Chapter 296 : Evil Cult (1)
Chapter 296: Evil Cult (1)
Il-mok's body floated into the air, carried by the rippling waves of natural energy that enveloped him.
A fierce wind whipped around him as the center point, so intense that even those who had never learned martial arts and whose energy sense was dull and undeveloped could feel it buffeting against their skin.
Crack.
His body began twisting and restructuring itself, bones and muscles reforming in a grotesque dance of transformation.
While the women led by Jin Hayeon stood guard over him and the Black Tiger Corps members either treated their wounds or kept watch on their surroundings, those who had been sold as slaves watched the scene with dazed expressions, like people witnessing a wonder of nature for the first time.
Among them was a middle-aged man named James.
He had been a deckhand on a ship in England before being attacked by pirates and reduced to slavery, and now he wondered if that being floating before him was truly the same kind of creature as himself.
When the Muslims first attacked, he had trembled in fear and called upon God. Though he wasn't particularly devout, he had taken the existence of Jesus Christ and God for granted like most Europeans did.
The memory of the pirate attack filled him with instinctive terror, but he soon realized that the situation was unfolding in a peculiar manner.
The people who had bought them as slaves were doing their best to protect them instead of using them as meat shields.
For the believers of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult who were raised under the banner of protecting the weak and punishing evildoers, their actions were as natural as breathing to them. But from the perspective of those sold into slavery, it was an unfamiliar situation in many ways.
As they watched the battle without knowing what to do, a massive storm erupted right in front of them.
A storm created by two human beings.
Every time the young man who appeared to be the leader of those who had bought them clashed with the commander of their attackers, sand exploded into the air and deafening roars echoed across the desert.
'How can humans possess such power...'
For James the deckhand, it was a somewhat familiar sight. When the cannons loaded on ships were fired, they produced roughly similar results.
The problem was that a human being was generating firepower equivalent to cannons with just a single sword.
'...It's like seeing the wizards I've only heard about in rumors.'
As he watched that wondrous battle half-dazed, lightning suddenly coiled around the young man's sword before splitting into hundreds of strands that tore apart the enemy commander.
But what really shocked him happened right after that.
Countless streams of light radiated from the sword the young man held high toward the heavens.
Slash!
Slash!
The horrifying sound of fabric tearing echoed repeatedly from all sides, and the Muslims who had attacked them were mowed down all at once.
James stood with his mouth hanging open as he watched a scene that far exceeded the human bounds of common sense.
He wondered if the people like England’s Admirals and the Grandmasters of the Vatican’s Holy Knights could do something this insane.
The young man who had demonstrated divine might transcending humanity soon collapsed to the ground, leading to the current situation.
He was wrapped in a storm of Mana so intense that even James could see it.
But to James's eyes it looked as if a human being was evolving into another species entirely, like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly.
But it didn't feel holy to him.
Centered around that man was a reddish glow that reflected in the pale moonlight, exuding an ominous atmosphere.
There were over a hundred mangled bodies scattered around, and the yellow desert sand was soaked red with blood.
That was why James unconsciously defined that existence in his own way.
"...Demon King."
He wondered if this was the moment when a human being was evolving into the Demon King that was spoken of only in legends.
James clamped his hand over his mouth, terrified that someone might have heard him whisper that cursed name.
At that very moment—
Whoosh.
With a soft breeze, the raging storm of Mana around the young man vanished.
Flash.
The moment the being who had completed his metamorphosis opened his eyes—
"The Heavenly Demon Descends!!"
"Ten Thousand Demons Obey!!!"
The warriors who had saved the slaves prostrated themselves before the young man like cultists worshipping the Demon King.
* * *
"Whew."
When Il-mok opened his eyes, he found the Black Tiger Corps was worshipping him.
Il-mok scratched his head and stood up, having no intention whatsoever of considering himself a god.
"I congratulate you on achieving Transcendence."
"C-Congratulations, Y-Young Master."
Il-mok smiled at Jin Hayeon and Jeong Hyeon.
"Thank you."
Il-mok had been checking his condition during his transformation, so he knew exactly what had happened.
Il-mok could tell that now only he alone remained complete within himself.
Seo Ji-hoon, Il-mok, and the alter ego from the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword have merged into one.
‘Body feels good, too.’
His internal injuries had completely healed during the transformation process.
But it didn't feel like his body had dramatically improved, which made sense since he had been born with what the Heavenly Demon acknowledged as a heaven-sent talent and thanks to receiving the Heavenly Demon’s marrow cleansing, most of his acupoints had already been unblocked.
Maybe because he already possessed a supreme body, the time his transformation took wasn't particularly long either.
But he felt no regret, because he could intuitively tell that he had risen to a realm of a completely different class from before.
While there wasn't much difference in his physical capabilities, he could feel everything around him as clearly as if he were touching it.
It wasn't simply that his senses had become sharper. Rather, it felt as if his existence as "I" in this world had grown larger.
'He said that though faint, I would be able to connect with the world through my will.'
As he ruminated on the concept of the Realm of Truth that the Heavenly Demon had explained, Il-mok nodded once before walking in a certain direction.
He headed toward where the men from the Majid Family had gathered.
"Ohalak."
"Y-Yes!"
Startled by Il-mok's call, Ohalak rushed over and translated his words.
"They seemed like people from Merv. Do you have any idea which family might be responsible?"
