The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 448

‘That crazy bastard!’

Bang So-bang inhaled sharply, witnessing the madness swirling in Woo Moon-yang’s eyes.

He realized what the man was thinking.

The special unit of the Demonic Sect that the young man had mentioned.

He clearly wanted to hide the fact that he had belonged to it.

Many members of the unorthodox factions had already entrusted themselves to the Demonic Sect.

However, not all of them received the same treatment.

Those who had been manipulated by the Demonic Sect using incomplete Demonic Arts had some room for sympathy, but the situation was different for those who had colluded with the Demonic Sect and spearheaded the invasion of the Central Plains.

The stigma of a traitor would follow them for life.

The same went for Woo Moon-yang.

Now that the truth had been revealed in front of the Beggars’ Sect, one of the top information organizations in the Central Plains, there was no place left for him.

So, he clearly intended to eliminate everyone here, including his allies, to silence them.

“Everyone, get behind me!”

Bang So-bang roared at the Beggars’ Sect members, spreading his body wide.

The situation was already irreversible.

Someone had to sacrifice themselves to minimize the damage.

Bang So-bang squeezed his eyes shut.

He didn’t have the courage to face the swarm of Woo Moons-yang’s needles rushing towards him like a cloud.

“Oh!”

“Th-that!”

Alarmed voices came from behind him immediately after.

“……?”

Bang So-bang cautiously opened his eyes.

He saw the Beggars’ Sect members staring at something with their mouths wide open.

Turning his head to follow their gaze.

“……!”

Like them, Bang So-bang’s mouth fell open.

As someone who had devoted himself to martial arts for a long time, he witnessed a sight he had never encountered before, something hard to believe.

‘What, this is ridiculous…….’

A translucent barrier filled the entire front.

A clear, dark-ink wall spanning five spans was displaying formidable divine might.

Half-dazed, Bang So-bang realized that it was created by the black staff held by the young man.

A technique that even raindrops couldn’t penetrate, the Starfall Dense Defense.

A sword screen….

No, since it was unfolded with a staff, should it be called a staff screen?

Whatever it was, the cloud of hidden weapons rushing in with terrifying force was blocked by the wall of strong energy rippling before them, suspended in mid-air.

Suddenly, one martial art flashed through Bang So-bang’s mind.

He had once heard of a similar martial art.

‘The Heavenly 罡 Demonic Wall [罡 (gang) refers to a powerful, celestial energy force]?’

A supreme art of offense and defense that temporarily creates a wall of strong energy to suppress the opponent.

‘But that’s the 천마’s [Cheonma refers to the Heavenly Demon, a powerful figure in martial arts mythology] martial art?’

The question didn’t last long.

The young man began to move again.

As he slowly extended the ink-black staff forward, the air rippled once.

Crack.

The massive wall of strong energy began to advance, crushing everything.

Woo Moon-yang’s face had already turned ashen as he faced it.

Realizing that there was no way to escape, deep despair settled in his eyes.

The terrifying pressure increased with each passing moment!

He was desperately holding on, but his legs had long since dug into the dirt floor up to his knees.

His back was bent backward by more than half, and blood gushed from his nose and mouth.

‘Where did this unbelievable monster come from…….’

He didn’t want to believe this unreal reality.

He had once seen the 천마 from afar.

But even the 천마 wasn’t this powerful.

Fragments of energy soared like blades everywhere.

Just facing them was enough to send shivers down his spine.

It was then that he met the cold, frozen gaze of the young man.

The moment Woo Moon-yang was aghast.

Kaboom!

A deafening roar, as if the sky was collapsing, engulfed him.

And that was the last sound Woo Moon-yang heard alive.

He couldn’t even leave behind a complete corpse.

He was torn to shreds and scattered as a mist of blood.

How much time had passed?

Rumble.

After a while, a faint thunderous sound shook the area.

It was a phenomenon caused by the atmosphere, which had momentarily become a vacuum, rapidly returning to its place.

The aftermath of the storm swept through the area.

A heavy silence settled there.

Flutter.

A gust of wind that had not yet dissipated clung to the young man’s clothes.

