Chapter 195: The Essence of the Heavenly Demon
Chapter 194
“It has been a long time since we met. Both of you.”
The Heavenly Demon, no, should he just call him Yi Gang-mu?
Anyway, the fake Heavenly Demon spoke, looking alternately at Yi Hwa and Old Jong.
It looked like a normal greeting, but a subtle meaning of its own was contained inside.
This was because, from the fake Heavenly Demon’s perspective, Yi Hwa and Old Jong were people who had left the Cult without permission.
It was extremely political.
Nod.
Yi Hwa and Old Jong responded simply by merely nodding their heads.
It was a response that could well be taken as picking a fight.
“Still stiff, I see.”
Chuckling as if it was a familiar occurrence, the fake Heavenly Demon leaned back exaggeratingly against the backrest as if it were no big deal.
It seemed this degree of behavior was common.
‘He seems to be trying to establish authority in his own way, but it’s useless.’
Perhaps because his situation was desperate, he looked even more shabby. It was to the point of being pitiful.
Hearing him speak while sitting on the throne of the Heavenly Demon and subtly putting on airs, he suddenly recalled Yi Cheon-gyeong around the time they first met.
Yi Cheon-gyeong had reigned like a king within the small fence of the Green Forest.
If considering only the aspect of being insolent, Yi Cheon-gyeong had been worse.
Thinking differently like that, the fake Heavenly Demon Yi Gang-mu also had parts worthy of evaluation in his own way.
Because considering his position, the pressure that the fake Heavenly Demon Yi Gang-mu must have received, and is currently receiving, would be larger than imagination.
Indeed, once the opponent’s truth and falsehood were grasped, he could evaluate him even more objectively.
It was a state of being driven into a corner to a pitiful degree, unfitting for the grand name of the Heavenly Demon.
Synthesizing the information inside the Demonic Cult encountered so far, he seemed to understand why he used such words and actions.
‘But as long as he claims that name for himself, there is no room for sympathy. He is lacking to bear the name ‘Heavenly Demon’. If it were me, I wouldn’t have just tested the waters like this.’
The Heavenly Demon is a being who bows his head to no one.
He is a being who never shows his back.
Perhaps he held such a perception because he directly communicated with Master Heavenly Demon, who could be called the real one.
What was clear was that Yi Gang-mu was not showing the weight to warrant using the name of the Heavenly Demon.
It was a relief that Master Heavenly Demon was not in front of the Meridian Mirror right now.
If he had been, it was certain that a torrent of curses would have poured down to the point of giving him a headache for a while.
Furthermore, he could not look upon the fake Heavenly Demon favorably either.
‘The matter of Sichuan must be this guy’s doing.’
Exploding issues externally to seek internal unity.
The more he came to know the internal situation of the Demonic Cult, the more certain he became that the events that had occurred in Sichuan were plotted by this guy.
“So, are you the one who held back the Divine Maiden and the Vajra Iron Demonic Sovereign?”
Perhaps because there was no response he had expected, the fake Heavenly Demon’s interest, which had been directed toward Yi Hwa and Old Jong, shifted to him.
Just as he was about to answer that, he realized one thing.
‘Huh? Wait?’
At this moment, Yi Cheon-gyeong was also together in this place.
In a situation with no information, it was a situation where one could make a huge misunderstanding.
Because Yi Cheon-gyeong’s outward appearance closely resembled Yi Hwa’s. It was to the extent that anyone would easily accept it if they said he had inherited the legitimate line of the Heavenly Demon.
Yet the fake Heavenly Demon Yi Gang-mu stared precisely at him.
‘He knows me?’
Preparing in advance, preparing against it in advance.
No matter how he looked at it, it was the behavior of a strategist or a politician.
“Did you not hear my words?”
“I heard them.”
“That’s a relief. It seems I won’t have to worry for nothing.”
It was a part he repeatedly came to realize, but he spoke in a very roundabout way.
Looking at it, it was a personality that would absolutely not fit with the Heaven-Entering Divine Demonic Sovereign.
The history of factions being divided in the Demonic Cult seemed to be quite old, but this generation seemed to have exceptionally many problems.
‘That’s probably why he reached his hand out to the outside as well.’
