Chapter 95 - Then That Is Enough

At my provocation, the air around us grew heavy and stifling. Demonic qi flowing from the Wicked Laughing Demon’s body had seized control of our surroundings.

His demonic qi was unique. It was this qi, called the Laughing Heart of Evil, that had earned him the epithet “Wicked.”

The Laughing Heart of Evil awakened the primal violence within human beings.

Exposure made the heart pound violently and stirred a desire to kill someone. Those with weak martial power would actually draw their swords and stab the person beside them to death.

Even masters with powerful internal energy found it difficult to fight normally under its influence.

“There are two faces beneath this mask. If the face other than the one you have seen so far awakens, Second Young Master, even I find it difficult to control. That is why removing the mask is difficult.”

If the face I had seen so far was the Laughing Demon, the other must be the Wicked one.

“I did not mean to disrespect you, Laughing Demon. But to my mind, friends should be able to look freely upon each other’s faces, whether there are two or three of them. My words came from youthful recklessness. Please forgive me if I was rude.”

I had been exposed to the Laughing Heart of Evil before my regression, too. Back then, I had not learned the Heavenly Demon’s Body-Protection Art, and enduring it had been a terrible struggle.

But things were different now.

The Heavenly Demon’s Body-Protection Art activated naturally, blocking his Laughing Heart of Evil. Though I had not yet achieved complete mastery, I had reached a level where I could easily withstand the qi he was currently emitting.

Rather than intensifying the Laughing Heart of Evil, the Wicked Laughing Demon slowly withdrew his demonic qi. The smiling eyes behind the mask’s eyeholes gradually settled into coldness. The disappearance of that smile meant he had calmed his anger.

“You truly are remarkable, Second Young Master. Even my Laughing Heart of Evil does not disturb you in the slightest.”

“I’ve been conditioned against malice and cruelty since childhood. You know how harsh my brother was with me, don’t you?”

The Wicked Laughing Demon laughed aloud. He had returned to the way he had been when we first met, as though he had never created that tension at all.

“You really are an entertaining person, Second Young Master. It is such a shame we could not become friends.”

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

As I opened the door to leave, the Wicked Laughing Demon spoke.

“Even so, I still believe you killed the Soul-Seizing Demon, Second Young Master.”

“You are mistaken.”

I did not deny it vehemently. The tension between us was the most important element in maintaining our relationship.

Through the closing door, I saw the Wicked Laughing Demon left alone in his white room.

* * *

I met Seo Daeryong at the entrance to Villains’ Valley.

“Investigator Seo, what brings you here?”

“I’m training. I was running to build my stamina.”

“Right in front of Villains’ Valley, of all places?”

“Somehow, I ended up here.”

“Were you planning to rush in and rescue me if I was in danger?”

He was even carrying the large saber he used for training.

“I’m touched.”

“I told you, that’s not it. How could I possibly break through that place?”

“That’s why I’m touched. You came to save me knowing perfectly well you would die.”

“I just came to check. If I heard fighting in there, I was going to tell my master.”

“Clever as ever. Of course that’s what you should do. Rather than rush in without the skills to help and die for nothing. With such a wise right-hand man, what could I possibly have to worry about?”

Only then did Seo Daeryong seem reassured that I had come out safely, and he finally sighed in relief.

“Whew, my legs are still shaking. Even knowing it was you in there, Pavilion Master, I was a little worried.”

“Investigator Seo.”

“Yes?”

“Keep worrying about me.”

“What?”

“I’m asking you to worry. I can make mistakes, get things wrong, and do stupid things too. Keep worrying about me and helping me.”

Seo Daeryong smiled faintly.

“Of course. If your right-hand man doesn’t do it, who will?”

“My left-hand man, I suppose.”

“Must you ruin such a nice moment like that?”

We walked on, trading jokes back and forth, until I stopped and looked up into the tree overhead.

“What are you doing up there?”

To my surprise, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon was perched on a branch.

“Watching the sunset.”

