I woke Yanggu, who had been asleep in the chair.

In his half-awake state, Yanggu glanced around, and only then did he realize that he had been captured.

“Is the place you were hit okay?”

“Huh? Ah, yes.”

I spoke gently, and Yanggu seemed flustered.

“Honestly, I like people like you, people with a sharp mind. When I see stubborn idiots who can’t even communicate, pushing their ideas like they’re some kind of belief, it makes my chest feel tight. You’re not like that, right?”

“Why did you bring me here?”

“Well, I thought you’d know better than anyone. To be honest, I don’t want to torture you. As you know, our methods of torture are... a bit extreme, aren’t they? We turn perfectly healthy people into complete wrecks and throw them away.”

“Even if you threaten me, it’s useless. I don’t know anything.”

“I know. I don’t expect you to know anything. You were probably just following orders. You just need to be honest about that.”

“I don’t know anything. I didn’t receive any orders.”

“Then I’ll have to talk to another version of you.”

“Another version of me?”

“The version of you that cares about you more than you do.”

At my signal, the old man entered from outside.

“He’s someone who’s spent his whole life torturing people. What’s his success rate for confessions?”

The small old man emanated a terrifying aura despite his size.

“Gu Halip, sir.”

“By this point, he’s practically a master at interrogation.”

“That’s not quite true. Among those he tortured, one of the Gu Halip confessed and then died.”

“And the other five?”

“They’re begging for scraps, living as beggars.”

The raw killing intent from the old man was so intense that Yanggu couldn’t hold it in anymore and screamed.

“Please, let me go!”

I lightly tapped Yanggu’s shoulder and spoke.

“You can go now. I’ll bring out another version of you—one who’s less brave and who wants to avoid unnecessary suffering. He might not have the same loyalty or conviction as you, but he’ll at least love you more. So you should leave now.”

Meanwhile, the old man began heating various metal skewers in the brazier. His clinical indifference only heightened the fear in the room.

Panicked, Yanggu pleaded.

“If I speak, I’ll die.”

“You’ll die either way. Think about it. Once the Demon Lord hears you’ve been caught, what do you think he’ll do? He’ll try to kill you by any means. You know better than I do what kind of person he is, don’t you?”

In his trembling eyes, I saw panic and fear roiling.

“You know, don’t you? No matter where you hide, he’ll find you and kill you. Your only way out is one.”

“What is it?”

I brought my face close to his, speaking softly as I stared into his fear-filled eyes, whispering like a demon.

“Strike first before you’re struck. Of course, you’ll have to leave the main sect. But with your martial skills, you should be able to live well anywhere.”

At that moment, I truly felt like a demon. I was both tempting him and lying to him. I had no intention of letting him go. If he committed a crime, he should face punishment.

“You don’t have time to think. By now, news of your capture has probably already spread.”

Actually, the Demon Lord still didn’t know about his disappearance. Yanggu, who had just woken up, had no sense of time, but it had only been an hour since he was captured.

“Or I could test your willpower.”

I didn’t give him time to think and immediately turned to leave.

That was when I heard Yanggu’s voice behind me.

“...What should I do?”

“When the Yellow Spring Division investigators come, just confess everything that happened.”

“And then?”

“We’ll capture the Demon Lord, and you’ll leave the main sect under a new identity.”

Yanggu didn’t hesitate long.

“Alright. I’ll do it.”

I immediately left the room and let the investigators from the Yellow Spring Division enter. I instructed the old man to keep heating the skewers for the interrogation.

A while later, Seo Daeryong came in and reported that Yanggu had confessed.

As predicted by Jangho, it was the Demon Lord who had ordered the Yellow Spring Division investigator and Jangho’s associate to be killed. The person who carried out the order was the now-dead Godang. There were countless other heinous acts as well.

“We really have killed a lot of people.”

Because of that, Seo Daeryong was concerned.

“The Demon Lord won’t surrender easily. He knows he’ll be executed if he’s captured.”

“We won’t capture him.”

“Huh?”

“We’ll kill him.”

Seo Daeryong gasped in surprise, his mouth hanging open.

“If the Demon Lord is captured, Blood Heaven Butcher will act. He won’t sit by and watch his own brother be executed. If that happens, the situation will become complicated.”

Ideally, we would expose his crimes in front of everyone and handle it through formal trial. But that was merely an ideal. Evidence of fabricated falsehoods would pour out, and there would be scapegoats ready to take the blame. I’d also be smeared with slander and conspiracy theories.

“But if the Demon Lord dies during the capture, things will be different. All that remains will be the evidence of his crimes.”

“Blood Heaven Butcher will seek revenge.”

“Not everyone seeks vengeance when their family dies. Especially Blood Heaven Butcher—he won’t waste his life on revenge.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Because I knew what kind of life he had lived.

“I’m not entirely sure. But even if he seeks revenge, he won’t act immediately. If I get hurt or die, everyone will know it was him. To avoid suspicion, he’ll have to protect me.”

“What about later?”

“By then, I’ll be stronger, so you don’t need to worry.”

This didn’t seem like something to explain, but I said it anyway. As I left the room, Seo Daeryong stood there in a daze, his expression unreadable. After a while, he opened the door and rushed out after me.

“Where are you going? Don’t tell me...”

“If it’s right, want to come with me?”

Seo Daeryong flinched.

“I’m going to buy some alcohol. Don’t worry, wait here.”

It was just as I had guessed. I did indeed buy alcohol.

The Demon Lord greeted me with a light expression.

