Chapter 156 - Lackey (3)

There’s an internet term called a “meme.” It’s something like a catchphrase, except it isn’t limited to words. Pictures, videos, even real people can be memes. They’re similar to emoticons, but funnier if you’re in on the joke.

And since the forum was essentially the internet, it had memes too, from pictures used for all sorts of jokes to videos. Even the “radiation exposure” you sometimes suffered while browsing could be considered a kind of meme.

Title) Who’s Wi Hochang?

Wild Grylls

(Video of Lackey answering “Wi Hochang”)

Asked Lackey who taught him to talk and fight. That was his answer.

Heavenly Demon says he was the Blood Demon. Anyone know more about him?

└Sword Masta) You said that name... They’ll be here soon.

└Wild Grylls) Who?

└Why are you asking about that b*stard?

└Wi Hochang lives!!!

└Wi!

└Ho!

└Chang!

└Ah, fuck. The Blood Cult already caught the scent and swarmed in;;

└Serious advice: delete this now if you don’t want your comments getting weird;;

└Wild Grylls) What’s wrong with everyone?;;

└Wi!

└Ho!

└Chang!

└Worship Wi Hochang!!

└The Blood Cult has not fallen yet!

└Wryyyyyyy!!!

One of the most obnoxious memes of all was none other than Wi Hochang, the man I’d just asked about. The moment I asked who he was, bizarre comments sprang up like weeds. They poured in at such a bewildering rate that it was hard to get an answer.

‘What the hell is going on?’

Who was this Wi Hochang to provoke such an explosive(?) response?

I doggedly scrolled through the spam-infested comments, determined to get an answer. Fortunately, the spam hadn’t swallowed everything; there was a normal reply mixed in.

└Smart Demonic Cultist) Wi Hochang was the man responsible for the Righteous-Blood War. You know what that is, right?

└Wild Grylls) No. Not a clue.

└Smart Demonic Cultist) Think of it as a civil war breaking out in a country. Do you know about the orthodox factions, unorthodox factions, Demonic Cult, Blood Cult, and so on?

└Wild Grylls) Vaguely, but not in detail. Could you just tell me about the Blood Cult?

└Wi!

└Smart Demonic Cultist) They were utterly insane. Killing people was all they cared about. And that bastard the Blood Demon was the worst of them.

└Ho!

└Wild Grylls) How bad was he?

└Chang!

└Smart Demonic Cultist) He went around bursting people’s heads for the slightest offense. He was so powerful that even most experts were no match for him.

└Wi!

└Wild Grylls) Is that why the Righteous-Blood War happened?

└Ho!

└Smart Demonic Cultist) Yes, but the Blood Demon was so absurdly strong that the orthodox and unorthodox factions joined forces in that war.

└Chang!

Despite the strange battle cries(?) interspersed throughout, I managed to hear the story. Wi Hochang had earned the epithet Blood Demon through slaughter. Apparently, he’d committed enormous massacres out of a desire for vengeance against a particular ethnic group, though the reason was unknown. It was only natural that he’d gained followers: people had simply gathered, drawn by his immense power.

└Smart Demonic Cultist) But like I said, even his own followers got no mercy if they offended him. Their heads would’ve gone pop!

└Wild Grylls) Sounds like he had no friends.

└You wretch! How dare you question Lord Wi Hochang!

└Heaven shall punish you!

└Wild Grylls) Fuck, the Forest of Four Seasons is enough divine punishment. Shut up for a second.

└Hmm. True enough.

└He is already being punished by heaven. No need for us to intervene.

└Ugh. Reeks of martial-world boomers;;;

└Can’t anyone do something about them? lmao

└Admin says they keep crawling out like bugs no matter how many bans they get lol

After hearing them out, I realized why Wi Hochang had become a forum meme. It was simple: no one had confirmed whether the Blood Demon had lived or died in the Righteous-Blood War. Some people were convinced he was alive, and they’d found their way onto the forum. The Blood Cult’s reputation had already been bad, and this bizarre meme only made it worse. Not that anyone would like a group that enjoyed killing people anyway.

└All the orthodox and unorthodox experts died in the Righteous-Blood War, so everyone’s skill level dropped across the board. There’s a reason Heavenly Demon beat everyone up.

└Wasn’t the army fine? Didn’t she behead the emperor?

└There was a group in league with the government, but even they got wrecked. That’s why, yeah.

