It was not a difficult question.
But that did not mean they could answer it.
It was not because they refused to.
Every demon here was bound by a restriction.
A restriction placed upon them by the Demon-Brain Divine Demon.
The instant they revealed any secrets about White Horse Heaven, their heads would explode and they would die.
“I-I can’t tell you.”
Wigang asked,
“Is there some reason you’re not allowed to?”
They all nodded.
“Don’t tell me... there’s a restriction on you?”
Again, they nodded.
“I see. Then get some rest.”
Wigang’s fists blurred into motion.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The Calamity Demon-class demons were subdued in an instant and collapsed to the ground.
Wigang counted them.
Nine in all.
Fewer than he had expected.
Apparently, this was not White Horse Heaven’s main base either.
It was probably a place where the Demon-Brain Divine Demon gathered demons to use as operatives.
Still, that was not bad.
If they were people the Demon-Brain Divine Demon used directly, they probably knew far more than he had expected.
And someone from the Fell Demon class ought to know even more than the Calamity Demon class.
Beyond the passage lay another cavern.
There was only a single hall inside.
Its scale was on a completely different level from any of the halls Wigang had passed on the way here.
It seemed Fell Demon-class members really did receive different treatment.
The cavern was silent.
It seemed deserted.
“What? Is nobody here?”
He had come over wondering just how strong someone from the Fell Demon class would be.
Now he felt strangely deflated.
He was leisurely looking around when a chilling sensation suddenly washed over him and something struck his side.
Wigang turned his head.
There was a dagger.
And beside it, a man staring in disbelief.
Wigang grinned at him.
“Are you the owner of this hall?”
The man could not answer.
His gaze moved back and forth between the dagger and the impossible reality that it had failed to pierce the body it was supposed to penetrate.
“A body that Black Resolve can’t pierce?”
Disbelief filled his eyes.
His expression looked as though he wanted to deny the very scene unfolding before him.
Judging by his reaction, that black dagger must have been quite extraordinary.
Still unable to believe it, the man swung the dagger at Wigang again.
Sssht—
The dagger cut through the air.
Wigang did not dodge.
He simply caught the incoming blade in his bare hand.
The man froze in shock.
There was not so much as a scratch on the hand gripping the dagger.
Instead, the dagger itself trembled with a strained metallic squeal.
The man hurriedly tried to pull it free.
No matter how much strength he used, however, the blade would not budge.
A tremendous force erupted from his body.
True to someone of the Fell Demon class, his pressure was so intense that the surrounding space seemed to distort.
That power concentrated into the dagger.
The black blade darkened further and trembled like a growling beast.
HMMMMM—
Wigang smirked and tightened his grip.
SKRREEEAK—
CRUNCH—
A bizarre noise came from the dagger.
Then—
SKRIEEEEE!
A shriek like the wail of a ghost rang from the blade.
“N-No!”
The dagger, more precious to the man than his own life, was about to break.
He attacked Wigang with his free hand.
BAM!
“Let go! Let go of it!”
BAM— BAM-BAM— BAM!
Any ordinary person would have been reduced to pulp, or shattered into dust, under such blows.
Wigang did not even flinch.
The sight was terrifying.
“You really are Fell Demon class, right?”
Wigang tilted his head.
“You’re weaker than I expected.”
One sentence crushed the man’s pride.
But there was nothing he could do about it.
CRACK—
Wigang twisted the dagger, wrenching the man’s hand into an unnatural angle.
“Ah... Aaaagh!”
The man screamed.
Before the dagger gave way, his wrist did.
No matter how much power he poured into trying to break free, Wigang’s grip remained as immovable as a mountain.
Crrrk—
His hand bent farther and farther backward.
At this rate, it would snap.
He needed to let go before that happened.
But then he would lose the dagger.
“W-Wait! Wait!”
The man shouted desperately, and Wigang stopped applying pressure.
“Something you want to say?”
“I-I was wrong. I shouldn’t have attacked first.... I-I thought you were an intruder.”
“I am an intruder.”
The man fell speechless.
What was he supposed to say when the man openly admitted it?
Crack—
Wigang’s hand started moving again.
“I-I’m sorry I attacked you without c-confirming you were an intruder!”
“It’s fine. I came here to see how strong the Fell Demon class was anyway. But...”
Wigang squeezed harder.
“Ghhh!”
The man’s face twisted in pain.
“Shouldn’t someone from the Fell Demon class be able to endure at least this much?”
CRACK!
“Aaaaaagh!”
In the end, the man released the dagger.
His arm was already broken and grotesquely twisted.
“You son of a bitch....”
He glared murderously at Wigang while clutching his broken wrist.
Then—
Crack. Crrrack.
The broken wrist shifted back into place.
“Oh? You can regenerate? That’s fast.”
“That dagger... give it back.”
Wigang examined the blade.
“It’s made of a metal I’ve never seen before. Interesting.”
Wigang looked intrigued.
The man grew even more anxious.
He was not supposed to be interested in it.
“Y-You can’t use that dagger. Give it to me.”
“How would you know? Maybe I can.”
Wigang scrutinized it more closely.
“With the amount of force I used earlier, this should’ve broken already. But it’s perfectly fine.”
Ting. Ting.
He tapped it with a finger and listened.
“Even the sound is different.”
Wigang asked,
“What metal is this made of?”
“Black-Eye Stone. It’s a metal that cannot be obtained in this world.”
“It’s trying to absorb my energy.”
“It absolutely hates being touched by anyone but its master. Give it back.”
“Really?”
Wigang studied the dagger, then flicked it again.
TANG!
The sound was so violent it seemed the blade might snap.
TANG— TANG—
No one in the Central Plains understood metal better than Jeok Wigang.
