Chapter 213: Because We Are Demonic

TL: FoodieMonster007

"I wouldn't have come all this way if it weren't truly urgent."

I quickly explained my situation to the Poison King.

Since this was the first time one of my subordinates had sought him out, the Poison King told Sangseon to bring Seo Daeryong quickly.

Sangseon returned a moment later with Seo Daeryong.

"Director, I think you need to leave immediately."

"What is it, Detective Seo?"

"A major incident happened in the Demon Village. A martial artist, who was just drinking normally, suddenly started swinging his sword, killing or injuring dozens of people."

I shouted in shock.

"Where?"

"At Yanghwaru."

Yanghwaru was one of the many brothels in the Demon Village.

"Was it a drunken brawl?"

"No, sir. Witnesses said blood suddenly poured from the killer's eyes and nose before he went berserk. The damage was worse because his martial arts skills were exceptional."

The moment I heard that, I recalled an incident from before my regression.

I immediately said goodbye to the Poison King.

"Poison King, I must take my leave for today."

Seo Daeryong and I hurried out.

Execution Martial Artists were controlling the area around Yanghwaru when Seo Daeryong and I arrived. The thick stench of blood hit us before we even stepped inside.

A young boy among the onlookers caught my eye. The boy, who looked about thirteen or fourteen, shouted at the Execution Martial Artists.

"My mom and my little sister are in there! Please, go check on them. They work in the kitchen! Mom! Su-ya!"

I left the boy behind and entered with Seo Daeryong.

The inside was a sea of blood. Bodies lay everywhere as Execution Martial Artists checked for survivors.

"Everyone was drunk, which made the damage even worse."

The dead were not just martial artists. Courtesans and cooks had been killed too.

A dead, middle-aged woman lay in a corner of the kitchen, clutching a young girl. The girl looked just like the boy shouting outside.

I looked down at the mother and daughter's bodies and sighed. This was a child who would have been running around helping her mother in the kitchen.

Beside me, Seo Daeryong turned his head away, unable to watch.

"Where is the bastard?"

"On the third floor."

I started walking again. The gruesome scene continued all the way there.

The man was dead, slumped against a wall at the end of the third-floor hallway. He was a young man in his early thirties. Blood from his eyes and nose had dried on its way to his chin. He died with his eyes rolled back, the whites stained blood-red.

Seo Daeryong followed me and said in a trembling voice.

"I've never seen such a horrific sight."

I knew. I knew the cause of this incident.

Gwangpok!

Gwangpok was an inner arts amplifier that temporarily boosted one's inner arts when consumed.

Depending on the dose, these amplifiers could boost inner arts for fifteen minutes to an hour. The increase was usually ten to twenty percent and would return to normal after time passed.

Gwangpok became explosively popular because it increased inner arts by a much greater amount. Gwangpok provided an increase of thirty to fifty percent.

But its side effects were as deadly as its benefits were great. What I saw now was that side effect.

The Evil Alliance was selling this Gwangpok. They also sold Heukbi, the Qi Dispersing Poison I faced at the duel tournament after my regression. Gwangpok and Heukbi were the Evil Alliance's two main products.

"What's his identity?"

"He's a Demonic Sword from the Northern Heaven Sword Sect. They say he never caused trouble and was even promoted last year."

That must have been the problem. He must have secretly taken Gwangpok for that promotion.

"Send his body to the Insect Physician immediately. You're in charge of the cleanup here."

"Director, I don't know why this happened, but I'm determined to find out."

The look in Seo Daeryong's eyes was the same one he had when I first met him as an investigator for the Sanzu River Hall. It was the look of a man determined to uncover the truth behind his senior's death.

I looked at Seo Daeryong and nodded once.

"Take good care of the boy outside."

Seo Daeryong nodded vigorously.

I watched the Insect Physician perform the autopsy.

The Insect Physician examined the body from all angles and surmised the cause of death.

"His qi center is severely swollen and damaged, so it looks like a powerful inner arts amplifier was used. Losing his mind and rampaging seems to be a side effect."

The Insect Physician had accurately identified the corpse's condition.

"Actually, this isn't the first time I've seen a body like this. One came in late last year in a similar state. Back then, he just went wild on his own before dying. This time, he caused a catastrophe."

