So? Did Someone Force You to Become the Heavenly Demon?

TL Note: Happy Chinese New Year!

Chapter 25: Short Fuse (4)

“We greet the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons!”

“All hail, the Heavenly Demon!”

The commotion in the infirmary erupted the moment my Master arrived. Every physician and attendant in the room fell into a frenzy, clamoring praises without restraint.

And soon after.

Swoosh

The door of the medical ward where I was staying opened, and Master entered.

“That’s enough. Stay seated,” he said sternly, halting Jin Hayeon as she tried to bow despite the splints and bandages binding her arms.

His gaze then shifted to me.

“How are you feeling?”

“Thanks to swift treatment, there are no critical injuries.”

“That’s a relief. I heard what happened. When the Eldest Brother went berserk, it was thanks to your quick thinking that the damage was minimized.”

I smiled faintly at the master’s praise.

It wasn’t a smile of joy from being praised. I had risked my life provoking a mad boar, so a reward is overdue, right?

“Then, perhaps you’re giving me some kind of reward?”

I’d learned humility as a child, but experience taught me this:

If you just wait patiently believing you’ll be rewarded someday, you’ll only be forgotten.

You must strike the iron while it’s hot.

“Young Master! How could you say such a thing to the Supreme One?!”

Of course, Jin Hayeon beside me was shocked, uncharacteristically so, but that was none of my concern.

“A reward… Indeed. The Hyeokryeon Family has decided not to hold the Eldest Brother accountable, thanks to your intervention. A reward is fitting.”

“You went to the Hyeokryeon Family as well?”

He nodded.

“The girl admitted that the initial cause of the First Disciple’s rampage was due to her words. Moreover, the testimonies of the guards and the girl were consistent. They spoke of how you provoked your Eldest Brother and lured him away to save everyone there.”

It seemed that Master had been cleaning up the aftermath of the Eldest Brother’s rampage while I was bedridden.

“What about Eldest Brother?”

“For now, I’ve confined him to the Closed Meditation Chamber as punishment. And I’ve bestowed recovery elixirs and some money to those injured this time for their recovery, so it seems right to give a reward to you who did the most important work.”

Oh ho.

I wonder what kind of reward he’ll give.

A reward from the leader of this colossal cult—my expectations soared.

And after seemingly contemplating for a moment while stroking his beard, Master finally spoke of the reward he would bestow upon me.

“This old one will aid your recovery using True Qi Guidance and acupuncture treatment. Additionally, I shall dedicate more time to overseeing your martial training.”

“……”

What’s that supposed to be?

This is just more labor disguised as a favor!

My face nearly twisted into a scowl, but I reined it in just in time.

“The Supreme One’s grace is truly as vast as the heavens!”

Beside me, Jin Hayeon was shouting praises with a face that looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.

Well, from the perspective of fanatics, what could be more gracious than spending more time with their leader?

Even for non-fanatics, martial artists would pay millions for the chance to learn martial arts from someone like Master.

The problem?

‘I don’t need any of that shit!!’

I wasn’t a fanatic, nor was I that obsessed with martial arts yet.

But thanks to Jin Hayeon’s reaction, I realized something.

But Jin Hayeon’s reverence reminded me, that as the cult leader’s disciple, I had to feign gratitude.

‘Damn it.’

“This humble disciple is eternally grateful for your benevolence.” My face felt like it might be about to cramp as I forced myself to show a moved expression contrary to my true feelings.

Thankfully, Master changed the subject before my expression betrayed me.

“Ahem. This old man’s visit wasn’t solely for this.”

“Was there some kind of problem?”

“Rather than a problem, your Eldest Brother in the Closed Meditation Chamber said he wanted to talk with you, Il-mok.”

“?!”

“Normally, the rules of the Closed Meditation Chamber forbid meeting or talking with anyone, but since he just entered, it seemed possible to allow a brief visit before his punishment begins in earnest. So, I came to ask your opinion first.”

It was unexpected news.

That mad boar wants to see me as soon as he comes to his senses?

‘Could it be… he wants to kill me?’

