So this is that lunatic’s master?
He looked at me, then spoke as if he found me interesting.
“Looks like Snow Wind Palace hasn’t fallen yet.”
He knows about Snow Wind Palace?
I asked in a guarded voice.
“Who are you?”
“Ah, this Great One is late in introducing itself.”
This Great One?
As far as I knew, there was only one place that referred to itself with such a grandiose title.
“This Great One is the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult.”
“…”
Damn it! I knew it…!
But why is the Heavenly Demon here of all places?
“Lord!”
As soon as he revealed his identity, the Escort Guards who had been standing in the back rushed over and took their places in front of me.
But our opponent was the Heavenly Demon.
I could see their bodies trembling from how tense they were.
I appreciated it, but they really didn’t need to.
Honestly, if the man in front of me had wanted to kill me, I’d already be dead.
He gave a small chuckle, as if he didn’t dislike the Escort Guards’ reaction.
“Truly loyal guards.”
“Please forgive the discourtesy.”
“Well, my disciple caused trouble first anyway…”
He looked at the weirdo still kneeling on the ground.
“That one is one of my disciples. His achievements were outstanding, so I’d already picked him as the Young Cult Leader, but then a problem cropped up, and he’s been giving me a headache.”
“And that problem is him going mad?”
He nodded at my question.
“More or less. As you know, the Heavenly Demon Cult’s internal cultivation method is a reverse circulation method. Thanks to that, progress is fast, but the demonic qi is the problem.”
He frowned and went on.
“When that demonic qi fills up to the limit, it invades the bone marrow, and once that happens, you lose your sense of self and go on a rampage.”
“Then what happens?”
“You either overcome the demon and reach the Extreme Demon Realm, or you die – it’s one or the other. Once the demon invades the brain, you start craving death.”
“I see.”
So that’s why he was so desperate, begging me to kill him?
The Heavenly Demon spoke with a bitter smile.
“The truth is, defeating the demon isn’t easy. The best way is to keep fighting until the demon is purified inside your body and settles down.”
So that was why he kept looking for someone who could fight him on equal footing?
Retreating once he couldn’t attack anymore?
“Normally it takes quite a long time to overcome the demon and reach the Extreme Demon Realm. You usually expect three to five years, but for it to take not even a month…”
“Your disciple must just be that talented.”
“Well, if good luck counts as talent…”
He shot his disciple a glance, then pointed at me again.
“More than that, it’s probably thanks to your qi.”
“Huh?”
“Your exceptionally clear qi helped suppress and subdue my disciple’s raging demonic qi. The qi of Snow Wind Palace has always been unusually pure. That’s why it annoyed me.”
For a moment, I tensed up.
Even though I knew the ones who wiped out Snow Wind Palace actually weren’t the Demonic Cult.
“This time, I owe you a favor. I treasure that disciple. If I’d lost him, it would have pained me quite a bit.”
“By the way, what brings you all the way out here? The Heavenly Demon Cult’s stronghold is pretty far from here, isn’t it?”
“Correct. Even so, the moment I heard that brat had fallen into demonic deviation in the North Sea, I rushed over, and it still took me fifteen days.”
Hearing him say it had taken him as long as fifteen days, not only fifteen days, left me speechless for a moment.
It meant his realm was that incredible.
“Still, what in the world happened here in the North Sea for your disciple to fall into demonic deviation?”
At my question, the Cult Leader looked at his disciple.
The disciple slightly turned his head and replied.
“Well… I caught a spirit beast, and I was hungry, so I roasted and ate it, then out of curiosity I ate its inner core too.”
“By any chance, did that spirit beast have red eyes?”
He nodded at my question.
The Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue and scolded his disciple.
“You foolish brat! I send you out on an errand and you eat the inner core of some evil spirit beast? Of course the demon would invade your bone marrow! Damn it, you punk!”
Thud, thud!
He mercilessly kicked his disciple.
Only then could I piece together what had happened.
Watching him get beaten to a pulp like that somehow made me feel refreshed inside.
Part of me wanted to let him keep hitting, but I should probably step in and stop it.
“Cult Leader, your disciple didn’t actually cause any huge incident. As far as I know, no one in the North Sea died because of him.”
