Chapter 240: Omen (1)

For some reason, I had a sense of déjà vu, like I had heard a similar proposal before.

Flash!

A surprise burst of black-gold sword qi pierced straight through the strange man’s neck.

But just like earlier, only a small ripple of distortion appeared—his body remained perfectly intact.

I clicked my tongue lightly and withdrew my sword.

‘Even after channeling the power of the Heavenly Demon, it had no effect. That means… it’s not his real body.’

There was no point in continuing this fight.

“Should I take that as a rejection of my proposal?”

The strange man clicked his tongue with a tone of disappointment.

“You talk too much for someone who offered an impossible deal as if it were a favor, Illusion Demon—Hwan Pyeong.”

“Oh? Have we met before?”

“We haven’t. But coming all the way here, I wouldn’t mistake your identity.”

I shot back with a trace of venom.

“To think the head of the Illusion Clan is one of the Ten Heavenly Lords of the Heaven-Defying Society…”

The fact that he held the high rank of the Fourth Heaven Lord wasn’t something that could be brushed off as a recent betrayal.

“When did the entire Illusion Clan turn its back on the Cult?”

“Who knows? It’s been so long, I can’t really remember.”

So long ago.

I clenched my teeth internally.

‘Me, the Cult Leader, and even she… We were all played from the start—even in our past lives.’

Hwan Pyeong shrugged.

“My offer was genuine, you know. You could’ve just stayed offstage, watched the world change, and died peacefully of old age…”

“Even if that were sincere, I couldn’t accept it.”

Because I knew just how deceitful those words were.

“When the world is turned upside down, all the innocent believers will die.”

“Oh…”

“A world that rejects the survival of all but a handful of the gifted—that’s what you’re trying to create.”

I knew this because I had once stepped foot in the Heaven of Sacred Spirits.

Even So Cheonjo, who had nearly reached Master Level, would have self-destructed if she hadn’t broken through the wall.

Let alone the hundreds of thousands of common believers who hadn’t even reached First-rate.

And yet—

“So what if they die?”

“…What?”

Hwan Pyeong looked genuinely puzzled.

“You and the Young Cult Leader already have what it takes to survive, don’t you? The others? With enough effort, you could save some of them.”

“……”

“And yet, you worry over a bunch of lowly believers. I don’t understand.”

Just as I was about to retort—

“I figured you were the kind of man who wouldn’t care what happened as long as the Young Cult Leader was safe.”

His words struck a nerve.

He wasn’t wrong.

In this life, I had devoted everything to Cheon Yura alone.

Everything else was insignificant.

“Am I wrong?”

I gritted my teeth and answered.

“…You’re not wrong.”

“Then why?”

“Because I promised to make her dream come true.”

“…Her dream?”

“Yes. Her dream.”

Right now, Cheon Yura only harbored that hope in her heart.

But the wish of her—who once longed to become a benevolent Cult Leader in an era of peace—still lived on in my chest, transcending time and space.

“And for that dream, the Heavenly Demon Cult cannot fall.”

“Hmph. Whatever it is, I take it negotiations have completely failed.”

Hwan Pyeong clicked his tongue in mock disappointment.

I stared him down, preparing to unleash my full strength at any moment.

“No matter how skilled you are in illusions, you can’t project them beyond the bounds of the Namcheon Baek Clans. Come out now and let’s settle this. I’ll send you straight to King Yama.”

At my words, Hwan Pyeong let out a hearty laugh.

“Hahaha! You say that, but it’d be troublesome for both of us if things escalated. Ah, youth… how bold.”

He wagged his index finger side to side.

“This is nothing more than a simple greeting. I’m not foolish enough to fight head-on with a mad dog that possesses Karma Vision. If I get bitten, I’m the only one who loses.”

Flinch!

He knew about it?

“I know using Karma Vision comes at a steep personal price. Still, can’t be too careful.”

