63. Heavenly Demon Palace
The day I entered the Heavenly Demon Palace.
I finished bathing in hot water and paid much more attention to my grooming than usual.
Looking in the mirror, I couldn't help but marvel again. Sado Hwan really is handsome.
‘Men need to groom too. Looks are a competitive edge.’
The Heavenly Demon wasn't the type to be swayed by appearances, but I figured showing up neat and tidy would make things feel even better.
Instead, Sa Wol hadn't bothered with any special primping. She wore her usual clothes, the only difference being the faint blush coloring her cheeks here and there.
I'd already asked Gu Jin-gyeong if I could bring her along, and he'd given permission. It was like a form of insurance, just in case.
‘Well, the Heavenly Demon is the one person Sa Wol admires most.’
The Heavenly Demon had risen to the top of the Divine Cult despite being a woman. For Sa Wol, another woman who had endured great hardships, she was an inevitable object of admiration.
Back then, she would have fidgeted awkwardly, pretending otherwise. But now, she wore a natural expression—a remarkable sign of growth.
“Let's go.”
I strapped Pa Cheon to my waist one last time and stepped out as Sado Hwan.
To reach the Heavenly Demon Palace, we had to use the Ascension Steps.
There was originally a rule against using lightness skills on the Ascension Steps, but most people ignored it. Walking up the stairs took an hour, but lightness skills cut it down to five minutes.
That limit only applied up to the main stronghold, though.
Lightness skills were strictly forbidden on the path to the Heavenly Demon Palace. Only the Heavenly Demon herself and the Heavenly Demon Guardian Shadows—who protected her in secret—could enter that way.
I set foot on the Ascension Steps.
Though the Ten Thousand Great Mountains were an unimaginably distant exile from Yunam Province, the entire stretch from the main stronghold to the Heavenly Demon Palace was paved with marble slabs. Somehow, they'd managed to procure it all.
Even in this remote frontier where they'd been chased from the central plains, the Heavenly Demon's authority was immense.
‘Why did the Heavenly Demon summon me?’
As I climbed, I pondered the question I'd yet to resolve, but no answer came.
‘To reprimand me for Sado Gwang's death?’
Hmm.
The Heavenly Demon had always leaned toward disliking Sado Gwang. She'd probably celebrate his death rather than scold me for it. And it wasn't like she'd summoned me to praise me either. For one thing, there was only circumstantial evidence that I'd killed him.
‘Besides, I didn't actually kill him.’
Even Pa Cheon had tried to save him in the end. Diving into Forgotten Soul Valley had been his own choice.
I kept climbing the steps.
A martial artist's trained body was truly convenient. Ordinary people would struggle at this height, but I felt nothing.
Before long, I pierced through the clouds, ascending higher.
“……”
I couldn't show it, but the sight was breathtaking enough to stop my breath.
Thick clouds blanketed the ground below like a quilt. Through gaps, glimpses of the Demon Realm appeared.
Centered on the main stronghold of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, the Divine Cult's territory spanned dozens of kilometers in every direction. People looked smaller than ants, and buildings resembled children's toys scattered on a sand beach.
Lifting my gaze upward revealed the Heavenly Demon Palace.
Unlike the cloud-shrouded base below, the massive palace basked in brilliant sunlight. One might imagine the Heavenly Demon Palace as gloomy, but it felt like a celestial realm instead.
‘……Of course, in Do Il Gwang's era, screams never ceased there.’
I resumed my paused steps.
After about the time it takes to eat a meal, the wide-open main gate of the Heavenly Demon Palace came into view.
Gu Jin-gyeong waited right in front, standing ramrod straight without a hint of disorder. He must be well over seventy now, yet he was still spry.
I stood before him, bowed my head in salute, and spoke.
“Sado Hwan, ranked 23rd in the Divine Cult, has come to pay respects to Your Supremacy.”
“Sa Wol, ranked 24th in the Divine Cult, has come to pay respects to Your Supremacy.”
Gu Jin-gyeong's eyes gleamed as he regarded us, then he nodded.
“Welcome to the palace. Follow me.”
We entered the Heavenly Demon Palace under Gu Jin-gyeong's guidance.
Like the stairs, the stone palace was entirely marble. With my limited knowledge, I could only note its Eastern-style architecture. Being a virtual world, details hardly mattered.
The Heavenly Demon Palace was a place accessible only to those in the top ten ranks of the Divine Cult or heads of families like the Mad Demon Six Families—people of lofty status.
‘Gu Jin-gyeong coming personally like this suggests no ambush planned.’
He wasn't friendly, but he fulfilled his duty as guide.
He explained the structure as we passed each area.
Most surprising was the abundance of rare flowers and plants blooming in the Heavenly Demon Palace at this altitude. Small gardens dotted the paths, bursting with blossoms.
It even felt like early spring temperatures were maintained.
“Your Supremacy awaits in the Small Ice Garden. It's the garden she visits most often.”
