It felt as though someone had cracked her on the crown of the head with a giant pickaxe.

A spy? What spy? Huh? Wait, what does a spy even do again?

Gi Uhui’s face, driven to the brink of passing out by extreme shock and confusion, was such a wreck it was almost painful to look at.

As he watched that face, Yeon Hojeong thought:

Interesting.

That reaction confirmed it. Gi Uhui, the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions, belonged to one of the Three Fanatic Creeds.

At the same time, Yeon Hojeong felt all the air go out of him.

Why is she this sloppy?

He knew the power and cruelty of the Three Fanatic Creeds. He did not know their true objective, but he did know that they meant to occupy the Central Plains and erase both the martial world and the authorities completely.

That alone made the Three Fanatic Creeds the enemy of everyone in the Central Plains. Naturally, the cults themselves had to understand at least that much reality, which meant that if they sent in a spy, they would have selected that person with the utmost care.

But what was this?

What kind of idiot did they think they were sending in as a spy?

Yeon Hojeong felt a little tired.

Did history change so much that every last one of those bastards in the Three Fanatic Creeds turned into idiots?

No matter how sharp Yeon Hojeong’s eye was, turning that eye back on himself was never easy.

Gi Uhui was certainly not strong-willed by nature. But the nerve and tenacity she had built up over more than ten years of treating patients was far from shallow.

Even so, no matter how much nerve she had, it was not enough to withstand Yeon Hojeong’s pressure.

With the exception of Black Sheep, this was the first time Yeon Hojeong had ever been alone face-to-face with someone from the Three Fanatic Creeds. The look in his eyes was as sharp as a blade. It was enough to make anyone shrink back, not just Gi Uhui.

Most importantly, the reason Gi Uhui was reacting like this lay in the instinct she possessed.

Her instinct was extraordinary enough to detect Hidden Shadow One’s stealth technique even though her own skill did not even reach first-rate. In other words, it was an inborn talent.

And that talent was telling her something.

It was telling her how dangerous Yeon Hojeong was, and of the explosive Killing Intent hidden beneath the scholar-like exterior.

Ziiiing! Ziiiiing!

Gi Uhui swallowed without realizing it.

The gaze Yeon Hojeong fixed on her was gradually becoming transparent. At the same time, her instinct was raging more and more violently.

It hurts.

The # Nоvеlight # fear stirred up by that instinct made it feel as though her brain were boiling. The headache was so savage that her vision seemed to go white.

There had been only two times before in her life when her instinct had sounded a warning this violent.

She thought of one person.

The embodiment of absolute power, looking down upon all beneath flawless blue eyes as pure as the sea.

Father.

The one who kindled Divine Flame.

The one and only Son of Heaven who would illuminate the world with the hottest and purest fire under heaven—the Divine Flame Cult Leader.

And at the same time, another absolute being came to mind.

And... that man!

Where there was light, there was darkness.

The one who led the darkest and most depraved of all factions under heaven, the lord of Perverse Lust, who dwelled in the basest of places and was thus, paradoxically, fully prepared to ascend to the most exalted seat.

This can’t be! Just what is this man—?!

Unbelievably, Yeon Hojeong was giving off a pressure so terrifying that Gi Uhui was reminded of the two greatest powers in the world.

Martial arts? Strength?

That was not the issue.

This young man had absolutely not reached the level of her father or the Perverse Lust Cult Leader in martial arts. No—even among the Thirteen Seats of the Supreme Heavens, who were said to contend for the title of greatest in the current martial world, there would not be three who could compare to the masters of the Three Fanatic Creeds.

Then what about this young man was so exceptional that he called those cult masters to mind?

Fwoooosh.

For an instant, Gi Uhui saw a vision.

The scholar-like young man with the sharp, venomous eyes was changing, turning into a monster with hundreds of arms and legs, dozens of pairs of eyes, and fangs as sharp as a beast’s.

Every breath he exhaled was poison, every sweep of his hand called down a typhoon. One step caused an earthquake, and a shout from him summoned thunderbolts from the sky.

KURURURUNG!

“Hhk!”

A true monster, one that could not be described even with the phrase three heads and six arms.

An evil god had risen to the earth with five Demon Kings at its back. It was the never-before-seen incarnation of evil, one that would burn not only the continent, but even the heavens.

Tremble tremble.

Gi Uhui shook with overwhelming fear.

Though she had inherited the thickest and yet most muddied blood among the bloodline of Divine Flame, she had astonishingly been born with spirit eyes—something that had never manifested in anyone else of that bloodline.

And through those spirit eyes, the Yeon Hojeong she saw was an uncontrollable monster grown huge with terror, hatred, and destruction plastered all over it.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“...”

“Hey.”

“Ah!”

Startled, Gi Uhui found herself dragged back from the world of visions into reality.

Yeon Hojeong frowned.

“Are you sick? Why are you sweating like that?”

Then again, having your cover blown as a spy out of nowhere would be enough to shock anyone.

“N-no. I’m fine.”

With one hand over her chest, panting in short breaths, Gi Uhui did not look fine to anyone.

Yeon Hojeong watched her silently for a moment, then relaxed his posture.

“So. It looks like you really are a spy.”

He spoke with complete certainty.

He had clearly known who she was from the start. Come to think of it, that strange pressure she had felt from the first moment she met Yeon Hojeong may have been because he had already known her identity.

Hoo...

After steadying her breathing, Gi Uhui felt, oddly enough, that her mind was becoming calmer.

She spoke evenly.

“So you think I’m a spy from another organization?”

“I do.”

His tone had changed.

