From episode 88, when the umbilical cord was cut.
Geommuyang, who had washed off the blood, was standing in front of Donggyeong and helping Sibi put on new clothes.
He wore a thin robe over his bare body that protected him from sword attacks. On top of that, I layered a slightly thicker robe. He showed his obsession with death, at least to Mabul.
Mabul was sitting on a chair and watching.
There was a possibility that he would complain about bringing in the Yunnan twins, but Geommuyang didnât say anything. Mabul could tell he was angry.
âGongja LeeâŠâ
Originally, I was going to start the story by saying, âYouâve changed so much.â But I changed my words when I thought it was too obvious.
ââŠWhat kind of person are you?â
In longing, Geommuyang answered.
âI thought I knew my younger brother well, but now I see I donât really know. I wasnât this kind of kid to begin withâŠâ
âYou need to forget about the past!â
Suddenly, Mabul raised his voice, and Sibi, who was touching her collar, scratched Geummuyangâs neck with her fingernails.
âoh! âIâm sorry, please save me.â
The husband and wife knelt down on the spot and asked for forgiveness. The atmosphere cooled down in an instant.
âWhy would I kill you for something like this?â
Geommuyang spoke softly, but Mabul coldly intervened.
âBut you canât kill him, right? You saved the life of a woman who damaged the body of the person who would become the Heavenly Demon? âHow funny would other people look at you if they heard about it?â
Shibi pleaded earnestly.
âplease! âPlease save me!â
Geommuyang helped her up.
âEveryone makes mistakes. âStop going out.â
âThank you, Confucius. thank you.â
Shibi left the room.
âYou should not be seen as easily forgiving the mistakes of your subordinates. âYou should at least punish me.â
Then Geommuyang suddenly asked.
âDid you ask what kind of person your brother is?â
âYes, I did.â
âIf something like this happens, this is the child who will buy food for the surprised child. âHe was a warm-hearted child from a young age.â
âBut you shouldnât let down your guard.â
âIâm not saying this to encourage you to let down your guard. âDidnât you see the Mugeuk people earlier?â
The longing gaze that had been looking towards Mabul turned towards Geommuyang himself.
âHonestly, I was a little jealous.â
Mabul sometimes thought that this Geommuyang was unpredictable.
Even though you handle things clearly and calmly, there are times when you suddenly reveal your true feelings like this.
While I was thinking about how to react, Geommuyang walked over and sat down in front of Mabul. He poured the cooled tea into a teacup and drank it.
âWhat are you so worried about, Mazon?â
âIgongjaâs skills are great, but more than anything, Hyeolcheondoma is a cunning old man. The fact that he chose a bachelor of science and engineering clearly means that there was a good reason. âMaybe itâs because he bought Sibi a meal, or thereâs something else we donât know about.â
Then Geommuyang said something unexpected.
âI think the answer is my father.â
Mabul was surprised at those words.
âWhat do you mean?â
âMy father pushed Mugeuk while I was away. He lowered the dark magic sword and placed him in the position of the Nether Pillar. Iâm trying to test how I can deal with Mugeuk, who has gained strength. âI think this is the final test to become a successor.â
For a moment, I thought that might be the case, but Mabul then shook his head.
âThat wonât be it. In the process of Lee Gong-ja jumping up, the soul mazon died. âThe cause of death is said to have been poisoned by coins, but there are many things that are unclear.â
At first, I believed the Pungcheon cult leaderâs words that it was not the work of a sword dance, but I no longer believed it.
âIt could have been Lee Gong-gongâs doing. Still, do you think it is a test from the religious leader? âThe sect leader cherished Seophon as the main force of the school.â
âI guess my father didnât expect it to go that far either. âMugeuk has capabilities that exceed his fatherâs expectations.â
âThen did Li Gongzi really kill the Nie Soul Mazon?â
Then Geommuyang asked a question instead of an answer.
âCan the Mazon kill the Subsoul Mazon?â
âOf course I can⊠kill!â
A momentâs hesitation tells you what kind of skill the Soul Mazon has. Mabul was also an opponent that he had no confidence in as much as Subsoul Mazon.
âyouâre right. He could have killed Mabul. âIt probably wasnât easy.â
After saving Mabulâs face, Geommuyang continued what he had originally wanted to say.
