Chapter 96: At The End Of Your Life, There Was Nothing

TL: FoodieMonster007

The next day, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon came to see me.

He wore a white mask as he slowly crossed the Sanzu River Hall training grounds. His presence created an overwhelming sense of pressure and fear.

The investigators and enforcement martial artists did not even dare to whisper from a distance. Everyone held their breath, bowed, and moved on. They were far more terrified than when the Blood Heaven Blade Demon or the Flower Sword Supreme visited.

I stood by my office window, watching him.

Seo Daeryong stood beside me and asked in a trembling voice.

"What on earth happened yesterday for that terrifying man to come to the main building?"

"Detective Seo, the scariest place in our Cult is our Sanzu River Hall. The one visiting should be trembling, so why are you?"

"Yes, let's just say that's true. Do I need to take shelter or not? For the sake of our time together, please tell me. I'm begging you!"

His composure to joke meant he was learning martial arts well from the Blade Demon. Then again, he was putting his life on the line. I expected he would show a transformed version of himself soon.

"It was only yesterday that I told you to keep worrying about me."

"I'll worry about you from a distance, just like yesterday."

"Go and escort him here. My right-hand man should be the one to go."

"I can only pray that the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon doesn't know I'm your right-hand man, Director."

Seo Daeryong went outside. My gaze returned to the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon.

I knew he would come for me. I just never expected him to visit the Sanzu River Hall in person, so soon and in broad daylight.

His tendency to act impulsively on instinct was the same then as it was now. That was what made him an interesting opponent, and also what made him difficult to deal with.

A moment later, Seo Daeryong's voice came from outside the door.

"The extreme evil Demon Supreme has arrived."

"Show him in."

Soon after, Seo Daeryong guided the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon inside.

"Welcome, Elder."

"There you go with 'Elder' again. I told you to treat me comfortably, like a friend."

"I couldn't possibly do that. Then I'll call you the Smiling Demon."

"Excellent."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon laughed out loud. He acted perfectly natural, as if yesterday never happened.

As Seo Daeryong, who had guided him in, was about to leave, I quickly spoke.

"Oh, by the way, that man over there is my right-hand man, Detective Seo."

Seo Daeryong's expression screamed. He quickly composed himself and bowed when the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon turned to look at him.

"I am Seo Daeryong. It's an honor to meet someone I so admire."

"Oh, I'll remember that."

"Thank you."

Seo Daeryong walked out with an expression that looked like the end of the world. He was probably screaming in his mind. Please, don't remember me! I laughed as I watched him.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon asked abruptly.

"Don't people usually hide those they cherish?"

"That would be the case if you were an enemy, but you aren't an enemy, are you, Smiling Demon?"

"But we're not friends yet, either."

"If someone is determined to kill, can you really hide them, no matter how carefully you try? Have you, Smiling Demon, ever failed to kill someone you set your mind on just because they went into hiding?"

"Never."

"Exactly. Since we never know when we might die, shouldn't he live his life properly as my right-hand man?"

A peculiar light flickered in the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's eyes.

"That's quite an interesting thing to say."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon stood and looked around the office. He glanced over the documents piled on the desk and the books on the shelves. Then he smelled the flowers in a pot by the window. It was the same pot the Flower Sword Supreme had given me as a gift.

"The fragrance is nice."

"Something happened recently that made me start to like flowers."

"A successor of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult who likes flowers… If those bastards from the Murim Alliance invade, are we all going to die in a flower garden?"

Despite his mocking words, I responded calmly.

"Dying alone in a nameless field might be stylish, but isn't this also fine? What if the last thing you smell in your final moments isn't the stench of blood, but the fragrance of flowers?"

Instead of saying whether he liked it or not, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon let out his habitual laugh.

"But what brings you here to see me?"

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, who had been facing the flowers, turned toward me.

"After you left yesterday, Second Young Lord, I gave it some thought. It feels like a great shame that we couldn't be friends."

"I feel the same way."

"So I came here today to see if we could find a way to become friends."

"You've come to the right place. So, did you find a way?"

"The method I came up with is for each of us to make a concession."

"How so?"

