novelraw Chapter 131 : Demon of Prayers (1)
Chapter 131 : Demon of Prayers (1)
Chapter 131: Demon of Prayers (1)
Before his regression, after being captured as a slave by the Blood Cult—
If one were to name the greatest crisis Sewoon had faced, it would undoubtedly be the incident involving the Demon of Prayers.
Before he could even attempt true revenge against the Blood Demon, his entire plan had almost been exposed because of that creature.
When he returned to his quarters after finishing his training with Nameless, a Blood Cult servant reported that an accident had occurred among the household slaves.
He dropped everything and ran.
The Tang Clan captives who had been dragged along with him had their eyes gouged out and one of their limbs severed by the Blood Cult.
Without his help, they could barely survive a single day.
– Cough, ghk. Urghhh.
– Heo Sam, what in the world happened here?
– It hurts, it hurts so much!
The young servant, barely fifteen years old, convulsed in pain, vomiting blood.
It was a grievous wound—one that threatened his life.
They said one of the Blood Cult’s demonic practitioners had swung his sword for amusement.
Normal treatment could never save him.
His life hung by a thread—he had to use both his Reverse Heaven Qi and his Innate True Qi at once.
– Just a little longer. I’ll save you, I promise.
– Ugh, Young Master, please… please save me, Young Master.
– ……!
Fortunately, he sensed something was off before using his qi.
– ……Who are you?
– Huh? What do you mean, Young Master?
– Heo Sam never calls me Young Master. He always says Young Lord.
– Oh, really? I didn’t know that.
The boy, who had been writhing in pain moments ago, suddenly smiled—a chilling, sinister grin.
It was the work of Demon of Prayers, the one among the Ten Elders who had always doubted him.
If he had let his guard down even slightly, his entire plan would have been ruined. It was a terrifying memory—one that remained vividly etched into his mind.
That was precisely why, when preparing for this battle, the part Sewoon focused on the most was ensuring he could definitively identify whoever the Demon of Prayers disguised himself as.
Even if he saved Umun Geol and took control of the Beast Palace, if he failed to eliminate the Demon of Prayers, it would only be a half-success.
After all, it was that monster who had created the Thousand Jiangshi Unit, which made up thirty percent of the Blood Cult’s total force.
But the process was not easy.
He was the most cunning and meticulous among the Ten Elders.
‘……Originally, I planned to mark him with a Pursuit Thread during the Victory Match.’
At the time of the second round of the Heavenly Martial Festival, when eight challengers remained—
The Demon of Prayers had disguised himself as one of the contestants, but after Sewoon killed Meng Yung, he switched to a new identity.
Even with the Eye of Spectral Perception, Sewoon couldn’t find him.
By combining the Thousand Malevolent Bone-Shrinking Art and the perfected Nine Springs Corpse Armor Technique, he could completely conceal his demonic qi while mimicking anyone’s face and body.
If Sewoon had already stepped beyond the peak of the Transformation Realm and entered the early Manifestation Realm, his Eye of Spectral Perception might have pierced the disguise—but at his current level, it was impossible.
Therefore, he unleashed the power of Ink Blood to its utmost limit, scanning the condition of every warrior within the Heavenly Martial Stage.
It was a power that heightened the senses so intensely that time itself seemed to slow.
It wasn’t difficult.
And finally, he found one—just one—whose reaction differed from the rest.
The Demon of Prayers.
‘So, you were wearing his skin, were you?’
Even if he stole another’s face, he couldn’t hide the light in his eyes—
that filthy gleam of greed and desire.
Ssss—
A cold silence spread through the arena.
……What in the world just happened?
No one could immediately comprehend the strange scene that had unfolded before their eyes.
“Ghk, grr…!”
A single scream of agony tore through the stillness, sharpening everyone’s focus.
To the left, Pa Taeyun’s fist—
to the right, Umun Geol’s strike—
had simultaneously crushed the face of an old man.
