The Fist Demon's body was perfect.
His face was like a demon's, but his body was a work of art.
The Fist Demon's muscles, which looked ready to burst, were large and thick, but they didn't look slow.
His body, forged through arduous training and perilous combat, was like a diamond, intimidating anyone who merely looked at it.
He had fewer scars on his body than one might expect, but a long sword scar across his chest stood out.
If anything, it made his body look even more impressive.
His body seemed to say:
This is the body of a fist master who has reached the ultimate state.
Could anyone withstand the pressure when that body rushes in? Could they endure the destructive power of that huge fist flying at them? Could my sword truly protect me from that body?
I was genuinely impressed.
Seeing my reaction, a hint of pleasure flickered across the Fist Demon's face.
He must have heard countless times that he was impressive, and he knew it himself, so I asked something different.
“What must one do to build a body like this?”
“Building a body like this would hinder your swordsmanship, wouldn't it?”
After all, there's a clear difference between the body of a swordsman and that of a fist master.
“Then I'll just have to train in a way that my swordsmanship grows stronger as my body develops.”
“Then you should move your body more than your mouth.”
The Fist Demon began his fist technique training.
I honestly didn't think he would train even if he joined the group.
After all, training wasn't his purpose for joining.
But he began to train in earnest.
As if telling me to watch and learn, he started performing the Black Fists technique.
Since he had taken off his shirt, I couldn't just stand there.
I also took off my upper garment and stood beside the Fist Demon, beginning to perform the forms.
Using the Divine Eye Technique, I examined the Fist Demon's body in detail.
I compared his muscles to my own as we executed the same movements.
How they were different, and why.
Understanding that difference would be the greatest lesson for me.
Lee Ahn and Cheon So-hee watched as the Fist Demon and I performed the forms with identical movements.
I'm sure that in her heart, Cheon So-hee wanted to throw off her own clothes and jump in with us.
That's how passionately the fire in her heart was burning.
Lee Ahn and Cheon So-hee also began their training.
The Late Night Training Session.
Just by the name, one might think it was a social club for slackers, but the four people gathered were all burning with passion.
That's why the session proceeded with more heat than any other.
The sound of the wind from the Fist Demon's punches was different from mine.
Naturally, the sound he made was more pleasant to hear.
How could he produce such a light, crisp sound despite the immense weight behind his strikes? Listening to the sound of the Fist Demon's fists calmed my mind and lifted my spirits.
I became purely immersed in the fist technique.
From the moment I heard he wanted to shatter a cliff, I no longer saw the Fist Demon with any other intention or purpose.
I simply wanted to learn the fist technique from him.
Perhaps it was because he sensed that sincerity in my heart that the Fist Demon was here with us tonight.
After the training ended, I shared a piece of news with the Fist Demon.
“Tomorrow, we'll meet in the Demon Family Village.”
“In the Demon Family Village?”
“We're having a welcome party for you, Fist Demon. A welcome party for the new member.”
The Fist Demon was stunned.
He shot me a glare even more intense than the one he'd given me when I told him he had to teach his signature martial art to join the group.
A welcome party for me? And as a new member? Are you out of your mind?
It was probably something he had never experienced in his entire life.
“Same time, in front of the Flowing Wine Tavern. That is all. Dismissed!”
I met the Fist Demon's glare with a look that said, ‘If you don't like it, you can quit.’
The Fist Demon scoffed and left.
As I watched him leave and turned around, I was startled.
Lee Ahn and Cheon So-hee were standing side by side, glaring at me fiercely.
It seemed the Fist Demon wasn't the only one unhappy about tomorrow's welcome party.
Lee Ahn raised her voice.
“Are you really going to do this? Do you think any of us will be able to swallow a single drop of wine in that atmosphere!”
“It might be surprisingly fun.”
Suddenly, Cheon So-hee placed a hand on her forehead and said,
“Oh! I think I have a fever. I probably won't be able to make it tomorrow.”
Lee Ahn chimed in.
“Oh! That's right. I have plans tomorrow. I completely forgot.”
I looked at the two women and said with a laugh,
“You think that's going to work? Well then, see you at the Flowing Wine Tavern tomorrow!”
And so, the first day of the Late Night Training Session with the Fist Demon came to an end.
*
The next night.
Jo Chun-bae, the owner of the Flowing Wine Tavern, yawned so wide it felt like his mouth would tear.
There were few customers today, so he was dozing off by the counter, wondering whether he should close up early.
Just then, the presence of someone startled him awake.
“Aargh!”
He screamed and fell backward.
