"How well you've managed to survive and return."
Guangmuliang gritted his teeth as he looked up at the old demons staring down at him.
'Accursed wraiths that refuse to die.'
The cult had stagnated for far too long. The reason was that these old fools were clinging to their positions and refusing to let go.
'They're rotting away.'
The cult's law was simple.
The strong devour the weak.
The stronger one claims the higher position.
While this had sustained the cult thus far, it had also caused the cult to rot from within.
The bishops who had survived the war had grown stronger through experience and actual combat, and even now, after all this time, they still held the real power of the cult in their iron grip, refusing to release it.
This was contrary to Guangmuliang's belief that fresh young blood with open minds should be promoted to fight against the Central Plains.
"Why did you return alive?"
Blood Demon released pale blue blood-light as he rebuked him.
"You took the cult's disciples and ran away showing your back to the enemy, and you dared hope to survive? Those who spoke of sacred fire and marched to the battlefield—did you think you could return to the sacred fire after retreating in fear of the enemy? Foolish, so utterly foolish. That is why I said the position of bishop was premature for you."
Terrifying demonic energy suddenly pressed down on Guangmuliang.
'Ugh…'
The pressure was so intense he couldn't even breathe. Though they were both bishops, the difference between Guangmuliang and Blood Demon was so vast that they couldn't even be considered equals in rank.
"Your excuse?"
"There is no excuse to be made."
Guangmuliang answered in a resonant voice.
"If I committed no wrong, why would I need to make excuses? I have no excuse to offer."
"Then you should die obediently."
Guangmuliang slightly raised his leg and stomped hard on the floor.
Thud!
The heavy vibration created a tremendous noise.
"If I did nothing wrong, why should I die? I, Guangmuliang! I have lived considering it an honor to return to the sacred fire, but I decline to die under false accusations!"
"False accusations…"
Blood Demon snorted.
"Are you saying someone plotted against you?"
"That is not so."
"Then did someone interfere with you?"
"That is not so."
"Then all of this was your own doing—what false accusations are you speaking of?"
Guangmuliang straightened his body completely.
"The false accusation is simple. That I, Guangmuliang, fled—that is the false accusation."
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Blood Demon glared at Guangmuliang with a sinister expression.
"A man who received the cult's grace has quite a long tongue. If you had simply offered your neck cleanly, I would have killed you without pain. You have sullied the cult's honor, and you dared to make those wicked compromises with those vile creatures. You betrayed our trust in sending you to the Central Plains, and you abandoned the cult's expectations of you. Do you acknowledge this?"
"I acknowledge it all."
"Yet you still call it false accusations?"
"Indeed! Because even accepting all of that, there was something I absolutely had to confirm."
"Is that all?"
Guangmuliang slightly lowered his head.
"…What did you say?"
"What did you say!"
"Who am I!"
Suddenly, a storm-like aura began pouring from Guangmuliang's body. Though it couldn't threaten those present here, that aura was utterly magnificent.
"I am Guangmuliang! I am Guangmuliang, I say! You are the ones who made me a bishop. You are the ones who know best what kind of man I am, are you not? Yet do you believe it possible that I, faced with enemies, would flee in fear of them? I! This Guangmuliang!"
Guangmuliang's shouts echoed thunderously through the great hall.
"Even if my body were torn to shreds and fed to dogs, if it were for the cult's sake, I would not hesitate—I am such a man! Is there anyone here who can say otherwise!"
Blood Demon's eyes narrowed.
Then the one sitting opposite Blood Demon spoke.
"That is indeed true."
"…War Demon."
The giant over seven feet tall nodded quietly.
"Guangmuliang may be incompetent, but he cannot be a coward. He is that kind of man. Isn't that something even Blood Demon acknowledges?"
"Hmm."
Blood Demon let out a low sigh.
"Even so, it is true that he has sullied the cult's honor. There must be punishment for that."
"Shouldn't that be decided after hearing his reasons for withdrawing? I believe the cult's authority comes from fair procedures and faith. Harsh punishment without examining reasons and causes would go against our doctrine, would it not?"
"I acknowledge that."
Blood Demon nodded.
Having gained the agreement of the other bishops, Blood Demon addressed Guangmuliang.
"Speak. Why did you not complete the mission the cult gave you and retreat instead? Why did you show your back to the enemy?"
"Because I saw it."
"Saw what?"
Guangmuliang did not answer immediately but looked around his surroundings. Twelve pairs of eyes glowing in the darkness were pressing down on him.
"I saw the sacred fire."
"Sacred fire?"
Blood Demon's face twisted slightly.
What kind of nonsensical story was this?
"Sacred fire? What do you mean by that?"
"I learned that the sacred fire that was extinguished is burning again somewhere we do not know. Our sacred fire that we lost so painfully."
"…Surely not?"
"Indeed."
Everyone's eyes began to waver.
Sacred fire.
The flame that symbolized the cult.
But it also meant a certain man.
The one who devoted everything for the cult and burned himself as well.
The one born human who became emperor, and now had become the sacred fire itself.
"I discovered someone presumed to be of the Demon Emperor's bloodline."