“Not the Grand Hall?”
“This isn't official business, so no need for an audience there.”
Sa Wol and I followed Gu Jin-gyeong to the Small Ice Garden.
Unlike the other gardens overflowing with exotic blooms, the Small Ice Garden was modest, with a few wildflowers and small shrubs.
A small pond sat in the center, spanned by a cloud bridge.
At each end of the cloud bridge's starting point stood ice sculptures: a girl and a boy, posed as if rushing toward each other.
‘Those are……’
And there was the Heavenly Demon.
She wore a long white silk skirt that blended seamlessly with the garden, evoking the subtle beauty of a painting.
Her silver hair and silver eyes gave an otherworldly aura.
The Heavenly Demon was barefoot. With each step, the air rippled, stirring the heart.
‘Pa Cheon. Is the Heavenly Demon using her simsang right now?’
No simsang, yet my mind shook this much. Truly, the Heavenly Demon was the Heavenly Demon.
‘Ah.’
I dropped to one knee right there and prostrated myself.
“I pay respects to Your Supremacy.”
“Y-Your Supremacy! I pay respects!”
Unlike me, feigning composure, Sa Wol was terribly tense—even stuttering.
“Rise.”
Her voice, low for a woman, struck my ears.
“You are that child from back then. Your realm has risen so quickly. Such outstanding talent.”
“Th-thank you!”
Sa Wol's face turned beet red at the Heavenly Demon's praise. Who would guess she usually kept a blank expression?
“What is your name?”
“My name is…… Sa Wol.”
Sa Wol didn't mention her original name, Seong Hwa-yeon. She'd vowed to reclaim the Gwangmyeongseongga name proudly one day.
The Heavenly Demon drew a few breaths.
“You have quite the story behind you…… Gu Chief Steward.”
“Yes, Your Supremacy.”
“Give this child one Minghon Pill and appoint her as a Dharma Protector.”
“?!”
The Minghon Pill was a fine elixir. By central plains standards, it contained about ten years of inner energy.
For Sa Wol in her twenties, that was an enormous boost.
“I am eternally grateful, Your Supremacy!”
“Continue serving the Divine Cult well. I have matters to discuss with your master now.”
Sa Wol bowed and left with Gu Jin-gyeong.
Gulp.
I swallowed without realizing it.
My psychological safety net, Sa Wol, was gone. Pa Cheon was here, but I felt thrown naked before the Heavenly Demon.
“Shall we walk?”
“Yes.”
The Heavenly Demon stepped forward, and I followed.
‘Cold.’
Like when we'd met at Punishment Cave, chill leaked from her.
Impossible.
At Super Peak, one could perfectly control their energy. Not a wisp should escape.
‘Internal injuries, after all.’
The Heavenly Demon had suffered a major wound.
Not from the fight with Do Il Gwang. It came after her ascension.
The reason?
‘Heavenly Demon Divine Art.’
Specifically, its latter half.
Moves with mountain-shattering, river-cleaving power. But mastering them required the former half's inner art.
The previous Heavenly Demon, Do Il Gwang, had tried and quickly given up upon seeing their might.
‘The current Heavenly Demon attempted it. With her own arts alone.’
Her foundational art was ice arts.
Attribute arts like ice, thunder, or water exploded in growth up to first-rate. But crossing to Peak often stalled them.
‘That was the setting in Murim Returner.’
Yet the current Heavenly Demon had claimed the throne with ice arts—proof of her genius.
She'd tried recreating the Heavenly Demon Divine Art's moves with ice arts and failed.
The proud moves rejected anything but their matching inner art.
Normally, that would've led to deviation into devil or at least crippled her. But her willpower limited it to moderate internal injuries.
‘Still, the world's strongest—makes no sense.’
She eventually masters those moves later.
But now, shortly after the injury, she couldn't fully control her energy.
The Heavenly Demon paused by the pond.
“Do you know why this Sovereign summoned you?”
“I apologize, but I do not.”
“To keep a promise.”
“A promise…… you say?”
“Yes. A promise.”
The Heavenly Demon turned to face me. The moment our eyes met, I instantly recalled the promise. That promise was—
I jolted back to my senses at Pa Cheon's words.
‘Already……’
No full simsang deployed. Just a steady gaze, and my mind was already wavering.
‘I didn't practice mental fortitude for this level of shaking.’
Fortunately, the initial shock prevented further disruption.
Then—
“Hm.”
The Heavenly Demon, staring intently at me, crooked her index finger. In that instant—
Pa Cheon unsheathed from my waist and flew to her hand. She slowly, gently drew the sword.
“?!”
Pa Cheon tensed as if holding its breath. Had it not reached Super Peak, the Pa Cheon Sword's ability would've sucked in the Heavenly Demon's energy.
Thankfully, its control was now strong enough to resist.
But.
“This sword.”
The Heavenly Demon gazed at me chillingly.
“Is a demonic sword that devours human energy.”
Pretending to be the Heavenly Demon