“That’s a relief.”
When he finally stopped kicking, the disciple let out a pained groan but still knelt down again.
“I hurried here because I was worried he’d cause trouble. If he made a mess anywhere else, fine, but if it’s the North Sea, it gets bothersome. Having to deal with that brawling old hag… huh.”
Could that old hag be… the Palace Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace?
“Still, there are quite a few injured people. I think you should compensate them for that.”
Besides, the injured people were from the Eunhae Merchant Group and the tribes who traded with us.
He looked at me and burst into hearty laughter.
“Hahahahaha!”
“Why are you laughing?”
“You can say that while looking like that?”
What’s wrong with the way I look?
Thinking that, I checked myself over, and immediately felt awkward.
My clothes were shredded like rags, and my whole body was covered in blood.
“…”
I cleared my throat and continued.
“Ahem, my guards and I were injured as well, so I think you should compensate us for that too.”
“You’re the first person to demand compensation so brazenly in front of this Great One.”
He went on, still smiling.
“Are you not afraid of this Great One?”
“Of course I’m afraid… but if I don’t at least get what I’m owed, I’ll die early from the frustration. If I’m going to die either way, isn’t it better to say my piece before I go?”
“You’re an amusing one.”
“I get that a lot.”
He took a pouch from his robe, pulled out five gold taels, and tossed them.
They flew toward me, stopped right in front of me, then slowly floated down.
I reached out and caught them.
“Will that do?”
“It’s too much. Two gold taels are enough.”
“You seem greedy and yet not greedy at all – interesting.”
“It’s only natural to want what I’m owed, but asking for more than that wouldn’t be right.”
Besides, this was the Heavenly Demon’s money.
If I got greedy and something went wrong, I’d be the one taking the loss.
“The rest is my thanks for helping free my disciple from the demon.”
Oh, in that case, I’d better just take it.
“Thank you.”
“If fate allows, we’ll meet again.”
He spoke to his disciple.
“Get up.”
“Yes, Master!”
He rose to his feet.
Standing straight, his aura was definitely different from before, even though he’d fought me and then been beaten by the Cult Leader, so his appearance was a mess.
“This unworthy disciple has caused his master concern.”
“Good thing it ended there. Let’s go back.”
“Yes.”
At some point, people dressed in black clothes and wearing black bamboo hats had come up behind them.
The Cult Leader’s presence had been so overwhelming that I hadn’t even noticed.
The disciple clasped his fists toward me and asked.
“My name is Man Gyeong. What is your name?”
Is it really okay to tell him my name?
While I was hesitating, Palgap’s voice rang out from behind.
“Young Master! Young Master Seo-ho!”
What a loud voice.
Maybe he’d heard that, because he smiled and spoke.
“Seo-ho. So that’s your name.”
“That’s right. I’m Eun Seo-ho.”
“I, Man Gyeong, will not forget the favor I owe you. Then, I’ll be going.”
Hey, you can act cool all you want, but do you really think you look cool when your face is a wreck?
With that, the weirdo – no, the one called Man Gyeong – walked toward the people who had come to receive them.
The Heavenly Demon also started toward them, then looked back.
And he spoke to me.
“Judging by your gains, it doesn’t seem like this whole affair was a loss for you.”
“Huh?”
My gains? What is that supposed to mean?
With that, they mounted their horses and quickly rode off into the distance.
“Thankfully… it’s over safely.”
“You’re right.”
I looked up at the sky.
The sky looked unusual, as if a snowstorm was about to blow in.
So why were my eyes so heavy?
I struggled to keep them open, but in the end they closed, and everything after that was a blur.
.
.
.
“Gasp!”
I opened my eyes.
I felt like I’d just had a strange dream.
In it, the Heavenly Demon appeared and handed me five gold tael as compensation.
“What a bizarre dream.”
Muttering that, I pushed myself up, then turned my head, feeling something was off.
Palgap saw that I was awake, his eyes going wide as he rushed over.
“Oh my! Young Master! You’re awake?”
“Yeah? Why are you making such a fuss?”
“What do you mean? You practically came back from the dead – of course I’m fussing!”