As expected from someone who once led the great Illusion Clan—he was no easy opponent.

Then suddenly, his aura turned fierce.

“The reason I took the risk to show myself is simple: I wanted to see, with my own eyes, the face of the bastard who ruined our plans by killing Hwan Yul.”

Flinch!

‘The air shifted.’

Gone was the playful tone.

What emanated from him now was a massive presence befitting the head of a grand clan.

“You’ve received a gift, so it’s only polite to return the gesture. This time, I’ve prepared a gift for you.”

“…A gift?”

“Yes. The strongest card I currently possess. You’ll never leave Namchang alive.”

A trump card, prepared by the Illusion Clan’s Clan Leader and a top-ranked Heavenly Lord.

How humbling.

“And the same goes for the Young Cult Leader.”

Flinch!

My eyes twitched involuntarily.

“I’ll take very good care of her body, so you don’t need to worry…”

Slash!

Boom!

I whipped my sword like a whip, slashing through Hwan Pyeong’s neck.

Cutting down an illusion was pointless, just a release of frustration—but his words had touched my inverse scale.

Even as his neck split, he leisurely gave me his parting words.

“…Curse your own arrogance for walking into enemy territory, and die.”

Whoosh!

With that, Hwan Pyeong’s illusion vanished.

“…Enemy territory, huh.”

I stood still, mulling over those words in a daze.

Of course, the fact that Hwan Pyeong had shown up in person wasn’t a problem I could bear alone.

The previously adjourned meeting reconvened the moment his appearance was reported.

“We must retreat to Ten Thousand Mountain immediately.”

As soon as he received the situation report, Wang Cheongeol voiced his opinion with a grim expression.

“Hmm…”

This was no ordinary matter—the Illusion Demon himself, a traitor to the Cult, had stepped forward.

Even my own resolve to fight to the end had been shaken. There was no need to speak of the others.

“We’ve already established the prestige of the Cult in the first round of the Martial Arts Tournament. Even if we pull out now, it won’t be a problem.”

Wang Cheongeol’s words weren’t necessarily wrong.

Even if we withdrew, it might leave a minor blemish, but the dignity we had built would not vanish.

However—

“There are three problems.”

Cheon Yura, seated before everyone, raised her fingers one by one.

“First, Biyeon hasn’t regained consciousness. I heard it’ll take at least a month.”

“Your compassion for the girl of the Sa Clan is admirable, Young Cult Leader, but her life cannot be equated with yours.”

“…Wang Cheongeol.”

Cheon Yura shot him a displeased glare.

But his expression didn’t budge.

From his perspective, a maid’s life could never be equal to that of her master.

Wang Cheongeol bowed his head.

“Please, reconsider.”

“Hmph. That’s not the only issue.”

Avoiding his gaze, Cheon Yura raised her second finger.

“Second is the Black Lotus Unions. It’s already widely rumored that they’re affiliated with the Cult. If we turn against the Sword King here, all the effort we put into the Black Lotus Unions will crumble. That guy will find himself in a difficult position too.”

“One…”

“And finally.”

Cutting him off, she raised her third finger.

“It may already be too late to escape.”

“What? What do you mean…?”

“Do you really think the Illusion Demon revealed himself to Jin Yeomyung without any prior groundwork?”

“……”

Wang Cheongeol fell silent.

“He may be waiting for us to make a rash move.”

She tapped the armrest with her fingernails, a displeased look on her face.

“The moment the Illusion Demon appeared, we should have assumed we’d fallen into his trap. Jin Yeomyung.”

“Yes.”

Since this was somewhat of a formal setting, I answered her with a respectful bow.

“In our current situation, what sort of tactics do you think the Illusion Demon would use?”

I thought for a moment, then gave my answer.

“It would most likely be Cheonra Jimang.”

“Whose forces?”

“Any orthodox factions connected to the Heaven-Defying Society, primarily. And in the worst-case scenario…”

I frowned.

