Chapter 272: Side Story – ‘Fathers-in-Law’ Please Give Me Your Daughters! (8)

It was an old and elegant room.

It had preserved centuries of history without allowing a single grain of dust to settle, and although its style was no longer fashionable, its dignity remained intact.

“Lady Hwaran. Then we will take our leave.”

“…”

The maids bowed and slowly stepped back. Hwaran watched them with a neutral expression.

‘This… got way more out of hand than I expected.’

“…Tell me about it.”

They were being escorted toward the imperial palace.

The initial plan had been to go to the palace, observe their intentions, and decide how to respond.

However, when they crossed the mountains and advanced along the narrow path—

They appeared.

“May the ten thousand demons bow! May the world of blood be reborn!”

“May the ten thousand demons bow! May the world of blood be reborn!”

Masters of the Demon Cult ambushed the imperial army’s route. They all attacked at once, assaulting the palace carriage.

Their objective, of course, was Hwaran.

“Lady Hwaran! We have come to save you!”

“?????”

Hwaran didn’t recognize a single face. And at that moment, the one in control of the body was Ran— except Hwa was asleep because she was “bored.”

Ran could have used the body of the Bicheon Yacha to defend herself, but she was pretending to be immobilized by the domokpae, so she couldn’t move.

“Uhm…”

“Please, come with us!”

Hwa wasn’t very good at controlling strength, but Ran didn’t even have the concept of “controlling strength.” Fearing she might kill someone with a simple wave of the hand, she decided to cooperate and let herself be kidnapped.

And now—

“The only one who can inherit the Essence of the Supreme Demon is you, Lady Hwaran! Please, become our Demon God!”

“…”

Stretching, Hwa demanded an explanation from Ran, but Ran had no idea what was going on either.

The only clear thing was that these Demon Cult followers wanted her to absorb the Essence of the Supreme Demon and become their new Demon God.

“Do you know anything about the Essence of the Supreme Demon?”

‘It’s a very old story.’

Hundreds of years ago, there existed a man who proclaimed himself the “Supreme Demon.”

He led a hundred thousand demon cultists and marched to conquer the continent.

The world was dyed in blood.

Countless martial masters, and even the imperial army, fought against him to stop him.

It is said that the Supreme Demon, upon dying after fighting the Ten Great Masters of the Continent and the Five Absolutes of the World, left behind the pure essence of his power.

That was the Essence of the Supreme Demon.

And whoever managed to absorb it completely would become the new Supreme Demon.

‘I read it once in an old novel, but I never thought it was real.’

“…I have a sun, so nah.”

They had seen too much to dismiss it as mere legend.

They had seen the knight who wielded the power of the Sun.

They had seen the Light that could extinguish the world.

They had witnessed the Danann gods and the battle maidens, as well as the existence of Valhalla.

The existence of the Essence of the Supreme Demon was not strange at all.

“Should I absorb it?”

‘Is it safe? Sounds dangerous.’

“I don’t think it’ll be a big problem.”

‘Well, that’s true.’

If something went wrong, Corin would fix it. To Corin, demonic energy was like a candle before the Sun.

***

Meanwhile, in the empire.

The imperial palace gathered all the taoists.

Officially, to punish the Demon Cult that had dared attack the palace.

“What atrocious demon cultists! Attacking the palace, His Majesty’s residence!”

‘…You’re the one who destroyed it.’

In reality, they were preparing a joint expedition against the Cult.

“Your Majesty. Let’s make a deal.”

“A deal?”

“I will help you exterminate the Demon Cult. In exchange, grant me a favor.”

“What… what favor?”

Corin, who was going to go after Hwaran anyway, took the opportunity to demand compensation.

He asked to restore the honor of Ran’s father, Kang Yu, and to grant imperial benefits to the Kang family, including Kang Yoo-hwa.

“Hehe~ I even worry about my wife’s family, you see?”

“…Half negotiation, half intimidation, but fine.”

“Good things are good.”

Josephine clicked her tongue at how quickly Corin had resolved everything. But it wasn’t unreasonable.

Corin Loch’s power fully justified such demands.

It wasn’t civilized, but it was in line with the path of the strong, and still within an acceptable limit.

He was the next Ardri, and if those close to him wished it, they would receive divine blessings and an immortal life.

