Chapter 1847 – 1847. The Ascension Of Light
A week had passed since I was officially recognized as the Little Heavenly Demon.
The Heavenly Demon was still in seclusion, so I hadn’t had a chance to meet him. The Little Heavenly Demon Palace, where I was staying, was partially destroyed by the battle, so repairs were underway. Whether it was a technical issue or not, progress was quite slow.
In addition, all the people who had previously worked at the Little Heavenly Demon Palace were sent out, and new ones were to be selected. Since the owner had changed, it was only natural to erase the scent of the previous one. In fact, there were fewer than ten servants working at the Little Heavenly Demon Palace. This was because Cheon Yu-un was such a sly fellow that he didn’t like having people in his territory.
‘If the altar in the basement were to be discovered, everything he had built up would collapse.’
When I arrived at the Little Heavenly Demon Palace, I headed straight to the basement. To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, the first thing to do was to get rid of the altar.
I was going to call people to destroy the underground altar, partly to tarnish the reputation of the deceased Cheon Yu-un, but when I entered the Little Heavenly Demon Palace, the underground altar had disappeared without a trace, leaving an empty space. I immediately knew who was responsible.
‘It must be the work of the higher-ups. There are already those who have seen the Ghost Hand Asura, so they must be moving quickly.’
It seemed the Heavenly Demon had decided to investigate Cheon Yu-un’s affairs. There was no other way. If the information that Cheon Yu-un had traded with the Netherworld reached the Imperial Family, the very existence of the Heavenly Demon Cult could be jeopardized.
‘Since they’re going this far, I should cooperate too.’
I checked the budget allocated to the Little Heavenly Demon Palace. There was a reason why Cheon Yu-un had joined hands with the Yu-un Trading Company or created the Ink Lotus. The budget for the Little Heavenly Demon Palace was only enough to manage the palace itself.
‘There aren’t as many perks as I thought.’
If I had to say, the Little Heavenly Demon title itself was a perk. The Little Heavenly Demon meant the official successor of the Heavenly Demon. Just being the Little Heavenly Demon was enough to receive preferential treatment in the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Over the past week, most of the Heavenly Demon Cult members had questions about me. It was only natural to have doubts and confusion since the Little Heavenly Demon had suddenly changed. And among them, those with quick minds came to me with bribes.
I accepted the bribes appropriately. It was partly because I was greedy for the bribes, but also because I needed to build my foundation, even if it was like this. Unlike Cheon Yu-un, who had grown up as the Little Heavenly Demon since birth, I was a rolling stone that had dislodged a fixed one.
‘If I act too clean, I’ll only make more enemies. I need to be dirty enough.’
Cheon Yu-un may have outwardly pursued a perfect Heavenly Demon, but I wasn’t. I didn’t care if my reputation dropped a little. After all, since I had killed Cheon Yu-un and taken his place, it would be difficult for my reputation to improve.
The Heavenly Jade I received as bribes was quite lucrative. I already had 204 Heavenly Jades.
And then, First-Class Imperial Guard Baek Ran returned to the Heavenly Demon Cult with the elders of the cult and the heads of the demonic clans. She entered the Heavenly Demon Cult with great confidence. She headed straight to the Heavenly Demon Palace.
The elders looked at me with a sullen expression and gaze, while the demonic clan heads smiled faintly, supporting me. Of course, I needed to convince them, so I used the Heavenly Demon Divine Art right in front of them.
“…It’s definitely the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.”
“Now I understand the rumors that started in the Heavenly Demon Tomb.”
“Since the Heavenly Demon has acknowledged him, he is the rightful Little Heavenly Demon.”
“In terms of martial arts, he is even higher than Cheon Yu-un.”
I had various conversations with them. The demonic clan heads were friendly to me, probably because they had been promised benefits through Baek Ran. The elders were ambiguous. It felt like they were still probing me.
‘There’s a Sword Demon among the elders.’
