The Heavenly Demon Left No Martial Arts Behind

Chapter 1: An Abrupt Awakening

My consciousness stirred awake.

'…?'

Someone… was carrying me, sprinting at full speed.

Whoooooosh

The scenery blurred past at an insane speed. Honestly, I shouldn't be able to make out anything at this speed. For someone being carried like a sack of potatoes, it's a miracle I haven't thrown up yet.

But...

"......"

I stayed silent, calmly scanning my surroundings.

It was the middle of the night, yet I could see everything around me with perfect clarity. Sparse trees dotting the landscape. And this temperature against my skin...

'Early spring, maybe?'

Since I was only moving my eyes, the person carrying me probably didn't realize I was awake yet.

The man kept running without pause. His movement was like the wind itself. He's this fast even while carrying someone in one arm. And what's more, he doesn't even look like he's breaking a sweat.

I didn't know what the hell was going on, but one thing was crystal clear.

‘This man is a master.’

And I could make some educated guesses.

First off, he didn't seem to have any bad intentions toward me. Not with the way he was handling me so carefully.

'Do I know him?'

And with him, there was this scent I kept picking up on.

'We're in some kind of dangerous situation, aren't we?'

Despite his clearly superhuman abilities, there was this unmistakable sense of urgency radiating off him.

But for some reason, I felt perfectly calm. No alarm bells going off, no panic rising.

As I sat with that strange inner stillness, a thought occurred to me.

Who am I?

'....'

I had no clue.

Thinking on it a moment longer changes nothing. My mind was a total blank, like a fresh sheet of paper.

Should I be freaking out about this? Probably. But somehow, keeping my composure came naturally.

'Let's focus on what I can actually do.'

I could sense the space around me with bizarre clarity like I was watching from outside my own body. And there I was, in the center of it all—this stiff body being carried by this man.

'Can I move?'

For some reason, I felt like I already knew the answer.

Yes, I could.

Still, I needed to test it, to make sure this feeling wasn't just wishful thinking. My safety depended on it, after all.

Twitch

My limbs moved slightly, just a tiny bit.

'Hmm....'

Not bad. I was pretty satisfied, actually. Not just because my instinct was right, but because my body responded instantly and precisely to my intent.

Then I heard his voice.

"Squad Leader Yu! Are you awake!?"

Just as I expected, his level of awareness matched what I'd figured. Even while running at breakneck speed, he'd caught that tiny movement. Though he was almost whispering, his quiet voice came through loud and clear.

Squad Leader Yu, huh?

Is he talking to me?

As soon as the thought formed, a deep, heavy voice rolled out of my throat.

"...Who am I?"

"You're Yu Gyeongseong. The 5th Squad Leader of the Law Enforcement Hall."

Yu Gyeongseong…

So that's my name.

By the way, what the hell is the Law Enforcement Hall? And 5th Squad Leader?

Seeing that I wasn't responding, the guy kept talking.

"Do you recognize me?"

"Can't say I do."

But this exchange told me something. He didn't seem surprised at all. His questions and answers flowed too smoothly, like he'd been expecting this.

Did he know I'd be like this when I woke up?

"Then, do you remember anything at all?"

"Mm...."

That brief response seemed to be enough for him to reach a conclusion.

"Just as I thought...."

That was the reaction of someone who knew I wouldn't remember a thing.

"Who... are you?"

"I'm a member of the Cult Leader's personal guard."

"Cult Leader?"

“…Do you truly remember nothing at all?”

"......"

His next words came out like a sigh.

“So the Cult Leader’s words were true… that you would lose all your memories. We are followers of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult."

Hmm, I'm speaking casually to him, but he keeps using semi-formal speech with me. Does that mean a Squad Leader outranks the Cult Leader’s personal guard? And if I'm the Fifth Squad Leader, that means there are four others at my level.

But none of that mattered right now. There was something way more important I needed to ask.

