Chapter 19 – Mureumchochul (7)
The reliable debt collector and the hostage who had given them the upper hand both lost everything and turned their gaze towards us.
Ah, if they want to fight, they should turn their backs and attack someone of their own level.
…Of course, we’ll run away if they really come.
Hong Yeon-hwa can fight one-on-one, but she doesn’t have confidence in fighting while dealing with other enemies.
Now, how will this turn out?
She pretended to be calm on the outside, but inside she was thinking hard… but Cha Ju chose an unexpected option.
He stuck out his tongue and stepped back.
“Tsk!”
The woman from Pengga who was facing him tried to follow him, but perhaps due to the small injuries she had accumulated until now, she staggered a few steps and stopped in her tracks. A gap was revealed despite her quick recovery.
But instead of attacking her in that gap, Cha Ju rolled his eyes and looked around.
And then he just ran away, shouting.
“The risk is too high! Everyone run away! Meet at the Eul乙 point in ten days!”
“Yes! Cha Ju-nim!”
“Understood!”
The Nokrimdo surrounding us scattered in all directions as soon as Cha Ju’s command was given.
…?
Wait, they’re running away without hesitation?
At the peak, and with this many people, don’t they want to fight at least once? Did they feel something in Hong Yeon-hwa’s Bi Jeok Yu Seong Tan (or not) in the end?
As I raised countless question marks in my head, I suddenly remembered the peculiarities of the Nokrim.
They were definitely everywhere, but they said they would run away immediately if necessary. So they were tough to root out….
Even when I saw the kidnapped women, there was a big difference between knowing something in my head and seeing it for myself.
“…Damn it!”
I was lost in thought like that for a while before I came to my senses. I pointed to Cha Ju’s back, who was running away in a hurry.
“That! That, that!”
I couldn’t even say a proper sentence because I was in such a hurry, but Hong Yeon-hwa understood my words perfectly.
“Trust only me!”
Thump!
Hong Yeon-hwa’s chest, which was placed on my head, shook with a recoil. The movement was so rough that I had to put a lot of pressure on my neck for a moment.
A rock with a power that was dimensionally different from before flew towards Cha Ju’s back, but…
“Ugh!”
Somehow, Cha Ju turned around and swung his fist in a semicircle.
Crack.
The rock that was flying towards him was shattered by the back of his hand. He frowned slightly, but he didn’t seem to be hurt anywhere.
He just had to stop in his tracks to block the rock.
“Hmm… is that all? It seems like Tanji Gong isn’t familiar to you after all,” Hong Yeon-hwa said as she let her chest fall from my chin. The sudden lightness made my neck shake for a moment.
Hong Yeon-hwa, who had climbed onto my shoulders, steadied herself skillfully by wobbling her legs a few times.
And then came Hong Yeon-hwa’s characteristic self-assured voice.
“Come to think of it, while I know your martial arts, you’ve never really experienced mine.”
“That’s true…?”
When I fought with Cheok An-geum, I didn’t even have enough inner strength to show something.
“Take this opportunity to see why I’m a Heavenly Demon. And praise… no, worship me!”
Hong Yeon-hwa left some words that I couldn’t tell if they were cool or cute and hopped forward.
Meanwhile, Cha Ju had already prepared to run away again.
But Hong Yeon-hwa didn’t seem to care at all and lifted one foot as if to kick.
At the same time, a black energy surged through Hong Yeon-hwa’s whole body.
It looked as faint as a ghost, but its presence was sharper than anything else, piercing through my heart.
I knew it the moment I saw it.
That was the Heavenly Demon Martial Arts.
A chilling sense of oppression, like facing an endless mountain range. Did he feel it? Cha Ju’s face twisted in amazement.
He concentrated all his strength on his legs to teleport away from here as quickly as possible, but…
Hong Yeon-hwa’s foot hit the ground faster than he could move.
And then…
The sky fell.
It probably didn’t actually fall, but it felt that way. Something indescribable, something that could only be called the sky, pressed down on the ground.
Of course, not on me, but on Cha Ju.
“Cough…!”
Cha Ju collapsed to the ground with just one step. He tried to get up somehow, but his muscles seemed to be convulsing and not moving as he wanted.
He got up, fell down, got up again, and then fell to the ground.
It was a pathetic sight for someone who was supposed to be a master who had surpassed the limits of human beings.
All I could do in this situation was to keep an eye on everything that was going to happen next.
…Suddenly, Hong Yeon-hwa slumped down, and I thought that all the pressure had disappeared.
“Nyueh.”
Hong Yeon-hwa wiggled like a squid out of water. No, even squids wiggled in the water.
Despite my half-stopped brain, my body moved instinctively. Hong Yeon-hwa, who had completely lost her strength, fell to the side and hit her head on the ground.
I arrived just in time to catch Hong Yeon-hwa’s head before it hit the ground. She buried herself in my arms like a real cuddly animal.
