Chapter 336: Me? (7)

Honestly, life for the Heavenly Demon had been tough. Especially in his youth, he had experienced all sorts of situations.

The Heavenly Demon.

He had to endure many intrigues and evils until he achieved that position.

‘Yeah, I've been through a lot.’

He crossed countless lines of life and death. Despite that—

‘It's the first time.’

It was his first time experiencing something like this.

"Ha-ha-ha!"

"Hehehe!"

Meow! Meow!

‘Incredible.’

The Heavenly Demon was amazed.

Kim Hae-il, no, Cale Henituse. (For clarity, Kim Hae-il is Cale’s alias in Aipotu)

He was followed by On, Hong, and Raon.

A young human, two members of the cat tribe, and a dragon were excited and laughing among themselves.

The four were huddled together, with a map spread out on the ground.

"Human! Starting here would be great! Hehehe!"

"Ha-ha, sure! You're cool!"

Anyone who laughs like that would be fine.

Could it really be Kim Hae-il?

Could it really be that Cale Henituse who saved this world, the one who might become a new religion called Five Colored Light?

P/R Note: For those who might be confused, Kim Hae-il is Cale Henituse’s alias in Aipotu. The Heavenly Demon is already used to calling him by both names, so we should too.

"Hehe. I'm cool! I'm going to clear it all!"

"It's exciting~! I got a space bag from Raon!"

“Opportunities like this are rare. We need to make the most of it.”

Dragon.

Could it really be that young dragon Raon, who commanded these impressive beings with his mana?

Could it really be those young members of the cat tribe, who were described by the leader of the Tang Family as impressive talents who could become "Emperors" of a generation and become unparalleled existences?

"Ah."

On, that girl was still calm. Speaking calmly about looting everything...

"..."

The Heavenly Demon quietly watched those who were cheerfully planning the best route to loot treasures. Compared to saving the world, it really was a minor task, but they enjoyed it too much.

Everyone was too excited.

"Ha, haha!"

He couldn’t help but laugh in surprise as Cale glanced at the Heavenly Demon.

Raon spoke to Cale using magic.

- Human, it seems that the Heavenly Demon is also on our side.

‘It seemed so.’

Cale nodded at Raon’s words—he had no other choice.

- It's more natural than Choi Han.

‘It seems so.’

Dressed in black formal clothes and not using a mask because it bothered him to cover his face. The Heavenly Demon was looking at them smiling with an all-too-natural look. As if he was pleased.

'Definitely, is it the Heavenly Demon?'

Cale recalled the martial arts novels he had read when he was Kim Rok Soo.

A recurring theme in most martial arts novels was looting an ancient tomb—there was a reason these events always appeared. Cale couldn’t help but smile at the Heavenly Demon, who looked like the leader of a band of thieves.

He spoke to the children, who were on average around ten years old.

"We don't have time."

"Correct. We don't have time."

On responded.

“Soon we would have to go to the demon world."

"But the continent of Aipotu is big."

"It's big! But if the youngest uses his teleportation magic, it'll be fine!"

It really was big. It was much larger than the Nameless 1 where the Roan Kingdom was located. But as Hong said, now we can use teleportation magic since mana has stabilized.

"And there are quite a few rare treasures that we must loot."

"...Human."

Raon spoke seriously.

“We can’t leave anything valuable behind!”

Cale nodded.

“That’s a good mindset.”

The children, who were on average around ten years old, were already fully mentally prepared. Cale moved alongside these little veterans.

"Let's go."

Oooo—

Raon solemnly formed a black teleportation magic circle.

Cale, On, and Hong stepped into the magic circle.

"What are you doing?"

"......"

At Cale's question, the Heavenly Demon remained silent for a moment before stepping into the magic circle with a carefree smile and asked.

"What is my role?"

Cale, without hesitation, responded firmly.

"To be prepared for any unexpected dangers."

There might be dangerous devices in the dragons’ lair.

