Appearance of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 38

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 38
Whish-whish….
A desolate wind swept in.
Gu Young’s grip on the Spear tightened.
The child was….
‘Doing well.’
Fast, indeed.
A light laugh escaped Gu Young’s lips.
All of it was the child’s fault — this easy smile.
The poisonous grass the child had brought. The Hae U Cho.
Rustle—
Gu Young lifted his gaze from where he’d let it drift and looked straight ahead.
In a forest that had moments before held nothing, three masked figures now positioned themselves among the trees and undergrowth.
Gu Young fixed his eyes on the one standing in the center.
“I cannot permit you to pass beyond this point.”
Whoosh—
The masked figure standing in the undergrowth parted the vegetation and stepped forward.
In her hands hung two blades, both honed to lethal edges.
“Gu Young. I’ve heard of you. That you’re protecting the child.”
She removed the mask covering her face.
The person revealed was a woman.
A woman with hair bound high and an expression of cool indifference.
“Step aside. We have business with the child, that is all.”
Upon identifying the masked figure, Gu Young’s gaze frosted over.
‘Am Hyang.’
A fragrance hidden yet gently suffusing all around.
By the time one’s mind cleared, a blade was already descending toward the throat — such was the epithet she had earned.
Gu Young knew her well.
She was a creature of darkness like himself, born of the same shadow-realm but serving a different master.
The one she served was….
“Yeo Hwa Ma Gun. You serve the one who wishes the child dead.”
Am Hyang blinked.
She had known that Gu Young would recognize her.
And because she knew he would, she had revealed herself. Yet—
“You recognized me, so why do you still stand there like that?”
Watching Gu Young keep the Spear raised despite knowing who she was, Am Hyang tilted her head.
“Surely you’re not thinking of fighting?”
“….”
“A man like you cannot fail to grasp what choice serves your master.”
Gu Young’s gaze sank low.
He knew it himself.
What he served was neither Am Young Ma Gun nor the young child Yeon U.
His true master was the Patriarch of Cheonma Shin Gyo. Cheonma.
He obeyed Am Young Ma Gun’s commands and protected the child only because the Patriarch so ordained it.
His true lord did not waver.
And on his first day at this place, Gu Young had already perceived it.
‘Too many eyes are turning here.’
So he had thought.
Then it had been only the gazes of Je Wang Geom, Am Young Ma Gun, and the Patriarch that weighed so heavily.
‘Now Yeo Hwa Ma Gun as well.’
To the already crushing weight of attention, another gaze had been added — one that should never have been drawn.
One that stood in opposition to Am Young Ma Gun’s.
The interests of the Patriarch and the Ma Guns themselves were now in conflict over a single, powerless child in need of protection.
‘If Am Young Ma Gun and Yeo Hwa Ma Gun collide, the shockwave will be immeasurable.’
For his lord Cheonma, discord among the Ma Guns — the pillars of the Demonic Cult — would be catastrophe.
“Hand over that child alone, and everything will be resolved.”
“….”
“Act wisely, Gu Young.”
Gu Young’s gaze fell.
The Spear in his grasp, too, lost its purpose and drooped.
“That’s right. We are merely dogs for our master. We must move only for the master’s interests.”
A powerless, worthless child’s life.
The tangled, excessive interests bound to it.
Conflict. Loyalty. And.
Whoosh—
A black spear rose toward Am Hyang, its blade gleaming.
Beyond the darkness, Gu Young’s gaze fixed on her too, burning with unwavering hostility.
Am Hyang’s expression turned cold.
“You’re making a choice you’ll regret.”
“Quite the opposite.”
“…?”
“I’m making a choice I won’t regret.”
Gu Young’s mouth curved into a subtle smile.
Seeing that quiet smile, Am Hyang’s brow furrowed slightly.
“You….”
Gu Young’s right hand gripped the shaft of the spear.
Thrust—
“…!”
The spear point drove toward Am Hyang with terrible force.
Clang—!
Her thin blade crossed to block the spear the same instant.
Two figures hidden in the trees above moved toward Gu Young.
* * *
Clang—clang-clang! Bang-crash-crash!
Un Hyeon’s sword and Gwang Cham Do’s blade collided in rapid succession, dozens of exchanges in a heartbeat.
Blue energy and blood-red energy tangled together, sparks flying where they clashed.
Ping—clang!
Between each collision with Gwang Cham Do, Bi Do projectiles streamed toward Un Hyeon without pause.
The Pa Do Moon fighters surrounding them held their distance, launching the blades at Un Hyeon in unrelenting volleys.
Whistle-whistle-whistle! Bang-clash-crash!
“Krahaha! So the rumor of your death wasn’t entirely false after all!”
Clang—crash-crash!
Gwang Cham Do’s face gleamed with wild delight as he intercepted Un Hyeon’s strikes.
“Your sword moves so sluggishly! How far has your power crumbled!”
Gwang Cham Do had been shocked the moment he sensed Un Hyeon’s Nae Gong.
The Je Wang Geom, who was supposed to be dying from undetoxified poison, appeared with clear, living eyes.
