The warm atmosphere of the sick visit # Nоvеlight # instantly froze over because of the Cult Leader.

While everyone held their tongues, Heo Gyeom spoke.

"This is an old man's request."

The Lord of Blood Night Palace replied.

"Please speak."

"I know everyone here has complicated feelings about the Cult Leader. I feel the same. But since he said he’s here for a sick visit, I trust he means only that. I hope nothing else happens here today."

The Palace Lord turned to Gyo-yeong and said,

"That's right. Yeong-ah, go inside."

Sensing something unusual in the Palace Lord’s tone, Gyo-yeong got up without a word and disappeared inside.

The Palace Lord then looked at me.

"Lord, it would be better if you went in to rest as well. It’s enough for Blood Night Palace’s people and Elder Heo to stay."

The Palace Lord was clearly suggesting nonsense.

It’s not every day you get to see the Cult Leader up close.

"I cannot."

I could not.

At this point, I knew better than anyone that even if all the martial masters here combined forces, they wouldn't be able to take him on.

In such a situation, I needed to observe carefully.

Because, as Heo Gyeom said, this was just a sick visit.

The Palace Lord spoke in a subdued voice.

"Then at least behave quietly. Please…"

"I’m naturally a very quiet man."

The Palace Lord sighed briefly. He must have thought that if they somehow angered the Cult Leader, Blood Night Palace could be annihilated. And honestly, he wasn’t wrong.

At that moment, the sound of the main hall doors opening echoed like a thunderclap.

Following everyone’s gaze, I also turned toward the hall entrance.

'......'

The Cult Leader who appeared was so massive that he seemed to block all the light coming from outside.

The interior of the hall dimmed immediately.

As the Cult Leader began walking forward, the darkness he brought with him seemed to scatter. He wasn’t walking fast or slow, but somehow, he moved as if freezing the flow of time around him.

There was no way to describe his demeanor or expression properly.

He walked casually, yet somehow it looked as if he was trampling over everything beneath him. Words like arrogance or haughtiness were far too small to describe what he radiated.

‘What a goddamn freak. What a presence.’

It was the first time I’d ever seen the Cult Leader.

When I had been invited to the Demon Cult in the past, he had been deep in closed-door training, so I never got the chance to meet him.

Heo Gyeom spoke first.

"Cult Leader, you’re here. Forgive me for not standing. My health does not permit it."

When Heo Gyeom said he could not rise, all the others immediately stood up.

Except for me.

As I remained seated, Yongmyeong came over with a chair and walked toward the Cult Leader.

Yongmyeong deliberately blocked my view with his body, so I tilted my head slightly to keep watching the Cult Leader walk.

From the moment he entered, the Cult Leader had been smiling.

‘What the hell is that bastard so happy about?’

Maybe he believed smiling would bring him fortune.

Who knows?

Once Yongmyeong set down the chair opposite Heo Gyeom and stepped aside…

The Cult Leader sat down and said to the visitors,

"Sit."

As soon as their eyes met, the Blood Night Palace Lord spoke.

"Senior Brother, you’re here."

The Cult Leader nodded and answered,

"You’ve grown old, little one."

"Yes, sir."

Everyone except the Palace Lord immediately bowed.

"We greet the Cult Leader."

The Cult Leader, still nodding, turned his gaze toward me.

"……."

I tilted my head this way and that as I stared back at him.

At that moment, I realized anew that I really was a madman.

Why was I smiling at the Cult Leader?

Even I didn’t know.

But the Cult Leader simply looked away from me, back to Heo Gyeom.

"Heo Elder, a hundred and eleven years. You have lived long."

Heo Gyeom nodded.

"I have lived long."

I scratched my ear with my finger. The Cult Leader’s voice—perhaps naturally infused with internal energy—felt like it could rupture my eardrums. If he let out a real Lion’s Roar here, most people present would probably suffer internal injuries.

Just from him being here, I already felt exhausted. I carefully maintained my breathing and simply watched the exchange.

The Cult Leader asked Heo Gyeom,

"How does it feel, standing at the edge of death?"