└Doesn’t change the fact that Heavenly Demon is a monster;;

└Wasn’t she better known as the Yaksha Blood Blossom back then, rather than Heavenly Demon?

└Yeah. That’s why there were rumors she was the Blood Demon’s secret child.

└Come to think of it, didn’t that albino gorilla have red palms?

└Wi Hochang had red palms too. That’s why they called him the Blood-Handed Overlord.

└Did Wi Hochang really flee to the Forest of Four Seasons?

└If he did, what’s he doing now? Is he dead?

If the west had the Undying King, the east had Wi Hochang. And whereas the Undying King had sent his brother into the Forest of Four Seasons, Wi Hochang seemed to have come himself.

Of course, I didn’t know whether any of this was true. All I had to go on was Lackey’s answer. I needed to learn more, and as it happened, there was a relevant question on the sheet.

“Lackey. Answer this one too.”

“...”

He squinted at the question sheet as before. The question asked where that person was now. He gave his answer, and I asked Heavenly Demon to interpret.

[Heavenly Demon: He says he left the troop when he was young, so he does not know.]

[Wild Grylls: I see.]

So that was why the speed-sloth hadn’t recognized him. With features more distinctive than anyone else’s, he should have been impossible to miss.

“@$@%& %@#!”

Was it because this was someone he knew? Or was he feeling nostalgic? Lackey began telling all sorts of stories without my even asking. Naturally, I couldn’t understand a word of the language of the Central Plains, so I asked Heavenly Demon to interpret again.

[Heavenly Demon: He says this was the only person who cared for him when his troop discriminated against him. He continued teaching him until he left the troop.]

[Wild Grylls: Wasn’t the Blood Demon a bad person?]

[Heavenly Demon: He was, but perhaps he was kind to beasts. The world is full of people worse than animals.]

That was a sharp observation. In reality, there were all too many people worse than animals. Plenty committed even worse acts precisely because they were capable of higher thought.

After listening to Lackey’s story for a while, I turned my thoughts to the Blood Demon.

‘Isn’t he a criminal either way?’

This might be an era with a broad definition of self-defense, but the Blood Demon had gone well beyond that. He might be a meme now, but he was a man who’d killed people as casually as snacking on peanuts.

The one reassuring thing was that he was very likely no longer among the living. If he were alive, the gorilla chief would have reported to him immediately, and I would naturally have ended up meeting him.

‘They said the Righteous-Blood War broke out roughly fifty years ago...’

The Blood Demon, Wi Hochang, had been in his fifties when last seen. That would put him well over a hundred, old enough that a natural death wouldn’t be strange. Given his monstrous strength, living in the Forest of Four Seasons couldn’t have been too difficult.

‘No, wait. Doesn’t that mean even someone like him couldn’t escape the Forest of Four Seasons?’

I didn’t know whether he couldn’t leave or simply chose not to, but wasn’t the former more likely? According to posts circulating on the forum, the Blood Demon had been extremely proud. And someone like that had mingled with mere gorillas, teaching them speech, writing, and even martial arts? Something was off.

Of course, I’d need to find traces of him to confirm anything, and the gorilla chief was probably in possession of those too.

‘The clothes he was wearing back then must have belonged to the Blood Demon.’

Some things were finally starting to make sense, but plenty still didn’t. Had he undergone a change of heart after entering the Forest of Four Seasons? Or had he given up after realizing escape was impossible?

It was still a mystery, but I could figure that out over time. What mattered now was information on the Blood Demon.

└Wild Grylls) What realm was the Blood Demon at?

└Profound Realm, I think I heard? Grandmaster level, as far as I know.

└If it’s the Profound Realm, call it that. What’s this grandmaster crap;;

└What’s the difference between a grandmaster and a grand swordmaster?

└Same thing. Just called it grandmaster for convenience.

└How strong is that?

└Think of it as the level where you can turn heaven and earth upside down.

└Heavenly Demon) I too have reached the Profound Realm. Demonic martial artists call it Demon Transcendence.

└Sword Masta) Yes, yes, of course you have. I could get there too, but I can’t be bothered.

Apparently, he wasn’t just monstrously strong, but f*cking ridiculously strong. And even he hadn’t made it out of the Forest of Four Seasons. I didn’t know whether injuries sustained in the Righteous-Blood War had been the problem or whether there was another reason.

I decided to gather information on the Blood Demon, Wi Hochang, gradually and moved on to another question.