“The investigation is finished?”

“Yes, thanks to you, everything is wrapped up nicely.”

“I feel sad thinking about parting with you, Young Master.”

He spoke words that weren’t from the heart, so I responded in kind.

“When I become the successor, I’ll definitely repay you for the favor you’ve shown me.”

“Those are my words. I’ll never forget the favor you’ve shown this time.”

Indeed, he would never forget this incident. The greedy Demon Lord had suffered a great loss. He had lost his right-hand man, Godang, and had personally handed over the evidence. If the investigator hadn’t been me, he would have been dead countless times by now.

“In that sense, let’s have a drink.”

I poured the alcohol I brought into the glasses prepared on the small table.

“Here, drink.”

After toasting, we drank. He was celebrating; I was bidding farewell.

“Why did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“You must have had money that you wouldn’t be able to use even if you lived until you were old. Why, then, did you hire the Demon Lord as an assassin?”

For a moment, the Demon Lord’s expression hardened.

“You should have asked the late Godang that.”

“What would a puppet know?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m curious about our lord’s true intentions.”

“My true intentions? Did you just say true intentions?”

“Well, what else could be in that dark heart of yours? Probably just more greed, right?”

“You bastard...”

At that very moment, when the Demon Lord shouted angrily, I seized the opportunity.

With a flash «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» of sword light, my blade pierced the Demon Lord’s chest. The distance was short, and my speed was so quick that he couldn’t react.

The Fifth Form of the Radiant Sword Art, The Azure Sky Form.

This was one of the eight sword forms of the Radiant Sword Art, the Swift Sword Form.

Even though his heart was pierced, he didn’t die immediately.

He slowly sat down right where he stood, his face blank as though he couldn’t understand what had happened. Then, with empty eyes, he looked at me. If I pulled out the sword lodged in his heart, he would die.

I spoke in a calm tone.

“Demon Lord Gucheon Yang, I hereby arrest you for the private misuse of the Demon Army and for over twenty counts of murder and attempted murder.”

Only then did the Demon Lord’s gaze turn toward the sword in his chest.

“…This isn’t an arrest, is it?”

“It was always going to be an execution. But for the others, let’s do it this way. Apologies for the surprise attack.”

I pulled the sword out, and the Demon Lord died immediately.

It could have been treated as a deadly fight, but I chose not to. It was better for everyone to think it was an accidental death caused by luck.

I called for all the Demon Lords and Yellow Spring Division investigators. Everyone gathered except for the Demon Army, who were on lockdown.

“The Demon Lord, who committed grave crimes, died during the capture attempt.”

My voice echoed loudly in the room.

Everyone looked at me and the Demon Lord’s body with shock. They must have never expected the Demon Lord to die by my hand.

Among the surprised faces, Jangho of the Three Great Lords was there. His eyes glinted with joy as he stared at the Demon Lord’s corpse. It was the moment his revenge for his friend’s death had been fulfilled.

Seo Daeryong was the same. The effort he put into memorizing the details of the Demon Army for his senior’s revenge had finally come to an end.

I immediately gave orders to Seo Daeryong.

“Arrest all members of the Demon Army and lock them up in the Brain Prison. Investigate this incident formally.”

“Yes!”

Then I gave orders to Jangho.

“Jangho, under your command, help the Yellow Spring Division investigators arrest all but the Demon Army. This order has the same force as a sect leader’s decree. Carry it out immediately.”

“Yes, understood.”

Jangho led the Demon Army and followed Seo Daeryong.

When the Demon Lord was alive, he would bark orders, telling them to capture this person or kill that person. But now, he was cold and lifeless. The loyalty that had been maintained through fear crumbled like a sandcastle with his death.

As Jangho turned to leave, he looked back at me.

We shared a faint smile, exchanging emotions of the moment.

‘Thank you.’

‘It’s all thanks to you.’

Once the Demon Army’s capture was completed, Seo Daeryong returned to our quarters.

“We captured everyone from the Demon Army and sealed their internal energy in the Brain Prison. Six warriors from the Demon Army were injured, but no one died.”

“Good work.”

Despite the job being done, Seo Daeryong still looked worried.

“You really killed the Demon Lord.”

“If I left him alive, many more would die. Jangho, who sent the letter, would eventually die as well. The three martial artists who tried to protect him would also become casualties. You’re no exception.”

“Oh, you thought that far ahead?”

Seo Daeryong couldn’t hide his excitement.

“Master, you really are a just person.”

“Justice? I was just angry that he was messing with what was supposed to be mine. I’m that selfish of a person. So don’t get me wrong.”

Seo Daeryong, who had been staring at me in silence, bowed politely.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“You did well too.”

As Seo Daeryong turned to leave, he suddenly said.

“Still, I hope... that you’ll become the successor.”

I thought to myself, that may be the greatest compliment Seo Daeryong could give me.

As soon as he finished speaking, he hurried out the door.

I was about to follow him when something caught my eye. The bedding where the crow’s corpse had been was replaced with clean new bedding. It seemed like Seo Daeryong had changed it in the middle of the busy tasks.

I got up and looked out the window. Seo Daeryong, who had left the building, was walking across the martial arts training ground.

I leaned out the window and called out.

“Couldn’t you have said that earlier while looking into my eyes?”

His pace quickened as he headed for the entrance.

Beyond his retreating figure, I could see the place I had to go. Was it because of this incident that I felt I was a few steps closer? The Heavenly Demon Hall seemed more magnificent than usual.