The Heavenly Demon and the Heavenly Demon Divine Art (1)
After Seol-ah sent that message, Hwaryong remained silent for a long time. In that quiet, Seol-ah trembled with anxiety, wondering if she had made a mistake or been too hasty. Every second that passed felt like her insides were burning away.
And after about a minute, a reply finally came from Hwaryong.
Come into Hwaryong Muin.
Seol-ah read those words and felt nothing. She simply thought that since she had been summoned, she must go. And so she rushed into the world of Hwaryong Muin, where she found Hwaryong waiting at the entrance to Mount Hua, a long pipe clenched between her lips.
The look in Hwaryong’s eyes as she stared at Seol-ah was colder than it had ever been. Even though this was inside VR, Seol-ah felt a chill crawl up her spine.
“You said you wished to learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, did you not?”
“...Yes!”
Seol-ah’s desire to learn the divine art was genuine. After all, it was the protagonist bearing the title of Heavenly Demon who had led her into this martial world. If she could learn the path from someone who embodied her idol, surely she could turn her ideals into reality.
“I will not ask why. There is no need for a reason when one seeks to learn powerful martial arts.”
Having said that, Hwaryong took a drag from her pipe and exhaled. Smoke rose above her, painting gray streaks across the night sky.
“Therefore, do not ask me for a reason to refuse.”
“Refuse…?”
“Indeed. This one has no intention of teaching you the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.”
“Why…?”
Even though Hwaryong had just told her not to ask for a reason, Seol-ah could not help but speak. In her mind, Hwaryong was someone who did not think twice about teaching the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to others. Hadn’t she personally instructed Dang So-il, the streamer she constantly rolled around with, precisely because she could not stand to see the art treated so carelessly?
That was why Seol-ah had naturally assumed she too would receive the teaching without much difficulty. She had believed she could receive the injection of ideals from the object of her admiration. Now that this conviction had shattered, Seol-ah could only desperately seek the reason.
“I told you not to ask for a reason.”
“But you’re already teaching the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to the others. You’re even explaining its principles to them.”
Seol-ah, who had always assumed that whatever Hwaryong said or did must have a proper reason, offered her first real objection. Hwaryong gave a small nod.
“That is true.”
“Then why won’t it work for me?”
“Since you crave a reason so much, I shall give you one. It is because you are a human who must not learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.”
“What?”
A human who must not learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. What did that even mean?
Perhaps sensing that Seol-ah could not understand at all, Hwaryong let out a sigh and took one step forward.
At that moment, something crushed down on Seol-ah’s shoulders. She could not tell what it was. It had no form and made no sound. The only thing it possessed was weight. A weight so heavy that even Seol-ah, who could be called a superhuman within the world of Hwaryong Muin, could not endure it.
At first Seol-ah gritted her teeth and bore it, but that lasted only a moment. The instant Hwaryong took a second step, Seol-ah’s knees buckled and she naturally fell to the ground.
“Do you know what the Heavenly Demon Divine Art is?”
Cold sweat trickled down her forehead. Her breath was blocked. She could not move a single finger or toe. Her body was hers, yet at the same time it was not. For her, even breathing was a struggle; speaking was nearly impossible.
Nevertheless, Hwaryong pressed her for an answer.
“Answer me.”
It’s too much. It’s impossible. My mouth won’t move. My mind has gone completely blank and I can’t think of anything.
Seol-ah screamed those words inside her mind while trembling in terror, but Hwaryong simply waited in silence for her reply.
Just when she thought she would suffocate to death, the oppressive pressure suddenly vanished. As Seol-ah lay sprawled on the ground, coughing repeatedly and desperately gasping for air, Hwaryong’s voice came from above her.
“I shall ask you once more. What is the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?”
“...You said it was Pacheon, Heavenly Demon-nim.”
Having barely regained her breath, Seol-ah managed to answer. Hwaryong let out another sigh.
“That is precisely why it cannot be.”
“...What?”
“If you wish to learn any other martial art besides the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, I will gladly teach you. Speak if you change your mind.”
With those words, Hwaryong turned and walked away.
Left alone on the grounds of Mount Hua, Seol-ah stared blankly at the path Hwaryong had taken.
“Wouldn’t it have been fine to teach her at least the basic foundations?”
The moment I returned to the office, Baru, who had been lying by the window in her fox form, spoke up.
“You were listening?”
“Sound carries well in this place.”
It was true. This building was far from soundproof.
“So why did you refuse? From what I can see, that child seems to be the most sincere about martial arts among those on Mount Hua.”
