The Heavenly Demon's Resolve
Thinking back on it, the Heavenly Demon's life had truly been one of cruel twists and turns. It had begun as an utterly ordinary existence, yet at some point she was swept away by the raging tides of her era. She flailed desperately to survive, and to avoid being killed she killed in turn. Before she knew it, she had come to reign supreme over all the world, known far and wide as the Heavenly Demon. Just when she thought she might finally live in peace, she was suddenly caught in an incomprehensible power and hurled into an unfamiliar land.
At first she cursed the heavens, but she soon accepted her new reality. Once she attained that state of calm detachment, things she had never seen before became visible and sounds she had never heard became audible. There was no longer any need to worry about others' gazes or to fulfill anyone's expectations. Living out her days quietly in this place until death did not seem so bad. It was right at that moment—
I wish to become stronger.
—that some strange man, somehow knowing of her, came seeking her out.
His body was undoubtedly one that might appear only once in a century. Yet the Heavenly Demon soon realized that the man's mental state was completely rotten.
Begone. This seat detests nothing more than bothersome matters.
Had this been inside the Demonic Cult, she would have killed him where he stood. However, that was not because her nature was inherently evil. Rather, it was largely because she was the Heavenly Demon, the leader of the Cult, and thus had no choice but to act that way. No one had ever shown any interest in the life she lived before becoming the Heavenly Demon. Everyone simply feared the person she was now and could not approach any closer.
Please, take me as your disciple!
Ah, just accept one disciple already!
Yet that man returned the next day, and the day after that, persistently clinging to her. No one had ever displayed such stubbornness before her, so the Heavenly Demon let out a dumbfounded smile and decided to accept him for the time being. Of course, she did not immediately take him as a formal disciple on the spot.
You're the first of your kind I've seen. Your will is rotten, but your body is decent.
Ha, this guy. It makes me want to fix that mentality of his.
Remember this well. The world called this seat the Heavenly Demon.
She trained him with brutal harshness, and once he overcame it, she treated him even more ruthlessly. The man whined but continued to follow. Strangely enough, it was not unpleasant when he called her Master. It was different from the way everyone else bowed their heads, terrified of even meeting her eyes.
Master, how about this?
...What is this?
Today marks five years since Master accepted this one as a disciple. So this disciple, though the offering is humble, has prepared a gift.
It was not the head of an enemy threatening the Cult, nor any weapon or spiritual medicine. What he presented was a small earring that sparkled with a silvery light.
Watching him treat her not as the Heavenly Demon but simply as his master, the Heavenly Demon felt a long-forgotten warmth bloom in her chest. It was as if she had finally, at last, discovered who she truly was.
Afterward, her disciple began accepting new disciples of his own. From time to time he would visit to keep her company. He looked after her in case she needed anything and checked whether she might be bored. She was immensely grateful that he treated her not as the Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Cult, but as his master—and as a woman. It was an experience she had never encountered in her life, an emotion she had never felt.
I have a request. I humbly ask that you evaluate my disciple's abilities.
Such a disciple suddenly came to her with a request he rarely made. If there was one area in which he surpassed even her, it was in reading people. She had agreed before, seeing that the disciples he chose all possessed high potential. Yet now he had come with this particular request.
I made a promise. On the day I met that child, I told her I would give her power that would not lose to anyone.
For some reason those words grated on her. What was this sensation she had never felt while observing the other children? It was as if something were trying to wedge itself between her and her disciple—this chilly, unpleasant feeling. Doing her best to ignore it, the Heavenly Demon said she would examine his disciple in exchange for something. He offered to present her with a new earring to replace the old one.
No.
Absolutely not. Under no circumstances. She could not yield this. It was the first gift she had ever received, given by the man who had seen her exactly as she was. Nothing in the world could replace it.
In the end, on the condition that she would also receive a ring, the Heavenly Demon found herself standing before an unfamiliar woman—her disciple's disciple, the one called Iris.
She is neither weak nor strong. Yet what is that faintly sensed alien energy?
It was so subtle that even she could barely detect it. Even a disciple to whom she had passed on everything might not have been able to sense it. Accepting her disciple's request had been partly to uncover the truth of that energy.
“...Haaaat!!”
When Iris charged at her, the Heavenly Demon clicked her tongue. That her own disciple possessed an excellent eye for talent was something only she could prove. Yet this woman called Iris could only be viewed as profoundly disappointing.
He would not have taught her so sloppily. Which means the only remaining explanation is that she lacks talent.
Swatting Iris away as if she were no more than a fly, the Heavenly Demon clicked her tongue once more and spoke.
“I have roughly grasped your level. Let us move on to the next stage.”
People were such simple creatures. Only when driven to their limits did their true selves emerge. Therefore, just as she had once done with her one and only disciple, she intended to unleash merciless attacks to draw out that limit.
Thud!
That is, until Iris blocked her strike.
What?
Until the moment Iris blocked her attack, that was.
...What is this? How is this even possible?
Considering Iris's level, she should not have been able to block the previous strike. Yet she had endured the first exchange with ridiculous cleanliness. Just to be sure, the Heavenly Demon expanded her senses, but she detected no sign of hidden power.
