The first thing that ca to mind when I saw Strange Demon for the first ti was how off it felt.
No matter how you looked at him, he was young. Even giving him every benefit of the doubt, he looked like he was hovering right around twenty.
He looked that young, but the reality shouldn’t have been that.
‘...They said he was a monster who made a na for himself in the Orthodox-Demonic War.’
Even if he wasn’t elderly, he should’ve been at least pushing into middle age.
And the Eight Demonic Ones? That ant a demon who’d reached the level of an absolute master and moved as an elite.
The fact that soone like that could maintain that kind of appearance was the real problem.
Maybe—
‘Like the Sword Empress.’
Like her, maybe he’d rebuilt youth through reversal of aging.
The thought crossed my mind, but—
‘...No. That’s not it.’
Judging by Teacher’s reaction, Strange Demon didn’t seem weakened.
Sure, Teacher’s caution could’ve been just the weight of the na Strange Demon carried—his position, his presence—
But...
‘Not sure.’
To , it didn’t look like that. Even last ti proved it.
‘He infiltrated Mount Hua like he owned the place.’
And after that, he’d escaped Mount Hua without so much as a hiccup.
‘No matter how...’
Mount Hua’s Heaven-Beyond-Heaven. Seongheon’s condition was bad, sure—but even so, the fact that nobody had even grasped Strange Demon’s level...
That ant he was a truly serious monster.
‘...’
I swallowed dry. My throat felt like it was burning out, but I hid it.
I stared at the Strange Demon in front of .
“Little heaven.”
Little heaven.
My eyebrow twitched at the words.
At the sa ti, I looked at Yoo Cheongil.
[......Th—......]
Yoo Cheongil tried to say sothing while looking at , but it didn’t seem to reach .
Sa as before. Yoo Cheongil’s voice, which used to co through clearly—possession, which always worked as long as I kept the right “distance”—all of it was blocked.
I flicked a finger. Yoo Cheongil moved at once.
We didn’t need words. We were thinking the sa thing.
Yoo Cheongil ca in close and tried to possess , but—
TZZT—!
Sa as last ti. He got repelled again.
‘Is it because of this bastard?’
Strange Demon. With him here, it felt like Yoo Cheongil’s soul itself was being shaken loose.
‘Co to think of it.’
I scanned the area. The malicious ghosts and other spirits that should’ve been visible were almost nonexistent.
This much emptiness was seriously abnormal.
[Hah.......]
Yoo Cheongil clicked his tongue. Possession not working was the problem.
If possession didn’t work, that ant the last lifeline—my final safeguard for survival—was gone.
‘Focus.’
Cliff’s edge.
In front of was a monster acting friendly—
‘This is a joke.’
What a great situation. If things went sideways, I had no idea how that monster would move, and yet I’d crawled all the way to the most dangerous place on purpose.
Normally, I would never have done this.
But.
‘Those heretic bastards...’
Of all things, heretics.
The mont I learned those bastards—the ones who’d made eat dirt over and over in my past life—were here, I couldn’t just sit still.
‘No idea what they’re trying to do.’
But if it was really connected to the heretics...
If those bastards were trying to do sothing—
‘It’s going to hit . No matter what.’
If it was so petty incident in a random town, I’d tell them to go ahead and die in a ditch.
But—
‘An “incident” has to stay at incident level.’
What they did was nationwide. And I’d already heard what they were trying to pull.
‘They’re summoning a god.’
Again.
Again with that.
And if they were summoning a god, it wouldn’t be so harmless little shrine spirit.
‘A disaster deity...’
That twisted thing that had tornted so badly in my past life.
A god that fed on human misfortune and resentnt.
That was the kind of filthy god they’d be trying to call down.
I could picture it.
Even if I didn’t want to.
‘I’m gonna puke.’
Just thinking about it made my head throb—one miserable chain after another.
And calling it “imagination” was almost a lie.
This was closer to rembering.
So with those bastards showing up again, I had to do sothing.
Even if it was fucking disgusting.
‘Little heaven.’
I replayed what Strange Demon had said.
Little heaven.
Which ant there was a big heaven too.
‘Big heaven, sure.’
Obvious.
‘The Heavenly Demon.’
Who else would it be? Going by that, Strange Demon really did see as the Heavenly Demon’s child.
I could tell just from his eyes.
‘Creepy.’
It was madness steeped in faith.
Looking at those insane eyes made sothing surface.
‘...I was wondering why it felt familiar.’
They were the exact sa eyes as the zealots who worshiped the heretics.
Which ant—
‘Does Strange Demon think of like a god?’
Maybe he really did.
If I was reading those eyes right.
“Ask whatever you wish....”
“...That.”
I hesitated, thinking what to ask first, then spoke.
“...Strange Demon. Were you searching for the Heavenly Demon’s bloodline?”
“Ah.... Yes. Yes.”
I got goosebumps at his trembling pupils.
“I’m sorry.... I’m truly sorry.... Ah... ahhh....”
“...What are you sorry for?”
“I was incompetent and vile... I failed to protect little heaven.... How could I ever repay that.... If you wish, even now, I will offer my death...!”
“Wait—!”
Mid-sentence, Strange Demon tried to drive his hand into his own chest.
He ant it.
STOP
At my voice, Strange Demon froze.
“We’re still talking. What the hell do you think you’re doing...?”
If he died whenever he felt like it, that would be a problem. Sure, if Strange Demon died, I’d probably be more comfortable—
But there was still plenty I needed to hear.
