Chapter 59: At the Heavenly Demon Palace
“Haa… this air, this sunlight! It's good to see you, Ten Thousand Great Mountains!”
Tak Horak repeatedly drew in deep breaths and exhaled, his face flushed with excitement.
He had finally emerged from his three-week punishment.
Unlike the musty, moldy air unique to the Punishment Cave, the outside was clear and pristine. Especially refreshing was the fact that he no longer had to wear that stifling mask.
“Hm hm~.”
A tune escaped Tak Horak's lips unbidden; he felt like he owned the world.
“I haven't fully mastered it yet, but I even gained a fortuitous encounter.”
Thanks to Sado Hwan's consideration, he had been taught one of the previous Heavenly Demon Do Il Gwang's martial arts.
'It's got a nasty temper, but it's from the previous Heavenly Demon, after all.'
Of course, he'd passed out dozens of times in the process. Do Il Gwang had exploded in rage, calling him talentless as a mere speck of dust. The sheer pressure had been enough to knock Tak Horak out.
'How did the young master endure that aura... and overcome it?'
In any case, it had given him a clue to a new realm, allowing him to break through.
His loyalty to Sado Hwan grew deeper by the day.
As Tak Horak slipped out of the Punishment Cave's territory, a strange feeling washed over him.
The people of the Demon Realm seemed oddly excited.
Looking up, he saw lanterns floating in the sky.
'Should I head back to the Black Shadow Corps first?'
Though he'd been temporarily stripped of his squad leader position due to punishment, he was still officially the leader of the Black Shadow Corps. Feeling he'd left his post vacant too long, Tak Horak headed straight to the Black Shadow Pavilion where they were stationed, even before going home.
“Squad Leader!”
There, he found the Black Shadow Corps members in a chaotic uproar.
“You're back safe! Are you alright?”
“Thanks to the young master's grace, I made it through.”
“The young master?”
Tak Horak tilted his head at the awkward expressions when Sado Hwan was mentioned.
“Did something bad happen to the young master?”
“I'm not sure if it's bad for him... but a lot has happened.”
“Yeah? Then let's grab a drink at a tavern and talk. With all those lanterns in the sky, it looks like a big festival happened while I was gone.”
“You trying to get sent back to the Punishment Cave for leaving your post? And it's not a festival.”
“Then what is it?”
“A funeral.”
“...A funeral? Whose?”
Tak Horak's jaw dropped at the corpsman's words.
“It was for the eldest young master, Sado Gwang.”
“The eldest young master is dead? You serious?”
“Yes. And... also...”
The corpsman glanced around warily and lowered his voice.
“They say the young master declared he's taking the family head position.”
“The f-family head position?”
“Yes. That's why things are a mess here. Look around—outsiders are coming and going like crazy, and we're all agonizing over which side to pick.”
Only then did Tak Horak notice the disarray in the Black Shadow Pavilion that he'd overlooked in his excitement.
The Black Shadow Corps, specialists in assassination and tracking, usually maintained a subdued atmosphere.
But not now. Members clustered in groups of threes and fives with their close allies, chatting animatedly. And among them were plenty of non-corps faces.
“What do you mean, 'which side to pick'?”
“Obviously, whether to support the young master or not.”
The corpsman scratched his head.
“Even if the young master is Super Peak, the family head seat isn't something you claim with raw power alone.”
The Sado Family had split into three factions, he explained.
First, the family head faction led by Sado Mu Yeol. They held legitimacy and justification, but Sado Gwang's absence was a fatal blow. Plus, most of their experts were outsiders hired in, so their organization was a mess.
Second, the elder faction, centered on the First Elder and the pureblood Sados. They argued that the elders needed to step up to resolve the chaos.
“The last is the Black Shadow Corps young master faction. But think about it—the young master is a powerhouse, sure, but he hasn't shown much. No leadership virtues or strategies. He barely pays attention to running the corps; the deputy handles most of it. So opinions are split even among us.”
“You fool.”
Tak Horak clicked his tongue.
“You've followed him through the martial world, and you still don't get the young master?”
“Huh?”
“The young master embodies leadership virtues more than anyone. Not a single false word from his mouth, and he treats his subordinates like his own body. If he's not a leader, who is?”
That was when it happened.
“So you're saying you're sticking with the young master, huh?”
Tak Horak turned.
A small but sturdy man, like a millstone, stood there.
“Squad Leader 5?”
“'Former Squad Leader 3, Tak Horak. Heard you got thrown in the Punishment Cave... but you're still hopping around like a thunderbolt fool.”
“And you're still all talk, Jin Su.”
Sparks seemed to fly between their glares.
These two, longtime rivals in the corps, clashed—and corpsmen swarmed like it was prime entertainment, forming a circle. But the onlookers were clearly divided into two camps.
The Black Shadow Corps had eight squads.
Squads 1 through 4 were fostered by the first-generation leader.
Squads 5 and up were new recruits brought in when Sado Hwan took over.
The newcomers harbored fierce resentment toward Sado Hwan.
This was the new force he'd created. Yet Sado Hwan never joined missions, holing up in his room.
Warriors dreaming of missions, merits, and promotions naturally grew dissatisfied.
Even on this recent trip to the martial world, only the 'fostered faction' up to Squad 4 had gone, leaving Squads 5+ sucking their thumbs again.
