Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 104

The leader of the Righteous Sect was the Martial Arts Alliance Chief, while the leader of the Evil Sect was the Blood Demon.

For centuries, these two sects had battled with each other, neither side gaining an upper hand. Their powers were nearly equal—until one man appeared: the Heavenly Demon.

This marked the emergence of a colossal entity of darkness that seemed to engulf the heavens.

At first, people thought he was part of a new faction within the Evil Sect, but it soon became apparent that he was something else entirely—a third force distinct from the Evil Sect.

It all happened on a clear day with not a cloud in sight.

A carriage, moving as if gliding on mist instead of wheels, appeared at a gathering of the Evil Sect disciples. When a man stepped out, clad in black dragon robes, he was immediately surrounded by the martial artists of the Evil Sect. He held a jet-black sword, and in the next moment, the blade dissolved into petals, scattering in the air.

That day, the Evil Sect was filled with the stench of blood.

The news spread, growing more exaggerated with each telling. They said a god had descended—a Heavenly Demon—who had arrived from the heavens on a divine carriage called the Celestial Dragon Chariot, and he was here to bring about the end of the world.

The rumors grew wilder, sweeping the populace with a wave of fear.

“Meet his gaze, and you’ll die.”

“If he sees you, you’re dead. Men, women, children alike.”

“There’s a sect in Gonryunsan Mountain called the Heavenly Demon Sect.”

“They’re raising an army of a hundred thousand to take over the world.”

Terror gripped the Central Plains, keeping it awake through the night. No greater evil could exist in the world, and even nature itself seemed to hold its breath in fear.

***

Do-Jun was on the second floor of the Core, sipping tea that Laghaim, the Spirit Queen, had brewed.[1]

According to her, the tea was brewed from herbs carefully nurtured with the energy of the spirits. Infused with the spiritual essence of nature, it possessed the power to purify magical energy.

“How is it, Master?” Laghaim asked as she stood with hands politely clasped.

She was obviously slightly nervous as beads of sweat formed on her hands.

Do-Jun sighed and replied, “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not your Master?”

Since the day he had subdued Laghaim alongside Yong-Yong, she had been calling him “Master.” It wasn’t just Laghaim, either. Perhaps because of her influence, spirits from low to high ranks had started to treat Do-Jun with utmost respect and care.

“Then... how should I address you?” she asked him nervously.

“Just use my name. That should be fine.”

“Lee Do...” Laghaim trailed off.

Even the great Izaas called him “Master.”

Besides, wasn’t Do-Jun their savior? The one who would bring peace to the Core by confronting Solomon’s demons, the Transcendents, and countless kings and gods from the Deep Realm?

That was Laghaim’s deepest wish.

“Please allow me to call you Master.”

Seeing Laghaim’s resolute expression, Do-Jun let out a resigned sigh and nodded.

For some reason, he had more and more people and creatures following him. He didn’t think he had done anything remarkable.

“Speaking of which, I don’t see Izaas today,” Laghaim commented.

“Yong-Yong is...”

***

Meanwhile, Byeol and Yong-Yong were hanging out on the first floor of the Core.

“Only thwee, okay?” Byeol said to Yong-Yong, pointing at the Tree of Wisdom.

It was covered in plump strawberries the size of Byeol’s palm, hanging from its branches.

When she told him he could only have three, Yong-Yong protested, “We haven’t had dinner yet, so I’m hungry. Let’s work it up to five.”

“No way! The Twee said only three a day!”

Watching the two of them, the Tree of Wisdom chimed in, “Byeol, you seem to have become quite close to Izaas.”

“Iza...? This is Yong-Yong,” Byeol corrected the Tree, tilting her head. “Daddy calls him Yong-Yong.”

Yong-Yong and Byeol visited the first floor of the Core from time to time. Byeol would tell the Tree of Wisdom stories about her life on Earth, especially the foods she had tried or the times she played with Do-Jun.