But soon, startled by the young man’s fierce eyes, it released its grip and fled.

Only a heavy silence and the thick smell of death remained in the arena where the wind had disappeared.

“Aaaagh!”

The subordinates of the Four Evil Species, who had barely escaped death, belatedly screamed and began to flee in a hurry.

A lonely emotion arose and disappeared above the eyes of the young man, who silently stared at them.

The young man stood there blankly for a while without saying a word.

After a while.

“You…… are you perhaps 악선 [Ahk-seon, a given name]?”

The young man paused at the voice suddenly heard from behind.

“You’re 악선, aren’t you?”

At Bang So-bang’s voice, which was heard again, Dan Ahk-seon hesitated for a moment.

Soon, Dan Ahk-seon slowly turned around.

Dan Ahk-seon was startled when he met Bang So-bang’s gaze.

It was because Bang So-bang was shedding tears.

The Beggars’ Sect members standing behind Bang So-bang began to murmur.

As a Seventh-Level Disciple, and furthermore, as the Head of the Surveillance Division.

He had always maintained a mature appearance compared to his age.

The Beggars’ Sect members’ faces were filled with bewilderment as they faced Bang So-bang, who was crying like a child.

Dan Ahk-seon offered a forced smile to Bang So-bang.

“Have you been well?”

“How could I be well!”

Bang So-bang shouted.

Then, he glared at Dan Ahk-seon, sobbing.

“You bastard…, how could you not contact me even once all this time? And I call you a friend…….”

Dan Ahk-seon felt one side of his frozen heart soften at the sight of Bang So-bang, unable to continue speaking as he choked back tears.

Even in this state, there were still people who welcomed him.

Bang So-bang’s warm tears contained a sincerity that could not be fully conveyed by words alone.

And that alone was a great comfort to Dan Ahk-seon at this moment.

However, conversely, Bang So-bang’s heart ached as he faced Dan Ahk-seon’s smile.

It had been a full ten years.

He also knew that Dan Ahk-seon had been completely isolated from the outside world inside 신지 [Shinji, a hidden and isolated place], fighting a lonely battle alone.

He couldn’t even imagine the suffering and pain.

Of course, he had always held a belief deep in his heart that Dan Ahk-seon would return someday.

He had no doubt that he would be able to see Dan Ahk-seon again, approaching him with the same gentle eyes and offering a smile without any pretense.

However, he was also human, and ominous thoughts occasionally crossed his mind.

Whenever that happened, he would inevitably spend sleepless nights, fretting.

Eventually, he met Dan Ahk-seon as he had wished, but he couldn’t just be happy.

It was because he could no longer see that innocent smile that he had liked so much.

The traces of deep loneliness felt beyond his calm eyes came too painfully.

That’s why the tears didn’t stop.

Dan Ahk-seon quietly smiled as he watched Bang So-bang.

He was a friend with particularly large eyes like a calf.

Seeing such a guy pouring out tears like this made him look even more pathetic and sad.

But there was one problem.

Bang So-bang didn’t usually wash.

Because his face was already dirty, only the parts where the tears had passed were stripped of 때국물 [ttaegungmul, grime and dirt].

And the tears, full of dust and sewage, were gathering on his chin and dripping down.

So, the tear marks were even more clearly contrasted.

Dan Ahk-seon chuckled.

“You couldn’t even recognize me right away.”

“Th-that’s!”

Bang So-bang couldn’t answer for a moment and stammered at Dan Ahk-seon’s jokingly thrown words.

But it wasn’t unreasonable.

Aside from the changed appearance, such a resolute skill that left no room for consideration.

It was a transformation that Dan Ahk-seon ten years ago couldn’t have imagined.

“What the hell happened inside there?”

“I kept fighting.”

“With whom?”

“With myself.”

Dan Ahk-seon, who had a complicated look in his eyes, raised his eyes to look at the sky.

“As I did, I realized. That a carelessly given kindness can return as a sharp dagger and harm my people.”

Bang So-bang, who had been staring at Dan Ahk-seon, finally nodded.

