Chapter 58: Don't Kill Anyone For Now

TL: FoodieMonster007

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon sat down and immediately looked for a drink. I brought out my alcohol and poured him a full glass.

"Did something unpleasant happen?"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon downed several glasses in a row before revealing why he was angry.

"Those damn idiots were openly ostracizing me."

"Hahaha."

"I wasn't trying to be funny."

"My apologies. I just never imagined a Demon Supreme could get ostracized."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon's glare intensified, showing it was no joke.

"I'm sorry. How exactly did they ostracize you?"

"No one would talk to me."

"Isn't that usually the case?"

"Well, they don't talk to me much, but it wasn't like today. I wouldn't have been this angry if they had just confronted me openly."

"Confronted you about what?"

"About you, that's what!"

"Huh? Me?"

"They suspect you conspired with me to kill the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme. That's why they're shunning me."

"Did we do that?"

"We didn't."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon stared at me with cold eyes.

"You must have done it. You killed him, didn't you?"

"Why does everyone suspect me?"

"Because you're the one with the most blood on your hands these days. Is there any rule that says the Soul-Stealing Demon's blood can't be on those hands? It was you, wasn't it?"

Instead of answering, I met the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's gaze. He must have read the truth in my eyes, the fact that I had killed the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme.

"Why are you telling me the truth?"

"I haven't said a word."

"Right, you didn't say it. You said it with your eyes."

I could have denied it if I wanted to. I didn't for two reasons.

First, I wanted to create tension between us. We were close, but he and I would eventually be bound as Liege and subordinate. I intended to show him that he should simply trust and follow me, without any other thoughts. A moderate amount of tension helps reduce mistakes.

Second, I trusted him. I wanted to tell him the truth, and I believed no problems would arise from it.

"You really trust me."

"If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have made you the Left Envoy, Elder."

"Before I'm the Left Envoy, I'm one of the Eight Demon Supremes."

"You may be one of the Eight Demon Supremes, but you are my Left Envoy."

"If you trust people this easily, you'll get stabbed in the back one day."

"I didn't trust you easily. Think about everything that has happened between us, Elder."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon asked abruptly.

"Aren't you scared?"

"Of what?"

"Of making an enemy of the Eight Demon Supremes."

"To be precise, it's four Demon Supremes."

"Four Demon Supremes?"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon stared at me blankly for a moment, then slammed his cup on the table and shot to his feet.

"What? When did you kill three more? Who did you kill?"

I quickly replied to his roar.

"Calm down, that's not what I meant."

I was surprised for a moment that the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had thought that.

Just how highly does this man think of me?

"Then what do you mean by four Demon Supremes?"

"Please, listen to my calculation. The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme is dead, so now there are seven Demon Supremes, right? If we exclude you, Elder, that's six. The Sword Supreme is only halfway on my side, so that makes it five and a half. Let's say for now that five and a half Demon Supremes are my enemies. In this situation, you and the Sword Supreme, Senior, aren't just going to sit around and do nothing, are you? If the two of you team up to handle one and a half of them, that leaves exactly four Demon Supremes. That's why I said my opponents are four Demon Supremes. In fact, it could be even fewer. If just two more of the seven Demon Supremes join hands with me, I only have to deal with two. Easy, right?"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon stared at me, his expression more dumbfounded than I had ever seen.

"Alright, I'm well aware of what a madman you are, so I'll let that slide, but there's one thing you haven't considered."

"What is it?"

"Neither I nor the Sword Supreme will ever fight against the other Demon Supremes."

I knew that. It was an ironclad rule among the Demon Supremes, passed down for a very long time.

"I know. I'll do the fighting. You just have to not betray me."

"Betrayal isn't something a person does. The situation does it. So you shouldn't trust me."

"Yes, I won't create a situation where I can be betrayed. So please help me, Elder."

I treated the Blood Heaven Blade Demon with trust. I believed it was the best way to make him my man.

After drinking, he blurted out.

"One wrong move and you're dead, you bastard!"

My heart stirred at that moment. I felt his sincere worry in the angry outburst.

"Yes, I'll be careful."

We drank in silence. I refilled our cups when they emptied, and we drank again. As the bottle neared its end, he told me one more thing.

I had said before that the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was more emotional than I was. He had denied it, but he was clearly an emotional person. Otherwise, he wouldn't be telling me this now.

"The Demon Supremes have summoned someone to investigate this incident."

"Who is it?"

He spoke an unexpected name.

"The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader."

I was startled. Of all people, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader? The same Heavenly Wind Cult where I got the Echoing Thunder Bell and the Bloodeye Holy Water.

"Why the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader?"

"The evil arts of Seop the Chaos Demon are based on the Blood Cult's demonic art. As you know, the Blood Cult was the predecessor of the Heavenly Wind Cult. They believe the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader can determine the exact cause of death by examining the corpse of Seop the Chaos Demon."

"I heard the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader never leaves his throne."

"He will definitely come."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because they'll make him come one way or another. Don't underestimate the power of the Eight Demon Supremes. They'll get the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader here somehow, whether by threats, treasures, or any other means."

This would have been impossible back in the days of the Blood Cult. We fought several wars with them and could not coexist.

However, the relationship changed when it became the Heavenly Wind Cult. The Eight Demon Supremes joined hands with them, and the Heavenly Wind Cult became a sort of ally.

"What about the sacred artifact of the Heavenly Wind Cult?"

