A Job Well Done
"So, have you made up your mind?"
Song Mugyeong asked when he came to see me again the following day.
I nodded and addressed him.
"Administrator Song. First, there is one thing I must make clear to you."
"What do you mean by that all of a sudden...?"
I squared my shoulders and spoke to Song Mugyeong in a dignified, commanding voice.
I was speaking the words the original Baek Yeon should have said—the words he had never been able to utter.
This time, I did not avoid his gaze in the slightest.
"I am no weakling."
This man was no exception, but so many people across every era deeply misunderstood this. Even the original Baek Yeon had been wrong about it.
They believed that introverts were weak and quick to give up.
But I would show this man, the Sect Leader, and everyone else.
Being introverted did not mean being weak.
"I wondered what you were going to say, but is it merely a pathetic excuse?"
"Keep listening."
"?"
"Before I am your Young Sect Leader, I am merely an eleven-year-old boy. Apologize. Not just for this, but for your actions over the past seven years."
Since his mother—the only person Baek Yeon could rely on—had passed away, this man had been the closest person to him.
I wasn't trying to lecture him on the proper etiquette of a subordinate.
If only this man had shown Baek Yeon that the world wasn't entirely cold.
If only he, as an adult, had offered even a single warm word of comfort.
If he had, the boy named Baek Yeon would have been a little less lonely.
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
I already knew.
This man didn't know what he had done wrong, nor did he even realize that the boy he had sinned against no longer existed in this world.
So, this was purely me demanding the words I wanted that boy to hear.
If I let this slide without saying a single word, it would weigh on my conscience forever.
That was just how introverts were wired.
'Farewell, kid. You've had it rough.'
In my heart, I bid farewell to Baek Yeon, the original owner of this body.
To the young child who had left this world without being loved by anyone.
To the boy who must have struggled in agony, playing the part of a cruel villain just to survive in his isolated, lonely world.
'Leave the rest to me.'
I would face the world in his stead.
But it wasn't just for him.
This was for myself, and no one else.
"If you refuse to apologize to the end, I will have no choice but to punish you myself."
For an introvert like me, uttering such words was no easy task.
I couldn't see my own face, but I doubted I looked particularly majestic.
"Meaning?"
"I have no intention of giving up the position of Young Sect Leader. Nor do I intend to overlook your insolence."
I was no longer afraid of Song Mugyeong at all.
"As the Young Sect Leader, I command you."
If I couldn't handle a matter like this on my own, it would be tantamount to admitting to the Sect Leader that I was unfit.
Now was the time to show a changed Young Sect Leader, even if it meant taking some risks.
"Administrator Song, step down from your post and withdraw. Leave the Sun and Moon Sect immediately. Should you refuse, it will be deemed an act of heresy, and I will use force."
"Heresy? Absurd. I merely refuse to accept an unfit Young Sect Leader for the sake of our sect's future."
The administrator's tone had completely shifted.
In the next instant, I didn't miss the way his eyes darted toward the sword at his waist.
Nor did I miss the murderous intent gleaming in his eyes.
"Do you truly wish to shed blood here?"
I narrowed my eyes at Song Mugyeong and reached for the hilt of the sword resting near Baek Yeon's desk.
"That is my line, Young Sect Leader."
Schwing.
Song Mugyeong drew the sword from his waist.
"You should have died back then!"
If nothing else, Song Mugyeong's determination to drag me down for the sake of the sect's future was genuine.
Even if it meant losing his own life for the crime of daring to kill the Young Sect Leader.
However.
Schwing.
There was one thing Song Mugyeong had failed to consider.
Even if Baek Yeon was an introverted child and his cruel personality was nothing but an act...
His talent for martial arts was entirely real.
Otherwise, how could he have killed the Murim Alliance assassin who tried to murder him all by himself?
Clang!!!
The sword Song Mugyeong swung at me was firmly blocked by the blade I raised.
As expected, Baek Yeon's strength and swordsmanship were incredibly powerful, far beyond what anyone would expect from an eleven-year-old child.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Though startled, Song Mugyeong continued to rain down strikes from above.
It was as if he wanted to split my head open in a single blow.
But Baek Yeon's extraordinary senses and reflexes read his attacks as clearly as an open book.
Clang! Clang!
As his attacks were blocked repeatedly, a look of sheer panic washed over Song Mugyeong's face.
Gathering all my strength, I swung my sword in a diagonal arc.
With almost anticlimactic ease, the sword in Song Mugyeong's grip was sent flying into the distance.
"Yield."
I immediately brought the tip of my sword to Song Mugyeong's throat.
"Y-You...!"
Song Mugyeong stared at me, his eyes wide with shock.
My plan was to drag him to the Sect Leader, report what he had done to me, and declare that I had punished his insolence myself.
That was my plan.
However.
"Aaargh!"
Song Mugyeong let out a bloodcurdling shriek and lunged at me, brandishing a hidden dagger he had pulled from his robes.
His momentum was ferocious, as if he were determined to drag me down to hell with him.
Because I had let my guard down for a moment after disarming him, I failed to swing my sword in time to push him back.
The dagger in Song Mugyeong's hand was rapidly closing the distance.
And in the next instant.
Something entirely unexpected happened.
Thump! Thump!
My senses slowed down, as if time itself were stretching.
For a moment, I wondered where the sound of drums was coming from.
But it was the sound of my own heart, beating with uncontrollable violence.
