Infinite Hell (2)
Demonic arts were usually of the absorption type.
Not always, but typically they worked by sucking in the opponent's vital essence to bolster one's own inner energy.
They were easy to learn and yielded quick results.
Why toil when you could just steal what others had worked for? How convenient.
They couldn't compare to the slow progress of orthodox sect martial arts.
But demonic arts had their flaws.
Easy to start, but they plateaued after a certain point, refusing to advance further.
The rapid accumulation of inner energy was unstable, like a sandcastle, prone to exploding at critical moments.
The slightest deviation led to qi deviation.
Devoured by demonic energy, one became a raving madman.
In contrast, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art—exclusive to the Demonic Cult leader—overcame these weaknesses, rivaling the pinnacle orthodox divine arts.
Yet at its core, it was still a demonic art.
And so the Heavenly Demon rampaged.
At the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, site of the final battle between orthodox sects and the Demonic Cult.
Wuuuuuuuuu...
A massive gray translucent barrier enveloped the entire Demonic Cult headquarters.
Within, a storm of demonic energy raged.
Every warrior inside withered like mummies.
The barrier moved with the Heavenly Demon's footsteps.
Orthodox warriors, Demonic Cult members—no distinction.
All had their inner energy plundered by the Heavenly Demon.
Dang Gunak was inside that absorption barrier too.
His poison core's toxic essence had been nearly drained by the Heavenly Demon.
His perfected 10th-stage poison art offered no help.
"Gunak, my dear Dang Gunak! I can't thank you enough. You brought me all this fodder, and now I've achieved perfection in the Heavenly Demon Divine Art."
"You filthy bastard..."
"Should've devoured them all from the start. Kahahaha! Feels great! So damn good."
Among those devoured were the Heavenly Demon's own wife and children.
A monster that ate its own offspring.
And not just them.
His most loyal retainers, who had served him closest and devoted everything.
The bastard had gone completely insane.
His body swelled with absorbed inner energy, then deflated, swelled again, returning to normal.
Several instances of shedding bones and exchanging marrow already.
He wasn't human anymore.
A devil.
A demon.
Something had to be done.
But it was futile.
Hidden weapons crumbled before reaching him, and even the poisons Dang Gunak prided himself on failed.
Perfection in the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Insane or not, his body remained intact.
Despite absorbing countless types of inner energy.
"I will become the Demon God!"
"Like hell you will! Who said we'd let you?"
"Kekekeke, squirm all you want, you pathetic venomous worm!"
It was hopeless.
The Demonic Cult headquarters was piled high with corpses, no room to step.
If he hadn't evacuated his retainers and acquaintances, they'd be the same.
Dang Gunak's body withered like a mummy.
He wanted to escape the absorption barrier but couldn't budge.
"Haaaah..."
His vision blurred.
He'd come this far vowing revenge for his Dang family, dying at the Heavenly Demon's hands—but now he was exhausted.
...So this is it.
Was death frightening?
No, just regret for unfinished revenge.
I've done enough. Time to rest.
Then—
Twitch!
The poison core stirred.
...Huh?
It had shrunk to nothing.
Yet it moved.
Hallucination?
Twitch, twitch!
Ah!
Not a hallucination.
Ziiiiing!
The poison core pulsed repeatedly.
And then—
"Kuhuk!"
The shock of the poison core's explosion rippled from his dantian.
Why now, on the brink of death?
Was heaven granting him this chance?
The poison core shattered.
Then fused back together.
Twitch! Twitch! Twitch! Twitch...
It thrashed again.
Boom!
Each time, abundant toxic energy surged through his body.
As the poison core exploded, his crown exploded too—pop!
Dang Gunak, collapsed and sprawled, sprang to his feet.
Energy circulated freely.
Heavenly energy poured in through his crown, flowing out his soles into the earth.
The poison core breathed, alive.
Moving actively, as if possessed of self-awareness.
And a divine aura emanated.
The poison core has transformed.
What to call it?
...Poison Spirit?
The demonic energy still raged.
But it seeped into the Poison Spirit.