Hong Yeon-hwa found a comfortable position by pressing her head against my chest. She wiggled around until she found a satisfactory position and then lifted her head with her pink eyes sparkling with anticipation.
“How was it? My Heavenly Demon Martial Arts.”
It was definitely the Heavenly Demon Martial Arts.
Since I realized that I had been reincarnated into a martial arts world, I had always wanted to see the Heavenly Demon Martial Arts. But I had given up because there were no demons in this world. I never thought I would have the chance to see it.
A feeling of overwhelming emotion flowed out of my mouth.
“It was fucking awesome.”
“Fucking…?”
Hong Yeon-hwa tilted her head as if she didn’t understand what I was saying.
I didn’t even realize that I had spoken in Korean.
“It was incredibly cool.”
“I see. I see. There was no other way!”
Hong Yeon-hwa’s voice became louder in Chungwonese as she emphasized it three times before swaying happily.
She was cute, but I couldn’t keep her in that half-collapsed position on the ground.
I put my hand between her flailing arms and lifted her up. Then, I supported her butt with my forearm like holding a baby, and her chin naturally rested on my shoulder.
“By the way, you. I couldn’t finish because I didn’t have enough inner strength.”
“Don’t worry. I can handle that much.”
In reality, Cha Ju was just writhing on the ground with all his strength gone.
I walked towards Cha Ju with Hong Yeon-hwa in my arms and sliced his neck.
He looked at me with a desperate expression on his face, but… who cares? He was a fucking bastard who had to die anyway.
Even if I saved him and handed him over to the authorities, he would be sentenced to death within a few days.
There are no demons in this world, but that doesn’t mean that evil humans have disappeared.
They would have used their power to commit all kinds of crimes against the women who were captured by the Nokrimdos.
That’s why the world calls them the Sapaja.
As I looked down at Cha Ju’s blurred pupils, I suddenly became concerned about the other people around me.
Even I was overwhelmed by what I had just experienced, so what about the others?
The Nokrimdos who were running away didn’t matter, dead or alive.
But the woman from Pengga who had fought with us would still be exhausted from her wounds, and the women who were kidnapped were just ordinary civilians who knew nothing about martial arts.
I looked around anxiously. Fortunately, nothing bad had happened.
Everyone looked bewildered, as if they couldn’t understand what had just happened.
I was also staring blankly, not understanding how they were all unscathed. Even though it was obviously the Heavenly Demon Martial Arts, which could have easily killed them all.
Hong Yeon-hwa, with her chin resting on my shoulder, asked, “Is there a problem?”
“No, it’s not a problem. It’s actually a good thing… I was just wondering why everyone seems fine after experiencing that kind of power. I mean, I thought it was the Heavenly Demon Martial Arts, and I was worried if it was safe to witness it.”
“Oh, that? Don’t worry. I limited the range because I didn’t have enough inner strength.”
I see. That’s why they all looked like scholars who had just realized that they couldn’t pull a duck’s beak even if they tried.
“Wait, then how did I feel the power?”
“Well, that’s because…”
Hong Yeon-hwa seemed so confident in her answer that she must have had complete control over her energy. Then, what did I feel?
Could it be that my overwhelming emotion was not entirely due to the power but something else? I asked anxiously, and Hong Yeon-hwa whispered in my ear with a small voice, hesitatingly.
“Th, that was… something that I intentionally let out… so that you could realize my greatness and praise… no, worship me.”
“So, you did that on purpose so that I could recognize your greatness?”
Nodding silently, Hong Yeon-hwa’s chin pressed against my shoulder. Every time she did that, I felt a ticklish sensation on my neck.
What’s going on? Is this some kind of allocation system?
Why does she show me a cool side and then immediately show me a cute side?
Driven by an impulse that was different from the overwhelming emotion, but almost as intense, I pressed my cheek against Hong Yeon-hwa’s soft and squishy cheek.
Squish, squish.
“Ow! It, it hurts! You, you’re too much! When did you shave last…!”
“I don’t know. Think of it as a surprise attack.”
“You’re too much! I just wanted to show you my good side.”
“That’s why I’m praising you like this.”
“Not praise, worship! You should worship me with respect!”
“I’ll worship you with cuteness.”
The cheeks are one of the softest parts of the human body. But what happens when two cheeks collide?
Of course, it feels twice as soft!
However, when they collide with such force, the situation is a little different.
“My cheeks! They’ll swell up like dumplings if we keep going like this! They might even fall off!”
“It’s okay. You have two cheeks. You can afford to lose one.”
“Eek!”
Hong Yeon-hwa seemed to take my joke seriously and trembled with fear.
I tried to lift my head slightly to give some kisses to Hong Yeon-hwa’s warm and flushed cheeks, which were now heated with friction…
“Oops, um, excuse me…”
Suddenly, a woman from the Pungga clan, who had gathered the kidnapped women and approached us, surrounded us with a hesitant attitude.
“T…thank you for your help, Eungong.”
Oops.
