Chapter 8 : Proof
Chapter 8: Proof
He killed Jang Cheol.
It was a situation where the body had to be dealt with.
It would not be good for it to be known that he had personally killed his own guard.
Dan Woojin put Jang Cheol's body into the room and then left the quarters.
The destination was already decided.
'I am going to the Poison Demon Sect.'
He needed Bone Melting Powder to dispose of the body.
And at this point, the Poison Demon Sect was the only power Dan Woojin could potentially recruit.
'The Young Sect Leader of the Poison Demon Sect, Sa Hyeongseol.'
Even if others did not know, Dan Woojin knew well of the genius for poison hidden behind that dark personality.
While working as the Vice Captain of the Black Shadow Army, he had been in charge of delivering personal letters to each Demon Sect, so he was well-versed in the Seven Great Demon Sects.
The reason Am Yeong had been able to succeed in assassinating the Young Cult Leader was also because he held a lot of information on the Demonic Cult.
'As more time passes, Sa Hyeongseol will become a bastard who handles poison so well that he will be second to none.'
Such a bastard was currently in a state where he was not involved with the Young Cult Leader candidates at all.
He did not know if the man would meet him if he just showed up recklessly, but it was a situation where he had to do something for now.
Baa-am, baam!
Just as Dan Woojin was about to depart for the Poison Demon Sect.
A roar erupted along with a shout that vibrated through heaven and earth.
"The Second Young Master is settttting outttt!"
It seemed the Second Young Master was indeed the one moving the fastest.
Dan Woojin hesitated at that shout.
This was because a person he should meet with higher priority than visiting the Poison Demon Sect right now came to mind.
Soon after turning direction, the place Dan Woojin arrived at was,
The residence of the Eldest Young Master, Dan Cheolwoo.
The Eldest Young Master Dan Cheolwoo returned to his residence and was thinking about the youngest after having a conversation with the Young Sect Leader of the Fist Demon Sect, Dam Yeongwon.
'The youngest called me big brother for the first time.'
Among the six siblings, he was on relatively good terms with the others, speaking to them as brothers.
Of course, they were having conversations while holding different thoughts, but Dan Cheolwoo was satisfied with just that.
However, Dan Woojin alone had peculiarly not treated him as a big brother.
Dan Woojin, who had not given him the treatment of a brother no matter how many times he visited, had called him big brother for the first time.
How did this happen?
"I don't know what change of heart he had, but now..."
He could have a conversation with Dan Woojin.
At that thought, Dan Cheolwoo felt that he should meet the youngest rather than the trial given by the Cult Leader.
"But where should I go?"
He could not tell which of the Seven Great Demon Sects the youngest had gone to.
He wanted to talk to Dan Woojin, who finally seemed to have a mind to talk.
Dan Cheolwoo realized anew the fact that he knew nothing about Dan Woojin.
"Eldest Young Master, a guest has come to see you."
"A guest?"
At that moment, a maid entered and reported to Dan Cheolwoo.
"It is the Seventh Young Master."
They said the youngest had come to find him first.
He told her to convey that he should come in quickly.
"The sun must be rising in the west today."
"I also did not think I would come to find you like this, big brother."
"Right, so what brought you here?"
"Which of the Seven Great Demon Sects have you taken behind your back, big brother?"
A strange light appeared in Dan Cheolwoo's eyes.
He did not expect that a story regarding power bases would come out of Dan Woojin's mouth.
What this meant was only one thing.
The fact was that Dan Woojin was also working hard to show results.
"It is the Fist Demon Sect."
There was no reason to hide it.
"How was the Fist Demon Sect?"
"It is a good place. It is a place where everyone is sincere about martial arts."
"Is there a separate reason why you chose the fist instead of the sword?"
"Because Hyunwoo will choose the sword."
Dan Cheolwoo knew that the Second Young Master Dan Hyunwoo would join hands with the Sword Demon Sect.
