Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 137
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 137. The Resonance of Sacred Fire (1)
“I’ll ask again.”
“….”
“Which of the Flying Spear Gate’s bloodline members took the lead in allowing the learning of Demonic Arts? Was it the Gate Master after all?”
The middle-aged man remained silent.
Sama Jin Gung showed no sign of urgency whatsoever.
“There were a total of three Flying Spear Gate members who came to the main hall. One is Bang Hyo, and the other is you who serves Bang Hyo. Upon investigation, you entered as a temporary general manager three years ago and were officially appointed to the general manager position before even half a year had passed.”
“….”
“The last one is Bang Hyeon, Bang Hyo’s older brother. And we have his corpse in our possession.”
“….”
“Bang Hyeon’s corpse shows the typical characteristics of a Ma In. His Demonic Arts were shattered, his original form was broken, and he decayed rapidly.”
The middle-aged man, Flying Spear Gate’s general manager Eom Hong, glanced at Sama Jin Gung.
Without saying a word, he would occasionally stare like this before turning his head away again. It was behavior that would drive a person mad, but Sama Jin Gung didn’t get excited in the slightest.
“If you don’t want to talk, fine. We’ve already contacted the Honam Expeditionary Force anyway, so within three days, the expeditionary troops will raid Flying Spear Gate.”
“….”
“However, unless you cooperate with the investigation, there’s no telling how long you’ll rot in the Martial Alliance Prison.”
Only then did Eom Hong open his mouth.
“You’ll apply whatever sentence you want anyway, won’t you?”
“If you know that, then it would be better not to make me suffer.”
“How ridiculous. At best, I’ll be locked up in Thunder Prison and spend my life as a prisoner, isn’t that obvious?”
“The character of criminals is all the same, so it’s not surprising, but you don’t seem to have any idea how serious what you bastards have done is.”
Strength entered Eom Hong’s eyes.
“Learning Demonic Arts is a crime? There are so many people in the world who have learned Demonic Arts….”
“They don’t use those Demonic Arts to tear apart and kill every mountain beast they see.”
“We didn’t kill people, did we?”
“And they don’t suck human blood either.”
For a moment, Eom Hong’s eyes wavered.
“Doing some hunting can’t be seen as a problem. But not only did you tear them apart and kill them for fun, you also carved patterns similar to demonic sorcery into the ground – how will you explain that?”
“…!”
“What about sucking beast blood? Will you say you sucked it for your health? Sure, a madman might do that. But do you also suck human blood?”
“….”
“Whether you’re mad or not, dangerous is dangerous. If you don’t know how serious what you’ve done is, you’d be better off just being locked up in Thunder Prison until you die.”
“As if that’s such a big deal.”
Displeasure colored his previously wavering eyes.
Whether he truly thought so, Eom Hong’s face was full of sneering expression.
“Did I learn Demonic Arts? You’re being ridiculous. Bang Hyeon? I didn’t even know that fool learned Demonic Arts, and what the Young Gate Master learned wasn’t Demonic Arts but new martial arts obtained through fortune….”
“I’ve been wondering about this for a while.”
He suddenly cut off his words. Even though the criminal had finally opened his mouth.
A strange interest appeared on Sama Jin Gung’s stoic face.
“Those being interrogated generally fall into two types. Either they pretend to repent to get their crimes reduced, or they don’t acknowledge the crime itself.”
“What you call a crime….”
“But this is the first time I’ve seen someone who wants to die.”
“…!!”
“Why? Is there a reason you need to die right now?”
Eom Hong’s face turned pale.
Sama Jin Gung tapped the documents with his finger.
“I’ll need to investigate more, but just looking at the organizational changes in Flying Spear Gate, I can see that you completely took control within three years. There’s a Gate Master, but the key organizations he directly controlled went under Young Gate Master Bang Hyo and your command. At this level, it wouldn’t be wrong to call him a puppet Gate Master.”
“….”
“Bang Hyeon is Bang Hyo’s older brother and had superior martial arts talent compared to his younger brother. But two years ago, Bang Hyo became the Young Gate Master. Bang Hyeon stepped back to the rear as if it were natural.”
