Chapter 756: As You Believe, So Do We
The stench of blood spread sharply as a heavy silence fell over the place.
No one standing behind Geom Mugeuk dared to open their mouth.
Tae Soo trembled all over. He had seen people die countless times before, but never in such a gruesome way.
‘So he was such a terrifying man.’
He knew the Demon Supreme of the cult was frightening, but when had he ever experienced that terror firsthand? Only now did he truly realize that the man was not merely a master, but indeed the Demon Supreme.
Ji Han, too, now grasped what kind of place he had joined. One mistake, and he would end up the same way. The demonic energy Blood Heaven Blade Demon emitted as he killed his opponent earlier had instilled a dread beyond imagination.
Even Pung from the Unorthodox Alliance felt fear, and the Patriarch of the Baekchong Family, Danso Jin, only watched the situation in silence.
‘Was my choice truly the right one?’
Those were the very people he had asked for help. Had he fled from a wolf only to summon a tiger instead? The thought finally began to weigh on him.
The Iron-Masked Man took a step back with a horrified look in his eyes, while the Sword King silently observed Blood Heaven Blade Demon, who stood with his back turned.
The one who broke the silence was Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
“Mugeuk, give me some water.”
When Geom Mugeuk stretched out his hand, the belt pouch opened on its own and a bamboo flask floated out. He kept his guard up, wary that the Sound King might move while he was distracted by the pouch.
Despite the death of the Blade King, the Sound King showed no sign of emotional disturbance. He merely swayed his body lightly, lost in his own rhythm, as if drifting into a world of his own.
Geom Mugeuk approached Blood Heaven Blade Demon. Without turning around, Blood Heaven Blade Demon simply extended a hand backward. Realizing that he did not wish to show his face, Geom Mugeuk quietly placed the flask in his hand.
Blood Heaven Blade Demon had not asked for water to drink.
Splash—
Still facing away, he poured the water over his face, washing away the blood.
Only then did he turn around. He had returned to his usual self — the Blood Heaven Blade Demon who used to sit by the window reading books. The terrifying demonic aura from moments ago had completely vanished.
As if the battle between him and the Blade King had never taken place, Blood Heaven Blade Demon began to speak to One-Slash Sword Supreme about her earlier duel, which he hadn’t had the chance to comment on.
“It was a magnificent fight. Is your forehead all right?”
Geom Mugeuk understood. Blood Heaven Blade Demon had not wanted them to see his face, still drenched in blood.
And how could One-Slash Sword Supreme not understand that feeling?
“I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.”
“Apply medicine properly so it doesn’t scar.”
“Yes, I will.”
Blood Heaven Blade Demon turned his gaze toward the Sword King. Geom Mugeuk spoke on his behalf, conveying the Demon Supreme’s silent thoughts.
“How could you put a scar on such a precious face?”
The Sword King looked at Geom Mugeuk with an expression of deep grievance. His eyes said he wanted to pull back his bangs and show his own forehead — wasn’t this face precious too?
Had the two of them been alone, he surely would have done so. But since Blood Heaven Blade Demon was present, he restrained himself from provoking him unnecessarily.
Blood Heaven Blade Demon spoke to the Sword King in a calm tone.
“Step aside now.”
“I cannot do that.”
At the Sword King’s reply, Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s eyes twitched. He had already found the man disagreeable, and yet he still refused to listen. Then again, this one didn’t even obey the Young Cult Leader — why would he listen to him?
“I see. You must have your reasons. Then you can understand ours as well, can’t you?”
Blood Heaven Blade Demon began walking forward, his aura declaring that he would kill the Sword King if he must.
The Sword King did not retreat. His intent was clear — no one was to lay a hand on the Sound King today.
This fight had to be stopped. The duel with One-Slash Sword Supreme earlier had also been a battle fought with lives on the line, but it still had its limits.
It had been the Sword King who set that line, and both he and One-Slash Sword Supreme had honored it to the end.
But a fight with Blood Heaven Blade Demon would be different. With that man’s temperament, if he truly decided to strike, it would only end with one’s death.
“Elder!”
“Don’t stop me.”
Blood Heaven Blade Demon replied without even turning back.
“I won’t stop you.”
Blood Heaven Blade Demon gave him a sidelong glance, as if asking, ‘Really?’
“Since you’re already fighting, make sure you win! That flimsy sword that looks like it’d snap with a tap — just break it clean in half.”
“You say things you don’t even mean.”
How could Blood Heaven Blade Demon not understand Geom Mugeuk’s heart? He knew better than anyone that Geom Mugeuk was in the most awkward position right now.
Had Geom Mugeuk taken the ponytail-wearing man’s side and tried to stop the fight, Blood Heaven Blade Demon might have clashed with him immediately.
But because he instead supported him and told him to win, the urge to fight had suddenly vanished. Clever fellow — he knew his heart too well.
Blood Heaven Blade Demon, who had been stepping forward, turned back again. He nodded at One-Slash Sword Supreme, silently praising her.
