“...?”

For a moment, even the sound seemed to vanish. Yuyeon tilted her head, looking at me as I stood there stiff.

...Ah.

I cursed internally as I looked at her. The way she was holding the Divine Sword like it was nothing forced a thousand thoughts through my head.

Is it real?

This is real?

You can confirm something like that with the Divine Sword? For real?

Yuyeon is the Heavenly Demon’s child?

That demonic butcher who drenched the world in bloodshed.

The monster people called a product of war, a living fear.

And his daughter is—

...Mount Hua Sect’s sword pinnacle.

It wasn’t a small shock.

I’d heard it from Seongheon and didn’t think much of it, but now that it was sitting in front of my eyes, every kind of thought flashed through me.

“...”

Yuyeon stared at me. A faint emotion flickered in her eyes.

“Ah. Sorry.”

I took the sword back from her.

“I just needed to check something.”

“...”

“Sorry for springing it on you. Go back to what you were doing.”

Yuyeon reached out like she was going to stop me, but I moved quickly.

What the hell is this?

My head was a mess.

The sheer impact threatened to freeze my brain solid.

Yuyeon being the Heavenly Demon’s bloodline.

The Strange Demon’s reaction to me.

The purpose of HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE, and the DEMON CULT.

All of it was bad enough, but—

Then why?

If the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword reacts to the Heavenly Demon’s bloodline—

Then what am I?

The Divine Sword in my hand.

Why doesn’t this bastard react to me?

That was my biggest question.

“...”

After walking for a while, I looked down at the sword. I’d been in such a hurry I hadn’t even sheathed it.

SSRRNG—!

I shoved it back into the scabbard and licked my dried lips.

I’m losing my mind.

If the Divine Sword really has that kind of reaction, then it makes sense that the Strange Demon misunderstood me.

More than anything—

The bait I scattered probably made it worse.

I’d used the Plum Blossom Commander to crack the enemy camp—

And that crack turned into a noose.

That talk about searching for the Heavenly Demon’s clan. Maybe that was what the Strange Demon reacted to.

Were they really searching?

If they truly were, then sure.

Add on the fact that I “knew,” and the fact that I was holding the Divine Sword—

and his logic would link up cleanly.

The Strange Demon was searching for the Heavenly Demon’s clan.

And he’s seen it.

If I go by what he said about failing to protect me, then he’s seen the Heavenly Demon’s child before.

Which means—

He’s seen Yuyeon.

And then he tied that to the Divine Sword and mistook me.

If you count age, Yuyeon and I are the same age, too...

A memory of her childhood flashed.

Back when I was Hong Daecheon...

The way she’d disguised herself as a man.

That came back with it.

If the reason she lived disguised as a man...

If that connects to being the Heavenly Demon’s clan—

Then the Strange Demon’s “mistake” lines up perfectly.

Me being male.

Me being the same age as Yuyeon.

And me being able to hold the Divine Sword.

Damn.

I almost admired it.

This is—

There was no way he wouldn’t misunderstand.

“From every angle, I’m the Heavenly Demon’s son...?”

It wasn’t misunderstanding anymore. It was a mountain of “proof” that could turn into certainty.

“Jesus.”

My neck ached. Now it wasn’t just “Sword Saint’s disciple.”

Now I was getting mistaken as the Heavenly Demon’s child by a demon bastard.

My life.

How do you even tangle it this hard?

Now I’m doing this, too—

The absurdity made me look up at the sky.

[.......]

Yoo Cheongil was staring toward where Yuyeon was, his face stiff as stone.

Right. Of course.

This old bastard didn’t know, did he?

He didn’t hear that Yuyeon is the Heavenly Demon’s child.

He’d stormed out mid-argument with Seongheon. He clearly hadn’t heard the rest.

[...That brat is.]

“Yes. That’s what he said.”

[.......]

Yoo Cheongil shut his mouth, his expression like a fistful of thoughts had knotted together inside his skull.

“Thinking is great.”

But we didn’t have time to {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} sit and think.

“...About the Divine Sword. You didn’t know it had a condition like that?”

[I didn’t.]

“Seriously?”

[Yes. I’ve never even seen someone else hold it. Why would I know?]

“Then how did Dokgo Hyeok or Tang Yeran hold it?”

Forget me. Dokgo Hyeok stole it, and Tang Yeran repaired it—how did they touch it?

While I was turning it over in my head—

[Maybe because it was broken.]

“...Broken?”

[The Divine Sword snapped in the last battle. I did it myself.]

“Hm.”

So if the sword was damaged, the effect didn’t trigger? As an explanation, it was at least plausible.

“Hm...”

Is that it? Could be. Could be, but—

“...Then what am I?”

What does that make me, walking around holding it right now?

While I was thinking—

“...Ah.”

One thought brushed past.

Is it that?

Maybe.

Maybe it really was.

“...”

I lowered my gaze to the Divine Sword. The reason I could hold it—

“Ah, don’t tell me.”

The answer might be inside this sword.

*****

The time we were supposed to gather to coordinate with the Unit Leader was noon. There was still time.

So I went back to my quarters.

I’d originally planned to go train, but—

...I have to confirm it.

That thought I’d just had.

I needed to test it.

[What are you planning to do?]

Maybe because we were back in my quarters again, Yoo Cheongil asked, sounding intrigued.

“Nothing special. But I should confirm it, shouldn’t I?”

[Confirm?]

“Yes. My body isn’t that big, but it feels like some bastard is renting a room inside it.”