“That is exactly why it cannot be done.”
If that fellow had thought of this only as a game, I would have taught her about the Heavenly Demon Divine Art without much hesitation. Whether she had talent or not did not matter much. Even Dang So-il, whom I am currently hammering the principles of the divine art into, has utterly miserable talent as a martial artist. The reason I taught him anyway was simply because he views the Heavenly Demon Divine Art as nothing more than a skill used by his game character.
To Dang So-il, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art is merely a technique his in-game self employs. It does not drag him into reality, nor does he try to use it there. But Seol-ah is different.
From what I see, the boundary between Hwaryong Muin and reality has been reversed for her. She does not think of this as merely a game.
“Baru. Do you know why the Heavenly Demon Divine Art is considered a demonic art?”
“I do not.”
“It is because its inner energy devours its user.”
I released the Heavenly Demon Divine Art’s inner energy that had been permeating my body, just as I had done when fighting Geomseon. The ferocious energy immediately tried to swallow everything around it.
“Can you see? These things are savage and greedy. They are nothing short of tyrants.”
Because of this characteristic, one can accumulate inner energy at frightening speed and wield the unique domineering power of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. However, such immense power always demands an equal price.
“If they only devoured things outside the body there would be no problem, but these creatures have no intelligence. They naturally bare their fangs at their owner as well.”
If there is no owner to contain them within their body, they themselves cannot exist? Inner energy cannot possibly have thoughts. The inner energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art does not care if it scatters and disappears. All it possesses is the desire to satisfy its own greed. That is why, the moment the reins are loosened even slightly, it tries to devour its owner’s flesh.
There is a reason why so many who learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art die young.
“Even if one’s proficiency in the Heavenly Demon Divine Art increases, this danger remains. In fact, the more inner energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art one accumulates, the greater the risk. The moment the reins slip, there will be no turning back.”
How many times had I faced death because of this very trait? Now that I have reached this realm, those energies dare not even think of baring their fangs at me, but it was not always so.
“I understand that the Heavenly Demon Divine Art is dangerous.”
Baru nodded after listening to my explanation, but her tone still carried doubt.
“But why does that matter? You outsiders do not possess eternal life anyway, do you?”
Baru was right. To modern people, this world was nothing more than a game. The bodies here were disposable things to be used and discarded. It would be enough to use them as a single bullet, just as I had done.
But reality was different. Once they left the VR device, modern people were merely frail humans. If they lost their lives there, they would meet a dog’s death.
Originally there would have been no need to worry about this. Most people, like Dang So-il, viewed the Heavenly Demon Divine Art as a product of the game and therefore did not carry its aftereffects into reality.
However, Seol-ah—the one who carried the seed of fanaticism, the one closer to the martial world than to reality—was fully capable of dragging those aftereffects into the real world.
If Seol-ah were to gain enlightenment regarding the Heavenly Demon Divine Art and unfold its principles in reality, what would happen? If she tried to use the Heavenly Demon Divine Art with a body that had neither proper training nor accumulated inner energy, the result was obvious.
She would be devoured. And then she would die. Just like all the other fanatics who had pursued the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
I had seen such scenes until I was sick of them.
“In any case, I have no intention of teaching that child about the Heavenly Demon Divine Art until she gives a proper answer.”
If she had at least possessed the simji required to handle the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, she would have at least pondered it. But that child was merely a parrot repeating my own answer. To think that what she produced while being pushed to her limit was my own reply. In that state, she would be devoured by the inner energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art without even being able to resist.
If we had not formed a connection, I would have told her to learn it and die if she wished, but that child is now my subordinate employee. I must look after her. At least until she makes the seed of fanaticism bloom.
“Min-ga. I roughly understand your meaning, but wouldn’t it be better to explain it properly to that child? If you did, she would not make such a pitiful face.”
After listening to my entire explanation, Baru spoke those words.
Hmm. Since Seol-ah has stayed on this Mount Hua the longest, it seems she has grown somewhat attached.
“Do you realize that what you are saying now is asking me to take away even the last chance I gave her?”
“...You mean you would teach her if she grasps her own simji?”
“That is correct.”
If she becomes able to distinguish between reality and this world, or if she gains a firm simji capable of resisting even the inner energy of the divine art, then I could teach her. For that, she would need to attain enlightenment on her own.
“In the end, it is up to Seol-ah herself.”
Whether she leaves me bearing a grudge for not teaching her the divine art, whether she gives up in resignation, or whether she eventually attains enlightenment.