The Heavenly Demon and the Heavenly Demon (2)
As soon as Han Seo-woo saw her smile, he shouted, “No, Master!”
It was an eminently reasonable protest. No matter how little affection Han Seo-woo held for the Heavenly Demon Cult, he had spent several years there. He understood roughly how the cult operated. His master always claimed the cult would run perfectly fine without her, but Han Seo-woo saw things differently. The reason those people—especially the fanatics holding positions of power—could lead the cult at all was because she stood at its center. If the living god of the Heavenly Demon Cult suddenly vanished, they would plunge into chaos. They might even stretch their influence back into the murim world under the pretext of searching for the Heavenly Demon. And if that happened, only one thing would follow: another Great Righteous-Demonic War. The outcome needed no explanation.
The righteous factions had already been weakened to the point of collapsing before a single person—Hwaryeong. Could they withstand a full assault from the Heavenly Demon Cult, which had preserved its full strength? Of course not. If the war broke out, the righteous factions would be annihilated.
Han Seo-woo felt no particular emotion at the thought of the Heavenly Demon Cult ruling the murim. He hadn’t been born there, nor had he ever aligned himself with the righteous path. What concerned him was something else entirely.
If the righteous factions were destroyed, how many players would abandon Hwaryong Muin? The game was already old and stagnant. Could it survive such a massive shock? Han Seo-woo wasn’t sure.
“Absolutely not!”
That was why he raised his voice—to stop his master.
Baek Hwaryeong frowned at Han Seo-woo’s shout, then pointed a finger at him. Instantly, his mouth locked shut as if sealed by a padlock.
“How noisy, my disciple. It’s a good thing I erected a qi barrier to block the sound. Otherwise, the others would have heard and come running, wouldn’t they?”
She had deployed the barrier in that brief moment?! Han Seo-woo had deliberately shouted loudly in hopes the elders would rush over and dissuade her. Yet she had anticipated his intention and blocked it perfectly. He realized once again that his master existed beyond common sense.
“Struggling is pointless, so stop making such a racket. Understood?”
When Han Seo-woo nodded, Hwaryeong withdrew her energy. Only then could he move his mouth again.
“Besides, you fool, it’s not as if I said I would disappear for days. I plan to slip out at night, take care of my business, and return immediately. No one will even notice.”
The distance from the cult to Mount Hua was enormous. How could anyone travel there and back in a single night? One would have to cross several treacherous mountain ranges just to arrive. No matter how profound his master’s movement techniques were, that was impossible.
As Han Seo-woo thought this, he met his master’s gaze and suddenly understood.
The way she was looking at him meant—
“Yes, my disciple. Cooperate with me.”
She intended to make use of a player’s spatial teleportation ability.
“I refuse.”
Han Seo-woo rejected her firmly, but Baek Hwaryeong merely grinned in response.
“My, my, disciple. Then this seat has no choice but to sneak out of here on my own two feet, does it?”
“Are you truly planning to do that?”
“If you dislike that idea, then try to stop me. What is the foremost principle of the Heavenly Demon Cult?”
“The strong rule, but how could I possibly stop you, Master!”
“Then you’ll just have to obediently follow my words.”
Baek Hwaryeong’s logic was completely unreasonable, but Han Seo-woo had no countermeasure. Whether he helped or not, his master intended to escape the cult and head for Mount Hua’s grounds. There was no way for him to stop her. In the murim, where countless experts flourished, she stood at the pinnacle. If she set her mind to it, slipping past everyone in the cult would be child’s play. How could a mere martial artist like Han Seo-woo possibly restrain her?
After wrestling with his thoughts, Han Seo-woo eventually decided to assist his master. It would be far better than letting her run off on her own and throwing the cult into chaos for several days.
“Understood. Please wait a moment.”
Han Seo-woo opened his system window to prepare the teleport and simultaneously sent a message to Hwaryeong, urging her to log in as quickly as possible because the Heavenly Demon was heading to Mount Hua’s grounds.
…But at this hour, wouldn’t a normal person be asleep?
“Master, even if we go now, that person from outside might not be there.”
“Why not?”
“She’s an outsider too. This is her rest period.”
“Is that so? Then we’ll simply go there and wait until she arrives.”
Normally, wouldn’t one say they’d visit when the other person was available? As Han Seo-woo pondered this, his eyes fell on the scrolls piled beside his master, and he finally caught on to her true intention.
“Master. You just want to skip work, don’t you?”
“How insolent. After enduring all manner of hardships throughout my life, do you truly think this seat would flee from a few measly scrolls?”
Even as Baek Hwaryeong spoke, she deliberately avoided looking at the scrolls. It was clear she found the task of handling documents far from appealing.
“Then let’s finish the work before we go. Once that outsider logs in, I’ll bring her over.”
“And how long are we supposed to wait for her return?”
“There are ways for outsiders to contact each other.”