“There’s also a possibility that the Evil Path Sect might get involved.”

“Evil Path Sect…”

The largest faction in the Evil Patj+h, which had established a strong foothold in the Gangnam region filled with prominent orthodox sects.

“There may even be several of the Ten Heavenly Lords lying in wait nearby. That’s what we should assume for now.”

“……”

Cheon Yura asked again.

“If all of that turns out to be true, how should we respond?”

“First, we must not act recklessly.”

Even if Hwan Pyeong had laid traps, they couldn’t be flawless.

There had to be openings.

“We’ll need to coordinate with the Sword King, the Black Lotus Unions, and the Hao Sect to find an escape route. And we must resolve the matter with the Namcheon Baek Clans as swiftly as possible.”

“Understood…”

Cheon Yura stood up from her seat.

“Mobilize every available resource to find a way out. Also, share our current situation with him and have him help formulate a countermeasure.”

“Yes, understood.”

Truthfully, Baek Sang-ah and the Saber King, the core figures of the Black Lotus Unions, were essentially part of the orthodox sects.

Even if they remained uninvolved, they wouldn’t suffer any real loss.

Still, the reason she chose to inform them of the situation was because, in her own way, she considered them allies.

While the Clan Leader of the Namcheon Baek Clans, Baek Dogyung, had long been absent, serving as the Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance—

The Namcheon Baek Clans had, in practice, fallen under the control of Elder Baek Mun-jeol.

Naturally, nearly all events occurring within the clan were bound to reach his ears.

“What? That girl Sang-ah returned?”

“Yes. She visited the Medical Hall with a wounded demonic cult woman and some Cultists.”

At those words, Baek Mun-jeol’s face darkened.

“What the hell were the outer guards doing!? If she came back, it should’ve been reported immediately!”

“……”

The subordinate couldn’t find a proper response and fumbled for words.

Considering the location of the Medical Hall, Baek Sang-ah had essentially slipped into the heart of the clan like a ghost.

‘Looks like the outer defense commander’s about to be replaced.’

That’s what the reporting subordinate thought.

Meanwhile, Baek Mun-jeol’s face contorted in utter confusion.

‘When did she sneak back in? Don’t tell me she blended in with the Cultists?’

Baek Mun-jeol shook his head.

He had personally verified the identities of every single member of the Cult’s delegation.

None of them matched Baek Sang-ah.

‘If what Ninth Heavenly Lord reported was true, then the demonic woman who was seriously wounded must be the “hostage” we entrusted to the Namgung Clan.’

It would be easy to capture her again and hand her over to Ninth Heavenly Lord, but that wasn’t the important issue for Baek Mun-jeol right now.

‘How did she fool my eyes and get in? The Clan Leader must know. Did I miss someone among the external guests?’

The fact that the returning Clan Leader had made no moves only intensified Baek Mun-jeol’s unease.

He had no idea when or where the blade of the Clan Leader might turn toward him.

‘The girl could never have snuck in undetected through the outer walls. So she must’ve come in with the external guests… the only possible scenario…’

After racking his brain for some time—

Baek Mun-jeol suddenly widened his eyes and stood up from his seat.

Shiver!

“Black Lotus Unions…”

It was almost unthinkable, but if there was even a slim chance—

“Black Lotus Unions Leader… Demonic Sword Flower…”

Suddenly, all the disjointed fragments snapped into place, and one truth pierced Baek Mun-jeol’s mind.

“N-no… don’t tell me?!”

Just as he muttered those words—

“So, you’ve finally figured it out… Jeol-ah.”

A calm but familiar voice came from behind him.

Whirl!

Baek Mun-jeol quickly turned his head.

“P-Clan Leader…!”

At the end of his gaze stood the Clan Leader of the Namcheon Baek Clans and Sword King of the South—Baek Dogyung, holding Baek Mun-yak, the Vice-Clan Leader, in his arms.

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