Chapter 3
I Am the Heavenly Demon
This world was one where monsters poured out of places called dungeons.
At the same time, humans who had transcended their natural limits—Awakened Ones—appeared to fend them off.
Thanks to them, even though monsters constantly emerged, the world was relatively peaceful.
Humans, yokai (spirits), and even gods who walked upon the earth—the Earth Deities—all coexisted in the human realm.
However, only a very small number of powerful humans even knew of the existence of yokai or Earth Deities.
“Indeed, this is a different world… A place where yokai and humans live together, huh.”
“They don’t exactly get along, though. Most humans don’t even know we exist.”
The Heavenly Demon pondered the knowledge that had been transmitted directly into his mind, then nodded.
“I see. That makes sense. So this truly is another world.”
He had already faintly suspected as much.
In his own world, little girls didn’t destroy diamond-hard bodies or summon meteors from the sky.
Slowly rising to his feet, the Heavenly Demon turned to the old man before him.
“Then what are you? A god? A yokai?”
“Who knows.”
“Why can we even communicate without difficulty? And earlier, I could clearly read your written language.”
“No idea.”
The old man’s answer was lazy and unhelpful—but seeing he had two faces on opposite sides of his head, the Heavenly Demon found it hard to get angry.
“Then, how do I return home?”
“How should I know?”
“What? Then how do you know I’m from another world?”
The double-faced old man sighed and shook his head.
“In this land, there are monsters that came from other worlds through space-time rifts.
Ah, you’d probably call them ‘demons’ instead, eh?”
“Then how do those demons return to their original worlds?”
“Never seen one return.”
A despairing answer.
The Heavenly Demon’s face hardened, and the old man scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“Well… sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”
“Not at all.”
The Heavenly Demon placed his left fist over his right, giving a respectful martial salute.
“You’ve already helped greatly.”
Even if this was another world, he still had a secret method to return.
The double-faced old man looked between Jang Chaewon and the Heavenly Demon, then nodded.
“Help, huh. Still, you’re kind, Miss Jang.”
“What?”
“You’re helping the guy who destroyed that spirit tree you treasured so much.”
“What are you talking about…?”
As Jang Chaewon’s face froze coldly, the old man blinked.
“You didn’t know? Look here.”
He raised one glowing finger and lightly touched her forehead.
A flash of light—
And in her mind’s eye, she saw a massive meteor fall into the courtyard of a hanok (traditional Korean house).
BOOM!
The meteor struck the ground, forming a glowing geometric pattern, and from that light a man appeared—
The Heavenly Demon.
“…Am I injured?”
Wiping the blood from his lips, he turned and saw behind him a giant tree radiating mysterious light.
“Perfect.”
His face brightened instantly. Having consumed countless elixirs in his life, he immediately recognized that divine energy—
It flowed like spiritual essence from a sacred herb.
“As expected…”
When he approached the tree, an invisible force stopped his steps, like a transparent barrier surrounding it.
All spiritual herbs carried their own protective aura.
Those with great potency sometimes manifested forces equivalent to powerful barrier formations.
“But there’s always a way.”
His eyes gleamed like torches as he stomped down hard, launching himself toward the radiant tree.
“Hup!”
BOOM!
Using his Diamond Body, he shattered the mysterious energy shielding the tree in one blow.
“Ugh…”
Blood trickled again from his mouth, and his shoulders throbbed with pain.
That something could hurt even his body—harder than diamond—was shocking. Worse, the internal injury seemed to worsen.
Reeling, the Heavenly Demon leaned against a tree stump, gasping for air.
“This… is wrong. It wasn’t an elixir.”
The shattered tree fragments emitted no restorative energy whatsoever.
When he bit a piece to check, it felt like chewing on stone.
“I… I can’t believe this.”
After the double-faced old man explained everything, Jang Chaewon trembled with fury.
So the one who destroyed her detached building was that shameless man who looked like Gouki.
