NOVEL WEB Chapter 8
In the 21st century, gates where demons emerged ran rampant, and those who hunted them, known as Awakened Ones, were called “Hunters.”
However, even in the past, gates were rarely observed, and both demons and Awakened Ones existed.
In 15th-century Joseon, Awakened Ones were referred to as “Monstrous Strength and Chaotic Spirits” and were shunned.
As the saying goes: Monstrous Strength and Chaotic Spirits—Confucius did not speak of these things.
Even Confucius avoided mentioning the power of “demons,” and in Joseon, they treated those wielding such powers as entirely separate beings.
Not quite human, yet not entirely demons either—a fearsome existence.
In Joseon, a unit was formed to gather these Monstrous Strength and Chaotic Spirits.
The Catcher of Demons, Clad in Armor.
Their sole mission was clear:
—Catch Demons.
Eliminate the monsters.
Yi Sun-sin was one such naturally gifted Catcher of Demons.
Despite this, he rose to the rank of General, a man recognized for his abilities.
Thus, it was only natural for Yi Sun-sin to chase after Bae Seol, who had become a demon.
Surely, Yi Sun-sin wished to restore his tarnished honor by capturing Bae Seol, who betrayed the nation and deserted.
The issue was that “An Ui” was accompanying him.
At first glance, it seemed trivial, but upon reflection, this should never have happened.
“According to official records, Yi Sun-sin should have received an order for reinstatement the day after meeting An Ui.”
But despite traveling with An Ui, Yi Sun-sin remained in civilian clothes.
This meant Yi Sun-sin hadn’t received King Seonjo’s decree while chasing Bae Seol.
If he had received it, there’s no way he’d still be in “civilian” attire.
“How many days have the two of you been traveling together?”
“Let me see… It’s been fifteen days and two since I met the General at Noryang.”
“Have you been searching for Bae Seol all this time?”
“That’s right.”
At An Ui’s words, I internally sighed.
By his account, Yi Sun-sin delayed his reinstatement for over half a month.
From Yi Sun-sin’s perspective, preparing for the Battle of Myeongnyang, this was a catastrophic waste of time.
“We need to catch Bae Seol quickly.”
If we linger here any longer, the Battle of Myeongnyang might end in defeat.
I must bring Yi Sun-sin to Hyeongjeongpo in Changheung, where the twelve warships are stationed.
To do that, we must first capture Bae Seol, now a shadow demon.
“Let’s search the valley first.”
“But is it really true that Bae Seol has become a shadow demon?”
“I once spotted a shadow demon wandering in the mountains. Since there are no other monsters around here, it must be him.”
“Meeting Choe Seon-in was truly fortunate.”
Together with Yi Sun-sin and An Ui, I headed toward the valley, seeking shadows the shadow demon might favor.
Shadow demons prefer cool, dark shadows.
“But shadows are too vague.”
This was Yi Sun-sin’s quiet observation.
Indeed, in such vast mountain ranges, cool shadows were abundant—valleys, rocks, caves, beneath tall trees, and more.
If Bae Seol moved to another mountain, we’d have to search its shadows as well.
“Following your logic, finding Bae Seol based solely on shadow information would be impossible, regardless of time.”
“Is there another method?”
“Yes, find the crows.”
“Crows?”
“A shadow demon is a monster that despises life. He likely killed nearby animals. If so, there should be corpses, and if there are corpses, wild beasts attracted by the scent of blood will gather.”
And the most common scavenger found around corpses? Crows.
“Such a method exists!”
Yi Sun-sin showed surprise.
“I’ve never heard that shadow demons hate life. Choe Seon-in seems to know much about monsters.”
This fact about shadow demons was uncovered in the 21st century.
It wasn’t easy to study their habits, as they tend to hide from Awakened Ones.
It wasn’t knowledge available in the 15th century.
“I’ve done some research out of interest.”
I vaguely covered the source of my information, but neither An Ui nor Yi Sun-sin questioned it.
