It was like witnessing a glass mask shatter with a sharp crack.
The calmness, disguised as gentleness, crumbled, revealing fierce hatred. Seeing Heaven Killer's face change in an instant, Chung Myung burst out laughing gleefully.
The reason Chung Myung was never fooled by the lie—so convincingly wrapped that it almost deceived him for a moment—was very simple.
'He's not that kind of guy.'
Because he knew what kind of person Heaven Killer really was.
The Heaven Killer Chung Myung remembered was someone who showed no mercy not only to enemies but also to allies. Literally, Heaven Killer (Heavenly Murders) was a being filled with murderous intent and hostility toward all that exists in and around them.
Even after a hundred years, his essence would not have changed. Yet, would such a Heaven Killer simply let everyone here go and retreat for such a trivial reason?
'That's ridiculous.'
Then there was only one reason: he had a reason to spare them while uttering empty words he didn't mean.
And considering that, everything became clear.
"Why? Was I wrong?"
Chung Myung smirked. It was a clear provocation, but Heaven Killer seemed to regain his composure quickly. It seemed the hundred years had not been wasted.
But Chung Myung had no reason to regret it. He had already confirmed everything he needed to.
The answer to the question that had troubled Chung Myung until now.
How exactly does the Heavenly Demon return to the world?
'It's no different from me.'
Something he could guess but not be sure of. The answer to that question lay in Heaven Killer's reaction now.
"Returns?"
Chung Myung chuckled.
"I'm curious whether that's really words spoken with knowledge, or…"
Chung Myung's meaningful smile pierced Heaven Killer without mercy.
"Or just an unfounded belief."
Heaven Killer's expression vanished. But Chung Myung could clearly read the emptiness of a fanatic who had lost his god.
Chung Myung himself had also returned from death.
What was noteworthy in that process was that before Chung Myung became aware of himself, he definitely lived in this world under the name Cho Sam.
At some point, Cho Sam became Chung Myung.
This was the crucial point.
What if the Heavenly Demon, that very Heavenly Demon, underwent the same process as Chung Myung?
'It means the Heavenly Demon… might be living in this world as a nameless villager.'
What if, in such a state, he was attacked by the Demonic Cult? What if the cultists, who could not recognize him as the Heavenly Demon, attacked him? What would happen?
Would the Heavenly Demon in crisis regain himself and awaken like Chung Myung did? Or would he remain unawakened and simply die as a nameless commoner in their hands?
It's unknown. The only certainty is that the latter possibility cannot be ruled out.
And judging by Heaven Killer's reaction, they had no way to find the Heavenly Demon until he awakened.
Unlike the Podalap Palace cultivating the position of Banseon lama to find the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, they had no choice but to wait.
'Therefore, the Demonic Cult can never attack the Central Plains.'
Cultists who cannot confirm the existence of the Heavenly Demon cannot kill people. The only ones they can kill are those who were alive before the Heavenly Demon died.
But how many such people remain in the world now?
As time passes, cultists have no choice but to restrain themselves from killing people. They might inadvertently kill the Heavenly Demon who will be resurrected by their own hands—a terrible situation that must never happen from the cult's perspective.
For those who worship the Heavenly Demon, that is an unforgivable sin a hundred or even a thousand times over. That is why none other than Heaven Killer himself hurried all the way here.
To stop the massacre Dan Ja-Kang was committing.
The weight of the name Heaven Killer was too heavy to come all the way here just to stop a young bishop named Dan Ja-Kang. What Heaven Killer tried to stop was not Dan Ja-Kang's deviation but the act of massacre itself.
"Heh heh heh heh."
Chung Myung laughed as if incredulous.
"That must have been hard."
"…"
"To say you must kill everything alive in the Central Plains, yet make it so you can never kill them. Is there anything more ridiculous than this?"
Heaven Killer's face twisted horribly.
"Yes. It must have been hard to say. To say the Heavenly Demon might be living as some commoner denies the Heavenly Demon's perfection. I damn well understand the hardship of having to worship the imperfect as if perfect."
"Shut up…"
"How pitiful. I thought your ordeal was just endless waiting…"
Chung Myung chuckled.
"To think you live a pitiful life unable to lift a finger even before the enemies who killed your god."
"You BRATTTT!"
Heaven Killer shouted with a face twisted like a demonic fiend, but Chung Myung didn't even blink and calmly mocked him.
Even if no one else knows, Chung Myung knows what the Heavenly Demon means to the cultists.
Even if killing Chung Myung would harm the Heavenly Demon with a probability less than one in ten million, like picking a single grain of sand from a vast desert, they dare not act on it.
A faith beyond reason. That is the essence of the Demonic Cult.
"Are you angry?"
That is why Chung Myung sneered at those pitiful fanatics who knew the Heavenly Demon well but failed to see his true nature.
Step.
Chung Myung approached Heaven Killer, passing Baek Cheon and Un Geom without hesitation.
The faces of Mount Hua disciples who saw the scene began to turn pale.