“I told you to apply medicine first.”
As Blood Heaven Blade Demon moved inside, Geom Mugeuk turned his gaze toward the Sound King.
The Sound King was still gently swaying his body, never once glancing at the Blade King’s corpse. Even without looking into those sightless eyes, it was clear he neither grieved nor worried.
A man as powerful as the Blade King had died, and yet he felt no concern? Just what kind of confidence was that? Did he trust the Sword King that completely?
“Did you not get along with the deceased? Even so, your emotional range seems far too dry for a man of music.”
Geom Mugeuk once again provoked him with talk of music, knowing well that it was the most effective way to get a reaction. Since prying information from the Sword King was impossible, he now sought to draw something out of the Sound King instead.
The Sound King, who had been swaying to his rhythm, turned his head toward Geom Mugeuk.
“Young Cult Leader, you underestimate me far too much.”
“I’m not underestimating you. I’m afraid of you.”
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze shifted toward the Sword King.
“When that man is going so far to protect you, how could I not be afraid? Would he guard you so fiercely if there weren’t something truly extraordinary about you?”
The Sound King looked at the Sword King.
“He certainly is a reliable man.”
His words and expression carried genuine trust, yet Geom Mugeuk could sense it.
‘This man… doesn’t actually trust the Sword King.’
Of course, given their relationship, it was only natural he wouldn’t.
But then why was he so relaxed?
If he didn’t trust the Sword King, that could only mean he trusted himself.
Even now, he lightly bobbed his head to a rhythm only he could hear. There was an energy radiating from him — as if he were ready to leap into motion, to dance wildly at any moment.
‘Something’s changed.’
Ever since the Blade King’s death, the Sound King seemed even more confident, as though he had ascended to the next stage and was reveling in it.
The Sound King spoke to Geom Mugeuk.
“There’s too much of a stench of blood here. Let’s move elsewhere.”
Without waiting for Geom Mugeuk’s reply, the Sound King began walking ahead. As he passed by, Geom Mugeuk realized he could have easily cut him down — not once, but ten times over.
Geom Mugeuk looked at the Sword King.
You understand what that means, don’t you? He’s walking past me safely only because of belief in my connection with you.
How could the Sword King not understand? Yet still, he gave no response.
“I must’ve misjudged you! I was fooled by those bare feet and that ponytail and forgot for a moment what kind of villain you truly are.”
Then, from ahead, the Sword King’s voice came.
“In the martial world, you’re the bigger villain.”
The group walked onward, heading toward the previous chamber where the puppets had once stood. The Iron-Masked Man quietly followed behind them.
Geom Mugeuk looked toward Blood Heaven Blade Demon and One-Slash Sword Supreme.
Will you really continue to follow that man’s lead? He wouldn’t have been surprised if Blood Heaven Blade Demon had burst out in anger.
Yet both stood silently to Geom Mugeuk’s left and right, saying nothing. From their eyes, one emotion could clearly be felt.
As you believe in him, so do we believe in you.
Geom Mugeuk bowed his head politely to them, expressing his gratitude, before resuming his steps.
His group followed after, returning to the previous chamber.
The air there was noticeably easier to breathe — the stench of blood far weaker than before.
Just then, Tae Soo shouted.
“Look over there!”
The place he pointed to was where the puppets had once stood.
In this very room, what had fascinated him most before were those puppets. He had observed them carefully then — and now that he was back, his eyes naturally went to them first.
But something had changed.
The change surprised not only Geom Mugeuk but also the two Demon Supremes.
There was one more Twelve Zodiac Kings puppet added to the ones that had been coordinating an attack with Geom Mugeuk.
Before he knew it, a puppet of the deceased Blade King had also been set up there.
Between the Battle King and the Blood King, the Blade King was fiercely swinging his sword.
Geom Mugeuk walked slowly up to the puppet. The Blade King puppet, like the others before it, had been crafted with exquisite detail. Its expression was so vivid that the scene of the Blade King fighting Blood Heaven Blade Demon a moment ago came to mind.
“You expected this person to die, did you?”
The Sound King did not deny the remark.
“Did you prepare a puppet of yourself too? Where would you like to stand?”
Then the Sound King’s voice came from behind.
“Young Cult Leader, I have no puppet.”
Geom Mugeuk turned to him and asked,
“Did you make this puppet?”
He suspected that might be the case, and the Sound King replied with a look of incredulity.
“You looked me in the eye and still ask that seriously?”
“You’re more sly than you appear, so I wondered if you had seen it all with those eyes.”
“On the contrary, many people open their eyes and still fail to truly see.”
As if to imply that both he and the Demon Supremes were such, the Sound King scanned them all. His confidence with closed eyes overwhelmed those who had their eyes open.
“Young Cult Leader, it is not yet too late. There is no need to sacrifice all those people here, is there?”
He meant that he was confident he could kill them all.
Geom Mugeuk, who had been watching him quietly, suddenly asked,
“You had a fortuitous encounter, didn’t you?”
If not, he would not have come accompaning the First King and the Second King.
