My Alter Ego's Path to Greatness

< The Demon King of the Ganghwan Realm (1) >

The Ganghwan Realm's frontier, the Cheonsan Mountains of Xingjiang Province.

"We respectfully greet the great Demon King who has descended upon this land!"

""We respectfully greet the Demon King!""

In a vast and magnificent grand hall, countless people knelt in unison, shouting at the top of their lungs. Their voices were directed towards a being seated on a splendid grand chair placed atop a high staircase at one end of the hall.

"Hmm."

Hans, the Demon King, the new supreme being now receiving everyone's worship, rested his chin on his arm propped on one armrest, arrogantly looking down. A sneer graced the cold face of the middle-aged man, and a strange fire burned within his glass-like pupils.

The interior was spacious enough to comfortably host a party of hundreds, with a ceiling so high that gauging its height was meaningless. The sight of countless people gathered in such a place, prostrating themselves and bowing deeply, was truly magnificent. Moreover, the feeling of sitting in a high seat overlooking the entire space, receiving their emotions tinged with fear, was…

'Truly amazing.'

…Extremely satisfying.

After all, Hans was a being who was the embodiment of negative emotions, and from birth, the very symbol of negation. Every time his gaze, imbued with an eerie light, lightly swept over the prostrated figures, their bodies would reflexively flinch. Despite the strictly limited qualifications to enter this grand hall, the 'Shinma Hall', the number of those gathered for this general assembly was close to a hundred. This number was significantly reduced due to the great storm of purges that had taken place until recently; otherwise, there would have been well over hundreds.

'The pruning is done well enough. There were quite a few stubborn ones, and it took some time, but for swallowing up an organization of this size, that level of difficulty is nothing. Showing an example was definitely the right move.'

Needless to say, in order to absorb a power like the Cheonma Sect as completely as possible, the voluntary cooperation of the existing leadership was essential. However, no matter how much Hans demonstrated his abilities by force, it was only natural that accepting a suddenly appearing, unidentified being as their leader would be difficult. Naturally, what followed were persuasion and threats by any means necessary, along with examples and executions. A series of purges to sift out those who could become his limbs and cut off those who seemed irredeemable. The result was what was before him now.

"Command us in any way, Supreme Being!"

Indeed, he had. He had finally subdued and completely devoured the massive power known as the Cheonma Sect.

Hans, leisurely surveying those prostrated on the floor, slowly opened his mouth. "Alright, the Heavenly Machine Strategist's location? Have you found it?"

Cheongi Maseon Ya Yulhwan, the Heavenly Machine Strategist Ya Yulhwan, the military strategist of the Cheonma Sect, was the highest-ranking figure among those who had left the main compound, and the chief of external operations, overseeing the special forces. It was the Vice Head of the Tongcheon Pavilion, the information organization of the Demonic Sect, who answered his question about his whereabouts.

"...Apologies, Supreme Being. It seems that Military Strategist Ya Yulhwan has noticed the changes within the main compound. Not only is all connection with him severed, but contact with the special forces dispatched elsewhere is also being cut off one by one, making it difficult to ascertain his location."

The current highest-ranking officer in the Demonic Sect's intelligence department bowed his head apologetically as he replied. At the negative answer, Hans stared down at him intently, wondering if he was harboring other thoughts and playing tricks.

'…Keuk, breath… Even the former Cheonma Sect Leader wasn't this oppressive…'

Overwhelmed by the immense pressure felt along with that gaze, the Vice Head broke out in a cold sweat and tightly shut his eyes. He truly had no intention of defying the will of this new Supreme Being, not even a speck. He had clearly witnessed with his own eyes what had become of his superior, the Head of the Tongcheon Pavilion, who had pretended to submit but harbored other thoughts behind the scenes, now a vacant position.

'Death itself isn't frightening. But… but not that!'

At the end of meaningless resistance was not just simple death. What followed was only eternal pain and despair, offering no hope of rest in the afterlife. That merciless tyrant would never let them go, whether alive or dead. Before him, death was by no means an escape route.

"Hmm, very well. Given the recent major event, that much is understandable."

"Ah! Your benevolence is boundless…"

"But this is only this time. Rectify the confusion as quickly as possible, reorganize the secret lines connected to various regions, and resume intelligence gathering. If you bring such disappointing answers again next time— I will have no choice but to reconsider your usefulness."

