Episode 552: Return of the Demon Sect Leader
Sssshhhk!
“Aaaargh!”
A monstrous creature let out a blood-curdling scream as it was torn apart by the claws of Akcheon Goe. The wounds were so deep that bone was visible, making it hard to believe they were mere scratches from claws.
Standing in the pouring black rain, Akcheon Goe surveyed the martial artists who had transformed into monsters with his blazing eyes.
“Perhaps this is your true form! Just like that accursed leader!”
With a swift, almost airborne movement, Akcheon Goe unleashed a flurry of attacks.
Sssshhhk! Sssshhhk!
As his energy-infused strikes rained down, the monsters charging at him were thrown back, collapsing in heaps.
Sizzle…! Sssizzle…!
The black rain that touched his skin evaporated with a hiss, like smoke rising into the air.
Lost in a trance, Akcheon Goe continued his relentless assault.
He gritted his teeth.
“I told you, my brother didn’t learn the forbidden arts!”
But no one believed him. The village revered the leader, and his word was law, the ultimate truth. If he said it was so, then it was.
Overnight, Akcheon Goe became a pariah, a young man accused of being ungrateful, seduced by the allure of power, dabbling in dark martial arts, and threatening the leader’s direct disciples.
In the end, the leader lightly punished his three direct disciples, earning praise from the villagers for swiftly dealing with the root of evil and punishing those who acted without due process.
That day, Akcheon Goe left the village. Or rather, he was driven out.
The villagers treated him like a criminal, assuming he had stood by while his brother strayed down a dark path.
That day, Akcheon Goe vowed again and again. He would master martial arts without a sword and one day return to tear them all apart.
He would find the leader first and tear him to shreds, then kill his disciples one by one.
He would show them what true martial arts were.
When Akcheon Goe returned to the village, thirty years had passed.
No one recognized him. The man who had once pointed fingers at him was now a hunched old man, and the young man who had scolded him with a fierce face was now a middle-aged man.
The people had changed, but the village remained the same.
In the time it took for the landscape to change three times, the village was unchanged.
The well was still where it had always been, and the grand house still stood in its place.
The martial arts hall where his brother had practiced while doing odd jobs was still there, even larger and more involved in village affairs than before.
Returning to the village, Akcheon Goe spoke to the innkeeper.
“Do you know of a child who was driven out of this place long ago? Rumor has it that the child’s brother learned forbidden arts, and the disciples of the martial arts hall killed the brother and drove the child away.”
The innkeeper furrowed his brow, thinking for a long time before shaking his head.
“Did such a thing happen? I don’t recall. It was so long ago.”
Akcheon Goe reached out and grabbed the innkeeper’s wrist as he turned to leave.
“Think carefully. Are you sure it didn’t happen?”
“Look, I told you I don’t know. Why are you doing this?”
The innkeeper pulled his hand away roughly and walked off.
Akcheon Goe chuckled. If the innkeeper had known he was a martial artist, he wouldn’t have dared to act that way.
But Akcheon Goe, who had mastered the art of energy manipulation, didn’t carry a sword. He only had a few hidden daggers.
So it was difficult for an ordinary person to recognize him as a martial artist.
Akcheon Goe stood up and grabbed the back of the innkeeper’s head as he walked away.
“Hmm…?”
The innkeeper tried to turn around, his brow furrowed, but his body wouldn’t obey.
Fear flickered across the innkeeper’s face.
From behind him, Akcheon Goe’s cold voice spoke.
“You should have remembered. Because I remember you. You looked at me with disdain and said the brother of a monster would become a monster too. You told me to leave the village immediately or you’d make sure I regretted it. That little boy left the village in fear.”
“What on earth…?”
The innkeeper began to speak, confusion on his face.
“If you can’t remember, then you die.”
Thwack!
In an instant, the innkeeper’s head burst like a watermelon.
Thud, thump!
As he fell, the cook came out, drawn by the commotion.
Akcheon Goe killed the cook just as swiftly.
And on his way out of the inn, he encountered a young errand boy returning from a task.
The boy froze at the sight of Akcheon Goe’s blood-soaked hands.
Akcheon Goe grinned and killed the boy too.
As he made his way to the martial arts hall, he killed every villager he encountered.
It was exhilarating.
Thirty years ago, a child had left this village in tears, and it felt like only yesterday.
Yet none of the villagers remembered him.
Those who had sworn to never let him return had forgotten him so easily.
They deserved to be punished.
Entering the martial arts hall, he killed every disciple who dared to challenge him with his deadly energy strikes.
“I became the monster you accused me of being! But what about you? What is your true nature, you who turned a child into a monster?”
With blood-soaked hands, Akcheon Goe shouted to the heavens.
The only regret was that the leader who had tarnished his brother’s honor had already died of illness.
Instead, the first disciple had taken over five years ago.
The second and third disciples were instructors, but they didn’t recognize Akcheon Goe either.
He killed the first disciple who had become the leader.
Then he swiftly killed the enraged second disciple.
“How about now? Do you still think bare hands are weaker than a sword? I’m bare-handed, just like my brother was that day.”
The last remaining third disciple stood trembling before Akcheon Goe.
He swallowed hard and backed away.
Akcheon Goe approached him with ghostly speed.
