Chapter 26: Mad Demon
“Second Brother. Did you know the fact that it was I who interfered with every one of your plans all this time?”
It was absurd.
That was the thought Dan Hyunwoo had while listening to Dan Woojin's words.
‘How did he know that I would use poison?’
No, despite knowing that.
He proudly spat it out of his mouth.
He must have known that he could die just by the fact that he knew that secret.
Furthermore.
He was even pointing his sword at him right now.
“You’ve gone crazy.”
Dan Hyunwoo stared at Dan Woojin, who pointed the sword.
“Do you even know how much of a gap in realm exists between you and me before you thrust that sword?”
“Did you not call me to the training ground to kill me, since I am like a thorn in your side?”
Dan Woojin spoke as if he were seeing through everything about Dan Hyunwoo.
“Fine, if you wish to die at my hands that badly.”
Shring.
Dan Hyunwoo also drew his sword.
Woooong—
A sword resonance echoed through the training ground.
The dark Sword Qi rising from the blade pressured Dan Woojin's entire body.
Swish!
Even though he had not swung the sword, Dan Woojin's clothes were torn away.
A realm capable of harming a person with just Sword Qi.
Harming others with Sword Qi.
But Dan Woojin looked at Dan Hyunwoo without even blinking an eye.
Rather.
Kiiiing—
A purple light began to flicker in Dan Woojin's eyes.
‘What?’
It was bizarre.
Thinking that, Dan Hyunwoo reflexively felt the urge to gouge out Dan Woojin's eyes.
Swish!
The thought soon led to action.
Pss—
A decisive thrust aimed toward the pupils.
‘He dodged it?’
He could not believe it at all.
How could Dan Woojin dodge Dan Hyunwoo's sword strike?
‘The bastard who should have the lowest martial arts level among the seven children!’
Why!
Swish! Swish!
Swish, whish—
Dan Hyunwoo swung his sword continuously, but Dan Woojin kept dodging Dan Hyunwoo's sword strikes by a hair's breadth.
Suddenly, Dan Hyunwoo's expression hardened.
“Could it be… the one who killed the First Young Master was……”
The sudden death of the First Young Master Dan Cheolwoo.
It was strange and beyond strange.
For Dan Hyunwoo to become the Young Cult Leader, Dan Cheolwoo was the one who must not die until the very, very end, even if anyone else did.
“I know that you aren’t going all out yet, Second Brother!”
The First Sword of the Asura Demonic Sword.
Asura Wind and Clouds.
The Asura Demonic Sword, which every sibling had learned, was unfolded from Dan Woojin's hand.
* * *
Violet Eye.
It was an eye art among the Ten Eye Arts, passed down by one of the Ten Emperors who originated from the Mount Hua Sect.
The effect was…
‘It develops the five senses and physical abilities.’
The fluctuations of emotion were suppressed.
It allowed one to look only at the opponent who must be killed.
Because the color was similar to the Red Eyes—the eye art that allowed Am Yeong to be called the Death God—there were many who did not even notice that he was using a different eye art.
In short, it was an eye art optimized for a killer.
‘To think I am unfolding a weak technique like the Asura Demonic Sword with this eye art.’
But still, he couldn’t afford to go all out at this moment.
If he unfolded something like the Soul Killing Demonic Sword, a martial art he had adapted by including the Soul Killing Art, he would be able to easily topple the Second Young Master.
Furthermore, this was a space where only the Second Young Master and Dan Woojin existed.
There was no one who could stop him even if he performed a massacre to his heart's content, but…
‘Now isn’t the time to cut off the Second Young Master’s head.’
Because he had been utilizing him very well so far.
As long as the Second Young Master was alive, he would constantly strive to kill the other siblings who were candidates for the Young Cult Leader.
The problem was the fact that Dan Woojin knew about those efforts all too well.
Kagagagang!
So he tried unfolding the Asura Demonic Sword.
He needed to find out the current level of Dan Hyunwoo.
‘And.’
He intended to keep giving Dan Hyunwoo a sense of alarm.
Since he was a bastard who could not stand losing even if he died.
