Chapter 663: I Guess I'll Have to Crash This Stage

TL: FoodieMonster007

SSSSSSSST.

The moment Jin Hyo's breath stopped, the world she had created began to vanish. The main hall, the place where they had first arrived, revealed itself once more. On the floor, the collapsed corpse of Jin Hyo served as the final signal that this entire affair was over.

We've finally returned to our world.

Jin Hagun sighed in relief, his first action being to check on his injured comrades. He distributed internal injury medicine to his severely wounded subordinates and personally applied ointment to their external wounds. While more than a few were injured, no one had fortunately suffered a fatal wound.

From among his uninjured subordinates, he dispatched the one with the most superior movement arts to his grandfather.

"Go and tell him we are safe!"

Jin Hagun had no intention of going to help his grandfather. In their exhausted and wounded state, they would only be a hindrance. Since his grandfather was with Geom Mugeuk, all he needed to do was send word that he was safe.

Great Master Hwa Song approached Jin Hagun to express his apologies.

"I'm ashamed to face you."

Even if he could claim they were defeated because their former comrade, Jin Hyo, was a villain, they had still been overcome far too helplessly.

Jin Hagun did not reprimand him. What mattered was what they did from this point forward. Since they had fallen, they simply had to get back up.

"We must use this incident as an opportunity to further develop the Great Order Soul Returning Art. Master Hwa, please take charge of that task."

Hwa Song nodded, his expression filled with determination.

Before departing, Jin Hagun turned to the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader to express his gratitude.

"We survived thanks to you. Thank you so much."

The martial artists of the Demon Slaying Brigade also greeted him in unison with a clasped hands salute.

"Thank you."

Truly, if not for the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme and the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader, every member of the Demon Slaying Brigade would have died here in this hall.

He himself would have become a hostage used to threaten his grandfather. It was a situation he did not even want to imagine.

"I will never forget the grace you've shown us today."

At that, the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme deferred the credit to Geom Mugeuk.

"Repay that grace to the Young Cult Leader."

Jin Hagun smiled and nodded. The gazes the two of them exchanged were gentle. For today, at least, they were friends and comrades who had together broken through a life-or-death crisis.

Jin Hagun especially could not forget the words she had spoken to him. The words she had said when he felt endlessly helpless inside the world of the soul-stealing art.

[When it's fully grown, a tiger is scary, but a serpent is not.]

These words became a great source of comfort for him. They also made him form a new resolve.

I'll see you when I become a real tiger.

Just then, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's booming voice came from behind them.

"Why repay the grace to the Young Cult Leader? You should repay it to us. Repay it to me!"

Jin Hagun turned toward him. He had not gotten to know the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader well during this incident, but he could at least tell that he was a cheerful person.

"Someday, I'll visit you with a list of things the Young Cult Leader has taken from me."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader laughed loudly at Jin Hagun's joke. He had not forgotten how he had teased Jin Hagun when they first met, asking what he had lost to the Young Cult Leader.

"Let's hold a big meeting for the victims! And of course, the head of that meeting will be me!"

The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme, who was listening nearby, also smiled. There would probably be quite a few people who would want to join that meeting.

Through this incident, she had become genuinely impressed with her Master.

There is a saying that if you watch someone perform a task and think it looks too easy, that person is a true master.

Others might not have known, but she could tell. It might have appeared that her Master defeated Jin Hyo with ease, but that was absolutely not the case. He was able to kill her because he possessed the insight to manipulate his opponent's psychology and see through the surrounding situation and their heart.

The soul-stealing art is a martial art that deceives the minds of people, and today, her Master had demonstrated its very essence.

In this world, he was the head of the victims' meeting, but in that world, he was an absolute being. That was her Master.

"Well then, I'll see you next time."

After bidding farewell to the two, Jin Hagun left the main hall and spoke to Gwak Ju.

"Now, let's go meet your sister."

Gwak Yeong was currently at a safehouse belonging to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. His plan was to first meet with Geom Muyang and hand Gwak Ju over to him.

Gwak Ju asked in a trembling voice.

"Why are you doing all this for me?"

In every dangerous situation, the martial artists of the Demon Slaying Brigade had taken care of him. What was he? He was merely the brother of a smithy artisan, an ordinary person who knew nothing of martial arts. Yet they had protected him more fiercely than their own lives.

Jin Hagun turned to face him. The gazes of all the surrounding Demon Slaying Brigade members were fixed on him.

"Our mission today was to rescue you. Even if everyone here had died and only one person remained, that one person would have saved you."

Gwak Ju looked at the Demon Slaying Brigade standing around him.

Ah, so these are the martial artists of the orthodox sects.

These were the people who had silently protected him in that dazzling and chaotic world, who had brought him back to this reality. The people who always kept their promises.

Gwak Ju bowed deeply to all of them, expressing his immense gratitude.

After they departed, only the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader and the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme remained. The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader was looking up at the sky, his hands clasped behind his back. The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme also looked toward the sky, standing one step behind him.

She was recalling the words her Master had spoken earlier.

The effort to live differently made my world stronger.

