<The Demon Lord of the Swordsmanship Family Chapter 61>
Park Bom isn’t feeling well.
It’s because her dad isn’t here.
“Dad has to be apart from Spring for a few days. I have to go somewhere and come back, so I’m sorry, my daughter. Dad also wants to go with you, but this time I can’t. Goodbye. Don’t cry.”
Tears began to fall.
She’s mad for some reason. He took her dad away from Spring. She wanted to scold him fiercely.
“Instead, family members will be with you. Do you know Uncle Tiger and Aunt Honyang? You love them, right? You also have grandma and grandpa to play with. Ah! Uncle Singer and Aunt Gift will be there too. So you won’t be alone at all. Don’t worry and be brave, can you?”
No, she can’t.
Spring needs her dad.
She likes it when Uncle Tiger carries her. She enjoys the ice cream Aunt Honyang buys her.
She likes watching TV with grandma and riding the carousel grandpa provides. She likes singing with Uncle Singer and the princess dress Aunt Gift buys her.
She likes it, she’s happy.
Still.
Being with Dad is better. It’s much more joyful.
So please. Don’t go. Don’t leave Spring behind.
“Why are you crying, my baby? Dad gets sad when Spring cries.”
“In ten nights times two, I’ll come back. I’ll bring a gift. What does our Spring like? Oh! Didn’t you want to raise a kitty before? Why don’t Dad and you raise a kitty together? A sibling will be born. Wow, now Spring will be a big sister, huh?”
Kitty…?
Sibling?! Sister!!
“To be a sister, you need to be brave. Stopping tears is hard, so until Dad comes back, you can cry three times. That’s a promise.”
Park Bom gazes blankly at the finger she made a promise with Dad.
“…We promised to cry only three times…”
Already used up the three times. What should she do?
Dad always said that promises must be kept because that makes a good child. Park Bom predicts if she can be a good child until Dad comes back while counting the days on her fingers.
“Since five nights have passed…”
Five fingers. Five days. So this is twice…
“My fingers aren’t enough. Sniff…”
It’ll be tough. Already, it seems like the tears are going to flow.
“Dad, I miss you.”
“Really, Park Bom seems to like Mr. Park Ki-hyuk a lot.”
“Fairy Aunt?”
The woman smiled and gently placed down the tea.
It was Yggdrasil.
“If you’re going to cry, eat and cry. Tears are also fluids, so drinking lots of water helps them flow well. Gulp-gulp. That’s right, that’s right.”
Park Bom gulps down the ‘beverage’ given by Yggdrasil.
As always, it tastes delicious. It seems like apple, orange, or something similar, and it’s very delicious. For some reason, she feels more at ease.
“How about it? Do you still want to cry?”
“…I won’t cry.”
“Mother? Is Park Bom saying she won’t cry? Amazing.”
“Spring made a promise with Dad. To cry only three times. Spring is a good child. I’ll keep the promise.”
“Hmm? That’s strange. Didn’t I see you cry more than three times?”
“…W-well, that’s?”
Hesitating.
Fidgeting.
Panicking, Park Bom’s big eyes wander aimlessly. Then, Yggdrasil whispered mischievously.
“Want to keep it a secret?”
“S-s-secret.”
“That’s right. This will be our little secret between us two. As long as we’re quiet, Park Bom can still be a good child.”
“Good child.”
“That’s right. A good child.”
Is there a sweeter temptation than this?
It’s something exceedingly difficult for the pre-elementary child Park Bom to resist.
Eventually, after exchanging glances, Park Bom nods. Although her conscience prickles, Spring always wants to remain a good child in front of her dad.
“Then, good Park Bom. How about having fun with me today?”
“Sure!”
Park Bom nods proudly.
Park Bom’s once innocent eyes suddenly turn fierce, resembling those of a predator.
At that moment, mana began to churn around where Park Bom was seated.
Creak.
Wooden puppets stood up.
One, two, three… and finally, a wooden puppet that resembled her father, wielding a great sword.
A total of 17.
Park Bom’s “bloodline puppets” stood up. Across from them stood Yggdrasil’s wooden marionettes as they also came to life.
When the puppets were done.
