The Heavenly Demon Does Home Repairs

Ring!

A loud bell echoed through the shop, resonating from the antique desk phone in the corner, a relic from a bygone era.

“Hello, this is Bokbok Interiors.”

Jang Chaewon lifted the cylindrical receiver and spoke into the trumpet-shaped microphone.

“Oh, now?”

Her eyes widened as she nodded slowly.

“Yes, of course. I’m here, so feel free to visit anytime.”

She gently placed the receiver back, careful not to damage the fragile antique.

Moments later, the chime of the shop’s wind bell announced the arrival of a young woman who stepped gracefully inside. Dressed in a flowing dress, her elegant features and large, almond-shaped eyes captured attention immediately.

Recognizing her, Jang Chaewon quickly assumed a respectful posture and bowed.

“Welcome, Elder.”

The woman smiled softly.

“It’s been a while.”

Before Jang Chaewon could respond, the Heavenly Demon, who had been heading toward the storeroom, appeared from around the corner, his curiosity piqued.

“Elder? So, she’s not human?”

“Be quiet,” Chaewon snapped, glaring at him.

The Heavenly Demon shrugged.

“It’s strange. How can one tell if they are human or a demon just by looking?”

Chaewon’s fiery gaze drew closer to his face, her patience thinning rapidly.

“Stop talking nonsense and go clean up the storeroom!”

The cold edge in her voice sent the Heavenly Demon back in silence. Though he had been the supreme master of his world, he realized this was a different place altogether.

In this world, gods roamed, and no matter how powerful he had once been, here, he was little more than an ordinary human.

“Very well.”

Shoulders drooping, the Heavenly Demon retreated to the storeroom.

“My apologies, he’s new and still learning…”

Chaewon bowed deeply as she apologized, but the woman chuckled.

“I see, an outsider from another world.”

“You knew?”

“There is no one from this world who could have trained their body to such a degree. It’s a rare thing.”

Chaewon sighed.

“He’s strong, yes, but he’s clumsy with tasks.”

The woman’s gaze lingered on the Heavenly Demon as he disappeared into the storeroom.

“Are you planning to keep him as a worker?”

“No, we just don’t have anyone else to help at the moment, so he’s doing some odd jobs.”

“No workers?”

Chaewon bowed her head, feeling embarrassed.

“He broke the spirit beasts I had in the shop.”

The woman let out a small laugh.

“He seems capable of replacing those spirit beasts. His body is strong like a Vajra warrior, and he holds immense power within. He could handle divine commissions.”

“That clumsy fool?”

The woman’s smile deepened.

“With the right guidance, he could surpass the spirit beasts. After all, he belongs to no faction.”

Chaewon’s expression darkened.

“I’ve thought about it, but… honestly, I think there’s something off about him.”

“Off?”

“He refers to himself as this lord and keeps using this ‘Hadouken’ move every time he sees something big or solid—by which I mean he destroys it.”

“Hadouken, you say?”

The woman tilted her head slightly but then smiled, an odd gleam in her eyes.

“Perfect. Summon him for this task.”

Meanwhile, the Heavenly Demon sat brooding in the storeroom, his expression reflecting inner turmoil.

“I still can’t recover my internal energy…”

No matter how much he tried to circulate his Qi, not a drop of it would respond.

“Without Qi, the only way to regain my strength is to have it transferred from an external source.”

But this wasn’t his world. There were no martial artists here to help him regain his lost internal energy.

“Damn it!”

He could not allow himself to wallow in powerlessness. He, who had risen to the peak of the martial world, who had even rewritten his own destiny, couldn’t afford to be defeated by something like this.

“What are you doing?”

Jang Chaewon’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

“I was just thinking. Do you need something?”

“Ahem, about earlier… sorry for snapping at you.”

Her voice held a note of sympathy, causing the Heavenly Demon to raise an eyebrow.

“There’s no need to apologize.”

“Huh?”

“There’s no point in the strong caring about the weak.”

