The Way to Save the Crazy Returnees Chapter 71 - The Return of the Mad Heavenly Demon (1)

 

Han Yeong-won found the situation rather amusing. She had assumed that if it were Kwak Yoon-hoo, he wouldn’t bother running away—but she hadn’t expected that assumption to be proven correct. What’s more, he had even brought along the man who would fight her first.

 

‘That brat sticking close to that bastard doesn’t look like he’s meant to be my opponent.’

 

Han Yeong-won glanced at the man with brightly dyed red hair. To be honest, she would have preferred to choose the kid standing beside Kwak Yoon-hoo rather than the man facing her now.

 

‘But that bastard wouldn’t accept it.’

 

And even if he did, it would only create more trouble. Kwak Yoon-hoo would surely try to negotiate in exchange for agreeing to her suggestion.

 

‘Well, playing with that bastard sounds fun too.’

 

Han Yeong-won turned her gaze away from the nervous-looking boy standing beside Kwak Yoon-hoo.

 

Red.

 

The color that dyed what had once been black hair—Han Yeong-won’s favorite color. Darker than blood, it was the color that symbolized the Demonic Sect.

 

‘Interesting.’

 

A relaxed smile spread across her face as she took a leisurely step forward. Why was it, she wondered, that the man standing there—his displeasure plainly written across his face—reminded her of a woman she had once been close to?

 

“Brother!”

 

That was what she used to call her. It wasn’t strange—back then, Han Yeong-won had been in a man’s body. Still, people had always clicked their tongues at her.

 

Calling the leader of the Demonic Sect “big brother” so fearlessly—of course, such reactions were inevitable. Yet no one ever tried to stop the woman.

 

They couldn’t.

 

“Look! My hair’s turned red from demonic energy too, just like yours, Brother!”

 

Tang So-yeon. A woman of the Sichuan Tang Clan, famed for poison and hidden weapons. In a clan where secret techniques were never passed down to women, she had nevertheless mastered them all.

 

What she had first learned merely to imitate her deceased elder brother blossomed through her extraordinary talent. Eventually, rumors spread that she would become the first woman to rise to the position of clan head.

 

Then, without warning, she betrayed her clan and joined the Demonic Sect, becoming the Heavenly Demon’s right hand. In the process, she slaughtered many members of the Tang Clan, and every orthodox warrior sent to pursue her met the same fate. Her infamy spread far and wide.

 

‘She took pride in that.’

 

Han Yeong-won—who took pride in her own infamy as well—quietly studied Seo Do-hwan. Why was it that she saw Tang So-yeon in that man? Their faces, expressions, and even their aura were completely different.

 

She soon found the answer.

 

“Since my hair’s red like this, I really feel like I’ve become part of the Demonic Sect! You think so too, right, Brother?”

 

It must have been because of the man’s hair. Red—just like hers had been. To recall Tang So-yeon for such a trivial reason.

 

‘I’ve wronged that girl.’

 

For a fleeting moment, a faint smile tugged at Han Yeong-won’s lips as she recalled a precious bond she had once formed in Return of the Mad Heavenly Demon.

 

“What are you grinning about like that?”

 

She twisted her lips at the voice, but said nothing.

 

Seo Do-hwan let out a long, lazy yawn, casually swinging the sword Lee Man-deuk had given him as if it were a toy. He looked completely carefree.

 

“Instead of wasting time grinning, why don’t you hurry up and come at me? You called it a spar, right? That’s basically a duel. Let’s finish it quickly and go our separate ways. I’m tired.”

 

“How arrogant.”

 

“Well, I do have a bit of that in me, don’t I?”

 

Seo Do-hwan flashed a grin at Kwak Yoon-hoo. Kwak Yoon-hoo clicked his tongue softly, his expression clearly saying he didn’t understand why Seo Do-hwan would provoke Han Yeong-won when nothing good could come of it.

 

Regardless, Seo Do-hwan continued acting brazen.

 

“So,” he asked, “who’s going first? Want me to start?”

 

“Let’s go at the same time.”