“The Spirit Tree—you’re the one who broke it!”
Crack. Her neck twisted slightly as her eyes turned as cold as a reaper’s.
“And I let the thief sleep in my storage room…”
“Wait. It’s a misunderstanding.”
The Heavenly Demon raised his hand solemnly.
“When I found that tree, I was disoriented. I thought I had fallen into some remote valley.”
“Then why did you deny it yesterday?”
“That’s because…”
At a loss for words, the Heavenly Demon puffed his lips and declared grandly,
“Do not fret. I am the Heavenly Demon! A mere tree is—oof!”
Her fist slammed into his abdomen.
He groaned painfully, dropping to one knee.
‘Even if my inner power were intact, would I still lose to this?’
His eyes lost focus as he clutched his stomach.
His body was said to rival the Celestial Steel Physique of legend, far beyond mere Diamond Body.
And yet, this frail-looking woman felled him with a single punch?
Then, Jang Chaewon shouted furiously—
“Because of this, I can’t even claim insurance! It’s not a natural disaster, you idiot! What are you going to do about it?!”
“Uh, M-Miss Jang, I’ll, uh, get going then. Call me when the workers are ready.”
The flustered old man wiped his forehead and vanished.
Grinding her teeth, eyes almost white with rage, Jang Chaewon hissed,
“You psycho, pervy, goldfish-mouthed freak.”
It was a new insult she’d just invented.
With an ominous glare, she pointed toward the door.
“Follow me!”
Inside Bokbok Interior Design.
Jang Chaewon sat at a round table, a large calculator in hand.
“Let’s calculate, shall we?”
She glared across the table at the Heavenly Demon and began tapping furiously.
“The spirit tree sapling itself was worth 30 million won. But add three years of nurturing, my time, effort—and if I lose future commissions… ugh…”
Clutching her head, she screamed toward the ceiling,
“I can’t even calculate this! I can’t!”
Turning back to him, she trembled with anger.
“Worse yet, I can’t fulfill the Divine Commissions properly now! Our shop could lose its Sacred Ground status!”
“Divine Commissions? Sacred Ground? What are those?”
“Our shop is a Sacred Ground! We don’t just do interior work—we handle all sorts of requests from gods!”
Her eyes burned like fire.
“I barely kept us at rank 9 Sacred Ground status. Just three more years, and I could’ve achieved it properly…”
“What are you talking about?”
“None of your business!”
Biting her lip, she glared daggers at him.
“As a human, the only thing you can offer is money. It takes three years for a spirit tree to reach commission quality again.”
“I don’t follow.”
“Forget it! To grow a spirit tree for a Divine Commission, I have to infuse it with three years of my power and knowledge!”
Divine Commission… So she’s no ordinary human, thought the Heavenly Demon.
He finally understood her fearsome strength.
After a long silence, she sighed, defeated.
“Considering you came from another world, I’ll accept the bare minimum compensation. Got it?”
“Fine.”
“Good. I like someone decisive.”
Dropping the calculator on the table, she said coldly,
“One hundred million won. Pay up.”
A normal person would have jumped up in shock.
But the Heavenly Demon only tilted his head calmly.
“I’m not sure how your currency translates.”
“Oh, so that’s how you want to play it? You think I’ve never read wuxia novels?”
Pulling out her phone, she did a quick conversion.
“At current gold rates, that’s 426 don—about forty-two taels of gold.”
“Forty-two taels? That’s all?”
“What?”
He shook his head.
“I thought you meant something valuable—like a few Amyeong Pearls. But only forty-two taels…”
A vein pulsed on her forehead.
“Do you even have the money to pay?”
“Of course.”
He declared proudly,
“In the Ten Thousand Demon Supreme Palace lies an armory only I may enter.
It contains countless ancient weapons and treasures. Even the wealthy Lord Chugeumsan once said he felt like a beggar after seeing it.”
“So… what you’re saying is…”
The vein on her forehead twitched violently.
