The Heavenly Demon Left No Martial Arts Behind Chapter 20 : He Truly Had No Idea

Chapter 20: He Truly Had No Idea

The middle-aged man appeared at the Law Enforcent Hall.

He’d just co from visiting his son, who was now a cripple and could barely sleep from the pain. He'd whispered to him that he'd avenge him and stroked his hair one last ti.

He'd sat there beside him for the longest ti, knowing he'd never see him again.

Without ... what will happen to my family?

But he’d decided he had to do it.

The man he killed was a Squad Leader of the Law Enforcent Hall. Which ant there could be retaliation, not just against his son, but against his whole family.

He had to turn himself in and take all the bla on his shoulders alone.

A cold voice cut through his thoughts.

"You? Soone who doesn't even know martial arts?"

The Law Enforcent Hall Master glanced at what the father still clutched tightly in his hand.

“Did you poison him?”

"That's right. This poison could kill anyone."

"Hah... anyone, you say?"

"I may be just a civilian who never learned martial arts, but I raised my son to beco a martial artist. I'm not ignorant about martial arts."

"..."

"With this poison, not even the Clan Lords could guarantee their own safety."

His voice rang with absolute confidence.

"...So? Squad Leader Yu died?"

The middle-aged man nodded.

"I watched with my own two eyes as he drank a full cup. And just to be sure, I stayed nearby to see what would happen to him."

"..."

A look of grim satisfaction slowly spread across the father's face.

"It didn't take long before he collapsed! The blood he coughed up had chunks of his organs mixed in... and it didn't stop there. He kept heaving up streams of blood that soaked the ground beneath him. Hehe... do you think he felt even a fraction of my son's pain? My son... he has to live the rest of his life as a cripple... and I killed that bastard too easily. Far too easily..."

His expression was a bizarre mixture of joy, anger, sorrow, and relief all at once.

The Law Enforcent Hall Master gestured to his subordinates standing behind the middle-aged man. Anyway, they had a pretty good idea of what had happened and there was no need to argue anymore.

And just like that, the father was arrested and led away. All the strength had left his body, like he'd done everything he ca to do. He stumbled as he walked.

The Law Enforcent Hall Master watched him go and then gave the order.

"Go verify it!"

***

From the mont he first saw the elderly man in the tavern, Yu Gyeongseong had known.

He didn't rember who this man was, the one who had approached him with sudden words of thanks, but he knew who he was.

The man’s supposed goodwill was a mask.

And more than that...

The man was targeting him.

At the sa ti, doubt crept in.

Because the man wasn't particularly strong either.

‘What's going on here?’

The middle-aged man told his story.

[A while back, my son was being seriously bullied by a Squad Leader from the Rock Demon Clan’s Strike Force, and you cleared my son's na, Squad Leader Yu.]

From the start to the end, the man was spouting lies after lies.

So Yu Gyeongseong figured it out pretty quickly. This was Dong Gong's father.

That’s why Yu Gyeongseong just sat back and let Maeng Heum do the talking for a bit before he asked.

"Was that the right thing to do?"

"…You did the right thing. Y-Yes! You absolutely did the right thing!!"

Lie.

Honestly, even without the Grand Grotto Mystic Mantra, he felt he would have been able to tell. He could feel a rage so pure and desperate that it was almost blinding white from the middle-aged man.

Was it rely his imagination?

It was like he could actually hear the voice contained within.

[My boy was on his way up in the world, and suddenly he beca a cripple! You turned my son into a goddamn cripple, and you thought you'd walk away unscathed?!]

[You’re an officer of the Law Enforcent Hall! Who’s gonna investigate you? They’ll obviously just cover for you! So who investigates the investigators?!]

[Aaaaargh! I'll judge you myself! I'll kill you with my own hands!]

Yu Gyeongseong had stared straight at him.

His son probably didn't co to of his own free will. His superior must've ordered it.

If that's the case… shouldn't this man be going after the Rock Demon, not ?

He'd wanted to say it.

[It was the Rock Demon who sent your son to .]

The man would've flinched at that.

[Shouldn't you have gone to him first?]

In other words: Are you only here because you think I'm an easy target?

