Chapter 313: What Would You Have Done Without Me?

TL: FoodieMonster007

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader was a completely different person from his usual joking self. An unapproachable dignity flowed from him.

The ghosts in the restaurant reacted differently than they had to Geom Mugeuk. They had shown curiosity and blatant hostility toward Geom Mugeuk.

But they did not dare act that way toward the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader. They had all seen the hellscape beyond the open door, where the corpses of other ghosts lay scattered.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader walked slowly through the ghosts until he stood near Geom Mugeuk and Hwan Yeo.

Gwisuk peeked out from the kitchen, his expression stiffening at the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's arrival. Anyone else could have shown up, but the one person who should never have appeared was here.

Seeing that reaction, Geom Mugeuk had a thought. Perhaps these two know the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader better than I do.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader reached the two and looked coldly at Hwan Yeo.

"Are you the one? The bitch who touched my disciple."

Hwan Yeo's expression twitched. She had never heard such a vulgar insult. If she had, she certainly would not have tolerated it.

But she did not dare ask, 'Was that pathetic bitch your disciple?'

Geom Mugeuk smiled at the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader.

To think the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's presence would be this dependable within an illusion.

"Inside this illusion, Cult Leader, you are the Heavenly Demon."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's shoulders puffed up proudly.

"What would you have done without me getting dragged all the way here?"

"I had faith in you, Cult Leader."

As they bantered, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader asked with his eyes if Geom Mugeuk had learned what he needed to know. Geom Mugeuk slightly shook his head.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader turned to Hwan Yeo, as if to find out himself.

"The Yin Yang Reverse Soul Art is a soul-capturing art of the Blood Cult that was lost long ago. How did you learn it?"

Hwan Yeo said nothing. The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader did not know her, but she knew him well. While learning illusion arts, the name she heard most often was not the Heavenly Demon or the Murim Alliance Chairman, but the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader.

"So the famous you has become a dog of the Demonic Cult."

Geom Mugeuk watched to see how the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader would react to her provocation. This was the same man who always flew into a rage at Go Wol's provocations.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader clearly showed how his heart for a friend differed from his heart for an enemy.

"Isn't a dog a hundred times better than humans who secretly plot and scheme from behind?"

Just then, a ghost rushed in from behind in a surprise attack.

As the creature tried to bite the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's neck, he spun around and grabbed the ghost by its collar.

"Where did you learn such bad habits. Biting from behind, you're just like your master!"

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader slapped the ghost's cheek. The slap looked playful, but his hand moved with the profound principles of a master illusionist.

A light flashed once in the soulless ghost's eyes before vanishing.

THUD.

The ghost fell to the floor, now a corpse.

The other ghosts in that spot rushed forward.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader dealt with them just as naturally. He lightly subdued their violent charge and made them headbutt each other.

POW!

Again, the two ghosts' eyes flashed and then went dark. They did not die from the impact. They died from the profound energy in the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's hands.

The ghosts all rose at once and let out monstrous screams.

KIHIHIHIHIHIHIHI.

It was a soul-shaking ghostly wail.

Geom Mugeuk's protective qi activated, controlling the sound.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader shouted.

"Quiet, you bastards!"

His shout rang out like the Lion's Roar, silencing the ghostly wails.

All the ghosts were struck with fear.

At that moment, Gwisuk quietly chanted an incantation. Demonic energy began to surge from the ghosts' bodies.

Hwan Yeo also leaped back and began her own incantation.

Madness flowed from the ghosts' eyes, like a martial artist who had taken a pill to amplify their inner arts. They felt twice as strong from Gwisuk's spell, and now twice as strong again.

Geom Mugeuk did not stop them. The simplest way to end this fight was to eliminate those two, but Hwan Yeo absolutely could not be killed. She had to use a grand technique to remove the Yin Yang Reverse Soul Art from Cheong Seon. This was also the last chance to find out about the Illusion King.

The ghosts rushed in from all sides, emitting demonic energy and killing intent. They swung their palms at vital points. They swung, clawed, bit, and tore with suffocating demonic energy. Their entire bodies were weapons.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader took the lead and faced them.

He demonstrated how he had broken through the countless ghosts outside.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's movements were faster than expected. The assumption that his martial arts were weak because he practiced illusion arts was just a prejudice.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader weaved through the ghosts. He used a light movement art, as if dancing, and tapped their foreheads and chests with his palms.

