The Demon King Begins (1)

"Do you even know what you've done?"

A voice thick with rage echoed through the vast chapel.

"To dare bestow holy power on those filthy creatures!"

"Holy power is... for helping those in need..."

"You... you...!"

-Thud crash!

"Insolent wretch! A sacrificial offering sold off like trash, and yet you act with such arrogance!"

The middle-aged man's kick sent the petite girl tumbling across the floor. The kicks continued raining down on her small frame.

"Have you forgotten who I am? Or do you know and still dare lecture me, the emperor of the empire? I've told you countless times: the Holy Kingdom's wealth, the empire's people—they're all mine. Remember that!"

In the chapel surrounded by ornate stained glass, only a tiny palm-sized window offered a glimpse of the outside world. Even as the pope's kicks battered her, the girl stared blankly at that small window where moonlight seeped in.

Bathed in the leaking moonlight, she looked no older than five or six.

"And you—you're no different! You're mine too! Your holy power is mine! Close your eyes, shut your mouth, block your ears! Just do as I say! Don't waste that precious holy power on those lowly scum!"

"Urk..."

Red foam bubbled from her mouth, stark against her sparkling sky-blue hair. At the sight, the pope halted his kicks.

"Ahem... I lost my temper for a moment. Clean yourself up and return to your room before anyone comes. And always keep yourself presentable. Saintess."

The pope strode out of the chapel. The girl reached toward the moon visible through the tiny window, but it was a futile gesture. Tears streamed from eyes as clear as the sky.

Saintess Silvia Sunshine. A girl whose only crime was being born. Sold as a sacrifice by gambling-addicted parents. Saved from that fate by Goddess Lai Teresa's revelation, destined to save the world—yet stripped of all freedom, caged like a bird. She lamented her cruel destiny.

A mere five-year-old child, too young even to call a girl, lay on the cold chapel floor, waiting for salvation that would never come. Hope faded from her forsaken fate.

-Save me, please.

Lately, I'd been having strange dreams. So vivid I couldn't tell if they were dreams or reality—nightmarish ones.

Even the most lifelike dream should fade with time, but a faint voice started whispering after that dream, keeping it fresh in my memory.

The first time I heard the hallucination, I chalked it up to exhaustion from a mountain of assignments. You know how sometimes, fighting sleep, you drift off without realizing and mumble nonsense, blurring dream and reality? I figured it was something like that.

I never imagined it'd drag on for a whole month.

I visited several hospitals, but the diagnosis was always the same. Too tired. Malnourished. Bullshit.

Even scarfing down meat wraps or popping the prescribed sleep aids, the voices didn't fade—they only grew stronger.

"Slept like crap again today."

I tossed and turned until I finally dozed off, only to wake to the voice buzzing in my ear.

-Bzzz.

Still, today I'd try a different approach. Lost in thoughts of how to survive the night, my body reacted on autopilot to the timely vibration.

No point trying to sleep through the voices now. I tapped the notification for the wuxia novel I'd been hooked on lately.

A tale of Cheonma Kang Eun-ryeong, leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, and Hyeon Gwangwol, disciple of the Sacred Beast Valley who heals all without discrimination between righteous or demonic.

Their first meeting: Eun-ryeong at 5, Gwangwol at 8. The young cult heir, a patient, aids the enigmatic Sacred Beast Valley against annihilation by a mysterious group, forging their bond. Eun-ryeong "teaches" Gwangwol martial arts by putting her through hellish training—the core of the story as their relationship deepens.

It ended on a romantic note, so I'd been waiting for this chapter.

"What the hell?"

Had the voices made me skip chapters? Checking my library, every prior chapter showed as read.

"Author screw-up?"

Makes sense—the plot had gone off the rails. Last chapter, young heir Eun-ryeong suddenly becomes the Heavenly Demon, smashing sects left and right, even trampling Gwangwol's Sacred Beast Valley.

"It ends like this?"

Was there ever a more honest outburst in my 22 years?

Refreshing changed nothing. The comments were in pandemonium, flooded with hate for the author.

"Really ending it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like this?"

Next chapter? "No next chapter available."

"This is straight-up disrespecting a reader who stayed up till 2 AM."

I screamed into my pillow, but no reply came, of course. Not that insomnia was solely for the novel—I just needed to vent.

-It hurts.

The voice rang out right on cue, calming my frayed nerves. Not some horror-movie shriek driving me to despair, but a soothing tone that eased the mind.

Though calm and stress relief are different beasts.

"I'm hurting too over this shitty ending."

I plugged my ears and rolled around until dawn crept in, finally granting sleep.

-I want to see you.

-Ding-dong.

I dragged my barely-rested body upright. 7 AM. Knowing who'd visit today, I opened the door without checking.

A foreigner with golden hair and emerald eyes stood there. The odd part?

"Poor sentient being, lost in worldly delusions... That's what we call the unenlightened."

Her gray monk robes.

Moon Yuri—childhood friend? Sibling? Something like that. Found with me as infants at the temple. With that look, she'd fit right in at a church in a nun's habit. But temple-found, she sticks to gray robes like a monk.

It suits her, though.

For the record, the church/nunnery talk came from her whining to the head monk—not my words. Despite the looks, she's Korean through and through, Korean better than any foreign tongue. Probably.

"Cut the nonsense and come in."

"Little Flame Moon... Huh? Your face looks like absolute hell. Hospital?"

"Why do you think I called you?"

*No effect from doctors, so here you are,* I swallowed the thought.

"Let me see."

She peered straight into my eyes the moment she entered. Those green eyes pierced like they saw my soul.

Head monk called her a natural-born shaman, suppressed by faith. Details fuzzy, but devotees dubbed her divine maiden for her uncanny gifts. Why she stayed at the temple unlike me, who bolted.

She claims she loves it anyway, so no pity here.

"A woman's voice, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Begging to escape, to be saved?"

"How'd you...?"

"Why else would the bodhisattvas tease me as divine maiden?"

I'd dismissed it as adult exaggeration, but her spot-on read made it credible.

Reading my eyes, she grinned, rummaged her bag, and pulled out a bracelet with a green bead charm.

"Wear this?"

"Hold on."

She clasped it on my wrist, closed her eyes, and murmured incantations. Morning sun glinted off her golden hair through the window, halo-like, mystical as a movie effect.

"Done. Don't lose it—keep it on."

Damn, her looks catch me off-guard even after years.

"Hey! Seo Eunjong! Snap out of it!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Sleep-deprived haze."

Embarrassed at staring, I blamed the sleep I dodged earlier.

"Listen up: Never take it off. If it bugs you, pocket it at least."

"What's it do? Amulet? Never seen beads like these—what're they?"

"Yup, amulet. Gems? You'd not know. I'm off—sleep well."

Leaving already? I'd stocked the fridge with her fave meat.

"Already? Eat breakfast. I'll whip something up—tons of meat."

"Busier than I look. Bring meat to temple next time."

"Always acting busy. If the voices persist, expect a call full of rage."

"Got it~ Bye~"

Waving her off as she rushed out, a month's fatigue hit like a truck. Mind blanked.

Uh... gotta make it to bed...

"What are you doing there?"

A gentle voice came from behind.