Chapter 605: What Awaits Us

TL: FoodieMonster007

"What if you are the one who will change the fate of murim?"

Geom Mugeuk had hoped the Sword King might say their relationship could change, but his response was cold and firm.

"Even so, our relationship will not change."

Desperation filled Geom Mugeuk's face, but the answer remained the same.

In truth, Geom Mugeuk had expected him to answer this way. Although he had formed a special bond with him, it was not enough for them to join hands.

His opponent was none other than the Sword King, who had once been one of the Twelve Zodiac Kings. How could he so easily sway the heart of such a man?

No, changing his mind was a secondary matter. Theirs was a relationship where the possibility of being killed by him still existed. They had, after all, agreed to face each other on the duel stage.

Geom Mugeuk walked over to the Secret Box and hugged it.

"I've been abandoned. Send me back three hundred years."

The Sword King watched his dramatic display and chuckled. It seemed he had indeed wanted to see that side of him again.

As he caressed the Secret Box, Geom Mugeuk suddenly asked a question.

"Is it because of a debt?"

They had discussed this before. When asked why he had joined hands with them, the Sword King had replied that he owed them a debt.

Geom Mugeuk turned to the Sword King and spoke seriously.

"If it's because of a debt, then take this and pay it all off. This divine object, I'll give it to you!"

At that, the Sword King leaned in close to Geom Mugeuk and asked a question.

"Why are you acting generous with what's mine?"

Geom Mugeuk retorted without backing down.

"Why is this yours, Master? It's mine."

"Yours?"

"You promised to give me everything in this room!"

[Please give me everything in this room.]

That was what Geom Mugeuk had said right before entering this room, the final gateway.

"I never agreed to that."

Of course, Geom Mugeuk was just being stubborn. The Sword King had gone through so much trouble dismantling the mechanisms in the dungeons of the Yellow Dragon Academy to obtain this Secret Box. There was no way he would hand it over so easily.

"Didn't you see earlier? I came out of this divine object. I'm not an ordinary person, you know."

The Sword King could not refute those words.

What if this truly was the object that would change the fate of murim? And what if this divine object had chosen him? Wouldn't that make the Young Cult Leader the one to change murim's fate, and simultaneously, the owner of this divine object?

Seeing him speechless, Geom Mugeuk felt awkward instead.

"If you're like this, I can't keep insisting, can I?"

The Sword King approached the Secret Box behind Geom Mugeuk. He reached out and touched it. Just as it had been for the past few days, the only thing the Secret Box allowed him was this coldness.

The Sword King took his hand off the Secret Box and spoke.

"If you kill me, you can have it."

Geom Mugeuk said nothing.

"Why the silence?"

"I'm thinking. About whether I want it enough to kill you for it, Master."

He then showed a genuinely contemplative expression.

"I don't think it's worth that much."

The Sword King stared at Geom Mugeuk. The problem was that his words sounded sincere.

"You might need this to change the fate of murim, though?"

"It doesn't matter. You are more important to me than this Secret Box, Master."

The Sword King stared at Geom Mugeuk with a suspicious gaze.

"Don't tell me?"

The deeper look in Geom Mugeuk's eyes when he returned, and his more vibrant energy…

"You gained something inside, didn't you? So you don't need it anymore, right? This thing is empty. That's why you're trying to give it to me, isn't it?"

Geom Mugeuk did not deceive him.

"You're really quick on the uptake."

In truth, that was only half the story. Geom Mugeuk looked at the Secret Box and said something else.

"It's true that I gained something, but it's not just an empty shell either."

It was clearly connected to the smaller Secret Box. He did not know when or in what form it might reveal another surprise.

"Then why are you trying to give it up?"

Because he had faith that if destiny truly existed, this object would connect with him again, no matter where it was.

That was why he could focus on his relationship with him.

"I told you, didn't I? You're more important, Master."

"What do you know about me!"

"Isn't it better when we don't know each other too well?"

As the Sword King flinched for a moment, Geom Mugeuk continued.

"If we get to know each other better, we might be disappointed by things we didn't know, or we might grow weary. But not now. What's inside this person? What is it about him that's so captivating? What am I trusting in to try and persuade a man who might kill me?"

"Enough!"

Along with the Sword King's shout, a shoe came flying.

Geom Mugeuk caught the flying shoe in his hand.

"If you had launched a surprise attack while throwing this shoe, I would have been dead. You threw it playfully once before, so I caught it off guard just now. But why didn't you attack? Why not kill me, go back, and claim you've obtained the divine object and avenged your dead comrades! Why don't you claim the credit?"

The Sword King glanced down at the shoe still tucked at his waist.

"Because there's still one left. So stop talking nonsense. You could really die."

