Chapter 813: Just as Those Present Here Have Done

TL: FoodieMonster007

Everyone, not to mention the Darkness Palace Lord, was startled.

Even then, the Darkness Palace Lord was still reaching for the Secret Box.

Quick-witted Geom Mugeuk immediately grasped the situation. "Trying to break this? Not a chance. It'll never break."

Three hundred years ago, the Secret Box hadn't even budged when the Heavenly Demon Hyeok Docheon had furiously pounded it with his fists.

"And as you can see, taking hostages won't work on those heartless and merciless Demon Supremes!" He then shouted at the Demonic Buddha. "You wanted to break it! Smash it to pieces! Even though I was inside that thing!"

The Drunken Demon glanced at the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme and mimed that it was finally time to cover his ears. The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme smiled at the sight.

The atmosphere had changed instantly with Geom Mugeuk's appearance.

"Have you still not given up on my Hyung-nim?"

A deep sense of relief washed over the Demonic Buddha. He had acted boldly toward the Darkness Palace Lord, but how could he have truly meant it?

He had shouted so loudly because he was certain the Darkness Palace Lord could never break the Secret Box. Having suffered internal injuries and even coughed up blood, that Secret Box was his last hope.

Of course, even with that certainty, who could predict the ways of the world? What if the bastard really did smash the Secret Box?

The Demonic Buddha's heart had pounded as if it would burst. Therefore, at this moment, the person he was happiest to see was Geom Mugeuk.

Of course, he had to express it like this, "What a shame, the First Young Lord could have become the successor." He glared at the Darkness Palace Lord. "Why did you hesitate so much? You should've just smashed it."

Geom Mugeuk turned to the Darkness Palace Lord. "See? They're this vicious!"

A look of despair crossed the Darkness Palace Lord's face. Three perfectly fine Demon Supremes, and now Geom Mugeuk as well.

In contrast, his Greedy Annihilation Art had vanished. His ultimate demonic arts, the Dark Heaven Stellar Soul Art and the Evil Thrall Creation Art, had failed. He had suffered severe internal injuries.

Now, he had only one move left. The single move he had saved for the final moment of his life.

Geom Mugeuk looked at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and the Flower Sword Supreme and feigned surprise. "Oh my, why are you two here?"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon shook his head with a look of disbelief.

Why is startling people like that is so typical for Geom Mugeuk…

"I came because I heard all hell broke loose when someone was eaten by a lump of iron."

"I didn't go in, I was dragged in. Phew! You'd be shocked if you knew what I saw." Geom Mugeuk glanced at the Darkness Palace Lord, who was staring at him with eyes shrouded in darkness. "What about you? Are you curious about what I saw?"

He acted as if he was about to tell him, but…

"I'm not gonna tell you~"

For a moment, the Darkness Palace Lord's face twitched. It was a fresh reminder of just how infuriating this Young Cult Leader bastard could be.

The Flower Sword Supreme smiled. "It seems the Young Cult Leader hasn't changed a bit in the Secret Box."

Geom Mugeuk asked her. "Did you enjoy your trip?"

"It was the most enjoyable trip of my life."

A pleasant smile formed on the face of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, who was standing naturally beside her.

"Don't let this be a one-time thing. You should travel often."

"That's the plan. Next, I'm thinking of heading to the southern regions."

Geom Mugeuk didn't forget the words the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had recently come to love most. "Hmm? How have you gotten even younger since I last saw you?!"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon averted his gaze as if upset, but his smile only deepened.

Geom Mugeuk turned his attention to the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme. "Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme, are you alright?"

"Yes, Young Cult Leader."

She had also suffered internal injuries, but they weren't serious.

"Did those two bully you or give you a hard time for being the youngest? Did they make you take the lead in dangerous situations?"

"On the contrary, I was overprotected."

The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme was overjoyed to see Geom Mugeuk again. Because he had survived, her chance to become the first Demon Supreme of the next generation's Demonic Cult Leader had also survived.

Now, she intended to add one more thing to that.

I want to be the next generation Demon Supreme whom the Cult Leader trusts the most.