"The Sword Demon Sect is the most influential family among the Seven Great Demon Sects. Are you not interested in the position of Young Cult Leader, big brother?"
"As you know, Hyunwoo dislikes me. Because he thinks I am enjoying things he does not enjoy just because I was born first. To have a fight with such a Hyunwoo over the position of Young Cult Leader, I have no desire to do that."
Dan Woojin, who watched the two in his past life, could not understand Dan Cheolwoo at all.
"Why do you try to take care of your siblings to that extent, brother?"
As long as one was born as the son of the Heavenly Demon in the Heavenly Demon Cult, it was impossible for everyone to be happy.
The incidents and accidents that happened in his past life were telling that,
"Because you guys are my siblings."
"......"
He had nothing to say.
'The Eldest Young Master... was this kind of person.'
If he had not known the future, he would have almost been completely deceived.
A person who always showed a side of prioritizing siblings over himself to make them relax their guard in front of him, only to unfold schemes behind their backs.
That was why he was the person who was able to die last at the hands of the Second Young Master.
A tragic man who tried to kill the Second Young Master at the end after using the Second Young Master's hand to kill the other siblings, but failed.
"You must have hated me a lot all this time."
The Dan Woojin whom Am Yeong knew was a bastard who lived a life disconnected from the world.
The youngest who passed away in the Demonic Cave without forming a connection with anyone.
Am Yeong also could not find out for what reason he lived a life disconnected from the world.
'If it is now...'
He thought he might be able to find out the truth that Am Yeong did not know.
"Hate you, you say. I never thought of such a thing. Rather... I was truly grateful that you called me big brother first."
Dan Cheolwoo had an expression full of curiosity as to what kind of heart change caused Dan Woojin to change the title.
'The shell remains the same, but I cannot say the person inside has changed.'
More than that.
There was only one reason Dan Woojin visited the Eldest Young Master's residence.
— Visit to the Seventh Young Master Dan Woojin's quarters. Eldest Young Master, Sixth Young Lady.
Am Yeong, who always received reports on the Young Cult Leader candidates, knew who the people having goodwill toward Dan Woojin were at this point.
'To become the Young Cult Leader, I must use anything.'
The reason Dan Woojin called Dan Cheolwoo "big brother" was to avoid repeating the mistake the Second Young Master made in the previous life.
Because the most powerful enemy Dan Woojin had to overcome to become the Young Cult Leader was the Second Young Master.
"You have an expression wondering why I started calling you big brother again."
"Right. Actually, I am curious to death."
It happened on the very day the Cult Leader introduced his children to everyone in the Heavenly Demon Cult.
The youngest, who had cut off interaction with his siblings, began to show prominence.
How he passed the Demonic Cave first, whether he had been hiding his martial arts all this time, and why he started calling his brothers "brother" again.
There was a lot he wanted to ask, but Dan Cheolwoo was holding back until Dan Woojin spoke first.
"It is for a simple reason. Because I don't want to lose in the struggle for the Young Cult Leader position and die."
"Die, you say?"
"I will die. If I lose, that is. So I came to think that I should get along well with my brothers and sisters."
Dan Woojin thought he should recruit the Eldest Young Master Dan Cheolwoo, who showed goodwill outwardly first.
Because as of now, Dan Cheolwoo was the only person who could support the youngest, Dan Woojin, to become the Young Cult Leader.
He had not yet made an accurate diagnosis regarding the Sixth Young Lady.
"You started calling me big brother again to live?"
"Yes, because you will save me, big brother."
"Hmm, that is true, but."
To become the Young Cult Leader, one cannot help but compete with siblings.
Dan Cheolwoo, who knew that fact all too well, sighed.
"In the end, you are saying you are the same as the other siblings huh."
"No. I am different from the other brothers and sisters."
"What about you is different?"
It was different.
In terms of desperation and earnestness.
And he had not personally experienced that if he could not kill, he would die.
Heat rose from Dan Woojin's eyes.
"Death is not near you, my brothers and sisters."
"And?"
