Chapter 815: Let’s Be Friends Just for Today
The closer he came, the stronger his presence became.
It felt as though the man was walking while pushing the very space aside with his existence.
Jin Paecheon, the Martial Alliance Leader who had been sitting across from Geom Woojin, stood up from his seat.
This was not a presence one could face while lounging comfortably in a chair, and besides, the host welcoming him here today was Geom Woojin. He and Baek Jagang had merely come to assist Geom Woojin.
Jin Paecheon stepped away from the table and stood a short distance behind it.
Swish.
A kitchen knife appeared and lifted the bamboo curtain that hung over the kitchen entrance. From behind it, Baek Jagang spoke with a hint of regret.
“It was simmering nicely.”
Though he spoke casually, his eyes shone sharper than ever before. He extinguished the flame he had been tending, set the kitchen knife down, and walked out of the kitchen.
The Sword King slowly moved and stood against the back wall. It was not far from the corner where the Poison King was seated.
He did not know how the Poison King would fight, but he believed that if the opponent charged forward, someone would need to block him first for the Poison King’s poison arts to truly shine.
Had the Poison King noticed that intention?
The Poison King glanced briefly at the Sword King before turning his gaze back toward the entrance.
Meanwhile, the opponent had already arrived in front of the Flowing Wind Tavern, carrying a tension that seemed ready to explode at any moment.
A man stepped into the Flowing Wind Tavern.
He had long, dark black hair and a tall frame. At a glance, his physique was perfect for practicing martial arts. His eyes were intense, and a red aura swirled faintly within his pupils.
It was neither killing intent nor aura.
It was not something a person deliberately emitted. It was something innate.
Everyone present could recognize it. That aura was the aura of the Heavenly Killing Star. None of them had ever seen it directly before.
He carried a single sword at his waist, its scabbard black.
And more striking than anything else was that he was far younger than they had expected.
The moment the man entered the tavern, that overwhelming presence disappeared.
The fact that he could freely reveal and conceal his presence made them unable to relax instead.
Without hesitation, the man strode straight to the table where Geom Woojin sat and boldly sat down in the seat where Jin Paecheon had been sitting.
Sitting down beside enemies who were standing nearby was madness.
Especially when those standing were the Martial Alliance Leader and the Fist Demon King.
If it were not for the presence he had displayed earlier, one might have thought a drunken passerby had wandered in by mistake.
The man picked up the teacup that had been poured for Jin Paecheon and drank it in one gulp.
Setting the cup down, he spoke politely.
“Not bad.”
It was unclear whether he meant the tea was not bad, or the people waiting here were not bad.
The man’s gaze turned to Geom Woojin.
“So you are the Demonic Cult Leader of this era.”
His voice was as calm as his gaze. He neither deliberately added weight to it nor flaunted a rough and savage aura. He did not act lighthearted on purpose either.
An opponent whose weight was difficult to measure.
That was the first impression the man gave.
Geom Woojin nodded.
“And you must be the Heavenly Killing Star.”
The man smiled softly.
“Isn’t it amusing? That a person is born already carrying a fate? No matter how hard I try to live kindly by my own will, in the end I still bring about a blood calamity. Cult Leader, do you believe fate cannot be defied?”
Geom Woojin replied quietly.
“Why ask? You proved it by coming here.”
Their gazes tangled in midair.
“If you don’t want to be called the Heavenly Killing Star, reveal your name.”
“If it’s you, then you deserve to hear it.”
The Fist Demon King, standing beside Geom Woojin, was ready to throw a punch at any moment. To him, that calmness was the height of danger—and arrogance.
“Hwa Moogi.”
The man was Hwa Moogi. The very man who, in Geom Mugeuk’s previous life before regression, had killed all the Cult Leaders and Alliance Leaders who had been gathered here.
Hwa Moogi extended the empty teacup to the side and opened the hand that held it.
Clang.
The teacup fell to the floor and shattered.
“Yes. Just like how this cup fell and broke, I couldn’t defy my fate.”
Geom Woojin slowly drank his tea.
Then he dropped his own empty cup to the floor, just as Hwa Moogi had done.
But this time, it did not shatter.
Just before hitting the ground, it rose into the air through Void Telekinesis and gently returned to the place where it had originally been.
“Fate can also be defied.”
Geom Woojin added while looking at Hwa Moogi.
“There was a time when I enjoyed hearing the sound of shattering too.”
