Saaaaa—

It was as if a huge eye had hidden itself inside the shadows. The slick, glistening eyeball gazed at me faintly, and I forced myself to stay calm, as though deliberately ignoring it.

When did it latch on?

When the hell had it attached itself to me? If I had to guess, probably when I met the Death King.

That sense of wrongness I’d felt ever since then. By the time I noticed it, it had already been too late.

This is ridiculous.

I’d been late. The fact that something like that had attached itself to me and I hadn’t noticed—that was the part that bothered me the most.

...Just how precise is it?

It used a spirit like that, and I still didn’t notice?

This is troublesome.

More than disgust, what I felt was trouble. Even as I felt that fishy sensation—

[That disgusting bitch has made her move.]

The Heavenly Demon showed fierce emotion, as if he knew exactly what that eye was.

He clearly knew something. But—

[As long as that thing is there, I cannot remain for long. If that bitch notices, it will become troublesome.]

...Who exactly are you calling that bitch?

[You already have a guess, so I will not bother explaining. Deal with it yourself.]

No—

Before I could even finish, the Heavenly Demon’s presence disappeared. The old bastard had really vanished.

...That’s unbelievably cheap.

If he was going to do that, he could at least have explained it properly first. These damn evil spirits always said whatever they wanted and vanished.

...No.

I clicked my tongue inwardly and thought it through.

The Heavenly Demon was right. Just like he said, I already knew.

Probably.

The kind of person who could stick an eye like this on me. It had already been the same after I met the Death King, but—

For now, it’s not the Death King.

It wouldn’t be the Death King. The man was unpleasant and uncomfortable, sure, but—

At best...

With that level of spiritual power, he couldn’t have planted something like this on me.

At least, not the Death King I’d seen.

Then...

Did that leave only one person?

...The woman I heard had gotten involved with the Death King lately.

And a woman who bore ill will toward the Azure Moon Sect.

The greatest beauty under heaven.

Bow Ghost.

If I had to pin it on someone, it was probably her.

Tsk.

She’d done it to Yu Yul too, but for there to be someone who could use something like this—

If it really was Bow Ghost—

Why is she in Henan?

I had no idea why she would bother being here, or why she’d placed something like this on me.

What should I do?

I thought about it for a moment. I considered pretending I’d noticed and getting rid of it.

But with the way the Heavenly Demon reacted...

I decided it wasn’t something I needed to handle immediately.

So—

The Demonic Cult bastards are a problem too.

I set this aside for the moment.

I was keeping my eyes away from it with that thought in mind when—

Saaaak.

I felt the gaze beyond the eye deepen in an odd way.

*****

Slide. Rustle.

Amid the brushing sound, an old man groaned. His staggering movements were thick with pain.

“...Ghk.”

Just as he kept hunching over and faltering, clearly in agony—

“You look awful.”

“...”

In front of the old man sat a woman with one leg crossed over the other, gazing down at him.

Pure white hair, and cold eyes that suited it.

The eerie air inside them seemed to change the atmosphere itself.

“Are you all right?”

“...I’m fine... I’m fine.”

“Yes, that’s good. Of course you should be.”

The woman did not seem to care much about the old man’s unsteady state.

For all the noble stillness in her gaze, there was not the slightest trace of worry in it.

Not even a little.

“You cannot afford to be this incompetent, can you?”

“...Yes. You’re right.”

The old man slowly rose to his feet. The [N O V E L I G H T] pain was still visible, but even so, he stood.

For the sake of the woman who looked far younger than he did.

“Hm.”

The woman stared at the old man.

“How interesting...”

His condition was interesting. No matter what, he was not someone who should have suffered a counterattack like that.

Malice wrapped around his whole body.

The woman flicked a hand.

Pssht—! The spiritual energy wound around the old man’s throat burned away on the spot.

“Khk!”

Only then did the old man drag in a rough breath.

“Was it the child’s doing?”

“...I don’t believe so.”

The old man said, steadying his breathing.

“That child is exceptional, yes. But not to the extent that he could make a fool of me like this.”

“You’re certain?”

“...Yes.”

“How cute. Making declarations in front of me like that.”

“...!”

There was a quiet coldness in the woman’s voice.

At that, the old man hurriedly tried to explain himself, but—

“It’s all right. I was joking.”

The woman said it with a blank face.

“The child really can see, then?”

“...I am certain.”

“Really? But if he has such remarkable eyes...”

Why was he not even looking at the trap she had set?

She had even kept prodding at it, yet gotten no response.

How could that be possible?

Unless he felt absolutely nothing—

If he felt even the slightest thing—

There was no way he could act like that. Not with how much she had compressed into it.

If even a trace of it brushed against him, he should have convulsed and fainted. And he was simply ignoring it?

Impossible.

The woman smiled. Was there really anyone else capable of that?

Other than that sanctimonious man?

The former Sky of the Demonic Cult, who had possessed those accursed eyes.

Other than that damned man, there could not be another like that.

Especially—

And the inheritor of that illustrious Yoo Cheongil, no less.

Yoo Cheongil, the Sword Saint.

The inheritor of a man she could tear to pieces and still not be satisfied. She refused to believe that boy could possess such unsettling talent.

If he did, there was no way she would have failed to see it.

“Then.”

If it was not the child, then it meant someone nearby had been capable of striking back instead.

Was there someone around here?

At the very least, none of the priestesses she had planted were.

With that thought, the woman tilted her head.

“Oh Hyeong.”

“...Yes, Master.”