It was Yeon Seo-rang, the third elder and also Yeon Ye-ha’s father. I wanted to get close to him. The Sword Demon was quite capable in the original story. However, it wasn’t easy, just as Cheon Yu-un had only won the Sword Demon’s heart in the mid-to-late part of the original story. He was maintaining a neutral stance with a firm attitude.
‘The Sword Demon and I are at the same level, but… there’s quite a difference. I can’t beat him right now. Maybe when I become a Transcendent Heavenly Demon.’
I was at the Third Stage of the Initial Realm, and the Sword Demon was at least at the Middle Stage or higher. He was so strong that I couldn’t tell exactly how much of a difference there was.
The Sword Demon’s eyes looking at me were indifferent. It was clear that he didn’t know about my relationship with Yeon Ye-ha at all. Well, there was no way Yeon Ye-ha would tell anyone about their relationship of mutual rape.
‘It’s better not to provoke him. There’s no benefit to be gained from messing with him.’
So I stayed quiet.
Without incident.
Just like anyone else, showing a moderate amount of greed.
“I heard you declared your name as Seong Yu-jin, not Yeom Gu-seok. Is there a reason for changing your name?”
One of the elders asked.
“Seong Yu-jin is my real name.”
“…Why did you use a fake name all this time?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I see. What is your relationship with the First-Class Imperial Guard?”
“We met by chance? We might become closer in the future.”
“……”
The elder frowned. He looked at me as if trying to figure me out. I didn’t avoid his gaze and met his eyes.
As the sun set, all the guests left. And after the sun had completely set, Baek Ran came to visit. She entered the Little Heavenly Demon Palace, swaggering, and sat in front of me as if she were familiar with the place.
“The work was successfully completed. Much more so than expected.”
I took out a can of beer from my spatial storage and handed it to her. Baek Ran accepted the beer can without hesitation. She opened the can with a familiar flick of her fingers.
Gulp.
A smile appeared on her lips as she drank the cool beer.
“As expected, the drinks you give are delicious.”
“Did you meet the Heavenly Demon?”
“I went to meet him. But I couldn’t. The Heavenly Demon has entered secluded training. The Heavenly Demon’s guardians greeted me.”
“…The Heavenly Demon really went into seclusion?”
“The Heavenly Demon Throne was empty.”
“Heavenly Demon Throne?”
It was the first time I had heard that word. She looked at me as if surprised.
“I thought you would know since it’s a fact known to anyone with a certain level of information… Don’t you know?”
I didn’t know. It didn’t appear in the original story. Judging by the name, was it something like the Heavenly Demon’s chair?
“Do I need to know?”
“Knowledge and information are power. It’s helpful to know. The Heavenly Demon Throne is a throne that only the Heavenly Demon can sit on.”
Baek Ran took another sip of beer and continued.
“As you know, demonic arts aren’t called demonic arts for nothing. They’re dangerous and heretical, that’s why they’re demonic arts. The Heavenly Demon Divine Art is also a demonic art. The Heavenly Demon Divine Art is more prone to Qi Deviation than other demonic arts. That’s why only a few humans can master the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. The Cheon family, the bloodline of the First Heavenly Demon, are born with it. But it’s not perfect. Even those of the Cheon bloodline often fall into Qi Deviation. The Heavenly Demon Throne helps in those times.”
“Does the Heavenly Demon Throne eliminate Qi Deviation?”
“No. Only one can overcome Qi Deviation by oneself. The Heavenly Demon Throne only helps one endure Qi Deviation.”
“It’s quite an amazing object.”
“For a Heavenly Demon who has fallen into Qi Deviation to leave the Heavenly Demon Throne and go into seclusion… it means he has resolved to overcome his inner demons and break free from Qi Deviation. He has found a clue to eliminate his inner demons.”
“Is that so?”
“You’re too calm. This is a variable. It’s not good for me or you.”
“Well, if the Heavenly Demon overcomes it, it will take more time for me to ascend to the Heavenly Demon’s position.”
Baek Ran was still serious. I realized that the Heavenly Demon from before my regression had died due to Qi Deviation. The Heavenly Demon didn’t live long in the original story either. With Cheon Yu-un’s death, or for some other reason, the future had changed.