Decomposed and analyzed instantly.
Dang Gunak slowly raised his hand.
Shoooo...
Demonic Cult headquarters, Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
Weapons of every kind scattered amid the corpses.
At his gesture, metal blades shot into the air.
Shwoop! Shwoosh!
"Hm? You..."
The Heavenly Demon stared in surprise, then looked skyward, sensing something.
What is that? Storm clouds?
But no clouds.
All weapons.
Swords, spears, blades, axes, daggers, throwing stars, needles, darts...
So many they looked like clouds.
"What in the world?"
In that instant—
Kaboom!
They poured down like a waterfall onto the Heavenly Demon.
Metal clashed against his protective aura.
Crack!
Shattering on contact.
"Heh heh, no chance. Think you can scratch me?"
But the metal kept falling, endless.
Even fragments of shattered weapons rose again.
Falling, shattering; shards rising, falling, shattering.
Shards became dust; dust swirled upward like dragons ascending.
Eventually, only tiny metal particles remained.
Extremely poisonous metal powder.
Rain fell.
Patter patter!
Each speck coated in aura, blooming like silver flowers.
Countless metal shards, infused with the Poison Spirit's venom, descend as a storm of aura-clad flower rain, piercing all defenses.
Only then did the Heavenly Demon's face change.
"Th-this!"
A downpour of aura.
Ominous.
Pew pew pew!
The absorption barrier shattered.
His protective aura cracked.
Riiip! Riiiip!
Through the gaps, innumerable metal powder aura petals rained down.
Pew pew pew!
The moment they touched the Heavenly Demon's body—
Sizzle! Siiiizzle!
They burrowed into his flesh, melting it.
"Gaaaaah!"
A scream finally burst from the Heavenly Demon.
He raised his hands to block, but would that work?
His forearms melted first.
The Poison Spirit's venom, unstoppable even by ten-thousand poisons immunity.
Melting like ice.
Arms liquefied, then torso, finally head.
That was the Heavenly Demon's end, as Poison Immortal Dang Gunak remembered it.
※ ※ ※
Among Hwangcheon's hells, the most heinous was Infinite Hell.
Once trapped, escape was impossible.
Hence called the bottomless pit.
A physical space, but not easily accessible.
Dimensions separated like infinite space.
Entry via a "gate."
Zing!
Kangrim used his authority to open Infinite Hell's gate.
"Enter here."
Handing Dang Gunak a lit candle,
"Take this candle. You must exit before it burns out. Even an immortal would be trapped otherwise."
"Got it."
As Dang Gunak stepped toward the gate, he paused.
"The Heavenly Demon... does he have a form? Same as before?"
"He has a form—needs flesh for torment. But not the one you knew. Confined to a constructed body."
"How do I find him?"
"The candle will guide you inside. No worries."
"Next time, let's grab some chicken and beer."
"Chicken and beer? What's that?"
"Something like that."
Dang Gunak entered Infinite Hell.
Whoosh!
Pitch darkness.
Only light: the candle in his hand.
The flame shielded him from Infinite Hell's influence.
A path ahead.
Three forks branching left, right, center.
The flame tilted left.
Go left.
Right would point right; still would mean center.
Deep in, at a dead end, a grotesque creature stirred.
Skinny naked body, hairless.
"Eek!"
Bringing the candle close, it flinched away in terror.
"...Heavenly Demon?"
It froze.
Staring at Dang Gunak.
"Dang... Gunak..."
"Yes, it's me."
The Heavenly Demon indeed.
Though confined to a made body.
He stared piercingly at Dang Gunak in silence.
"...No way. Y-you... ascended to immortality?"
"Correct. Received the title Poison Immortal in the Immortal Realm."
"Heh heh, heeeeeh, hihihihiik!"
Grotesque laughter.
"Heh heh, an immortal. Drives me mad. So unfair."
"Unfair how?"
"Seeing you as an immortal hurts more than Infinite Hell."
Dang Gunak tilted his head.
"Unfair? What's more just than this, you filthy murdering lunatic?"
