As Woon-seong had expected, he arrived at the Charred Dragon House when the glow of the sky had dimmed. 

Did the banquet already begin?

Inside the Charred Dragon House, a number of voices could be heard. Wondering why it didn’t sound like a banquet inside, he pushed the door open. Despite the hinges being greased, they still squeaked, causing all heads to turn towards the entrance as the bright light of the interior illuminated Woon-seong. 

“You’ve arrived, Captain!” 

It was Gwan Tae-ryang who saw him first and shouted excitedly. 

Looking around, the Charred Dragon Unit members were all present. It seemed that everyone who had been injured by Yellow Evil were now all healed. Each table was covered in plates of food and jars of alcohol, but none of them showed signs of being touched. 

“Didn’t you say it was a banquet?”

“Of course.”

Gwan Tae-ryang nodded his head and dragged the youth over. 

“Captain did not arrive yet, how could we start? All of us were able to be part of the Charred Dragon Unit thanks to our strong Captain.”

At that, Woon-seong laughed. He had thought Gwan Tae-ryang was just a muscle-headed bear, but it seemed like he was cunning like a fox too. 

Even if I’m not there, I know the unit is in good hands.

As directed by Gwan Tae-ryang, Woon-seong sat in the seat of honor. Settling down, he looked around at the faces of his unit members one by one. He didn’t recognize all of them, but some familiar faces from the Cave stared back at him. 

When Woon-seong realized that he didn’t even know most of their names, he felt like he had really neglected his leadership duties. 

With that thought, he wore a bitter smile but quickly hid it. 

At that time, Gwan Tae-ryang filled Woon-seong’s glass. “Why don’t you say a few words.”

Woon-seong hesitated, lifting his glass slowly. 

“The Charred Dragon Unit is one of the Twelve Supporting Units. It is not an easy role and we should not be idle. As we have done so far, we have to keep our bodies in the best condition so we are ready to fight at all times.”

The atmosphere that had been excited sank as if it had been doused with a bucket of cold water. 

Oops. Seeing their faces, Woon-seong only smiled and lifted his glass. “But today, let’s drink!”

At the moment these words fell, Gwan Tae-ryang lifted his glass. “For the Charred Dragon Unit!”

With that cry, the dying atmosphere was revived. 

“Let’s drink!”

The banquet started with all their cheers. 

In fact, the food that had been prepared for the banquet was not special at all. Most of the dishes were made by the everyday Charred Dragon House chefs. 

The only thing different was the atmosphere. 

They were able to enjoy their food with a smile. 

Congratulations on surviving the Cave of Latent Demons! Congratulations on completing your missions! Congratulations on being promoted to the Charred Dragon Unit!

During their time in the Cave, the members had not enjoyed the luxuries of human life. So this celebration felt more important than ever. 

Over time, the atmosphere only ripened. The banquet, which began late in the evening, seemed like it would continue until the morning. 

But unfortunately, the banquet had to end around midnight. 

That was because a visitor  opened the door to the Charred Dragon House and entered.

Thud-

The movement was stealthy, but it was not possible to deceive Woon-seong’s senses. 

Actually, it was not only impossible to hide from Woon-seong but also the rest of the unit. 

Gwan Tae-ryang immediately reached for his blade, but Woon-seong stopped him. 

“Who is it?”

Looking at the man, Woon-seong was sure that he had some status. He was standing in front of the new Charred Dragon Unit, but his positioning and aura were quite extraordinary. The man stood just outside the distance a knife could be thrown — given it wasn’t Woon-seong who threw it, of course.

“Greetings. The ‘Brain of the Heavenly Absolute Demon’ has a message for the Captain of the Charred Dragon Unit and I, Ha Mo, am tasked to relay it.”

His words immediately caused the alertness of the unit to disperse. This man was a messenger of the Cult. However, there were still some suspicions.

“By ‘Brain of the Heavenly Absolute Demon’, you mean the Senior Strategist, Sir Sang Gwan-chuk. A message from him?”

“Yes. He asks, if the Captain of the Charred Dragon Unit is present at his quarters, enter the Heavenly Brain Tower.”

The Heavenly Brain Tower was one of the Demonic Master Towers, obviously belonging to the ‘Brain of the Heavenly Absolute Demon’. Since it was run by the Senior Strategist, it could also be considered as the Cult’s military strategy center. 

“The Heavenly Brain Tower? At this time?”

“He says that there’s a new mission. I wasn’t briefed about the details, but I was told that it was an urgent matter.”

It wouldn’t make sense for one of the Ten Demonic Masters to set a trap to eliminate a mere Great Demon like me. Especially for the Senior Strategist. 

