Chapter 42 - Hell Diagram
Normally, Family Head Dang Jupyeong, who prided himself on refinement, valued not just what he saw but also the scents around him.
Burning fine incense was a given, and he even had furniture crafted from expensive aromatic woods.
But now.
The office, once filled with a subtle fragrance, reeked with a thick, foul stench of blood.
“Urk!”
Dang Jupyeong clamped his nose and mouth shut.
This wasn’t just from the blood flowing from his thigh.
Fog! How can the fog carry such a dense blood scent!
The blood mist crept relentlessly, filling the room.
The oily, viscous red haze devoured the lamplight, distorting even Jin Muhon’s silhouette into a blur.
Whatever it was, the situation made it clear the cause was the Sword Demon’s rage.
“Sword Demon! There must be some misunderstanding! I’ll explain everything! Just calm your anger first!”
Forgetting his dignity as family head, Dang Jupyeong begged shamelessly.
They said he’d lost his inner energy and been exiled from the Demonic Cult, yet his intimidating pressure seemed even fiercer than before.
Dignity wouldn’t save his life anyway.
With his father, the Tang family’s top expert, away, survival came first.
“Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?”
Jin Muhon slowly turned his head.
Through the red mist, his gleaming eyes were as chilling as blood-soaked ice.
“Ugh... well... Ah! Right! We didn’t capture your subordinates for no reason! We had no choice! Cheon Gunak! The Heavenly Demon’s son ordered it—if we didn’t obey, he’d wipe out our entire clan! What could we do?!”
“......”
Jin Muhon’s eyes flickered.
The blood mist writhed as if resonating with him.
“Cheon Gunak ordered it?”
“Y-yes! Forgive us! Young Master Cheon—no, that bastard Cheon Gunak plotted it all! We were just forced to go along!”
He might as well have exploded in fury.
Even after revealing the conspiracy, Jin Muhon remained silent. Dang Jupyeong couldn’t even guess his thoughts.
Finally, his own nerves frayed, Dang Jupyeong blurted out unasked details.
“Poison Dragon Valley! Poison Dragon Valley! Cheon Gunak locked your subordinates there! Go check it out!”
“......”
“Uh... Poison Dragon Valley is... hard to explain in words. Ah! A map! There’s a map in the desk drawer! That’ll show you!”
“......”
Dang Jupyeong spilled more bits of information after that.
It was a desperate ploy to hide what the pill was made from.
Jin Muhon listened silently for a long while before wearily shifting his gaze back to the pill. In the meantime, he opened the drawer and pocketed the map.
“Did Cheon Gunak order you to make this too?”
“Hm? You mean the Demon Spirit Pill?”
“You call it the Demon Spirit Pill?”
“...Y-yes.”
Dang Jupyeong swallowed hard and nodded slowly.
The Demon Spirit Pill was a top secret known to only a handful in the Tang family.
A masterpiece combining their poison arts with the demonic arts Cheon Gunak had provided.
Yet he’d revealed its existence to the Sword Demon.
Even if it was to bury the most dangerous truth, Dang Jupyeong couldn’t tell if he was doing the right thing.
“Wait! Sword Demon! Why are you drawing your sword?!”
Jin Muhon eased the Four Emperors Sword from its sheath.
Dang Jupyeong yelped and scrambled backward, dragging his rear across the floor.
Kieeeaaak!
Suddenly, a wail of anguish exploded from the blood mist.
The eerie shriek, as if tearing the room apart, made Dang Jupyeong’s hair stand on end and his vision shake.
“Gasp! W-what...!”
It wasn’t a human sound.
It was the tormented cry of a vengeful spirit, laced with pain and rage.
“Ughh!”
Dang Jupyeong clutched his ears, face contorted.
Jin Muhon, meanwhile, watched the pill’s changes without a flicker of expression.
Like a maggot breaking from its egg, the red pill began to writhe.
Tsss—
Bloody smoke seeped upward.
Jin Muhon closed his eyes gently.
He unleashed Yunbongmahae. He fully drew the Four Emperors Sword from its scabbard.
Keyyyyaaak!!
Kikikikikikiki!
Kieeeaaak!!
