Episode 394: Return of the Demon Sect Master
“So, you’ve finally shown your true colors.”
Ong Hae-in murmured with a faint smile, while Dong Myeon-in signaled to the Blood Demon Five.
Swish!
In an instant, the Blood Demon Five scattered in five directions, encircling Ong Hae-in.
Dong Myeon-in spoke in a voice as cold as ice.
“If you decided to live in seclusion, shouldn’t you have stayed out of worldly affairs? Isn’t that the way to live long?”
“Sometimes, even if I avoid the world, the world comes chasing after me.”
“So, you’re destined to die anyway.”
Dong Myeon-in’s voice was sharp as he barked out an order.
“Kill him!”
“Yes, sir!”
The Blood Demon Five drew their swords and leaped into action.
There was no need to waste time with unnecessary words. Anyone who could set up such a formation was bound to be a formidable opponent.
Ilma was the first to charge, slicing through the air with his sword.
Whoosh!
His signature move, the Flash Demon Sword, was as swift as its name suggested.
But then…
Swish. Swish!
With a single step, Ong Hae-in retreated ten paces in the blink of an eye.
‘How?’
In that fleeting moment, Ilma doubted his own eyes. No one had ever escaped his attack range so quickly before. Usually, they were either skewered by his sword, narrowly dodged, or blocked with their weapon.
But to retreat that far?
Ilma should have trusted his eyes to the end. In reality, Ong Hae-in hadn’t moved that far. It was merely a single step, but the illusion created by the formation around the hut made it seem otherwise.
The Illusory Space-Time Formation.
A formation developed by Ong Hae-in, it caused space and time to distort if a certain level of power was exerted without following the prescribed steps near the hut.
Caught in the Illusory Space-Time Formation, Ilma found himself absurdly far away, swinging his sword at nothing.
Meanwhile, Ima and Sama launched a coordinated attack. With indifferent expressions, they swung their swords at Ong Hae-in, who was supposed to be between them.
But then,
Swoosh!
“Ugh!”
“Agh!”
Ong Hae-in was not standing between them but was instead upside down above their heads. Or rather, they were the ones floating upside down in mid-air, slashing at each other as they fell.
Crash!
“Ugh!”
“Argh!”
Sama and Oma charged in with a slight delay. In a split second, Sama widened his eyes and leaped to the side, cursing.
“This is insane!”
Oma had swung his sword directly at him. To Oma, it seemed as if Sama, who had been charging at Ong Hae-in, suddenly lunged at him.
“Whoa!”
He quickly dodged, swallowing his breath. It was a comically futile attack, unworthy of the Blood Demon Five’s fearsome reputation.
Ong Hae-in had barely moved, yet those who charged at him ended up attacking each other. Anyone watching would never believe they were masters of the highest order.
This was a testament to the strength of the formation Ong Hae-in had created.
Even Ong Hae-in was inwardly surprised. Those who had previously threatened him within his formation usually ended up harming themselves or each other, leading to their own demise.
Yet, despite some injuries, none of the Blood Demon Five had died. Moreover, Dong Myeon-in had already realized there was a formation and kept his distance.
Dong Myeon-in shouted coldly.
“The old man is playing tricks! Release your sword energy!”
The Blood Demon Five each harnessed their limited power to unleash sword energy.
Whoosh!
Including Dong Myeon-in, six streams of sword energy flew toward Ong Hae-in. He gathered energy in his hands and unleashed it in all directions.
Boom!
The incoming sword energy collided with his force, exploding with a deafening sound.
As the dust settled, Ong Hae-in surveyed his surroundings with a cold gaze.
“It seems you won’t be leaving easily.”
“Did you just realize that? You need to cultivate more patience.”
Dong Myeon-in sneered, and Ong Hae-in suddenly launched himself at him.
“You scoundrel!”
“Come on!”
Dong Myeon-in’s eyes narrowed as his demonic energy surged.
**
Boom!
Sa Bi-gang, who had been devouring food voraciously, paused and looked up at the ceiling. A loud noise had just echoed, accompanied by a tremor in the ground.
The roof shook, and debris fell onto the food.
“Grrr…!”
Sa Bi-gang growled with displeasure but resumed eating.
“Chomp, chomp…! Slurp, slurp…!”
He continued eating for a while longer until another loud noise erupted. This time, he barely paused, as if whatever was happening outside had nothing to do with him.
But soon, he stood up, having licked the last plate clean. There was no more food, and the person who usually brought him meals had left, muttering incomprehensibly.
What he needed now was food to fill his stomach. Ong Hae-in had once joked that it would be easier to raise a cow than to feed Sa Bi-gang.
“Raaah!”
With no food left, Sa Bi-gang, holding an empty bowl, stomped outside.
Outside, Ong Hae-in was struggling against six demonic warriors by the lakeside. Initially, he had held his ground using the formation, but his opponents were masters of the highest order.