...This is different.
This was not blocking her attack through force or technique. The only possible explanation was that Iris had predicted exactly what kind of attack would come, with what power, speed, and direction during this spar, and had blocked it accordingly.
Shuuu—.
“...You. What exactly are you?”
Even if you can fool my disciple's eyes, you cannot fool me. I do not know what purpose you have in approaching my disciple and pulling these tricks, but as long as this seat—the one once called the Heavenly Demon—exists, such nonsense will not be tolerated.
“Master?!?”
“I asked what you are!”
Boom!
When she raised her aura to its peak, the internal shock made Iris vomit blood. For her body to be unable to endure even this level, yet she had blocked the previous attack so naturally? The situation made even less sense. There was definitely something there.
Uuuung—.
The instant red light and pitch-black energy surged from the Heavenly Demon's hand—
“Master!!”
Her disciple stepped between them. He too displayed the Heavenly Demon Divine Art she had taught him, ready to fight at any moment.
“Step aside.”
“Master, why are you acting like this? You've suddenly become agitated.”
“I told you to step aside. That wench is not right. She is strange! She will definitely bring you harm!”
“She is my disciple! I accepted her, and I promised to take responsibility for her!”
“What does that matter to me! My disciple is more important. That girl is ominous. She unsettles me! You may not feel it, but I sense the aura of a slaughtering demon that devours everything around it!”
“Master. Please calm down first and speak with this disciple. This is wrong.”
Her disciple stared at her with visible tension. In that instant, the Heavenly Demon realized one thing in his eyes. They were strikingly similar to the eyes of those in the Demonic Cult who had once looked at her.
....
Only then, examining herself, did she realize she had drawn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to its utmost limit. Had they clashed like this, both Iris and her disciple would almost certainly have died. His reaction was only natural.
Yet even so, the Heavenly Demon felt a strange pang of hurt. Why look at me with those eyes? You have never looked at me that way before. How disappointing. So you are your disciple's master rather than mine.
“...You bad boy.”
Sss...
The energy that had risen as if it would sweep across the entire area vanished in an instant. As the fierce red glow disappeared from the Heavenly Demon's eyes, the man finally let out a sigh of relief. Seeing that only twisted her insides further.
What could she call it? He had been a disciple she believed would remain on her side forever. Now that her disciple had become someone's master, it felt as though he had been stolen from her.
“Iris, come to your senses and regulate your breathing. You'll feel better soon.”
“Cough, cough!”
Her disciple was adjusting the internal injuries that had been thrown into chaos by the blood circulation technique she had taught him. The sight only increased her disbelief. The moment he received her energy his insides had shaken and he had even coughed up blood—yet how had he blocked her attack?
“Master.”
It seemed he had finished the emergency treatment for Iris. As her disciple approached, the Heavenly Demon turned sharply and headed for the pavilion where she had originally been. The moment she stepped inside, burning with fury that made her feel as if she would die from the heat, she flung off her upper garment.
Swish!
Like a cat, the man snatched the Heavenly Demon's discarded top and placed it respectfully to one side. Then he approached his master and opened his mouth.
“Master. I would like you to at least explain the reason for your behavior.”
“Did I not say it? She is a strange one. Did you not feel it? The faint aura of a slaughtering demon that emanated from her. I cannot guess how many people she must have devoured.”
At the Heavenly Demon's words the man looked troubled. That was only natural; during all the time he had spent with Iris, he had never sensed such energy. Moreover, the most definitive proof was the title of the last Hero. All those who bore the Hero title were protagonists representing good. She had accepted them as disciples because they would neither betray nor fall.
“Master. Don't you know me well? In my eyes, Iris is not that kind of child.”
“Were you not the one who came to me because you could not properly read that child?”
“That is true, yet I can still read her fundamental nature.”
“....”
“She is absolutely not the sort of child Master fears. I can guarantee it.”
“In the world where this seat existed, they said one must be most wary of the elderly, the young, and women.”
Come to think of it, the Heavenly Demon herself was a woman. In other words, the words she spoke to her disciple could also be taken as a warning to beware of her. Nevertheless, in her attempt to persuade him she had committed even that error.
“Please trust this disciple. I will prove that she is not such a child.”
Yet faced with her disciple's unwavering eyes, there was ultimately nothing she could do. As he said, his judgment of people was accurate. And although the Heavenly Demon herself had spoken those words, a part of her remained uncertain. She had called it a slaughtering demon, but she could not tell whether the acts had been committed of its own will or, like herself, against it.
...If nothing else, it is certain that the girl is ominous.
In any case, since Master has intervened, this one will head down to the village at the mountain's base. I will purchase something worthy of Master's dignity, so please wait a short while. With those words he bowed and moved away from her. Watching her disciple depart, the Heavenly Demon murmured.
“...This will not do.”
She would end this life of seclusion and slowly begin to move. She could not lose her one and only disciple, her one and only companion, could she?
The Heavenly Demon, Cheon Yeon-hwa, made that resolution.