'Th-that…'
'That crazy bastard!'
But no one dared to stop him. To intervene in the confrontation between Chung Myung and Heaven Killer was impossible for them now.
Unaware or uncaring of those watching from behind, Chung Myung walked calmly.
Step.
Finally, he stood before Heaven Killer. No, just 'before' was insufficient. At a distance almost close to touching, Chung Myung faced Heaven Killer nose to nose, curling his lips into a smirk.
"Then try to kill me."
"Ugh…"
"I said, try to kill me."
Heaven Killer's body began to tremble. He could not control the extreme anger rising within at the taunts.
He had probably crushed Chung Myung's head hundreds of times in his mind, but Heaven Killer's hands never moved.
This was Heaven Killer.
Born with the fate of the Heaven Killer nature that instinctively craves blood and death. For him, restraining from killing was like enduring a burning thirst.
Heaven Killer had endured that long thirst for over a hundred years without a drop of water.
A fierce faith. No, at this point, it was more fitting to call it a miraculous faith.
"What?"
But to Chung Myung, that faith meant nothing.
Chung Myung whispered softly into Heaven Killer's ear, like the devil tempting a meditating Buddhist.
"I said, try to kill me?"
"…"
"Heh heh heh heh."
Heaven Killer could not move, fearing that the already battered Chung Myung might kill him. He couldn't even freely emit his killing intent. Chung Myung mocked him fiercely.
"Why? Can't do it?"
Heaven Killer's hands twitched. His pitifully trembling hands moved violently for a moment, then returned to their place repeatedly. Bloody tears flowed from his reddened eyes.
"You filthy… filthy unbeliever…"
"Yeah. I'm a filthy unbeliever, you know?"
Chung Myung bared his teeth and laughed.
"And you're an idiot who can't even kill an unbeliever worse than a fly."
Chung Myung's sneer was etched into Heaven Killer's eyes.
"Isn't that so?"
Heaven Killer glared at Chung Myung with a face twisted like a demon. Red blood oozed from his swollen lips. It wasn't from biting his lips but from severe internal damage caused by the overwhelming qi.
At that moment, Chung Myung reached out and grabbed Heaven Killer by the collar.
"Listen well, you idiot bastard."
Chung Myung pulled Heaven Killer's head sharply forward, growling as he locked eyes with him.
"Don't open your mouth like you're something great when you can't even lift a finger. Get lost. Just breathing the same air as your cult bastards makes me want to vomit."
"Ugh…"
After finishing, Chung Myung pushed Heaven Killer away forcefully.
Heaven Killer couldn't even resist and stepped back. His face was a mix of rage, hatred, and humiliation. Gritting his teeth, he spoke with difficulty.
"You… you will definitely…"
A fierce curse spilled out.
"You will surely regret this act you pulled. On the day HE descends, I will personally tear you apart without leaving a single piece of flesh. No! I will make you beg to be killed by my hands! Surely! Surely! I will stake everything to bring you and Mount Hua unbearable pain! Surely!"
"…"
"No matter where you run in this world, I will find you and make you neither live nor die! Remember, disciple of Mount Hua! You will deeply know the depth and intensity of the cult's wrath!"
The venomous hatred seemed alive and vivid to Chung Myung. Yet, he only coldly laughed at the hellish curse.
"Ah, really?"
A smile lingered in his eyes as he looked at Heaven Killer.
"That's your wish. But you misunderstand one thing."
"…"
"You don't have to bother looking hard. If the Heavenly Demon bastard returns and you set foot on the Central Plains again,"
A cold declaration flowed from Chung Myung's lips.
"You will face me and Mount Hua first."
Heaven Killer's eyes filled with hatred and Chung Myung's cold gaze clashed fiercely in the air.
"So get lost now, you stupid bastard. Tremble in the cold land where no trace of humans remains, waiting for the Heavenly Demon who may never return. That will be the only way to prove your faith."
With those words, Chung Myung turned without waiting for a reply, without hesitation.
Even as Chung Myung showed his back, Heaven Killer could not strike him once. He just trembled as if about to explode.
"…Your name?"
Amid the intense hatred that seemed to burst his brain, Heaven Killer barely managed to ask. Chung Myung didn't even turn his head, letting out a strange smile.
"Chung Myung."
"…Chung Myung?"
"Why? Sounds strange?"
"…"
"It's good for a fool like you. You'll never forget it."
Heaven Killer looked at Chung Myung's back with cold eyes and nodded.
"The Cult… will remember you."
The image of Heaven Killer glaring at Chung Myung with hellish demon eyes soon vanished as if it were an illusion.
Mount Hua disciples, sensing Heaven Killer's presence completely gone, collapsed weakly on the spot.
Thud.
Baek Cheon, who had completely given up dignity and sat down, murmured with a stunned face as Chung Myung calmly walked toward them. It was a phrase representing everyone's feelings.
"That… that crazy lunatic bastard…"
No one dared to refute those words.