I was used to it, so I didn’t care. The predetermined future changing was a common occurrence.
But from Baek Ran’s perspective, variables wouldn’t be welcome. It meant that her experiences from before the regression would become useless. It was in her best interest to lead the future as similarly as possible to before the regression.
“Tell me. What exactly happened on the day you killed Cheon Yu-un?”
I pondered. Should I tell her everything as it was, or hide some of it?
It was impossible to completely conceal what had happened that day. It was better to tell her.
“…Did you swear allegiance to the Emperor?”
“To become a First-Class Imperial Guard, one has no choice but to swear allegiance to His Majesty the Emperor. One must be perfect in talent, martial prowess, and loyalty to become a guard.”
“Can you die if the Emperor tells you to? Can you give up your life for the Emperor?”
“……”
Baek Ran just smiled.
That was the answer. If she had truly sworn allegiance to the Emperor, she would have been angry and criticized me, not remained silent.
The original story of the regressed Heavenly Demon was [Heavenly Demon’s Revenge]. According to that title, Baek Ran was just a vengeful spirit running for revenge.
‘Although the contents of [Heavenly Demon’s Revenge] have changed 180 degrees as various worlds have mixed… it seems that her desire for revenge is still the same.’
I told her what had happened when I killed Cheon Yu-un. I didn’t hide the altar that was in the basement of the Little Heavenly Demon Palace either.
“…To think that Cheon Yu-un had directly made a contract with the Netherworld.”
“He was cornered, unlike how he appeared. Enough to join hands with the Netherworld. He said that more than half of what he was doing had failed.”
“Hmm. I see.”
She emptied her beer can as if the cause of that failure was nothing, and held out her hand to me. I was slightly impressed by her brazenness and handed her a new can of beer.
“The Ghost Hand Asura is something you can’t handle right now, so how did you win? According to the Heavenly Demon Cult’s eyewitness accounts, a huge demonic energy was felt at the time.”
“…I used the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Art.”
Baek Ran’s eyes widened as if they would tear.
“Heaven-Shattering Demonic Art?! The Heaven-Shattering Demonic Art I know?! How are you still alive after using that?”
“I was born with the energy of a star.”
“I know that. What star’s energy were you exactly born with?”
“The Heavenly General Star.”
“……Hoo. The Heavenly General Star, said to be the best of the stars. It seems that the reason you’re unharmed even after using the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Art is because of that star’s power.”
Baek Ran tried to hide her excitement. I looked at her hair. My hair had also turned white when I used the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Art. Her white hair might be related to the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Art.
“That’s right. And the Heavenly General Star can temporarily use the power of other stars.”
Clunk.
She stopped holding the beer can. As if time had stopped. But her trembling pupils showed that time was still flowing.
“…That’s something. A great ability. But there must be limitations, right? There’s no way you can temporarily use the power of a great star like the Purple Forbidden Star…”
“There are conditions, but I can perfectly use the power of other stars. I actually killed the Ghost Hand Asura and Cheon Yu-un with the power of the Heavenly Slaughter Star.”
“……”
Baek Ran’s hardened face relaxed. Her eyes and mouth curved into a soft smile.
“Now I understand why the Heavenly Demon went into seclusion. You’re a much more amazing man than I thought.”
Baek Ran would be greedy for my power. At least for the power of the Heavenly Slaughter Star. Judging from the Yu-un Trading Company incident before, Baek Ran’s targets for revenge would also be in the Netherworld. The power of the Heavenly Slaughter Star, which could completely kill anyone, was bound to be tempting.
‘She’s probably adjusting my value upward in her head.’
The psychology of a regressed avenger is obvious. She’s probably thinking of using everything she can.
‘I’m riding the regressor coin, and you’re riding the Heavenly General Star coin.’
I raised my beer can and lightly clinked it against her beer can.
‘Now, let’s get close for each other’s purposes.’
She and I drank beer late into the night. There was no incident of her, drunk, attacking me. Baek Ran was very strong against alcohol.
[The game is over.]