"I'll make a concession regarding your perspective on good and evil, Second Young Lord. I will try my best to understand your new demonic way."

"Then what should I concede?"

"What you said about having to take off your mask to become friends, can you concede on that?"

"Before that, let me ask just one thing. Why do you want to be friends with me?"

"I want to be on familiar terms with you, Second Young Lord."

In truth, I knew why the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon acted this way. First, he wanted to find out how I killed the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme. When I returned to our Cult, the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme was alive, along with the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon.

The feeling I had back then was this. The more evil you are, the longer you survive.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon also valued his own life, so he would want to find out how I killed the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme no matter what. He must think that if the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme could be taken down, then so could he.

Another reason was his personality. He obsessed over people who provoked and interested him. He would approach them, make them his friend, and then kill them as soon as he got bored. It was a pathological taste of his that only I knew about, something others were unaware of.

That's why I couldn't attach any good meaning to his offer of friendship. His saying 'let's be friends' meant 'I'm going to play with you and then kill you'.

These two reasons brought the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon to my office in person. They were why he was telling the ridiculous lie that he would understand my demonic way.

"I want to be friends with you, Second Young Lord."

Yes, in this life too, I will become his friend.

Only when we become friends will he finally stand at a point where he is neither enemy nor ally.

That is the kind of person the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon is. A person who barely escapes being an enemy only by becoming a friend.

"Very well. Let's each make a concession."

At my answer, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon laughed loudly. It was a hearty laugh that anyone would have mistaken for joy, but I was looking at his eyes with the Divine Eye Technique. He stared at me with an incredibly cold gaze.

Smiling Demon, at the end of your life, there was nothing.

He said he had no regrets until the moment he died, but that was a lie. The moment he recalled his childhood, he was already regretting.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon is changing, the Flower Sword Supreme is changing, and the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader is changing, but this Extremely Evil Smiling Demon will not change easily. Not only was he born with an evil nature, but he was also raised from a young age, brainwashed by his master.

It was at that very moment.

Seo Daeryong's voice came from outside.

"The First Young Lord has arrived."

"Show him in."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon said with a smile.

"I called him."

Calling my brother here while visiting me? That's truly something only the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon would do.

He was the type to act without considering the consequences the moment a thought like, Should I try this? crossed his mind. Despite this impulsive personality, he was one of the Demon Supremes who survived until the end, which showed just how formidable his evil heart was.

A moment later, Geom Muyang came inside. He greeted the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon first.

"It's been a while, Smiling Demon."

"Welcome, First Young Lord. Now, I don't need to introduce you two, do I?"

I played along with his mischievous words.

"Perhaps we brothers are the ones who need an introduction. We know less about each other than you might think."

As I treated the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon casually, a hint of tension crossed Geom Muyang's face.

Taking it a step further.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon said to Geom Muyang.

"I was just pestering the Second Young Lord to be my friend."

His eyes seemed to say, Let's see how you handle this, as the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon watched Geom Muyang's reaction.

My brother reacted just like himself.

"Sometimes, a little amusement like this is necessary."

At Geom Muyang's perfectly composed reaction, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon laughed.

"This is why I plan to enjoy my amusement with his younger brother. Our First Young Lord is too proper to be any fun."

"Mugeuk is overflowing with wit, so he will be more than adequate as a friend."

My brother is really going through a lot. He's not the type of person to come just because he's summoned and listen to such talk. He's enduring it all with his obsession to become the successor.

Yes, you're doing well, brother.

If you get on edge here, you lose in that very moment. You're doing well.

Whether he knew what I was thinking or not, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon provoked Geom Muyang.

"The Second Young Lord came to see me yesterday. He asked me to support him instead of his brother."

He was unrestrained, even with me right there.

"Smiling Demon, you just asked to be friends, so why are you trying to drive a wedge between brothers? We can't be good friends this way."

At my words, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon cackled.

"There's nothing in the world more fun than sowing discord, so how can you ask me to hold back? I can hold in my shit, but I can't hold that in."

"If you want to sow discord, do it between the Murim Alliance and the Evil Alliance, not us."

"I'd love to, but I'm not in a position to do so these days."

