Chapter 50 – The Shape-Shifting Demon, Um Mugi (3)

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“Warrior.” Ju Sohye approached them.
“Is he Young Lord Zheng?”

At this point, even people who knew nothing were becoming wary.
People were dying regardless of where Seol-Hwi was, and the hideous state of the corpses spoke of something sinister afoot.

“No.
He is not.
The shape-shifting demon he was looking for has taken over his body and disguised itself as a human.”

“…Ah!” She covered her mouth.
Now she understood why Seol-Hwi had attacked “Zheng”.
Ju Wangil looked equally shocked.

“Squad leader, hurry up!”

“What?! How dare you try to trick him!”

Meanwhile, the doppelgangers were going wild.

This is certainly odd.

Seol-Hwi had already encountered Um Mugi several times.
He used his disguises—an old man and a child—to cloud Seol-Hwi’s judgment.
Even after Ju Wangil had wisely made everyone stand down, Um Mugi then disguised himself as Seokdu.

So which one was real? Even in the middle of the chaos, he’d managed to perfectly duplicate Seokdu’s clothes and voice.
It was no wonder Elder Baekhon had taken him as a disciple.

“What do we do now? You need to figure out which one is your real companion…”

“No need.” Seol-Hwi casually ignored Ju Sohye and went up to the clones, who were still fighting.

“Um Mugi, you seem to have the wrong idea…” Seol-Hwi slid his sword back into the sheath.
“It doesn’t matter which one of you is real.
The truth will come out after one of you is dead.”

Silence fell.

“Eik!” The Seokdu on the right went blank.

It was Um Mugi.
Realizing that his gambit had failed, he changed his face again.
At the same time, his body was shrinking and his gestures were getting smaller as well.

“It’s changing! His face is changing!”

“He’s a demon! A demon disguised as a human!”

Everyone watching was shocked as his true nature was revealed.
Some trembled at the sight of his face shifting.

“Hehehe.
This is rather upsetting.”

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When his body settled, he had white, glistening eyes on a narrow face and dark skin.
His hair was loosely tied back as those of the Demonic sect usually did.

“It doesn’t matter.
I have no intention of running away now.”

Um Mugi seemed to be extremely confident, now that he was back in his original body.
It wasn’t a bluff, either—his demonic energy was significantly higher than before.
In other words, he killed people and used their energy to amplify his own.

“Hehe… This time will be different.” Um Mugi pulled out an extremely long whip.

“Ahhh…” Seol-Hwi sighed.
“Seriously…”

Um Mugi seemed to believe he’d fatally wounded Seol-Hwi with his last surprise attack.
Of course, the injury was definitely making it difficult to move; if he fought recklessly, he’d get hurt again.

But Seol-Hwi was no ordinary person.

“Shall we fight?” Seol-Hwi smiled.
“I don’t mind.”

After reaching Peak Grandmaster, he could use the Toolbox even during fights.

He had to use two potions to fully rid himself of the wound.

x2

x2

And the discomfort was gone, just like that.

If Seol-Hwi attacked on instinct, he’d get hurt again… but was there another way?

“You bastard.” Um Mugi thought Seol-Hwi was bluffing and ran in without a plan.

“Ah—!” Ju Sohye clapped her hand over her mouth, frightened by Um Mugi’s speed.
In the blink of an eye, the demon had crossed the distance and his sword was striking Seol-Hwi’s shoulder.

She heard the unsettling sound of tearing skin, and not just once.
Over and over and over at terrifying speed.

“Ah…”

“How is this…”

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People covered their ears and grimaced as the whip cracked, driving fear into their hearts.
If Ju Wangil hadn’t ordered them to sit, they would have already run away.

“Die! Die! Die!”

Looking at Seol-Hwi made them even more sad.
Despite Um Mugi’s taunting, Seol-Hwi continued to take the attacks without replying.

“Look! No falling.
If you fall, I’ll gouge your eyes out and tear your skin off!”

Um Mugi’s eyes were filled with the mad rage of a dying beast.
He had the look of someone who didn’t want to kill, he just wanted to cause pain.

