Chapter 434: The Cult Leader Awakens from His Slumber

TL: FoodieMonster007

After returning to the Cult, I headed to the Cult Leader's hall with the Drunken Demon.

The Drunken Demon was slightly nervous at the thought of meeting my father.

Once, he had thrown a drunken tantrum in front of my father, begging him not to hate him so much. Although the misunderstanding was cleared up then, it didn't seem to have made him any more comfortable around my father.

"You can't leave before me! I'm going to greet him first and then leave."

He wanted to avoid a situation where he would be left alone to face my father.

"I wonder where that mysterious and fearsome Drunken Demon from the mist has gone?"

"He's probably drunk and sleeping under a carriage somewhere."

Still, he had even brought a gift for my father. Before leaving the North Sea, he had stopped by a famous brewery to buy liquor for him.

When I really looked at him, the Drunken Demon was someone who greatly wanted to make a good impression on my father.

And so, I entered the Cult Leader's hall with the Drunken Demon.

Father was sitting on the grand chair, as always. Whenever I entered this place, I was moved by the sight of my father, unchangingly protecting that seat.

"Father! Your son has returned!"

At the same time, I also feel fear.

What if that grand chair were empty? What if I had to be the one to protect it? Could I truly inspire the same unwavering faith as my father?

It's not that I'm afraid because I lack the confidence to inspire that faith. I'm afraid because I know I can.

My past life confirmed that I, too, am a person who can silently protect that seat just like my father. That's why I want to live a bright and free life this time.

"I've returned after finishing my work in the North Sea!" I greeted my father in a loud voice.

Beside me, the Drunken Demon bowed respectfully.

"I have returned, Cult Leader."

Father, looking down at the Drunken Demon, immediately noticed his condition.

"Are you injured?"

"I was hurt a little, but I'm fine now."

The Drunken Demon was already getting excited that my father had asked about his condition. I could feel the heat radiating from his face, even though he hadn't had a drink.

"I've heard about the matter in the North Sea from the Strategist."

I seized the opportunity and stepped forward.

"The Drunken Demon single-handedly took care of the leader of the shadowy force that was trying to swallow the Ice Palace."

I had made up my mind to properly boast about the Drunken Demon in front of my father today.

"Of course."

At those words, the Drunken Demon looked up at my father with a surprised expression.

Father looked at me, not the Drunken Demon, and said, "He's not the type of person to go somewhere and return defeated, is he?"

I could tell. Father already knew how strong the Drunken Demon was.

I didn't even have to look to the side to feel the Drunken Demon's overwhelming emotion. This was probably the first time he had been acknowledged like this by my father, especially in front of someone else.

"Thanks to him, I was safe. It was my first time seeing the Drunken Demon fight, and it was truly amazing. And more than anything,"

My gaze shifted from my father to the Drunken Demon. He also looked tense, wondering what I was about to say.

"He was cool. The Drunken Demon, avenging his friend."

I was saying it to praise him in front of my father, but it was also my sincere feeling.

I recounted the events in the North Sea in detail. Of course, my father had already received a report on the process and results through the All-Knowing Hall, but he naturally wouldn't know about the minor incidents that happened in between.

This was something I always did after returning from a mission outside the Cult. I felt that my bond with my father grew stronger when I reported what happened, as if I were just chatting away.

Today, I focused my story mainly on the Drunken Demon's exploits. I told it in such an entertaining way that he probably wasn't bored. I made it sound even more vivid than reality.

"…And so, as a token of her gratitude to the Drunken Demon, the Ice Empress bestowed upon him the Ice Palace Chalice."

Even if I hadn't mentioned it, my father would have already recognized the Ice Palace Chalice. A white energy shimmered around the cup like a halo, making it impossible to miss.

It would have been fine to just let it pass that he received it as a token of gratitude, but the Drunken Demon didn't let it go.

"The Young Cult Leader gave up his own gift to accept the Ice Palace Chalice on my behalf."

He could have looked at me with an expression that said he's not the type to give up his own things for someone else. But instead, my father said something unexpected.

"May I also have a drink from that cup?"

"Of course. As it happens, I bought some famous liquor from the North Sea to give to you, Cult Leader."

The Drunken Demon walked up to where the grand chair was with calm steps.

Then, he poured the liquor he had bought into the Ice Palace Chalice and gave it to my father. His every action was careful and composed. Before entering the Cult Leader's hall, he had trembled at the mere mention of my father, but at times like this, a Demon Supreme is a Demon Supreme.

Father drained the cup in one go.

"The liquor is good, and the cup is good, so the drink tastes excellent."

