By Zephyria 
“Even so…!”
“You cannot be free of responsibility for how things turned out, My Lady. The medicine you gave me failed to kill my father.”
Flinch.
Yak Seon trembled and fell silent. Her eyes wavered as she looked at Seong Mu-geuk.
It had been more than ten years since they first met.
At the time, Yak Seon was going through a painful period. Even now, she never stayed in one place for long, but back then, she had been far more unstable, wandering aimlessly wherever her feet took her.
It was during that time that she encountered Seong Mu-geuk. It was not a chance meeting. It was the result of Seong Mu-geuk desperately searching for her.
The first words Seong Mu-geuk, who was merely a teenage boy at the time, said to her after introducing himself were, ‘Please help me kill my father.’
Yak Seon was appalled.
She, too, harbored a great hatred for Seong Hyeok-gwang, but she never imagined a young boy would seek her out because he wanted to kill his own father.
Yak Seon rejected Seong Mu-geuk’s request.
Her reason was that this was not something a young boy should experience, and that he would be left with irreversible scars.
Despite her firm refusal, Seong Mu-geuk followed her tenaciously. He clung to her wherever she went and did not hesitate to act as her errand boy.
During this one-sided interaction, Yak Seon gradually came to know him.
The boy had hollow eyes and a blank expression; he lacked the vitality typical of his age.
Since Yak Seon already knew what Seong Hyeok-gwang had done to his children to revive the Demonic Cult, it was not difficult for her to imagine the horrors he must have endured while growing up.
How could Seong Hyeok-gwang properly care for a child born solely for the purpose of increasing his own power?
Yak Seon felt a strong sense of pity for the boy. When she was with him, she could escape, if only slightly, from the pain that had tormented her for so long.
Her pride suffered at the thought of showing her melancholy side to a small boy of only a dozen or so years when she was well into her own adulthood. Therefore, she forced herself to pretend to be fine, acting out the dignity of an adult, and in doing so, she actually seemed to feel better.
Yak Seon slowly accepted Seong Mu-geuk.
Their strange companionship continued for several months.
Occasionally, Seong Mu-geuk had to return to Xinjiang. It seemed he was in a situation where he could not be away for long. Whenever that happened, Yak Seon would stay in one place and wait so that Seong Mu-geuk could find her.
There were times when a glimpse of an indescribable, deep darkness within him made her heart grow cold, but for the most part, he was a diligent child who spoke little and did as he was told.
Yak Seon gradually began to find the time she spent with the boy enjoyable. It happened in an instant that the boy became one of the few joys in her life.
Yak Seon continued to wander the Central Plains. Just as she was becoming accustomed to the feeling of being two instead of one, Seong Mu-geuk vanished.
He disappeared suddenly, leaving no word, not even a short letter. Yak Seon was disappointed, but she believed there must have been a reason.
It was only after several years that the vanished Seong Mu-geuk reappeared before Yak Seon.
Meeting him after all that time, he was no longer a boy. He had grown tall, and he exuded a strange sense of boredom. And… the darkness she had felt from him had grown even denser.
Seong Mu-geuk requested the same thing as when they first met.
He asked her to ‘help him kill his father.’
That day, as if possessed by something, Yak Seon accepted his request.
The difference between medicine and poison was as thin as a sheet of paper. Depending on how it was used, it could be a medicine that cured a person or a poison that killed them.
For the first time, Yak Seon concocted a medicine to harm a human. She could not guarantee its effectiveness, but Seong Mu-geuk was satisfied and turned away without lingering.
Yak Seon wanted to stop him. She wanted to ask how he had been, or if he would like to have a cup of tea.
However, the grown Seong Mu-geuk exuded an untouchable distance, as if she simply should not do so. In the end, while she hesitated, Yak Seon forever lost the chance to make him turn back.
A few years later, the frequency with which Seong Hyeok-gwang appeared before people began to decrease noticeably, and he eventually ended up bedridden. But as she had feared, her medicine failed to kill the Cult Leader.
“So, are you punishing me for failing?”
“No. I am telling you to take a second chance. The reason you asked me to take you to the Demonic Cult Main Palace… I already know. Your purpose is to kill him with your own hands.”
“….”
Yak Seon did not answer. She neither affirmed nor denied it, but that silence was answer enough.
“You changed from the moment you made me a medicine to kill a person, My Lady.”
“….”
“To achieve a great cause, one sometimes needs the courage to endure inevitable sacrifices. I will shoulder all the sins, so please, close your eyes.”
With those words, Seong Mu-geuk left.