If he’d said that, what would the man have said back? Before all this, when his son's career was still on the line, he’d probably want to stay on good terms with the superior who controlled his son’s future. But now… with nothing left to lose, what would his answer be?

[Kukuku... is that so? Fine then... after I kill you, I'll go after Rock Demon too!]

There was no way to know.

It was all just speculation anyway.

At the end of that train of thought, Yu Gyeongseong spoke. But it was a silent voice from his own soul.

[I'm sorry it ca to this.]

And he ant it. Because the truth was, a part of him had his own reasons for being so vicious with Dong Gong.

But there was a reason he didn’t just say it out loud.

Doing so might ease his own conscience, but would it offer any comfort at all to the family who grieved? Could a simple "I'm sorry" possibly soothe a father's rage over his son's ruined life?

That father's desperate love for his son had created a realistic fiction, one so convincing that even Maeng Heum, a seasoned investigator, had been completely fooled.

Yu Gyeongseong watched Dong Gong's father quietly.

He cares more about his son than he does about himself.

'How can I give this man so peace?'

That's why he did it.

Why did he drink that cup of poison the man poured?

And then... he showed him.

What the man truly wanted to see. The illusion of Yu Gyeongseong coughing up blood and collapsing dead.

In that mont, he felt it.

The pure joy that filled the man’s eyes and how quickly that emotion shifted.

Was it sadness for his son's life? A life that had shone so brilliantly before being shattered into pieces in an instant?

Did he truly want revenge for his son? Or did he just need sowhere to pour out his rage as a father?

And now... was his heart a little more at peace?

With all his strength drained, the man left the tavern.

If even this wasn't enough... if he went after the Rock Demon next?

He'd die. Him. His crippled son. And the rest of his family too.

So Yu Gyeongseong left him sothing within the illusion the man experienced, like a brand seared into his mind.

[Rock Demon... had no idea what would happen to your son.]

He’d only held the poison in his mouth for a second before spitting it out, so fast that even Maeng Heum didn't notice.

Sothing as paltry as that couldn’t hurt him in any way.

But the bitter taste lingered on his tongue for a long, long ti.

***

Yu Gyeongseong still hadn't returned to his quarters.

He was just standing there on the edge of the training grounds, still as the statue of the Heavenly Demon, practically invisible in the darkness.

The only thing he could see in his head was that father's face.

It hadn't even been particularly dangerous for him. So why did it stick in his mind like this?

‘...’

That man was ready to die to fight for his son.

And soon, I'll have to do the sa.

[Do you understand now? Every second you have was paid for in blood.]

The Six Demons were demanding his life just as boldly as they demanded it from other cult mbers.

But...

What exactly am I risking my life to fight the Sword God for?

[Where would I even go? My family’s all here too.]

I have no family. No woman either.

I’ve got nothing here to protect.

So… I don't know. Is there any actual reason for to even be here?

[Well, you never said it out loud, but… my gut told for a long ti that you wanted to get out of here.]

What Maeng Heum said was the truth.

‘...’

Then a thought crossed his mind.

This suffocating feeling that won't go away... maybe it's because I'm being forced toward sothing I don't truly want?

In that mont, his head felt clearer sohow.

Yu Gyeongseong's eyes finally moved away from the Heavenly Demon statue.

And his head continued to rise.

His gaze traveled far past the pointed spire atop the six-story stone pagoda where the Sacred Fla had once burned, and only then did it co to a rest.

A world where the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had vanished.

Yu Gyeongseong spoke to himself.

His first true declaration, as his own man.

'My life…'

Must be decided by my own will.

Not by anyone else's.

***

The Six Demons had gathered in one place.

"Why'd he call us at this ungodly hour?"

"We'll see soon enough, won't we?"

Once all six Clan Lords had assembled, Rock Demon spoke.

"The Law Enforcent Hall Master says he has sothing urgent to tell us. I judged it important enough to summon everyone quickly."

Questions flickered in the other Clan Lords' eyes.

The Law Enforcent Hall Master? Divine Demon's forr superior?

And he's coming through Rock Demon?

“That whole ss at the restaurant the other day. I asked the Hall Master to smooth things over. Couldn't let it blow up into sothing bigger."

