Chapter 81: The Three Demons of the Demonic Path (3)
“Huh?”
San Dojeon looked at me with dazed eyes.
Right now, there was only one emotion I could read in his gaze.
‘Why bother?’
Although San Dojeon hadn’t been a member of the Heavenly Demon Cult for long and didn’t feel a strong sense of belonging yet, he should’ve already grasped the basic nature of how this Cult operated.
“Is there really a need to go that far?”
“There is. A very good reason.”
“And what reason is that?”
“The biggest reason is that I love the woman named Cheon Yura.”
San Dojeon’s mouth opened slightly at the completely unexpected answer.
“And the second reason… is because she desires that kind of future.”
This was the first time I had revealed this emotion, which I had kept hidden—and somewhat denied—until now.
What I just said was a form of resolve.
A resolution to keep the words I had spoken.
Yes.
A divine figure loved by all.
I would make Cheon Yura such a being.
“You’re insane.”
A voice laced with contempt, not from San Dojeon, reached my ears.
“Do you even realize what you just declared?”
Turning toward the source of the insult, I saw Han Muyeon still lying sprawled on the ground.
“Oh, Senior Han. You’re still alive?”
While everyone’s attention was fixed on Cheon Yura and Colorful Flower Lord, he had barely survived by dodging Baek Sang-ah’s sword.
Han Muyeon, covered in blood, gritted his teeth and barely spoke.
“You just declared you’d dye the sky of the Cult with your own color.”
“I know. And what’s the problem with that?”
“Problem? Are you even listening to yourself?”
Even while vomiting blood, Han Muyeon glared at me as if he’d kill me on the spot.
“What you’re trying to do is treason. The Cheon Clan and the other Six Clans—once they learn of your ambition—they’ll try to kill you without hesitation!”
“Oh, come now. That’s a bit…”
San Dojeon, still naïve, seemed to be thinking ‘Is it really that serious?’, but Han Muyeon, who surprisingly had a good sense for politics, struck the core.
I acknowledged it plainly.
“Well, that might be true.”
“...!”
“But I’ve already steeled myself for it. If someone wrongs me, I’ll pay it back. If someone asks me a favor, I’ll honor it. Isn’t that just basic decency?”
“A favor? From whom?”
“That’s not something you need to know. But, anyway.”
Crack!
I stomped down hard on Han Muyeon’s head.
“How dare you. Not just anyone—but a rat lurking in the dark, targeting the Cult—and you have the gall to talk like that? Do you even have a conscience?”
“Keuh-heuk!”
Han Muyeon’s transformation was unraveling, his stamina depleted.
Unlike Myeong-oh, this guy didn’t die from life force depletion but was reverting to his human form—proof that his bloodline was quite unique.
“Sp-Spare me…”
“You want to live?”
Han Muyeon frantically nodded.
“If you want to live, just answer one thing.”
I stared coldly into his eyes and asked,
“Where is First Order right now?”
“T-That’s…”
“Answer honestly, and I’ll spare your life.”
First Order—Han Mubaek, the Demonic Faction Lord, who had been chosen as Cheon Yura’s husband in the previous life.
Of course, the moment I returned in this life, I’d started digging into Han Mubaek’s background.
‘At the very least, he definitely isn’t in the Cult right now.’
Even in the Demon Dragon Hall, and even after investigating the clan he used as a false identity in the past life, I couldn’t find any trace of him.
“I-I don’t know.”
“Oh, so you do want to die.”
I pressed down harder on his neck with my foot, making his voice grow more desperate.
“I-I swear, I really don’t know! First Order is… special. Even among the Ten Heavenly Lord, many don’t know his whereabouts!”
“Even those like Yin-Yang Fist Demon or Colorful Flower Lord?”
“…Maybe not the Ten, but the Eight might know.”
“Hm.”
‘Should I have interrogated him back there, even if it was risky?’
I had let him go because of Grand Protector’s wary gaze, but now I was starting to regret it.
“I see.”
“H-Hey—!”
“There are still some things I’d like to ask you, but judging from the quality of information you’ve given me so far, I doubt I’ll get anything more.”
“P-Please spare—!”
Crack!
Without hesitation, I crushed Han Muyeon’s skull.
A man who had infiltrated the core of the Cult by recruiting talent from the Thousand-Day Pass, hoping to become a giant within the main body.
Second Order—Han Muyeon’s death was a pitiful end.
The moment his skull burst, San Dojeon’s expression contorted violently.
Even if he had received some treatment, his body was still barely clinging to life.
He was in no condition to stop me from killing Han Muyeon.
“You’re not angry, I see.”
I smiled as I looked at San Dojeon.
Though his face was twisted, I didn’t feel any rage or murderous intent.
He must’ve been feeling deeply conflicted inside.
He had tried to protect Han Muyeon but failed. And yet, Han Muyeon hadn’t been someone worth protecting in the first place.
“He’s dead, and Yin-Yang Fist Demon, who restrained you, has been subdued. The things that bound you, Senior, are almost all gone now.”
“……”
“So now… I’d like to bind your life a little.”
“What do you want from me?”
“That loyalty you once gave to Han Muyeon.”
Even though it was a one-sided relationship where only one party bore the burden, he had never betrayed him and had stubbornly stayed by his side.
I valued that loyalty more than even San Dojeon’s talent.
“Then what can you offer me in return?”
I answered without hesitation.
“A human life.”
“...!!”
“It’s also what I want to give her.”
I was certain that this would work.
San Dojeon, though fundamentally a mountain bandit, had spent a childhood no different from a wild beast’s when you dig deeper.
The San Clan of Mount had dedicated their lives to give him a human life, and as such, the phrase that occupied the deepest part of San Dojeon’s heart was ‘a human life.’
