The Return of the Crazy Demon

I stare at the main gate where the Alliance leader disappeared into.

‘Damned bastard, he is strong.’

It’s not strange. He isn’t strong because he became the alliance leader, but he became the alliance leader because he is strong.

Is that why?

Well, I am now in a bad mood.

The Sword Demon didn’t just get defeated. He was utterly crushed. Even his disciple is looking disheartened at the result.

‘Moron…’

Even so, the Sword Demon glances at me and his disciple and smiles before sitting cross-legged as he meditates.

I look at the disciple and then sit near the Sword Demon to protect him while he is training.

My stomach was boiling with anger, but I wasn’t the one defeated, so I didn’t have the right to get angry.

As I look at the Sword Demon, I swallow back my sight.

‘I will ask once he finishes his cultivation why he needed to do this fight.’

Perhaps this spar is meant to show something to us. If that is the case, then his purpose has been achieved.

His disciple is also holding back his anger and his face is red. A long silence falls over us.

“…”

And then I suddenly think back to the Alliance Leader’s words.

[Since this is a spar with a wooden sword, there is no need to attach deep meaning to victory or defeat.]

Would the meaning have changed if they had used real swords?

Of course, it would.

The fight wouldn’t have been short. With their skills, even the pavilion would have ended up being torn down during their intense fight.

So I can’t help but be confused.

‘Why did the Sword Demon have to be this quiet?’

We couldn’t even see the Alliance Leader at his best nor the Sword Demon’s martial arts.

As soon as the two ended their fight cleanly, one immediately disappeared.

Which meant the Alliance Leader must have known the meaning behind this spar.

[There is no need for a tense battle.]

This probably meant this spar wasn’t meant to show off anything.

Once his cultivation is complete, the Sword Demon opens his eyes, and his disciple says.

“Master, I am sorry.”

I try to keep my anger in check so that the disciple and his master can have their conversation.

The Sword Demon answers.

“Mong Rang, did you see it? Your master was defeated.”

“Yes.”

“How do you feel?”

The disciple says.

“Did you deliberately fight to make us upset?”

The Sword Demon shakes his head.

“It wasn’t that.”

“The sword of the Alliance leader is impressive. However, I do not know why master declared defeat after such a simple fight. No matter how strong the opponent…”

The Sword Demon then looks at me without answering his disciple.

“Did it help you, sect leader?’

And I say in reply.

“Senior, I have a question for you.”

“Ask away.”

“When the Alliance Leader wielded his sword, the trajectory was simple, but it felt like his sword was enhanced as it fell. Obviously, he had swung a single sword, but it felt more like one, two, three, or maybe even five swords fell instead. The situation is… how should I say it…”

The Sword Demon then laughs.

“How many afterimages did you see?”

“Six.”

The Sword Demon then asks his disciple.

“You?”

His disciple replies.

“I saw four to five. It is difficult to note them accurately since they are afterimages.”

The Sword Demon then explains the Alliance Leader’s martial arts.

“Both of you had a good look at it. It is called the Six Warring Great Sword.”

“Um.”

“It is a self-reliant form. Only the name is widely known, but none knows its theory. Even that man’s disciples don’t know it yet. They might not even be able to learn it.”

The disciple then asks.

“Master, I don’t understand what Six Warring means.”

“You are from the Orthodox side, but you don’t know?”

“Yes. Actually, I am not that interested in his martial arts.”

“Alliance leader Im was actually the commander of Six Warring Squad. In other words, it is a sword technique he created during his days as a commander. So the name is quite simple. It means a sword which leads people to war.”

The disciple tilts his head.

“He wasn’t a leader of a clan?”

“Im Sobaek is a person who got promoted from a normal member to co-captain, captain, commander, main escort, and later became leader. Ever since he was a member of the sect, he often fought with others, and despite the results, he would continue to fight without breaking down. In his days as an escort, he often fought with many warriors of Orthodox sects and never lost. He was then turned into a leader due to his skills. Because of his unique character, he went to those who once defeated him in the past. Without allowing his emotions to sway him, he fought against them again and defeated them.”

“Um.”

“There are not many warriors who can stand against that man. It is best to acknowledge the opponent’s skills and compete briefly, like today, to check the heart of our blades. On the contrary, the leader is the one who gave me time. He didn’t feel the need to show his skills because he was a good man. What can be greater than this?”

The disciple replies.

“Well. I don’t know…”

The Sword Demon then says with a serious expression.

“He showed me a technique that was supposed to be a secret. It is a secret that someone chose to reveal today. Perhaps it is a rebuke to stimulate me to focus on my training. Perhaps confidence is greater on his side. Even if this technique was exposed, he is sure to be able to deal with any opponent.”

I greatly admire his thoughts, but his personality is slightly twisted.

“Then it is even worse. Fucking cheeky bastard.”

“No. There is actually an emotional story in it,”

The Sword Demon recalls the past.

“That technique he showed us… When he was young, Im Sobaek led a squadron, and it was annihilated by the current Demonic Cult, leaving him the sole survivor. The fact that he added the words of the Six Warring Sword to his technique was to stop him from forgetting. It is a promise that he will never lose to the leader of the Demonic Cult.”

At those words, I become silent.

“…”

“Nevertheless, the fact that he and I can spar now means that the man’s heart is not shallow. If it was someone else, they would feel the desire to kill and tear me apart the moment they knew of my origin. As you can see, he didn’t show such emotions. Instead, he encouraged me to join them. If it is to a man like that, then losing is alright. He wouldn’t have liked it if I fell to despair just because of this.”

