He could see the Buddha faintly; those eyes looking down at him were angry, but there was an affectionate smile playing on his face.
“…”
Was it an illusion? That might be the case seeing how it disappeared before his eyes like a mirage. However, thanks to that, he snapped back to his senses.
“Oh, look at that murderous face of yours!”
What is Demon? What is Buddha? He knew the answer now.
“Did I cross over the line? Or did you draw the line again?”
Both were wrong. He realized that there were other ways, just as he learned about this Buddha.
—Do you think I did something so wrong that I deserve to die?
—You’re cruel.
—He was my brother. My brother.
He killed again and again until now because he didn’t think they deserved to live. Or…
—Are you going to kill me just because I said this? I’m your father!
— Yoon-seok… you shouldn’t do that. You killed someone just because they’re clumsy? Please, can you just come back to the way you were?
They were in the way.
—I had a mother.
—I didn’t do anything wrong…
—If I had the power, I would have helped!
—Mister, why did I have to die so quickly?
It was easier than bearing everything on his own.
— If some break, some pile it up.
When he reached his limit, he thought breaking the wall was a faster way than building stairs. So he killed again and again. He did not hesitate to call himself a Demon. Seeing how his emotions grew so numb that he could not feel any stimulus to the slaughter, he dared to think that he wouldn’t be shaken at all.
“What is the Buddha?”
It was the will to walk along the path filled with thorns. It was merciful to embrace even those who crossed the line, and their anger shouted at the twisted world. At the same time…
“The Buddha is just a path.”
Even this was just one of tens of thousands of paths. Which way was right? To judge this, he had no choice but to arrive at the end.
“One path… it is not very satisfactory, but it is not a wrong answer either.”
After saying that, Heavenly Buddha looked satisfied.
“So far, you’ve walked on the Demon path because that’s what you’ve learned. But I’m here in front of you. In other words, it means you are standing at the boundary between two roads.”
Heavenly Buddha looked into Yoon-seok’s eyes.
“Which path do you want to take?”
If he followed Heavenly Buddha, he would learn just as much he did from Cheon-ma. Yoon-seok answered without difficulty. From the start, his answer was as good as fixed.
“I’ll follow the Buddha’s path.”
“…Now the Devil has been erased.”
Yoon-seok was already a demon to his very bone.
He didn’t intend to follow the Buddha. He had to embrace everything one by one and move forward? He couldn’t reach the goal he wished to achieve. Therefore, Yoon-seok lied.
He had to coax this crazy monk and send him back. Perhaps because the threat of violence naturally seeping out of his body faded, Heavenly Buddha was convinced. However…
“But the violence in your eyes is still there.”
“…”
“Even if you can’t accept becoming my disciple, there are too many things that I feel uneasy about leaving as is.”
Heavenly Buddha did not disappear but began to circle him. When this crazy monk acted like this, bad things always happened. Yoon-seok took care to hide his anxiety.
“Didn’t the Devil make you lie to get out of this situation?”
Heavenly Buddha spoke suddenly.
“…!”
Yoon-seok barely suppressed a flinch. Did he notice it? Was that why he threw this bait? He didn’t know, but it was self-evident that he would become suspicious if this continued.
“There’s no such thing as the Devil. My mind is cleaner than ever.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Yes. It’s all thanks to you…”
With Yoon-seok’s support, Heavenly Buddha proudly nodded. But was it because he was out of his mind? He was still stubborn.
“Fortunately, I’ve defeated the Devil, but it’s still too early to let our guard down. The Devil is a terrifying being that might appear again some time.”
At this rate, Yoon-seok was going to develop a phobia toward the word Devil.
“…But a guy like me can’t hold onto you forever, right?”
“Hmm. That’s right, but…”
Heavenly Buddha didn’t finish the thought. Then he scratched the Urna on his forehead and opened his mouth again as if he had come up with a good idea.
“That’s right. We can have an initiation ritual.”
Yoon-seok quietly clenched his teeth. The initiation ritual was a ceremony in which the Urna mark was imprinted on the forehead. It may not be comparable to risking his life, but Yoon-seok wanted to avoid it. But…
“To hold an initiation ritual means you will further solidify your beliefs. Did you not intend to do that?”
He didn’t answer. If he said no, it was clear that he would try to kill him right away, saying that the Devil was interfering again. While he agonized over it, Heavenly Buddha threw a carrot to match the stick.
“If it bothers you to engrave it on your forehead, there is a way to put the mark somewhere else.”
“Where is that?”
Tap, tap.
Heavenly Buddha tapped his heart with the tip of his fingers. It wouldn’t be visible, so he could just think of it as a unique tattoo.
“If so, I’ll take the initiation ritual.”
“Good thinking. Then I’ll start.”
With Yoon-seok’s approval, Heavenly Buddha rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward. It looked like he was going to start right away.
‘Huh?’
Originally, mugwort had to be burned to make the Urna, so how would he do it with his bare hands?
“Eight-spoked Dharma Wheel.”
‘Shit.’
It was a command. He could feel the magic flowing from the Heavenly Buddha’s body. He thought he should hurry up and avoid it, but… when he came to his senses, he was already experiencing sharp pain in his heart.
「Eight-spoked Dharma Wheel has been engraved on your soul.」
As soon as he lowered his head and checked his chest, 108 carved marks were already engraved in his flesh.