"He'll figure it out. If he's really that anxious, he'll probably pack it all up and bring it with him."

"Wouldn't it be better to just send the corpse there?"

We could preserve the body to prevent decay and send it by carriage.

"The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's visit isn't just for the autopsy."

"Is there another reason?"

"There are three more reasons. First, they want to show their determination to find the culprit. They intend to show our Cult, the Murim Alliance, and the Evil Alliance that the Eight Demon Supremes must never be touched. This is the most important objective."

"So they're making a show of mobilizing even the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader to prove they'll always avenge a Demon Supreme."

"That's right."

"And the second reason?"

"It's because of the Cult Leader."

"Father?"

"It's a message for the Cult Leader. They're showing off that the alliance between the Heavenly Wind Cult and the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult exists because of the Eight Demon Supremes, not the Cult Leader."

The Eight Demon Supremes constantly kept my father in check. Perhaps that conflict was why my father brought me into this.

"And the third reason?"

"……"

"Me?"

"If you killed the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader will definitely find out. He'll figure you out as a person and discover the method you used to kill him."

He was right. The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader might even discover that I had put the Bloodeye Holy Water in my eyes.

I had to hide the fact that I killed the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme at all costs. If it was revealed, the revenge from the Eight Demon Supremes would be a secondary problem. I would be unable to become the successor due to their desperate opposition.

"But will you be alright?"

"Me? Why me?"

"You've become my accomplice, haven't you? Since you drank with me all night, they might think you were with me."

"I might have dozed off for a bit while drinking."

I laughed quietly at his words. He would use that as an excuse if things went south.

"Who among the Eight Demon Supremes went to get him?"

"How did you know one of the Eight Demon Supremes went?"

"Naturally, someone important would have gone. Wouldn't it be normal for all of them to go in this situation?"

"The Demonic Buddha went."

The Demonic Buddha, one of the Eight Demon Supremes, was close friends with the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader. Sending him showed their determination to bring the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader here no matter what.

I smiled and asked the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

"Should I chase after and kill the Demonic Buddha? Or should I kill the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader as he departs? Or… should I kill them both?"

"If you did that, a war would break out with the Outer Regions Murim. If we're divided, those bastards from the Murim Alliance will suddenly start shouting for the Demonic Cult's downfall, and the Evil Alliance will be looking for scraps with bloodshot eyes."

"Why don't you and I get drenched in blood together?"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon stood up.

"If you want to die, die alone."

"Weren't we supposed to live and die together as one, Elder?"

"Second Young Lord, from the moment we're born, our lives are our own to save. I'm leaving."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon left my room.

I drained the last of the alcohol.

So the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader is coming, is he?

The next morning, my father summoned me to the Heavenly Demon Hall. When I arrived, he was not on the grand throne but standing by the window.

"You called for me, Father."

"Come here."

I slowly climbed the stairs and walked to my father's side.

"I heard the Western Illusion Sanctum is already in an uproar."

"Would ghosts be any different? A power struggle must be starting."

The Western Illusion Sanctum was in chaos after losing its master overnight.

There was no sorrow in that chaos. The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme had always been lost in his own world, so no one mourned his death. The shamans only focused on who would become the next Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme.

"Go out for a while."

"Where do you mean?"

"Isn't it about time you took a tour of the Sanzu River Hall Branch in the Central Plains?"

I knew what this meant. Father also knew the Eight Demon Supremes had summoned the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader. He was trying to send me away out of concern.

"Please reconsider sending me away."

"……"

"The Eight Demon Supremes have summoned the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader to investigate the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme's death."

As expected, my father wasn't surprised at all. He already knew. It occurred to me that one of the Demon Supremes might be my father's pawn. Or perhaps a skilled spy was feeding him accurate information on their movements.

"If I leave the cult at a time like this, they'll suspect me."

"They already suspect you. That's why they called the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader. The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader is not an easy man to deal with. I don't know what method you used to kill the Soul-Stealing Demon, but he will definitely uncover that it was you."

"It wasn't me, Father. Couldn't the Murim Alliance have sent an assassin?"

"That would mean they want a war with us, and they're far from ready for one right now."

The Murim Alliance and our cult knew each other inside and out. If a war were to break out, we would detect signs of it at least three days in advance, no matter how secretly it was planned.

"Are you truly confident you can get through this unscathed?"

"……"

"Where does that confidence come from?"

He had asked me the same question before. I gave the same answer, just in a different way.

"If you were me, Father, would you have left the cult?"

"No."

"I am your son."

"Yes, you are my son, not me."

"But I can at least imitate you. If I'm imitating you, Father, then imitation alone is enough."

Father realized he could not break my will.

"Fine. Then keep one thing in mind."

I thought he was going to tell me to be careful. I was sure of it.

Father turned and walked away.

"You must not kill the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader."

I understood in that moment.

"No way. You weren't worried about me all this time, but about the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader?"

Father strode out and added.

"No other Demon Supreme either! Don't kill anyone for now."

"I told you I didn't kill anyone!"

I denied it to the end, but my father had already closed the door and left.

I slowly descended the stairs, walked down the path of blood, and left the Heavenly Demon Hall.

Kill the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader? I know so much about the Heavenly Wind Cult and the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader. To me, he's as welcome as a treasure trove. However, if he comes all this way to pressure me… he'll become an even more welcome person to me.