As I used light footwork and sprinted forward, I thought the pit was far too wide. Since the Right Guardian had been on the other side from the start, it didn’t seem likely I could catch up.

I paused the chase and looked at the pit.

“......”

Inside the hell I’d created, the remains of cultists were mixed with dust and dirt. Staring at the pit, it became all too easy to answer the question of who was the greater evil.

Of course, it was me.

So what?

A strange laugh escaped me—unlike my usual. Even though I thought I should laugh, the sound and even my expression felt forced.

Seems the Right Guardian’s words struck somewhere vital.

I settled my shaken heart and looked across the pit at the Lecher slaughtering Hong Mok-han’s group.

He seemed to be fighting even better than the last time I saw him, so there was no need to help.

Cross-legged, I sat down and watched the pit, sending off the dead. I scooped some dirt into my hand and sprinkled it into the pit.

“...Off you go. Even if someone tramples a swarm of ants, they won’t vanish as cleanly as you did. Tough luck. That’s what happens when you fight me. The Demonic Cult’s no exception.”

I’d managed to turn the minds of emperors, scholars, and even Cheonak toward the light, yet in exchange, the Right Guardian declared he would walk the path of a beast.

And how could I stop that?

In truth, you can block a sword—but there’s no way to stop a change of heart.

Just like the Cult Leader couldn’t pull the Sword Demon back from his path.

The Right Guardian blamed me.

If, because of that, a massacre occurred, I suppose it would partly be my fault. I had massacred the cultists, giving him a justification for revenge. More than his tantrum, what annoyed me was that I’d given him such a reason.

Still, Im Sobaek and the Martial Alliance are intact.

Scholars are hidden throughout the land, and emperors remain standing. If the greater current flows in the right direction, then even what I alone can’t block will be resolved by others—I steeled my heart with that belief.

There are heroes in this world.

Even those who aren't heroes still strive not to cross the line.

If, right now, I held the greatest martial prowess under heaven yet still couldn’t stop the outcome born from the Right Guardian’s twisted heart...

Then perhaps that’s all the more reason I must leave behind disciples.

So in the end, heroes are the strongest?

That’s right.

Because even when things are too difficult for the greatest martial artist to accomplish, heroes still make it happen. The heroes Giseongja spoke of weren’t just one person.

Im Sobaek can’t run around alone until the day he dies of old age, right?

Again, I scooped up dirt and sprinkled it into the pit.

“Farewell. You poor bastards who lived obeying orders...”

Judging by how wild the Lecher had been, it seemed Hong Mok-han’s group had been fairly strong. But once the Drunk joined and began swinging his Six Harmonies Sword, the situation quickly came to a close.

Before I realized it, the Sword Demon had sat down beside me and was looking at me.

“...Are you injured?”

I glanced at the Sword Demon but didn’t want to moan or groan, so I just tapped my chest with my hand.

A gesture to say I’m dealing with a heart demon.

I don’t know how the eldest took that, but he gave a small nod and, like me, turned to look at the pit.

“Who came?”

“The second son, Lord Yang, and the Right Guardian.”

The Sword Demon let out a sigh.

“You held out well. You did good.”

“Are you sure I did good?”

He furrowed his brow and looked into my eyes as he spoke.

“How much better could you have done?”

“Hmm.”

The Sword Demon stared at the pit and spoke.

“If you hadn’t used that technique, we wouldn’t have been able to join you. The disciple said it was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, and the second son said it was too loud to be a thunderbolt.”

I looked at the Sword Demon.

“So?”

He answered with his usual flat tone.

“The three of us just ran blindly. Didn’t even know where we were going.” 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

That finally made me laugh.

“I lost the Right Guardian. No, wait—I lost Lord Yang and the second son too.”

“It’s not strange to lose track. The Right Guardian never showed his bottom—he’s that kind of man. No way you’re sulking just because you lost him. What did he say?”

Strangely enough, the eldest seemed to understand the situation roughly. I relayed the Right Guardian’s words.

“He seemed mentally shaken by my Heaven-Piercing Sun-Moon Radiance. Said he’d walk the path of a beast. Said it was my fault.”

The Sword Demon nodded.

“So even the Right Guardian has times when he loses his composure. To say something like that... But there’s no need to worry.”

“Why?”