A terrifying evil spirit stood before him.
Thinking he must be seeing things in his half-asleep state, he got up from the floor, only to freeze in place.
It wasn't an evil spirit, but a man.
He had never in his life seen someone so frighteningly built.
The man's forearms were thicker than his own thighs.
Just then, a familiar voice sounded.
“It's been a while, owner.”
Geom Mugeuk appeared from behind the man.
“Pavilion Lord!”
He honestly felt like he had died and come back to life.
“This is the Fist Demon of our Main Sect. Greet him.”
At the words ‘Fist Demon,’ Jo Chun-bae's eyes widened.
He had heard many rumors about the Fist Demon, but this was the first time he had seen him in person.
“I was rude in my drowsiness, not realizing such an esteemed guest had arrived. Please forgive me!”
Jo Chun-bae's waist bent in half.
As of this moment, the record was broken.
Among all the Demon Sovereigns who had visited as customers, the most terrifying one was now the Fist Demon.
Lee Ahn, who followed them in, greeted him cheerfully.
“Hello.”
Jo Chun-bae's expression brightened.
Seeing Lee Ahn, who always greeted him so cheerfully, naturally lifted his spirits.
With her standing next to the Fist Demon, it truly felt like two absolute opposites were standing together.
The three of them, excluding Geom Mugeuk, went up first to the second-floor table where they always sat.
“Is business going well these days?”
“Thanks to you, it is. I heard you've been training in fist techniques lately, Pavilion Lord. It seems the rumors are true.”
“So you've heard as well, owner.”
“Anyone who doesn't know that these days must be a spy. No, a spy would have been the first to know and would have already reported it to the Martial Alliance.”
Geom Mugeuk laughed along with Jo Chun-bae's joke.
Compared to the cheerful atmosphere downstairs, the mood on the second floor was solemn.
Lee Ahn and Cheon So-hee were cautiously watching the Fist Demon.
Cheon So-hee, in particular, was frozen stiff.
Not only had her attempt to quit the group failed, but she had also been caught suggesting they secretly call each other martial brother and sister.
‘My chances of becoming the next Fist Demon are really gone now!’
To break the awkward atmosphere, Lee Ahn asked the Fist Demon,
“Have you been here before?”
At that, the Fist Demon looked at Lee Ahn.
‘Is that question really a reason to stare at me so frighteningly?’
If the Fist Demon had known Lee Ahn's inner thoughts, he would have felt terribly wronged.
He was just looking at her, but she perceived it as a fearsome glare.
“Tell them to bring wine.”
“Yes! I'll go get it!”
At the Fist Demon's words, Cheon So-hee quickly stood up and ran down to the first floor.
Now, only the Fist Demon and Lee Ahn remained on the second floor.
“It was truly unexpected. I never thought you would join our group, Fist Demon.”
In truth, Lee Ahn wanted to ask, ‘Did you really join because you want to fight the Young Master?’
Instead of answering, the Fist Demon asked her,
“Are you not afraid of me?”
“I am afraid.”
“You don't seem afraid at all.”
“If you feel that way, it's probably because of the Young Master.”
“Why the Second Young Master?”
“Because if you were truly a danger to me, the Young Master would never have left me alone with you. In the first place, you wouldn't have been allowed to join the group.”
The Fist Demon's gaze turned toward Geom Mugeuk, who was standing in front of the counter on the first floor.
“The greater the trust, the deeper the wound.”
Lee Ahn thought that if she had heard those words with her eyes closed, she wouldn't have believed they were spoken by the Fist Demon.
Both the content and the gentle tone were so out of character.
Suddenly, she wondered if she might have misunderstood some things about him.
“I think men don't know much about women. Women know everything. We only have the choice of whether to pretend not to know and let it happen, or to run away beforehand.”
“So? Are you the type to pretend not to know?”
“Normally, I'm craftier than I look, so I'm the type to run away first. However, the Young Master's case is the sole exception.”
“Misplaced faith is what brings misfortune.”
“That's a shame. Because I'll never get to experience that.”
Lee Ahn's faith in Geom Mugeuk was absolute.
Just then, Geom Mugeuk and Cheon So-hee came up to the second floor with the wine.
“My apologies. The wine is late because I held up the owner for a moment.”
Geom Mugeuk poured a drink for the Fist Demon first.
The wine cup looked so small and cute in the Fist Demon's large hand.
Geom Mugeuk poured wine for Lee Ahn and Cheon So-hee and said,
“Anyone who gets rowdy when drunk, don't forget who we're drinking with right now!”