âNeither I nor Mugeuk can kill the Subsoul Mazon with our current martial arts skills. âBut it might be possible with the help of just one person.â
âWho is that?â
Geommuyang did not answer, as if asking him to think about it himself. Mabul, who thought for a moment who it was, shouted in shock.
âno way? Are you the leader of the Pungcheon Church?â
âyouâre right. âWith his help, I could have killed the Soul Mazon.â
Mabul thought it might be possible, but he had one question.
âWhat is Pungcheon religious leader for?â
âItâs for advancing to midfield. In the end, didnât you take on the disciple of the Subsoul Mazon as your own?â
âah!â
Mabul has never had this kind of suspicion before. Was the Pungcheon religious leader behind it in the first place?
âSo you shamelessly came to investigate the body? âThis is what youâre saying.â
It was Mabul, whose relationship with the Pungcheon religious leader had recently worsened. Suspicion and anger interfered with objective judgment.
âThe leader of Pungcheon knew that the Mazons would call him. âIt was also the only way for him to confidently enter our school.â
This was the final doubt that held Mabul back.
âHowever, the Pungcheon leader does not have the guts to do that. If it were discovered that he had killed the Suphonmazon, the entire Pungcheon Church would be destroyed. âThat canât be possible.â
âThereâs something my father always told me since I was young. âDonât just assume you know someone.â
Mabul was confused. The Pungcheon religious leader he knew was not a great person to commit such a big thing. But what Geommuyang said was exactly right. Another reason was added to that.
âIsnât this something you can tell just by looking at the Pungcheon Cultâs soldiers going to Mugeuk? As you said, would that meticulous Blood Heavenly Demon just hold your hand? âI would have caught it because I had this background.â
What if this is true?
âshit! âYou went to my feet and attracted a evil beast!â
âDonât blame yourself. Rather, I will take advantage of this situation and take control of the Mazons.â
âWhat if the situation is not favorable?â
Geommuyang casually mentioned what Mabul couldnât bring himself to say.
âAre you going to kill Mugeuk? No, I wonât kill you. âHow will my father view my older brother killing my younger brother?â
Mabul felt it. The reason he doesnât kill Geommugeuk is not because he is his younger brother, but because his father is watching.
âThen what do you plan to do?â
âI will attract all those who are attached to Mugeuk to my side. Mugeuk is so proud that if his people turn away from him, he will leave the school. Did you see it earlier? People who leave the place without seeing Mugeukâs dance. Those people will really make Mugeuk leave. âLetâs see if we can still laugh and joke.â
âIf you leave Gongja Lee alive, you will be punished later.â
âEven if you leave like that, if a crisis occurs at our school, if you come to save us, you wonât come to kill us. âThatâs his biggest weakness.â
Geommuyang got up again and walked in front of the mirror. He spoke calmly while staring at himself in the mirror.
âTaesa of Cheonmajeon is the most powerful position in this martial arts forest. This is not a place for a soft guy like Mugeuk to sit. âYou canât even sit down.â
* * *
When I arrived at Cheonmajeon the next morning, I met my brother at the entrance.
âItâs been a long time since we entered the Cheonmajeon side by side like this.â
âI see.â
We walked together.
âAre you nervous?â
ânot really.â
But my brother was nervous.
He was unusually stiff in front of his father. From a young age, my older brother wanted to impress his father.
When I was young, my older brother heard my father call him âour eldest sonâ just once, and he bragged about it for years, not just days.
If I am currently obsessed with Hwamugi, my older brother must be obsessed with my father.
My brother and I entered Cheonmajeon.
My father and General Commander Sima Ming were there together. We walked the bloody path side by side. Demonic statues erected everywhere were watching us with cold, strange eyes for my brotherâs return.
âFather, have you been well?â
My older brother bowed deeply to my father.
âWelcome back.â
I looked at my fatherâs expression. The face towards my brother was filled with joy. On the other hand, my brother was nervous. I could feel him trembling.
âI guess youâre happy that your eldest son is back.â
My father didnât respond to anything I said. My father when we walked through Magachon together felt different from my father now.
I understand my father has become more blunt.
