Chapter 1. Prologue
“Alliance Leader.”
Did I fall asleep for a moment?
When I came to my senses, I heard the familiar voice of the Divine Doctor.
It felt strange. We had talked just yesterday, yet it somehow felt like a long time ago.
At that moment, I realized it.
‘It’s time.’
The shadow of death that had been creeping closer finally covered me completely.
“You’re awake. Can you speak?”
I tried to open my mouth. But my lips and jaw wouldn’t move.
Of course, no sound came out. I could only faintly see the doctor’s face and the ceiling above me. I could barely feel anything.
Strangely, my hearing was still fine.
“Alliance Leader.”
I couldn’t clearly see his face, but I could hear his voice trembling.
“It is my fault that you have ended up like this.”
Why would that be your fault?
“When you go to the afterlife, I will serve you again.”
Then I heard many voices from far away.
“Alliance Leader!”
“Please wake up!”
“You must not die, Alliance Leader!”
Their voices were full of deep sorrow.
Even at my final moment, I felt embarrassed. These people had suffered because of me—why were they crying like I was such a great leader?
Some were even wailing. They must have realized there was no hope.
‘That’s enough.’
To be honest, I felt more sorry than embarrassed.
Even I knew I had a terrible personality. Maybe it was a side effect of my family’s secret technique, but even so, as the Murim Alliance Leader, I should have shown at least some dignity.
But I couldn’t.
At this point, blaming it on side effects didn’t matter. Maybe it was just who I was.
‘Still… thank you for crying for someone like me—’
At that moment, I heard whispering.
“Finally, he’s going. Finally.”
“Damn it! I prayed to the gods for ten years, and that stubborn bastard still held on this long.”
“Tougher than a tiger’s guts, that one.”
Thank you…?
“What if he suddenly gets back up again? He’s done it before, hasn’t he? Even when fighting the Demon Immortal, he kept getting back up.”
“Shh! That demon might hear you!”
…You bastards.
Anger surged through me. My hearing was so sharp I could even hear ants crawling—and now I could hear every word from those who hated me.
They were probably the ones removed from important positions for corruption during the war. I had spared them and just made them work endlessly instead of executing them—and now they dared to talk like this while I was dying?
“Let’s not underestimate the life force of the Mad Demon. Come on, let’s sincerely pray for his death.”
I was about to curse them in my mind, but then I paused.
‘Mad Demon…’
A crazy demon.
That was the nickname both my enemies—and those ungrateful fools—had given me.
‘Well, I did commit plenty of sins.’
Even worse names wouldn’t be unfair.
People said that although I had a fiery temper, my blade was always aimed at evil.
That wasn’t entirely wrong. But in the end, it was just part of my duty. I never even wanted the grand position of Murim Alliance Leader in the first place.
That’s life. You can’t always do what you want, and you don’t always get what you desire.
In the end, I was just an ordinary man with a bad temper and slightly better martial arts than others.
‘Still…’
I thought of my family.
Even though my life had been forced on me by others, it was the one light I could hold onto.
‘At least I restored my family’s honor.’
That was enough.
Now, no one in the world could mock my family again.
Well… maybe some future idiot would ruin it again, but that wouldn’t be my problem anymore.
Thinking of my family, I remembered my older brother’s warm smile.
‘It’s not because you’re the Alliance Leader. At the very least, you should live longer than this useless older brother of yours. We’ll take care of the family, so stop worrying and take it easy.’
My chest tightened.
He had saved me from a life worse than an animal and turned our family from hell into something like heaven.
If it weren’t for him, I would have died—or abandoned everything.
‘Still… the result we left behind isn’t bad, right?’
The martial world mattered, but my family mattered more.
‘I’ve done enough.’
Yes… this should be enough…
Twitch!
Suddenly, my vision went white, and a crushing pain exploded in my chest.
‘Ugh!’
My mouth opened wide. Even my hearing began to fade.
I knew what this meant.
‘Demon Immortal!’
Five years had passed since the twenty-year war with the Sacred Blood Palace ended.
But the demonic energy left behind by its master, the Demon Immortal Neunghyeong, had been eating away at my life ever since.
And now, at my final moment, it flared up again.
His voice echoed in my mind like a hallucination.
“I will wait… until you come.”
Oh yeah?
Then wait there. If there’s a next round in hell, I’ll gladly accept it!
Burning with anger, I endured the pain—but it only grew worse with every blink.
A scream burst from my mouth.
