There's No Way I'm a Demon!
I felt a strange pang of melancholy when the crack appeared in the sword that had always reflected the world like a mirror.
It was because the corners of the lips belonging to the one who had played with me for so long drooped ever so slightly, and because the face of mine reflected on the blade twisted in a rather ugly way.
Just when my thirst was about to be quenched, our sword could no longer run wild.
Kwa-dududuk—!!
Ye Hwi-bin’s blade snapped cleanly in half and collapsed.
As my own sword shattered into pieces and vanished like a mirage, we both reached out at the same time, as if we shared one heart and one body.
Not to shake hands, of course.
Ye Hwi-bin’s hand was a hand-sword sharp enough to rival any blade, and my hand was a demon’s trumpet meant to crush someone’s heart to pulp.
A sword and a hand that could cleave the heavens and shatter the earth.
Neither of us lacked anything in particular.
I simply stood still after piercing through Ye Hwi-bin’s solar plexus, quietly reflecting on the moment.
“You did well.”
It had been a joyful yet regretful fight.
If only we could have enjoyed it a little longer—if only we could have stayed together forever.
Gazing into those gradually dimming silver eyes, I let out a small sigh and pulled my blood-soaked hand free.
Soon after, the sound of the Sword Demon Ye Hwi-bin losing her balance and collapsing to the ground reached my ears.
By then I had already walked past her, continuing forward without pause.
Leaving the fallen Ye Hwi-bin behind, I expanded my senses to search for Granny’s presence.
The Asura Divine Art was a violent energy that only thought about destroying its opponent, but it was still a divine art.
Thanks to observing the old woman these past few days, I had become able to locate a lost grandma at least.
She had run quite far; I ended up reaching a small forest beyond the plains.
“That was cutting it close.”
Good grief, the old lady was throwing shade at me again.
I had won, yet here she was cursing me?
With that perfectly natural thought in mind, I looked up at the old woman perched in the tree—only to find that her already wrinkled face had become even more crumpled.
Her jet-black, glossy hands hung limply like those of an ordinary elderly person.
“What the—Granny, are you dying?”
“You little brat, are you holding a memorial service for me while I’m still alive?”
The old woman, who had spoken so casually, hurried down from the branch as if she had only just remembered she was leaning against the tree.
With a wrinkled smile, she gently patted my back and said,
“Look at you, the next Supreme Under Heaven.”
“…No, that’s ominous. What favor are you about to ask that you’re suddenly buttering me up like this?”
“Hm? I’m simply stating a fact. Why the disgusted look? A master has the right to feel proud of her disciple, you know.”
“…I’m the one who won, so why are you—?”
At my words, Granny clicked her tongue.
Seeing her act like her usual self finally put my mind at ease.
Hmm, so this person really did have some awareness that she was my master.
I nodded, having gained a new realization, when the old woman poked my arm again.
Why did she keep tempting me like this?
I narrowed my eyes and stared at her. The old woman gave a weaker smile than before and spoke.
“Child, we’re almost there. Let’s take our time and talk while we walk.”
Now that she mentioned it, the horses we had ridden had long since been sliced by Ye Hwi-bin’s stray sword and fled.
Tsk, those cowardly bastards.
They should have stood their ground bravely and carried us to the very end.
Well, it was a mental shout that the already dead or runaway horses would never hear anyway.
Especially since the old woman’s wrinkled face was right in front of my eyes, making it hard to ignore.
Besides, we still had a long way to go to the mountains or a city on foot.
I swore that if I ran into any of those escaped horses on the way, I would definitely kill them. With that vow in mind, I bent down.
“What are you doing, Granny? Get on.”
At my kind words, the old woman chuckled and gently climbed onto my back.
“……Ah.”
Lying on the earth as if it were a blanket and gazing at the blue sky, Ye Hwi-bin suddenly gained a realization.
How long had it been since she had lain down so peacefully and looked up like this?
She had never lost a fight, nor had she ever disgracefully drunk herself into a stupor and collapsed on the roadside. So this was probably her first time since those very early days when she had simply been a young girl.
…Back then, she had often lain on the grassy riverbank.
Ye Hwi-bin blinked slowly, recalling the memories of the past painted across the sky.
They weren’t memories worth savoring for long.
They were merely fresh, yearning, and slightly nostalgic memories of peaceful times.
It wasn’t so bad to have nothing to do.
She placed both hands over her chest where blood kept gushing out and closed her eyes.
She had given her all, so she had no regrets.
If there was one lingering wish, it was that she could have crossed swords with someone just a little longer.
‘Oh arrogant heavens. Will you grant me an afterlife?’
The woman of the Dao muttered between ragged breaths, then suddenly reached her hand toward the lofty sky.
She grasped at it.
And then she fell face-first to the ground.
