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

Chapter 52: Foundation (2)

After listening to the First Squad Leader of the Hidden Guard Pavilion brief him on Il-mok’s situation, the Heavenly Demon stroked his beard.

“Hmm.”

Seemingly lost in thought, the Heavenly Demon asked.

“So, do you know why Jin Hayeon’s cultivation has advanced so rapidly?”

In response to that question, the First Squad Leader recounted what she had witnessed that night.

After listening to her story, the Heavenly Demon smiled gently.

“Hehe. Youth.”

What was a traumatic experience for Ouyang Mun and Jin Hayeon was merely an amusing anecdote for the centuries-old Heavenly Demon. He viewed it with the same fondness one might have for the antics of young grandchildren.

“Hayeon’s achievements are rising quickly, so you must have high expectations for her.”

The previously rigid demeanor of the First Squad Leader softened at his words.

“It seems that child might become a person who serves the Lord well in the future.”

Hidden Guard Pavilion (隱衛閣).

It was an institution established to train Heavenly Demon’s personal guards.

To train the Heavenly Demon’s personal guards, new recruits mostly learned menial tasks typically done by servants or maids before being assigned to serve the Heavenly Demon’s disciples or key figures in the Cult to gain experience.

It was through this process that Jin Hayeon had become Il-mok’s maid. As the second-ranked graduate of the Hall of the Demonic Way, she was a highly regarded talent within the Hidden Guard Pavilion. This stemmed from the unique nature of the pavilion itself.

While serving the Heavenly Demon up close was a great honor, the fact that one had to handle all the menial tasks of a servant or maid was a problem.

A big problem, in fact.

Hall of the Demonic Way serves as the collective pool of talented individuals within the cult. The main problem is that there is no way these talented individuals would voluntarily humble themselves to handle mundane tasks that attendants and servants would normally handle, not unless they have special reasons or circumstances. They generally prefer to work within the martial units, Sacred Order, or the Law Enforcement Division.

Every year, one or two graduates from the Hall of the Demonic Way were assigned to the Hidden Guard Pavilion, but more often than not, they were those who ranked at the bottom of the class of twenty graduates.

In other words, this is a piece of good news for the pavilion. However unintentionally it was, it doesn’t change the fact that Il-mok had helped an already talented child to bloom her talent further.

However, Heavenly Demon somehow shook his head at the Squad Leader’s words.

“Hahaha. I’m over a century old. By the time that child reaches your level, she will likely be serving the next generation’s Heavenly Demon, not me.”

“That is absolutely unthinkable. We will serve you with all our hearts.”

“How can human effort defy the will of Heaven?”

“Please punish us for our inadequacy.”

Seeing the Squad Leader prostrate herself in apology, the Heavenly Demon spoke with a pitying expression.

“Enough. Go back to Il-mok now. Something might happen while you’re away.”

As soon as the Heavenly Demon gave his solemn command, the woman hesitated momentarily before bowing deeply and disappearing into the shadows.

“Long live the Heavenly Demon. Long live the Heavenly Demon. Long live the Heavenly Demon.”

The Heavenly Demon gazed at the empty space where the First Squad Leader had been, then turned his gaze to open the window and look at the brightly shining moon.

“Thanks to that child, I now look forward to my remaining days.”

The Heavenly Demon had experienced almost everything a person could experience.

So much that his current days have been merely a repetition of the same things.

But the presence of Il-mok had introduced small changes to his dull days.

Thinking of the child’s rapid growth and the gradual changes he brought to the cult made the Heavenly Demon to look forward to the next day.

“How long has it been since I felt this kind of emotion?”

It was just a pity that the day of departure was slowly approaching.

***

The next day, after breakfast, Il-mok set out with Jin Hayeon and Ouyang Mun.

It was a route Il-mok was well-acquainted with—the path from Windrock Palace to the medical hall.

But they weren’t heading to the medical ward.

They were going to a manor located near the medical ward.

At the entrance of this estate, which had originally served a different purpose, hung a newly inscribed plaque.

Pure Mind Hall (正心院)

A medical institute for purifying the mind.

Il-mok referred to this place as the psychiatric ward, but he couldn’t officially use that name.

The person who welcomed Il-mok upon arriving at the ward was an elderly man whom Il-mok had met several times before.

“I greet the Demonic Physician.”

He was the head of the medical ward at the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s headquarters and the old man who had examined and treated Il-mok several times when he was taken to the medical ward.

The elder replied to Il-mok’s greeting with a playful smile and exaggerated courtesy.

“On the contrary, it’s me who should pay my respects to the Master of the Pure Mind Hall.”

At the Demonic Physician’s greeting, Il-mok smiled awkwardly.

“Master of the Pure Mind Hall? Please don’t be too excessive, I’ll only be here for a few months before I enter the Hall of the Demonic Way.”

“Hohoho. Then Interim Master it is.”

Il-mok smiled wryly at the old man’s persistent jokes. He was an unusually playful old man for a physician.

Feeling that it would be tiresome to be swept along by the old man’s jokes, Il-mok changed the subject.

“By the way, have you also been transferred to the Pure Mind Hall, elder?”

“Hohoho. How could a physician not be interested in researching new treatments? So, please call me the Deputy Master from now on, Interim Master.”

“Ah. I’ll be leaving in a few months, so Elder Demonic Physician should take the Master position. I’ll be satisfied as the Interim Deputy Master.”

“Hahaha. Is that so?”

The Demonic Physician laughed playfully, then pointed to a pavilion and said.

“Oh my, look at me. I’ve kept you standing too long. When you get old, you tend to forget things, so please understand.”

