Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Became the Terminally Ill Master of the Heavenly Demon (4)
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"One, sorry."
There wasn't even a chance for Biwol to step forward and deal with the bandits. The moment I unleashed the Ice White Divine Art, the situation was already resolved.
"Two, great hero."
The area now looked like a frozen mountain peak, with ice shards scattered everywhere and everything around us encased in frost.
"Sorry!! Great hero!!"
I had the bandit leader, Mountain Tyrant, crawling on all fours, and I sat on his back like he was a chair.
"Yeah, louder."
As I coughed up blood while saying that, Biwol gently wiped the corner of my mouth with a cloth from the side.
The moment I used even a little internal energy, my meridians twisted, leaving me in this state. On top of that, the constant overflow of yin energy made it hard to even move or breathe properly.
In the North Sea Ice Palace, it was called a blessing—the Extreme Yin Body—but right now, it was blocking nine of my meridians, slowly eating away at my life.
"To dare not recognize the Ice Dragon and demand tolls—I'll atone with my life!"
"...With just your life?"
Biwol wiped the blood from my mouth as if it were something precious, then unleashed sharp killing intent toward Mountain Tyrant beneath me.
I didn't need his life. I planned to hand these guys over to the authorities anyway and pocket a small bounty.
"Biwol, that's enough."
"But these scoundrels shamelessly forced Master to exert himself."
I slowly stroked Biwol's head out of habit as I spoke. The little "hehe" sound escaping her lips made me think she was secretly enjoying it.
"I'm not that old yet."
"But the Nine Yin Absolute Veins..."
"Even if I'm on my last legs, I have no intention of leaving everything to my disciple."
I shrugged as I said it. I'd managed to stretch this thread-thin life this far by diligently cultivating my internal energy.
So there'd be no regrets in this lifetime.
Besides, due to her Heavenly Killing Star fate, it was best to keep the Heavenly Demon, Biwol, away from killing and violence as much as possible.
"I'll never touch banditry again! Great hero, please spare me just this once!"
Mountain Tyrant was begging with tears streaming down his face. His trembling arms and legs suggested he was reaching his limit.
"I believe people who change through actions, not words. Only one's own will can truly change oneself."
I looked down at him indifferently. People who flip their words easily can do it again later.
I'd seen plenty like that in the real world—weak humans who lied to themselves, made excuses, and sought comfort.
One of them had been me, after giving up my dream as a writer.
"I'll go to the authorities and turn myself in. I'll return all the loot from the bandit lair to its owners!!"
"How? Do you have ledgers? When you robbed people, did you note down whose belongings they were?"
Spotting lies like this was familiar.
"Do you even remember the names of the people who bled and cried because of you?"
I held out my scarred palm in front of his face. He shuddered at the sight.
"Name five, and I'll believe you."
Maybe give him one chance, I thought, deciding to test Mountain Tyrant.
"Kim Hwi, Jang Il, Wang Sam..."
He paused for a moment, then rattled off names like a machine gun, as if he'd remembered them.
"...Hold on. Those with those names, raise your hands."
Sensing something off, I nodded toward his underlings, whom Biwol was watching.
They exchanged glances and stayed still. A strange tension hung between them.
"Do I have to turn you all into ice blocks one by one to get the truth?"
I scattered yin energy to threaten the bandits. Mountain Tyrant, closest to me, chattered his teeth and shook.
One, two, three.
After giving them a moment, exactly three of his underlings raised their hands.
"I'm Kim Hwi."
"I'm Jang Il, great hero."
"I-I'm Wang Sam!"
Biwol pressed them with killing intent to confirm, and the names matched what Mountain Tyrant had said. I nodded to her in approval.
"Y-You bastards...!!"
It was simple deduction.
Before possessing this world, I'd lived as an academy instructor and seen friends call out names for attendance cheats plenty of times.
"You're the type to sell out your own men to save your skin."
I looked at Mountain Tyrant with pity. He wasn't even in the novel Diamond Fist King, so I'd hoped he might be different.
"N-No, great hero!! It was just a name coincidence!"
"The people you robbed probably begged the same way. 'Please spare me once,' 'Please let me live'—right?"
Touching Biwol was unforgivable to begin with. Demanding money and women showed they weren't amateurs.
"You'll go to the authorities yourself and confess your crimes with that three-inch tongue of yours."
"K-Kraaaack!!"
I grabbed the back of Mountain Tyrant's neck and slowly froze it with cold energy. Without a collar like this, he'd repeat the same crimes later.
"If you don't release the captives from your lair and return every stolen item..."
I froze ice right under his nose, letting him fully feel the sensation of death.
"Your head will turn into an ice block that day."
With this mark, even if he broke his promise, he couldn't live with a whole body.
