Hwa Mugi's atmosphere had changed.
The complete absence of his killing intent now felt more terrifying than when it had been running rampant.
The fact that he had withstood the combined assault of the Fist Demon and Baek Ja-gang, and even recovered his inner energy in the process, was enough to break everyone's spirit.
It was the Fist Demon who broke the heavy silence.
"My apologies. I should have realized it sooner."
When the Fist Demon had struck Hwa Mugi's body with his fist earlier, he had experienced a protective energy unlike any he had felt in his life.
He should have realized it then.
To the Fist Demon's self-reproach, Geom Woojin spoke firmly.
"It was something difficult to discern even for an observer. It would have been impossible for you to know while engaged in such a difficult fight."
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader nodded.
"None of us who fought before realized it either."
Who could have possibly imagined such a tremendous martial art existed?
That's why the Wind Heaven Sect Leader couldn't help but say.
"If one needs to be at this level to cause a Blood Calamity, I'll never be able to start one in my entire life."
As if showing his true self, with a layer peeled away, Hwa Mugi no longer smiled.
"The Righteous, Demonic, and Unorthodox Sects, and even The Outlands, all gathered and waited for me. Are you people even sane?"
As he had said before, his words implied, 'You are the ones who created me.'
As Hwa Mugi's cold gaze landed on him, Jin Pae-cheon thought that he had done well to come here.
What if he hadn't come here to help the Demon Cult Master?
Could the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect have faced that monstrous being alone?
And what if that Heaven Killing Star that swept through the Demon Sect had come to the Martial Alliance? Could he have stopped him?
He had come for his grandson, but in the end...
'Ha-gun, you sent me here to save your grandfather.'
And with the Gentleman’s Sword, no less.
Geom Woojin asked Baek Ja-gang.
"Will you continue to fight?"
Although he had discovered the secret of the protective energy, the fight was still between Baek Ja-gang and the Fist Demon.
It was up to the two of them to decide whether to stop fighting.
Before answering, Baek Ja-gang looked at the Fist Demon.
He was asking for the Fist Demon's opinion before making his own decision.
It was a courtesy to the man who had fought alongside him.
Normally, the Fist Demon would have answered that of course he would fight.
Ending a fight after only replenishing the opponent's inner energy? That would be an unbearable humiliation.
However, seeing Baek Ja-gang choose to fight alongside him had made him feel something.
He was a man who valued rational gain over pride or honor.
Yet, he didn't seem to have low self-esteem or appear dishonorable.
To fight recklessly when you have no idea how to deal with the opponent? Just because you were in the middle of a fight?
The Fist Demon also chose practicality over pride and took a step back.
"I will follow the Alliance Leader's will."
Baek Ja-gang did not make a decision immediately.
He turned around and asked the others.
"Does anyone have a good idea?"
He had no intention of trying to look good in front of anyone, which made him seem all the more trustworthy.
Jin Pae-cheon said softly.
"The more extreme the effects of a Demonic Art, the greater the side effects."
Jin Pae-cheon was certain that since he absorbed inner energy, there must have been a sacrifice made at the same time.
"We must find that weakness."
At that, Hwa Mugi began to reveal his killing intent once more.
It was a completely different killing intent from what he had shown before.
It was his true killing intent, and also the killing intent of the souls inhabiting his body.
That killing intent contained the power of time.
A killing intent accumulated over three hundred years, one that made you feel the imminent approach of death, floated in the air.
That killing intent seemed to say: I have no such thing as a weakness!
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader said, as if sighing.
"Where on earth is the Young Cult Master? With that brilliant mind of his, he should be here telling us, 'This is this, and that is that! This is how you fight that monster!' He needs to say that. He's never around when we need him, but he always shows up to take my divine relics, and he even brought a whole crowd to take Go Wol! Haven't you always appeared whenever I swore and complained? Show yourself, Young Cult Master!"
The Sword King looked at the Wind Heaven Sect Leader with an expression that said he was hopeless.
Joking at a time like this?
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader even turned to look behind him.
He desperately hoped to see him walking down the road from the end of Demon Family Village, but no such thing happened.
'What kind of ridiculous expectation is this?' Although that was his thought, the Sword King's gaze also followed the Wind Heaven Sect Leader's into the distance.
He, too, wanted to see Geom Mugeuk.
And it wasn't just the Sword King.
The feelings of Jin Pae-cheon and Baek Ja-gang were not much different.
Such an expectation arose because of the amazing feats Geom Mugeuk had shown them until now.
The Young Cult Master would surely find the answer to this fight.
Just then, the gazes of Jin Pae-cheon and Baek Ja-gang met for a moment.
They instantly realized they were thinking the same thing.
The Martial Alliance Leader and the Unorthodox Alliance Leader were waiting for a young man the age of their grandson or son?
That fear of anyone finding out was the one thought they shared.
Then, Geom Woojin opened his mouth.
"What are your thoughts?"
Everyone's eyes turned to Geom Woojin.
