Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon

The Justice Alliance was not so grand.

Usually, when a large organization was established, it was a matter of orthodoxy to prepare a grand stage to announce it. 

But the present Justice Alliance could not afford to do so. Not only were they in the middle of a war right now, but if things went south, the factions might be split four-way. 

Since it still had to happen, the alliance members hurriedly prepared for the ceremony. But the buildings were not built properly and the number of members was not tallied accurately. 

And finally, on the day of the opening ceremony,

Fwoo-

The wind blew in.

The opening ceremony took place where the previous Martial Alliance had stood. This location was chosen because it was where a lot of martial artists and others of Kangho liked to gather. 

A platform had been erected. 

‘Venerable Dragon’ Jegal Sung slowly walked on stage. 

After him followed the Buddhist and Sword Stars. 

The Buddhist and Sword Stars would empower the Justice Alliance. 

Woon-seong watched on from afar. 

The location of the ceremony was right next to the Demonic Army’s camp, so it naturally caught his attention. 

Jubbuck-

Finally, Jegal Sung climbed to the top of the platform. Beneath him were a group of sect leaders, all who had been members of the Martial Alliance. 

They did not know what was going to happen, but they stared up at Jegal Sung. 

Finally, the man slowly spoke. 

“There was once a chivalrous man.”

Usually, the first words someone said onstage would be salutations. But Jegal Sung suddenly started talking about some ‘chivalrous man’. The audience tilted their heads. 

However, they focused on Jegal Sung’s words, interested. 

Jegal Sung continued in a low voice. 

“Anyone who knew him would tell you he was a brilliant man.”

The hero in the story was a martial artist with a spear. The man looked up to the skies and did things without shame; he was more fierce than anyone and yet more kind than anyone else. 

Jegal Sung was telling the story of a spearman. 

And finally, the story reached its peak.

The spearman in the story decided to be a scapegoat in order to prevent a great conspiracy and to protect his people. 

Ah. 

As soon as he heard that, Woon-seong realized who this spearman was. 

No, he had guessed before. But now he was convinced. 

“Master.”

Jegal Sung was talking about Spearmaster Nok Yu-on. 

Tears welled up in Woon-seong eyes. It almost seemed like they might fall. 

At Jegal Sung’s story, the audience felt righteous fury. They did not know who this protagonist was, but nevertheless felt empathy and resentment for the life of the man who lived as a hero. 

And at the end, when the hero lost his life to the forces of darkness, there were some who shed tears. 

Bang!

“Do you know this man’s name?” Jegal Sung asked, stomping on the platform. 

The question rippled across the audience. 

The audience was restless. 

“Is there anyone who knows the name of this hero?”

No one answered. 

Many had thought it was just a story, but it was a real person. 

“If I say his name, you will all recognize it. They lived in the same generation as you!”

The murmuring grew louder and louder. 

At last, Jegal Sung spoke a name:

“His name is Nok Yu-on. He was known as the master of the Spear Master Sect and the Spearmaster of his time in Murim.”

Jegal Sung sighed as he spoke. It was a voice filled with sadness and pity. His emotions were conveyed to the audience through tone. 

The murmuring died down. The atmosphere sank, like it had been doused with cold water. 

They chewed on the name ‘Nok Yu-on’. 

“Do you have proof?”

Of course, not everyone believed it. Among them were those who questioned.

If the story was true, if the Spearmaster did not die because he had learned forbidden Demonic Arts, that would be a terrible stain on Murim’s reputation. 

The Martial Alliance had been in charge of investigating this matter at the time.  

Moreover, based on what had been said, was there a power that could uproot Murim like that? 

There had been a group in the shadows for that long, but they hadn’t even heard of it. 

It was unbelievable without evidence. 

As they shouted, Jugal Sung pulled out a stack of documents from his arms. He held them up. 

“This is the proof.”

The audience looked up. 

The Buddhist and Sword Stars divided the papers amongst themselves. 

With a wave of their hands, the papers flew into the air and fanned out.

Not only was what Jwa Do-gyul had done written out, these papers also documented the relationship between the Imperial Court and Inverted Sky, as well as names of traitorous peoples and factions. 

Originally, it was all material that should not be disclosed. If something went wrong, the whole foundation of Murim would be shaken. 

Nevertheless, the Twin Stars decided to release the documents to the sect leaders, not concealing anything.

