Appearance of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 68

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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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Episode 68
“Arghhhh—!”
“Hieeeek!”
Baek Yeol-han swung his sword at Jang Hwa-ju.
Jang Hwa-ju, who had been holding an Iron Wok in case he tried to crawl back out, frantically raised it to block the blade.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
“Hick! Hieek! Hick! Hick! Hieeeek!”
The helpless figure of Jang Hwa-ju only fueled Baek Yeol-han’s fervor.
His eyes, which moments ago had been clouded with fear, were now flooded with madness.
“You! I! Will! Kill! You! I, Baek Yeol-han, will—!”
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clangggg—!
The two men clashed fiercely.
Baek Yeol-han pressed forward, and Jang Hwa-ju retreated steadily, step after step.
“This—!”
Whoosh—!
“Can’t you deflect it?!”
Clannng—!
Baek Yeol-han’s powerful downward stroke sent vibrations through Jang Hwa-ju’s Iron Wok.
Jang Hwa-ju’s hands were already numb from absorbing the previous impacts, and he couldn’t withstand this blow.
The Iron Wok was simply too heavy.
Slip—
As Jang Hwa-ju staggered and lost his grip on the heavy Iron Wok.
“Die—!!”
“Ughhhh—!”
Thud—
“…!”
As Jang Hwa-ju tumbled over the Cooking Counter, his hand grasped a small box.
Without hesitation, Jang Hwa-ju flung its contents at Baek Yeol-han.
Fwooosh—!
A cloud of pure white powder struck Baek Yeol-han’s face directly.
“Phaugh! Th—this—tastes—foul! Phew! Spit! Ptui ptui ptui!!”
Baek Yeol-han shook his head frantically, desperately brushing away the white powder.
“Hiss…!! Ptui ptui!!”
What had gone directly into his eyes, nose, and mouth without any defense was salt.
‘Wait.’
Salt?
In that moment, Baek Yeol-han froze.
What flashed through his mind was the conversation Jang Hwa-ju had just had with Byeok Gyo-du.
“I merely mixed what I received with salt.”
Baek Yeol-han’s lips parted slightly.
“Hahahaha! What a sight you are, you worm! How does the salt taste?! Does it sting? Bet you’re dying of the saltiness?”
Baek Yeol-han turned to look at the jeering Jang Hwa-ju.
The moment Jang Hwa-ju, thinking he was about to attack, flinched back in alarm.
“Hueong—.”
Tears streamed from Baek Yeol-han’s eyes.
They came so suddenly that even Jang Hwa-ju, who had been mocking him moments before, was caught off guard.
“Just… just because you got salt… shouldn’t make you cry—!”
That couldn’t be it, could it…?
“I… am I… dying…?”
Tears continued to flow down his cheeks.
Thanks to them, the saltiness in his eyes was quickly diluted and began to ease.
“Am I dying now…?”
“You think you’ll die just from eating some salt?! Are you even a man?!”
“You said… poison… it’s poisoned salt—!!”
Hueong—
“Ah, this?”
Jang Hwa-ju glanced down at the empty box in his hand for a moment.
The corners of his mouth curved upward in a slow smile.
“Right. Yes. You did ingest it. Poison. You’ve eaten poison, so you’ll die now.”
His gaze turned chillingly cold.
“You’ll die soon enough. Your intestines will twist, your meridians will tear, and you’ll vomit blood. You’ve swallowed so much poison! Wa-ha-ha-ha!”
Jang Hwa-ju’s eyes blazed with madness as he shrieked.
It was the same wild gleam that had burned in Baek Yeol-han’s eyes moments before.
“Heuuuung—”
So this is really how I die—
This is how it ends—
I never wanted to go like this—
Whisk—
“Wa-ha-ha…ha…?”
Jang Hwa-ju’s face darkened rapidly as his gloating expression crumbled.
Baek Yeol-han had raised his Sword again.
‘What—what, what is this?’
Hadn’t he lost his will to fight?
Hadn’t he meant to stop?
“I’ll kill you, even if it kills me—!”
Baek Yeol-han hefted his Sword high.
“You’ll die, and I’ll die too! Heuuung— you monster, you wretch!”
He was still weeping.
Yet his killing intent burned hotter than before.
Now that death truly stood before him, he had shed all restraint.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!
“Gaaaaahhh—!!”
Pure madness.
Sword strokes drenched in frenzy.
* * *
Clang—!
The instant Byeok Gyo-du’s Sword streaked toward Yeon-woo’s neck, he instinctively raised his Axe to block.
But in that split second, someone’s hand wrapped gently around his shoulder and turned him.
Immediately after, the sharp ring of blades meeting rang out across the Cooking Counter.
Blink—
Yeon-woo’s uninjured right eye fluttered.
Because his body had been rotated rightward, he couldn’t see what had happened.