Could you even call that a proper question during a sick visit?

But seeing the Cult Leader’s expression, I realized it wasn’t a joke.

Heo Gyeom answered calmly.

"I find myself wanting to live a little longer. Still foolish, I suppose. And yet, thinking that I will finally be free from this painful life, there’s a sense of relief too. Still, more regret than relief remains."

The Cult Leader nodded.

"What regrets?"

Heo Gyeom stared at the Cult Leader and then spoke informally.

"That I never got to kill you with my own hands."

The Cult Leader tilted his head this way and that, then let out a metallic laugh.

"That’s just like you. But I learned the ways of assassins from you, and it wouldn’t have been so easy to get me. You were never a careless teacher."

He continued, sizing Yongmyeong up from head to toe.

"……You must be the last disciple."

Yongmyeong bowed slightly and answered.

"Yes, Cult Leader."

"No matter how hard you try, you’ll likely never even touch the hem of your master's robes. Work harder than you are now."

Yongmyeong replied evenly,

"I will remember your words."

The Cult Leader then looked at the Palace Lord.

"Since Elder Heo surely raised him to kill me, when the time is right, send him to the Cult. I’ll keep him."

The Palace Lord replied politely,

"Understood."

When I glanced at Yongmyeong, his face was already pale.

Heo Gyeom asked curiously,

"What brought the Cult Leader all the way here?"

The Cult Leader answered naturally.

"To see you. I won't have you dragged back to the Cult to die. If I were the one dying, wouldn't you have come to see me?"

Heo Gyeom nodded.

"Now that you say it, you're right."

It seemed the Cult Leader had genuinely come just to see Heo Gyeom.

I studied my old senior's face, and occasionally the Cult Leader’s expression. It was clear there were countless stories between them that could never be expressed in a few words.

The Cult Leader smiled and looked at the Palace Lord.

"If it weren’t for Elder Heo, I would never have become the Cult Leader."

The Palace Lord nodded.

"I believe so as well. My husband also greatly helped Senior Brother."

From what I had heard before, the Palace Lord's husband had been killed by the Cult Leader.

To that, the Cult Leader answered simply,

"He was a fine man. If only he hadn't been so greedy, I would have made him a Left or Right Guardian."

He chuckled and asked,

"And what about the Sword Demon? Did he not come for the sick visit? Surely he didn’t flee like Yeong-ah here after hearing I would be present."

The Palace Lord answered,

"We sent word, but he has yet to arrive."

The Cult Leader chuckled and asked,

"Still swinging around that wooden sword like a fool?"

"I wouldn’t know."

The Cult Leader swept his gaze around the room.

"……While I buried myself in training, many have departed. Looking back, the succession battles were the most enjoyable times. Back then, no one even thought of leaving. It wasn’t unusual to go three days without sleep, or five days without closing our eyes. I could sleep peacefully because Elder Heo  was there. The assassin among assassins. Even while I slept, Elder Heo met and killed my enemies for me. Strangely, I find myself missing those days."

Heo Gyeom smiled and nodded a few times, lost in old memories.

The Cult Leader called out.

"Elder Heo."

"I’m listening."

"Many people betrayed me, but I have never betrayed first. You’re the same. Most people broke their own words first before leaving me."

Heo Gyeom replied,

"I was one of them too?"

The Cult Leader nodded.

"You were the same. The common teaching from all the masters who raised me was never to put a limit on growing stronger. But at some point, they all started saying the same thing: ‘Must you go that far?’ You were one of those who said it most often."

Heo Gyeom accepted it readily.

"I did."

"Then why? Why did you say one thing with your mouth, and act differently?"

Heo Gyeom answered with a weary look.

"Because I was human, Cult Leader."

"Then why didn’t you start by teaching etiquette to the assassins when you were at the Cult? Did you?"

"I did not."

"What did you tell those who wanted to survive?"

"I told them they would have to become demons to survive."

The Cult Leader nodded.

"I believed you. You taught me from the moment I could walk, yet one day, you told me not to live that way. I didn’t take it as an insult. But it was baffling. If we hadn't lived like demons, both you and I would have died during the successor wars. Would we not?"

