The term “Heavenly Demon” might sound unfamiliar in real life, but anyone who has played a martial arts game or read a wuxia novel even once would recognize it instantly.
Especially for Yohan, it was a word deeply connected to him.
Wasn’t he currently learning the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?
“The leader of the Bucheon Brothers Clan calls himself the Heavenly Demon?”
It wasn’t about pride in the title of Heavenly Demon.
It was because he had fought so many battles that he had no worthy opponents left; just hearing the name “Heavenly Demon” made him instinctively wary.
Claiming the name “Heavenly Demon” meant that, at the very least, the person had learned the Heavenly Demon Divine Art as it appeared in games, or possessed something related to the Heavenly Demon.
Yohan looked at Jeonghu.
“Looks like things won’t end easily.”
“Yeah, just hearing about them, they sound like no joke. There’s no beating numbers, so you should be careful too, Dad.”
“That may be, but I can’t stop. There’s no guarantee we’ll be able to raid in the next game.”
“That’s true, but…”
While Jeonghu hesitated, Yohan dusted off his seat and started walking toward the car as he continued speaking.
“It’s not just because of the raid. Honestly, with everyone scattered—some dealing with monsters, others running around trying to steal items during the raid—this is probably our best chance to at least weaken their strength a bit.”
“Do we really have to fight?”
“If we don’t? Their power will only grow. If that happens, we’ll have to choose eventually: either run away from Bucheon, or end up under the Bucheon Brothers Clan.”
Leaving Bucheon wasn’t a pleasant option.
There was no guarantee other areas weren’t like this one; at least here, they were familiar with the geography, so it was relatively safer.
“That’s true. By the way, this armor is way more comfortable than I expected. I thought chainmail would be uncomfortable, but it fits like a second skin.”
“Legendary items come with their perks, I guess.”
Chatting about this and that, Yohan and Jeonghu started the engine.
The car started off slowly, then before they knew it, was heading toward Bucheon Station.
***
Bucheon Station.
This place, which once stood as the central area of Bucheon, was home to the massive Bucheon Station building, an E-Mart, and a cluster of restaurants, bars, and universities, making it a bustling hub.
At least, until the game began.
Now, Bucheon Station had become a fortress under the control of the Bucheon Brothers Clan.
Every small entrance was tightly sealed, and both the largest northern and southern exits had been turned into castle walls using containers from who-knows-where.
That wasn’t enough, they’d even built walls in the north and south plazas with buses and cars.
And at every key point, people stood guard, some holding guns, probably looted from a military base or won in battle, and others equipped with various items.
The Bucheon Brothers Clan, which started with just one person, had grown as people kept flocking in, even now, their numbers had reached about 150, forming a true force.
“So, the 17th group isn’t leaving the main shelter?”
“Yes, that’s right, boss.”
“And surveillance?”
“As you instructed, I’ve stationed ten people, boss. Ah, they’re taking shifts, boss.”
“Good, well done.”
Jeong Cheolwoo nodded, sending his subordinate away.
Jeong Cheolwoo.
Despite his neat appearance and glasses, giving off an intellectual vibe, he was actually the number two of the Bucheon Brothers Clan.
That didn’t mean he was a gangster from the start.
He was originally a resident doctor at Bucheon General Hospital, the largest general hospital in the area. After the game began, by chance, he met Nam Taegu of the Bucheon Brothers Clan, and together they built up the clan as it is today.
If Nam Taegu was the fist, Cheolwoo was the brain.
The idea to turn Bucheon Station into a fortress, restructure the organization, and swallow up the Bucheon area, all those plans came from his head.
He stuck a cigarette between his lips and looked back.
His office was organized and efficient, and behind his desk stood a large Whiteboard.
On that Whiteboard was a map of all of Bucheon, covered with countless notes.
It listed all the groups and people the Bucheon Brothers Clan had contacted or discovered.
Staring intently at the Sangdong area, he frowned and spoke up.
“Anyone out there?”
“You called, boss?”
“What’s going on with the Sangdong Witch?”
“I’ll check right away, boss.”
His subordinate hurried out and returned a moment later with a troubled expression.
“I checked, boss. But it looks like all thirty people we sent are dead. There’s no contact, boss.”
“Ot!”
Jeong Cheolwoo’s expression twisted at once.
“Even thirty weren’t enough? What level were the ones we sent?”
“Yes, boss. Two A-ranks, eight B-ranks, the rest were C-ranks, boss.”
“Hmm…”
Cheolwoo turned back to the Whiteboard.
On the left was written “Personnel Status,” and underneath were letters and numbers—his system for classifying people’s abilities.
Cheolwoo’s ability was exactly this: he possessed a Scouter that could check others’ abilities.
Using the Scouter, which displayed abilities as numbers, he classified people: 100–1,000 as C-rank, 1,000–5,000 as B-rank, 5,000–10,000 as A-rank, and anything above that as S-rank.
But the white-haired witch discovered in Sangdong normally only registered a power of 14—just an ordinary person. However, when she used her power, for a certain period she soared close to 10,000, making her a high-level A-rank.
‘Still, for her to wipe out thirty people, including two A-ranks…’
“We lost two precious A-ranks.”
He changed the “15” under A-rank to “13,” frowning.