This kind of display of power wasn’t even excessive.

‘Erin always avoided using her power too much. That’s why she guided human heroes from the shadows.’

Corin Loch, unlike Erin, had been born human and ascended to godhood. In a world where the gods had already revealed their existence, he was the only real alternative.

‘Well, as long as his heart stays upright, there’s no problem.’

Except for the matters concerning women, Josephine trusted him completely.

***

“Please activate group teleportation.”

Amid the ruins of the imperial palace, Josephine deployed a massive spatial jump circle.

Dozens of imperial warriors and taoists gathered around.

A blink later, they appeared in front of the entrance to the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

“Hmm… the coordinates were altered. Looks like there’s an interference barrier.”

The Hundred Thousand Mountains.

A natural sanctuary, an impenetrable fortress, and home of the Demon Cult, which the empire had failed to eradicate for centuries.

It was normal for them to have barriers interfering with teleportation magic.

“We’ll infiltrate quietly. You are all elite, so you can move without being detected, correct?”

“H-how would that be possible in broad daylight? We’ll be caught before advancing ten li.”

At the taoist’s comment, Corin smiled.

“It won’t be daytime.”

He still couldn’t darken the entire world.

But if it was limited just to the continent—

Snap.

The moment he snapped his fingers—

All light vanished from the entire continent.

***

The light of the world disappeared. Again.

The demon cultists panicked and tried to respond to that ominous phenomenon in their own way.

“If the laws of nature have been twisted, we need a prophet to guide us! We need a god!”

“Then we’ll create our god!”

“May the ten thousand demons bow! May the world of blood be reborn!”

“May the ten thousand demons bow! May the world of blood be reborn!”

They lit torches, and the members of the Demon Church of the Hundred Thousand Mountains shouted in unison.

At the end of their gazes was Hwaran, wearing the sect’s most precious garment— a ceremonial robe of heavenly silk known as Cheonchambo-ui.

“Hwaran-nim, this is the Essence of the Supreme Demon!”

“…”

Hwaran observed the Essence of the Supreme Demon that the Lords of the Blood Palaces, the highest elders of the sect, offered to her.

‘It has an incredible aura. Will it be okay?’

“I think it’ll be fine.”

The Essence of the Supreme Demon was shaped like a dark orb that rippled with sinister unrest, as if containing endless compressed darkness.

If someone absorbed it, they could awaken as the Supreme Demon. Then the entire world would fear them.

Hwaran took the essence.

“Ooooh!”

“It doesn’t burn in the eternal flames!”

“As expected, an indestructible body! She’s the first person to survive touching the Essence of the Supreme Demon with bare hands!”

Yes, it was an extraordinary aura.

Considering its power had weakened over hundreds of years, the original Supreme Demon must have been the absolute peak of his era.

Like Sword Emperor Garand Arden, or Sebancia Duke— that Supreme Demon must have been that class of monster.

Hwaran didn’t hesitate and absorbed the essence. In the next instant, dark flames rose around her.

Fwoooosh!!

Without a doubt.

Special-class. Even beyond “standards.”

「At last…! At long last my body has arrived! A long, long wait finally ended!」

It was an ominous voice rising from the bottom of the abyss. The voice of the Supreme Demon.

The demonic energy of the Supreme Demon began merging with the demonic energy of the Bicheon Yacha, attempting to seize control of her body.

The darkness rising was so immense that even in a world without light, its presence shone powerfully.

“Ahhh…!”

“It’s real… it’s truly the Supreme Demon!”

“Extreme Demon Body? No! This is Demonic Transcendence! The legendary realm spoken of only in myths!”

The followers prostrated themselves and worshipped the birth of their new Supreme Demon.

That moment was the culmination of hundreds of years of waiting.

Tap!

And at that moment, along with a sound coming from somewhere, a pillar of light appeared in the world.

A shining pillar in a continent without light— like a spotlight highlighting a single person on stage.

“The Heavely Demon Michael Jackson has arrived.”

The young man grinned in excitement as he appeared in the center of the sect. Then, instantly—

—Doom-chit, doom-chit!

He performed the Heavely Demon Moonwalk.

“Uooooooo?!”

“What is that?”

“A human… walking backward?!”

