The Madman's Mercy
That's not what happened!" Dang A-ran's face twisted with rage. "Don't compare me to that! I was five years old—I brought food to the little mother out of good will, not knowing what it was! I'm not some psycho like you who gets off on killing people!!"
She spat the words out like blood, seething with resentment and injustice.
Do-gwang, meanwhile, blinked. Opened his eyes. Closed them. Repeated.
"No, I'm telling you I genuinely didn't know!!?? "
He bellowed at a volume several times greater than Dang A-ran's. "Why are you pushing a normal person into the killer role, you psycho!!!"
His expression radiated pure indignation.
"Tell me you didn't think those useless sacks of shit would still be around!!!"
There was nothing but sincerity in Do-gwang's voice. He'd kicked the door in so loudly it practically announced his invasion.
So the people in the main hall should either rush out with weapons drawn like the warriors in the courtyard, or scramble to evacuate—that would be the reasonable response.
But the injustice of it all welled up in him.
"You psycho—!!!"
Do-gwang shouted at Dang A-ran one more time with everything he had.
"......"
"......"
Silence.
Everyone in this room. Who's the normal one here? You say you're not the killer? Fine.
A dozen things he wanted to say swelled to the tip of his tongue—but she'd completely robbed him of words. If he shot back at this lunatic, his head would be gone.
So it was the other lunatic who shattered that suffocating silence.
"Heh."
A snicker. Do-gwang's own mocking laugh.
"But what's the big deal?"
He asked Dang A-ran while making the most obnoxious, insufferable face he could manage.
"What exactly are you gonna do about it?"
Following that provocation—
"Kyaahaha~~"
A bright, cheerful laugh rang through the courtyard. "Dohwa" opened up and bounded into the clearing.
"Exactly! What are you gonna do about it?"
Dohwa jabbed her finger at Dang A-ran with a grin.
"You worm! Kyaahaha~~"
"Eeeek!!!"
Dang A-ran trembled violently with rage and humiliation.
"What the hell did I do to deserve this!?? "
"Hah? What did I do wrong? I sent the old folks off so I could nap, that's all."
Do-gwang snickered, then added with a slap of his iron rod against his shoulder:
"I already told you. One more provocation and it's not 'I'll hit you'—I'll break every single bone in your body."
He'd shown them before. The sheer, overwhelming force. Not just Dang Jung-hyeok—every other punk in the Dang family who was swaggering around while mouthing off about the Poison King.
He showed them all.
Poured every ounce of inner energy he had into it.
So of course it was perfectly normal that he couldn't repeat that kind of destructive display right now. That was just how the martial world worked.
But—
"PFAAAAH—!!!!"
Do-gwang again blasted blue inner energy from his entire body with reckless abandon. Actually, the sheer volume he was expending right now exceeded even when he'd launched the entire main hall building into the air.
The onlookers could only stare in horrified shock.
Mo-yong-jin and Gak-byuk exchanged jeon-eum with faces that looked like their souls had fled.
They couldn't even dream of it.
Infinite Abyss Source ()
"What is emptied is not lost—it is but preparation to quench the great thirst of heaven and earth. Having a source that never runs dry, why would one fear decay?"
The fact that Do-gwang possessed such a fraudulent skill was the issue. The massive inner energy and vitality he'd spent launching the main hall building were already fully recovered while he'd been chatting nonsense with Dang A-ran.
"A... ahh..."
Dang Jung-hyeok's jaw trembled like a persimmon branch in a storm.
Do-gwang was a disaster. A disaster incarnate. That arrogant display had been a fatal mistake. He shouldn't have threatened the elders in the family by name and blackmailed them with his father's closed-door training.
He should have groveled and begged for his life.
'No... it's not too late now...!'
CRASH—!!!
Dang Jung-hyeok slammed his forehead into the bare floor without a shred of dignity left.
"Great Head! I'm truly sorry!!!"
He wailed, smashing his head into the ground so hard blood sprayed from his mouth.
"Please! Please! Have mercy! If the lineage of the Dang family, passed down through hundreds of years, ends with my generation, then I won't just face my father in closed-door training—I won't be able to face our ancestors!!!"