“What are you talking about? When did I almost die?”
“You don’t remember? You went out saying you were going to catch that madman or whatever.”
“Uh…”
Oh, right. Now it was finally coming back.
Feeling embarrassed, I scratched the back of my neck, then noticed the table. More precisely, the five gold taels sitting on top of it.
I froze for a moment.
So that hadn’t been a dream?
Maybe they’d heard Palgap’s voice, because the door opened and the Escort Guards all rushed in.
“Lord!”
“Are you all right?”
I looked over each of their faces one by one and let out a sigh of relief.
“I’m glad you all look okay.”
I laughed, but Escort Guard Seo Wu scolded me.
“Lord, you can laugh at a time like this?”
“Everything worked out, and everyone’s safe, aren’t they?”
“Even so, you were far too reckless.”
He let out a sigh.
“We’re your Escort Guards. Yet things keep happening that make us feel ashamed before you.”
Well, I could see why he’d think that.
But this incident had changed my thoughts a little.
“Don’t talk like that. Honestly, this last fight was one where I had no way out.”
At my words, everyone nodded.
“Do you know why I could fight so recklessly, with no retreat? It’s because I had all of you.”
“…”
“Even if I lost consciousness mid-fight, like this time, I could fight with my back to the wall because I trust you to protect my life.”
I continued gently.
“So don’t think that way. I’m counting on you from here on too.”
“We will serve you with all our hearts.”
The Escort Guards all bowed their heads at once.
“Anyway, after getting a full day’s rest like this, I feel surprisingly light.”
At that, Palgap sighed and spoke.
“Young Master, what nonsense are you talking about?”
“Huh?”
“It hasn’t been a day – it’s already been three.”
“What? Three days? You’re saying I’ve been lying here for three whole days?”
“That’s right.”
Ah, damn…
This wasn’t the time to just sit around.
“Everyone, how are your injuries?”
“We’re fine.”
I stepped down from the bed and said,
“Then let’s go get the snow.”
After we quickly got ready and headed out, Branch Chief Su approached me.
“I heard you’d woken up. How are you feeling?”
“Ah, yes. I feel much better.”
“That’s a relief. When Palgap carried you back on his back, everything went dark before my eyes.”
“I’m sorry for making you worry.”
“Not at all. Thanks to you, the monster that had the tribes living in fear has been dealt with.”
At those words, I turned to look at Escort Guard Seo Wu.
He sent me a Voice Transmission.
– First, we said that we joined forces to bring that madman down, then burned the body.
– Nicely done.
It would have been awkward in all sorts of ways to mention that we’d met the Heavenly Demon and his disciple.
If word slipped, we could end up with a lot of trouble.
They probably didn’t want their movements exposed either.
“So right now, the tribes have been expressing their gratitude and bringing all sorts of gifts, and it’s actually been a bit overwhelming.”
“Huh? Gifts?”
“They say it’s repayment for avenging them in their stead.”
Come to think of it, the tribes around here have a custom about the ‘one who avenges a grudge in another’s place’.
They must repay their grudges no matter what, and if they lack the strength, they hire someone to take revenge for them.
And if someone unintentionally avenges them, they have to pay that person back with gifts, or misfortune will come – or something like that.
If that’s the case, refusing that payment would be rude.
“Where are those gifts?”
“We’ve gathered them all into one room.”
I opened the door to that room and could only stay silent for a moment.
“…”
“It’s a lot more than I expected.”
“I see. We’ll just take it as a sign of how grateful they are. Please thank them for the gifts on my behalf. And…”
I pulled a pouch from my sleeve and held it out.
“Use this money to compensate the injured tribespeople and our guards.”
“Understood.”
That money was worth about one and a half gold taels.
“Then I’ll step out for a bit.”
“All right. Please be careful.”
I headed for the North Sea with the Escort Guards, a carriage in tow.
After a while, we reached the place where I’d fought that disciple named Man Gyeong earlier.
Maybe because of the snowstorm winds, every trace of our battle had completely vanished.
That left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Anyway, Man Gyeong said he’d come to the North Sea on an errand from the Cult Leader, but what kind of errand was it?
Should I have just acted crazy and asked him?
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won’t get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt