Don't Come Any Closer!
“Yes, of course I like it! It’s a gift from my master, after all! And it’s beautiful, too!”
Far in the distance, the woman hopping about with the ring on her finger was Iris. The man standing beside her was his last disciple. For reasons he couldn’t quite name, the Heavenly Demon found the sight deeply unsettling.
…Should I just end that brat right now? Cheon Yeon-hwa clenched her fist and muttered inwardly. How dare some whelp wag his tail at her own disciple? No matter how respectful he claimed to be, no matter how exceptional he was, there existed a line that must never be crossed between master and disciple. Harboring romantic feelings was an affront to both parties. In the murim, such relations between master and disciple were strictly forbidden—and Cheon Yeon-hwa, the Heavenly Demon, had lived in that world for a very long time.
“Nngh.”
Struggling to maintain her composure, Cheon Yeon-hwa turned away. She wanted nothing more than to march out and punish that Iris creature at once, yet even appearing before her disciple was a secret she had to keep. After he had paid his respects and departed, she had watched him for a while before preparing to leave herself.
It had been so long since she last ventured outside that the memory felt hazy. How many years had it been since she fell into this unknown world? A place utterly unlike the murim—a world with no reason to fight or kill. Afterward, she and her disciple had spent well over ten years together on this mountain. Not truly together, of course; they had kept separate dwellings. She had always been more accustomed to solitude than to sharing space with another. Even though he was her disciple, she had assumed he would be no different from the other demonic practitioners. She had worried he might find her presence uncomfortable.
But Cheon Yeon-hwa soon realized she had been mistaken. From then on, her disciple would seek her out to check if she lacked anything. He never found her burdensome or intimidating. At some point, she caught herself unconsciously waiting for him. She had never imagined that being looked after so casually by someone could feel this pleasant. It was foolish, yet the warmth was so overwhelming she could hardly bear it.
When that disciple announced his intention to descend the mountain, Cheon Yeon-hwa immediately thought she wanted to follow him down as well. She was curious why he wished to return to the world below. So she left the mountain she had never once descended with him, keeping a careful distance and completely concealing her presence—so thoroughly that even her well-trained disciple would never notice.
‘…Traitors should be killed at once. Why bother dragging it out?’
When she discovered the spy planted beneath her disciple Garam, Cheon Yeon-hwa had tilted her head in confusion upon seeing her disciple drag the one-eyed woman away instead of killing her on the spot. Later, when he entered a place reeking of dampness and decay using the darkness as cover, she had debated whether to follow. In the end, she shook her head. Concealing one’s presence underground was far more difficult. Even she risked being discovered. So she had not followed—and that decision proved correct.
‘That girl was another disciple. I remember he was fond of her.’
Lily Hyacinth, was it? Yes, that had been her name. Nothing beyond that held any particular meaning for Cheon Yeon-hwa. After all, what happened afterward had been far more irritating.
“Why is that girl wearing the ring…?”
She had even warned him to be wary of Iris, yet her disciple showed no sign of listening. Anger and a strange sense of disappointment welled up inside her. So the gift had not been meant for her alone? Was it something so trivial he could hand it out to anyone?
“……”
Cheon Yeon-hwa stared at the ring on her own finger. She knew she shouldn’t harbor such feelings, yet at times like this the thought crept up on her anyway.
‘This won’t do.’
To steady herself, she cleared the turmoil within. She swept away the murky emotions and scattered her worries with a single stroke of sword qi. Part of the forest vanished as a result, but no one would ever know. Once her mind was empty, she saw her disciple strolling through the city with Lily. It seemed they were sharing a brief reunion before another parting.
‘So he’s about to leave.’
She had intended to depart the city before her disciple did. She wanted to escape this noisy, chaotic place as quickly as possible. But the moment she sensed an ominous presence, Cheon Yeon-hwa returned to the city at once—and there she witnessed her disciple fighting against unknown assailants.
No—correction. He wasn’t merely fighting. He was utterly crushing them. His skill was such that he could proudly claim to be the Heavenly Demon’s disciple anywhere.
“Well done.”
