The Beginning of Change (5)
Before me stretched out a single hand.
It was rough, its palm thick with calluses from years of gripping a sword, making it look weathered and unrefined.
But.
Tap!
'Soft.'
When I took that hand in mine, what I felt wasn’t roughness at all—it was an unexpected softness.
Was there ever a time someone had touched me with such gentleness?
No.
Everyone only ever praised the Sword Princess for her genius, but never once had any of them extended a kind hand to me.
Yet as I held it, I realized something new.
The calluses on that palm had formed through nothing but his blood and sweat.
'The one who never gives up, even if they’re a dullard, is the true victor...'
That single sentence kept spinning endlessly in my head.
And without realizing it, a faint smile crept across my lips.
'I’ve wondered when I started thinking like some genius or dullard in the first place.'
Even before anyone had called me a genius, I had always known I was no more than an ordinary, talentless fool.
Still, I kept swinging the sword anyway.
Only for one purpose: to kill Persona, and to avenge my brother Seojin.
Yet here I was, muttering that my skills had stagnated.
“Thanks. You reminded me where I needed to focus.”
Stagnation or not, the one thing I had to do was simple.
Grasp the sword and swing it with everything I had.
That was all.
So then...
“I’ll see you again soon.”
Flick.
“Now you’ve got your senses back, Sword Princess.”
I stood up, and the one who spoke wasn’t Ryu Se-rin—the Sword Princess—but Professor Ryu Se-rin herself.
“Don’t call me that. From now on, I’ll be going by the name Ryu Se-rin.”
“Then I’ll make sure to see you as something other than the Sword Princess.”
Smirk.
“Whenever you like.”
The incomplete technique that had stalled, its rhythm lost, now felt ready to dance again.
One Ice Dance Sequence.
Dance for me.
Sing for me.
Dance and sing as Ryu Se-rin, not as the Sword Princess.
Six Dance Sequences.
Blood Dance, Life Song.
Shaaa—
A faint red chill spread across the training ground like frost.
Dancing the rhythm I had once sung with blood on the snowy mountains after losing my brother.
Stepping as if gliding across the ground, closing in.
The Heavenly Demon’s staff soared toward me.
I could see it now.
The attack that had been invisible was suddenly clear.
Clang!
I brushed the staff aside and swung my sword straight at him.
“This time, I’m definitely going to win!!”
More than ever, I wanted to surpass my limits right now and reach him.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The flow of movement had changed.
Instead of the weak, blunt sword I had been wielding, a cold, ominous chill began crawling up my body and wrapping around my throat.
It felt like the scythe of the Grim Reaper hovering over my neck.
I transformed the Thousand-Face Weapon into its new form.
Clang!
The chained shape of the Thousand-Face Weapon coiled around the Sword Princess’s blade.
Thud!
At the same moment, Heavenly Demon’s chaotic strength slammed into Ryu Se-rin, sending her body tumbling across the ground.
But Ryu Se-rin didn’t give up even though the attack had failed.
“Hmm. That’s pretty useful, isn’t it?”
Somehow the Thousand-Face Weapon was now in her hand—along with the sword—while Heavenly Demon watched, head tilted curiously.
“Can you wield it?”
I asked, looking up at the standing Ryu Se-rin.
“I don’t know, but I eliminated the variable, didn’t I?”
I smiled as she laughed, claiming she had removed the variable even though she didn’t know how to use the weapon.
The massive mana swirling around the training ground began being sucked into Heavenly Demon’s body.
“What the hell are you doing? Why are you absorbing the mana?”
The mana being pulled away left only pure mana drifting inside Heavenly Demon’s body.
I grinned at Ryu Se-rin, who was enjoying the hit.
“You seem to have forgotten something.”
The Thousand-Face Weapon vanished from her grip and was placed back into my hand.
“I’m not just a martial artist—I’m also a mage who can use magic.”
“...This madman!”
Professor Ryu Se-rin, who had been fighting with only martial arts and body techniques for so long that she had forgotten Heavenly Demon could use magic, cursed and charged forward.
“You madman! How the hell do you even teleport?!”
“I have no idea.”
Thud!
As she swung her sword while closing in, Heavenly Demon shrugged and snapped his fingers.