"Why did this happen to me?"

I had a hunch he might know, and sure enough, the answer came immediately.

“Because you’ve inherited the Great Law.”

"The Great Law?"

That's when the guy flinched. He changed trajectory in an instant, leaving an afterimage as something shot through where we'd just been.

It disappeared into the dark.

A hidden weapon!

I could feel presences closing in fast from behind and to the sides.

"Over there!"

"Get them!!"

The guy gritted his teeth and ran even faster. But he couldn't just run straight; he was forced to zigzag all over the place to dodge the barrage of hidden weapons. Thanks to that, it felt like we were actually losing ground.

'A member of the Cult Leader's personal guard...'

What kind of situation could push someone like him to this level of desperation?

"Where are we?"

"Near the main headquarters of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult."

I'd figured we were somewhere inside the cult's territory since he mentioned the Great Law. But this whole situation felt off, so I needed to confirm.

He'd been cut off earlier, so I still had no idea what kind of Great Law I'd supposedly inherited. But first things first, I needed to know who the enemy was.

“Who are those guys?”

"Minions of the Six Demon Clans."

"Six Demon Clans?"

Was he annoyed that I kept asking questions when he was busy running for his life? Or maybe frustrated at having to explain everything to someone with complete amnesia? His answer came a beat late, tinged with what sounded like a sigh.

"The six pillars of our cult. The Clan Lords."

Well, that cleared one thing up. We are inside Heavenly Demon Divine Cult territory... and both us and the people chasing us are all cult members. But wasn't the Cult Leader himself involved in whatever Great Law I inherited?

"If the Cult Leader's the master of the cult, why are we running?"

His explanation came rapid-fire, like he didn't have time for the full story.

“A rebellion has broken out! There are traitors targeting you. The Cult Leader ordered me to protect you, so that's what I'm doing."

"I see."

My easy acceptance seemed to reassure him. His urgent voice took on a slightly more positive tone.

"We need to move quickly. We have to reach the safe house through the secret passage."

"But... what do you mean they're after me?"

That question seemed to catch him off guard. The guard hesitated for just a moment. But then his answer came without doubt.

"They want to kill you, Squad Leader Yu."

"Why?"

"Because you're the Cult Leader's man. From the rebels’ perspective, you are someone who must be eliminated at all costs.”

His tone suggested this should be obvious.

"Is that so?"

But that wasn't what mattered to him.

"Can you move on your own?"

"Not yet."

Maybe because my earlier movement had been just a tiny twitch, he just took my word for it and moved on. He just kept focusing on running with me in his arms.

Things were getting worse by the second. The distance between us and our pursuers was closing fast. You could blame it on the fact that he was carrying me, sure, but there was a bigger reason.

'They're all masters too.'

So there really wasn't much he could do about it. Plus, hidden weapons were coming from three directions—behind us and both sides. If this keeps up, we're going to be trapped.

How did he plan to escape this?

As if answering my unspoken question, the guard casually flicked his free hand and something appeared in his grip.

'A metal token?'

Its intricate design looked far from ordinary. Even with my vision constantly shaking, I caught the clearly engraved characters: "Personal Guard."

I soon understood why he'd pulled out the token in this desperate situation. When we reached a large boulder, he thrust his hand underneath it. As he lowered his body, my eye level dropped close to the ground, letting me see what was there. There was a groove carved into the rock that was a perfect match for the token. It was an incredibly sneaky mechanism that would never be spotted by anyone just passing by.

Did our pursuers find that move suspicious?

“Stop him!”

"Kill them!"

Hidden weapons rained down like a storm. The guard immediately spun around, throwing everything he had into deflecting them.

That's when the weapons suddenly concentrated on me.

"Shit!"

He was already overwhelmed trying to deflect the barrage with one hand. Now they were targeting his weak spot, and he couldn't properly respond.

The guard spun me around, putting his own back to the attack. And he paid the price for it.

