Chapter 44 – The Disciplinary Cell
At the entrance to a massive, deep cave so vast that you couldn’t see its interior—
Tak Horak stood there blank-faced before the grim-looking gatekeepers.
“Haha, the Disciplinary Cell... hahahaha…”
He was right in front of the Disciplinary Cell.
It felt like a dream.
Just a few hours ago, he had been basking in the sweet taste of returning home. He had been granted rest for successfully completing a mission in the Martial World, and hadn’t he been cheerfully drinking not long ago?
“Right. This is a dream. A nightmare. The kind you wake from drenched in cold sweat. A one-night bad dream that’ll vanish after a shower—”
“Are you ready?”
“It’s not a dream…”
Tak Horak’s face crumpled as he heard Sado Hwan’s heavy voice. This was reality.
He saw Sado Hwan approaching.
As always, he wore black martial robes, carried a sword, and had a large pouch tied to his waist. He also had a bag slung across his back. A stark contrast to the nearly empty-handed Tak Horak.
“Commander…”
“What is it?”
“How could you do this to me? The Disciplinary Cell?!”
“Have you already forgotten what happened in Taeryeong Prefecture?”
Tak Horak’s mouth fell open.
Taeryeong Prefecture—there, he had taken Sado Hwan’s orders and twisted them on his own, attempting to exterminate a local sect.
Sado Hwan had flown into a fury at the time.
"I will not take back lives I’ve chosen to spare. However, Tak Horak, you are stripped of your position as Squad Leader until you return to the Cult. Additionally, you are to spend one month in the Disciplinary Cell."
Then Sado Hwan added,
"But the mistakes of a subordinate are also the responsibility of their superior. You won’t bear this punishment alone—I’ll serve one day and one night in your place."
Tak Horak’s eyes welled up.
“Commander! You’d go that far... for me?”
“It’s only right as your superior.”
“But if it’s the two of us, wouldn’t splitting it into twenty days each be fair?”
Sado Hwan stared at him silently.
“S-sorry!”
“You’re not the only one being punished.”
“Then who else… Vice-Captain Saweol?”
From Sado Hwan’s side, Saweol appeared. Seeing her, Tak Horak brightened—an extra comrade!
Like Sado Hwan, Saweol also carried several large pouches.
Sado Hwan... what are you thinking? Coming here voluntarily?
Saweol was conflicted.
It was fine that she was sent to the Disciplinary Cell for incurring Sado Gwang’s wrath—but why was Sado Hwan here too?
She looked at him in confusion as he chatted with Tak Horak.
“What’s all that gear?”
“Absolutely necessary items.”
“I thought no one was allowed to bring anything into the Disciplinary Cell.”
“That only applies to ordinary people.”
Sado Hwan strode confidently toward the cave entrance.
“So these are the infamous gatekeepers of the Disciplinary Cell…”
Tak Horak swallowed hard.
The Disciplinary Cell held the worst criminals of the Heavenly Demon Cult. Naturally, its gatekeepers and wardens were brutal, ruthless, and top-tier fighters.
They say they treat human life like flies...
That must be why they looked like demons incarnate. Though Tak Horak was a first-rate martial artist, he couldn’t meet their eyes easily.
And yet, Sado Hwan walked toward them without hesitation.
“You’ve arrived, Young Master.”
The gatekeepers bowed low to him.
“Ah.”
Only then did Tak Horak remember something important.
Everyone involved in managing the Disciplinary Cell… belonged to the Sado Clan.
“May we enter?”
“Yes, please preserve your noble body.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you after a day and night.”
Sado Hwan disappeared into the darkness of the cave. Saweol followed shortly after.
“C-Commander! Vice-Captain!”
Grimacing, Tak Horak reluctantly trailed behind them. The eerie cave wind sounded like screaming.
“Commander! V-Vice-Captain!”
Skybreaker stayed quiet, as if frozen in place.
You not moving?
[…Just got lost in thought.]
What kind of thought?
[When I was about twelve, my brother brought me here. And then… he showed me exactly what happens when you betray or commit a crime.]
“How?”
[He marked a traitor’s bloodline, tied his limbs, and pushed him in. Probably didn’t even leave bones behind—or worse…]
Skybreaker trailed off.
That’s pretty messed up to do to a twelve-year-old. No wonder he turned out like this. With gaslighting like that, how else would he end up?
Maybe that’s why Sado Gwang agreed so readily when I said I wanted to go to the Disciplinary Cell—to stir those memories. Assuming I really was him, anyway.
“He was oddly cooperative, huh?”
Despite all the suspicion, Sado Gwang had acted unusually kind. Skybreaker had been moved, saying, "As expected of my brother!" but I couldn’t believe it. There had to be some scheme.
I just need to be fully prepared before I leave.
Sado Gwang may be a genius, but I can still see through him. I’m not a veteran reader of Return of the Murim for nothing.
The beginning of the Disciplinary Cell was a crude spiral staircase cut deep into the ground. With the center hollow, one misstep could send you plummeting to your death.
“So we just keep going down?”
Very old-school. Only one entrance at the top and a cliff-like drop—easy to guard.
Ssskzzzt~!
Now I understand why bats have “rat” in their name. They kept squeaking and flapping around like rodents.
Along the cliff wall were small ledges where guards stood holding torches, all masked with mysterious patterns.
Every time we passed—specifically, I passed—they bowed their heads deeply. So this is the power of status.
