Chapter 109: You're the One?

TL: FoodieMonster007

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon asked about our relationship.

The concept of a 'relationship' had finally entered his human connections.

I walked over to the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon and looked at the line he had drawn. I picked up a fallen branch and drew a new line far short of the one where he said he would spare me.

"It's about here."

"You haven't gotten as far as I thought."

"We've been through a lot since leaving the Cult, but I feel like my relationship with you, the Smiling Demon, is still stuck at the disciple level. We've only progressed this much because we shared a meal and drinks today. It was the first time we've ever eaten and drunk together."

"We got this far just by eating and drinking? Then what do we have to do to get all the way there?"

"To cross this gap, we'd have to build up many experiences and memories, and to get all the way there… shouldn't we have to save each other's lives at least once?"

"Isn't your scoring a bit too harsh?"

"My scoring isn't harsh. You're the one who's too harsh when it comes to accepting other people's feelings, the Smiling Demon."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon lay down, clearly not wanting to talk anymore.

"It's all pointless. Others are just others."

I watched his stubbornly turned back and finished the rest of my drink.

Hey, Smiling Demon, it's not that people don't know it's all fleeting. It's just the path we have to walk. That's why we live, holding back our tempers.

I leaned back halfway and looked up at the sky.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, who had turned away, glanced at me and then looked up as well. Countless stars blanketed the night sky. They shone equally upon the villain who claimed everything was pointless and the man who persistently pretended to be good.

After staring at the stars in silence for a long while, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon suddenly spoke.

"You and I will have to have a real fight someday."

At times like this, I can't help but feel a sense of pity.

Even under the beautiful starlight, the storm of blood in his heart showed no sign of stopping.

"Of course. Someday."

We did not hurry the next day either.

We had to travel along the agreed-upon path and wait. Lee Ahn and Green Mask would return after finding the Black Death Leader's hideout.

The All-Knowing Hall possessed the greatest information network in the Central Plains. If they set their minds to finding something, they would undoubtedly succeed.

On the night of the third day of traveling alone with the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, the Heavenly Demon Defense Art woke me from my sleep.

I sensed people approaching from all directions. Their stealthy movements told me they were assassins.

I slowly sat up and drank water from the bamboo flask by the campfire.

As I got up, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon spoke from where he was lying.

"As expected. You wake up like a ghost the moment enemies appear."

"Weren't you awake first, Smiling Demon?"

"I wasn't sleeping."

Come to think of it, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon did not sleep well at night. Most villains I had known slept soundly with their legs stretched out, but the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon was a villain who could not sleep peacefully.

When the approaching assassins heard us wake up and start talking, they stopped moving but did not retreat. It seemed they had an unconditional order to kill us.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon got to his feet.

"I'll take care of them."

His voice was slightly flushed, perhaps with the excitement of seeing blood.

"It's dark. Will you be okay?"

"All the better."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon walked into the darkness.

From the direction he went, I heard the sound of the Blood Calamity Finger.

PWIING!

The sharp sound ended with the thwack of pierced flesh.

THWACK!

That was the signal for the fight to begin.

The sounds of the Extremely Savage Demonic Palm and the Blood Calamity Finger rang out one after another.

Hidden weapons flew toward the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's position from all directions. Dozens of them cut through the night air.

I could tell the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon was still alive by the sounds of the Blood Calamity Finger and the Extremely Savage Demonic Palm.

The sounds came from the left, then from the right. An unfailing scream followed each time.

I sat and imagined how the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon was fighting, using only the sounds.

Thanks to the Divine Eye Technique, I could have watched if I wanted to, but I kept my eyes closed and imagined his and the assassins' movements based solely on the sounds I heard.

The assassins were no ordinary foes. They were as skilled as the ones who had ambushed us in front of the gambling den.

The sound of a throwing knife cutting through the air, the sound of hidden weapons flying, the sound of movement arts used between trees, the sound of flesh tearing and bones crushing. All sorts of sounds filled the darkness. With my eyes closed, I continued to imagine it all through sound alone.

How I would move, how the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon would move, and if I were an assassin, how I would move then.

In the darkness, I too threw myself into the fray. I became an ally of the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, and then an ally of the assassins. When I sided with the assassins and attacked him, I predicted how he would move.

Even amidst all this, the assassins were dying.

The darkness, which had always been the assassins' ally, betrayed them.

Tonight, the darkness was on the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's side.

PWIING!

I instinctively tilted my head as a Blood Calamity Finger grazed my ear.

A scream erupted from where the finger qi had flown.

He did not need to attack this way. He must have fired it in my direction to test me. If I had not dodged, my ear would have been blown off. What a nasty temper.

Then, a desperate assassin dropped in front of me.

"Did you come to me for refuge? Or did you come to kill me?"

Perhaps even he himself did not know.

"……"

The assassin charged at me.

How could the darkness side only with the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon? Its true master is me, after all.

SHWACK!

I sliced the charging assassin's chest to the bone, and he collapsed. I closed his wide, dead eyes.

The screams from all directions gradually subsided into silence.

A moment later, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon returned.

I offered him a drink.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon ignored the drink and gulped down water from the bamboo flask. He no longer hesitated to lift his mask to drink. The heat radiating from him was not just from the smell of blood. He still had not had enough blood.

"This time, it was as if they came here to commit suicide."

I corrected the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's words.

"It wasn't suicide. They were murdered."

"Murdered? By me, you mean?"

"No. By their own leader. No matter how large a sum of one million taels is, the moment they accepted a contract to kill a Demon Supreme, they had to be prepared for annihilation. If they succeeded in killing you, Smiling Demon, our Cult would deal with them. If they failed, you would deal with them. So why would they accept the contract?"

"Were they being blackmailed, perhaps?"