The Tree asked Byeol a question. “Are you enjoying Earth?”

“I wuv it a wot.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I was a bit worried...”

“It’d be even better if you could come too,” Byeol said.

“I cannot leave this place.”

“Then... what should we do?”

“You can come visit often,” the Tree suggested.

The Tree of Wisdom played an essential role in the ecosystem of the first floor of the Core. It wasn’t a crazy stretch to say that the first floor would collapse if the Tree disappeared.

“I need to ask Daddy.”

“Of course, that’s the right thing to do.”

Byeol smiled with a nod.

“Byeol, is your dad a good person?”

The dark, demonic energy Do-Jun emanated when he first came to the Tree was massive—almost immeasurable. While he didn’t outwardly give off an evil impression, the Tree couldn’t shake its worry.

“Of course! He’s the best!” Byeol said with excitement.

“What do you like about him?” The Tree was curious.

“Well...” Byeol trailed off.

“Well?”

“There’s so much I can’t expwain.” Byeol looked thoughtful as she folded her fingers, muttering things to herself—all praises for Do-Jun.

“It sounds like you love him very much. What about your mom?”

“Mommies? I love them both. They make the yummiest food.”

“Huh...? There should only be one mom.”

Hearing the obvious confusion in the Tree’s voice, Yong-Yong put a paw to his mouth and shushed the Tree.

***

Laghaim chuckled at Do-Jun’s response. “Izaas has changed a lot. It was obvious at first glance that his personality had become much gentler. I could hardly believe it was the same Izaas. No doubt... it’s because of you.”

The Dragon Lord’s eyes had always been cold, without even a trace of sociability. He showed no mercy to those who dared to cross him—a being entirely devoid of compassion.

However, things were different now.

“His eyes have a spark in them. To be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever seen him smile,” Laghaim said, smiling wistfully.

“Not once in his four thousand years?” Do-Jun asked her.

For some reason, he felt a pang of guilt. He had only known Yong-Yong for a few months—nothing compared to four thousand years. Yet, he had treated him no differently, assigning him errands and issuing commands, much as he had done with the leaders of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

The lower-level spirits floated around Do-Jun, each clamoring for his attention.

“The spirits seem to like people,” Do-Jun remarked.

Laghaim shook her head and replied, “No, I’ve never seen them follow someone like this. It would’ve been a different story if they were bound to you by contract, but they’re not, yet they still follow you as if you were their true master.”

“Maybe it’s because you call me ‘Master?’”

“That has nothing to do with it. They simply like you, Master.”

Looking down at the spirits with a neutral expression, Do-Jun muttered, “This isn’t so bad.”

Laghaim smiled.

***

There wasn’t a designated cook for dinner tonight. With Yoon-Hee unable to cook due to her midterm exams, Yong-Yong found himself facing a dilemma.

“I followed the recipe to the tee...” he said in dismay.

Yoon-Hee kept a notebook with her cooking recipes in the kitchen drawer. Yong-Yong would refer to her recipes whenever he had to cook dinner alone. That way, he could at least approximate the flavors enough to make it somewhat edible.

However, tonight, there was a problem.

Kimchi jjigae was a dish that was impossible to fail as it only required boiling kimchi, tofu, and meat in plain water, but Yong-Yong’s kimchi jjigae was simply unpalatable.

“How did you make it twaste like this?” Byeol’s face grew stiff after tasting the broth.

At first, she looked confused and unable to understand, but her expression gradually shifted to one of anger.

“Why is it so bad?”

It was the first time Yong-Yong had seen Byeol looking so mad.

“C-calm down. Try one more bite,” he stammered, flustered by her reaction.

Yong-Yong ladled out some broth for Byeol to taste again. Despite being fooled once, she continued eating each spoonful that Yong-Yong offered.

“Mommy’s and Siel’s cooking is awways dewicious.”

Today, the typical spicy, savory taste of kimchi jjigae was completely absent. The stew Yong-Yong had made was oddly sweet, clashing with the flavors of pork and kimchi.