After countless swings, he paused to check his handiwork.

“It’s a bit warm.”

Contrary to his expectations, his opponent was still standing, and his eyes were full of life.

“Don’t tell me this is the best you can do?”

Provocation!

Um Mugi’s eyes went red.
Enraged, blue-green demonic energy seeped out of his hands, flowing over the whip and making it stiff as a sword.

The people of the mansion recognized it immediately.
Demonic energy had a disgusting, uncomfortable aura that made it hard to breathe.

“Demonic energy!”

“He’s a demon!”

Got you, idiot! Seol-Hwi’s eyes, unlike everyone else’s, were filled with joy.
This was the moment he was waiting for.
Now there was no doubt he was in the right.

 

– Fulfilled all mission requirements.
Now, capture Um Mugi.

“I’m coming, you bastard!”

“Di—”

Um Mugi swung his whip before Seol-Hwi even spoke, but he didn’t get to finish the motions.
Seol-Hwi had his head in his clutches.

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“One first.”

“Ack!” Seol-Hwi’s fist slammed into him.

“One more.”

“Ugh!”

“And another one, and another one, and another…”

“Ugh! Ack! Ack! Ack! Stop!” After getting hit six times in a row, Um Mugi realized he was the one getting a beatdown, but he was far too late.

The look in Seol-Hwi’s eyes told him exactly how it was going to go.

“Now your head.” Seol-Hwi held him by his hair.
“Clench your teeth, I’m going to break every bone in your face.”

“Ah-Ahhhhh…” Um Mugi quaked with terror in his very organs.

“Alright, here I come!”

Seol-Hwi didn’t use his palm, he used a clenched fist.

The room was completely closed off.
There was one small window, which was also closed.
At the edge of was a table with a teapot and an old tree with a + in the center.

“Do you think I have time for this?!” an ancient old man shouted.
“Do what you want! Just kill me.”

His condition was so serious as to make him unrecognizable.
His bones sagged and his skin was torn.
Even his mouth drooled, but his eyes were full of vigor.

“How is it? Do his eyes still burn?” Seol-Hwi opened the door and walked in.

“Look at them.” Seokdu shook his head.
“Even in this state he keeps glaring at me.” He groaned, but, probably because of the time they spent together, he looked fine.

“If I escape, I’ll kill you first.”

“This brat.”

Um Mugi got a solid slap across his cheeks, but his face kept sneering.

“Kids, you won’t get anything from me,” he brazenly shouted.
“I’ve been through this kind of torture many time.
Heh.”

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A little while ago, Um Mugi was ready to say anything if it made him not get hit.
But as soon as they told him to write down his technique, he was daring them to kill him.
He figured that if he was going to die anyways, he wouldn’t give them anything.

“Is that so?” Seol-Hwi nodded.
“Then…”

Actually, he had no interest in saving or killing Um Mugi.
Even after all that, he only wanted the rewards.
He wasn’t willing to give up the Sect-Leader’s Secret Map (1/4) or the key.

“I was thinking, on the way here.
I know a method that would work amazingly well against this horny bastard.”

“…What’s that?”

“I’ll show you.” Seol-Hwi smiled.

Um Mugi’s eyes darkened.

Seol-Hwi walked up and lifted Um Mugi’s legs, exposing his crotch.

Bam!

“…Urgrghuak!” Um Mugi could neither scream nor groan, but instead let out a strange wail.

It broke.
His thing down there…

It broke.

All he could feel was pain, bitterness, and an aching.

“Ah, look at me.” Seol-Hwi clicked his tongue.
“I shouldn’t have used my left hand.
I was aiming for both, but one of them just barely managed to survive.
Sorry, but!” Seol-Hwi looked him in the eyes and grinned.
“I promise I won’t fail this time.”

“P-p-p-p-p-p!” Um Mugi tried to say something.
His eyes were frantically trying to convey his emotions.

A way to live.

A goal in life.

The rest of his life.

Things like that.

“I’ll do it! I’ll do it!” The half-eunuch broke down and cried.
“I’ll… do… what you asked…”