“Of course, I’m not saying I’ll give you freedom. Recruiting someone as a subordinate and then talking about freedom would be contradictory.”
“I know that. But... how exactly do you plan to give that to me?”
The moment he asked that, I knew Gu Hal had succeeded.
“How else? I’ll work you to death and throw you among people.”
“What?”
“But I’ll use you—I won’t discard you.”
I looked San Dojeon straight in the eyes.
“I’ll actively help you find the meaning of life for yourself. I’m capable of at least that much.”
After all, the meaning of life isn’t something others can hand you.
You find it yourself, through clashing with others.
What I was offering was to give San Dojeon a foundation—so he wouldn’t be swept up by someone else’s will as he searched for that meaning.
“You probably can’t give an answer right away, since your former master just died.”
“......”
“But I can’t wait too long either. I have a lot on my plate. So…”
I held up a single finger.
“Give me your answer before we return to the Cult after all this is over. That much should be possible, right?”
“...Got it.”
San Dojeon nodded.
Honestly, I felt a little bad for him, but if he didn’t join me now, there was no future for him.
He was already guilty of protecting the traitor Han Muyeon, and once things settled, the result was obvious.
Unless I personally intervened to save him, there’d be no way for him to survive.
‘I hope he realizes that as soon as possible.’
* * *
“Hyuhuhu, you refuse the wine of courtesy and choose the wine of punishment, huh.”
Colorful Flower Lord looked down at Cheon Yura, who had stepped right up to him.
Though he was smiling, he was already so furious that he could no longer control himself.
He hadn’t been this angry since the time he let the Tang Clan’s Poison Phoenix slip through his grasp.
“You two dared to trample on this one’s pure heart—never will I forgive you!”
“...When you become like that, do you lose your intelligence and conscience too?”
Normally, she would’ve ignored him, but his constant barrage of ridiculous lines forced her to say something.
Cheon Yura was right, in fact. Though Colorful Flower Lord would never admit it.
And she didn’t particularly care what answer he gave.
The man would die anyway.
“To me, this was a novel experience. So, in return, I’ll make sure you die painlessly.”
“Heh, you’ll die in agony after losing all your internal energy!”
Fwoosh!
As always, blood energy erupted from Colorful Flower Lord’s body.
Even if she tried to push it away with her sword wind, the ghastly blood mist ignored it completely, as if it had no form, and came flying toward her.
A terrifying, unblockable technique—invincible and inescapable, an unavoidable force of energy—wrapped around Cheon Yura’s entire body.
“Fuhahaha! Foolish woman! You didn’t even try to dodge this one’s Essence-Absorbing Mist!”
Colorful Flower Lord let out a loud laugh, but a hint of pity flickered in his eyes.
Soon, that beautiful face would turn into a hideous corpse, sullying his vision.
As someone who worshiped beauty to the extreme, it was a real tragedy.
But then—
Fwoooosh!
The blood mist of the Essence-Absorbing Mist scattered and blew away in the wind.
“I think I’ve grasped the basic structure.”
“W-What?!”
Colorful Flower Lord was visibly shaken as his technique was neutralized by just a simple wave of Cheon Yura’s hand.
“It’s not merely physicalized qi, but the manifestation of will and intent. Combined with your strange energy, it invades the gaps of the flesh?”
“How are you still unharmed?!”
Cheon Yura slowly stepped forward toward Colorful Flower Lord.
And as if mirroring her pace, he stepped backward.
“No matter how unusual or mysterious the power is, if it can be controlled, there’s a way to stop it.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Are—Are you saying… you’ve reached the realm of Will-Commanding Qi Manipulation?!”
Controlling objects with intent, and manipulating phenomena with will—many names existed for it.
But at its core, it referred to the realm where one could interfere with the external world using qi controlled by sheer intent.
This realm was symbolic of supreme masters, often represented by the pinnacle levels known as Transformation Realm or Extreme Demon*.
“A-And even if you had reached that realm—it wouldn’t matter! To overpower this one’s Essence-Absorbing Mist, you’d need to be one of the Five Kings of the Central Plains!”
The Five Kings referred to those acknowledged as top-tier masters, even within the Transformation Realm—the absolute elite.
Even Colorful Flower Lord himself had reached the Transformation Realm, so what he said wasn’t wrong in general.
“You—You can’t be a rejuvenated ancient witch in her prime or anything!”
“You’re making one mistake.”
Crackle-crackle-crackle!
Terrifying demonic energy surged from Cheon Yura’s entire body.
A dread so overwhelming it seemed it could consume the world—like the ancient evil god Mara itself!
“The Heavenly Demonic Divine Art and the Heaven-Slaying Demonic Sword Art—are not things that can be measured by your standards.”
“A-Argh!”
Even within that torrent of massive demonic energy, Cheon Yura stood tall and proud.
A power that far exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Her overwhelming strength left not only Colorful Flower Lord but also Geum Jeoksan and the warriors of Evil Overlords of Heaven, who had been watching, speechless.
Geum Jeoksan murmured absentmindedly,
“That... is that really power a human can wield?”
Even when the Yin-Yang Fist Demon unleashed his Sun and Moon Heaven-Shattering Demonic Art, it hadn’t felt like this.
Just witnessing it broke your spirit—a divine majesty that made one want to prostrate instinctively.
Colorful Flower Lord clung desperately to his crumbling will and shouted,
“I admit it—you’ve exceeded my expectations! But can you break through this awakened form?!”
As if trying to brainwash himself, Colorful Flower Lord roared,
“This awakened form was created by borrowing the power of the Spirit Turtle from the mythic era! No human power can possibly penetrate it—!”
Slaaaash!
He couldn’t finish his sentence.
A single blow.
A massive black slash, big enough to slice the ceiling, cleaved through Colorful Flower Lord’s right arm.