Chapter 336: Golden Island Sect (3) |
A quiet space, filled with silence.
Twitch—
A man, sitting cross-legged at the center, suddenly twitched slightly.
His closed eyes slowly opened, and a brilliant light, like a flash of lightning, erupted from within.
It briefly illuminated the surroundings, then retreated into his eyes, two points of light gleaming in the darkness.
“…The connection has been severed.”
A strange, androgynous voice, both ordinary and extraordinary, aged yet youthful, echoed through the silent space.
“This is… Ganghwange?”
The Master of Heaven’s Turn Society, the owner of the voice, closed his eyes again, focusing his senses, but it was no use.
And that meant only one thing.
‘What happened? There shouldn’t be anyone left in Ganghwange who could harm the Heavenly Demon.’
Godhood wasn’t just about power.
Gods existed through the faith and worship of their followers.
It was as if the governor of a colony had suddenly died, cutting off all communication and supply lines.
‘Tsk, at a time like this…’
The Master, who had been recuperating after his losses in Auterica, clicked his tongue in annoyance.
He hadn’t expected the Heavenly Demon, a powerful being, to die so suddenly.
Something unexpected had clearly occurred.
‘…But I can’t act recklessly.’
Traveling between dimensions was a costly and time-consuming process.
And revisiting a world he had already been to would require even more effort, as the local god wouldn't simply allow him to come and go as he pleased.
It was more efficient to explore new worlds.
“I overestimated him. I thought he was more capable.”
He sighed softly and closed his eyes again.
Losing an apostle, a representative in another world, was a significant loss, but it was within acceptable margins.
‘Perhaps it was the remaining demons. I thought I had eliminated them all, but it seems I missed a few. I’ll have to be more thorough next time.’
He dismissed the unexpected variable and returned to his meditation, his mind calm and focused.
He couldn't have imagined that the cause of this incident was the same group that had thwarted him in Auterica.
____________________
“Um… Mad Demon-nim?”
“Huh? What is it, buddy?”
“I’m telling you, I really don’t taste good. It’s not a joke. It’s our main survival tactic. We even consider the foul-tasting pike eel a delicacy, that’s how bad we taste…”
“Argh! I get it! Why are you so scared?”
“…Then could you please stop… licking your lips while looking at me?”
“Ah.”
Slurp!
Harley, realizing his unintentional slip-up, wiped his mouth with his hand.
They were currently traveling from Yungjung Mountain to another location.
Having learned that Qingguan was a member of the Golden Island Sect, Harley had requested a formal meeting, and Qingguan, after reporting to his superiors, had received permission to guide him there.
‘I can’t ruin this by acting recklessly. There will be other opportunities.’
He was intrigued by Qingguan, the first demon he had encountered in this world, but he had no intention of harming him.
His earlier reaction had been purely instinctive, a natural response to encountering a new type of genetic material.
Even though Harley’s body was close to perfection, a transcendent being… he couldn't completely suppress his primal instincts.
“Ahem, demons can regenerate their limbs, right? You’re being too sensitive.”
“I don’t know what kind of environment you’re from, but not all demons have regenerative abilities. I specialize in sorcery, not physical combat.”
“Ah, that’s a shame…”
“…Pardon?”
“Nothing, nothing. Let’s go! Hahaha!”
“…”
The Golden Island Sect, a secretive organization of demons.
Their public face, the Maoshan Sect, was located in Jiangsu Province, on the eastern coast, but fortunately, they didn't have to go there.
“That’s just a front for external activities. Most of the Maoshan Sect members are humans, and we demons mostly reside elsewhere.”
Qingguan led him to a large river nearby, explaining the situation.
“We all have our own methods, but I’m most comfortable with this. It’s location-dependent, but it’s quite convenient as long as I can find a suitable waterway.”
He unpacked his ritual tools and, setting up an altar on the riverbank, began chanting, performing a strange ritual.
The river’s current began to churn and swirl.
‘This is quite a spectacle. …But what’s that?’
And then,
Harley, who had been watching the ritual with interest, noticed something unusual on the riverbed.
A shimmering portal, reflecting a distant forest, not the scenery around them.
“…Whew, it’s done. We just have to go through there. This is the Golden Island Sect’s hidden realm, a world within a world! It’s quite rare for an outsider to be granted access so quickly, but it seems the higher-ups approve of your meeting with Mad Demon-nim.”
Clang—
Qingguan, having finished his preparations, approached him, shaking a small bell, a cheerful smile on his face.
He was also pleased to be returning home, regardless of the circumstances.
“Right, then let’s… Ah!”
“What is it, Mad Demon-nim?”
“…Nothing. I just remembered something.”
Harley paused, scratching the back of his head, a thoughtful expression on his face.
He had completely forgotten about Mok In-gwang, the former Mad Demon, who was still at the Shaolin Temple.
“Well, it can’t be helped! Let’s go, buddy! Hahaha!”
He shrugged it off and confidently stepped forward.
Mok In-gwang was being treated well at the Shaolin Temple.
