Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 497.10 – Side Story 3 Part 3

The Flame Mountain (3)

The Heavenly Demon suddenly appeared in the great hall of the Plantain Leaf Cave.

For a moment, silence fell due to his incomprehensible strength that was hard to believe was human.

However, it didn’t last long.

“Who is Red Boy?”

Boom

As soon as that question ended, the Iron Fan Immortal, who had been sitting on the stone throne at the highest seat, stood up abruptly and shouted.

-Who are you?

She had already been wary of the Heavenly Demon who appeared suddenly.

But when the first words out of his mouth were asking about her child, she began to suspect he might be an immortal.

“I asked first.”

Still in a dry voice.

But the content was so arrogant that the Iron Fan Immortal felt anger surging up in an instant.

At this, she gave an order.

-Make that insolent fool kneel before me immediately.

As soon as her order fell, the hall that had been filled with silence became noisy with roars.

-Kwoooooor!

-Crackle!

-Kwaaaaaaa!

The Imaemangyang who roared as if to raise their morale all charged towards the Heavenly Demon at once, exuding sharp claws and energy imbued with demonic power.

Each was a huge demonic beast over 10 chi (尺) tall, and their momentum was so fierce that ordinary people would be frozen in fear or wet themselves, but the Heavenly Demon’s expression remained utterly calm.

-Kukukukukukung!

The Heavenly Demon, watching them charge fiercely, slightly lifted his foot and then stepped down towards the ground.

At that moment, a wave-like ripple spread out from where he stepped.

What happened next was astonishing.

The Imaemangyang who had been charging up to close range suddenly stopped as if they had hit something.

‘What?’

But that wasn’t the end of it.

The stopped Imaemangyang started convulsing on the spot, then foamed at the mouth and collapsed.

Thud thud! Thud!

Seeing dozens of Imaemangyang of at least demonic beast rank or higher fall without being able to do anything, the Iron Fan Immortal who was watching this felt her eye corners tremble.

What on earth did he do?

Why did they collapse like that when he didn’t do anything?

As she wondered,

-You seem to have learned some strange technique. But such things don’t work on me.

At that moment, a huge Imaemangyang with the face of a hippopotamus about twenty jang tall and four arms leaped over the fallen Imaemangyang towards the Heavenly Demon, swinging the spiked clubs in all its hands simultaneously.

Its momentum was so fierce that the sound of air being torn could be heard along with pressure waves that shook the surroundings.

However,

-Swish!

As the Heavenly Demon casually waved his hand,

-Waaagh!

The body of the hippopotamus-headed Imaemangyang shot upwards and pierced through the ceiling of the great hall.

-Kwakwakwakwang!

The Imaemangyang, with its upper body stuck, kicked its legs a few times before going limp.

‘How can this be?’

‘What on earth did he do?’

At this sight, the other Imaemangyang of demonic beast rank who were about to charge at the Heavenly Demon stopped and hesitated.

At that moment, an Imaemangyang in human form with owl-like whiskers and wings stepped forward and spoke.

-You’re no ordinary human. It’s been a long time since the ancient immortals that someone could handle our kindred so easily with just overwhelming energy.

Shing!

With those words, the owl-whiskered Imaemangyang folded its wings and drew a large hunting knife from its waist.

As he stepped forward, the Imaemangyang cheered with raised morale.

-Waaaaaaaa!

–Lord Hyochi[1] has stepped forward.

-To think we’d get to see one of the Iron Fan Immortal’s Three Heroes take action!

Spirit Beast Hyochi.

There are ranks even among Imaemangyang.

Starting from the lowest Fierce Beast, there are Monstrous Beast, Demonic Beast, and Diabolic Beast.

And though few in number, there are Spirit Beasts whose power is said to be a disaster itself.

Spirit Beast Hyochi was an owl Imaemangyang that had lived for over thousands of years.

It was a being on a completely different level from ordinary Imaemangyang.

The corners of the Iron Fan Immortal’s mouth rose at the tremendous demonic power rising from Hyochi’s body.

‘It’s been a while since I’ll get to see Hyochi’s Demonic Blade Technique[2]. I don’t know what he is, but the Three Heroes have faced even the ancient immortals.’

Though not reaching the Six Demons who are said to be infinitely close to divine beasts, the power of upper-ranked Spirit Beasts among Imaemangyang is enough to blow away an entire mountain.

Now that Spirit Beast Hyochi has stepped forward, even that guy will have to be tense.

-Thud thud!

The Heavenly Demon, watching Spirit Beast Hyochi approach, opened his mouth.

“If you’re in human form, we should be able to communicate at least.”

-Do you think communication is possible after what you’ve done?

Then let this be a warning.

-Warning? Ha!

“Even if you’re Imaemangyang, to me, there’s no difference in weight between you and humans or animals. So if you don’t want unnecessary sacrifices, just hand over Red Boy.”

-Papapapak!

It was at that moment.

As soon as the Heavenly Demon’s words ended, another Imaemangyang in human form near the stone throne leaped over twenty jang in one step and shouted.

-How dare an arrogant human demand we hand someone over? I’ll make you pay for casually mentioning our young master’s name!

-Ooh! Lord Hwanghae has also stepped forward! That guy has dug his own grave.

Spirit Beast Hwanghae[3].

It had layered large eyes and a split jaw in the hideous form of pincers.

Born in a swamp where millions of locusts died, it was one of the Iron Fan Immortal’s Three Heroes and an Imaemangyang known as second only to Great Strength King in pure strength, with tremendous kicking power.

Of course, the difference was quite large, but it was said to be able to split a small flowing river in an instant with just one kick.

-Gooooooo!

Two Spirit Beasts approaching while exuding suffocating demonic power.

