So? Did Someone Force You to Become the Heavenly Demon?

Chapter 253: Nightmare (3)

There are three black lines stitched on the chest of the combat uniform. On the opposite side, the name Kim Ki-hwan was embroidered. It was a name all too familiar to Il-mok.

“Has this son of a bitch lost his mind? Your senior's calling you and you're not answering? Hey."

Corporal Kim Ki-hwan’s voice triggered an instinctive reaction in Seo Ji-hoon.

"Private Seo! Ji! Hoon!"

"Get changed right now and get ready for morning roll call.”

"Yes, sir!"

"I'm watching you."

Cold sweat trickled down Seo Ji-hoon's back.

This scene felt strangely familiar.

It was a situation in which the squad's most demonic senior had marked him as a target.

He remembered how overjoyed he had been the day that bastard Kim Gi-hwan was discharged. So why is that lunatic standing in front of him now?

'Was it all a dream?'

Being discharged from the military, working as a civil servant, and getting stabbed to death with a knife, being reborn with the name Il-mok, and entering the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult... was none of that real?

‘Ha. Fuck me.’

He almost let a string of curses slip from his mouth.

Maybe he'd dreamed all that because he was so sick and tired of being tortured by that dog of a senior.

Forcing himself to accept that, Seo Ji-hoon started getting ready for morning roll call.

***

A tension-filled day continued.

"March formation! We're singing a military song. The song is 'Torch of Annihilation!' Begin!"

The same morning run as always. The moment the Squad Leader yelled, the Corporals' eyes turned fierce.

"We who protect~ this beautiful land."

He was already out of breath just from running, but he had to scream the song until his throat tore. If he got caught lip-syncing, his life would be hell today.

"Has this bastard gone crazy? Oh? Really making a scene, aren't you?"

He could hear a Private in the next squad getting absolutely destroyed for not singing loud enough.

As if wanting to follow that example, the Corporals' eyes became even more vicious.

After the nerve-wracking morning run finally ended, "Hey."

"Private Seo! Ji! Hoon!"

"What's for breakfast today?"

At the Sergeant’s question, cold sweat poured down his back.

'What was on the breakfast menu...?'

Because he'd had that fucked-up dream this morning, he hadn’t had the luxury of checking the bulletin board properly.

"If you don't know, forget it. Hey. What's for breakfast today?"

The Sergeant turned his head indifferently and threw the question to my immediate senior instead.

"Today's breakfast consists of bean sprout soup, fried croaker, and kimchi, sir!"

"Ha. I’m skipping breakfast. You guys go by yourselves."

Saying that, the Sergeant began pulling a cup of instant noodles he had bought at the Post Exchange from his locker.

"Hey."

Just then, a spine-chilling voice came from behind.

“You slacking Private, you can’t even memorize the menu?”

It was Corporal Kim Ki-hwan.

“You, I’m seriously watching you all day today. Watch yourself.”

"Private Seo! Ji! Hoon! I'll be careful!"

"Careful my ass."

Corporal Kim Ki-hwan made a punching motion to intimidate him.

At that moment, the Squad Leader’s voice rang out from behind.

"Hey."

"Corporal Kim Ki-hwan."

"Private Seo! Ji! Hoon!"

“Cut it out and get ready to move out.”

"Yes, sir!"

On the way to the cafeteria with the squad members, excluding the senior soldier, Corporal Kim Ki-hwan's continuous surveillance made his body shiver.

“Thank you for the meal!”

He had to shove food into his mouth that could generously be called garbage.

Privates didn't have the right to leave leftovers.

Especially when shit like this was served, it was even more depressing.

"Fuck. This tastes like absolute shit."

The Squad Leader took a few bites, cursed, and got up.

Right on cue, the other Corporals put down their spoons like they couldn't stomach it either and stood up.

'You fucking bastards. If you're not going to eat it, at least let us leave some too.'

Since he couldn't dare make his seniors wait outside, he stuffed the remaining food into his mouth and stood up.

It wasn't just him. The other Private First Class and Private Second Class were the same.

"Kuk."

One guy seemed to have eaten the fried croaker wrong and was coughing as if a bone was stuck in his throat.

