#110 Quite Familiar Beings
Forty thousand spectators! The pressure they brought was beyond imagination.
Gulp!
King swallowed hard, glancing around nervously, when he spotted Jet approaching from across the arena. Jet spun his long spear effortlessly before slinging it over his shoulder with a grin.
"King, long time no see."
"Yeah."
King gave an awkward smile in response. Among the Awakeners, he had very few close friends. He'd crossed paths with Jet a few times before, but they'd never actually fought.
"Hmm."
Jet eyed King up and down, tilting his head.
"Artifacts?"
King held up his hand, showing off the four rings on his fingers. The Wind Breaker and Wind Shield he'd received as compensation from the Lebadon family, plus two more he'd bought himself.
"Just four? What about that Constellation Glove? Everyone says it's a game-changer."
"That one's not mine to begin with."
Jet smirked, clearly amused by King's response.
"You used it against Pyro last time. You lookin' down on me or what?"
"Nah. There were... circumstances with Lebadon."
"Hmm... What kind?"
King gave a wry smile.
"Family issues."
"Family issues, huh. Fair enough—we've got our own messes, so I won't pry."
Jet pondered for a moment, then nodded as he realized King really only had those four artifacts.
"Gonna do it fair and square on your own power, eh?"
"Yeah."
King hesitated, then added,
"I'll be competing with you and the other top ranks from now on, so I wanna survive on my own strength."
"Not scared of losing?"
"Honestly? Terrified. That's why I've been training my ass off."
Jet grinned, clearly pleased with the answer.
"Pretty manly of you."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"Makes me feel like a bully now. Let's even the odds a bit."
Jet shook his head with a chuckle and shrugged off his battle suit. A middle-aged man standing silently behind him stepped forward to take it.
"Dad, guy's got some balls talkin' like that."
King glanced at the man.
'That's Myeong-wang...!'
It was his first time seeing the man in person. Korea's SS-rank number 3, wielder of the spear. Aside from rumors of his near-divine spearmanship, King knew little else.
Myeong-wang eyed King steadily before speaking.
"Impressive presence."
He tied back his neatly combed hair tightly. His beard was impeccably trimmed, and he wore a unique style of martial robe. Yet the moment King laid eyes on him, it felt like facing the Sword God himself.
'Not a single opening.'
Jet handed over his gloves, earrings, and necklace to Myeong-wang as well.
"There. Now I'm down to four, same as you."
"Give it your all."
"Yes, sir!"
Jet saluted playfully. Myeong-wang muttered something about whose kid he took after and retreated to the Colosseum guild members.
"Family motto: fair and square. I stray sometimes, though."
Jet winked and extended his hand to King.
Waaaaah!
The roar of 40,000 spectators erupted.
"Let's have a proper go at it."
* * *
VIP seats.
"Huh? Myeong-wang?"
Park Jun-woo echoed in surprise.
"Yeah."
At Kang-ho's words, he thought it over.
"Dunno?"
After the war, with hordes flooding into Seoul, there hadn't been time to scrutinize every immigrant back then.
"Wasn't he a Korean who naturalized from China? That's what I figured."
"Same here."
Kang-ho himself had naturalized from post-war China. He nodded slowly, gazing down at the arena.
Bam!
Jet's spearmanship came into view. The flexible spear pressed King relentlessly. Thrusts leveraging its full length sealed off King's barrage of spells. At the same time, Kang-ho closely observed the essence emanating from Jet's entire body.
The bizarre mana that bent freely like reeds was utterly unlike any mana control he'd seen. An essence that hadn't existed before!
As Kang-ho stared in considerable surprise, Kang Jun-seok spoke up.
"That control method, that unique mana..."
He added quietly,
"That's inner energy."
"Inner energy?"
"Think of it as Murim's version of mana. Nearly identical to this world's, but with subtle differences in nature. Not as distinct as demonic energy, so it's hard to spot."
Kang-ho had never personally clashed with Myeong-wang either.
"Makes sense now."
Park Jun-woo nodded in agreement.
"Last time I fought him, that unique mana left a deep impression. Like it was..."
"Perfectly optimized for weapon use?"
"Exactly."
"But totally unsuited for casting spells. Completely polarized."
As they talked, King fell into a defensive stance.
Papapapak!
A flurry of thrusts rained down, but King accelerated his movements with winds from all directions, dodging efficiently. Against King, honed by the Weapon Master's spearmanship, Jet's skill wasn't quite enough to land a clean hit.
Soon.
Kwaaaa!
Wind burst from King's hands, shoving Jet back. Clapping them together, he unleashed dozens of wind arrows at Jet.
Winds whipped through the arena, tousling hair and bringing a refreshing chill.
