Chapter 8: Heavenly Demon

Several days passed.

All seemed to be well.

After the personnel changes Ja Hwa-yeon had implemented, Left Protector Hyeok Yeon-bo remained silent, like a tiger that had sheathed its claws, offering no official resistance.

On the surface, the Demonic Cult was more stable than ever.

I suppose the physician’s words were just needless worry.

Leaning sideways on her throne, Ja Hwa-yeon rested her chin on her hand and listened to Geumgang’s peaceful report, allowing herself that fleeting thought.

Ja Hwa-yeon was, by nature, sharp and intelligent. Thus, she had kept the physician’s warning constantly in mind.

‘The Left Protector… is he truly the type of man to back down so meekly?’

She hadn’t forgotten it for a single moment. And so, with a sliver of doubt, she had continued to watch the Left Protector’s every move.

But for days, he had shown nothing more than the resignation of a defeated man.

Perhaps the physician’s warning had been nothing more than excessive apprehension. Perhaps her actions had been right after all.

It was at that very moment.

CRASH!

The heavy doors of Pandemonium were thrown open, and a low-ranking warrior, covered in blood, staggered inside.

“Supreme One! We have a crisis!”

“What is this commotion! State your report without acting so rashly.”

Geumgang, who had been guarding the throne, barked at the man, his face hard.

The warrior cried out, “A battle has broken out with the Azure Sky Alliance! Our casualties are severe!”

With a trembling hand, the warrior presented a tattered piece of a banner, emblazoned with a blue sky and white clouds—the flag of the Azure Sky Alliance.

Ja Hwa-yeon shot up from her seat.

She had given a clear order to refrain from meaningless skirmishes with those bastards from the righteous faction.

Then why?

Her voice, as cold as ice, cut through the air of Pandemonium.

“Who drew their sword first?”

At her chilling question, the warrior, unable to lift his head, mumbled in a voice that was barely a whisper.

“…It was us.”

“……”

With those words, a heavy silence fell over Pandemonium.

*

A council was convened.

Seated on her throne, Ja Hwa-yeon looked at the Ten Demons lined up before her and the defeated soldiers with their heads bowed behind them, feeling a profound sense of exhaustion.

Rage welled up inside her.

“Did I not make myself clear?”

Avoid meaningless battles.

This was Ja Hwa-yeon’s command.

She was tired. An all-out war with the Azure Sky Alliance was something neither side wanted. Even if they won, the Cult would suffer irreparable damage. It was certainly not a decision that Ja Hwa-yeon, as its monarch, would make while swept up in trivial emotions.

Just then, Geumgang’s report solidified her resolve.

“The Azure Sky Alliance has made no move yet, Your Eminence.”

She knew emotions were running high between the two factions, but if that was the case, she intended to let the matter drop this time.

But then, the Left Protector spoke.

“Should we not kill one to warn a hundred?”

At his words, the eyes of several demonic followers who had been thirsting for revenge glinted.

“If we are the first to bow our heads to those bastards from the righteous faction, the Cult’s prestige will be dragged through the mud, and they will look down on us even more in the future.”

He continued, his expression mournful but his voice powerful.

“Now is the time to restore the Cult’s dignity with blood, in the name of the Heavenly Demon, Supreme One!”

Ja Hwa-yeon understood the situation. If the source of the problem had been the righteous faction, then revenge would have been the proper course.

All wars are fought for a just cause. A war without one would lead the Cult to ruin.

But right now, the just cause belonged to the Azure Sky Alliance. It was undeniably our Cult that had launched the first attack. And it was the Azure Sky Alliance that, despite suffering damage, was waiting in silence.

“……”

But look at their eyes.

Ja Hwa-yeon glanced around. The Ten Demons and other cultists were present in the council hall. Their eyes were blazing with bloodlust.

Much had changed since they had crossed over to this world, but their fundamental nature had not. They were, at their core, demonic beings.

They did not want a rational monarch.

Nor did they want rational judgment.

