Chapter 6 : The Trial
Chapter 6: The Trial
The Seven Great Demon Sects formed the core of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
The Fist Demon Sect,
The Sword Demon Sect,
The Saber Demon Sect,
The Spear Demon Sect,
The Sound Demon Sect,
The Poison Demon Sect,
The Bow Demon Sect.
The Patriarchs of each Demon Sect buzzed with hushed voices over the fact that the first to pass through the Demonic Cave was the Seventh Young Master, Dan Woojin.
Right then.
"The second son of the Cult Leader, the Second Young Master, Dan Hyunwoo, enters the Palace!"
Before Dan Woojin could even take his seat, the shout of a guard rang out, announcing the Second Young Master's entrance into the Great Hall.
Dan Woojin stared at the silhouette slowly stepping forward with an air of majesty.
A man as beautiful as a painting was making his way across the floor.
While everyone else was lost in a daze at that elegant figure, Dan Woojin felt a profound sense of dissonance seeing a man he had personally killed moving about alive.
Recalling how the Second Young Master, Dan Hyunwoo, had eventually pushed aside all other candidates to claim the position of Young Cult Leader, Dan Woojin secretly clenched his fists.
'The bastard I have to kill with these hands once again.'
He looked upon the figure of the Second Young Master, whom he remembered as having neither blood nor tears.
'Becoming the Young Cult Leader is just the starting point. The road to becoming the Heavenly Demon will be even more difficult.'
The image of the person who had once walked that path overlapped with the man before him.
After becoming the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, one naturally aimed for the position of Cult Leader.
However, unlike being a Young Cult Leader, becoming the actual Cult Leader required one to be a powerful individual capable of crushing the Seven Great Demon Sects.
'Perhaps it was these people who made the Second Young Master turn out that way.'
Since he was the shadow who had watched the Young Masters from the closest distance, he knew.
The Patriarchs of the Seven Great Demon Sects were currently flashing their sharp gazes in this room.
One had to be able to suppress their ambitions to reach the pinnacle of the Ten Thousand Demons.
The Second Young Master, Dan Hyunwoo, bowed his head to the Cult Leader and then turned his gaze toward Dan Woojin.
Dan Hyunwoo’s brow furrowed.
"Little brother, how did you..."
Dan Hyunwoo stared at Dan Woojin as if he could not believe his eyes.
The fact that he was not the first one out seemed to irritate him immensely.
As if mocking that reaction, Dan Woojin met Dan Hyunwoo’s eyes and spoke.
"It has been a long time, brother."
"...?"
He called Dan Hyunwoo "brother" without hesitation.
At that sight, Dan Hyunwoo cast a gaze filled with doubt at Dan Woojin.
* * *
"Did I hear that correctly?"
Dam Dehyeok, the Patriarch of the Fist Demon Sect, expressed his doubt.
"No, I heard it too. He definitely called him brother."
"Calling him brother huh, the information on the Seventh Young Master is different from what we knew."
Seo Moonjeok, the Patriarch of the Sword Demon Sect, frowned at the Seventh Young Master’s behavior.
The Seventh Young Master, Dan Woojin, was supposed to be a person who could not express his opinions so boldly.
That was certainly the case, and yet.
"I cannot believe he passed through the Demonic Cave, either."
"But the fact that he made it to this very spot is proof that he passed through the Demonic Cave."
At the statement from Bu Sahyang, the Patriarch of the Bow Demon Sect, the other Patriarchs nodded.
It seemed the information they had held regarding Dan Woojin was wrong.
"The important thing is that the Cult Leader has acknowledged him."
Gongson Yuhee, the Patriarch of the Sound Demon Sect, said while covering her mouth.
"In that case, we cannot raise any objections."
Sa Dokjeong, the Patriarch of the Poison Demon Sect, muttered while stroking his chin.
The Patriarchs, who had already learned about the Cult Leader's other children through the Eldest Young Master, could not help but tilt their heads in confusion.
"Did the Seventh Young Master deceive everyone?"
"That is likely the case."
"If that was an act, we have no choice but to acknowledge him."
"If it was not an act, perhaps he obtained a fortuitous encounter in the Demonic Cave."
The probability of that was low, though.
Regardless, the Patriarchs of the Seven Great Demon Sects began to see the Seventh Young Master in a new light.
Currently, each Demon Sect was secretly in contact with the Young Cult Leader candidate they had chosen.
Until now, Dan Woojin had been excluded from those candidates.
However, since he had passed the Demonic Cave first, Patriarchs who began to change their minds started to appear.
While everyone was watching the Seventh Young Master,
"The first son of the Cult Leader, the Eldest Young Master, Dan Cheolwoo, enters the Palace!"
The guard's shout echoed through the Great Hall once more.
"It is the Eldest Young Master."
Entering the palace, the Eldest Young Master, Dan Cheolwoo, possessed a six-foot-tall, sturdy frame.
With a squared face, thick eyebrows, a sharp-looking nose, and firm lips, Dan Cheolwoo moved with a steady stride.
Step, step.
The way Dan Cheolwoo walked toward the center of the Great Hall was full of confidence.
Arriving before the Cult Leader with a bold pace, the Eldest Young Master bowed his head.
"I greet the Cult Leader."
"You are late."
After checking on his younger siblings who were still standing without having taken their seats yet, the Eldest Young Master muttered as if impressed.
"You guys are truly amazing."
At Dan Cheolwoo's reaction, the Second Young Master, Dan Hyunwoo, let out a sigh.
"Brother, are you not even frustrated by the fact that you are third?"
