It Wasn't Bad, It Was Good
"Yeon-hwa. Go far away. Far away. Very far. To a place where no one can find you."
Blood poured endlessly from the gaping wound. People called it blood. The very thing that should have been flowing inside a human body. The source of life that every person in the world carried within them. That source was now draining away from the man collapsed in front of her.
He wasn't her real father. Yet he had been more of a father than her real one ever was. The man who had given up everything for her sake was dying like this.
"I don't want to. Let's go together."
"...Go alone... Hurry. Go quickly."
"No. I won't go alone. Together. We'll go together."
"Hurry... go... hurry...."
"Open your eyes."
"...."
"Open your eyes. Open them, please. Please, open your eyes."
It was an empty cry. No answer came. The faint breathing that had barely been audible, the slight tremors in his body—she felt none of it now. Everything had frozen over, leaving nothing behind.
"...."
Cheon Yeon-hwa slowly stroked the man's face. This precious person who had protected her until now. She carefully laid his body down. Then she turned her gaze to those surrounding her.
"We'll finish this quickly."
"Yes, Great Leader."
She had clearly heard them say she was the child of some cult leader. They had come to select the next young leader. And they would eliminate anyone who might become an obstacle to their little master. She had fled to this remote place precisely to abandon her claim to that position. Yet they had tracked her down and demanded she offer her neck.
It was unfair. What kind of threat could she possibly pose? It made her furious. Did they really have to come and take everything away? The anger burned so hot she couldn't endure it without unleashing it.
Cheon Yeon-hwa gripped the sword the man had held until his final breath. Then she began to weave light toward those who charged at her.
"So this is how strong you were."
The person collapsed before her. The man who had been no different from her very origin. The man her mother had loved. And the enemy who had stayed silent as everything was stolen from her.
"You said weakness is a sin."
"That is correct."
"Then you are a sinner."
"What sin have I committed?"
"You failed to protect your woman because you were weak. You failed to protect your child because you were weak. You failed to protect your position because you were weak. And in the end, your weakness drove you to commit the ultimate betrayal."
"...."
The cult leader—no, the man who had now become the former cult leader—looked up at Cheon Yeon-hwa. The daughter he had never truly cared for had killed every candidate for the young leader position. And now she stood before him, ready to defeat him and claim the seat of the Demonic Cult's leader.
"Do not worry. In the end, it is the weak who bear sin. The strong carry no burden whatsoever."
"Is that all you have to say?"
"What did you expect? Did you think I would apologize? How foolish. I merely exercised my rights as the strong. The weak can only be crushed beneath that weight. Why should I apologize to those who became like this because of their own weakness? Don't spout such nonsense."
"...."
She hadn't expected anything. She had known this was the answer she would receive. Yet a small part of her had still hoped. Because she had become strong. Because she was the daughter of the weak, raised by their hands, and now stood before them with such dignity. She had wanted him to reevaluate them, to admit her judgment had been wrong.
But in the end, the man held neither those words nor even the thought of them. Instead, he looked at Cheon Yeon-hwa and gave a cold smile.
"Do not become weak, Cult Leader. One day that weak heart will return as a blade aimed at your own throat."
Cheon Yeon-hwa, who had been glaring at him, swung her sword without hesitation. She had thought the anger she carried would subside at least a little now. But as she looked down at the fallen man, she felt only emptiness instead.
That day the cult leader changed, and the order of the martial world was reestablished once more.
Cheon Yeon-hwa cut down everyone who opposed the Demonic Cult. And cut them again. Was it out of love for the cult? Of course not. In truth, she hated this place called the Demonic Cult more than anything. It was a world where everything came down to nothing but power. The ones who had dragged her from her quiet life and forced her onto this battlefield. The world that only wanted to uphold the position of cult leader in her place. Even she was slowly forgetting herself, being consumed by the very cult she despised.
At some point she began to think power came first and felt no hesitation. She would tell herself this wasn't right. But the words of the former cult leader—that a weak heart would become a blade—were not a curse but a piercing truth.
"O Heavenly Demon."
"Most exalted one."
She fought and fought until one day she was no longer merely the cult leader. She had earned the ridiculously grandiose title of Heavenly Demon. She had lost herself. She no longer remembered who she had once been. She moved only according to the gaze of those who looked upon her. She was becoming nothing more than a sword-crazed, power-obsessed monster.
Until the day she clashed with the top masters of the martial world and, surrounded by an unknown energy, fell into a world that made no sense.
"...Haha. Hahahaha."
The Heavenly Demon laughed. She could do nothing but laugh. Everything she had achieved while losing herself had vanished. She had arrived in a completely unknown place for no reason she could understand. It was absurd. Rage boiled up. It felt like her insides were being torn apart.
But at some point the Heavenly Demon resigned herself to it all. Resignation turned into calm, and that calm made her lighter. Only after she had finally let go of everything could she look around.