He couldn't be unaware that asking Hwa Mugi that question wouldn't get an answer.
"Do you think I would answer that for you?"
Hwa Mugi, too, thought the question was directed at him.
"I wasn't asking you."
Geom Woojin's gaze went past Hwa Mugi, toward a distant rooftop.
When everyone's eyes turned to that spot, someone was cheerfully waving at them from a far, distant roof.
He was so far away he looked like a dot.
"Come on over."
It was a soft-spoken command, but the person waving his hand threw himself forward as if he had heard it.
In a flash.
He flew over in an instant, as if he had warped through space.
Truly, none of the masters present could perform such swift lightness arts.
And as far as they knew, there was only one person who could display such Divine Might.
"I have returned, Father."
The person who landed in front of Geom Woojin was none other than Geom Mugeuk.
Everyone stared at Geom Mugeuk with surprised faces.
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader's jaw dropped.
His face was filled with shock and joy.
He wanted to scream right then and there.
'He's here, he's here! The Young Cult Master is really here!'
At long last, the eagerly awaited Geom Mugeuk had arrived.
"I rushed here so fast I couldn't even buy a present for you, Father."
To start by talking about not buying a present in a situation like this, he was definitely his son.
"How long have you been watching?"
"I arrived when the fight broke out outside the tavern."
Geom Mugeuk had arrived at Demon Family Village just as the Unorthodox Alliance Leader and the Fist Demon began their fight with Hwa Mugi.
"Why were you hiding?"
When he arrived, his inner energy was completely depleted.
No matter how urgent it was, he had to replenish his energy, so he recovered it through energy circulation from a distance so great that not even Hwa Mugi or his father could sense him.
While watching the scene here with his Divine Eye Technique, as soon as his energy circulation was complete, he let his father know he had arrived.
Using the technique he had learned when he first climbed the mountain with his father.
He had sent his father the same energy he used to detect the wild boar from dozens of feet away.
"I wasn't hiding. It's been a while since you've fought, so you should show off your skills. That way you can boast to your son a little. So you should fight next time too, Father. I'm yielding to you because I'm a filial son."
A sneer formed on his father's lips.
Seeing that sneer for the first time in a while, Geom Mugeuk laughed along.
You've done well to come.
Yes, Father.
Now, they could understand each other with just a look.
Geom Mugeuk was relieved and happy.
'I made it in time!'
He was afraid someone might have died.
Afraid someone might have suffered an irreversible injury.
Afraid he might arrive to find everyone in ruins.
Out of such worries, he had run without a single moment's rest, except for the time to recover his inner energy.
He hadn't slept, nor had he eaten.
The ever-worried Geom Mugeuk had imagined all sorts of bad scenarios on his way here.
But there was one person who tore apart those stray thoughts.
'Father is here, so it will be fine.'
And surprisingly, there were unexpected people here as well.
"Alliance Leader!"
Geom Mugeuk continued his greetings with his back to Hwa Mugi.
Hwa Mugi silently watched him.
Hwa Mugi did not get angry at this deliberate and thorough disregard.
He stared at Geom Mugeuk with a cautious gaze he had never shown before.
Geom Mugeuk politely greeted Jin Pae-cheon.
"It's been a long time!"
Geom Mugeuk's gaze shifted to Jin Pae-cheon's wound, and then to the Gentleman’s Sword at his waist.
Just by looking at that, he could tell what kind of heart he had come with and what had happened.
"Thank you for coming."
Jin Pae-cheon said, looking down at his Gentleman’s Sword.
"You can thank Ha-gun."
"At our next gathering, I will seat Ha-gun at the head of the table. Of course, he'll have to buy the drinks as a price for his bragging."
This time, he politely greeted Baek Ja-gang and continued with a joke.
"Didn't Sa-in give you anything?"
"He told me not to go, worried I would get hurt."
"Then I'll have to seat him at the foot of the table."
Shockingly, Geom Mugeuk was talking about his friends' gathering with Hwa Mugi right behind him.
Even cracking silly jokes.
And then came a promise.
"I will never forget the grace you have both shown me by coming today. If a day comes when I am needed, I will be the first to arrive!"
For Jin Pae-cheon and Baek Ja-gang, there could be no greater reward.
It was a promise that this Young Cult Master would come to the rescue if Jin Ha-gun or Bi Sa-in were ever in danger.
"Come to our side first."
Jin Pae-cheon also smiled at Baek Ja-gang's joke.
Seeing the two Alliance Leaders relax, Hwa Mugi's eyes shone sharply.
Those people who had been so serious.
'They're smiling?'
As soon as Geom Mugeuk arrived, the atmosphere completely changed.
The gloomy battlefield felt surprisingly brighter.
He could have said a word to Hwa Mugi, but Geom Mugeuk continued his greetings without looking back at him.
He would never know how much Geom Mugeuk had thought of Hwa Mugi, from his life before regression until now.
No one here could possibly know how fateful and important this meeting was.
How much he had feared this moment, and yet, how much he had waited for it.