The Drunken Demon was delighted that my father liked it.

"Would you like another glass?"

"Instead of that, let's have a drink together. It's been a while."

For a moment, the Drunken Demon's surprised eyes trembled. This also seemed to be a first, my father asking him to drink together.

"I'd love to."

The Drunken Demon replied with a happy face, then glanced at me, signaling for me to leave quickly.

Of course, I wasn't one to miss such a good opportunity to tease him.

You said I couldn't leave first?

Hurry up and go! Go!

Let's have the three of us drink. No, I'll call all the other Demon Supremes!

No! Do you know how rare an opportunity this is!

Only after teasing the Drunken Demon like that did I give my father a respectful farewell.

"Then I'll be taking my leave. I might have bad-mouthed Hyung a lot when he wasn't around, but you two can't bad-mouth me just because I'm not here!"

I was about to turn and leave when my father spoke up unexpectedly.

"Are you alright?"

I flinched for a moment and turned back toward my father.

What did he mean by that?

My eyes met my father's. As I looked at his gaze, which silently looked down on me, I understood why he had asked. If he had said the unspoken words, it would have been something like this.

You've been staining your hands with so much blood lately. Are you alright?

I could feel the nature of my father's worry.

Because no matter how much they were villains who deserved to die, continuously staining one's hands with blood was an act that wounded a person's heart and soul.

No matter how capable I appeared, to my father, I was still his immature youngest son in his twenties.

"That's why I'm not greedily trying to do everything myself and am asking for the help of the Demon Supremes. To protect myself."

The Drunken Demon was also listening to my words with a gaze that had grown as deep as my father's.

"I'm still alright. If I ever feel that it's becoming too much, I will come see you."

Father silently nodded.

"Then I will take my leave now."

I slowly walked out of the Cult Leader's hall.

Father, please don't worry. I've come this far, steadfast, even after staining my hands with tens of times more blood than this.

And above all.

"Young Cult Leader!"

From over there, Seo Daeryong was running this way with a bright smile. He was so happy to see me that I could feel his emotions even from this distance.

With people like this by my side, wouldn't it be a great disservice to my own life if I weren't alright?

Seo Daeryong greeted me as if a dead man had come back to life.

"I really wanted to see you."

He had been worried and had missed him.

He had become the Sanzu Hall Director and a disciple of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. Even though he was in a situation where he should be living his own life to the fullest, without Geom Mugeuk, it felt as if the joy had vanished from his life.

So how happy must he have been when he received the report just a moment ago that Geom Mugeuk had returned? He had simply sprinted to the Cult Leader's hall in one breath.

"How have you been?"

Seo Daeryong replied to Geom Mugeuk's question.

"Me? It's the same as always. Dawn training, eat, handle the Sanzu River Hall's affairs, go to my Master for training, eat, and sleep. Really, every single day is so identical that you could shuffle them all up and it wouldn't make a difference. Is a person's life allowed to be this monotonous? And let me say in advance, I refuse to hear any talk about how an ordinary life is a happy one."

This guy is so talkative. How hard must it have been for him to act as the dignified Sanzu Hall Director?

"Aren't you the only one who doesn't know?"

"What do you mean?"

"That every day is different. Aren't you the only one who thinks they're all the same?"

For a moment, Seo Daeryong couldn't answer. Strictly speaking, the days were similar, but not exactly the same. Of course, he didn't readily admit it.

"The cases I handle are the same every day."

"The prisoners are all different, aren't they? Their personalities are different, and the reasons they committed their crimes are different."

"And I see the same subordinates every day."

"Those people's moods are different each day, their thoughts are different, the dreams they had are different, and what they ate is different."

"After work, my life is just seeing my Master and training all the time."

"You've opened your Conception and Governing Vessels and your martial arts skills have grown a lot, right? Your training would have naturally changed as well."

Geom Mugeuk was right. The techniques he had been learning from his master recently were different. As he grew stronger, the training became even harder.

"See? Your days are different."

"One thing is the same, though. The fact that I can never win an argument against you, Young Cult Leader."

"That's the one thing that will never change."

"And your smugness, Young Cult Leader!"

We looked at each other and laughed.

"Now it finally feels like you're back, Young Cult Leader. No one else says things like this to me. I need to hear things like this to live my life, nodding and thinking, 'Ah! I see.' From today on, every one of my days is different. I've just decided! Now I'm going to ask my subordinates. What did you eat for breakfast? Did you take a dump before you came out? What did you dream about last night? What have you been thinking about lately?"

I looked up at the sky with Seo Daeryong. Beautiful, flower-like clouds of various colors were drifting by leisurely.