They only wanted the law of the Demonic Cult: ‘blood for blood.’ The matter of who started it was of no importance.

As Ja Hwa-yeon showed a moment of hesitation, the Left Protector, Hyeok Yeon-bo, did not miss his chance.

A cunning, snake-like smile crept onto his lips.

He looked around at the other members of the Ten Demons and spoke in a grief-stricken voice, feigning the demeanor of a loyal retainer worried for his nation’s future.

“Can you not see it? The future that awaits our Cult if we remain silent.”

He sighed and continued, his voice filled with heart-wrenching sorrow.

“We will be branded as dogs who tuck their tails and run from the righteous faction.”

His incitement caused the eyes of the other demonic followers to once again burn with ferocity.

Finally, Hyeok Yeon-bo looked to Ja Hwa-yeon on her throne and delivered the finishing blow.

“If we are not careful, our Demonic Cult will be reduced to a plaything for those righteous bastards.”

With those words, he slowly knelt on one knee before all the demonic followers. Then, bowing his head, he cried out with tragic gravity.

“I beseech you… please restore the fallen prestige of our Cult!”

On the surface, it must have looked like the impassioned plea of a loyal subject.

But Hyeok Yeon-bo knew her well. She had inherited the blood of her predecessor; she was intelligent, level-headed, and not one to jeopardize the greater cause for personal feelings.

Therefore, she would never choose war.

Hyeok Yeon-bo sneered inwardly.

Everyone is watching. Your brothers and soldiers have returned, bleeding. And yet you hesitate to take revenge? Are you truly our monarch?

And in that moment, I will use that girl’s weakness as a pretext to rally the enraged followers and complete the justification for this rebellion.

Even if, by some one-in-a-million chance, that girl loses her reason and declares war, it doesn’t matter. In fact, it’s even better.

The massive damage the Cult will suffer from a war without a just cause. I can just pin all the blame on the blunder of a tyrant possessed by a Heart Demon.

No matter which choice she makes, the scales have already tipped.

For that young Heavenly Demon, there is no escape.

*

It was a peaceful afternoon.

Yoo Seon-woo was sipping a cup of coffee and reading an article on his monitor.

[Breaking News] Demonic Cult and Azure Sky Alliance in Large-Scale Armed Clash Near DMZ… Numerous Casualties Reported.

“Whoa…”

Just when things had been quiet for a few days, the Demonic Cult had attacked the Azure Sky Alliance. The report called it a clash arising from an accidental skirmish, but he knew all too well that wasn’t the case.

So this is how he’s doing it.

The Left Protector had presented Ja Hwa-yeon with a choice.

Either start a war, suffer great losses, and become an incompetent monarch.

Or remain silent and become a weak monarch.

She was now in a situation where she could neither start a war nor avoid one.

It was a checkmate.

Yoo Seon-woo took a sip of his hot coffee. A bitter taste lingered in his mouth.

“What do you plan to do?”

He had certainly shown her the way.

“Heavenly Demon.”

Yoo Seon-woo smiled quietly.

And at that same moment in Pandemonium.

Ja Hwa-yeon’s face was expressionless.

She was sharp. She knew she was trapped, no matter which path she chose. And she knew with perfect clarity that the Left Protector, who had presented her with such a choice, had finally bared his fangs.

She had thought Hyeok Yeon-bo’s actions were a momentary lust for power. A fleeting immaturity that would correct itself with a single warning.

But she was wrong.

The physician was right.

It wasn’t over.

The moment she recognized that fact, Ja Hwa-yeon was engulfed by a sudden, intense loneliness. Neither the Left Protector who was cornering her, nor the demonic followers crying for revenge, could help her. Not even Geumgang.

Just as she thought she was utterly alone in this world, a voice echoed in her mind.

The physician.

He had already known everything. From the Left Protector’s betrayal to this entire situation, he had seen through it all.

And the other words he had left her.