As of now, among the Cult Leader's children, the one closest to being the Young Cult Leader was him.
Because Dan Cheolwoo knew that, he could be purely impressed.
"The fact that I have two younger siblings more amazing than me brings me nothing but joy."
Dan Cheolwoo wore a bright smile and a proud expression.
However, he was a little flustered that one of those siblings was someone he had never considered.
"By the way, little brother, how did you..."
Dan Cheolwoo’s gaze turned toward Dan Woojin.
Then, Dan Woojin smiled and spoke again.
"Elder brother, it has been a long time for you as well."
* * *
The meeting with the Eldest Young Master, Dan Cheolwoo.
The presence to be most concerned about in this place was, naturally, the Cult Leader.
The moment he fell out of favor with the Cult Leader, Dan Woojin would have to give up any hope of survival.
The next person to be concerned about was not the Patriarchs of the Seven Great Demon Sects, but the Eldest Young Master himself.
'The Seven Great Demon Sects each choose a different candidate for Young Cult Leader.'
Among them, the one who would possess the strongest power was the Eldest Young Master.
A Demon Sect that would choose Dan Woojin?
There would be no such sect.
Any person with their head on straight would think Dan Woojin was a rotten rope not worth holding onto.
Therefore, the conclusion was simple.
'I will have to prove it.'
Even if he had to kill his siblings, he had to prove that he was the person fit for the position of Young Cult Leader.
It was not something that would happen smoothly.
However, if he survived after killing all these siblings who were considered geniuses of the age,
'I will gain even greater strength.'
To get revenge, he had to become strong.
His opponent was the Alliance Leader who could command the Murim with a single word.
That was why he met the Second Young Master and called him "Brother," and met the Eldest Young Master and called him "Elder brother."
'From this point onward, the Young Cult Leader candidates will become desperate to devour one another.'
Factions were bound to be divided naturally.
The reason the Eldest Young Master was pushed out by the Second Young Master and failed to become the Young Cult Leader was because he was too kind.
To the Eldest Young Master, the other candidates were his beloved younger siblings.
His failure was not viewing his siblings as rivals.
Of course, unlike the kind Eldest Young Master, the siblings all rejected him.
To become the Young Cult Leader, they had to pull the Eldest Young Master down first.
Naturally, no one treated him with titles like "brother" or "elder brother."
That was why he intentionally called him "elder brother."
Approaching an opponent while displaying friendliness was Dan Woojin's specialty.
'This much is enough for now.'
Playing psychological games to read the opponent’s moves.
That was the most basic of basics he had learned to survive as an assassin.
A first impression of mere curiosity was just right.
"Youngest, you are finally recognizing me as an elder brother I see!"
The Eldest Young Master, Dan Cheolwoo, suddenly grabbed Dan Woojin’s hand.
His flustered expression had long since vanished.
"I just hadn't said it aloud, but I always thought of you as my elder brother."
Dan Woojin was calm enough to surprise those watching.
"Is the relationship between the candidates good?"
"It seems the Seventh Young Master is quite affectionate toward his brothers, as the youngest should be."
Speculative remarks flew around.
For those who did not yet have information on the candidates, this scene would leave a deep impression.
That was the nature of a first impression.
"Please have a seat and we can catch up later. Brother, elder brother."
As Dan Woojin sat in the first seat, he pointed to the seats next to him.
Normally, the first seat would be the Eldest Young Master's, but he was the one who had passed the Demonic Cave first.
It was a situation where the Second Young Master had to sit in the second seat and the Eldest Young Master in the third.
"Yes, yes. I shall sit."
Dan Cheolwoo laughed heartily and took his seat.
It was a demeanor befitting the Eldest Young Master.
Following that, the Third Young Lady, Dan Soso.
The Fourth Young Master, Dan Shinhyeok.
The Fifth Young Master, Dan Yuun.
And the Sixth Young Lady, Dan Youngyoung, all entered the Heavenly Demon Palace and took their seats.
Dan Woojin examined the faces of the Patriarchs every time a candidate entered.
This was because he occasionally saw Patriarchs looking excited as their respective candidates walked in.
'I already know everything without having to figure it out.'
Still, since he did not know how the future would change now, Dan Woojin constantly gathered information about his surroundings.
"Now that it seems everyone has entered, the Cult Leader will speak."
At the lead of the Strategist Sima Yi, the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, Dan Cheonwoo, rose from his seat.
"First, I am truly grateful that everyone has gathered for my day of birth despite being busy. I will say this first. The protagonist of today’s event is not me."
Although they had gathered for the Cult Leader's birthday, the true intention was the introduction of the Young Cult Leader candidates.
"Until now, I have hidden my children with the exception of the Eldest Young Master. The reason was only one. It was because the youngest had not yet reached adulthood."
The moment the youngest became an adult.
All of the Cult Leader’s children were designated as Young Cult Leader candidates, and one of the seven children had to prove their ability to become the Young Cult Leader.
"Coincidentally, today is the day the youngest becomes an adult as well as the Day of my Great Birth. From this moment on, my children must compete as candidates for the position of Young Cult Leader."
There was only one person who could inherit the throne of the Heavenly Demon.
"Therefore, I intend to give the candidates an opportunity to prove for themselves that they are fit for the position of Young Cult Leader."
Stopping for a moment, Dan Cheonwoo looked around the audience and declared.
"This is the first opportunity. Information has come in that the forces of the Murim Alliance have taken up positions near Qinghai Province to spy on our Cult. Candidates, use all the capabilities you possess to wipe them out."
The official trial for the position of Young Cult Leader had begun.