The Heavenly Demon, But a Fake Heavenly Demon
"Shinwoo, so what the hell happened?"
"Young master! What transpired?"
"I don't know, Lefu. It seems to have gone pretty smoothly for now?"
"Explain it to me properly!"
"Young master, this lady begs you as well!"
The next day, Hye-ji and Jung Ayeon came at me like they were ready to bite my head off. Since I had nothing to hide, I simply told them what had gone down during the faculty meeting. I kept the stuff about the coat a bit vague, though. Hye-ji already knew what my coat was, but Jung Ayeon had no clue.
Once I finished talking, both of them fell into deep thought.
"So yeah, that's what happened."
"Then Shinwoo, what about the ability you awakened?"
"How the hell should I know?"
As we spoke, numbers floated above Hye-ji and Jung Ayeon's heads and rose at the same time. Two mirror fragments appeared simultaneously. I couldn't figure out the exact principle behind it.
My dear, from what this one observes, it appears the fragments of the future are generated based on your physical proximity to the individuals in question.
"So they appear when I'm close and don't when I'm far?"
"Correct. However, the effective range does not seem particularly large."
"Well, since I'm a close-range fighter anyway, it doesn't really matter. Still kinda sucks that they don't spawn from a distance, though."
It was probably because I had gone all-in on close combat like some shooting-obsessed idiot. I should've gotten that early education from the taekwondo dojo that apparently teaches shooting and coding these days.
"Could you even manage that with your brain?"
"No cheap shots with facts, you bastard."
At that moment, Hye-ji spoke up again.
"Shinwoo, then what did you put down for your ability registration?"
"I just wrote down physical enhancement or something."
"Will that even fly? Every hunter has physical enhancement as a baseline."
"This lady agrees."
"I don't know. That's what they told me to write, and I'm getting paid for it, so I gotta earn my salary somehow."
The government was probably going to reject it like crazy. Claiming you can only do physical enhancement when you don't even know what your ability is? It'd be more believable to say some Middle Eastern guy wearing AirPods came as a refugee claiming asylum.
Right on cue, the classroom's front door rattled open. The doorway had a decent amount of space—enough for several people to pass through without issue. But it didn't seem that way for the person coming through it. They took up most of the space and still had to duck to enter. Curious about who it was, I took a closer look.
The person who entered was an elderly man in his later years. But he was no ordinary old man. He was something extraordinary. A worn-out dobok. Muscles that looked ready to burst. Countless large and small scars embroidered across his body like a painting. Messy white hair. A long white beard hanging down from his chin. Bronze skin. Just those features alone suggested the life he'd lived hadn't been an easy one.
Above all, his sharp eyes made the word "elderly" feel completely inadequate. The old man was shooting out a piercing gaze strong enough to bore through anything. While everyone fell silent under that overwhelming pressure, the old man slowly made his way to the teacher's podium.
He was simply walking. Yet every single movement made us feel intimidated, like herbivores trembling before a predator. There was one more strange thing. Despite that massive, heavy body in motion, his footsteps made absolutely no sound. He moved in complete silence, as if walking on air. The combined pressure from all of it was enough to make me tense up—though not quite as bad as when Kang Hyuk went into serious mode.
Quite the enormous fellow. Would it be correct to call him human?
"He's clearly a current pro hunter. Why the hell is he here at this shitty academy?"
While having the perfectly normal thought that the academy was trash, I glanced at Hye-ji and Jung Ayeon. Hye-ji had this look in her eyes like she was wondering what kind of animal he was. Aside from that, she didn't seem particularly worried—classic Hye-ji. Jung Ayeon, however, was different. Her eyes were sparkling brighter than ever. She looked exactly like a sasaeng fan who'd just met her favorite idol.
The old man had reached the podium without making a sound. He slowly scanned the classroom before opening his mouth.
"Greetings. This seat is called Kang Jin."
The classroom remained completely silent, no one able to react. Quiet glances flew back and forth, each asking the other who the hell this guy was. But his next words were enough to send the entire room into an uproar.
"In the world at large, I am known by the name of the Heavenly Demon."
The sudden appearance of the Heavenly Demon made the students burst into exclamations one after another.
"Why is the Heavenly Demon, a top-tier hunter, here?!"
"Mom, I met the Heavenly Demon today!"
"Wait, since when was the Heavenly Demon a dude?"
"You idiot! The Heavenly Demon has always been a man!"
