Breaking the Heavens
The first Heavenly Demon, the Beginning Heavenly Demon, sought to shatter the limits heaven had imposed on humanity. From that ambition the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was born—an unparalleled martial study without equal in the world. The Seven Great Heavenly Demons, the World-Destroying Demon Emperor, rejected the class system and refused the dominion of the Son of Heaven, ruler of the Central Plains. After a cataclysmic war in which the orthodox and unorthodox factions allied and even the imperial army was mobilized, the Divine Cult was driven back to a single corner of the Heavenly Mountains. From that time onward the Divine Cult began to be called the Demonic Cult, a heretical label, and was cast out.
If resisting unjust oppression was considered demonic, then they would become demons themselves. The followers of the Divine Cult willingly embraced the title, and thus the present-day Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was born.
Pacheon. The meaning embedded in the term may have shifted with the ages, yet every Heavenly Demon of the Divine Cult had sought to break the heavens. The heavens—it could signify the limits of humanity, sometimes the tyranny of rulers, and at other times the class system itself. …At times it even referred to the ethics and morals that every human being ought to uphold.
The heavens the current Divine Cult wished to shatter were the Gate Incident itself, which seemed to desire the extinction of the human race. Therefore it was only natural that the Divine Cult opposed the Gate Incident more aggressively than any other organization in the world.
…It is our original sin.
Cheon Hayeon found it difficult to conceal her bitter heart as she watched the staggering ghouls. She could not assert that the Blood Sect had created them. Yet it was undeniably the Divine Cult that had exerted enormous influence on the birth of ghouls.
The orthodox factions could not conduct overt human experimentation except for certain shamanistic purposes. The unorthodox factions lacked the capability. In contrast, the Divine Cult of old had possessed both the power and the resolve. Even now, within the Cult’s forbidden archives, there remained detailed manuals on how to create and control ghouls.
When they migrated to Korea they had attempted to seal and reject such heretical techniques, but in the unprecedented chaos of the Gate Incident it had been impossible to handle everything perfectly. Just as a portion of the Divine Cult had rebelled and become the Blood Sect, not every person who committed a taboo and fled the Cult necessarily belonged to the Blood Sect. The probability was high, however.
Thud—
The instant he finished preparing and raised the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Kim Mugong’s energy resonated with Cheon Hayeon’s own.
…What?
It had never happened before. Resonance between energies was something that normally occurred only when martial artists of similar lineages employed high-level combined formation techniques. From Cheon Hayeon’s perspective her energy was not being amplified tremendously, yet operating her internal energy had become far more comfortable. And the difference was by no means small.
Truly incomprehensible.
That there existed a martial art capable of resonating with the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was something she had never once heard of in the Cult’s long history. Where Kim Mugong had obtained such information, and exactly who this man was, grew increasingly curious to her. Even the information the Shadowless Demon Spirit had gathered about him by overstepping its authority had simply read “unknown.” A man the Divine Cult’s vast intelligence network could not identify. It did not seem as if he had been deliberately raised for some purpose; his martial arts and character were filled with purity—whether in a good sense or a bad one. The most probable explanation was that he had obtained some extraordinary fortuitous encounter.
As Cheon Hayeon continued her brief reverie, Kim Mugong’s voice reached her ears.
“Getting bitten by those won’t turn me into some kind of ghoul, right?”
Kim Mugong asked while slipping on the gauntlets that had been hanging at his waist.
“How could that be? Ghouls are not created so easily. However, should those fangs pierce you, an infection of another sort would indeed take hold.”
“Figures. Like a goddamn pathogen gift set.”
“Refrain from attacking as much as possible. Stay near me.”
“Understood. I shall support you. In any case, striking those things with my fists feels rather distasteful.”
Calmly, Kim Mugong took his place beside Cheon Hayeon. As expected, this man possessed strong mental fortitude. The horrific appearance of the ghouls was not something an ordinary student could endure, yet he remained as serene as if he were merely out for a stroll. He had shown greater emotional disturbance earlier when he saw the corpses hanging like lumps of meat.
Srrrng—
Cheon Hayeon drew the sword that hung at her waist. The ghouls had noticed them, but perhaps due to wariness their movements were noticeably sluggish.
“You actually use that thing?”
“Would I carry a sword I never intended to use?”
“You always solve everything with your hands, so I figured it was ceremonial or something.”
Instead of answering, Cheon Hayeon simply offered a faint smile and raised her blade. Even she had no desire to tangle with such grotesque monsters at close quarters. Although her protective energy would prevent anything from touching her body, the matter was one of personal revulsion.
As Cheon Hayeon exhaled deeply, a dark aura flickered along the sword’s edge. Many of the martial arts she had learned were premised on the use of condensed energy. The Heavenly Demon Sword Art in particular emphasized that aspect. These were techniques of extreme difficulty that only those in the Transformation Realm or higher could properly wield. Every method left behind and refined by successive Heavenly Demons boasted terrifying complexity.
Originally Cheon Hayeon should not have been able to use the Heavenly Demon Sword Art properly.
It is possible.
There was no logical basis, yet instinctively she understood. And such moments of enlightenment did not come easily.
Since they were underground, she would adjust the power slightly.
In less than a second Cheon Hayeon reached her decision and poured her true qi into the blade. The destructive aura loaded upon the sword caused the air within the chamber to ripple violently.
Heavenly Demon Sword Art — Moonlight Sword Form
— GRRRRAAAAAHHH!!!
The ghouls, sensing Cheon Hayeon’s domineering aura, finally charged madly, but—
Step.
With a single footstep from Kim Mugong, every ghoul flinched and froze in place.
Thud.
In that instant Cheon Hayeon stepped firmly on the steel floor and swung her sword with graceful fluidity. Contrary to the tyrannical power it contained, her sword path resembled a beautiful dance.