One by one, each time he grasped the truth and falsehood, the surrounding vision became clear.
“Tch!”
Unlike him, Yi Gang-mu, who could not hide his displeasure, clicked his tongue and changed direction.
“Im A-hyeong.”
“Yes, Heavenly Demon.”
“Did you convey my wishes clearly?”
Instead of him, he proceeded with the conversation through Im A-hyeong, who had come with him.
“Yes. I conveyed them clearly.”
“Then, coming here must mean you accept my wishes.”
Leaving him in front of him, he drew conclusions at his own whim through the conversation with Im A-hyeong.
The reason for that could be easily seen through.
‘Neither Yi Gang-mu nor I have ever once uttered the title of Heavenly Demon.’
Although he called him by necessity, from Yi Gang-mu’s perspective, his existence could not help but be uncomfortable.
Because he was a presence who could further damage his already lacking legitimacy.
‘Perhaps… the one who proposed the scheme to call me in might not be him.’
It was a bit different from what he had thought.
Actually, the current Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Cult he had drawn in his mind was a person whom the phrase ‘hiding a dagger behind a smile’ suited.
A person who hid a sword in his smile.
A person in whose company one should never feel at ease even while smiling and holding hands.
However, the reactions visible now were somewhat distant from the appearance he had drawn.
Resting his chin arrogantly on his hand in the seat where he sat, the fake Heavenly Demon Yi Gang-mu finally brought up the main point.
“I am the Heavenly Demon. Do you acknowledge it?”
He had to barely suppress the laughter trying to burst out.
It was the very declaration he had proclaimed at Mount Cheonja.
Hearing those words through another person made his skin crawl.
All of his companions here had been together in that place.
‘I wonder if they are holding back laughter?’
Curious about their reactions, he stealthily scanned the expressions of Yi Hwa, Old Jong, and the Heavenly Demon’s Personal Guards who had followed him.
But their expressions were far from laughter.
Far from laughing, their faces were desperately holding back from exploding right away.
They were faces watching the scene where something extremely precious was being defiled.
Their reactions were clear.
‘Damn it! What am I doing right now?’
Seeing them show reactions different from what he had thought, he received a shock like being hit hard on the head.
Disgust surged within him at the sight of himself agreeing with the political game unfolding before his eyes.
‘Yeon Cheong-un, you blockhead!’
Surely, when he resolved on this journey to the Demonic Cult in Samyang County, he had pledged to show behavior worthy of the Heavenly Demon.
Where did it go wrong?
‘He grew dull at the Kunlun Sect.’
Because it was necessary.
But events that suppressed his dulled resolution occurred one after another.
The Heaven-Entering Divine Demonic Sovereign.
A monster that could not be dealt with without joining forces with the Heaven-Obeying Faction.
He had to ponder a way to deal with that monster.
Logically, calculationally, politically.
He struggled to find a way through rational thinking.
As if he were scared.
‘What would Master Heavenly Demon have said if he saw my current state?’
Perhaps he was in front of the Meridian Mirror right now.
Perhaps he was saying nothing while watching his state in front of the Meridian Mirror.
With a face full of disappointment.
The human that Master Heavenly Demon would detest was right in front of him.
Like a negative example.
In a state that might have been his own appearance just a moment ago.
‘Let’s sharpen the edge.’
He had to forge his dulled mind.
There was only one thing to think about here.
‘What on earth would Master Heavenly Demon have done?’
The answer was simple.
Although it was a path so difficult it seemed impossible to achieve, recalling what form of development Master Heavenly Demon wished for was very easy.
“…Right, what I don’t like, I must destroy.”
“Just now… what did you say?”
From the moment he decided on the journey to the Demonic Cult until now, the plans he had logically built up collapsed like a sandcastle.
Within the completely collapsed ruins, something purer remained.
“Yi Hwa.”
“Yes.”
“Who am I?”
“You are the eternal and everlasting one of our Cult.”
Yi Hwa performed a five-point prostration and worshiped him.
The Divine Maiden of the Demonic Cult acknowledged him as the Heavenly Demon.
“H-How dare you?!”
Yi Gang-mu rose from his seat, sparks flying from his eyes.