"That's the real Heavenly Demon! Not a figurine!"
I was curious why the Heavenly Demon had shown up too. Especially in an era where the name "Heavenly Demon" had become a cheap joke—now there was a male one?
So there are still Heavenly Demons in this era.
"Just so you know, the current Heavenly Demon meta is all female. The views are trash tier too."
Don't spout such nonsense!!! The "Cheon" in Heavenly Demon means Heaven (天)! Not cheap (賤)!!!
"If you don't believe me, just open up the Nopias search bar right now."
"Heavenly Demon sir! What brings you here?!"
A student, unable to contain his swelling curiosity, shouted the question. A small smile appeared on the Heavenly Demon's face, as if he'd been waiting for it.
"Today I have come in place of my distant relative, that fellow Kang Pilyong."
The Heavenly Demon introduced himself as Professor Pilyong's distant relative. Come to think of it, I remembered that Professor Pilyong was also quite large in build.
They're relatives, yet the difference in hair volume is extreme.
"Professor Pilyong must not have any internal energy."
"And..."
The Heavenly Demon cleared his throat, then suddenly his eyes began to glow fiercely. Just that alone brought fear to everyone's faces. While everyone showed eyes mixed with reverence and fear toward the Heavenly Demon, his mouth slowly opened.
"I heard there was a insignificant creature here who had miserably defeated a martial artist, so I came to see what kind of bastard it was with my own eyes."
A sudden declaration. What the hell?
"Who the hell beat up a martial artist?"
If not you, then who else could have done it?
"Ah, shit. It was me."
No one answered. Seeming displeased by the silence, the Heavenly Demon growled even more fiercely.
"Speak. Who is it?"
Sharp gazes immediately stabbed into the back of my head. It was the first time I learned that stares could actually feel painful. Meanwhile, Hye-ji next to me gave me a worried look. That bastard Jung Ayeon had an expression that said, "It's finally here."
Unable to endure the countless stares, I let out a sigh and spoke.
"It's me."
"So it's you."
The Heavenly Demon turned his gaze toward me. Since the cat was already out of the bag, I figured I might as well ask what he wanted.
"So what do you want?"
"How pathetic."
Suddenly I got pissed off.
He's coming in strong right from the start.
"We just met today, you son of a bitch?"
Regardless of how I felt, the Heavenly Demon kept running his mouth.
"To think a worthless piece of trash would dare disgrace martial artists and drag the sacred hall of learning into the abyss."
"Just so there's no misunderstanding, those bastards picked the fight with me first."
I was confident. After all, they were the ones who started the fight first. I hadn't done anything wrong.
"Director's Fist Technique."
"Ah, fuck."
I had done something wrong.
Your karma has returned.
"I thought he wouldn't remember since it was chapter 13."
Jung Ayeon, who was beside me, looked at me with an expression that said "serves you right." At the same time, the Heavenly Demon's overwhelming pressure focused entirely on me. The aura he'd been radiating throughout the classroom began concentrating solely on me.
"To see martial artists lose to a bastard like this... the honor of the martial world has truly fallen to the ground."
"If you lose after fighting twenty-five matches in a row, are you even a martial artist? You're just a sandbag."
"Hmm. Looking at you now, it seems you at least have the basics down."
"The match is already over, so why are you doing this? Did you come here to fight?"
When I showed my fighting spirit, the Heavenly Demon laughed as if it were ridiculous. Of course.
"Hmph. Fighting someone like you isn't even worth it."
"Then please proceed with the class."
But that laugh quickly cracked.
"Are you acting arrogant just because you're a student?"
"No, if you're here as a one-day instructor, shouldn't you do the job? You take the money but don't do the work? Is that how all Heavenly Demons are these days?"
"Heavenly Demons? In this world, there is only one Heavenly Demon—this seat."
It seemed that even though he called himself the Heavenly Demon, he didn't know much about the current state of Heavenly Demons. I decided to enlighten him personally.
"There are so many Heavenly Demons. Plus, the current Heavenly Demon trend is basically all female. You're clearly a man, so why are you claiming to be one?"
"GAAAAAAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
This one prefers Pink Heavenly Demon.
"I still prefer the black-haired one."
As expected of Professor Pilyong's distant relative, veins bulged on the Heavenly Demon's forehead just like his. Of course, there was a difference. The muscles that aggressively asserted themselves whenever he got angry. Professor Pilyong hadn't reached that level yet.
