Now?

I asked him to kill the Plum Blossom Commander, and he answered by asking if he should do it now.

“...You can do it even now?”

“If little heaven desires it, as much as you wish.”

If I wanted it, he’d even kill the Plum Blossom Commander.

That answer forced a lot of thoughts on me.

‘Is it real?’

Was he sincere?

I kept circling back to suspicion.

Even though I’d said I would use him, there was something I had to keep in mind the whole time.

‘Can I trust him?’

As if.

I didn’t trust Strange Demon. I would use him, sure—but that wasn’t a reason to trust him.

So.

“You can kill the Plum Blossom Commander?”

“Yes.”

“...He’s probably a spy for HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE.”

“...!”

I threw the dice.

If I’d been the old me, I might never have done something like this.

They didn’t know I knew the Plum Blossom Commander’s identity.

That meant I could use it to watch Strange Demon’s reaction.

The problem was—

‘Double-edged sword.’

This could just as easily get me killed if Strange Demon decided to turn on me.

I’d be able to read his reaction clearly, but everything after that could become a problem.

I said it with that in mind, but—

“Ahh...!!”

Strange Demon suddenly clasped both hands together and looked like he was drowning in emotion.

Not just emotion—he looked like he was about to burst into rapture.

‘What the hell is wrong with this psycho?’

Drip.

A single tear ran down his face, and then—

It started pouring.

“...As expected.... As expected, you are my new heaven. How could you already know even that....”

“......”

My instinct screamed to run right now.

He wasn’t threatening me. He wasn’t acting scary.

But to me, this was worse than either of those.

‘Jesus.’

How can madness exist that clean?

‘What the hell was the Heavenly Demon, anyway?’

What did the Heavenly Demon mean to Strange Demon, for him to react like this?

My gaze dropped.

I looked at the Divine Sword.

The Heavenly Demon inside it—who was now inside me, sitting quiet.

That was why.

“Anyway....”

I pulled my eyes off the Divine Sword and looked back at Strange Demon.

“As far as I know, the Plum Blossom Commander is a spy for HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE. And you’d still kill him?”

“If little heaven desires it, then whatever it is, I must do it for you.”

“...And you’re saying there won’t be any consequences?”

“I do not know. But whatever it is, I will carry it.”

“......”

He was saying it didn’t matter if problems exploded—he would kill the Plum Blossom Commander, and he would bear whatever came from it.

‘He’s insane.’

He really is out of his mind.

Was it really just that one fact—that he believed I was the Heavenly Demon’s bloodline—making him this deranged?

As that thought brushed past—

‘This part doesn’t seem tied to the golden seal.’

Even in the middle of all this, I was still sorting information.

Unlike earlier, when he claimed his mouth was bound and couldn’t answer, he was talking freely about killing the Plum Blossom Commander.

‘So the golden seal only covers internal information.’

I filed it away.

“So, if you wish... I will bring you that worm’s head immediately.”

Strange Demon called the Plum Blossom Commander a worm.

Confidence shimmered in his eyes.

‘Would he actually do it?’

If I told him right now to bring the Plum Blossom Commander’s head...

Would he really do it?

Would the Plum Blossom Commander die today?

While a storm of thoughts rose—

Strange Demon didn’t rush my answer.

He just kept his head bowed.

“......”

I looked at him and spoke.

“Strange Demon.”

“Yes...! Little heaven.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Want...?!”

Strange Demon lifted his head, eyes wide.

“How dare I want anything from little heaven.”

“Then you’ll follow my words like that, without wanting anything?”

“I truly want nothing. Only....”

“Only?”

I narrowed my eyes.

So there was something.

While I was thinking that—

“I only wish that everything returns to its rightful place.”

“...What do you mean?”

Everything returns to what it was?

“So something is twisted right now?”

“Yes. The world—no, we—are terribly twisted right now.”

“......”

The moment I asked, Strange Demon’s face soaked into rage.

It was sharp enough that I flinched without meaning to.

“Someone without qualification has climbed into a seat, and the ambition born of that has no pillar to hold it up—so it thrashes and shakes everything...! This is something that must never exist within the achievements that heaven built!”

“I don’t understand. Who climbed into what seat?”

“I speak of the DEMON CULT’s little master.”

“...The little master?”

The little cult leader.

Baek Cheonin came to mind immediately.

That bastard?

“The ignorant worms dared to raise someone heaven did not permit. I cannot accept it.... To leave a noble one aside and...!”

Strange Demon’s fury dug deeper and deeper.

It was far hotter than I expected.

‘He doesn’t like the current little master.’

That’s what it sounded like.

Baek Cheonin—the one who was likely leading the DEMON CULT right now.

Strange Demon kept saying he had no qualification.

Which meant—

‘Baek Cheonin isn’t the Heavenly Demon’s bloodline?’

The possibility was high.

If he was the Heavenly Demon’s child—

‘Strange Demon wouldn’t act like this.’

He would’ve worshiped Baek Cheonin the way he was worshiping me.

But he wasn’t.

So I could make a reasonable guess.

Then—

‘“Everything returns” means...’

It meant Baek Cheonin, who climbed up without qualification, needed to come down...

And someone with qualification needed to go up in that seat—

‘...Huh?’

A crease formed between my brows.

This was getting really fucking weird.

“...Strange Demon.”

“Yes! My heaven!”

“That thing you said. Returning to the rightful place.”

“Yes.”

“...Does that involve me? Are you saying I have to do something?”

