The Heavenly Demon Visits the Murim Alliance (1)
I last set foot in the place known as the Murim Alliance decades ago. The purpose of that visit had been to burn it to the ground. Back then, I had resolved to shatter the entire Orthodox faction, so naturally their alliance was part of my list of targets for revenge.
Perhaps because I had already toured several sects and enjoyed the sightseeing, the Murim Alliance welcomed me with great fanfare. The moment I stepped inside, every martial artist in the place rushed out to play with me. Thanks to that, I never got a proper look around back then. By the time I finished dealing with the warriors who swarmed me like rabid fans, the entire Murim Alliance was already ablaze.
“Min-ga. Min-ga. Is the Murim Alliance truly this enormous a city?!”
Having never had the chance to leisurely observe the place before, I found myself marveling in the same way as Baru, who had transformed into a fox and was clinging to my shoulder. This was indeed a vibrant city. Both the faces of those who had originally lived in Murim and the players wandering its streets were full of life. It was hard to believe this was the same city I had burned down a few years ago.
Was this another change brought about by players entering the world of Hwaryong Muin? Once things settled down, taking a relaxed tour might not be so bad. There seemed to be plenty of sights worth seeing.
“Hwaryeong-nim! Even if you’re busy with Hwasan matters, you’ll turn on your stream tomorrow, right?!”
I signed an autograph for a kid who claimed to be a loyal viewer of my broadcast after we happened to cross paths, and that was the request he made. Come to think of it, it had been several days since I last streamed. The last time was during Hwasan’s test, after all. I should turn it on tomorrow and play some Apis for the first time in a while. Maybe challenge my dream of becoming a combat mage again while listening to the viewers’ advice.
After that, standing in front of the Murim Alliance building, I looked up at the massive structure that required craning my neck for quite some time and let out a sigh of admiration. Had they expanded the scale while rebuilding what I had destroyed? It was as if the word “frugality” had been erased from Murim entirely.
With that thought in mind, I was about to step onto the Murim Alliance grounds when a warrior guarding the entrance blocked my path.
“Do you have permission?”
“What permission?”
“Permission to enter the Murim Alliance grounds. You don’t know? Not just anyone can enter the Murim Alliance building.”
So there was something like that. When I visited before, I had been smashing everything in my path, so I never noticed.
“If you don’t have permission, present something else.”
“What should I show?”
“Proof that you hold a position of a certain rank or higher within the Orthodox faction. Show that and I’ll let you in.”
“I don’t belong to the Orthodox faction.”
“Then unfortunately, you cannot enter.”
Han Min-jun had been right. He had said I wouldn’t be able to enter recklessly, and it seemed he had predicted this. He had definitely told me that in times like these—
“Then could you deliver a message to someone inside? There’s a person I need to meet.”
“Who?”
“A man named Baek-il. If you tell him Min-ga has come, he should understand.”
The moment I mentioned Baek-il’s name, the warrior’s lips curled up at one corner. Was he mocking me?
“If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable.”
“Hmm?”
“Elder Baek-il is one of the Murim Alliance’s high-ranking officials. What possible reason would such a person have to meet an outsider like you who doesn’t even belong to the Orthodox faction? Did you think I’d be flustered if you dropped a big name? Think again. Do you believe I’ve only been guarding this entrance for a day or two?”
The warrior was clearly looking down on me. Perhaps he was acting this way after seeing my current realm. Or maybe he had made a hasty judgment based on my youthful appearance. Either way, it didn’t seem like he would pass a message to Baek-il.
This was troublesome. Han Min-jun had said that calling Baek-il would resolve most problems, but now I couldn’t even reach the man. Was the fact that I didn’t belong to the Orthodox faction the issue? This kid acting as a guard had made things annoying.
People with eyes like knotholes are always like this. They fail to recognize the person standing before them and judge solely by appearances. There was no helping it. In times like these, one must teach them their place.
I released my killing intent.
The warrior guarding the Murim Alliance gate instantly turned deathly pale, cold sweat beading on his forehead. It seemed he wasn’t accustomed to this. He probably hadn’t experienced many life-or-death battles. That was understandable. After all, he was a warrior who had grown up after I swept through Murim. How could someone like him be familiar with fights where people killed and were killed?
“I’ll say it again. Deliver the message to Baek-il that Min-ga has come.”
“...”
“It’s not that difficult.”
The warrior, frozen in terror, couldn’t keep his eyes still. Then he threw a punch. Fear had robbed him of rational thought. Pathetic. I had pressed down harder than I usually did with modern people, but he should have been able to endure at least this much. He was a resident of Murim, not a modern person. If he couldn’t withstand even this, how could he call himself a martial artist?
The fact that his punch, thrown wildly under the grip of fear, was so sloppy was also a demerit. No matter how overwhelmed by emotion, one’s movements must not become disordered. A true martial artist should be able to unleash techniques even by instinct without conscious thought. Just what kind of person was guarding the entrance of the Murim Alliance?
The guard of a place represents its face. It seemed the Murim Alliance’s standards had fallen quite a bit. Had they still not recovered from the aftermath of me killing all their top experts? After easily catching the warrior’s punch, I withdrew my killing intent.
“This should be enough for you to realize I’m not some insignificant martial artist, yes?”
I was about to tell him to obediently go call Baek-il, but I couldn’t finish my sentence. An attack came flying from behind.
When I turned my head, a spear had been thrust into the exact spot where my head had been moments before.
