CHAPTER 528: EPILOGUE EARTH DEMON (25)

“Why did you step in?”

Jeong-yeon’s sudden intervention was outside my calculations.

We had promised to handle it, so there was no reason for him to risk his life and step in personally.

No, there wasn’t even a need for that.

Shiiiiing.

A cold wind blew, carrying the scent of blood.

My fingers unconsciously tapped the sword hilt.

A creeping unease that something had been missed seeped in.

“You must not have trusted us.”

Although muttered, it was close to the truth.

Jeong-yeon had tracked Ma-gon for years and would know his skill better than anyone.

At the time he reacted to seeing the Supreme Pavilion Lord as if he understood, but in truth he must have judged it was beyond them.

‘The cost of mission failure is death. He had no choice.’

Boom!

I turned my gaze to the distant blast. Four shadows were tangled in the dust.

Even after the ambush succeeded, Ils-u, the Supreme Pavilion Lord, and Jeong-yeon continued their combined attack, but Ma-gon was still holding on.

‘He’s relentless.’

I frowned.

Ma-gon’s movements were certainly sluggish.

Blood running from his brow, the unnatural droop of his left arm, his ragged breath—every sign showed he was at his limit.

Yet he was still fending off a combined attack by three.

“As expected, the realm of mastery is different.”

A sigh escaped me.

I had been too complacent.

I had underestimated the gap between mastery at Supreme Demon and Peak Demon.

“Anyway, one thing’s clear. Ma-gon didn’t die here.”

After watching Il-su and the Supreme Pavilion Lord struggle earlier, I was certain.

It would be the same even if the target had been Jeong-yeon.

Even having somewhat succeeded in an ambush, to be driven back this far…

‘If Ma-gon didn’t die here… then who on earth killed him?’

For a moment, my spine chilled.

Even when I sifted through memories of my past life, the name Ma-gon wasn’t there.

He was clearly someone who should have disappeared at this point.

But he wasn’t killed by Jeong-yeon’s hand.

Kwaaang!

A surge of sword qi exploded and the three were flung back at once.

Il-su fell to one knee, and the Supreme Pavilion Lord slammed his back against a tree.

Jeong-yeon barely kept his balance, but his sword hand shook violently.

“Gasp… gasp…”

Ma-gon let out a rough gasp.

He pulled out the sword lodged in his chest, threw it, and staggered.

“You… bastards…”

He put his hand under his clavicle.

Green demonic qi swirled around the wound and began to staunch the bleeding.

An ability to control blood flow. Ordinary deadly wounds couldn’t kill him.

‘This won’t do.’

It was just as he was about to move.

Whooosh-

With the sound of air ripping, a white flash streaked by.

“Arrgh!”

Ma-gon screamed and was pushed back. The green demonic qi that wrapped his chest shattered.

Most astonishingly, fear flickered across his face for the first time.

Crack-

With the sound of bones breaking, Ma-gon rolled on the ground. The second impact had struck his flank.

“Th-this is…”

Ma-gon’s voice trembled. The one who had reached the realm of mastery was flustered for the first time.

Through the dust that had dispersed like mist, a figure emerged.

“Why is that guy here…”

An involuntary exclamation escaped my mouth.

An unexpected person. No, someone I didn’t think would appear at this point.

It was then.

Clatter.

At that moment, a covert operative who had rushed over knelt on one knee.

His brow was wet with sweat, his breath rough. He seemed to have sprinted from quite a distance.

“My lord.”

“I’m watching.”

My mind grew muddled.

A variable that couldn’t have been predicted in the first place had appeared.

“Demon Lord…”

The second disciple, Demon Lord. He had stepped forward himself.

----------------------------------------

“You… you are…”

Ma-gon clutched his chest and opened his eyes wide.

Blood-mixed saliva dripped from his mouth. His pupils trembled violently. It was an expression of disbelief.

“Senior, let’s be reasonable.”

Tap, tap.

