“So you still haven't given up on the Young Cult Master.”
Hwa Do-myeong interpreted Cha Iran's joke that way.
She wasn't the type of person to joke about not having to return money in a situation like this.
Besides, smiling at him so alluringly?
“To be honest, I was hoping you wouldn't fall for it.”
Hwa Do-myeong slowly walked over and stood in front of Geom Mugeuk.
Geom Mugeuk, his eyes closed, was drenched in sweat.
“He's holding out for a long time. The Flying Blood Snake should have settled in the Young Cult Master's heart by now.”
Fwoosh.
Hwa Do-myeong unfolded his fan and fanned Geom Mugeuk's face.
Just then, Cha Iran's voice came from behind.
“I'd like to finish the rest of the wine.”
Her paralyzing point was sealed, so she couldn't move.
Hwa Do-myeong flicked his finger, unblocking her pressure points so she could move.
Of course, her inner energy was still sealed.
Cha Iran picked up the wine bottle on the table and poured a cup.
It was the wine she had ordered while dining with Geom Mugeuk.
The two had eaten in a private room at the restaurant, and all this happened right after they finished their meal.
Without looking back, Hwa Do-myeong said.
“At least you had a fine last meal.”
His words implied that he would kill them both once this was over.
When she didn't reply, Hwa Do-myeong glanced back at Cha Iran.
As if she had given up quickly, she didn't beg for her life, nor did she seem to have any will to fight.
She was just leaning back in her chair, silently drinking and gazing out the window.
She recalled the moment she sat side-by-side with Geom Mugeuk in the manor's flower garden, looking up at the sky.
Back then, she never thought she would give up the contract.
She had inwardly laughed when the Divine Flower Sect Master changed her destiny without a moment's hesitation, but she was no different.
“What are you thinking about?”
To Hwa Do-myeong's question, Cha Iran replied as she refilled her cup.
“I'm not thinking about anything.”
Cha Iran treated him with indifference.
Just as he knew her well, she knew Hwa Do-myeong well.
He was a man who always hid behind his fan, pretending to be shy, but he wanted to stand at the center of the world.
In this moment of success, he would be hoping for her acknowledgment and applause.
But she wouldn't give it to him.
Seeing her resolve to face death, Hwa Do-myeong finally brought up a topic that would pique her interest.
“When Ak Gun-hak recovered the Secret Vessel...”
Cha Iran's cup, on its way to her lips, stopped in mid-air.
“The old man was truly delighted. That alone was more than enough to make up for returning without killing Geom Mugeuk. But the Secret Vessel he brought back was useless, with no effect whatsoever.”
Although she didn't know what a Secret Vessel was, she listened intently, thinking it might be something that could help Geom Mugeuk.
“He was tricked by that Young Cult Master again.”
What Cha Iran was curious about was this.
“What was that red energy in the orb?”
The energy she first felt had been really pleasant.
Though its nature changed when the red snake appeared.
“It's the power to stop destruction.”
The word destruction came from Hwa Do-myeong's lips again.
“From whom? From the Unorthodox Alliance Leader?”
Hwa Do-myeong nodded and looked at Geom Mugeuk.
"It all ends today.”
The Flying Blood Snake roamed through Geom Mugeuk's entire body's meridian pathways as if it were its own home.
The creature was as agile as a water snake swimming swiftly through a narrow cave.
The power and vitality emanating from the Flying Blood Snake were completely different from how it looked.
All sorts of elixirs, rare herbs, and the mysterious power of various artifacts from the martial world were condensed within it.
He felt that if he could just kill it and melt it down, he would obtain an energy more powerful than any elixir he had ever taken.
If he could catch it, that is.
The creature was fast.
Shashashak.
It swiftly navigated the meridian pathways, aiming only for the heart.
Geom Mugeuk blocked the major meridian pathways leading to his heart with his inner energy.
Geom Mugeuk's profound and pure inner energy enveloped his heart as if to protect it.
The Flying Blood Snake, which had swum rapidly through the meridian pathways, collided with the inner energy protecting the heart.
Poong!
As a shock went through his meridian pathways, Geom Mugeuk gritted his teeth.
He tried to catch the retreating creature with his inner energy, but it was impossibly fast.
Sasasasasak.
Like a loach slipping through his fingers, it escaped Geom Mugeuk's inner energy and swam through the meridian pathways again.
The problem was, this creature wasn't the only thing he had to worry about.
Inside his body, the five energies absorbed through the Secret Vessel were raging through his meridian pathways.
He guessed it was because of the Flying Blood Snake stirring up his entire body.
He tried to calm them down somehow, but it was useless.
He had a feeling that these five energies would only settle down once the Flying Blood Snake was completely dissolved.
Therefore, amidst a veritable storm, he had to wage a defensive battle to protect his heart while also carrying out an operation to capture it.
Kwaaak!
The second collision was even more powerful than the first.
Geom Mugeuk gritted his teeth again.