“To say he’s walking the path of a beast now—that’s a shameless claim. He was strong like that long ago. Whenever he reappeared after vanishing, his qi felt different. I knew, and the Cult Leader knew, but neither of us asked. I know him well enough. He fled to avoid reinforcements from Baek Eung-ji, and at the same time, lured you out to strike back somewhere secluded. Honestly, it was better not to chase him. He’s a cautious bastard—he might still be hunting solo. A heart demon comes to everyone. He’s no exception.”

“To be honest, I didn’t have much strength left to chase. He seemed to have more energy left than I did. Handled the aftermath of Ilwol Gwangcheon surprisingly well.”

The Lecher and the Drunk came over, catching their breath. As soon as he arrived, the Drunk looked at my face and said:

“Injured? Your complexion looks like a sick chicken. Been eating too much chicken?”

I laughed at the Drunk’s joke.

The Lecher held out two bloodstained Muga Daggers.

“Which one’s yours? Want me to write ‘Master of Haomun’ on the handle? Or just write ‘crazy bastard’? I can’t tell the difference, you lunatic.”

They were both identical Muga Daggers—how would I know?

“Just give me whichever.”

The Lecher tossed me one. I took it and wiped the blood off the blade with my sleeve. Naturally, it would’ve been easier for the Four Villains to recognize a Muga Dagger over a Flash Dagger as our signal.

We sat at the edge side by side, staring down into the deep pit.

The Lecher spoke to the Sword Demon.

“Master, the Cult really is packed with talent. They were quite strong.”

The Sword Demon simply nodded. Then the Drunk spoke.

“Why the hell is this pit so big? I’m looking at it and I still don’t believe it. Maybe the third’s heart got a hole punched in it too?”

At that, the Lecher leaned over and looked at me.

“Wasn’t it already full of holes? Or maybe not?”

I nodded.

“It always had holes. Just not as big as this pit.”

Then I spoke, as if making a request to the three.

“...Let’s rest for a day.”

The Lecher replied.

“Two days is fine. It’s not like you’ve got anything to do.”

“The Right Guardian said he’d walk the path of a beast. I don’t know where he’ll cause trouble, but I have to follow. Even if I can’t find him, I should at least pretend. Even a fruitless journey is better than nothing. It’s like chasing an evil without form.”

The Lecher said,

“Third’s in a bad state, huh?”

The Sword Demon nodded.

“He was always in a bad state, so no need to worry.”

“Yes, Master.”

The Drunk pointed to somewhere in the pit.

“Wow, look there. A hand sticking up. Must be dead, right? Wanna go check?”

As soon as he spoke, the dirt shifted like collapsing sand, and the arm limply fell and rolled down.

The Sword Demon asked me,

“Why did you return so soon? I figured you’d train for at least a year.”

I shook my head.

“A man can’t live on chicken alone. The chickens would rebel. Now I can eat and drink with Cheonak, and joke with him too. That’s enough. If I’d pushed any further, I probably would’ve started running my mouth like usual—so I backed off at the right time.”

At last, I took a deep breath in and exhaled.

Then, all four of us looked up at the sky together.

Lightning flashed above. In the distance, dark clouds were gathering. Then a bolt of lightning—not my Heaven-Piercing Sun-Moon Radiance, but a real one—struck somewhere, and raindrops began to fall, one by one. There was no reason for the Four Villains to get drenched just because I was brooding, so I stood up first.

“Let’s go.”

We hadn’t walked many steps before the drizzle became a downpour. Walking side by side with the Four Villains through the pouring rain, I steadied myself once more.

“...The bastard blamed me.”

“......”

“Fine. Let it be my fault. I’ll find him and kill him.”

The Lecher glanced around and said,

“But where are we going? This isn’t Baek Eung-ji.”

I answered while continuing to walk.

“We follow. We can rest along the way.”

It ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) was the eldest who first agreed with my simple plan.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

The Lecher muttered,

“Master, can we really find him just by wandering like this?”

I answered in place of the Sword Demon.

“Even if we can’t find him—we have to try. Just like the three of you found me.”

The Lecher muttered again.

“...So that’s what it is.”

And then, we walked in silence, through the rain.

...Gwangmyeong Usa walked through the pouring rain, glancing over his shoulder more often than usual. With the downpour flooding his senses, everything felt slightly off. While walking, he spotted an old man selling a green rain cloak and approached him.

“How much?”

The wrinkled old merchant looked up at Gwangmyeong Usa and answered,

“With a bamboo hat, it’s three nyang.”