“A guy who holes up in his room every day, not even properly training, claiming Super Peak? Him as family head? I'll quit the Sado Family. Even if he becomes head, it'll be the same—holed up doing nothing. Right?!”
Jin Su's words drew nods from the 'influx faction' members.
“Arms bend inward, that's it. Taking only 2nd and 3rd Demon Realm folks for noble games. Didn't bring us on the trip to keep us from earning merits, huh?”
“Exactly!”
“They won't even tell us what happened out there. Planning to stick to their own clique!”
The influx faction vented their grievances.
Tak Horak, who would've normally turned red and bellowed, just smirked and fused the three sections of his spear on his back into one.
“What, you want a duel? Sure, I'm higher-ranked, but... that's just by merits. Fine. Let's end this toda—.”
Jin Su couldn't finish.
Woooong—!
A sharp energy clung to Tak Horak's spear blade. Not perfectly honed, but unmistakably keen.
Refined energy, unlike the hazy aura of first-rate warriors.
“Spear Qi... You're at Peak?”
Tak Horak dispersed the energy and replied.
“Just grasped the clue—not fully Peak yet.”
“How...”
“I get why you're upset.”
Tak Horak disassembled his spear again, continuing.
“But know this: the young master never abandons his subordinates. Everything he does has a reason—and everything he doesn't do, too. Look at me. The guy you mocked as a barely-there squad leader, now emitting spear qi.”
A strange fervor began flickering in the onlookers' eyes.
“All we have to do is trust and follow. Then you can reach this too.”
“...!”
Even Jin Su was no exception.
The Divine Cult revered the strong.
Pursuing strength was as natural as breathing.
“So—ahem, trust. Him.”
Tak Horak's impassioned speech oddly mimicked Sado Hwan.
And a shadow slipped silently away from the scene.
Lately, I'd picked up a habit. Namely...
“...You've arrived.”
In a space alone, striking a dignified pose and muttering to myself.
Why? Because...
[......]
Pa Cheon, still silent, wasn't fulfilling his alert role properly.
He seemed lost in thought, barely speaking beyond the minimum—and even that half a beat late. Asking him to announce presences was impossible.
So every few minutes, I'd toss out lines like “You've come” or “Is that you?” Or “What of my orders?” Roughly once every five minutes.
“So, what of my orders?”
“As expected, you can't be fooled, young master.”
Agh, damn near jumped.
From empty air, a figure materialized like paint spreading.
A woman in black attire, mask covering half her face.
Sa Wol.
For various reasons, she was still by my side.
Honestly, I couldn't quite grasp why she stuck with me so loyally. I'd figured once she hit Super Peak, she'd bolt straight for her brother Hwarang.
“I thought I'd hidden my presence perfectly, yet you noticed. The gap is truly vast.”
Not really—I'm just pretending so you don't suspect.
That's why I'm spouting nonsense alone.
“...No need to flatter.”
“It's my honest impression.”
Since reaching Super Peak, Sa Wol had changed somehow.
She'd always hidden her emotions. Even if her brow twitched or her tone slipped, she never showed it outright.
But after Super Peak, had she gained some enlightenment?
She started revealing feelings occasionally. Unlike before, when she'd only passively follow orders, now she even voiced opinions.
“Squad Leader Tak seems to be handling things well without my prompting, so I returned.”
“I see.”
Sa Wol's eyes hinted at unspoken words.
“What?”
“Was it all intentional?”
“What?”
“Piercing Do Il Gwang to raise Squad Leader Tak to Peak realm. Quelling Black Shadow Corps dissent from within. Once he seizes it, you control it without lifting a finger.”
No.
“Coincidence.”
“I figured you'd say that.”
Somehow, I felt wronged. Everyone assumes and praises me, but the truth is it's all coincidence—I had no plan—and they never believe it.
'Good that it helps, at least.'
“Now, forces we can say you control: Black Shadow Corps, Black Hand Group, Asura Pavilion, Red Lotus Pavilion, and Mercy Hall—five in total.”
“Black Shadow Corps looks more like infighting on our side.”
“May I speak frankly?”
“What?”
“I'm curious why you declared for family head before the head himself. With your realm, couldn't you have worked behind the scenes and inherited formally? Wasn't it stirring envy unnecessarily?”
This was probably the longest she'd spoken. Anyway.
“Because what I want is that envy.”
“You don't mean...”
“Yes. This family isn't the family head's. It's Sado Gwang's.”
I glanced at Pa Cheon, then back to Sa Wol.
“Me stirring things up will make his remnants react.”
To snap the fleeing snake's neck, I was deliberately rustling the grass.
He's surely still alive.
Sa Wol asked with grave seriousness.
“Your plan seems unrelated to becoming head or seizing power. Are you aiming beyond that?”
“Beyond?”
“What you truly want isn't the head position, but...”
Of course I don't want to be family head. I'm leaving this place anyway.
All I want is a safe, uneventful survival.
About to clarify before more misunderstandings...
“Young master! Young master!”
A frantic maid called from outside, face flushed and sweating in panic.
“What is it?”
“Y-you need to come out quick!”
“What's going on?”
“Th-the Heavenly Demon. Heavenly Demon!”
Heavenly Demon?
“A message from the Heavenly Demon Palace for you, young master!”
Pretending to be the Heavenly Demon