Heukweol, the Grim Reaper (
He is also Biweol's older half-brother, and the bastard son of Lord Moonjoo. In the past, Heukweol was a member of the Secret Sword School (비도문, Bidomun) before his banishment but later returned to aid them in their hunt for Yongbi. He is always accompanied by Yeonhwa who acts as his eyes and even though she called him "big brother", they were not actually siblings but master and servant. Decades later they got married.[2]
Appearance & Personality[]
Heukweol's most distinguishing feature is his white pupils, indicating his blindness. In the past, he was a lean yet well-built young man with long flowing black hair with several strands hanging over his face. He wore shabby clothing indicating his life as a vagabond and carried a staff around that doubled as a walking stick.
Decades later, Heukweol aged noticeably with his hair having gone completely white and having grown a long beard. Other than that, his appearance remained largely unchanged.
He is a persistent man and cared a lot about his family even if they do not reciprocate those same feelings. After receiving many severe beatings from Lord Moonjoo he still begged to be allowed to call him father and even wanted to work under him. Heukweol also didn't believe in treating people differently because of their social status. This sentiment stems from his father's rejection of him due to his mother's background. In the past, he was relatively quiet, speaking mostly only to Yeonhwa, and stutters when talking to others. He also carried himself quite solemnly.
In his old age, Heukweol appears to have broken out of his shell, gaining a boisterous and joyful attitude. He would interact with strangers a fair amount and even impart his wisdom to them at times, although he is somewhat grumpy and bickers with his wife.
Image Gallery[]
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History[]
Heukweol was born to a woman of low social status and as the bastard son of Lord Moonjoo. While still allowed into the household, Heukweol was beaten senseless by Lord Moonjoo when he tried to call him father. He was then delegated to doing chores with the servants. However, the servants wouldn't allow him to do the chores considering his status as the lord's son. Heukweol would use his free time to eavesdrop on the happenings around him such as the martial arts training of his younger half-brother Biweol.
After he learned the martial arts by eavesdropping and self-learning, Heukweol demonstrated his incredible talent by smashing several large iron bells meant for the late stages of Biweol's training. However instead of being impressed, Lord Moonjoo beat Heukweol and berated him for "stealing" their martial arts. Heukweol was then locked up for ten days without food and water as punishment. Later, Heukweol was banished from the Moonjoo household accompanied by a gifted girl, Yeonhwa as his servant. He pleaded to be allowed to call Lord Moonjoo father and to serve him as his assassin but his father vehemently refused.
As Heukweol and Yeonhwa wandered through the country, they bonded with each other and Heukweol instructed her to call him big brother instead of young master. One night, he learned about Yeonhwa's knowledge of countless martial art styles and had her teach him the Lu Family's Spear Style, a powerful and secretive martial art of the Grand General's Command![3]
At some point, he reunited with the Secret Sword School to aid them in their hunt for Yongbi. They set up an entire fake town called "Hongchunhyang" to be the battleground, and Heukweol memorized the entire layout.[4]
Plot[]
Yongbi the Invincible - A Side Story[]
Volume 3[]
Posing as a beggar, he waited at the town of Hongchunhyang for Yongbi to arrive. At night, after Yongbi defeated the many assassins that attacked him, Heukweol entered the fray. Heukweol introduced himself as the older brother of the person Yongbi killed in chapter 1, and challenged the latter to a fight. Feeling tired, Yongbi attempted to postpone the battle but Heukweol refused and offered to divulge information on what Yongbi was looking for if he can defeat him. Yongbi was intrigued by this proposal and striked first but Heukweol countered with a flurry of blows, launching him into a nearby building. Lying among the rubble, Yongbi expressed shock that Heukweol knew how to use the Sixteen Black Kill Thrusts and 'Four Headed Dragon Strike' technique. As the fight raged on, Yongbi eventually broke his arm and downed him. As Yongbi approached the downed Heukweol. The latter slowly rised, intending to retaliate. Yongbi advised him that the fight was over and demanded information as per agreed upon. But Heukweol refused, noting that he could still fight. At that, Yongbi realized he wasn't going to keep his promise and drew his sword to execute him, to which Heukweol responded with a chuckle. Then Yeonhwa intervened by unleashing a barrage of throwing knives at Yongbi, forcing him to take cover in a nearby building. Yeonhwa yelled at Heukweol to escape, noting that she would fight Yongbi before rushing into the building after him while Heukweol unsuccessfully tried to stop her from doing so.
Soon after, Heukweol entered the building fearing that Yeonhwa was dead. Then he heard the muffled sounds of the bounded Yeonhwa and collapsed in relief. Yongbi threatened to execute her, to which Heukweol stated that Yeonhwa wasn't an assassin of the Secret Sword School and offered his own head instead. Yongbi then drew his sword, noting that Heukweol's word was worthless and adds that he intended to give both of them quick and painless deaths. At that, Heukweol yielded and gave Yongbi the information he wanted.
- Between the events of Yongbi the Invincible - A Side Story and Gosu (The Master)...
Heukweol, alongside Yeonhwa, participated in the Old Murim Alliance's war against the Asura Blood Sect. Not much is known about his involvement other than that according to the Black Snake, he was one of the martial artists most feared by the Blood Sect most likely do to his slaughter of many of their warriors.[1] The long and deadly war eventually ended with a Pyrrhic Victory for the Alliance, and Heukweol settled down in the Sage Forest.
