Chapter 710: The One Who Will Save Me from Hell
“You still haven’t given up on the Young Cult Leader.”
Hwa Do-myeong interpreted Cha Iran’s words as a joke in that way. She was not the type of person to joke about not needing to return money in a situation like this. Besides, she smiled at him that enchantingly?
“To be honest, I was hoping you wouldn’t give in.”
Hwa Do-myeong walked slowly and stopped before Geom Mugeuk. With his eyes shut, Geom Mugeuk’s entire body was drenched in sweat.
“You’re holding out for a long time. By now, the Flying Blood Serpent should have lodged itself into the Young Cult Leader’s heart.”
Swish—
Hwa Do-myeong opened his fan and gently fanned Geom Mugeuk’s face.
At that moment, Cha Iran’s voice came from behind.
“I’d like to finish the rest of the wine.”
She could not move her body because the Devil’s Hole had restrained her.
Hwa Do-myeong flicked his qi, releasing her pressure points so she could move. Of course, her inner energy was still sealed.
Cha Iran picked up the wine bottle from the table and poured it into her cup. It was the same wine they had ordered while dining with Geom Mugeuk. The two had borrowed a special room in the restaurant, shared a meal, and right after finishing, all of this had taken place.
Without turning back, Hwa Do-myeong spoke.
“At least you got to have one last fine meal.”
The words carried the meaning that he intended to kill both of them once this was over.
When he received no reply, Hwa Do-myeong glanced at Cha Iran. She neither begged for her life nor looked like she had any will to fight.
She only leaned lazily against the chair, silently drinking her wine while staring out the window.
She recalled the moment in the manor’s garden when she had sat side by side with Geom Mugeuk, gazing at the sky.
Back then, she had not thought she would give up on the commission.
She had even laughed inwardly at how the Divine Transformation Gang Leader had changed his own fate without a moment’s hesitation, yet in the end, she was no different.
“What are you thinking about?”
At Hwa Do-myeong’s question, Cha Iran refilled her cup and answered.
“Nothing at all.”
Cha Iran regarded him indifferently. Just as he knew her well, she also knew Hwa Do-myeong.
Though he always pretended to hide behind his fan in shyness, he was someone who longed to stand at the center of the world. In this moment of triumph, he was surely expecting recognition and applause from her.
But she would not give it to him.
Seeing her showing the resolve to face death, Hwa Do-myeong finally brought up something that could catch her attention.
“When Ak Gunhak retrieved the Secret Box……”
The cup that Cha Iran was raising to her lips froze in mid-air.
“The old man was truly overjoyed. That alone more than made up for his failure to kill Geom Mugeuk. But the Secret Box he brought back turned out to be useless, producing no effect whatsoever.”
She did not know what the Secret Box was, but she thought it might be something that could help Geom Mugeuk, so she listened carefully.
“You were tricked by that Young Cult Leader again, weren’t you?”
This was what Cha Iran wanted to know.
“What was that red energy inside the orb?”
At first, the energy she had felt had been pleasant. But after the red serpent emerged, its nature had changed.
“It was power to stop destruction.”
Once again, the word destruction flowed from Hwa Do-myeong’s mouth.
“From whom? From the Unorthodox Alliance Leader?”
Hwa Do-myeong nodded and looked at Geom Mugeuk.
“Everything ends today.”
* * *
The Flying Blood Serpent darted about Geom Mugeuk’s entire bloodstream as if it were its own home. It was as supple as a water snake swimming swiftly through a narrow cave.
The vitality and force emanating from the Flying Blood Serpent were nothing like what could be perceived by sight alone.
It contained the condensed essence of countless elixirs of the martial world, rare herbs, and the mysterious powers of treasures. Geom Mugeuk realized that if he could slay and absorb it, he would gain an energy stronger than any medicine he had ever taken. If only he could catch it.
But it was fast.
Shashashashak—
It raced through his veins, targeting only the heart.
Geom Mugeuk blocked the main vessels leading to the heart with his inner force. His vast and pure qi wrapped around his heart protectively.
The Flying Blood Serpent collided with the inner force guarding the heart.
Bwoom!
The impact reverberated through his veins, and Geom Mugeuk clenched his teeth. He tried to seize the creature with his qi, but it was impossibly quick.
Sasasasak—
Like a loach slipping free of one’s grasp, the serpent slipped away from his qi and once more swam through his bloodstream.
The problem was that this was not the only thing he had to worry about.
Inside his body, the five energies he had absorbed through the Secret Box were raging through his veins. He suspected it was because of the Flying Blood Serpent wreaking havoc within him.
He had tried to calm them somehow, but it was useless. Only by completely dissolving the Flying Blood Serpent could those five energies settle again.
Thus, he was forced to fight a defensive battle to protect his heart while also conducting a pursuit amid a raging storm.
Kwaaak!
The second collision was even stronger than before. Geom Mugeuk gritted his teeth again.
If he had not strengthened his meridians with the Heavenly Meridian Strengthening Technique… If he had not accumulated his vast and pure inner energy through many encounters of fortune… he thought his defenses would have been pierced by that single strike.