“….”
“And that spear technique shown at the tournament. If combined with Demonic Arts, it would have gained fame as quite a cruel and terrible spear technique. It seemed like martial arts created with the intention of seeing blood, beyond being practical.”
Eom Hong swallowed dry saliva.
Realizing that the entire interrogation process so far wasn’t to extract information but to read him, his composure crumbled.
“You obtained Demonic Arts. Even giving you the benefit of the doubt a hundred times, Bang Hyo might not know. But you and Bang Hyeon know that it’s Demonic Arts.”
“….”
“One more thing.”
Sama Jin Gung tilted his head.
“From what I can see, you’re clearly a skilled practitioner, so why didn’t you commit suicide? If you want death, you don’t need to die by our hands – you could just end your own life.”
“….”
“There’s a reason you can’t commit suicide. Whatever it is.”
Eom Hong’s face was drenched in cold sweat.
Without swinging a sword even once, without threatening with curses, he instilled fear. Sama Jin Gung’s terrifying insight and perception could be called supreme martial arts in itself.
Eom Hong tried to speak calmly.
“You sure talk well by yourself. Did you make criminals out of innocent people by making such assumptions? Did you build your career with such methods?”
Sama Jin Gung stood up from his seat.
He thought he would get angry, but that wasn’t the case.
He suddenly came to Eom Hong, unlocked his handcuffs, and placed a dagger on the table.
“Try taking your own life.”
Eom Hong gritted his teeth.
With his internal energy sealed, he couldn’t attack his opponent. But he couldn’t commit suicide either.
‘Damn it!’
After staring down at Eom Hong for a while, Sama Jin Gung tilted his head once more.
“Shall I kill you instead?”
“….”
“Of course, I won’t do that.”
Sama Jin Gung, who retrieved the dagger again, headed for the door.
“You won’t see sunlight until you die. If you want to live eating proper meals instead of rice balls covered in filth, call for me anytime.”
He really seemed about to leave.
Eom Hong jumped up.
“W-wait!”
That’s when it happened.
“Kugh!”
Suddenly grabbing his throat, Eom Hong pushed away his chair and collapsed.
Sama Jin Gung’s eyes flashed.
His trembling body, foam instantly filling his mouth.
This wasn’t a condition that could be deliberately faked.
Nevertheless, Sama Jin Gung didn’t approach rashly. His method of dealing with criminals was always cold.
“Kaaaagh!”
Unable to breathe properly, Eom Hong struggled continuously with a red face, then suddenly bent his waist like a bow.
His trembling body, dark blue veins protruding from his exposed skin.
Clang!
The door opened and warriors rushed in.
“Alliance Leader!”
“What’s happening?”
Sama Jin Gung raised his hand to stop them.
“The criminal is dancing.”
“Pardon? Gasp!”
The warriors were startled.
“S-shouldn’t we check his condition?”
“Don’t touch him. He’s entangled with demons. There’s no telling what he might do.”
“He could die at this rate!”
“If he’s destined to die like that, he’ll die anyway even if we intervene.”
An utterly cold attitude.
The warriors’ faces showed clear signs of being appalled. Their superior who maintained such composure even in this situation seemed utterly inhuman.
A moment later.
“Ah, no…!”
A voice filled with despair burst from Eom Hong’s mouth.
“You… I didn’t call for you…”
Puhwaak!
Eom Hong’s body collapsed limply after vomiting blood from his seven orifices.
He was dead.
Heavy silence fell over the interrogation room.
Sama Jin Gung, who had been quietly watching Eom Hong, turned around.
“Remove the corpse.”
* * *
Moyong Bi thought. Perhaps he had developed something like dementia just before death.
Otherwise, there was no way he could have forgotten that shocking scene he witnessed when departing this world.
‘Now I remember.’
The moment his breath ceased, he fell into a space where not a trace of light could be found.
In that space where there wasn’t a single point of light in any direction, yet he could clearly see his own form – a space he never would have thought could exist in this world.
There, he heard the voice of a being.
‘You’ve finally come.’
The voice had such intense resonance that he couldn’t properly distinguish it, but strangely, he understood it all.
