Chapter 1050: The Divine Tree and the Master.

My furrowed brow wouldn’t smooth out at the Heavenly Demon’s words.

Swoosh.

The flowing stream calmly flowed into the pond before me, and the sunset sky gave off the same colors as before.

Chirp. Chirp chirp.

Birdsong, seemingly natural yet artificial, spread through my ears.

After a long silence, I finally managed to speak.

“……Younger sibling.”

Yarang. No, the Divine Sword is the Heavenly Demon’s younger sibling.

This didn’t mean much.

It was literal.

It meant the two were twins.

They might not be twins, but if they looked that identical, only one conclusion could be drawn.

Twins.

Meaning the Heavenly Demon and Wi Seol-ah were twins.

Recalling that, I bit my lip.

“…I had expected it.”

How could I not know? From the moment I grasped the Heavenly Demon’s obscured face.

From the point I realized the woman I tried so hard to protect was within that face.

It was a fact I had already considered.

How could I not know? It was absurd enough that identical faces existed. And for those who existed like that…

“Of all people, the Heavenly Demon and the Divine Sword?”

They were individuals who could be called sworn enemies without question.

One was the calamity of the Central Plains, and the other was the hero who saved the world from that calamity.

They were polar opposites.

“How.”

Could this happen?

No one had ever shown it.

“Let’s say the Heavenly Demon is one thing.”

Did the Divine Sword not know either? Others said the Heavenly Demon’s face was unrecognizable.

Because of that, I heard she didn’t know she looked identical to the Divine Sword.

“Did the Divine Sword know this as well?”

Separate from what the current Heavenly Demon knows. Did the Heavenly Demon back then not know?

If the Heavenly Demon’s words were true, in my view, the Divine Sword likely didn’t know.

“Then.”

If the Divine Sword truly was the Heavenly Demon’s twin sibling, as she said.

“Does that mean she’s also ultimately the Blood Demon’s daughter?”

Yongje.

Or the Blood Demon.

That bastard who spewed incomprehensible objectives, claiming he’d create paradise in the Central Plains.

He called the Heavenly Demon his daughter. Then.

“That means Wi Seol-ah is also a daughter.”

How could that be possible?

The Blood Demon was a being sealed away long ago.

Although he was currently hiding his presence by using Jang Seong-yeon’s body.

“Even so.”

Even so, it wasn’t his actual body.

Didn’t Hwang Ah-bulyeong say it?

“That he separated the Blood Demon’s body and energy, even erasing the five senses.”

I don’t know how he managed that, but if it happened as Bulyeong said, it’s impossible for the Heavenly Demon and Wi Seol-ah to be the Blood Demon’s daughters.

The timing didn’t match. For the Blood Demon’s daughters to exist when he was sealed hundreds of years ago…

“Then where did these two appear from?”

It’s a time when parents couldn’t exist, so if it’s like this…

“Could it be they’ve existed since hundreds of years ago?”

But Wi Seol-ah has someone called the Sword Master. How should I explain the existence of the Sword Master, who is called her grandfather?

“I’m going crazy…”

It’s twisted and tangled. My head was swimming with unknown facts.

“Ah.”

I realized the fundamental issue. Looking at the Heavenly Demon before me, I asked.

“How do you know that?”

How do you know they are twins? To my question, the Heavenly Demon replied with a strange expression.

“Can’t you tell by looking?”

“……”

It was a confident answer. The attitude of dismissing me, asking if I couldn’t tell by looking, was top-notch.

I could tell by looking. They look so alike, it wouldn’t make sense if they weren’t family.

“Are you serious right now…?”

It wasn’t something to say in the current situation. It wasn’t like she was joking.

“So, you’re saying you just looked at their faces and guessed?”

“No.”

The Heavenly Demon denied it. I thought maybe it wasn’t just a hunch, but…

“I just got that feeling.”

“……”

The answer I heard was that it was ultimately a feeling.