But Geom Mugeuk didn't give him a single glance.
Because the people here were more important than Hwa Mugi.
One mindset he had maintained ever since his regression.
'I did not regress to kill you. I regressed to live a happy life with these people.'
Even in this final moment, Geom Mugeuk was upholding that principle.
The next person Geom Mugeuk greeted was the Fist Demon.
"Master, your disciple has returned."
"You've done well."
He delivered the news the Fist Demon would be happiest to hear first.
"Branch Master Lee has also completed her mission safely. She will arrive later with her subordinates."
Joy flickered in the Fist Demon's eyes at the news that his daughter was safe.
And Geom Mugeuk's bright expression meant that the Demon Sovereigns and demonic practitioners who went that way were all safe.
It couldn't have been an easy fight against the Darkness Palace Master.
The Fist Demon silently patted Geom Mugeuk's shoulder once with his large hand.
"You've worked hard."
Hwa Mugi, who was watching, spoke softly.
"Anyone would think the fight is already over."
He never expected his first meeting with Geom Mugeuk would be of the back of his head.
Geom Mugeuk said without turning around.
"I'm showing you high praise, aren't I?"
"What?"
"Even if I die, I must offer my greetings before I go."
'I am greeting them because I might die by your hand.' Since his words were literally praising his skill, Hwa Mugi couldn't refute it.
Geom Mugeuk looked at the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
'It must be my turn now, right?'
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader's face was full of expectation.
Geom Mugeuk pretended to complain.
"My goodness, Sect Master, you're swearing at me even while in such an important fight!"
"Because you only show up when I swear at you!"
Their gazes locked in mid-air.
He had never been so happy to see Geom Mugeuk as he was today.
It seemed the divine relic was working its magic.
All he had to do was pray, and he would appear.
"As expected of you, Sect Master. You are always with the Main Sect in times of crisis."
"I was forced to come. I have to show up if I want to keep sponging off you."
In front of Geom Mugeuk, such jokes came naturally to the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
Hwa Mugi watched, wondering, 'Is he really going to greet every single person?' As if to prove a point, Geom Mugeuk did exactly that.
The souls inside Hwa Mugi's mind began to clamor.
Yes, how could they stay quiet after seeing this?
Now it was noisy outside, and noisy inside as well.
Next was the Poison King.
The Poison King was standing quietly behind the others.
"My, why are you just watching from the back? You should be melting him with poison."
'What power do I have?' With such a look, the Poison King glanced at Geom Woojin.
The only time he could convey such a half-joking, half-serious sentiment to the Cult Master was when he was with Geom Mugeuk.
"Father, from now on, just send the Poison King. The rest of you can stay at the Sect and have a drink."
It was a statement that revered the Poison King as the best.
In truth, though he didn't show it, the person happiest to see Geom Mugeuk was the Poison King.
If there was a first victim in this fight, he had planned to quietly slip away.
This was to obey the Cult Master's absolute command to protect Geom Mugeuk.
He had been drowning in the anxiety of having to leave the battlefield without fighting, and leaving the Cult Master behind at that.
For him, Geom Mugeuk's appearance was truly a joy like discovering rare poisonous insects in a row.
About three of them.
Lastly, Geom Mugeuk turned to look at the Sword King.
"Are you alright?"
Anyone could see that the most injured person was the Sword King.
"Brother Ak, why did you even come out? You should have hidden yourself somewhere deep."
"As you know, my looks are too striking. I couldn't hide in time."
Of course, the joy of reunion was one thing, but Geom Mugeuk did not miss this golden opportunity to tease him.
"Oh, right, Squad Leader Cha is also safe."
The Sword King was flustered at the news of Cha Iran's safety.
Teasing him about Cha Iran in this situation?
And in front of the Cult Master and the Alliance Leaders, no less?
"Why are you telling me that?"
Only after such a rowdy reunion did Geom Mugeuk finally turn towards Hwa Mugi.
'Now you finally look at me?'
Hwa Mugi felt as if he had become some nameless extra.
Of course, the Young Cult Master was likely aiming for that.
Hwa Mugi didn't know.
In truth, Geom Mugeuk wished he had become an even more insignificant being.
Geom Mugeuk had dreamed of things being like this with Hwa Mugi.
He wished he could be playing Go with his father, say "I'll be right back," go kill him, and return.
To come back as if nothing had happened and ask, "It's my turn, right?"
However, Hwa Mugi emerged into the world faster than he had expected, and their fates diverged.
Geom Mugeuk looked at Hwa Mugi with deepened eyes.
'You will never know from where I have come to meet you, to stop you.
You will never know what a long road I have walked.'
But Hwa Mugi, too, gazed back at Geom Mugeuk with eyes that had seen an immensely long time.
"Strangely, you don't feel unfamiliar."
"That's how it usually is when you see a handsome face."
Soon, Geom Mugeuk smiled and made a request.
"I ran all the way here without eating, I'm starving to death. I'm begging you."
This was the moment today's battle moved to its next stage.
"Let's eat first, then fight."