Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: The Long Road Ahead
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Preparations for the long journey are complete.
The First Demon meticulously packed my belongings one by one before me.
"I've put in plenty of money. But don't splurge on luxuries. You're a spy who vanished into the shadows inside our cult for years. If a poor soul returns laden with wealth, it'll raise suspicions."
Everything she packed was simple, cheap fare you could buy in any market alley.
"Keep your gear modest like this to avoid drawing eyes. It's unavoidable for staying undercover. Gatekeeper Red Cloud, the road ahead is far. The way back will be just as long. You'll have to cut off all contact. Communicating with the cult is too risky in itself. No need for interim reports. Act like a righteous warrior who's completely severed ties with us."
"Understood, Master."
"And if..."
The First Demon paused in her packing.
"If... you ever feel you can't do it, just come back."
"Pardon?"
"It's dangerous work. Among those you'll face is one of the Heaven and Earth Eight Demons. The three the Lord mentioned earlier are no slouches in skill. Two are at our cult's squad leader level, and even the Seventh Demon stood out despite being the seventh disciple. Plus, the technique she received from the Lord is the Hell Death Sword. She'll have grown twice as strong since the last sighting."
"........."
"And she's absorbed the life force of countless others. Now that her reins are off, she might have even surpassed Wolhyang by now."
The First Demon turned to look at me.
"Heavenly Tribulation isn't invincible. You'll sense it once you've withstood a heart sword strike. Heavenly Tribulation's regeneration has limits. It's weak to energy, and something like phantom rigid qi could deal a fatal blow. A heart sword goes without saying. This is a perilous mission against perilous foes. Their own martial arts are formidable, and their methods ruthless. They've even stolen treasures from our cult."
"........."
"That's why I initially opposed the Lord's words. No matter how well you raise someone, producing a master who can catch up to them in short order is impossible. It was utterly absurd. But you pulled it off. You walked a genius's path despite being an ordinary man. Like a late-blooming flower, you scaled the wall in the end."
"........."
"The Lord's jest became reality. But I'm not pleased by it. If you were just the Lord's dog, I wouldn't feel this way."
The First Demon bit her lip.
"...You're my disciple."
"Master."
"I don't want you to die. No need to push yourself. If it seems impossible, come back. Pretend to go through the motions if you must."
Words I never expected from her spilled from her lips.
"Make returning safely your top priority."
The First Demon.
There she stood before my eyes, unmistakably the First Demon.
But she was different. Utterly unlike the icy figure I'd first seen in the Heavenly Demon's training chamber.
A torrent of thoughts flashed through my mind. Events from these past days replayed behind my closed eyelids.
She had picked me up.
And enveloped me.
I'd learned so much from her.
In all that, I knew what I had to do. Could receiving alone be called righteousness?
No. I knew that wasn't the way of a true man.
I'd received much from the Heavenly Demon, and much from the First Demon too...
I wanted to give my all until I could go no further.
I drew my blood sword. The blade most familiar to me was the one given by my fallen comrade.
What would he...
say in this moment?
I pondered, then spoke.
No flowery words were needed. Just simple resolve.
"Master."
"........."
"I won't return empty-handed."
"...Hah."
I reflected on my view of the cult.
It had become more than that-it was home now. The Demon Palace at its heart was such a place, and to me, the Heavenly Demon was a pillar holding up my side.
For such a figure to rage, some heinous act had occurred. The family she'd spoken of with her lips had been slaughtered mercilessly.
And most of those sacrifices...
had never even held a sword.
Now that I was family to the cult, repaying the share of those wretchedly slain was my duty too.
I drew my sword for those who had cared for me.
That was my blade.
"There are times when one must draw the sword even if life hangs in the balance, aren't there, Master?"
"...Normally, that's when you sheathe it."
"But I'll draw mine."
"Raising even one is this hard-how did the Lord manage eight...?"
The First Demon spread her arms. I bowed and embraced her.
In that brief moment, she stroked my back.
"You're human at heart. I know you well. Your sword carries a righteousness unfit for our cult, and for those tied to you, you'd draw it without hesitation."
"........."
"That's what worries me. You care so much for others that you treat your own life lightly. So remember this."
-Thud.
Our foreheads touched. With her eyes closed, she whispered.
"What I want is for you to return alive. If you truly cherish me as much as the Lord-not just duty-then come back no matter what. I won't repeat the empty-hands bit since you won't hear it... but keep it as one option among many."
"...Master."
"Your home is here. I don't believe you'll return to the Murim Alliance, but..."