In that shift, Gi Uhui heard a roughness that was almost too violent to bear.

And strangely enough, that made her feel even more at ease. To begin with, she neither liked hiding things from others nor had any talent for lying.

“Then which organization do you think sent me?”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flashed.

He could feel the change in her as well. Gi Uhui was not trying to deny it. If anything, she looked as though she meant to tell him everything.

What a strange woman.

Normally, when someone was hit with an unexpected blow like this, the natural response—shock aside—was to deny being a spy. That was the usual thing. The normal thing.

But Gi Uhui was not doing that. It was almost as if she were relieved; her voice was growing calmer and calmer.

Yeon Hojeong narrowed his eyes.

“Well? I don’t know which of the three, but you don’t seem to be Perverse Lust.”

Gi Uhui flinched.

As expected.

This man knew about the existence of the Three Fanatic Creeds.

She swallowed again.

“So you know. About the Three Fanatic Creeds.”

“I do.”

“H-how...?”

“I’m under no obligation to tell you that.”

That was true enough.

Gi Uhui let out a sigh.

“Are you going to kill me?”

“If necessary.”

“...If necessary?”

“That’s right.”

A faint smile touched Yeon Hojeong’s lips.

It was a smile that instantly tightened the fear around Gi Uhui’s heart, which had only just begun to calm.

“A spy does not admit to being a spy. But you did.”

“...”

“I don’t know what circumstances you’re in, but it seems to me that you yourself feel a strong revulsion toward this business of spying.”

Gi Uhui swallowed once more.

Even without an instinct or spirit eyes like hers, he had the experience and insight of someone who had fought his way through blood-soaked chaos.

In a sense, that was a far stronger power than any inborn talent.

And before that insight—an insight that was all but certainty—Gi Uhui could not lie.

Yeon Hojeong sighed inwardly.

My brother wasn’t wrong, either.

He had had no intention of sparing anyone connected to the Three Fanatic Creeds.

But Mo Yong-woo had said that, at the very least, she did not seem innately evil, and since she showed no signs of immediate danger, talk should come first.

At least in this case, Mo Yong-woo’s judgment had been right.

He may be young, but the real thing is still the real thing.

After watching Gi Uhui the whole time, Yeon Hojeong suddenly slammed the table.

BANG!

Gi Uhui jumped and stared at him with eyes full of fear.

Yeon Hojeong spoke calmly.

“That’s enough useless talk. I know you’re a spy, and you’ve acknowledged it.”

“...!”

“Now it’s time for you to choose.”

“...Choose?”

“That’s right.”

Yeon Hojeong folded his arms.

“Do you want to die?”

The color drained from Gi Uhui’s face.

“Of course you don’t. But now that you’ve been exposed as a spy, avoiding death will not be easy. Which means there are only two roads left to you.”

“Wh-what?”

“You die here, or you bring us information from your side.”

Gi Uhui’s eyes shook.

Yeon Hojeong smiled.

“Killing you would be easy. I could just twist your neck right here.”

“...!!”

“But getting information from the Three Fanatic Creeds is difficult. Looked at that way, you’re actually a fairly useful piece on the board.”

“You’re telling me... to betray the Cult?”

“That’s right.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Then die.”

Scrape.

Yeon Hojeong rose from his seat.

Gi Uhui stared at him with trembling eyes, then slowly closed her own.

Yeon Hojeong gazed down at her for a moment, then said with a smile,

“Isn’t it interesting?”

“...What?”

“The truth is, if the Three Fanatic Creeds were not trying to seize the Central Plains, we would have no reason to hate them. We would still be wary of them, of course, but that’s all.”

“...!”

“Do you understand? We know nothing about them. But they are trying to seize the Central Plains. And that road will inevitably be stained with blood.”

Gi Uhui’s clenched fists trembled faintly.

“They are evil. Whatever it is they seek, the moment they try to slaughter the innocent common people of the Central Plains, no cause they claim and no excuse they make has any meaning.”

“...”

“Why? Because they are evil.”

“...”

“Even a murderer may have a story. That does not mean his crimes can be forgiven. That is what your people are trying to do.”

Blue sparks seemed to spit from Yeon Hojeong’s eyes.

“And you are a physician. Your calling is to heal bodies and save lives. And yet you, no matter what organization you belong to, have done nothing but stand by and watch while they shed innocent blood.”

“...!”

“When you die and stand before the King of Hell, don’t even say you were a physician. It disgusts me.”

Gi Uhui opened her eyes.

They were bloodshot, filled with a fury and confusion she herself did not understand.

“I hate conflict too! I hate seeing blood just as much!”

“Then why didn’t you try to change it?”

“How could I, when I have no power?!”

“And that is how things ended up like this. If that was all you were capable of, then you should have spoken honestly and died long ago. You might have died younger, but at least you could have faced yourself without shame.”

“...!!”

“You’re saying the same thing countless villains always say to justify themselves. So what meaning is there in being good by nature? Look at the result.”

The smile vanished from Yeon Hojeong’s face.

“Don’t try to excuse yourself with words about age, ties, or courage. When the time came to choose, you did not choose. Which is why you have no right to condemn the Medical God Association.”

Gi Uhui’s face went blank with despair.

There was so much she wanted to say back.

But she could not.

Because in the end, she understood that what Yeon Hojeong was saying was true.

THUD!

“Ghk!”

Gi Uhui’s body lifted into the air.

Gripping her by the throat, Yeon Hojeong spoke coldly.

“I’ll give you one last chance.”

“...”

“Will you die like filth? Or will you at least struggle to change this wretched life of yours?”

“...!!”

“Choose. Right now!”