-Waaaaah!
With the crowd's cheers, King's winds squeezed Jet from all sides.
Papapapapak! Pak!
Jet parried the winds nimbly with his spear, but two arrows struck his solar plexus.
Pajijijik!
A small tornado lifted Jet into the air before slamming him down.
The match was decided.
SS-rank #10 King triumphs!
-Waaaaah!
Cheers erupted as confetti rained from the sky. Kang-ho smiled faintly, giving a thumbs-up to the jubilant King below. King beamed back, bowing with a clasped-fist salute to Kang-ho, Park Jun-woo, and Kang Jun-seok.
Kang Jun-seok watched silently as Myeong-wang approached to congratulate King.
. . . . . .
"Impressive."
Myeong-wang addressed Kang-ho with genuine surprise.
"I knew the kid was top-tier, but he's better than I thought."
"He's still green."
Kang-ho replied, and Myeong-wang chuckled.
"Either way, it's been ages, Mr. Choi Kang-ho. Ten years since last time?"
"Around then. Your son's all grown up."
"Spoiled and wild as hell. Who knows when he'll mature."
Myeong-wang smiled warmly. Despite his words, both he and Kang-ho looked pleased.
"And this is...?"
Myeong-wang's gaze shifted to Kang Jun-seok.
"My brother."
"You have a brother?"
"Long story. Got a question for you."
"Ask away."
"From Murim, right?"
Dead silence.
Myeong-wang's eyes gleamed. He looked intrigued, as if hearing such a question for the first time.
"...You knew?"
"Didn't wanna pry since you never brought it up. Everyone's got secrets."
"..."
Myeong-wang gave a wry smile at Kang-ho mentioning Murim outright.
"Shall we move somewhere private?"
"Yeah."
* * *
In a quiet waiting room inside the arena, Kang-ho asked again.
"Where from?"
"Jiangsu Province. Been about 30 years since I crash-landed."
Myeong-wang's face softened with nostalgia.
"Murim... Honestly, I was pretty shocked after arriving on Earth."
"Shocked?"
"As you know, I crossed from China to Korea. My crash site was in China."
Kang-ho knew he'd immigrated after the war. He nodded thoughtfully.
"Right."
"Places on the Chinese mainland had names eerily similar to my homeland. But the civilization was totally alien—gave me the creeps."
Myeong-wang seemed glad to discuss Murim, continuing eagerly.
"And recently, I saw Zhang Wei with his Kirin. He's from Murim too. Always wondered about the connection between that world and this one. Been investigating on my own, but..."
"I see."
Myeong-wang's eyes sparkled.
"Do you know the secret?"
Indeed. For Kang-ho, living in this world, Murim wasn't so alien. It was a fictional realm from countless media!
The Demon Realm was the same— the 72 demons were familiar names to the public. This odd overlap often puzzled Kang-ho.
But unfortunately, he didn't know the reason.
"Kirin's the same as you—dimensional crash-landing. But on other mysteries, I'm in the dark too."
"I see..."
Myeong-wang looked disappointed. He closed his eyes briefly, reminiscing, then added,
"Anyway, that's why it was hard to settle there. Wandered the continent and ended up here."
"Was there a Heavenly Demon back home?"
"Heavenly Demon...!"
Fear flashed across Myeong-wang's face at the name. He asked in astonishment,
"You know Murim well? Met other Murim folk besides me?"
"Hmm..."
Kang-ho stared at him. Not Murim folk exactly, but beings from there: the Ice Dragon and Kirin in Cheorwon!
For now, he shook his head.
"Keeping it secret for now."
"Shame..."
Myeong-wang stroked his chin thoughtfully before answering.
"The Heavenly Demon always exists as long as the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult thrives—the leader endures."
"..."
Kang Jun-seok listened silently beside them.
"That era's Heavenly Demon... Cheon Hwi-je. A supreme Murim lord of terrifying might."
Myeong-wang shuddered slightly.
The Heavenly Demon of his time, Cheon Hwi-je! A monster who rent the heavens and upheaved the earth.
The Cult's ultimate creation. He'd fulfilled the long-held dream of unifying Murim.
"Was he that frightening?"
Kang-ho asked. Myeong-wang thought, then shook his head.
"True terror lay elsewhere. If the Cult had just dominated Murim, it might've been better."
Kang Jun-seok's eyes lit up at that.
"The real threat... was the Blood Cult, appearing without warning."
Blood Cult!
Kang-ho committed the name to memory.
Myeong-wang shivered, shaking his head.
"Beings you'll find somewhat familiar."
"...?"
Seeing Kang-ho's confusion, Myeong-wang smiled wryly.
"In this world, they're called demons."