Chapter 8: Who Would I Leave It With?
Don't move.
If you do, you die.
Even without those words, Dong Gong couldn’t even entertain such a thought.
A gray aura suddenly surged outward like the massive hand of some demon, clamping down hard around his skull.
Next thing he knew, a forest of spikes erupted from the ashen palm, stopping just an inch from piercing his skull.
His eyes bulged wide. His body trembled violently, but his head remained still.
"Now, about that tongue of yours, we agreed on ripping out your tongue, didn't we?"
Dong Gong’s jaw clamped shut out of pure instinct.
That's when—
Crack!
"Keuugh... cough!"
His dantian shattered without mercy. Blood gushed from his mouth in a torrent. The spikes that had been jutting out like needles suddenly stretched like tendrils, plunging into his open mouth and forcing it even wider.
"Stick it out properly."
“Nngh… RRRRAAAAGH!”
His tongue was being ripped out while he was still alive. But stuck in this miserable position where he couldn't move even an inch, all that escaped him were wretched screams.
"Impressive. You took that better than I expected.”
The crowd just stared, hands clamped over their mouths. Even Dong Gong's companions couldn't do a damn thing.
Because that eerie calm voice—so utterly mismatched with what was happening—sounded almost... disappointed that Dong Gong hadn't moved. Was he hoping the guy would thrash around in agony, giving him an excuse to finish the job?
The massive gray hand released its grip on the skull it had been holding. The countless spikes slowly retracted and vanished.
At the same time, a wet chunk of meat hit the floorboards.
Plop.
Only then did Dong Gong collapse in a heap.
"Oh, right. One more thing."
Flash!
A crimson line bloomed, and a limb fell to the floor.
Thump.
“One arm should be enough for you, right?”
* * *
The Six Demons watched Yu Gyeongseong go about his business from a distance with complicated expressions on their faces.
And their feelings are equally complicated.
If he'd turned into a complete idiot like the Cult Leader said he would, they would've scrambled to grab him immediately and put them under their wings no matter what it took.
But since only his memories had vanished, securing him first didn't mean as much anymore. Now, building trust was far more important than getting to him quickly.
So they decided to take a step back and watch how he handles things. After all, they knew that if they interfered too much when he just wanted to know about his past self, all that would come to them in the future was just resentment.
But honestly… the only interesting thing he did was head for the Heavenly Demon Palace.
After that, nothing basically happened. He just roamed around the Divine Cult’s ground and almost drove them crazy with just how much he wasted their time.
They were on pins and needles, and he was just sightseeing. It’s no wonder that they were about to lose their minds.
'...Did the Great Law even work properly?'
They needed to test his strength. His power would define their place in the new order. And once they knew that, they'd know how to handle him.
And if he failed to meet their expectations?
Just the thought made their eyes glint with predatory anticipation. He would pay dearly for wasting their time.
'How about I give him a little nudge?'
Rock Demon called over Dong Gong. The man already had beef with their target, making him the perfect tool for a "natural" confrontation.
And at first, everything went according to plan.
But then...
Rock Demon's eyes, who’d been enjoying the show, felt a flicker of confusion.
“Get up! I don’t want to hear you whine about getting ambushed while you were sitting."
A sudden shout erupted from inside the restaurant.
'What the hell is that bastard doing?'
The Rock Demon wasn't mad at Yu Gyeongseong; he was furious with Dong Gong. His instruction was to probe the target lightly, not to pick a fight while dripping with killing intent like that.
And the things he was yelling were just insane. What was it? Rip out his tongue? Shatter his dantian? Cut off an arm? Seriously?
'Is this motherfucker insane?!'
But before Rock Demon could intervene, the situation changed.
A massive wave of power, so strong they could feel it clear across the compound, exploded from the restaurant.
'...!!'
The eyes of the Six Demons widened in shock.
But it was nothing compared to the shock of one person in particular.
