CHAPTER 525: EPILOGUE EARTH DEMON (22)

I sheathed my sword and asked quietly.

“What do you consider the perfect line?”

For a moment, complex emotions flashed across First Demon’s face when our eyes met.

At first his hostile gaze wavered. Then came confusion, and a thirst for realization.

Yet a wary caution still lingered in a corner of his heart.

As if trying to suppress the whirl of feelings, he answered with a hardened expression.

“To reach exactly where one desires without the slightest tremor.”

His voice was full of conviction, but the swordsmanship he’d just seen was causing that certainty to waver.

“Exact according to which standard?”

“I mean a standard so that anyone would call it exact.”

“Then who sets the viewer’s standard?”

“That is… us.”

“Us?”

“Well….”

First Demon stopped speaking.

A subtle crack had appeared in the voice that had been so confident moments ago.

Even he, who used the vague phrase ‘us’, suddenly realized its meaning was unclear.

I continued so he wouldn’t fall into too deep a quandary.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not questioning to bite you. I only wanted to understand what you mean by ‘standard.’”

I fully sheathed my sword and stepped back.

Seeing First Demon’s shoulders drop a little, I finally exhaled.

“Let me give an example. Right now you stand still in that spot. But what about the thoughts of those watching you? Aren’t they looking from their own positions?”

“….”

“If the ‘standing position’ changes depending on those who look at me—could that be a truly exact standard?”

“Ah….”

A flash of realization struck First Demon’s eyes like lightning.

Only then did he begin to understand.

The true meaning of the sword technique I had just shown.

How individual moves that seemed imperfect could form a perfect whole.

I turned naturally and looked at the leaves trembling in the distance.

“Leaves are the same. If you want to know where a leaf will fall each day, you mustn’t think only from my standard. First you must know nature, understand it, and try to see yourself from their perspective. 𝘳ＡŊ𝐎ΒÈȘ

“…Have you found it, disciple?”

First Demon’s voice carried earnestness.

The earlier suspicion and wariness had vanished; only the pure desire of a seeker remained.

“I was fortunate.”

“What was it? In what way did perfection exist?”

His voice trembled.

A desperate longing towards Supreme Demon dominated him.

“The line of perfection, in the end it is determined by my heart rather than someone else’s judgment.”

“…!”

First Demon’s pupils shifted widely.

It was a statement entirely different from what he’d said before.

“By taking my heart as the standard, I could draw a perfect line I once thought impossible. I was able to integrate it into my martial art.”

I met his gaze again and continued slowly.

“Even the basic movements I had you perform changed. Then they finally achieved harmony in the Cultivation technique.”

First Demon opened his eyes wide at my words.

In his mind, countless pieces of realization were likely falling into place one by one.

“Could it be that place…”

He murmured faintly, and I answered him.

“Yes. That is the Supreme Demon.”

“…!”

First Demon gaped in shock; he could not have imagined I had reached Supreme Demon.

But other emotions rose as well—reverence, and behind that reverence, a strange fear seeped in.

“Then now I will ask.”

His voice grew somewhat heavy; his tone carried a different caution than before.

“What is the real reason you taught me in such a reckless way, even invading my lord’s territory?”

First Demon was now trying to get back to the essential question.

It was natural, in a way.

He wouldn’t assume those who came here to help him had purely good motives.

“Why, does my goodwill bother you?”

“Whether it’s goodwill or not, I can’t know without hearing the reason.”

I looked at him.

The once desperate curiosity and seeker’s longing had now settled into measured caution.

‘As expected, he won’t be swayed easily.’

I quietly stared at him. It would be strange not to suspect him.

After glancing briefly at the sky, I spoke frankly to him.

“I wanted to win your heart.”

“…Yes?”

He looked completely taken aback.

I continued calmly.

“I thought that if I could win the hearts of the Eight Kingly Iron Demon Warriors, I might gain an advantage in disputes with my sahyungs.”

First Demon shook his head at that.

“That statement isn’t true. We are not such great figures who can change the battlefield.”

“I don’t judge people by force alone. I consider the life they’ve led, their values, and the people around them when I judge.”

“Life, values… people?”

“Yes.”

First Demon frowned; my true intent didn’t seem to fully register with him.

I added one more thing.

“Don’t misunderstand. You — no, you all — fight for the second sahyung. Follow orders, and if I appear before you, cut me without hesitation. Just give me a grateful heart. That is enough.”

“A heart, you say… what on earth…?”

First Demon’s expression hardened further.

His reaction was one of incomprehension.

Of course it must have been a hard request for him to understand.

‘It may be nothing to some, but not to me.’

It had a great meaning, a very great meaning.

If I gained his heart, I could move the seal token.

“Very well.”

First Demon, after a moment’s thought, spoke.

“If your teaching helps my training and I reach Supreme Demon, I will hold a grateful heart. But…”

He turned his gaze to one place and spoke.

“The Eight Kingly Iron Demon Warriors are eight in all. Even if I agree, how do you plan to persuade the others?”

