The Return of the Nightmare
When Yang Han-mun saw the sky dyed a hazy crimson, he realized he was dreaming. It was a landscape he had witnessed countless times before. He knew it so well that he could already predict the scene that would unfold next.
Soon, a scream would pierce the air.
Before long, the wet crunch of bones snapping would cut the scream short, along with the sound of breathing. Then Yang Han-mun would force his body upright and look around. Rows of corpses would stretch out before him.
The military officer who had led the government troops in his stead, because he himself was a typical civil servant. The man who had always been so gentle that the sight of blood made him queasy, yet had taken up arms when Hwaeum fell into crisis. The one who had spoken with pride about protecting his hometown.
Even after nearly a decade, the faces of those who appeared in Yang Han-mun’s dreams remained painfully vivid. As though they might spit out accusations of betrayal at any moment.
Trembling with terror, the Yang Han-mun within the dream forced his head up. There stood a woman in blood-drenched martial robes.
Eyes that regarded humans as nothing more than objects. Hair as wild as an old broom. Her clothes were so ragged one might mistake her for a member of the Beggars’ Sect, yet her beauty could not be concealed.
The Heavenly Demon. Baek Hwaryeong. If the word “catastrophe” were to take human form, this was surely what it would look like. That was what people had said. Though he had seen that face for years now, Yang Han-mun still felt his heart plummet every time their eyes met.
At the Heavenly Demon’s question, Yang Han-mun nodded frantically like a woodpecker. How could he not be afraid? She who had crushed every government soldier in Hwaeum single-handedly. She who harvested lives without the slightest tremor of emotion. She who spoke only of vengeance with that blank face, never laughing, never crying. How could anyone not fear her?
The Heavenly Demon looked at the terrified Yang Han-mun, pressed her lips into a thin line, and slowly raised her hand. The Yang Han-mun in the dream squeezed his eyes shut, sensing death, but the real Yang Han-mun already knew he would not die here.
Thud.
At the sound of footsteps, he cautiously opened his eyes. The Heavenly Demon had turned away and was walking through the field of corpses.
“Remember this. What happened here today is you paying the price for the sins committed by Mount Hua. Therefore, you must resent Mount Hua, who disgraced my mother.”
The voice, laced with inner energy, thundered across the entire county of Hwaeum.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Yang Han-mun’s eyes flew open at the pounding on the door. Seeing the ink-soaked paper beneath his cheek, he let out a long, weary sigh.
When will I finally escape this dream?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Enter.”
The moment he forced his stiff mouth to move, the door flew open and a man rushed in. He was one of the officials who had begun working for the government after Hwaeum had nearly been wiped out by the Heavenly Demon. Quick-witted and efficient, he was among those Yang Han-mun trusted most.
“Magistrate, sir!”
“Wait. Give me a moment to steady myself.”
Yang Han-mun stopped the man, who was clearly trying to speak through panting breaths, closed his eyes, and took several deep breaths to purge the exhaustion clinging to him. When he opened his eyes again, the usual sharp intelligence had returned to his gaze.
“What is the matter?”
“Mount Hua has been destroyed.”
What?
…No wonder the man had been so frantic.
Was there any reason for Mount Hua to fall so suddenly? Yang Han-mun knew the sect’s general situation, if not every detail. It was a neighboring city, and ever since the previous Heavenly Demon invasion the two sides had maintained a degree of cooperation.
The current Mount Hua was by no means weak. Though it had once stood on the brink of annihilation, it had successfully revived under its present sect leader. While it could not yet match the other Six Great Sects, it stood just below them. For such a place to be destroyed overnight… Had the Heavenly Demon revealed herself in the murim once more?
“Have you confirmed the full circumstances?”
“Not precisely, but after compiling the accounts of various outsiders, this is what we have.”
The man’s explanation was lengthy, but the summary was simple: Mount Hua had joined hands with the Blood Cult to carry out some scheme, only to be stopped by a single outsider.
Each word made Yang Han-mun’s head spin, yet he maintained his composure with great effort.
“How accurate would you judge this information to be?”
“We cross-verified it multiple times. I believe it is at least seventy percent reliable.”
Coming from such a meticulous subordinate, the words “at least seventy percent” essentially meant it was all but certain.
So the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had gone quiet, and now the remnants of the Blood Cult were stirring. The murim truly never knew peace.
“For now, send patrols through the surrounding area. We must check for any traces of the Blood Cult.”
“Understood.”
“Also, is there any information on this outsider who supposedly prevented the disaster at Mount Hua?”
The fact that one person had halted a joint scheme between Mount Hua and the Blood Cult proved the outsider’s martial prowess was far from ordinary. At minimum, the Transcendence Realm. Possibly even higher.
If such a monster existed, it was vital to forge the best possible relationship starting now—so they could call upon that power the next time disaster struck.
When Yang Han-mun inquired about the outsider, the man’s expression darkened.
“Why do you hesitate?”
“…It is said the martial art this outsider uses is the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.”
The Heavenly Demon Divine Art. Its weight in the current murim was anything but light. Even now, when the terror had been diluted by newcomers who had not witnessed that day’s catastrophe firsthand, the name still carried dread.