“AAAAAA!”
“Alliance Leader!!”
After screaming for a while, everything suddenly went dark.
And then…
“…Huh?”
I blinked.
Where is this?
I was standing in a space with no light at all. Yet I could still see myself wearing the robes of the Alliance Leader.
The pain was gone, and my senses had returned.
What is this? Did I skip the river of the afterlife and come straight here?
Then a chilling voice spoke.
“You have finally arrived.”
A deep voice, like an echo in a cave—something no human could make.
My entire body tensed.
“Who are you?”
The darkness trembled.
“I have waited far too long.”
“What?”
“My consciousness as an intermediary is about to collapse. Now, through you, I will prepare for the descent of a god.”
None of it made sense.
But I didn’t have time to think.
Darkness began pressing in from all sides.
I tried to punch instinctively—but realized it was meaningless.
This wasn’t a place for the living.
My death was inevitable.
‘For a final vision before death… this place is too empty.’
I slowly closed my eyes.
The darkness crushed me from all sides.
As my body felt like it was being torn apart, my consciousness faded.
Sometimes, people get angry.
A young man gets angry when his parents tell him to study instead of having fun.
A parent gets angry watching their once-promising child become foolish.
Someone gets angry when their hard work goes unrecognized.
Someone even gets annoyed when their beloved spouse suddenly starts chewing loudly.
And sometimes, people get angry for no reason at all.
Some are born unable to control their anger. Others are pushed into it by depression.
But I was none of those.
I wasn’t normal, but I wasn’t someone who couldn’t control anger either.
Still, I had a bad temper.
Even so, in this situation, I felt not anger—but confusion.
“What a mess.”
When I blinked, an unfamiliar woman stood before me.
She looked just past her youth—her features were pretty, but her expression was cold.
“Were you really only capable of this much?”
Who? Me?
“Who are you—”
Bang!
I slammed the table, making the food and drinks shake.
The young woman stood up.
“From today, we are finished. I’m disappointed, Young Master Moyong.”
She turned away coldly.
A dark, heavy fragrance lingered around her.
‘Young Master Moyong?’
I frowned.
‘I may be a Moyong, but I’m the Murim Alliance Leader.’
Even though I became leader at a young age, I was over fifty.
That wasn’t a title someone her age should use for me.
“Where did your manners go—huh?”
I paused.
“…Ah.”
“…Ah?”
“…AH?!”
Something was wrong.
“My voice… why is it like this?”
I touched my neck.
Where’s my beard?
Everything—my jaw, nose, hair—was different.
I looked at my hands.
“These… what are these?!”
My hands, once full of scars from training and battle, were gone.
These were clean—almost like a woman’s hands.
A chill ran down my spine.
‘This isn’t my body.’
I stood up—but staggered.
“Ugh!”
My legs had no strength.
My knees felt thin and fragile. There was barely any muscle.
Even my elbows hurt from lack of flesh.
Was I a wooden doll?
‘Did some witch drain my energy?’
But I had no such memory.
Then I saw a mirror nearby.
“…!!”
A stranger stared back.
Pale face. Dark circles. Extremely thin.
He looked handsome—but sickly and gloomy.
“…Me?”
I touched my face.
It copied my movements.
“Th-that’s me?!”
Impossible!
“I died… didn’t I?”
Yes.
I died.
The moment I realized it, my heart began pounding.
The demonic energy from Demon Immortal Neunghyeong had killed me.
‘This can’t be.’
I rushed out of the room.
I didn’t know why. I just felt I had to leave.
“Ha… ha…”
I ran downstairs. Even that made me breathless.
Someone called me from behind—but I ignored it.
I pushed the door open.
Bang!
Outside, the sun was setting.
The sky was red. The air was humid and cool.
“Where is this?”
It wasn’t a place I recognized.
A busy street. Many people walking around.
Different faces, different emotions.
It felt real.
“Didn’t I die?”
No… more importantly—
“Why am I in someone else’s body?”
That girl clearly called me Young Master Moyong.
Yes, I’m from the Moyong family—but I’m Mo Yongcheon!
But this wasn’t my past either.
I had been thin before—but never like this.
And my face was completely different.
“What kind of joke is this…?”
Then someone grabbed my arm from behind.
“Well now, young master. Come with us for a moment.”
Dragged into an alley, I couldn’t resist.
I had no strength.
And just like that—
I returned from death.
In the body of a frail young man who looked like he could die at any moment.