Perhaps this time, his heart would ache quite a bit.
“Not bad!”
Smirk—
He smiled. That smile was the madness-filled smile Dan Hyunwoo wore during every battle.
Grin—
“…You’re smiling?”
Dan Woojin also smiled along.
Having repeated his life and gained a chance once again, Dan Woojin had nothing to fear.
‘This is fun.’
He always preferred assassination.
He lived his entire life as a killer who momentarily ambushed the opponent when they let their guard down to end their life.
A life where acting and wearing a mask was a daily routine.
But now,
Clang!
“Sword Qi?”
Zap, zap—
Red Sword Qi was surging from Dan Woojin's sword.
“Brother, this is too enjoyable!”
If someone had seen Dan Woojin's appearance right now,
“Kuhahaha!”
They would have thought he was Dan Hyunwoo.
Watching that sight, the Second Young Master, Dan Hyunwoo, felt goosebumps all over his body.
“You crazy bastard!”
Letting out a bizarre cry, Dan Hyunwoo charged in.
An appearance far from calm.
Well, he could hardly offer praise in this situation.
‘Overwhelming? No, it is not at that level yet.’
Dan Hyunwoo was still not giving his full power.
No, he might not be able to.
‘The Cult Leader's tests have only proceeded a few times yet.’
Dan Hyunwoo was a bastard who grew stronger the more battles he fought.
“How dare you!”
Swish!
Dan Hyunwoo's sword strikes began to get faster and faster.
But to Dan Woojin, who was operating the Violet Eye, Dan Hyunwoo's sword strikes were visible in plain sight.
His sharpened senses very easily predicted where the sword would be swung.
When he combined the Steps of the Killing Soul with his superior physical abilities, the Second Young Master's sword only cut through the void.
If he launched an attack in this state.
‘Perhaps I might be able to kill him…….’
Flinch.
In an instant, he realized he had become conceited.
Dan Hyunwoo always created an opening for the opponent to attack during battle.
The moment the enemy thought it was ‘worth a try’ was usually the moment they were killed by the Second Young Master.
This was a habit of Dan Hyunwoo that he realized while preparing a killing move to kill Dan Hyunwoo as a killer.
‘I almost got taken without knowing.’
If he killed Dan Hyunwoo here, all the future events that Dan Hyunwoo would instigate would disappear.
Since he had already killed the First Young Master and the Sixth Young Lady, he did not know how the future would change.
Even so, killing the Second Young Master here, the one who survived until the very, very end, would be giving up the information advantage of knowing the future.
He could not do that.
Therefore,
‘From now on, you will have to listen to me.’
Wriggle—
Poison Qi surged from the `.
The Poison Qi obtained from the Poison Demon Sect's poison bath rose up through the Poison Hand Demonic Art of the All-Encompassing Poison Hand.
In addition to that.
‘I embed the Soul Killing Art.’
Secretly and very secretly.
He allowed Dan Hyunwoo to inhale the Poison Qi every time he retrieved his sword.
The name of the poison Dan Woojin created by meeting the Soul Killing energy inside the body was.
‘Soul Killing Poison.’
It was a poison that gradually killed the soul.
Sssss.
Seeing the Poison Qi enter Dan Hyunwoo's nose and mouth, Dan Woojin grinned.
“You dare smile?”
Woooong—
At Dan Woojin's smile, Dan Hyunwoo spat out his rage.
“How dare a mere bastard like you!”
Dan Hyunwoo, who was trying to showcase something greater than Sword Qi by raising his True Qi,
“Keugh!”
He realized he was poisoned.
* * *
‘I was poisoned?’
When? How?
Dan Woojin had even learned poison arts?
He had never heard such a thing.
In an instant, numerous thoughts flashed through Dan Hyunwoo's brain.
It was unavoidable because this was a symptom of poisoning no matter who looked at it.
‘The Sword Qi is scattering and the inner Qi is not gathering properly?’
Was it the Qi Dispersing Poison?
For that to be the case, the sensation like a tingling vibration throughout his whole body was unusual.
“…What did you do to my body.”