That thought came to mind first, but it would be difficult for him to kill me while confined in the Closed Meditation Chamber.

Rather, it seemed like an opportunity.

If things were left as they were, I was in danger of becoming mortal enemies with Eldest Brother.

Although the problem was that he lost his mind and started swinging his sword first, from his perspective, he probably got upset because of my repeated taunts of calling him stupid.

Wouldn’t it be better to clear up the misunderstanding with the Eldest Brother now, while he’s safely locked up in the Closed Meditation Chamber?

‘If it works out, great. If it fails, I lose nothing.’

Having finished that train of thought, I answered the master.

“Are the doors of the Closed Meditation Chamber sturdy enough?”

Of course, my safety was the top priority.

***

Il-mok and the Heavenly Demon entered the Closed Meditation Chamber.

“This is the place.”

The Heavenly Demon, who had guided Il-mok, pointed to an iron door visible beyond the torchlight.

“This old man will wait here, so go and have your conversation.”

He meant to stay out of the disciples’ affairs.

Il-mok hesitated for a moment but approached the iron door thinking it should be safe.

“Eldest Brother. Are you there?”

“It’s the youngest.”

In response to Il-mok’s question, Wi Jin-hak’s voice came from beyond the iron door.

“I heard you were looking for me.”

“Hahahahaha. I called you to apologize. My training is still lacking, so I couldn’t control my anger.”

His laughter boomed through the iron door, echoing like a cave’s resonance.

Gone was the frenzied rage; this was his usual, foolish tone.

At this point, Il-mok wondered if he might be bipolar rather than having a short fuse.

‘Still, it seems he hasn’t held a grudge.’

Il-mok let out an internal sigh of relief.

However, the thought of leaving things as they were left him feeling oddly unsatisfying.

“I also came to apologize. Given the situation, I had no choice but to do what I did to prevent others from dying, but I’m truly sorry for saying the words you hate the most.”

“Hahahahaha. Now that my head is clear, I understand why you did it. It was just a problem caused by your brother’s stupid head.”

Wi Jin-hak was once again setting up a landmine.

Il-mok considered responding with ‘You’re not stupid, Eldest Brother,’ Like how he’d placated Seo Wan-pyeong when he came in the middle of the night.

But somehow, he felt that wouldn’t work for the Eldest Brother.

Eldest Brother’s issue wasn’t paranoia, it was rage disorder.

And seeing how he lived with the word “stupid” on his lips but yet went ballistic when he heard it from someone else, reeked a kind of inferiority complex.

While Il-mok wasn’t a psychiatrist, he had enough experience to recognize the pattern.

‘The iron door is protecting me anyway, so it should be fine to push a little.’

Remembering his safety, Il-mok carefully opened his mouth.

“Eldest Brother. Do you remember when I recommended the third squad leader for the position of second-in-command?”

“I do.”

The calm reply made Il-mok swallow nervously before continuing.

“I didn’t say that to disrespect you. Think of the old saying, ‘The more, the better.’ Han Xin told Emperor Gaozu of Han that he only had the ability to lead an army of 100,000 men. However, he said that the more soldiers, the better. Han Xin said that Emperor Gaozu of Han had the ability to lead generals while Han Xin himself could only command soldiers.”

Of course, a few years after that incident, Han Xin was framed and purged by Liu Bang. Well, it was part of the process of purging founding contributors to strengthen imperial power, but there was also a joke that he was killed because Liu Bang was still upset about that incident.

“Similarly, in Shu Han, Zhuge Liang was known as the smartest, but Liu Bei was the ruler. Thus, a leader’s worth lies not in brilliance, but in charisma and deploying talent wisely. And you, Eldest Brother, are the First Disciple of the Heavenly Demon and the future leader of our divine cult.”

(TL Note: The Han of those two are the same Han Dynasty but in two different times.)

During Il-mok’s long-winded speech, for some reason, Wi Jin-hak didn’t utter a single word from beyond the iron door.

‘Did I say something wrong?’

Just as Il-mok was starting to feel uneasy, thinking he might have made the misunderstanding worse while trying to clear it up…

“Let’s go.”