‘This might be the most important one.’

What I wanted to ask was this: why had he hurt my distant predecessor, Lais Kraone? According to Lais Kraone’s journal, Lackey had attacked him, and he’d died from the aftermath. I wondered whether Lackey had picked up the Blood Demon’s rotten personality or had some other reason.

If he’d killed him for fun... Honestly, I thought I’d execute him on the spot. Killing without a justifiable reason didn’t sit right with me.

“...”

Lackey frowned at the question on the sheet and even snorted. His reaction suggested he found the whole thing absurd, which made me curious about his answer. When he finally replied, I asked Heavenly Demon to interpret once more.

[Heavenly Demon: He says that man stole his food.]

[Wild Grylls: ...]

That explained what had really happened. Theft certainly would have been hard to tolerate, especially since Lackey’s poor eyesight made chasing a thief difficult.

‘But can someone with albinism get glasses fitted?’

The thought suddenly struck me. Could I improve Lackey’s eyesight? You might think better vision would be bad for me, but it was the opposite. Glasses were essential, if only to prevent accidents on the job—workplace injuries(?). And if they earned me some affection, all the better. Like it or not, we’d be sharing meals from now on, so I should at least make some accommodations.

Title) Any glasses specifically for low vision?

Wild Grylls

(Video of Lackey squinting whenever he reads)

His eyesight’s really bad because he’s albino. I want to get him some glasses. Anyone have something suitable?

If you do, I’ll give you a gift, as long as it’s something I can get.

└Heavenly Demon) One of my close aides has glasses they wear occasionally. I shall give you those if you wish.

└Wild Grylls) You shouldn’t do mean things like that;;

└Sword Masta) Mana users usually don’t develop bad eyesight. How strange. Does he not know how to enhance his vision?

└Wild Grylls) He was born with bad eyes, though?

└Sword Masta) Ah. Then that won’t work. It would be like giving sight to the blind.

└Wild Grylls) You don’t have any spare glasses, do you?

└Sword Masta) My visual acuity is well over 9.0;;

└What the hell is 9.0...

└Wild Grylls) Wow. You really do have hawk eyes. Can you see ants crawling across the ground clearly?

└Sword Masta) Why would I look at those? lmao

└All Hail the Sun) I’ve got something suitable. Want it?

└Wild Grylls) If you have it, I’d love it. Do you have bad eyesight?

└All Hail the Sun) No, just a fashion accessory. I have ones for people with poor vision too, so no problem.

└Wild Grylls) Thank you. Is there anything you need?

└All Hail the Sun) Nope. These barely cost anything anyway.

└Aren’t glasses pretty expensive?

└Dunno about the frames, but the lenses are expensive as fuck. A lapidary has to grind them, after all.

└Must be seriously rich.

└Passing Dwarf) Glasses are all well and good, but put some clothes on him. It’s indecent.

└Wild Grylls) Why would I dress a gorilla?;;

└Slutty Princess) Do you happen to need a Chae U uniform?

└This fucker’s trying it again lmao

└First Roundfur and the speed-sloth, and now even Lackey lol

└Still, shouldn’t you dress him because of his fur color?

└Yeah, white fur stands out way too much.

Along with the glasses, I’d received advice to dress him. White fur certainly was a major disadvantage for survival. He’d had the strength to make up for it, but that strength was currently sealed. I’d give him the glasses first and think about clothes later.

‘They look just like old-fashioned glasses.’

The glasses All Hail the Sun sent me were exactly that: round frames with a bridge that looked like an upside-down V. Since this world had no concept of plastic, these were probably the standard.

“Lackey. Try these on.”

“...”

When I handed him the glasses, he looked deeply suspicious. Apparently, wearing the suppressor had made him wary. But this item was purely for his benefit. I held them out insistently, and he reluctantly took them.

“... Ooh?”

Lackey put on the glasses suspiciously, but that suspicion soon turned to surprise.

“Ooh? Ooooh!”

And that surprise soon turned to wonder.

“OOOOOH!!!”

His reaction was extraordinary, as though he’d discovered a whole new world. After that, he kept taking the glasses off and putting them back on. His eyes shone brighter and brighter, and his fierce expression softened completely. With his lips forming a round O, he really did look like an ordinary ape.

“Oooooh...!”

Still wearing the glasses, Lackey began walking, heading deep into the forest. I watched him go with a pleased smile.

“... Wait a second.”

Where the hell was he going?