Chapter 401
Chapter 401
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 105
>Chapter Title: Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul (5)
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Boom! Boom!
The sky, blanketed in fireworks, sent the interior of the Heaven-Earth Society into a frenzy of excitement.
Everyone knew exactly what that red signal flare meant.
It was something no one could have anticipated.
As a result, every force and person stationed throughout the society sprang into action.
Boom! Boom!
“Huh?”
Even as the explosive sounds echoed, Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul—who could not see them—heard only Mok Kyung-un’s voice reverberating in his mind.
“That’s right. I am the Heavenly Demon.”
That short declaration of his true identity.
Though spoken softly, the pressure it carried was immense.
His heart pounded so fiercely it refused to calm.
[Toppling Shaolin’s 108 Arhat Formation in a single step and single-handedly sealing the Sichuan Tang Clan... For an emergency report, it’s a bit hard to believe.]
[It’s unbelievable, yet it seems to be true.]
[But accepting it at face value...]
[If even the Justice Alliance is mobilizing, it means they view the gravity of this incident seriously as well.]
[...Does that mean He is watching this too?]
[He’s showing great interest.]
[He... is interested...]
He had accomplished countless feats, tamed a spirit beast as his familiar, and grown strong enough through human-sun-day-body incantations to rival realm-transcending martial artists. Yet that one had shown no attention to even his own realm, let alone any great interest.
For that one to take notice now...
[The seventh heaven... What was that one called again?]
[Less ‘called’ and more like he proclaimed himself the Heavenly Demon.]
[Demon of the Heavens?]
Crunch!
“Urk.”
Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul groaned in pain from the grip tightening around his throat.
Countless thoughts raced through his mind, but the one that surfaced most was: how had no one realized this man was the Heavenly Demon?
Or was noticing his identity the truly bizarre thing?
Come to think of it, he really was an odd one.
When he’d first arrived as a hostage from the righteous Timber Sword Manor, no one had paid him any mind.
The most fame he’d gained was after Blood Valley, and even that was merely at the level of a later-generation talent.
Who would ever think such a guy was the Heavenly Demon, the seventh heaven shaking the current martial world with his prestige?
Crunch!
“Grrrrr.”
“You’ve got impressive endurance.”
“Urghhh.”
“Then shall I tell you? The eldest young master Na Yul-ryang said he absolutely needed you. Why is that?”
“Th... that... I... won’t... tell...”
“If you start longing for death, you’ll talk.”
“Futile... Kill... me.”
“Well, I figured you wouldn’t open up easily.”
Thwack!
Mok Kyung-un grabbed his left shoulder.
“Wait, what are you...”
“If I had time to spare, I’d start with a fingernail, but since I don’t, let’s go arm, leg, in order.”
No sooner had he said it than Mok Kyung-un yanked at his left arm.
It was right then.
The demon beast Yu-al’s body part, which had formed armor over his shoulder, shot out like tentacles and seized Mok Kyung-un’s hand.
Shrrrrk!
‘!?’
The moment it grabbed hold,
Pshhhht! Pshhhht!
The countless tiny spines bristling across its entire body burst forth as if waiting for this chance.
They were so small and numerous that counting them was impossible.
It was the demon beast Yu-al’s sure-kill strike, having merged as one with its human-sun-day-body host and lain in wait to protect him.
But,
Fizzle... sizzle...
The instant the spines emerged, they melted away like ash oxidizing.
The demon beast Yu-al couldn’t hide its shock.
-Damn it!
A shroud of deathly energy enveloped Mok Kyung-un’s body.
Since he was approaching the ghost netherworld veil and the human-sun-day-body Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul, he’d kept it active as a precaution—and that was why it failed.
“Too bad. You must have been waiting for that moment.”
Crunch-crunch-crunch!
Finishing his words, Mok Kyung-un ripped out Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul’s entire left arm from the shoulder.
“Gaaahhh!”
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Screams of agony erupted simultaneously from both Myeong-ryul and the demon beast Yu-al.
No matter how enduring Myeong-ryul was with pain, losing his right arm and now his left was too much to bear.
As someone blind, his other senses had sharpened extraordinarily, making him even more sensitive to pain than ordinary people.
He’d endured through his unique tenacity, but the ongoing torment of having his arm torn off was driving his mind half-mad with suffering.
Into his ear, Mok Kyung-un whispered.
“If you just give me the answer I want, it can all end comfortably.”
“Urghhhh... The... eldest... young master...”
Crunch!
“Guh!”
It was just as he tried to speak.
Suddenly, the demon beast Yu-al’s flesh, which had been protecting his body like armor, began constricting Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul himself.
“Y-Yu-al... St-stop...”
Crunchhh!
Despite Myeong-ryul’s cry, the demon beast Yu-al’s squeezing didn’t weaken.
If anything, the pressure intensified.