His touch looked light, but it was not a light technique. At his hand gestures, the rampaging ghosts collapsed one after another like straw dolls.

Black energy rose from Hwan Yeo's and Gwisuk's bodies. Their incantations grew faster, and the ghosts grew even more powerful.

The demonic energy filling the hall was suffocating. The Heavenly Demon Defense Art activated more powerfully to protect my body. If it weren't for the Heavenly Demon Defense Art, it would not have been easy to withstand this energy.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader, however, faced them unshaken.

He used ghosts as shields to block attacks. He held them like dolls and swung them around. Whether they were slapped, hit on the back of the head, or struck in the stomach, they became corpses.

As the ghosts disappeared one by one, Hwan Yeo's and Gwisuk's expressions grew increasingly stiff. They eventually gave up their incantations, judging it was impossible with these things.

The remaining ghosts became corpses even faster.

POW!

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader delivered a proper blow to the last ghost. Its body shattered as it flew past the two casters and slammed into the wall.

In an instant, all the ghosts inside had become corpses. Since they had no souls, calling them corpses felt awkward.

Gwisuk and Hwan Yeo looked at each other. They had not expected to kill the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader with the ghosts, but they had not known he would handle them all without a single injury.

Geom Mugeuk was genuinely impressed.

"I didn't know the Cult Leader was so nimble."

"I lost weight because of Go Wol's nagging."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader was impressive, like discovering a painter's hidden talent for art or a musician's for music.

His eyes proved it. In a situation where he would normally be cracking jokes, he watched the two with deepened eyes. He did not let his guard down on the battlefield.

Gwisuk stepped forward, as if the real fight was about to begin.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader stared at him calmly and said to Geom Mugeuk, "The demonic energy is thick. Be careful."

He did not underestimate Gwisuk.

Gwisuk strode forward, and the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader walked out to meet him.

"You are a disgrace to the Outer Regions Murim."

Gwisuk jabbed at the fact that the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader had joined hands with Geom Mugeuk. He thought it was the biggest weakness, but he did not know their true relationship.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader nodded.

"Let's say I'm a disgrace. Then what are you? The pride of the Outer Regions Murim?"

Because he had gained Go Wol and Geom Mugeuk, being called a disgrace did not anger him at all. In the past, such words would have made him jump up and down.

"If you're going to insult someone, you should at least reveal who you are, right? Who might you be?"

What could they say, operating while hiding their identities?

Instead of answering, Gwisuk called his subordinates from the kitchen.

A group of figures dressed as cooks walked out. There were so many that it was hard to believe they had all been in the kitchen.

There were nine in total. They held square kitchen knives, and a red demonic energy flowed from their eyes and blades.

They were not living beings, but a much stronger demonic energy overflowed from them than from the previous ghosts. If the ghosts were disorderly, these were well-trained martial artists.

This time, Geom Mugeuk stepped forward.

"I will handle them."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader looked at Geom Mugeuk with a hint of worry. No matter how strong Geom Mugeuk was, this was a world within an illusion.

"I think the next ones will be stronger, so I'll take on the weaker ones first."

At Geom Mugeuk's composure, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader shook off his worry. Right, if I can't trust Geom Mugeuk, who can I trust?

The cooks' momentum grew sharper. Although they existed only in the illusion, they could understand human speech and even possessed emotions.

They rushed toward Geom Mugeuk.

SWISH! SWOOSH! SWIIISH!

The knives flew in with sharp, air-slicing sounds and began to change.

Their attacks were fast and unpredictable, executed with perfect coordination. In an instant, dozens of sword lines embroidered the air.

CLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANG!

Hwan Yeo and Gwisuk once again chanted their incantations, trying to pressure Geom Mugeuk with demonic energy.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader released his energy, blocking their power.

The two energies collided at the boundary where Geom Mugeuk and the cooks fought. It was a two-on-one energy battle, but the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader was not pushed back.

"……"

Geom Mugeuk's Black Demon Sword cut the chest of the cook who attacked from the front. The attack was deep enough to slice the body in two, but the opponent did not fall.

The second one was the same. It did not fall even when its heart was pierced. No fatal wound could stop them.

Unlike the ghosts, they could not be killed unless one found and struck their exact weak point.

Smiles appeared on Hwan Yeo's and Gwisuk's faces, even as the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader pushed back their inner arts. They were confident that no matter how skilled the Young Cult Leader was, he could not handle them here.