Although Woon-seong had been growing rapidly, he was not on the level of being a threat to the Ten Demonic Masters. Each one could crush him easily under their feet and would not lower themselves by tricking him. 

A mission.

Tak-

Woon-seong put his cup down. The faces of the other members all turned to him as he got up. 

“I’ll be off.”

The man, who had introduced himself as Ha Mo, led the youth to the Heavenly Brain Tower. 

Just like the demonic villages, the towers of the Ten Demonic Masters were similarly arranged in a circle with the Peak of the Heavenly Demon’s Majesty at the center. However, the towers were all located closer to the edges of the Cult’s territory. This was because of the idea that the Ten Demonic Masters should be at the forefront of battle, defending the people of the Cult. [1] 

That was why Ha Mo guided the youth outwards. 

About half an hour after leaving the Charred Dragon House, Woon-seong could start to see the Heavenly Brain Tower. It was a seven-story structure that looked very much like a watchtower. Wherever the enemy was coming from, such a watchtower could look far beyond the surrounding mountains. 

As he hurried towards the Heavenly Brain Tower, Woon-seong glanced towards Ha Mo. 

“Huuk, huuk, huuk.” Contrary to the beginning, Ha Mo was breathing very heavily. “C-can we take a break.”

“Don’t make me laugh.” Woon-seong’s words were cold. 

“…”

Woon-seong turned his head to look at the tower, which was still far in the distance. “It was your idea to increase the pace to test me.”

“You found out?”

Ha Mo trembled. He was not a Great Demon, but he was one of the top amongst the Demonic Generals. Even though it was just a single step, he did not have the skills to reach the next rank. Seeing Woon-seong who was so much younger than him, he could not help himself from testing the other. 

Except… 

“How dare a mere Demonic General try and test a Great Demon? You’ve got some nerve.”

The Demonic General-class Ha Mo testing the Great Demon-level Woon-seong was a sin equivalent to a knight rebelling against their king. Right now, no matter what Woon-seong did, it was his right. 

You can’t be serious. Ha Mo swallowed his saliva seeing that he had angered the youth. 

Although he was a Demonic General, Ha Mo believed the Heavenly Brain Tower stood behind him. With this background, he had taken the chance to test Woon-seong. 

However, the subsequent words of the youth were completely beyond his expectations. 

“Let’s do it this way. Run to the Heavenly Brain Tower like you have been so far. If you stop to rest or slow down even a little bit, you shall take responsibility for insulting a Great Demon with your life.”

Ha Mo tried to protest. “Do you really have to—”

But Woon-seong cut off his words. “Silence! I’m not done yet.”

An icy chill wrapped around the area. Fear seemed to solidify into a figure, and Ha Mo trembled as if he were facing Death. 

“If you arrive later than me, it won’t be as bad as resting on the way, but you shall still take responsibility!”

This voice was like a roar and Ha Mo didn’t dare open his mouth, even as Woon-seong was running past him. 

“Heavens, I was wrong. I was wrong!” 

The messenger fully recognized the disparity. No matter how much he tried to chase, it was impossible for him to catch up to the youth. 

“Huff, huff, huff.”

As evidence, Woon-seong’s breathing was even when Ha Mo finally arrived. Woon-seong sneered at the man, whose breathing was rough.

“You’re late.”

The man could only look up and say, crying, “What will happen to me now?”

“Oh, you can still talk? Must not have tried hard enough then. I told you: I’ll bury you.”

Ha Mo protested, “Are you not going to show generosity as a strong man? Behind me —”

Even before his words were finished, the youth had grabbed him by the neck, cutting off his words with a hand around his windpipe. Woon-seong slowly raised his arms. Surprisingly, the man’s body was lifted up. 

“Gurck, guhgs.” 

The man was choking, but Woon-seong paid no mind. Instead of releasing him, the youth pulled the face closer to his own. The other’s terrified eyes were clearly visible.

“Did you think the Brain of the Heavenly Absolute Demon would look after your ass? You think too highly of yourself!”

“Ugh.”

In the meantime, Ha Mo continued to gasp for breath, and the other hand of the youth, which was not grasping the neck, moved. 

Wooduk-

With one powerful punch, Ha Mo’s stomach was smashed inwards.  Ignoring the sound of innards shattering, Woon-seong threw the man to the floor. 

“Chooo, huh. Agh. Oh my god.” A few of Ha Mo’s ribs had been broken and he was still gasping for breath! The man trembled and did not even think about getting up from the ground. 

“Hmph.”

Seeing him play dead, Woon-seong only snorted before entering the tower. 

[1] The Heavenly Towers are at the edges of Cult headquarters territory, then the Twelve Unit houses, other living accommodations, the ordinary villages, and finally the Heavenly Palace. The strongest are situated farther away from the center.