He thought that if he hadn't strengthened his meridian pathways with the Meridian Strengthening Art, and if he hadn't accumulated an even more profound and pure inner energy through various fortunate encounters, he would have been breached by this single collision.
He tried to catch it this time as well, but the Flying Blood Snake quickly slipped away again.
This time, he sent his inner energy to pursue the Flying Blood Snake.
The creature was smart, and its will to survive was strong.
It evaded the pursuit of his inner energy by weaving through the countless meridian pathways in his body, searching for a way to live.
It mostly fled to meridian pathways where his inner energy did not flow naturally.
It knew instinctively.
Where to go to escape.
For the third attack, Geom Mugeuk launched an encirclement operation.
He sent his inner energy all at once to corner it from all sides, but this time, it used the five energies raging inside his body to escape the encirclement.
The paths the Flying Blood Snake took to escape were mostly routes that went against the flow of his energy, and among them were meridian pathways he could have taken but had never thought to explore.
'Ah! So there was a path like this.'
The paths the Flying Blood Snake revealed in its desperate bid for survival were, for Geom Mugeuk, also paths that led to new enlightenment.
After making another round, the Flying Blood Snake charged toward his heart again.
Four times, five times, ten times, twenty times...
...
Perilous situations unfolded, but Geom Mugeuk defended well.
As it kept repeating, Geom Mugeuk discovered new meridian pathways.
The Flying Blood Snake did not tire.
But neither did Geom Mugeuk.
You were painstakingly created over decades?
Sorry, but the same goes for me.
'So come at me all you want!'
Finally, Geom Mugeuk began to open his eyes.
Hwa Do-myeong stood before him, his face filled with anticipation.
Cha Iran, standing behind, wished desperately.
'Please!'
In that moment when destiny was decided!
A cry of joy escaped Hwa Do-myeong's lips, while a sigh of despair came from Cha Iran.
Geom Mugeuk's eyes were completely stained with red energy.
“It worked! The Flying Blood Snake has completely taken control of the Young Cult Master.”
Cha Iran clenched her fists.
She had believed Geom Mugeuk would overcome it.
'You told me to trust you!'
She despaired, and Hwa Do-myeong's face filled with ecstasy.
The red energy that had bloomed in Geom Mugeuk's eyes soon vanished.
He soon returned to his normal state and gazed at Hwa Do-myeong with a calm expression.
An unconcealable sense of thrill welled up on Hwa Do-myeong's face.
Everyone else had failed to eliminate the Young Cult Master, but he had succeeded in getting him in the palm of his hand.
“We've been waiting for this one chance. In the end, you're nothing but a servant who did our work for us.”
Geom Mugeuk simply stared at him, showing no emotion.
Hwa Do-myeong gave a cold command.
“Go and kill the Unorthodox Alliance Leader—”
Just then, Cha Iran cut him off.
“If the Young Cult Master kills the Unorthodox Alliance Leader, a war will break out.”
“I suppose so.”
Cha Iran said with a scornful look.
“To prevent destruction? You should cover that mouth of yours with your fan.”
Hwa Do-myeong pretended to cover his mouth with his fan and finished giving his command to Geom Mugeuk.
“Kill the Unorthodox Alliance Leader and return to me.”
Geom Mugeuk slowly turned around.
Hwa Do-myeong turned to Cha Iran and said.
“Shall we have our last drink now?”
It was decided from the beginning, should the plan succeed.
She would betray him, and the traitor would be eliminated.
Cha Iran silently watched Geom Mugeuk's back over Hwa Do-myeong's shoulder.
She was infuriating him to the very end.
Hwa Do-myeong stared into her pupils.
At her eyes, which were watching the Young Cult Master until the very end.
Just as he was about to kill her while looking into those pupils.
Hwa Do-myeong saw it.
The reflection in her pupils.
A flash of something flying toward him.
Shwiiiiik.
Hwa Do-myeong desperately twisted his body.
Puuuk!
The Black Demon Sword pierced his shoulder.
It was a move that would have pierced his heart had he not dodged at the last moment.
Geom Mugeuk, who had been walking toward the door, had turned silently and attacked him.
The technique he used was the Underworld King Step, one of the Four Divine Wind Steps.
Hwa Do-myeong, his shoulder pierced, was overcome with shock and fear.
“... I told you to kill the Unorthodox Alliance Leader.”
He thought Geom Mugeuk had misunderstood the command.
That's why he couldn't counterattack right away.
He had to figure out what went wrong and send him again.
The Flying Blood Snake, which had taken so much time and effort, could not be created again in this era.
“I am your master...”
The moment his eyes met Geom Mugeuk's, Hwa Do-myeong's whole body trembled as if struck by lightning.
The composure in his eyes was something that not even ten Flying Blood Snakes could create.
“Don't tell me… the Flying Blood Snake didn't work?”
A bright smile spread across Geom Mugeuk's face.
“The Red Essence and even the Flying Blood Snake. I enjoyed them both.”
After speaking, Geom Mugeuk pulled out the sword.
Paaaak!
Blood spurted from his shoulder.
Geom Mugeuk even let him staunch the bleeding.