Hwa Moogi’s expression brightened.
“I’m glad I came to see you first. I feel good now.”
But the faint red glow in his pupils deepened.
Hwa Moogi slowly met the eyes of everyone present one by one.
His gaze met Jin Paecheon’s first, then turned to Baek Jagang.
From the way he looked at them, it was clear he knew Jin Paecheon was the Martial Alliance Leader and Baek Jagang was the leader of the Unorthodox Alliance.
Yet he showed no agitation.
His gaze then met the remaining people as well.
The Cult Leader of the Heavenly Wind Cult, the Fist Demon King, the Sword King, and the Poison King.
Even if he did not know exactly who they were, he should have been able to estimate their strength. Yet Hwa Moogi’s expression did not change.
Which made his next words sound like false modesty.
“You’ve overestimated me.”
“It wasn’t me who overestimated you.”
The name that left Geom Woojin’s mouth was Geom Mugeuk.
“My son overestimated you.”
From the beginning, the very act of igniting the demonic flame had been because of Geom Mugeuk. Bringing several Demon Supremes away and leaving behind the Fist Demon King and the Poison King as well—Geom Woojin had believed all of it to be his son’s arrangement.
And his son’s prediction had been correct.
Even in this situation, the one who could remain so relaxed had truly come.
‘Son… was this the one you feared?’
He certainly was someone worth fearing.
The unknown potential emanating from the man was something Geom Woojin had never encountered in his life. It was impossible to predict what might burst out from within him.
Just the fact that he remained calm in this situation already made him extraordinary.
“To be honest, the person I wanted to see the most was your son.”
“Then why did you come to see me?”
Hwa Moogi said something unexpected.
“To wound your son.”
Looking straight into Geom Woojin’s eyes, he added:
“By killing you.”
Silence fell over the room.
At that moment, Hwa Moogi had clearly revealed the reason he had come.
He had come to kill Geom Woojin.
In Geom Mugeuk’s previous life, he had gone to the Martial Alliance first, then the Unorthodox Alliance, and finally the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Now he had come to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult first.
The Fist Demon King quietly clenched his fist. Kill the Cult Leader just to wound Geom Mugeuk?
At that moment, the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Wind Cult spoke to Geom Woojin.
“That’s fortunate.”
As expected, it was the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Wind Cult who broke the suffocating atmosphere.
“If he had said he wanted to kill you because it was heaven’s destiny or some nonsense like that, wouldn’t that have felt unpleasant?”
Geom Woojin played along.
“So it’s fine if my son gets hurt?”
“He’s the Young Cult Leader who’ll turn wounds into armor. He’ll become an even better Cult Leader.”
Hearing their conversation, Hwa Moogi burst into laughter.
He really laughed often.
Looking around, he changed the subject.
“I heard a Three-way summit was held here?”
Hwa Moogi suddenly stood up and walked toward the second floor of the tavern.
Normally, even a single misstep or a single wrong breath here could cost someone their life. The place was filled with people capable of killing him instantly. The moment someone attacked, hell would break loose.
But he moved naturally.
His movements were neither grand nor special.
Because he was so full of openings, it was ironically difficult to find a moment to attack.
On the way to the stairs, he made eye contact with the Poison King and the Sword King standing near the back wall.
After passing them, he stopped at the stairs leading to the second floor and turned back toward the Sword King.
“Horse-tail hair and bare feet. So it’s you—the traitor.”
The Sword King showed no reaction and simply stood still.
“You’re brave.”
Meaning that even after betraying him, he was standing here waiting.
The Sword King finally spoke for the first time. Even though he had once belonged there, this was the first time he had seen the man before him.
“I’ve never seen anyone as brave as you.”
Hwa Moogi smiled faintly.
“But I still won’t go easy on you.”
He climbed to the second floor.
There, he looked at the words written on the wall.
“They really are here.”
It seemed he had come knowing the writings were there.
With his hands behind his back, Hwa Moogi slowly read every single line. After finishing them all, he leaned over the railing and looked down.
“You people are different from the righteous, unorthodox, and demonic factions I know. All they ever did was fight endlessly.”
Everyone felt the same doubt.
He was young. Just what era’s factions was he talking about?
Could he be some senior master who had rejuvenated himself?
It was entirely possible.
For now, they carefully observed Hwa Moogi, letting him lead the situation. What they needed most was information about him.
“When I leave, I should leave a line here too.”
One person below could no longer tolerate his leisure.