SHINK SHINK THUD

A spray of blood cut through the night air.

Serious wounds bloomed on his shoulder and forearm. A hidden weapon lodged itself in his side.

"You bastards!"

The enemies were closing in for the kill. But despite his injuries, the guard smiled at them.

Suddenly, the presences of our pursuers grew distant. And in an instant, thick fog shrouded everything around us.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Heavy impact sounds echoed continuously from the distance. It felt as if space itself was trembling.

The guard spoke.

"Phew... Thank the heavens the Formation deployed properly. We've bought ourselves some time."

I could sense his wounds clearly. He'd gotten hurt trying to save me, hadn't he?

"You okay?"

"I'm fine."

Then the guard added something.

Had my earlier question bothered him?

“See? I told you they are trying to kill you.”

He was referring to how the hidden weapons had focused on me.

"Looks like it."

He flashed a quick, confident smile, then started moving again without further comment. As he headed around the boulder, I spoke up.

"Put me down now. I think I can move."

"Really? That's great!"

The guard gently set me on the ground, then shook out his arm that hadn't been free to move for quite a while. In that moment, a powerful force was unleashed toward the ground.

CRACK

Where the earth caved in wide and deep, an incredibly thick metal door was revealed. Noticing my silent stare, he walked toward it while explaining.

"This is a secret passage known only to the Cult Leader's personal guard. And only we can open it."

I followed as he crouched in front of the door.

"There's a mechanism here to open and close it."

As if to prove his claim that only personal guards could open it, he carefully began to tinker with various parts of it.

Did my close observation make him uncomfortable? After a moment, he glanced back at me.

In response to the why-are-you-staring look in my eyes, he gave an awkward smile.

“That spot is where the door opens…”

"Ah!"

I let out a sound of surprise and quickly moved away. Since I didn't know how far this thing opened, I backed up a good distance behind him just to be safe.

Grrrrrrrumble

Just the sound of it opening told me how heavy this metal door was.

Made sense, though. What would the Cult Leader's personal guard need this secret passage for most urgently? It’s for when they had to evacuate the Cult Leader. For that purpose, it obviously needed to be sturdy.

I could see the guard's back, blood still flowing from his wounds.

Despite his condition, his voice rang out cheerfully.

"Once we get down here, we'll be able to slip away safely. Even master-level fighters can't break through this easily."

It was then that a certain sound suddenly rang out.

Thud

'...?'

The guard slowly turned his head to look back.

"S... Squad Leader Yu?"

Drip.

Disbelief plastered across his face and blood gushed from his open mouth.

He had finally let his guard down after being so tense. He’d reached his goal, and a way out was wide open. How could he possibly block a lightning-fast strike from behind at a time like that?

I observed my own body.

‘I had a feeling that would work...’

The attack came out just like I thought it would. No, it was even faster and stronger than I imagined. I only attacked him from behind when his guard was down because he was a master. It’s almost funny how careful I was being.

With this kind of power... I bet I could’ve just hit him from the front and it would’ve been fine.

Thump

The guard collapsed helplessly to the ground, looking up at me with two eyes from which the light was fading.

"......?"

Looking down at him indifferently, I understood. Of course, he couldn't speak, not after a blow like that.

But even as his breath faded... even in his final moments, what the guard desperately sought with his eyes was clear was probably this:

[Why?]

Why did I attack him? That question was written all over his face.

My mouth slowly opened.

A heavy baritone filled the cold night sky.

"You lied to me."

***

Yu Gyeongseong straightened his body.

Then he raised his head.

Though the thick fog summoned by the formation hadn't yet cleared, he could see the night sky beyond it with perfect clarity. Countless stars embedded there settled completely into his calm gaze.

'....'

I am Yu Gyeongseong, Fifth Squad Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Law Enforcement Hall.

I inherited some kind of Great Law....

I remember nothing.

Save for one thing.