Chapter 159
Chapter 159
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 159
Chapter Title: Little Heavenly Demon, Peach Blossom Paradise (End)
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Finally found her.
I'd been wandering around for ages without any sign of her, so I wondered if she might be hiding inside the house. And that turned out to be right.
As soon as I stepped into the second-floor hallway where Hwang-do's room was, I heard a child's crying.
Anyone could tell it was Hwang-do.
I'd been sick with worry that maybe something awful had happened to her. Fortunately, it didn't seem like the worst-case scenario had played out.
'Though some didn't make it in time.'
A woman's corpse, her eyes still wide open, unclosed even in death.
People dressed in Do-won's robes lay slaughtered throughout the house.
They looked like nobles from the Plum Blossom Family and their warrior escorts.
It seemed a large number of hunters had poured into the area.
-Step.
Traces of the fierce battle extended from the hallway into the room.
From daggers embedded in bodies to scorch marks from blue flames.
In this world where most people abandon others to save themselves, it seemed one of the rare righteous souls had been by their side, luckily enough.
What had this woman been thinking as she lay dying?
Even on the brink of death, she seemed to be smiling rather than despairing.
"...Sis, sob. Hic... eung."
Ah.
So this is her.
Hwang-do's crying grew louder. I knelt down and gently closed the woman's eyes for her.
Baek-do had been staring at me intently with a complicated expression the whole time I'd walked from the hallway to here.
I spoke to her.
"Put the dagger down. It's okay."
"......"
Her hands trembled violently.
Blood seeped from the fist gripping the short sword tightly.
It looked like the spot where I'd once seen a scar on Baek-do's hand from when we were together.
"I want to heal it, but sorry. My body's in no shape right now."
My powers weren't activating anymore.
"Was it tough?"
"...No. Sob."
At my words, Baek-do shed thick tears like chicken droppings. She must have been tense for so long that as soon as she broke down crying, her legs gave out and she dropped to her knees.
The dagger slipped from her grasp.
Even her dislike for me seemed forgotten in this moment.
I gently patted the prone Hwang-do's shoulder.
"Big brother... sob, ugh, waaah. Sis... sis..."
"Sob, hic... sob."
The two sobbed uncontrollably.
I was a bit taken aback by their crying, but honestly, this was normal.
Cheon-do had just been too tough.
I ignored my flickering consciousness and patted Hwang-do's back.
By midway, Baek-do had come to my side and started rubbing her face against me.
Like that, for a good while.
I spent my final moments soothing them.
Once Hwang-do stopped crying, her whole body trembled violently. This trauma would linger for a long time, it seemed.
Even now, just mentioning her sister made her eyes well up, and bringing it up fully set off her waterworks.
Of course the shock would be severe.
Even the tomboyish Baek-do had a fragile heart that eyes couldn't see, so she probably wouldn't accept this situation easily either.
Hwang-do, finally checking my condition, asked in a quivering voice.
"...Big brother."
"Yeah."
"Are you... okay?"
Only now she asks.
I let it slide since she wasn't in her right mind.
I patted Hwang-do's head.
"I'm fine. Really fine, so let's get you to Cheon-do now."
"What about Sis... sob, what about Sis?"
Baek-do scolded Hwang-do.
"Hwang-do, enough."
"Sob, hic."
At least Baek-do was holding onto her reason.
I tilted my head and whispered to Baek-do to take good care of Hwang-do. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and nodded.
Hwang-do clutched her sister tightly and squeezed out her last tears.
I wanted to wait longer, but I was at my limit now.
"You know my magic? I'm sending you to where Cheon-do is."
"What about you, big brother..."
"I can't go."
Hwang-do jumped in shock at my words, grabbing my collar.
"Why? Why can't you go?"
"Lots to do. You know? Gotta go save kids like you."
"...You won't die, right?"
"Why would I die?"
I slowly wrung out my mana.
Even accounting for natural recovery, I'd have to scrape the absolute bottom to send these two off.
"Baek-do."
"...Yes."
"You too, come here."
Baek-do took a step closer.
Then, in a trembling voice, she said,
"You're really coming back alive, right?"
"Why are you kids like this?"
"Your body... it's a mess."
"Wouldn't it be good for you if I died?"
Baek-do bit her lip.
Tears of resentment welled up.
A sudden playful urge hit me, but her reaction showed she didn't hate me to her bones after all.
A word burst from the silent Baek-do's mouth.
"...Little Heavenly Demon."
An unexpected title.
I was surprised but didn't show it.
"Since you're standing in for Cheon-do there... don't die, absolutely. I, I won't hate you anymore. Won't tell you to step down either."
"......"
"I've been wrong all this time..."
Once her mouth opened, apologies poured out like a waterfall.
From her words, it seemed she'd known her own faults all along.
Still, seeing her break her stubbornness was nice.
If the current Baek-do were like this, I'd like her more.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Mr. Lee Si-heon.] 'Yeah.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [It seems the time has come.] I activated the wrung-out magic.
Looking at Baek-do and Hwang-do's eyes, red from crying, I gave a bitter smile.
-Flash!
"-!"
The two opened their mouths as if to say something. But the magic activated faster.
I was curious what they wanted to say, but no choice—if I delayed, I'd really die.
I leaned against the bloodstained wall in Hwang-do's room.
'...I'm tired.'
The drowsiness and fatigue I'd moderately ignored while living in Do-won.
It felt like the accumulated exhaustion from pulling all-nighters for weeks was crashing down.
Don't they say working at dawn borrows time from the future?
My head felt foggy, like after staying up all night for New Year's bell-ringing.
My hands grew ice-cold and stiff.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Only the last part remains.] 'Yeah.'