‘I’ve waited far too long.’
‘What?’
‘My ego as an intermediary was on the verge of collapse. Now I will prepare for the descent of god through you.’
It was incomprehensible words, and he couldn’t even think to interpret them. As soon as the words ended, darkness closed in on him.
But now he could reflect on it with a calm mind.
‘Finally came? Waited too long?’
Who could be there to say such things?
In fact, there was no need to analyze it. The moment he recalled not the content, but the ‘temperament’ that voice exuded, he instinctively knew who it was.
‘It’s Neung Hyeong.’
Demon Immortal Neung Hyeong.
The leader of Sacred Blood Palace, a monster who was considered the strongest in the martial world at that time.
In that era, he himself was counted among the ten greatest masters under heaven, and thanks to experience built through war, he received praise that he would definitely be counted among the top five fingers in the world.
Of course, he had no interest in such ranking games, but public evaluation, while seeming vague, tends to be accurate at times.
He could discuss being the best in the world, but wasn’t number one. That was me.
But Neung Hyeong was different.
Though he wasn’t included among the ten greatest masters since he was the ringleader of the demonic path that plunged Central Plains into chaos, he received evaluation as being closest to number one in the world along with Bijon.
After killing such a Neung Hyeong in one-on-one combat, my reputation came to compete for the lead with Bijon, but I knew.
That I could defeat Neung Hyeong thanks to the Brain Gate Heart Technique and thoroughly honed practical experience.
Despite being the Martial Alliance Leader, for over twenty years I volunteered for the vanguard, building martial arts through blood and death. I had fought all kinds of masters, engaged in one-against-many battles as well as group battles, and even acted as a key operative in assassination missions.
All that experience allowed me not to panic even against Neung Hyeong’s absolute demonic arts, and the Brain Gate Heart Technique, which was incompatible with demonic arts, continuously burned away Demonic Energy and enabled me to approach him.
In other words, from Neung Hyeong’s perspective, he had encountered the most incompatible opponent in the martial world.
‘Still, I nearly died. No, I practically did die because of that bastard.’
I had trusted in the demon-breaking and evil-repelling power of the Brain Gate Heart Technique, but it turned out Demonic Energy that had penetrated deep into my heart meridians was nurturing disease.
In the end, we killed each other.
‘But his soul didn’t return to the underworld?’
That voice speaking of intermediaries was definitely not a hallucination or anything like that.
That bastard was persistently waiting for me even after death.
When I thought about why, it seemed the reason lay in his words.
‘Prepare for god’s descent through me? What does that mean? Does he intend to use my soul?’
If so…
‘My entering Great Grand Nephew’s body again wasn’t coincidence.’
Whatever it was, it was related to Neung Hyeong. That bastard had pulled some trick on me.
‘Should I say thanks?’
Anyway, I was able to see my great grand nephews again. I gained an opportunity to revive the ruined family, so I could say I was grateful for at least that much.
But still.
‘I can never forgive that bastard.’
Actually, there was nothing to forgive or not forgive.
That bastard was already dead.
His heart was pierced by my spear, and I even blew off his head with the final blade strike.
But… what if by any chance that bastard was alive?
No, what if he came back to life like me?
How should I deal with him?
‘I’ll have to hunt him down and kill him.’
This wasn’t a relationship for empty words or jokes. That bastard was a demon who started wars and sowed seeds of destruction across Central Plains.
‘Forgiveness aside, you’re someone who harms the world.’
For my family’s sake too, I can’t just leave him be.
‘But… why am I thinking such thoughts?’
Why? That bastard is already dead.
At that moment, he felt a sensation as if his body was floating up.
Simultaneously, the Brain Gate Heart Technique cried out madly again. It had read the shadow of demons, ignoring distance.
“Heok!”
When Moyong Bi came to his senses, Moyong Su Hyang was beside him.
“Brother! Are you alright? Are you coming to your senses?”
“Huk huk! Dam, dammit.”
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
“That’s not the problem, Su Hyang.”
Moyong Bi’s face contorted.
“Don’t tell me that damn bastard really?!”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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