We really shouldn’t be allowed to bring all this in, huh?
Heavy pouches dangled from our backs and belts, filled with food and necessities. Enough to last two weeks at least.
There’s no way an ordinary prisoner could bring this in. In fact, food barely got into this place at all—and the reason was—
“Careful,” Saweol warned, and I pressed close to the cliff wall. Tak Horak did the same, face pale. Then—
Plop-plop!
Something came tumbling down the cliffside from above, carried by the wind with a foul stench.
Food scraps.
It was the daily ration.
The Cult was ruthless to its prisoners. They kept them alive—but just barely. Thinking of modern prison standards here was a joke. Leftover scraps were all they got. Proper clothes? Forget it.
I felt chills crawl over my skin.
Hey, earlier you said your brother pushed a prisoner off from up there, right? That’s where the food comes in.
[Correct.]
So that “worst-case scenario” you mentioned...
[Who knows.]
Skybreaker’s voice trembled.
[Now you understand why they say the Disciplinary Cell is hell?]
I had no words. Now it made sense why Cult members feared this place so deeply.
Three years makes a bigger difference than I thought.
In Return of the Murim, the food ration system wasn’t like this. It may have been poor quality, but it still looked like actual food.
All that had changed in just three years.
Those three years—
While Mujin, the original protagonist, suffered under the Murim Alliance—
The previous Heavenly Demon, Do Il-gwang, recovered his strength and launched a rebellion.
That title ‘previous’ simply means the one closest to being Heavenly Demon. The rebellion cost the Cult dearly in manpower, and left the current Heavenly Demon seriously injured.
And—
I looked at Saweol’s back as she walked ahead.
This was the event that led to her death.
In the original, Saweol was imprisoned for a year for failing to properly assist Sado Hwan.
There, she met Do Il-gwang.
Moved by Saweol’s deep, sorrowful resentment, Do Il-gwang taught her martial arts. In return, she helped him recover.
But the technique he taught her was a twisted demonic art with its incantations hidden. Saweol, with terrifying talent, reached the Transcendent Peak—but the demonic energy killed her.
That’s the history of Return of the Murim.
And I can twist that history.
If I change it, Saweol can live. Do Il-gwang’s rebellion can be stopped. That would also prevent the current Heavenly Demon’s injuries from worsening—letting us gain the upper hand in the war to come.
While I’m at it, I might even learn Do Il-gwang’s unique technique first. Saweol never fully realized what it was—but I will.
Even if I can’t use it, Skybreaker can. If I can learn it, I will.
The price of twisting history...
I looked at Skybreaker, strapped at my waist.
That price might be a harsh truth.
First things first...
I looked down.
An overwhelming darkness that even swallowed shadows loomed below.
I have to find Do Il-gwang.
I clenched my pouch. I was ready.
I stepped forward.
Ttok! Tok! Tok!
***
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Water droplets fell in irregular rhythm.
“Heh… hek! Hehehe…”
A filthy man in rags ran frantically down a narrow tunnel. He clutched a roughly carved wooden bowl full of food scraps.
“Gulp!”
He swallowed as if looking at a feast. But then he shook his head violently and resumed running.
How far had he gone?
The narrow cave ended—and a vast chamber opened up.
At its center stood an altar.
Wuuuuung—
An eerie sound emanated from the altar. The man grimaced from the unpleasantness but forced a smile.
Atop the altar—
A monster was crucified.
Emaciated, skeletal, hung in a 大 shape on the wall. Chains pierced his wrists and ankles, pinning him in place. Thick nails as long as a foot were driven into his pressure points.
Through the chains and spikes, a gloomy energy seeped from the monster’s body into the altar—generating the strange sound.
The man ran to him and fell prostrate.
“O-Oh mighty Heavenly Demon! May ten thousand demons submit!”
His words were shocking.
The Heavenly Demon was a singular, supreme title. The current Heavenly Demon wouldn’t be in a place like this—he looked down on the world from the highest throne.
This man here couldn’t possibly be the Heavenly Demon. And yet, the man offered worship and vows.
A blasphemous denial of the Cult’s divine hierarchy.
The monster responded.
“…Baekseo.”
“Y-yes, m-my liege!”
The man, called Baekseo—a rat bastard from the Baek bloodline—stammered uncontrollably.
“I-I brought your meal! T-T-there must’ve been a f-f-feast today! There’s meat!”
“Bring it.”
The monster’s voice was faint—like fingernails scraping stone. It made your skin crawl.
Baekseo kneeled and approached with the bowl, using a spoon to feed the waste to the monster.
To most, it would’ve been sickening—but Baekseo swallowed saliva as if it were a gourmet meal. The monster devoured it all without hesitation.
“Not enough… Still not enough.”
“I-I’ll catch more bats!”
“…Baekseo.”
“Yes, m-m-my liege?”
“There’s a rat… in this cave.”
“A rat? R-rats are my specialty! I-I’ll catch it, not just bats!”
“That’s not what I mean.”
The monster continued.
“I smell it… the scent of the living.”
“A newcomer, perhaps?”
“No… it’s different. Smells noble… refined blood…”
The monster lifted his head.
“Bring it to me. Alive.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
“I will use them… to rise again…”
“O-Oh mighty Heavenly Demon! May ten thousand demons submit!”
From between the monster’s matted hair, crimson eyes burned.