Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: The Iron Armor Body Demon
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Creak.
A man stepped into the dimly lit office.
"Warden, everyone's assembled as ordered."
The warden, Tak Gae, who had been handling paperwork, nodded and gestured with his hand.
"Got it. I'll be out shortly. Go ahead and wait."
"Yes, sir."
After his subordinate left, Tak Gae, now alone, stretched his stiff body.
He gazed at the ceiling for a moment before letting out a deep sigh.
"What a hassle."
The trouble had started just last night.
A bolt-from-the-blue message had arrived from above.
Someone important was coming to inspect this place.
When?
Tomorrow.
And that tomorrow had become today, just a few hours later.
Tak Gae furrowed his brow and changed into martial robes he rarely wore.
Nothing was as annoying as a visit from a superior.
"Hah, what could there possibly be to see in this dreary hole?"
He turned his head toward the window and stared at the Thunder Prison under his watch.
At best, it was full of heinous criminals.
He couldn't fathom the higher-ups' intentions at all.
Tak Gae turned and headed outside.
In the courtyard, as his subordinate had said, all the guards except the essential ones manning the prison were gathered.
Their expressions weren't exactly cheerful either.
A higher-up's visit meant trouble for everyone, and any extra work would fall on their shoulders.
"You've all heard the news. An important figure is visiting our Thunder Prison today."
Tak Gae announced from the front, and the guards maintained their stiff expressions.
To loosen them up a bit, he added,
"No need to worry. From the letter, it doesn't seem like they're here to chew us out or hold us accountable."
A few guards sighed in relief.
"That said, we don't know who's coming or which section they'll inspect. So today, everyone needs to put in extra effort—more than usual. Don't give them any openings to nitpick."
The guards nodded with determined eyes.
"The night shift already finished cleaning at dawn, so those coming on duty now—just stay focused, stand straight, no chit-chat, and don't switch positions on your own."
"Yes, sir!"
The guards shouted in unison, their voices brimming with resolve.
"Loud and clear. Good. Dismissed."
Once Tak Gae's announcement ended, the guards hurried back to their posts.
The warden himself slowly made his way to the prison entrance and waited there.
Since the letter hadn't specified a time, he had no choice but to wait indefinitely.
Of course, that wasn't much of a hardship.
Having spent decades as a guard before rising to warden, Tak Gae was an expert at standing still and waiting.
About an hour under the sun passed like that.
"Here they come."
Far off, a man who clearly stood out even from a distance approached with one subordinate in tow.
As he drew closer, a thought struck Tak Gae.
'...He's huge.'
Not just his build.
Though his height was impressive, it was the aura he exuded that made him seem larger than life, far from ordinary.
And for some reason, the face felt familiar, like he'd seen it somewhere before...
"Gasp!"
The moment he realized who it was, Tak Gae's breath caught in his throat.
As the man reached the entrance and stopped, Tak Gae—frozen in shock—finally found his voice.
"W-We greet the exalted Cult Leader! I am the warden, Tak Gae!"
Unthinkingly, he bowed so low his head nearly touched the ground.
"Good to meet you. Let's head in."
"Understood!"
Tak Gae raised his voice and led the way into the Thunder Prison, with Hyeok Mulin following behind alongside Jang Wi.
The main Thunder Prison of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult lay outside the outer walls, built underground.
The first floor was the guards' waiting area and the passage down to the lower levels.
"Uh... Cult Leader, if I may ask, which floor are you here to visit?"
Tak Gae asked cautiously from the front.
Hyeok Mulin replied curtly.
"Take me to the lowest level."
"...!"
Tak Gae's eyes shook as if struck by an earthquake.
"The... lowest level?"
"Yes. Any problem?"
"No problem, but..."
Cold sweat trickled from Tak Gae's temples.
"Understood. I'll guide you there right away."
Nodding, he grabbed a torch and started walking.
As they descended the stairs, he began explaining the prison's layout to Hyeok Mulin.
"In the past, this prison was a ten-story building above ground."
But centuries ago, a prisoner had attempted a breakout, rampaging wildly and collapsing the entire structure.
They'd managed to subdue him eventually, but all the guards inside the ruined building had perished in the disaster.
After that, they'd completely redesigned the prison underground.
"The criteria for housing prisoners is simple: by the severity of their crimes, separated by floor."
Underground levels one through three, closest to the surface: for light offenders like assault conspiracies, extortion, begging without paying—Initial Scolding Hell.
Levels four through six: for heavy crimes like assault, threats, blackmail—Eight Blood Hell.
Levels seven through nine: for violent crimes like murder, rape, arson—Great Luo Hell.
And finally, level ten.
"Only the worst traitors, those who committed the gravest sins, are kept in Avici Hell."
Those sentenced to life, never to see the sun again.
That was the lowest level, floor ten.
"The underground prison is also structured so the deeper you go, the harder it is for the worst criminals to escape."
As he said, Hyeok Mulin noticed the floors growing longer as they descended.
At first, the next level came quickly, but with each floor, the stairs multiplied.
And it wasn't just the depth.
Deeper down, spiral side paths branched off at intervals.