Heavely Demon Michael Jackson. His demonic Moonwalk caused a revolution regardless of era or continent.

“…”

“…”

The experts of the Demon Church were so shocked they couldn’t react.

And by the time they recovered their senses, it was already too late. The light moved with him, and the emperor came surrounded by soldiers and taoists.

“I told you to stop eating weird things.”

Corin lightly flicked Hwaran’s forehead with the side of his hand. Every member of the sect and every imperial taoist was horrified.

The dark fire covering the world was unmistakably the same power recorded in history books as that of the Supreme Demon.

That wasn’t human.

It was a flame destined to burn the world.

A presence beyond the Extreme Demon Body, a Demonic Transcendence— an entity capable of destroying the world alone, and yet Corin acted with total calm.

“H-he’s… going to die…”

“The Supreme Demon will be enraged.”

Everyone was certain Corin would be incinerated by the demon’s wrath.

But the result was unexpected.

“You’re late.”

Hwaran hugged Corin naturally. As if she were a girl receiving her boyfriend.

“???”

“???”

Everyone was left speechless.

Corin stroked Hwaran’s head.

“You look cute.”

“These weird old men gave me this.”

“And why did you follow them all the way? With your strength you could’ve easily escaped.”

“I’ll explain that.”

One of Hwaran’s red eyes turned blue. One side of her face remained expressionless like stone; the other was smiling like a joyful child.

It was a strange face, but Corin seated her on his lap atop the throne prepared for the Supreme Demon.

“So?”

“The truth is I wanted to play the captured princess. For my oppa to come rescue me in style.”

“Well, it got out of hand.”

They had destroyed half the imperial palace, invaded the headquarters of the Demon Cult, and extinguished the light of the entire continent as a side effect.

“I regret it— I regret eating that thing too.”

It wasn’t Corin who reacted. It was something inside her— the inner abyss— which emerged wrapped in black flames.

「How dare you call me junk food, insect!?」

“Oh, crap— what is that…”

Corin shuddered. Hwaran’s body separated from his lap and faced him. Her eyes were completely black.

“I am the Supreme Demon! The punisher who will dye the world in blood!”

The Supreme Demon, having taken the most powerful body in history, unleashed its power toward the sky.

Even if it was the body of a girl, it was the indestructible body of the Third Goddess of War. Nothing to complain about.

But first, there was something to settle.

“You! How dare you call me junk food! Burn in the flames of hell!”

Its aura exploded in terrifying fire, able to burn all that existed.

“Die!”

Pure black fire engulfed Corin. It was a hellish flame that instantly charred everything it touched. Everyone thought Corin would die.

“This is lukewarm.”

Solar Materialization.

In the darkness, a sun appeared. A sun so large it illuminated the entire continent submerged in darkness.

“I-is that… the Sun?”

The Sun is purification. It absorbs all kinds of fire and purifies all that is evil.

“W-what… what is happening…? I’m… dissolving—!”

The Supreme Demon, Park Bong-pal, disappeared three seconds after the Sun appeared.

“The Sun that defeated the Immortal King Gerolg in one strike. Did you think you could withstand it?”

The Sun of the Dannan lineage is practically invincible against fire and undead.

Ironically, the Supreme Demon was both.

“…None of this existed before. Where did all this backstory suddenly come from?”

Corin hugged Hwaran once the Supreme Demon disappeared.

“…”

“…”

The cult followers and the imperial taoists trembled.

“How can a human body contain a law of nature?”

“Is that truly a human?”

“He is human but not human… he is a god. A divine being in human form.”

“It’s the Mythic Realm…”

In martial arts there were terms like extreme, transcendence, special-grade, demigod— but the Mythic Realm was the theoretical limit.

A name for something believed unreachable.

A mix of hope and resignation.

And yet—

The Mythic Realm was right in front of them.

The one who surpasses humanity.

The one who touches the divine.

The one beyond the extreme.

Something that existed only in theory had appeared.

So then what should humanity do?

“We bow before the God of the Sun!”

“May the ten thousand demons bow! May the world of blood be reborn!”

Empire and sect alike fell to their knees.

Crying.

Trembling.

Worshipping the living god before them.

“??????”

Corin and Hwaran were simply very confused.