Chapter 364: Fatal Poison (3)
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!
The corner of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion shattered as the two beings who had reached the Transcendent Demon Realm began to clash.
“It has begun.”
The Great Guardian Mujeong, who had been observing the situation from a distance, muttered to himself.
Beside him, the Right Guardian Cheon Jin-sang let out a sigh.
“I wonder if things will be alright. No matter how powerful the Faction Lord may be, resolving the Cult Leader’s qi deviation won’t be a simple matter...”
The three Guardians had judged Cheon Yura’s recent behavior as the early signs of qi deviation.
“On top of that, the affairs of the Cheon Clan have been added, and the other Six Great Demonic Clans have all withdrawn… Truly a dilemma with no way forward or back.”
“She didn’t fully escape the demonic nature. Since it was an incomplete detachment, her mind is bound to be affected.”
Mujeong accurately diagnosed Cheon Yura’s condition.
“The one fortunate thing is that it’s him who stands as the last line of defense…”
“That’s exactly why the former Cult Leader was able to ascend in peace.”
Because he was here, the Guardians could erase the worst-case scenario from their hearts.
The possibility of dragging down a mad Cult Leader in the worst possible form.
“Still, if the Heavenly Demon Pavilion is destroyed again, the repair costs won’t be cheap…”
Cheon Jin-sang frowned as he looked at a corner of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion that had already been blown away.
“Is that really important right now?”
Mujeong scolded him.
“It is to me. Who do you think handles the finances of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion?”
“…Hmm.”
At Cheon Jin-sang’s retort, Mujeong was at a loss for words.
Come to think of it, even when the former Cult Leader nearly blew up the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, he remembered that guy being among the ones from the Golden Demon Pavilion…
“Hoo, still, the fact that we have the leisure to worry about such trivial matters is a relief in itself.”
If there had been no other way to stop the Cult Leader, there would be no room for financial concerns like this.
“Hopefully, that guy succeeds.”
The three Guardians all silently prayed for ‘his’ success.
Just before I crossed swords with Yura.
—The body and mind must harmonize and surpass the wall together. But now, the body and mind have become separated.
Yorang conveyed Cheon Yura’s condition to me.
“Separated?”
—Yes. This happens quite often among spellcasters. Usually, it’s something that happens to inexperienced youngsters who can’t control their impatience… How curious.
“…”
Impatience.
The moment I heard those words, I realized that I too bore some responsibility for what had happened to Yura.
—Her body clearly surpassed its limits. But the mind, which should have followed, remains unchanged. It seems to be a side effect of not fully overcoming her inner demonic nature.
“So it’s really just what you said before?”
—Probably? In that state, even if the main body tries to control the demonic nature, it won’t work. You’d have to subdue her brutally, half-kill her, for there to be a chance.
“I’d rather not do that.”
It was both mentally unacceptable and a violation of the cult’s laws.
No matter that I’m the Demonic Faction Lord—if I wounded the Cult Leader to that extent, I’d face immediate execution.
“Still, I agree that I need to be rough.”
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!
Cheon Yura’s Demonic Sky Fall and my Heaven-Piercing Annihilation collided and canceled each other out.
A corner of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion burst open, and the dense dust filled our vision.
But Yura plunged through the obscured field of view without hesitation.
I thrust my sword toward the charging Cheon Yura, who resembled a madwoman.
She didn’t retreat either and clashed her blade directly against mine.
Ku-uung!
The force of qi contained within the sword strikes collided, triggering an explosive shockwave.
Within that explosion, she was momentarily pushed back—then she struck first.
Heaven-Slaying Qi
Nine Linked Sea-Crossing Blades
Nine consecutive attacks came flying at me.
It was the same technique Cheon Yujeong had once used on me, the technique Cheon Yura had used to finish off the Awakened Body of the Colorful Flower Lord in the underground of Haedong Fortress.
A technique filled with her will to never lose to anyone in a direct contest of strength.
