Are You Leaving Me Behind Again?
Are you leaving me behind again?
"Yeon Wol is the daughter of the dead Demon Emperor."
The moment I uttered those words, the sword that had been standing propped against the chair was sucked into Jin Seoryeong's grasp. I immediately thrust myself between her and Yeon Wol.
Jin Seoryeong's blade, aimed at Yeon Wol, was blocked by me and failed to reach its target.
"Get out of the way, Baek Jincheon."
"No."
Jin Seoryeong stared only at Yeon Wol with eyes as cold as ice. They were the eyes of the Cheonma Corps leader, who tracked and exterminated demons wherever they lurked. But because I stood in her path, the tip of her sword pointed toward the floor.
That meant there was room for talk.
"Baek Jincheon, have you forgotten the horrific bloodbath the Demon Church unleashed eight years ago? You, who experienced the Demon Church's uprising firsthand alongside me—you were personally raising a future threat? Unbelievable. Move aside now. This is your last warning."
"Seoryeong, hear me out to the end. You have to listen to people until they're finished."
"......What."
"Yeon Wol is the daughter of the Demon Emperor, yes—but the previous Demon Emperor. She shares not a drop of blood with that monster who brought bloodshed to the Central Plains."
"What?"
Yeon Wol was the daughter of the Demon Emperor, but not of that vile criminal whom the entire martial world had united to defeat eight years ago. She had no connection to the bloodbath the Demon Church caused back then...... No, she was the first victim of that very bloodbath—the daughter of the previous Demon Emperor.
"The previous Demon Emperor...... Wi Jinryong......?"
The previous Demon Emperor, Wi Jinryong. The first in history to perfectly control demonic qi. He was a legendary figure who even forged friendships with the Murim Alliance Leader—a man to whom the word "demon" didn't suit at all.
"Yes, Wi Jinryong, the one said to have died in rebellion twenty years ago. He's Yeon Wol's father."
Yeon Wol was his one and only daughter. Born with demonic qi because she was the daughter of the Demon Emperor, but that was all there was to it.
"The Demon Church's bloodbath in the Central Plains had nothing to do with Wi Jinryong. If anything, he was a victim. The one who betrayed him and sparked the rebellion was the worst criminal who caused that bloodbath eight years ago. Yang Mujin."
Yang Mujin. Twenty years ago, he betrayed the previous Demon Emperor Wi Jinryong, staged a rebellion, and hurled him off Goesan Cliff to seize the throne. Eight years ago, he massacred everything in sight, unleashing bloodshed across the Central Plains. The final Demon Emperor, who lost his life to the Murim Alliance's suicide squad seven years ago.
That was why Jin Seoryeong had gripped her sword and tried to take Yeon Wol's life the moment she heard "Demon Emperor."
"Yeon Wol is a victim, too. She lost her father because of Yang Mujin."
Yeon Wol was a victim who had lost her father to Yang Mujin. She had no ties to grim words like "bloodbath" or "future threat." Separated from her parents at birth, she lived as an orphan until she was thirteen, when I found her—a truly pitiful child. My beloved disciple, whom I'd lived with for seven years.
"There's no reason Yeon Wol deserves to die."
She was a demon, but she hadn't committed any sins.
......No, wait. We had committed gisamyeoljo.
But since I, the victim, had forgiven her, no one could hold her accountable.
"So, Seoryeong, put away your killing intent."
I pleaded with her, even after she'd heard my full story, as she still radiated hostility toward Yeon Wol.
"Ugh...... Haaah."
At my words, she gritted her teeth, let out a deep sigh, and released her sword from her hand.
Whoosh—clink.
The sword she dropped flew through the air via void manipulation and slid neatly into its sheath on the wall.
"How did I fall for a guy like this...... I'm a disgrace to the Cheonma Corps leader title."
"Thanks, Seoryeong."
"Don't get the wrong idea, Baek Jincheon. Just because I didn't kill her now doesn't mean I've accepted your disciple's existence."
Jin Seoryeong gazed down at Yeon Wol, who was sleeping contentedly with her face buried in my robe amid this tense atmosphere. A chill still lingered in her blue eyes.
"Earlier, that girl came at me with killing intent without a moment's hesitation. Afterward, her murderous aura mixed with demonic qi and dripped like venom. She hasn't sinned yet, sure—but she's no innocent. In my eyes, she's still a ferocious beast wearing human skin."
Jin Seoryeong's words rang with conviction. As she said, Yeon Wol, intoxicated by the demonic nature of her qi, was like a starving predator in human form—capable of anything to achieve her goal. A beast that could snatch a life in the blink of an eye. Utterly dangerous.
"As Cheonma Corps leader, I can't just stand by and watch her. Even if I spare her for your sake, Baek Jincheon, I have to at least imprison her. But you, her master, wouldn't allow that, would you?"