"Please take me as your disciple!"
And there before her stood a man who was begging to become her student.
"Don't you need a disciple?"
"...You're insane."
"I'd say I'm more on the level of—"
"The worst."
Just as she said, the man's condition was the worst. She wasn't talking about his body's potential. His mental strength and tenacity were thinner than anyone's in the martial world. She was certain that if she took him on, he would run away within a single day.
"I've never seen anyone like you. Your will is completely rotten, yet your body isn't bad."
At first she tried to drive away the man who kept asking to become her disciple. But he clung on until the end, and in the end the Heavenly Demon accepted him as her student.
Just as she had predicted, teaching him at the beginning was truly difficult. He couldn't even endure basic training. What good was such an excellent body when his mind couldn't utilize it properly? Clicking her tongue at how pathetic it was, the Heavenly Demon could only sigh.
But as time passed, the man began to change little by little. She had thought he would never change, yet somehow he gained desperation. Or perhaps there was another reason. Either way, he started to transform.
Finally, the Heavenly Demon acknowledged him as her official disciple. As his master she would teach him everything, so he must show proper respect as her student. Within that vow, the Heavenly Demon brought out her own name for the first time in what felt like ages.
"...Having formed a master-disciple bond, I, Cheon Yeon-hwa, shall teach my disciple all that I know."
"...Having formed a master-disciple bond, I, Namgung Hyeon, shall receive all teachings from my master."
With their master-disciple bond formally established, the real lessons began. After that, the Heavenly Demon—no, Cheon Yeon-hwa—began to slowly regain the self she had completely forgotten, all thanks to her disciple.
"Master. Eating like that isn't very good for you."
"Don't be ridiculous. Once you reach a certain realm, meals lose all meaning."
"But isn't enjoying the taste important too?"
"You fool. Enjoying taste is equally meaningless for a master of high level."
"Is that so? Then I suppose I'll have to eat this delicious dinner all by myself tonight."
Her disciple said this while presenting an incredibly appetizing dish. Then, as if showing off, he began to eat it right in front of her with obvious delight. Thanks to that, Cheon Yeon-hwa's curiosity was piqued, and she eventually tried the food her disciple had made.
"...."
"Master."
"...."
"Master."
"What is it?"
"You seem to be eating with great enthusiasm."
"Ahem. Shut that mouth of yours."
Her face burned. If she looked in a mirror, it would surely be bright red. Cheon Yeon-hwa did her best to ignore her disciple and continued eating. Watching her, her disciple smiled and said,
"I'll make it for you again next time."
"...Do as you wish."
After that, he continued to change many parts of Cheon Yeon-hwa, bit by bit.
"It's more comfortable living here now, isn't it?"
"...It's not bad."
"Living in a proper home is what makes life worth living, don't you think?"
"I'm not sure."
"You'll come to understand it from now on."
The shabby place that had been too pitiful to even call a home had, at some point, been transformed by her disciple into somewhere perfectly livable.
"Master. What do you think of this?"
"...What is it?"
"It's a kind of ornament that hangs from the ear."
The desire she had once dreamed of but could never achieve. The perfectly natural wish of a woman to adorn herself. Somehow her disciple had known and approached her with it first.
"...My disciple."
One day, overcome by curiosity, she asked a question she might come to regret.
"Are you not afraid of me?"
"Me? Afraid of you, Master?"
"Yes."
"Why are you asking that?"
"When I was in the Demonic Cult, everyone feared me. Even though I was their cult leader, even though I was their protector, they were only busy bowing their heads and submitting to my strength."
"You are certainly strong, Master. I respect you for that. But I do not fear you. Why would I fear you, Master? Where else could I find someone as good as you?"
"...Such words hold no meaning whatsoever."
It was a lie. A bright red lie. No meaning? The moment she heard those words, her heart suddenly pounded. Though the trembling soon subsided, Cheon Yeon-hwa could not forget that sensation.
"Hyeon-ah."
"Yes, Master."
"...Truly."
"Pardon? Could you say that again?"
"Truly... am I really a good person?"
"You're asking something so obvious. To me, you are the greatest master in the world."
"...Is that so?"
It's not bad. Those words never left Cheon Yeon-hwa's lips in the end.
"Master."
"...."
"Master?"
Namgung Hyeon, who had been advancing through the Mirror Kingdom's trap together with Iris, carefully called out to his master and watched for a reaction. If even the Heavenly Demon couldn't easily escape this trap, it was no wonder Iris had been wandering inside it for a whole month.
"...Hyeon-ah."
"Yes, I'm right here, Master. Are you coming back to your senses?"
"...It wasn't bad."
"Pardon?"
Cheon Yeon-hwa smiled as she gazed at her own past and murmured,
"It was good. Too... good."