He had waited for this day, enduring years of hardship.
Sssshhhk, snap!
In an instant, Akcheon Goe grabbed the third disciple’s neck.
It was hard to believe that his brother, who had been so talented in martial arts, had been killed by such weaklings.
“Please, spare me!”
The third disciple croaked, his voice hoarse.
Akcheon Goe twisted his lips into a smile.
“Thirty years ago. Do you remember the boy who was driven out of this village?”
“Th-thirty years ago… how could I…?”
“That boy never forgot, not for a single day in thirty years. How could you forget so easily?”
“What are you talking about…?”
“Let me rephrase. Do you remember the young man you killed thirty years ago? The one who did odd jobs here while learning martial arts from the leader.”
The third disciple furrowed his brow, trying to recall.
Akcheon Goe waited patiently.
Until he remembered.
The third disciple replayed the memories as quickly as he could.
He felt as if his neck would be torn off at any moment if he didn’t.
Finally, a scene surfaced in his mind.
The memory of killing a young man in front of a dilapidated house.
And the image of a child, presumably the young man’s brother, weeping.
The third disciple looked at Akcheon Goe in shock.
“Th-then you… you’re that brother…!”
A glint appeared in Akcheon Goe’s eyes.
“Oh, you remember?”
“Ah, you survived. You survived. Since that day, I haven’t had a single peaceful night’s sleep. The guilt has haunted me. Even now, I regret my foolish actions back then. But to think you were that brother. I’m truly sorry.”
The third disciple spoke with tears in his eyes.
He was sincere.
He had indeed lived with regret since that day.
Of the three disciples, he was the only one who had continually regretted that day.
Akcheon Goe could see the sincerity in his expression.
Akcheon Goe smiled faintly.
“At least you remembered that day.”
“I’m sorry.”
“At least you know why you’re dying, which makes you luckier than the others. Rest in peace.”
As the third disciple opened his mouth to speak, Akcheon Goe tightened his grip.
Rip!
Thud, roll…!
The third disciple’s head was torn from his body and rolled across the floor.
Sssshhhk!
Blood spurted like a fountain as the third disciple’s body collapsed.
Covered in blood, Akcheon Goe wandered the village.
He killed everyone he encountered.
Not a single person had comforted him that day.
He had no intention of sparing anyone in this village.
Sssshhhk!
Snapping out of his reverie, Akcheon Goe tore apart another monster before him.
The creature, split in half, began to writhe on the ground.
He had dealt with most of the monsters emerging from the swamp.
The martial artists who occasionally leaped from the swamp were now submerged and silent.
Turning his head, he saw Gu Yoon steadily climbing the slope, protected by Bi Ryeong.
They were halfway up now.
At the top of the hill was a palm that resembled a divine beast, but with Mu Rang’s talisman, they might just make it through safely.
“Master! We must go!”
Suddenly, Ilsal rushed over, shouting urgently.
But Akcheongoe’s gaze was fixed back on the platform.
The leader, who had been standing motionless, slowly lowered his hand and surveyed the basin.
A basin consumed by a black swamp.
Once a place of breathtaking beauty, now unrecognizable.
In the next moment,
A low, resonant hum filled the air…!
A strange energy seemed to ripple through the atmosphere as Neungunpa’s form began to rise slowly into the air, as if lifted by an invisible force.
A deep, rumbling growl echoed…!
Suspended in the center of the basin, Neungunpa spread his arms wide, his back arching to an impossible degree.
Even Ilsal, who had been urging Akcheongoe, was left speechless by the bizarre sight.
Then, Neungunpa curled his body tightly and began to tremble.
Soon after,
The black swamp began to stir.
At first, gentle ripples spread across its surface, but soon waves began to form, and the center of the swamp surged upward like a whirlpool.
A strange, slithering sound filled the air…!
The heart of the swamp rose like a column, reaching up to Neungunpa suspended above.
It was a truly eerie spectacle.
The swamp’s substance began to coil around Neungunpa.
The black swamp that had filled the basin now rose completely into the air, encasing Neungunpa in a massive sphere.
Where the swamp had been, large, black rocks were scattered, resembling eggs.
Within those dark masses, warriors were trapped.
Finally,
The black sphere that had swallowed Neungunpa began to vibrate with immense energy.
Gu-yun and Bi-ryeong, climbing the steep path, paused and turned back, startled by the intense resonance.
In the next instant,
A deafening explosion shattered the black sphere, revealing a figure within.
Neungunpa, now entirely cloaked in black.
No longer could he be called Neungunpa.
His once prominent beard was gone, replaced by a clean, severe face, and two long horns curved back from his forehead.
Black, bat-like wings sprouted from his shoulders.
His body, now a powerful, muscular form, was a testament to a new, transcendent being.
“My God…”
Ilsal muttered in disbelief.
Akcheongoe asked, “What do you see?”
“A… monster, isn’t it?”
“Exactly. A monster. Those pathetic orthodox sect fools. This is their true nature! This is their instinct! And I am the monster that hunts monsters!”
With a swift motion, Akcheongoe launched himself toward Neungunpa.
“Wait! My lord!”
Ilsal shouted, but Akcheongoe was already charging at Neungunpa, filled with a fury reminiscent of that fateful day long ago.