"...Understood!"

The Vice Head, flinching at the chilling words that followed at the end, shouted loudly and slammed his head to the floor. Now was not the time to lament his fate. If he couldn't prove his value alive, he would be used as resources in death. Even if he argued now that the Tongcheon Pavilion was a direct military organization and that there was bound to be a difference in its control, there was no way that tyrant would understand, would he? If he wanted to live, he had no choice but to somehow manage.

"······."

"······."

Even while the conversation between the two unfolded, the grand hall was as silent as a graveyard. Despite nearly a hundred people gathered in one place, not even a breath could be heard.

"Then, next is…."

Amidst the suffocating tension, Hans's calling of names, grasping of task statuses, and subsequent issuing of instructions continued for some time. The atmosphere had become quite rigid, but this was all as intended. The reason for issuing this general assembly order for the executives in the first place was to re-establish discipline and warn them against acting rashly.

'Now— then, finally.'

And finally, Hans's gaze turned towards the last remaining group. Towards the direction where those he was secretly most anticipating were gathered. The department where researchers studying Jiangshi, curses, and various other unorthodox arts were affiliated. Towards the location of the Gaehwa Palace executives.

Gaehwa Palace, the collective name for the Cheonma Sect's research facilities. It was an organization responsible for learning, analyzing, and improving all mysteries except for martial arts. Although martial arts were by far the mainstream mystery in this world, research into other systems could not be neglected. Unlike martial arts, which could be dealt with more directly, sorcery performed in all sorts of bizarre ways could lead to more fatal damage if not properly understood.

Among them, the Cheonma Sect was a group famously known for primarily dealing with wicked, heretical sorcery that deviated from human ethics, rather than Taoist or Xian arts. There was even a saying that if the Jegal Clan and Mosan Sect were the two major mountains of the righteous path, then the Cheonma Sect and Blood Sect were in the shadows.

'Moreover, I heard that even the Blood Sect has now been absorbed into this side. At the end of a war that continued under the surface, the Blood Demon, leader of the Blood Sect, was defeated and killed by Cheonma…'

This was a telling sign of how much preparation the Demonic Sect had made during his period of hiding after the Imperial Palace Bloodshed. To have carried out such a thing even while being checked by Geumodo, if he hadn't intervened quickly and dealt with Cheonma, before long, truly the entire Ganghwan Realm would have fallen into their grasp.

"Welcome, Supreme Being! Welcome to the Gaehwa Palace, the cradle of knowledge of the continent!"

And now, the old man who came out to greet Hans and was vehemently welcoming him was none other than the former highest elder of the Blood Sect and the current Head of the Gaehwa Palace. The second-in-command of the Blood Sect who had taken the lead in leading his forces to defect to the Demonic Sect after the Blood Demon met his demise, and also a psychopath who had personally made his former leader's corpse into a Jiangshi and presented it to Cheonma in the past. For reference, that Jiangshi was currently mobilized for external operations, so it could not be found here now.

"Come, come this way, please. It is an immeasurable joy that the Supreme Being is showing interest in our Gaehwa Palace! In fact, the former Sect Leader tended to treat us like some workshop for churning out Jiangshi…"

Also, thanks to that disposition, he was the first to raise a white flag when Hans occupied the Cheonma Sect and declare full surrender and active cooperation. It was an undeniable fact that the work of swallowing up the forces was somewhat easier thanks to him.

"As expected, perhaps because you are also a sorcerer, you understand us! Ah— I can still see that day vividly. The moment when even the sky dared not look down upon the earth due to the dark clouds summoned by the Supreme Being, as if Yama, the King of Hell, had descended into the mortal realm…"

Of course, in addition to purely opportunistic aspects, awe for him, who had overturned the main compound of the Demonic Sect with only 'sorcery' reaching the heavens without using any martial arts, must have also played a significant role. No matter what anyone said, he was one of the best sorcerers of the current era, having devoted his life to sorcery.

"This place is where we research curses. In fact, curses are often looked down upon because they are hardly helpful in head-on fights and it is difficult to penetrate the anti-magic power of those who have reached a high level, but that is just knowing one thing and not knowing two. As the Supreme Being also knows, once cursed, even a master of the Profound Realm cannot easily escape…"

However, there was also one fatal flaw with such a Head of the Gaehwa Palace. It was that he was extremely talkative. Of course, it didn't seem like he was being comfortable with Hans, but rather that he had become talkative due to nervousness, but feeling something subtle was unavoidable.

