Joo Mu-jeong, who quickly dodged, checked the face of the person who aimed the sword at him and widened his eyes. But soon, a smile began to spread across his face instead of surprise.
“Senior Brother Ak… I didn’t expect Senior Brother Ak to come looking for me first? If I had known, I would have prepared some alcohol and waited!”
Joo Mu-jeong’s voice grew louder and more excited towards the end. He seemed to be filled with the thought of finally meeting Ak Mujin, no, with joy.
Seo-mok’s face, a mess from all sorts of torture, was also filled with surprise when she discovered Ak Mujin. After confirming that she was still alive, Ak Mujin quickly began to wield his sword.
“Senior Brother Ak, Senior Brother Ak. Surely you were more skilled than this in the past? Why can’t you subdue me in an instant? Hahaha, is it true that becoming a Yin Person makes your Martial Arts and skills deteriorate? Or, has my Martial Arts improved a little?”
Even at Joo Mu-jeong’s sarcastic voice, Ak Mujin’s hand holding the sword did not waver. He had never struggled over the realm of Martial Arts.
The very excited Joo Mu-jeong gleefully drew the sword from his waist and began to confront him. The sound of clang, clang, clang echoed, and the surrounding Demon Cult members, who had been milling about, quickly moved to ambush Ak Mujin.
“Quiet! Don’t interfere! Get out!”
At Joo Mu-jeong’s sudden roar, the Demon Cult members seemed to hesitate, then looked at each other, glancing to see if they could really leave the hut. This was because their fight did not seem absolutely advantageous to Joo Mu-jeong.
However, after Beon-hu glanced at the surrounding Demon Cult members and sharply raised his hand to order them to leave, Seo-mok, Joo Mu-jeong, and Ak Mujin were the only ones left in the hut.
“Senior Brother, you’ve become less talkative. Please say something. I want to hear your voice.”
Sword Aura was felt from Joo Mu-jeong’s sword as he said that. Ak Mujin knew at once that he was very impatient. His actions showed it, and listening to his many and rapid words, he could guess how eagerly he had been waiting to meet him. Only then did Ak Mujin slowly open his mouth.
“If you hand over Seo-mok willingly, I will spare your life.”
As soon as those words fell, Joo Mu-jeong began to laugh loudly. Ak Mujin simply gripped his sword tightly and steadily parried his attacks.
“How can you say such heartless things? Still, aren’t we already husband and wife, even though we didn’t have a ceremony?”
Joo Mu-jeong wiped the tears from his eyes with one hand and spoke to Ak Mujin.
“Come to think of it, where is Senior Brother’s gigolo? I heard rumors that he was traveling with the Evil Cult Lord, and seeing that they were the ones who took Chun-wol… did you really sell your body or something?”
It was clearly a provocative remark, but Ak Mujin was not affected in any way. Jin Geum-ryeon’s heart was always sincere and pure, so it could not be tainted by such mockery.
“You seemed quite cute when you were younger, but your level of thinking has become very vulgar.”
“This… as your husband, I cannot forgive this. I think I will have to discipline you when we return to Heavenly Mountain.”
Ak Mujin replied calmly, but Joo Mu-jeong did not seem to be listening to Ak Mujin’s words, only spouting what he wanted to say. Ak Mujin chuckled at the word husband.
“You’re still being played by the Cult Leader’s ridiculous tricks.”
“Not at all. The Cult Leader cherishes me very much.”
“I don’t know. From what I’ve heard, you don’t seem to be trusted very much.”
The face of Joo Mu-jeong, who had been consistently smiling, quickly distorted with Ak Mujin’s few words. Because what he said was true. Although he had been the Vice-Leader for several years, he still had not gained the Cult Leader’s complete trust and was always struggling in his tests.
Joo Mu-jeong became increasingly impatient because Ak Mujin would counterattack and reverse the situation whenever it seemed like the fight would be decided. He eventually changed direction and launched Sword Aura towards Seo-mok. Ak Mujin immediately kicked off the floor and jumped up, kicking the chair Seo-mok was sitting on to knock her over.
“I’m sorry, Seo-mok!”
“Cough, cough! Cough…! I’m, alright!”
Seo-mok coughed severely and fell to the floor, but fortunately, she was not injured. Ak Mujin thought that if he delayed any longer, it would be pointless to have come all this way. He finally gripped his sword tightly and began to recite the techniques he had inherited from Jin Geum-ryeon’s mother towards Joo Mu-jeong.