They wouldn't mistreat someone who had helped them, even if he was a rogue element and his actions had been unintentional.
And they would want to keep a powerful warrior like him around, just in case.
‘I can visit him after this.’
His main objective here was to gather information.
It wouldn’t take long.
Harley followed Qingguan, who had jumped into the river, shaking his bell, and stepped into the portal.
And then, he found himself in the middle of a strange, dreamlike forest.
And—.
“Grrr— What’s this? A hybrid? Hey, who are you?”
…He came face to face with someone who was already there.
A massive demon, standing before him, its arms crossed, its gaze fixed on him.
“Eek! D-Lord Dool! Why are you here…?”
Qingguan, who had entered the realm with Harley, recoiled in fear, his face pale.
It seemed his opponent was… infamous.
“Is this a place I can’t come to? And you, are you mute? Or are you just frozen in fear? Kkuk kuk—!”
A towering figure, over five meters tall, its body like a tiger standing on two legs, a long tail swaying behind it, its sharp fangs bared in a perpetual grin, a pair of boar-like tusks protruding from its lower jaw, and its eyes burning with ghostly flames.
An overwhelming aura of violence and intimidation, befitting its monstrous appearance, began to spread.
‘Impressive. I guess that’s why they’ve been able to survive. With monsters like him around.’
He wasn’t as strong as the Heavenly Demon, a transcendent being, but he seemed to be on par with Sword Saint Namgung Woo.
As Harley admired his opponent’s power, Qingguan, who had retreated, gulped nervously and cautiously stepped forward.
“Um… Lord Dool? This is a guest of the Azure Dragon…”
“Get lost, fish. Before I fillet you.”
“Eek!”
But his courage didn’t last long.
Dool growled, his burning gaze fixed on Qingguan, and the terrified Taoist priest froze in place, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly.
Harley, seeing that his companion was no longer a priority for Dool, grinned and took a step forward.
“Hey, big guy. Just checking, but are you picking a fight?”
He needed to make sure.
He was a guest, invited into their territory.
He had to play along until he achieved his objective.
“Kkuk kuk, a fight? Well… consider it a simple test. I can’t just let anyone in without verifying their strength. A warrior’s worth is proven through combat.”
“Aha! A… welcoming ceremony?”
“Hoho? Are you interested?”
“Hahaha—! Of course!”
Qingguan waved his arms frantically, a panicked expression on his face, but they ignored him.
The air crackled with tension.
“That sounds like fun! I love a good fight!”
Harley’s lips stretched into a wide grin, revealing rows of sharp, jagged teeth.
A few drops of saliva, which he had been suppressing, dripped onto the ground.
‘He’s clearly a physical type…’
Unlike Qingguan, his opponent’s body was incredibly well-developed, each muscle fiber pulsing with raw power.
Harley instinctively knew.
That ‘he’ would be an exquisite delicacy, a feast for the senses.
‘…Just one bite… No, he’s so big, I can probably have several bites!’
His suppressed hunger began to surge.
____________________
Dool was bored out of his mind.
The restriction he had been forced to accept when he joined the Golden Island Sect for protection after his companions died was the problem.
He couldn’t harm any member of the Golden Island Sect.
He had initially dismissed it as a minor inconvenience, but as time passed, he realized it wasn’t that simple.
For him, a being who thrived on conflict and battle, living in this peaceful sanctuary was like being trapped in a prison.
He could only wander around, instigating fights and observing them from a distance, occasionally provoking others to attack him…
And his notoriety made it difficult for his schemes to succeed.
As he was contemplating leaving the Golden Island Sect and fighting to the death in the outside world,
He heard that an outsider had been granted access.
‘An outsider!’
Someone who wasn’t bound by the restriction.
He had been granted entry, so he was technically a guest, a potential recruit… but Dool didn’t care about such trivial details.
He was an outsider!
He rushed to the entrance and soon encountered his target.
A man with an unusual aura, a strangely familiar presence.
His initial plan to tear him limb from limb and devour him changed slightly.
He might be a worthy subordinate, if he proved himself in combat.
So, he had greeted him with a friendly demeanor, a gesture of goodwill that was incredibly rare for him, and instead of immediately attacking, he had proposed a friendly spar.
And then, something unexpected happened.
“Let’s see how you measure up.”
As soon as he finished speaking,
Crack— Crackle—
…The newcomer’s body, which had only reached his thigh, began to expand rapidly.
His waist, chest, shoulders… and then, his head, until Dool had to crane his neck to see his face.
“Ah, oops. Did I overdo it? It’s been a while, so my control isn’t very good! Hahaha!”
Rumble—
A thunderous laughter, a storm of energy, shook the air.
Dool stared up at the massive figure, his mouth agape.
It wasn’t just his size.
The density of his muscles, each fiber pulsing with power, the overwhelming aura of a dormant volcano… it pressed down on the surroundings, its presence undeniable.
‘Um…’
A single, rational thought flickered in Dool’s mind.
‘Is this… really okay?’
…Of course, it wasn't okay.
Not at all.
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