Chapter 19 - This Summer, We...

Yi An practically jumped out of her skin when she heard I had killed the Demon Army commander. How I had managed to kill him was of no importance to her.

“What on earth were you thinking, pulling a dangerous stunt like that?”

She was angry enough to call it a “stunt.” She did not even realize she had used the word.

“Do you think the Blood Heaven Saber Demon will sit back and do nothing after his younger brother’s death?”

“That’s why you need to train hard and keep him from laying a finger on me.”

“I couldn’t stop him even if I spent thirty years training in seclusion!”

“Then you’d win. He’d have died of old age.”

Yi An sighed at my carefree response.

“Honestly, ever since you changed, Young Master... my life has become twice as hard.”

“Haha. Good, then. You’ll lose weight.”

“Young Master!”

Yi An was not the only one in an uproar. The entire Cult was stirred up. The repercussions were on a completely different scale from the earlier news that I had killed the Blood Heaven Saber Demon’s disciple.

I felt the change even on my way to Heavenly Demon Hall in response to Father’s summons. People looked at me differently now. Many had expected my older brother to become the successor, but that was beginning to change.

People had cheered wildly when I won the duel, and I had become the talk of the Cult by asking for a hunt as my wish. When I killed the Blood Heaven Saber Demon’s disciple, they had marveled at my courage.

And now I had killed the Demon Army commander.

According to Yi An, whenever people met, I was all they talked about. Everyone disliked the Demon Army for all the trouble it caused with its arrogant disregard for others, so my popularity had soared overnight.

Some martial artists even approached to greet me. Of course, none openly said, “That was impressive,” or “Well done.” They feared retaliation from the Blood Heaven Saber Demon.

They simply came up in silence, cupped a fist in salute, and gave me a respectful look. I could feel their support in those gazes. Those who approached to greet me wanted me to become the successor.

I acknowledged every greeting on my way to Heavenly Demon Hall.

Father, Chief Strategist Sima Myeong, and Gu Cheonpa, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon, were waiting for me there. I paid my respects to Father and Sima Myeong first, then greeted the Saber Demon.

“It has been some time, sir.”

“Have you been well, Second Young Master?”

Considering the gravity of his younger brother’s death, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon was remarkably calm. There was no trace of the peculiar, eccentric qi presence he had displayed on his earlier visit to me. Presumably, he did not dare reveal it before Father.

“What exactly happened?”

“It is all in my report.”

“I would like to hear it from you directly.”

Despite being in Father’s presence, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon calmly said what he wished. Father and Sima Myeong apparently considered this much his right; neither intervened, allowing him to proceed.

“My investigation uncovered your younger brother’s grave crimes. While I was arresting him, he tried to kill me... I am sorry, sir.”

“It is all right. If my brother was guilty, he deserved punishment. What I do not understand is this: pathetic as he was, he was not foolish enough to attack you when his guilt had already been established.”

He was assuming his brother would have submitted to arrest and then appealed to him for help.

And I had prevented that from happening.

“I do not know why he did it, either. Perhaps he could not bear the thought of being arrested by someone as young as me.”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon stared at me for a moment before speaking again.

“I examined the body before coming here. You pierced him with a single strike?”

“Yes.”

I offered no detailed account of the fight. When you spoke at length from a disadvantaged position, mistakes and openings were bound to emerge. For now, it was best to leave things to the Saber Demon’s imagination.

He could not question me exhaustively about the fight with Father watching. Beneath it all, the Cult’s demonic martial artists believed that whether a man died from a stab in the back or through the sole of his foot, the dead man was the weaker fighter and a fucking idiot.

“Your martial skills were far more outstanding than I realized, Second Young Master.”

“I believe I benefited from being Father’s son. Even in his agitation, the commander could hardly have brought his full strength to bear against me.”

“So it would seem.”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon smiled gently and thanked me.

“Thank you for being honest. That puts my mind at ease.”

“Not at all.”

With his disciple dead and now his brother as well, his rage must have reached its peak. We had become mortal enemies, yet he betrayed not the slightest anger. It was a revealing glimpse of just how well he could control his emotions.

Before leaving Heavenly Demon Hall, he looked at Father.

When he first visited me, he had twice threatened to bring Father my severed head. That showed how confident he was in his relationship with Father.

Then shouldn’t he have said something like this now?

‘Cult Leader, how could you do this to me? If you intended to arrest my brother, you should have summoned me first to settle it. I am disappointed. Deeply disappointed!’

Yet there was no disappointment anywhere in his eyes. Father’s gaze toward him was likewise no different from usual.

“You will have funeral preparations to make. Go and rest.”

“Thank you for your consideration, Cult Leader.”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon bowed courteously and turned away. As he walked down the red carpet, he did not spare me a single glance.

Only after he withdrew did Sima Myeong speak.

“You have worked hard. The evidence you gathered was conclusive, allowing us to close the case without any difficulties. Are you injured anywhere?”

“Thanks to your concern, I am quite well.”

Sima Myeong must have had many questions about this unexpected outcome, but he asked me none. Since Father must have been the one who entrusted me with the investigation, he probably considered it ultimately a matter between Father and me.

“The Cult Leader has granted you a reward for your great service, Second Young Master.”

A demonic martial artist serving in Heavenly Demon Hall brought over a long wooden case. His careful steps hinted at the importance of its contents.

When the lid, carved with elegant, refined patterns, was opened, a sword lay within.

I was astonished to recognize the Black Demon Sword. Father was bestowing on me the most precious sword after the Heavenly Demon Sword itself.