Seeing Daeryong made me truly feel that I had returned to the Cult.

"Go on and get back to work."

"Where are you going now?"

"Now that I've seen your face, I have to go make the rounds with the Demon Supremes."

"You really don't get tired, do you, Young Cult Leader?"

Daeryong, it's not about the number. A single, dreadful person is more than enough to exhaust someone.

"Seriously, what would we have done if our Cult had sixteen Demon Supremes?"

To Seo Daeryong's joke, Geom Mugeuk replied as he strode away.

"If that were the case, our Drunken Demon-hyung's disappointment would have doubled."

"Elder!"

I ran toward the Blood Heaven Blade Demon with my arms wide open.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon, who was reading a book in his room, held up the dao propped beside him like a shield.

"That's too harsh!"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon's words came from beyond the Heaven Destroying Dao that blocked the space between us.

"You should be resting at home. What's so great about a face you see all the time that you have to come visit like this?"

He always says things he doesn't mean.

I moved past the Heaven Destroying Dao and perched on the edge of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's bed.

"By that logic, what's so interesting about the books you read all the time?"

"This is different."

As he said that, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon warned me with his eyes not to lie down on the bed.

"I've returned safely."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon didn't ask, but I went ahead and told him about my trip.

If I had made the Drunken Demon the protagonist when I spoke to my father, this time, I focused on myself.

"So right now, my father and the Drunken Demon are drinking together."

"The Cult Leader is drinking with that drunkard?"

Was he jealous? A strange light flickered in the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's eyes.

However, he soon returned his gaze to the book he was reading.

"Is reading books really that fun?"

"It is."

"You've read so much, is there still anything you don't know?"

"That's why it's fun. The more I read, the more it makes me realize how much I don't know."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon lifted his head and looked at me.

"When you have a child later, make them read a lot of books. If they take after you, they'll be a natural at swordsmanship anyway."

Will I really live a life where I have children in this lifetime? I have no such thoughts right now.

"Hey, are you telling me to live a life that even you haven't lived, Elder?"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon smiled faintly, with an expression that said that's true.

I watched his hand turn a page for a moment, then I suddenly asked him the same question my father had asked me.

"Do I look alright to you?"

At that, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon replied, his eyes still fixed on his book.

"You don't look alright."

"Why not?"

"Because people who are alright don't ask things like that."

Was that why? Unexpected words flowed from him.

"Stay the night today."

This was the man who always chased me out, telling me to go home and sleep. The man who wouldn't even let me lie on his bed if I hadn't washed.

"What's the occasion?"

"Because you don't look alright."

I grinned widely and threw myself onto the bed.

"Sounds great!"

I thought he would catch me mid-air with telekinesis, but the Blood Heaven Blade Demon didn't.

"Ah, this is comfortable!"

No matter what, lying on this bed was the most comfortable. It was probably because of the special feeling the person known as the Blood Heaven Blade Demon gave off. To think this stubborn old man would become the most comfortable person to be around. To think he would become the person I wanted to run to and see first.

Lying on the bed, I gave an unasked-for answer.

"I'm alright, Elder."

"I know."

And then came a shocking statement.

"The one who isn't alright is the Cult Leader."

"!"

I shot up and stared at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

I couldn't yet guess what he meant by that.

"I'm wondering if the Cult Leader hasn't woken from his slumber and begun to stretch."

I had already realized what those words meant, but the Blood Heaven Blade Demon explained it again in simpler terms.

"I'm wondering if the Cult Leader hasn't begun to move in earnest to achieve his dream."

Father's dream was the unification of the murim.

"Now that he's made you his successor, he might think it's time to make his move."

"How long has it been since the Tripartite Conference ended?"

The good atmosphere from then is still so vivid. Even now, just hearing the sound of music from over the wall makes my body want to dance.

"If he were the type to care about that, he wouldn't have had such a dream in the first place. In fact, he might have been confident he could kill both of them that day."

"Are you thinking that just because he's drinking with the Drunken Demon right now? They can just have a drink, can't they?"

If it was just because of that, I felt it was too much of a leap in logic. However, that wasn't the only reason.

"A while ago, the Cult Leader met with the Masked One separately."

"!"

Father met the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon?

If he had met the Fist Demon instead, I might not have had these suspicions. He is someone who would absolutely follow my father's orders.

However, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon is someone who will absolutely follow me, even if it means disobeying my father's command.

But to think he met him of all people? And on top of that, he's drinking with the Drunken Demon for the first time in his life? It was natural to arrive at this assumption.

"So, my father has started managing the Demon Supremes to wage a war."