The Heavenly Demon, who had approached without notice, snapped Il-mok out of his thoughts.

“Yes…”

As Il-mok trudged out with slumped shoulders, thinking he had messed up, the Heavenly Demon suddenly spoke.

“You did well.”

“???”

What on earth did he do well?

Il-mok wanted to ask, but for some reason, the Heavenly Demon’s gaze was directed towards the iron door, not at Il-mok.

‘It wasn’t intentional, but the timing couldn’t have been more fitting.’

The Heavenly Demon had noticed the change occurring inside the Closed Meditation Chamber beyond the iron door.

‘They say there’s such a thing as heaven-sent fate, and this child must be the divine providence that heaven has bestowed upon our Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.’

He couldn’t explain it any other way, as the boy had succeeded in something that couldn’t be achieved through effort.

“For accomplishing such a feat, I shall grant you another reward.”

“???”

“Hmm. But for this matter, rather than this old man taking action, it seems right to leave it to the First Disciple.”

Faced with content he couldn’t comprehend at all, Il-mok’s confusion only grew.

‘Entrusting my reward to Eldest Brother? Is he offering my head on a silver platter?’

***

Meanwhile.

Inside the iron door. In the dark cave where only the soft light of a single night lantern dimly spread.

There, Wi Jin-hak sat in lotus position, deep in meditation.

Or more precisely, he was locked in battle—against the Demonic Energy (魔氣) seared into his mind and the depths of his psyche.

But this struggle was unlike any before.

Unlike before, when he had desperately endured the rage that surged as he fiercely clashed with the Demonic Energy of the Raging Demon Sword Art, he was now merely observing.

―Kill that bastard right now!!

―How dare he mock me as a fool!!!

Even as the demonic energy raged, demanding he slaughter his youngest brother, Wi Jin-hak’s mind remained still.

Thanks to the youngest disciple’s words, he realized something.

Had it been empty consolation saying he wasn’t stupid he might have burned with anger instead.

He now understood that such insults were beneath him.

As the First Disciple, destined to lead, such trifles were irrelevant.

Of course, there had been others who said similar things before.

And most of them either died by his hands or narrowly escaped death thanks to their Master’s timely appearance.

As the Heavenly Demon believed, it took divine providence for advice to lead to enlightenment.

Only when advice arrived at the precise moment, in the perfect circumstances, could it truly take root.

And Wi Jin-hak had been ready. Having neared the state of Transcendent and already vented all of his build-up frustration and anger yesterday, he was in a state ready to hear the youngest brother’s advice.

At that flawless, unforeseen instant—unanticipated even by the Heavenly Demon, who had taught and watched over him for decades—Il-mok’s words had struck true.

―Kill him!

―Kill all those who disrespect me!

―Burn this unjust world to ash!!

Another self, screaming in rage.

The Demonic Energy raged, wreaking havoc throughout his meridians and assaulting his mind. But Wi Jin-hak, maintaining an uncharacteristic clarity, simply observed.

Bang!!!

Suddenly, something within him shattered. The blocked pathways in his mind opened, releasing a torrent of pent-up Demonic Energy that surged through his meridians, purging impurities and even contorting his muscles and joints.

Despite the agonizing pain, Wi Jin-hak merely observed himself, forgetting the world and focusing on enlightenment.

When the contortions ceased and the raging energy settled calmly into his dantian, he opened his eyes.

Snap!

Wi Jin-hak, having digested his enlightenment, opened his eyes.

It was the moment he crossed the final wall and entered the state of Transcendence.

“The smell is terrible.”

He wrinkled his nose at the stench of impurities expelled from his body. Channeling the Raging Demon Sword Art, heat burst from his hands.

It was a strange sight.

Flames devoured the filth clinging to his body, yet not a single burn appeared on his skin.

Wi Jin-hak, now in perfect control over the Demonic Energy of the Raging Demon Sword Art scratched his chin and delved in thoughts.

‘Gathering talent and deploying them in the right places, huh.’

A certain face came to mind.

“The youngest brother needs to grow quickly. He’ll have to become my strategist in the future.”