The Sword King was getting angry because he recognized the growing feeling that he did not want to kill the Young Cult Leader.

"If our relationship changes? Are you planning to use me as a guide to uncover all the secrets of my organization? To use me as a vanguard to kill them all?"

"No."

"Then what? You want me to become your subordinate?"

"That's not it either."

"Then!"

Geom Mugeuk said something unexpected.

"I know you're not the kind of person who will stay by my side, Master. I also know you're the type to suddenly put on those shoes and leave for some faraway place."

"Then why? Why do you keep trying to sway me?"

To the Sword King who shouted the question, Geom Mugeuk replied in an even louder voice.

"If you didn't want this, you shouldn't have appeared before me barefoot, in a shabby martial arts uniform with your hair tied back, and a worn-out iron sword you could buy anywhere in the market. You shouldn't have appeared like that in front of me, who was desperately trying to survive while wearing the Black Demon Sword, layered with two or three sets of rare quality armor, and wrapped in Top-Quality Heavenly Silk!"

"!"

"I can't kill a person like that. No, I won't kill him. For my own sake, I won't do something I'll regret for a long, long time."

Not expecting to hear such words, the Sword King was at a loss.

The emotion he felt in that moment was joy. He felt good. He did not know why, but he felt truly good. So good that he wondered if he had ever felt this good before.

Breaking the awkward silence, the Sword King said gruffly.

"Is it just because of my vibe?"

Geom Mugeuk also replied gruffly.

"Just? That's the image I aspire to, the freedom I desire."

"You're a fool. If I looked free to you."

"So come to me. Pay off your debt, shake off everything that's holding you down, and come to me."

"And then?"

Then, the most surprising words of their entire conversation came from Geom Mugeuk's mouth. Words that shocked the Sword King even more than the claim of having been to the world of three hundred years ago.

"Please be my friend."

The Sword King wore the most bewildered expression he had since they met. Instead of saying, 'You crazy bastard, give it a rest!', the Sword King asked a question.

"Are you serious?"

"I'm serious. Aren't there friends in the world who transcend age?"

"Of all the many relationships, why a friend?"

"My Master is probably waiting for me up there. So I don't need a Master. The one who came with me happens to be the Sword Supreme. Since there's already a sword-wielding Demon Supreme, I can't have you as a Demon Supreme either. I like to wander alone, so I don't need a bodyguard. As the Young Cult Leader, I have more than enough subordinates. So please, be my friend. I'm often told I'm an old soul. So I think we could be well-matched friends."

The Sword King could feel it. Geom Mugeuk was speaking from the heart.

"Let's be friends who see each other when we want to, help each other when we need to. And sometimes, throw shoes at each other."

As he said this, he held out the shoe again.

Just as the Sword King, who had been staring at the shoe for a moment, reached out to take it, his expression suddenly hardened as a thought struck him.

"You said a Demon Supreme is waiting up there?"

"Yes. He's definitely waiting for me."

The Sword King let out a sigh. It was like waking up suddenly from a pleasant dream.

"For that reason alone, we can't be friends."

"What do you mean?"

"Because there are people waiting for me up there, too."

In other words, it meant that to him, the Demon Supremes must be dead.

"When you go up there, you'll be plunged into deep sorrow. In your grief over losing your master and the Sword Supreme, you'll draw your sword and point it even at me. I would understand, though."

He knew very well what the Fist King's skills were like. Besides, there were other masters who came with him.

"My Master and the Sword Supreme would not have lost to anyone."

"We have assessed the skills of the Demon Supremes. They are not people the two of them could handle."

The Sword King could not hide the sorrow in his eyes.

"The only thing waiting for us will be an empty duel stage where you and I must fight."

Geom Mugeuk's eyes, on the other hand, were filled with faith.

"What if they are both standing safely on that duel stage?"

"Father, I'll keep watch, so please go inside and rest for a bit."

At Lee Ahn's words, the Fist Demon shook his head.

"I'm fine."

Days passed, but Geom Mugeuk did not come up.

During that time, the Fist Demon had not left the duel stage. He ate his meals here and substituted sleep with meditation to circulate his energy.

Lee Ahn realized it anew. She had vaguely thought of Geom Mugeuk and her father as merely having a master-disciple relationship, but her father cared for Geom Mugeuk far more than she had imagined.

"Don't worry too much. The Young Cult Leader will come up cracking some silly joke."

The Fist Demon looked at Lee Ahn and silently nodded.

His reason for staying here and keeping watch was not just the hope that he would be the one waiting for Geom Mugeuk when he came up.

There was also the reason of wanting to react even a little bit faster if an urgent situation related to Geom Mugeuk arose. He did not want a moment's absence to become an eternal regret.