Our foreheads parted.
She yanked me close in a flash. Her bared fangs left a mark on my neck with an ang- snap.
Like before, somehow...
Her affection felt like being devoured by a beast.
"Remember one thing."
Gazing at me sidelong, the First Demon pressed her deep bite mark amid the sting.
"Once something catches my fancy, I don't let go. If you don't come back, I'll hunt you down."
"...I'll keep that in mind."
"Even if you become a monk, I'll drag you back myself..."
The First Demon smirked.
"Be it years, decades... centuries... you're mine."
Curiosity piqued, I ventured.
"What if millennia pass...?"
"Watch it."
"Yes."
The First Demon pulled her mouth away. Seeing the wound on my neck regenerate, she muttered coldly.
"Should I carve it with a heart sword instead...? Otherwise, more weirdos will stick to you..."
"Master?"
"Kidding. And listen-no brothels."
"Pardon?"
"They won't help. The Lord's claim about periodically draining essence is one of his more blatant lies."
The First Demon nodded at my crotch.
"Guard your lower half well. I'll inspect it later."
"...Inspect... how...?"
"Be good."
"........."
"Go now, Red Cloud. No long farewells needed."
The First Demon cupped my cheek. Something soft touched my forehead.
Warmth. An affection I'd never known in my Murim Alliance warrior days.
Her lips parted.
It felt a bit regrettable.
"No gifts needed. You'll be my gift soon enough."
"...I'll bring one anyway."
I rose, shouldered my pack.
The road was long. Yet I had to go.
It was my path.
"As a disciple's duty, coming back empty-handed wouldn't do, would it?"
"...Stubborn as ever. You never listen..."
The First Demon smiled bitterly.
"No one in the world is as bullheaded as you."
...
From the highest point of the Demon Palace, the Heavenly Demon turned from the night sky.
"Has he gone?"
"Yes."
"My one source of amusement is gone. Leaves a bitter taste."
"If you felt that way, why send him?"
"Sharp words. But you know there's no other choice. My words carry no idle weight. I picked him up intending to use him that way, so use him I shall. Words without substance make the speaker light. What I uttered as Heavenly Demon-not Cheon So-so-must be honored, naturally."
"........."
"I cherish Red Cloud too. Rare breed. Not a single one among the Heaven and Earth Eight Demons measured up. In this world, who wields a sword speaking of righteousness over power? And that unyielding attachment to it-who could replace him? No such hunting dog exists. Hard to find even scouring the entire jianghu."
The Heavenly Demon turned back.
There she was, the First Demon. Her unveiled eyes brimmed with bitterness.
How long since I'd seen that expression?
The Heavenly Demon chuckled. It evoked her younger self.
Her beloved pup. Same face when it died.
"Red Cloud isn't dead, is he? Ease up."
"Anyone else, maybe. But his foe is the Seventh Demon. A master who's perfected the Hell Death Sword. Didn't even you marvel at her genius, Lord?"
"True enough. Exceptional child. But didn't you foresee this?"
"...Still, I never thought you'd truly say it."
"You're not the only one who cherishes him. I do too. This is for his sake as well."
"What do you...?"
The Heavenly Demon turned her head.
At the base of the towering Demon Palace, lights dotted like stars.
Each one a star. Stars I must embrace.
That's what a Heavenly Demon is. One alone can't complete the sky.
Stars must gather to form it. That's what my master taught me.
But have those below learned it too?
"I'm different from the ordinary."
"...Of course you are."
"Immodest to say myself, but I'm a genius. Not just any-bearing the Heavenly Martial Body, taming the Heavenly Slaughter Star, reaching the Flower Realm in a single year. Our cult's foremost genius. That's why I'm apart. A genius's path is solitary, unmatched."
"........."
"My master filled that void in me. Polished what I lacked: the human element. But did I teach it well to those below? I'm not sure."
"...Lord."
"People first, or sword first? Ask the Heaven and Earth Eight Demons, and all but you would pick the latter. Only those who spill blood without qualm for their dreams stand there. They'd act without remorse in the name of greater good. That's why I eyed you as next Heavenly Demon. Though you stepped down yourself."
"........."
"Not blaming you. You know the weight of the name-how could I force it? You care nothing for position, so forcing it was pointless. Even seated by force, without will, it'd crumble. Sure, you'd uphold it on duty alone... but knowing that's no good for you, I respected your choice. Because I cherish you."
The Heavenly Demon smirked.
