Chapter 13: They Had No Intention of Leaving
After finishing his sparring match with the Six Demons, Yu Gyeongseong stepped out of the training ground.
And the first thing that greeted him was a message from Wu Wonta that the Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall wanted to see him.
"The Vice Hall Master came by. He was looking for Squad Leader Yu... ah, I mean, the Divine Demon. When I told him you were having breakfast with the Clan Lords, he said the Hall Master wants to see you, so come as soon as you're done."
The Vice Hall Master, huh...
Yu Gyeongseong turned back to Wu Wonta with a question.
"Is it... normal for the Vice Hall Master to personally come fetch a squad leader?"
"Well, I'm not sure. It's an internal matter for the Law Enforcement Hall..."
In other words, he didn't know.
But then, maybe remembering Yu Gyeongseong's brief comment the other day, Wu Wonta added more.
"At a glance, it doesn't seem like a normal situation. When you're summoning a subordinate, there's no need for a superior to come in person like that, is there?"
"......"
That made sense.
Why is the Hall Master calling for me at this point?
According to Maeng Heum, the relationship between the Hall Master and his past self wasn't great. Of course, that was just from Maeng Heum's perspective.
Could there be some secret relationship between the Hall Master and me?
Or is this about yesterday, when I called in the squad members?
'Either way... I guess I'll have to go meet him.'
Yu Gyeongseong immediately got up to leave.
"Since he called for me, I'd better go. I'll be back."
***
The star of the show himself had left quite a while ago, but the remaining six showed no signs of moving.
A heavy atmosphere had settled over the space.
Crushing Demon was the first to speak. “So it’s true… The ritual really did put all of our powers into him.”
But even if someone had received the Great Law, how could they immediately execute those martial arts as freely as he did? And exactly like the Six Demons, no less?
By nature, martial arts always vary from person to person even when they learned the same art. Everyone had different body types, different mindsets, different training methods, and different enlightenments.
So for Yu Gyeongseong to demonstrate all six martial arts on par with the Six Demons themselves—that was something no one in the martial world could possibly believe.
"Yeah, there's no doubt about it."
Yet for some reason, the Six Demons accepted it without much difficulty.
And right now, that wasn't even their main concern.
Mind Demon muttered a question that was on everyone's mind. "With that level... can he beat the Sword God?"
They carefully weighed it in their minds.
‘At that level…’
Rock Demon's defensive power combined with the Life Demon's recovery abilities. With that, he could probably withstand the Sword God's attacks.
And with Crushing Demon's offensive power and Flying Demon's mobility, he could land blows on the Sword God.
And if you added the supernatural abilities of Mind Demon and the Illusion Demon, that could create unexpected variables for openings...
Could he win?
"......"
And yet, no one dared to voice the conclusion easily.
One thing was for sure… he wouldn't go down easy. Not with all of their powers combined in one body.
They had actually done it. They’d created the Cult’s ultimate warrior.
Rock Demon spoke. “…First, we need to make sure he knows how to use all those skills properly.”
Even if he had no difficulty manifesting the martial arts, using those martial arts properly and efficiently is a whole other matter. And he lacked the insights that came from experience to begin with.
Life Demon added. "The question is how many he can use simultaneously."
Moreover, learning to use all six arts simultaneously and mix them skillfully would require countless hours of painstaking effort.
Flying Demon nodded. "We don't have time."
Yu Gyeongseong had shown results that met their expectations. He was even better than they had hoped. They should have been celebrating.
But instead, all they felt was this nagging sense of dread, the feeling that it still wasn’t enough.
They all looked toward the sky, toward the direction of the Central Plains.
There was no hope in their eyes.
That’s how big the shadow cast by the Sword God is.
***
As soon as he arrived at the Law Enforcement Hall, Yu Gyeongseong was escorted to the Hall Master's office.
‘I definitely must have worked here...’
Yet it felt strangely unfamiliar.
It was the same with the face of the person who announced his presence. From the look in his eyes, he clearly showed signs of recognizing him, but his attitude was exceedingly business-like.
"Hall Master! Squad Leader Yu is here."
"Send him in."
Click.
As Yu Gyeongseong entered and the door closed, the middle-aged man sitting beyond the desk slowly lifted his head with a leisurely posture, as if there was no rush.
But the second they made eye contact, Yu Gyeongseong shattered that calm.
"Divine Demon!"
"......?"
The Hall Master stared at Yu Gyeongseong with eyes that seemed to ask, “What the hell are you talking about?”
But when the unfazed expression before him didn't change, he finally had to ask.
“Squad Leader Yu… what was that just now? Divine Demon??"
"Hm?"
"What?"
I heard he lost his memories due to some spell, but did that spell also wipe his manners?
Despite his clear display of displeasure, he was acting like he didn't care at all. The Hall Master simply thought this guy definitely wasn't in his right mind, and began speaking.
"I heard you lost your memory?"
"Yes."
"How did it happen?"
"I'm not sure. I think I was hit by some kind of spell."
“Hah… you went because the Cult Leader summoned you. What on earth happened?”
"Well..."
He looked like he was hesitating.
‘….’
What is this?! A subordinate choosing his words before his superior!
The Hall Master had to physically stop himself from blowing up.
