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chapter 184
[The flames of Gehenna fill the sealing ground!]
[Due to the influence of causality, a portion of Logos’s divine will can now manifest!]
“‘How have I been?’”
Son Oh-gong’s tone turned calm.
“I suppose that depends on how you define that question.”
From afar, Lee Hyun, watching their encounter, was taken aback.
Son Oh-gong, who always called the Demon King of Deception hyung (older brother) in words only, had never once shown genuine respect or courtesy before.
Even toward his master, the monk Hyeonjang (Tripitaka), he alternated casually between “Master” and “that guy.”
But toward the Bull Demon King—he was different.
He was the very first being Oh-gong had ever truly acknowledged as his eldest brother.
“Well, if I answer honestly by how I feel,” Oh-gong said, his voice heavy with sarcasm, “then no, I haven’t been well at all. Those so-called ‘main gods’ keep stirring up shit, and down here, their lackeys can’t stop drooling at the chance to bite me. Hah, it’s exhausting.”
His trademark cynicism hadn’t changed.
“But you know what’s funny? I found out a little too late that our brothers fell into ruin, too. Tell me, what the hell were you doing all that time, big brother?”
It was a question Oh-gong had long wanted to ask.
The Bull Demon King had once been strong enough to defy the heavens alone—so how had he fallen so far?
And how had his brothers suffered the same fate even under his protection?
“Are you blaming me?”
“Yes. I am.”
“Ha… seems I’ve done nothing but disappoint my youngest brother. As the eldest, I suppose I should be ashamed.”
Yet, despite his words, there wasn’t the faintest hint of remorse in his voice.
“But truth be told, I’ve been just as disappointed in you.”
At that, one of Oh-gong’s brows twitched.
“Disappointed in me? You’ve still got the nerve to talk about conscience?”
“You are the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, aren’t you? Victorious Fighting Buddha. You were the idol of our kind—the yokai and demons. Someone we all aspired to one day reach.
But then… you tossed aside your Buddha’s crown and went back to being a wandering savage.”
“That’s—”
“—And then you got sucker-punched by those damn gods like an idiot.”
“….”
“The day you cast off that crown, Red Boy and Princess Raksha were executed. Their heads put on display.”
“……!!”
“So tell me, do you really think you’ve got any right to talk about disappointment?”
Oh-gong’s body stiffened.
Red Boy and Princess Raksha—the Bull Demon King’s son and wife.
In Journey to the West, they were among the few monsters who had driven Sun Wukong to the brink of death.
But by the story’s end, Red Boy had repented and become a disciple of the Bodhisattva Guanyin—the boy attendant often depicted beside her in Buddhist paintings.
And yet… they were dead?
Even as he spoke of his family’s tragedy, the Bull Demon King’s tone remained eerily calm.
“What was I supposed to do? When an army dragged their heads to my doorstep and waved them in my face, you think I could still worry about my brothers?”
Oh-gong couldn’t answer.
“I’d lost my subordinates. My family. All I had left was hatred. So, little brother… don’t presume to judge the choices I made afterward.”
Beneath his composed tone simmered a bottomless rage.
A wrath that had long since rotted into pure malice.
Through the Fiery Eyes of Truth, Oh-gong saw that the Bull Demon King’s inner world was pitch black—no other color remained.
That darkness was the very thing that had corrupted the once noble mind of the Demon King of Deception.
The big brother I once knew… doesn’t exist anymore.
Oh-gong’s golden eyes dimmed.
“So that’s why you used second brother as bait? To devour every god and human that came your way?”
“Bait? My hands may have been heavy, but second brother knew my story—and chose that path himself.”
Oh-gong saw the countless lingering spirits trapped in the seal.
It wasn’t just Raphael and his angelic army who had come to confront the Demon King.
Humans armed with ancient relics, gods and devils who risked their causal energy to descend, even a few lazy dragons—
—all of them had been torn apart by the sea fiends, or absorbed into the Bull Demon King’s demonic grasp.
It was a slaughterhouse.
In fact, Raphael’s army had likely come here to stop this madness.
Had the seal never been established…
This entire region—this dungeon, Guam, and maybe even half the world—would’ve been wiped out.
A pit of Gehenna, right in the middle of Earth.
“And you expect me to believe your second brother volunteered for that?”
“Because of it, I’ve amassed far greater power. Without this trap, I’d have become just another toy for the humans and gods to mock.”
The Fiery Eyes blazed.
“So you knew what happened to those two?”
The Bull Demon King said nothing. His black, orb-like eyes only gleamed with demonic light.
“You did. You knew what they suffered—and still turned away. No… you used them, didn’t you? As bait.”
“You keep saying foolish things, little brother. You’re clever enough to have already pieced everything together. So why pretend ignorance now?”
A low laugh rumbled from the Bull Demon King’s chest.
“Well, enough talk. We’ve both said what we needed to. So tell me…”
The black orb flared, Gehenna’s fire swirling around it ominously.
“There are many friends who dwell here with me—souls betrayed by gods and heavens alike, broken and consumed by vengeance. Just like you and me.”
“What are you getting at?”
“Come. Cross over to this side. If you do, I’ll return to you the names you’ve lost.”
Names.
Understanding dawned in Oh-gong’s eyes.
“Well? What do you say?”
“…How dull,” he sneered, folding his arms.
“So that’s all this place is—a pit where the defeated gather to lick each other’s wounds.
Maybe you’ve found some new brothers, but I’ll stick with the ones I already have.”
The unspoken message was clear—he’d never stand with someone who’d use his own family as bait.
The Bull Demon King laughed, low and knowing.
“Still sharp-tongued as ever. Fine. I get it. Once you decide something, you never change your mind.”
“And you, big brother, were always the type who’d stop at nothing once you made up yours. Sounds like a threat to me.”
“You cost me everything I held dear, Oh-gong. So it’s only fair that you learn what that pain feels like.”
The black orb’s glow tightened into a sharp line—
—but Oh-gong only smirked.
[‘Seal: Vessel of Light’ partially restored for unknown reason.]
[Flames of Gehenna infiltrate the seal. Attribute corrupted to Darkness. ‘Vessel of Darkness’ begins sealing the target!]
No way… big brother?!
The Demon King of Collapse’s expression froze at the message.
Behind her, circles of magic bloomed one after another, from which black chains erupted.
The same sealing ritual once used to imprison the Demon King of Deception—
but this time, the Bull Demon King had hijacked the authority entirely, twisting it into his own power.
His intent was obvious.
He’s trying to trap all of us here—to lure Oh-gong into joining him!
The loving, gentle eldest brother they’d once known no longer existed.
All that remained was a vengeful fiend.
Clatter—!
The chains of darkness lashed out wildly.
“Demon King of Collapse, duck your head!”
At the sharp warning in her ear, she threw herself flat just in time—
and a molten-black chain, glowing with infernal fire, whipped past her scalp.
The Ruyi Jingu Bang, searing hot with hellfire.
[The Saga of <Sahun> releases the dragon’s breath in full!]
The staff spun and split the air, weaving a glowing net behind her, sealing off retreat.
BOOM!
Rumble—!
The Vessel of Darkness thrashed, trying to break through, but the staff held firm.
Lightning and flame cascaded together in a storm of light.
Even a few seconds bought here were invaluable—and for Lee Hyun, those few seconds meant everything.
FWOOOSH!
A golden mist coiled around them—the Cloud Somersault, the Kintoun.
The Demon King of Collapse’s eyes widened in recognition.
Lee Hyun smiled faintly, pulling a Rabbit Hole keycard from his inventory—no, from Kibisis.
“Hold tight. We’re getting out of here first.”
“Ha! To think we’d play tricks like this against the Bull Demon King himself! Hah! Only with you could I ever have such fun!”
Sha Wujing (Sa Oh-jung) roared with laughter, pouring more curse power into the Ruyi Staff to strengthen the barrier.
[A new passage to the designated Rabbit Hole has been opened.]
[Activating keycard. Teleportation commencing—remain within the fixed zone.]
BOOM!
Just as the Vessel of Darkness burst through the net—
Lee Hyun’s party vanished.
The black chains slammed down onto empty ground, striking nothing.
But—
“You’re leaving without saying goodbye? How rude.”
A trace of Lee Hyun’s will had remained behind—
a spirit-constructed duplicate, like the one he’d left back in Korea.
[A fragment of the Kintoun, imbued with the user’s will, merges with the Vessel of Darkness!]
FWOOOSH!
Golden mist seeped into the dark chains.
CRACK!
Blue-white lightning danced along the metal, running backward like a current of salmon fighting upstream.
“Something precious to me?” Oh-gong tilted his head.
“Sorry, can’t say I have anything like that.”
The Bull Demon King scoffed.
“Still bluffing—”
“Call it bluffing if you want. I simply value myself the most.”
His voice hardened. “But you’ve got one thing wrong, and I’ll correct it.”
The Bull Demon King frowned, unable to understand Oh-gong’s composure.
“You’ve been watching us, haven’t you? Then you know that kid is my disciple.
So tell me—did you fail to notice how ruthless he can be?”
The Bull Demon King opened his mouth to retort—
CRACK!
Blue lightning burst from his left eye.
RUMBLE!
A thunderbolt split through his skull, shattering the orb entirely.
“……!!!”
The Bull Demon King howled, his psychic domain shaking violently.
[Using ‘Sacred Relic: Kinko Staff’ and ‘Ruyi Jingu Bang’—attempting to analyze and dismantle the sealing formula.]
[Initiating hack.]
…
[Portions of the Vessel of Darkness contaminated by lightning. Attribute override initiated.]
[‘Vessel of Thunder’ begins sealing the target!]
While the Bull Demon King was distracted by Oh-gong, Lee Hyun had hijacked part of the sealing formula and turned it against him.
Lightning—its essence was purification and exorcism.
The thunder-seal’s sacred energy burned through the infernal flames of Gehenna, piercing even the deepest corners of the Bull Demon King’s spirit.
[The roar of the Duokshini echoes through the seal!]
BOOOM! CRASH! RUMBLE! KRRRRAAASH!!
As the Bull Demon King’s mind writhed in agony from the divine lightning scorching his soul—
“OH-GONG!! OHHHH-GOOOONG!!!”
“Oh, I told you, didn’t I?”
Son Oh-gong smirked down at the raging titan.
“He’s far more vicious than I am.”
And with that, he launched himself forward, feet pounding against the ground.
BOOOOM!
A thunderclap split the air as the Great Sage charged.