“Here, of all places?”

“Keeping an eye on my disciple too, to see if the brat is slacking off.”

Seo Daeryong was startled. Tears welled in his eyes as he stared blankly up at the Blood Heaven Saber Demon. It was the first time the Saber Demon had called him his disciple.

“Master! Thank you, Master.”

His voice was thick with tears. The Blood Heaven Saber Demon, who could not stand this sort of sentimentality, barked at him.

“What are you staring at? If you’re here to train, get running!”

“Yes, Master!”

Seo Daeryong started running. He even forgot to say goodbye to me, so being called his disciple must truly have moved him.

I leaped up and settled beside him on the branch.

“You brat, you’ll break it.”

“I’ll stay as light as a feather.”

Even with both of us sitting on it, the slender branch did not break.

“You did well.”

“Hardly.”

“You saw how happy he was, didn’t you? That’s why you shouldn’t put these things off. Say what you want to say when the moment comes, take credit for what you do, and if you dislike someone, dislike them. That’s how you should live.”

“Is a youngster trying to educate an old man?”

“Yes. You need to learn. That’s how you’ll get along with the youngsters.”

“You always have an answer.”

We looked at each other and chuckled.

“If you were this worried about me, you should have said so.”

“I came because I thought you might piss him off. When that wicked bastard gets angry, he really loses his mind.”

“Have you seen it happen?”

“Once. Truly, no one could stop him.”

Yes, I knew that side of him too. “No one could stop him” described it perfectly.

“Somehow, I thought you might have driven him into a mad rampage.”

“Why me?”

“Because you really know how to piss people off. Why would the Wicked Laughing Demon be any different?”

“Fortunately, it didn’t go that far today.”

“You made it out without bloodshed because you’re the cult leader’s son. Otherwise, one of you would have died.”

“Thank you for worrying about me, Elder.”

“No need for thanks. Let’s go.”

“Look, the sun is setting. Let’s watch it for a moment before we go.”

“Growing old is sorrowful enough. Why would I want to watch a sunset?”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon leaped away and left.

Left alone, I sat on the branch and watched the setting sun for a while.

Suddenly, I remembered the Wicked Laughing Demon’s final moments before my regression. His eyes had shone with that last flicker of life before death.

[“... I can’t remember. Even when I ran around playing with my friends as a child, did I want to kill whoever was ‘it’? When did I become like this?”]

[“Do you regret it? Living an evil life?”]

[“Regret, my ass. My only regret is that I can’t kill more people before I go. Now that I’m actually headed for hell, I’m scared. Scared, that’s all. Ah! I can’t breathe. Take off my mask... Thank you. First time seeing my face, isn’t it?”]

[“People must have told you that you were handsome when you were young. Why did you wear it your whole life?”]

[“When my master chose me as a child, he asked me something. If I followed him, I would never be able to take this mask off for the rest of my life. Could I accept that? In return, he promised me a life where I could kill as many people as I pleased. I agreed without hesitation. Ah! Come to think of it, I was already like this back then. That’s why my master recognized me.”]

[“After your master died, you had a chance to take off the mask, at least, didn’t you?”]

[“You’d understand if you wore it. Once you put it on, you can’t take it off. It puts your mind at ease. You wear the mask and kill, and kill again. And kill. Later, it was the mask killing people.”]

[“Don’t give me that bullshit about the mask. You killed every last one of them.”]

[“Caught on, did you? Hahaha, cough. It’s hard to laugh for real. This mask became my symbol. How could I take it off? Should I send a message around Murim announcing that the Wicked Laughing Demon is taking off his mask as of today? Hey, Mucheol. Ah, Mucheol wasn’t your name either, was it? What’s your real name?”]

[“...”]

[“Did you ever think of me as a friend, even once?”]

[“...”]

[“You bastard. When you come to hell, I’ll kill you myself.”]

[“All right. Take all the revenge you want then.”]

[“It’s been hurting terribly for a while now. Pull your sword out, my friend.”]