Yeom Baekyin was also in a corner of the duel stage.

Having cleaned up the corpses and broken debris, he had not yet left the place.

It was a voluntary decision. The Fist Demon and the Flower Sword Supreme did not care whether he left or not.

Yeom Baekyin had not yet given up hope. He waited only for the Sword King to come up from the underground. Where would he go if he abandoned the Yellow Dragon Academy? He was holding on until the end, mistaking desperation for determination.

The Flower Sword Supreme, unlike the Fist Demon, was coming and going freely. She practiced her martial arts and slept comfortably.

She had said only one thing to Lee Ahn about Geom Mugeuk.

"Who's worried about whom?"

She had said that, but as days passed without Geom Mugeuk appearing, she too was growing worried inside.

Young Cult Leader, I know you like to joke around, but don't play a prank like this.

She decided that if Geom Mugeuk did not come up by the end of the day, she would have to discuss going down together with the Fist Demon.

It was at that very moment.

SREUREUREUK.

The chair equipped with a mechanical device descended.

Everyone there was startled. The Flower Sword Supreme leaped through the air and landed behind the Fist Demon. Lee Ahn also stood behind her father, staring only at the spot where the chair had been.

SREUREUREUK.

A moment later, the chair rose again.

The expressions of the three people watching hardened simultaneously.

The person sitting in the chair was not Geom Mugeuk, but the Sword King.

The Fist Demon studied his opponent with a cold gaze.

A barefoot man with his hair tied back and an iron sword at his waist.

He revealed no aura, but one could instantly feel he was no ordinary master. To have such a presence without even properly revealing his aura?

The Fist Demon clenched his fists more forcefully than ever before.

Meanwhile, the Sword King, having come up to the surface, was bewildered by the unexpected sight. Instead of the people who should have been there, there were Demon Supremes.

The surroundings showed only traces of a fierce battle, and there was no sign of the Fist King. Judging by the situation, it seemed he, his disciple, and the masters who came with them were all dead.

The Fist Demon asked in a low tone.

"Where is the Young Cult Leader?"

The Sword King could feel it. The Fist Demon before him was stronger than he had anticipated. The same was true for the Flower Sword Supreme standing behind him. This was the reason why the Fist King was not here.

The Flower Sword Supreme's gaze on the Sword King also grew serious. He had more presence than any enemy she had ever seen.

She too revealed her aura and said in a cold tone.

"I asked, where is the Young Cult Leader."

SAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

In an instant, their auras clashed.

The area where the Fist Demon, the Flower Sword Supreme, and Lee Ahn stood, as well as the surroundings, filled with sword blades. It felt as if a single step would slice their flesh.

Among those countless blades was a single one aimed at the Sword King.

A wind blew between those blades. It was not a strong wind, but one that chilled the heart and soul.

As the auras of the three clashed, a hair-trigger situation unfolded where it seemed they would attack each other at any moment. The taut string of tension felt like it would snap if someone so much as took a deep breath.

It was at that very moment!

SREUREUREUK.

The chair began to descend again.

And the chair came back up, carrying a most welcome person.

"I knew this would happen."

Geom Mugeuk said with a smile, feeling the terrifying auras spread around him.

"That's why I told you I should go up first, didn't I?"

At that sight, the Fist Demon, the Flower Sword Supreme, and Lee Ahn were finally relieved. Geom Mugeuk had returned, unchanged.

Geom Mugeuk's eyes met the Fist Demon's. He had a fearsome and gruff face, but just by looking into his eyes, Geom Mugeuk could tell with what kind of heart he had waited for him.

The Flower Sword Supreme smiled with a look that said, 'You're finally back,' while Lee Ahn, whose legs gave out as the tension eased, squatted on the floor and beamed at Geom Mugeuk.

Geom Mugeuk looked around.

The surroundings were desolate, a testament to how fierce the battle had been. And seeing that only the chair connecting to the underground remained, he was deeply moved. The moment he saw it, he felt the Fist Demon's heart for him.

The Fist Demon stood in the center, flanked by the Flower Sword Supreme and Lee Ahn.

The three of them respectfully performed a clasped hands greeting and bowed to Geom Mugeuk.

"We greet the Young Cult Leader."

The Fist Demon had beaten down the Fist King and guarded this place just to say these words. For this very moment.

Geom Mugeuk respectfully performed a clasped hands greeting in return.

"I believed you would be waiting."

For the Fist Demon, those words were enough. Living up to that faith, that was the mission and joy of the man known as the Fist Demon, a duty passed down since the time of the Cult Leader.

Geom Mugeuk looked back at the Sword King. The Sword King was staring at him, his face a mix of various emotions. He hoped that among those complex feelings, there was also a sense of relief.

"Now, let's continue our conversation."