Lee Ahn played along with Geom Mugeuk's banter.
“So for someone like me who has drunken habits, I guess I'm risking my life here.”
Then she looked at Cheon So-hee.
“Do you have any drunken habits?”
“I don't.”
“Are you sure it's not just that you've never drunk enough for them to come out?”
Cheon So-hee was confident she would never act out.
Get rowdy while drinking with the Fist Demon? That would never happen.
“Well then, a welcome to the Fist Demon. Cheers!”
Geom Mugeuk raised his wine cup, and they all toasted.
Geom Mugeuk tried to make the drinking session, his first in a while, a fun and lively one.
Especially for the Fist Demon, who had acted like he would never come but had arrived right on time.
Geom Mugeuk and Lee Ahn led the conversation, talking about all sorts of things.
They talked about martial arts, about women, and about men.
They talked about the Martial Alliance and the Unorthodox Alliance, and about the other Demon Sovereigns.
The Fist Demon didn't seem to dislike the gathering either.
He drank well and answered the occasional question.
But throughout the conversation, Geom Mugeuk sensed something.
That the Fist Demon was lonely.
Seeing him in a place like this, with all the laughing and talking, made it even clearer.
The four of them were drinking together, but only the Fist Demon was alone in some distant, faraway place.
It was a deserted island that Geom Mugeuk had also visited before.
Geom Mugeuk was the same as the Fist Demon.
Even when surrounded by people, he could never fully enjoy life.
He was driven only by the single-minded goal of finding the ingredients for the Great Regression Art; he had no life of his own.
Perhaps the Fist Demon was also living with the sole purpose of shattering a cliff, having already lost the joys of the present?
As I was lost in such thoughts while drinking, I noticed Lee Ahn looking at me.
Her gaze, which seemed particularly beautiful today, asked, ‘What are you thinking so hard about?’ ‘Just this and that.’
Just then, Cheon So-hee, slightly flushed from the wine, brought up something she had been holding back.
“I thought all night about the question you asked yesterday, Fist Demon. The one about what I would do once I became strong.”
She had truly given it serious thought.
“Before I joined the Eastern Fist Hall, I honestly don't remember what I used to think. At some point, all I could think about was winning, and winning again, to become the Fist Demon. But even in the midst of all that, I had this one thought. If I become the Fist Demon, I'll be happy. I'll be happy. If only I become the Fist Demon, all this effort will be rewarded.”
Her voice trembled.
“When I get stronger… I want to be happy.”
As if embarrassed by her own words, she quickly added,
“Though I suppose someone who dreams of becoming the Fist Demon shouldn't have a goal as trivial as mere happiness, instead of a grand cause for the Main Sect.”
It was Geom Mugeuk who responded to her words.
“I think that's a fine goal.”
Geom Mugeuk looked at the Fist Demon and asked,
“What do you think, Fist Demon?”
“It's pathetic, but not bad.”
“If it's pathetic, it's pathetic. If it's not bad, it's not bad. Please just pick one. If you give such an ambiguous answer, our martial sister here will worry all night and won't be able to sleep a wink.”
“It's not bad.”
Geom Mugeuk smiled and nodded at Cheon So-hee.
In truth, Cheon So-hee had wanted to say, ‘I want to be like Lee Ahn.’
Lee Ahn looked happier than anyone.
On top of that, she had someone she trusted and liked as much as her own life.
‘I envy you.’
We all drank together.
The Fist Demon put down his cup and asked Geom Mugeuk,
“You said you wanted to learn the fist technique because you want to get stronger?”
“Yes.”
“And what will you do when you are strong?”
It was the same question he had asked Cheon So-hee.
“I'm going to live freely. I'll go where I want to go and come when I want to come. I'll hang out with the Demon Sovereigns, and if I want to be alone, I'll lock myself in the Heavenly Demon Hall for days on end. If I get tired of that, I'll just up and leave for the Central Plains."
"If I meet good people, I'll stay in their village for a few days. I'll drink with herb gatherers on a scenic mountain. At the very least, I won't be cooped up and suffocated in the Heavenly Demon Hall like my father. He should have gone out and had some fun once in a while."
"Why are you all making that face? Why are you looking at me so scarily… you're not, are you?”
Mimicking what Cheon So-hee had said yesterday, Geom Mugeuk turned around.
A man whose mere entrance seemed to change the air around him, a man who could make the ever-composed Fist Demon tense up, a man whose very presence put everyone on edge—the Heavenly Demon, Geom Woojin, was standing right behind him.