Just then, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader opened his mouth. While he was looking at the sky, his face had been endlessly serious, but now it was full of mischief.

"We have to go meet the person who put us through all this trouble and doesn't even show his face. We have to go meet the person who forgets all about us and only calls when he needs something, and tell him, 'That Cult Leader was here then'."

Although his words suggested otherwise, his face was full of anticipation at the thought of meeting Geom Mugeuk. It had been a really long time since they had last met.

"The Young Cult Leader must be fighting a difficult battle as well."

When they first arrived and the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader spoke ill of the Young Cult Leader, Jin Hagun had said the same thing. Of course, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader did not think so at all.

"In trouble? Fat chance. Your Young Cult Leader is a kite. A kite."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader started walking first and then added, "A kite that flies higher the rougher the wind blows."

With his identity revealed, the Heaven's Edge Hermit Hwa Yulcheong demanded that the Murim Alliance Chairman Jin Paecheon kill Geom Mugeuk.

Kill him if you want to save your grandson.

However, Jin Paecheon refused the offer. He stated that he had come here today as a spectator. He believed that, at the very least, Geom Mugeuk would not allow this stage to end in tragedy.

In response to Hwa Yulcheong's confidence that it was a huge miscalculation to think the Poison King and the Demonic Buddha would save them, Geom Mugeuk showed even greater confidence.

"Did they really go to help my friend?"

Geom Mugeuk's words carried the conviction that Jin Hagun would be safe.

"Don't bluff, Young Cult Leader."

Geom Mugeuk met Hwa Yulcheong's composure with his own.

"Bluffing is for people who have nothing. By now, the other remaining wing is probably falling too."

This was said with the firm belief that So Cheongrak was already dead and that the master of the soul-stealing art was also being dealt with.

Hwa Yulcheong stared at Jin Paecheon. His target today was, after all, Jin Paecheon.

"The decision is yours to make. Just don't regret it later."

He knew. For Jin Paecheon, who had already lost a blood relative, the safety of his grandchildren was his greatest weakness, one that was sure to be shaken.

However, he overlooked one fact. Jin Paecheon's faith in Geom Mugeuk was far greater than he had imagined.

Jin Paecheon answered resolutely.

"My decision has already been made."

He had already decided to place his trust in Geom Mugeuk.

As Jin Paecheon's gaze turned to him, Geom Mugeuk answered with confidence.

"If the person I sent can't save Hagun, then even if you and I were there, Chairman, we wouldn't be able to save him either."

At those words, Jin Paecheon thought of one person.

"Did you perhaps send the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme?"

Geom Mugeuk nodded. A sense of relief mixed with anxiety.

Hwa Yulcheong poked at that very anxiety.

"The fact that the new Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme is still a novice is known throughout the entire murim. The Young Cult Leader is just trying to take credit, to say he tried to save Hagun."

How could Jin Paecheon not know about the young Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme? She was bound to be lacking when compared to the previous Demon Supreme.

Nevertheless, his lack of agitation was not because he trusted the young Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme.

"It will be alright, won't it?"

"Of course."

Jin Paecheon nodded at Geom Mugeuk's firm reply.

Hwa Yulcheong sighed with mockery.

"Foolish! Truly foolish!"

Then, Geom Mugeuk cut in.

"You're the one who's foolish."

When Hwa Yulcheong looked at him with an expression that asked what he meant, an unexpected statement came out.

"You didn't know I have an anxiety disorder, did you?"

"Anxiety disorder?"

The Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult has an anxiety disorder? Young Cult Leader and anxiety disorder. It was a combination that absolutely did not fit.

"This anxiety is both a pain that torments me and, at the same time, my greatest strength. It's like this. Ah, what if I only send one person and they make a mistake? What if the opponent is stronger? What if another bastard comes to help? What if a variable appears? I'm the kind of person who worries about all these things. And the result of that worry is this."

Geom Mugeuk's gaze turned to Jin Paecheon.

"That's why I sent the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader along as well."

The moment he heard those words, Jin Paecheon's expression relaxed.

If it was just the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme, yes, he had honestly been anxious. But if the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader went too?

Geom Mugeuk was right. Against an opponent who used the soul-stealing art, those two were better suited than he and Geom Mugeuk.

"Then that's fine."

He could not help but think that it was really fine now.

On the other hand, Hwa Yulcheong's expression hardened.

"You're bluffing again."

Hwa Yulcheong tried to persuade Jin Paecheon.

"The Young Cult Leader is lying right now to survive."

Jin Paecheon stared at him silently before remarking, "You're the one who's afraid of dying."

Displeasure flickered across Hwa Yulcheong's face. Since he had already revealed his identity, he no longer hid his emotions as meticulously as before.

Jin Paecheon continued speaking while staring at Hwa Yulcheong.

"I've never once tried to read your emotions until now. Thinking back, that was arrogance."

Was it because I was busy being the Chairman? No. It was because I did not have to.

It was because I have lived a life where I did not need to read other people's faces. Because everyone else was busy reading mine.

It was because I have lived a life where it took me decades to realize that the Heaven's Edge Hermit had never once gotten angry at me and had always catered to my mood.

