Episode 238: Return of the Demon Instructor
Drip.
A drop of blood fell from the tip of a sword, cold as ice and clear as glass.
Sabi Kang stared down at the blade piercing his heart, his eyes wide with disbelief.
His face and hair were drenched in blood, turning them a deep crimson.
“Gasp, gasp, gasp…”
His shoulders heaved with each labored breath.
‘Damn it… I’ve grown old.’
A bitter smile played on his lips.
He wasn’t young anymore, after all.
He had spent decades in the demon realm, where time moved at more than twice the speed of the mortal world.
He slowly scanned his surroundings, his eyes tracing the wrinkles that had formed over the years.
His loyal followers lay scattered around him, their bodies soaked in blood.
Since arriving in the demon realm, he had trusted no one.
Not even Helmut, who had stayed by his side until the end, had earned his complete trust.
His life had been a tapestry of suspicion.
And yet…
‘I should have trusted them a little more.’
Regret washed over him.
Those he had doubted had died trying to protect him, slaughtered by the Demon King.
Only now did he feel a kinship with them.
Too late. Far too late.
Sabi Kang looked again at the sword impaling his chest.
A blade that shone like a jewel.
Forged from the highest-grade demon stones in the realm, enhanced with countless spells.
They said it took three thousand years to create this weapon.
With his heart pierced by such a blade, survival was impossible.
And that wasn’t all.
His body was riddled with spears, like a porcupine.
The fact that he was still standing was a miracle in itself.
“Schwitz von Grental.”
The Demon King, Tarrant, called his name with an impassive expression.
A name given by the Demon King himself.
Sabi Kang tried to curse, but couldn’t suppress the rising nausea.
“Ugh!”
A torrent of blood spewed from his mouth.
“Tarrant…!”
His face twisted into a terrifying mask of rage.
The Demon King reached out, brushing Sabi Kang’s blood-soaked hair aside.
“Schwitz, you’ve aged.”
“Afraid of an old man, are you, Tarrant?”
“Not quite. It’s the deceit of humans that irks me.”
“That’s just a human way of saying you’re scared!”
Sabi Kang shouted, gripping the sword tightly.
In the next moment, a fierce purple light erupted from his entire body.
**
“Kang! Kang!”
A familiar voice pierced his ears.
Sabi Kang frowned deeply and sat up.
“Uh…?”
For a moment, he couldn’t comprehend his surroundings.
Was this… Bushin Pavilion?
As he looked around in confusion,
“Get a grip! This is no time to be dazed!”
The urgent voice came again.
Turning his head, he saw Jinbaek, the head of Bushin Pavilion, hurriedly gathering belongings.
Jinbaek scolded Sabi Kang, who sat there bewildered.
“You fool! Why are you just sitting there? Help me pack these things!”
“Master, what’s going on?”
Sabi Kang asked, still dazed, then flinched and looked down at himself.
His voice was younger.
He quickly found a mirror and saw he had returned to his younger self.
Yes, this was when the demon invasion had just begun!
Jinbaek shouted again, exasperated.
“What are you doing holding that mirror? Help me pack!”
“Ah, yes. But what’s happening?”
“They’ve appeared!”
“Who do you mean?”
“The Hell Demons! They’ve appeared at Yongcheon Pavilion! We must flee! Even if something happens to me, don’t look back! Just run! Got it? And take these!”
Jinbaek thrust a bundle into Sabi Kang’s arms.
Hell Demons.
‘Right, back then we called the demons Hell Demons.’
They slaughtered the people of the central plains like reapers from hell.
He remembered.
That night.
Yes, Jinbaek had tried to escape with him…
“Ah!”
Sabi Kang quickly reached out and grabbed Jinbaek.
“Master, we can’t go out now. It’s too dangerous!”
“What are you talking about? Didn’t you hear me? The Hell Demons are here!”
“But if we go out now, we’ll die!”
“We’ll die if we stay here too!”
“No, we should wait for a chance when things calm down…!”
But Jinbaek didn’t listen to Sabi Kang any longer.
Sabi Kang was usually timid and cautious.
In such situations, he would rather hide than act boldly.
Jinbaek wouldn’t trust Sabi Kang’s words and wait.
“Fool! Stay close behind me!”
Jinbaek strode to the door of Bushin Pavilion and carefully opened it.
At that moment,
Crash!
The door shattered, and a shadow entered.
“Ugh!”
Startled, Sabi Kang ducked under the bed.
He felt pathetic for not being able to act while his master, who had cared for him like a father, was in danger.
But his body wouldn’t move.
The intruder, dressed in unfamiliar garb, glanced around the pavilion.
He walked towards the fallen Jinbaek.
Jinbaek’s eyes met Sabi Kang’s, who was hiding under the bed.
[Don’t even breathe.]
Jinbaek’s faint telepathic message reached him.
