The World's Greatest is Dead

A full day passed after Woo Young Jin left.

In other words, the time we had been told to wait had arrived.

A few things had happened in the meantime, but none of that was a problem.

Well, there might be a problem. It just did not seem like anything worth paying attention to. Even if there was one, it would be on that side.

It did not mean much to me right now.

Woo Young Jin’s side will move on its own anyway.

And since it would move on its own, I could react later.

We had gathered our people inside the inn and were waiting.

Then—

“Excuse us. We have come to escort our honored guests. I am Hyeon Cheol of the Holy Cult.”

The inn door opened, and a group appeared. All of them wore the same ink-black martial uniforms.

They were members of the Heavenly Demon’s Holy Cult.

“We greet Severing Demon.”

[.......]

Severing Demon, who had put her mask back on, looked at them.

[We move.]

With that brief statement, we followed them. In the meantime, my gaze turned toward Sword Emperor, who was moving with us.

The fact that the old man was Sword Emperor had probably already been revealed by now.

As for the rest—

What about Freak Demon?

Would Freak Demon, who had come with us, be all right? With Sword Emperor present, even Freak Demon had been unable to move carelessly, and I was curious how he would respond.

Well.

Somehow, it would work out for now. This was the time to think about something else rather than them.

*****

We left Demon Dragon Cave with the group and headed toward the Holy Cult. It was a county governed by the Holy Cult, but the road to the Holy Cult itself was far. Calling it merely rough would have been absurd.

......Why build anything in a place like this?

The end of a mountain range. It was honestly remarkable that they had gone out of their way to create such a view in a place that looked like nothing but cliffs.

At this point, isn’t this basically pyramid-level?

My past life suddenly came to mind. Bizarre structures that made one wonder whether humans had truly built them. Compared to that, the Holy Cult and those were not all that different.

[This place is the same as ever.]

I heard the Heavenly Demon murmur.

[Nothing has changed.]

Was it because more than ten years had passed? There was a strange nostalgia in his voice—

[To think it has not changed even after all those years. How wretched. There is no need to look.]

“.......”

So it was irritation, not nostalgia. This was the first time I had heard the Heavenly Demon get annoyed like that.

Was it because he did have some attachment to it?

Of course he has attachment.

This had been the force he once led. It would be stranger if he had none.

In any case, we rode in the carriage headed for the Holy Cult in silence.

How much more time passed after that? We had set out at dawn, and around the time it drew close to noon—

“We have arrived.”

A member of the Holy Cult announced our arrival. I looked out the window and saw something. A building that had been far in the distance had now come close.

......It’s big.

Its size was no joke. It looked as if the entire Murim Alliance headquarters in Henan had been brought here and set down.

However, I could see sections here and there that looked broken and rusted.

The aftermath of the war, I suppose.

I could see repairs and restoration being carried out.

Even though more than ten years had passed, it seemed they had not finished fixing everything.

As I looked at that, the carriage soon came to a true stop.

A cult member came and opened the door.

When I stepped down and checked, I saw an entrance over there.

Is that huge thing the entrance?

It was big. Too big, even. Could that thing even open?

We slowly approached it.

But then—

A chill shot down my spine.

“.......”

Goosebumps rose over my skin. I grimaced and looked straight ahead. Someone was there. Was the tension I felt right now because of that person?

“......What is that?”

“.......”

The others must have sensed something too, because they grew warily alert.

I advanced while maintaining the tension that had shot up before I knew it, and once the cult members guiding us reached the entrance, they immediately dropped to their knees.

“We greet the pillar of the Holy Cult.”

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Dozens of people all knelt and paid respects to a single old man.

[Ha-ha.]

The Heavenly Demon laughed as he watched.

[So that old monster is still alive.]

An existence the Heavenly Demon called an old monster. At those words, I studied the old man.

He was a wrinkled elder with a long scar near his mouth.

For an old man, his body was contoured and solid enough to show that he was a martial artist. At the same time, the sensation he gave off was strange, like facing a sharp sword.

“Well, now.”

When the old man smiled, his scar looked even darker. It felt eerie.

A prickle ran through me.

The moment I felt it, my hand went to the hilt of my sword without my realizing. I tried to seize it, but barely held myself back.

“......I was curious, with all the rumors flying about.”

The voice came from beside me. The old man had approached me in an instant.

“The title of Sword Saint’s inheritor does not shame you. A monster has given birth to a monster. You must be Moon Hero.”

“......Who are you?”

The old man had approached with his hands clasped behind his back. My heart lurched.

“I did not expect you to react. I merely tried playing a light little prank...... The heavens truly are heartless. To think they placed such a peculiar thing in the orthodox faction. I am truly envious. Envious enough that I want to steal you right now.”

His words somehow felt sincere, and my eyes narrowed. A shiver ran over me. Just as I was debating whether to draw the Divine Sword—

The intense pressure I had been feeling suddenly vanished.

“A joke. Since you take such offense, I am truly embarrassed.”

The old man spoke while looking somewhere. Sword Emperor stood there.

Sword Emperor was looking at the old man with cold eyes. The atmosphere made it feel as if a heart could be pierced through at any moment.

“I heard the news and wondered if it could possibly be true. I did not know you were alive, Sword Emperor.”