The Chief of the Primal Tribe, the wise Pa Tamun, was left in a hideous state by the joint attack of the Beast Palace Lord and a challenger.
The shocking sight left everyone frozen.
Then, the light faded from Pa Tamun’s eyes, and his body collapsed limply to the ground.
He was dead.
“Wh-what?!”
“Pa Tamun!!”
Warriors of the Primal Tribe and those who had ties with Pa Tamun rushed forward.
“Stop!!”
Boom!
Umun Geol stomped the ground violently, halting them all.
The Palace Lord’s gaze was that of a raging beast—
so fierce that it warned that anyone who dared defy him would not leave alive.
“What—what madness is this?!”
“This is unforgivable! Even a Palace Lord cannot kill his kin without cause!”
“Pa Taeyun!! That man was your grandfather!!”
Fratricide.
Patricide.
Both were capital crimes in the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, punishable by death.
Even the Beast Palace warriors who always obeyed the Palace Lord could not contain their outrage this time.
Yet, despite the uproar, Umun Geol remained utterly expressionless.
The warrior who had fought fiercely in the Heavenly Martial Festival was gone—
in his place stood a cold, silent guardian.
“So, you plan to crawl on your belly like a cockroach and observe the situation, do you?”
It was Pa Taeyun who spoke then.
……What is that bastard doing?
But strangely enough, he was speaking to the corpse of Pa Tamun, whom he had just killed.
Naturally, the fallen body gave no answer.
Sewoon’s eyes gleamed like frozen steel.
“Fine. Then I’ll make you stand myself.”
Shrrk!
The corpse was still bound by the Heavenly Threads.
As Sewoon pulled back his clenched fist, the body rose like a puppet on a string.
Snap!
Then, gripping its neck, Sewoon growled—
“Feast well, Demon of Prayers.”
“……!”
He whispered so quietly that only that creature could hear him.
Fwoooosh!
At the same moment, he channeled his Demon-Subduing Power directly into the corpse.
The demon-subduing energy purified Umun Geol’s body and granted him greater strength, but
of course, to a demonic practitioner who had mastered nothing but gruesome demonic arts like the Demon of Prayers, it was like an acute poison.
“Gkyaaaah!!”
“……!!”
“?!?!”
It caused agony as terrible as a lethal toxin.
Suddenly, Pa Tamun, who had been limp, revived and screamed in pain.
As the demon-subduing energy took effect, every vein on the creature’s body swelled thick and prominent.
Every Beast Palace warrior froze in their places like statues, aghast.
“Gkek!! Y-you damned, wretched—!!”
In an instant, a flippant voice that none had heard from the frail old man erupted from Pa Tamun’s mouth.
When the creature glared at him with bloodshot eyes where all the capillaries had burst,
“What? You want more to eat?”
“……!?”
Sewoon immediately shoved demon-subduing power once more into the hand that held the creature’s leash.
“Kkiiiieeeek!!!”
The creature convulsed again, twisting as if every limb were being wrung.
‘W-what on earth is this?!’
The Demon of Prayers could not hide his bewilderment.
A hellish pain seared his entire body as if it were burning in infernal flames.
But the question dominating his mind now was,
‘How does that bastard know my true identity…?!’
Pa Taeyun. He wondered how that man could know his true form.
Yet the intensity of the pain left no room to dwell on it.
Grrk!
Grrk!
Resisting the demon-subduing power drained the energy needed to maintain the Thousand Malevolent Bone-Shrinking Art.
The creature’s clay-crushed shape began to shift into a completely different form.
“Th-that!!”
“What the—!”
The Beast Palace warriors were stunned by the scene.
The fallen was not Pa Tamun.
Soon the hideous, true face of the Demon of Prayers was revealed.
Sewoon then threw the creature demonstratively into the center of the Heavenly Martial Stage.
Whoosh!
Thud!
The hurled Demon of Prayers rolled uglily across the arena floor.
“Ugh…! Damn you, you bastard!!”