Tears streamed down Sabi Kang’s face, but he couldn’t move.
He held his breath, trying to make himself as small as possible, just as Jinbaek had instructed.
The shadow surveyed the room, then grabbed Jinbaek’s head.
In the next moment,
Crackle! Sizzle!
A fierce bolt of lightning coursed through Jinbaek’s body.
“Aaaah!”
A harrowing scream echoed.
Moments later, Jinbaek collapsed to the floor, charred black.
A long, black scar, shaped like a lightning bolt, marred his chest where his clothes had been torn.
‘Not a Hell Demon… but a martial artist who became their lackey…!’
There were such people.
Not just a few.
Those who, unable to resist the Hell Demons, willingly became their pawns!
Jinbaek’s wide-open eyes still fixed on Sabi Kang, as if warning him not to move.
Tears fell.
Hadn’t he experienced this once before?
Yet the fear and trembling were just as real.
The shadow that had killed Jinbaek paced around.
Finally, he stopped in front of the bed.
‘Don’t breathe, don’t breathe.’
Sabi Kang repeated the mantra in his mind, as if casting a spell on himself.
What if he cut the intruder’s ankle now?
No.
If he failed, he would die for sure.
He had to endure and wait.
After a moment, the footsteps turned away.
But then,
“Gasp!”
A stranger’s face suddenly appeared under the bed.
“Found you.”
Boom!
Lightning flashed, and thunder roared.
**
“Gasp! Gasp, gasp…”
Sabi Kang sat up abruptly, gasping for air.
Lightning flashed,
Boom!
Thunder rumbled.
The sound of rain poured down, refreshing and cool.
Sabi Kang got up from the bed and walked to the table to drink some water.
The cool liquid soothed him.
‘A filthy dream.’
One was the angriest moment of his past life, the other the most terrifying.
Crack! Boom!
Lightning and thunder struck again.
He flung open the window, and thick raindrops slashed through the night sky, falling relentlessly.
Suddenly, there was a commotion, and shadows were flung out into the training yard.
The shadows groaned as they tumbled across the ground.
They were the new recruits.
Even now, it seemed they were trying to infiltrate his quarters to assassinate him.
But with all the protective barriers layered over the place, it wouldn’t be easy.
Sabi Kang chuckled.
“Full of youthful vigor.”
How far had they come?
He was on the seventh floor.
There were defensive barriers up to the sixth floor, with dangerous traps that could cost them their lives.
By now, they might have reached the fourth floor.
Still, their tenacity was commendable.
This was all part of training for the demon invasion.
Once, Churyang had asked him,
“Why don’t you inform and teach the top masters or leaders about this? Why only the young students and those ruffians?”
It was a question worth pondering.
But with a little more thought, the answer was clear.
Hadn’t the Demon King said it himself?
It wasn’t the old man that was frightening, but the deceit of humans that was bothersome.
That deceit often grew with age.
Young students were like blank slates, untainted.
They could be molded as needed.
But the old ones, with years behind them, were different.
They were already stained with too much.
If he told them the demon realm would invade in ten years and asked them to follow him?
They’d think he was mad.
And if he showed them powerful magic to prove it?
They’d brand him a heretic and hunt him down.
He knew how this world worked.
It wasn’t just the martial world.
It was the human world.
Those in power never willingly relinquish it.
They fear change.
‘Even I wouldn’t believe it.’
Training young cadets all at once is simply not feasible.
So, we must take it step by step.
These cadets, still untainted by the world.
Those who have been branded as outcasts, forgotten by society.
It’s about nurturing them.
After all, there’s still time.
But…
“This isn’t going to work as it is,” Sabikang said, raising a hand.
Earlier today, Ong Giseung had demonstrated his sword technique, slicing through the air with precision.
A faint cut appeared on his wrist.
It was a mark from the blade.
Normally, he would never have allowed even a scratch.
But today, after unleashing a barrage of high-level magic, his focus had wavered slightly.
Even though he had gained additional power by defeating Seolbaek, using high-level magic in succession was still a challenge.
He needed to grow stronger.
“Perhaps it’s time to get moving again.”
He looked up at the sky, where rain poured down relentlessly.
Flash, boom!
Thunder and lightning roared once more.
“Thunder and lightning…”
A disturbing dream.
In a past life, Jinbaek had fallen to a martial artist who served as a pawn for the demon clan.
He had investigated the martial art that had killed him.
A sinister technique that left traces of lightning on the chest and drained all energy.
Thunderbolt Absorption Technique.
He would never forget the name.
Chilmujong.
He had even instructed the Guiyeongdan to find Chilmujong, but there was still no news.
They found people with the same name, but none who had mastered the Thunderbolt Absorption Technique.
“Well, one day, I’ll uncover the truth.”
Patience is key; tackle things one at a time.
“First, I should meet with the leader of the Baekho faction.”