'Well, as long as he doesn't cross the line, it should be fine. Above all, it would be difficult to find someone with this level of skill again in this minor sorcery field. …Still, this place is amazing no matter how many times I see it.'

Hans, half-listening to the chattering voice beside him and looking around the interior of the research lab, inwardly admired. Although it was a place he had already visited once while cleaning up the Jiangshi, looking around calmly at a place where research processes were systematically revealed gave him a different impression.

"Oh? This is…?"

"Ah, as expected, you have an eye for it! This place is where we produce and improve the finest quality among the monster Jiangshi that our sect boasts of. The specimen currently being worked on is a Qilin, a divine beast comparable to a dragon. In fact, unlike the monsters belonging to the demonic path so far, divine beasts have a very complicated process, but we are using contaminated wish-fulfilling orbs…"

A four-legged beast with a shoulder height exceeding 3 meters. Although its fur, which should have been shining in five colors, had lost its luster and no vitality could be felt, the aura of a high-level being emanating from its body was extraordinary at first glance.

'Indeed, so that's how it is.'

And the moment he faced the manufacturing process, Hans could clearly glimpse a part of the secret meaning of the Jiangshi technique, a combination of the Demonic Sect and Blood Sect's esoteric knowledge. Not only was there the explanation from the Head of the Gaehwa Palace, who was still chattering diligently right next to him at this very moment— 「Unrighteous Sage」, 「Forbidden Knowledge」, and 「Path of the Demonic」, and various other skills were dissecting the mysteries unfolding right in front of him in real time and analyzing them piece by piece. The torrent of knowledge resulting from this came to him as a great sensation, even to him, who had consistently not shown much emotional change.

"...Very excellent."

"I knew you would recognize it! Well, if we are only talking about the degree of completion, it could be said that the Black Jiangshi that the Supreme Being commanded were even better. Isn't it the goal of Jiangshi techniques to completely draw out the martial prowess of the original body beyond its lifetime?"

He slowly nodded his head, with the voice diligently adding interjections in the background. In his mind, new concepts harmonized with the Jiangshi techniques he had learned in his spare time were being mixed with existing knowledge and reassembled into his own mystery, establishing itself.

This was a catalyst. In the meantime, Hans had constantly broadened his base by absorbing knowledge from numerous worlds. The knowledge that contributed most to that was probably what he had forcibly obtained through the Divine Retribution Society. And at this very moment. What had been accumulated so far finally crossed the critical point.

"The individual's enlightenment transcends limitations and grows. The unique skill 「Forbidden Knowledge」 evolves into 「Forbidden Truth」."

It was the moment when Hans, who had roots in the black magic of Auterika, gained access to the repository of forbidden knowledge encompassing a wider category.

'I should focus on this for a while.'

Hans, who had achieved the evolution of his skill, decided to stay at Gaehwa Palace for the time being. 「Forbidden Knowledge」, which was a treasure trove of various black magic and wicked sorcery. 「Forbidden Truth」, into which it had evolved, allowed him to access various knowledge that he had not encountered before, and it contained a wealth of information, including the Jiangshi techniques of this Ganghwan Realm and various systems derived from it, as well as methods for their improvement.

'It's also the optimal environment to absorb this knowledge right now.'

Of course, as it was right after swallowing a huge power whole, he couldn't just immerse himself in research. Although he had already established the entire Cheonsan as his territory and set up barriers and magic tools in various places, it was still necessary to periodically inspect the interior and clearly imprint Hans's presence.

'Well, that much is to be expected.'

After all, such a parallel task was nothing to someone of his level. Of course, the task he was facing now was not that simple.

Hans's personal research lab prepared in Gaehwa Palace. In the center of it, on a bed, two corpses were laid side by side. Cheonma, the former owner of the Cheonma Sect, where he was now, and…

"Kekekeke— Ah, indeed. With a control group, it seems to be becoming clearer now."

The new sample sent from Earth, the Secretary.

'At this rate, I can really start properly.'

In life, they were apostles serving a god called the Society Master of the Divine Retribution Society, but now that they had fallen into Hans's grasp like this, that too would be a thing of the past. From now on, they would be forged into daggers aimed at the god they served, 'Godslayers'.