Chapter 826: Because I Want to Talk About You
‘This is only the second time I’ve eaten with you?’
Not only Hwa Moogi, but everyone else at the table was startled as well.
All eyes turned toward Geom Mugeuk.
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
At Hwa Moogi’s incredulous reaction, Geom Mugeuk’s attitude toward him became respectful.
“It has been a while.”
When Geom Mugeuk greeted him politely, Hwa Moogi realized that the greeting was not directed at him.
“Alliance Leader, you lied to me.”
Everyone could tell. Geom Mugeuk was speaking to one of the two Alliance Leaders residing within Hwa Moogi’s body. Who on earth was he trying to converse with?
“Do you remember the question I asked you that day?”
Of course, the one he addressed was the Martial Emperor Divine Sword.
When Geom Mugeuk had gone back three hundred years, he had asked him this:
“Is there a way for us to win?”
But now, he did not remember Geom Mugeuk.
“You answered like this. ‘There’s no special method. We simply have to fight and win.
’”
At that moment, Hwa Moogi’s eyes wavered. As if realizing something, his memory was struck decisively by Geom Mugeuk’s next words.
“You said you’d give a congratulatory speech at the assistant leader’s wedding. I suppose you couldn’t keep that promise either.”
Hwa Moogi abruptly stood up. At some point, his gaze had changed. The one who rose was the Martial Emperor Divine Sword.
“How… could you?”
At last, he remembered that day.
Just before the final battle, after finishing his speech and stepping down, there had been a young martial artist who asked him a question.
In that solemn atmosphere, he had boldly asked:
—Is there a way for us to win?
Now that he saw his face, he remembered clearly.
As the young man said, he had indeed lied. He had said there was no special method, yet he had brought in the Demonic Cult and the Unorthodox Alliance.
That young martial artist… was the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult from three hundred years later?
Faced with this unbelievable truth, the Martial Emperor Divine Sword was shaken and shocked. Geom Mugeuk looked at him and spoke calmly.
“Please sit. Let us eat together today as well, just like back then.”
Still wearing a stunned expression, the Martial Emperor Divine Sword slowly sat down again.
Yes… they had eaten together back then, too.
Hwa Moogi could have forced his soul back inside, but perhaps he, too, was curious about the situation, so he let it be.
“How is it that you, whom I saw three hundred years ago, are here?”
Geom Woojin turned his head and looked at his son. This was the first time he had ever been shocked like this. Even when the Heavenly Killing Star had appeared, he had not been this surprised.
The others were the same. Though Geom Mugeuk had a knack for shocking people, this went beyond surprise—it was outright disbelief.
The Cult Leader of the Heavenly Wind Cult held back the urge to joke, *So you’re three hundred years old, that’s why I got fooled*, barely restraining himself.
Geom Mugeuk spoke honestly.
“It may be hard to believe, but the Secret Box of the Heavenly Will Palace sent me three hundred years into the past.”
The only one who knew this truth was the Sword King. When Geom Mugeuk had returned through the Secret Box, he had told him honestly, since he had been guarding it.
At those words, the Martial Emperor Divine Sword exclaimed, “Ah!” Because it was a mysterious divine relic that had absorbed them like this, he could believe Geom Mugeuk’s words.
“I was there that day as well.”
Geom Mugeuk looked at his father.
Geom Woojin nodded once, as if he understood everything without further explanation. He had realized that Geom Mugeuk had gained yet another extraordinary opportunity.
The reason Hwa Moogi had not found Geom Mugeuk unfamiliar was likely due to the residual memory within the subconscious of the Martial Emperor Divine Sword.
Staring silently at Geom Mugeuk, the Martial Emperor Divine Sword let out a long sigh, almost like a lament.
“I regret saying that to you.”
It was sincere. It would be a lie to say he had regretted it all his life, but from time to time, he had thought of that young man.
He had been too memorable to forget, and above all, the fact that he had lied to him weighed on his mind.
“I am sorry.”
“You do not need to apologize to me. I am someone from three hundred years in the future, and a member of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
That fact was also the hardest for the Martial Emperor Divine Sword to understand.
“Why did you come to me? Was it your choice?”
“No. The Secret Box sent me to you, Alliance Leader.”
If he was a descendant of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, shouldn’t he have gone to the Heavenly Will Palace Master instead? Was it because he had brought in the Demonic Cult?
“I do not know the reason either.”
Since it was related to his regression, it was not something he could explain here.
“You must have called me because you have a request.”