There's still so much I don't know.
'Hey. Last time... didn't you say that wasn't all I had to do?'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Yes, I did.] 'So what was the rest, ultimately?'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [......I can't say here.] Dodging to the end.
I get it. You're dying soon too.
I let out a rotten laugh and lowered my head.
Blood still trickled between the rotting skin.
'I've seen the impossible today.'
It was a training session to commend my past efforts and relieve stress.
That place happened to be Japan. And there was the World Tree of Time waiting for the Wood Spirit King's descendant.
I'd ended up fleeing to the past like a coward, without even properly answering a confession.
'Almost there.'
I shook my head to clear my thoughts, gripped the wall, and stood up.
I staggered out of the building alone.
The ruined Do-won came into view.
"Hoo..."
A sigh escaped my lips. Blood. Endless stray thoughts.
Ruined Do-won houses stretched to the horizon.
Do-won residents who'd suffered.
Occasionally, a familiar face lay in a gruesome spot, and I'd stop by the roadside, staring for a long time.
"......"
I had no words.
I gazed silently, then hurried on.
Do-won's upper, middle, lower districts.
"Little Heavenly Demon! Ar-are you alright...?"
"Yeah."
I brushed off the warriors' attempts to stop me and kept walking.
As my mana recovered, I sent surviving civilians to Hong-yeon.
My shins felt like they'd snap. My bloodshot eyes were dry and stinging.
My body signaled to stop moving.
'It's just faking a death—do I really have to go this far?'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [......At this point, it's an immortal masterpiece. No one will call your death a fake.] "Kuhuhuhu."
Blood-soaked, clothes torn ragged.
From the one remaining pocket, I pulled out the ring case.
Cheon-do's gift was still there.
One ring desperately obtained through rolling in the past.
Not something that makes you stronger if eaten.
To others, it'd look like a commonplace flower anyone could pick.
'Usually, at a moment like this, you get something important, right?'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [......Having gained that much power, wanting more would be greed, wouldn't it?] 'Is that so.'
Bloodstained plum blossoms scattered in the wind.
At the edge of my vision, I saw Baek-do and Hwang-do playing with brooms.
Hallucinations now, huh.
I rubbed my eyes, and the two figures vanished.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Now it's time to return.] Do-won dies.
The name Cheon-do gave it... aside from overlapping with the place name, it was pretty cool.
Might be usable as an alias later.
-Rustle.
Plum blossoms don't last long.
They bloom briefly, then soon wither.
Yet Do-won's plum trees hold their flowers unusually long.
Beautiful because they don't last.
That's the saying for plum blossoms, but even lasting long, their beauty remains the same.
I walked following the petals.
The fallen petals gathered on the ground, waiting for someone to sweep them.
With time, they'd flow into the river, becoming fertilizer for the banks.
I continued along the path of scattered flowers.
Hunters began appearing ahead, slowly coming into view.
The moment they saw me, they raised their weapons warily.
'...That Heavenly Demon bastard leaves without watching till the end.'
Even now, mana fluctuations rippled from far away.
The ferocious aura of battle lasting over half a day drew a wry chuckle.
-Hum!
I gathered my last mana.
Terror spread across the hunters' faces.
Black energy gathered in my hand.
I detonated it, urging an end to life.
Early summer haze. Over the riverbank.
Blood dried and shimmered.
-Boom!
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Comes when flowers bloom, leaves when they fall.
A line a poet enjoying life's pleasures might take lightly—who'd believe someone actually lived it?
"At this rate, we'll rebuild in no time."
"...Yeah."
Hong-yeon gave a bitter smile at Cheon-do's words.
Cruel memories etched beneath the bare plum trees.
Without time to forget, they began reconstruction.
"Head in for today. Sun's set."
"Yes, Leader."
"Right, Little Heavenly Demon."
The original Little Heavenly Demon's identity was now known even to the Demonic Cult Leader.
Of course, it wasn't revealed to everyone in Do-won to keep the secret.
"...Wait a sec, Cheon-do."
"Yes?"
Hong-yeon stopped Cheon-do, who was heading inside.
With no change in expression, she quietly declared,
"......He's dead."
No need to say who.
"Ah..."
Cheon-do's vermilion eyes widened round. She showed no reaction at first... then forced a smile.
"Got it."
"Yeah, go on in."
Hong-yeon watched Cheon-do's retreating back with bitterness.
-Step. Step.
The young girl walked on endlessly.
Her black training robes were almost cute, yet she was reliable talent.
Hong-yeon let Cheon-do go without holding her back further.
-Thud!
Cheon-do burst into the house and straight into her room.
Dark room. A place of memories devoid of any warmth.
She recalled that ridiculous face that had made even her own bed feel nostalgic.
Cheon-do undressed, changed into loungewear, and sat on the bed.
Soft cotton handmade pajamas.
As she set her bottom on the cold bed, Cheon-do gazed at the nightstand.
"Ah."
Hand mirror and ear pick.
Pent-up emotions welled up.
"......"
A tear rolled down Cheon-do's dry cheek.
"...Ugh, sob. Hic... ugh, mm."
Like jade beads, tears rolled and pooled at her chin.
Stain after stain marked the cotton blanket.
Her shoulders quivered.
"Ugh, mm... huhic."
Huddled up, eyes squeezed shut.
She frantically wiped the flowing tears with her hand backs and arms.
No matter how she dammed them, they wouldn't stop, and finally burst forth.
"Waaaaaah..."
First love. Farewell.
Sleepless night.
Recalling an unattainable old love, Cheon-do yearned achingly.
Overflowing tears shimmered like fine mist.
Leaving a wound that would never fade in her lifetime.