But eyes can deceive; a blade cannot.
Clang! Crash-crash-crash!
“Je Wang Geom! Show me more power! Where’s the confidence you had at Heuk San!”
Victory shimmering before him, Gwang Cham Do saw nothing else.
His voice grew louder with each taunt.
Whoosh—clash!
But Un Hyeon’s focus lay elsewhere.
‘I should deal with the others first.’
The incoming Bi Do was more troublesome than facing Gwang Cham Do directly.
Each blade carried poison embedded in it. And more than that—
‘They’re dispersing San Gong Dok throughout the valley.’
San Gong Dok scatters the Nae Gong.
He’d thought it odd that the Pa Do Moon fighters didn’t swarm him, letting Gwang Cham Do fight alone.
‘Has Gwang Cham Do already taken an antidote?’
Despite continuously inhaling the powder-form San Gong Dok, Gwang Cham Do’s momentum showed no sign of weakening.
Un Hyeon himself had high resistance to poisons, and the valley was wide enough that the toxin’s effect wasn’t overwhelming.
‘But it’s becoming a problem.’
Ssssh—
He could feel his Nae Gong dispersing bit by bit.
In a state where he hadn’t fully recovered from the poison afflicted before, consuming this much additional toxin was dangerous.
‘If I continue….’
Un Hyeon’s eyes shifted upward toward the ridge of the valley.
Tap—
“…!”
Tap-tap-tap!
Un Hyeon’s Shin Hyung rocketed up the valley, pushing off the boulders with blinding speed.
“This bastard!!”
Tap!
Gwang Cham Do gave chase moments too late, but he could not match Un Hyeon’s velocity.
“Flee, flee!”
The Pa Do Moon fighters, knowing themselves outmatched against Je Wang Geom, wheeled about in panic.
But—
Thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk!
In an instant, five hidden blades buried themselves in the temples of five fighters.
They were the very Bi Do that these men had hurled at Un Hyeon.
A strangled gasp.
‘When—when did he…?!’
A single fighter watched his sworn brother collapse into a corpse in the blink of an eye, and shock froze him where he stood, all thought of flight evaporating.
The Bi Do that had pierced his brother’s skull was his own.
‘This can’t—it’s impossible….’
Whoosh!
“Ack—!”
Slash-slash-shriek!
Like a violent wind tearing through the valley.
Un Hyeon’s Shin Hyung carved through the ranks of fighters positioned throughout the gorge, moving faster than the eye could follow.
Whisper—!
In the darkened valley, only the blue shimmer of his blade’s path lingered like an afterimage as he moved.
“Choke!”
“Gasp!”
Screams!
The death cries of Pa Do Moon fighters erupted endlessly.
Un Hyeon’s blade cut them down without mercy.
“Damn it!”
Gasping, gasping—
Gwang Cham Do, pursuing helplessly, was forced to abandon the chase.
He could not capture Je Wang Geom.
This truth became undeniable only after half his disciples lay dead throughout the gorge.
Tap!
Beneath the great round moon, a figure leaped skyward, sword in hand, blood dripping from the blade.
The instant Un Hyeon vaulted over the valley rim.
“What are you doing?! Kill him!!”
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
At Gwang Cham Do’s cry, dozens of hidden blades streaked toward the airborne Un Hyeon.
Gwang Cham Do himself drew more Bi Do from the corpses of his fallen disciples and hurled them.
The Nam Gung Se Ga’s Dokun Geom.
Cheonkong Yeonmu.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!
As if performing a sword dance across the heavens, Un Hyeon’s blue Geom Gang traced an elegant pattern through the air.
Every Bi Do the Pa Do Moon fighters had thrown was deflected.
“Damn.”
Gwang Cham Do’s triumph of moments before evaporated, replaced by fresh, crushing despair.
‘Is that truly a man still recovering?!’
Shriek! Gasp! Scream!
Beyond the valley, the cries of the remaining Pa Do Moon fighters tore through the night in succession.
Though Gwang Cham Do watched the blue Geom Gang cut through the darkness beyond the gorge, he stood paralyzed.
He had scattered his disciples strategically, preparing for any contingency.
But doctrine, tactics, strategy—all of it was worthless before a true monster.
How long did those screams persist?
Soon, a deathly silence settled over the valley. And then—
Tap.
Un Hyeon descended before the last remaining figure.
The blood of his disciples dripped steadily from Un Hyeon’s blade.
“Hehehehe, who’s the killer and who’s the madman, I wonder!”
Slash!
Un Hyeon flicked the blood from his blade.
“Now only you remain. There is no one left to buy me time today.”
“Khehehehe….”
Gwang Cham Do’s laughter spilled out. Then—
Whish— Crack!
He raised his right hand high and hurled the blade in his grip to the ground, where it embedded itself with a thud.
“So Gwang Cham Do is truly….”
Gwang Cham Do’s gaze burned with wild intensity as he fixed it on Un Hyeon.
He drew something from his robes.
“Did you think I would come tiger hunting with no preparation?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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