The Heavenly Demon acknowledged Chaewon’s strength, but it wasn’t submission. He would surpass her and put her under his control one day—it was just a matter of time.

‘For now, I’ll accept the position of the weaker one.’

The Heavenly Demon was neither humble nor arrogant; he was pragmatic. He had always carefully assessed the situation and worked to overcome his limits. This was merely a temporary setback.

“Maybe things are like that in your world, but not here. You’re in South Korea now.”

“Understood.”

“And while you’re here, don’t call people demons so casually. Most humans in this world don’t know they live alongside demons.”

The Heavenly Demon’s eyes narrowed.

“Are they not supposed to know?”

“It’s not that they can’t know. People just instinctively fear what’s different. History proves that.”

Her eyes turned somber.

Sensing her mood, the Heavenly Demon remained silent, but his curiosity lingered.

“Oh, by the way, there’s a commission that came in. I was thinking of giving it to you. Can you handle it?”

“A commission? From a god?”

“Yes, you catch on fast.”

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t entrust me with divine commissions?”

“I did, but the client specifically asked for you.”

Chaewon sighed, her shoulders slumping.

“The goddess who came earlier requested it.”

“I see.”

Crossing his arms, the Heavenly Demon grinned.

“Even gods recognize my value.”

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

Chaewon wiped the sweat from her forehead, forcing a smile.

“Normally, we need to gather materials from dungeons for these commissions, but this time, we already have the necessary tools. You’ll just need to head there directly.”

“Tools?”

Chaewon pointed to a sledgehammer leaning against the wall, its handle made from what appeared to be bones, glowing faintly with an orange hue. It was no ordinary hammer.

“We need you to do some demolition work.”

Chaewon grinned mischievously.

“You said you could handle anything, right? You’ll be using this tomorrow, so make sure to get familiar with it.”

The next day, as they drove out to the job site, Chaewon glanced at the Heavenly Demon crammed into the passenger seat.

“I’ll remind you again: be polite. Be as polite as possible. Don’t go around saying this lord or anything. Understand?”

“I refuse.”

“Why?”

With a confident smile, the Heavenly Demon pointed to his own face.

“Because I am the Heavenly Demon.”

“This is a god you’re dealing with, not just any customer. A god!”

Chaewon glared at him.

“If you want to keep working, whether it’s a god, a demon, a human, a child, or an elder, you need to be respectful.”

“Hmm…”

“Just follow their instructions and do the job.”

The Heavenly Demon frowned. He hated menial tasks like this. The sooner he regained his internal energy, the sooner he could stop doing this work.

“If I give you the Demon Steel Chain Sword, can you stop assigning me these trivial tasks?”

“What?”

“I need to recover my Qi as soon as possible. I don’t have time to waste on things like this.”

“Wow, are you already going back on your word?”

Chaewon chuckled dryly, folding her arms.

“Who was it that bragged about always keeping their promises, no matter what?”

Stung by her words, the Heavenly Demon scowled.

“Fine. I’ll keep my word.”

“And you’ll be polite?”

“No. Being polite wasn’t part of the promise.”

“Does your world not teach respect for elders? This isn’t just some old person—it’s a god!”

“I am…”

Before the Heavenly Demon could finish, Chaewon’s eyes flared with blue fire.

“If you ruin this job by not being polite, not only will we lose the contract, but we could lose our store’s license. And if that happens…”

Her eyes glinted with a dangerous light, and the Heavenly Demon felt an ominous sensation creeping over him, reminding him of the time he had faced a meteor shower.

Gulp.

He wasn’t ready to die. He still had to regain his strength, and for that, he needed to play along for now.

“Fine. Since it’s a non-human entity, I’ll speak politely.”

“Good. I’ve never sent a human to do a spirit’s commission before. This is new for me, too.”

The car rolled to a stop on a deserted roadside. The crunch of tires against gravel filled the air as they parked.

The Heavenly Demon stepped out, looking around.

“What is this place?”