Strange Demon listened to and broke into a radiant smile.
“Ah.... How can you be so rciful. As expected of little heaven.”
“......”
What part of that was “rciful”?
I couldn’t understand it. And honestly, I didn’t need to.
‘How the hell do you understand a crazy bastard?’
Not my job.
What mattered right now wasn’t understanding Strange Demon.
“Are you saying you tried to protect ?”
“You don’t rember. That’s only natural. Back then you were so small. So young.”
“......”
Yuyeon flashed through my mind. I forced it down.
“I’m sorry.... I should’ve offered my life. But I couldn’t.... Because of that—”
GRRNNNNK
Strange Demon clenched a fistful of dirt from the ground.
“...Sothing with no lineage climbed into a precious seat.”
“......”
Sothing with no lineage?
Soone crossed my mind in an instant. Baek Cheonin, was it?
‘That bastard.’
The one carrying that vicious malevolent aura.
“But... it’s fortunate.”
The Strange Demon, who’d been growling, relaxed his face again.
His emotional whiplash was genuinely insane.
“Because even now, I have found little heaven at last...!”
“...Finding changes what?”
“Of course. The rightful little heaven has returned. You must reclaim what you lost.”
His fingertips shook as he reached toward .
I startled and took a step back.
Regret pooled in his eyes at my reaction.
“...So you really were trying to find .”
“Yes. This Strange Demon... for my entire life, little heaven—”
“Enough. Are you saying you’re on my side?”
“Of course!”
KUUUUNG!
‘Ugh.’
The air shuddered.
That was his aura—his pressure—erupting with his shout.
‘...He’s insane.’
How strong did soone have to be for pressure like that to spill out?
It was terrifying.
“...This Strange Demon. I have lived only for you.”
“...Huh.”
Should I believe him?
Did it ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) even matter if I did?
The one he’d devoted his life to wasn’t actually .
What mattered was one thing: right now, was Strange Demon on my side or not?
“...Then can you tell everything I want to know?”
“...Ah....”
At my question, Strange Demon’s gaze shifted slightly.
I could feel vague discomfort.
“Can’t you?”
Was it too much?
The mont I asked—
“If little heaven wishes it, I want to offer you everything... but...”
After a brief silence, Strange Demon continued.
“Unfortunately, my mouth is bound, so there is not much I can give you....”
“Your mouth is bound?”
“Yes.”
“What do you an?”
“......”
Strange Demon shut his mouth.
I was about to frown in confusion when—
[Golden seal...... it.]
Yoo Cheongil spoke.
His voice was cut up, but this ti I could make it out.
‘Golden seal?’
I’d heard of it before. Sothing that blocked a person from speaking certain information.
‘...So he’s under one and can’t talk?’
That was possible too.
I hadn’t known that.
“...If you wish, I can speak, but if I do, I will no longer be able to serve little heaven.”
“What, you an you’ll die?”
“......”
He shut his mouth again.
That silence was as good as a yes.
‘If he speaks, he dies.’
For a second, what happened at Silver Sea Inn flashed through my mind.
The ones who died right as interrogation started.
And even—
‘Even as malicious ghosts, they couldn’t spit it out to the end before they died.’
Did this golden seal affect souls too?
If so...
‘This isn’t just so standard Central Plains golden seal.’
This was firmly in the realm of curse-work.
‘It’s getting more and more annoying.’
The connections to the heretics kept piling up.
‘For now.’
The good news was Strange Demon really did seem favorable toward .
Even if it was only because he’d mistaken as part of the Heavenly Demon’s bloodline.
‘Profit is profit.’
If I used this well, I could get a lot done.
Even if I didn’t know how far that golden seal reached.
“Then I heard your side is kidnapping Plum Blossom Swordsn.”
“Ah.”
Strange Demon reacted at once.
“Yes. We were going to take those worms. Though it isn’t under my jurisdiction.”
“...Not your jurisdiction? So soone else is running that?”
“......”
He couldn’t answer.
But—
‘He can’t answer, but I can still tell if it’s yes or no.’
You could read it in the air.
‘So anything about their manpower is off-limits.’
Fine.
I changed the question.
“Why did you kidnap the Plum Blossom Swordsn?”
“......”
Fuck.
Sa thing.
Looks like I couldn’t hear that part either.
But—
“They said it’s because a god wants it. Is that true?”
“...!”
Strange Demon’s eyes widened.
His face scread: How do you know that?
“...Huh.”
A god wanted flowers.
That man had said it clearly.
Flowers.
Plum Blossom Swordsn...
None of it made sense.
‘First, it’s true that HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE stepped in and kidnapped the Plum Blossom Swordsn.’
And it also seed true that the reason was tied to a disaster deity.
‘Ah. Goddamn it.’
The more I figured out, the more everything turned to shit.
My irritation climbed higher.
I raked a hand up through my hair.
My stretched-out nerves kept jabbing at my tongue.
“...Strange Demon.”
“Yes. Little heaven.”
So I acted on my mood.
“You said you’re on my side.”
“Yes...! This Strange Demon... only for you—!”
I didn’t let him finish. I cut him off.
“Then can you do a favor?”
Strange Demon’s face lit up.
Like he’d been waiting for those words his whole life.
“Please, anything...!”
“Can you kill the Plum Blossom Commander for ?”
Strange Demon faltered.
For a mont, my gut clenched—had I asked for sothing I shouldn’t?
But after a brief pause, Strange Demon spoke.
“Should I do it now?”
Like it was sothing he could do whenever he felt like it.
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