Right now, he was striking directly at the metal’s core.
For a dagger with a spirit of its own, it had to be excruciating.
“Oh? You can endure even this? Not bad. Maybe I should just melt you down and forge you into something new.”
Wigang watched the dagger’s reaction.
If it did not want its spirit erased, it would choose him as its new master.
But the dagger gave no response.
“Well, look at you. You’d rather die than abandon that guy as your master?”
HMMMMM—
The dagger seemed to hum in agreement.
Wigang smirked and tossed it back to the man.
“Take it.”
The man hurriedly caught the dagger, then stared at Wigang.
He really gave it back?
“I like that dagger. Now let’s see whether I like its owner too.”
A chill ran through the man.
Goosebumps rose over his entire body as a prickling sensation spread across his skin.
He had felt this before.
Then he remembered.
Their master.
The absolute being.
The Lord of Heaven.
His body began to tremble.
Was the man before him on the same level as the Lord of Heaven?
Wigang’s voice reached him.
“Come at me with everything you have. If I like what I see, I’ll let you live.”
He wanted to determine the full strength of the Fell Demon class.
But the man, unaware of Wigang’s intention, misunderstood.
He thought Wigang was determined to kill him.
The man tightened his grip on the dagger.
“Black Resolve.... Looks like today will be our last day together. Thank you for everything.”
HMMMMM—
He could feel Black Resolve’s heart.
“Let’s make our last stand a glorious one!”
Thump.
The man slowly collapsed, his body reduced to a wreck.
He had exhausted even the strength needed to regenerate.
Still, he clutched the dagger tightly as though terrified he might lose it.
Breathing raggedly, he looked up at Wigang.
“Just kill me already.”
“There’s something I want to know.”
“I don’t know anything.”
“What’s your epithet?”
The unexpected question made the man stare at Wigang in surprise.
“What? You don’t have one? Or is that another thing you don’t know?”
“Dark Resolve Divine Demon.”
“Are you the only one here?”
“Yes.”
“Looks like the Demon-Brain Divine Demon put you in charge of this place. Makes sense. You’d need someone around your level to keep all those people outside under control.”
The Dark Resolve Divine Demon’s eyes widened.
“You know quite a lot.”
“I’ve met the Demon-Brain Divine Demon. We even talked.”
“Impressive. The Demon-Brain Divine Demon actually spoke with someone from the Central Plains.... No, wait....”
He looked up at Wigang.
“With you... I suppose the Demon-Brain Divine Demon would have reason to speak. You’re going to be the greatest obstacle to their plans.”
The Dark Resolve Divine Demon had acknowledged Wigang.
“What a headache. We thought conquering the Central Plains would be easy....”
“What is this place?”
“Can’t you tell? It’s where we stay.”
“How many of you crossed over from White Horse Heaven?”
“That, I cannot tell you.”
“Because of the restriction?”
“You really do know a lot.”
The Dark Resolve Divine Demon gave a faint smile.
“I’ll have to remove the restriction first.”
“Even attempting to remove it will—”
“I know. Your head explodes?”
The Dark Resolve Divine Demon nodded.
“Is the Demon-Brain Divine Demon watching this place too?”
“I don’t know.”
As he answered, his eyes flicked toward somewhere nearby.
Wigang followed his gaze.
A bird was perched there.
It had been watching everything.
Wigang smirked.
Just as he had expected.
He had shown all of this deliberately.
Now that the Demon-Brain Divine Demon had seen how strong he was, they would probably lie low for a while to prepare countermeasures.
Wigang had hoped they might even be here personally, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} but they were more cautious than he had expected.
His figure vanished.
Grab!
His hand closed around the bird’s neck.
Wigang brought it close to his face.
“I’m going to find you. Count on it.”
CRACK.
After leaving those words behind, he snapped the bird’s neck.
He had even warned them that he was coming.
They would probably be too busy moving their hideout to do much else.
In the meantime, he needed to find a way to remove those restrictions.
BANG!
“Damn it!”
The Demon-Brain Divine Demon’s expression was grim.
“Even a Fell Demon-class member was no match for him....”
Jeok Wigang was simply too strong.
“Where did a monster like that even come from...?”
It was unbelievable.
The Demon-Brain Divine Demon sank into thought.
Could one of the Ten Heavenly Demon Stars handle him?
The thought lasted only a moment before they shook their head.
Even a Ten Heavenly Demon Star could not subdue a Fell Demon-class demon that effortlessly.
Within White Horse Heaven, there was only one being capable of treating someone of the Fell Demon class like a child.
Does that mean he’s on the Lord of Heaven’s level?
Again, the Demon-Brain Divine Demon shook their head.
Impossible.
The Lord of Heaven was a being worthy of being called a demon god.
BANG! BANG!
They slammed their head against the desk.
It was punishment for daring to compare that exalted being to a mere insignificant human.
Drip—
Blood ran down their forehead.
They did not even bother wiping it away as they clenched their teeth.
Because of one mere human, every scheme they had built so far would have to be redrawn from the beginning.
Surely... he can’t remove the restrictions too, can he?
No matter how monstrous Jeok Wigang was, even he should not be capable of that.
And yet this unease would not go away.
The Demon-Brain Divine Demon trusted their instincts.
“This won’t do.... First, I need to move our base.”
Snap.
They snapped their fingers, and a masked figure appeared.
“We leave this place immediately.”
“Understood.”
“Just in case, relocate every demon stationed at our other bases as well.”
“Yes.”
“Leave no trace that we were ever here.”
“Understood.”
The masked figure disappeared.
The Demon-Brain Divine Demon ground their teeth.
“Don’t get arrogant.... I swear... I’ll make you pay for this humiliation....”

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