KHHK......!!

Someone lurched upright, gagging. As the huge body moved, the bed shook hard.

“KHK—HK....... KH—!!”

Even after that, the man clutched his throat and coughed violently. It was Taema. Ox Duke.

“Huff....... Hff.”

“Hmm. You’re awake?”

At the languid voice, Ox Duke’s gaze snapped toward the source. Strange Demon was sitting on the table. The way he quietly drank water looked so peaceful it was almost ridiculous.

Seeing that, Taema’s brow furrowed as he shouted.

“What happened......!”

“Ow.”

Strange Demon winced at the yell.

“Don’t shout. The room’s small—why are you being so loud?”

“Answer me, Strange Demon......!”

“What do you mean, what happened. You were lying on the bed like an idiot—can’t you tell?”

“......What?”

“You lost. You.”

“......!”

At the word lost, Ox Duke’s eyes widened like lanterns. Lost? Me? Ox Duke let out a low, stunned sound.

“......Impossible....... That can’t be true.”

“Did you hit your head? It looked fine.”

“I lost to that brat?”

BANG—!!

“Oh my.”

Taema, unable to hold his rage, swung his fist. The impact cratered the wall.

“Don’t bullshit me—!”

“A man who can’t accept reality isn’t attractive, Taema. How about you get your head on straight first?”

“You—!”

Strange Demon kept scraping at him until Taema finally snapped. He gathered power and tried to stand—

STAGGER!

“......Kgh!?”

His massive body collapsed.

THUD!

One knee slammed into the floor as he barely caught himself.

“Kgh....... Hff.......”

“Looks like you’re not in good shape. Don’t waste strength. You’ll collapse again.”

“This...... what is this.......”

Ox Duke stared at his own hand. Something was wrong. That alien sensation—he tried to draw up energy.

ZZZT!!

“KH—!!”

A monstrous pain tore through him. The energy wouldn’t wrap around him properly. What the hell was going on? He forced his eyes open in panic—

“Looks like there was a restriction on you.”

“......A restriction? A restriction?”

“Yes. Moon Hero—that righteous brat—seems to have planted something on you.”

“......Impossible......! This body is—!”

“Right. A precious body the little master personally blessed.”

“......Then why.......”

If the little master had bestowed a blessing, there was no way a restriction could be placed over it. Not even the HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE lord could lay a hand on this body.

That was a secret art passed down through DIVINE RELIGION for a long time.

‘A restriction on this body?’

How could that be possible? He couldn’t understand. There was only one possible case.

‘A higher-level blessing.’

Something transmitted only within DIVINE RELIGION. Unless he’d received an even higher blessing, it should be impossible.

‘......No.’

There was no way. Who was that bastard to place a blessing higher than this? This had to be some kind of trick.

“Strange Demon....... Remove the restriction from my body. Now.”

“Oh?”

Strange Demon looked at him like he was ridiculous.

“You’re ordering me outright? That’s hilarious.”

“The blessing the little master bestowed has been compromised......! Remove the restriction—!”

SMACK!

“KHK!”

Ox Duke’s head snapped upward. Strange Demon had appeared and smashed him in the face.

“I let you slide and you get arrogant.”

“......You bastard......!”

Ox Duke flared, eyes bulging—but Strange Demon’s hand was already moving.

SMACK—! SMACK! Fists hammered his face again and again.

Blood spread in an instant.

DRIP—DRIP!

Chunks of blood hit the floor, and Ox Duke forced himself to endure the pain.

“......You...... bastard....... You.......”

“You couldn’t even complete the mission and you’ve got a filthy mouth. Pathetic.”

“Kgh.......”

“You even interfered and made what we had to do complicated. What should we do about that?”

“......What?”

At Ox Duke’s reaction, Strange Demon pulled something out with his hand.

A stake.

“Our task was to calculate distances across this Shaanxi region and drive in all the stakes. Your task was to capture the Plum Blossom Swordsmen and store their blood, right?”

