Episode 621: Return to the Demon Realm
“Screeeeech!”
“Raaaargh!”
The monsters let out ear-piercing shrieks as they lunged forward. In that instant, Seoraehyang slipped gracefully between them, her movements fluid and precise. With a swift motion, she spread her arms wide, releasing a burst of energy in all directions.
Bang!
“Ugh!”
“Aaaargh!”
The monsters screamed in agony as they fell, the ground around them turning a deep, ominous black. Those that had been charging forward hesitated, glancing down at their feet.
“Damn it! My legs are rotting!”
“It’s her doing! Kill her!”
Several monsters, already succumbing to the poison, collapsed, coughing up blood. The ones still able to move hurled themselves at Seoraehyang.
“Disgusting creatures!” she sneered, her voice icy. With a deft flick of her sword, she dispatched the oncoming beasts.
Slash! Slash!
“Aaaargh!”
As the poisonous wind subsided, the ground was littered with the bodies of fallen monsters. Seoraehyang finally caught her breath.
“Lady Hongmyo, duck!”
A sudden shout rang out. Instinctively, Seoraehyang bent low.
Whoosh!
A blade, wielded by Jeokmurin, sliced through the air, narrowly missing her hair as it flew past.
Clang!
The sword, imbued with powerful energy, collided with a tentacle that had been aiming for Seoraehyang, sending a metallic ring through the air before bouncing off.
Thud!
Jeokmurin leaped into the air, catching the rebounding sword, and landed swiftly beside Seoraehyang.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes…” she nodded, her gaze shifting to where the tentacle had come from. There stood the Great Demon.
“It seems slower, and tougher,” Jeokmurin observed.
“Indeed,” Seoraehyang agreed, nodding. Something had definitely changed. The once elastic tentacles now felt as hard as steel, and their movements were sluggish.
“Is it tiring out?”
“Let’s hope so. If that’s the case, we might have a chance to approach it.”
Until now, they had avoided confronting the Great Demon directly. Seoraehyang’s team, the Jeokmyeoldan, and Jeokmurin’s Myeolgumdan had been dealing with the surrounding monsters instead. The same went for Dang Ihyeop’s Bisaldan. A reckless attack on the Great Demon would only result in becoming its prey.
But now, the Great Demon seemed to be hardening, its color turning a deep black. Wigumjong, leader of the Heukgeomdan, approached the two.
“The Great Demon is slowing down.”
Jeokmurin nodded. “We were just discussing that.”
“Then, how about we strike now?”
“Do you have a plan?”
“In this situation, there’s no strategy but to surround it and attack all at once.”
Jeokmurin and Seoraehyang exchanged glances. They had no better plan.
“Alright. Let’s have the Bisaldan join us and attack from four directions,” Seoraehyang suggested.
The Bisaldan, led by Dang Ihyeop, could be the key to dealing with this menace.
“I’ll bring Leader Dang here!” Wigumjong leaped away, returning shortly with Dang Ihyeop. After a quick briefing, Dang Ihyeop issued orders.
“The Bisaldan will take the east. Leader Wi, take the Heukgeomdan to the west. Leaders Jeok and Seo, take the north and south.”
“Understood!”
The three warriors responded in unison and dispersed. Meanwhile, the Great Demon continued to harden, its massive caterpillar-like body turning black and rigid, as if encased in armor.
Dang Ihyeop gave the signal.
“Now, attack!”
“Charge!”
The four groups surged forward from all directions, their battle cries shaking the heavens. The tentacles no longer lashed out. The Great Demon had withdrawn into itself, like a turtle retreating into its shell, unmoving.
Yet, the warriors’ attacks had no effect.
Clang! Clang!
The air was filled with the deafening clash of metal, sparks flying in all directions, but the Great Demon remained unscathed.
“This isn’t working,” Dang Ihyeop thought, narrowing his eyes. He leaped onto the Great Demon’s back. It was as if the creature was clad in impenetrable armor, a faint light pulsing beneath its surface—a sign it was still alive.
Other warriors followed, stabbing their swords into the creature’s back, but it was like trying to pierce solid rock with a needle.
A sudden, ominous thought crossed Dang Ihyeop’s mind.
“Could it be…?”
Beneath the blackened surface, unsettling lights flickered continuously. Then, without warning…
Crack…! Creak…!
A fissure appeared along the Great Demon’s spine, oozing a thick, viscous substance.
“Look! It’s reacting!” a nearby warrior shouted.
The ooze coalesced, forming the shape of a human. It was likely one of the warriors the Great Demon had absorbed. The figure clutched its head, letting out a blood-curdling scream.