“Let’s begin the exciting ‘doll play.'”
The dolls began to tangle together.
Thus, Park Bom’s independence began to progress smoothly.
*
While flying through the sky for the search mission, I suddenly noticed the clouds and thought of Spring. The fluffy clouds looked like our Spring’s chubby cheeks.
“I miss Spring.”
Is she okay? We agreed that she’d cry only three times, so it must be tough for her. She’s probably already used all three chances by now.
It’s heartbreaking, but at the same time, it’s adorable.
Still, I really want to see her soon. I want to go home and roll around with Spring.
After all the ruckus, the kids seem to have become more energetic indeed. A fist truly is a splendid communication tool.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I have command authority.
So why bother with kids who aren’t even mine?
“Paladin, you. What’s your name again? Park Jin-yong! Right, Park Jin-yong. You’ll be the captain, and you’re Jeong So-i, right? Jeong So-i, you’ll be the deputy captain. To me, that looks right.”
My preference for aggressive physical communication stems from the fact that there’s no better method to gauge a person.
How could one conceal their true nature when blades cross and lives hang by a thread? I don’t believe such deception is possible. At least, in my ‘physical conversations’, no one has been composed enough to hide themselves.
They were no exceptions.
Park Jin-yong and Jeong So-i.
To briefly summarize, Park Jin-yong is a traditional leader who leads by standing at the front, fitting for a Paladin. On the other hand, Jeong So-i enhances bonding through her charm.
It’s difficult to compare who’s better or worse; they’re two vastly different styles.
Yet, I chose Park Jin-yong for command.
Why? Simple.
He’s orthodox.
Why is orthodoxy ‘orthodoxy’? Because it’s effective wherever you go.
Complete set of new members. When you need to coordinate with unfamiliar people, how much trust or familiarity will you have? How good will your coordination be? In this setup, Jeong So-i’s talents become overshadowed.
Park Jin-yong, on the other hand? I’m confident he can manage quite well. That’s the advantage of the orthodox method, and it’s the reason I chose him.
And Park Jin-yong has been controlling the command post excellently, effectively proving my choice was correct.
– Killer Bee hive spotted to the east. It’s continuously expanding. Should we standby?
– Standby and keep monitoring the situation.
– To the west, we might have found an entrance to the Giant Ant’s nest. However, Captain, many Giant Ant soldiers are heading south. What should we do?
– How many?
– With our current capabilities, it’s difficult to judge.
– Understood. Hold your position until the support unit arrives.
– There’s no unusual activity yet from the ‘Queen Mantis Palace’ to the south. The Mantis that sometimes go out are just returning.
– Stay in position and if you spot any groups of Ants, contact us immediately.
– Yes.
Of course, the influence of my strength isn’t entirely absent.
Isn’t it true that the strongest in this line is naturally king? Hence, Park Jin-yong is careful around me.
Look—you’d think the senior and junior roles are reversed when you observe it.
I smirked while responding to the radio.
“It’s still far. It’s hard because the territory is too wide.”
“Please.”
I disconnected the radio and descended.
My current mission is to mark the location of the Sandworm.
A large monster, living underground, with the regeneration and defense typical of large monsters, and the added ability to simply escape into the ground whenever it pleases—an obstinate beast.
Since Sandworms naturally live buried, finding their habitat isn’t easy at all.
Think about it. It’s like trying to find an earthworm in the ground. Not only can you not dig up this entire land, but even detection magic has its limitations.
The only practical method would be using earth spirits.
You could deploy intermediate-level earth spirits strategically, but this method was denied under the current team’s circumstances.
Our group has five spirits masters in total, three of whom can handle earth spirits. Out of that, only one person can deal with intermediate-level earth spirits.
In other words, if we deploy this one person to search for the sandworms, there’d be no one in the main group who can handle earth spirits well.
Earth spirits are crucial here, especially when dealing with Giant Ants who dwell underground.
Were I to use the only available earth spirits master, the main force would have to struggle through investigations with less qualified personnel.
Inefficient in so many ways.
In other words, the investigation would be delayed, which means I’d meet our Spring later than expected.
I wouldn’t allow that.