Soul-piercing wails erupted from all directions, numbing the mind.
The ceiling and floor rumbled, and the blood mist churned like waves in a gale.
“Urk!”
His mind reeling, Dang Jupyeong doubled over and vomited.
His body itched and stung. His brain felt ready to burst. Death seemed preferable. That thought dominated him.
Then,
the maddening wails cut off abruptly.
“Hah... hah... hah... hah...”
Collapsed amid his vomit, Dang Jupyeong gaspingly lifted his head.
Within the red fog.
Jin Muhon stood serene.
“......?”
Yet something eerie writhed around him.
Meanwhile, eyes still closed, Jin Muhon ignored Dang Jupyeong entirely.
As I thought...
The pill had nagged at him strangely.
From the first glance, it had tugged painfully at his heart.
Jin Muhon slowly opened his eyes.
Tsss—
Yunbongmahae fourth stage: Absorb Essence.
The Demon Spirit Pill dissolved into red smoke, merging with the blood mist.
Yunbongmahae fifth stage: Sword Intent.
From the blood mist, a red shadow gradually formed a figure.
It was Oepari, the one-armed wanderer, Blood Light Demon Sword.
But Jin Muhon didn’t stop there.
He summoned the four souls absorbed from the Demon Spirit Pill with Sword Intent.
One with a spear, one with fists clenched, one with an iron fan, and more.
His old subordinates appeared one by one as red shadows, saluting him.
Jin Muhon clucked his tongue at the bowed souls.
“You idiots. If you’re dead, go to hell already. What are you doing here?”
Emotions transmitted from the blood mist:
Rage, injustice, pain, resentment, despair.
Jin Muhon glared wide-eyed, etching each soul’s will into his heart.
Kwaaaang!!
As Jin Muhon communed with the souls.
Dang Jupyeong threw all his strength into kicking open the door and fleeing outside.
“Aaaah! Sword Demon! The Sword Demon has appeared!!!”
Dang Jupyeong’s scream shattered the estate’s silence.
Eh? Where?
The Family Head Residence! The Family Head’s in danger!
Warriors scattered across the estate unleashed their lightness skills at full speed.
Unable to run properly with his pierced thigh, Dang Jupyeong grabbed a arriving warrior and bellowed.
“Hurry! Call everyone! Bring every poison and hidden weapon you have!”
“F-Family Head! What’s wrong?!”
“You mad fool! Do as I say! The Sword Demon’s rampaging! We’ll all die at this rate! Move! Hurry!”
Pushed along by Dang Jupyeong, the warrior tilted his head but dashed off somewhere.
Still, warriors were gathering from all directions.
“Family Head!”
“Are you safe?!”
Trembling moments ago, Dang Jupyeong felt the fear lift as his subordinates swelled in number.
Fuck. That Sword Demon bastard.
Dang Jupyeong ground his teeth, recalling the past.
The clan massacre where over thirty percent of their forces fell to the Sword Demon.
He’d ground hundreds into Demon Spirit Pills— that nightmare was surely repeating.
We’ll all die! I need to escape first! As long as I survive, the Tang family endures!
Dang Jupyeong glanced around and slyly slipped behind the warriors.
Blood oozed from his stabbed thigh, but he endured the pain now.
“You there! Get out!”
“Escort the Family Head!”
“Yes!”
Soon, over a hundred Tang elites surrounded the Family Head Residence.
Dang Jupyeong retreated further while shouting.
“What are you waiting for?! Unleash the poisons and hidden weapons! No—burn the residence! Don’t let him come out!”
“Family Head. Who the hell’s inside?”
“You idiot! I told you! The Sword Demon! The Sword Demon’s in there!”
“What? Sword Demon... you mean the Demonic Cult Vice Leader Sword Demon?!”
“Yes!”
The Tang warriors gaped in disbelief.
Not even a bolt from the blue came without warning.
Why would the Sword Demon suddenly appear in the family head residence?
But then,
Thud. Thud.
From beyond the red mist.
Heavy footsteps echoed.
“......?”
“......!”
Just footsteps.
Yet Dang Jupyeong and the hundred-plus warriors felt their hair stand on end.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
A man emerged from the residence.