"Of course not."
"Why are you such a pushover? What's so pretty about that white hair......"
At my immediate reply, Jin Seoryeong pouted and grumbled, sticking out her lower lip. But it was only for a moment. Since we were in the middle of something important, she quickly composed herself and continued.
"I don't want to fight you either, Baek Jincheon. W-we've, um, shared our bodies, after all. Really hotly."
"......Uh, yeah. True."
"Ahem! Anyway, I want to hear from you. How do you plan to handle her from now on?"
Jin Seoryeong asked, her cheeks flushing red as memories of our earlier coupling resurfaced. She was setting aside her duties as Cheonma Corps leader and granting me authority to manage and supervise this demon.
She'd offered her precious virginity to heal my internal injuries via chaeeum boyang, and now she was forgoing her obligations to accommodate me. Moved by her boundless generosity, I answered from the heart.
"I'll teach Yeon Wol how to control her demonic qi."
"......Is that even possible? Controlling demonic qi is impossible."
"No, her father Wi Jinryong did it. It's entirely feasible. It won't be easy, given Yeon Wol's nature...... but I'll make it happen, no matter what."
This was a declaration. I'd teach Yeon Wol to control her demonic qi so she could live without dying.
But as if dissatisfied with my earnest words, Jin Seoryeong furrowed her brow.
"That's it?"
"What do you mean, 'that's it'?"
"Baek Jincheon, is that really enough for you? Holed up in a mountain hut, wasting your life training a twenty-year-old disciple until she masters demonic qi control—is that truly the life you want?"
Jin Seoryeong was angry at me now. Probably because it looked like I was only caring for Yeon Wol and neglecting myself.
Well, twenty was a full adult, past the age needing a master's care. But Yeon Wol still needed mine. Without it, she could die to a blade at any moment—she was that precarious.
Yeon Wol was the most important person in my life, and I'd give my own for her sake. It had been decided that quiet winter night seven years ago, under the moonlight, when I first met her—no snow falling, no wind blowing.
"It's fine. For Yeon Wol."
"What......"
"And I won't be holing up in the mountains just training her."
"Huh?"
And her worry about me wasting my life stuck in the mountains was unfounded anyway.
"Yeon Wol and I are leaving Cheonbaekhyeon."
That had been my plan from the start—take Yeon Wol and leave this place.
"What? Why?"
"Why? Her demonic qi has awakened. If we stay put, the Cheonma Corps will sniff it out and come running."
"......I'm the Cheonma Corps leader. Saying that to me is basically announcing it, right?"
"You're the leader, sure, but the Corps is an independent organization. They follow immediate execution protocols for demons without needing your orders."
"Well...... true."
"Whether you're there or not, now that Yeon Wol's demonic qi has manifested, staying in one place is dangerous. They don't miss even the smallest trace. That's why we're leaving."
Seven years ago, during the Demon Church uprising, I'd seen with my own eyes what the Cheonma Corps was capable of to exterminate demons. They never let a target slip away, never failed a mission.
When the Demon Church's main force retreated to their Simmandae Mountain headquarters after invading and being repelled from the Central Plains, it was the Cheonma Corps that tracked them and led the Murim Alliance's suicide squad. If they could find even the Demon Emperor hiding deep in Simmandae Mountain, staying in Cheonbaekhyeon knowing they existed was like begging to be hunted down.
That's why I'd decided to leave this place I'd grown attached to.
"......"
"......Seoryeong?"
Something was off about Jin Seoryeong's mood. Just moments ago, she'd been furious that I wasn't looking after myself. Now, she exuded the sad aura of a puppy sensing abandonment—like Yeon Wol this morning, begging me not to expel her.
Wait, why all of a sudden? The question in my mind was answered as her lips parted.
"......Again. You're leaving me behind again?"
Jin Seoryeong couldn't accept that she had to part from me again, just like seven years ago.
"We just reunited. I suffered so much missing you for seven years. I finally found you again, thought I could make up for all that pain...... And now, after just one night, you're off? Abandoning me. Leaving me."
No longer was there a renowned Cheonma Corps leader from the Murim Alliance in this room. Before my eyes was only the innocent eighteen-year-old girl who'd smiled brightly seven years ago, promising to meet again tomorrow.
"Am I going to be left alone again?"
Hearing her voice thick with tears, I realized I had to remind her of her place. You're the Murim Alliance's Cheonma Corps leader—we can't walk the same path. I had to tell her the reality.
But I couldn't.
Because Jin Seoryeong had longed for me for seven years, searched for me for seven years, and seven years later, reunited with me—giving up her virginity, more precious than life itself, to save mine. She was irreplaceably dear to me.
So, forgetting reality, I blurted out the crazy impulse from my heart.
"Seoryeong, want to get kidnapped by me?"
"......H-huh?"