Geom Muyang just stood by, listening to our conversation. He was probably hoping I would cross a line and make a mistake.

"Since you two are gathered here in one place, may I ask a question I've always been curious about?"

My brother readily answered the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's question.

"Of course."

"Then I'll ask the First Young Lord first. If I help you become the successor, First Young Lord, what will you do for me?"

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon is truly the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon. To display such a wicked sense of humor with both of us in front of him.

Geom Muyang answered calmly, as if he had prepared for this.

"I will triple the support for the Valley of Evil, lift the numerical restrictions on the Faceless Warriors, and lift the current ban that prevents you, Smiling Demon, from leaving the Cult."

A ban preventing him from leaving the Cult had been placed on the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon. The year before last, he had massacred Evil Alliance martial artists, nearly sparking a war.

"That was because those bastards attacked first."

That may have been how it started, but it ended in a massacre. After that, my father forbade him from going to the Central Plains for the time being. It has been almost two years now, so he must be dying from the itch to get out.

"Oho, a very attractive offer."

"Don't mention it. Besides that, if there is anything else you desire, Smiling Demon, I will give you my full support."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon laughed loudly. I wonder if my brother knew. Even as he laughed so joyfully, the eyes behind the mask were colder than ever.

"Now, I'll ask the Second Young Lord. If I help you become the Heavenly Demon, Second Young Lord, what will you do for me?"

Both of them were curious about what my answer would be.

I stared at the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon and said softly.

"I will let you live."

The atmosphere froze instantly. The words 'I'm just kidding' should have followed. Instead, I added this.

"We talked yesterday, did we not? About the new demonic way I'm aiming for, but what did you expect me to do with you, Smiling Demon, who champions extreme evil? Did you think I would gladly support you? I will let you live, even if it means shouldering a political burden."

My brother might be inwardly cheering. He was likely thinking that I was ruining this great opportunity with my youthful hot-headedness.

However, there was something my brother didn't know. This Extremely Evil Smiling Demon was someone who became even more fascinated when his opponent acted this way.

As if to prove it, his two eyes shone brightly through the gaping holes of his mask, as seen with the Divine Eye Technique.

I spoke to him even more coldly than before.

"Suddenly, this game of friendship isn't fun anymore, is it? Games that break decorum too much never end well. So please, don't talk about being friends again."

In the chilly atmosphere, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon rose from his seat.

"If we're not friends, staying in the same room will only lead to fights. I'll see you next time, then."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon bid farewell to Geom Muyang as well and then left the office.

Once we were the only two left, Geom Muyang asked me.

"What on earth are you thinking?"

My brother knew I was not the type of person to rashly anger the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon like this.

"Isn't it just infuriating? 'You successors have to get on our good side, the Eight Demon Supremes. Come on, wag your tails for me. Then I'll put you on the successor's throne.' Doesn't that piss you off, brother?"

My brother contemplated what to say for a moment, then stood up.

"The one who always pisses me off is you."

Leaving those words behind, Geom Muyang also stormed out of the office.

Soon after, Seo Daeryong came in.

"Were you waiting outside because you were worried about me?"

"Not you, Director. I was worried it might have withered if you'd released any demonic qi."

He looked at the flowers in the pot with relief.

I smiled and stood beside him.

The figure of the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon could be seen walking away outside the building.

"He seemed angry. Will it be alright?"

"He's not angry. Can't you see that excited spring in his step?"

"I'm not so sure. It also looks like the walk of someone who wants to stomp someone to death."

"If you're that worried, put the flower pot outside tomorrow."

"I should do that. What? The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon is coming again tomorrow?"

Because the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon was the type of person who would chase you to the ends of the earth if you tried to run away after telling him not to do something.

"He's someone who needs to see things through to the end, one way or another. That man."

After a brief pause, Seo Daeryong asked.

"Director, how do you endure all this pressure?"

"I have a right-hand man, a left-hand man aiming for the right-hand's spot, a heart, wings, and now even a brain. What could possibly be hard for me?"

I watched the retreating back of the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon walking alone in the distance and added softly.

"The one who's having a hard time is probably that evil, lonely soul."