'My... Six Souls Formulmy Soul-Slaughtering Art... how?'
Crushing Demon's eyes bulged in disbelief as he frantically searched his robes and yanked out the jewel from his necklace.
'...!!'
He sensed it instantly.
The treasure looked the same on the outside, but something about it had changed from before.
His hand unconsciously clenched tight around it.
Crushing Demon's eyes shook uncontrollably.
A scream-like voice churned inside him, unable to escape outward.
'The power of the Soul Slaughter... it's gone.'
* * *
The entire room was plunged into shock.
The first to move were Dong Gong's friends. They hurriedly gave him emergency treatment and carried him out.
The few cult members who'd been eating also quickly cleared out.
Only the restaurant owner and staff remained, nervously watching the scene. Oblivious or not, Yu Gyeongseong simply continued to stand in silence.
Wu Wonta just stared at him, not sure what to do next. On the surface, he maintained his composure. But inside? He was rattled.
The sheer power of that ashen aura was one thing. The pinpoint control was another.
But what impressed him even more was...
The ruthlessness.
Of course, there were plenty of guys more brutal than this.
But… what he had displayed just now… gave the impression of being somehow devoid of humanity.
It was like—
‘Watching a child pull the legs off a bug. He isn’t particularly happy or angry. He pulled it just because.’
That's when a voice suddenly drifted into Wu Wonta's ears.
"Do you have some money? As you can see, I don't have anything on me."
The question was so random that Wu Wonta couldn't help but blurt out,
"...What?"
“I’ve unintentionally caused a scene... I tried my best not to damage anything if possible, but cleaning up the blood will still be quite a task."
In other words, he wanted to pay for the trouble.
"If that's what it's for... this should be more than enough."
Yu Gyeongseong took the money, walked over to hand it to the owner, then returned. Wu Wonta was still trying to process all this when Yu Gyeongseong spoke again in his perfectly normal tone.
“Now, I’d like to see my quarters.”
"...Understood."
* * *
This morning, when he'd turned away from the empty Heavenly Demon Palace, Yu Gyeongseong had thought,
'Did I... know?'
That receiving the Great Law would mean losing his memories.
Or had he just accepted it without knowing anything?
'...'
There was no way to tell.
But if he had known in advance...
Then what would he have done? Surely he would've left a message for his future self. A clue for the man who would forget everything.
He needed to find that first.
But where?
The first thing that came to mind was his own residence.
'...'
Yu Gyeongseong mentally shook his head.
His quarters.
That wasn't a living thing. It didn't seem likely he'd have left something there, and the chance of someone tampering with what he had left is too high. Whatever it is he found, it’s likely to have been tampered with others' agendas. And if he found something, how could he trust it was from his past self, not someone else's?
Not even the Grand Grotto Mystic Mantra could sort that out.
'So... did I entrust it to a person?'
That seemed more likely. Even if someone had gotten their hands on them, he could simply look them in the eye and figure out the truth.
Time was ticking.
‘Alright, who’s first on the list?’
He had no family. And judging from what he'd been picking up so far, it seemed he hadn't been very social.
So then, wouldn't it make sense that he'd left something with his coworkers?
The Law Enforcement Hall.
That's where he needed to start unraveling the thread.
But his brief conversation with Wu Wonta yielded almost nothing. He needed to create change.
So he'd deliberately put strong dissatisfaction into his words to pressure the man.
[Is that all you know?]
That forced him to explain more about the Law Enforcement Hall.
'Who would I leave it with?'
The Hall Master? Vice Hall Master? The five Elders? They were likely too deep under the Six Demon Clans' influence. The higher the rank, the worse it would be. They wouldn’t lift a finger for him if it went against their masters. His old self was smart enough not to trust them.
Nope. Definitely not them.
'I need to meet my squad members.'