'I'm going to get indigestion. Seriously.'

He already felt like he couldn't digest properly with Kim Ki-hwan constantly glaring at him.

He hurriedly shoved food in his mouth and ran to the washing station to do dishes.

As he roughly scrubbed the tray with a sponge—

—There's still oil from the fried croaker!

—Scrub more you bastard! It's fucking dirty!

For some inexplicable reason, he found himself frantically scrubbing the tray with the sponge like a madman.

Because of that, he rejoined the squad a step late, and the Corporals glared daggers at him.

'That was close.'

If he'd been even a few seconds later, curses would have definitely flown his way.

And then back at the living quarters with the squad members.

—The lines are all crooked!

—Fix it right now!

When he checked his locker, it was a complete disaster.

From his gym clothes to spare uniforms and blankets, he spent the rest of his break time refolding everything and fixing the corners of his bed and uniforms. That’s when Kim Ki-hwan's voice came from behind.

"Quite the show you're putting on. Why didn't you do it right in the first place, you little shit?"

"Private Seo! Ji! Hoon! I'll be careful!"

He gave Kim Ki-hwan a half-hearted response as he couldn’t take his eyes off the locker for some reason.

He didn't know why the locker that he usually thought "this is good enough" suddenly looked so dirty today.

He kept fixing it until the work day started.

And somehow this obsession with cleanliness continued even during work hours.

Today is facility maintenance day. The schedule is to manage and clean the parade ground and the area around the base.

—Cleaner!

—If you don't dig deeper, it’ll flood when it rains!

Every single leaf he saw made him want to clean it up, and he couldn't feel satisfied unless he dug the drainage ditches deeper than usual.

“Is this Private slacking off already?”

The problem is, the seniors would go batshit if I slowed down even a little.

Trying to be perfect and fast so I wouldn't get yelled at meant I had to work like a maniac.

Thanks to that, I was sweating like a pig.

'I want to wash. I want to wash. I want to wash.'

My uniform was soaking wet and sticking to me. I felt like I was going to lose my mind.

Finally, the work day was ending...

"Hey."

"Private Seo! Ji! Hoon!"

"What's today's password?"

Corporal Kim Ki-hwan asked suddenly.

"Private Seo! Ji! Hoon! I will answer about today's password. Challenge is Hwarang, Password is Tobacco. Hwarang, Tobacco, sir!”

Fortunately, he'd checked during lunch time, so he managed to avoid the trap.

And then during personal maintenance time after all work schedules ended.

"Hmm."

Kim Ki-hwa who'd been scanning his locker clicked his tongue lightly and turned away.

"I'm going to the internet cafe."

"Yes, sir!"

First the password, now the locker. I guess working my ass off all day paid off, because I barely scraped by. But just because Kim Gi-hwan let me off the hook didn't mean I could relax.

‘Why is the room so filthy?’

It was supposed to be free time, but I couldn't help myself.

Seo Ji-hoon grabbed a broom and was sweeping the floor when—

‘Wait, since when was I such a neat freak…? Is it because of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword?’

Something didn't add up.

'Hm? Wait, I learned the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword in a dream, right? What does that have to do with anything? Hmm. Was I always like this…?’

Just as he was about to brush it off, the broom he was sweeping with began to vibrate.

Vrummmmm.

"Hm?"

The thing that was definitely a broom a second ago had turned into a sword.

It was a familiar sword.

It was the sword he'd named Ascension Sword in his dream.

'Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword. Side effect. Ascension Sword. Dream...?'

The moment that question formed, I felt a strange energy in my lower abdomen.

It was a familiar energy.

Finally grasping the situation, I closed my eyes and focused on the energy in my dantian.

"Hey!"

“What is that bastard doing? Why did he stop cleaning?”

"Has this bastard really gone crazy?"

Someone was screaming at me, but I tuned them out and focused inward.

The massive energy of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword raced through my body and shot up to the Baihui Acupoint on my head.

I forgot everything else and dove deep into my own mind. No, I realized that this place is inside my mind.

"Huuu."

By the time I opened my eyes, Corporal Kim Ki-hwan was charging at me with a look that could kill.