“Child, you may not believe it, but if I had been born in the Central Plains, I would have become a famous monk.”
The old woman’s mouth had finally loosened; she poured out stories she had never told even by the campfire.
She said she wouldn’t have been able to enter the Daoist gate or Shaolin, so she would have climbed Mount Emei and become a monk instead.
It sounded a lot like settling for second best, but remembering that she had actually stayed in Sichuan Province, it might have been surprisingly sincere.
What reduced her credibility a bit was that the old woman on my back had a crazy personality, and she also recited quite ridiculous rumors about how she had been famous for her beauty in her youth.
Anyway, I continued walking slowly across the plains with the old woman on my back.
Countless messages kept filling my vision in the middle, but I ignored them and kept moving my feet for now.
In this world, there were clearly things that could be done later and things that had to be done right now.
If I could only do one thing, right now was the time to walk and talk with the old woman.
Goodness, for someone with no energy left, she sure had swung her fists at me for so long.
I couldn’t understand why she had run away with me either, but the old woman’s mouth, which was happily chattering away, showed no sign of stopping.
At least until the sun was still in the sky.
True to her age, the old woman went to sleep early. When darkness painted over the heavens and sparkling stars rose, she blinked drowsily and tilted her head.
“Child.”
Even half-asleep, she spoke to me.
“What?”
“By any chance… what is your name?”
“Wait, you’re asking that now?”
“……Neither of us introduced ourselves, so it’s mutual. I’m just asking first because it’s been bothering me.”
Well, that was true. I had simply called her “Granny” or “you old hag” affectionately without ever exchanging proper names. The reason was the same for both of us.
Because we were fated to part ways soon anyway.
Only the senile old woman seemed to have changed her mind before the reed-like woman did.
“It’s Liz.”
So, as a kind and diligent disciple, I simply answered.
“Hehe, it really is an incomprehensible name to the very end.”
For some reason the old woman found my name so funny that she rubbed her face against my back.
I couldn’t just throw her off, so I let out a sigh and simply kept walking.
After that, accompanied only by the sound of her ragged breathing, we wandered aimlessly beneath the night sky until I suddenly stopped in place.
“Granny, which way should we go?”
Between Zhongnan and Wudang, the kind-hearted me asked for the old woman’s opinion.
It was because she had been so quiet that I was getting bored.
But the old woman, true to her age, had already fallen asleep and gave me no answer.
“Haa.”
I sighed and decided to keep walking anyway.
She had mentioned monks, but she seemed to long for the Daoist gate more, so I should head that way.
I didn’t know if Zhongnan was a Daoist sect, so I simply set my vague steps toward Wudang Mountain.
The next day, around the time the sun rose.
A small burial mound appeared at the foot of Wudang Mountain.
At the peak of the Tower that stood tall among countless continents, a woman suddenly looked up at the sky.
The Milky Way scattered like grains of silver across pitch-black drawing paper.
Among them, a single red star—looking as distant as a lone island—gradually grew brighter.
Some might say a star radiating such intense light was beautiful, but she who had realized the truth knew.
It was cruelly dazzling, yet in the end it was a killing star that murdered people.
Even though she had realized that truth, the starlight was so beautiful that the woman remained captivated for a long time.
“It really won’t be long now.”
The sage murmured quietly.
Moving to the 29th floor, ‘Adlan Ramparts.’
“Oh God!!”
“Please save us!!”
“You there! Stop praying and move faster!”
The first sounds I heard were the voices of soldiers calling for God and the shouts of a commander cursing them out.
I didn’t bother memorizing the exact mission details, but I soon figured it out.
It was easy to tell friend from foe when I saw the people bustling about on the ramparts and the swarm of pitch-black demons rushing in like ants from below.
“Huh? What the hell are you doing up there—!”
By the time the commander who had spotted me late widened his eyes and yelled, I had already taken a step into the empty air.
The floating sensation came immediately.
At the sight of me falling outside the ramparts, the soldiers let out horrified gasps.
I must have looked like someone about to die, but I had zero intention of dying from a fall. I landed lightly on the ground beneath the ramparts.
I still couldn’t do whatever that “stepping on air” technique was, but a stunt like this was easy.
Standing straight on the earth, I swept back my jet-black hair and looked at the oncoming demon army.
The soldiers on the ramparts sent me looks as if they were watching a madwoman, while the demons advanced with completely indifferent expressions, as if I were nothing more than a microorganism.
Yeah, I probably looked like I’d get swept away and crushed.
“Hmm. I see. So that’s how it is.”
It was a perfectly reasonable assumption.
And I was the kind of person who absolutely loved shattering other people’s expectations that I would do exactly what they thought.
With a mischievous smile full on my face, I reached a hand into the air.
“Sword.”
A sacred treasured sword immediately appeared in my grasp, and I swung it down.