Cale, Raon, On, and Hong would take care of most of them, but we still needed someone with raw physical strength.

"I understand."

The Heavenly Demon stepped into the magic circle with an mysterious smile.

Fwoosh!

With a bright flash, the expedition to 'loot treasures' began to move.

* * *

The first treasure-hunting target.

“It was the lair of a Dragon God."

Cale pointed to the entrance of a cave in a deep forest.

"Let's destroy it."

As soon as he finished speaking.

Baaaam!

A huge rumble accompanied the destruction of the large stone door at the cave entrance.

No, it was cleanly destroyed by Raon's magic.

"There are no traps!"

"I'll turn off all the magic devices!"

"We can start!"

Hong detected the traps.

Raon examined the magic.

The moment On spoke, Hong and Raon quickly entered the treasure.

"We must loot everything!"

"We can't leave anything valuable behind!"

"We shouldn't get excited. We must stay calm."

The underaged treasure hunters, spoke with unwavering determination—like seasoned professionals.

"Excellent."

The Heavenly Demon praised the professionalism of the children, who were on average ten years old, before casually looking away.

"......"

There was Cale, with a very strange expression, standing blankly.

'What?'

He was puzzled.

'Isn't it too professional?'

On and Hong, and Raon were showing much greater professionalism than before. There was no need for Cale to say anything, the children handled everything themselves.

'...Are they better than me?'

It was to be expected. On and Hong had learned various techniques from the Molan Family through butler Ron. Naturally, they were exceptionally skilled at detecting traps and looting.

"The magic devices are really visible! Hehe!"

And Raon had also grown during his time in Aipotu. In terms of mana and magic, now Raon was beyond the highest level.

'Human, now I can freely handle mana!'

Attribute 'Present'.

Two aspects of this power had been revealed.

Raon could exert his full strength without being influenced by his environment.

Mana would follow Raon's will.

That alone made Raon's attribute truly impressive.

'Um. But, Human.'

However, Raon spoke seriously.

'I don’t think this is my limit.'

Raon could feel it—he hadn’t reached his true potential yet. His intuition was likely correct. Not all of his abilities had been revealed. But to Cale, that didn’t matter. That was something that would naturally come to light as Raon grew.

What mattered right now was something else.

‘You know what happens if you start bleeding from your nose again, right?’

At Cale’s stern gaze, Raon glanced around before nodding.

‘Understood! I won’t bleed from my nose and will use magic properly from now on!'

'Correct.'

The image of Raon bleeding from his nose. Cale didn't want to see that again.

'Yes, like now-'

"Hehehehehe!"

Meow!

"There's treasure here!"

Thus... like now—

"Let's take it! Hehehehe!"

"We can't let any pass!"

"Everyone will pick it up, and Raon will sort it!"

Hmm.

Cale looked at the children, who were on average ten years old, happily working and thought.

'Is this okay?'

No, it was true that it felt good to see the children happy.

"Let's go to the second now!"

Children should live laughing.

"Now the third! Hehehehe---!"

"It's more exciting than taking poison!"

"Calm down! Calm down!"

Children should live enjoying themselves.

"The fifth! Hehehe!"

"The eighth! Hehe!"

The tenth treasure.

"Hehehehe!"

Meow~~!

Meow!

‘...Is it okay?’

Cale was still stunned as he watched the underaged treasure hunters handling everything themselves.

"Professional."

"......"

He had no answer to what the Heavenly Demon was saying.

"If we do everything like this, it won't be difficult."

"..."

The Heavenly Demon was right. The children, who were on average ten years old, didn’t have to move laboriously. Raon used mana to sweep the treasures into a space bag, while On and Hong focused on detecting traps and uncovering secret spaces.

- There's nothing to do.

As the Super Rock said, Cale had nothing to do.

They were managing well by themselves.

- Sniff, It doesn't smell like a sacred object.

The Sound of the Wind also indicated that he had nothing to do.

Tap, tap.