The gap between the two people’s skills, which had been equal from the beginning, gradually widened, and Joo Mu-jeong, who began to be pushed into a defensive position, quickly panicked.
“Wh-what is this! You…!”
“I’m sorry.”
“No… no way!”
Even when he met his master, joined the Demon Cult, and had Senior Brother and Junior Brother, Ak Mujin never thought that the day would come when he would kill his own Junior Brother with his own hands. But Joo Mu-jeong was a very dangerous person to leave alive.
He could avoid feeling the sensation by using Sword Aura, but it was less accurate than stabbing directly. He frowned as much as he could, steeled his heart, and pierced the center of his chest with Sword Aura to end his life as quickly and surely as possible.
“Kuhuk…!”
The sensation of the sword tip breaking through the ribs, penetrating the skin, and piercing the heart was vividly felt in his palm. Only then did Ak Mujin’s fingertips begin to tremble.
Joo Mu-jeong’s knees buckled and he crashed to the floor. At the same time as Ak Mujin’s sword came out of his chest, blood was vomited from his mouth. But he did not kneel completely, instead supporting himself on his knees and glaring at Ak Mujin. Joo Mu-jeong squeezed out his voice.
“Killing, me, won’t change anything…”
For a moment, Ak Mujin’s eyebrows twitched.
“The Cult Leader… will chase, Senior Brother, for the rest of his life…”
Joo Mu-jeong’s words were cut off because blood was gurgling out of his teeth, but Joo Mu-jeong stubbornly said everything he wanted to say. Ak Mujin had stabbed his heart to kill him instantly, but he couldn’t understand how he was so tenacious. Ak Mujin began to seriously consider whether he should stab Joo Mu-jeong one more time.
“He’ll capture you like that… kuk… cough… and make you a seed bearer of Heavenly Mountain… for life. You’ll live… receiving other people’s seeds!”
Joo Mu-jeong began to giggle after saying that. As soon as those words fell, the door burst open and Jin Geum-ryeon came in. Ak Mujin reflexively turned around. Jin Geum-ryeon strode over and kicked Joo Mu-jeong, knocking him down, and his powerless body crashed to the floor like rags.
“What did you just say?”
“Geum-ryeon.”
“…Haha… How satisfying! How satisfying! Cult Leader… cough…”
“What did you say?”
Joo Mu-jeong, who seemed to have already lost his mind, gradually lost the light in his eyes, and even the breath that had been rising and falling in his chest scattered without closing his eyes. But Jin Geum-ryeon kicked his shoulder once more like a madman.
Joo Mu-jeong said no more. Ak Mujin, who watched the scene, wiped the blood from his sword and put it back into its sheath.
“He’s already dead.”
Ak Mujin moved without delay, supporting the fallen Seo-mok and sitting her back on the chair. Only then did he examine her body and see that it was a mess.
“…You’ve suffered because of me.”
“…That you’re alive… that you’re alive is really a relief.”
Seo-mok muttered that to Ak Mujin, lost consciousness, and dropped her head. Surprised, Ak Mujin put his hand on her neck and checked her pulse. He was relieved to know that her still throbbing pulse told him that she was still alive. It seemed that she had fainted due to the harsh torture.
After taking a breath and picking up Seo-mok, Jin Geum-ryeon, who had been staring at Joo Mu-jeong as if he were nailed in place, said in a trembling voice.
“Is what he said true?”
“You misheard.”
“No. I heard it clearly. The Cult Leader wants you to be the Demon Cult’s…”
Jin Geum-ryeon tried to speak without hesitation with agitated emotions, but he stopped, unable to bring himself to say the word. His two eyes trembled as they looked at Ak Mujin. Ak Mujin grabbed his arm to reassure him.
“It’s really nothing. It’s just nonsense he’s saying out of anger. What can’t a person say when they’re on the verge of death?”
“Would a person on the verge of death say something that isn’t true?”
Ak Mujin did not want Jin Geum-ryeon to worry unnecessarily and develop bad feelings towards the Demon Cult again. Of course, there would be some friction with the Demon Cult now that the Vice-Leader was dead, but he hoped that it would not become so serious that it would escalate into war, so he wanted to calm Jin Geum-ryeon down as much as possible.
He stared at Jin Geum-ryeon for a moment, then tiptoed and barely kissed the tip of his chin before stepping back. Then, he smiled at Jin Geum-ryeon, who was stunned by the sudden skinship.
“It’s heavy, let’s go quickly, Ryeon-ah.”