‘One who stands at the highest peak can never fully trust anyone. At times, you must even doubt your most cherished retainers.’

‘To protect yourself, you must be feared rather than loved.’

That was the only answer for Ja Hwa-yeon, trapped in this dead end.

Yes. Why was I agonizing over something so simple?

I don’t need to be a beloved monarch.

I don’t need to be an understood Supreme One.

I will cast aside such foolish attachments. He told me to cast them away.

To be an object of fear is to be a true monarch.

In Ja Hwa-yeon’s once-empty eyes, a cold flame ignited once more.

And.

‘If war is unavoidable, it is more advantageous to start it quickly.’

He had told her to start an unavoidable war quickly.

Ja Hwa-yeon rose from her throne. Then, turning to all the demonic followers watching her, she declared in a voice that shook all of Pandemonium.

“Ten Demons, attend to my command.”

At her words, two of the Ten Demons—the Sword Demon, Heugun, and the Blood Demon, Gwangmyeong—bowed their heads in unison.

“There is one who has disturbed the laws of the Cult, deceived me, and sent his comrades to their deaths.”

She looked down at the Left Protector with a gaze full of contempt. Then she gave an order that defied everyone’s expectations.

“Bring me the head of his accomplice, the one who conspired with him to plunge the Cult into chaos. Now.”

The Left Protector’s shoulders trembled.

This was not how he had expected things to unfold. The situation… was taking a strange turn.

The face of the Dark Venerable, Muk Un-hyeon, who stood with Hyeok Yeon-bo, turned deathly pale. But neither of them could refuse the order. To deny anything here would be tantamount to admitting treason.

Just as everyone was exchanging glances, no one daring to make a move, the large man who had been sitting with his eyes closed, as if uninterested in the entire situation, rose silently from his seat.

The Sword Demon, Heugun.

He uttered a single phrase.

“As you command.”

He reached for the sword at his waist, but no one would have seen his hand grasp the hilt.

A single flash.

Slice.

There wasn’t even time for a scream. The man’s head, along with a fountain of blood, shot into the air. The last thing the Dark Venerable’s eyes saw was probably his own body.

Thud.

The headless body collapsed to the floor.

Only then did the Left Protector, grasping the situation, shout in shock and fury.

“Wh-what is this! You bitch, Ja Hwa-yeon!”

He had been completely exposed. There was no other way now.

Just as the Left Protector gathered all his internal energy, intending to unleash it in an explosion…

“I am the Heavenly Demon.”

Ja Hwa-yeon simply extended a hand toward him. Her five slender fingers made a grasping motion in the empty air.

“And that is not a name for your filthy mouth to utter.”

There was no sound, no sign of movement.

Then, the Left Protector’s body, as if squeezed by an invisible giant’s hand, twisted at a grotesque angle…

CRACK, CRUNCH.

…and was torn exactly in half.

His bisected corpse fell limply to the ground, staining the floor of Pandemonium with blood.

The Sword Demon, Heugun, casually wiped the blood from his blade on the fallen Dark Venerable’s robes. Then, he turned back toward the throne.

For the first time, he looked up at the young monarch on the throne with eyes full of reverence. The Sword Demon had always shown her the basic courtesy due the daughter of his predecessor, but he had never truly acknowledged her as his monarch.

But not anymore.

He knelt on one knee, bowing his head low. The Sword Demon’s voice was rough and metallic, but clearer than ever as he asked, “How does it feel to walk the path of the conqueror, Supreme One?”

His voice was laced with unwavering loyalty.

“As you walk this path, my sword is yours to command.”

At his words, Ja Hwa-yeon slowly turned her head. Her gaze fell upon the other, frozen demonic followers.

The blind fury that had blazed in their eyes toward the Azure Sky Alliance was gone without a trace. In its place was a primal, pure emotion directed at her.

Fear.

That was all that filled the void.

So this was it.

Not a beloved monarch.

Physician.

But an object of fear.

The way a monarch protects herself.

This time, too…

He was right.

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Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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