Cale approached Raon.

"Can I help with anything?"

"The Weak Human should rest!"

"...okay."

Tap, tap.

Cale walked back and stood next to the Heavenly Demon.

Pfft.

Even though the Heavenly Demon laughed beside him, Cale pretended not to notice it.

- Ha-ha-ha! My wealth is growing! Ha-ha-ha! Cale, you're a real genius, a genius!

He also ignored the Cheapskate’s wild, manic laughter. Instead, he spoke seriously.

"Did you hear everything about New World?"

"Yes, I heard it."

"Are you interested?"

Cale stared at the Heavenly Demon.

The Heavenly Demon was also looking at him.

He spoke with a smile.

“I’m very interested.”

Though he spoke calmly, Cale shivered at the shifting emotions in the Heavenly Demon’s eyes. At first, there was a hint of surprise at the idea of looting treasures, but beneath it lay ‘boredom.’ However, what now filled his gaze was ‘expectation.’

"Kim Hae-il."

"What?"

“I can enter New World and help you with whatever you need. I’ll be by your side.”

“And what else?”

Cale perceived that the Heavenly Demon wanted to say something else.

"There's a condition."

The Heavenly Demon proposed a condition.

Cale stared at him.

At his gaze, the Heavenly Demon spoke.

"I want to fight."

A subtle smile appeared on Cale's lips.

Seeing it, the Heavenly Demon continued, "The Demonic Cult also wants to fight. And the rest of Murim as well."

The Heavenly Demon.

As one of the pillars of Murim, he had a broad perspective.

“We want to fight for real.”

I, the Demonic Cult, and the entire Murim world—we all want a true battle.

The Blood Cult and even the Hunters of the Purple Blood Family—these were forces that threatened the people of the Central Plains and the entire Murim world. In the past, there had been small power struggles between sects, but now, a greater enemy had emerged. Those once considered rivals needed to unite to face a true threat.

But in truth, the Blood Cult and the Purple Blood Family had never given martial artists a real reason to fight with everything they had.

Martial artists—who are they?

At their core, they are simply fighters.

Yes, Shaolin practiced Buddhism.

Yes, Taoist sects like Wudang, Mount Hua, and Qingcheng pursued enlightenment.

But in the end, all of them were warriors.

A world of so-called righteous people.

An era of peace and prosperity, where conversation flowed more smoothly than ever.

Yet, despite this, the Heavenly Demon was convinced—the desire to fight had never disappeared.

"This isn't right."

Power has accumulated. We learned so much to fight, we overcame so many difficulties to learn. But there really isn't a reason to fight. How do we release that accumulated energy?

"Another fight."

It might be a selfish and crazy thought, but the Heavenly Demon was convinced.

"We need a battlefield."

For the stability of the Murim world, we need a place to fight. Even if that means creating enemies.

"But there are enemies."

New World. A completely new world.

"Even if it's selfish, a fight there wouldn't threaten the Murim world."

Moreover, our fight, at least nominally, has an ethical justification.

"Then, is there any reason to reject that fight?"

On the contrary, it would be welcome. The Heavenly Demon smiled.

Seeing this, Cale commented, "Crazy."

Really.

"That's why I can't understand martial artists."

Cale couldn't understand the relationships and interests of the Murim world. How good would it be to simply live in peace, eh? Enjoying good things and living comfortably? Don't they understand how valuable that is?

"I know the value that peace offers."

Then, the Heavenly Demon calmly spoke.

"How could we not know the beauty that peace offers?"

Even the people of the Demonic Cult who followed the Heavenly Demon talked about the stability of the world and the Five Colored Light that Cale created whenever they had the opportunity. The value of that scene couldn't be obtained simply through bloody fights. How could the Heavenly Demon not know? He had walked a path of blood to reach his position.

He knew the power of peace.

"But the thing is..."

The problem with the Central Plains is one.

"The peace we have wasn't obtained with our own hands."

Buddhism and Taoism.