“Do I really have to do that myself?”

“…?”

I answered with a smile.

“If you reach Supreme Demon… won’t you share that teaching with your comrades? If they all improve that way, it will mean I’ve helped everyone, and thus I would have won their hearts, wouldn’t I?”

“Ha….”

A move he had not expected.

First Demon was speechless.

His expression was a mix of surprise and an eerie feeling.

‘It may be complicated… but there’s no reason to refuse.’

He offers help to reach Supreme Demon without forcing betrayal. He only asks for a heart.

And the stronger they grow, the more they will help the Demon Lord.

No matter how you think about it, there’s no reason to refuse.

Then a voice called from the other side.

“Hey, First Demon! Are you there?”

They were other members of the Eight Kingly Iron Demon Warriors.

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

I gave a brief nod and turned away quietly. First Demon stood there without another word.

Until I had completely disappeared, he remained standing there with a conflicted expression.

It seemed many thoughts still hovered unresolved in his mind.

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Clack. I set the teacup down and stared out the window.

Although the scene had been the same for days, my mind was far from calm.

‘Jeong-yeon and First Demon — two factions are nearly secured.’

I had turned two of the Demon Lord’s core forces to my side.

But it’s too early to relax.

That child, strange one, was someone hard to even locate in the first place.

Moreover, memories of a previous life were vivid.

His mad gaze and unpredictable actions.

‘It would be better not to meet him.’

I picked up the teacup again.

The lukewarm tea slid down my throat.

Fifteen days. There was still time until the deadline Jeong-yeon had mentioned.

But one cannot predict a Supreme Demon master’s movements precisely.

The Supreme Pavilion Lord and Black Troop Leader Il-su took charge of the operation, but variables could arise at any time.

I had to watch their backs.

“My lord!”

A hurried voice came from outside the door.

The secret warrior’s rough breathing hinted at the urgency of the matter.

“Come in.”

Thud.

Sweat beaded on the forehead of the kneeling warrior.

“A messenger has come. Ma-gon… has appeared at Seventh Hall.”

“Already?”

I rose from my seat. It was five days sooner than expected.

“Contact the Supreme Pavilion lord immediately, and Il-su too…”

I paused and changed my mind.

“No. I will go to Il-su myself.”

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On the way to the training hall.

I walked and thought.

‘Ma-gon… a name I hadn’t heard even in my previous life.’

I recalled the Supreme Demon warriors under the First Disciple from my memories.

Surely there was no such figure in that era.

Was he killed by Yu Pae, or had he disappeared early for some other reason?

‘All the more interesting. Another Supreme Demon warrior,’

Whoosh-

The bamboo at the training hall entrance swayed in the wind.

Inside, only rhythmic breathing could be heard.

“Il-su.”

When I called, Il-su, who sat cross-legged, slowly opened his eyes.

At that moment I swallowed.

‘Look at him.’

His gaze had completely changed.

Calm like a deep lake, yet a sharp sword aura hid within it.

It was the gaze of one who had reached the threshold of Supreme Demon.

“Who should I eliminate?”

An emotionless voice. The air of a former leader’s dignity lingered.

“Ma-gon.”

“…!”

For an instant, Il-su’s pupils trembled slightly.

But he soon calmed. His fingers unconsciously brushed the sword hilt.

“…My lord, how much do you know about Ma-gon?”

It was a cautious question.

“Not much.”

“I see.”

Il-su rose slowly. Tension was felt in his movements.

“To be honest, this operation has a high chance of failure.”

“The Supreme Pavilion lord will also join.”

“Better than nothing. One proper help is…”

Il-su paused.

He looked pensive, licked his lips, and spoke again.

“It was about a year ago.”

Il-su’s voice lowered.

“Within the First Disciple’s forces, one subordinate fell into possession by Deviation of Demonic qi. He was a recognized Supreme Demon warrior, but he fell into qi deviation and was engulfed in madness, and began to rampage.”

I nodded.

Madness by qi Deviation. Usually one becomes either a crippled shell or a mad demon.

And if one becomes a mad demon, they release transcendent power they cannot control.

“There were a few Peak Demon warriors at the scene. But they struggled to subdue him; a rampaging demon qi is unpredictable.”

Il-su seemed to recall that time.

“Then Ma-gon appeared. And…”

He raised his hand and seemed to grasp the air as he continued.

“He placed his hand on the skull of the one consumed by deviation. That was the end of it.”

“The end? He controlled the demonic qi?”

“Yes. The rampaging demon qi immediately subsided, so it seems so. Like… he soothed a child, they said.”

‘A realm of profoundness.’

Those words raised wariness within me.

A stage of perfectly understanding and controlling demonic qi.

A realm only those who have peered beyond Supreme Demon could reach.

‘Then why is he dead?’

At the same time, a strange question arose.

Why wasn’t such a warrior present when I came?

Was he really killed by the hermitage planted by the Demon Lord?

He was certainly a curious figure.