That Yi Hwa acknowledged him meant, conversely, that she denied Yi Gang-mu.
“Old Jong.”
“You are the master of this Vajra Iron Demonic Sovereign.”
Old Jong also bowed his body, performing a five-point prostration just like Yi Hwa.
The pillars of the Demonic Cult prostrated themselves in submission.
The eyes of Yi Gang-mu, who rolled his head and discussed politics, rolled back.
“Heavenly Demon’s Personal Guard!”
Experts popped out from all directions and surrounded him.
The most elite armed group of the Demonic Cult, created to escort the Heavenly Demon.
They were the Heavenly Demon’s Personal Guards belonging to the Heaven-Obeying Faction who had not come to him following Old Jong.
However, if it was the Heavenly Demon’s Personal Guards, he had them too.
“Heavenly Demon’s Personal Guard.”
“The Heavenly Demon descends!”
“Eternal and endless!”
“Eternal! Eternal! Forever eternal!”
Responding to his call, the Heavenly Demon’s Personal Guards threw their bodies forward.
He poured out anger toward those who dared to bare their blades at him.
They went wild, rejoicing in the fact that they fought for him.
Boom! Crash!
As the place became a pandemonium in an instant, the fake Heavenly Demon shouted.
“Dark Rock Demonic Sovereign!!”
One of the Five Great Demonic Sovereigns, one of the strongest experts of the Demonic Cult, popped out.
Old Jong, who had been prostrated, revealed his power at the appearance of the Demonic Sovereign.
The clash between absolute strongmen!
Kwa-aaa-aaang!!
It was a fight of those whose power reached the heavens.
No matter how sturdily built, it was not a force that a mere building made by human hands could endure.
Amidst all sides shattering and flying as if a thunderbolt had fallen, his footsteps headed forward.
Rumble!
Flames shot up in that path.
The flames spreading along his steps went forward, as if paving the way for a king undergoing a coronation.
The flames that burned the broken debris and troublesome obstacles sent up smoke high enough to reach the sky.
Fire and smoke.
Walking inside the world of red lotus, the fake Heavenly Demon Yi Gang-mu appeared in front of him.
A person who was called the Heavenly Demon, but did not act as the Heavenly Demon.
His negative example.
“Are you crazy?!”
The fake Heavenly Demon screamed as if crying out.
“I was the one who called you! I called you! In order to get rid of those insolent Heaven-Rebelling Faction bastards!”
He know that the problem arose in the Demonic Cult because Master Heavenly Demon’s upright lineage of martial arts was severed.
There was no proper Heavenly Demon.
To the Heaven-Rebelling Faction, Yi Gang-mu was not the Heavenly Demon.
Seeing that Yi Hwa and Old Jong, who had set out to find the real Heavenly Demon, did not return, they must have noticed that there was a being to whom the true upright lineage of martial arts was connected.
‘He must have believed that if he recruited someone like me, he could also settle the internal issues.’
Repeatedly acting unlike the Heavenly Demon.
Defiling the legacy of Master Heavenly Demon.
“If you and I fight, the Heaven-Entering Divine Demonic Sovereign, the Heaven-Rebelling Faction will swallow everything! That monster will take it all!!”
Perhaps. Honestly, even now, no answer was visible for that monster.
That was why he also tried to find a way, whether by joining hands with the Heaven-Obeying Faction or absorbing their power.
He had tried to approach it through calculation and logic somehow and move politically.
“What do I care.”
“Crazy bastard! Can you still say you inherited the lineage of the Heavenly Demon after this?!”
“It’s because I’m the Heavenly Demon that I’m doing this, you idiot.”
Arrogantly and proudly.
Master Heavenly Demon would surely have done so.
He kicked off the ground with conviction.
“This damn bastard!!!”
Behind the fake Heavenly Demon Yi Gang-mu, who was trying to persuade him somehow, a faint image of the Demonic God rose.
The image of the Demonic God, as faint as his identity, scattered black energy.
On the other hand.
Kwa-aaaa-aaa!!!
“Shatter, fake.”
“H-How?!”
The image of the Demonic God that clearly rose behind him, who operated the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, announced a strong presence.