“So you are not a ghost.”

Sword Emperor spoke.

“You bastard. How are you still alive?”

“Ha-ha-ha.”

They seemed to know each other. At Sword Emperor’s words, the old man laughed roughly.

“......I lived because I failed to die. Thanks to you.”

“Move away. Before I kill you.”

“An amusing thing to say. Is this child precious to you? Because he is the child of a monster?”

“I will not say it twice, Demon Command.”

As Sword Emperor said that, he drew his broken blade. Sword Aura began to seep into it, and when the Demonic Cultists kneeling on the ground saw that, their eyes flashed.

Sword Emperor had threatened the old man, and they reacted as if they might leap forward at any moment.

Seeing that, the old man moved again.

He left my side and went toward the cult members.

“Insolent things.”

CRUNCH.

“......!”

He abruptly burst one cult member’s head.

“You brought honored guests here, and this is the rudeness you show? Put your heads down.”

At the old man’s words, the cult members immediately bowed their heads. They seemed to have no interest in the corpse of the dead man.

The old man called Demon Command shook off his blood-covered hands and spoke.

“My apologies for the discourtesy. These children like me too much, and this happened because of that. I hope you will understand.”

“A useless act.”

Was that meant as a threat? Or was it a contest of pressure? I could not quite understand the behavior of this old man called Demon Command.

“Something that should be locked in solitary confinement. Why are you doing this? Do you want to die by my hand again?”

“Of course not. I have no particular intention of doing anything to the precious children of the orthodox faction. I merely...... wanted to confirm whether you had truly come.”

“Is that so? Then you confirmed it. Do you want to have a round?”

“Ho-ho-ho......”

Demon Command laughed softly.

“That, too, is something I would dearly welcome...... but unfortunately, I cannot. I have a position on this side as well. I truly came only to greet you, so that is enough.”

Demon Command turned and began to move. Then he slowly approached me.

“You were called Moon Hero, was it?”

“Yes.”

“I am Gu An, an elder of the Holy Cult. Pleased to meet you.”

An elder of the Holy Cult. A true pillar of the Holy Cult, distinct from the Eight Demons and also different from the Heavenly Demon.

He was not someone I knew much about.

The hand he offered me as if asking for a handshake was covered in the blood of the person he had just killed. Seeing that, Gu An gave an embarrassed laugh.

“Ah, dear. I forgot. With the other hand......”

Before he could finish speaking, I took the bloodstained hand.

“I am Bang Seongyeon of the Azure Moon Sect. I greet the elder of the Holy Cult.”

“......Oh-ho?”

My attitude said I did not care whether there was blood on it or not. At that, Gu An’s gaze changed.

I had worried he might wrap some kind of energy around his hand, but there was no such sensation.

“You truly are interesting...... I meant it when I said I coveted you. A child like this should have been in our Holy Cult. Ah, I heard you had some business with the Woo Family child?”

“Ah, yes. Something did happen.”

“How was he? The Woo Family’s genius.”

“Genius?”

Genius? That word caught in my ears. I tilted my head slightly, showing that I was thinking.

“Ah-ha-ha...... Your reaction is very clear.”

“No. I simply had something to think about for a moment...... He was decent. Probably.”

“Ha-ha-ha.”

When Woo Young Jin was mentioned, the elder laughed roughly.

“......I thought the child was fairly decent. It is surprising that you judge him that way. Was that all?”

“No. He really was not bad.”

Tang Cheonil had simply been stronger. Judging by Woo Young Jin’s pressure and level, I thought he was decent.

I only thought that much.

“Is that so?”

Perhaps my answer did not satisfy him, because the elder’s expression changed subtly. Was something about it not to his liking?

“Just in case, I will say this. Though that child is outstanding, he is not one to proudly display. I hope your impression of us does not end in disappointment.”

“I see.”

Was he telling me not to judge the Demonic Cult’s level based on Woo Young Jin? I would have to see more to know. To begin with, I had only just learned that the Holy Cult even had younger-generation prodigies. If I had to set a standard, would it not be the Young Cult Leader?

If there are more at that bastard’s level.

That was a slightly chilling thought, but I did not see the possibility as high. If that were the case, Woo Young Jin would not have been running wild like that.

They said there was an elder backing the Woo Family.

At the very least, this old man did not seem to be him. That was what his tone and the feeling I got from him suggested.

For now, rather than that. I need to think about something else before the younger generation.

An elder. A man who had introduced himself as an elder of the Holy Cult.

Setting aside this old man who seemed to know Sword Emperor—

The person I need to meet is also supposed to be an elder.

There was another elder inside the Holy Cult. I had to find him.

“Introductions are over, so let us go in. We prepared a grand welcome inside.”

“......Thank you for your consideration.”

I released his hand. Yet surprisingly, not a single drop of blood stained my palm.

The old man’s hand was the same. It had vanished as though it had evaporated.

If he had evaporated it with inner qi, I should have felt something. How had he done that?

What was that?

Just as I felt that sense of wrongness—

CREEEEEEAAAAK—!!!

The enormous main gate opened.

The Heavenly Demon’s Holy Cult. The place I had only heard about.

The land of defeated soldiers left behind after the Heavenly Demon died and disappeared.

It was time to enter the den of Demonic Cultists.

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