Whoosh—!!
Ryu Se-rin’s blade sliced through empty air.
“It’s over now.”
Heavenly Demon’s voice came from behind. Ryu Se-rin spun around instantly, but the Heavenly Demon who had read her movement folded his fingers into a fist...
Whack!
“Kyaaaah!!”
...rather than a light slap, it was a hard, devastating smack.
Whack!
Hard enough to crack stone. Ryu Se-rin screamed and crumpled to the floor, clutching her swollen forehead.
“Ugh...! It’s not over yet!”
She pointed at her rapidly swelling forehead as Heavenly Demon pulled out a smartphone and showed her the time.
“Lunch break is almost over. I have to get going soon.”
On the screen, only fifteen minutes remained until lunch ended. Ryu Se-rin sighed and glared at him.
“I know that, but did you really have to end it with one last hard smack?”
“My choice of finish is up to me.”
With that, Heavenly Demon channeled white mana, healing his wounds and treating Ryu Se-rin’s injuries as well.
But Ryu Se-rin’s wounds weren’t fully healed.
“Hey, why aren’t you healing my forehead?”
Ryu Se-rin pointed at her furiously swollen forehead and asked.
Heavenly Demon answered with a wide grin.
“Spend the rest of the day without healing it. It’s an order.”
“U-uh? Hey, hey? Are you joking?”
Even when Ryu Se-rin asked if it was a joke, Heavenly Demon simply laughed, looking utterly serious. Ryu Se-rin panicked and started wringing her hands.
“No, no matter what, this isn’t right! I’m a teacher at the academy—I have to stay safe!”
Most students at the academy viewed Ryu Se-rin’s evaluations as cold and distant.
That was only natural, given her striking appearance and the strict way she spoke.
“You’re aware of that and still doing it?!”
“It’s just a lesson. Just accept it.”
“Accept what? The fact that you’re deliberately lashing out at me?”
“It’s called a life lesson. Just take it.”
“It’s called a life lesson, so just accept it,” Heavenly Demon continued.
“And never, ever, let yourself be dragged into anything involving Yoo Hwa-young with me.”
With those words, Heavenly Demon turned and walked out of the training ground. Ryu Se-rin watched his retreating back and quietly changed her internal evaluation of him.
He was a ruthless bastard who didn’t shed blood or tears, yet he possessed an extremely strong comeback ability.
Heavenly Demon’s comeback ability was even stronger than I had expected.
***
On the way back to the classroom.
I spotted one person surrounded by many others.
She had long, silky hair like fresh leaves and a figure that rivaled Beatrice’s, yet she was noticeably shorter than the average woman—unlike Beatrice, who stood tall among her gender.
It was Dang Hwa-ran, the sole daughter of the Sichuan Tang family and the future Poison Emperor.
Currently, she was being circled by several tall women.
“Hey, aren’t you showing off too much by claiming to be from the Tang family?”
“A-ah, no, I wasn’t meaning that at all...”
“What do you mean ‘no’? You’re insulting us by saying you’re from the Tang family!!”
She had been leaning quietly against the wall when the woman speaking drew my attention.
Her words were outrageous—suggesting she had come to seduce a student because of her massive breasts, had instructed the Tang family head to bring the top student’s seed, and had even tried seducing a professor.
I frowned slightly at the mere hearing of them.
'So what should I do now...?'
I hesitated.
Should I ignore the situation and walk away, or help her?
Dang Hwa-ran was the future enemy who would destroy China alone—one of those ticking time bombs that could explode at any moment.
Would I really have the responsibility to help such a person?
One possibility had vanished: the chance that I would adopt her as my daughter and she would become the Nine-tailed Fox.
I also needed to secure the life of Nephera, one of the seven most difficult sins, and find a way to kill her.
If I couldn’t find a way to kill her, I could isolate her with Imir or use her as a weapon against the Celestials.
The others were also threats I could eliminate if I grew stronger.
'As long as I stop those four, the rest can be handled by me alone.'
If I prevented those four from escaping, the rest of the world would be my problem to solve.
The story had wandered off, but I returned to the original point: I had to help Dang Hwa-ran.
'It’s better not to let those trash accelerate the Tang family’s betrayal for nothing.'