The disciple then asks.

“Is it possible that master wasn’t part of the people that attacked his group, right?”

“Leader Im is a person with feelings. If that was the case, then one of the two of us would have died today.”

I felt relief after listening to the Sword Demon’s words.

‘So he had such a story.’

The bastard I hate, who simply nods his head a few times, has such a story.

In any case, this spar helped the Sword Demon realize many things. Although the three of us have different personalities, we are all men who are serious about martial arts.

This time I ask a question.

“Why did you have to make us come for this?”

The Sword Demon smiles at my question.

“Look. Now, I will be the only man who sparred with the alliance leader and our sect leader. I also wanted to show the two of you this spar, but in the end, this was my limit. I am looking at a long road. It is impossible to be strong with training alone. Leader Im understood what I meant when I asked for a spar using wooden swords.”

The disciple asks.

“What?”

“It means not attaching a deep meaning to victory or defeat.”

“Yes, that man did say that.”

Even though he was defeated, the Sword Demon continues to speak with an unwavering attitude.

“In the first place, I will have more chances to risk death in a spar, and that man knows it. However, I still wanted this fight. I then lost. That is the end of this spar.”

The disciple wears a grim expression as the Sword Demon touches him.

“If you too become strong enough and want to face this kind of situation, stop harassing your disciples in the future. If you don’t, I assure you that you will not be able to touch that man.”

The disciple bows his head as the Sword Demon looks at him.

“But I do not know how to deal with the Six Warring Great Sword. You cannot ask him to tell me. What do you think?”

As I hear his story, it seems that the Sword Demon came here because he wanted to learn something.

That is why he feels no shame, and that impresses me. As I ponder his question, I take a dagger from my pocket and hold it in my hand.

“If we roughly follow the principle of it, maybe…”

I instill Fire Chicken energy into its blade.

It begins to turn red, but the moment I introduce Wood Chicken into it, it returns to its original color.

“I don’t know the details, but it seems like this simple repetition is done six times in that brief moment. The path is the same, but the technique was made to increase the sword’s destructive force. If he had used a real sword, then the opponent’s weapon would have been broken. I guess I understand how this technique was made.”

The Sword Demon tilts his sword in some shock.

“You know?”

I nod.

“If he started as an ordinary member, then it meant that he didn’t come from a great family. The cheap iron sword he used then must have been something that broke several times. Wasn’t this martial art made to break down weak-looking swords? It is a sword technique made by someone with a weak sword. Perhaps if he used a rusty, wooden, or even a divine sword, there would not be a big difference in its strength. It is a bizarre technique born from battle, survival, and poverty.”

That is my conclusion.

“What do you think, senior?”

As I look at the Sword Demon, I find him looking back at me with eyes wide open.

‘He is surprised.’

The Sword Demon crosses his arms and falls into thought as I suddenly look at his disciple.

‘This jerk? How dare he look wide-eyed in front of me?’

He is also staring at me but quickly avoids my gaze and falls into his own thoughts.

As I look at the two of them, it feels like they are pondering what I just said.

And then I suddenly have a thought.

‘The Sword Demon and his disciple must have come from good families. Rich jerks.’

The two of them, who have never been poor, must have been unable to consider what the Alliance Leader had gone through.

Because I spent most of my life being poor, I could look at the situation from the right perspective. I take a step back as they are too deep in their thoughts.

“Senior, it is just my guess. You don’t have to take it seriously.”

The Sword Demon shakes his head.

“It’s not just a guess… no, the circumstances were correct. Even a wooden sword wouldn’t break easily because of that technique. The leader’s sword would normally have broken much sooner than mine. It is bizarre how much stronger his martial arts are because of his past hardships.”

I then say to the Sword Demon.

“Senior, don’t say that. I will feel bad.”

The Sword Demon laughs at my words.

“I know.”

To be honest, I don’t feel too good about this. Poverty isn’t something that one should be competing over.

In terms of poverty, I would win over the alliance leader.

I mean that I lived a much harsher life, and that thought makes me feel worse.

There are times when conversations end for no reason. Such is the case now.

All three of us look at each other for a moment before snorting out a laugh.

“…”

The situation is a bit funny, yet bitter. Each of us is smiling because of how complicated our minds are.

I then speak to the Sword Demon.

“Senior. Let us have a drink today. People should have a glass when they face bitter defeat.”

The Sword Demon laughs as if I had made a joke, and his disciple responds instead.

“What is this way you are talking to my master? You rude jerk.”

I then look at him.

“Mong Rang.”

“What?”

“How old are you?”

“…!”

The man who is asked about his age becomes shocked. From what I know, this guy should be a year younger than me.

If we reveal our ages in front of the Sword Demon, he would be forced to call me hyung.

The shocked bastard quickly changes the topic.

“Master, would you like a drink?”

To which he replies.

“Disciple”

“Yes.”

“I heard you don’t drink with your own hyungs. Will you give such glory to your master? It would be a great honor. Such a momentous day today will be.”

At those words, the disciple’s face turns red.

“No, master…”

I burst out into laughter as I look at this.

The Sword Demon is definitely strong.

It is my opinion that for a man to be strong, he needs to be strong from the beginning.

Even today, the Sword Demon is taking down his disciple with only words.