Gwangpok had not yet fully spread throughout the murim. Its side effects, initially hushed up, were now becoming a serious problem as more people used it.

"He probably wasn't in his right mind when he caused this. This man… he should've increased his inner arts through training. What kind of greed drove him to this?"

She spoke to the corpse as if scolding it, then turned away. This was one of the reasons Gwangpok continued to spread. 'He shouldn't have taken it in the first place.' Since the user bore the primary responsibility, the Evil Alliance rode that sentiment to make even more money.

The Insect Physician covered the body with a white cloth and washed her blood-stained hands. The news of so many innocent deaths had dampened her spirits.

The Insect Physician changed the subject.

"How are things with the Poison King?"

"We've been meeting every day."

The Insect Physician looked startled.

"Every day? Really?"

"I'm learning his work in the Thousand Poisons Forest."

"As expected. You really are different. So, what's the Poison King like?"

"He's brighter than I expected."

The Insect Physician nodded, as if she had sensed that bright side of him too.

"It took me a while to realize that, but you've noticed it already."

"Well, we're stuck together almost all day."

"Do you really want to win your bet with the Cult Leader that badly?"

I looked down at the cloth-covered corpse and said softly.

"Now I have one more reason I must win."

Father and Head Strategist Sama Myeong waited in the Heavenly Demon Hall.

I strode down the Path of Blood to report to them.

"The Insect Physician identified the cause as the side effect of an inner arts amplifier."

Neither of them seemed surprised, which meant they already knew about the side effects.

"You already knew, didn't you?"

Sama Myeong answered.

"Yes, several incidents, large and small, have been reported in the Central Plains."

"It's the Evil Alliance's work, isn't it?"

"How did you know?"

"I was hit with a Qi Dispersing Poison during the last Shinma-jaengtu. My investigation revealed it was Heukbi, a poison made by the Evil Alliance. I had a feeling this was their doing too."

"It's an inner arts amplifier sold by the Evil Alliance called Gwangpok."

As expected, Sama Myeong knew about Gwangpok.

I asked him again.

"Who in the Evil Alliance makes Gwangpok? You know, don't you, Head Strategist?"

Sama Myeong glanced at Father. Father looked at me for a moment, then nodded.

Only then did Sama Myeong reveal the name.

"It's Aecha."

I knew Aecha very well.

"The Black Snake."

"That's correct."

He was one of Yayul Han's four subordinates. While Jisaeng, creator of the Miracle Deity Loan, had a Golden Pig tattoo, Aecha had pledged his loyalty with a black snake tattoo.

This is my chance to speak. As you can see, Yayul Han is behind all sorts of evil deeds. That man is absolute evil.

But I didn't. If I couldn't win the bet and bring the Poison King before Father, the Black Snake would be beyond my reach anyway.

I remained silent. My silence expressed my fury and strengthened my resolve.

"The main department will submit a detailed report on the incident. I'll report again if anything else is confirmed."

I walked back down the Path of Blood and left the Heavenly Demon Hall.

This was probably the first time I had met them and left without a single joke. On top of my fury over the Miracle Deity Loan, I quietly piled my fury over Gwangpok.

Father and Sama Myeong silently watched me leave.

I engraved the lesson Father had taught me into my heart.

From someone else's perspective, my world is also a closed world.

Yes, I admit it. Establishing a new demonic path to eliminate absolute evil is still something that exists only within my own world.

That night, I stood alone before the Fist Demon's cliff.

I stared at the cliff, just as the Fist Demon had.

I clenched my fist and infused it with inner arts.

HWIIIIING!

The air swirled around my fist, sounding like an approaching storm cloud.

SHWIIIIIIK!

I started to throw a punch at the cliff but stopped at the last moment.

I knew I couldn't destroy it yet. The day I throw a real punch at this cliff will be a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Just then, a welcome voice spoke from behind me.

"If you hit it with those baby hands, you'll only hurt yourself."

I smiled and turned around.

The Fist Demon walked toward me.

"Master!"

Seeing him after so long felt welcoming. After seeing the Poison King's fresh face, this fearsome face and massive torso truly made me feel like I was in the Demonic Cult.

The Fist Demon's gaze fell on my clenched fist.

He read my anger and said calmly.

"Disciple."