"But that isn’t the case for me. Do you know the feeling of death touching right in front of your nose? If my brothers and sisters push me to the front of death... I will kill them without mercy."
Eldest Young Master Dan Cheolwoo's expression hardened.
"What if I intend to kill you?"
"Then I plan to do my best to kill you."
A declaration of war.
While asking for help, he said he would kill if he became an enemy.
Dan Woojin was conveying his mindset as a Young Cult Leader candidate to Dan Cheolwoo.
'It must be laughable to him.'
He did not show it, but if it was the Dan Cheolwoo whom Dan Woojin knew, he would surely think so.
The same was true for the other siblings.
"It seems you are in a spirit to kill all your brothers and sisters?"
Dan Cheolwoo let out a hollow laugh.
Indeed, it would be funny.
He probably thought the youngest, who had been shut in his room all this time, was spitting out absurd talk.
Dan Woojin answered Dan Cheolwoo's question with a confident expression.
"Yes. If my brothers and sisters mess with me, that is."
"Haha, you really have changed a lot."
"Many things happened in the Demonic Cave."
Dan Woojin mentioned the Demonic Cave on purpose.
For the current Am Yeong, a dissonance with the Seventh Young Master of the past would exist.
There might be people who think this part is suspicious.
So.
'I need to wrap it up as having gained enlightenment in the Demonic Cave and come to my senses.'
The other candidates who experienced the Demonic Cave would understand.
"So the Demonic Cave changed a person like this..."
"Do you not believe it?"
"To be honest, I don’t. So on that note, let me ask one question."
"Yes."
"Do you want to become the Young Cult Leader?"
"I think it is cumbersome."
Such a position was only cumbersome.
He was sincere.
Especially for revenge, it was a position that was even more cumbersome.
But,
'Only by becoming the Young Cult Leader can I move the Demonic Cult according to my will.'
If it turned out that way, he intended to fully endure the level of cumbersomeness.
"Hahahaha, cumbersome huh. I wonder what the other siblings would think if they heard that?"
"They would mock me. But it does not matter, because everyone's thoughts are different."
"How interesting."
"Then may I ask a question this time?"
"Go ahead."
"Are you interested in the position of Young Cult Leader, big brother?"
Dan Woojin already knew the words the Eldest Young Master Dan Cheolwoo would say at this point.
Because it was Am Yeong who moved at the closest distance to Dan Cheolwoo in the past life.
"I am not."
A firm answer.
"Why are you not?"
"Because I have already felt the burden that a Young Cult Leader must shoulder. Of course, I am not saying I will give up the position of Young Cult Leader because of that burden. However, I... just dislike fighting with my siblings."
It was a lie.
"I am the same."
He knew that, but smiled while pretending not to know.
Am Yeong had deceived many people while operating as a spy.
The reason he was able to not be caught in spy activities until the end when he cut down the Second Young Master was only one.
"I think I can get along well with you, big brother, even if not with others."
Art of living.
Stopping for a moment, Dan Woojin stared into Dan Cheolwoo's eyes.
'If it is the Eldest Young Master I know...'
Dan Cheolwoo's expression began to change.
"To think... to think there would be a person who understands my heart like this!"
As if moved, Dan Cheolwoo approached Dan Woojin.
"But you see."
The expression of Dan Cheolwoo, who was wearing a moved expression until just a moment ago, changed in an instant.
"The youngest I knew was not a child who could speak his thoughts so convictionally and say he wanted to survive by recruiting me."
The Demonic Cave changed a person one hundred and eighty degrees?
That was possible.
Because there was nothing absolute in the world.
That was why he would try to check further.
"Who are you?"
The Eldest Young Master was a strategist who pretended to be an infinitely kind person regarding matters related to his siblings.
It was natural, but he was not easy enough to purely believe in people.
"Even if I say I am your one and only youngest brother, it is not as if I could prove it with just words."
Shring.
Dan Woojin drew his sword.
"Would you like to test me?"