 

Han Yeong-won clenched a coin and tossed it high into the air.

 

“The moment that coin hits the ground.”

 

At that moment—

 

“The spar begins.”

 

“Yeah, fair enough. I like it.”

 

Seo Do-hwan snorted lightly and lowered the sword he had been resting on his shoulder. The coin, flung high into the air, began to fall. Though it dropped swiftly, to Han Yeong-won and Seo Do-hwan, it seemed to descend in slow motion.

 

And so—

 

Three.

 

They both shifted into position.

 

Two.

 

Their grips tightened around their weapons.

 

The final moment.

 

Clink—thud!

 

The instant the coin hit the ground, the two of them lunged toward each other. A duel between a hunter who had once conquered the world and a Heavenly Demon who had done the same. A battle where a single moment of carelessness could cost a life—practically a fight to the death.

 

Rumble!

 

And so, it began on Gwanak Mountain.

 

***

 

“Wow…”

 

Lee Yoo-seong, who had followed us to Gwanak Mountain under the pretense of protecting me, let out an awed gasp.

 

“They’re both incredible!”

 

“Are they?”

 

To me, nothing was visible. Thick clouds of dust filled the air, and all I could hear were brief, sharp clashes of steel.

 

“Uh… is it really okay for them to fight like that?”

 

He sounded worried that the mountain itself might collapse.

 

“It’s fine. Han Yeong-won has already deployed a formation.”

 

“A formation?”

 

“Think of it like an illusion. Look closely at them—they’re only clashing within a fixed area, right?”

 

Lee Yoo-seong furrowed his brows, then nodded.

 

“Yeah. It looks like they’re staying within a radius of about three hundred meters.”

 

And just as he said that—

 

Fragments of stone, blasted loose by the clash between Han Yeong-won and Seo Do-hwan, shot toward us.

 

“Yoo-seong, watch out—”

 

Before I could finish, Lee Yoo-seong caught the flying fragment with his bare hand and crushed it into powder.

 

“Yoon-hoo hyung, you okay?”

 

I nodded with a wry smile.

 

Right. Instead of worrying about Lee Yoo-seong, I should’ve been worrying about myself. There was probably no other returnee here as weak as me.

 

“Stay behind me.”

 

Lee Yoo-seong pulled me closer, clearly worried. I obediently moved behind his back and asked,

 

“How does it look?”

 

“I’m not sure.”

 

Unsatisfied with the vague answer, I pressed him.

 

“Do you think Seo Do-hwan will win?”

 

Lee Yoo-seong fell silent.

 

“So… you think he’ll lose?”

 

“No, not exactly.”

 

“Then you don’t think he’ll win either?”

 

After hesitating, Lee Yoo-seong nodded.

 

“Hyung is blocking her attacks, but he looks like he’s having a hard time. At the same time, it doesn’t feel like he’s being pushed back either…”

 

That was because Seo Do-hwan was using Han Yeong-won’s poison arts as fuel. Within the thick dust clouds surrounding them, her poisonous energy must have spread everywhere.

 

Until now—nine candies a day. After keeping that up for a full week, Seo Do-hwan’s strength had grown significantly. And with Han Yeong-won’s poison added on top of that…

 

“Soon, they’ll be fighting on even ground.”

 

“What?”

 

“I mean, the fight’s about to get interesting.”

 

Even so, neither Han Yeong-won nor Seo Do-hwan would be able to decide a winner. They would keep trading blows, endlessly testing each other.

 

That was when the dust cloud suddenly cleared.

 

Seo Do-hwan was revealed kneeling on one knee, gasping for breath. Han Yeong-won, on the other hand, looked completely relaxed.

 

“What’s wrong? Are you tired?” she asked with a crooked grin. “Should I wait until you recover?”

 

Seo Do-hwan coughed lightly and forced himself to stand.

 

“Shut up.”

 

Despite his sharp tone, I understood.

 

Seo Do-hwan was enjoying this fight.

 

And so was Han Yeong-won.

 

“Good,” she said. “I thought you’d answer like that.”