Her disciple had once said the world was full of enemies. Were these people among them? Yet they seemed far too weak to be called enemies. Just as the thought crossed her mind, every sense in her body sharpened. It was a tension she had rarely felt even in the murim—a powerful presence had arrived.
If that being had tried to fight her disciple, Cheon Yeon-hwa would have intervened. But the ominous entity vanished in an instant. Watching it go, she finally understood why her disciple had sought greater strength and why he was raising other disciples.
“So that was it. He had to fight something like that.”
She wondered why he had never told her. The disappointment stung. She trusted her disciple, so why couldn’t he trust her in return?
And then Iris had to go and stir up trouble again. No matter how ignorant she claimed to be about matters between men and women, she knew exactly what it meant to wear a ring. Even she, with the barest shred of conscience, had refrained from doing so. So why was that girl flaunting a ring on her ring finger?
The moment she saw it, something inside Cheon Yeon-hwa’s chest ignited wildly. Anger? No—this was not anger. It was something else entirely. She didn’t even know what the emotion was, but it no longer mattered. She hadn’t planned to reveal herself, yet she could no longer hold back. She couldn’t endure it without extinguishing this fire.
Thus, Cheon Yeon-hwa appeared before them.
“I acknowledge your spirit. Very well—allow this seat to handle it in your stead.”
Let’s see if you can keep wearing that ring after this. She ignored the words that tickled at the back of her throat. But once again, she had to abandon her approach toward Iris.
‘Blocking me again, you wretched child.’
Looking at her disciple, the disappointment within Cheon Yeon-hwa grew heavier. Keeping secrets from his master was one thing, but constantly taking his disciple’s side was another. It wasn’t a grave offense, yet it irritated her more than any true transgression.
“It’s been a while. Let us spar, shall we?”
The words slipped out before she realized it. She wanted to punish her disciple’s insolence, even if only a little. And, though she couldn’t say why, she also wanted to remind him once more just how overwhelmingly strong she was.
“What change of heart is this? You yourself said you wouldn’t intervene.”
“…It isn’t a change of heart. The situation has changed, Master.”
Words passed between them. With each exchange, an eerie killing intent flowed back and forth.
“So you refuse to stay behind any longer.”
“That is correct.”
“Then this seat shall accompany you.”
“Pardon?”
“What kind of master would close their eyes while their disciple fights?”
It wasn’t a casual remark or a test. Cheon Yeon-hwa truly wished to do so. She intended to. Who would dare raise a blade against this seat’s disciple? To harm someone’s disciple was to forge an enmity with their master.
“This seat has no intention of overlooking those who oppose my disciple.”
“You mustn’t, Master. You cannot step forward.”
Yet the answer that left her disciple’s mouth was that she must not intervene. Cheon Yeon-hwa’s brow furrowed unconsciously.
“Why must I not? I demand an answer.”
She had planned to thoroughly discipline him if his reply was unsatisfactory. But the answer that followed shattered every expectation she had.
“Because you are an incredibly important person to me, Master.”
“…Huh? What?”
She thought she must have misheard. She had expected answers like “They’re not worth your attention” or “I can handle it myself.”
‘W-what is this brat saying… W-what did he just say?!’
Cheon Yeon-hwa’s face flushed crimson in an instant. The moment her firmly guarded heart wavered, the sword qi gathered in her hand dissipated.
“Y-you brat! What nonsense are you spouting—!”
“I’ll say it again. You are far too important to me, Master. That’s why I don’t want to ask for your help yet. Not right now.”
Important. Important. Important… The words echoed endlessly in Cheon Yeon-hwa’s chest and mind. Had her disciple ever said such a thing before? No. Never. Not once. Then was it a lie? No. It wasn’t. There wasn’t a single shred of falsehood in those words. She could sense it instinctively—reading a person’s emotions wasn’t difficult.
“Y-you… You little—!”
Thus, the Heavenly Demon—Cheon Yeon-hwa—grew even more flustered. Her heart pounded wildly, and she couldn’t decide where to look. Thump-thump-thump! Her heart had never raced this fast, not even when facing the Murim Alliance’s leader. She was almost afraid her chest might burst.
“…Master? Are you all right—”
“Y-you brat! Be quiet! Don’t come any closer! Stay away!”
BOOM!!!—