The Demon Lord of the Swordsmanship Family Chapter 80
The origins of the Celutis Order trace back to the anti-superhuman movement.
Among the countless individuals in the world, each has their own dreams.
“Grant me a good job. I want to become a good parent. I’ll achieve 1 million Prezzer. I’ll become an athlete and make a fortune.”
We dream and strive to achieve these dreams. Effort — the essential human behavior for attaining one’s aspirations.
But superhumans outright negate this effort. No need for hard work, preparation, or planning. They surpass human capability simply due to being a superhuman, manifesting powers incomprehensible to ordinary people. By simply harvesting Magic Gems from monsters, they earn profits unimaginable to the common folk.
Just by possessing mana, you’re already considered a successful life. The very existence of superhumans undermines the value of effort.
This is unjust!
The anti-superhuman movement began as a response to this very injustice.
Celutis further evolved the spirit of this movement. While the earlier anti-superhuman movement emphasized escaping the superhuman-dominated society, Celutis went further, aspiring for the complete collapse of such a society.
That was the only way to ‘save’ this absurd world.
Celutis firmly believed this and continued to pray.
The symbol of Celutis, the inverted cross, represents a return to the pre-superhuman era. In front of this symbol, High Priest Lim Mi-ryung kneels.
“… Look down upon thy lambs and punish this wicked adversary…”
The Pope’s hands and feet, the nine High Priests. Lim Mi-ryung was known among these for her devout faith and her daily morning prayers.
After finishing her prayers, Lim Mi-ryung’s clear eyes opened, filled with unwavering convictions.
A “friendly smile” adorned her face. It seemed pleasant at a glance, but on closer inspection, it appeared artificial, merely an external mask.
For her, expressions were like clothing, something she could don or discard as she pleased.
Thus, she began her day “wearing” her expression.
“What a nice day! It’s kimchi-making day, isn’t it? Oh no, am I gaining weight? Hehehe! Let’s make some delicious dishes!”
Lim Mi-ryung, after leaving the prayer room, was revered as a devoted volunteer. A woman who lost her husband and children to illness and eventually found salvation through faith, living a life of service.
A clichéd backstory, but one that resonated well with the public. Consequently, she was highly respected, and no one suspected that the volunteer residence where she lived was actually the Korean branch of Celutis, a global-level villain organization.
As the exhausting day drew to an end, just as the sun began to set, Lim Mi-ryung locked the doors of the volunteer residence and descended into the basement.
And there, in the basement, she was greeted.
“Have you arrived, High Priestess?”
“Is that all? Did you eat?”
“Thank you for your hard work, High Priestess.”
“It’s nothing. It’s all part of His will.”
Hundreds of PCs and several dozen Celutis priests awaited her. They gathered information from priests across Asia, beyond just Korea.
Lim Mi-ryung reviewed this information, serving as the “brain” behind the movement, directing their actions.
Seated, she began reading the report.
Rescue 31 deceased, cause unknown.
– Sudden body disintegration. Emergency measures were taken but disintegration continued. Even the elixir proved futile.
…
Rescue 69 deceased, cause unknown. Sudden d*ath.
– Died without any preceding signs. Fortunately, the incident was captured on video.
…
– Rescue 6. Insufficient food supply. Request for support.
– Rescue 16. Please provide food.
– Rescue 33. Shortage of food.
…
…
Recently, 90% of the reports she reads are related to ‘Rescue.’
She hadn’t expected the ‘Rescue’ mentioned in the ‘Revelation’ to amount to so much. It had initially shocked her, but eventually, she accepted it.
She surrendered to it.
How could puny humans judge the will of the omnipotent ‘Him’? Such arrogance would be an act of impiety and disrespect.
She must keep submitting, keep obeying.
Lim Mi-ryung was always obedient, the most faithful follower.
“Hmm, food supplies seem to be extremely low… Have you considered any plans to procure more?”
“We’re in negotiations with local mortuaries and hospitals.”
“That’s something we’ve been doing already. Any other ideas?”
“Um…”
“Don’t be shy, speak freely, Brother.”
“Importing from foreign countries… From China, we can acquire a large quantity of ‘bodies’… Ah, no. Food.”
“Hmm… Sounds good! Would you mind taking charge of this directly?”
“…!!”
“Why do you hesitate, Brother? Do you feel incapable?”
“H-Have you have! I’ll do it! I really want to!”
“Thank you. And everyone, remember, this is a space of equality where anyone can share their opinions freely. Please speak up whenever you have something to say.”
Thus, upon reviewing the reports, Lim Mi-ryung’s daily duties conclude. She then enters the prayer room for evening prayers before retiring for the night.
But one evening, while praying, a knock was heard.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
In response to the urgent knocking, she quickly opened the door, where a lesser priest, out of breath, spat out,
“Oh no, High Priestess! Subject 17 has escaped through the Gate!”
In the mountain village of Pohang,
Rarely visited by people, a group of individuals ascends.