Filled with humiliation and rage, the Demon of Prayers rose to his feet.
Whoooosh!
Demonic qi, sinister and malignant, flared like flames across his whole body.
“Demonic qi?!”
“A demonic practitioner!! A demonic practitioner infiltrated the palace!”
“All Beast Palace warriors, prepare for combat!!”
Only then did the Beast Palace warriors belatedly grasp the situation; they all rose and took up battle posture.
Only the Wolf Tribe warriors who had colluded with the Blood Cult scanned the area with different eyes.
At that knife-edge moment, Sewoon touched his face.
Skr—!
Then he ripped off the human-skin mask he had been wearing.
“!!”
“You—…!!”
The Demon of Prayers’ pupils trembled violently.
He recognized the face.
It was the same man whose name and facial-scar identifiers had been recorded in the Blood Cult’s Assassination Name Ledger that had been distributed—the most important person listed.
Yes, that man’s name was certainly…
“Tang Sewoon…!!”
“Thanks for recognizing me. Yes.”
“!!”
Tang Sewoon.
The three syllables sent a massive shockwave through the crowd.
Not only did the Demon of Prayers react, the Beast Palace warriors also cried out at Pa Taeyun’s true identity.
Meanwhile, frantic thoughts raced through the Demon of Prayers’ mind.
‘If he really is Tang Sewoon, this cannot be allowed to pass!’
Though the Demon of Prayers had severed the Poison Demon’s arm and felled Baek Yacha before, he had not paid Tang Sewoon much heed—he had judged those victims to be low-level and stupid.
But now, with Tang Sewoon’s appearance, he finally realized how the situation truly stood.
‘He has comprehended our plan…!!’
There was absolutely no reason for Tang Sewoon to appear here now.
Yet the man already knew his identity.
Umun Geol could not have contacted him first—his every move was under surveillance.
‘Could it be that the recent sudden silence from the Soundwave Lute Demon side over the past few days…!’
A chill ran down his spine. That man was dangerous.
Even if he failed his master’s command and abandoned the Beast Palace, that man had to be eliminated.
As he organized his thoughts, the Demon of Prayers issued orders to all his subordinates present.
[Change all Blood Cult warriors’ missions to current time unit!]
[Exterminate Tang Sewoon and every member of the Beast Palace!]
All Blood Cult warriors of the Jiangshi Sect and the Wolf Tribe warriors prepared a covert ambush.
They quietly drew up demonic qi from their dantian, so as not to be noticed, following the Demon of Prayers’ orders.
The arena still seethed with confusion. If they exploited this, they could reverse the tide of battle.
‘First kill Umun Geol to create even greater chaos!’
At that instant, the Demon of Prayers finally moved first.
Crack!
He killed the gu— the parasite that had been linked to Umun Geol’s chest.
“Ugh!”
Umun Geol clutched his heart.
Chak-chang!
Whoosh!
Blood Cult warriors who had hidden their weapons revealed themselves and unleashed their blades.
Wolf Tribe warriors scattered lethal techniques among their brethren as well.
But…
Regrettably, not one of those ambushes reached their targets.
Thunk!
Thunk!
A chilling sound of penetration rang out one after another across the battlefield.
Something uncanny had occurred.
As if frozen mid-attack, every attacker stood motionless like a stone statue.
“What, what is this?”
“They’re all… dead?”
Thud!
Boom! Thud!
Along with the Beast Palace warriors’ panicked cries, all the combatants fell at once.
Sluice.
Blood from the slain had soaked the floor.
On every corpse’s forehead was a common mark—the vertical stroke of the character “-丨” had been carved.
…What is this?
Even the Demon of Prayers could not figure it out.
“Cockroaches breed endlessly, they said. They’ve multiplied a lot in the meantime.”
Sewoon gave a crooked smile.
He had discovered the flicker of demonic qi from the rats hiding with his Eye of Spectral Perception, and had exterminated them all with his Invisible Dagger.