"This is all something I brought upon myself."

However, that did not mean he had any intention of forgiving the man who had lived his life wearing that mask.

"The moment you plotted using my grandson's life, all ties between us were already severed."

What more needed to be said? Still, he was curious about one thing.

"Let me ask you one last thing. The righteousness you've practiced your whole life, what was in your heart when you did it? Was that all a pretense too?"

A sneer formed on Hwa Yulcheong's lips at Jin Paecheon's question.

"Why? Do you think your righteousness is real and mine is fake? Be honest, you must have been conscious of me at times. There must have been times you hated me for being revered as a more respected righteous man than you, the Chairman. Am I wrong?"

Jin Paecheon could not deny it. There really had been times like that. However, it was only a fleeting emotion. He had quickly controlled his heart and treated his friend with good intentions.

Hwa Yulcheong dug into Jin Paecheon even more relentlessly.

"If you kill me, what will the people who survived because of my help think? Will they really believe I was a villain who hid his identity for decades? Or will they think you killed me out of jealousy? Will they truly respect and follow you as they did before?"

Hwa Yulcheong was shaking Jin Paecheon. Having watched Jin Paecheon from his side for a long time, he knew better than anyone what words would become a throwing knife.

Jin Paecheon nodded silently.

"Yes, they might see me with different eyes."

Jin Paecheon seemed somehow detached. However, it was not because Hwa Yulcheong was shaking him.

"But that's fine. My era is coming to a close now."

The moment he heard those words, Geom Mugeuk knew. Jin Paecheon was finally planning to name Jin Hagun as his successor. He had a premonition that Jin Hagun might be the last of the three from the orthodox and unorthodox factions to become a successor, but the first to become the Chairman of the Murim Alliance.

"Yes, I acknowledge your righteousness. You lived a fine life."

Just then, Geom Mugeuk cut in.

"I don't acknowledge it."

How dare you try to shake the Chairman with that pathetic, glib tongue? A glib tongue for a glib tongue!

"You seem to want to claim that righteousness was real, but it was fake, wasn't it? For you, accumulating righteous deeds must have been a kind of mission to build trust with the Chairman. You should just claim to be a loyal and sincere person to the Dark Palace instead. I'll acknowledge that."

Struck where it hurt, the corner of Hwa Yulcheong's eye twitched. He had lived his life thinking exactly that.

"If that righteousness was real, you should have stopped So Cheongrak, who protected you, from killing innocent people with his poison experiments. You shouldn't have harmed people with the soul-stealing art and then made them kill themselves in the end. If you wanted to claim that at least your righteousness was real, you should have aimed for the Chairman alone, without such subordinates."

Hwa Yulcheong could not refute Geom Mugeuk's continuous words.

In truth, these words were not for him, but for Jin Paecheon. They were to tell him there was no need to be hurt by the poison throwing knife that came from a scabbard engraved with 'righteousness'.

"What? You accomplished it even if it was fake righteousness? You think it's better than nothing? If it hadn't been for you, there would have been a more excellent person performing righteous deeds in your place. A true righteous man who didn't have subordinates using poison and soul-stealing arts. So don't you dare discuss righteousness with the Chairman with that detestable mouth of yours."

A faint smile appeared on Jin Paecheon's lips. How could he not know? That Geom Mugeuk had said those words for his sake.

Hwa Yulcheong, on the other hand, glared at Geom Mugeuk with a terrifying gaze. He had said so much, yet he could not offer a single word of rebuttal. The emotion in his gaze was a dark energy, thicker than killing intent.

"Yes, this is your true self, isn't it?"

Hwa Yulcheong revealed himself. The aura of Hwa Yulcheong, who had now revealed his true nature, was incomparable to before. He was the absolute master of the Dark Palace, who had cultivated his power in the darkness for the past three hundred years.

Then, Jin Paecheon remarked in a calm tone, "Though I came as a spectator, I think I must crash this stage. Is that alright?"

At that, Geom Mugeuk smiled and replied, "From the beginning, this stage was yours, Chairman."

Geom Mugeuk took a step back, and Jin Paecheon stepped forward.

"Ah, and I will be the one to bring down the curtain on this stage."

As he said this, he looked down at his sword and uttered something unexpected.

"After becoming the Chairman of the Murim Alliance, I couldn't use my original swordsmanship. The Chairman couldn't wield such a rough and violent sword style without losing his dignity."

So it seemed his revealed aura would also be more violent, but instead, it was tranquil. It was not the sea of a raging storm with winds so fierce you could not even open your eyes, like his usual aura.

The sea in the darkness was endlessly calm. And that made it more terrifying, because it was impossible to know what would happen in that sea from now on.

The dark energy flowing from Hwa Yulcheong's body grew even stronger. The surrounding bamboo trees began to wither from that energy.

"I have no intention of sending things like you into Hagun's era."

Now referring to Hwa Yulcheong as 'things like you', Jin Paecheon, who had properly taken the stage, slowly drew his sword.

"I will have you exit along with me as I bring the curtain down on my era."