If Geom Mugeuk had not put the Bloodeye Holy Water in his eyes, and if he had not received the Divine Eye Technique, this fight would have become a grueling battle just as they predicted.

But when he used the Bloodeye Holy Water and the Divine Eye Technique to focus on them, a part of their bodies glowed with a bluish light. For some, it was an arm. For others, the left knee glowed.

How can they be a match for me when I know exactly where to strike?

He unleashed the Shadow Step, the Vanishing Step, and the Hell Step in succession. The Four Strides of the Wind God was faster and more precise than before. Geom Mugeuk himself could feel it, and those watching could not hide their surprise.

In a flash, Geom Mugeuk moved like someone who had transcended time and space.

He accurately thrust his sword toward the glowing blue weak points. The beings that seemed like they would charge even with their heads cut off died instantly and collapsed.

Each time Hwan Yeo and Gwisuk were surprised, another one fell.

Gwisuk tried to intervene but could not find the right moment. Geom Mugeuk revealed no openings. If Gwisuk recklessly jumped in, he would surely die by that sword as well.

Just like that, the nine cooks were instantly turned into corpses.

Gwisuk asked with a shocked face, "How did you figure out the weak points?"

He was astonished at how Geom Mugeuk could see them.

Geom Mugeuk expressed his gratitude to the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader.

"It's all thanks to you, Cult Leader."

If the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader had not blocked their demonic energy, his body would have been much heavier. It would have been a difficult fight, no matter how visible the weak points were. The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's contribution was great.

Gwisuk misunderstood this expression of gratitude.

"As expected, you are a cowardly man."

He thought the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader had told Geom Mugeuk the weak points. In a way, it was true. The Bloodeye Holy Water was a sacred object of the Heavenly Wind Cult.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader did not bother to make an excuse.

"You put out things that don't die even when their hearts are pierced, and you're talking about cowardice?"

After spitting out those words, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader looked at Geom Mugeuk. Their gazes met. They were worried about each other, but their trust was growing. This was the first time they had fought together so directly.

This time, Hwan Yeo stepped forward.

"This time won't be easy."

Blood began to drip from the ceiling.

Each drop grew larger on the floor, eventually rising up as a terrifying monster. Disgusting and fearsome beings rose one after another. They were larger than the Demonic Army. Dozens of huge monsters filled the restaurant.

"I don't know how you found the weak points, but these Hyeolryeong will be different. A Hyeolryeong can never be killed unless this space is broken."

Indeed, no bluish light was visible on the beings called Hyeolryeong.

Geom Mugeuk slowly backed away and said to the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader, "I told you the next ones would be stronger."

"Won't the ones after that be even more terrible?"

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader was reading Geom Mugeuk's mind perfectly.

"Are you worried about me?"

He's saying they must have more tricks, and my intention is to take on the stronger enemy myself. How quick-witted he is.

Although he trusted the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader more than anyone, Geom Mugeuk wanted to face the more dangerous enemy himself.

You came to get me, but I will be the one to get us out. I will get you out without a single scratch.

"Of course not! Please take on the next ones too, Cult Leader!"

Geom Mugeuk knew he had to answer this way for the next words to come.

"Not a chance! You take the next one."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader stood in front of Geom Mugeuk, blocking his way.

Geom Mugeuk looked at his back.

The back of the man who joked while insulting himself was his back, and this back that showed no fear before the terrifying Hyeolryeong was also his back. The feeling his back gave was different from others.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

The Hyeolryeong approached with terrifying momentum, shaking the floor.

It seemed it would not be easy even for the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader, so Geom Mugeuk was inwardly tense, preparing to jump into the fight at any moment.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader held out his hand, and a drop of ink fell into the air.

That small dot instantly grew, and a large black hole appeared.

"It's dangerous!" Gwisuk shouted from an instinctive sense of crisis.

WHOOOOSH!

The black hole began to swirl, sucking in the Hyeolryeong.

The Hyeolryeong were instantly sucked into it. It was a hole that could not be resisted. It would suck in anything, regardless of the target.

The sight of those large and frightening Hyeolryeong being powerlessly sucked in felt surreal.

Once it had consumed all the Hyeolryeong, the black circle shrank back to a dot and disappeared with a POP.

It was as if nothing had ever happened.

Hwan Yeo, Gwisuk, and even Geom Mugeuk stood blankly, astonished by this overwhelming illusion art.

Words that only the absolute master of illusion arts could say flowed calmly from the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's mouth.

"You may have opened it, but this is my world."