‘Perhaps?’
In his previous life before regression, he had completed a formidable sound technique before dying. It was so powerful that no master could contend with it.
‘He completed it!’
Just as the fates of the figures inside those puppets had changed, his fate must have shifted as well.
Geom Mugeuk became convinced that was highly likely.
“You completed your sound art, didn’t you?”
Indeed, the Sound King did not deny it or react much. Now Geom Mugeuk could clearly see where that confidence had come from.
“Would you play for us once?”
“All right. We are people who dance when there is music. Play us a tune and let us dance a proper sword dance.”
As Geom Mugeuk stepped forward, the Sword King moved in to block him.
“Let’s dance together.”
Did that “dance” really mean a dance? Knowing they intended to kill the Sound King, the Sword King stepped up.
Geom Mugeuk could have snapped, but he addressed him gently instead.
“Aren’t you the sort who feared being made to dance so much that you didn’t even attend gatherings? What kind of dance would you possibly do?”
At that moment, the sound of a pipa came from behind.
Ttiriring.
“Shattering Tone!”
The Sound King’s shout made Tae Soo, Ji Han, the martial artist of the Unorthodox Alliance, and even Danso Jin behind him cover their ears. A soundwave they could not withstand swept toward them.
“Ugh!”
Blood Heaven Blade Demon and One-Slash Sword Supreme unleashed their inner energy to block the onrushing soundwave.
Only then did the expressions of the four behind them relax from pain.
Geom Mugeuk surged forward and shouted to the two Demon Supremes.
“While I hold this infuriating ponytail, cut off that man’s arm and his pipa.”
If the Sword King insisted on sparing him, there was no need to aim for his life.
Geom Mugeuk rushed like lightning at the Sword King and swung his sword.
“Now then, villain brother, try and stop me!”
Their blades met in midair. The swordlight flashed brilliantly — the ultimate form of swordsmanship produced by those who had reached the final realm of the sword.
Ching-ching-ching-ching-ching-ching!
Splitting the air at an almost invisible speed, Geom Mugeuk kept his gaze fixed on the Sword King’s eyes.
‘Why are you protecting him to this extent?’
He could feel it. Even if the Sword King’s arm were cut off, he would still try to block Geom Mugeuk.
To the people behind them, the exchange of blades at such blinding speed did not look much different from the earlier fight with One-Slash Sword Supreme.
But the substance of this fight was entirely different.
Having achieved mastery of the Nine Calamities Demon Art, Geom Mugeuk’s sword now overwhelmed the Sword King’s blade. He might have won.
‘You must feel that too. You must know that ultimately you can’t stop it — so why defend so fiercely?’
Meanwhile, One-Slash Sword Supreme and Blood Heaven Blade Demon brandished their sword and greatsword and charged the Sound King.
Ssshhh! Swish—!
Pa-ang! Roar!
Their blades froze in the air. It was not the Sword King who had flown in to block them.
Something invisible stood before the Sound King like a screen. It was a barrier of sound they could not see.
“It’s a Sound-Sealing Formation!”
Just as Blood Heaven Blade Demon cried, it was that very Sound-Sealing Formation that could be created only by a sound art perfected to its highest degree.
Inside it, the Sound King’s eyes glowed fiercely as he peered outward.
The Sound King began playing the pipa in earnest.
Ttiriring.
“Blood Thunder Sound!”
At the same time, sound techniques struck down like lightning from all directions in rapid succession.
Kwak! Kwak! Kwak! Kwak! Kwak!
The thunderous assaults slammed into Blood Heaven Blade Demon and One-Slash Sword Supreme, and swept fiercely toward the four standing behind them as well.
“I’ll handle the rear.”
Blood Heaven Blade Demon leapt backward, swinging his greatsword.
Bang! Kwa-ang! Crash!
One-Slash Sword Supreme evaded the incoming soundwave, then charged straight toward the Sound-Sealing Formation. If both of them defended, they would end up being overpowered. Trusting Blood Heaven Blade Demon, she chose to attack instead.
Boom!
The Sound-Sealing Formation was strong; it would not tear easily. She immediately unleashed the One-Slash Sword Art.
One-Slash Sword Art, First Form – Blossom!
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Her sword strikes began to rip into the barrier.
Inside, the Sound King continued to focus on his pipa.
Shwaaa—
At that moment, Blood Heaven Blade Demon, who had been guarding the rear, surged forward in an instant. His Heaven-Extinguishing Saber pierced through the weakened Sound-Sealing Formation, already frayed by Blossom.
Kwaaang!
Screeeech—
As the two Demon Supremes tore violently through the barrier and entered the Sound King’s domain—
The Sound King’s playing reached its climax.
Ssshh!
One-Slash Sword Supreme’s blade flashed toward his arm. She truly intended to sever it—
But just as the music reached its peak, the performance abruptly stopped.
Whoosh!
With the sound of a single gust of wind, both Blood Heaven Blade Demon and One-Slash Sword Supreme vanished from the spot.