"What!"
"This treacherous fool!"
The great hall began shaking as if struck by an earthquake. Unable to withstand the demonic energy the bishops were releasing, the floor cracked with splitting sounds, and furnishings floated into the air.
"Do you know what you're saying right now? The Demon Emperor left no bloodline. You wouldn't be unaware of that, would you?"
"No!"
Guangmuliang declared as if making a proclamation.
"The cult's history may record it thus. The disciples may know it thus. I too thought so. But!"
Guangmuliang struck his chest with a thud.
"My trembling heart upon seeing him speaks! My body that felt the aura emanating from him cries out! That here lies the Demon Emperor's bloodline!"
"What absurd nonsense…"
"We can simply verify it!"
Guangmuliang's voice echoed powerfully.
"The plan to devour the Central Plains is important. And following the cult's commands in the Central Plains is also important. However!"
Guangmuliang met each person's gaze as he spoke.
"If by chance! One in a thousand! One in ten thousand! If the Demon Emperor's bloodline lives! If there exists the possibility of reviving the severed blood of the Demon Family! Is that not more important than anything else in this world! If the sacred blood of the holy Demon Family is being defiled in that filthy land of heretics, isn't bringing that holy blood back to the cult several times more important than following the cult's commands! Am I wrong?"
At Guangmuliang's words, Blood Demon's face contorted.
"I ask you."
"Ask me!"
"Is there no shame in your suspicion?"
"Indeed."
"Are you certain that the blood of the Demon Family flows in the one you saw?"
"I am certain!"
"Are you confident enough to stake your neck on it?"
"Take it."
Guangmuliang raised his hand and tapped his thick neck.
"For the cult's sake, I can offer this neck anytime. I do not believe I saw it wrongly. And even if I did see wrongly!"
Guangmuliang ground his teeth with a crunch.
"If there's even a speck of dust worth of possibility, shouldn't we verify it?"
"Mmm."
Blood Demon nodded.
"That is certainly true."
Blood Demon looked around and spoke.
"I ask the bishops' understanding. Originally this matter should be decided by gathering the bishops' opinions, but considering the gravity and urgency of the situation, I will make this judgment alone."
"Do so."
Having gained consent from those around him, Blood Demon opened his mouth.
"Guangmuliang."
"I am ready."
"I will not question your sins."
"…!"
"Showing your back before the enemy is shameful, but your words have merit. If the blood of the Demon Family flows there, it would be more important than any other matter of the cult. Then withdrawing while preserving your forces would have been the right judgment. The cult will not question your sins. However!"
Blood Demon shouted.
"Prove yourself that your opinion is correct. I will give you everything you want, everything you need. So you must bring the blood of the Demon Family to the holy land! Should you fail in this task, then I will question your sins."
Thud!
Guangmuliang knelt and slammed his head to the floor.
"In the name of the sacred fire, I accept the cult's command!"
Blood Demon nodded.
"We will discuss detailed support and schedules separately. Right now the bishops also need to organize the situation, so we will deliberate again at this time tomorrow. Bishops, think about plans and support until then."
"Understood."
Blood Demon abruptly rose from his seat.
"Then."
Blood Demon left the great hall with rough strides.
Having left the dark great hall and emerged under the bright sky, Blood Demon frowned.
'Demon Emperor?'
All of the Demon Emperor's bloodline had been severed. That was something he himself had confirmed. Others might not know, but he had no choice but to know that fact.
Passing his sleeping quarters and entering a small pavilion, Blood Demon took a deep breath and lifted the floor of the pavilion. Squeezing his body into the small cave beneath the wooden floor, Blood Demon walked deep into the dark cave for a long time.
Then.
With each step he took, his posture grew lower.
More, more…
The standing posture he had when first entering the cave had become a completely prostrated position on the floor by the time he reached the cave's end.
Where had the majestic appearance from the great hall moments ago gone? Blood Demon, trembling like an aspen leaf, opened his mouth in a shaking voice.
"This humble disciple dares to pay respects to you."
Wooooong.
A low resonant sound rang out, then voices flowed from all directions.
[What matter is this? Did I not tell you not to disturb my rest?]
"There is something I must absolutely report, so I had no choice but to come."
[Speak.]
Blood Demon swallowed his saliva, took a deep breath, and opened his mouth.
"Guangmuliang, who went to the Central Plains, says he discovered the Demon Emperor's bloodline."
[Demon Emperor? Did you say Demon Emperor?]
"Yes."
[Demon Emperor, Demon Emperor… Keke keke keke, keke keke keke, muahahahahaha!]
The laughter that thunderously echoed from all directions began tearing at Blood Demon's body with terrifying power. Blood streamed down from Blood Demon's eyes, nose, and ears.
[The Demon Emperor's bloodline… How interesting. That blood certainly has value.]
"Indeed."
[Bring it. Drag it before me. It will make excellent material to advance our great undertaking.]
Blood Demon slammed his head to the floor with all the respect and reverence he could muster and shouted.
"I receive the command of the great Heavenly Demon!"
The Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
This was what was happening in the deepest part of the great Divine Cult's holy land.