Chapter 134 - A True Villainous Duo

“Why do you object?”

The Demon Supremes, who had been fighting so fiercely moments before, were now united. The Drunken Demon was the first to answer.

“I can't stand being fenced in. Just thinking about a fence makes me feel suffocated.”

The Single Flower Sword Supreme took up where he left off.

“Accept anyone you bring in? That's difficult. Even going for a walk together requires compatible company.”

I could tell whom she had in mind.

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon spoke next.

“Were you listening to anything I said? Other people don't feel the way you do!”

The Wicked Laughing Demon offered the final reason.

“Why can't we kill them?”

He was joking about my instruction to fight and hate each other within my fence, but not to kill.

Their reasons all mixed humor with sincerity, but what surprised me was that each of the four had a completely different one.

The Drunken Demon teased me, imitating my earlier words.

“Did you see the Second Young Master putting on airs? ‘This is the decision of the man who will become your Heavenly Demon.’ If only the cult leader had seen that.”

I waved my hands in exaggerated denial.

“Please don't say things that could get me into trouble. Now, since we're all here, let's have a drink.”

The Wicked Laughing Demon came in from outside the window as well. This was the first time all the Demon Supremes I had formed ties with had gathered in one place.

It was truly a historic day, and not just for me. The tavern owner felt the same way.

Jo Chunbae was positively overwhelmed as he brought up the drinks and food.

“Are you that happy?”

“How could I not be? I must be the first tavern owner ever to experience something like this. I could die without regrets.”

“This might only be the beginning. Who knows who else will gather here to drink?”

“My heart already feels ready to burst...”

Jo Chunbae bowed to the Demon Supremes.

“It is an honor to have you here. I will do my utmost to serve you.”

After greeting them, he withdrew. On the stairs leading down to the ground floor, he briefly looked back, as though trying his hardest to commit this glorious moment to memory.

“Now, let me pour everyone a drink.”

The Drunken Demon poured for us all. Since the Wicked Laughing Demon wouldn't drink with his mask on anyway, he merely accepted his cup.

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon set the drink he received aside and poured his own into a fresh cup. The Single Flower Sword Supreme drank what the Drunken Demon had poured, making sure the Blood Heaven Saber Demon saw her.

Even pouring a single drink could create taut tension among them.

After the first round, the Wicked Laughing Demon asked me a question.

“Why did you summon me, by the way?”

He naturally assumed I had called him.

“I wasn't the one who summoned you, Laughing Demon.”

“Then who was?”

“The Drunken Demon.”

The Drunken Demon addressed the Wicked Laughing Demon courteously.

“I called you because there was something you ought to know.”

Whatever they privately thought of one another, they were impeccably polite.

“The Second Young Master said he values Senior Saber Demon over there more than us, so I invited you to hear it for yourself.”

The Drunken Demon spoke as he poured more liquor into the other's cup.

“We're merely incidental. Senior Blood Heaven Saber Demon over there is the center of the Second Young Master's world.”

“You may be incidental, Drunken Demon, but I am not.”

“Are you sure about that?”

As though determined to prove it himself, the Drunken Demon asked me,

“Second Young Master, if you could choose only one between the Laughing Demon and Senior Saber Demon, whom would you choose?”

“The Laughing Demon.”

The Drunken Demon blinked and asked again.

“That's not what you said earlier. Didn't you say you could declare Senior Saber Demon the better man even in front of the person concerned?”

“I did? When?”

I widened my eyes and flatly denied it.

“What do you take my relationship with the Laughing Demon for, saying something like that? Don't be fooled, Laughing Demon. This newcomer is scheming to dislodge the old hand.”

Rather than being offended, the Drunken Demon laughed heartily at my words and drank. Setting down his cup, he said,

“Don't underestimate a newcomer. I don't believe the length of time matters between people. You can meet someone once and remember them for the rest of your life.”

I gazed at him for a moment, then abruptly asked,

“Have you really had someone like that in your life?”

The Drunken Demon's hand stopped in midair as he was about to drink.

“What do you mean?”

“I'm asking whether you really have. I can't imagine meeting someone just once and never forgetting them for the rest of my life. Have any of you?”

I met each of the four Demon Supremes' eyes before continuing.

“Even people who were incredibly close become like strangers after enough years apart. And even when I think I've grown quite close to someone, a gap makes things so awkward that it feels as though we have to start over. That's how it is for me, anyway. Oh! I do admit that someone as beautiful as our Sword Supreme would be unforgettable.”

The Drunken Demon emptied another cup.