The enormous crescent-moon-shaped energy wave fired from her blade surged toward the ghouls.
Rumble—
The tremendous shockwave generated by the energy carved deep scars into the steel floor and walls as it swallowed the horde. Where the tidal-wave-like force had passed, only shattered fragments of ghouls remained. No—scarcely even fragments; most had been utterly annihilated by the energy.
A single strike. More than a hundred ghouls had been unable to retain even their original shape before Cheon Hayeon’s blow. The writhing swarm of insects suffered the same fate. Under the oppressive pressure emitted by New Moon Breaks the Heavens, every insect in the space burst apart.
“…Is this for real?”
Kim Mugong stared at the devastation with his mouth agape. It was not sword energy but condensed energy. At Cheon Hayeon’s current realm she should not have been able to wield it properly. This attack clearly defied his common sense.
“…Forgive me.”
Cheon Hayeon spoke as she drove her sword into the floor. Just a little more. She had felt she could cross the wall if she pushed only a fraction further, yet the boundary that had seemed faintly within reach slipped away from her fingertips once more. Still, it had not been without gain. Everything was difficult the first time.
“Are you all right?”
Seeing her stagger, Kim Mugong asked in a worried tone.
“I failed to manage the distribution of power properly.”
It was less a matter of internal energy and more the aftermath of raising her will to its utmost limit. Delivering an attack of pure destructive force could have been done on a far greater scale. But to sweep away only the ghouls with condensed energy without collapsing the underground facility required borrowing the power of intent. In the end it had been unavoidable.
“Still, you cleaned them all up nicely.”
“…This is not the end.”
Cheon Hayeon spoke heavily.
“Huh? I don’t sense anything.”
“There is something beyond that door.”
After steadying her breathing, Cheon Hayeon indicated an iron door on the far side with a tilt of her chin.
“Want to rest a little?”
“I am fine now. In any case, it appears your skill will be more than sufficient to handle what remains.”
Gazing at Kim Mugong intently, Cheon Hayeon sheathed her sword. As though her role had concluded.
I already knew Cheon Hayeon was strong. Even so, this clearly exceeded my expectations. It was not merely a matter of loading the sword with energy and striking. She had skillfully executed an attack that only a martial artist in the Transformation Realm should be able to use—at an age when she had only just become an adult.
The sight of an area the size of a sports field being precisely incinerated by an energy wave elicited involuntary admiration. Thanks to her exquisite control of true qi, although some scars remained on the steel walls there was no danger of collapse. The power was impressive, but the more I looked the more her precise adjustment stood out.
We cut through the ghoul remains and reached the door she had indicated. This time it did not open automatically. I gathered the energy of the Blood Demon Art in my palm and slammed it forward.
Bang—
I kicked the dented iron door and forced it open. The interior appeared to be some kind of control room, packed with complex machinery.
“Be cautious.”
Cheon Hayeon warned in a low voice from behind me. Unlike before, the killing intent I felt clearly on my skin was different from that of simple ghouls.
Suddenly the creature’s attack began.
A sword?
It shone with red eyes from within the darkness and swung its blade without hesitation. Aside from its pale skin, the ghoul felt almost identical to how it must have been while alive. Perhaps because it was an elite specimen, its movements were far more refined than those of the mob-like ghouls that had been swept away earlier. It seemed less like a being driven by pure instinct and more like the sword path of a trained warrior.
Still, it was a zombie.
Clang—
I raised my hand blade to deflect the strike aimed directly at my neck and took a step forward. The steel floor caved deeply beneath the force of my stomp. I drove a palm filled with the surging energy of the Blood Demon Art into the creature’s abdomen. A single move infused with the Myriad Heavy Hands technique. As the Blood Demon Art’s energy invaded its entire body, the ghoul’s form swelled with mottled red and black.
The sword it had been swinging halted mid-motion. While the Heavenly Demon Domination Step restrained its movements, I unleashed the most basic form I had repeated countless times—the Exploding Palm—directly at its head.
That was the end.
Even with the buff from Hyeop-in-ji-ro, the overwhelming internal energy contained in the palm force caused the ghoul’s tough body to burst apart regardless. Of course, I had still adjusted my strength because we were underground. Unlike Cheon Hayeon, I could not perform such precise qi manipulation through will alone. I could only control it by volume.
“Truly, your internal energy is admirable.”
Cheon Hayeon, who had been standing with her hands clasped behind her back watching me fight, nodded and spoke.
“Still just an elite zombie though. This is the control room, right?”
“It appears so. I sense no further hidden spaces.”
Most of the electronic equipment had already gone dead. The internal circuit boards looked completely burned; whether they could be restored was doubtful.
While Cheon Hayeon and I rummaged through the room, I discovered a crumpled document wedged deep between the machines. It had been buried so thoroughly in the corner that I would never have found it without spreading my senses widely. It seemed they had missed it while hastily disposing of materials.
I barely managed to pull it out and unfolded the wrinkled paper. It was a document addressed to the sewage manager. The contents were simple directives.
‘DP?’
However, the letters “DP” written at the very end refused to yield any meaning. It could have been an organization or a person’s name.
“Do you know what this means?”
I asked, handing the document to Cheon Hayeon.
“I do not. There are far too many such abbreviations.”
After pondering for a while with her arms crossed and staring into space, Cheon Hayeon suddenly spoke.
“Places capable of manufacturing both ghouls and gu insects while secretly operating a large-scale experimental facility of this size are not numerous. It would be either us, the Blood Sect, or…”
“Or?”
“…Dangmoon Pharmaceuticals.”
The words that finally left Cheon Hayeon’s lips far exceeded anything I had imagined.