The Six Demon Clans told him to ask Wu Wonta if he needed anything. But if he told him he wanted to meet his squad members, the Six Demons would intervene immediately. The Law Enforcement Hall is still part of the cult, and his squad members couldn't be free from their influence.
So in that situation, could he really complete the puzzle?
'That approach won't work.'
That’s why he'd asked:
[How does the Law Enforcement Hall deployed to a case?]
And through that, he managed to fish a way to summon his squad members.
He couldn't give anyone a chance to interfere.
While wandering the cult, he'd felt the watchful eyes stuck to him. He needed to divert those gazes first.
It'd be nice if someone just caused a scene on their own. But that was hoping for too much.
Among the persistent gazes, some belonged to beings whose exact presence was hard to pinpoint.
It was obvious who they were.
The Six Demons.
With the Clan Lords themselves keeping tabs on him, who would dare cause a scene? For all he knew, most of the personnel he saw when he was sightseeing were under the Six Demons’ control.
Yu Gyeongseong’s heart was anxious, but he tried to maintain composure because he knew that they were more antsy than he was. If he just did nothing, they'd be forced to make the first move.
Besides, didn't he have one of Life Demon's subordinates stuck to him? The other Clan Lords would want to change this situation. They were all keeping each other in check after all.
If he waited, they'd come. They sent someone to probe him.
'What's the best way to handle this?'
He needed to show he wasn't to be trifled with. That called for some serious, decisive action.
But if he suddenly did that to a fellow cult member without a cause, that would only trouble him instead.
But what if someone had threatened first and he was simply returning the favor?
‘Yes, that will do…’
It'd be completely justified.
Everyone would simply think that some fool tried something stupid and paid the price for it.
So he'd deliberately dragged out his time before settling into the restaurant a bit early.
He deliberately chose a fairly open location.
And just as he’d hoped, someone took the bait.
He directed the scenario to the exact one he had in his mind.
To create confusion among his watchers, he needed to produce a shocking scene that exceeded expectations.
What should he show them?
Maybe because it was the most powerful martial art among the few shallow memories he had, the moment he recalled it, it appeared clearly in his mind's eye.
He didn’t even have to try; he just knew that he could.
He raised his hand for everyone to see.
A Hand Aura bloomed to life.
And the situation began to unfold exactly as Yu Gyeongseong intended.
* * *
Dong Gong was carried in. His condition was absolutely miserable.
But the first thing to greet the unconscious Dong Gong was the Rock Demon screaming his head off.
"You fucking moron!"
The rest of the Clan Lords had gathered in a flash. Even though they’d seen the whole thing, they needed a closer look at the damage to actually believe it. And now they were all staring.
Which just made the Rock Demon even more furious.
He lost his nerve over a few wounds? A warrior from my clan?
“You worthless dog! Snap out of it!”
Maybe the Rock Demon was extra pissed because the kid got taken down by the Crushing Demon’s signature move. Whatever the reason, he was angrier than anyone had seen him in a long time. He is practically about to explode any second now.
That's when Illusion Demon suddenly stepped forward.
"Let me take a look."
He placed his hand on Dong Gong's head. A moment later, he spoke,
"He was under an illusion."
'...!?'
Rock Demon stared at him. His rage vanished, replaced by something much heavier.
“So… the reason this fool suddenly went berserk was…”
"Correct. Looks like our boy set the whole thing up on purpose.”
A heavy silence fell over the Six Demons.
The implications behind that sentence were grave.
‘Not only can he use the Crushing Demon’s Soul-Slaugthering Art, but he also can use the Illusion Demon’s Spirit Illusion Formula?’
Crushing Demon and Illusion Demon's expressions were as rigid as stone. Life Demon, looking at their faces, called out to someone outside.
“That man… where is he now?”
But the real question was, why go to all that trouble? Why use an illusion and the Crushing Demon's move? What was the point?
Just then, a subordinate on standby rushed to report.
"He says he wants to go to the quarters he used to live in!"