“…!”
The eyes of the Earth Demon widened.
Fight to be the best.
There was just one seat left.
He was not stupid enough to hear this and not know what it meant.
“So, do you want to see annihilation? Do you want me to do that?”
The voice of the Earth Demon did not tremble.
The Heavenly Demon of Demonic Sect was his true teacher and was also quite harsh.
He forced the four disciples of his to fight it out. Now just one remained, and he wanted to see him and his own subordinate fight each other out.
“Annihilation? I just want things to get right.”
The Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue and asked,
“Don’t you know who the elders of the sect will pick as the best, as number one?”
“…You are talking about Seol-Hwi?”
He did not refute it. Most of the elders would praise Seol-Hwi as the best in terms of strength.
Even his master, the Earth Demon turned aside.
“But, master. He is my subordinate. He is someone I have raised with my sincere emotions and trust.”
The Earth Demon shook his head.
“Fighting him, my most trusted and loyal servant, is like proving myself to be another foolish being. In the first place, single minded generals cannot live.”
No general in the world could handle the entire war’s procedures on his own. The more skilled people around the better the end result was .
And it was a virtue too.
The fact that there are many people around him that he could entrust work to proved that the Earth Demon was competent.
Doubt before the person was used, but to doubt someone you already used was foolish.
“Seems like a good person, but let me get one thing straight.”
Shhh
The Heavenly Demon swept down the white beard of his and asked,
“I understand that you think like that, but is the one called Seol-Hwi the same as you? Underwater one can find ten different directions. If you get to the position of being the Sect Leader, the greed he shows will be…”
“Then well, he can have that position.”
The Earth Demon cut off the words of his master.
“…Are you being serious?”
The eyes of the Heavenly Demon twitched. This time his face looked like he was angry. The Earth Demon got up and bowed.
“Master, please,”
The Earth Demon sincerely said it.
Now it was normal. No fights, no being scared for your life, no endless fights. If there is doubt and betrayal every time because you need power, wouldn’t that mean that he could not lead the Demonic Sect in the first place?
“Is it the way of the sect to betray those who believe in them and slander those with great achievements? If I rise to power in such a manner, what will be left for me?”
“…At least there will not be this crooked thought of romance and trust in the world.”
“Master!”
“Earth, you brat! Can you still not see the future which is coming!”
The Heavenly Demon yelled.
“…?”
The Earth Demon was taken aback at this. It was a loud voice, but it was because it was the first time his master showed such emotions.
Specifically this one.
At the title which had been used for more than ten years, the Earth Demon sat down like in the old days.
“No one will harm another, no one just takes things of others away, it is peace. I want to have a drink from time to time at an inn in the city and live with like minded people for a long time… it was like that. And your wish?”
“…”
“Right. It is nice. Each of us has some form of romance in our hearts. But the world is, well, it doesn’t allow it. Do you know that the romance you hope for, no, your existence itself is a source of concern for your subordinates?”
“What?”
His existence was a concern to his subordinates?
His master said something the Earth Demon could not understand at all.
“Because you are the one who will leave any time.”
Heavenly Killing Star—
Someone who was bound to leave one day. Whether it was in a fight or because of the short lifespan, he was a person who would not live for long.
And this was a fact.
“Because of your unique birth, there are many loopholes in your future. Right now, there are many following you, but they are not looking for the Earth Demon who will leave some time soon. So who will they see?”
“…”
“Seol-Hwi. In the future, it will be Seol-Hwi. Of course, you might be fine with letting him handle it all. Then the other subordinates who believe in you. What about them? Can you be sure that the future you see and what Seol-Hwi sees will be the same?”
The Earth Demon was silent.
Seol-Hwi, he never thought this far or heard of his thoughts. At least it was just similar thoughts.
But what about the future? Does he know what kind of future he will make if Seol-Hwi became the sect leader?
“The position makes the person. You must know this. Right, let us leave it aside for a moment and assume that both your ideals are the same. Even so.”
The Heavenly Demon raised his voice,
“Your forces, the Dark Demon Warlord and the Blood Killing Warlord who were brought in at the end. Will they follow you or Seol-Hwi? And the romance that they seek… what about theirs?”
The Earth Demon went silent again.
Actually, Seol-Hwi played an active role in bringing the Warlords to his side. But their intentions were unknown.
Seol-Hwi could be trusted because he was the one who brought them in. But still, if they had a dark thought… the first to be taken down would be them.
“Master. Then what do you think I am supposed to do?”
“You should think of it too. At least the reason why people under you won’t move under you has become clear.”
The Earth Demon just stayed silent, but the Heavenly Demon touched the chair like he was getting angry at this.
“Sinceancient times, only when the warehouse is full and rich will the people know their position. I expected you to hold your pride, while not letting the wealth leave your hand, or the power or those below you. On the other hand, Seol-Hwi’s subordinates are growing by the moment.
“The existing forces of the Hidden Truth Corps who are just a handful, the power of Dark Warlord and Blood Killing Warlord greater than the Hidden Truth troops.
“Soon, he will want a share of the victory. Your subordinates whom you have been protecting!”
“…”
And the target was the weak, those without amazing talent. Those who have been with the Earth Demon longer than anyone.