“The Cult Leader has bestowed the Black Demon Sword upon you.”

I was so delighted that a bright smile spread across my face. Unable to conceal my joy, I indulged in some needless banter.

“If you were going to give me a sword, you should have given me the noble White Flower Sword. It suits my temperament.”

Father spoke with an expression that said, Not a chance.

“The sword that suits you is the Black Demon Sword.”

“You know your son so poorly. Sword, do you agree with him?”

I slowly drew the Black Demon Sword. A cold chill spread from it and dominated the hall. I had infused it with no internal energy; that power came purely from the sword itself.

The instant I drew it, I knew. This sword was mine. It suited me perfectly.

“Is this not too generous a reward?”

Sima Myeong answered my modest protest on Father’s behalf.

“Not at all. The Demon Army commander was the Cult’s most difficult problem.”

“So you dumped that headache on me.”

“Though I never expected you to resolve it so cleanly.”

Once again expressing his admiration, Sima Myeong asked Father,

“Did you foresee this outcome, Cult Leader?”

Father shook his head.

“I would have considered it fortunate if his antics did not get him killed.”

I knew that was not true.

He must have sent me because he trusted me. He knew I had achieved complete mastery of the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art, and I had even taken the Demon Essence Pill in Lesser Heaven Cave. He must have believed I would not fall easily. Of course, he probably had not anticipated the commander’s death.

And I knew why Father had given me the sword. He was telling the Blood Heaven Saber Demon:

‘I acknowledge his achievement. At the very least, do not touch my son over this affair.’

It was an unspoken warning. Someone as perceptive as the Blood Heaven Saber Demon could hardly fail to understand it.

“Thank you, Father.”

Holding the sword up respectfully, I offered a proper bow of gratitude before leaving Heavenly Demon Hall.

On my way back to my quarters, someone called to me.

“Second Young Master, the sunshine is lovely. Come rest a moment before you go.”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon was seated in the clearing before the flower garden.

Of course. This old man was hardly going to leave just like that.

I walked over slowly and sat facing him. His gaze went to the Black Demon Sword at my waist. I could sense him clenching his molars. His resentment might run deep, but he would not dare do anything to me.

“This summer looks as though it will be especially hot.”

No sooner had I finished than the Blood Heaven Saber Demon roared,

“You little bastard, still wet behind the ears! You dare ambush and kill my brother? Today I will tear you into five pieces and scatter them over his grave!”

Demonic qi surged from him, sweeping through our surroundings. The garden’s flowers withered in an instant. Where in that scrawny body had he hidden such power?

I raised my internal energy to resist his demonic qi, striving to remain as calm as possible.

The next instant, the demonic qi vanished as though it had never existed. The Blood Heaven Saber Demon grinned.

“That is what I ought to have said, isn’t it?”

He tried to jab my side again with the end of the Heaven-Destroying Great Saber’s hilt.

This time, however, I casually blocked the approaching hilt with my palm and shouted in return.

“You goddamned old bastard, did you shove all those years up your ass? Who the hell do you think you lot are, undermining the Cult’s discipline to satisfy your own greed? If you step forward in defense of that rotten brother of yours, I’ll snap every part of your scrawny body like so many sorghum stalks!”

I, too, added with a smile,

“And if you had, I would have said that, wouldn’t I?”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon looked dumbfounded for a moment, then burst out laughing.

“Bwahahahaha!”

His booming laughter was so loud that the demonic martial artists standing guard in the distance turned to look.

Then he abruptly stopped laughing. His face turned dour, as though he had never laughed at all. His emotions truly shifted without warning.

“Still, could you not have shown him some leniency for my sake?”

“I would have settled it amicably if I could. I meant to end things with his removal from office. But he had crossed the line by far. No, there was no line left at all.”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon nodded. How could he not have known the circumstances when his own brother was involved? It was not as though he had no interest in the Cult’s politics.

“You knew about the corruption in the Demon Army, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

“Why did you leave it alone?”

“He would not listen to me. Well, truth be told, I am not such a clean man myself.”

I was surprised that he spoke so frankly about his relationship with his brother.

‘This is when I need to be careful.’

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon was certainly an emotional man. And he also knew how to use those emotions.

“When I heard my brother was dead, I was honestly relieved. Now that bastard would no longer stand in my way.”

“I understand how you feel.”

His small, narrow eyes widened, as though asking, Really? How could you understand?

“It would be the same as hearing that my older brother had died. I, too, would be relieved that I did not have to deal with him myself.”

Our gazes met in midair. Once again, I saw flames in his eyes.

What was in my eyes as he looked at them? What are you seeing in me?

I could not tell what the Blood Heaven Saber Demon was thinking.

Whatever relief he claimed to feel, I was still the enemy who had killed his brother. He might be devising a way to kill me. Or perhaps he had set the past upon those clouds and let it drift far away.

I had no regrets.

If I could not survive fighting you Eight Demon Supremes—if that was all I amounted to—I would die at Hwa Mugi’s hands anyway. I had to step lightly over the likes of you and keep moving forward. Only then would I live.

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon looked up at the sky and finally responded to my opening remark.

“Yes, this year will be hot.”

Saying he was already hot, he gently fanned himself with the broad blade of the Heaven-Destroying Great Saber.

One thing was certain. The sun would not be the only reason things grew heated between us this summer.

I shaded my brow with a hand and looked up at the sky with him.

“Fortunately, the heat doesn’t bother me.”