Chapter 54: You're Not So Mysterious When You're Flustered

TL: FoodieMonster007

The night was quiet and still.

I entered the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's residence and found him sitting by the window, reading a book.

"That's the most unfitting sight in the world."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon looked up, startled. A hint of pleasure spread across his surprised face.

"I'll have to scold the men on guard."

"Please don't. I came in secret because I wanted to see you quietly, Elder."

He studied my appearance, then asked in disbelief.

"Have you perhaps just returned to the cult?"

"……"

"Don't tell me you came to see me first thing after returning?"

"I'm sorry to ruin the moment, but my father went to bed early."

"Still!"

"Yes, that's right. I thought of you first, Elder."

I shook the bottle of liquor I had brought. It was a drink the Blood Heaven Blade Demon particularly enjoyed.

We drank in the rear garden of his residence. He dismissed all the guards so we would not be disturbed.

"Has it already been two months since you left the cult?"

"Not quite two months."

My proficiency with the Swift Step improved during the trip, so I returned faster.

"How is Detective Seo's martial arts training coming along?"

"The little squirt is working quite hard."

The words 'quite hard' came from the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. This unfamiliar expression clearly showed their current relationship.

"He may seem cynical, but he's a boy with a strong core."

"He's never been cynical with me."

"He's also the type to test the waters before he commits."

He was probably working hard while observing everything and still saying what he needed to say. It seemed the Blood Heaven Blade Demon did not dislike that side of him.

"By the way, I glanced over earlier and saw you were reading a poetry collection. Are you really reading poetry?"

"Why? Do I not look capable of reading poetry?"

"I don't know about your capability, but it certainly doesn't suit you."

"I used to like books in my younger days, too. I'd just forgotten about it for a while."

I found it hard to imagine the younger days of this skinny, stern-looking man.

"What were you like when you were young?"

"Well… I was dark and gloomy."

"Similar to Detective Seo, then."

For some reason, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon meekly nodded.

"What does it matter if I was this way or that? Those days are all in the past anyway."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon drained his cup. I refilled it without a word. No words can comfort regrets over bygone years. It was something I had also experienced once.

"Did your trip go well?"

"……"

"It seems another storm is about to brew."

What confidence did he read in my silence to say something like that?

"How do you know why I left?"

"It must be something that will stir a storm of blood."

"That's a serious misunderstanding. I like peace."

"I like peace, too. The quiet, blood-soaked peace that comes after I've brought everyone to their knees with my own hands."

I smiled and drank my liquor.

"It was nice to be out for a while. Would you like to go out for some fresh air with me next time?"

"The world outside is full of bastards I want to kill… I'm more at ease just staying in our Cult."

He poured liquor into my cup and continued.

"I don't know what you're planning, but be careful. In the fight for succession, one slip-up and it's over."

"If I slip up, what will you do, Elder?"

"What do you mean? I'll have to side with the First Young Lord again, of course."

"You're cold."

"It's only natural. What's the point of a wing flapping if the body is dead? It has to find a new body."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon would really do that. He would feel sorry for a day or two, then approach the First Young Lord as if nothing had happened. Surprisingly, even imagining such a scene, I did not find it particularly hateful.

This was the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's strength. I did not need to worry about whether he was a good person or a bad one, or whether he would help me to the end or betray me. He was simply a man who would leave if I fell and stay by my side if I did not.

"Please grant me a favor."

"What is it?"

"Please drink with me all night."

"That's not difficult."

I stood up from my seat.

"You said we were drinking, so where are you going?"

"I'm going to buy some more liquor and prepare some side dishes."

"You can just have the boys do it."

"There's something I want to get myself."

I planned to bring a spectacular side dish to this drinking session, a side dish I had prepared over the last two months.

I had decided to kill the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme tonight. No one would ever imagine I would kill him on the very day I returned from my trip. I would become the man who drank with the Blood Heaven Blade Demon all night. He would be my alibi.

"I'll be right back."

I left the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's residence, unleashed the Shadow Step, and shot toward the west.

The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme was particularly excited today. He was performing his usual Great Mind Control Technique, but for some reason, his heart was beating fast.

Is it because it's been a while?

This was the first time he had performed the Great Mind Control Technique since Geom Mugeuk had threatened him to stop. The threat had invoked the Heavenly Demon's name, so he had no choice but to halt the technique for a while.

He could have just not gotten caught, but he felt uneasy since his opponent was already certain about the Great Mind Control Technique.

The news that Geom Mugeuk had left the cult only deepened his suspicion. It seemed like a ploy to put him at ease before finding evidence. His patience, however, had reached its limit. He finally resumed the Great Mind Control Technique today.

Whenever he performed the Great Mind Control Technique after a long break, he always chose a young child. A young soul was most delicious at times like these.

As the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme descended the stairs to the secret chamber, he glanced back. He felt as if something was following him, and his mind was unusually restless today.

But it was impossible for him to be followed. The Secret Shadow Arts, which made his own shadow guard his back, was active. He was certain that besides the Heavenly Demon, no one in our Cult could sneak up behind him.

The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme entered the secret chamber.

Bizarre patterns and characters covered the walls. Incense with a peculiar scent burned all around. A child was asleep on the altar in the center of the chamber.

A smile formed on the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme's lips as he looked down at the child. The moment he reached out to wake the child, someone violently grabbed him by the hair.