Why do those who pursue goodness clench their fists and wield swords? It's to achieve their own goodness, their own path. The righteous faction also accumulates martial arts to pursue their own justice. The evil factions also fight for their own purposes. But they haven't achieved those purposes with their own hands.

"If they only wanted to fight blindly, there would be no need to worry."

Those who just want blood aren't martial artists, but demons.

"However, we need the recognition of the peace we've obtained for ourselves."

That would allow them to feel the legitimacy of the martial arts they've accumulated.

Kim Hae-il.

He's great.

What he's done becomes with time something more than fame, into a legend. But those who remain feel discomfort. Kim Hae-il, he doesn't give the answers to the martial arts we've accumulated. Those answers must be obtained by oneself.

"We need a battlefield to obtain answers, to be convincing."

Listening to the Heavenly Demon, Cale sighed as if he were speaking:

"No. Wouldn't it be better if we didn't hurt ourselves and someone else sorted things out nicely for us?"

Cale really couldn't understand martial artists.

"Well, you have your own life."

It wasn't to expel them. They didn't just want to fight because, because they wanted to hurt someone. If it was a fight for recognition, for something that would also benefit us, then Cale playfully asked the Heavenly Demon.

"Couldn't you fight well in Aipotu?"

"That's right."

The Heavenly Demon responded with carefree.

"Kim Hae-il. You and your companions did everything. So what am I good for?"

“Haha.”

Cale let out a short laugh and then, erasing that smile, spoke.

"You'll get what you want."

A battlefield to obtain answers. If that's what you want. We can give you the answers.

"First, we have to face six evils."

Of the remaining eight evils, six.

"Of them, we'll leave alone those who aren't our enemies, but if they are enemies, we definitely have to take control of that evil."

As Cale spoke, the Heavenly Demon looked into the void.

"Hehehe! Meow! Meow!"

As he watched the children, who were on average ten years old, even looting the lamp decorations, the Heavenly Demon said:

"The evils."

Six evils.

"Interesting."

The Heavenly Demon was excited.

"Very interesting."

Cale responded calmly while looking at the expectation in the Heavenly Demon's eyes.

"Yes, it will be interesting. I'll make a deal with the Central Plains and create a path to New World for your world too. When the time comes, enter."

If a portal to New World could be created at Black Castle. A portal would also be created immediately in the Central Plains.

“...”

“...”

In the moment Cale and the Heavenly Demon looked at each other and outlined an enigmatic smile.

"Human, let's go!"

Gulp.

Cale swallowed saliva.

- Why do I see Clopeh Sekka in Raon's eyes?

He ignored the comment from the Super Rock.

- Ha-ha-ha! Let's go, let's go!

He also ignored the words of the Cheapskate.

"Uh… let's go…"

Cale stepped heavily onto the teleportation circle. And that day…

"Hmm."

Cale, the children—who were on average ten years old—and the Heavenly Demon.

Did we really loot everything?

Excluding our allies, we had looted all the treasures of the dragons.

"Human, did we do well? Are we great?"

"Meow! I think we're quite incredible."

As they looked excitedly at Cale, he, still stunned, stroked the heads of the children, who were on average ten years old.

Waver. Waver.

His corners began to rise slowly.

- Ha-ha-ha!

The Cheapskate laughed all day. Meanwhile, the Heavenly Demon, watching Cale’s wavering smile, murmured:

‘They’re the same.’”

The children, who were on average ten years old, and Cale— they were the same.

All four of them smiled, their lips trembling with excitement.

It's fun.

In fact, the Heavenly Demon found it more fun to watch them than the battlefield itself.

* * *

“I have prepared the path to travel to the Demon World.”

Cotton.

She came to find Cale with an exhausted face.

"Let's go."

To his left, Choi Jung Soo was grinning broadly. Of course, to his right, Choi Han was also smiling gently.

Unlike Cotton, their faces shone brighter than ever.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Mayank]