Chapter 173: Running Rampant (7)

“Bonds between people are not so easily severed.”

Zhuge Yeon blinked at Eunsong’s words.

Namgung Byeok reacted much the same.

“What are you planning?”

“The truth is, there is very little we can actively do. We certainly can’t infiltrate the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains ourselves.”

Namgung Byeok nodded.

There was no question of going all the way into the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains now.

Besides, if planting a spy inside had been possible...

Kunlun, whose hatred of the Demonic Cult was second to none, would almost certainly have done it already.

“Even sending a spy would be a problem. They probably wouldn’t remain sane for long.”

Zhuge Yeon added her own warning.

She possessed a fair amount of information about the inner workings of the Demonic Cult.

She knew how horrifying Demonic Energy was.

And she knew what the cultists did to obtain it.

“What do you mean, they wouldn’t remain sane?”

“Namgung Byeok, do you know the essential requirement for becoming a member of the Demonic Cult?”

“How would I know something like that, Eunsong?”

Namgung Byeok shrugged.

In truth, it was a fair answer.

Most people did not know.

They had little interest in the Demonic Cult now that it had been reduced to scattered remnants hiding in the shadows.

But Zhuge Yeon and Eunsong were different.

The appearance of the Little Heavenly Demon had already nearly derailed their plans once.

And now...

They were in the dangerous position of having to strike the Sword Sovereign while accounting for the possibility of the Heavenly Demon as well.

“...They take a piece of the Heavenly Demon’s body into themselves. That is how they obtain Demonic Energy and lay the foundation for practicing Demonic Arts.”

“What kind of religious cult—”

“It is a religious cult.”

The color drained from Namgung Byeok’s face.

But Zhuge Yeon was right.

It was a religious cult made up of fanatics, and the problem was that the Malevolent God they worshiped...

At the very least, its power had manifested through the Heavenly Demon.

“...One fortunate thing, then, is that the Demonic Cult and the Sword Sovereign will never cooperate.”

“That is fortunate. But it also creates another problem.”

Zhuge Yeon continued.

It was a difficult situation.

If the Demonic Cult began running rampant, the Sword Sovereign and the cult would fight just as they had before.

The Reverse Heaven Society would have to walk an extremely fine line between them.

Join hands with the Demonic Cult to kill the Sword Sovereign?

That was not an option worth considering.

They were fanatics who worshiped some unknown, evil Malevolent God.

Worse, the power of the being they worshiped undeniably existed.

It existed in the form of Demonic Energy.

And that energy gradually twisted the human body and soul until its victim eventually became a Demonic Beast.

How could they cooperate with people who willingly embraced such a thing for power alone and worshiped something they did not even understand?

Then should they join hands with the Sword Sovereign to destroy the Demonic Cult?

Common sense said yes.

But it would almost certainly provoke fierce opposition from within the Reverse Heaven Society.

The Reverse Heaven Society might be loosely organized, but when necessary, its members could bind themselves together with more than enough strength.

Which meant that, at its core, it was an organization of people who had come together voluntarily around their shared resentment of the Sword Sovereign.

And they were supposed to tell those people to actively cooperate with the Sword Sovereign and the Martial Alliance?

Even if it was for the greater good of the martial world, how could anyone live by righteousness alone?

Especially when the person they were being asked to help was the enemy who had murdered their wife or husband, their children or parents.

Few would be able to draw their swords for that so-called “greater good.”

The members of the Reverse Heaven Society were no different.

“That certainly is a problem.”

“Yes. No matter which side we cooperate with, there will be consequences.”

Zhuge Yeon fell into thought.

Eunsong was the first to offer an answer.

“...For now, we will have to choose between the lesser evil and the greater one.”

Both Zhuge Yeon and Namgung Byeok turned toward him.

Eunsong pressed his fingers to his brow. His face tightened as he forced the words out.

“I despise having to say this, but a world ruled by the Sword Sovereign is better than one ruled by the Heavenly Demon.”

Silence followed.

Everyone present knew Eunsong’s pain.

They knew whom he had lost.

They knew how that person had been taken from him.

And they knew just how precious that person had been to him.

“...If the Demonic Cult rises again, we will have to fight as part of the Martial Alliance.”

“Are you truly all right with that, Eunsong?”