Plain black uniform, gripping a sword with a pitch-black blade.
Behind him, the red blood mist flared like wings, spreading wide.
“......”
Jin Muhon swept his abyss-deep eyes over the gathered crowd.
Just eye contact, yet they all shuddered and stepped back.
Jin Muhon’s gaze halted on Dang Jupyeong, hiding behind the warriors.
“Dang Jupyeong.”
“Insolent cur! Who do you think you’re talking to like that?! I’m the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan! Show respect!”
The groveling Dang Jupyeong before the Sword Demon was gone.
Even now, watching warriors flood toward the residence, he felt confident.
With this many experts’ hidden weapons and poisons, it rivaled a rain of ten thousand flowers—even the Heavenly Demon wouldn’t escape unscathed.
Dang Jupyeong pointed at Jin Muhon.
“Sword Demon! You’ve made two mistakes! First, barging into our home alone like an arrogant fool! Second, daring to humiliate me!”
“......”
“Crimes worthy of death! Bare your neck! Do that, and I’ll kill you painlessly!”
Dang Jupyeong’s eyes blazed with venomous glee.
If I capture the Sword Demon here... not just Father, but all Murim will acknowledge me. You bastard. I thought you were a disaster, but you’re a blessing in disguise. Heh heh heh.
This time, Jin Muhon gazed indifferently at Dang Jupyeong and spoke.
“Dang Jupyeong. You’ve made two mistakes too.”
“What? Ha! Fine. Spit it out. I’ll listen.”
Dang Jupyeong kept talking to buy time for stronger poisons and weapons.
“First, killing my subordinates to make those pills.”
“Pills? What pills? Got proof? Typical vile demonic scum—sneaking into someone’s bedroom at night to frame them!”
“......”
Jin Muhon smirked.
Dang Jupyeong raised his voice.
“Go on with the second! Let’s hear what other nonsense you’ve got!”
Jin Muhon curled his lip, staring intently at Dang Jupyeong.
His eyes, like gazing into the abyss, made fear creep back into Dang Jupyeong.
“H-hurry! Speak!”
Dang Jupyeong shouted louder to shake off the dread.
Jin Muhon glanced around before speaking.
“You revealed my existence before all these subordinates. That’s your second crime.”
“What? That’s a crime? Ha! What nonsense. So I should’ve kept my mouth shut when you invaded? Huh? Sword Demon!”
Jin Muhon’s face hardened like a corpse.
“Dang Jupyeong. You shouldn’t utter that title. No—at least not before all these people.”
“You madman. What bullshit is this? Why? Does hearing your title cost money? Huh?”
Jin Muhon thrust his arm forward.
Shwaaak!
A sharp whoosh cut the air as a black arc shot in a swift semicircle.
“Don’t you know?! The price for calling my title is—”
Sek—
“......?”
“......?”
“......?”
Over a hundred warriors gathered, yet silence blanketed the estate.
All gaped upward.
Whish whish whish—
Dang Jupyeong’s head sailed through the sky, spraying blood.
Red blood gushed from the severed neck.
Spurt!
The warriors’ gazes slowly dropped.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The falling head rolled across the ground.
Eyes still wide in disbelief at his own death.
Shwaaak—tak.
The Four Emperors Sword returned to Jin Muhon.
He gripped it.
“The price is your life.”
Jin Muhon looked up.
He unleashed Sword Intent.
“Kill them all.”
Shwaaaaa—
The red blood mist surged like a ferocious wave, engulfing the Tang warriors.
“Wha—?!”
“What’s that?!”
“D-don’t run! Fight! Fight!”
“Kaaaaak!!”
Crimson shadow souls, as if bursting from hell’s gates, tore into the Tang warriors.
Shwaak! Shwaak! Boom! Sek!
Blood exploded,
limbs ripped free.
“Kaaaaak!”
“S-spare me! Please!!”
Agonized screams filled the estate.
But then.
“......?”
Far off, atop a distant pavilion roof.
An eerie energy shot toward Jin Muhon.
He focused his gaze.
Someone stood on the roof, watching the hell unfolding over the Tang estate.
Flash!
Jin Muhon kicked off the ground, Four Emperors Sword in hand.