Calling the old man by name, she said,

“I’m curious about that child.”

“...You mean the Bang Family child?”

“That’s right. That insolent child called Moon Hero.”

The woman smiled. The moment her eyes curved, the area around her seemed to brighten.

“Bring him to me quietly. No matter what method you have to use.”

“...”

At the woman’s words, Oh Hyeong—the Death King—bowed his head.

“...I obey... your command.”

In the middle of the night, the Death King received the command of the white-eyed woman.

“Then.”

The Death King lowered his head once, almost enough to touch the ground, then vanished from sight.

“Hm.”

Left alone, the woman leisurely tipped up her chin.

“Now then.”

She turned to look behind her.

“Let’s hear what you have to say too, shall we?”

Behind her stood a young man with red eyes.

The Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult was waiting for her with a stiff expression.

*****

I’m sorry to ask this of you.

It was a damned dream.

The instant I heard those words, that was the thought that came to mind. Anyone hearing that line would know it right away.

Ah, I haven’t had this one in a while.

It was a dream I hadn’t been having lately. It felt like it had been at least a year since the last time, so why all of a sudden now?

I looked at her with flat eyes.

...Please take care of my daughter.

At the woman’s weak words, the much younger me replied.

I’m sorry, but I don’t take requests like that.

A rude tone. Anyone hearing it would think, What a complete little bastard.

Still, that didn’t matter. Rejecting her had been the right thing to do from the start.

Only—

Even so.

I did wonder whether I really had to be that cold about it.

Is that so?

Even after hearing me, the woman only smiled.

A terribly sorrowful smile.

I frowned at her.

She’ll manage on her own. So stop worrying about her and go. If this child matters to you, then especially so.

I looked down at the even smaller child sleeping in my small arms.

As if she’d cried herself empty, her eyes were swollen shut as she slept.

Thank you.

The hand reaching toward her daughter was weary. No matter how clumsily it reached, it could not touch its destination.

So I did it instead.

With clumsy hands, I stroked the child’s hair.

...Thank you.

The same words of gratitude. But the weight behind them was different.

I watched the woman slowly fade away.

Seongyeon.

I listened to the voice calling me so softly. Even so, I spoke first.

I said this already. I don’t take requests.

It’s not a request.

Then what is it?

Even as she slowly turned to light, the woman left me with her words.

Please, you must—

The words broke off. Before the ending could finish, I opened my eyes.

“...”

The moment I saw the ceiling, I sat up.

“...Ah, for fuck’s sake.”

Even after all this time, that damned dream still left a stale taste in my mouth.

Out of habit, I reached for the cup of water on the table.

I was about to drink the water in the room, when—

“Here you are.”

“Ah, thanks.”

I accepted the cup so naturally that I just chugged it down.

Ah, I could breathe again now. The coldness was especially nice.

“Would you like another?”

“Yes, please, I’d appre—”

I stopped mid-sentence and turned to the side.

“...”

“Good morning.”

At my side sat someone greeting me in an all too familiar posture.

It was Freak Demon, dressed as a woman.

“...What are you doing here?”

Normally, I should have jumped out of my skin the moment I saw him.

But I didn’t.

That meant this much wasn’t enough to shock me anymore.

What the hell has my life become?

Was it really right that I’d grown this used to it?

“...”

A lot of thoughts crossed my mind, but I let them pass for the moment.

“I apologize for calling on you this early in the morning.”

Freak Demon spoke with an expression that looked genuinely apologetic.

“I came because I had something to tell you.”

“...All right.”

I shook the lingering drowsiness from my head.

Freak Demon had come to see me at this hour. That alone made it clear something wasn’t normal.

—Is it all right for you to be coming here like this? You’ve got your own business on that side too.

I switched to voice transmission.

—It’s fine. I’ve dealt with it so there won’t be any problems.

Freak Demon, sharp as ever, switched to voice transmission as well.

As far as I knew, Freak Demon was currently participating from the Young Cult Leader’s side as one of the Demonic Cultists.

—Were the ones there really the Eight Demons?

—Yes. They are the Eight Demons currently under the Young Cult Leader.

—...Hm.

Just as I’d expected. The number matched, and so did the feeling. So it really was them.

He brought the Eight Demons to the Murim Alliance...

The Eight Demons were the Demonic Cult’s highest military force, weren’t they?

Even when the Heavenly Demon had still been around, the Eight Demons had been extraordinary beings. And he brought all of them into the Murim Alliance?

What is he trying to do?

I couldn’t begin to guess the Young Cult Leader’s objective. Especially since—

—...How did they fill the numbers?

The Sword Demon had died by my hand.

More precisely, Yoo Cheongil had used my hand to kill the Sword Demon.

Then the number should not still have been eight.

But there were eight of them.

Eight including Freak Demon. Where had they found another one to fill the Eight Demons?

At that, Freak Demon answered me with a troubled expression.

—I have not heard anything about that part either.

—What?

Freak Demon hadn’t heard?

—At present, even the Eight Demons do not know one another’s identities. It was an order from the current Young Cult Leader.

—...That’s—

What kind of insane stunt was that?

The Eight Demons didn’t know each other’s identities?

—And besides.

Looking at me, Freak Demon spoke with a grave expression.

—This is the main reason I came to tell you, Sky....

At the careful tone—

—The Young Cult Leader has made contact with Bow Ghost, one of the beings beyond heaven.

—...?

My brow furrowed.

At the same time, the eye inside my shadow gave a tiny twitch.