“That is why, even if this Martial World becomes a sea of blood, I will follow the Cult Master's Demonic Path.”
I could feel that the Fist Demon was speaking from the heart.
Yes, this was the kind of man the Fist Demon was.
His loyalty could not be swayed by persuasion or appeasement.
No threat could move him, and no personal relationship could penetrate his resolve.
Once he pledged his loyalty, he was a man who saw it through to the end.
Of course, that didn't mean I thought those words were the Fist Demon's true feelings.
How could he possibly want to turn the Martial World into a sea of blood and kill people?
If anything, such a desire might be hidden in the blood of the Evil Heart Laughing Demon, but I knew well that the Fist Demon was not that kind of person.
Suddenly, an image of the Fist Demon and the Evil Heart Laughing Demon standing side by side surfaced in my mind.
The two men faced each other.
They were both showing a will contrary to their own desires.
Out of loyalty to me.
Out of loyalty to Father.
If their fates had been reversed, they would have said the opposite.
Was it because they lacked conviction? Of course not! It was because they were passionate men who could suppress their own desires for the one they served.
That's why I was once again grateful to the Evil Heart Laughing Demon.
Seeing the Fist Demon made me realize just how much strength he gave me.
And I was grateful to the Fist Demon as well.
For protecting my father with such loyalty.
“I understand, Master.”
I replied respectfully.
There was no need to speak of what was right or wrong.
My father, the Fist Demon, and I.
All of our aspirations and values had been forged over long years.
And the words he had spoken.
I respect your Demonic Path.
That was enough.
“Thank you, Master.”
Was it because I had backed down cleanly and was sincerely grateful? As he stared at me quietly, he spoke abruptly.
“Do you think the Cult Master is preparing for war?”
It was a question that made me flinch.
A question that felt like something big would follow.
“Is he not?”
Then, the most astonishing words since I had met him today came from the Fist Demon's lips.
“The Cult Master has already begun the war.”
“What?”
I stared at the Fist Demon with a shocked expression, but he simply left those words behind and strode away.
Watching his broad back, I felt my heart pound.
Father's war has already begun?
After leaving the Eastern Fist Hall, Geom Mugeuk headed for the Demon Family Village.
He was thinking of having a drink, and he also wanted to see Jo Chun-bae.
“Young Cult Master!”
Truly, Jo Chun-bae’s delight in welcoming Geom Mugeuk was second to none, not even a Demon Sovereign.
“Innkeeper, have you been well?”
“Thanks to you, I’ve been doing just fine.”
The customers drinking on the first floor of the Tavern all stood up at once and greeted Geom Mugeuk.
The people of the Demon Family Village liked Geom Mugeuk.
Because he had established an Underworld Pavilion branch in the marketplace and frequented the Flowing Wine Tavern, this place had become safer than any other village in the Martial World.
No one would believe it.
The fact that the tyranny and crimes of martial artists in front of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect's main headquarters were fewer than those committed in front of the Martial Alliance's main headquarters.
Geom Mugeuk sat in his usual seat on the second floor.
Jo Chun-bae followed him up, first bringing just wine and simple side dishes.
“How’s business these days? Haven’t customers been flocking here?”
After the three-party meeting ended, the Flowing Wine Tavern had become the most famous tavern in the Martial World.
It had become famous simply for hosting the meeting, but it became even more so because of the rumor that there were inscriptions left by the Heavenly Demon, the Martial Alliance Leader, and the Unorthodox Alliance Leader.
So I had expected the Flowing Wine Tavern to be swarming with customers.
“Customers sometimes come to see the wall, but not enough to disrupt business.”
It seemed the unstoppable curiosity of martial artists could not overcome the high wall of being in front of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect's headquarters.
There were no martial artists from the Righteous or Unorthodox Factions at all, and the occasional customers were mostly demonic practitioners or their families, he said.
Then again, perhaps the people who left the inscriptions were so grand that it made others feel uneasy.
How could they not feel anxious, worrying that if they came to look, a demonic practitioner sitting and watching would suddenly jump up and say, 'How dare you look with such irreverent eyes? I’ll gouge them out!'?
“People might be lining up later.”
Once all the people who left the inscriptions are dead, this place will finally become a landmark.
Just like how a painting becomes a masterpiece after the painter dies.
“By then, I won’t be around either.”
Although Jo Chun-bae feigned a sigh, his expression was bright.
He was a man who lived happily, boasting about the inscriptions on the wall and the meeting to the drunkards at least once a day.
Because he was happy, he felt younger.
Jo Chun-bae was literally being rejuvenated by the wall.
Jo Chun-bae went down to cook, and Geom Mugeuk drank alone.