For a moment, I was startled and looked at Heo Gyeom.

Transparent tears were flowing from the old man's eyes.

Tears that neither regret nor repentance could fully explain.

Watching those tears, the Cult Leader laughed.

"Must be old age. You even cry now."

Heo Gyeom wiped his tears with his fingers and answered,

"If I went back to those days... I would have lived like a demon again. There was no other choice if I wanted to survive. But after all these years, watching you stray further and further from humanity, I would still have advised you to stop. Cult Leader, people’s thoughts change."

The Cult Leader nodded.

"True words. Because you kept blocking me, I never truly became number one under heaven. If you think about limits, you can never move forward. Look at the state I'm in."

Heo Gyeom asked,

"Even after becoming this strong, is it the mere existence of opponents that still enrages you, Cult Leader? You’ve already slaughtered enough—more than enough to flood the world."

"Precisely because of the path we chose to survive, the number of those seeking to kill me has only grown. How can I stop? Your teachings are contradictory."

I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

I felt like I understood why the Cult Leader had come here today.

It wasn’t to bid farewell to Heo Gyeom.

It was to bid farewell to humanity itself.

The Cult Leader asked Heo Gyeom,

"Elder Heo, do you have a last wish?"

Heo Gyeom looked at him and gave a short, dry laugh.

"I already know you won’t grant it."

The Cult Leader nodded.

"I can guess what it is."

The Cult Leader rose from his seat and quietly looked down at Heo Gyeom. Heo Gyeom nodded and said,

"Go well, Cult Leader. If we meet again in the next life, we can catch up properly, and I’ll apologize for teaching you so poorly."

The Cult Leader shook his head.

"Our paths are too different now. Even in death, we won’t meet again."

Only then did the Cult Leader glance around at the others and say,

"……Keep struggling all you like. We'll meet again."

I locked eyes with the Cult Leader for a moment.

The Cult Leader grinned and asked me,

"Yi Zaha, do you have anything to say?"

Given that the bastard was the type to have his information network track all of Jianghu, it wasn’t surprising that he recognized me immediately.

I replied in a flat voice,

"I’ll be struggling plenty. See you again at the right time."

"Good. I’ll look forward to it. I’m sure Elder Heo had high hopes for you too."

As the Cult Leader looked around once more, everyone fell completely silent.

The Cult Leader smirked and said,

"……I don’t know why those who leave the Cult all end up loving palaces. They spend so much effort building them up, just to have them crushed so spectacularly."

He strolled casually across the main hall, hands behind his back, then looked up at the sky outside.

Blocking the light streaming into the hall, the Cult Leader turned his head and spoke his farewell.

"Farewell, Master."

Because he was backlit, I couldn’t clearly see the Cult Leader’s face. But as he spoke, I could somehow tell he was smiling.

Heo Gyeom also said farewell.

"Take care."

As the Cult Leader descended the stairs, he replied in a casual tone,

"Right. It was good to see you. When you get old, you die. That’s how it is."

I stopped thinking about the Cult Leader for now and checked on Heo Gyeom’s condition first.

Heo Gyeom was sitting with his eyes closed, steadying his breath.

When I glanced around at the others, they all seemed half out of their minds.

The Lord of Blood Night Palace included— even the others were breathing with difficulty.

The owner of Suwol Manor, who seemed the least skilled among us, was trembling like someone suffering from a bad fever.

"……The Cult Leader's gone. Get a grip."

I smacked the owner of Suwol Manor across the face.

"Wake up."

"Y-yes."

The sharp slap echoed loudly, and everyone shook their heads a few times.

Worried for my old senior, I asked,

"Senior, are you all right?"

Heo Gyeom opened his eyes quietly and answered with a bitter smile.

"……Feels like I lost a few days off my life."

‘Ah, damn.’

Should I laugh or not?

I pinched my thigh hard and just nodded. I searched for something appropriate to say but couldn’t find the words. I’d never met a man who joked about his own death like this.

In the end, I just joined the others in taking a deep breath.

"Hoo..."