Why would Father have come?
“He must have come to support me, of course.”
I know very well he isn't that kind of person.
Finding out why Father came here today was as difficult as figuring out why the Fist Demon had joined our Late Night Training Session.
“Is that really so?”
The Fist Demon acted as if he had some inkling about my father's visit.
I poured wine into his empty cup and asked, "Then why do you think he came?"
The Fist Demon drained the cup again.
He drank without the slightest change in his expression.
“I think it's the opposite. He came to support the First Young Master.”
“Did the two of you exchange a telepathic message?”
The Fist Demon shook his head.
“Then how do you know my father's mind?”
“The very fact that he came here is the answer. The Cult Master made a point to attend the first drinking session of a group I'm a part of with you. To congratulate us? Is the Cult Master that kind of person?”
“No, he isn't.”
“Right, he isn't. Then why did he come? He came to make something known. To let us know that he is watching this situation.”
The Fist Demon couldn't possibly know everything about my father, but he must have had a certain feeling to be speaking like this.
“So you're saying my father is on my brother's side.”
“I can't be certain about that either.”
“Didn't you just say so a moment ago?”
“I said he came to tell me to take a side, not that the Cult Master is on the First Young Master's side.”
With those ambiguous words, the Fist Demon rose from his seat.
“I was well-welcomed today.”
“I'm glad you joined our session, Fist Demon.”
“Glad?”
The Fist Demon's suspicious gaze shifted from me to Lee Ahn and Cheon So-hee.
I spoke for their frozen hearts.
“Those two are naturally finding it difficult and uncomfortable, but I'm sure their joy is also great.”
If it were the Lee Ahn I knew, she would have wanted to joke around and say, 'No, I'm not!', but she nodded with a resolute expression.
“I'm so glad you've joined us, Fist Demon!”
“I suppose so. You are the well-built Fist Demon, after all.”
At my joke, Lee Ahn glared at me again, her eyes filled with force.
The Fist Demon pretended not to hear.
Whether it was a joke or teasing, a woman who could be called the Greatest Beauty Under Heaven had just called him well-built.
It couldn't have been an unpleasant thing to hear, at least.
In truth, the person most affected by the Fist Demon's arrival was not Lee Ahn, but Cheon So-hee.
She spoke to the Fist Demon in a trembling voice.
“You may not believe my words because I've made many mistakes… but the reason I chose fist techniques over swordsmanship was because I admire you, Fist Demon. I… want to be like you.”
Whether from the alcohol or from nervousness, her face was flushed red.
But the look in her eyes as she gazed at the Fist Demon was one of sincere effort to convey her true feelings.
“I'm truly happy that you've joined our session, Fist Demon.”
The Fist Demon stared at her for a moment, then descended to the first floor without a word.
Cheon So-hee stood there, looking as if she might collapse at any moment.
I gave her a nod to say she had done well, then shouted to the Fist Demon as he left the Tavern.
“Next time, you're buying the wine, Fist Demon!”
“There won't be a next time.”
“There might be a welcoming party for my father, you know?”
The Fist Demon stopped in his tracks at the entrance of the Tavern, then scoffed and shook his head.
“The Cult Master? Don't even dream of it.”
And with that, the Fist Demon left the Tavern.
Now it was just me, Lee Ahn, and Cheon So-hee.
Lee Ahn and Cheon So-hee collapsed into their seats as if they were crumbling.
“Aaaah! It's over.”
Lee Ahn let out a sigh of relief and held out her wine cup.
“Finally, we can have a drink in peace. Let's have a drink, Young Master.”
I toasted with her and drank.
Cheon So-hee's hands trembled.
“I'll drink in a little while. I can't even hold my cup.”
When we were all together, she had been swept up in the whirlwind of the situation, but now that the Heavenly Demon and the Fist Demon were gone, it seemed like a dream.
After all, she had drunk with the Heavenly Demon and had personally told the Fist Demon of her admiration.
Things she could never have imagined before had all happened in a single day.
“Ah, I was so nervous, my whole body aches.”
“How about it? If I asked you to drink with them again, could you do it?”
To my question, Cheon So-hee gave an answer that contradicted her physical state.
“It was so difficult… but this tension wasn't bad.”
She had seemed flustered by various incidents since meeting me recently, but she was the number one Iron Fist of the Eastern Fist Hall, a woman with more grit than anyone.