Despite their tremendous pressure, the Heavenly Demon, still showing no change in expression, opened his mouth.

“That previous offer was quite merciful.”

-What are you babb…

Snap!

Kugh!

‘!?’

Spirit Beast Hwanghae’s layered eyes trembled.

This was because the Heavenly Demon, who had been about fifteen steps away until just now, had suddenly approached and was gripping its neck.

‘This bastard!’

-Bulge!

After a moment of surprise, Spirit Beast Hwanghae’s thigh muscles swelled greatly in anger.

The power bursting from its thighs and calves, which had thickened like tree trunks, was enough to split a river, and it flew towards the Heavenly Demon’s head.

-Paaaang!

-Kwakwakwakwakwakwang!

The moment the kick connected, the ground on the opposite side of where the head was was destroyed in a fan shape due to the force of the impact.

Naturally, they thought his head would have been blown away, but,

‘This crazy…’

His calf was caught in the Heavenly Demon’s left hand.

The gripping strength was so strong that his hand was digging into the calf that he prided as being harder than steel.

-Crunch!

-Kuuugh!

The Heavenly Demon spoke indifferently to him as he writhed in pain.

“I didn’t bring my wife here. Do you know what that means?”

-Kuuu. What on earth are you…

“It means I don’t care if this place is dyed entirely in blood.”

-Flinch!

For a moment, Spirit Beast Hwanghae felt chills all over his body at the tremendous killing intent flowing from the Heavenly Demon’s voice.

Is this really killing intent that can be felt from a human?

But at that very moment,

-Let go of that hand!

-Swoosh!

Spirit Beast Hyochi, appearing from the right side, swung his large hunting knife to cut off the Heavenly Demon’s right arm that was gripping Spirit Beast Hwanghae’s neck.

However, before that could happen,

The Heavenly Demon twisted Spirit Beast Hwanghae’s body to the right, and,

-Chop!

-Kaaak!

The hunting knife ended up digging into Spirit Beast Hwanghae’s shoulder instead.

‘Oh no!’

Spirit Beast Hyochi hurriedly tried to control his demonic power and pull the hunting knife out of Spirit Beast Hwanghae’s shoulder, but before he could do so, something struck his face.

-Paaaang! Kwang!

This caused Spirit Beast Hyochi’s body to be flung backwards.

The force was so strong that Spirit Beast Hyochi rolled over twenty jang, smashing the floor, and couldn’t stop.

-Kuuugh!

-Hup!

What stopped him was the narrow-eyed, long gray-haired Imaemangyang in human form who was near the stone throne.

The gray-haired Imaemangyang who stepped forward to prevent him from flying to the throne caught Spirit Beast Hyochi’s body, but,

-Pak! Swish!

He was pushed back, splitting the floor due to the force of the impact.

“Quite sturdy.”

The Heavenly Demon threw down something he was holding onto the floor.

Thud chop!

-Kukakakakak!

Green blood splattered.

The thing that had hit Spirit Beast Hyochi’s face was none other than Spirit Beast Hwanghae’s torn-off thigh.

Spirit Beast Hwanghae, whose thigh had been torn off, screamed unable to bear the pain.

-Kukakakakak!

“Noisy.”

-Kaaaa! You bastaaaaard!

Spirit Beast Hwanghae finally tried to manifest his true form in anger.

Just as his body was about to be dyed in green light,

-Crunch!

The Heavenly Demon casually tore off his neck.

The Imaemangyang watching this were left speechless at what happened in an instant.

The head of Spirit Beast Hwanghae, who met his death with his neck torn off in human form without even being able to manifest his true form.

That head was in the Heavenly Demon’s palm.

‘How… How could Lord Hwanghae fall so easily?’

‘…Is this guy really human?’

The humans they knew were beings with clear limitations.

But to easily kill a Spirit Beast, considered the highest rank even among Imaemangyang, this completely transcended the category of humans.

No, could he really be an ancient immortal?

-Crack!

At that moment, the sound of something breaking was heard.

The gazes of the Imaemangyang all turned towards that place.

-Tremble!

They saw the Iron Fan Immortal trembling while gripping the broken armrest of the stone throne.

With a reddened face and heat emanating even from her eyes, she stood up from her seat.

‘How dare he!’

Who would have thought that one of her Three Heroes, who were like her limbs and among the few who survived the war with the ancient immortals, would die so easily?

Seeing her angry appearance, the faces of the nearby Imaemangyang turned pale.

Though called the Iron Fan Immortal, her true name was Rakshasi or Nachalyeo[4], a Great Spirit Beast[5] comparable to those with the title of Six Demons.

After the Great Strength King was sealed, she had quietly gone into seclusion, but if she moved, she too was an Imaemangyang that could be called a great calamity for the Central Plains.

It would be difficult to handle if someone like her became angry.

-Iron Fan Immortal, p-please calm down!

The narrow-eyed, long gray-haired Imaemangyang in human form tried to stop her.

This was because if she lost her reason and went berserk in anger, even the surrounding Imaemangyang could be swept up and endangered.

-Are you telling me to calm down now…

It was at that moment.

A blurry shadow deepened, and suddenly the Heavenly Demon had approached in front of her.

-You bastard

The Iron Fan Immortal, who had been barely suppressing her anger knowing better than anyone the repercussions her fury would cause, finally couldn’t hold back and reached out her heated hand towards the Heavenly Demon.

However, before that hand could reach him, her wrist was caught by the Heavenly Demon.

‘!’

The Iron Fan Immortal’s eyes trembled.

The heat emanating from her in her anger was comparable to the heat of lava.

-Chiiiiik!

In fact, the heat coming from her hand was rapidly heating up the surroundings.

Yet this man before her was grasping it without any problem.

The only ones capable of such a feat were her husband Great Strength King and her child Red Boy.