Chapter 95: Then That's Enough

TL: FoodieMonster007

My provocation made the air grow heavy and stifling. Demonic qi flowed from the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's body and took control of the surroundings.

His demonic qi was special. He earned the alias 'extreme evil' precisely because of this demonic qi, known as the evil smile qi.

The evil smile qi awakened the fundamental violence within humans.

Exposure to it made one's heart pound violently, filling them with the desire to kill. Those with weak internal energy sometimes drew their swords and stabbed the person next to them. Even masters with high inner arts found it difficult to fight normally under its influence.

"There are two faces beneath this mask. If the other face, the one the Second Young Lord hasn't yet seen, awakens, even I will find it difficult to control. That's why it's difficult to remove the mask."

If the face I had seen was the Smiling Demon, then the other must be the 'extreme evil'.

"I didn't mean any disrespect to the Smiling Demon, but I believe a friend should be able to see you without pretense, whether you have two faces or three. It was just youthful bravado, so please forgive me if I was rude."

I had been exposed to this evil smile qi before my regression. Back then, I lacked the Heavenly Demon Defense Art and had to endure it with great difficulty.

But it was different now.

The Heavenly Demon Defense Art activated naturally and blocked his evil smile qi. My art had not yet reached complete mastery, but it could easily block the qi he currently emitted.

Instead of intensifying the evil smile qi, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon slowly withdrew his demonic qi. The smiling eyes within his mask's eyeholes grew cold. The disappearance of his smile meant he had calmed his anger.

"The Second Young Lord is truly remarkable. You're not swayed by my evil smile qi at all."

"I've been trained against malice and venom since I was young. You know, don't you? My brother was particularly harsh with me."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon laughed out loud. He acted as if he had never created such tension, returning to the state he was in when I first saw him.

"The Second Young Lord is truly an interesting person. It's a great shame we couldn't become friends."

"Then I'll be on my way."

As I opened the door to leave, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon spoke.

"I still think the Second Young Lord is the one who killed the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme."

"That's a misunderstanding."

I did not vehemently deny it. This tension between us was the most crucial element in maintaining our relationship.

Through the closing door, I saw the figure of the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, left alone in the white room.

I met Seo Daeryong at the entrance of the Valley of Evil.

"Detective Seo, what are you doing here?"

"I'm training. I was running as part of my physical conditioning."

"Right in front of the Valley of Evil, of all places?"

"It just happened to turn out that way."

"Were you planning to jump in and save me if things got dangerous?"

He even carried the giant dao he used for training.

"I'm touched."

"That's not it. How could I possibly break through in there?"

"That's why I'm touched. Because you came to save me even though you knew you'd likely die."

"I just came to check. I was going to inform the Master if I heard any sounds of fighting from inside."

"Smart as always. Of course, that's what you should do. Instead of jumping in without the skill and dying in vain, you should do that. With such a wise right-hand man, what do I have to worry about?"

Seo Daeryong let out a belated sigh of relief, as if finally assured that I had come out safely.

"Phew, my legs are still trembling. Even though it's you, Director, I was a little worried."

"Detective Seo."

"……"

"Keep worrying about me in the future."

"What?"

"I'm asking you to worry. I can make mistakes, misjudge things, and do stupid stuff too. I'm asking you to keep worrying and helping me."

Seo Daeryong smiled faintly.

"Of course. If your right-hand man doesn't do it, who will?"

"My left-hand man, I guess."

"Are you really going to ruin this nice mood like that?"

We bantered back and forth as we walked, until I stopped and looked up at the tree above my head.

"What are you doing up there?"

To my surprise, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon sat perched on a tree branch.

"Watching the sunset."

"Here, of all places?"

"To keep an eye on my disciple and see if he's slacking off."

Seo Daeryong froze. He stared blankly up at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon as tears welled in his eyes. It was the first time the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had called him a disciple.

"Master! Thank you, Master."

Seo Daeryong's voice was thick with emotion. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon, who hated such sentimental atmospheres, bellowed.

"What are you staring at? If you came to train, then run!"

"Yes! Master!"

Seo Daeryong started running. He must have been truly moved to have even forgotten to say goodbye to me.

I leaped up and sat on the branch next to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

"Hey, you brat, it's going to break."

"I'll be as light as a feather."

The slender branch did not break, despite two people sitting on it.

"You did well."

"Did well, my foot."

"You saw how happy he was, didn't you? That's why you shouldn't put things off. You should just say what you mean, take credit when it's due, and hate when you feel hate. That's how you should live."

"Is a young punk lecturing an old man?"

"Yes. You have to learn. That's how you get along with the young punks."

"You and your mouth."

We looked at each other and chuckled.

"If you were that worried about me, you should have just said so."

"I came in case you pissed him off. When that 'extreme evil' bastard gets angry, he really loses it."

"Have you seen it before?"

"I saw it once. Truly, no one could stop him."

Yes, I know that side of him too. The words 'no one could stop him' are a perfect fit.

"I thought that with you, he might have just gone berserk."

"Why me?"

"Because you're really good at pissing people off. Why would the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon be any different?"

"Fortunately, it didn't go that far today."

"You were able to walk out without bloodshed because you're the Cult Leader's son. Otherwise, one of you would have died."

"Thank you for your concern, Elder."

"Nothing to thank me for. Let's go."

"The sun is setting over there. Let's watch it for a moment before we go."

"Getting old is sad enough. Why would I watch a sunset?"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon leaped away and left.