“......That.......”

“But you barged in and interfered, and on top of that you lost—so now things are complicated on our side too. Everyone’s attention got drawn here.”

Now it was awkward to drive in stakes. At that, Ox Duke ground his teeth.

“Bullshit. You’re telling me you didn’t even anticipate that?”

“Do you think I know everything in the world? I don’t know your sudden, impulsive actions too. If I knew even that, I wouldn’t have lost to Cheonrijinan.”

“.......”

He mentioned his defeat as if it were nothing, and Ox Duke fell silent instead.

Then he redirected his emotion and said,

“It’s a lie.”

“You just don’t want to believe it. Because you suspect me.”

“.......”

“We even swore an oath with Heaven on our lips—so why don’t you believe me? I don’t understand.”

He’d said he would serve the little Heaven. And yet Ox Duke didn’t believe him.

“Believe it or don’t, I don’t care. The result is you tangled things up. Thanks to you, I’m about to fall even further out of the little master’s favor.”

“......And you actually cared about that?”

“Of course. I told you.”

Strange Demon smiled brightly.

“I’ll live for the little Heaven.”

“.......”

“Get ready to move. To properly fix that pathetic body of yours...... we’ll have to return to DIVINE RELIGION in the end.”

“......What about you?”

“I have to clean up what you ruined.”

“......Ha.”

So go do it alone. Taema’s eyes hardened.

“You’re hiding something.”

“Oh my?”

“......You’re definitely hiding something.”

“Why do you keep suspecting me? I can’t do anything more.”

Strange Demon shrugged and stood. He wiped the blood off his hands roughly, then spoke to Taema.

“Please tell the little master I’m sorry. It’s work, yes, but...... there’s an eye stuck to me, so I think I need to manage that.”

“......An eye?”

“The Sword Emperor.”

“......!”

“That evil ghost is being annoying.”

“......The Sword Emperor is here?”

“Ha.”

At Taema’s words, Strange Demon scoffed.

“You really don’t know anything, do you?”

“......Grit.”

At the mockery, Taema clenched his teeth.

“If I’m going to send you back alive, I have to move too. So be good. And stop pushing back.”

As if Taema’s reaction didn’t matter, Strange Demon kept ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) smiling.

“If word gets out that an Eight Demonic Ones lost to a late-generation youth, the demonic disciples will just love that.”

“You bastard—!!!”

BANG—!!

In the middle of his rage, Taema took a blow to the abdomen and rolled across the floor.

“I’ll go first. See you again next time, our useless Taema.”

“......STRANGE DEMON—!!!”

CREEEAK. BANG.

The door closed, and the noise died.

He’d probably done it because he didn’t want to hear any more.

“Hmm.”

Leaving Taema behind, Strange Demon walked forward slowly.

The smile vanished from his face.

“Seriously.......”

What a sharp bastard.

It was laughable that Taema suspected him, but he still had to admit what needed admitting.

That bastard had good instincts.

So he should’ve killed him.

But—

“What does our Heaven desire.......”

His vast existence. The new Heaven, the god who would be worshiped.

He hadn’t wanted Taema dead.

Why?

It was strange, and yet—

“How dare you think.”

What his Heaven wanted—that wasn’t for him to judge.

With that thought, Strange Demon moved.

And at the same time—

‘Your head is held high.’

“......Hhk.”

Remembering that electric Heaven from back then, Strange Demon shuddered.

That arrogant, towering gaze. Eyes that refused to want anything above him.

Strange Demon couldn’t hide his excitement as he recalled that searing stare.

“Ah.......”

O Heaven.

“......I want to see you soon.”

Strange Demon bit down on his nails, chewing, trying to force the emotion back down.

*****

Cold.

A dry, barren place.

A child spread a hand open and stared at the palm. The frostbitten hand looked faintly bluish.

What was it.