Just as the current Cult Leader had the Fist Demon, she wanted to be the one to stand in that position for Geom Mugeuk.

Geom Mugeuk looked at the Drunken Demon and made a belated fuss. "What?! Who on earth did this to our dear Drunken Demon?" He glared at the Darkness Palace Lord. "Was it you? It was you, wasn't it? You bastard!"

The Drunken Demon grumbled from behind him. "Why don't you stop acting?"

"Acting?"

The Drunken Demon couldn't hold back and shouted, "If you were so worried, you should've come to me first! You should've checked on me first! I'm the one who's hurt the most! How dare you check on me last and pretend to be concerned!"

Geom Mugeuk stealthily approached and gently touched the Drunken Demon's broken arm. "Oh dear, what kind of Demon Supreme goes around with a broken arm?"

The three Demon Supremes who arrived later could guess how difficult this fight had been from that fact alone. For someone at the level of a Demon Supreme, breaking an arm was an unimaginable event.

"I got drunk and fell down."

"You should be more careful."

The Drunken Demon looked down at Geom Mugeuk's hand holding his arm. He could feel Geom Mugeuk's emotions from that faintly trembling hand saying, 'Thank you for surviving, Hyung-nim.'

Just then, the Demonic Buddha said calmly, "The Drunken Demon saved us."

The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme nodded along with an expression that said she agreed.

Geom Mugeuk smirked. "That's why I came to you late. The main character always appears last, so you always save the main character for last."

Leaving the needlessly proud Drunken Demon, he turned toward the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon.

From behind, the Drunken Demon shouted. "Wait?! I'm not the last one?!"

Geom Mugeuk pretended not to hear and looked at the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon. He must have been the one in charge of the outside who brought the two newly joined Demon Supremes inside. His precise judgment must have saved everyone.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon asked with a smile, "Did you have a good trip?"

Geom Mugeuk nodded. It was because of the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon that he could visit the world of three hundred years ago with a peaceful mind. "Thanks to you, I had a good trip."

The Darkness Palace Lord watched with his own eyes, yet he couldn't understand their relationship. He had heard countless reports that Geom Mugeuk was close with the Demon Supremes, but seeing it in person was shocking.

He exchanges such jokes with the Demon Supremes? They share such looks of trust?

Those were looks he had never once experienced himself, not even from his own aide, Hoe.

Once Geom Mugeuk finished greeting the Demon Supremes, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon asked curiously, "What on earth happened inside that lump of iron?"

Although Geom Mugeuk had said he wouldn't tell the Darkness Palace Lord, he spoke honestly to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. "The Secret Box showed me the time three hundred years ago, when the Heavenly Fate Palace started the war."

He didn't say that he had personally gone back three hundred years. They would just assume the Secret Box had shown him the past.

Still, everyone was surprised.

Geom Mugeuk turned to the Darkness Palace Lord. "What kind of person is Hwa Mugi?"

This was the first time he had mentioned Hwa Mugi directly to someone.

"!" The Darkness Palace Lord's eyes widened. He never imagined that name would come from Geom Mugeuk. Even the Saintess had only known of His existence, not His name.

"The Secret Box told me that person's name."

The Demon Supremes could tell. The being that Geom Mugeuk had vaguely feared was this person named Hwa Mugi. The Darkness Palace Lord was not the final enemy.

The Darkness Palace Lord's gaze turned to the Secret Box. "This Secret Box is our sacred object, so why did it choose you?"

"To be precise, it's the sacred object of the Heavenly Fate Palace. You're a descendant of the Darkness Palace, which was under the Heavenly Fate Palace."

The Darkness Palace Lord was curious. Why on earth did the Secret Box absorb Geom Mugeuk and not me? How did the Secret Box reveal the truth? And what else did it reveal?

"Do you have anything to say to me?" Geom Mugeuk demanded.

The Darkness Palace Lord didn't answer.

Geom Mugeuk drew the Black Demon Sword without hesitation. "Fine, I'll respect your wishes."

The three Demon Supremes standing behind him also gathered their inner qi in unison, preparing for battle.