As soon as they entered the room, Il-mok took out a booklet he had prepared and placed it on the table.

“These are the details I organized last night regarding the operation of Pure Mind Hall.”

Since he couldn’t fall asleep thanks to his Master and the damned side effects of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword, he focused his obsession on something else.

It was only after staying up all night drafting the plan for the psychiatric ward that he managed to sleep.

Fortunately, he had already worked out most of the framework during his two conversations with Heavenly Demon. If he’d had to start from scratch, he probably wouldn’t have finished even after staying up all night.

“Hohoho. I hear you’re quite meticulous, Interim Deputy Master. To be honest, I was a bit worried since you were often brought here.”

“Well, it wasn’t my fault that I was brought in, was it?”

“That’s true. Hohoho.”

After exchanging light-hearted banter, the old man began reading the booklet Il-mok had handed and before long, the mischievous glint within the old man’s eyes disappeared.

‘…This is beyond expectations.’

It wasn’t just a haphazard list of ideas but a truly systematic and well-organized plan.

It outlined strategies for acquiring medical texts from across the land, methods for research and experimentation, a framework for training new physicians, and, most importantly, a detailed system for conducting and documenting patient consultations.

It was a level of systematization that was hard to believe had been created by a fifteen-year-old youngster.

All thanks to the damn side effects of Demonic Arts.

As the Demonic Physician turned the final page and closed the booklet, Il-mok broke the silence.

“Obtaining medical texts and training physicians will require help from other institutes and will take a long time. Therefore, we should focus on organizing the consultation sessions first.”

“Heavenly Demon has already instructed the various departments and halls to prepare the necessary resources for the first two tasks. It seems appropriate to proceed with the consultations as Deputy Master suggested.”

The Demonic Physician agreed with Il-mok and asked.

“Then, shall we proceed by gathering case studies first, as the Deputy Master suggested?”

“To treat new patients, we need to develop treatment methods, which requires collecting and classifying case studies, correct?”

“That’s correct.”

Even from a physician’s perspective, it was an entirely reasonable proposition.

‘Divide them according to the side effects of each Demonic Art, conduct counseling with those who have learned Demonic Arts, and meticulously document their experiences…’

Recalling the contents of the booklet Il-mok had handed over, the Demonic Physician fell into deep thought.

In fact, there were many existing records detailing the side effects of Demonic Arts.

If there were no such records in the first place, it would not have been known what side effects each Demonic Art had.

The problem begins with the fact that although recorded, the records themselves were also disorganized. Moreover, these records primarily documented only the side effects. There were almost no records of how martial artists coped with these side effects, how they overcame them, or when they failed to overcome them and fell into madness.

The primary cause of this situation was that most practitioners passed down their experiences verbally to their disciples or family members rather than leaving written records.

And the reason for that is even more simple.

They deemed their suffering from the side effects of their Demonic Arts as the shame of their life.

It’s not something they could easily share with others.

“While we can gather and organize the disorganized records, I don’t know if the cult’s martial artists will actively participate in counseling.”

Being forced to dredge up such painful and humiliating memories could lead the patients to distort or conceal something out of embarrassment—creating opportunities for future, even greater, dangers.

At the Demonic Physician’s concern, Il-mok responded as if it were no big deal.

“We can borrow Master’s influence. How could anyone defy the stern command of the Heavenly Demon? Moreover, if Master and his disciples set an example, it will be difficult for others to refuse counseling.”

He shamelessly tossed his Master’s prestige in the fray like it was nothing.

Since his Master had dumped all this work onto him, he should at least let him borrow his name.

“Also, the more participants we have, the easier it will be to identify those who provide false information.”

“Hmm. You’re implying we shouldn’t unconditionally believe what those participating in the consultations tell us.”

“Most of these martial artists are suffering under the miseries brought about by the side effects of their Demonic Arts. Shame aside, there will also be those who speak falsehoods while believing them to be true.”

“That’s also a valid point.”

“The final thing is the attitude of the physicians.”

“…?”

A confused expression swept over the Demonic Physician’s face.

“These consultations demand that participants share their most vulnerable aspects. We must absolutely avoid creating an atmosphere that feels like an interrogation or giving off a sense of looking down on them. It’s best to just listen to the other person’s words in a soft atmosphere and draw out their inner feelings.”

“…Easy to say, harder to do.”

“That’s right. And the most important thing above all else is confidentiality. Who in their right mind would come here for counseling if they heard that we couldn’t keep their shameful secrets?”

The Demonic Physician was about to argue about this point, but looking at Il-mok’s somber expression, he swallowed back his argument.

“…I will make sure to emphasize this to everyone.”

“I’m counting on you, elder.”

Snapping out of his momentary awe of the young man, the Demonic Physician said.

“With that in mind, I suppose consulting with the Deputy Master should be next on our agenda. I’ve heard from the Heavenly Demon that you helped the First and Third Young Master, and recently Jin Hayeon, your maid, in improving their cultivation.”

Il-mok recounted his conversations with the three in detail and the Demonic Physician carefully recorded Il-mok’s account with a serious attitude.

“Then, what about the Deputy Master? I heard your achievement has risen significantly recently. Are there any problems?”

“……”

After pondering for a moment, Il-mok composed himself and spoke candidly about the side effects he had been suffering from lately.

‘I never thought I’d be receiving psychiatric counseling here, something I never did even in modern times.’

Of course, he couldn’t reveal everything.

Doing so would expose his resentment towards the Heavenly Demon for forcing him to learn the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword and his anger towards the brainwashed cultists.

Even though this was a psychiatric ward, it was a psychiatric ward belonging to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

Insulting the Heavenly Demon or the Cult would be a death sentence.