As time passed, they began to adapt to the formation, observing Ong Hae-in’s movements and deciphering the steps.
Like most formations, the Illusory Space-Time Formation was only a temporary measure against masters of their caliber.
However, the restrictive formation centered around the hut was not easily broken, so Ong Hae-in and the demonic warriors were using only their restrained inner power.
Despite this, they wielded enough force to create ripples on the water.
The six demonic warriors were pushing Ong Hae-in into a difficult position.
Whoosh!
Ong Hae-in launched himself at Oma, the weakest-looking of the six, hoping to reduce their numbers.
In a non-surprise attack, there was no need to confront the strongest first.
However, even the weakest, Oma, was a master of the highest order. Though affected by the restrictions, he was not someone Ong Hae-in could easily defeat.
Slash!
Oma swung his sword horizontally, causing water droplets to rise and freeze into sharp ice shards.
The extreme cold froze the water instantly.
Ong Hae-in quickly struck with his fishing rod.
Clang!
The sound of the fishing rod clashing with the ice was unbelievably loud.
Crash!
Shattered ice fragments scattered in all directions.
Dong Myeon-in swung his sword, deflecting the incoming ice shards.
Swish!
White ice dust spread like mist.
In that instant,
Swoosh!
Dong Myeon-in emerged from the mist, slashing horizontally with his sword.
Ong Hae-in quickly turned his fishing rod to block.
Clang!
Another loud clash sent Ong Hae-in flying to the lakeside.
Splash!
He skidded across the water, soaked to the bone, and lay sprawled.
Footsteps approached.
Ong Hae-in squinted to see Sa Bi-gang approaching with a bowl in hand.
“You…”
Ong Hae-in looked at the demonic warriors with a troubled expression.
As expected, they smirked at the sight of Sa Bi-gang.
“So, you’ve finally shown up.”
“Are you here to help the old man?”
Sa Bi-gang glanced at the demonic warriors and growled softly.
“Grrr…”
“It seems he hasn’t fully regained his senses.”
“Our information was correct.”
Ignoring them, Sa Bi-gang walked steadily toward Ong Hae-in.
Ong Hae-in staggered to his feet, turning his back to Sa Bi-gang.
“Don’t get involved. I’ll handle this somehow.”
“Grrr…!”
Sa Bi-gang seemed to want to speak but could only make beastly sounds.
Without looking back, Ong Hae-in waved his hand.
“Don’t worry about me. Just stay back.”
“Old man, stop interfering and step aside. We have no business with you.”
Dong Myeon-in’s voice was cold, but Ong Hae-in had no intention of backing down.
He shouted with uncharacteristic anger.
“I won’t hand him over, no matter what. You should know that…!”
Boom!
Suddenly, Dong Myeon-in and the Blood Demon Five widened their eyes in shock.
Ong Hae-in, who had been shouting with such confidence, suddenly collapsed on the spot.
The one who brought him down was none other than Sabi-gang.
Sabi-gang had taken a plate and struck Ong Hae-in on the back of the head with it.
Perhaps because it was imbued with energy, the plate didn’t even break.
“What the…! What do you think you’re doing?” Ong Hae-in demanded, clutching the back of his head and looking up. Sabi-gang, with an indifferent gaze, simply held out the plate.
“Food… give me… grrr…!”
To everyone’s surprise, Sabi-gang spoke.
But more shocking than that was the fact that, in this situation, Sabi-gang was asking for food. Ong Hae-in gaped at him, speechless.
“Do you even realize what’s going on…?”
“Food… give me… grrr…!”
“Fine, fine. I’ll get you some food, but first—”
It was then.
Whoosh!
A dagger flew through the air, aiming for Ong Hae-in’s back.
In a split second, Ong Hae-in twisted his body, and the dagger grazed his skin, shattering the plate Sabi-gang was holding.
Crash!
Immediately after,
Thud, thud, thud!
Ilma rushed in, executing a swift move, and grabbed Ong Hae-in by the hair.
Ong Hae-in tried to muster his strength to fight back, but his energy flow suddenly became murky, and his body felt sluggish.
‘The dagger was poisoned!’
In the next moment, Ilma hurled Ong Hae-in into the middle of the lake.
Helplessly, Ong Hae-in flew through the air and plunged into the water, sinking beneath the surface.
Splash!
Without even glancing at Ong Hae-in, Ilma turned to Sabi-gang with a sly grin.
“Hello. I’ve been looking for you.”
“Grrr…!”
Sabi-gang lowered his head, staring at the broken plate, his body trembling slightly.
When he finally lifted his head,
“Hm?”
Ilma instinctively took a step back.
A blood-red aura was rising from Sabi-gang’s entire body like a mirage.
“Grrr…!”
Sabi-gang’s eyes, too, began to glow a fierce crimson.