Chapter 151: The Choice
“Cut me down.”
Dokgo Jinak's proud voice echoed throughout the Heavenly Demon Spirit Mausoleum.
“The moment this lord's breath stops, the Sacred Flame will return to its rightful place.”
Yeom Yuhwa's face turned pale.
“W-What are you saying? We have to end your life, Cult Leader?”
Dokgo Jinak looked down at her quietly.
“Exactly as I said.”
His voice didn't waver.
“Only by ending this lord's life will the final impurity disappear.”
He continued,
“And after that... the flames of the Sacred Flame will burn once more upon the Sacred Flame Altar.”
“But—”
“Do not be swayed by useless emotion.”
Dokgo Jinak cut her off.
“You are the Flame Attendant.”
His gaze hardened.
“Think only about what the Flame Attendant must do.”
Yeom Yuhwa's eyes trembled.
The Flame Attendant...
the one whose duty was to protect the Sacred Flame.
But if the end of that duty was the death of her own lord, the Heavenly Demon...
how could she possibly accept it easily?
The conflict between faith and loyalty was written plainly across her face.
Dokgo Jinak turned his gaze back toward me.
“There is no more time to hesitate.”
At that moment...
I saw it.
The muscles in Dokgo Jinak's face twitched faintly as he spoke.
Even his eyes seemed to lose strength for a brief instant.
He gritted his teeth and continued.
“I barely managed to regain my mind.”
His voice was forceful.
“I do not know when my reason will sink beneath the abyss again.”
He looked directly into my eyes.
“It must end while this lord still possesses his senses.”
“If I return to being an idiot, no one will be able to subdue me.”
His gaze sharpened.
“And then... the Sacred Flame may never be restored.”
Dokgo Jinak spoke firmly.
“Now it is your turn to decide.”
I didn't answer immediately.
Instead...
I kept thinking.
What was the right choice?
It didn't take me very long to reach a conclusion.
As Dokgo Jinak said...
killing him might indeed be the most certain way to restore the Sacred Flame.
But—
I can't kill him.
Dokgo Jinak might be the leader of the Demonic Cult...
but he wasn't an evil man.
If anything...
he was the one who had sealed the corrupt energy clinging to the Sacred Flame inside his own heart meridians to protect the Divine Cult.
And more than that....
Goeong.
The innocent face that smiled while calling me his friend.
That other side of Dokgo Jinak still lingered vividly in my mind.
Of course...
I wasn't trying to save him only because of personal feelings.
What bothered me more was what I remembered from before my regression.
As long as Dokgo Jinak was alive...
the Righteous Alliance had never dared to recklessly confront the Demonic Cult head-on.
But after Dokgo Jinak disappeared...
everything changed.
War between the Righteous Alliance and the Demonic Cult.
Countless people died in that war.
The Shadow Corps test subjects were among them.
And I...
had also died in that hell.
Dokgo Jinak's death could bring that horrific future closer.
Dokgo Jinak cannot die yet.
That was my conclusion.
But I couldn't ignore the Sacred Flame either.
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.
I couldn't simply dismiss those words left within the Demonic Cult.
The great evil Cheongun had warned about.
The alien existence Dokgo Cheonyul had spoken of.
The intruders who targeted the Sacred Flame.
The corrupt energy that had infested it.
I didn't know why...
but I was certain all of it was connected somehow.
The Sacred Flame has to be restored.
But—
not by killing Dokgo Jinak.
There has to be another way.
As my silence stretched on...
Dokgo Jinak's gaze darkened.
“What are you thinking about so deeply?”
He stepped closer and gripped my shoulder firmly.
“Restore the Sacred Flame.”
Then he spoke like a warning.
“Before the flames of chaos consume the world.”
At that moment—
...Huh?
I slowly raised my head.
Then looked at Dokgo Jinak.
Oh?
Now this was interesting....
I quietly examined his entire body.
Then answered in a calm voice.
“Understood.”
I nodded.
“As you wish... I will restore the Sacred Flame.”
The instant those words left my mouth...
Yeom Yuhwa's face twisted with pain.
“Good.”
Dokgo Jinak gave a heavy nod.
I looked between the two of them.
“Then let us return to the Sacred Flame Altar.”
My voice remained calm.
“It's time to finish this, isn't it?”
No one questioned me further.
Yeom Yuhwa lowered her head with a pale face.
Dokgo Jinak slowly turned.
Together...
we headed toward the upper level where the Sacred Flame Altar waited.
I led the way up the stairs connecting the Heavenly Demon Spirit Mausoleum to the Sacred Flame Altar.
The return journey was silent.
Yeom Yuhwa didn't say a word.
She followed behind Dokgo Jinak...
but couldn't hide the pain on her face with every step.
Dokgo Jinak, on the other hand...
showed no hesitation whatsoever.
The face of a true Heavenly Demon.
Before long...
we reached the upper floor.
The brazier atop the Sacred Flame Altar was still empty.
Cold.
Without even a single spark.
We had just started walking toward it when—
THOOM! THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!
Heavy footsteps filled the Heavenly Demon Hall.
Then came someone's breathless voice.
“Cult Leader! Where have you been?! You weren't in the Heavenly Demon Palace, so I've been searching everywhere!”
Of course.
Overlord Saber Ghost Demon Muk Jincheol.
The born Cult Leader fanatic himself.
The instant Muk Jincheol approached Dokgo Jinak...
his body froze.
“C-Cult Leader....”
He had noticed too.
The man standing before him was no longer an idiot.
The true Heavenly Demon...
the one Muk Jincheol had worshipped with absolute loyalty...
had returned.
“The Heavenly Demon has returned!”
Muk Jincheol dropped to one knee.
“Overlord Saber Ghost Demon Muk Jincheol greets the Cult Leader!”
He bowed deeply, his voice trembling with emotion.
The mighty Overlord Saber Ghost Demon.
One of the monstrous Ten Demons who had crushed countless martial artists beneath a single saber...
now had reddened eyes like a child.
Dokgo Jinak looked down at him.
“You have suffered much.”
His voice softened slightly.
“This lord remembers everything you did for me.”
Muk Jincheol's shoulders shook.
“No, Cult Leader.”
He hurriedly shook his head.
“How could you say such a thing?”
“I merely did what any follower should.”
Dokgo Jinak's gaze deepened for a moment.
But he didn't linger on sentiment.
Instead...
he immediately explained everything related to the Sacred Flame.
That the Sacred Flame was sealed inside his heart meridians.
That restoring it required severing his heart meridians.
And that today...
he intended to finish it.
Muk Jincheol's face twisted violently.
“No!”
He shouted as if vomiting the word.
“Who dares speak of taking the Cult Leader's life?!”
His voice was filled with fierce loyalty.
“Even if the one saying it is the Cult Leader himself...”
His fists clenched.
“I cannot obey!”
But Dokgo Jinak answered coldly.
“Overlord Saber Ghost Demon.”
“Cult Leader!”
“Do you dare defy the command of the Heavenly Demon?”
Muk Jincheol's mouth shut instantly.
He gritted his teeth.
Blood began leaking between his tightly clenched fists.
But he said nothing more.
The command of the Heavenly Demon.
To Muk Jincheol...
it weighed more than his own life.
Dokgo Jinak continued.
“After this lord disappears...”
“you will stand at the center and ensure the Divine Cult does not fall into chaos.”
Muk Jincheol snapped his head up.
“Why would you say that?!”
His voice cracked.
“I need nothing more than to remain the Cult Leader's shadow!”
Dokgo Jinak's answer was firm.
“Then become a new shadow that protects the flame of the Divine Cult.”