Left alone, I sat on the branch and watched the setting sun for a while.

I suddenly remembered the last time I saw the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon before my regression, and the way his eyes shone with terminal lucidity.

"…I can't remember. When I was a kid, playing with my friends, did I want to kill the one who was 'it'? When did I become like this?"

"Do you regret it? Living an evil life."

"Regret? What regret? My only regret is not killing more people before I go. It's just… now that I'm about to go to hell, I'm scared. I'm so damn scared. Ah! It's suffocating. Take off my mask… Thanks. Is this the first time you've seen my face?"

"You must have been told you were handsome when you were young. Why did you live your whole life wearing it?"

"When I was young, the master who chose me asked. He said if I followed him, I could never take this mask off for the rest of my life, and asked if I could accept that. In return, he promised me a life where I could kill people to my heart's content. I agreed without hesitation. Ah! Now that I think about it, I was like this even back then. That's why Master acknowledged me."

"After your master died, you had a chance to take off the mask, at least, didn't you?"

"You'd know if you wore it. Once you put it on, you can't take it off. It's comforting. I wore the mask and killed, and killed again, and killed. Eventually, it felt like the mask was the one doing the killing."

"Don't you dare blame the mask. You're the one who killed them all."

"You saw through me, huh? Hahaha, COUGH. It's hard to laugh for real. This mask became my symbol, how could I take it off? Should I send a messenger pigeon to the murim saying, 'The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon is taking off his mask starting today'? Hey, Mucheol. Ah, Mucheol probably wasn't your real name either. What's your real name?"

"……"

"Did you ever, even once, think of me as a friend?"

"……"

"You bastard. When you come to hell, you'll die by my hand."

"Fine. Get your revenge then."

"It's been hurting for a while now. Draw your sword, my friend."

"Farewell."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon died by my hand.

At the time, I had no choice but to eliminate him while acquiring materials for a grand technique. He was a villain who deserved to die, but in his final moments, he died thinking of me as a friend.

I never called him a friend, not even at the end. Perhaps, in that moment, I was the greater villain.

Despite my sudden visit, my father willingly agreed to a game of Go.

We usually played in silence, but today, I was talkative.

"…I met the Demonic Buddha the other day. I said things I didn't mean, I tried to sound him out, and I also made an effort to seriously figure out what kind of person he is."

Father focused on the game without a word. He normally would have yelled at me for being so noisy, but today, he remained quiet.

Father had noticed. He realized his son had come because his heart was troubled and he wanted to talk.

I continued speaking.

"Today, I met the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon. I don't like him. Not because he supports my brother, but because he kills people with that creepy smile, like a madman."

Father captured one of my stones.

"Create dead stones only here."

He was telling me not to kill any more Demon Supremes. He had said the same thing when the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme died, and now he emphasized it again.

What if I have to kill the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon again? What if that is my fate once more? He and I must be bound by a truly tenacious fate.

I can only hope it doesn't happen in this life.

"Am I even skilled enough to kill the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon? Anyway, the reason I'm going around meeting the Demon Supremes is…"

I kept talking, intending to say everything I wanted while he listened so quietly.

"It was for my own sake, and also for my brother's. When I first went hunting, I boasted that I would make all the Demon Supremes kneel and line them up, but now that I'm actually facing them, it's not so easy. You were right, Father. Dealing with people is the hardest thing in the world."

Father said nothing and just played Go. It seemed he had decided to only listen today.

"Please don't misunderstand and think I'm unfit to be the successor just because I'm showing this side of myself. If I work through all these worries beforehand, I'll be able to show an even stronger side of myself later."

"Since you have the chance, why don't you badmouth your brother too?"

"I'm planning on not badmouthing my brother for a while. He's working hard to float around gracefully like a swan. It must be so tiring, paddling his feet nonstop beneath the water! He's not the type to come and confess like this, is he?"

For a moment, I saw my father let out a small chuckle. It was a very subtle and quick change, but my Divine Eye Technique now caught everything.

"As expected, chatting is making my game worse. I'll focus now."

I focused on the game. As we reached the endgame, I asked.

"When I sometimes don't know what to do, may I come and see you?"

Father's hand, about to place a stone, paused in mid-air.

"Isn't that cheating? Asking the judge for the answer?"

"Don't think of yourself as the judge. Can't you just think of it as giving advice from the sidelines?"

Father placed the Go stone.

"Giving advice is fun, I suppose."

He did not directly say yes or no, but his words were a form of permission.

I know. Even if he treats me well like this, it's separate from choosing the successor. He is a man who could declare, 'Your brother is the successor,' as soon as tomorrow.

The game ended with my narrow victory by two points.

"Your skills are improving. Are you not letting Strategist Sama sleep? This is truly cheating."

"Don't you have a Strategist as well?"

"He says he can't play Go."

"Where in the world is there a Strategist who can't play Go?"

"Now that I think about it, you're right. I've never even seen a Strategist who can't play Go in storybooks. I must have been tricked by a Strategist who can't even play Go."

Father chuckled at my banter.

"Then I will see you next month."

I bowed to my father and was about to leave when he asked from behind me.

"Is the burden heavy?"

The moment I heard those words, my heart swelled with emotion. It was the first time my father had ever said anything comforting to me.

"It would be a lie to say it's as light as a feather, but it's not so heavy that I can't bear it."

"Then that's enough."

Then that's enough. I wonder why those words sound so good to me these days.

If someone recognizes my efforts… yes, then that's enough.