Why am I so on edge right now?
It was because the fate of the entire Heavenly Demon Divine Cult hung in the balance, and that moment was rapidly approaching.
And yet, something was clearly happening. Something he didn't know about.
To handle this properly, he needed to know what it was. At this very moment, information was the most important thing to him.
He soothed his own heart before putting on a gentle face and speaking in a gentle tone.
"It's fine. It's okay. We're all family here? Speak freely."
But what came back was completely different than what he expected.
"Ah... it's not that. There's just nothing in my head, so I don't have anything to tell you."
"..."
It felt like sarcasm.
I just said I lost my memory, so what the hell did you think you were asking?Are you stupid or something?
This bastard...
The Hall Master studied Yu Gyeongseong as his emotions turned ice-cold.
‘Just because you’ve dipped your toes in an important matter… so now you're looking down even on your superior?!’
There was one way to find out if he was doing this on purpose. Even if his memory was wiped, he should still remember stuff that happened after he got back. So he asked.
“I was told that Squad Leader Wu of the Life Demon Clan is attached to you?”
"Yes."
"Why?"
“I do not know. I was told the Life Demon ordered it."
"...Then what are you doing with the six Clan Lords? I heard you were with them this morning as well.”
"Yes. We had breakfast together, and I received some teachings."
"Teachings?!"
He could not help but let his voice rise again.
What kind of bullshit is this now?
"..."
But Yu Gyeongseong remained silent.
The message was obvious.
If you want to know what happened, go ask the Six Demons yourself. I’m not saying anything more.
This cocky little...
He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this angry, but the Hall Master was an old hand at this game. He forced a calm expression and kept pushing.
"I see... Well, they're your superiors, so it must be difficult to speak of them. Then what about the matter with your squad members? I heard you met them in a rather unusual way?"
He wanted to know what that meeting was all about.
Meeting one-on-one was standard procedure for the Law Enforcement Hall.
But that was when you were interrogating a suspect, not when you were with your own subordinates.
However, what came out of Yu Gyeongseong's mouth was simple. He'd collected the money he'd left with them. Since the amount wasn't small, he'd distributed it among several people.
‘So he didn't trust his own men, and that’s why he grilled them one-on-one?’
The Hall Master had encountered several cases of memory loss before. It usually came from a hard hit to the head or from suffering a tremendous psychological shock.
But losing memories didn't usually create any particular problems in social life.
...Maybe his professional habits just came out naturally?
Yu Gyeongseong casually remarked to the staring Hall Master.
"Thanks to that, I naturally figured out how much I'd left with them. Seeing that none of the squad members pocketed any money, I guess I wasn't a terrible squad leader."
But...
“Why specifically money?”
At the Hall Master's puzzled reaction, Yu Gyeongseong put on a confused look of his own.
“…Isn’t money the most important thing there is? I asked for what I'd left with them, and I received nothing except money pouches. When I asked the squad members, they said I didn't really have anything particularly valuable. So they all thought it was natural I'd left money with them."
"......"
“So, did I own anything valuable?”
“…How would I know?”
"I don't remember either, so I don't know why my past self did that... but judging from what the squad members said, that seemed to be almost all the money I'd earned working. So it makes sense I'd leave it with someone, doesn't it?"
"Was there nothing else?"
Yu Gyeongseong nodded.
"That's all I received."
The Hall Master observed him carefully. All his senses monitored Yu Gyeongseong's reactions in real-time. His heart rate, his breathing, the tiny twitches of his muscles, the slightest waver in his voice, his body language. He stared as if he could see right through him.
‘...He is telling the truth?’
Neither this kid nor his squad members seemed to be lying.
And yet, for some reason, he still felt something was off. So he asked one more time.
The Hall Master valued cold, rational judgment, but he never neglected his intuition. So he asked, in an extremely heavy voice.
“Can you swear it on the Heavenly Demon?”
Suddenly, Yu Gyeongseong's expression hardened.
"Why should I have to swear for something like that?"
The Hall Master's face started to darken at the defiance, when suddenly, Yu Gyeongseong grinned.
"Yes! I swear. I forgot you're my superior, Hall Master. Not having memories and all. My apologies."
"......"
He'd gotten the answer he wanted, but his mood was utterly foul.
As the Hall Master kept his mouth shut, trying to suppress those feelings internally, Yu Gyeongseong suddenly asked out of nowhere.
"Who is the master of the Divine Cult?"
A slow voice flowed out.
“…That’s a strange question to ask.”
The Hall Master looked at Yu Gyeongseong. His emotions naturally cooled and settled to the point where he almost forgot the displeasure he had felt just a moment ago.
What's the meaning behind this question?
He was a man who had received the Cult Leader’s special attention. Was this a signal for me to get in line with him?
If so... why was he currently with the Six Demons? Had they won him over?
No, more than that... Why exactly were the Cult Leader and the six Clan Lords paying so much attention to this guy? Especially right now, when everything is on the line?
Questions led to more questions. These were not thoughts that could be solved by pondering them alone.
But in this moment, the Hall Master knew how he had to act.
That was not giving a clear answer.
He had no idea the meaning behind that question, and he had no idea which side Yu Gyeongseong was on.
"What do you think, Squad Leader Yu?"