3
Ep 3
The hospital room was as quiet and still as ever.
The faint sound of light rain drifted in through the slightly open window.
Cheon Hyerin had dismissed all her subordinates, leaving only the two of them inside.
An unfamiliar emotion weighed heavily on her chest.
Everyone dies someday. She had always known that.
But… in such a short time, something inside her had changed.
“…”
Yujin lay on the bed, his face pale, his breathing so faint it was barely noticeable.
His damp hair clung to his forehead.
A month had passed.
Her subordinate had assured her he would wake up.
Soon, he would open his eyes.
He had to.
She kept repeating that to herself.
Her gaze moved over his wounds, one by one, as if trying to anchor her mind.
“…Yujin.”
His hand was cold.
His pulse was still there, but it made her heart feel heavy.
She had faced death countless times on the battlefield, yet this feeling was unfamiliar.
His last words lingered in her mind, tightening her chest.
She had seen endless blood and death, but this moment beside him was harder to endure.
Tears gathered in her eyes but did not fall.
“…You.”
What should she do?
If he never woke up…
She struck her own cheek sharply.
To stop herself from being swept away by emotion.
“I must… control it.”
She steadied her breathing.
She was the leader of the Demonic Cult.
Even if a subordinate died, nothing should change.
But—
Images of him fighting desperately filled her mind.
His wounds were all fatal.
Any one of them could have killed him.
And yet, he endured them all, clinging to the enemy until the very end.
“…What was he thinking…?”
Fragments of conversation resurfaced in her memory.
He had used his innate energy.
Something forbidden, used only when one had something that absolutely had to be done before death.
It meant—
From the very beginning, he had intended it.
“It’s something I have to do.”
A necessary act.
He had abandoned everything else for that one purpose.
To protect her.
“…Why?”
Because—
There was someone precious to him.
He had acted with only that belief.
Without hesitation.
Without doubt.
Her breathing grew uneven.
Her heart pounded wildly.
“Stop… I have to control it.”
But she couldn’t.
It felt as if she had lost control entirely.
As if she had been overtaken.
And yet—
She knew nothing about him.
Everything was still just a guess.
“…What were you thinking…?”
She bit her lip until it bled.
And then—
For the first time in her life,
The Sword Empress realized she had fallen for someone.
“…You.”
Even while his body was breaking,
He chose not to run.
He shielded her until the very end.
Even taking a blade through his chest.
“…!”
Her heart pounded painfully.
“…You… I… love you.”
She spoke carefully.
Her face burned.
Heat rushed to her ears.
Her usually cold mind felt as if it had been set ablaze.
“…No… this isn’t right. I should say this when you’re awake.”
A man who had given everything for her.
Now that she understood—
She couldn’t look away.
“…I’ve fallen.”
In that moment, she realized it.
From now on,
Every time she saw him, she would feel this way.
Her reflection was completely different from usual.
Not the Sword Empress—
But a girl in love.
She bit her lip and forced those thoughts away.
This wasn’t the time.
But—
The next day,
All that resolve collapsed.
“He… woke up?”
She placed a hand over her chest.
Her heart burned.
She couldn’t calm down.
It beat even faster.
The emptiness she had felt before was now filled.
She longed to hear his voice again.
She stood up, almost stumbling, and went to see him.
Her eyelashes trembled.
She was—
Looking forward to seeing him.
Even as those around her stared in shock,
She paid them no mind.
///
…It hurts.
Everything hurts.
My arms feel heavy.
“…Ah.”
Damn.
An unfamiliar ceiling.
I still hadn’t returned.
I had fallen into the Demonic Cult.
And almost died the moment I arrived.
No—technically, I died and came back.
Fear was the only thing that followed that realization.
I stared at the ceiling.
What now?
The situation had already unfolded.
I remembered everything clearly.
But what could I do about it?
This wasn’t just a game anymore.
I had possessed a character from the test server.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Heavenly Demon Sword Sovereign.
Two ultimate martial arts.
But I didn’t know how to use them.
Even at the brink of death, they hadn’t responded.
“…This isn’t some overpowered story.”
Damn it.
Still—
I wasn’t starting from zero.
My level was probably around peak mastery.
My body moved that way.
I had managed to defeat them back then.
I wasn’t weak.
My body was already accustomed to the sword.
And strong.
Because I had invested in strength and stamina early on.
Since I had become my own character,
I could at least handle most opponents.
“…First day in Murim.”
But there was no smile.
I was practically trapped in enemy territory.
Surrounded by monsters.
And right next door—
The Sword Empress.
“…I need to escape.”
In the game,
She was someone impossible to win over early on.
Even trying would mean instant death.
And yet—
I had already done something reckless.
“…This is bad.”
Just then,
Voices stirred outside.
The door slowly opened.
The Sword Empress.
The one person I absolutely shouldn’t meet.
She had come.
“You’re awake? I’ll come in.”
“…”
She stepped inside.
Her long eyelashes.
Her beautiful face.
And—
For some reason,
Her ears were red.
“I… came because I have something to say.”
“….”
Something to say?
To me?
…Am I going to die again?