False Sovereign
Remnant Blood Baek Clan.
A family that had been among the closest aides to the previous Heavenly Demon, alongside the Mad Blood Path Clan. If the Mad Blood Path Clan were brute-force thugs, these guys were just straight-up cruel bastards. No surprise there, considering they were the ones who put "blood" in their own family name.
To put it simply, they were war criminals.
"Heh, heh heh... What do you mean by that?"
"Do I have to say it twice, you rat? I told you to take me to Do Il Gwang."
Rat was the classic slur for the Baek Clan, mocking their claw techniques.
"Wh-what do you mean? I d-don't quite understand?"
"I'm talking about the rat from the Baek Clan that latched onto Do Il Gwang, pretended to be a tiger, got wiped out, and lost the Sado Family's seat as one of the Six Demonic Families. Right now."
At my words, the man—Sangtak, or whatever his name was—twitched his eyebrows. If you're gonna hide it, at least control your face.
Soon enough, he changed his tone.
"Are you that perceptive? Or have you just lost your damn mind?"
He pulled down his mask, revealing a gaunt, ragged middle-aged face. I called him a rat, but damn if he didn't actually look like one.
"H-how dare a rootless S-Sado Family p-peon insult the R-Remnant Blood Baek Clan?"
"The Divine Cult worships the strong."
I gathered true energy in my eyes as I spoke. The Baek Clan rat flinched when our gazes met.
"It's laughable that a loser who can't even speak properly dares utter 'how dare' in front of me."
"You bastard!"
The Baek rat raised his claws like he was about to lunge at me. But that was it.
[Trying to sic Sa Wol on me now, you yokai?]
'Yeah, 'cause I'm as dumb as you say.'
[......]
'You think I'd come here without a plan?'
The formation suppressing the Punishment Cave was real. The masks the guards wore being treasure artifacts was probably real too. Sa Wol and Tak Horak had sensed it.
'Bloodstains on the mask. Tak Horak said it felt damp, so it hasn't been long.'
[You mean...]
'Yeah. Whether he ambushed them or whatever, this rat killed the warden and took the mask. Which means he hasn't fully recovered his power either.'
The Remnant Blood Baek Clan's war criminals had been locked in the Punishment Cave five years ago.
Sealed by restrictions and gnawed away at by the formation for five years? No way they were normal.
Proof was right there in his pathetic state—hesitating like he wanted to charge but couldn't quite commit.
"D-do you even know what happened to the real warden?"
"No."
"H-he let his guard down, and I k-killed him myself."
"You think I'd pity an incompetent fool who gets killed by a mere prisoner?"
Who cares what his name was. He was just Sado Gwang's puppet anyway.
Not knowing that, the Baek rat gnashed his teeth as his provocations fell flat.
'If he were a real Cultist, he'd have attacked by now.'
That's what the law of the jungle meant. He'd have slaughtered us like those bonfire prisoners in an instant—not stand there yapping.
But he couldn't.
'Plus, we've got our anti-personnel weapon Sa Wol. You're not the only one who underrates her strength.'
As the hierarchy proved, even across the entire Cult, fewer than twenty could beat Sa Wol.
The blustering Baek rat soon relaxed his stance and spoke.
"Th-they said the Sado Family's genius... Your t-tongue is quite the w-weapon. Sado Gwang."
"...Sado Hwan."
"Sado Hwan? Y-you mean his little brother?"
The rat looked bewildered at my words. Guess when he was in power, he only looked up, and locked away, he was clueless about outside affairs—unaware of Sado Gwang's condition.
Sado Gwang had holed up until elevating the Sado Family to one of the Six Demonic Families, and Sado Hwan hadn't been noteworthy before that.
"B-brothers, huh? Y-you look too alike. T-twins?"
"Enough nonsense. Take me to your master."
"Y-you arrogant punk. C-can you say that in front of the S-Sovereign too?"
He pulled his mask back up and said,
"F-follow me."
The Baek rat turned and led the way.
"My lord!"
Tak Horak's eyes went wide as he whispered frantically.