His gaze naturally turned to the inscriptions left on the wall.
Martial Alliance Leader Jin Pae-cheon, here I see a new Demonic Path.
The image of the Alliance Leader leaving that inscription came to mind.
Then, the inscription below it.
Unorthodox Alliance Leader Baek Ja-gang, at the Flowing Wine Tavern, I watch my disciple’s sword dance.
The image of Baek Ja-gang also came to mind.
I remembered the moment I danced with him that day.
But if a war were to break out, the events of that day would become a cunning trick of the Demon Sect.
They would think the three-party meeting was held to put them at ease.
Then, the words the Fist Demon had said came to mind.
The Cult Master has already begun the war.
Who did he mean the war had started with? The Righteous or Unorthodox Faction? Or did he mean the hidden forces behind this incident?
Both were possibilities.
One was my father's dream, and the other had wounded my father's pride.
But if such a move was underway, Go Wol would have noticed.
Did it mean they were moving so secretly as to deceive even Go Wol's eyes?
If not? Then who could the target be?
This was a matter I couldn't even ask my father about.
Because the Fist Demon had specially told me for my sake.
As I was lost in thought, drinking a few cups of wine, Jo Chun-bae brought the side dishes.
“Innkeeper, it’s been a while. Have a drink on me.”
“Oh my, I gratefully accept this precious drink.”
Jo Chun-bae accepted Geom Mugeuk's drink with an apologetic expression and gesture.
One of Jo Chun-bae's strengths was that he didn't act carelessly just because they had become close.
He knew.
Mistakes were always made when one let their guard down, thinking they were close.
Even a slip of the tongue from a clumsy joke stemmed from the thought of being close.
Knowing this, he always maintained a consistent demeanor.
Even if he were to receive a drink on his deathbed, he would be the type to accept it with gratitude.
That's why he was a person I wanted to treat even better.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had a drink from the Young Cult Master, and the wine tastes exceptionally good.”
“Give me a cup too.”
As Jo Chun-bae filled Geom Mugeuk's cup, he asked cautiously.
"Is something troubling you?"
“Do I look troubled?”
Jo Chun-bae nodded slightly.
Well, how could he not know after so many years of selling wine? Just as we could discern a person's skill by the way they held a weapon, he could probably guess a person’s emotional state just by the way they held a wine cup.
“I have many worries from confronting my father.”
At that, a low exclamation of 'Aigoo' escaped Jo Chun-bae's lips.
"I shouldn’t have asked, should I?”
“I didn’t hear anything.”
I poured another cup for him as he shook his head and waved his hands in denial.
“Still, I trust that my innkeeper is on my side.”
Jo Chun-bae groaned again as he accepted the drink.
Having become close to Geom Mugeuk, he was now experiencing what it was like to stand on the side opposing the Heavenly Demon.
Normally, he was a man who would have just one drink and leave, but today he accepted another.
“Do you happen to remember that day?”
“What day?”
“When those esteemed guests left their inscriptions on that wall, I was very worried.”
What if the wall was damaged? What if someone stole it? It was a worry that truly kept me from sleeping at night.
“Thanks to the advice the Young Cult Master gave me then, I’ve been living with a peaceful mind.”
To the anxious Jo Chun-bae, Geom Mugeuk had given this advice.
If someone, for one reason or another, damages the wall and disappears on a certain day at a certain time, that too will become a moment in history.
It might even become a more interesting history.
That had been a great help to Jo Chun-bae.
If he hadn't said those words, he might have collapsed from a nervous breakdown.
It isn't some grand thing that makes a person anxious or relieved.
A single, casually thrown word can keep someone up all night.
That one word can become a lasting scar on the heart, tormenting a person.
But this time, I learned that the opposite was also true.
It would be more interesting if the wall were to disappear!
Surprisingly, these words won the battle against anxiety.
Because humans are beings who can be hurt by a single word, I experienced this time that they can also be healed by a single word.
“Those words erased my worries as if by magic. In fact, I sometimes even have the extreme thought, wondering if someone will ever steal that wall.”
This was what Jo Chun-bae wanted to say.
“The things I worried about didn't happen so easily. To the point where I wonder why I worried so much. So please, don't worry too much. Everything will be all right, Young Cult Master.”
To that, he added his own touch.
“Please wait a moment. I will make a special dish for the Young Cult Master!”
Watching him go down to the first floor, Geom Mugeuk felt his heart grow calm.
There was a sense of relief that the Flowing Wine Tavern, that Jo Chun-bae, provided.
That's why this place was also a world within a real-life Space-Time Displacement Art.
