Chapter 42

The Ten Thousand Demons Hall was different from usual.

Instead of the ever-present heavy silence, it was filled with the aura of countless people.

It was because the leaders of the most prominent organizations in the Demon Cult had gathered here.

As I stepped inside, I was overcome with a strange sense of emotion.

‘In my previous life, I was shaking in my boots.’

Back then, I had been in a very intimidated state.

Every day until late afternoon, I was worked to the bone by the Heavenly Demon, and after that I was tormented evenly by Yuk Ja-heung, Heuk Un-hwi, Wi So-rang and the others.

On top of that, the cult’s culture of despising the weak had left my body and mind completely in tatters.

‘That is why I could not do anything during the Grand Sacred Flame Council.’

If I had to draw a comparison, I had been like a martial artist whose dantian had been destroyed.

I had just stood there blankly without saying a single word.

What the Grand Sacred Flame Council meant to Little Demons, what I was supposed to do, what choice I was meant to make.

It was because I had not known anything.

But now it was different.

I knew everything I had not known then. I even knew what would happen from here on.

The Grand Sacred Flame Council and the Sacred Flame Festival.

Through these two events, I would be able to gain many things.

And that would lead to the first elixir to cure my True Blood Severed Meridians.

‘There are a lot of them here.’

Standing at the entrance, I looked around the interior.

My gaze first went straight ahead.

Below the altar, a central aisle had been left open, and the Little Demons and the Patriarchs of the Seven Demonic Houses stood facing one another.

Beside them sat the heads of powerful institutions such as the Elder Council, Guardian Hall and Heart-Demon Hall.

Next to them were the Patriarchs of families that did not belong to the Seven Demonic Houses yet held influence, as well as the leaders of medium and small organizations.

In this way it was packed from the grand Taishi armchair all the way back toward the entrance, and the farther one was from the Taishi armchair, the farther one was from the cult’s core power.

My seat was in the very innermost area, where the Little Demons stood.

I walked down the aisle to get there.

Then someone spoke quietly.

“It’s the Seventh Young Lord.”

At the same time, a subtle stir ran through the arena.

With each step.

Every time I moved my feet, the gazes on either side fixed on me.

‘My standing really has changed.’

Whether favorable or hostile.

Unlike when I had attended the banquet hosted by the Elder Council Lord, there were at least no longer any eyes that dismissed me.

Beating Heuk Un-hwi to a pulp a few days ago must have been decisive.

“Sajae!”

When I was almost at my place.

Wi So-rang spotted me and ran over with quick little steps, then grabbed both my hands and shook them happily on top of that, making a few people’s eyes change.

The fact that the Seventh Young Lord and the Sixth Young Lady were close was something that had to be watched closely.

All the more so for those gathered here, the core stratum of the Demon Cult.

I swept my gaze over where the Little Demons were gathered.

There were a total of five Little Demons present today, from the Third Disciple to the Seventh Disciple.

Since I had greeted the sixth, Wi So-rang, I offered a greeting to the fifth.

“Hey, Fifth Sahyung.”

“Hwi-hwi!”

Yuk Ja-heung whistled and pretended not to notice.

Annoyingly, he ignored my greeting.

It was probably because of Heuk Un-hwi.

The bastard was glaring at me like he wanted to eat me alive.

He must have heard he had been beaten by me, yet he was still scared of him, it seemed.

I tapped Yuk Ja-heung on the arm.

“You were cursing him out for being annoying, and now you are watching his mood?”

“Wh-when did I ever!”

Only then did Yuk Ja-heung react.

If your sajae greets you, you should respond properly. How dare you rudely ignore it?

“Is your shoulder feeling better?”

This time, I smiled brightly at Heuk Un-hwi.

Maybe my question reminded him of the wound.

Heuk Un-hwi rubbed his shoulder, which should have already healed, and let killing intent spill out.

“Kkadeudeuk!”

He clenched his molars so hard that the grinding sound reached me.

Chew more gently.

You will hurt your teeth like that.

‘One person left now.’

I exchanged affectionate(?) greetings with the three sahyungs.

One person remained.

A man with the strange talent of snoring while standing.

A man who reeked of alcohol and powder despite this being an important occasion, leaving one to wonder where he had been.

He was Gu Cheong-won, the Heavenly Demon’s Third Disciple and second son of the Patriarch of the Dark-Shadow Gu Clan.

An eccentric to whom the word ‘weirdo’ fit best, he had not had any particular ill ties with me in my previous life.

‘Though I do not know how it will be in this life.’

Behind his sloppy and eccentric exterior, there was a side no one knew.

The one who had fought the fiercest succession war with Great Sahyung had been Gu Cheong-won.

‘Still, there is no need for me to go out of my way to approach him first.’

I turned my head away from Gu Cheong-won and took my place.