Not too greedy, so it would not cause a mess, and instead, not go after others while looking insane — they were not strong, so if Seol-Hwi slowly took them, a ten thousand people of no talent, what could the Earth Demon do with such forces missing under him?
“There is one thing I want. Show enough of your late flame. The man called the Earth Demon, the Fourth Disciple of the sect leader was like this.”
The blunt words of the Heavenly Demon made the Earth Demon fall into more confusion.
“It doesn’t matter who Seol-Hwi is. That much force needs to be displayed. I will make sure that the subordinates under the command can play a key role no matter who becomes the leader in the future. In the name of Cheon Wol-seong.”
“…”
“How is it? Will you do it?”
The Earth Demon could not answer.
He knew for himself that no matter what he said now it would not be accepted. The Heavenly Demon must have known how he felt and waited for a long time.
After a long bout of silence, the Earth Demon spoke,
“I need some time to think about it.”
“…Time?”
“Yes. There aren’t many days to live but wouldn’t I need a white to at least organize the time I have left?”
Smile
It was a sad but clear smile. the Heavenly Demon looked at that and asked with a blunt face.
“Okay? How long do I give you?”
“I think around two months.”
“…Fine.”
The Heavenly Demon’s answer came after a moment of emotion.
<All missions have ended.> <No restrictions. You can work freely.>
When Seol-Hwi was back to his residence, he saw that.
“…”
But there was no feeling of relief.
What did you do when the text of a mission being done came up? The work has been completed, but the potential things in the future still remained.
For now, he wanted to focus on it. Seol-Hwi’s body, subjected to martial arts of the Justice Faction went so quiet that it was not reacting to internal energy.
Fortunately, that was encouraging since his body was growing. But since he did not know when the Heavenly Demon would strike, he and Cheon Miryo were on edge.
Was it three days?
[You have made a great accomplishment Seol-Hwi. We will hold a big celebration for you, so please stop and return to the main sect.]
After receiving the handwritten letter, Seol-Hwi asked the AI,
“What kind of things will happen from now on?”
Unlike the past, when he left his body after using the internal energy up, the presence of the AI was clear now. However, most of the time he was silent and only showed himself when Seol-Hwi needed something.
-As I said before, this thing never happened in my life.
“…How? You said you went through thousands of lives though?”
-Because I never made such a choice. Even in this case, if it was me, I would have become the subordinate of the First Disciple or would have taken down the elders of Mount Hua.
“How? It said that if one person dies, the simulation will be forced to proceed.”
-I used the loophole called forced progress. I gathered them all and then killed them all. Even if the simulation progresses, there is no room for anything else.
“…”
-Like that, it was successful, but eventually the other elders of Mount Hua would come down, tracking me.
“Huh…”
Seol-Hwi was genuinely shocked. This was something he did not think of. How could you even use the death of someone to force the simulation to proceed?
Well, if the loophole did not work, there was no other way than a surprise attack to find a loophole.
Even if the AI’s idea was used, Seol-Hwi would have thought of another way.
“What happened after?”
-Well… I was clinging to death. Those who reached the end of Supreme Master came and I couldn’t use the strength of Profound Demon so I continued to dodge and run and eventually got stuck at the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
“Hmmm…”
If Profound Demon strength was used, the Heavenly Demon would intervene. It seemed that the AI, knowing that, could not find another way.
-But, Seol-Hwi.
“Yes.”
-What was the basis for you to think that the Heavenly Demon wouldn’t step ahead?
“Hmm.”
The AI’s question was, in a way, natural.
The Earth Demon’s victory meant that the Heavenly Demon would approach him. Even after discovering that Profound Demon was touched, he wondered why the Heavenly Demon chose to head to the Earth Demon and not himself.
“Can I ask you something before that?”
Seol-Hwi wanted to ask something in return.
-Go on.
“How are the lives you have watched so far panned out? Like in my case, was there any close relationship with the Earth Demon?”
-Hmmm.
The AI was in thought.
After repeating so many lives, he could not immediately remember them, and that supported the guess of Seol-Hwi.
“I did think so.”
-…What?
“Looking at you, it felt like you had this tendency to solve everything by yourself. Maybe even when you were a player, there were not many things you depended on the Earth Demon for. Also, being so conscious of the Heavenly Demon, you must have not even shown your strength.”
-…
“The reason I thought the Heavenly Demon would not come to me was because of the Earth Demon and his situation. In the first place, the Earth Demon will not be put up as the Sect Leader. So, in that case, he would decide to use him to catch me.”
-It makes sense. Right. In any case, the Earth Demon has never been the sect leader.
“…Right.”
Seol-Hwi nodded.
Looking back at the past lives, even if the First and Second Disciples died, the situation of the Earth Demon did not change.
And if one thought of that, they would start to think the Earth Demon has never risen in position. And he expected it.
“In the end, the Heavenly Demon is trying to know the extent of my strength through the Earth Demon.”
-No, wrong.
“Uh?”
Seol-Hwi was puzzled
-The Heavenly Demon is not wary of you or the Profound Demon level.
“What?”
Was this not different from what the AI was hinting at since long back? The player who wanted to carry out the plan on his own.
-That is why I said you had a point when this topic was brought up. What the Heavenly Demon fears more than the End Demon is…
The next words were completely unexpected. But the answer was possible because the AI said it,
-The Earth Demon. His existence.
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