“Min-ga. I’ve heard the name. The warrior who defeated the corrupted Hwasan Sect Leader, right?”
“Dan-hyeong! What are you doing right now?!”
“And I’ve also heard that you wield the evil art known as the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.”
At the spearman’s words, the warrior guarding the gate shut his mouth. The weight carried by the term Heavenly Demon Divine Art was by no means light. The same was true for the other warriors around us. One by one, the surrounding martial artists began to reveal undisguised killing intent.
This was getting troublesome.
“Judging by the skill with which you wielded killing intent earlier, it doesn’t seem like you’re an impostor.”
“So what do you intend to do about it?”
“The Heavenly Demon Divine Art is evil. Naturally, anyone who uses it is evil as well. Evil must be eradicated.”
“I am an outsider, however.”
“What does that matter? The fact that you’ve learned the Heavenly Demon Divine Art doesn’t change.”
So that old bastard Baek-il really had lost his mind. The Orthodox faction’s warriors still harbored such deep hostility toward the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, yet he had tried to pull me into their side. How did he plan to handle the backlash? I had thought that since he said outsiders were fine, using the Heavenly Demon Divine Art wouldn’t be a problem. So opinions were still divided even within the Orthodox faction?
Well, thinking about it, this was normal. Given what I had done, it would have been strange if there wasn’t any hostility toward the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
“Baru.”
“Are you causing another commotion?”
Just what kind of person did Baru think I was that the moment I called her name, she immediately assumed I was about to stir up trouble? There were many parts I could guess at, but this time I was being wrongly accused. For once, I had no intention of causing an incident. I had simply been attacked without warning.
“Do as you please. I’ll stay still.”
“...Understood.”
I would have to have a proper conversation with her later to clear up this misunderstanding. While answering Baru, I grabbed the spear shaft. The spearman panicked and tried to pull it back, but that was exactly what I had intended. Confirming that his grip had tightened with all his strength, I swung the spear—with the spearman still attached—and hurled it away.
The instant the spearman flew off, two warriors charged at me. One used a sword, the other palm techniques, but both had prepared lethal moves meant to kill me. Since there was no reason to receive their attacks, I struck their chins and knocked them unconscious before they could even fully unleash their techniques. Then I caught an arrow that came flying at me from afar.
The arrowhead was coated with a purplish liquid. Poison. Were they truly trying to hunt me in earnest? What troublesome children. This hostility was both my karma and not my karma. I didn’t know why I had to bear the enmity that the me inside this game should receive.
“I would appreciate it if you could calm down. I have no intention of attacking any of you.”
“Even if you don’t, we do!”
“How dare someone who uses the Heavenly Demon Divine Art set foot on the Murim Alliance’s land?!”
It seemed they had no intention of stopping. While dealing with the swarm of warriors rushing me, I realized that not every martial artist in the Murim Alliance was hostile toward me. Roughly one in ten revealed killing intent. Of course, the others weren’t supporting me either. They simply ignored my predicament. They believed that since I used the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, I deserved this hostility.
Hmm. At first I thought this was troublesome, but upon reflection, this was actually good justification. I had been planning to tell Baek-il that I had no intention of joining under the Orthodox faction anyway. If I used this hostility directed at me as the reason, even that old bastard wouldn’t be able to say anything. Once I realized that, the attacks flying toward me suddenly felt welcome.
Should I allow a few more strikes to create even better excuses? If I shed a little blood, Baek-il’s position would become even more difficult.
“What do you all think you’re doing!”
Unfortunately, my plan could not be carried out. The moment I made up my mind, Baek-il burst out from inside the Murim Alliance. At his rebuke, infused with powerful inner energy, the warriors rushing toward me froze in place.
“Why are you attacking someone who has done nothing wrong!”
“But Elder Baek-il. This person uses the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.”
“Since when has it been unusual for an outsider to use different martial arts!”
“The Heavenly Demon Divine Art is different from ordinary Evil faction techniques.”
“Then what evil deeds has this person committed?! The only thing Min-ga has done is protect the Orthodox faction’s honor that was about to fall to the ground because of the Hwasan Sect Leader! If I’m wrong, speak up!”
At Baek-il’s scolding, the attackers lowered their weapons. Hostility toward me still remained in their eyes, but it seemed it wasn’t strong enough to defy Baek-il’s words.
Tsk. It would have been better if they had kept attacking. That would have made Baek-il’s position even more awkward. Since it had come to this, should I subtly reveal the energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to provoke them?
“I’m sorry, Min-ga. It seems the Orthodox warriors’ grudge against the Heavenly Demon Divine Art is not light, so this incident occurred. I will bow my head in their stead, so please forgive us.”
“Elder Baek-il!”
When Baek-il bowed to me, startled voices rose from the surrounding warriors. Because of what they had done, one of the Murim Alliance’s high officials was lowering his head. Their minds must be in chaos. Considering this old bastard’s usual personality, he must have bowed with that exact purpose in mind. What a cunning fellow.
“I wish to offer my sincerest apology. Would it be possible to go inside and talk?”
“How can I trust you? Are you not thinking of dragging me inside and attacking me?”
“I swear on my position as an elder of the Beggars’ Sect. Such a thing will not happen.”
When he went this far, it became difficult to argue any further. The other side had shown the utmost courtesy, after all. Any more complaints would simply be petulance.
“Very well. Please lead the way.”
“Then follow me.”
I decided to be satisfied with having secured the advantageous position for the conversation that would follow.