mugeuk laughed as if amused, but Lee Ahn did not.
“Why? Are you afraid it will really happen?”
“Then are you not scared?”
“Don’t worry, that won’t happen.”
“Of course, I’m sure it won’t.”
What troubled her was that the person who had the prophecy was the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress.
If it had been anyone else, she would have dismissed it as nonsense and refused to believe it.
But the Mistress was not one to give false prophecies, was she?
“Ah! Let’s go back in and ask her.”
“Ask what?”
“Where the place is that you kill the Laughing Demon, Young Master. Then you can just never go there, right? That will change destiny.”
“Oh! Smart.”
“If I were smart, I would have asked before. We always think of things in hindsight. Let’s go, hurry and ask.”
But Geom Mugeuk did not move from his spot.
“But what if defying destiny like that changes it for the worse?”
As Lee Ahn flinched, Geom Mugeuk said with a deep gaze, “What if it changes so that the Laughing Demon kills me? What then?”
For a moment, Lee Ahn was speechless.
Geom Mugeuk dying? That would be the moment her own world ended.
“What would I do? I’d shout ‘Hooray, I’m finally free!’”
“Then it’s settled.”
Geom Mugeuk smiled and began to walk, and Lee Ahn followed behind him.
‘What’s settled? If you die, Young Master, I’ll die too! So for my sake, you must never die!’
When the two of them had circled the inner courtyard and returned, the Evil Heart Laughing Demon and the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress were waiting in front of the residence.
The atmosphere when they left the room hadn’t suggested they would meet again so soon.
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon said to Geom Mugeuk, “She has something she wishes to tell you, Young Cult Master.”
At that, the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress knelt on the spot.
Geom Mugeuk and Lee Ahn were startled by the sudden action.
“I lied to you, Young Cult Master. The prophecy I saw was a different scene.”
This time, she did not avoid Geom Mugeuk’s gaze as she relayed the truth.
“The prophecy I saw was a scene of my brother killing you, Young Cult Master.”
The moment she heard those words, Lee Ahn froze in shock.
“I was so surprised and flustered that I lied in the moment. I apologize.”
Geom Mugeuk was neither surprised nor angry. “Please, rise.”
Geom Mugeuk quickly helped her to her feet. “I understand. I would have done the same.”
From Geom Mugeuk’s calm reaction, the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress could tell. ‘Just as my brother said, the Young Cult Master knew as well.’
This lie was so great that she would have had no defense if the Young Cult Master had decided to kill her for it.
It was a lie concerning the life of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect’s Young Cult Master.
And yet, he had already noticed and had been pretending not to know.
If she hadn't spoken up, Geom Mugeuk would have likely feigned ignorance to the very end.
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon would have been the same.
Honestly, these men.
“Whether I kill the Laughing Demon, or the Laughing Demon kills me, it’s all the same. There’s no need to distinguish between the two.”
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon’s eyes were smiling.
It was because he felt the same.
Come to think of it, the fates of all four of them were tied to this matter.
If one of them were to die, the aftermath would shake the remaining three to their core.
“Thank you for telling me the truth.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s words of gratitude, the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress bowed her head.
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon walked over and lightly patted the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress’s shoulder.
If no one had been watching, he would have embraced her.
A short while ago, in the room, when she asked if she should tell the Young Cult Master, the Evil Heart Laughing Demon had told her this. -What I learned from the Young Cult Master was how to build a relationship free of misunderstandings.
That was why Geom Mugeuk told him everything.
This time too, when he returned from leaving the Sect, he told him everything that had happened at the Martial Alliance.
You have to know to win.
Problems always arise from what you don’t know.
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon had relayed Geom Mugeuk’s philosophy to her. -The moment we decide to handle things on our own, things will get complicated.
At those words, the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress had immediately gotten up and come out here to wait for Geom Mugeuk.
Geom Mugeuk guessed that the Evil Heart Laughing Demon was behind this swift confession.
“Thank you, Laughing Demon.”
“I am the one who kills you. There is no need for thanks.”
Geom Mugeuk smiled at the Evil Heart Laughing Demon's joke.
The two men were at ease, but the women were not at all.
The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress looked at Lee Ahn.
Lee Ahn stood silently with a pale face.
The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress knew better than anyone what she must be feeling right now.
After all, she herself had gone so far as to lie for the Evil Heart Laughing Demon.
The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress approached Lee Ahn and said, “I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry.” Lee Ahn felt truly sorry to the two of them.
She hadn't been this shocked when she heard the Evil Heart Laughing Demon would die.
She shouldn't have shown such a selfish side in front of them, but she couldn't help it.
The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress silently squeezed her hand.
Just then, the Evil Heart Laughing Demon took a dagger from his robes.
It was the ten-thousand-year cold iron dagger he had received from Geom Mugeuk.
“Was this the dagger that killed you, Young Cult Master?”
The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress slowly nodded.
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon looked down at his dagger.
Of all times, it was right after receiving the ten-thousand-year cold iron dagger as a gift, and even the martial arts manual for the Laughing Fragrance Secret Art, that a prophecy appeared of him killing Geom Mugeuk with that very dagger.
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon could not let it pass, so he handed the dagger to Geom Mugeuk. “Please hold on to this for a while.”
As Geom Mugeuk took the dagger, Lee Ahn’s face brightened. “Ah! If you have the dagger, Young Master, then that will never happen.”
But Geom Mugeuk’s thoughts were different. “Wouldn’t that lead to an even worse outcome?”
He knew better than anyone that fate was not so easily thwarted.
Geom Mugeuk returned the dagger to the Evil Heart Laughing Demon and said, “If the Laughing Demon and I are bound by a single fate, let’s face it head-on and unravel it. Even if I am stabbed by that dagger, I will survive.”
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon looked at the dagger.
He could see the character for ‘laugh’ that Geom Mugeuk had personally carved into it.
Yes, just as he had done until now.
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon smiled and accepted the dagger.
“I am ready.”
Lee Ahn knew she could not stop the two men.
They were not the kind of people to run from their destiny.
So, she said in her heart. I am ready, too.
Geom Mugeuk asked the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress, “Do you happen to know the location you saw in the prophecy?”
The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress closed her eyes for a moment, recalling the scene.
“It was on a high stage, with numerous people watching.”
“Was it a tournament stage?”
“It seemed like it, but I’m not certain. What I saw was that there were a great many people there.”
“Fortunately, it won’t be a lonely death, I suppose.”
Just as Lee Ahn was glaring at Geom Mugeuk for his foolish joke, a person entered.
It was the general steward of the Heavenly Flower Pavilion.
He approached and handed a letter to the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress.
“What is this?”
“It is an invitation for you, Mistress, to serve as a judge.”
“Me? As a judge?”
If a judge was needed, it meant there was a contest.
The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress unfolded the invitation.
Her eyes widened as she read its contents.
“Where is the invitation from?”
At Geom Mugeuk's question, the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress held the invitation out for everyone to see.
Only then did everyone understand why the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress had been invited to be a judge.
At the very top of the letter, the name of the competition was written.
The Greatest Beauty Under Heaven Contest.
Just as he resolved to face it head-on, destiny had sent an invitation.