The group nodded in understanding. They'd wondered if Rock Demon had recruited the Hall Master to his side, but apparently not.

So what's this about then?

"Co in."

At the Rock Demon's call, the door opened and the Law Enforcent Hall Master walked in.

"Greetings, Clan Lords."

His expression was calm, without a hint of nervousness.

In that instant, the Six Demons felt it. Whatever this was about, he was absolutely certain it warranted dragging them all here at this hour.

"What's going on?"

Without beating around the bush, the Hall Master explained everything.

"Soone just turned themselves in a little while ago. I questioned him myself, and... he claims he killed Squad Leader Yu. He said..."

At first, they listened to his explanation with barely concealed smirks.

Killed Yu Gyeonseong? Yeah, right.

They'd all witnessed the kid's level up close and personal recently. Besides them, there was no one in this entire cult who could pull that off.

But as the Six Demons continued listening in silence, their auras grew heavy and sank.

The one who looked most shocked was Rock Demon, the guy who'd called them all here.

‘He was poisoned?!’

Instantly, he rembered the father who had co to him, asking for revenge on the man who’d crippled his son.

'That son of a bitch…!'

He'd understood the man's feelings, personally t with him, and sincerely asked him to just wait a little longer. And the son of a bitch couldn't hold out for even that short ti and had to go and do this?!

Rage surged up, but he had to stay calm. He needed to get ahead of this before the other Clan Lords started pointing fingers. Rock Demon cut off the Hall Master's explanation and spoke up.

“Heh… to think that the very thing I was so worried about happened like this.”

Before anyone else could open their mouth, he imdiately fired a question at the Hall Master.

"What kind of poison was it?"

"He mixed in as many different poisons as possible to make it impossible to detoxify. He can't even rember all the types and ratios precisely. He's confident that anyone who ingests it would absolutely die."

Rock Demon's heart sank at those words. Squad Leader Dong's father was a pharmacist at the dicine Hall.

‘He used the most certain thod he knew best!’

He imdiately looked at Life Demon.

“Your Way of Life can fix this, right?”

"That depends on the poison. I'm not immune to all toxins, you know. Well, I could overco most of them, but..."

Everyone present understood what he'd left unsaid.

[Even so, it would leave lasting damage.]

The Six Demons' faces darkened. With the final battle right around the corner, what kind of fresh hell was this?

Watching them, the Hall Master thought quietly to himself.

So, based on what they're saying, Yu Gyeongseong didn't just learn the Crushing Demon's Soul-Slaughtering Art.

Crushing Demon… Life Demon… who else is there?

"But... there's sothing strange about this.”

All eyes turned to him.

"I rushed people out to investigate and woke up everyone involved to question them, but no one could recall such an event. We couldn't find clear traces of blood on the table or floor either."

"...?"

"So I summoned the squad mber who was with Squad Leader Yu that night to confirm. According to him... Squad Leader Yu did accept and drink one cup, that's true. But after that, they kept drinking together for quite a while."

"...!"

Before they could help themselves, everyone looked at the Illusion Demon as the remaining words echoed through the room.

"He insists that there was absolutely no incident of coughing up blood and collapsing. They finished drinking, walked outside, waved goodbye, saying they'd see each other tomorrow, and parted ways."

Illusion Demon nodded, and you could feel the whole room breathe a sigh of relief.

"Whew..."

"Of course..."

"So he used illusion arts to fool Squad Leader Dong's father."

"He showed him the fantasy he wanted to see?"

"Tch! Then he should've said that first instead of scaring the hell out of us..."

Rock Demon quickly stepped in.

"The Hall Master was just explaining everything in order! As long as nothing actually happened, that's what matters. Nothing to make a fuss about."

Truth was, he'd been the most anxious person in this room. If that poisoning attempt had actually been a problem, he would've had a hell of a ti dodging responsibility.

The Hall Master bowed his head apologetically at Rock Demon's words defending him.

Watching the Six Demons' reactions, he understood without needing to ask.

Squad Leader Yu had also learned the Illusion Demon's Spirit Illusion Formula.

A sudden thought occurred to him, and he muttered internally.

'No way… it couldn’t be all six of their arts… could it…?'