Forbidden Emotions
Hye-yul was desperate. It was the day the Repentance Cave exploded and the Blood Demon Witch broke free from prison. In all of Shaolin Temple, only Hye-yul had uncovered the truth of her escape. Without breathing a word of it to anyone, he set out alone to hunt her down.
Even he did not fully understand why he acted this way. Yet he felt no need to examine his reasons. He left nothing behind but a single letter in his quarters, then slipped out of Shaolin without seeking his master’s permission.
The moment he confirmed the Blood Demon Witch still lived, an indescribable joy had flooded him. Later, when dark clouds swallowed the moon and merciless rain hammered down, he had worried her trail might vanish. That fear was why he had left in such haste, carrying only a small pouch of dry rations.
As he tracked her footprints, Hye-yul noticed one clear fact. The distance between each stride kept widening. It meant her mastery of lightness techniques was improving with every passing hour. The very fact that she could use such movement at all, with her dantian destroyed and her meridians damaged, was astonishing, yet Hye-yul did not dwell on it. There was no need. None of that mattered to him.
No matter how miraculously she wielded and refined her lightness skill, he was the disciple of the greatest under heaven and a Peak-realm expert. The full-powered lightness technique of a Peak master was truly worthy of its legendary name. He could feel the gap between them shrinking.
But at this critical moment, rain began to fall from the sky.
[Whoosh—!]
The downpour struck the earth with savage force. The Blood Demon Witch’s traces grew fainter by the second, and even those faint marks were being erased by the relentless rain. Anyone else would have given up the chase. But Hye-yul could not.
He simply… wanted to see her face again and speak to her once more.
At first he had felt no interest and ignored her. Later, for reasons he could not name, he had grown strangely embarrassed and treated her with stiff formality. Now that time had passed, the memory lodged in his throat like a fish bone, filling him with bone-deep regret. And, blasphemously… he found himself wanting to hold her hand.
…Hold her hand?
The instant the thought surfaced, Hye-yul’s ceaseless sprint came to an abrupt halt.
What am I thinking?
Sudden confusion engulfed him. What was this emotion? And if he did find her, what would he even say? Would he urge her to return to captivity in Shaolin? What were the chances she would agree? If she refused, what then? Or… or… would he suggest they run away together?
“…Amitabha.”
Had a demon possessed him? How could a Buddhist disciple entertain such thoughts?
Heavy rain traced the line of his jaw, gathered at his chin, and fell to the ground. After standing motionless in the deluge for a long while, Hye-yul began moving again.
What is this feeling?
His eyes, once more fixed on the path ahead, trembled without pause.
Let’s meet her… First we meet, then I’ll know. I’ll understand what this emotion is and what I’m truly thinking.
The Delusion-Breaker Eye, which rejected falsehood and revered truth, began desperately chasing the rain-washed remnants of the Blood Demon Witch’s trail. He scoured the entire mountain as if hunting a single rat, refusing to miss even the slightest sign. It was not easy. Yet he did not stop.
I will… definitely find her.
Hye-yul’s once-immature Delusion-Breaker Eye slowly shed its shell within the fire of his earnest longing. After days of frantic pursuit through the deep mountains, where only silence had reigned, a faint sound of splitting air and a dying scream pierced his ears.
Hye-yul lifted his head and focused every sense toward the direction of the noise. Beyond two mountain ridges, he sensed a faint presence. For some reason, he felt certain the Blood Demon Witch was there.
[Swish!]
Without hesitation, Hye-yul kicked off the ground and raced forward like a streak of wind.
The bandit leader’s severed head rolled across the dirt as a fountain of blood erupted, soaking the surrounding outlaws in crimson. A thick, almost tangible silence heavier than any physical weight settled over the mountain stronghold.
At first the sudden horror left them stunned. Then terror crushed their hearts. The victims who had witnessed the scene alongside the bandits stared with identical looks of shock and awe.
If a celestial fairy existed, would she appear like this? Her features still held the innocence of a girl rather than a fully grown woman. Her exquisite beauty was such that meeting her gaze would make any heart, man or woman, skip a beat. And every person present had just watched this heavenly being deliver divine punishment upon worthless earthly demons.
Her appearance was delicate, yet her actions showed no hesitation. Her manner of speech was somewhat frivolous, but her voice remained low and composed. The intricate tattoos covering her flawless white skin created a bizarre contrast that somehow evoked both alienation and a strange, captivating sensuality. The contradictory image felt less offensive than mysteriously alluring.
The lips of this absolute beauty—who defied any single definition—curled into a bright smile like a flower bud opening.
“Alright! Next.”
At my words the bandits all flinched violently.
“You saw it, right? Your leader committed crimes worthy of death. Murder, kidnapping, attempted murder of a child, threats, rape, and more.”
Now the outlaws hung on my every syllable.
“The verdict is therefore execution.”
I tried to meet each man’s eyes, but they all hurriedly looked down—an admirably obedient reaction.
“At first I considered slaughtering every last one of you… but that would be too unfair, wouldn’t it? That simply won’t do. Agree?”
They nodded frantically, as if I had thrown them a lifeline.
Yes. I don’t particularly enjoy killing when I can avoid it.