CRASH—! CRASH—!! CRASH—!!!
Dang Jung-hyeok beat his fists against the wooden floor, grinding his teeth inside.
It was truly painful and humiliating to the bone. But if he could just get through this once—if he could survive this crisis—
As long as he kept his life, as long as he could get through this crisis—
"Father will ascend to the Star Realm and take revenge for sure!"
"Huh...?"
Dang Jung-hyeok flinched, his shoulders shaking. Because his inner voice had echoed loudly and clearly in the middle of the empty courtyard.
Did I just... say that out loud? No! That wasn't from his mouth!
"Not ten times—a hundred! No, a thousand times over! Somehow just get through this crisis!"
That voice had come from Do-gwang's mouth!
"...did you think I said that?"
"N-no..."
Dang Jung-hyeok tried desperately to deny it with a face drained of all color, but his lips only trembled uselessly.
No matter what excuse he offered, this lunatic didn't seem like he'd even consider listening.
Ah, the Dang family. This is truly the end of the line.
Dang Jung-hyeok closed his eyes tight in despair.
But contrary to his pessimistic prediction, Do-gwang leaned his iron rod casually over his shoulder and smirked.
"Head of the Family, want me to tell you something fun?"
"Fun? What kind of..."
Dang Jung-hyeok stammered with a blank expression. Fun? In this murderous situation? What kind of nonsense was that!
Even Mo-yong-jin, who was watching from behind, didn't react strangely to the word "fun" for once.
Mo-yong-jin glared at him, but Gak-byuk just turned his gaze away and pretended not to hear.
So the martial alliance's idiots chatted among themselves—while Do-gwang casually dropped a bomb.
"The Poison King. That useless sack of shit."
"Huff...!"
"Hah...!"
"Ghk!!!"
Panic and shock erupted simultaneously from everyone's mouths. Bastard? To the Poison King—one of the Twenty Great Heavenly Kings?!
Do-gwang didn't care even a hair's width for the horrified stares around him. He continued calmly:
"He'll probably come out within half a year at the earliest. Anyway, he won't break through to the Star Realm. That human can't reach it."
"Th-that's what—!?"
Dang Jung-hyeok's mouth fell open so wide it seemed like it would split. Was this lunatic seriously saying such absurd things?
Dang Jung-hyeok didn't respect or revere his father as a father. But he deeply acknowledged the Poison King's martial prowess as a martial artist. After all, he'd believed with absolute certainty that after over five years of closed-door training, he would break through to a new realm when he emerged.
But this bastard was saying—
"He won't break through. Can't."
How could he be so confidently certain?!
"Pfft. You think anyone can just reach that realm?" Do-gwang sneered. "Some old fart stuck at mid-level Hwa-gyeong thinking he can reach the Star Realm just because he's been cooped up in a room for a few years? If that were true, wouldn't every head of every orthodox martial sect in the world be buried in mountains doing nothing but closed-door training?"
He mocked with disbelief.
Mo-yong-jin and Gak-byuk felt their souls flee again. Every word out of that guy's mouth was nothing but reality-shattering nonsense.
"Whatever. Believe it or not, that's your business."
Do-gwang grinned at the pale, frozen Dang Jung-hyeok.
"Anyway, Head of the Family? If the Poison King comes out of closed-door training and doesn't become one of the Six Powers of the Martial World, it'd be perfectly natural to be pissed, right?"
"W-what exactly is the point of asking me that...!?"
"The point? It's that you're fucked."
"...!!!"
Only then did Dang Jung-hyeok fully comprehend Do-gwang's words.
Suppose he somehow survived this crisis. But if—just as Do-gwang said—the Poison King emerged from his grueling closed-door training and still couldn't reach the Star Realm, the thing he'd yearned for and obsessed over—
Then what? When he stepped outside to find the Dang family's main hall, which had centuries of history, completely gone. When the elders were either dead or crippled. When the family's honor had been dragged through the mud beyond repair—
What exactly would the Poison King do to whom? It was painfully obvious.
"N-no... Father will definitely..."
