The Heavenly Demon's Final Lesson
Beneath a blackened sky.
The commander's head toppled to the ground, his eyes still wide in disbelief at what he had witnessed — and Heukcheon swept a sideways glance over the demonic sword in which her soul was sealed.
It seems I've managed to pass on the martial arts, at least.
She could feel Lee Seoha's astonishment stirring somewhere within. Surely he had come to appreciate the dignity of the one who had claimed the title of his master. Privately, Heukcheon was quite pleased about that.
There's little time left now.
She felt the loss keenly. And yet, if she delayed any longer, even a body tempered by the Black God Martial Art would struggle to endure. With a bitter smile, Heukcheon resolved to impart one final teaching to Lee Seoha.
Her footsteps rang out, unhurried. This was Seoha's body, but the soul of a transcendent still weighed heavily upon it. The long hair spilling down to her waist would have horrified the man who owned it, yet its owner found the vessel rather to her liking — a face of such rare beauty that it was a genuine waste on him.
And that was precisely why she wished to leave him a piece of her wisdom.
"...What?"
Has he still not realized?
She sighed inwardly.
"Well, unless you say something, how am I supposed to know?"
Now is not the time. We shall speak of it another day.
"..."
Deep within, Lee Seoha was fuming. Heukcheon tilted her head in mild puzzlement, then simply shook it off.
My lord. I have no wish to lose you.
"That's why you've been helping me, isn't it?"
It is. But as things stand, my lord, you may soon find yourself facing death — and so I intend to teach you.
With those words, Heukcheon began sorting through the memories of her life. Her mind was still hazy; the binding seal her past self had placed upon her own soul had yet to dissolve. Once the time of the Sundered Soul ran out, even these memories would be torn from her.
Which meant she had to pass them on now.
She had to tell him that her lord's life hung in the balance.
My lord, what I am about to say concerns your very life. Everything else pales beside it.
"...What is it?"
The gravity in her tone made Seoha answer in kind, his voice taut with seriousness. Was this about the Defying Heaven energy gnawing away at its wielder's lifespan? He braced himself for the worst.
My lord, I shall teach you how to handle women.
".......................................?"
At her words, a dumbfounded emptiness washed over from the other side of their bond.
"That's... the thing that's connected to my life?"
It is. If you continue as you are, my lord, your life is in peril.
He sent back a feeling of utter incomprehension, and Heukcheon smiled bitterly.
She had been the same, once. By all rights she should have gathered her legacy into a single vessel, but the jealousy of her women had carved her body into twenty-five pieces, forcing her into a desperate mid-course remedy. The grade of her transcendence had suffered for it — but for the sake of the Heavenly Demons who came after her, there had been no other way.
Heukcheon smiled wryly. Seeing is believing, as they said. If he could not experience it himself, no truth would ever truly land.
She strode toward the two women she had deliberately spared. Magongnyeo, and Ha Seonghwi.
Woman of Demonic Allure (A+) is activated.
Loving Heart (A) is activated.
Infusing the women with demonic charm. A hierarchy of dominion is established.
Heukcheon let out a wicked little smile. To her, ensnaring women was simplicity itself — she captured them with the peculiar demonic ma she inherently possessed. It carried a far more potent nature than even a succubus's charm over men, and in the process, the order of superior and subordinate was carved out beyond any question.
"You there."
Heukcheon pointed at Ha Seonghwi with a seductive curve of her lips. Ha Seonghwi stared back with a hazy, dream-drunk expression. Somewhere deep inside, Lee Seoha was fighting down a wave of nausea.
"Yes, Unnie."
"Unnie? What an amusing title."
Chuckling, Heukcheon ruffled Ha Seonghwi's hair. The girl flushed scarlet, flustered as though she were meeting the flesh-and-blood embodiment of an idol she'd been fangirling over for three years.
"Magongnyeo, was it?"
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
Magongnyeo gazed up at her with an expression of pure reverence. Heukcheon looked the two of them over. Neither could remain at the academy — both belonged to a Villain organization, after all.
Perhaps I'll gather my legacy from these two.
Ha Seonghwi had been subdued in an instant without ever getting the chance to test her strength against Seoha's body — but that was only because she was a grandmaster of illusions. Given the right circumstances, she was a force capable of tearing out the throat of even a highest-tier opponent.
Magongnyeo stood straddling the line between upper and highest tier. topple a few more walls, and she would step straight into the highest rank.
Yes — the two of them would prove quite useful assets for her disciple.
My lord.
"What."
There is one thing I have not told you.
"Which is?"
The Sundered Soul is, in itself, a power that defies the natural order. I will likely slumber for some time.
"...I see?"
Without me, I'll have to endure the conditioning alone, won't I? That's going to be rough. Lee Seoha laughed ruefully. He should have tested the Sundered Soul's capabilities at least once.
"Do not worry. I still hold the summoning right to the Stars, the Emperor's own retainers — nothing catastrophic will occur."
"Right. The Emperor is a formidable existence in her own right. With those Stars about, nothing dire should happen."
"...Why are you two talking about this so casually? Now it feels like it's definitely going to happen!"
Yeongcheon nearly had a fit. Lee Seoha simply nodded.
It was coming regardless. Not long after they arrived in America, the exchange summit would begin — and with it, a catastrophe of staggering scale would erupt.
The kind of insane event where half of the White Gods would be wiped out.