“That is why, Second Brother, you should not have let your guard down.”
That smiling appearance was detestable.
Dan Hyunwoo's expression hardened as he realized that Dan Woojin's real face was that appearance overflowing with leisure.
‘Just how many years… has he been acting?’
He heard he was a child who could not learn martial arts.
It was partly because of the First Young Master, but there were many other reasons.
So he thought he would die in the Demonic Cave, the first gateway to becoming the Young Cult Leader.
That was why he was a guy he had not particularly cared about.
However,
‘He deceived our Cult, and even the Cult Leader.’
Because he showed so many pathetic appearances, he thought he was a cripple.
“I heard you were hanging around with the Young Patriarch of the Poison Demon Sect. I suppose you learned some poison arts from him?”
The talk grew long.
While sharing the conversation, he intended to detoxify the poison with his internal force.
“It’s not easy, is it?”
As if he knew it too well, Dan Woojin spoke.
“Second Brother, who used to let his body go before his words, is quite talkative today huh?”
It was mockery.
It was humiliating.
“…You know, you could just kill me here if you intended to do that.”
“I am sorry, Brother, but I have no intention of killing you right this moment.”
“…Then?”
Grin.
Once again, a wicked smile spread across Dan Woojin's face.
“I intend to use you.”
“What?”
“That poison Second Brother is infected with is a poison for which only I have the antidote. So if you wish to live, you will have to stay in my good graces.”
It was a threat.
Telling him to follow his words if he wanted to live.
“Ha, how absurd.”
Tstststs—
Demonic Qi surged up from Dan Hyunwoo's entire body.
“How dare you try to……”
Cough—
Splatter.
Dan Hyunwoo's expression hardened as he saw the dark red blood he spat out.
“That’s going to be pretty painful, you know?”
It was as if he were seeing through Dan Hyunwoo.
Even though Dan Hyunwoo's inner Qi level was clearly more than double Dan Woojin's.
Even though he was a character who would endure pain even if he were to die.
So he knew he was the type of bastard who would attempt to detoxify the poison even by using his innate True Qi.
‘I know.’
The more you try to detoxify it.
The closer death will approach.
‘This does not seem to be something that poisoned the physical body?’
Riiiiiiing—
An alarm began to ring in his mind.
To the point that he felt his head might burst if he continued trying to detoxify it.
“Are you… threatening me right now?”
The eyes shining with purple light stared at Dan Hyunwoo.
“That is correct. Someday Second Brother will detoxify the poison I administered. But until then, I would like you to follow my words a bit.”
Only then did Dan Hyunwoo realize.
That enticing the Sword Demon Sect to be in the same boat was not what was important.
‘I should have enticed the Poison Demon Sect.’
If he had known that the Poison Demon Sect possessed such a poison, he should have brought poison from the Poison Demon Sect instead of touching the poisons existing in the Cult's secret treasury.
“Second Brother. How about it, do you have any intention of following my proposal?”
Smirk.
Dan Hyunwoo smiled.
They said the one who laughs when times are hard is first-class.
‘Merely this?’
Dan Hyunwoo was already a master who had passed the Peak, passed the Transcendent Peak, and was looking toward the Peak Demonic Realm.
If so, what should one do in hard times to be called the Peak Demon?
“Ah.”
Stab—
With a small exclamation, Dan Hyunwoo drove the sword into his own chest.
“Seo Moonyuuuuuuul!”
And he screamed at the top of his lungs toward the outside of the training ground.
Dan Woojin shook his head while watching that sight.
Fair, if he were a person who would obediently listen just because he was poisoned, he would not have spent such a long time to kill Dan Hyunwoo.
“I knew he was a crazy bastard, but.”
To think he would consider forcibly stabbing his Upper Dantian with a sword to discharge the Poison Qi ensnaring his soul.
“Indeed, he lives up to the name Mad Demon.”
A title Dan Hyunwoo would hear in the not-too-distant future.
Before he could even think of that,
Boom!
“Second Young Master!”
Seo Moonyul, the Young Patriarch of the Sword Demon Sect, leaped into the training ground.