What happened.

He couldn’t remember.

‘......Please.......’

The last words his mother had said.

‘Please....... Please, get out.......’

Get out—where, and how? He didn’t know. His mother was killed by strangers.

And the child lost consciousness.

When he opened his eyes—

“.......”

The white snowfield was stained red and red.

A sickening smell stabbed into his nose, and only then did the child look to the side.

His mother’s corpse, already cold.

And he was sitting there.

“Ah....... Ah.......”

No words came out.

“Uh.......”

With trembling fingertips, he grabbed his mother’s hand, already turned cold.

He didn’t know what had happened. He just endured it.

Why.

Why did it turn into this?

‘Mom!’

‘N-no......!’

It started when he called out, not seeing his mother hiding.

And so this happened.

And the child’s voice, staring at his mother with her breath stopped, stopped too. With one word, he’d lost everything.

“......Ah.......”

With a voice that wouldn’t come, he clung to her.

And shook. And shook.

After he’d been shaking for a long time—

“.......”

As the blood slowly spread across the ground, the child’s trembling stopped. Something was strange.

FSSSS.

Heat began rising through his body, slowly, in the cold.

With corpses and death beside him, his body was reacting on its own.

Something.

Something is coming.

SKRIIIIITCH—!!!

“Ah....... Ah.......”

More.

It felt like he had to do more. What was he trying to do? He had to do something, but he didn’t know what.

He didn’t know. He was too young, too ignorant.

But because he was ignorant, it was sweet. If he just surrendered his body to the guest who’d arrived, everything would be comfortable.

He recognized that instinctively.

Should he? The temptation surged up the back of his head—

‘Is it tasty?’

“.......”

The child went rigid.

‘Eat more. Eat this too.’

Because a face rose up in his mind for no reason.

‘You eat well.’

“......Ah.......”

If he surrendered to instinct like this—

He would forget this memory. And forget that child.

That thought made the child force strength into his whole body.

He went hard like stone. It felt like he couldn’t move even a little.

And as he stayed buried in the cold, slowly cooling—

“......Come with me.”

A voice came.

At the faint sound, he opened his eyes. His mind was already gone, so he couldn’t even recognize who it was.

“Let’s go to spring.”

He didn’t know who.

But it didn’t matter who. Just save me.

That was the heart he had when he took the hand.

And the other hand was wrinkled and old.

But strangely warm.

TAP.

“.......”

Yuyeon opened her eyes.

Not the cold scenery—warm air brushed her skin.

In the quiet place, Yuyeon slowly lifted her head.

In front of her lay her master, stretched out like a corpse.

“.......”

‘Let’s go to spring.’

The one who’d said cold places were bad, that they should go somewhere warm—

Was going somewhere colder than anyone now.

“.......”

Yuyeon stared at him and slowly reached out, wanting to hold his hand, even once.

In that moment—

BANG—!!

“Are you in here?”

“......!”

The back door flew open and someone appeared.

White hair. Blue eyes.

Bang Sungyeon.

Why? Why did he show up now? His body—was he okay?

For an instant, joy and worry collided inside her.

Then—

“Ah. There you are.”

Bang Sungyeon smiled at Yuyeon.

“Let’s go. Now.”

“......?”

Along with that smile—

SHING.

“......!!”

A flash flew at Yuyeon.

BANG—!

She barely avoided the strike. Bang Sungyeon seized her by the collar.

And threw her out of the room.

THUD.

Something dropped in front of Yuyeon as she landed on the dirt.

What is that?

It was something tied up in cloth.

“Catch.”

“.......”

At the order, Yuyeon grabbed it without thinking and untied the cloth.

It was a sword.

A battered sword, its edge ruined. Yuyeon frowned at it.

What is this? Why did he give it to her?

She didn’t understand, so she looked up at Bang Sungyeon—

“Alright. Now let’s go a round.”

“......?”

He spat out something absurd.