[“Farewell.”]

The Wicked Laughing Demon died by my hand.

While gathering materials for the great art, I had found myself in a situation where I had no choice but to eliminate him. He was a villain who deserved death, but in that final moment, he died thinking of me as his friend.

To the very end, I never called him my friend. Perhaps, in that moment at least, I was the greater villain.

* * *

Despite my unexpected visit, Father readily agreed to a game.

Usually, we simply played go in silence, but today I had a great deal to say.

“... I met the Demonic Buddha the other day. I said things I didn’t mean, sounded him out, and also made a serious effort to learn what kind of person he was.”

Father gave no reply, focusing only on the game. Normally, he would have scolded me for making so much noise, but today he remained quiet.

He had realized that his son had come with a troubled heart, wanting to talk about this and that.

I continued.

“Today, I met the Wicked Laughing Demon as well. I dislike him. Not because he supports my brother, but because he seems like a lunatic, killing people with that silly smile on his face.”

Father spoke as he captured some stones.

“Make dead stones only on this board.”

He meant that I was not to kill any more Demon Supremes. He had told me that when the Soul-Seizing Demon died, and now he was emphasizing it again.

What if I had to kill the Wicked Laughing Demon again? What if that was our fate once more? I thought how tenaciously our lives must be bound together.

I could only hope it would not happen in this life.

“Am I even skilled enough to kill the Wicked Laughing Demon? Anyway, the reason I’ve been going around meeting the Demon Supremes...”

I resumed talking. While he was so willing to listen, I intended to say everything I wanted.

“It was for my sake, but also for my brother’s. When we first went hunting, I boldly declared that I would bring all the Demon Supremes to their knees and make them fall in line. But actually facing them, I’ve found it isn’t that easy. You were right, Father. Dealing with people is the hardest thing in the world.”

Father said nothing and continued playing. Apparently, he had decided simply to listen today.

“Please don’t mistake this side of me for proof that I’m unsuited to be your successor. If I work through these concerns now, I’ll be all the stronger later.”

“Since you have this rare opportunity, why not badmouth your brother too?”

“I’m going to refrain from that for a while. He has enough trouble floating around gracefully like a swan. ‘It’s exhausting, paddling my feet nonstop underwater!’ He isn’t the type to come here and admit that the way I do, is he?”

For an instant, I saw Father chuckle. The change was minute and fleeting, but my New Eye Procedure caught all of it now.

“All this chatter really is putting me at a disadvantage on the board. I’ll concentrate now.”

I immersed myself in the game. As we played out the endgame, I asked a question.

“May I come to see you sometimes when I don’t know what to do?”

Father’s hand paused in midair as he was about to place a stone.

“Wouldn’t that be cheating? Asking the referee for answers?”

“Couldn’t you think of yourself as someone offering advice from the sidelines, rather than the referee?”

Father placed his stone.

“Offering advice is fun.”

He did not explicitly say yes or no, but he was giving his permission.

I knew that treating me kindly like this was separate from choosing a successor. He was perfectly capable of declaring tomorrow, “Your brother is my successor.”

I narrowly won the game by two points.

“You’re getting better all the time. Are you keeping Strategist Sima up all night? Now that’s cheating.”

“Don’t you have a strategist too?”

“He says he can’t play go.”

“Where in the world is there a strategist who can’t play go?”

“Now that you mention it, you’re right. I’ve never seen a strategist who couldn’t play go even in a storybook. I must have been fooled by a strategist who can’t even play go.”

Father chuckled at my banter.

“Then I’ll see you next month.”

I paid my respects and was leaving when Father asked from behind me,

“Is your burden heavy?”

Emotion surged in my chest the instant I heard those words. It was the first time Father had said something meant to comfort me.

“It would be a lie to say it’s as light as a feather, but it isn’t too heavy for me to bear.”

“Then that is enough.”

Then that is enough. Why did those words sound so good to me these days?

If someone recognized my efforts... Yes, then that was enough.