Jegal Sung, who had released all the information, slowly closed his eyes. This is an apology to all those who have been caught in the hands of the Inverted Sky, and at the same time, it is our responsibility to bear these sins.

“Amitabha, may Buddha look down…,” chanted the Buddhist Star. 

The audience glanced at the contents of the papers. 

Of course, the papers were not large enough for everyone to see. 

Moderately advanced masters were able to see everything by enhancing their eyesight. 

The readers slowly became stiff, their faces paling. 

“Good Heavens, is this not a set up?”

It was so surprising that someone thought as much. 

Unfortunately, nothing had been manipulated. 

Since Jwa Do-gyul had prepared this as his lifeline, he had carefully written everything down so that it could be used as damning evidence at any time. 

The causal relationship between everything was revealed. 

Among them were the stories of the clans massacred by the Martial Alliance. They had all been framed, just like Nok Yu-on had been. 

“Huh, I thought it strange that the Calling Sword Sect was decimated, but my god…”

“How can you do something like that?”

“Not just the Imperial Court, the entirety of Murim is in their hands!” 

There were those who mourned, there were those who were angry.

“The Cult of the Heavenly Demon was also harmed by the Inverted Sky.”

“Thousands of demonics were killed by a poison made by the Cult of the Inverted Sky.”

There was also information about the Cult of the Inverted Sky. 

“I cannot believe he used himself as bait against these guys.”

“Nok Yu-on. He really was a good man.”

“For a moment there, I was angry at myself for doubting him.”

Many people talked about Nok Yu-on’s story. 

It was far away, but Woon-seong could still hear them. 

“Master.”

Woon-seong clenched his fists. He thought revenge would be good enough, but his master’s guilty sentence had just been overturned. 

It felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. 

Even though he had made his own decision and sacrificed himself for the sake of his friends, Nok Yu-on must felt terrible to have been framed as a Demon. 

But his innocence was finally proven. 

Perhaps, after so long, Nok Yu-on would be able to live comfortably in the afterlife. 

“Master.”

Woon-seong closed his eyes. 

The face of Nok Yu-on was clearly pictured in his head.

His grace was immediately large, and instead of fading overtime, it had become clearer and clearer. 

The Nok Yu-on in Woon-seong’s memory was smiling brightly. 

“Such a thing should never happen again.”

Over time, the commotion over the documents subsided and Jegal Sung spoke again. 

“This tragedy should never happen again.”

At Jegal Sung’s words, the audience nodded. 

They were unknowingly exploited by the forces of the Inverted Sky, but they were not all corrupt. They were a group of martial artists who grew up listening to the tales of righteous men, dreaming of being heroes. 

With their sympathy, Jegal Sung spoke louder. 

“That is why we are trying to create a whole new group, not the Martial Alliance playing in the hands of the Inverted Sky.”

But Jegal Sung’s words shocked the audience. 

Not the Martial Alliance, but a whole new organization. 

Ignoring their reactions, Jegal Sung continued on. 

“The name shall be the Justice Alliance, made to defend justice. Those who support it, raise your hand.”

The audience began to murmur. 

Then, there were those who acted first. 

Hum-

The first to agree were the Twin Stars, standing by Jegal Sung. 

But that was only the beginning. Along with murmurs, other sect leaders began to raise their hands. 

Some of them were elders of the Martial Alliance. 

The night before, the Twin Stars and Jegal Sung had been busy persuading people. 

In fact, while the commoners did not know, the executives had already known what this meeting was about. 

When the executives agreed, the others had no choice but to agree. 

Jegal Sung nodded in satisfaction and shouted at the skies:

“I will make a declaration to the Heavens with the martial artists gathered here today. We are here to take responsibility for the sins that we have committed — those which were not corrected until the world fell to ruins and the weaknesses our enemies used to confuse us as the world fell to chaos.” 

Kung-

Jegal Sung stepped forward. 

At the bottom of the platform, drummers began to bang on the drums. 

Boom, boom, boom. 

Jegal Sung’s voice stretched and echoed with the drums, knocking at the ears of the audience. 

The beating drums made their hearts skip. 

Doom, doom, doom. 

The drums beat and their hearts beat. Many of the martial artists subconsciously clenched their fists. 

Jegal Sung’s voice echoed, even at the end. 

“To the Heavenly Gods, I announce the creation of the Justice Alliance!” 

“Waaaahhhhhhhh!”