“Three nyang? Why so expensive? You trying to price-gouge just because it’s raining? You mean three nyang in public silver?”

The old man, looking startled, replied,

“Pardon? It’s three nyang in iron coins.”

Gwangmyeong Usa rummaged through his coin pouch and stared at the merchant.

“Iron coins?”

“Yes.”

There weren’t any iron coins in his pouch. He pulled out a thin slice of public silver and held it out, prompting the old man to speak with a troubled expression.

“Please, just take it.”

Gwangmyeong Usa tilted his head.

“Why?”

“I don’t have change.”

He glared at the old merchant and asked,

“You with Haomun?”

“What’s Haomun? Please, just take it. It’s not worth a silver piece.”

Donning the bamboo hat and rain cloak, Gwangmyeong Usa took a moment to scan his surroundings. A few merchants under the eaves of nearby buildings were watching him.

Right then, two Jianghu men in black walked up and spoke to the old merchant.

“Old Gu, what’s going on?”

Waving his hand dismissively, the old man replied,

“Oh, nothing. He just didn’t have any small change.”

He barely moved his lips as he whispered to Gwangmyeong Usa,

“They’re Black Path thugs. You’d best move along.”

“There are Black Path men here?”

One of the black-clad men, now closer, stared at Gwangmyeong Usa.

“What are you muttering about?”

Lowering his bamboo hat to obscure his eyes, Gwangmyeong Usa slowly looked the Black-Clads up and down. He then pulled out a piece of standard silver and tossed it to the old merchant.

Startled, the old man stammered,

“Oh my, you didn’t need to—! I can get you change—”

“It’s fine.”

Gwangmyeong Usa began walking through the rain again, searching for somewhere to eat. But nothing appealed to him, so he turned into an alleyway. As expected, the voices of the black-clad men echoed behind him.

“Stop right there.”

Gwangmyeong Usa turned around and lifted his bamboo hat slightly to reveal his eyes.

“What do you want?”

One of the men spat out something absurd.

“Why are you flashing money around in someone else’s turf? Got that much? Then hand some over.”

Instead of answering, Gwangmyeong Usa asked something else.

“...How many people are in your sect?”

“What?”

“Are your ears clogged? I said, how many total? Lead me there.”

“The hell’s wrong with this guy?”

Gwangmyeong Usa sighed and pointed with his finger. Without a sound, one man’s ear was sliced cleanly off and sent flying. As the blood mixed with rain and the scream began to form, Gwangmyeong Usa’s hand flicked again—and this time, a head went flying.

Thunk—the sound echoed as the head hit the ground, and the remaining Black-Clad man stared wide-eyed at his fallen comrade’s corpse.

“......”

Gwangmyeong Usa said,

“Lead the way. Don’t make me repeat myself. And I don’t like noise. No screaming. Keep your mouth shut. Walk.”

The man turned and began walking in the rain.

As they walked side by side, Gwangmyeong Usa asked,

“How many?”

“Eighty-thr... Eighty-two.”

“Because one just died, right? Are they all gathered in one place?”

“No, they’re not.”

“But if you called them, they’d come. You followed me because I looked rich?”

“Yes.”

“Typical of the Black Path. Most of you die over money.”

Then the Black-Clad man asked,

“So... who are you?”

Gwangmyeong Usa looked at him.

“I’m called Gwangmyeong Usa. Ever heard of me?”

The man suddenly stopped walking and looked at him with a pale face.

“......”

Gwangmyeong Usa nodded.

“Looks like you’ve heard. That’s the face of a man prepared to die. What, not going to lead me now? Doesn’t matter. I can just ask someone else.”

The man let out a short breath and drew his sword. But before it was even halfway out, both his arm and the blade hit the ground.

Gwangmyeong Usa raised his right hand. From his palm, strands of red thread-like internal energy burst out, enveloping the man’s upper body. His torso vanished as if it melted, and the rest of him collapsed into the muddy water, mixing with the rain.

Once more, Gwangmyeong Usa slowly surveyed the surroundings.

“......”

He moved his foot a few times to push the corpse into the puddle. But there were already corpses in the alley, and he realized staying here much longer wasn’t a good idea.

For some reason, he felt as if the Master of Haomun were chasing him, and the thought made him deeply uneasy. Concluding he couldn’t linger, Gwangmyeong Usa pulled down his bamboo hat and walked off into the rain again.