However—
Reverse Soul Flame
Twitch!
The Heaven-Slaying Qi she launched was neutralized by my own Heaven-Slaying Qi.
“Nine Linked Sea-Crossing Blades.”
I returned the same sequence of strikes she had unleashed back at her.
Since it wasn’t imbued with sword intent, she easily dodged the technique.
“…You!”
Cheon Yura’s expression twisted.
Stronger than her technique.
And more refined.
The returned Nine Linked Sea-Crossing Blades dealt a clear blow to her pride.
“You just crossed the threshold, but you haven’t properly refined your techniques yet.”
I worked hard to grate on her nerves.
“Wasn’t it the same before we parted ways? I even matched your strength generously, yet you still lost in technique. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten?”
Kkadeudeudeuk!
She ground her teeth and glared at me as if she would kill me.
It saddened me to see the Yura I loved looking at me like that.
But what could I do? If I wanted to open a gap in her defenses, I had to try anything.
“Let’s see how long you can act cocky!”
Cheon Yura flew at me in sheer rage.
Surprisingly, though she charged like a beast, her sword movement had regained rationality, unlike just moments before.
Twelve Demon Swords
Chaotic Hell of the Mutated Kind
Twelve blades traced elegant arcs as they shot toward me, trying to pierce my entire body.
In that instant, I saw something like an auditory illusion.
The woman who had once been the Heartless Demonic Empress—her figure charging toward the Golden Dragon Heavenly Sword Squad with twelve swords, her back turned to me...!
—What are you spacing out for?!
Only after Yorang’s sharp rebuke did I come to my senses.
Letting myself be momentarily dazed by Yura’s current state was enough to deserve decapitation.
I hurriedly used footwork to evade her Twelve Demon Swords.
Seeing my figure split into several copies, Yura gasped in shock.
“H-How do you know that?!”
“I was taught quite a few useful techniques by Master.”
Heavenly Demon’s Dominance Step
While dismantling the flow of the Twelve Demon Swords, I charged straight at Yura.
“When a couple’s fight drags on, it’s the children who suffer.”
“Who are you calling our child?!”
It was a remark she would have caught instantly under normal circumstances, but the current Cheon Yura failed to understand and shouted back.
I responded in a slightly somber tone.
“Obviously, I meant all the cult members of the Divine Cult.”
I landed a heavy palm strike directly onto her chest.
Yura gritted her teeth as she blocked my strike.
“I don’t need such things! As long as I have you…!”
Clenching her teeth, she couldn’t finish her sentence.
“Words like that aren’t bad, but it’s better to be honest with your feelings.”
“Shut uuup!”
In that instant—
A foreboding energy began to surge from Yura’s sword.
I shuddered slightly upon locking eyes with it.
‘That’s dangerous!’
I couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but the mere passing sensation told me it was on an entirely different level than anything before.
That must be a transcendent technique she developed upon reaching the Transcendent Demon Realm.
Before she could unleash it, I quickly retrieved something from inside my robe.
“Sorry, but if we keep fighting like this, the Heavenly Demon Pavilion might get completely destroyed. So I need to end this quickly.”
Wasn’t that the very reason I’d been holding back on using Resonance Qi?
“You... What cheap trick are you...?!”
Just as Yura was about to swing her sword at me—
I swiftly grabbed her wrist with my right hand and slipped the Holy Grail into her robes with my left.
A tainted relic from the Evil Refining Sect, now returned to its original state after having all its energy absorbed by me.
—Now!
Following Yorang’s signal, I immediately recited the activation chant for the relic.
Then—
“M-My strength!”
The relic, suspected to have once belonged to the Sun and Moon Divine Cult, began to absorb the dark aura that had been faintly surrounding her body as soon as I finished the chant.
“A-Aaah?!”
The dimness in her eyes slowly began to clear.
Seeing such a clear sign of recovery, I internally let out a cheer.
‘Good.’