“It's not a matter of 'could I', but 'I want to'.”
“Intense things are certainly thrilling, aren't they?”
Cheon So-hee smiled faintly in agreement.
My gaze now turned to Lee Ahn.
“How do you feel?”
“How do you think I feel?”
It was, after all, the day she received martial arts instruction from the Heavenly Demon himself.
“It wasn't just that I was happy the Cult Master taught me martial arts.”
“Then?”
“The fact that he taught me means he has officially acknowledged me, doesn't it?”
She couldn't bring herself to say it, but by personally passing down the Flying Heaven Sword Technique, my father had acknowledged that she was as close as family.
The Flying Heaven Sword Technique was a martial art passed down only to blood relatives.
“It will be a day I will never forget. Thank you, Young Master.”
“What did I do?”
“Didn't you say that to the Cult Master? That for your father it may be a single drinking session, but for Lee Ahn, it could be a life-changing one. If it weren't for those words, this would have never happened.”
Lee Ahn remembered the exact words I had said to my father.
“Today, I felt like I was the one being welcomed.”
I smiled brightly and patted her shoulder once.
Welcome, Lee Ahn.
And so, the drinking session at the Flowing Wine Tavern came to an end.
*
The welcoming party was over, but my day was not.
When I returned to my residence, an unexpected person was waiting for me.
Standing in the courtyard of my residence, looking up at the moon in the night sky, was my older brother, Geom Muyang.
“When did you get here?”
“Just a moment ago.”
From the feel of it, he had probably been waiting for quite some time.
What thoughts had he been thinking while he waited?
“I had a drink with the Fist Demon. If I had known, we could have done it together.”
Geom Muyang simply looked up at the moon without a word.
I stood beside him.
“You look tired.”
At my words, Geom Muyang's gaze shifted from the moon to me.
“Do I? I have a lot of work these days. How about you?”
He seemed gentler than usual.
I felt it.
Geom Muyang was trying with all his might.
The more cornered he was, the harder he was trying.
In a way, I felt sorry for my brother.
It was a fact that his life had become more difficult because of my regression.
This fight was one whose outcome was decided from the start.
A young man in his twenties could not stand against me.
What's more, I had been growing endlessly stronger since my regression.
Still, brother, we can't live the same lives.
If we continue as we are, only death awaits us.
“Does it bother you that I'm meeting with the Fist Demon?”
“It would be a lie to say it doesn't.”
“I've been completely absorbed in fist techniques lately. You won't believe me, will you?”
“If you were me, would you?”
“You should feel free to meet with the Demon Sovereigns too, brother. Meet the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and talk about books, or drink with the Drunken Demon. I'm fine with it.”
“So you're confident, is that it? That they're already your people? Let me give you a piece of advice as your older brother. Don't look down on the Demon Sovereigns. Just because they're smiling in front of you now, thinking they're on your side is a grave mistake. In the end, they will make the choice that benefits them in the final moment.”
I smiled at him.
“Are you mocking me?”
“No. I was just thinking about when you last gave me advice or counsel. It's been quite a while, hasn't it?”
Geom Muyang turned his head and looked at the wall where the moon's shadow fell.
Between us stood a wall several times taller and thicker than that one.
“The Fist Demon said so. That he supports you. And that our father would want that too.”
For a moment, Geom Muyang flinched in surprise.
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Brother. This is the kind of person I am. I'm not one to be difficult when the other party is being reasonable.”
I revealed my true feelings, something I hadn't done to him in a long time.
“Do you know why I told the Demon Sovereigns that you and I would fight for the succession without shedding blood?”
“Why?”
Geom Muyang was genuinely curious.
“When we were young, you did something terrible to me. You instilled a fear of the Martial World in young me and guided me to a psychological breakdown. At that time, I would shrink and become frightened just by thinking of the words 'Martial World'.”
This was the first time I had brought up this issue with him.
Geom Muyang's pupils trembled.
It seemed he thought I didn't know.
After all, he had told me all sorts of stories while pretending to be worried about me.
My brother did not deny it.
“Then you should be seeking revenge, why say we shouldn't shed blood?”
“Because that's as far as you went as a bad person.”
“!”
“If you were a worse piece of trash, you would have found a way to kill me. You would have destroyed my energy core, or used some other vicious method. But you weren't the kind of person who wanted to become the successor by harming your own younger brother. A bad guy to an extent I can understand and allow, that's why. With my broad mind, I decided to forgive and understand that much. You were young back then, too.”
