Chapter 150: The Sealed Sacred Flame
I repeated Dokgo Jinak's words inwardly.
Sever the light of the Sacred Flame with your own hands.
So that was why.
That was why Dokgo Jinak had extinguished the Sacred Flame.
But one question still remained.
“From what you've said, that means the Sacred Flame had already been tainted by an ominous power during Dokgo Cheonyul's time as well.”
I looked at him.
“Did he extinguish the Sacred Flame back then too?”
Dokgo Jinak shook his head with a dark expression.
“No.”
“There is nothing in the records from that time saying the Sacred Flame was extinguished.”
I frowned.
“Then...?”
Dokgo Jinak's gaze drifted into the distance.
“Even among all the Heavenly Demons of the past, Dokgo Cheonyul was an especially extraordinary figure.”
His voice grew solemn.
“Not only did he possess martial prowess capable of overwhelming the entire world...”
“it is said that he also possessed the Heavenly Fate Eye, allowing him to read the workings of heaven.”
The conversation I'd seen between Cheongun and Dokgo Cheonyul surfaced in my mind.
So when they said Dokgo Cheonyul could read the workings of heaven... they meant it literally.
While I was lost in thought, Dokgo Jinak continued.
“Unlike this lord, who could barely withstand the corrupt voice coming from the Sacred Flame...”
“Dokgo Cheonyul must have overcome its temptation.”
His eyes narrowed.
“And he probably erased the corrupt energy mixed within the Sacred Flame as well.”
Then his expression darkened.
“But this lord could not.”
His voice became heavier.
“I nearly...”
He paused.
“knelt before the corrupted voice coming from the Sacred Flame.”
Yeom Yuhwa hurriedly spoke.
“Cult Leader, you shouldn't say such things....”
Dokgo Jinak raised one hand and stopped her.
“Though I could never compare to Dokgo Cheonyul, this lord is still the Heavenly Demon.”
His voice was firm.
“The one responsible for protecting the Sacred Flame and the Divine Cult.”
“So I had to find a way.”
His gaze hardened.
“A way to remove the corrupt energy dwelling within the Sacred Flame.”
Then, almost as though passing judgment on himself, he continued.
“I suppressed the voice trying to devour my soul and searched desperately for a way to restore the Sacred Flame to its original state.”
His expression turned grim.
“But...”
A shadow crossed his face.
“the situation did not improve.”
He paused.
“No.”
“It brought about something even worse.”
I frowned.
“Something worse?”
“What happened?”
Dokgo Jinak remained silent for a moment.
Then he slowly spoke.
“One night...”
His eyes turned cold.
“an outsider infiltrated the Heavenly Demon Hall.”
"...?!"
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
The Heavenly Demon Hall.
The place where the Heavenly Demon who ruled the entire Demonic Cult resided.
One of the most heavily guarded places within the Divine Cult.
An outsider had infiltrated a place like that?
It was hard to accept.
Dokgo Jinak gave me a faint smile.
“You look like you find it difficult to believe.”
I didn't bother hiding my thoughts.
“I do.”
“How could an outsider break through the Divine Cult's security and reach the very center of the cult?”
I stared at him.
“Especially the Heavenly Demon Hall itself.”
Dokgo Jinak answered coldly.
“Someone inside the Divine Cult must have opened the way for them.”
His gaze sharpened.
“Otherwise, as you said, it would have been impossible.”
Sa Eumryeong's face immediately surfaced in my mind.
If there had been an internal collaborator...
she was the most likely candidate.
Well, I already sent that bitch to hell with my own hands, so there's no way to confirm it now.
Then another thought suddenly struck me.
“Why did the intruders enter the Heavenly Demon Hall?”
My eyes widened.
“Don't tell me...?”
Dokgo Jinak nodded, as though he'd already anticipated the question.
“Yes.”
His voice lowered.
“Their target was the Sacred Flame.”
Yeom Yuhwa's face stiffened sharply.
Judging by her expression...
this was new information to her as well.
Her fingertips trembled faintly.
“Fortunately, they failed.”
Dokgo Jinak continued.
“This lord sensed an unfamiliar presence and discovered them as they approached the Sacred Flame Altar.”
“I subdued them before they could achieve their objective.”
I asked immediately,
“Did you identify who they were?”
Dokgo Jinak shook his head.
“I could not.”
His expression hardened.
“I intended to keep them alive for interrogation.”
“But the moment they were captured...”
He narrowed his eyes.
“they all vomited blood and died as though they had planned it beforehand.”
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Poison capsules hidden in their mouths, maybe.
Failure meant death.
Not even the possibility of interrogation was allowed.
That level of thoroughness reminded me of the Shadow Corps test subjects.
Pitiful puppets whose souls were chained by Soul-Dissolving Pills...
obeying even commands that sent them directly into the flames of death.
Countless test subjects melting away inside the Myriad Tribulation Flame.
I had once been one of them.
Thankfully...
Dokgo Jinak's voice dragged me back from those memories.
“Yeom Yuhwa.”
“Yes, Cult Leader.”
“After the Sacred Flame went out, you must have searched through the records left by previous Flame Attendants in an attempt to revive it.”
Yeom Yuhwa nodded.
“Yes.”
Dokgo Jinak's eyes narrowed slightly.
“Then you must have seen that strange passage left behind by the previous Flame Attendants.”
Yeom Yuhwa's gaze trembled for an instant.
But only briefly.
Then she quietly recited,
“火盡蝕之時, 亂炎將噬天下.”
When the flames of heaven are completely consumed, the flames of chaos shall devour the world.
She drew a breath and continued.
“惟天許之人, 於天定之所, 復燃蝕天之火.”
Only the one permitted by heaven, in the place ordained by heaven, shall rekindle the consumed flame of heaven.
I'd already heard those words once before.
They were the very reason I'd been brought here...
to the Heavenly Demon Spirit Mausoleum.
Dokgo Jinak's voice carried a deep shadow.
“Dokgo Cheonyul's warning.”
“The ominous words left by the Flame Attendants.”
“The corrupt energy within the Sacred Flame.”
“And the outsiders who came seeking it.”
His expression darkened.
“I could no longer simply stand by.”
“I believed that if things continued...”
His eyes turned cold.
“danger would come to the Divine Cult.”
A pause.
“No.”
“Destruction.”
I looked at him.
“So the answer you found...”
My voice lowered.
“was to destroy the Sacred Flame?”
Dokgo Jinak stared silently at me.
Then his answer came.
And it was completely different from what I expected.
“No.”
I froze.
“This lord did not destroy the Sacred Flame.”
Yeom Yuhwa suddenly raised her head.
“Cult Leader?!”
Her voice shook.
“What do you mean?”
“I saw it myself.”
She stared at him.
“You clearly extinguished the Sacred Flame before my eyes.”
Dokgo Jinak met her gaze.
“Yeom Yuhwa.”
His voice was calm.