[What are you talking about?]

“Something like that. I’m going to take a quick nap.”

[What?]

Yoo Cheongil tried to say more, but I ignored him and drew the Divine Sword.

SSRRNG—!

A sharp blade slid into view.

I set it neatly across my thigh and placed my palm on the flat.

Then I closed my eyes.

With my eyes shut, I examined the sword slowly, like I was reading its texture. I stroked it lightly, feeling for something.

I repeated it again and again.

Then—

SSSSSHHH.

A strange sensation brushed past.

I didn’t let it slip.

I grabbed it like I was forcing my fingers around it, then loosened the hook I’d kept latched in the corner of my heart.

CLICK.

With a sound like gears moving—

THUMP—!

It felt like I’d fallen from a great height.

The instant I felt that drop, I opened my eyes.

“...”

I’d been sitting—

but now I was standing.

I checked the space, and a suppressed groan slipped out.

“Ha.”

The sound of my breath echoed through silence.

This was a place I’d been to before.

A black space.

A world burned black everywhere my eyes could reach—no sky, no ground, just soot-dark emptiness.

SPLASH.

When I moved my foot, I heard water.

I looked down and saw black water lapping around my ankle.

“Last time it was ground. This time it’s water?”

Is it alternating in some order? Or just doing whatever it wants?

Ridiculous.

I turned my gaze.

“...Hk.”

I swallowed dry.

Then, after a stretch of silence—

“Sorry, but...”

I started talking to myself.

Or rather, it wasn’t really talking to myself. If my guess was right, there was someone listening.

“I’m a little nervous, so can you come out first? I came here to talk, at least.”

I tried to make it casual, but my voice still shook. I wanted to hide it. It wasn’t easy.

No response.

So I pushed again.

“If you’re going to rent a room in someone’s house, you should at least show your face to the homeowner. You can’t just act like this and—”

The moment I decided I was being a little too bold—

SSSSSHHH—!!

A vibration spread across the calm water ahead.

A whirlpool formed, slowly pulling inward.

I swallowed hard again.

It’s coming.

I could feel it.

From inside that vortex.

A presence I never wanted to face again.

I watched, tense—

SSSSSHHH—!!

—and someone began to rise from the water.

As if invisible steps were there, he walked up slowly.

“...”

Hair soaked and clinging.

A body just as drenched.

Clothes ripped and frayed, heavy with water.

He was tall again. Not as tall as Yoo Cheongil, but still towering.

No.

Not a person.

I needed to call it what it was.

That wasn’t human.

I knew that and came anyway.

I had to keep my head straight.

This is insane.

My fingertips trembled as I looked at it. I’d felt it before, but the aura was wrong.

This wasn’t some ordinary malicious ghost.

Disaster deity.

I could feel the presence of something that belonged in the category of “god.”

My stomach wanted to flip, but I forced it down.

When it finally rose fully into view, I spoke.

“...Nice to meet you.”

He didn’t answer.

He only lifted pale, dried-out fingers and swept wet hair back from his face.

“...”

Cold crawled up my spine.

Red eyes stared out from under that ragged hair.

The moment we met eyes, gooseflesh erupted across my body.

A presence that locked my muscles without permission.

Damn.

This is fucking terrifying.

I used everything I had to hide the trembling in my hands.

Then I spoke again.

“Still, when someone greets you—”

SHK—!

“...!”

A cutting sound snapped through the air.

Instinctively, I grabbed my throat.

That sound—

it came from my neck.

But nothing was actually severed.

Only the sensation had brushed past, sharp and absolute.

This was—

A warning? Don’t get cute?

That’s what my body understood.

Pure instinct.

If I act up, I die.

“...Who are you?”

So I went straight to the point.

Who the hell are you?

“Who are you, and why are you here?”

A presence that had been here from the start.

The one that had kept dragging me into this place just to announce that it existed.

Why inside my—

Not my body.

Right.

The Divine Sword.

The thing inside the Divine Sword.

At first I thought it was inside me, but it didn’t feel like that anymore.

It hadn’t been there originally.

It came to me through the Divine Sword.

That made the most sense.

Plenty of people touch the wrong object and end up with a malicious ghost riding along.

This felt like that.

But—

Of all things, it happens to me?

Living my life, I—

I’d never had anything like this happen.

My qi was too strong. I’d never even experienced the possibility.

And yet—

Touch one wrong thing and get possessed?

It was absurd.

I’d felt the same thing when I met Yoo Cheongil.

My qi was supposed to be so strong that possession shouldn’t even be possible.

And that old bastard strolled through my body like it was his personal house.

Yoo Cheongil possessed me far too easily.

Because he was beyond a general spirit.

Something well past my level.

Which meant—

That thing is, too.

On the same level as Yoo Cheongil, at minimum.

While that thought sharpened my guard—

[Pathetic.]

The man finally spoke.

A thick, rough voice scraped past my ears.

[Your question is pathetic.]

“...What.”

[You already know the answer. Say it with your own mouth. Then I’ll give you my answer.]

“...”

He’d hit dead center.

I hadn’t asked because I wanted it not to be true.

But now I had to.

A presence that had been inside the Divine Sword and latched onto me.

The one that kept interfering.

With the Strange Demon and the Divine Sword, there was only one possible answer.

So I asked it.

“...Are you the Heavenly Demon?”

The man listened.

Then—

[Yes.]

“Fuck.”

The worst answer.

The one I never wanted to hear.

He was the Heavenly Demon.