When his familiar defied even his command like this, a realization flashed through Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul’s mind.
‘A binding seal?’
He was a grandmaster of barrier arts, worthy of the title Barrier Sage.
His greatest specialty was binding seals.
Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul had reached unparalleled heights in imposing bindings, even unraveling that one’s own seal in the end.
He’d sworn loyalty, but he hadn’t wanted to stake his life on it.
Yet,
‘Huh?’
To think a binding seal had been placed even on his own familiar.
He must have assumed it went unnoticed since he’d kept silent, but it was right on top of his head.
Crackkk!
“Urk.”
As his ribs cracked under the pressure and he writhed in agony,
“You’ve been abandoned.”
“Urghh.”
“Want me to save you?”
‘!?’
Save... him?
At Mok Kyung-un’s sudden offer, Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul plunged into momentary turmoil.
The fact that one had taken such measures meant betrayal would be instantly detected.
Perhaps one even knew he’d dabbled in the soul-shifting arts of Yi-hon, the infamous villain from ages past.
That was why he hadn’t feared even death.
But if one knew of those measures, then all his prepared spells and arts might come to nothing.
Crack!
“Grrrh!”
More bones crumbled under the demon beast Yu-al’s constriction.
In that instant, after countless deliberations, Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul desperately cried out.
“S-Save... me!”
At his shout, the corner of Mok Kyung-un’s mouth curved upward.
* * *
In front of the headquarters where the Heaven-Earth Society’s Chief resided within the inner compound.
A massive crowd was gathering there.
There was only one reason they flocked like this.
Boom! Boom!
The red fireworks still embroidering the sky.
Since they’d been heading to headquarters anyway, Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang’s faction arrived first at the plaza before it, his expression peculiar.
And understandably so,
“Is it really the Chief who summoned us?”
“......”
At Mo-yak’s question, Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang let out a long sigh without responding.
The red fireworks—that signal flare—meant an emergency summons from the Chief.
Upon seeing it, everyone in the society, regardless of position, was obligated by the Chief’s authority to assemble in one place.
‘Has his condition improved?’
According to intelligence from the Elder Hall, the Chief had reached a state beyond recovery.
So how could there be an emergency summons?
Even if he’d miraculously regained consciousness, recovery this swift in such a short time was impossible.
Could this be yet another ploy by the Elder Hall?
If so, it was going too far.
No matter what, exploiting the Chief’s near-unconscious state like this...
Creeeak!
It was then.
The great gates of headquarters swung open.
A procession emerged, and the moment Mo-yak saw it, he called out to Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang in alarm.
“Y-Young master, what’s that?”
Leading the procession like a line of marchers was a severed head impaled on the tip of a long spear.
Murmur murmur!
Na Yul-ryang’s subordinate sects, the first to gather, buzzed in shock.
What in the world was happening?
The headquarters’ guard brigade was emerging in formation to display the severed heads publicly.
There were quite a few, and as everyone puzzled over it, the sect leader of a major subordinate sect stared at one head on a spear tip and exclaimed in shock.
“E-Elder In?”
‘Elder In?’
At the cry, one of Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang’s eyebrows shot up.
The head, tongue lolling and eyes bulging, belonged to Elder In Ji-gyu.
He’d retired twelve years ago, a former Grand Commander of exceptional skill who’d earned many merits and entered the Elder Hall.
Na Yul-ryang recognized the face.
For Elder In to be paraded like this,
‘...Something’s gone wrong.’
It seemed the plan the Elder Hall had prepared in advance had failed.
Otherwise, there’d be no procession of displayed heads.
Na Yul-ryang’s eyes sharpened as he looked up at the top floor of the building where the Chief resided.
“Young master?”
“Looks like we underestimated both the Elder Hall and him.”
Through the wide-open windows, Na Yul-ryang spotted a silhouette standing with hands behind the back, gazing down.
The figure was so familiar he recognized it instantly.
“...Master.”
It was the Heaven-Earth Society’s Chief.
Unlike the last time he’d seen him, not even bandages were present.
As Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang stared, the gazes of the assembled Heaven-Earth Society warriors and sect members naturally turned upward as well.
“Ch-Chief?”
“The Chief is safe?”
“Look! The Chief is unharmed!”
“Waaaaahhhhh!!!!!”
Rumors had spread that the Chief’s condition was dire.
The society had been thrown into chaos, so when the Chief not only issued an emergency summons but appeared hale after so long, the headquarters plaza erupted in cheers.
Na Yul-ryang’s faction couldn’t welcome the adulation.
Then, marching into the center of the plaza amid sobs came a group.
Exclamations of surprise rose here and there at the sight.
“It’s the Earth Vein.”
“The Earth Vein has returned to headquarters!”
Entering the plaza’s center like triumphant generals, they were none other than the Earth Vein faction—one of the two pillars leading the Heaven-Earth Society.