“Screeeeech!”
“Ugh!”
The warriors, nearly overwhelmed by the piercing cry, gathered their energy.
“Silence!” a warrior shouted, swinging his sword.
Slash!
The figure was cut in half, spewing green blood as it fell away. But the fissures continued to widen.
Crack…! Creak…!
More ooze seeped out, forming upper bodies.
“Finally, it’s reacting!”
“We’ll avenge the souls of our fallen comrades!”
The warriors, fueled by rage, renewed their assault. But Dang Ihyeop felt an inexplicable unease.
“No, this can’t be enough to deal a fatal blow. Something’s off…!”
The fissures kept expanding. Spotting something, Dang Ihyeop rushed to the opening, probing it with his sword.
“A shell…? Just as I thought…!”
His suspicion confirmed, he shouted urgently.
“Everyone, fall back! Get as far away as you can!”
“What? It’s just starting to react, why—”
“Now!”
Dang Ihyeop leaped away, and the other warriors quickly followed suit, retreating.
He was certain.
“It’s a metamorphosis! From caterpillar to chrysalis! That’s why it was invulnerable! Once it emerges, it will be far more formidable than the Great Demon we faced before!”
His prediction was spot on.
Crack…!
The massive fissure split wide open.
With a resonant roar that shook the air, a larger Great Demon emerged from the hardened shell.
“Ugh!”
“Aaaargh!”
The warriors staggered, losing their balance under the force of the Great Demon’s scream. Some coughed up blood, convulsing from internal injuries.
The Great Demon, once a giant caterpillar, had transformed into something resembling a colossal spider. From its shell emerged countless human forms, screaming in agony, their bodies extending like tentacles, spreading out like a web.
“Screeeeech!”
“Ah!”
“Aaaargh!”
The warriors swung their swords at the oncoming upper bodies. But these were no ordinary tentacles. Shaped like human torsos, they wielded magical blades and devoured warriors whole.
Clang! Clang!
“Aaaargh!”
Some faced former comrades turned into tentacles, while others were consumed by their own masters. It was a scene of utter chaos and despair.
**
“My God…”
The seasoned warriors of the martial world stood in heavy silence. Once proud and vigorous, they now appeared as weary old men, their expressions grim as they watched the battlefield.
“To think such a thing exists in this world…”
“They say you see all sorts of things if you live long enough, but this is something I wish I hadn’t seen.”
“There’s nothing we can do now. We can only trust in them.”
Caught between despair and hope, their faces were a mix of emotions. The sight of the Great Demon had been overwhelming enough, but this newly transformed monster was beyond comprehension. It seemed that hope was slipping away, leaving only despair.
And from where Sabigang stood, another colossal presence emerged—the transformed Demon King. It was a true catastrophe.
Monsters that belonged in myths and legends were now battling humans. If today’s events were recounted in the future, would anyone believe them?
No, even if I were to go to the heart of the world right now and speak of what’s happening, people would dismiss it as nonsense.
It’s a situation that’s hard to believe even when witnessed with one’s own eyes, so how much more for those who haven’t seen it?
Yet, there are monstrous calamities that truly exist, and there are humans who stand against them.
And there is one who faces the absolute evil leading all these creatures.
“That person is Sabigang…”
Gu Yoon muttered to himself as he lowered the telescope.
He had been observing the lava fields.
The renowned martial artists of the martial world approached him and asked, “What’s happening?”
In the past, they could have enhanced their vision with inner energy to get a rough sense of distant events.
But now, reduced to ordinary old men, they could only rely on Gu Yoon’s words.
Feeling a twinge of bitterness, Gu Yoon forced a smile and replied, “They’re… fighting well.”
In truth, he wasn’t sure yet.
The demon king had transformed into a massive, mountain-like figure, and Sabigang was just a small human in comparison.
Something was bound to happen soon, but his heart was troubled, and he lowered the telescope.
The tension was as palpable as if he were fighting himself.
Gu Yoon looked around at the martial artists and added, “You have done everything you could. So have I. All we can do now is… trust those heroes.”
The martial artists nodded heavily.
Though they were now ordinary old men, their expressions and eyes still held an inexplicable dignity, befitting those who once commanded the world.
Gu Yoon raised the telescope again to observe the battlefield.
The transformed demon was truly terrifying.
Even the Helmut Knights, who had barely been holding their ground, were visibly being pushed back.
Gu Yoon shifted his gaze to the towering black fortress that loomed high into the sky.
“Commander…! There’s no time! Please hurry!”