 

***

 

The figure that had vanished in an instant reappeared before his eyes. Gritting his teeth, Seo Do-hwan raised his sword and blocked her strike. The hand gripping the blade trembled violently.

 

Han Yeong-won—was that her name? He didn’t care about the “Heavenly Demon” nonsense. She fought like a madwoman, and that alone made her troublesome.

 

“Ugh…!”

 

His body was sent flying by an unseen force. Seo Do-hwan barely managed to steady himself before raising his sword again to block the next attack.

 

‘Damn it.’

 

Once more, his hand shook from the impact.

 

‘But I can endure it.’

 

Unlike before, it didn’t feel overwhelming. More than that—

 

“Oh?”

 

The invisible attacks that had been tossing him around finally came into view. After deflecting her blade, Seo Do-hwan shifted his body.

 

“Hm. This is getting interesting.”

 

Han Yeong-won effortlessly avoided his thrust and leapt away using her light footwork. But he closed the distance in an instant.

 

“I thought you didn’t have a habit of running away?”

 

Seo Do-hwan smirked and swung his sword—but struck only an afterimage. In the blink of an eye, Han Yeong-won appeared behind him, smiling confidently.

 

“Like you said, I don’t run away,” she said. “If I must fight, I do so with the resolve to die. That’s who I am.”

 

“You were running just a moment ago.”

 

“That wasn’t running. I was testing you.”

 

With a swift step, Han Yeong-won moved in front of him and swung her dagger. Seo Do-hwan raised his sword to block—

 

“Gah!”

 

A punch slammed into his ribs, sending his body flying. Han Yeong-won kicked off the ground and caught up to him instantly, her lips curling upward.

 

Bam!

 

She slammed him down.

 

Crack!

 

Seo Do-hwan crashed into the rock wall.

 

“Y-you crazy—”

 

He coughed violently as he tried to stand. Before he could recover, Han Yeong-won flicked his forehead, sending him smashing into the cliff again.

 

“Fuck…!”

 

Despite everything, Seo Do-hwan didn’t lose consciousness. Han Yeong-won pressed her lips together, then broke into a grin.

 

“I’ll give you that. You’re tough.”

 

At her teasing tone, Seo Do-hwan scowled.

 

Was this it? Was he going to lose?

 

‘No.’

 

The word defeat didn’t exist for Seo Do-hwan—at least not right now. Bloodshot eyes fixed on the woman before him.

 

Then—

 

[The 『Weak Hunter』 bound to you returns all of its power as the conditions are fulfilled.]

 

A system message appeared.

 

‘All of its power?’

 

Seo Do-hwan stared blankly before bursting into laughter. No wonder his body felt better the longer he fought—Han Yeong-won had unknowingly been feeding him something like drugs.

 

Han Yeong-won frowned slightly at the sight of him laughing like a madman. Had he finally lost his mind?

 

‘Pathetic.’

 

Either way, it was time to end this.

 

‘I still have to deal with that bastard too.’

 

Han Yeong-won raised her dagger and threw it.

 

Swish!

 

Seo Do-hwan caught it effortlessly.

 

“Hoo?”

 

Her eyes widened in surprise.

 

The man crushed the dagger into powder in his hand, a grin forming at the corner of his mouth.

 

“Hey.”

 

Seo Do-hwan rose to his feet. Despite the injuries covering his body, he showed no sign of pain.

 

In truth, he felt none at all.

 

[Due to the effect of the title ‘Addict (L-rank)’, you are numbed to all pain.]

 

The title that had once made him the world’s strongest hunter had returned—something he never thought he’d see again. Seo Do-hwan twisted his lips and gripped his sword.

 

Fwoosh—!

 

Purple flames rose around him. Han Yeong-won smiled wryly.

 

“So, you’re from the Sapa faction too?”

 

“I don’t know what nonsense you’re talking about.”

 

Clomp.

 

Seo Do-hwan stepped forward, raising his sword.

 

“Try tossing that coin again.”

 

Han Yeong-won burst out laughing at the provocative tone.