Whatever the reason, Dan Ahk-seon was Dan Ahk-seon.

The fact that he was his irreplaceable friend remained unchanged.

“악선!”

Bang So-bang’s face was filled with bewilderment as he tried to hug Dan Ahk-seon out of joy.

It was because his arms were embracing the empty air in vain.

Bang So-bang frowned as he saw Dan Ahk-seon already far away.

“Let me hug you once, my friend.”

“…….”

“I’m confused if this is a dream or reality.”

“It’s not a dream.”

Dan Ahk-seon said, keeping his distance from Bang So-bang, who was slowly approaching.

“And these are new clothes.”

“Don’t tell me you’re looking down on me because I’m dirty? I’m a friend who’s been waiting for you for over ten years?”

“I missed you too, So-bang.”

Unlike his words, Dan Ahk-seon didn’t easily give distance to Bang So-bang, who was chasing him.

After struggling for a long time, Bang So-bang finally gasped for breath.

“Hah, hah. You cheater.”

Then, as if he suddenly remembered, Bang So-bang asked.

“But how did you know I was tailing you?”

He had to ask about this no matter what.

No matter how skilled the opponent was, it was difficult to notice the Beggars’ Sect’s secret tracking technique.

And Bang So-bang couldn’t help but be bewildered by the answer that came back.

“I kept smelling roasted duck from somewhere.”

Bang So-bang’s face crumpled, and the Beggars’ Sect members guarding the safehouse sighed and shook their heads.

* * *

“Sigh. I don’t know if this is okay.”

Bang So-bang, who was following Dan Ahk-seon into the 하오문 [Haomun, a secret information organization] Shanxi branch, looked around and clicked his tongue.

Originally, he was supposed to be monitoring this place.

Soon after, Dan Ahk-seon, who met Seol Nan-young, the branch leader here, smiled quietly and opened his mouth.

“As you requested, the Beggars’ Sect branch was finished without any damage.”

Seol Nan-young stared at Dan Ahk-seon with a complicated look.

“Of course, there wouldn’t have been much damage to the Beggars’ Sect.”

But the nuance was subtle.

She seemed to know that Jo Gwi and Woo Moon-yang, as well as the experts under the Four Evil Species, had become ghosts.

At this time, Bang So-bang bowed politely to Seol Nan-young.

“Thank you for your help.”

Bang So-bang had heard from Dan Ahk-seon that she had taken risks for the Beggars’ Sect’s Shanxi branch.

“I didn’t expect that 하오문, an old information organization of the 사파 [Sapa, unorthodox factions], would help our sect.”

“I’m just returning what I received.”

“Yes?”

“You’ve been protecting us all this time. Of course…….”

Seol Nan-young, who vaguely trailed off, smiled.

“I’m a little confused whether that’s surveillance or protection.”

Bang So-bang was momentarily captivated by her bright smile.

Bang So-bang had always roamed dirty back alleys and harsh places.

As such, opportunities to talk to such a beauty were rare.

“Anyway, you should definitely move the Beggars’ Sect branch. Especially since they must be grinding their teeth at you, Bang 협 [Hyeop, a respectful title].”

Bang So-bang grinned at Seol Nan-young’s advice.

Just looking at how they tried to eliminate him by even mobilizing the 당가’s [Dangga, a family known for hidden weapons] hidden weapons, he could tell how deeply rooted their resentment was.

At this time, Dan Ahk-seon opened his mouth to Seol Nan-young.

“But has 하오문 clearly drawn a line with the 사도련 [Sadoryeon, an evil alliance] that the Four Evil Species are creating?”

Seol Nan-young shook her head with a complicated look.

“It’s not the will of the entire 하오문. But at least I have no intention of being with them.”

Seol Nan-young continued, pouring tea into the teacup in front of her.

“Nevertheless, if 하오문 joins hands with the 사도련… then there’s nothing I can do. I have no choice but to leave 하오문 with the people who trust and follow me.”

Seol Nan-young smiled at Dan Ahk-seon, who was surprised by the unexpected answer.

“It’s thanks to Doctor Dan.”