We have to stop that somehow.
Not all of the White Gods bore goodwill toward humanity — but the overwhelming majority did. Their aid would be indispensable.
While Lee Seoha was earnestly contemplating the future of mankind, Heukcheon was thinking about something else entirely.
About Magongnyeo.
...She's prettier than I expected.
Call it a collector's obsession. No one under heaven, past or present, had ever been able to stop the woman hailed as the greatest of all ages. Whatever she desired, she obtained.
Just as Heukcheon's hand drifted toward Magongnyeo—
a sensation of consciousness briefly adrift washed over her. She felt her soul returning to its rightful place. Lee Seoha opened his hand, then closed it. The body was wholly his own will again.
And he realized that every joint in him was creaking.
...Aftereffects, huh.
The aches ran deep. He'd need nothing but rest for a while. Still, for how bad it could have been, this wasn't terrible.
And my hair's back to normal.
He ran a hand through it. The length had reverted.
"...So I'm back, then."
"Yep. You're back."
Having confirmed that much, Lee Seoha turned his gaze to Ha Seonghwi. He pressed his will into his words — the Absolute Command.
"Ha Seonghwi. Get out of here right now, take this card, pay for a hotel, and book a single room."
"Wh-what?! D-don't tell me... you...!"
Ha Seonghwi sputtered something or other. Lee Seoha paid it no mind — and quietly fainted on the spot.
Proficiency in the Black God Martial Art has increased!
The body of the Black God has broken through its limits. All physique-related stats rise slightly.
When I came to, I was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.
I gazed up at it blankly. My head was foggy — the feeling of having slept long and deep. I checked the clock: only twelve hours had passed. And yet my body was wrecked, as if I'd been starving for days.
...How much time had actually gone by?
"Seoha, you're awake!"
"Mm."
As soon as I sat up, Yeongcheon came trotting over, her tails swaying — but her behavior was remarkably affectionate, the way you'd treat someone who'd been out cold for days.
"How long was I asleep?"
"A whole three days, sir!"
"...That explains why I feel like a husk."
Three days without food. No wonder I was starving.
Normally you'd start with something gentle — porridge, soft tofu — but for a mana user, the rules were a little different. And I, a practitioner of the Black God Martial Art who worked this body harder than anyone, was no exception.
I was craving something rich and greasy, so I ducked into a nearby Chinese restaurant.
"And what would you like to order?"
"Everything from here to here, please."
"I'm sorry?"
"Everything. From here. To here."
"R-right away, sir. Payment up front, though."
"Here's the card."
After that, I ate like a madman, working my way through the restaurant's menu for two straight hours.
Okay, that's better.
With my stomach finally full, my brain started turning again — and I realized my situation was worse than I'd thought.
...I missed two days of midterms.
Then again, I had single-handedly erased an entire Villain brigade. If they factored that into my grade, wouldn't I come out first?
I was still mulling over how to spin it when my phone buzzed.
[Seo Gayeon]
Only now did the phone actually register in my mind.
Missed calls — Seo Gayeon: 572
Unread texts — Seo Gayeon: 300+
Seo Gayeon was only the beginning. Then Erciel, Hong Yuhwa, Seol Hwaryeon, Kim Seohyun, Kim Ara...
Seol Hwaryeon's texts in particular made me fight back tears every time I read them.
The sweltering summer is drawing to a close. Soon the autumn shall come, when the heavens are high and the horses grow sleek. I trust you have been in good health, Elder. With the money you so graciously provided, I purchased a budget prepaid phone. Smartphones are truly a marvelous tool.
Could it be that I sent my messages to the wrong number?
Elder... is it, is it because I am weak, because I have disappointed you, that you have departed like this...?
"...This is bad."
Kim Seohyun's worried texts. And then—
Hong Yuhwa's texts. And Kim Ara's, where the same single line—
—repeated over three hundred times.
Erciel had apparently figured out exactly what I'd done. Melanie, the transcendent dwelling within her, was acquainted with the Heavenly Demon, after all.
For now, I did the urgent part first — I texted everyone to say I'd overexerted myself and passed out. Immediately, the phone buzzed again.
[Kim Seohyun]
Third call attempt — she was persistent. I answered.
"Are you okay? I heard you collapsed?"
"I'm doing better now. How about you?"
"I'm fine. But what are we doing about midterms? You skipped out without permission — this round's going to be rough on you."
"I'll manage. That much, I can make up."
"Ooh, confident. Guess I can stop worrying and focus on my own then."
"You'd better work hard. If you want to hang on to second place, that is."
Kim Seohyun and I talked about this and that. After her came Seol Hwaryeon, Seo Gayeon, Kim Ara, Hong Yuhwa, and Erciel, in that order.
We talked through the entire night. To think only three days of rest had piled up that much to say.
The midterms ended.
Truthfully, I'd been absent from the midpoint onward. Seo Yebin had ruled that I'd suffered enough, bumped me to the top of the rankings, and stripped every last item from my schedule. Some corners were grumbling about favoritism, but it wasn't worth the breath to care.
If rumors spread that I single-handedly annihilated the Retribution Brigade, or that my contribution was decisive, that'd just be a headache.
By and large, the students had settled on a vague understanding that I'd accomplished something enormous.
And then, once the midterms were over—
"You do know the exchange summit starts today, right?"
We departed for America.