The two groups, who had stained the utterly devastated land of Hangzhou with blood, came to a halt in different ways.
"…High priest…"
Jeok-Il's jaw trembled uncontrollably. Anyone unfamiliar with him might have thought he looked pitiful witnessing this scene.
His mission was to ensure that these filthy unbelievers dared not disturb the High priest's rest. As the enforcing guard serving the High priest, it was a duty he should have fulfilled properly.
But he failed to complete that mission. Ultimately, their blades were pointed at the High priest. That fact filled Jeok-Il's entire body with indescribable terror.
The Demonic cult members under Jeok-Il's command were no different. They all stared dazedly at Da Ja-Kang, standing alone amid the ruins.
The disciples of Mount Hua, who had caused Jeok-Il and the cult members to commit such a grave mistake, looked at Da Ja-Kang with a different kind of gaze.
"What is this?"
Confusion flashed in Baek Cheon's eyes.
'That man is the High priest?'
The man standing alone was very different from the High priest Baek Cheon had imagined. The High priest he had seen in the North Sea was a being that could only be described as a monster—wearing a human mask but utterly inhuman in every sense, a massive embodiment of malice. That was the High priest Baek Cheon remembered.
But the one he saw now…
'Different.'
Though tall and abnormally thin, giving off a strangely eerie feeling, he was not as inhuman as the High priest Baek Cheon remembered. Rather, he seemed like a wanderer one might see anywhere.
But…
Chilling.
It was only in his mind. Baek Cheon's body was definitely sensing it.
Something immense hidden beneath that unremarkable appearance—gloomy and dark, a deep abyss so dense that just facing it felt crushing.
Baek Cheon bit his lip tightly and glanced around. The faces of those beside him were also pale and stiff. They too felt the same as Baek Cheon.
Baek Cheon's gaze stopped on Chung Myung's back. Even facing the High priest, his posture did not waver even slightly.
Da Ja-Kang slowly looked down at the cup in his hand.
The red-colored liquor in the cup had become murky, covered with dust. No matter how much they had trampled the Central Plains and occupied this place, those who worshipped the Heavenly Demon were not worthy to drink the sacred wine.
Da Ja-Kang silently stared at the cup for a long time, then slowly brought it to his lips and swallowed the liquor.
The original fragrant sensation that tickled his nose was gone. The scent and taste were lost, leaving only the taste of dirt and dust—a nauseating filth.
But Da Ja-Kang did not avoid the disgusting taste; he fully accepted it. After all, what they had been drinking was not much different from such filth.
Savoring the disgusting taste and scent lingering in his mouth, Da Ja-Kang slowly opened the hand holding the cup.
Clang.
The fallen cup shattered into pieces and scattered.
"How sad."
Da Ja-Kang briefly looked at the scattered white porcelain, then shifted his gaze to the two people standing before him.
One was flamboyant like a clown, and the other a cold-eyed swordsman dressed in black martial attire.
He took in everyone behind them and the cult members looking on with terrified faces. Da Ja-Kang's gaze remained so dark that no one could guess his intentions.
"You mean you won't allow me even a small fragment of what you enjoy?"
Da Ja-Kang smiled softly. Indeed, from their perspective, he was merely an invader coming to take everything they enjoyed.
"H-High priest!"
At that moment, Jeok-Il screamed like a shriek and bowed deeply on the spot.
"This is not something the High priest should handle personally. I will deal with them!"
Da Ja-Kang glanced at Jeok-Il. His condition was a complete mess. The corner of Da Ja-Kang's lips twitched slightly.
"Please forgive my incompetence and grant me a chance to make up for my mistake…"
"Stand down."
"H-High priest."
Da Ja-Kang's gaze turned to Chung Myung and Jang Ilso, who stood at the front.
Different qi's emanated from them. One was so refreshing it was almost repulsive; the other so sinister it was nauseating. Like water and oil that never mix, their qi's were starkly opposed.
But what was reflected in both their eyes was no different.
Clear hostility.
Feeling the blatant hostility, Da Ja-Kang slowly spoke.
"Here…"
But he soon stopped. He realized he was trying to 'converse' with them.
Of course, he had exchanged many words with the people of the Central Plains before. But that was not 'dialogue.' It was only one-sided notification.
But now Da Ja-Kang was not trying to notify them. He was trying to ask and listen.
Da Ja-Kang closed his eyes slightly.
"I have become clouded."
Now he could not deny it even if he tried. No matter what happens, he could never return to the High priest Da Ja-Kang who left the sect.
But… even so…
It was at that moment.
"A young brat."
The black-clad swordsman at the front spoke with a crooked smile. His glaring eyes were fierce.