Seeing their readiness to charge at any moment, the Darkness Palace Lord quickly said. "That being is not someone the likes of you can handle."

Of course, Geom Mugeuk knew very well why the old bastard was so confident. With those five souls and their inner qi residing within Hwa Mugi, how could he possibly lose to anyone? No one would think it possible.

"If you've heard about him, you should know this isn't the time to be so relaxed, right?"

The Darkness Palace Lord tried to somehow separate Geom Mugeuk from the others and send him rushing back to Demonic Cult Headquarters. That was his only sliver of hope for survival.

However, Geom Mugeuk smashed all his hopes, saying, "Are you asking why I don't run to my father right now? I will go, but even if I go, I have to kill you first. I'm going to watch you die completely before my eyes. That's why I came out in the first place."

Because this place was just as important as that one.

However, the Darkness Palace Lord interpreted Geom Mugeuk's composure differently. "That can't be it. It must be because you can become the Cult Leader if your father dies."

The Demon Supremes' eyes darkened at the two's conversation. It wasn't because they suspected Geom Mugeuk of having such intentions, but because of the martial arts skill of that man, Hwa Mugi. Judging by the conversation, Hwa Mugi seemed to possess enough power to kill even the Cult Leader, and Geom Mugeuk seemed to acknowledge it.

Still, Geom Mugeuk shook his head. "Like you just saw, no one in my family is the type to meekly give up their position."

The Darkness Palace Lord laughed coldly. The possibility of Hwa Mugi's defeat didn't even exist in his mind. "You're all going to die anyway. Not just you, but the Murim Alliance and the Evil Alliance will all be wiped out. You've dominated this murim for far too long. A new era is about to begin."

Geom Mugeuk stared at him intently. "Even if that happens, it won't be your success. It won't be your era. At best, you'll just become Hwa Mugi's underling."

Rage surged within the Darkness Palace Lord. Those were the words he hated to hear the most.

Geom Mugeuk continued taunting him. "Do you know why you failed?"

No, the words the Darkness Palace Lord didn't want to hear were just beginning.

"You've spent too long in the darkness. The darkness has devoured you."

"Of course it should. I am the Darkness Palace Lord."

"Because you're the Darkness Palace Lord, you should have come out into the light. Only when you turn your back to the light can you truly see what darkness is."

"……" The Darkness Palace Lord felt his resolve waver.

"Since this is the end anyway, I'll be honest. I was disappointed when I met you in person. You weren't as cool as I thought you'd be. Ah, of course, seeing the methods you've chosen so far, I did expect you to be someone unremarkable. Still, I thought you might have a different kind of coolness in person, but you didn't, and I figured out why."

"……" The Darkness Palace Lord felt humiliated and ashamed.

"You've been fossilized in that darkness for so long. You've even forgotten what it means to be cool."

"Shut up!" the Darkness Palace Lord roared at the barrage of crude insults. "I have lived my entire life in sacrifice for the great cause of my palace. I have lived solely for the sake of revenge!"

However, that great cause didn't work on Geom Mugeuk.

"Then why didn't you name a successor?"

"What?"

"If your true purpose was for that great cause, you should have appointed a successor. If you couldn't achieve it yourself, you should have passed on your will to a successor to fulfill it. That noble will wouldn't change even with the passage of time, but you didn't name a successor. Shall I tell you why? It's because you weren't fighting for a great cause. You were just greedy to become the mastermind and rule this murim."

The Darkness Palace Lord glared fiercely at Geom Mugeuk. One could never know just how infuriating this Geom Mugeuk was without experiencing it firsthand.

Finally, he began to tell his story.

"This was my father's dream."

The moment a faint memory flickered across the Darkness Palace Lord's face, the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme knew that the person he had looked up at with a bright smile, when she had entered his mind during the earlier fight, was his father.

Did he come this far with just that one good memory?

"The power we obtained was not something an ordinary human could handle. Countless people died because of that power. After learning that only a human born with the energy of the Celestial Killer Star could accept that power, I spent my entire life searching for that destiny. Then, to control the power contained within the Celestial Killer Star, I spent a long time trying to find the Six Elements Origin Qi. How dare a punk like you, who was born as the son of the Heavenly Demon and lived a comfortable life, mock a life like mine?"