For a “sage,” knowing anything wouldn’t seem unusual.
Thus, we wandered, seeking cool shadows and places likely to attract crows.
Meanwhile, An Ui dealt with any beasts we encountered along the way.
He too was a warrior of the Catcher of Demons.
Chuaak!
With a massive sword swing, the charging leopard was split in two.
An impressive feat, even by modern standards.
‘At least an A-rank Awakened One.’
An A-rank Awakened One could lead a team in large guilds, among the top-tier Awakened Ones.
An Ui was a seasoned veteran among them.
Truly, he was a representative warrior of Joseon, possessing astonishing martial prowess.
I learned much from him during our travels.
“Seon-in seems inexperienced in battle, given how little you’re accustomed to the secular world.”
“In what way?”
“One shouldn’t recklessly display one’s energy.”
He pointed at my Napoleon’s Rifle.
Each time I used it to hunt wolves, magical energy flowed visibly from the rifle.
An Ui clearly disapproved of this.
“Learn to conceal your energy.”
He demonstrated by channeling mana into his greatsword.
Swoooosh…
A vivid blue mana emanated from the blade, then An Ui compressed it back inside.
The sword returned to looking like an ordinary blade without any visible mana.
There was no way to detect the mana by sight alone.
“Showing off one’s energy is a foolish act typical of Ming Dynasty show-offs who love boasting.”
According to An Ui, revealing one’s power was akin to telling the enemy your level—pure idiocy.
“In Joseon, we use inner energy, not outer energy.”
In short, practice restraint.
To be honest, I hadn’t initially realized An Ui was an Awakened One.
His sword, seemingly lacking mana, amazed me with its sharpness.
‘Times have changed.’
Modern hunters freely unleashed mana unlike An Ui.
Since they only fought non-human demons, there was no need to hide mana.
Thus, in modern combat, showing off flashy mana became a measure of skill.
An Ui described this as suicidal behavior, equivalent to asking the enemy to kill you.
Given the era, perceptions differed, but to me, An Ui’s approach seemed correct.
Modern hunters couldn’t match the warriors of Joseon who experienced the Imjin War when dealing with humans.
How long had I wandered the mountains under An Ui’s practical training?
“Found him.”
The silent Yi Sun-sin muttered.
Immediately afterward, the cries of crows echoed.
“Caaaw! Caaaw!”
“Ugh.”
I pinched my nose against the overwhelming stench of blood.
In the center of the cool valley, a pile of animal carcasses lay stacked.
Above them swarmed flocks of crows.
“There you were hiding.”
Yi Sun-sin’s eyes gleamed coldly.
His icy gaze pierced through the mountain of corpses toward a dark cave beyond.
The dark cave loomed ominously.
Within its depths stood something distinctly different from the surrounding darkness.
“Bae Seol.”
The named darkness stirred—it was Bae Seol, now a shadow demon.
‘Not an ordinary shadow demon.’
Bae Seol may have been a fugitive, but he was an exceptional warrior, born of Monstrous Strength and Chaotic Spirits.
After all, he commanded the navy of Gyeongsang Province as a third-rank general.
Such a general, now corrupted into a demon, possessed far from ordinary demonic power.
Yet Yi Sun-sin approached the cave fearlessly.
Though dangerous, neither I nor An Ui stopped him.
The reason was simple.
Yi Sun-sin was stronger than any Monstrous Strength and Chaotic Spirit known to exist.
‘The strongest Monstrous Strength and Chaotic Spirit of Joseon.’
No hunter in modern times disputed Yi Sun-sin’s status as Joseon’s strongest Awakened One.
Yet, details of his abilities remained unclear.
Not due to lack of records—they overflowed.
But every record contained absurd tales, lowering their credibility.
Stories like: “The General sliced through ships,” or “Three-foot-long energy blades erupted from the General’s sword”—if taken literally, Yi Sun-sin would be an S-rank monstrosity.
Swishhh—
And here, for the first time, I witnessed the truth.