Hearing Il-mok's question, they discussed among themselves in the Islamic language for a moment before one stepped forward as their representative.
"We heard someone among them mention the name'Zafir.' Most likely, the enemy commander was that famous Zafir."
"Zafir? Is that a well-known name in these parts?"
"He's known as Merv's greatest warrior and belongs to the Omar Family."
"The Omar Family, then."
Il-mok could roughly guess how things had unfolded.
‘No wonder they bought our goods at ridiculously high prices. They must have planned this from the very beginning.’
With that mystery solved, Il-mok asked another question.
"Then how much of the Omar Family's strength do you think remains? Quite a lot of them died here after all."
"Zafir was a warrior who symbolized the Omar Family. With Zafir and over a hundred men dead, they must have lost at least half their strength at the very least."
Il-mok nodded and walked over to Ouyang Hyeok.
"Black Tiger Corps Leader."
"Please speak freely, Young Master."
Though they used to treat each other as equals, Ouyang Hyeok’s voice just now carried a more respectful tone.
“I’m used to talking like before this, so let’s just keep it that way.”
It felt weird to talk down to an older man, so Il-mok decided to move on.
“It looks like the attackers came from Merv.”
Il-mok explained what he heard from the Majid Family, then turned and pointed at the wagons and carriages holding the slaves.
For some reason, everyone in those wagons and carts flinched at his gesture.
Il-mok tilted his head in confusion and said to Ouyang Hyeok.
"After loading the seriously injured onto those wagons, I'm thinking we should return to Merv."
"I'll tell them to prepare."
Ouyang Hyeok didn't bother asking Il-mok's intentions, even though going back would likely mean another battleand put them in danger.
Il-mok also knew this fact, but there was a reason he had chosen to return to Merv.
'Even if battle breaks out, there's almost no chance our side will take casualties.'
He wasn't being cocky about their fighting skills. He was counting on something else entirely.
On top of that, he deemed it better to rest and recover in Merv rather than dragging the critically wounded on a five-day journey to Samarkand.
Meanwhile, Ouyang Hyeok relayed Il-mok's instructions to the Black Tiger Corps members.
"We're returning to Merv! Put the wounded in the wagons! Everyone else, get ready to move!”
While the Black Tiger Corps members moved in orderly fashion, Il-mok headed with Ohalak toward where the slaves were loaded.
"Since we need to carry the seriously injured, you should get down now and follow us on foot."
When Ohalak translated Il-mok's words, the nomad slaves quickly stood up and descended from the wagons and carts.
Even the white and black slaves who didn't speak the same language scrambled to follow them.
'What's this?'
Just a few hours ago, when the Black Tiger Corps were teaching them letters, these same people had shown no motivation whatsoever.
He couldn't understand why they'd become so spry now.
* * *
Deep in the night, Il-mok and his party began retracing their path through the sandstorm.
They took the shackles off the slaves so they could walk, but for some reason, nobody actually tried to run. They just followed the Black Tiger Corps quietly.
Meanwhile, their eyes that kept glancing at Il-mok held a mixture of fear and awe every now and then.
With his senses now super sharp due to his ascendance into the Realm of Truth, Il-mok couldn't miss their gazes.
…I guess I did kill a lot of people.’
They were probably traumatized by the battle earlier.
‘Oh well. It’s easier to manage them this way, so I’ll just roll with it for now.’
It wasn't the right time to try to explain things.
He figured the misunderstanding would clear up once they got back to headquarters and spent some time together.
After walking through the desert for a long while, Merv's walls began appearing in the distance when dawn broke, and they finally reached them by around noon.
The guards were shocked to see the group that had just left yesterday return looking like a mess.
When a man from the Majid Family stepped forward to explain the circumstances of being attacked by "bandits," the soldiers soon cleared a path.
After entering Merv, the first place they headed was a large mansion located somewhere in the city. It was where the Molk Family lived.
The man from the Majid Family spoke to the guards at the mansion entrance.
"The merchants from the East say they have urgent matters to discuss with the Molk Family Head. Please convey that they've come to propose a transaction that will greatly benefit the Molk Family."
The words the Majid Family's man conveyed were what Il-mok had passed along through Ohalak during their journey to Merv.
Soon, one of the guards entered the Molk Family compound, and a middle-aged man appeared with the guard before long.
"Please come inside."
Following the middle-aged man, they entered the Molk Family compound and stopped before a large door.
"Only the representative may enter."
At the middle-aged man's words, Il-mok entered the room accompanied only by his interpreter.
"I am Ahmed Molk, Head of the Molk Family."
The Family Head greeted from the seat of honor, and Il-mok lightly showed respect with a cupped-fist salute before speaking.
"I am Il-mok of the Heavenly Light Merchant Guild."
"Hmm. I heard you sold all your goods and left the city, so I'm curious what kind of transaction you wish to propose to us."
Il-mok smiled slightly and asked a totally random question.
"What do you think of the Omar Family? People say they’re the greatest in Merv.”
Ahmed frowned.
"What's your intention in asking me that right now?"
"Last night, we were attacked by the Omar Family."
Il-mok answered like it was no big deal and looked at Ohalak and the latter opened the lid of the chest he'd been carrying since entering the room.
"!!!"
Ahmed’s eyes popped open when he saw what was inside.
Inside was a severed human head.