Dang Jung-hyeok began trembling with terror. Just imagining it made his throat go cold.
And so the pathetic Dang Jung-hyeok—
"Sigh..." Do-gwang let out a long, weary sigh and shook his head.
Then he lowered the iron rod he'd been holding up.
He was stopping short of turning the Dang family into ash.
It wasn't because Dang Jung-hyeok had been sincerely apologizing by smashing his head on the ground. It wasn't because he pitied the old man being beaten to death by his own father later.
It was because Dang Jung-hyeok had mentioned the Poison King.
Precisely—because if he completely destroyed the Dang family right now—
Ten Thousand Flowers Fall Rain.
He'd lose the chance to learn the Dang family's ultimate secret technique. That temptation he simply couldn't resist.
'I can't give that up for anything.'
Wasn't it one of the most famous martial arts in any murim world? The technique of pouring killing intent like rain to sweep away enemies. How could he possibly abandon that?
'If I were sure the Poison King could use it right now, I'd just wreck the whole family and head straight to the cave...'
But he couldn't be sure. The Poison King, who failed to reach the Star Realm. If he emerged without having perfected Ten Thousand Flowers Fall Rain, his raging frustration would be exactly what completed and restored the technique.
The problem was he didn't know the exact timing of when the Poison King would break through—the game never gave detailed info on that.
So if he annihilated the Dang family now, the Poison King might detect the anomaly and abandon his closed-door training early. Because the regular reports confirming the family was fine, along with the supplies needed for his training, would stop arriving.
If the Poison King emerged without having perfected Ten Thousand Flowers Fall Rain?
'Then he's just a living poison-pouch. Nothing more.'
Nothing but a walking poison technique. Not the slightest bit appealing to Do-gwang. After spending thousands of hours in this game, martial artists scattered across the world were just medicine cabinets to him.
'Damn, I shouldn't have launched that building into the sky.'
Do-gwang glanced at the empty lot where the main hall had stood and clicked his tongue internally. Because the Dang family's wealth and funds were stored in that building, the family had taken an enormous financial blow. If things went wrong, it could even disrupt the supplies being sent to the Poison King in closed-door training.
'Should've just smashed A-ran and those useless assholes' heads and left.'
Do-gwang thought as he looked down at Dang A-ran, who was groveling on the ground.
"Huh... ugh... huh..."
She couldn't even meet his eyes, cowering like an insect, sniveling.
Then—
"Ah-ha!"
Do-gwang's face suddenly brightened. 'I was worrying for nothing.'
The financial trouble. That was ridiculous. What kind of family was this? The Dang family with Dang Jung-hyeok, who'd do anything for survival, and Dang A-ran, who was equal parts beautiful and useless. Of course there'd be no such trivial concern.
"Phew..."
Relieved, Do-gwang exhaled.
Then he grinned and looked down at Dang Jung-hyeok.
"I'm such a good person for stopping here. Your head is already cracked from apologizing, Head of the Family—it'd be a shame to make you suffer more."
"S-stop here...?"
Dang Jung-hyeok felt like he was losing his mind. Stopping here? No, thank God he was being spared—but hadn't he already smashed everything that could be smashed? The family was ruins, the key figures' heads were all cracked and they'd been gone for ages.
But the lunatic's nonsense didn't end there.
"Right! And you have to make sure to tell your wonderful father what I said, okay? Tell him to come find me! Got it?"
"....."
Dang Jung-hyeok's mind went blank. He had to tell his father—according to this lunatic—but could he even finish that sentence? It felt like a blade would pierce his skull the moment he opened his mouth.
The future stretching ahead was far too dark and gloomy.
But Do-gwang didn't care about any of Dang Jung-hyeok's feelings. He let out another deep sigh and fidgeted some more.
"Sigh... Even so, I guess I have to let this slide. Your head is so pitifully cracked from apologizing that I can't bring myself to do anything more."
Do-gwang sincerely lamented his own weakness.
Mo-yong-jin and Gak-byuk felt their souls ripped out in real time. He'd essentially destroyed the family and was now spouting nonsense.
Of course, Do-gwang didn't care one bit about the withering stares of others.