"I know that face. It's definitely Baekryung! One of the most notoriously vicious bastards in the Remnant Blood Baek Clan!"
"Is that so?"
"If he's allied with the previous Heavenly Demon, it's dangerous! Who knows what he'll—wait, no way."
Seeing my unflinching eyes, Tak Horak gasped in shock.
"You came here looking for the previous Heavenly Demon from the start?"
"Don't make a fuss, Tak Horak. There is only one Sovereign who rules all demons."
I passed by him and Sa Wol as I said,
"And a false sovereign must be cast down."
Tak Horak looked stunned. Then heat flared in his eyes.
"As expected of my lord! You're the best! I'll follow you with my life!"
Pa Cheon rattled faintly.
[...You talk like a true Cultist. Well done, yokai.]
Good thing I was ahead. My face was burning; I might've lost it.
Being a master of the con was a lonely path.
"L-let's go together, my lord!"
Tak Horak stuck right behind me. Sa Wol moved silently as well.
The path following Baekryung was deathly quiet.
As I'd guessed, Do Il Gwang and his cronies had already seized the Punishment Cave. Like with those bonfire prisoners, they craved fresh meat—but not a single rat in sight.
They were afraid.
'Figures.'
The previous Heavenly Demon, Do Il Gwang, was a tyrant. Did anyone think locking that temperament underground would change it?
"How much farther?"
"A-almost there. J-just over that pass."
Sure enough, faint light flickered at the end of the passage Baekryung pointed to.
[Not even tense?]
'What's to be tense about?'
The previous Heavenly Demon would be bound by the strongest seals of all. That was a 'setting' from Murim Return. Settings never broke.
That was my mindset as we reached the passage's end.
A vast plaza-like space opened up. A strange hum—woong—echoed. Echoes from the cave?
'Another altar.'
An altar stood in the plaza's center. A horrific figure hung suspended from it. Calling it human felt wrong; rags suited it better.
[Do Il Gwang... 'That' is Do Il Gwang? Were we scared for nothing?]
The Mad Blood Path Clan was like a demonic evolution of the Paeng Clan. Do Clan folk usually boasted hulking frames to match their brute strength.
But this figure on the altar was different. Skinny to the bone, every inch of its body pierced by massive nails. Vapor-like energy flowed through the chains into the altar.
'Tyrant's end is pathetic, huh.'
Baekryung bolted to the altar and prostrated himself.
"Hea-Heavenly Demon Sovereign! G-Greetings from all demons!"
At those words, Sa Wol and Tak Horak's faces twisted.
Only the Heavenly Demon could receive bows with "Heavenly Demon Sovereign, greetings from all demons."
Not some tyrant turned prisoner rotting underground.
"How dare you utter 'Sovereign'!"
Tak Horak drew his segmented spear, snapping it into lance form. Same reaction as when I'd badmouthed the Heavenly Demon before. Baekryung turned and sneered at him.
"L-let's see if you can be arrogant here too!"
"...?!"
That instant.
The altar puppet lifted its head. Amid the tangled hair, fierce eyes gleamed—or so I thought.
Ku-woong!
Immense pressure crashed down.
Like the air gained weight, crushing me. Breathing felt like inhaling lead.
"Kuhk!"
Tak Horak spewed blood, staggering back before sitting cross-legged. Facing death regardless, he started circulating his energy.
Sa Wol was no different. Pale-faced, though she didn't vomit blood. She glanced my way with her inscrutable eyes, then sat cross-legged.
...Brought them as escorts, and they were dead weight.
[Insane killing intent!]
Killing intent.
A master's advanced technique: radiating inner energy to crush inferiors.
Not the fake stuff I'd bluffed with so far—this was the real deal.
On another level entirely.
No mere text setting could explain it. My hair didn't just stand on end; every cell screamed. Like an invisible giant foot grinding me down.
...Impossible. This is a true master?
The real power of a master, unlike the shallow acting I'd scraped by with.
"Another level" didn't cut it. This wasn't human strength.
Only superhumans who imbued will into qi and bent worldly laws could wield it.
My