“If you have something to leave behind, say it now. I’ll write it for you.”
It was the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Wind Cult provoking him.
Hwa Moogi leaned on the railing and asked:
“Who?”
He didn’t seem to be provoking him deliberately—he genuinely looked like he didn’t know.
Which meant something astonishing.
He had come here without even knowing exactly who was present.
He had simply strapped a sword to his waist and marched alone into the main division of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
“I’m not an important person, so you don’t need to care. Just remember me as the one who’ll write down your last words.”
The Cult Leader of the Heavenly Wind Cult spoke out of wounded pride, but fortunately Hwa Moogi recognized him belatedly.
“Ah, you’re the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Wind Cult.”
Hwa Moogi nodded.
“I heard you were in the Divine Cult too.”
The Cult Leader of the Heavenly Wind Cult’s eyes turned ice-cold. The gentle air he had shown until now disappeared.
“And yet they sent you here. It seems they wanted you to die here.”
Instead of getting provoked, Hwa Moogi admitted it calmly.
“That’s right. That man wanted me to die. Together with all of you.”
He had seen through the intentions of the Dark Palace Master.
“Do you know why I didn’t kill him even though I knew that? He knelt down and begged for his life. Said he’d offer me the Young Cult Leader’s head.”
It was clear he was not lying.
The opponent was someone before whom the Dark Palace Master—the mastermind behind this scheme—had knelt and begged.
The real mastermind was this man.
Once that became certain, Geom Woojin smiled.
‘Well done, my son.’
It was praise for his son’s decision to leave the true mastermind for him.
The Cult Leader of the Heavenly Wind Cult spoke with conviction.
“Even if you didn’t kill him, the Young Cult Leader would have cut off his head.”
“You people truly believe in the Young Cult Leader.”
Hwa Moogi glanced again at the wall on the second floor.
“Well… something like this isn’t something just anyone could accomplish.”
Looking at the wall, he said:
“So your child is special. Fine. But even so, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult interacting with the righteous sects? Isn’t that a bit embarrassing?”
He asked without turning around.
Everyone knew who he was addressing.
“Not at all.”
Geom Woojin answered firmly.
Jin Paecheon was secretly surprised.
‘The Cult Leader answered sincerely.’
Geom Woojin was not someone who lied. If he didn’t want to speak, he simply stayed silent.
So Hwa Moogi shifted his question.
“Then I’ll have to ask our Martial Alliance Leader.”
Turning to Jin Paecheon, he asked:
“Why are you here?”
Jin Paecheon was caught off guard. He hadn’t expected to be asked such a question.
If he had asked whether it was embarrassing, he would have simply answered no.
But explaining why he came here was complicated.
“Is it fine for the Martial Alliance Leader to associate with the Demonic Cult Leader like this?”
“I’m not here as the Martial Alliance Leader.”
“Then who are you here as?”
After a short pause, Jin Paecheon replied calmly.
“I’m here as that man’s friend.”
Even as he said it, Jin Paecheon wondered if that was truly correct.
Friend? Their relationship was far too distant to call that yet. And even if they grew closer, they were people who could never truly become friends.
Yet somehow, under Hwa Moogi’s pressure, the word “friend” had slipped out.
At that moment, Geom Woojin’s voice transmission reached him.
‘Let’s be friends just for today.’
Understanding his feelings perfectly, Geom Woojin’s message made Jin Paecheon nod.
At that exact moment—
Hwa Moogi suddenly shouted angrily.
“What nonsense is this? Leader Jin! You must not stay here! You must never associate with that evil demonic cult or that treacherous Unorthodox Alliance!”
Not only Jin Paecheon but everyone watching was shocked.
Hwa Moogi was speaking with a completely different tone from before.
“If you associate with them, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. Leave this place immediately—even now!”
He looked genuinely worried.
As Hwa Moogi suddenly behaved like a completely different person, everyone stared at him in confusion.
“I said leave! Hurry!”
For that moment, he looked like someone who had lost his mind.
Everyone thought he was simply mocking the Martial Alliance Leader through acting.
But Geom Woojin alone noticed something.
For the briefest instant, the red aura in Hwa Moogi’s eyes vanished—and in its place, the aura of the righteous sects flickered past.
‘It was definitely the aura of the righteous path.’
Which meant he wasn’t acting.
After a long wait, Geom Woojin finally realized something crucial.
‘There’s something inside that man’s body.’