The Martial Emperor Divine Sword’s gaze turned toward Jin Paecheon, who sat silently.
The future Martial Alliance Leader, who respected him even more than the Young Cult Leader, weighed more heavily on his mind. Even now, Jin Paecheon simply listened in silence.
For his sake as well, the Martial Emperor Divine Sword felt he should do something.
His gaze returned to Geom Mugeuk.
“What is it that you want from me?”
Hwa Moogi was about to interrupt. Geom Mugeuk might ask him to interfere in the fight or reveal the secret of the Heavenly Killing Star.
But he did not intervene. As if confident that no matter what they tried, it would not matter.
However, what Geom Mugeuk wanted completely shattered their expectations.
“I did not call you here as the Heavenly Killing Star, but to have a meal as the Martial Alliance Leader.”
“!”
“It may still fill the stomach of the Heavenly Killing Star, but please eat as the Alliance Leader.”
The Martial Emperor Divine Sword’s eyes trembled.
“That is all?”
“Yes, that is all.”
Not only Geom Woojin but everyone present knew those words were Geom Mugeuk’s genuine sincerity. That unbelievable sincerity had moved their hearts as well.
But the Martial Emperor Divine Sword had no way of knowing that.
“Are you not asking for my help because you look down on me?”
“Quite the opposite.”
Geom Mugeuk’s eyes and expression were calm and serious beyond measure.
“That day, I felt that you truly cared for your subordinates. I also felt your guilt and anguish over not being able to end the war sooner. At the time, I never imagined we would meet again like this, but now that we have, I wanted to treat you to a meal.”
Geom Mugeuk glanced at Baek Jagang and added:
“This dish made by the Unorthodox Alliance Leader is truly excellent. Please try it.”
The Martial Emperor Divine Sword silently looked at the food before him.
Geom Mugeuk did not urge him further and began eating his own meal.
Soon, the Martial Emperor Divine Sword spoke of something he had long kept in his heart. It was directed at Geom Mugeuk, but also at Jin Paecheon.
“My being absorbed into the Secret Box was not due to bad luck.”
It was a hidden truth that had tormented him for three hundred years.
“It is because I am of the same kind as the Heavenly Will Palace Master, the Demonic Cult Leader, and the Unorthodox Alliance Leader.”
Even thinking about it wounded his pride and angered him, but he believed it to be the truth.
“The moment I chose to bring them in, I became the same as them. I, too am an evil man.”
Because of that, he could not lift his chopsticks.
“I am not worthy to accept your meal.”
Geom Mugeuk swallowed his food, drank some water, and asked calmly:
“Why are you trying so hard to be perfect?”
Caught off guard, the Martial Emperor Divine Sword flinched.
Geom Mugeuk turned to Jin Paecheon.
“By your standards, Martial Emperor Divine Sword, wouldn’t Alliance Leader Jin over there have made a grave mistake as well? He came here alone to help the Demonic Cult. By your standards, wouldn’t that be an even greater mistake?”
That was why he had told Jin Paecheon at the beginning—associating with them would lead to ruin.
Geom Mugeuk then asked Jin Paecheon:
“Do you think coming here was a mistake?”
Jin Paecheon understood the intent behind the question. Yes, the matter of the Martial Emperor Divine Sword was also his own.
“It was a mistake. A very big mistake.”
Despite his words, his expression was calm. Looking at the Martial Emperor Divine Sword, Jin Paecheon saw his past self. He realized he had once been like that too—believing that becoming a perfect Alliance Leader was everything.
But now, he was different. He could think like this, and even say it aloud.
“I am human too. What is wrong with making a mistake? I lived my whole life without mistakes—making one now is fine.”
As if he had expected that answer, Geom Mugeuk smiled and replied:
“Your subordinates will like you even more. They will think, ‘So our perfect Alliance Leader has this side too. He makes mistakes just like us.’”
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze returned to the Martial Emperor Divine Sword. Caring for him was also an expression of his respect for Jin Paecheon.
“You say you are the same as them? No, I believe you are completely different.”
The Martial Emperor Divine Sword’s eyes trembled.
“You lived your entire life for righteousness and chivalry, sacrificing yourself to protect the peace of the martial world. On the other hand, the Demonic Cult Leader of that time was infamous for his cruelty. Who exactly are you comparing yourself to?”
Even though he knew Hyeok Do-cheon was listening to this conversation, Geom Mugeuk did not hesitate.