“How strange to hear such words from someone so young.”

“There you go dismissing me again. You dismiss young people's troubles, and you've dismissed young drunkards too.”

The Drunken Demon gave me a curious look. Since I remembered everything he had said like this, even if he disliked my words, part of him would probably be pleased as well.

“All right. I keep forgetting that your youth is very different from ordinary youth, Second Young Master.”

“Exactly. Please don't forget that I'm an old man in a young body.”

When I raised my cup, the Drunken Demon joined me in a toast.

The atmosphere had grown stiffer with the other Demon Supremes present, yet drinking with him was somehow still enjoyable. He had a knack for keeping the conversation flowing and making a drinking party lively.

“Now, let me say it again. I choose the Wicked Laughing Demon.”

I raised my cup to him in a toast and drank alone.

His eyes were smiling happily behind the holes in his mask. Seeing that smile again after so long made me happy too.

It was good to see him again.

Perhaps because of our desperate battle with Baek Manggi, an indescribable camaraderie had developed between the Wicked Laughing Demon and me. That feeling was separate from such matters as being a Demon Supreme or a successor.

Then the Blood Heaven Saber Demon sent me a sound transmission.

—Yes, you're doing well. Look after the others first.

—Doesn't it hurt your pride?

—Why would something this trivial hurt my pride? Just remember one thing. You must never trust either the Wicked Demon or the Drunken Demon.

The more I learned about them, the more I understood Father's difficulties. Even four were this difficult, and he had to lead eight while attending to the countless duties of a cult leader. Father, you really must have had a hard time.

The atmosphere at our drinking party was pleasant.

They all felt kindly toward me, so none went out of their way to display their prickliness or temper. Thankfully, they were all showing restraint. To think I was enjoying such an ordinary, pleasant gathering with the Demon Supremes!

Naturally, the Drunken Demon did most of the drinking.

As though making a point of showing me, he always took a bite of food after every three cups. Our eyes met once as he did so, and I smiled and nodded.

The Wicked Laughing Demon watched us with a peculiar look in his eyes.

I knew that, while it might not account for everything in that look, jealousy was part of it.

The Wicked Laughing Demon had been the first to pester me to become his friend. Now, in that same place, the Drunken Demon was pestering me to call him brother.

Two men who seemed similar yet were utterly different.

Would a day ever come when I could spend time with the Wicked Demon unmasked and the Drunken Demon sober?

The Wicked Laughing Demon had said the smell of liquor on the Drunken Demon put him in a foul mood.

Yet he showed no sign of it here. Had he not told me beforehand, I would never have guessed he felt that way. All that passed between them was the courtesy of one Demon Supreme toward another.

“I hear you've returned from a trip outside the Cult with the Second Young Master.”

“I have.”

“You must have learned a great deal about him.”

The Wicked Laughing Demon glanced at me as he replied.

“The Second Young Master is very far removed from people like you and me.”

“Very far?”

“Very far.”

He had told me I was a villain like him, yet he was giving the Drunken Demon different information.

“If anything, the Saber Demon is the one closest to the Second Young Master.”

The Drunken Demon looked surprised at the Wicked Laughing Demon's words.

“Senior Saber Demon? Not our Sword Supreme?”

The Wicked Laughing Demon looked at the Single Flower Sword Supreme and said something wholly unexpected.

“Isn't the Sword Supreme just like us? If you're her friend, you ought to know.”

Silence fell for a moment.

The Single Flower Sword Supreme's expression stiffened slightly.

What had the Wicked Laughing Demon seen in her to make him say that? Of the Eight Demon Supremes, she was known as the least like a Demon Supreme.

Then the Blood Heaven Saber Demon burst out,

“What nonsense! The Sword Supreme is nothing like the likes of you.”

In the end, he was the one who stood up for her in a situation like this.

“Who are you to judge anyone, skulking around behind a mask? She's a far better person than you.”

After holding himself back time and again throughout the gathering, he had finally exploded.

Despite his fierce response, the Wicked Laughing Demon merely laughed, without getting angry. That only enraged the Blood Heaven Saber Demon further, and he looked ready to swing his Heaven-Destroying Great Saber at any moment.

Then the Single Flower Sword Supreme spoke in a quiet, cold voice.

“Do you think I'll like you for standing up for me like that?”

Surely the Blood Heaven Saber Demon hadn't intervened without knowing she would react this way. He simply drank cup after cup of the liquor before him.

Then the Single Flower Sword Supreme said something unexpected.

“But... he might be right.”

Looking down at his empty cup, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon said,

“Yes, he might.”