“Oh my.... Hahahaha.”

Strange Demon burst out laughing.

Did I ask wrong?

I must’ve.

I clung to that thin hope, soothing myself—

“That’s right. Of course not.”

“Right?!”

Thank god. It wasn’t what I thought.

But then—

“Little heaven doesn’t need to do anything. I will handle everything myself.”

“...What?”

“Stay still. Just stay still... and when that incompetent, unqualified fool comes down.”

KUUUUNG.

Strange Demon slammed his fist into the ground.

A heavy vibration rolled out.

“Then I only ask that you climb into that seat and return everything to what it was.”

“......”

“Please.”

THUD—!

Strange Demon drove his forehead into the earth.

“Become the DEMON CULT’s new heaven.”

“...What?”

[I’ll be damned.]

I answered out loud.

Yoo Cheongil, floating in the air, covered his mouth with his hand and spoke.

[That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard.]

He wasn’t wrong.

*****

I left the space where I’d been with Strange Demon and came outside.

I was in the county.

I considered heading straight back to Mount Hua, but I didn’t.

‘Ugh.’

I felt like all my energy had been sucked out, so instead of going back to Mount Hua, I came to the county.

I had something to confirm.

And I’d already informed Teacher before this, too.

“You’re here.”

“...Yeah.”

I acknowledged Teacher, who’d been waiting for me.

“Teacher. Did something happen?”

Teacher looked at my face and asked.

I shook my head.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Where did you even go?”

“I had something to talk about with the Sect Master.”

“...Ah.”

[You psycho?]

I sold Seongheon without a second of hesitation.

Yoo Cheongil cursed at the speed of it.

What, and?

Was there an easier way to make it go down smooth?

If I tried to explain it properly, it would be a pain in the ass.

This was better.

‘Like I can even explain it.’

How would I explain any of this?

An absolute master from the Eight Demonic Ones, Strange Demon, mistook me for the Heavenly Demon’s bloodline, but the real bloodline was Yuyeon, the Sword Phoenix—

And while the Plum Blossom Commander was a spy, I thought I’d use Strange Demon to deal with him—

Except Strange Demon wants to shove me into the DEMON CULT where the Heavenly Demon’s seat is empty and make me the little master?

‘...Goddamn it.’

Even saying it was ridiculous.

And it wasn’t something I could explain.

‘This is such a fucked-up mess.’

What kind of absurd situation is this?

Not long ago, ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ I was doing bottom-rung work at the Martial Alliance.

‘And it wasn’t enough that I became the Sword Saint’s successor.’

Now if one thing went wrong, I’d end up tangled with the DEMON CULT and shoved into the little master’s seat.

‘...If I say this out loud.’

Everyone would call it bullshit.

Nobody would believe me.

But this rotten reality—

That was what pissed me off even more.

‘Fuck.’

I shouldn’t have gotten involved at all.

The moment I met Yoo Cheongil—that old bastard—everything started going wrong.

‘Damn it....’

Did I ever imagine?

That there would be a ghost that vivid in this world?

If I’d even recognized that possibility, things would’ve been fine.

But I didn’t, and now I was here.

Yeah.

It’s all that old bastard’s fault.

‘If it weren’t for him...’

I could’ve lived a peaceful life.

[What’s with that look? That’s the look of you cursing me again.]

His instincts were annoyingly sharp.

Tch.

I clicked my tongue in my head and shook it off.

‘No.’

It’s pointless.

Maybe it would’ve turned out like this anyway.

If my guess was right and heretic bastards were really here, then one way or another, problems were going to happen.

And—

‘An “accident” only visible to people with Ghost Eyes.’

Something like that.

I would’ve gotten tangled up no matter what.

Maybe being tangled up like this was better.

Even if that was basically self-comfort.

‘Enough.’

What else was there to think about?

It felt pointless.

Handling what was right in front of me came first.

With that in mind, I started walking.

My destination was the inn where the incident happened before.

More specifically, the area around it.

‘By now, Mount Hua should’ve set up a formation.’

It had been a major incident.

Mount Hua would still be controlling the area.

And sure enough, when I got near, I saw Mount Hua disciples.

I glanced at them, then headed somewhere else.

Even if we crossed paths, it wouldn’t be an issue.

Seongheon had delegated full authority to me.

Seeing them wasn’t a problem.

But right now, moving separately from Teacher was the right call.

I walked a fair distance.

Leaving Teacher—who was clearly curious—behind, I went a bit farther and—

“This place is...?”

“It’s another inn nearby.”

A small inn close to the one where things blew up.

“Is there something here too?”

“Ah, not exactly....”

It didn’t look like it was run by people tied to HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE.

But if I was being precise—

‘It does seem connected.’

That was the feeling.

The source of that info was Strange Demon.

When I asked him, this was the one place he managed to tell me.

The rest, he couldn’t.

Maybe because of the golden seal.

‘And I also ran because of the DEMON CULT nonsense.’

I didn’t want to stay there, so I’d fled like I was escaping.

‘Anyway.’

If he pointed me here, then something existed here.

That was my read.

I was about to step into the inn when—

“Hm?”

Someone was standing out front.

I narrowed my eyes at the sight.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

The person looked back at me.

It was Yuyeon.

And—

‘Who’s next to her...?’

I looked at the figure beside Yuyeon.

A giant who looked like he cleared eight cheok without effort.

A hulking man with dark, ashen skin stood at Yuyeon’s side.