To those who remembered when Baek Hwaryeong the Heavenly Demon had shattered the murim alone, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was simply another name for disaster.
“Has any connection to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult been uncovered?”
“No. No one we questioned knew anything about it.”
“I see.”
Yang Han-mun tapped the desk with his index finger, trying to organize his swirling thoughts. A martial artist who wielded the Heavenly Demon Divine Art could not possibly be unrelated to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. If this person had received instruction from a survivor of the old cult, it might herald a new catastrophe.
Come to think of it, the coincidence was eerie. In the past, Mount Hua had been the Heavenly Demon’s first target of revenge. Now, once again, Mount Hua was the first to clash with a user of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
His tapping finger suddenly stopped.
“Where is this outsider now?”
“Staying at the Beggars’ Inn in Hwaeum.”
“I must meet them myself. I need to see with my own eyes exactly what kind of person they are.”
If this individual truly carried the seed of catastrophe, he would have to stop them by any means necessary.
*
Originally Yang Han-mun had intended to visit the Beggars’ Inn alone, but his subordinates had desperately dissuaded him. When they asked him to consider what would become of Hwaeum if anything went wrong during a meeting with a user of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, he had reluctantly gathered several government troops and arrived before the inn.
The Beggars’ Inn was silent. Unnaturally so.
This was not Yang Han-mun’s first visit. He knew better than anyone that the place was usually packed with wanderers and filled with raucous noise. Something had happened. Perhaps it was connected to the outsider who used the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Simply throwing the door open and walking in would not be wise. After signaling the troops to remain where they were, Yang Han-mun called out the outsider’s name.
“MintChocoPineapplePizza!”
A moment later, the inn door opened and a figure emerged.
It was a female martial artist. Her long hair was neatly pinned up, her black martial robes were spotless, and she radiated an aura of pure annoyance. She did not look like a heinous criminal. Yet Yang Han-mun could not relax his guard.
Because of her eyes.
Those expressionless eyes that viewed people not as people but as objects were eerily similar to the Heavenly Demon’s gaze burned into his memory.
“So you are MintChocoPineapplePizza.”
His tone had grown aggressive. The moment he saw those eyes, the nightmare he had just escaped came flooding back, making calm impossible.
“That’s me. What do you want?”
Perhaps because his own voice had been almost hostile, the woman’s reply was equally curt. The atmosphere grew so tense it seemed a fight might break out at any second. The government troops began drawing their weapons one by one.
Just as everyone braced for collision, the inn door opened again.
This time a young girl stepped out. The sight of her casually chewing food with zero tension shattered the heavy mood completely. The female martial artist let out a dry laugh and withdrew her energy first. The soldiers’ tension eased in response.
Whether she understood the effect she had caused or not, the girl looked around leisurely. When her eyes landed on Yang Han-mun they sparkled brightly.
“The magistrate of Hwaeum! It has been a long time! Why have you stopped offering sacrifices at the rocky mountain?”
At the girl’s cheerfully bright tone, Yang Han-mun felt utterly bewildered. Why was she greeting him with such familiarity? Had he ever met this child?
When he failed to answer immediately, the girl’s brows drooped in clear disappointment.
Who is she? She had called him the magistrate of Hwaeum, so she wasn’t mistaking him for someone else.
“How cruel. To forget your life savior so easily.”
The words “life savior” struck a chord. Yang Han-mun frowned, feeling as though a memory was trying to surface. He had seen someone similar to this girl before.
“Little one. I do not know what misunderstanding you are under, but we are performing official duties. Stand aside.”
While Yang Han-mun was still thinking, one of the soldiers stepped forward to block the girl. At the dismissive tone, she frowned and pointed at him.
“I am not a little one, you fool! I have eaten more salt in my lifetime than the rice you have consumed!”
The moment he heard those words, an old memory surfaced. The mountain deity who had saved him when he was once lost in the mountains. White bobbed hair and innocent crimson eyes. Though she lacked fox ears and tails, this girl’s face was identical to that of the mountain spirit.
Why would such a revered being be here?
“You use rather difficult words. Impressive, most impressive. Very well, that is enough.”
“Stop. This person is not someone you may treat lightly.”
When Yang Han-mun intervened, the soldier turned in confusion. “Bow your head and apologize at once, then step back.”
Though the soldier’s eyes were full of questions, he obeyed without question. He trusted that the magistrate he served would not issue strange orders. When the soldier bowed and changed his attitude, the mountain spirit accepted the apology with a magnanimous “It is fine.”
“It has been a long time. What brings you here?”
“I was enjoying a meal with my companion. The food in this era has developed splendidly!”
“By companion, do you mean the outsider standing behind you?”
“Indeed!”
The answer came without the slightest hesitation. Yang Han-mun blinked. How could someone who wielded the Heavenly Demon Divine Art possibly be a companion to a divine spirit? How could one who practiced demonic arts stand beside a noble existence like her?
“Do not lie to me.”
At Yang Han-mun’s sharp tone, Baru tilted her head, as if she genuinely could not understand why he was behaving this way.