“That armory is in your world, right?”
“Mind your tongue. The Ten Thousand Demon Supreme Palace was built by the Divine Demon himself—the founder of the Demonic Path! Show some respect.”
“Whatever. So what now?”
“What do you mean? I said I’d compensate you.”
“And how are you going to bring money from another world?”
Her eyes narrowed skeptically. His ragged clothes didn’t exactly scream “wealthy.”
“I am the Heavenly Demon. There is nothing I cannot accomplish.”
“So you can bring money from your world?”
“Not exactly.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Not at all.”
Folding his arms, he smiled confidently.
“I have a way to return.”
“Oh really?”
Grrrrooowl.
His stomach rumbled loudly.
“…Hungry?”
“Ahem.”
He cleared his throat, face stiff.
“I am the Heavenly Demon. I can go seven days and nights without food and remain in perfect condition.”
Grrrrrooowwwl.
His head drooped as his stomach betrayed him again.
“But I did go eight days without water while fighting that bastard Jeongga…”
“Enjoy your meal!”
The deliveryman bowed and left, leaving food on the table.
Steam rose from black bean noodles and sweet-and-sour pork.
Since he claimed he could return soon, Jang Chaewon had generously ordered extra.
Slurp.
Seated at the round table, the Heavenly Demon devoured his food, chopsticks flashing.
He even drank the leftover sauce before setting the bowl down with a satisfied burp.
“Excellent flavor.”
Staring at the empty bowl, he smacked his lips. Jang Chaewon gritted her teeth.
“I didn’t buy that for you out of kindness. You said you’d pay me back.”
“Worry not. I will.”
He sounded sincere, at least.
Crossing her arms, she eyed him suspiciously.
“So… you’re going to go back there and bring the money, right?”
“Yes.”
“But how? You said you don’t know how you came here.”
“I have mastered not only the Heaven-Demon Arts but also the forbidden Grand Demonic Techniques. Among them is one that can tear space-time itself.”
“Whoa, are you even human? That’s insane.”
Impressed by how smoothly things seemed to progress, she even complimented him.
But his face darkened suddenly.
“What’s with that look?”
He stared up at the ceiling lights and shook his head.
“I must first restore my inner power.”
“Inner power?”
“Yes. To use the Heaven-Earth Infinite Spirit Passage, I need the inner energy of ten full cycles.”
Whatever that meant, it didn’t sound like something he could do right away.
“What? So you can’t go back yet?”
He nodded.
“Several of my internal meridians are mysteriously severed. I cannot draw upon my power at all. I don’t even know why.”
“What?”
Grinding her teeth, she clenched her fists.
“So you lied to me?”
“How so?”
“You said you could go back!”
“I can. I just didn’t mention that I first need to recover my energy.”
This damned man must have trained specifically to drive people crazy.
“Next time, lead with that! Are you toying with me?”
“To—ying? I don’t understand. How did you come to that conclusion?”
“You mean you can’t pay me now. You should’ve said that first!”
“Ah. I see.”
He blinked innocently, which only made her angrier.
“Then what are you going to do? I’m still losing money here! Without a spirit tree, how do I handle Divine Commissions? If I lose Sacred Ground status, where do I get divine blessings?!”
“What is this Divine Commission? And blessing?”
“It’s the work that gods or divine spirits entrust to us. Blessings are… none of your business.”
Understanding about half of it, the Heavenly Demon rested his chin on his hand.
“So you’re saying I must compensate you immediately.”
“Exactly.”
As she rolled up her sleeves, he raised his hand to stop her.
“Hm… The meridian issue is my own affair, but very well.”
After a moment’s thought, he spoke solemnly.
“When I return, I’ll repay you tenfold—no, a hundredfold.”
“A hundredfold? You mean ten billion?”
Blinking, she stared at him. The Heavenly Demon grinned proudly.
“Yes. I shall give you the Demonic Steel Chain Sword.”