Rather, I will endure more hardships myself. While imagining her crying now breaks my heart, I can’t make her little daughter wait.
“Here should do.”
Hanging still in midair, I looked down.
Grass so high it rivaled trees, plants with stems large enough to pass for flowers, and a forest that resembled an expanded small insect world spread out below.
I turned on the radio.
“This side has arrived. Jin Yu-ri, how many are left?”
– One remains. Wait a little longer.
“Understood.”
I took a deep breath and thought about this place.
The Level 7 Gate. The Mantis Queen’s Palace.
Unlike the Black Forest I previously visited, this place is nationally known as a hunting spot. Mantises aren’t as valuable as Trolls but are still monsters and provide magic gems.
Moreover, this is a Level 7 Gate, meaning the Mantises are a level stronger, granting higher-tier gems.
The population is much larger than Trolls, and they respawn quickly. Decisively, they have a clear weakness: they’re vulnerable to fire magic—no, they practically melt in flames.
If there are sufficient fire-attribute attacks, group hunting is entirely viable.
Here’s the question: if it’s so easy, why is it called a Level 7 Gate?
It’s a misconception.
This place isn’t easy at all.
It’s simply easier to hunt Mantises here. As I mentioned before about Kumus and the Fat-Bellied Maze, the gate name directly reflects its nature.
This gate’s name?
Queen Mantis’s Palace.
That’s right. Only from the mass of stems that pierce through the clouds like the beanstalk in Jack and the Beanstalk, starting from the southern edge of this place, does the real challenge begin.
The outside is just a place for wanderers.
“Though there are incredibly many wanderers.”
With a surface area almost as large as a city, Mantises swarm densely. If we aim not to hunt but to clear the ‘Mantis Queen’s Palace,’ the difficulty rises uncontrollably.
And now I find myself in a city-sized field hunting for a ‘Sandworm Habitat.’
Just as boredom threatened to set in, the radio buzzed to life.
– Complete. All planted.
“Good job.”
Creak. Creak.
I stretched my joints.
“From now on, I’ll extend my mana.”
– Can I find the Sandworm vibrations within your mana flow?
“Sure thing.”
Let’s begin.
I channeled mana into my being, causing the space to ripple on my right side.
A Chimera with a lion’s head emerged from the fractured space.
The space on my left side also rippled.
Contrasting the feline features of the lion was the canine muzzle of a wolf. A wolf that yearned for freedom, ultimately devouring even the god who created it.
Divine Slayer.
Fenrir.
Fenrir pierced through the space into reality.
The mana surged.
Like a crashing tsunami.
Like a howling typhoon.
The order of mana was restructured.
And this order was entirely recreated by me.
Respond.
“O my truth.”
Apocalypse
Apocalypse
A red streak sliced across the land.
At the end of this streak lay six magic gems imprinted with my consciousness.
Hexagram.
When the scarlet line symbolizing destruction cut the land,
All mana within the range surged toward me.
With a massive city-sized area, this was the mana that breathed within it. It was too much to handle with merely my two limbs.
I’m breaking. Like this, my body will disintegrate.
The overwhelming mana waves made me choke and cough up bl**d.
“Jin Yu-ri!!”
– Hang on a sec.
I can’t last long.
Just a bit longer, just a little…
I clenched my teeth tightly.
A past memory flashed. When I was known as the Demon Lord.
I once destroyed an entire city.
Its inhabitants were astonishing. A city of nothing but madmen—heretics, apostates, fanatics.
They offered sacrifices to their gods.
Children barely reaching my waist.
Offered in unspeakable ways until they took their last breath.
I punished in place of the gods.
The bl**d flowing from my lips curved into a smirk.
Compared to back then, this is truly nothing—my laughter escaped despite myself.
Right on cue, Jin Yu-ri’s voice came.
– Found it!
At that moment, without delay, I grasped the Abyss.
Then…
Swish!
I tore the Abyss, breaking the magic circle.
The mana was finally freed. Trembling, I clutched my hands and descended, sprawling on the ground.
“Kuh… cough, cough! Spat!”
bl**d gushed out.
“d*mn it, I need to create a physical body soon.”
Once more, I realize how much further I have to go.