“If the Secret Box had not absorbed the Demonic Cult Leader, I believe the history of our cult would have changed greatly. It would have taken a far worse path. Fate would have shifted again and again—perhaps my father would not have become the Cult Leader. I might not even exist before you now.”
It meant that what happened three hundred years ago and the present were bound together as one great chain of fate.
The Martial Emperor Divine Sword had never considered such a perspective. He had never imagined he would meet the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and have such a conversation.
“Even so, it does not erase the sin of bringing in the Demonic Cult and the Unorthodox Alliance. I said it was for the martial world, but in the end, it was a choice for myself.”
“If you had not made that choice, the war might have lasted much longer. You might have lost. Many more people would have died. Your desire saved the martial world.”
The Martial Emperor Divine Sword’s eyes shook.
Those were words he had told himself hundreds, thousands of times.
But he had wanted to hear them from someone else.
That his choice had ultimately been the right one.
What he had repeated countless times in his own heart—he wanted to hear it from another.
One word from another outweighs a thousand within oneself.
And now, after three hundred years, he was finally hearing it—from the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
“If you were truly the same as them, you would not be having this conversation with me now. They would have forgotten everything long ago. The fact that you have carried this burden in your heart for three hundred years is why we are speaking like this. You have endured a great deal.”
Geom Mugeuk picked up the chopsticks and held them out to him.
“Now, please forgive yourself.”
An indescribable surge of emotion welled up in the Martial Emperor Divine Sword’s chest. It felt as though something that had been tightly blocked within him for three hundred years was finally being released.
With trembling hands, he accepted the chopsticks.
Jin Paecheon looked at him and nodded. His eyes still held respect.
Just as his chopsticks were about to pick up the food—
Clang!
Suddenly, he grabbed the bowl in front of him and threw it. It shattered into pieces upon hitting the floor.
His gaze had changed. He had returned to Hwa Moogi.
Geom Mugeuk did not get angry. Though the Martial Emperor Divine Sword had not eaten, he believed his feelings had been conveyed.
“Since we’ve met the Alliance Leader, tell the others to come out as well.”
Hwa Moogi sneered.
“Why? Are you going to spout some nonsense to win over the others like you did with him? Do you think they’ll change their minds and turn against me?”
Geom Mugeuk remained calm.
“That’s not why.”
“Then why?”
It was a reason Hwa Moogi had never imagined.
“Because they would want to talk.”
“What?”
“I heard you were sealed for a long time. You only spoke with them inside yourself, didn’t you? Then wouldn’t they also want to speak—not to those tiresome people, but to others, to their successors? To leave behind something?”
Hwa Moogi did not easily accept it.
“You’re just trying to manipulate that sentiment to get what you want.”
After a brief pause, Geom Mugeuk asked:
“Do you know why you came in to eat instead of fighting outside?”
It was because Geom Mugeuk had piqued his curiosity.
“Because I can kill you all whenever I want.”
But Geom Mugeuk gave a different reason.
“Because you want to tell your story too.”
“!”
“Not to those tiresome people inside you, not to the Dark Palace Master who tried to use you—but to me, to my father, to everyone here. Whether it’s pride or resentment—whatever it may be.”
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze was clear and deep.
“You can’t possibly be nothing but a desire to kill everyone just because you’re the Heavenly Killing Star.”
After a moment, Hwa Moogi asked back:
“And what if that’s all there is in my heart?”
Geom Mugeuk walked to the kitchen, brought back a small bowl, filled it with food, and set it down in front of him.
“Eat first, then search your heart again. When a person is hungry, they can’t see anything properly. Let’s talk after you eat. I’m not finished eating yet either.”
Geom Mugeuk resumed eating.
At that sight, Hwa Moogi slammed the table violently.
Boom!
It should have shattered completely.
But the table remained intact.
Geom Mugeuk’s palm had already been placed on it, protecting it with his internal energy.
“Stop throwing a tantrum. There are honored guests still eating.”
Hwa Moogi raised his internal energy further and struck again.
BOOOOM!
Yet the table did not break. His internal energy was immense, but Geom Mugeuk’s was no less.
“Heaven gave you a grand title—to kill and to live. You’re destined to kill for the rest of your life. So why are you in such a hurry? This fight ends today anyway. So let them say everything they want. After spending so long together, you should at least show that much courtesy.”
Hwa Moogi could not refute that last statement.
“I want to hear not only their stories…”
Geom Mugeuk looked into Hwa Moogi’s eyes and added:
“I want to hear your story, too.”