Chapter 2
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Demon Revival
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"Hold on tight!"
Rumble! Boom!
The ground shook as if it might flip over at any moment.
Gwang-u and I clung desperately to the pillars of our thatched hut, waiting for the earthquake to stop.
If we lost even this humble hut on top of our already meager possessions, we'd be in real trouble.
But natural disasters don't spare anyone.
No sooner had the earth begun to quake violently than the boulders perched atop Heavenly Mountain started tumbling down.
"Ah... damn it..."
The words slipped from my mouth as I stared at the massive boulder rolling straight toward our hut.
Hah!
At that moment, Gwang-u let out a fierce roar and charged up the slope toward the falling rock.
"Hey, you idiot!"
I shouted after him in a panic.
Not because I was worried about him, but because I was worried about the hut.
Gwang-u's hands were enveloped in a hazy aura.
Boom!
One side of the boulder—thick as three or four arm spans—shattered under his fist.
Even with one side broken off, the rock kept rolling toward the hut.
Hah!
Gwang-u roared again and planted himself in front of it.
His arms, pushing against the stone, bulged with rippling muscles, and his iron-like legs slid back but held firm.
Finally stopping the boulder, he turned and vomited violently.
Kahaha...
I looked up at Gwang-u, who was grinning proudly, and let out heavy sighs.
"Ugh... you moron."
The pillar of the hut that Gwang-u had been gripping was now tilted sideways, and one side of the roof had collapsed with a thud.
Fortunately, the earthquake seemed to have stopped; the ground no longer shook.
But the surrounding area was a mess, buried under landslides and scattered rocks from the mountain.
"What are you two doing? Fix the house already."
Master, who had been sitting in the yard waiting out the quake, straightened his hunched body and moved to sit in the shade under a tree.
"Master, we should eat first before getting to work."
Gwang-u had come down at some point and was now scooping rice and soup into bowls in the kitchen.
Thankfully, the kitchen side remained intact since I'd been holding onto its pillar.
I grabbed an axe and headed into the woods to find suitable beams, weaving through the trees.
The landslide had toppled even the sturdiest trees.
Thwack! Thwack!...
As I swung the axe to fell a tree for beams, I suddenly turned my head toward where the shrine had once stood.
About a hundred years ago, the Zhuge Family had built a shrine there to honor the Divine Calculator, Zhuge Cheon.
They used to visit every year to perform rituals, but as time passed, the ceremonies grew infrequent, leaving only the dilapidated shrine to mark the spot.
This earthquake had reduced even that old shrine to rubble, swept away by the quake and debris.
Gazing at the shrine's former site, I noticed a small hole lower down the slope.
It definitely hadn't been there before the earthquake.
'Could it be...'
Master had once told me that somewhere around there lay buried the Great Heavenly Demon, called the Great Fiend, and the revered Divine Calculator, Zhuge Cheon.
Curiosity piqued, I approached the hole.
It looked bigger than I'd thought.
'Should I... go in?'
It might be blocked partway, but just in case, I bent my knees.
Crawling on my knees, I entered, only to find it narrowed further inside.
Now that I was in, I figured I'd see it through to the end, so I flattened myself to the ground and crawled into the darkness.
After five or six jang, the passage widened again.
Standing up, I ventured farther until I reached a spacious chamber like a stone room.
There, two shriveled mummies lay sprawled on the floor.
I realized these were the Great Heavenly Demon and the Divine Calculator from Master's tales.
Approaching the larger mummy, presumed to be the Great Heavenly Demon, I halted and rubbed my eyes.
'What? Did I see that wrong?'
A faint, whitish smoke seemed to rise from the mummy's body.
Even with eyes that pierced the dark, I couldn't see as clearly as daylight, so it must have been an illusion.
As I examined the Great Heavenly Demon mummy, a sudden dizziness made the world spin.
Unthinkingly, I dropped to my knees and steadied myself against the mummy's body.
In that instant, unfamiliar memories flooded my mind.
It was excruciating agony.
Uwaaaah...
Memories poured in: a miserable childhood, contempt from others, grueling training that carved away at his bones to forge martial arts prowess, rising to become the strongest in the martial world.
Yet the memories were hazy, like fog-shrouded mist.
Vision blurring, I lost consciousness.
Kahaha!
"So it's true! I have finally revived from death!"
A burly, elderly man was laughing maniacally before me, beside himself with joy.
He didn't seem to notice me, ranting to himself.
"Now that this young body is mine, I can live another lifetime!"
Kahahaha... Kahahaha!
Only then did I recognize the hulking man with the tiger-like face.
"Great Heavenly Demon, Hyeok Mu-gwang."
The moment I spoke, the ecstatic Great Heavenly Demon whipped his head around.
"Who are you?"
He looked utterly flustered.