Demon Lord flicked the blood off his sword.

The motion was so natural, as if he’d finished an everyday chore, calmly composed.

Even the faint smile at the corner of his mouth held an inscrutable meaning.

“You bastard… that dirty ambush…”

Ma-gon’s voice trembled. It was hard to tell if it was anger or fear. It was already the second time.

Once against Jeong-yeon, now even against Demon Lord.

His pride as a Supreme Demon warrior was shattered.

“Isn’t he remarkable? Naturally, from our position we had to prepare thoroughly.”

“Do you know what your intervention implies?”

Ma-gon spat blood and shouted.

His face flushed red.

“Are you saying you’re going to start a war?!”

“You’re spouting nonsense now that Senior Noh is about to die.”

The corner of Demon Lord’s mouth twisted up. The smile was cold and calculating.

“I’m not even a Supreme Demon Warrior… I’m plainly someone who has risen to Peak Demon. Even an ambush is a legitimate attack.”

Unwritten rule: a fight between Supreme Demon warriors is a war, but a Peak Demon warrior challenging a Supreme Demon warrior is permitted.

Losing to the weak is a disgrace the Demonic Cult does not accept.

“You bastards… let’s see if things go your way.”

Grrr.

Ma-gon ground his teeth and rose.

His clavicle was pierced and his chest penetrated. Still, there was resolve in his eyes.

‘I can sweep them away at once. These injuries are…’

But suddenly, his face went pale.

‘What?!’

His eyes widened. The bleeding wouldn’t stop.

There was no need to press a pressure point.

He could control blood flow with his cultivation methods, yet the wound wouldn’t close.

Instead, the blood flowed out even faster.

“It had to be this way.”

Demon Lord casually revealed what he held in his hand.

A dagger shorter than a regular sword. Strange patterns were engraved on the blade.

“I came well prepared.”

“No way… the Wounded Soul Sword…?”

Ma-gon’s voice trembled. Only then did genuine fear seep in.

The Wounded Soul Sword. A cursed divine weapon—once it cuts, the bleeding can never be stopped.

Of course, if you cauterize the wound with fire techniques, the bleeding can be stopped.

But the problem was that the blade had pierced toward the heart.

“What can be done? Martial arts won’t be able to fix this…”

There was no trace of pity in Demon Lord’s voice.

“This bastard…”

“Let’s finish this quickly, Senior No. If you resist, the pain will only increase.”

Gnash.

Ma-gon clenched his teeth.

Slowly, he rose on legs dripping blood.

Had he ever been humiliated so miserably?

By fledglings who hadn’t even risen to Supreme Demon.

“You… I’ll make sure to take you…”

Thud, thud.

Muscles bulged, meridians twisted, and he went berserk.

Qi burst forth, madness burning even his source qi.

His body was already failing, but in that moment he rose like lightning.

It was a final, death-defying struggle.

“Ah, this is going to be troublesome…”

For the first time, surprise flashed across Demon Lord’s face. He hadn’t expected so much strength to remain.

Paek!

The distance closed in an instant. Ma-gon’s speed was lightning-like.

Bang!

At that moment, a smoke screen burst.

The Illusion Flame Bomb. A special powder that not only obscures sight but disrupts the senses.

“Do you think these petty tricks will work?”

Kuaaaang!

As Ma-gon poured in his qi, his sword instantly became a great blade.

At once, a gust of sword wind rose and blew away the hazy smoke powder.

Then the figure of Demon Lord, who had stepped back, was revealed.

“Huh? This won’t do?”

Demon Lord wore a troubled expression. But his gaze remained composed.

“Got you!”

Swoosh-!

A sword slash cut the air. Ma-gon blocked Demon Lord’s retreat and tightened the encirclement.

Thud.

Finally he reached just before Demon Lord. The great blade descended like lightning.

Clang!

A metallic clang rang out. His blade couldn’t cut Demon Lord’s throat; it rebounded.

Feeling the strong shock through his wrist, Ma-gon doubted his eyes.