He turned without hesitation and walked away.
"Let's go, Dohwa."
"Yeah!"
Dohwa marched right behind him.
Thud thud.
Dang So-ryeong stared blankly at the retreating figure.
'Ah...'
He was getting farther away. The only thread of light that had pulled her out of this hell in an instant was drifting toward a place she could never reach.
Then—
Do-gwang glanced back casually.
"What are you doing? Come on."
"Y-yes...?"
"Don't want to? I won't force you. But are you gonna keep staying in this shithole? Come on."
"A...!"
Light flooded into Dang So-ryeong's empty eyes in an instant.
"Y-yes!"
Her steps were lighter than they'd ever been, and a shy smile—the first of her life—crept across her lips as she passed through the main gate of the Dang family estate, which had been a living hell moments ago.
After Do-gwang took Dohwa and Dang So-ryeong and vanished—
"......"
Dang A-ran trembled as she slowly raised her upper body.
"Ha...!"
She spat out ragged breaths overwhelmed by humiliation.
"Ha...! Ha...!"
So he just leaves? With that trash instead of me?
"Gwang-gongja..."
Deadly killing intent seeped into Dang A-ran's eyes as her pride was shredded.
"...I won't forgive this..."
Blood dripped from her lips where she'd been biting them so hard.
"Absolutely..."
As she swore her blood vengeance against Do-gwang—
SLAP—!!!
"KYAAAAH—!!!"
A rough palm came crashing down on Dang A-ran's cheek without warning.
"It's all your fault!!!"
Dang Jung-hyeok snarled with bloodshot eyes.
"I told you a hundred times not to go out and pick fights! What did I say?!"
"A... Father... KYAAAAH—!!"
SLAP—!!
"Why do you have to go and mess with that lunatic! Why do you have to make our family—no, me—so pitiful?!"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry... KYAAAAH—!!"
SLAP—!!!
Dang A-ran sobbed and begged, but Dang Jung-hyeok, having lost all reason, kept slapping his daughter's face.
Then he caught sight of his daughter's bloodied cheek.
"A... I need to calm down... I need to calm down..."
He stopped his hand mid-swing and gasped for breath.
"If you ruin your only good quality, we're finished..."
"F-Father...?"
Dang A-ran looked up at him, trembling with fear.
But her father didn't even glance at her. He turned to the servants with cold, dead eyes.
"Get this girl to the infirmary. At the very least, fix her face without a single scar. If we're going to rebuild the main hall, we need her looks."
Whether through political marriage or selling her to an intelligence network—this was a horrific decree to use her beauty to raise funds for rebuilding the shattered family.
Understanding this, Dang A-ran—
"Father, I was wrong! Please...!"
She clung to her father's sleeve, pleading desperately.
FWAP—!
"Get lost! I don't want to see you!"
Dang Jung-hyeok kicked her away and turned his back coldly.
Mo-yong-jin watched this wretched spectacle and let out a hollow laugh.
"Heh heh..."
"The Dang family is effectively finished," Gak-byuk added with a bitter taste in his mouth.
"That's the way it is," Mo-yong-jin said, nodding heavily as he sighed.
Whether the Poison King became the Star Realm or not, with people like this running the family, the Dang family's future was already over.
"Anyway, has the on-site inspection ended?"
"Yes, it's over. But it really is a strange situation."
"Strange how?"
"I don't know if it was intentional or not, but the dead were the eldest son Dang Cheol-u, who attacked that lunatic, the warriors, and..." Gak-byuk looked at the empty lot where the main hall had stood with a baffled expression.
"Oh Bu-in, who was in the main hall, and the collateral bloodlines and escorts who were with her. The servants, cooks, and innocent civilians didn't suffer so much as a hair."
"Heh heh... As long as that lunatic isn't an indiscriminate killer, that's the one bit of comfort."
Mo-yong-jin sighed with deep relief, running a hand across his chest.
He looked up at the night sky and prayed sincerely.
Tomorrow, early. Or even a little late would be fine, really. Please, oh please, let that walking disaster stop causing incidents in this city. And leave the Four Heavenly Regions in peace.