!

The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme tried to counterattack, but his opponent moved faster.

SLAP!

The blow struck his cheek, whipping the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme's head to the side. Only after helplessly taking the hit could he swing both palms to break free from his opponent's grasp.

As the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme leaped back, his opponent spoke coldly.

"Didn't I tell you to stop?"

Only then did the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme realize who had hit him. It was Geom Mugeuk.

The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme touched his cheek in disbelief. Even for a surprise attack, it was an impossible, shocking, and humiliating event.

"How in the world did you get in here?"

"You're not mysterious at all when you're flustered."

The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme flinched. He normally bewitched people with his voice, making it echo, repeat, and whisper, but now, he just looked like an ordinary, angry man from next door.

"Is this your true nature?"

He could have erupted in anger, but the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme took a deep breath and regained his composure.

"I have gravely misjudged you, Second Young Lord. I deserved that."

The words 'I deserved that' repeated as his voice echoed. He had returned to his usual self.

"Now you're more like yourself. This makes killing you more satisfying. Your earlier appearance was a disappointment."

The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme remained unfazed.

"Second Young Lord, answer my question first. How did you get in here?"

"I followed you."

He would think I was lying, but my answer was the truth.

The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme always guarded his back with the Secret Shadow Arts. I could not use the Shadow Step to evade his Secret Shadow Arts unless I had completely mastered the Four Strides of the Wind God.

However, the Bloodeye Holy Water in my eyes let me see a way to break through the Secret Shadow Arts. The moment I broke it, my Shadow Step became effective. It was as if I was hiding in his own shadow.

"What does it matter how I got in? What matters is why I'm here."

Even in this situation, the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme feigned ignorance.

"If you're still going on about the Great Mind Control Technique, then leave. I know nothing of such a technique."

"Then who is this child?"

"A poor orphan. I brought him here to teach him martial arts."

"You're a coward."

"What?"

This time, I imitated him.

"Coward, coward, coward…"

My voice echoed.

"Enough!"

I retorted coldly to his shout.

"How long are you going to feign ignorance? Does your courage only appear when you're tearing the heart from a weakling's body?"

The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme's pupils instantly shrank to the size of pinpricks.

The surroundings darkened and then brightened, creating a new space. I was standing on the edge of a cliff.

WHOOSH.

The wind blew from behind, trying to push me off the cliff.

"Have you already forgotten my warning? I told you that if you saw me again, you would never return to your original world."

His voice sounded as eerie as a wailing ghost. The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme created an atmosphere of terror, but I stood tall, completely unafraid.

"It seems you can't bear your own fear unless you're intimidating your opponent like this."

"Truly astonishing. Even for the Cult Leader's son, how can you show such spirit at your age?"

His pupils dilated and contracted repeatedly, busy assessing me.

"You came to kill me, didn't you?"

"……"

"On what grounds?"

The words 'on what grounds' echoed repeatedly. This echo was not meant to mock me. It showed that his own mind was wavering.

Then the echo abruptly stopped, and he asked.

"Did the Cult Leader send you?"

This time, the question was devoid of any other noise. It would be difficult for him to believe I would act so independently.

"If he wanted to kill you, my father would have come himself. Don't you know his personality?"

The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme nodded, and the surroundings became noisy again. His muttering, the sound of the wind, and all sorts of strange noises mixed together. It was as if his mental world was being laid bare.

"This is distracting. Let's talk quietly."

"It's the Second Young Lord's last wish. I should grant it."

The surroundings darkened and then brightened again. He and I were sitting opposite each other in a scenic pavilion. On the tea table between us, there was even lukewarm tea.

"Second Young Lord."

It was his original voice. He had returned to being an ordinary man.

"If we must kill each other, let's have one last heart-to-heart talk."

"Alright."

"We are demons, and not just any demons, but a Demon Supreme who reigns over all others. Is our life so easy that we can afford to give the weak a choice? What's wrong with sucking the hearts out of those weaklings to become stronger? Isn't greed our right? All my choices were for the sake of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult!"

If Hwa Mugi had not come, and if I had continued to live in our Cult, I might have turned a blind eye to this side of the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme. I might have used the excuse of making our Cult stronger to ignore it.

But my fate has changed. The me of then and the me of now are completely different people. I have become someone who cannot drink tea or liquor in the same room as a man who would tear out a child's heart to become stronger. I cannot breathe the same air as him.

"That's a lie."

"What?"

"You didn't steal those hearts for our Cult. You did it solely so you could live longer. That's how it is now, and how it will always be."

If he truly cared for our Cult, he would have sought revenge after my father's death, but his choice was to become the longest-surviving of the Eight Demon Supremes. Thousands of innocent lives are melted into his long, tenacious lifespan.

"Living only for yourself, only for yourself… you've become a monster."

The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme, who had been staring intently at me, came to a conclusion.

"A mere brat of about twenty can't possibly grasp me this accurately. He can't follow me past the Secret Shadow Arts, nor can he lay a hand on my body. You… are not the Second Young Lord."

The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme's pupils, which had only been dilating and contracting, began to change color. A dazzling, brilliant wave of violet light rippled from his eyes. The violet light shot into my eyes, digging deeper toward the soul that lay beyond.

He asked. His question came like a deep, heavy echo from the abyss.

"Who are you?"