"Yes, Master."

"When you're truly angry, open your clenched fist like this."

The Fist Demon's enormous palm opened before me, bigger than my face.

"And then!"

CLAP!

The Fist Demon clapped his hands loudly.

"Clap once, then clench your fist again. That punch will hurt more."

"There'd be no need to clench it again. An enemy between those palms would be crushed just the same."

The Fist Demon, of all people, was telling me to open my fist. I engraved this deep and profound lesson into my heart.

I made the joke to the Fist Demon that I couldn't make in front of Father and Sama Myeong.

"Master, when you used to stand here, I thought you were just planning to destroy this cliff."

"……"

"Weren't you just standing here whenever you got angry? Am I right?"

The Fist Demon couldn't deny it and laughed.

I bowed to him and walked away, my tightly clenched fists now open.

The next day, I went to the Thousand Poisons Forest as usual.

The Poison King strolled through the woods near his house, holding a collection container.

"About yesterday's incident…"

Just then, the Poison King said something surprising.

"Gwangpok, right?"

The Poison King had also known it was Gwangpok just from hearing about the side effects.

"You knew?"

"Of course, I know. My poison apprentices travel all over the Central Plains gathering poisonous herbs and substances. The bastards from the Evil Alliance also wander around looking for medicinal herbs to make their drugs. That's why we know their movements best."

The Poison King frowned.

"I even warned them not to make that crap."

"Do you know who makes it?"

"I do. There's an idiot called the True Venom Sage."

The True Venom Sage. He was a famous poison arts master in the unorthodox sects. The Poison King scowled deeply, as if the very thought of him was repulsive.

"Even among people who use poison, there are lines you don't cross, but this bastard's methods are just too third-rate."

"Many innocent people died because of those third-rate games. A woman even died holding her child. A fact like that won't even make it into our Cult's report. It'll just say, 'Total number of deaths, so-and-so!' The mother and daughter's deaths will be buried in that single line. If their vengeful spirits watched over this world, the child would ask her mother, 'Why doesn't anyone care that we died?'"

The Poison King stared at a poisonous insect on a tree, ignoring my words. I didn't get angry. Just as I lived in my own world, he lived in his.

"What's that poisonous insect's name?"

I asked about his world, and he answered with mine.

"What's the point in avenging them?"

"I remember it's an ingredient for Cheongsaldok, but I can't recall the name."

"It's hypocrisy. Just self-satisfaction from helping someone."

We spoke past each other, neither of us listening.

"Ah, what was it? The name's on the tip of my tongue."

"The dead are dead. That's the end of it."

The Poison King looked at me, and I looked back. We stared at each other in silence. It was the longest the Poison King had ever looked at me.

Then, we returned to our respective worlds.

"It's Su. The name of the little girl who died in her mother's arms."

"That poisonous insect is the White Spotted Bug. It's not an ingredient for Cheongsaldok, but for the Five Poisons Perfume."

The Poison King then asked with the most serious face I had seen on him yet.

"Tell me the real reason you're doing this."

"When I say it, everyone says the same thing. 'Are you from the orthodox sects?' 'Are you some righteous hero?' When that happens, I ask a question, just like that child's vengeful spirit. A helpless woman dies, a child dies, young people are dying, and we're supposed to not care because we're the Demonic Cult? If that's what those orthodox sect bastards think, then what in the world are we supposed to think as we live?"

The Poison King didn't answer.

I didn't press him. I clapped my hands once and said energetically.

"Let's go. We have a lot of poisonous insects to catch today, don't we?"

But he didn't move. He sank to the ground right where he stood.

I had no choice but to sit down next to him.

The Poison King watched poison ants crawl past his feet. Since I was already sitting, I finished what I wanted to say, whether he was listening or not.

"The dead child has an older brother. He was outside the blood-soaked brothel, shouting for his mother and sister. I want to tell that boy I came back after killing every last person who killed his family. Normally, no one can kill those people, but we could kill them because we are demonic."

The Poison King kept his gaze on the ants and said.

"I really can't understand you."

"You should never support me. If you're not careful, someone like me could become the next Heavenly Demon."

"I wouldn't support you even if I died."

But the Poison King was the truly incomprehensible one, because he added this.

"Does it really have to bark five times?"