He hadn't intervened simply to defend her unconditionally.

“We might be more hypocritical and worse than what's behind that mask. That's true.”

The Single Flower Sword Supreme's eyes trembled slightly at his sincere words.

“What makes us so special that we can declare ourselves this sort of person or that? But at least don't let those two see through you. Don't let that masked bastard and that drunkard toy with you!”

The Drunken Demon quietly interjected,

“Why drag me into it when I've been sitting here doing nothing?”

“You're no different! Devious bastard! Phony bastard! You may fool everyone else, but you can't fool my eyes. Both of you! Get the hell away from the Second Young Master!”

Unable to hold back, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon had poured out everything on his mind. For all his cantankerousness, he was a calculating man, but with the Sword Supreme and me involved, his emotions had gotten the better of him.

By contrast, watching one grin despite the insults and the other sip his liquor, I thought they truly looked like a villainous duo.

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon stood and apologized to me.

“Second Young Master, I'm sorry for spoiling the mood. I hadn't intended to be the first to leave today, at least.”

“No, sir. You won't be the first to leave.”

“What do you mean?”

“We're ending today's gathering here.”

I looked at the other three Demon Supremes.

“Shall we call it a day?”

The Drunken Demon emptied his last cup and said,

“Are you hammering the old stone firmly into place so it can't be dislodged?”

“Of course. How could I keep drinking when he's leaving angry? Senior Saber Demon is my wing. If my wing flies away, I go too.”

I had made it clear that the established stone wouldn't be easily dislodged. It was my way of thanking him for coming to this gathering for my sake.

—Thank you, sir.

Perhaps moved by my sound transmission, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon turned to look out the window.

The Drunken Demon smiled.

“I'll give up on being your wing, so let's be brothers instead.”

The Wicked Laughing Demon added,

“And be my friend.”

Finally, the Single Flower Sword Supreme joined in as well. Her spirits had sunk, but she apparently couldn't let this moment pass her by.

“I'm already a special friend.”

Everyone looked at her in puzzlement, but she merely looked pleased with herself and didn't boast that we were sparring partners.

“Now, one final word.”

I released the qi presence I had displayed earlier. Radiating a presence full of majesty and dignity, I addressed them.

“I speak as the future Heavenly Demon who will lead you all. As I said before, you may fight as much as you like within my fence. Hate, be jealous, fight... Oh! This is really too much!”

The Demon Supremes had launched themselves away. They hadn't simply left, either; each had used an ultimate technique of their lightness arts, and all vanished in an instant.

“At least hear me out before you leave! Saber Demon! Even you, sir!”

But they were already gone.

I laughed and sat back down. The seats were empty, yet it felt as though their warmth still lingered.

Looking down at the ground floor, I saw Jo Chunbae clutching the banknote the Drunken Demon had tossed him before leaving, gazing wistfully toward where the Demon Supremes had disappeared.

“Master Jo, come have a drink with me.”

“Gladly, Pavilion Master.”

Jo Chunbae came upstairs and poured liquor into my cup. I poured some into his as well.

We emptied our cups together. Dealing with the Demon Supremes had been mentally exhausting, but drinking with Jo Chunbae like this put my heart at ease.

Watching my expression, Jo Chunbae asked gently,

“Is it hard on you?”

“Does it look hard on me?”

“I was wondering how difficult it must be to deal with those Demon Supremes.”

“Yes, it is.”

At my honest answer, Jo Chunbae grinned. Today, the lines on his face looked particularly fine—the lines of a man who had endured life's hardships and sorrows while dealing with all sorts of customers.

“Do you know what my wife whispers in my ear when I'm having a hard time and she gives me a hug?”

“What does she say?”

“‘You big weakling.’”

I laughed out loud. I knew very well how deeply the happily married couple loved each other. I also knew that sometimes a joke like that could give you more strength than heartfelt consolation.

Jo Chunbae asked playfully,

“Shall I do it for you?”

“No, I don't think you'll need to. Someone who can do it has just arrived.”

“What? Who?”

At that moment, Jo Chunbae felt an immense presence behind him. Every fine hair on his body stood on end. It must have felt entirely different from being in the company of the Demon Supremes. He cautiously turned around.

“Oh, heavens!”

Horrified, Jo Chunbae dropped flat to the floor.

Father was standing behind him, having come upstairs without our noticing.

Father sat across from me and said,

“You big weakling.”

Smiling, I said to Jo Chunbae,

“Master Jo, close up the tavern and bring us another fresh spread of food and drinks!”