Of course, the fact that our father wanted it was also a big reason.
“You crazy bastard, what nonsense.”
Curses he rarely used slipped out.
Geom Muyang was flustered.
Perhaps in this moment, my brother was being bombarded with questions from deep within his heart.
'What if you weren't confident you would become the successor? What would have happened then? Would you still have left your brother alone? Was it because you were confident you'd be the successor that you stopped at that point?'
What kind of person was my brother, really?
To be honest, even I didn't know that much.
It was something that hadn't happened, and no one could guarantee what choice a desperate person would make in that moment.
“But don't let your guard down. You and I are both still on trial. If I kill you and become the Cult Master after saying we would fight for the succession without shedding blood, no Demon Sovereign will truly follow me. The same goes for you. If you rise to the Cult Master's seat by defeating me with some clumsy scheme, the Demon Sovereigns will never be truly loyal. Don't forget. It may seem like they're not looking, but the Demon Sovereigns are always watching us.”
Geom Muyang, who had been staring at me silently, suddenly spoke.
“Why have you become so talkative? You weren't like this when you were young.”
“Maybe all my inner energy is going to my mouth.”
“That's not funny at all.”
Did the words I spoke for the first time shatter at least one brick in the thick wall between us? Hoping it had, I added a bit more nagging.
I had no choice but to unleash my nagging arts on my brother.
“Since I've become a chatterbox anyway, let me just say one last thing. There's no coexistence between brothers in a power struggle? They'll end up killing each other? Who decided that? Why should we be swayed by the precedents and doubts of those pathetic bastards who can't even control their own desires?”
I, who had been beside him, moved in front of Geom Muyang.
Then I looked him in the eye and said.
“So don't even dream of being swayed. If you get the anxious feeling that you might kill me, come find me. When you see me, that thought will disappear. Don't think you were ignored by me today! Don't think you lost. Just think, that little brother of mine is talkative and speaks well, just think that. Don't get worked up! Don't make any hasty decisions!”
As my words ended, Geom Muyang snapped.
“You bastard! I thought my ears were going to bleed. You said just one word, was that one word? You should come find me if you feel like killing me! A young brat lecturing me!”
Geom Muyang strode out.
Do you know, brother? I may be difficult for you, but you are for me too.
You're more difficult for me than Father, or even the Eight Demon Sovereigns.
I stood in the courtyard for a moment and looked up at the moon my brother had been watching.
It was a night that reminded me of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's words that family can be your enemy.
*
The next day, and the day after that, we trained hard.
We trained hard during the day, and we trained hard at night.
It was truly a continuous cycle of training.
Several days passed like that, and today we were deep in our late-night training.
It was then, as I was practicing the forms in the exact same posture as the Fist Demon.
Fwoooosh!
The Fist Demon's fist came flying towards me.
It looked like a mistake, but it wasn't.
Bam!
My fist and the Fist Demon's fist collided in mid-air.
At the sound of a drum bursting, Lee Ahn and Cheon So-hee turned to look at us in surprise.
We were thrusting our fists in the same posture, and those fists had met in the air.
“My apologies. I was lost in thought for a moment.”
“It happens.”
“How about it? Since we've already exerted our strength like this, shall we have a spar?”
“The attempt was good. But I'll have to decline.”
Finally, the Fist Demon was beginning to pull his little tricks.
His desire to fight me was ten times greater than my desire to learn his martial arts.
“If you've declined, you should turn away. Why are you staring at me like that?”
It must have been a very unfamiliar experience for him.
It was rare for anyone to stare at him like this.
I was now trying to see the Fist Demon properly.
I had seen his fists first, but now I would try to see him.
Straight on, without any preconceived notions.
“Looking at your face repeatedly, I think you seem less scary.”
The Fist Demon shook his head with a look of disbelief, then gathered his clothes as if to say that today's training was over.
As he left, Lee Ahn and Cheon So-hee came to either side of me and said.
“Liar!”
“The more you look, the scarier he gets.”
I smiled faintly at their joke, which was filled with sincerity.
My gaze turned to the Fist Demon walking away in the distance.
He was walking alone into the darkness, showing his large, thick back.
It's not his face that keeps catching my eye.
In that lonely-looking back, I see… myself, before my regression.