Although the Tang family had weak individual strength, their killing power ranked highest in the Central Plains.
Letting the future head of the Tang family, Dang Hwa-ran, fall into ruin because of some trash was too much of a headache.
“Shouldn’t we stop now?”
“Who the hell are you? You weren’t eavesdropping on our conversation, were you?”
“Eh... Master Cheon-seong?”
Heavenly Demon, leaning against the wall, turned to the group surrounding Dang Hwa-ran and spoke. The leader of the women glared at him.
“You yell so loudly in a quiet hallway? You must have a death wish.”
“Hah. What kind of creepy pervert is this guy who’s so arrogant? And why do you sound so condescending? Did you catch middle-school syndrome or something?”
I ignored the woman’s insults and asked Dang Hwa-ran.
“Why are you letting them do this? You can handle these trash on your own.”
“This bastard is crazy!!”
The woman, ignoring my words and calling me trash, channeled mana into her hand.
She was clearly about to slap me, but I didn’t block the strike.
Even if I got hit, it wouldn’t hurt, and as Heavenly Demon it would give me reason to retaliate.
Thud!
But the one who stopped her was an unexpected person.
“S-stop it, please!”
“H-hey? You’ve been standing there quietly this whole time, then suddenly you’re intervening? What? Did you think the Tang family head sent this creepy pervert to seduce her?”
Harsh words poured toward Dang Hwa-ran as she was stopped, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Her arms trembled visibly with fear, yet she didn’t pull away from Heavenly Demon’s hand.
“This damn girl!!”
Slap!
Dang Hwa-ran’s head whipped around with the sound.
She had been slapped.
Her cheek flushed red and stung, but she didn’t cry out.
“H-haha, how amusing. A whore like you is causing trouble, aren’t you? Hahaha!”
The gang, assuming I hadn’t actually intended to hit Dang Hwa-ran, laughed along, thinking I was pretending to be furious.
“Hmph... I guess I did step back a bit.”
“What? What are you saying now—?”
Slap!!!
The sound echoing through the hallway was even louder than the previous one.
“You... you...! You dared to hit me? You creepy pervert! Do you know who I am—?!”
Slap!!!
Her head turned again with another crack.
Heavenly Demon had slapped her again.
“What the hell is this rudeness?!”
The women screamed that it was rudeness and kept yelling. Heavenly Demon, growing increasingly irritated, swept his hair back and released a cold aura of mana.
“Rudeness? You’re the ones who started it. Do you think you’re better than the Tang family just because you’re taller?”
“T-today the Tang family is—?!”
The sudden shift in Heavenly Demon’s aura cut off the woman’s words.
“Why are you bringing up the Tang family? You’re disrespecting the only daughter of the Sichuan Tang family right now—that’s why it matters. Or are you just that stupid?”
I cut her off and pointed at Dang Hwa-ran.
“You think you can insult the Tang family by touching its daughter?”
“No, we weren’t—!”
“But you did participate in the verbal abuse.”
With the cold aura of mana, Heavenly Demon’s words hung in the air. The women’s faces paled as they realized the gravity of their actions.
Heavenly Demon’s fingers slowly rose toward the sky, and invisible power lifted their heads one by one.
“K-khugh... s-stop...”
Their necks strained as the pain grew unbearable.
“P-please stop...”
“I-I’m sorry... I’m sorry...”
“What are you sorry for?”
The women continued apologizing in trembling voices through their tears.
Glug-glug-glug
“Hah... disgusting.”
A yellow liquid squirted between their legs and soaked the floor. Heavenly Demon’s face twisted in disgust as he released the pressure.
The women collapsed onto the floor, still in the puddle they had created.
“Don’t let trash like them get to you. If you do, Yuna will worry.”
I spoke to the dazed Dang Hwa-ran. Once she understood the situation, she bowed her head to Heavenly Demon.
“T-thank you, Master Cheon-seong!”
“Don’t call me Master Cheon-seong. And don’t thank me. I helped because you’re Yuna’s friend.”
With that, I told the students still sitting on the floor to ignore them and hurried back to class. Watching me go, Dang Hwa-ran blushed and murmured.
“...I will. Master... Cheon-seong.”
It felt as though my heart toward her had grown a little warmer.