The Word "Heavenly Demon"

At the word Heavenly Demon, I felt a small wave of relief wash over me.

But I didn't let my guard down. As far as I knew, she was the most capricious woman in the entire Retribution Brigade — one wrong move, and I might end up dead.

Part of the demon Tak Yoonil's corpse had been absorbed into me. Feeling Defying Heaven recover substantially, I looked at Heukcheon and spoke through our bond.

'Heukcheon.'

-I understand. Prepare yourself.

Heukcheon said, her expression hardening.

The thing I had treasured until the very, very end might have to be used.

Another ability of the Poison Spirit embedded within the Heukcheon Demonic Sword.

I looked at the woman.

She carried an air of refined elegance, dressed in traditional Chinese garb — black with red trim. There was something about her that seemed at one with nature itself.

If anyone could pull that off, it would be her.

She was a Villain belonging to the Retribution Brigade, after all.

And membership in the Retribution Brigade meant, at minimum, top-tier strength. Worse, she was a combat specialist — equal to or stronger than the demonized Tak Yoonil.

"Heavenly Demon?"

Kim Seohyun reacted first. Her martial lineage didn't include the Heavenly Demon's, after all.

"Yes, the Heavenly Demon. The real one — not a fake, not something a false existence tried to create."

The woman said, smiling with her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes as she gazed at me with evident pleasure.

"Ah, now that I think of it, I never introduced myself. I'm with the Retribution Brigade... just call me Magongnyeo. Hmm, yes. I suppose I'm what you'd call a Villain."

Kim Seohyun silently raised the Winter Sword. Park Unhyeok was panting, chugging potions into the wounds he'd taken moments ago — from trading a single exchange with Tak Yoonil.

I pulled a potion from subspace and tossed it to him.

"What's this?"

"It's better than what you're using. Use that one."

"Thanks."

Park Unhyeok drank half the potion I'd handed him and poured the rest over his punctured wounds.

I stepped forward.

"So you were here to kill us?"

"That was the plan, at first..."

Magongnyeo looked at me.

"But you made me change my mind."

"Isn't the Retribution Brigade an organization that must obey its leader's orders?"

"I'm a bit different, so I'm fine. But you — you know quite a bit about the Retribution Brigade, don't you? Very few people do."

"I've heard things here and there. Anyway, that's not what matters right now."

"True."

Magongnyeo looked at me again.

"You are the Heavenly Demon's heir. No — at this point, is calling you that even a joke? Regardless, I'll let you all go here."

"..."

I found it odd, but answered calmly.

"Two things I want to ask."

"Go ahead."

"First. Are there any other demons or Villains here besides you? Or anyone acting on someone's orders?"

"None. Ah, there are people in front of the cave, but I knocked them out. They'll probably wake up in about two hours. Now, the second question?"

"I'll tell you after I send the kids out first."

"Seoha!"

"..."

Kim Seohyun and Park Unhyeok's faces hardened.

The truth was, our current strength couldn't handle that existence.

'What should I do?'

The skill embedded in the Heukcheon Demonic Sword — the Poison Spirit's other power.

Using it, I could probably escape. But the side effects were so severe that I'd rather not unless absolutely necessary.

"Then send them out first."

Good. I only want to talk with you, after all.

Magongnyeo nodded readily.

Park Unhyeok and two Cheonryu Guild members headed outside.

Those two could contact the outside immediately. If I stalled for time here, a rescue team would arrive before long.

Kim Seohyun looked at me.

"Don't worry. I'm confident I can ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠slip away on my own."

"...I'll be back as fast as I can."

Once Kim Seohyun went outside, I turned to Magongnyeo.

"So, what was that second question?"

Are you a being connected to the Heavenly Demon?

If she was, she'd say so; if not, she'd say no. It was simply my one-sided admiration for her.

Magongnyeo said only that much, then glanced behind her.

"I have many more questions I'd like to ask, but..."

I could feel signs of approaching people, little by little.