Once again, he tried to seize it, but the Flying Blood Serpent slipped away. This time, he sent out his inner force to chase after it.
The creature was intelligent and possessed a strong will to survive. Evading the pursuit of his qi, it darted between the countless veins in his body, seeking a way to live.
It mostly fled toward veins where the flow of energy was less connected. Instinctively, it knew where to run to escape.
On the third attack, Geom Mugeuk attempted an encirclement.
He sent his inner force all at once, tightening it from every direction. But this time, the Flying Blood Serpent used the five raging energies inside his body to break through the encirclement.
Most of the serpent’s escape routes were along paths where the qi flowed in reverse. Among them were hidden blood passages he had never once thought to explore, though they had always been there.
‘Ah! So there were paths like this too.’
The desperate routes the Flying Blood Serpent revealed in order to survive became, for Geom Mugeuk, new realizations of the body’s blood passages.
Circling back, the Flying Blood Serpent lunged at his heart once more.
Four times, five, ten, twenty…
Although there were countless perilous moments, Geom Mugeuk endured them. With every repetition, he discovered new blood passages.
The Flying Blood Serpent did not tire. But neither did Geom Mugeuk.
So you were forged painstakingly over decades?
Sorry, but the same applies to me.
‘So come at me as much as you like!’
* * *
At last, Geom Mugeuk began to open his eyes.
Hwa Do-myeong stood before him, a look of eager anticipation on his face.
Standing behind, Cha Iran prayed desperately.
‘Please!’
The moment when fate was decided!
From Hwa Do-myeong’s lips came a cry of joy, while from Cha Iran came a sigh of despair.
Geom Mugeuk’s eyes were completely dyed in crimson energy.
“It’s done! The Flying Blood Serpent has completely taken over the Young Cult Leader.”
Cha Iran clenched her fist. She had believed Geom Mugeuk would overcome it.
‘You told me to trust you!’
Despair filled her heart, while rapture spread across Hwa Do-myeong’s face.
But then, the crimson rising in Geom Mugeuk’s eyes faded away.
In an instant, his gaze returned to its original, calm clarity as he stared steadily at Hwa Do-myeong.
An overwhelming thrill spread across Hwa Do-myeong’s face, one he could not hide. Everyone else had failed to eliminate the Young Cult Leader, but he had succeeded in bringing him under his control.
“We have waited only for this one chance. In the end, you too are nothing more than a servant who carried out our work for us.”
Geom Mugeuk revealed no emotion, only looking at him silently.
Hwa Do-myeong gave a cold order.
“Go and kill the Unorthodox Alliance Leader…”
At that moment, Cha Iran cut him off.
“If the Young Cult Leader kills the Unorthodox Alliance Leader, war will break out.”
“That’s right.”
Cha Iran’s eyes were filled with contempt as she said,
“To prevent destruction? Then use that mouth or your fan to stop it.”
Hwa Do-myeong raised his fan to cover his mouth mockingly, then finished his order to Geom Mugeuk.
“Kill the Unorthodox Alliance Leader and return to me.”
Geom Mugeuk slowly turned around.
Hwa Do-myeong then turned to Cha Iran.
“Shall we have our final drink now?”
If the plan succeeded, it had been decided from the very beginning. She would betray him, and the betrayer would be eliminated.
Cha Iran silently stared at Geom Mugeuk’s back through Hwa Do-myeong’s shoulder.
Even to the very end, she was infuriating him.
Hwa Do-myeong locked eyes with her—those eyes that, until the last moment, were fixed only on the Young Cult Leader.
And just as he was about to kill her while staring into those eyes—
Hwa Do-myeong saw it. A flash reflected in her pupils. Something was flying straight toward him.
Swiish!
He twisted his body desperately.
Puuuk!
The Black Demon Sword pierced through his shoulder.
Had he not evaded at the last moment, it would have gone through his heart.
Geom Mugeuk, who had been walking toward the door, had turned silently and struck him.
The technique he used was the Underworld King Step from the Wind God’s Four Steps.
With his shoulder pierced, Hwa Do-myeong was overwhelmed by shock and terror.
“…I told you to kill the Unorthodox Alliance Leader.”
He thought Geom Mugeuk had misunderstood the order.
That was why he did not immediately counterattack. He needed to find out what went wrong and then send him again. The Flying Blood Serpent, forged through long years of effort, could never again be created in this era.
“I am your master…”
The moment their eyes met, Hwa Do-myeong felt lightning shoot through his entire body.
That composure in Geom Mugeuk’s gaze was something that not even ten Flying Blood Serpents could ever produce.
“Don’t tell me… the Flying Blood Serpent didn’t work?”
A bright smile spread across Geom Mugeuk’s face.
“Red Essence and even the Flying Blood Serpent. I’ve devoured them both.”
With those words, Geom Mugeuk drew out his sword.
Splaash!
Blood gushed from Hwa Do-myeong’s shoulder. Geom Mugeuk allowed him even the time to stanch the wound.
“Leave while I’m sparing you.”