“Up there.”

Chaewon pointed to the thick forest-covered mountain in the distance.

“A mountain? We’re going to a mountain?”

“Yep.”

“What do I do when I get there?”

“You’ll find out when you reach the top.”

With that cryptic remark, Chaewon turned and headed back to the car.

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll be waiting here. Come back when you’re done.”

“We’re not going together?”

The Heavenly Demon raised an eyebrow. Chaewon’s voice dropped to a whisper.

“I can’t go there.”

“Why not?”

“The temple spirit… is unwell.”

Chaewon bit her lip, her tone shifting to a colder, more distant one.

“You don’t need to know anything more.”

With that, she turned away, her eyes now as icy as the frozen tundra.

Unfazed, the Heavenly Demon nodded.

He never cared much for other people’s affairs, anyway.

As the Heavenly Demon made his way into the forest, sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting a golden glow along his path. The deeper he ventured, the more it felt as though the light itself was guiding him.

Finally, he reached a clearing near the middle of the mountain, where a small, picturesque house stood. The house radiated an ethereal beauty, as if it didn’t belong to this world.

“That must be it.”

As he approached, he noticed a figure sitting on the porch—a woman, the same one who had visited the shop.

“You’ve arrived.”

The woman in the blue dress had hair and eyes that shimmered faintly with a soft, azure hue.

“I’m from Bokbok Interiors… ma’am.”

The Heavenly Demon almost choked on the unfamiliar politeness. As a ruler of the demonic realm, he had never needed to show respect to anyone.

“Is this the commission?”

The woman smiled gently, nodding.

“Yes, thank you for coming.”

Her voice was soothing, filled with a warmth that enveloped the entire area. It was clear she was not an ordinary being.

“I assume there were no troubles on your way up?”

She spoke as if she were addressing a mischievous grandchild.

‘She looks like she’s in her twenties, but how can someone so young radiate such a powerful aura?’

“No trouble at all.”

The Heavenly Demon cleared his throat.

“So, what needs to be demolished?”

He rolled up his sleeves, ready for the task.

The woman pointed to a small shrine in the courtyard.

“That. Please destroy it and clean up the area.”

The small shrine, made of wood, was old and decrepit. It looked as though it could fall apart with a single kick.

‘A god must be wealthy to afford something so fragile.’

“This hardly seems worth hiring someone for.”

The Heavenly Demon raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting between the woman and the shrine.

“It’s not that I want to hire someone; I have no choice. I cannot destroy it myself.”

The response puzzled him.

Walking over to the shrine, he examined it closely. Inside the shrine was a small stone statue, accompanied by a carefully arranged pile of stones.

“Is this… a statue of you?”

The statue bore a striking resemblance to the woman, its serene smile mirroring hers. However, she merely smiled at his question, offering no answer.

‘Well, I’ll just do the job.’

The Heavenly Demon swung the sledgehammer at the shrine’s wall, expecting it to collapse immediately.

But it didn’t.

Instead, some strange force repelled the hammer as if the shrine had a protective barrier.

“What the…”

The Heavenly Demon blinked in disbelief.

“How can an inanimate object have a protective aura?”

Undeterred, the Heavenly Demon crouched low, preparing to unleash the Fist of the Demon technique.

“Hah!”

Leaping into the air, he brought his fist down on the shrine’s wall with all his might.

Although he no longer had any internal energy, his body was still capable of extraordinary feats. His punch should have easily destroyed the fragile shrine.

But once again, the shrine remained intact.

“What’s going on?”

Some invisible force had repelled his strike again.

‘This decrepit shrine withstood my Rising Wind, Dragon Strike?’

His eyes narrowed in disbelief. This world was strange, and even with his strength, he found himself powerless against something as simple as a shrine.

From the porch, the woman’s gentle voice broke the silence.

“It seems there is still divine power left.”

She looked up at the clear sky, her expression wistful.

“Or perhaps, there’s still something holding it back.”