"But the others differ. In a way, I've failed. Our cult began with lost souls banding together, swords in hand for survival. Swords valuing people first, led by the founding Heavenly Demon. But it twisted-later generations worshipped power alone. With hordes snatching even what little others had, it was perhaps inevitable."
"........."
"Save me and the previous Heavenly Demon, they spoke of conquering the murim as if routine. Chasing immediate gain without thought of spilled blood. Truth be told, the odd ones are the previous and me. Past Heavenly Demons would mock us as cowards for treating it as normal. Laughable. Yet I admired my master. Believed her ways right, wished the same for my disciples. But..."
Bitter.
More bitter still, knowing I can't gather that bitterness.
"The Heaven and Earth Eight Demons, save you, grew into typical Heavenly Demons burning lives for ambition."
"........."
"I saw the Akmin incident. All Fiend Sects-Myriad Demons, Black Snake, Raksha-treated civilian deaths as given. Satisfied only with subduing the Blood Cult, boasting their merits. Blinded by becoming Heavenly Demon, indifferent to the blood. Whoever among the sect leaders rose... with our cult's power brimming as is, they'd declare war on the murim. And that's precisely what those outside scheme: mutual culling to maintain balance."
The Heavenly Demon leaned leisurely on the railing.
If only I could see those twinkling lights below as mere lamps...
The previous Heavenly Demon taught me otherwise. Once a star, guarding them became my calling.
Even claiming the name Heavenly Demon I never wanted...
I swore to protect their light.
"I value every cultist's life equally-disciples and elites alike. Their weight the same, so each loss cuts deep. Yet... I can't hold this seat forever."
"Don't you have every right?"
"Rights aplenty. Could be stubborn. But didn't warnings come first? Blood Tribulation-not even the Blood Cult's Lord, but a sub-lord-stirred Akmin. Success or failure mattered not to them. It was solely a warning aimed at me."
"...As you mentioned before."
"Exactly, First Demon. Things you don't know lurk out there. Those prizing balance above all overlook from on high."
"...The Imperial Family?"
"They claim court and murim separate, uninvolved. How could the throne meddle? Not them. It's above yet inverted. Hyperbole to say all exists for the one."
"What in the...?"
"Speak deeper, and you'd be ensnared too. I won't have that. Not time yet. Key point: there's one such."
The Heavenly Demon stepped from the railing.
"They want me off the throne. If I cling stubbornly, expect more Blood Tribulations. Even the 'un-Demonic Heavenly Demon' previous endured it... They crave a violence-mad, fanatic Heavenly Demon. The sort sparking wars via self-mutilation."
"What...?"
"But war kills more than warriors. My servants and maids below. Powerless folk dying en masse like to the Seventh Demon, homeless hordes. Thus, this time must differ. Before our cult reverts to beggars' famine. Before overflowing blood floods the Heavenly Mountains..."
The Heavenly Demon regarded the First Demon.
"I'll prepare to guard my lights. Feign stepping back from the frontlines while readying to descend. In that gap, do what I can. Even without Heavenly Demon title, I swore to embrace the stars-must live as our cult's fence till death, no?"
"...Lord."
"Red Cloud's path serves him too. War will come somehow, fights inevitable. At center: our cult. This Divine Cult, piling the mightiest demonic legacy. The crashing waves will sweep not just Red Cloud, but all around. No cultist, no sword-wielder, escapes unscathed."
The Heavenly Demon smiled.
"Stagnate, and you're swept away. Red Cloud must strain for power to protect his own. This journey will forge his strength. Overcome, topple even the betrayer Seventh Demon... and he'll stand where you do. At power's starting line."
"........."
"And above all."
The lofty moon.
And clouds encircling it.
The Heavenly Demon reached out, covering the moon with her hand.
As if clouds veiling it.
"He vowed to catch me. I believe. My pup will lightly leap the disciple who betrayed me. Trust your hound to be a proper master, right? He reached an unforeseen place with an unforeseen sword. Talent meaningless, miracles wrought by iron will alone. I believe-and acknowledge him. When he said he wouldn't stand against me. Honestly..."
The Heavenly Demon licked her lips.
"My loins went 'arf arf.'"
"...Out of nowhere on a send-off...?!"
"Beastly gaze. That feral side sometimes... it stirs something in me oh so..."
"He's my charge."
"Don't drool. Let's share if you like. You're caretaker, I'm the owner, no?"
"........."
"Look at that glare. Hilarious. See? The First Demon, sparing me not a shred of affection before, wears that face now..."
Amusing.
Ever since meeting him.
"His path excites me. As a woman... and as a warrior."
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