“Get lost while I'm letting you live.”
He was in an absolutely advantageous position, yet he was saying he'd spare him, so Hwa Do-myeong didn't believe it.
He thought it was a trick to make him lower his guard for a surprise attack.
Geom Mugeuk told him the reason.
“Thank Miss Cha. She told me not to kill you.”
Indeed, she had told him not to touch Hwa Do-myeong.
But even Cha Iran didn't know he would actually spare him at this moment.
Hwa Do-myeong looked at Cha Iran.
Not knowing Geom Mugeuk's intentions, she just looked back at Hwa Do-myeong silently.
Chaaak.
As the fan opened, Hwa Do-myeong disappeared.
It seemed like he was making Cha Iran indebted for her life, but that wasn't the reason.
As soon as he confirmed that Hwa Do-myeong had completely disappeared from the room.
Jjaenggeurang.
Geom Mugeuk dropped the Black Demon Sword on the floor and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“Young Cult Master!”
The moment she supported Geom Mugeuk.
Geom Mugeuk's eyes were about to turn red again.
Cha Iran gripped Geom Mugeuk's arm tightly.
"Get a hold of yourself!"
Geom Mugeuk barely managed to push back the red energy.
He still hadn't gained full control of the Flying Blood Snake.
“I've only given it half of my heart.”
He said he gave it, but in truth, he had used half of his heart as a prison to lure it in.
It was the only way to catch it.
Because he was in a tense standoff within his heart, he couldn't execute the next move to kill Hwa Do-myeong.
If he had, he would have completely surrendered his heart to the Flying Blood Snake.
Even the first Underworld King Step was a move he had recklessly performed to save her.
Cha Iran could tell.
Geom Mugeuk could have just slipped away quietly.
He could have left as if he were going to kill the Unorthodox Alliance Leader and then received treatment with the help of the Evil Heart Laughing Demon or the Unorthodox Alliance Leader.
But he had overexerted his inner energy to save her.
“Why on earth did you do this?”
With a trembling hand, Geom Mugeuk unsealed her inner energy.
"No need to be moved. Now you have to save me."
Even as he spoke, the red energy repeatedly invaded and receded from his eyes.
“When I open my eyes again...”
Geom Mugeuk closed his eyes and said his final words.
The sight of red energy seeping out from between his closing eyelids was like the Gates of Hell closing.
There was only one person who could pull him out of that hell.
“The Laughing Demon Sovereign must be in front of me.”
Geom Mugeuk intended to follow where the prophecy led.
After delivering his last words, Geom Mugeuk closed his eyes completely.
Cha Iran could tell.
He didn't have much time left.
Cha Iran sheathed the Black Demon Sword and then carried Geom Mugeuk on her back.
Because it was Geom Mugeuk, she could even make a joke like this.
“Giving me a contract without even paying the fee?”
She leaped out through the window.
Just then, she saw him.
Someone was looking down at her from the roof of the opposite building.
It was Hwa Do-myeong, who had not yet left.
Without a word, Cha Iran leaped away.
From the sight of Geom Mugeuk being carried, Hwa Do-myeong could tell he had been deceived.
That he hadn't been spared, but that Geom Mugeuk had been unable to kill him.
Hwihwihwihwihwihwik!
Behind him, martial artists dropped their stealth and appeared as if divine beings were descending from the sky.
Their stealth and lightness arts were extraordinary, and their auras were formidable.
“Stop them! We must not let the Young Cult Master fall into the hands of the Evil Heart Laughing Demon!”
The martial artists all leaped after her in unison.
As Hwa Do-myeong was about to leap as well, his remaining subordinate stopped him.
“Your wound is deep.”
The sword wound on his shoulder was deep, but he had only stopped the bleeding by pressing on the pressure points.
He was in a state where a careless move could lead to a more severe injury, but he couldn't just stand by.
“The Young Cult Master's condition is worse.”
Even if he had to give up on killing the Unorthodox Alliance Leader, he could not give up on Geom Mugeuk.
He had to recover the energies dwelling in his body.
“Release the Seal.”
Piiii, peopeopeopeong!
The Crescent Moon Faceless One, who was sitting by the window looking outside, heard the sound of fireworks from a distance.
A peculiar firework sound.
It was the exact same firework sound he had heard during the operation to capture the assassins of the Cult of Beauties.
The Crescent Moon Faceless One looked back at the Evil Heart Laughing Demon.
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon was circulating his energy with his eyes closed.
“It's a distress call from the assassins.”
Inside the mask, the Evil Heart Laughing Demon's eyes flashed open.
When he stood up, the Faceless Ones, who had been doing their own things around the room, also rose to their feet in unison.
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon looked at the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress, who was having tea with Lee Ahn.
The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress slowly nodded.
She could feel it was fate.
That the moment of the prophecy had finally arrived.
"Let's go!"
As the Evil Heart Laughing Demon leaped out the window and into the sky, all the windows opened, and the Faceless Ones leaped out as one.
Far beyond them as they soared, fireworks were exploding.