"Go Un-san."
"Go Un-san? You're the owner of this young body?"
His eyes bulging, he moved before I could respond.
His face, distant moments ago, loomed before me, and a vise-like grip seized my throat.
Sensing danger, I jerked my head back to evade, but his hand was already clamped around my neck.
Gurk! Gah!
The iron grip crushed my throat.
I tried to flail and strike him, but my body wouldn't move.
"Die!"
And so I died by the hand of the Great Heavenly Demon, Hyeok Mu-gwang.
Uwaaaak!
I screamed awake.
My blurry vision sharpened quickly, but my head throbbed like it'd been hammered, mind a chaotic fog.
'What? What was that?'
The lingering memory was the name Great Heavenly Demon Hyeok Mu-gwang and his fierce, beastly face.
And how he'd killed me in the dream.
That was all I could recall.
"Sleeping next to corpses gave me the weirdest dream."
It hadn't been sleep; I'd passed out.
Probably poisoned by corpse toxins.
If there was anything worth taking, I needed to grab it and get out.
Lifting the tattered clothes of the withered corpses revealed an ancient dagger from the Great Heavenly Demon's bosom and a parchment scroll from the Divine Calculator's.
I snatched up the longsword on the floor too and hurried out of the chamber.
Emerging from the cave with effort, I found it was already deep night, stars twinkling overhead.
"Damn punk. Can't even come looking for me when I'm out till midnight cutting wood."
Fuming, I ground my teeth and descended the mountain.
Gwang-u knew I was up here chopping beams.
If I didn't return by dark, my brother should've come searching—and spotted that hole.
Back home, the place was pitch dark inside and out; Gwang-u and Master must already be asleep.
At least Gwang-u had patched the roof somewhat.
I slipped into the kitchen, hiding the longsword and dagger in the firewood pile and tucking the scroll into my bosom.
Show them these, and Master would surely send Gwang-u to trade them for rice.
And if asked where they came from, I'd have to explain—trouble I didn't need.
'Tomorrow, sneak up and block the entrance.'
With weapons and scroll stashed, I opened the pot: some rice and soup left.
I wolfed down the remnants, scooping broth with a ladle.
Ptooey!
I spat out the broth immediately.
It was so salty it was inedible.
"Gwang-u, that bastard can't taste a thing."
I picked out the meat, filled up on rice, and washed the dishes.
Washed up at the stream, then entered the room where Gwang-u was snoring softly, dead to the world.
I lay on my mat and tried to sleep.
Tossing and turning as sleep evaded me, my consciousness eventually faded.
'Damn it.'
Why did the Great Heavenly Demon keep appearing in my dreams?
The Great Heavenly Demon stood in our front yard.
Spotting me, he unleashed a terrifying killing intent.
The intent took form as black mist, swirling around him.
"Why won't you die?"
The black mist terrified me like nothing before, but it fueled equal disgust.
"Why do you keep showing up in my dreams?"
His thick brows twitched.
"You think this is a dream?"
The black mist enveloping him suddenly exploded outward, engulfing me.
I thrust out my hands, wrapped in pale aura, to meet it.
The clashing energies stalled the mist momentarily before it surged up my arms.
Uwaaaak!
Where it touched, my flesh tore as if ripped by blades—agony proving this was no dream.
"Now do you see it's no dream?"
With that, he withdrew the mist.
Ugh...
My forearms bore deep gashes like sword cuts, blood streaming.
"Your martial arts aren't ordinary. Whose disciple are you?"
I glared at him murderously.
"One... Immortal Sect."
At "One Immortal Sect," his eyes widened like saucers.
"Did you just say... One Immortal Sect?"
"Yes."
The Great Heavenly Demon pressed urgently.
"What's your master's name?"
"Surname 'Gwak.' Given name 'I-won.'"
"Gwak I-won? Not 'Choe Geuk-yu'?"
"He's our Ancestral Master."
Stunned briefly, he asked gravely,
"How many years since I awoke?"
"About a hundred, as I understand."
"A... hundred years..."
Kuhuhu... Kahahaha!
He threw his head back in thunderous laughter.
But there was no joy in it.
"Of all things, a disciple of One Immortal Sect—cursed heavens."
His eyes flashed with blue light.
"What of the Demonic Cult? My subordinates?"
I answered honestly, as Master had taught.
"Perished from internal strife, I heard."
In despair, he muttered,
"Black Heaven Asura... that useless fool."
"I've answered your questions. Now get out of my dream."
No sooner said than he appeared before me from ten jang away.
Gurk!
Again, his hand clamped my throat.
"No choice now—I will seize your body."
Crack...
My neck snapped, and death claimed me once more.
Uwaaaak!
"Bro! Isn't that too much? Why scream like that out of nowhere? Can't even sleep."