Soon, a booming voice rang through the arena.

“The Supreme of the Demonic Path is entering!”

At that moment, all the quiet noise that had unconsciously been there cut off.

The faint murmurs, the rustle of sleeves brushing, even the sounds of breathing.

It felt as if the entire world had come to a stop.

Even the auras that the big shots had been exuding disappeared in an instant.

It was because the Heavenly Demon’s presence crushed the sum of the presence of everyone here.

“……”

A robe of purest white and skin whiter still.

Over them, the lights brightening every corner of the arena fell.

The harmony of light and shadow was something beyond common sense.

It was not like a human, he looked like a god made manifest, and everyone fell to their knees at once.

“We greet the Lord of All Demons!”

There was no reply.

The Heavenly Demon said nothing and took his seat on the grand Taishi armchair.

‘Phew.’

Only then did I let out the breath I had been holding.

I did not know why.

Even though I saw him every day, he felt unfamiliar today.

How should I put it, there was a majesty about him that fully befitted the number one in the Demonic Path.

‘The Heavenly Demon is the Heavenly Demon after all.’

Two people stood at the Heavenly Demon’s sides.

They were people you only saw at grand events. One was Ma Shin-wi, the Heavenly Demon’s personal bodyguard, who usually hid only in the shadows.

The other was Gal So-ye, the Demon Cult’s Grand Strategist.

A peerless genius who, for the first time in the Demon Cult’s long history, had risen to the position of Grand Strategist in her early twenties.

She opened her mouth.

“We will now proceed with the Grand Sacred Flame Council.”

Her voice was as small as an ant crawling.

It sounded like the attitude of someone telling only those who wanted to listen to do so, but even so, internal energy was carried in it.

It was just that her voice did not come out properly because she was steeped in such deep exhaustion.

You could tell just by the dark shadows under her eyes that nearly reached her chin.

The Heavenly Demon had practically taken his hands off internal cult affairs.

Yet what was the reason the Demon Cult was still running smoothly?

It was because there was someone handling the work he ought to do in his place.

That person was Gal So-ye.

She was responsible for the cult’s big and small matters.

There were rumors that the reason she was so rarely seen was because she practically lived inside the strategist’s office.

“At the Fire Spirit Grounds, the Sacred Flame that is the root of our cult is burning. Once every three years, we bring it here to the main cult, and the long-standing event where all cult members together pay it homage is the Sacred Flame Festival.”

Tired expression aside, Gal So-ye explained the significance of the Sacred Flame Festival concisely and clearly.

It was something everyone present already knew, so they all simply nodded quietly.

“In addition, the Grand Sacred Flame Council is a gathering prepared to ensure the Sacred Flame Festival is carried out without error. We will now review the duties assigned to each clan and organization.”

The Demon Bell Geuk Clan, the Crimson-Moon Jin Clan, the Dark-Shadow Gu Clan and so on.

Without referencing any documents, Gal So-ye rattled off the roles of countless clans and organizations.

She did not miss a single thing, from changes since the last Sacred Flame Festival to newly added duties, even roles excluded this time due to changes in the situation.

It was a scene that clearly showed why she had become Grand Strategist at such a young age.

“Thus, I ask each Patriarch and leader to do their utmost in the duties they have been given. Lastly, the most important role remains.”

Gal So-ye’s gaze turned to the Little Demons, myself included.

At the same time, everyone else’s gaze focused on us as well.

“The First Young Lord is absent on outside business, and the Second Young Lady is in closed-door cultivation, so…”

Gal So-ye paused for a moment, then. From Gu Cheong-won to me.

She swept her eyes over us in order and continued.

“We would like to entrust five crucial missions to you five remaining Little Demons.”

Now we were finally at the main point.

The Grand Sacred Flame Council, which divided and reviewed various missions in preparation for the Sacred Flame Festival.

It had a true purpose.

Evaluating the Little Demons.

The Little Demon who produced the most outstanding results in carrying out their mission would be given a special qualification.

The qualification to personally carry the sacred flame from the Fire Spirit Grounds to the main cult.

It might not sound like much, but from the treasure personally bestowed by the Heavenly Demon to the Demon Cult’s perception of that person as the representative Little Demon.

One could gain immense tangible and intangible rewards.

For me, only the first was important though.

And what I could gain at the Fire Spirit Grounds was more important than that reward.

‘In my previous life, every Little Demon received a lousy evaluation.’

It had been the result of multiple factors intertwining.

So in the end, Great Sahyung, who had not even attended the Grand Sacred Flame Council, reaped all the glory without lifting a finger.

‘This time, I cannot stand by and watch that with my eyes wide open.’

I absolutely had to produce the best possible result.

That was the only way it would lead to the first elixir needed to treat my True Blood Severed Meridians.

“I will now state the list of missions.”