But unlike before, that sight wasn't frightening.

'If it's a dream, I just need to wake up.'

Slash!

Following the trajectory of the Ascension Sword, Kim Ki-hwan's body was cut down. No, space itself was severed.

Crack!

At the same time, the world around me started shattering like glass.

Flash!

My eyes snapped open.

"Motherfuckers. There are things you can do and things you can't, and you had to show me those horrendous times of all things.”

Thanks to that worst nightmare, curses naturally spilled from Il-mok’s mouth.

And when he turned his head, a bizarre scene unfolded.

"Senior Hayeon! Don't date that dirty guy!”

"Hayeon... why...?"

Ju Seo-yeon and Ouyang Mun are mumbling about Jin Hayeon.

"Big Brother! Please don't abandon me..."

Seon-ah seems to have a dream about me.

"..."

Jin Hayeon kept her mouth shut as per usual, but her expression was very unpleasant.

"Lord of Ten Thousand Demons!!"

Even Dam Bin looked like she had lost her mind.

'I can understand the others, but to think even Squad Leader Dam Bin is unable to escape.’

Usually, high-level masters can resist hallucinations. Dam Bin was experienced, so I was surprised she hadn't broken out yet.

‘Then again, I almost didn't make it either.’

If it hadn't been for the Ascension Sword's help, I would have been trapped for quite a while, too.

Moreover.

'Everyone's qi and blood are boiling. This is dangerous...'

Based on what they were mumbling, this wasn't just a regular illusion trap. It’s in illusory Formation that dug into your brain and showed you your worst nightmare.

And my party members were people suffering from mental illness because they'd learned Demonic Arts. For people constantly fighting inner demons and madness, this was the worst-case scenario ever.

Even my side effect, which had been quiet lately, tried to take over my brain. It had to be way worse for them.

'First, I need to separate them so they don't kill each other.’

I carried the rambling party members and put some distance between them, then moved to find the source of the Formation.

In the process, I ran into Jeong Hyeon, who'd remained in the rear.

"I can't find... a new friend. Who would hang out with someone like me..."

I decided to ignore those depressing mutters for now. Plus, waking someone up from a trance like that could be dangerous.

Vrummm.

The Ascension Sword vibrated like it knew where to go. Using that and my own senses, I headed for the source of the Formation.

‘It wasn’t just the cave. The whole mountain is a trap.’

The strange flow of energy wasn't limited to just near the cave entrance. It was spread throughout all of Mount Baihe.

This meant it was not a Formation that could be created overnight. It must be a Formation that should have taken at least several years to prepare.

Not just that, this kind of Formation also needs a massive amount of offerings to work properly. Coupled with the Ascension Sword's reaction, there is only one conclusion to reach.

'It’s the motherfuckers from Blood Cult, huh?'

I kept running through the mountain when I felt the presence of people coming from the side.

Thinking it might be the Blood Cult, I gripped my sword and got ready to fight. A moment later, two figures stepped out of the bushes.

One is an old man who looked like a beggar, the other is a middle-aged man with a sharp feature.

'An Eight-Knot Elder?'

While I was checking the eight knots hanging from the beggar's side, the Beggars’ Gang's Eight-Knot Elder spoke to me.

"That mask... You must be from the Maitreya Luminous Cult. What brings you here?”

To his question asked with a face full of vigilance, I answered with quick thinking.

“We’re chasing the Blood Cult. You probably heard from the Little Tiger Beggar, but we’ve got some problems with them.”

"Indeed, just as I heard from Little Tiger Beggar."

I didn't know what exactly Little Tiger Beggar had said about us, but the Elder bought my story instantly.

Then, he belatedly clasped his fist and introduced himself.

“I am Beggar Chaser of the Beggars’ Gang.”

"I am the Incarnation of Maitreya."

"Hmm. As expected, you don't use a separate name."

Beggar Chaser looked a bit weirded out, but he pointed to the guy next to him.

"Ah. And this person is the Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord who came as support from the Murim Alliance."

"...."

I was speechless for a moment.

The enemy who took in Uncle Tae-hyeon. The greatest justification for why I came to the Central Plains and the target of my revenge.

And I had to run into him now of all times.