Gosu (The Master)[]
Loose Ends[]
A brooding Doh Gyeom absent mindedly collapsed a tree, startling Yeonhwa. Doh Gyeom apologized to her before leaving, but Heukweol appeared and started scolding him. Heukweol stated that he could sense bloodlust from Doh Gyeom and provoked him. Doh Gyeom reluctantly decided to confront Heukweol. A few hours later, Doh Gyeom woke up, unable to remember how Heukweol defeated him.[5] Doh Gyeom once again faced Heukweol but was defeated in the same manner.
Impressed by the old man's martial arts, Doh Gyeom once again challenged Heukweol in an attempt to learn from him. However, Heukweol could not sense the bloodlust in Doh Gyeom and admited defeat before the fight even commenced.[6] Later at a restaurant, Heukweol explained to Doh Gyeom that the reason the latter lost was because of his wrong mindset. He further explained that Doh Gyeom wouldn't learn much from him since the difference in their martial arts mastery was small and advised him to focus more on improving his existing skills. Heukweol tried to dissuade Doh Gyeom from following him, but the young gosu insisted on becoming his apprentice. A few days later, Doh Gyeom practiced his skills under the supervision of the old couple and was surprised to notice improvement thanks to Yeonhwa's instruction.
At night, Heukweol had a talk with Doh Gyeom, sensing the younger man's angst with regards to his uncle. Heukweol advised Doh Gyeom to stop worrying and execute his task when he arrived at a proper judgement. In the morning, he was annoyed when Doh Gyeom insisted to follow the couple throughout their journey[7].
Powers and Abilities[]
Heukweol during the war
Heukweol is an exceptionally talented warrior and a prodigy of martial arts. His internal strength and skills are said to be above average.[4] Although blind, he is capable of learning whatever martial arts style by listening to an explanation to it and through self-learning. Through this self-learning at a young age, he was able to master the martial arts his younger brother was learning to such a level that he was able to smash multiple massive iron bells.[3] The level of martial prowess it took to perform such a feat was said to take eons of effort to attain. He was such a powerful martial artist that even the formidable Asura Blood Sect feared him greatly most likely due to him slaughtering many of their members.[1]
In addition, his extraordinary talent allows him to follow his opponents martial arts style almost perfectly upon hearing about it once, giving him an advantage in battle.[4] Due to his handicap, Heukweol uses his hearing which is said to be at the level of a bat, to follow his opponent. He is also assisted by his companion Yeonhwa who acts as his third eye to direct him in combat and to report anything out of the ordinary in his opponent's movements. These orders are given to him through a flute-like instrument that only he can hear due to his heightened sense of hearing.[4] His cooperation with Yeonhwa along with his incredible skills allowed him to fight on par with and threaten a gosu of Yongbi's caliber for a while. Heukweol appears to have retained his strength well into his old age as he was able to casually knock out a gosu such as Doh Gyeom with a single strike, without the young man even registering the strike at all.[8]
Immense Physical Strength: Heukweol has great physical strength as his strikes can create craters at the point of impact and are strong enough to send his opponent flying even when blocked.[9]
Immense Physical Speed: He is extremely quick on his feet being able to dodge Yongbi's attack, surprising him and nearly catching him off guard with the follow up attack.[10] In addition, he is able to keep up with Yongbi in battle.
Immense Agility & Reflexes: His incredible agility and reflexes allow him to instantaneously block attacks, evade, and counter attack when directed by Yeonhwa. He is also able to jump off walls and do flips to dodge and attack in the air.[9]
Weapons[]
His choice of weapon is a staff which he also uses as a walking stick. He was also seen dual wielding pole-arms at one point.[1]
Heukweol is capable of using the powerful Lu Family's Spear Style and because the Black Lancer Techniques are adapted from the former,[10] he is able to use the Black Lancer Techniques as well:
- Black Lancers Seven Chained Moves, Black Shattering Blast
- Black Lancers Seven Chained Moves, Sixteen Black Kill Thrusts
- Four Headed Dragon Strike
Quotes[]
Alternate Translations[]
- Heugwol (LINE)
References[]
[]
| Yongbi the Invincible - A Side Story Characters | ||
| Martial Artists | ||
|---|---|---|
| Beggars' Sect | Fixer • Jang Woon | |
| Black Lancers | Gwi Doh • Hwang Inbok • Jeok Seong • Yongbi • Yook Somyung | |
| Black Snake | Goo Hwi • Jang-Ryong • Pung-Ho | |
| Cheonwoong Faction | Hyeon Jae-Yang | |
| Grand General's Command | Yuk Jingang | |
| Murim Alliance | Murim High Lord | |
| Red Bloods | Hong Ye-Mong • Muk Dal-Pyeong | |
| Secret Sword School | Heukweol • Lord Moonjoo • So Moonjoo • Yeonhwa | |
| The Shaolin | Ilgak | |
| Unaffiliated | The Gold Bug | |
| Non-Martial Artists | ||
| Animals | Biryong • Lightning Flash | |
| Humans | Gongson Seung • So Jinmyung • Yook Socheon | |