"I think it's the opposite. It means they were guaranteed something else besides money from the mastermind in the Evil Alliance who commissioned this job. They were probably promised a high-ranking position within the Evil Alliance."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon nodded in agreement.

"So today's reckless attack was also because of that?"

"Yes. The Black Death Leader is currently cleaning house. He's getting rid of all the assassins who know his face so no one can recognize him. He's discarding the assassins who earned him money and served him loyally for so long, just like this. Then he will live under a new identity."

"He's more of a villain than me? This feels very unpleasant."

"With this choice, he's devolved from a villain to trash."

"You saw through all of this at a glance, Second Young Lord."

I felt a little sorry for him. I only knew because I had already experienced it. How could I possibly have understood the background of such an event in one go?

"Second Young Lord, when you become the Heavenly Demon later, you must spare me."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon said it like a joke, but I knew this was a moment I had to be tense.

He must have had a fleeting thought.

An opponent like this… shouldn't I kill him before he becomes the Heavenly Demon?

That's right, Smiling Demon. If I become your enemy, you should of course kill me first. I'm on this journey with you to prevent that very situation.

I said in a confident voice.

"Let's work together to reach that survival line."

When I called the line we drew a 'survival line', the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon laughed out loud as if he found it amusing.

"The smell of blood is overwhelming. Well, shall we be on our way?"

"Isn't it a better smell than the powder on women?"

"Not to me."

Just as we finished packing to leave, Lee Ahn and Green Mask arrived. Lee Ahn was startled by the scattered corpses but was relieved to see I was unharmed.

"The All-Knowing Hall has found the Black Death Leader's hideout."

Green Mask showed us a piece of paper with the location written on it. It was not too far from here.

If we had found out even a little later, the Black Death Leader would have already hidden himself in the arms of the Evil Alliance's mastermind.

However, since the assassination just failed, there is a chance he has not left his hideout yet. He would never have dreamed that we would uncover his identity and find his hideout so quickly.

"Let's have a proper movement arts competition this time."

Without waiting for my answer, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon shot forward first.

"I'm starting first this time."

Green Mask was startled to see him fly off first. He was surprised to see the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, who would normally have yielded and let me go first, now rushing off as if cheating. What was more surprising, though, was probably my own composure.

I even exchanged greetings with Lee Ahn.

"Did you have a good trip?"

"Yes. I was incredibly busy, running back and forth. I learned a lot this time."

She looked at Green Mask and bowed her head in greeting again. Green Mask also bowed politely. I could feel that their relationship was progressing little by little.

"But don't you have to go? It looks like you're having a movement arts competition."

"I have to go."

I have to win again and tease him.

"You two pack up and follow slowly."

In a flash, my figure vanished.

In an empty yard, the Black Death Leader was burning everything he owned.

He burned all the secret documents related to his contracts, his clothes, and his belongings. He burned everything related to himself.

All the assassins who knew his face were dead. No, he had killed them all himself.

Now he could leave with a light heart. He would quit being an assassin and live a respectable life. He would enjoy wealth and fame in broad daylight. A new life was beginning.

Just as he was about to leave the hideout, he glanced at the wall and was startled.

Someone in a white mask sat perched on the wall. What shocked him was that he had no idea how long the person had been there.

"The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon?"

His voice trembled. If it was the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, he was a dead man.

"No. I'm the winner of the duel."

The person pushed his mask up onto his head and grinned. It was Geom Mugeuk.

He had no idea what nonsense the man was spouting, but the Black Death Leader was inwardly relieved that his opponent was at least a young man.

Geom Mugeuk said to him.

"You could have just left."

"What are you talking about?"

"If you wanted a fresh start, you didn't have to go this far. You could have just entrusted the Black Death organization to a reliable successor and lived anywhere with your skills. Even without that one million taels, you've earned plenty of money until now, haven't you?"

As I accurately guessed his situation, the Black Death Leader flinched in surprise.

"Do you think assassins are diligent enough to expose the secrets of a former leader who wants a new start? They'd all be too busy with their own killing."

Geom Mugeuk sensed a subtle killing intent from the Black Death Leader. He realized the man was planning to ambush him, but he pretended not to notice and continued talking.

"But you couldn't do that, could you? Every time you closed your eyes, you probably imagined your subordinates betraying you. You couldn't live with the anxiety. Do you know why? Because that's the kind of person you are. If it were you, you would have threatened or killed your own leader to take everything from him."

The Black Death Leader listened meekly, but his mind focused entirely on his sleeve. The moment the unique hidden weapon hidden there, the Pungryun (Wind Wheel), slid into his hand, the Black Death Leader smiled triumphantly. At this distance, it was a guaranteed kill.

"Are you done with your bullshit?"

"I'm done, but you should be careful. He's very angry right now because he lost the match."

"What the hell are you talking about!"

The very moment the Black Death Leader was about to throw the Pungryun!

PWIING! THUD!

A finger qi bullet flew like a beam of light and pierced the Black Death Leader's shoulder. It was too fast to dodge.

Immediately, someone flew through the air and slammed down on the Black Death Leader.

"……"

A horrific scream erupted from the Black Death Leader's mouth.

"Uwaaaaaaack!"

The person standing on the Black Death Leader's pierced shoulder was the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon.

He took his anger out on an innocent target instead of Geom Mugeuk. His Blood Calamity Finger blasted holes all over the surrounding walls.

"Why the hell are you so fast! Why!"

His crushed shoulder was in so much pain that only screams came from the Black Death Leader's mouth. Overwhelmed by his opponent's aura, he could not even think of fighting back and instead began to beg.

"Ugh! It hurts! Please! It hurts! Uwaaaaaaack!"

Only then did the cold gaze from behind the white mask look down at the Black Death Leader.

"You're the one? The bastard who's been running around acting more villainous than me?"