"It seems a lot of riffraff are coming. I could hold them off, but some of them would die, and you might end up resenting me for it. I'll look forward to speaking with you alone next time."

Magongnyeo chuckled softly.

And be careful. With the bounty on your head raised, plenty of Villain organizations have formed to catch you. The Nazi Empire made entirely of demons, the Blackshirts, the Wings of Bitter Salt and the Eyes of Phantom — they're all watching you.

...What?

Every single one of them was a dangerous Villain organization.

Not up to the Retribution Brigade's level, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠why were the ones a rung below after me?

If you ever need help, contact me anytime.

With those parting words, Magongnyeo transformed into black smoke and vanished.

If her words were true, I'd need to change my plans. It might be better not to go to the Tower of Illusions.

'Well, whatever.'

Either way, it seemed I'd bought myself some time.

*

"I'm so sorry!"

At the hospital, someone who looked like a staff member bowed deeply.

"Failing to identify Tak Yoonil as a demon was entirely our fault. We will do everything in our power to treat the wounds you sustained from the demon. And while it may not be much, we will offer compensation generous enough to satisfy you."

"Understood."

We nodded quietly.

Park Unhyeok looked indifferent. As the heir of the Sun Guild, that was only natural — but I was busy calculating how to squeeze the most out of this.

"Ah, I almost forgot. Lee Seoha — could you tell me the source of that potion you gave me earlier?"

"Why do you ask about the source?"

"I hear its effects are remarkable. The doctor said that without that potion, you might have had to stay here at least two more weeks."

"...I can't disclose the source."

"Then could you at least supply us with that potion? We'll compensate you handsomely."

"I'll look into it. But it's made from rare herbs, so it's a bit tricky — I can't promise anything."

"Our guild can cover the full cost of the herbs."

"...I've thought it over, and I suppose it might work..."

We agreed to discuss it later, and I stepped outside the hospital.

Outside, things were quite chaotic.

On the surface, the reports were full of stories claiming that Korea Hero Academy interns had been injured while performing internship duties at Cheonryu Guild.

The staff must be having a massive headache right now.

If they reported that Tak Yoonil was a demon, they'd be slammed for failing to manage their own members; but if they denied it, with so many of their people wounded, recruiting the students known as the Golden Class would hit a major snag.

I stepped outside, bought a can of soda, and sat down on a bench.

'Shall we take a look at the rewards from this time?'

Using my talent, Perusal (-), I skimmed through the rewards I'd gained.

'Admiration, huh.'

Being admired by a guy didn't feel great, but Park Unhyeok was about as good as it got.

155,800p.

That was the total, small stuff included.

Enough to buy one S-rank talent, roughly.

S-rank was hard to justify at my current level, so I'd put that off.

'Buying several A-rank talents wouldn't be bad either.'

Handy, versatile talents like Dexterity came to mind.

Or upgrading my existing talents and arts wouldn't be bad either.

'Status window.'

'Hmm.'

I stared at the status window thoughtfully.

Various talents and arts had been added, my stats had risen modestly, and Black Flash Sword Art's rank had increased.

If I bought several A-rank talents that synergized well, they'd contribute to my combat power immediately. Same with S-rank — though S-rank talents had wide growth curves, so their true value would only shine later.

Then my eyes drifted to the conceptual stat, Defying Heaven.

With the Defying Heaven gained from taking down Tak Yoonil, I'd filled it to 29.

Conceptual stats unlocked a bonus function at around 30.

'This one I should push now.'

"..."

No, let me think about it differently. The bonus function gained at Defying Heaven 30 would be worth more than 10,000p.

I closed my eyes and raised Defying Heaven.

'Reclamation?'

Don't tell me it's what I think it is. Just as I was starting to feel good, my phone rang.

Bzzt!

I looked at my phone — and froze.

'...No rest for the wicked.'

I knew exactly what kind of being this was. There was only one existence in this world who would suddenly hack my phone and send me a text message like this.

The Electronic Witch.

At last, she had taken the bait I'd laid out.