"Hnggg...!! Ng, hng!!"
Mountain Tyrant nodded frantically, tears flowing, begging for mercy. He was so terrified he wet himself.
"Master is too lenient. I think crushing his manhood and making him a eunuch would have been better."
As I stood, disgusted, and stepped away, Biwol stuck close, puffing her cheeks.
"...Isn't that too harsh?"
I shrank back at her words. I hadn't taught her to talk like that.
"The sin of not recognizing the Ice Dragon of the Ice Dragon Harmony Sect must be atoned for life. Please punish that Sanpo or whatever he is and make an example."
I didn't reply, just slowly stroked her head. A bounty from the authorities would suffice.
"No need. They've lost trust in each other and will fear committing crimes now."
Mountain Tyrant and his gang wouldn't bandit anymore. Just hearing my sect's name would make them tremble, fearing my appearance.
"All I care is that my one and only disciple is unharmed."
"Master..."
Biwol, touched, covered her mouth with both hands and hopped in place. Truth be told, I'd held back killing due to her nature.
"Great hero! Thank you earlier!"
The coachman clasped his fists in gratitude toward me and Biwol. He said he hadn't recognized me as the famous 'Ice Dragon.'
Bowing deeply with teary eyes, he seemed genuine—unlike Mountain Tyrant.
"This lowly one failed to recognize the Ice Dragon great hero! Thank you truly for sparing my life!"
That made sense.
I only left the sect for spirit herbs or fortuitous encounters to fix my condition, or for major novel events.
"Here, my silver! Please take it!"
"Gratitude is enough."
The coachman pulled silver from his pocket and offered it. I waved it off.
The bounty alone would cover travel to the Western Regions to meet Verdandi.
"...I'll gladly accept."
Then, a small hand snatched it like a cat grabbing fish.
"Biwol, give it back."
"No. Master is too stingy accepting others' kindness."
The hand belonged to Biwol, with her red eyes and black hair. She stuck out her tongue in defiance.
"Who knows? I might need it for wedding gifts when I marry."
"......"
If that really happened, I might cry. Imagining Biwol married stirred something in my chest.
Was this how a father felt raising a daughter?
Biwol and I reached the eastern continent's edge and boarded a ship to the Western Regions. The salty sea breeze and crying gulls tickled our ears.
"Master! It sparkles so much...!"
Biwol ran around the deck, pointing at the sun-reflecting sea. It was her first time seeing anything but streams or lakes.
"Don't run. There are others aboard."
"But Master! Everything looks so new to me! First time seeing the vast sea, first time on a ship like this!"
Biwol bombarded me with questions about how this huge wooden thing floated on endless water.
Suppressing the urge to say, 'It's buoyancy,' I stroked her head to calm her.
She quieted at my touch, much like a countryside puppy.
Fierce-looking enough to bite, but rubbing against you for pets.
"Biwol, etch this scenery in your eyes."
I slowly opened my mouth toward her.
"This is the world you must see ahead. A vast flow beyond narrow views."
In reality, when stressed over entrance exams, I'd impulsively gone to Busan.
Gazing at Haeundae's horizon made my worries seem trivial.
"...I don't quite understand, miss."
"Compared to that vast sea, our worries and prejudices are mere dust. Waves crash dozens, hundreds of times a day, reforming endlessly."
I'd once screamed at that sea that I wanted to be a writer.
I hated abandoning my dream for college or jobs. I wanted to write.
On Haeundae's empty night beach, the dark sea like the night sky silently listened.
"Even if I die tomorrow, the waves I create won't stop. The traces, life, and teachings I leave will guide you to a wider world."
I wanted to share that experience with Biwol. I hoped she'd have someone to confide in when troubled, after me.
"I only need Master. Why say such things...?"
"...Get used to this. You must see new things, feel them, enjoy them, and live among many people."
I tapped her head matter-of-factly. Honestly, I didn't know how much longer I'd live.
We always had to prepare for parting like this.
"...Funny talk. You a mage?"
Then, chuckling came from beside me.
"Sounds just like what they teach at the Blue Mage Tower about the sea. But the energy around you is qi, not mana?"
A woman with gleaming golden eyes and golden hair sipped her drink while looking at me. Chugging what looked like wine from the bottle, she seemed quite the drinker.
Could she be someone I know?
Her familiar look furrowed my brow. She matched a side character's description from a novel I'd written.
"Nice to meet you. From the East, right?"
She offered a handshake. Her smiling face and unique features let me guess her identity.
"...Gold Tower Lord, Wolfram Alchemista."
A side character from Must Kill the Hero,
"Huh? How'd you know? I haven't said my name yet."
She was someone originally killed by Verdandi.