But he could recognize who had wrapped around him by the cool, mist-like scent that enveloped him.
‘Gu-yeong?’
He pushed Yeon-woo backward.
Only then could Yeon-woo step back and see the situation.
It was Gu-yeong who had blocked Byeok Gyo-du’s attack, exactly as Yeon-woo had suspected.
“What are you doing?”
Byeok Gyo-du looked taken aback.
But he quickly shrugged and spoke carelessly.
“What do you mean? I was simply instructing a Disciple.”
“Instructing?”
Gu-yeong’s gaze swept briefly over Yeon-woo.
When it turned back to Byeok Gyo-du, his expression had grown colder than ever.
‘He’s furious?’
Yeon-woo blinked.
He’d never seen Gu-yeong angry like this before, and it was oddly striking.
Byeok Gyo-du withdrew his Sword and furrowed his brow.
“But why are you here? This should be personal cultivation time.”
“Is that your method of instruction?”
Ignoring the question, Gu-yeong asked directly, and Byeok Gyo-du answered with irritation.
“If a Disciple makes a mistake, they should receive proper guidance. Would you simply stand by while someone is killed?”
“While someone was being… killed?”
Byeok Gyo-du gestured backward.
He pointed toward Baek Yeol-han and Jang Hwa-ju, who were still fighting in chaos.
“Don’t you see? If I hadn’t come, these children would have murdered Jang Hwa-ju.”
Gu-yeong’s brow furrowed.
He had already found the situation between Baek Yeol-han and Jang Hwa-ju strange.
After all, the one attacking was the Disciple. But still.
“….”
Gu-yeong knew Yeon-woo.
He could be certain of it.
This child was not the type to kill someone without reason.
Even if the disciples had attacked Jang Hwa-ju first, there would surely have been cause.
“Did you truly attempt to kill Jang Hwa-ju?”
At Gu-yeong’s question, Yeon-woo shook his head.
Yeon-woo pointed at Byeok Gyo-du and spoke.
“It’s a lie. That person and that person poisoned my food. I came here only to expose it.”
Having finished speaking, Yeon-woo turned to look at Gu-yeong with sudden alarm.
Cuh-cuh-cuh-cuh….
From Gu-yeong flowed an aura far harsher than before.
A thick fury that froze the very air around him.
“Poison…you say?”
“Yes.”
“Instructor Gu-yeong, surely you don’t believe the mere words of a disciple?”
Byeok Gyo-du let out a laugh.
“The food those children brought, claiming it contained poison, showed no problems whatsoever. Yet they tried to kill Hwa-ju, calling it poisoned?”
“Don’t lie! You flapping mouth!”
“?!”
At Yeon-woo’s sudden harsh words, Byeok Gyo-du’s eyes widened.
“…You whelp….”
Though not an outrageous insult in itself, it somehow struck a nerve.
Click—
Gu-yeong’s spear moved to block Byeok Gyo-du’s path.
Byeok Gyo-du stared at Gu-yeong.
“You don’t understand what I’m saying?”
“I understand.”
At his subtly shortened tone, Byeok Gyo-du’s brow furrowed.
“…You understand, yet you would still protect that child?”
“This child is not that sort of person.”
Cuh-cuh-cuh-cuh-cuh….
From Gu-yeong now flowed an aura that radiated clear hostility.
It was directed at Byeok Gyo-du.
Byeok Gyo-du’s eyebrows rose.
“This child…? Ah, so that’s how it is?”
Soon from him too, an aura of blood-red light shimmered forth like heat haze.
A thick demonic energy mingled with killing intent.
“So you’ve known each other from the start.”
Cuh-cuh-cuh-cuh-cuh….
Once Byeok Gyo-du realized that Gu-yeong and Yeon-woo were one party, he no longer hid his murderous will.
“No wonder. You passed the first test with remarkable swiftness—was that because he had your back?”
Gu-yeong flinched and trembled.
Seeing that reaction, Byeok Gyo-du’s mouth curled in a sickly grin.
“Whether it’s you or him, I don’t understand why you’d stake your lives on such childish games. Listen, Gu-yeong. In a situation like this, shouldn’t you trust the words of a fellow Instructor?”
The Sword spun away from Byeok Gyo-du’s hand.
“I had no intention of fighting you.”
For a moment, the eyes of Gu-yeong, fixed upon that sight, grew narrow.
“…You’re no archer.”
In that instant, Byeok Gyo-du’s mouth curved into a sickly, horrifying smile.
“I don’t know what you mean. I’m an Archery Instructor. Officially appointed.”
“….”
Yet Gu-yeong did not believe him.
He had seen countless warriors.
This man was skilled with the bow, but no bowman.
That he was only now realizing it was itself strange enough to give pause.
‘An Assassin.’
Behind the Black Mask, Gu-yeong’s eyes settled into quiet calm.

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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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