At Han Seo-woo’s words, Baek Hwaryeong’s lips twitched for a moment. Then she set down her brush, folded her arms, and declared with absolute confidence:
Seeing her like that, Han Seo-woo couldn’t help but laugh. As expected, everyone in the Heavenly Demon Cult was insane. No matter how outstanding a martial artist his master was, how could they worship someone like this as a god?
“Now then. This seat shall grant you the honor of escorting me to Mount Hua. Hurry up and use the function.”
“Sigh… understood.”
Judging by how she was speaking now, it was obvious she had no intention of touching those scrolls no matter how long she sat at her desk before meeting Hwaryeong and returning. He had made a mistake. He should have waited until after destroying all those scrolls before mentioning Hwaryeong.
Using the spatial teleportation function, the pair arrived before Mount Hua’s grounds. They frowned at the sight of the withered forest beneath the darkening night sky. The landscape emanated a sinister aura—one that would not seem strange even if vengeful dead wandered the earth.
“Disciple. Was Mount Hua always like this?”
“No. It was a barren rocky mountain, but it was never this bad.”
“Then how did it come to this?”
Han Seo-woo answered his master’s question as diligently as he could with what he knew—about the sorcery created through the collaboration between Mount Hua’s sect leader and the Blood Cult, and the blood art that had drained all the vitality from this lofty mountain.
After listening to the story of the blood technique that had consumed the life force of the entire peak, Baek Hwaryeong let out a low hum and said,
“That Blood Cult leader fellow. I thought him nothing more than trash and paid him little mind, but it seems he cannot be so easily ignored.”
She then pulled a seal from her robes and tossed it to Han Seo-woo.
“Um… Master. What is this?”
“Return and take care of those scrolls.”
The way she said it was so matter-of-fact that countless questions flooded Han Seo-woo’s mind, but he asked the most immediate one first.
“Then how will you return?”
“You will come to fetch me. I will contact you through that outsider called Min-ga, so come when I call.”
“…Pardon?”
“Didn’t you say it yourself? That outsiders have ways to communicate.”
That was true, but… wasn’t it a bit much to send her disciple back alone to handle all the work?
“Master. The documents that come to you are all matters of utmost importance to the Heavenly Demon Cult. Is it really acceptable to entrust them to an outsider like me?”
“What of it? Just skim through them, and if they seem fine, stamp them. Anything completely unacceptable would never have reached me in the first place. You’ve done it before, haven’t you?”
“That was when I was with you, Master.”
“Disciple. How long do you plan to remain sheltered under your master’s wing? It is time for you to stand on your own!”
“Isn’t that a rather inappropriate use of the word ‘independence’?!”
Regardless of Han Seo-woo’s shock, Baek Hwaryeong let out a laugh, told him to work hard, and vanished from before his eyes.
Left standing alone at the base of Mount Hua, Han Seo-woo stared at the seal in his hand and let out a deep sigh.
How many years has it been since I last climbed Mount Hua’s stairs?
The last time was when I came to destroy the sect, so it must have been at least a dozen years ago.
The scenery has changed greatly from back then. The cracked stairs here and there. The lifeless appearance of the mountain. Even the buildings of Mount Hua visible in the distance.
Baek Hwaryeong climbed the stairs at a leisurely pace, smoking her pipe, then let out a dry chuckle. During her attack on Mount Hua in the past, she had deliberately spared a few survivors so they could struggle in vain before their pathetic destruction. She had never imagined they would choose such a grand self-ruin.
It was truly a wretched ending. An ending perfectly suited to those who had called themselves an honorable righteous faction.
As she thought this, Baek Hwaryeong suddenly stopped walking. Spirits had begun gathering around her.
‘Where do you think you’re going, coming back here?’
‘Begone, slaughterer. This is not a place for the likes of you.’
‘We will never forgive you. Not for all eternity.’
Resentment poured forth. Resentment for her victories, her indifference, her very existence—resentments wishing for her death. Layer upon layer of resentment coalesced into tangible form. One could call it a curse.
Yet even beneath that curse, Baek Hwaryeong simply continued smoking her pipe with an expressionless face.
“How noisy, all of you who died because you were weak.”
With a qi-infused stomp, Baek Hwaryeong scattered all the resentment. Once silence returned, she looked around and spoke toward a particular spot.
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice? Come out.”
The sorcerer hiding in the grass seemed timid, for even after Baek Hwaryeong’s words, he did not reveal himself.
“I have no intention of harming you. This seat has come here as a guest.”
Only after she spoke did the bushes rustle, and the spirit-wielding sorcerer finally appeared.
“…Hm?”
It was a fox. A brown-furred fox stepped forward with powerful strides, positioned itself in the exact center of the stairs, and lifted its head high in an attempt to look dignified.
“Did you not say you had no intention of causing harm?”
When its mouth opened, a human voice flowed out.
…Good heavens. A talking fox.
Isn’t it far too cute?