Heavenly Demon's Trial by Blood and Fire
Baekhyang's voice rang out, tightening the atmosphere like a drawn bowstring. She fixed her gaze on my eyes.
"Heavenly Demon."
At her declaration, everyone bowed their heads. Baekhyang glanced at the elders, then turned back to me. Before she could speak, one elder beat her to it.
"Heavenly Demon, think of the Demonic Cult... the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult."
"Indeed. Please consider your father, the previous Heavenly Demon."
The rest of the elders stayed silent in agreement.
"The previous Heavenly Demon, huh..."
Hmm, that seemed like the wrong move. Baekhyang hated her father, the former Heavenly Demon. She might not realize it herself, but it seeped through in her words and actions. Probably resentment from him not helping her mother on her deathbed. As proof, her expression twisted slightly when they brought him up.
Oblivious to it, the elders kept droning on about her father. They had to carry on the previous Heavenly Demon's will. He was watching from heaven. All meaningless bullshit to Baekhyang.
I'm curious, though.
Heavenly Demon versus Baekhyang. Me versus the elders. She still had lingering attachment to the Heavenly Demon title—who would she choose? Perfect chance to check my affinity level with her. The elders had been total assholes until moments ago.
But now they're growing on me?
They looked commendable for triggering this event. Baekhyang listened quietly, and the emboldened elders yapped even more excitedly.
Ugh... spit flying everywhere.
Swish—!
Baekhyang raised her hand, silencing the ranting elders.
"My apologies."
She offered a curt apology. The elders, convinced it was for them, smiled smugly. But those smiles vanished instantly.
"I should have purged the past... but I failed, and it ended up troubling you."
Baekhyang stated it plainly.
"Heavenly Demon! What do you mean by that?!"
An oblivious elder shouted.
Not everyone's clueless, huh.
Two elders twisted away to flee. The Heavenly Demon looked down at the shouter with indifferent eyes.
Thud—!
"This is what I mean."
Her hand pierced his chest.
"Gahk...!"
The elder crumpled. "You bitch!" "Die!" Some charged at Baekhyang, refusing to die sitting; others bolted. Infighting erupted, but their fates were sealed.
"Phew... now the past is settled."
The room reeked of fresh blood. Corpses littered the floor. Amid it all, Baekhyang smiled with evident relief.
That's... a bit scary.
Was this her yandere side? She'd chosen me, but it felt burdensome all the same.
And no one comes running after all this noise?
Elders carried weight, after all. Couldn't handle them quietly.
"They must think it's time."
Baekhyang answered my puzzled look.
"There was a lot of resentment toward the elders internally."
They'd only fought at the war's start, then hid in the back issuing arrogant orders.
"But no justification."
No pretext to eliminate them. The Demonic Cult valued strength, but purging elders without cause would shatter order and spark division.
"And I hadn't planned to, either."
Surprisingly, those elders were Baekhyang's kin—her father's relatives. Uncle, great-uncle, that sort.
So that's why they were so cocky?
I'd thought it odd when the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult elders, who revered the Heavenly Demon as a god, tried to manipulate her. Couldn't forget their betrayed expressions at the end.
"Things are about to get busy."
Baekhyang said coolly, eyeing the corpses.
"Once the festival ends, we won't meet for a while."
She looked at me, her eyes brimming with excitement. Her cheeks flushed.
Excited from killing?
I could read the arousal, but not the reason.
Baekhyang left after saying we'd meet that evening.
Time to prep.
Thanks to her care, no blood splattered me, but the stench clung. Couldn't go on a date with a woman smelling like a slaughterhouse. After showering, I zoned out till then. With my modern brain fried on tech, there wasn't much fun to do here.
Noise erupted outside—the festival starting.
"You in there?"
Baekhyang's voice. I eagerly opened the door.
"Uh..."
I froze. Baekhyang in unfamiliar clothes. She usually wore practical stuff for mobility. Now she stood there dressed up pretty, fidgeting uncomfortably.
"Let's go already!"
She yelled to hide her embarrassment, grabbing my hand and pulling me along.
Baekhyang toured the festival like a kid. Dashing here and there, grinning from stall to stall.
"First festival—it's fun!"
Her outfit got rumpled from all the excitement, but it was fine.
That's Baekhyang's charm.
Nothing special happened. Just ate, played, watched. A dumb brawl broke out midway; we enjoyed that too.
"Dogfights are always entertaining to watch."
Baekhyang seemed to love it. Dusk fell, and we reached the Demonic Cult entrance.
"Once I go in, we won't see each other for a bit."
Even worthless, elders were elders—leaders. Cleanup would take time.
"So..."
Baekhyang cupped my cheeks, rising on tiptoes.
Smack—!
A light kiss.
"Get stronger until I return."
Her eyes burned hot after the kiss.
"Wait with strength worthy of my husband."
Releasing my face, Baekhyang headed back into the cult.
**
"Get stronger, huh."
The final piece in conquering Baekhyang: strength. Surpassing her would be ideal, but a draw would seal it.
Physically, I've already passed her.
The issue was Heavenly Demon Art. It compensated for her lacking physical stats. To beat her...
Sun God's Flames, after all.
The uncontrolled Sun God's Flames. Master that ability, and I could counter the Heavenly Demon Art.
"Can't waste time."
Date just ended, but I headed to the training grounds.
**
"Six months, huh."
As Baekhyang said, cleanup kept her away. War aftermath plus elder purge drained time and energy consolidating power.
Meanwhile, I honed Sun God's Flames and the Lightning God's Thunder that Shimbu Rumkun upgraded. Not boosting power—toning it down. Both devoured mana like hogs. Powerful, yes, but hard to dial to desired output.
These abilities had egos, like Heavenly Phallus. Tiny god fragments, but arrogant as hell. Heavenly Phallus behaved since it just needed to fuck women, but these wanted to unleash full force.
"Hey! Listen to your master?!"
I tried talking to them, pretending to be nuts. They freaked at "master" first, but Heavenly Phallus subdued them.
Got a random boner—shocked me.
If anyone saw me muttering then popping a stiffy, they'd call me insane. I'd run too. Anyway, thanks to Heavenly Phallus, they obeyed, making control easier. At the end, I swear it urged me to fuck Baekhyang proper.
"Bro!"
Training done, I visited the Demonic Cult after ages. Chun-sik greeted me first.
He'd survived the war to the end, climbing ranks. Scars covered him now, absent at our first meet—proof of his efforts.
"Bro, you hear?"
"Just got here."
"Oops, forgot!"
Chun-sik dropped intriguing news.
"Heavenly Demon Tournament in a month."
"What's that?"
"Ah... starting from basics?"
He explained: Demonic Cult free-for-all tourney, no rules on fighting style. Winner gets an elder seat and a duel with the Heavenly Demon.
"Hahaha! Thinking of entering!"
Chun-sik boomed.
Opportunity for cultists. But I saw Baekhyang's intent.
Prove yourself worthy?
Her message: show you're man enough. Classic her—my lips curled.
"Chun-sik."
"Yeah, bro."
"Give up."
Straight to the point.
"Duh, obviously."
His perceptiveness improved. Didn't wanna die, so he quit.
Finals won't be an issue.
Then the Heavenly Demon. Could I win without killing her? One month left. Time to get sticky with the abilities.