"How laughable."
"…"
"You've never seen the Heavenly Demon, yet you lick the non-existent soles of its feet."
If it were the Da Ja-Kang of a while ago, he would have felt indescribable rage at those words. Like the cult members who dared not unleash their boiling anger before him and forced themselves to suppress it.
But ironically, the current Da Ja-Kang did not feel much anger from hearing that. He also thought those words were not entirely wrong, even knowing it proved his broken faith.
So he became curious anew.
"I will ask one thing, swordsman."
"I don't think we're close enough to exchange words like that."
Da Ja-Kang smiled softly.
"You can call it a request."
At those words, a slight surprise flickered in Chung Myung's eyes.
"A hundred years…"
He suddenly realized how long that time was. He never thought he would see a High priest say such words with his own eyes.
"Speak."
A moment of silence passed. Da Ja-Kang, silently looking at Chung Myung and Jang Ilso, slowly opened his withered lips.
"…Why do you not flee?"
"What?"
Da Ja-Kang's indifferent gaze pierced Chung Myung.
"Someone like you must have already felt it. Probably you understand it better."
Da Ja-Kang's tone was definitive, as if stating a fact.
"The difference in power is clear. You cannot stop me."
This was not a threat. At least from Da Ja-Kang's perspective.
"Then why do you not flee? Why do you resist? Why fight a battle with a predetermined outcome?"
This is truly foolish.
Of course, he acknowledged their strength. At that level, even within the sect, it would be hard to find a match unless one was a High priest.
But precisely because of that, the moment they face him, they would clearly understand that they have no chance of winning.
"Still, why do they show such unwavering eyes?"
Why can they hold their path so firmly even before an overwhelming existence?
Though a meaningless question, Da Ja-Kang could not help but ask.
But the answer was somewhat different from what Da Ja-Kang expected. What returned was clear mockery.
"What stupid questions you ask. Cult bastards living off dirt in the borderlands, now you think you're philosophers?"
Such rude and uncivil emotions to show the High priest. Chung Myung laughed aloud and instead asked Da Ja-Kang.
"So? Because the enemy is strong, should we bow our heads and submit to them?"
"…"
"Listen well, you stupid bastard. Cowards like you tremble before a non-existent Heavenly Demon out of fear of death, but I'd rather die than do that."
"You mean you're not afraid of death?"
"Of course I'm scared, you stupid bastard."
Chung Myung laughed as if exasperated.
"But surrendering is worse than dying. Especially for bastards like you."
Just as Da Ja-Kang was about to speak, a faint nasal sound pierced his ear.
"Hmmm."
Da Ja-Kang's gaze turned to Jang Ilso beside Chung Myung.
His entirely white face and blood-red lips curved chillingly.
"…You kept saying High priest, High priest. I wondered how great a man he was."
Jang Ilso paused briefly and exaggeratedly sighed.
"This is a bit disappointing."
Da Ja-Kang's eyebrows twitched uncomfortably.
"Let me tell you one thing."
Jang Ilso spoke in an extremely sinister voice. The malice on his face made even the mighty Da Ja-Kang frown.
"The moment you admit that someone exists above you, you are finished."
"…"
"That's the difference between the ruler and the ruled. And I am not afraid of the ruled. No matter how strong, they are the same in the end—humans who choose to submit to others."
Clack!
Jang Ilso's rings rubbed harshly.
"So, what kind of man are you?"
Listening to Jang Ilso, Da Ja-Kang quietly smiled.
"A man who does not submit…"
He slowly shook his head.
"You don't know."
"…"
"You don't know either. The answer I want is not with you. No… perhaps no one in the world can give it."
A hollow voice escaped Da Ja-Kang's lips.
"I do not submit. I overcome. I resist."
The longer he muttered, the more his face twisted.
"Those are words only spoken by those who have never encountered true terror, true greatness, true divinity."
Black demonic qi bubbled out from beneath Da Ja-Kang's feet. So dense it seemed otherworldly, darkness began to coil around his feet.
"If you still intend to spout such words…"
Whoooooosh!
The demonic qi Da Ja-Kang released spun faster and faster, forming a massive swirling vortex that writhed fiercely.
"I will show you."
Da Ja-Kang's voice grew rougher. His eyes emitted a fiercely deep crimson glow.
"What true despair is!"
Kraaaaash!
The black demonic qi soared into the sky like a black dragon.
Finally, Da Ja-Kang, throwing himself into madness, let out a howl like a demon from hell. It was an overwhelming and shocking sight.
Before the terrifying feast of demonic qi, the world began to be dyed with fear.