“It won’t be a problem. But we will not fight exactly as they want us to.”

Eunsong clenched his fist.

His nails dug into his palm.

Zhuge Yeon watched him uneasily.

“We will not hand them a perfect victory. A costly one will be enough.”

“You mean we defeat the Demonic Cult, but make sure the Martial Alliance suffers heavy losses in the process?”

“Exactly, Lady Yeon.”

Namgung Byeok silently weighed their available strength.

If every member of the Reverse Heaven Society joined the Martial Alliance...

It was certainly possible.

But there was another problem they had to solve first.

“...What about the Demonic Cult remnants hidden among the righteous factions?”

“Well. I think Ak Jupae will come to us.”

“...Here? After turning his back on the Demonic Cult?”

“He’ll probably come even if he doesn’t turn his back on them.”

Zhuge Yeon and Namgung Byeok both stared at Eunsong in confusion.

A moment later, realization dawned, and their expressions hardened.

“...Surely not.”

“That is the sort of people the Demonic Cult produces. There is no chance they would pass up the opportunity to make Ak Jupae kill you with his own hands, Lady Yeon.”

Zhuge Yeon and Namgung Byeok both nodded.

The Demonic Cult...

Yes. They would do something like that.

People whose brains were saturated with Demonic Energy were no longer sane.

They were monsters who would devour their own children if it meant gaining more power.

“Before that... there is something all of you need to know.”

“Something we need to know?”

“Yes. The reason Flame-Saber Lord Ak Jupae went over to the Demonic Cult. I’ll explain inside.”

Zhuge Yeon tilted her head.

But without complaint, she led them into the reception room.

Jang Yul, who had remained silent throughout the conversation, followed behind her.

Only after everyone had taken a seat and sipped the tea Jang Yul served did Eunsong speak again.

“Are the formations here functioning properly, Lady Yeon?”

“Yes. I checked them again just now. But we all already know why Uncle Ak went over to the Demonic Cult....”

To find the person who had killed his son.

Had he not willingly allowed himself to be tempted by the Demonic Cult precisely because they had offered him a clue?

In one sense, one could even call it extraordinary paternal devotion.

Though now that he had become a Demonic Human, no martial artist of the righteous factions could openly join hands with him.

“I know who killed his son.”

At those words, Jang Yul, Zhuge Yeon, and Namgung Byeok all turned toward Eunsong.

Flame-Saber Lord Ak Jupae was an early-stage Transformation Realm master.

His tremendous strength and ferocity were renowned throughout the martial world.

True, he had been the Heaven-Net Platform Lord, commander of what was effectively the Sword Sovereign’s execution force...

But everyone agreed that he would still be one of their greatest assets in a war against the Demonic Cult.

And Eunsong knew who had killed his son and driven him into the Demonic Cult?

“Why didn’t you tell us until now? No—did you only just find out?”

“No. I knew from the beginning.”

“Then why...!”

“Calm down and hear him out. There must be a reason.”

Namgung Byeok raised a hand to restrain Zhuge Yeon.

She frowned deeply, then let out a long sigh and leaned back against her chair.

Her voice had lost its strength when she spoke again.

“...Go on.”

Eunsong took a sip of tea that had yet to cool, then slowly set the cup down.

And began to tell them the story.

The story of how all of this...

had begun.

“Several years ago, the Heaven-Net Platform exterminated an entire family. They were known as the Flower-Halo Sect, a Branch Family of Mount Hua. Only one person survived—the family’s only daughter, a young girl said to possess exceptional talent.”

“...Things like that happened often.”

“I know. But what if I told you that young girl had been born under the Heavenly Killing Star?”

Zhuge Yeon’s eyes widened.

So did Namgung Byeok’s.

There could never be two Heavenly Killing Stars in the same age.

That was the nature of those born under such a star.

“Surely...”

“Exactly. Flame-Saber Lord Ak Jupae is one of Soyak’s enemies.”

Zhuge Yeon clenched the fabric of her skirt.

Her grip tightened until her hand began to tremble.

“...I heard Uncle Ak and Soyak traveled together on the way to the Shandong Ak Family.”

“They did.”

“Then that child... walked all that way beside one of the people she hates more than anyone....”

“And saved that very man’s family from the flames of the Demonic Cult. Yet we killed his son. Why do you think we did that?”