“Ow, my back! Ughh… Why is this madness even happening?! Whose fault is this?!”
“Isn’t that right? Yesterday’s report mentioned a conflict involving superhumans.”
“Sergeant Im, what’s with all this?”
“It’s snow.”
“Snow? Can’t you see the eyeball right in front of you? Why are you asking? Look at the scorched trees, the gouged earth—all clear evidence of superhuman activity. So why didn’t we detect this earlier? Why! Why are you turning this into a wild goose chase?! If the guys from Seoul were here, this would’ve been solved!”
“Shh! Quiet down! Senior, we’ll handle it.”
“Handle it?! Hey! In this scorching heat, how long do you plan to keep this nonsense going…?”
“Senior! Please! For heaven’s sake, calm down! Let’s go down! We’ll take a break.”
The infuriated police officer descended with his junior. Apparently, the other officers shared similar thoughts.
If they’ve come this far, isn’t it fine already? Why look for more?
Though unspoken, dissatisfaction was evident in their eyes. Perhaps the officers from Seoul were pressuring them?
They understood. As fellow police officers, why wouldn’t they understand?
Even they wanted to leave it at that. They longed for rest.
However, today was different because this particular man had ‘responded’ to the call.
“So, there was a thunder strike and a flash of fire here, right?”
This question came from none other than Park Su-hyeok.
The eldest son of the Sword Master family.
“Yes, according to the initial report, it was definitely a conflict between superhumans.”
“Do these conflicts occur frequently?”
“Occasionally, but not overwhelmingly so.”
Each year, Agents are required to perform a minimum number of ‘missions.’ The exact quota is set at the start of the year. In the case of local incidents, municipalities request Agent assistance, and the selection is random, akin to a lottery.
Thus, Park Su-hyeok, representing Optimum, had randomly found himself dispatched to Pohang’s remote mountains.
It was as if a two-star agent had arrived at an insignificant outpost on the outskirts.
So the other officers found themselves in a tricky position, unable to act freely.
“Park Su-hyeok, this looks like a simple conflict. Should we head back?”
“Shh, hold on. Could we please have a moment of silence?”
Park Su-hyeok placed his chin on his hand and scanned the surroundings. The remnants of an intense battle were scattered everywhere.
“Hmm.”
Something felt off.
The scorched trees, the gouged earth—every detail was exaggeratedly apparent.
“Almost like it was made to be noticed.”
Though an obvious statement, Park Su-hyeok wasn’t the type to fall for such obvious tricks. His ‘eyes’ were special.
While Park Ki-hyuk had relied on his innate ‘body’ to obtain extraordinary strength, and Park Min-ji leveraged her ‘reflexes’ to master speed, Park Su-hyeok had transcended through his exceptional ‘vision,’ achieving ‘perfection.’
Any sword technique he had seen could be replicated, regardless of whether the initial technique was non-sword-based—it could still be adapted to swordsmanship.
His ‘eyes’ came close to the ‘Dragon’s Eye’ of the Jin-ryong family but, in the realm of melee combat, Park Su-hyeok’s eyes exceeded even that.
These eyes were now focusing on the sword traces hidden among the magical remnants scattered everywhere.
‘Total count—five individuals.’
‘Four attackers. One victim. Four surrounded one.’
‘Initially, they had no intention of leaving traces. But the single individual resisted vehemently.’
‘They succeeded in eliminating the target, but could no longer hide the fight, forcing them to create these exaggerated traces.’
These conclusions were drawn from what he’d observed so far.
If one asked if the mystery was solved at this point, they’d be correct. Honestly, the case could be considered solved by now.
However, Park Su-hyeok withheld his judgment because of the questions surrounding the lone victim.
‘How peculiar. How could this have happened?’
Initially, the individual was weak. This was evident, not concealed; their skill level was visibly inferior. Merely analyzing the sword traces confirmed this.
‘But they grew stronger. Fearfully strong.’
It was something common in combat—Park Su-hyeok had experienced it often—but this was far from ordinary. The target had practically leaped multiple levels of growth.
An individual who’d just picked up a sword became a seasoned swordsman within twenty minutes.
Believable? Hard to fathom, but the traces were undeniable.
What had happened here? What was this being that was hunted and vanished?
On his way home, aboard the train to Seoul, Park Su-hyeok kept reflecting.
“I can’t figure it out at all.”
Ultimately, driven by his insatiable curiosity to solve everything, Park Su-hyeok returned to Pohang the next day.
Only this time, he wasn’t alone.
“Ugh. What’s so urgent that you torment someone so early in the morning? Brother, you really need to fix that perfectionist trait.”
—Park Ki-hyuk.
“Isn’t this fun? Like a picnic! I even brought sushi. Want some?”
—Jin Yu-ri.
A reliable support team stood with Park Su-hyeok.
“Isn’t this weather nice?”
“Did you put on sunscreen? Need help with that?”
“It’s fine. It’s suffocating.”
“Suffocating? Do you want water?”
“Oh, thank you.”