The disciples of the Kunlun Sect were helplessly overwhelmed by Seong Mu-geuk’s subordinates, who had taken Spirit Pills that explosively increased their inner force.
There was nothing Yak Seon could do. Seong Mu-geuk’s subordinates guarded her tightly so that she could not leave the pavilion. She had to swallow the helplessness and the surging anger as she watched a Great Sect fall.
‘I should not have followed that boy.’
If she had known she would witness such a tragedy, she would not have made such a foolish choice.
But…
If it weren’t for Seong Mu-geuk, how could she have come this close to the Demonic Cult Main Palace?
As he said, there was something she had to do.
‘Anyway, once this is over, I…’
Yak Seon ignored the events unfolding before her eyes. It was not a difficult task. As Seong Mu-geuk suggested, she closed her eyes, blocked her ears, and endured by thinking only of the goal she had to achieve.
It took less than a day for the Kunlun Sect to collapse. It was too hollow an end for the finale of a Great Sect that had firmly held its place in the Martial world for so many years.
The Divine Demon Sect headed straight for Xinjiang.
“That is the Demonic Cult Main Palace.”
Seong Mu-geuk pointed straight ahead.
The view of the Demonic Cult, which she was seeing for the first time, was more impressive than she had expected. Against the backdrop of a massive mountain range, a grand stone palace stood tall, boasting its majesty. Civilian dwellings surrounded it.
The scale was comparable to that of a decent-sized city.
Yak Seon felt a sense of pure admiration. A single Sect had formed a giant city.
However, she forced herself to swallow her emotions. Everyone in this area was a demonic cultist or their family. It was not appropriate to admire a prosperous enemy.
The residents of the civilian dwellings, having heard that the enemy was approaching, had already evacuated, leaving the area empty.
They were able to reach the main palace gates without difficulty.
As they drew closer to the gates, Yak Seon’s complexion darkened. She knew Seong Hyeok-gwang was arrogant, but this almost brought the Imperial Palace to mind.
It was a sight that allowed her to grasp the ultimate goal of the Demonic Cult, at least roughly.
“…What will you do now? You seem to lack the strength to break through the gates.”
Yak Seon sneered, making no effort to hide her discomfort. Although she had decided to ignore things, a part of her hoped that Seong Mu-geuk would be frustrated at this point.
From the gates to the walls that firmly enclosed the Main Palace… Seong Mu-geuk’s forces were pitifully small for breaking through such an impregnable fortress.
“I will not break through.”
Seong Mu-geuk stared at the gates.
“I will walk in proudly.”
“By what means?”
“Look.”
Seong Mu-geuk pointed to the gates.
Creeeeeak…
“Are the gates not opening?”
A gap opened in the sturdy gates, and indeed, they were opening. There was no struggle, no siege.
“Would it be right for the road back home to be arduous? Let us go.”
Seong Mu-geuk spoke with satisfaction and walked forward lightly. The Main Palace, which had seemed quiet and steadfast from afar, revealed how chaotic it was as they drew closer.
“Stop them! Stop those filthy traitors from opening the gates!”
“Haha! It’s already too late!”
Inside the city, demonic cultists were split into two sides, pointing their blades at each other.
As Seong Mu-geuk’s army joined in with a roar, the balanced equilibrium of power was quickly shattered. Those who followed the Divine Demon Sect cheered, and those who did not knelt before the blades.
Before long, the area was cleared, and a brief silence fell.
Everyone knelt before Seong Mu-geuk.
“Long live the Divine Sect! The Demonic Path rules the world! The Heavenly Demon has returned! All demons submit!”
Someone shouted. And that shout spread like wildfire.
“Long live the Divine Sect! The Demonic Path rules the world! The Heavenly Demon has returned! All demons submit!”
“Long live the Divine Sect! The Demonic Path rules the world! The Heavenly Demon has returned! All demons submit!”
The sound of everyone shouting in one voice echoed throughout the Main Palace.
“Seong Mu-geuk, you don’t mean…!”
Among the doctrines Seong Hyeok-gwang promoted, there was the concept of the ‘Heavenly Demon.’ It was a term referring to a so-called living god, someone unrivaled in the way of the Demon.
Seong Mu-geuk had presented himself as the ‘Heavenly Demon.’ However, he himself wore no expression, indifferently scanning those who followed him.
“Long live the Divine Sect! The Demonic Path rules the world! The Heavenly Demon has returned! All demons submit!”
“Long live the Divine Sect! The Demonic Path rules the world! The Heavenly Demon has returned! All demons submit!”
“….”
But Yak Seon could read the faint sense of loathing hidden behind his expressionless face.