I am not a serial killer. Why would I take pleasure in murder? Yet from the circumstances, these men were clearly worthless trash with no value to the world. I had seen the leader’s vile behavior myself (or at least the evidence made it undeniable), and there were more than enough witnesses. Those who had willingly followed and participated in his crimes were essentially active accomplices.
The question was whether simple participants deserved the same fate as active ones. If I spared them out of clumsy righteousness or a chivalrous heart, they might create even more victims later. I had made that mistake once in my original world. I had sworn never to repeat it.
Therefore, a proper verification process was necessary.
“Prove you are not evil,” I told them.
They immediately raised their hands and shouted their innocence. Listening to them, one might think I was the greatest tyrant in the world, persecuting blameless saints. Realizing the method was flawed, I changed my approach.
“This isn’t working… I’ll switch methods.”
The bandits swallowed nervously and focused on my next words.
“I have seen the crimes committed by the others. Raise your hands!”
Their expressions showed they still didn’t understand.
“Those with many sins will be executed. Those with relatively fewer evils will be spared. The more crimes you report of your comrades, the better it is for you. Clear?”
At the order to expose their fellows, none stepped forward. They only glanced at one another.
“Also, those spared from execution will be chosen first-come, first-served. The later you confess, the more disadvantageous your position.”
Still no one moved. I decided on stronger medicine. I walked up to Dukchi—the first bandit I had met—and pressed my sword coldly against his throat.
“Speak. Refuse and I’ll take your head right now.”
“Hik! W-why me first…?”
His eyes widened in terror. I pressed the blade tighter. A thin red line appeared, and a few drops of blood slid down the pure white steel.
“I-I’ll talk! I saw the vice-leader raping female monks who were passing by and then discarding their bodies!”
Dukchi confessed in a panic, terrified of being harmed.
“…What? Is that even human?”
The unimaginable horror left me speechless. The vice-leader immediately shouted in protest.
“You bastard! Weren’t you the one who came out and enjoyed it with me?!”
“When did I ever say that?! You threatened to kill me if I didn’t join, so I only pretended to go along out of fear for my life!”
“Such shameless lies! Miss, it’s not true! This guy enjoyed it too—”
“Enough. Next testimony.”
I moved the sword to another bandit’s neck. Before it even touched him, he began spilling everything.
“I saw that guy looting civilian homes and setting them on fire!”
“That one threw a child down a well!”
Accusations flew from every direction. The scene was grotesque. The list of atrocities surpassed imagination.
…What is this? Every single one of them deserves death.
Not one seemed redeemable.
Ah… I’m getting the urge for a proper massacre.
“Silence! From now on, anyone who speaks without my permission will be executed immediately.”
My cold command turned the saliva-flinging, mutual-slandering crowd into statues. I quietly asked the two old demons for their opinion.
“What do you think? Should we kill them all?”
The Heavenly Poison Old Man asked back, “What do you want to do?”
I hesitated, unable to answer at once. Reading my expression, he spoke gently.
“Is something weighing on your mind?”
“…Yes. No matter how evil they are, they’re still people. And not just one or two…”
“Hmm… First, tend to the victims. They have already endured much. There is no need to let them witness such ugliness.”
Ah, of course!
I had been so distracted by unexpected events that I had forgotten the victims. In any disaster, their safety and peace of mind come first. To think I had neglected something so basic for an Ultra S-Class Hero.
I approached the gathered victims and suggested we move. I led them to the largest building—the one belonging to the family of the woman who had nearly suffered at the leader’s hands. I hoped that being among others who had endured the same nightmare might offer the traumatized woman and children some small comfort.
Inside, the husband of the woman who had been bound to a pillar and killed now lay covered with cloth, his bonds removed. It was heartbreaking. Surprisingly, the wife seemed to have pushed her grief aside for the moment.
We were exchanging brief introductions when terrible screams suddenly erupted outside.
“Kyaaaak!”
“S-save me!”
What? More bandits?
Fearing a hidden group was launching an ambush, I rushed out. What I saw was entirely unexpected.
Gapjil Jijon and the Heavenly Poison Old Man. The two old demons were ruthlessly cutting down the remaining bandits with swords they had seized from them. It was a scene of slaughter all too familiar to me.
Gapjil Jijon swung a blade in one hand while striking with palm techniques in the other.
A heavy palm slammed into a bandit’s chest with an explosive sound. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he was sent flying.
The Heavenly Poison Old Man wielded the Dark Heaven-Defying Sword he had once called clumsy, yet now he precisely pierced and sliced only the fatal vital points. The awkward old-man exercises were gone. Only the cold, original killing art remained.
The original killing sword art, cold and precise, targeting only fatal vital points with flawless efficiency.
I watched their work in a daze. Only when the situation was nearly over did I snap back to my senses. Of the nearly thirty bandits, only five remained alive. The rest lay on the cold ground.
“…What are you doing? I said I would handle it.”
The two old demons looked at me with somewhat weary eyes.
“How could we leave such a difficult task solely to you?” the Heavenly Poison Old Man said calmly, flicking blood from his blade.
Gapjil Jijon, breathing heavily, added, “Dirty cleanup is best left to us old men. The young should only look forward and advance.”
Their low, sunken voices reached my ears. …Have I lost my mind? This was a blood-soaked massacre. Yet somehow, that quiet resonance sounded pleasant.
A phrase I had read somewhere long ago came to mind.
Just as your youth was not given as a reward, my old age was not given as a punishment.