The five missions were as follows.

First, subjugating the demonic beasts in the Fire Spirit Grounds region.

Second, securing the special offerings for the Sacred Flame Festival.

Third, patrolling the border region with the Western Lands and blocking acts of provocation.

Fourth, patrolling the border region between the Orthodox and Unorthodox Sects and blocking acts of provocation.

Fifth, eliminating the newly active Heretical Cult forces.

Once the mission explanation ended, silence flowed between the Little Demons.

They were waiting for instructions.

All the Little Demons except me belonged to the Seven Demonic Houses.

Their choices were directly tied to their clans’ interests.

That was why the ones making the decisions here were not the Little Demons. It was the Patriarchs of the Seven Demonic Houses standing on the opposite side.

Because of that, it was not the Little Demons but the Patriarchs whose expressions were serious, weighing which mission would be most advantageous for them.

‘It will be a tough choice.’

Those who had a thorough grasp of information inside and outside the cult would understand.

The first and second missions offered great fame and reward if successful, but they carried that much more risk and were hard to accomplish.

The third and fourth were the exact opposite.

And the fifth and last mission.

‘They will all think it is something they absolutely must avoid.’

At this point, the only thing known about the Heretical Cult Leader was that he was a master with incredible martial prowess.

That alone would make it burdensome.

This time the Little Demons had to be the main force resolving the missions, and if they rashly took him on, there was a high chance they would instead suffer a huge disaster.

‘Well, there is someone who will not bother with this kind of weighing.’

That was none other than the Patriarch of the Hundred-Succession Heuk Clan.

For him, the mission’s success or failure did not matter.

Yuk Ja-heung and Wi So-rang could not really be seen as seriously participating in the succession struggle, but Heuk Un-hwi was different.

The Patriarch of the Hundred-Succession Heuk Clan was full of ambition to make Heuk Un-hwi the next Heavenly Demon.

However, I, the Seventh Young Lord, had thrown ashes on his plans.

At this rate, it was obvious Heuk Un-hwi would be disgraced and pushed out of the succession race.

He would want to create a situation where the bastard trampled me, even if he had to use some despicable method.

And these missions were a good opportunity.

• Do not, under any circumstances, make your choice before the Fourth Young Lord.

This was exactly why Wi Geum-myeong had given me that advice.

Heuk Un-hwi would choose his mission based on what I picked, trying to overlap routes as much as possible or choose one that made it easy to harm me.

In this situation, the best choice for me would have been to make no choice at all until the very last moment.

If I slipped up, I could end up picking a mission that was difficult in itself and get badly done in by Heuk Un-hwi on top of it.

‘However, I have no intention of doing that.’

I had returned in time.

I knew an enormous truth they did not.

“I believe you have been given sufficient time to think. Which Little Demon will choose first?”

Gal So-ye spoke.

Then, although the question had not been directed at him, the Elder Council Lord opened his mouth with a benevolent smile.

“Since the Seventh Young Lord has not been in our cult for long, how about granting him the right to choose first?”

His tone was as if he were granting a favor.

I let out a short laugh.

Just look at this snake of a man.

“The other Little Demons have no objection, I trust?”

The Elder Council Lord drove the wedge in further as he spoke.

Seeing the way he talked, it seemed he had already spoken with Heuk Un-hwi’s side.

He would create the mood, and they could use it to break my limbs or take my head.

[Don’t.]

[Refuse.]

At the same time, a sound transmission came from two people.

They were Ju Ok-hwa and Wi Geum-myeong.

We had formed some ties, after all, so they were worrying about me.

‘My heart is grateful, but I cannot do that.’

They did not know.

What plan I had.

I like idioms like ‘killing two birds with one stone’ and ‘gaining two with one move.’

I would succeed in the mission itself, make Heuk Un-hwi eat dirt once more and personally carry the Sacred Flame.

“It would not be proper to refuse the Elder Council Lord’s consideration. I will make my choice first.”

[Have you lost your mind, Seventh Young Lord?]

A sharp voice flew at me at once.

Once she heard which mission I chose, she would probably think I was even more insane.

“Heh heh, it is a good attitude to know how to be grateful.”

The Elder Council Lord nodded as if satisfied.

The Patriarch of the Hundred-Succession Heuk Clan and Heuk Un-hwi also showed faint delight on their faces.

I glanced at Heuk Un-hwi and thought.

‘Do not get too happy.’

It is not you who is aiming for me.

I am the one aiming for you.

I am not generous enough to leave alone a bastard who bothers me.

Last time I stopped at piercing your shoulder, but this time I plan to take at least an arm.

Whether it is your bones or your whip, so you can never swing them carelessly again.

“My choice is.”

Everyone stared only at my mouth.

“The fifth. I will make it so that the word ‘Heretical Cult’ never appears on this land again.”