As he gulped down the water, he suddenly wondered.
“Anyway, why are you here?”
You didn’t have to come, and I certainly didn’t invite you. Why did you follow and attend to me?
“…Because I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? For what…?”
Could it be… are you still upset about hitting my chest the other day?
And he was correct—it was because of that.
“I knew you wouldn’t do it, but when I saw you laughing with another woman, I got so angry.”
“…d*mn.”
“Trust is important in relationships, and I apologize. My trust in you wasn’t strong enough.”
“Sorry also from my side. It’s okay… No, wait, this feels wrong…”
d*mn, this conversation has an inappropriate vibe. It feels like a lovers’ quarrel.
“d*mn, I did it again.”
“Did it again? Here, let me give you a fan. I brought a portable one!”
“Alright, that’s enough. Go away.”
“…You’re still angry.”
“d*mn, I’m not angry!”
“You are. I’m sorry. I’ll do better.”
“d*mn it! Stop clinging to me!”
He pushed away her clinging arm and quickly walked towards his brother.
“What relationship is this?”
“… None.”
“Hooh, really? Got it. I’m convinced.”
Whatever he understood, his eyes were undoubtedly filled with something insidious.
Thankfully, the tiring moment ended there. Upon our arrival at the site, we inspected the surroundings.
“Definitely…”
“Is something off?”
“Yeah, it’s very strange.”
Magical traces carved into the trees everywhere. So blatant, like “Hey, look at me! I’m a magician!”
A fabrication.
A fake created to obscure the truth.
“Just as Uncle said, the real evidence comes from these sword traces. The magic seems to have been cast to conceal the swords’ marks.”
“Jin Yu-ri, don’t randomly call people ‘Uncle.'”
“You’re so sharp, Brother’s wife. Do you see anything else?”
“Wh, what? Broth—I mean…?”
“Hmm… It seems like they were rushed for time. There’s an urgency in the arrangement. What about you, Uncle?”
“You’re spot-on. That’s exactly what I see too.”
“Carefully predicting, there seems to have been an unexpected variable the attackers didn’t anticipate.”
“Accurate. Impressive, isn’t it?”
“Of course not. Uncle here is far more impressive.”
The unusually boisterous laughter from Senior Park Su-hyeok and Jin Yu-ri’s unusually proper demeanor were a perfect match, almost too perfect.
“Enough with the childish games. So, Senior, what’s the issue?”
“The victim seems strange.”
Four attackers. One victim.
It was clear that initially, the attackers were overwhelmingly victorious. At this point, they were more concerned with minimizing the traces of their actions rather than eliminating the victim.
However, midway through, the victim grows stronger—too rapidly—forcing the attackers into a life-threatening situation.
This is the puzzle that Senior Park Su-hyeok was stuck on.
“Someone who could only wildly swing a sword was managing within a few rounds to replicate an opponent’s technique, and within a few more rounds to dismantle it. You know as well as I do; such growth isn’t humanly possible.”
Indeed, this was no typical human growth.
On the other hand, if it’s not human, the situation becomes even more complex.
“That’s why I called you. You know more about magic than I do.”
Kneeling to sweep the dirt, I spoke.
“Let me just ask you, do we really need to know?”
“The feeling keeps lingering, unsettling me. My intuition isn’t good here.”
“If that’s the case…”
Since it’s Senior’s request, I must oblige.
From an alternate space, I retrieved a single Magic Gem. It was an upper-mid-tier gem from a previous Sandworm capture.
Holding the gem, I prepared to work when I suddenly noticed Jin Yu-ri.
“Fufu.”
She’s just as human as before, hesitating silently while watching me intently, her actions seemingly cute and apologetic. She’s so adorable today.
Should I give her a small peek at what we’re about to do?
“Hey, Jin Yu-ri!”
“Huh? Me? Why?”
“Come here.”
I beckoned her over with a flick of my finger.
And then,
“Hold my hand.”
“Huh?!”
“I said hold my hand.”
“What, aww!”
“You’ll ruin it with silly talk.”
“Alright, alright. I’ll do it!”
She quickly grabbed my hand.
“What did you eat this morning?”
“Suddenly asking about breakfast? Rice.”
“Alright?”
I gave a satisfied smile.
“Let’s see.”
As I clasped the Magic Gem, it began to tremble and melt. The mana flowing naturally began to surge like waves, swirling around me.
Following this, the space fractured, revealing Baphomet, Asura, Fenrir, and Chimera.
My eyes, once again opened, were now completely dark.
Dark, deeper than the starless night, akin to a galactic black hole that swallows light, my eyes were brimming with abyssal depth.
“Show me.”
The vision flipped.
We were drawn into the fragments of the world.
…
…
A little while later.
“Ughh!”
Jin Yu-ri vomited up the contents of her stomach onto the ground. Just as I predicted, her morning meal was laid out there in raw detail.
I fought the urge to vomit myself and turned to my brother.
“Senior, do you believe in ‘Angels’?”