As he was drinking, someone entered the Flowing Wine Tavern.
The person who came up to the second floor with a great blade on his back was none other than Seo Daeryong.
“Strangely, I had a feeling you would be here.”
“What brings you here at this hour? What about your evening training?”
“We decided to take the day off today.”
“Because of me?”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
I wondered if Seo Daeryong had heard about this from the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, but that wasn't the case.
“Master said he was going to Great Heaven Mountain, so he told me to rest today.”
“Why to Great Heaven Mountain?”
“He didn’t tell me the reason.”
Seo Daeryong added playfully.
“As for the reason, I’m sure the Young Cult Master, who knows everything under the sun, would know.”
“Of course, I know.”
He had said it as a joke, but when I said I knew, Seo Daeryong’s eyes widened.
“You know? Why did he go to Great Heaven Mountain?”
“He went to sort out his troubled mind.”
The view of the night sky from the summit of Great Heaven Mountain, with its shower of stars, was truly a magnificent sight.
He was probably standing there, sorting out his thoughts about my father and me.
“Why is he troubled?”
“Because I made him troubled.”
The Young Cult Master and his Master.
Since it involved the two people closest to him, Seo Daeryong naturally became cautious.
“What on earth happened?”
“Right, you’re my right-hand man, so you should know the situation.”
Geom Mugeuk told Seo Daeryong about the current situation.
After hearing the whole story, Seo Daeryong’s eyes hardened, and he spoke.
“I wish I had the right to choose as well.”
“Then it would have been three against one, not two against one, right?”
“You’re so quick-witted.”
Although he said that, Seo Daeryong knew for sure.
If such a situation really came, he would support the Young Cult Master.
Even knowing that defying the Cult Master meant risking his life, he felt he would support Geom Mugeuk.
He felt more relief than surprise at this realization about himself.
The relationship between Geom Mugeuk and the Demon Sovereigns was one of equals, but he was different.
Geom Mugeuk had made a mere investigator into the Underworld Pavilion Lord and allowed him to become the disciple of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
No, beyond all that, he had led him, once full of depression and discontent, into a world of light.
This was Geom Mugeuk.
'But no matter what, we can't defy the Cult Master, can we?'
He was relieved that he wouldn't be the type to say something cowardly like that.
“Since this is such an important matter, we should have a secret ballot!”
He was grateful and proud of the person he had become, one who could make such a joke without hesitation.
“So, who will you go see now?”
The remaining Demon Sovereigns were the Plum Blossom Sword Sovereign, the Demon Buddha, the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign, and the Poison King.
Seo Daeryong couldn't tell who would side with the Young Cult Master.
“I tried to bring down the cliff, but it didn't budge.”
Geom Mugeuk said as he drank.
“I guess I’ll have to climb the cliff and dig up some poison herbs.”
There are many ways to make someone your ally.
You can persuade them with logical words, move their heart with emotion, or simply subdue them with force.
Or, there is the method of bringing them in through negotiation, giving what you can and taking what you can get.
And now, I was on my way to meet someone on whom none of these methods would easily work.
When I arrived at the Thousand Poison Forest, it was not Sangseon who usually greeted me, but another poison master.
“Young Cult Master, Sangseon has entrusted me with guiding you. Let us go.”
I followed him through the Thousand Poison Forest.
Venomous snakes flickered their tongues from the branches above, and beneath them, poisonous insects rustled with strange noises amidst the thick pile of fallen leaves.
‘It's been a long time since I've been here.’
I asked the poison master guiding me.
“Does the Demon Buddha still come here often these days?”
“Yes, I believe he comes often to gather herbs.”
The Poison King and the Demon Buddha.
Two men who truly seemed mismatched, both in appearance and personality.
Yet, the bond forged when the three of us gathered herbs together had blossomed into a friendship between them.
Between the Poison King and the Demon Buddha, the Demon Buddha was easier to predict.
He was his brother's man, through and through.
Above all, his brother's opinion would influence him, and unfortunately, his brother would never defy our father's will.
I couldn't be sure, but it was highly likely that the Demon Buddha would also follow my father.
Even without his brother, the Demon Buddha was a man of great ambition for power.
If there was a side calling for war, he would be on that side; he was not a man to vote for peace.
In that case, I absolutely had to make the Poison King my ally.
After walking for some time, I arrived at the Poison King's residence.
Sangseon was standing in front of it.
‘He’s just standing here doing nothing, so why did he send a subordinate?’
That question was answered quickly.
“I think you will have to wait a little.”
“Is the Poison King in the middle of preparing an important poison?”
“No.”
An entirely unexpected answer came from Sangseon.
“The Cult Master is here right now.”