At this time, before returning home, my father was already thinking of his older brother as his successor. This return shook my fatherâs heart, but the person who entered his heart first was my older brother.
If I donât understand my fatherâs feelings toward my older brother, I will never win this fight. And we must not forget. That my ultimate enemy is neither my father nor my brother.
âWhat happened to what happened?â
My older brother confidently answered my fatherâs question.
âWe have all overcome the final hurdle.â
At those words, my fatherâs expression brightened. My brother didnât go to the outskirts to do chores.
The Nine Walls of Magical Tools.
The Magogu Wall was the schoolâs secret training center hidden in the outskirts.
My father opened the place to my older brother. Just like Socheon-dong, the Magic Wall could only be entered with the permission of the Heavenly Demon.
It was really not easy to overcome the magic tool wall. It was a gateway one level higher than Socheon-dong, which I passed through earlier. However, I was able to give up halfway through the magic tool wall and get out. It could be seen as a safer but more difficult gateway.
Sima Ming was also very happy.
âI would like to reduce it, Grand Duke. Passing through the magic wall. âIt seems like you really canât fool blood.â
My older brother is also the one who inherited my fatherâs blood. His martial arts talent was second to none.
I asked, pretending not to know.
âWhere did you pass through?â
Then Sima Ming smiled and said.
âThe Grand Duke passed through the magic wall.â
I hugged Warak.
âAmazing bro!â
My father and Sima Ming were startled by my actions. Rather, my older brother, who was the person involved, accepted my congratulations obediently because he had experienced my change.
âthanks.â
âThen you must have achieved great success in the Bicheon Sword Technique?â
If it were just the two of us, I wouldnât have answered, but since my father was there, my brother answered honestly. Of course, he didnât do it to me, he did it to my father.
âIn the process of passing through my fatherâs magic tool wall, I also achieved great success in the Bicheon Sword Technique.â
âCongratulations.â
âItâs all thanks to my fatherâs teachings. âThank you, father.â
My fatherâs eyes turned to my brother and me.
What is your father thinking right now?
âI will reduce the number, Grand Duke.â
âThank you, soldier.â
âCongratulations, brother.â
âthanks.â
âIn this friendly atmosphere, I have something to say to your father.â
My eyes turned to my father.
âFor us, the cutting of the umbilical cord was the signal that the battle for succession had begun. It was that kind of life, and I will continue to live that kind of life. So thatâs it. Dad, this time Iâm going to have a friendly competition with my brother. âWhat do you think?â
Instead of answering me, my brother spoke to my father.
âFather, I didnât know that Mugeuk had grown so much while I was away. âHe really showed his maturity.â
My father just looked down at us in silence. What are you thinking? Even at this moment, are you keeping score on who will be a suitable successor?
My father didnât say anything about what I said. Friendly competition? If you were with me, you might have said that it was just a cheap sentiment worth dying for.
However, the reason I insisted on saying it was because I also told my father. He said he would try to carry his brother.
âYou guys go back and get some rest.â
My brother and I said hello to our father and left Cheonmajeon on foot along the path of blood.
I asked at the entrance.
âBrother, why do you want to become the Heavenly Demon?â
Then my brother blurted out.
âBecause if I donât become the Heavenly Demon, I die.â
I thought my brother would have given a different answer, but it was a very surprising answer.
âAre you going to die if you lose the succession battle?â
âEveryone is dead so far.â
âCanât we just not kill him? âThe Geommuyang Geomdugeuk brothers demonstrate a brotherly love that will forever be remembered in the history of the Demonic Church.â
âDo you think the other brothers didnât feel the same way? In the end⊠all humans betray.â
âWhy donât we do it?â
Geommuyang chuckled at my words and took the first step.
I shouted to my brother who was walking far away.
âI was serious. Letâs compete in good faith.â
My brother stopped walking, turned to me and said.
âThen you should have first asked whether I had any good intentions in my heart. Are you there?â
âI have.â
âThen Iâll have a head start in this fight.â
I finally smiled as I watched my brother walking again.
Well, how could this be easy? Itâs so difficult to make someone who likes me become my person.
âBut we have to do it, brother. The name of the dagger that will stab us in the back is not brotherhood, but Hwamugi.â