Yoon-Hee was staying overnight at a separate dorm set up for midterms at Hunter Academy, and Karsiel had gone with her.

“Maybe I need to add more sugar...” Yong-Yong muttered, scratching his head.

Preferring sweeter flavors himself, Yong-Yong was unconsciously pioneering an entirely new take on the recipe.

“Stop it, Yong-Yong. I am weally angwy now.”

With every spoonful of the kimchi jjigae, Byeol’s eyes started to water, and her hands trembled slightly. It was her way of saying she couldn’t bear to eat anymore.

That’s when they heard the front door open, and Do-Jun entered.

“Daddy! Waaah!”

With tears and snot running down her face, Byeol ran over and clung to Do-Jun. Puzzled, Do-Jun tilted his head and headed to the kitchen.

“What’s that stench?” he asked.

Finally, he locked eyes with Yong-Yong, who was standing over the bubbling pot.

“I’m making dinner...”

***

There was a kimchi jjigae restaurant in the middle of town, ten minutes from the apartment. It was quite famous, having been featured on various TV shows as a must-visit spot, and word of mouth only added to its popularity.

Though it was slightly past dinnertime, a line of people was still waiting to get in.

“Three servings of kimchi jjigae, please,” Do-Jun ordered.

“Got it, three kimchi jjigae’s coming right up.”

The lady taking orders punched the request into the register and moved to another table.

“Daddy, could I have some watuh?” Byeol asked.

“Sure.”

Do-Jun poured a glass of water for her. She wasn’t thirsty and just wanted to wash down the aftertaste of Yong-Yong’s efforts.

Do-Jun also took a sip of water to rinse his mouth.

“Can you stop being angry now, Byeol?” Yong-Yong pleaded.

“I’m not angwy,” Byeol replied stiffly, her little face still crinkled in a frown.

Anyone could tell her anger hadn’t quite faded yet.

Do-Jun couldn’t help but chuckle. He asked, “Got mad because it tasted bad?”

“I’m weally not angwy!”

Soon, an employee brought over a pot of kimchi jjigae and set it on the burner. The flames slowly brought the stew to a boil.

Do-Jun ladled some stew into bowls for Yong-Yong and Byeol. Since the stew was hot, he cooled Byeol’s portion a bit by blowing on it.

Byeol took a big spoonful, and after a few bites, her face lit up with a blissful smile, looking as if she had never been angry in the first place.

“This is dewicious.”

Yong-Yong, too, seemed to enjoy it and quickly dug in.

Watching them both, Do-Jun smiled in satisfaction, taking a spoonful of rice and eating it himself.

“Byeol,” Yong-Yong called her.

“Yeah?”

“I’ll make it really tasty next time, I promise.”

Byeol paused mid-spoonful and replied, “No... pwease don’t.”

This peaceful, ordinary moment felt warm.

***

The man closed the book he was perusing. It was the final volume of “The Supreme Heavenly Demon.”

“They said there would never be a demon greater than him. The mountains and rivers trembled in silence.”

“Is this ‘Heavenly Demon’ guy real?” the man muttered.

He could make the entire world tremble with a single swing of his sword, and even gods feared him. freeweɓnovel.cøm

“These days, so many books are full of lies...” The man clicked his tongue and tossed the book aside.

He sat up amidst a pile of corpses stacked like a mountain. These were the soldiers of Vapula, one of Solomon’s demons.

The pages of the discarded book rustled. The man glanced at the book, and one line caught his eye.

“Descending from the heavens in the Celestial Dragon Chariot, the Heavenly Demon was born to bring about the world’s end.”

1. So, in the raws, it is never specified where and how Do-Jun is meeting Laghaim. From the events that unfold in Chapter 79, we concluded that as the E-rank Fissure, Tomb of Spirits, returns to its normal state, its connection to the second floor of the Core was severed. As such, Do-Jun meets Laghaim in the Core. ☜