Though he had the absolute advantage, he was still saying he would let him live. Hwa Do-myeong did not believe it. He thought it was a trick to make him drop his guard before being ambushed.
Geom Mugeuk explained the reason.
“Thank Miss Cha. She’s the one who told me not to kill you.”
Indeed, she had said not to touch him. But even Cha Iran had not thought that he would truly let Hwa Do-myeong live in this moment.
Hwa Do-myeong looked at her. Not knowing Geom Mugeuk’s intentions, she only returned his gaze silently.
Chaak—
With a flick, his fan opened, and Hwa Do-myeong vanished.
It seemed as if he was leaving her with a life debt—but that was not the reason.
Once it was certain Hwa Do-myeong had completely left the room—
Clang!
The Black Demon Sword clattered to the floor, and Geom Mugeuk coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“Young Cult Leader!”
As she rushed to support him—
Geom Mugeuk’s eyes began turning red again.
Cha Iran gripped his arm tightly.
“Stay with me!”
Barely, Geom Mugeuk forced the crimson energy back down. He still had not completely subdued the Flying Blood Serpent.
“I only lent it half my heart.”
He had said he gave it, but in truth, he had turned half his heart into a prison to lure it in. That was the only way to capture the creature.
Because he was locked in a tense struggle at his heart, Geom Mugeuk could not unleash the next strike that would have killed Hwa Do-myeong. Had he done so, the Flying Blood Serpent would have completely seized his heart. Even that first Underworld King Step had been a reckless move, one he had used only to save her.
Cha Iran understood. Geom Mugeuk could have simply slipped away quietly. He could have pretended to leave to kill the Unorthodox Alliance Leader, and then sought treatment from the Evil Smiling Demon or the Unorthodox Alliance Leader.
But instead, he had recklessly used his inner energy to save her.
“Why did you do this?”
With trembling hands, Geom Mugeuk released the seal on her qi.
“There’s no need to be moved. From now on, it’s you who has to save me.”
Even as he spoke, his eyes repeatedly flooded with crimson energy, only for him to force it back again.
“When I open my eyes again…”
Geom Mugeuk closed his eyes as he uttered his final words. Crimson light seeped out from beneath his lids, like the gates of hell closing. And from that hell, there was only one person who could pull him out.
“I must see the Demon Supreme before me.”
Geom Mugeuk was determined to follow the prophecy’s guidance. Having spoken his last words, he closed his eyes completely.
Cha Iran could see it. He did not have much time left.
After sliding the Black Demon Sword back into its sheath, she lifted Geom Mugeuk onto her back. Because it was him, she could even make such a joke.
“Taking on a commission without even paying the fee?”
With that, she leapt out the window.
And in that instant, she saw him. On the roof of the building across the way, someone was watching her.
It was Hwa Do-myeong, who had not yet left.
Without a single word, Cha Iran hurled herself away.
From Geom Mugeuk’s figure slung across her back, Hwa Do-myeong realized the truth. He had not been spared—Geom Mugeuk had simply not been able to kill him.
Whish-whish-whish-whish-whish!
Behind him, figures revealed themselves as they shed their concealment, descending from the sky like celestial beings. Their stealth and lightness techniques were extraordinary, and so was their qi.
“Stop them! The Young Cult Leader must never be delivered to the Evil Smiling Demon!”
The martial artists all leapt into the air, pursuing her at once.
When Hwa Do-myeong tried to follow, his subordinates stopped him.
“Your wound is too deep.”
The stab wound in his shoulder was severe, and he had only sealed the bleeding with pressure on his pressure points.
If he moved carelessly, it could turn into an even worse injury. But he could not simply stand by.
“The Young Cult Leader’s condition is worse.”
Even if he gave up on killing the Unorthodox Alliance Leader, he could not abandon Geom Mugeuk. The powers dwelling within his body had to be reclaimed.
“Release the seal.”
* * *
Piii, puh-puh-puh-puh-pung!
From his seat by the window, the Crescent Moon Faceless Swordsman heard the sound of firecrackers bursting in the distance.
It was a peculiar kind of firecracker sound.
The very same sound he had once heard during the operation to capture the assassins of the Court of Beauties.
The Crescent Moon Faceless Swordsman turned to look at the Evil Smiling Demon. The latter had been sitting with his eyes closed, circulating his qi.
“It’s a rescue signal from the assassins.”
From behind his mask, the Evil Smiling Demon’s eyes flashed open.
As he rose from his seat, the other Faceless Swordsmen, who had each been attending to their own tasks, immediately stood up as well.
The Evil Smiling Demon glanced toward the Mistress of the Sky Flower Pavilion, who had been sharing tea with Lee Ahn.
The Mistress of the Sky Flower Pavilion slowly nodded. She could sense it instinctively—it was the destined moment of prophecy approaching at last.
“Let’s go!”
As the Evil Smiling Demon leapt through the window and soared into the sky, every window in the place flung open, and the Faceless Swordsmen launched themselves out in unison.
Beyond them, high in the distance, firecrackers bloomed in the sky.