Designed so anyone without the route memorized would almost certainly get lost.
"You've had it rough."
"I am honored."
At Hyeok Mulin's words of encouragement, Tak Gae expressed his gratitude and continued the tour.
But as they passed level nine toward the lowest floor, his words grew fewer, until he fell completely silent.
They arrived at the bottom in silence.
Reaching Avici Hell, Tak Gae opened the entrance.
Iron doors lined up left and right came into Hyeok Mulin's view.
Step by step.
Hyeok Mulin walked forward.
They said only traitors were here, and indeed, the auras and scents were far from ordinary.
Some reeked of blood and rotting flesh, others carried a fresh plum blossom fragrance.
But they weren't his target, so he ignored them and pressed on.
Passing them all, Hyeok Mulin stopped before the final iron door marked with a bold "Ten."
It felt empty—no presence, no scent—as if no one was inside, but this was definitely it.
"Open it."
At Hyeok Mulin's command, Tak Gae swallowed hard, selected a key from his bunch, and carefully unlocked the door.
Stepping through the opened door, another set of iron bars awaited, imprisoning the prisoner.
And inside, the warrior was bound by iron chains on all four limbs.
Iron door, iron bars, iron chains—triple restraints on the prisoner.
"......"
Hyeok Mulin silently turned to Tak Gae.
Catching on, he bowed his head and followed Jang Wi out, closing the iron door behind them.
Their footsteps faded, until the lowest level was completely silent.
Hyeok Mulin turned back to face the front.
Beyond the bars, the massive middle-aged man bound in chains had his face half-hidden by wild long hair and a ragged beard.
Visually, he looked no different from a ruined wreck.
Standing with hands behind his back, Hyeok Mulin stared intently before speaking.
"Are you the prisoner Ji Wolhon?"
Hyeok Mulin had only heard of him by his moniker in the past; this was their first face-to-face.
Iron Armor Body Demon Ji Wolhon.
Once the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's greatest prodigy and the youngest ever captain of the Personal Guard, now slumped in the deepest cell of the underground prison.
"......"
But he remained silent—whether unconscious, unwilling to answer, or unable to speak.
Guess that confirms it.
Hyeok Mulin hadn't really asked for a verbal reply.
After staring at Ji Wolhon for a moment, he began murmuring to himself, as if speaking aloud alone.
"Thirty years ago, there was a Personal Guard directly under the Cult Leader, protecting the Heavenly Demon at his side."
The one and only guard loyal solely to the Cult Leader, their devotion unmatched by anyone in the cult.
But after the Heavenly Demon vanished, the guard was disbanded, and its captain dragged to this prison.
"On the absurd charge of failing to protect the previous Heavenly Demon to the end."
It wasn't even a crime.
A Heavenly Demon who had reached transcendent heights had vanished on his own— who in the world could find him?
"It was just like a natural disaster, but people needed someone to blame."
At Hyeok Mulin's words, Ji Wolhon's drooping finger twitched faintly.
The guard captain of that era, Ji Wolhon, had simply been the unlucky target.
'Lack of backing was the issue.'
The Heavenly Demon's Personal Guard followed only his orders.
With no ties to anyone outside the Heavenly Demon—not even the Cult Leader— they became rootless the moment he disappeared.
Moreover, Ji Wolhon never pledged loyalty to the other elders afterward, making him a thorn in their side.
In the end, saddled with ridiculous charges, he even took the blame for his subordinates' crimes and received a life sentence.
'As captain, his unwavering loyalty to the Cult Leader must have left him disillusioned with the cult that abandoned him.'
Pausing briefly, Hyeok Mulin continued.
"Then, thirty years passed, and the world changed."
A time of peace where the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the Central Plains didn't encroach on each other.
The rise of a young Heavenly Demon thrust into power by political maneuvering.
The Heavenly Demon declaring independence through divorce, attaining enlightenment, and confronting the elders head-on.
As Hyeok Mulin slowly laid out the current situation, his voice grew firmer.
The current Heavenly Demon lacked the power to face them directly yet.
No one could protect him now, nor was there anyone who could.
Still, he intended to change the cult.
So no one would suffer unjustly again.
To reward true loyalty.
That was why the current Heavenly Demon needed hands.
The Heavenly Demon's Personal Guard.
You, who were the captain of the Divine Demon Blood Death Squad.
Staring straight ahead with clear eyes, Hyeok Mulin finished.
"......"
Ji Wolhon showed no reaction throughout the grand tale.
But Hyeok Mulin could feel it.
He had taken every word to heart.
So Hyeok Mulin waited silently.
For change to come over him.
And it didn't take long.
As if showing how grueling those thirty years had been, Ji Wolhon slowly raised his stiff neck with a creak and spoke in a cracked voice.
"Who... are you...?"
Meeting his gaze, Hyeok Mulin noted that despite his ragged appearance, the eyes peeking through his hair still held a sharp glint.
A faint smile tugged at Hyeok Mulin's lips as he spoke deliberately.
"I am."
The one who will break your chains and forge you a new link.
"The Cult Leader. Hyeok Mulin."