The Darkness Palace Lord's rage exploded. His internal injuries flared up, and blood trickled from his mouth.

Geom Mugeuk, on the other hand, was calm. "Trying to inherit and fulfill your father's dream? What a devoted son. I, on the other hand, am an unfilial son trying to put an end to my father's dream."

He meant it sincerely, but to the Darkness Palace Lord, it sounded like mockery.

A deep energy of darkness flowed from the Darkness Palace Lord's eyes. They could feel that he had made up his mind about something. "How do you think I've designed my end?"

"You're not the type to have a cool ending, so you'd probably be thinking of taking everyone down with you with something lame like a self-destruction art."

He had predicted that the man would have prepared a self-destruction art, and his prediction was correct.

Light began to flow from the characters drawn on the Darkness Palace Lord's face. They had thought it was a grand technique to steal the Six Elements Origin Qi from his body, but it wasn't. This was the Phantom Writing Annihilation Art.

It was by no means a lame self-destruction art, rather, it was the most powerful one that even borrowed the power of ghosts.

As the characters on the Darkness Palace Lord's face and body glowed, indecipherable characters began to be carved into the floor and the air. Those in the room were trapped within the characters that filled their surroundings.

"You will all go with me into eternal darkness."

The moment he tried to unleash the Phantom Writing Annihilation Art, the three Demon Supremes moved.

SWISH! THWACK!

A stream of finger qi bullet flew toward the Darkness Palace Lord's face. It was the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's Blood Calamity Finger.

However, the dark energy that always protected him blocked the Blood Calamity Finger.

"You cannot stop me!"

While the dark energy surrounded and protected him, the light of the Phantom Writing Annihilation Art carved on his body and all around grew even more intense. In this moment of self-destruction, the Pitch Black Demonic Art was, quite paradoxically, shining more brightly than any other martial art.

SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH! THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK! PIERCE!

The Blood Calamity Finger, flying as fast as light, struck the same spot it had hit before. The finger qi bullet, which had continuously struck the same spot, finally broke through the dark energy.

SMACK!

The moment the Blood Calamity Finger struck the Darkness Palace Lord's face, the dark energy weakened.

SHUNK!

As if waiting for that very moment, the One Flower Sword instantly pierced through the dark energy and impaled his chest.

SLAAAAASH!

Simultaneously, the Heaven Destroying Dao sliced cleanly from his shoulder down to his chest.

SPLUUURT!

The Darkness Palace Lord's body split open, and blood gushed out like a fountain. He, who was internally injured and hiding within his dark energy solely to unleash his Self Destruction Art, could never have blocked the attacks of the three Demon Supremes.

Geom Mugeuk walked over to him as he lay collapsed on the floor.

In his fading consciousness, the Darkness Palace Lord left his final curse. "…You won't be able to stop him."

Geom Mugeuk readily admitted it. "That's right, I probably can't stop him. Instead, my father will stop him. The Murim and Evil Alliance Chairmen will stop him, and the Demon Supremes will stop him."

He was not at all ashamed to admit the truth.

Geom Mugeuk looked back at the six Demon Supremes lined up behind him and met each of their gazes. "Just as those present here have done now." His gaze returned to the Darkness Palace Lord. "Your darkness was the kind that hides itself while sacrificing all its subordinates. A darkness that doesn't face the light is a darkness that must disappear from this world."

The Darkness Palace Lord opened his mouth to say something, but only blood gushed out instead of words.

Geom Mugeuk's final words were polite. "So, have no more lingering attachments to this world, and return to the eternal darkness you love so much."

A great lingering attachment still remained in the Darkness Palace Lord's eyes, but he could not defy the call of death. His eyes slowly closed, and soon, his breathing stopped.

The dark energy that had been faintly lingering around also scattered into the air and vanished forever.

This was the moment the final mastermind, the Darkness Palace Lord, finally died.

Now, only one person remained—Hwa Mugi.