“Now, I can only use it once more, but everything has its rightful owner.”
Phrases appeared one after another in front of Heavenly Buddha’s grin.
「All stats increase by +1.」
「One Urna will be erased in the event of murder, and one Urna will be added in the event of revival.」
「If all Urna disappears, you will die.」
“Crazy…”
“What do you mean crazy? Is the Devil going to appear again?”
“…No.”
Creakkk.
Yoon-seok barely swallowed the words that followed. Had he intended to do this from the start? He ground his teeth without realizing it, but there was no way to turn back now. Even if he committed suicide to go back to five minutes ago, there was no way he could avoid this.
“Huuu…”
Yoon-seok regained his composure after taking a deep breath. The situation was too sudden, but objectively, it wasn’t a bad condition. Not when all of his stats rose by +1. It was an increase so massive that it was pointless to convert into AP. In addition, it was said that saving a person would add Urna, so his hands weren’t completely tied.
‘It’s annoying, but this ability will be helpful if I use it moderately.’
Although he couldn’t kill thousands of people as he did in the previous mission, he would at least become stronger in one-on-one situations. Yoon-seok tried to only think about the positive parts. However, the crazy monk wasn’t helping.
“Your anguish must have subsided.”
The rage in him rose again. Yoon-seok tried hard to smile, engraving patience into his soul.
“Yes. Everything… is thanks to you. Anyway, shouldn’t you slowly get going now…?”
It meant he should get lost now that things were over, but Heavenly Buddha didn’t even pretend to hear him.
“Hmm, it’s rare to see these days. Since you decided to walk on the Buddha’s path, don’t you want to learn it properly?”
Yoon-seok swallowed and carefully took a step back.
“As I said before, I have a wife…”
“I’ve been thinking about that problem as well. Then why don’t you and your wife join together?”
His wife was a problem, so they just need to join together? Not a normal person’s way of thinking. There was nothing to think about; the thought was too absurd. But he couldn’t bring that up.
“Oh, my wife is a Lady. So another religion…”
“Hmm, what a shame. Too bad!”
He wanted him to disappear as soon as possible, but Heavenly Buddha tried to persuade Yoon-seok as if he had so many regrets. However, the time for them to separate arrived eventually.
“Then I should go now.”
“Yes.”
Yoon-seok didn’t even dare say it was regrettable as lip service. This maniac might take it to heart. He prayed quietly for him to disappear instead. Of course, his way out was the same as when he stormed in.
Thud.
Heavenly Buddha stood in front of the wall and postured.
“God of Heaven…”
Drrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Even before reciting the command, the stone chamber began to tremble. Then, a huge presence formed outside, as when Heavenly Buddha entered.
“Amitabha…”
He muttered the prayer quietly. Yoon-seok couldn’t believe it. This crazy, psycho, innate macho of a monk was nervous now.
“Ancient Heavenly Demon Karmic Sword.”
Soon, a voice leaked in from over the wall. The feminine voice was so coercive and overwhelming that it didn’t even occur to him whom it might be, but it was somewhat familiar. Truthfully, he could tell even if it weren’t for this.
There was only one person in the entirety of Moorim who could make Heavenly Buddha so nervous.
‘Heavenly Demon.’
She was here.
Slashhh-!
The outer wall of the stone chamber turned into powder, letting in her overflowing energy. It was a surprise she hadn’t destroyed the entire chamber. Had she controlled her power because she was in front of Yoon-seok?
“It’s been a while.”
The Heavenly Demon appeared through the haze of black demonic energy. At the height of only 170cm, she had lean muscles and a healthy body, but in appearance, she was a slender woman. But… she didn’t feel small at all in front of the muscular Heavenly Buddha.
“Hmm.”
Heavenly Demon quietly looked through the inside of the stone chamber and licked her lips with an expression as if she didn’t like what she saw. Then, she fixed her eyes on Heavenly Buddha. The atmosphere was completely different from before when she would call Yoon-seok ‘little one’ and giggle at everything he did.
“Crazy monk, what did you do to my disciple?”
“Disciple? Do you not see the Buddha’s heart in him? He has decided to become my disciple from now on, so please abandon your regrets.”
Was it a battle of pride? The two absolute masters stared each other down in a war of nerves.
“He’s my disciple.”
“Nonsense. He’s already been given the Urna.”
“Urna? You crazy monk…”
“Stop being forceful, old lady. Aren’t you acting childish? Let’s just ask him. Who his mentor is.
Whip.
The eyes of the two absolute masters were directed at him, waiting for an answer. To be honest, it was a little awkward.
“…”
Strictly speaking, Yoon-seok was no one’s disciple. He was never declared to be anyone’s disciple. Still, he was walking on the Demon’s path, and he learned more from that side, so it would be right to raise the Heavenly Demon’s hand for now.
When he was going to announce his decision-
Thud. Thud.
She began to approach Yoon-seok. For some reason, she looked very angry. For a moment, he wondered if she was angry because she thought he didn’t choose her.
Instead, the Heavenly Demon looked at Yoon-seok’s neck. No, she carefully smoothed out the Magic Scarf he wore.
“There’s blood on it. Did that crazy monk do that to you?”
Though her voice was affectionate on the surface, the threat lying underneath deepened. Was that why? Yoon-seok replied somewhat politely.
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