“Didn’t I tell you earlier?”

Armor gradually revealed itself as their blades collided.

The Formless Armor, one of the divine weapons.

Armor that is invisible until struck by great force, at which point it manifests.

Among divine weapons, it was an armor with effects akin to indestructibility.

“I told you I came well prepared.”

Despair flooded Ma-gon’s eyes.

He had already exhausted even his source qi.

His inner energy was drained to the point he couldn’t even use Body Protection Arts.

He had no strength left to stand. His legs wavered and his knees buckled.

At that moment.

Paek.

A cold sensation brushed across his neck.

Demon Lord had slashed his neck with the Wounded Soul Sword.

“Ugh…”

Ma-gon grabbed his neck.

Blood poured like a waterfall between his fingers.

The Wounded Soul Sword’s curse. Stanching the bleeding was impossible.

He knelt and looked up at Demon Lord.

Mouth agape.

Demon Lord looked down at him without altering his expression.

“Senior, your era is over.”

Thud.

Ma-gon’s body collapsed forward. His face plunged into the blood-soaked ground.

The end of a Supreme Demon warrior who had reached mastery was so hollow.

Demon Lord sheathed the Wounded Soul Sword and muttered.

“Now it’s only left to handle the situation well going forward.”

A brief silence followed.

Demon Lord then turned his gaze to the living.

“Well done, everyone.”

He lifted the corner of his mouth. The motion of shaking blood from his body was utterly natural.

He was as composed as if he’d finished an everyday chore.

Then Jeong-yeon hurried over and knelt on one knee.

“I’m sorry, my lord. I should have been more help…”

“You know.”

Demon Lord’s voice was calm.

But there was a strange intimidation in it.

“You couldn’t win alone. That’s why I came.”

“Ah…”

Jeong-yeon’s shoulders slumped. His face showed both relief and fear.

Demon Lord raised the corner of his mouth and turned his gaze sideways.

He glanced at the Supreme Pavilion Lord and Il-su in turn. A calculating glint flashed in his eyes.

“By the way, who are these people?”

A friendly expression, but beneath it lurked sharp wariness.

What he was intending with the question had a depth even the experienced Supreme Pavilion Lord couldn’t read.

It was right then.

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“So we meet here.”

I decided there was no need to hide anymore. I walked out slowly and met Demon Lord’s gaze.

“Huh?”

Demon Lord’s eyes widened. It was hard to tell if he was truly surprised or acting.

“How did you come here?”

“That’s what I’d like to ask.”

I said in a cold voice.

“How did sahyung come here?”

Then I glanced at Jeong-yeon and glared back at Demon Lord.

It was a silent pressure.

Demon Lord brushed his chin and nodded. An inscrutable smile flickered at the corner of his mouth.

“Seems there are deep matters I don’t know about…”

An awkward laugh. But his eyes did not smile.

There was an unpleasant sharpness to him.

“We had been preparing for a long time to eliminate Ma-gon. We just executed it.”

He paused briefly, then continued while fixing his gaze on me.

“Of course… we did have some help from you.”

‘Help?’

I snorted inwardly, but outwardly nodded calmly.

I raised my senses and scanned the surroundings.

I can feel it.

Hidden presences.

Behind trees, in rock crevices, in the bushes.

Over there, at least twenty Cho-ma masters were surrounding this place.

‘He came prepared.’

“By the way…”

Demon Lord turned his body and spoke lightly.

“Instead of staying here, why don’t we go out and have a cup of tea? Considering today’s events…”

He trailed off, but the intent was clear.

A proposal to shoulder the issue jointly—a tacit pact to hold each other’s weaknesses and remain silent.

I stared at him for a moment. Certainty stood in Demon Lord’s eyes.

He seemed to know I couldn’t refuse.

“Alright.”

A calm answer. But complex calculations churned inside.

This would be my last chance to meet with him alone.

So there were inevitably many things I had to ask and confirm.