The Holy Grail originally had the power to suppress unclean energy.
When it had been with the Evil Refining Sect, it could only store energy due to Yorang’s sealed power being too intense to suppress.
But against the current Yura, it would undoubtedly be effective.
“J-Jin... Yeomyung?”
“You’re back to your senses?”
Finally, Cheon Yura returned to her original self and stammered in a daze.
Clang!
The Heavenly Demon Divine Sword slipped powerlessly from her hand and rolled across the floor.
“What on earth have I…?”
Only now did she realize the atrocities she had committed.
As I was comforting Yura, Yorang issued a warning to me.
—Remember. As long as your female hasn’t crossed the wall by her own power, that relic is not a fundamental solution. You must never take your eyes off her, for she could lose control again at any time.
In short, Yura’s demonic nature was still a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.
‘I know.’
Ideally, Yura would overcome the demonic nature completely with support from me and Yorang.
But if she still couldn’t surpass the wall on her own…
‘I’ll have no choice but to resort to the final method.’
And so—
While I managed to bring the situation in the Heavenly Demon Pavilion under control somehow—
The problems I had to resolve afterward still loomed large.
The Heavenly Illusion Clan, having captured the soul of the Grand Heavenly Lord, was on its way here.
More immediately, I had to negotiate with the Cheon Clan—urgently.
‘One hurdle after another.’
Yura had certainly acted with conviction when she killed Second Elder, but even she admitted upon regaining her senses that she had made a hasty and disastrous mistake.
In truth, killing Second Elder wasn’t the problem.
The problem was that he had died as a ‘human’.
‘Was he more of a man of principle than I thought?’
I tapped the table lightly, lost in thought.
If he were someone who prioritized his own life, he would have turned into an Awakened Body without hesitation.
But Second Elder had chosen to die in his human form to leave a blemish on her rule.
‘Yura’s position has become terribly difficult.’
This wasn’t something that could be resolved with a few words.
Either the Cult Leader would have to cede some of her enormous powers to the Cheon Clan, or—
‘In the end, do I have to wipe out the Council of the Seven Elders?’
There was no other choice for now.
If we backed down here, Yura would become a puppet Cult Leader.
And until the day she ascended to the position of the Heavenly Demon, she would face relentless challenges to her authority.
‘Even if it means taking on every disgrace myself…’
As I seriously considered striking the Cheon Clan—
A Guardian Lion’s voice came from outside.
“Your Highness the Faction Lord. An elder of the Cheon Clan requests a meeting.”
At that, I narrowed my eyes and replied:
"An elder? Who do you mean?"
"The third of the Council of the Seven Elders, the old man Cheon Rain."
"...!"
I hurriedly rose from my seat.
"Show him in."
Soon after, the door to the office opened, and the third elder, Cheon Rain, appeared, his identity concealed in a black night suit.
"Welcome, Third Elder."
Cheon Rain removed his mask and greeted me.
"It has been a while, Faction Lord."
"What brings you here at such a late hour?"
"Hahaha! Naturally, it’s because I have business with you, Faction Lord."
Cheon Rain gave a casual laugh and sat down in the seat before me.
"I heard about what happened in the north. You took the Evil Refining Cult Leader’s head quite impressively, I’m told?"
"...It was fortunate things turned out that way."
"To subdue the chaos of the Evil Refining Sect in just a month... there won’t be anyone left in the cult who questions your ability now."
It was something that would come to light anyway during the upcoming conference in a few days, but Cheon Rain intentionally brought up the Evil Refining Sect first to praise me.
'Did he come as an emissary of the Council of the Seven Elders? If not, then...'
While I was still gauging the reason for Cheon Rain’s visit—
"Faction Lord."
He suddenly wore a serious expression and looked me straight in the eyes.
Then, in a very quiet voice, almost like a whisper, he continued.
"The promise we made back then... it still holds, doesn’t it?"
"...!"
There was no doubt now—Cheon Rain had made up his mind.