"And you? You've killed more than me. Why are you immortal and I'm in Infinite Hell?"
"Who knows? Some cosmic law, I suppose."
"..."
Silence flowed.
"Why'd you come? To mock me?"
"Heard you were here. Came to check on you."
"Impressions?"
"You seem to be doing splendidly. Makes me happy. Might visit often."
His face twisted horribly.
What a thrill.
Should've come sooner.
"Immortal or not, you wander freely."
"That's immortals for you. Job's playing and eating."
"Suits you. Say, what time is it?"
"Time? Even in Infinite Hell?"
"The time on your wristwatch."
"...What?"
What was that?
Had he heard right?
Dang Gunak startled.
"Rolex, eh? Heard they're pricey. Never thought I'd see one."
"Ah..."
How?
How did the Heavenly Demon know Rolex?
Did Immortal Realm news reach Infinite Hell?
Hwangcheon messengers knew, so possible...
"Dang Gunak, you've met your parallel soul from another world too. Earth, right?"
"..."
Words from the Heavenly Demon's mouth.
Nearly screamed.
Parallel soul from another world.
And Earth.
"...You too?"
"Yes, me too. And you."
It had happened to him too.
"Wh-when?"
"A while back."
"...Why you?"
"How should I know? You experienced it—you know. Souls connect inescapably."
"..."
"Twice, even. Truly fucked."
This couldn't be real.
The Heavenly Demon met his parallel soul too.
"Fascinating world. Airplanes, trains, guns, missiles, world-ending nukes. And a system? Kekeke."
Definite.
He knew everything.
"Funnier still? Mana exists there too! Mines too. Primitive absorption, but still."
Knew Earth's full situation.
Meaning souls had fused.
Then?
"Did he take everything from you?"
"Heavenly Demon Divine Art? Of course. All Demonic Cult arts too."
Disaster.
A Heavenly Demon born on Earth.
No—already existed.
Were he and the Heavenly Demon the only ones?
Others too, perhaps.
"What really intrigues me? You get it—we're the same case. But that watch on your wrist? Does it mean you can bring stuff over?"
Tell him?
No way.
"Made with spellcraft."
"Kekeke, bullshit. Spare me the lame lie."
Should've left the watch behind.
Anyway, warn Taeju.
A Heavenly Demon parallel soul on Earth.
"Tell me. How? How do items cross over?"
"Shut up! Business done. I'm leaving. Rot eternally here. I'll roam the Immortal Realm and drop by when bored."
Plenty of candle left, but Dang Gunak turned without regret.
"Wait! Dang Gunak! Spare a moment."
"...Why?"
"A favor."
"We're not the favor-asking type."
"Not for you. For your other-world self."
"What?"
What scheme now?
"Tell him: Kill Earth's Heavenly Demon."
"...Why?"
"Heh heh, two Heavenly Demons? Unacceptable."
The Heavenly Demon gnashed his teeth.
"Know how disgusting it is facing the same soul? Nightmare worse than Infinite Hell. Not you too?"
"..."
How to process this.
"He's just like me. Mocked me. 'A Heavenly Demon felled by mere hidden weapons and poison? The true one is me.'"
Same bastards.
Same souls mocking each other.
"Two soul links here. Mocked me both times."
Crawling on all fours like a beast toward Dang Gunak.
"I'll tell you everything about him. Kill him no matter what. One Heavenly Demon suffices!"
Utterly unexpected attitude.
Dang Gunak recalled first linking with Taeju.
Learning of a same soul in another world was wondrous, joyful, heartwarming.
Wanted to give something.
Just wished him well.
Taeju felt the same.
"Weren't you glad meeting your other self?"
"Kekeke, glad my ass—gave me chills, goosebumps. Would've devoured him if there. Fuming he took everything in my head."
Made sense.
Imagined their encounter.
Vicious self-loathing.
Spewing hate while lying down.
Mutual hatred between same souls.
Truly ridiculous.
"Then spill. Who is Earth's version of you? Where?"
"Kekeke, hurry. Another link, and he'll sense this meeting today."