Because of the Heavenly Demon's appearance, many students unconsciously shrank back—even though the threat wasn't directed at them.
"What exactly do you take the Heavenly Demon for, you bastard?"
"An insanely strong person that no one can beat."
The moment he heard my answer, the Heavenly Demon withdrew all his anger, cleared his throat with a satisfied "hmph-hmph." However...
"Yes. A good answer. Then do you know what signature technique earned this seat the title of Heavenly Demon?"
"Heavenly Demon Death Beam."
The satisfaction didn't last long.
Is it not the Heavenly Demon Mirror Ball?
"That's what Catt-nim used as an area-of-effect skill. It's not his ultimate move."
At that moment, a number rose above the Heavenly Demon's head. A mirror fragment appeared at the same time. It must have appeared because we were close. When I looked into the mirror fragment, I saw the Heavenly Demon pointing a finger at "me" and firing a death beam. The Heavenly Demon Death Beam struck "my" face directly.
That would kill you if it hit.
"This son of a bitch is seriously trying to kill me."
The moment I returned to reality, I immediately tilted my head to the side. The Heavenly Demon Death Beam pierced straight through the back of my chair, and a red number rose above the Heavenly Demon's head.
"Hoh. You dodged that."
"No, what the fuck? You were seriously trying to kill me? And it really was a death beam."
"GAL!!! This is the release of energy from the fingertips!"
After having my life flash before my eyes, I no longer felt any fear. The only two things filling my heart right now were rage and pure fucking annoyance.
"Like I said before, the fact that the Heavenly Demon is a man is just ridiculous."
"Very well. As it happens, this seat also has something to say on that matter."
"What is it?"
"This seat has recently encountered something called the 'internet.'"
"It's internet, internet."
He appears even older than this one. To think he can't even pronounce it correctly.
"You're the one talking about age? Has your conscience died?"
Seeing him keep mispronouncing it, my mouth moved on its own.
"Why are you lisping? Is it already time for you to go?"
"GAL!!!! This seat is still vigorous!!!!"
"Just tell me if you need it. I'll get you some dentures. Though I won't be cheap and get you Ostem ones out of consideration."
The Heavenly Demon ground his teeth audibly before continuing.
"Anyway, when I tried to see how great the existence known as the Heavenly Demon was, the world was very strange."
"......Wait, you actually searched it?"
"Every time this seat sees those who claim the title of Heavenly Demon, my body trembles with rage."
The Heavenly Demon was trembling with veins bulging on his fist, clearly furious.
"Those pathetic fools dare insult the Heavenly Demon with cooking, sorcery, childcare, blacksmithing, and the like!"
"At least those are men. This isn't that kind of platform, so go somewhere else."
"GAL!!!! And recently, aren't there pink-haired women or women who expose their lower bodies calling themselves the Heavenly Demon?"
"That's the current meta."
Still, he hadn't raised his voice too much yet. Up to this point, it seemed somewhat manageable. But his next words were a lion's roar that shook the entire classroom.
"They even call green monsters, plants, and women who aren't even martial artists but use sorcery the Heavenly Demon! What kind of end of the world is this!!!"
"Then why did you even search it? By the way, if you want to protect your mental health, the golden rule is to never search yourself."
Ego searching is crazy to begin with. There are plenty of authors who end up suffering qi deviation because of it. Let me say it again—it's seriously insane.
"This is truly lamentable."
"You get it now, right? That's why I only acknowledge one male Heavenly Demon."
"Are you referring to this seat?"
"No, I'm talking about the real Heavenly Demon that makes the one in front of me look like nothing in comparison."
The Heavenly Demon began to show more intense anger than ever before. It seemed he didn't want to accept that he was the fake one.
"Who is it!!!!!"
"It's Michael Jackson."
I proudly put forth that name. Because big brother Michael Jackson really is the Heavenly Demon. Then the Heavenly Demon let out a snort and said,
"Now even some Western bastard is being called the Heavenly Demon?"
"......What?"
He was mocking me. At that moment, my rage boiled over.
My dear? Are you alright?
"Has this son of a bitch lost his mind? How dare you insult big brother MaJack, you fucker?"
The boiling rage far surpassed its critical point and began paralyzing my reason. Unaware of my state, the Heavenly Demon continued speaking in a dismissive tone.
"Just how great could some bastard like that pos—"
I cut him off immediately and roared.
"GAL (喝)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"