“Should we send more people to track her, boss?”
“…….”
“Forget it, I’ll just go myself.”
“You’re here, boss!”
A man entered the office.
A huge man with sculpted muscles—the leader of the Bucheon Brothers Clan, Nam Taegu.
“You’re here, boss.”
“Cheolwoo hyung, I keep telling you to speak comfortably, but you still talk like that.”
“I’m more comfortable this way.”
“Anyway… so, about that witch or whatever, I’ll just go deal with her myself.”
“It’s risky for the top commander to move carelessly at this point. It could be dangerous.”
“Dangerous? For who? Me?”
Nam Taegu pointed at himself and chuckled.
“I—”
Cheolwoo trailed off.
Nam Taegu’s ability score on the Scouter was 12,000.
Among all the people they’d checked so far, he was the only S-rank in Bucheon and had the highest ability score, a monster among monsters.
That was why Cheolwoo had chosen Nam Taegu.
He was overwhelmingly strong, yet not self-centered.
“You’re not chasing the witch because of me, are you?”
“That’s right.”
The witch’s ability wasn’t fully clear, but Cheolwoo guessed it could maximize a person’s power.
Even if the duration was short, if an ordinary person could show such power, then if Nam Taegu got her ability, the synergy would be unimaginable. That’s why Cheolwoo was determined to track her down.
“You said she’s weaker than you, right? Just find her location. If I go, it’ll be cleaner and no one else will have to get hurt. Got it, Cheolwoo hyung?”
“…Yes, understood.”
While Nam Taegu smiled kindly at Cheolwoo, someone burst into the office in a hurry.
“Ah! You’re here, boss!”
“Oh, Jongwoo. Have you eaten?”
“I had lunch, boss. Did you eat, boss?”
“Yeah. But what’s the rush?”
“There’s a problem, boss.”
Nam Taegu and Cheolwoo both turned to him.
Under the silent pressure to speak quickly, he blurted out,
“Monsters have appeared at Bucheon Nam Station, boss. They seem pretty tough, boss!”
Nam Taegu’s face immediately brightened.
“Monsters?”
“I’ll go check first.”
Cheolwoo, worried that their brawling boss might rush in and get hurt, quickly left the office and climbed to the top floor of E-Mart, where a stationery store used to be, and looked out the window.
Giant creatures were moving to cross into the southern plaza.
“Two Giant Hunters.”
Monsters even bigger than the one Yohan had dealt with before—Giant Hunters.
Members of the Bucheon Brothers Clan were frantically attacking those two monsters in front of the fortress walls.
He’d never seen one in person, so he was curious about their stats. Now, he finally knew.
“6,500.”
Not as strong as he’d thought.
But the numbers the Scouter showed weren’t everything.
At the very least, physical size wasn’t included in the stats.
Considering the Giant Hunter’s greatest strength was its massive size, Cheolwoo thought they should be considered monsters at least close to S-rank.
‘And there are two of them.’
“Stats?”
Nam Taegu, now beside him, asked as he watched the Giant Hunters.
“They’re not monsters defined by stats alone. Even just by numbers, two of them are stronger than you, boss.”
“Numbers and stats aren’t everything.”
Cheolwoo replied, moving his body, burning with fighting spirit.
“Dad, there are two Giant Hunters.”
“Yeah.”
Jeonghu shuddered, remembering how one of those things had torn up their neighborhood.
The Grey Orc, Janggun and Meonggun’s mother were all terrifying, but nothing matched the impact of seeing the Giant Hunter back then.
Now, two of those monsters had started attacking Bucheon Station, and as they neared, Yohan and his son hid in a building and watched.
“There were fifteen people guarding the place, and now more have joined. There are so many people.”
“Not a single one is weak.”
“They must have only gathered useful people. Still, they’re not taking the Giant Hunters down easily.”
“Giant Hunters are monsters with size as their cheat code… Hm?”
While Yohan frowned, lost in old memories, the Bucheon Brothers Clan members guarding the southern wall suddenly stopped attacking.
‘If they’re Giant Hunters, they should be able to tear down Bucheon Station, but they’ve stopped attacking?’
As Yohan wondered, a man appeared.
A tall, solidly built man.
The moment Yohan saw him, he knew instinctively.
“That guy must be the boss.”
“How do you know?”
“Just look at his presence.”
“Oh, Dad, you can sense presence too?”
“You guys say it all the time. Hey, your old man isn’t that out of touch!”
“Hahaha!”
Boom!
As the father and son joked, a tremendous noise drew their attention to the Giant Hunters.
“Oh my god!”
Jeonghu’s eyes widened.
One of the Giant Hunters, which they’d struggled so much to defeat before, had its legs severed and was sprawled on the ground.
In front of it, the boss casually stretched his neck and approached the other Giant Hunter.
A black aura surged from the boss’s body.
As the black aura gathered around the iron pipe in his hand, the boss swung it.
Slash!
That tough body was cleanly cut, and the remaining Giant Hunter rolled helplessly on the ground.
“Just two strikes!”
Seeing the boss subdue two Giant Hunters in only two blows, Yohan and Jeonghu shouted in unison, without even realizing it.
“Hea…ven…ly…Demon…”
He was, without a doubt, the Heavenly Demon himself.