Before I knew it, Song Mugyeong's lunging figure and everything else in my vision lost their original colors.
The world was dyed entirely in blood-red.
And that wasn't all.
"KILL HIMMMMM!!!!!"
Song Mugyeong, meeting my gaze, shrieked in sheer terror as if he had seen a ghost.
He must have sensed the blood-red light emanating from my eyes and the overwhelming murderous intent flooding my entire body.
"The Heavenly Ki—!"
It all happened in the briefest instant as Song Mugyeong lunged with his dagger.
Before I could even comprehend what was happening to me...
In a world moving in slow motion...
I had already snatched the dagger from Song Mugyeong's hand and plunged it deep into his chest.
"The Heavenly Killer Star..."
Song Mugyeong muttered in disbelief, his voice a strained squeeze.
Thump! Thump!
My heart was still pounding so hard it felt like it would burst.
"Blood... Blood is pouring like a waterfall...!! Hehe... Hehehe...!"
The voice echoing in my head was still making my mind go hazy.
When I had first summoned the Heavenly Killer Star in my room, I thought I could control it without much trouble.
But it seemed that had been a grave delusion.
'No, perhaps...'
The situation now was completely different from when I was alone in my room.
I was fighting for my life, and just moments ago, my survival had been threatened.
The manifestation of the Heavenly Killer Star in a moment of life-or-death crisis felt entirely different from before.
'This is the true nature of the Heavenly Killer Star...'
When I pulled the blade out, the hot blood spraying from Song Mugyeong instantly drenched my entire body.
Cough!
Song Mugyeong coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed forward. Startled, I took a hasty step back.
The dagger in my hand slipped and clattered onto the floor.
"Pick up the blade again! He's still alive! Stab him again!!!"
The voice of the Heavenly Killer Star continued to urge me.
Come to think of it, snatching Song Mugyeong's dagger and stabbing him in the chest in the blink of an eye...
Though I had done it, I had no idea how I had managed it.
Other than the fact that an immense power had been unleashed the moment the Heavenly Killer Star manifested, driving me to kill the enemy on instinct.
"Ugh..."
Just then, Song Mugyeong, who was collapsed on the floor, twitched his lips.
Thinking he was trying to say something, I leaned in closer. I heard him squeeze out his final breath to speak.
"Young Sect Leader... You did well."
To my surprise, he was smiling.
Even as he lay dying, he looked like a man who had achieved his purpose and had no regrets left in the world.
"Hehe. This is enough. Now that you have personally executed a heretic, who would dare doubt you or call you weak?"
"Administrator Song... Was this all for my sake?"
Song Mugyeong turned his head with great difficulty to look at me.
"I happened to learn... that the Sect Leader doubted your temperament. He believed your near-death experience at the hands of the Murim Alliance assassin was due to showing mercy... If this continued, the Sect Leader would have... *cough!* ...you..."
"Administrator Song! I understand, so let me treat you first...!"
Blood erupted from the administrator's mouth in successive coughs. He slowly reached out and grasped my hand.
"Young Sect Leader, I too knew..."
"...?"
"That you are no weakling... *cough!* ...But you must fight relentlessly to prove it to the world."
'I swore back then that I would lay down my life for the sect and for you, Young Sect Leader.'
Only then did I understand the true meaning behind those words he had spoken before.
"Young Sect Leader. Never show mercy to your enemies. Even if they point fingers and call you a cruel tyrant, never hesitate to take from the weak."
"Administrator Song..."
"If you continue as you are now... you will be fine. Become the true Sect Leader... the Heavenly Demon, and bring the world under the demonic path... I... pray..."
With those final words, Song Mugyeong drew his last breath.
The words he left behind were shocking, but...
'He's dead.'
My shoulders were trembling like a leaf.
'I killed a man with my own hands...'
Even if it was unavoidable, it was a massive, traumatic shock for my mind—the mind of someone who had been an ordinary college student until recently—to process.
'He shouldn't have died like this.'
Yet, even as I wallowed in distress, the voice of the Heavenly Killer Star continued to echo.
"Pick up the blade again...! Anyone is fine, just kill them...!!!"
"So this... is the Heavenly Killer Star."
Only now did I understand why the sect members feared the Heavenly Killer Star so intensely.
Would I eventually be dragged along by this voice in my head and kill again?
My legs began to shake violently.
It was right then.
"Indeed. That is the Heavenly Killer Star."
Since when had he been there?
I hadn't sensed anyone's presence, let alone the door opening.
A tall, middle-aged man, his luxurious robes and long hair fluttering, slowly walked toward me.
Before I even realized he had appeared, none other than Sect Leader Baek Mumyeong was already standing right in front of me.
The moment I saw him, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
"Father, what brings you here...?"
The Sect Leader was exuding an aura far more overwhelming than ever before.
His voice was cold, entirely devoid of any emotion.
"I came to strip you of your title as Young Sect Leader."
It was a shocking declaration, but strangely, I didn't panic.
It wasn't entirely unexpected.
'He already knew.'
There was no way the Sect Leader would be ignorant of matters concerning the Young Sect Leader.
As expected, he had been fully aware of Song Mugyeong's words and actions toward me.
The only reason he hadn't stepped in himself was to watch how I would respond to this situation.
The Sect Leader looked at my blood-drenched clothes, then at Song Mugyeong's corpse on the floor, before speaking again.
"And yet... what is the meaning of this?"