“…Are you kidding me?”

“I’m serious. It’s not a joke.”

If it’s not a joke, then what is this? After saying it wasn’t a hunch, then admitting it was, how could it not be a joke?

While looking at the Heavenly Demon with an incredulous expression.

I turned my gaze from her to look at Yarang beside me.

Yarang had been staring intently at me the whole time, not saying a word.

The two looked at me with the same expression, making them look even more alike. It was as if there was truly nothing different about them.

“No matter what.”

Leaving aside the Heavenly Demon’s claim of a ‘feeling’.

“The relationship seems correct.”

They had a close relationship; it seemed highly likely they were sisters, as the Heavenly Demon said.

I didn’t know how the Blood Demon became their father. But I had to accept now that they were connected to the Blood Demon and had a deep relationship.

“I don’t know what happened in the previous life, but…”

Beyond accepting it, the situation back then remained a mystery.

Firstly.

“Right now, besides this.”

I had to look at something else. That the Heavenly Demon and Wi Seol-ah were sisters was important, but…

“…So, what happened?”

Now, why I was here.

“Why is this one so fine.”

Why Yarang, who had been attacked, was perfectly fine without a single scratch. It was time to ask about such things.

Hearing the question, the Heavenly Demon glanced briefly at Yarang before looking back at me and said.

“Fixed.”

Her hand moved towards Yarang.

“Saved.”

This time, it moved towards me.

It was truly a simple and convenient explanation.

“…Fixed? Her? You?”

“Yeah.”

“How?”

“I just fixed her?”

“Seriously, should I hit you?”

The more we talked, the less I understood why things were like this.

Is she just unwilling to converse?

As I stared incredulously, the Heavenly Demon wore an expression of indignation.

“It’s true.”

“…Right, but…”

I knew she was telling the truth. But how did she do it? I asked because I couldn’t understand.

To such a question, the Heavenly Demon pondered for a moment.

Swish.

She moved her finger and waved it towards Yarang beside her.

Flick-!

“What the…!”

Blood splattered on Yarang’s hand. The Heavenly Demon had used her demonic energy (maki) to create a wound on her hand.

Even then, Yarang remained still. Only I reacted.

In that moment of panic, the Heavenly Demon moved again.

Her sharp demonic energy transformed, burrowing into Yarang’s hand. It wrapped around like a black glove, and then…

Swoosh.

When it dispersed and vanished again, it had erased the wound on Yarang’s hand.

“Huh?”

Seeing that, I was utterly astonished. That wasn’t regeneration. It was truly, literally, in the realm of healing.

“Healing wounds with demonic energy?”

It was a technique I’d never heard of. Did I expect the Heavenly Demon could do something like that? That such a vicious and cruel energy like demonic energy could be used this way was a fact I didn’t even know in my past life.

The Heavenly Demon had never shown such a thing.

The demonic energy she used was literally disaster and catastrophe.

The sight of her creating a black sea in the sky and unleashing countless bolts from within still made my legs tremble.

“To think it could be used like that.”

The Heavenly Demon, possessing such power…

“Why did she lose?”

Why had she been defeated by the Divine Sword?

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

Back then, I naturally judged that the Divine Sword was stronger, so the Heavenly Demon lost.

“Looking back now, it’s strange.”

The Divine Sword was strong. I admit it.

But, to say she was stronger than the Heavenly Demon is questionable. Was that really the case?

“Even possessing the power of Pama.”

The white banner of Pama that destroys all demons.

Although she achieved great feats in the war against the demon folk wielding it, the outcome is still strange.

“The Heavenly Demon is strong.”

The Heavenly Demon never showed her full strength in even a single fight.

Even when killing the Plum Blossom Immortal, the sect leader of the Hua San Sect.

It was the same when she beheaded the Three Venerables.

“Ah.”

Perhaps the fight against my father was slightly different.

Even the Heavenly Demon was severely injured back then.

Excluding that time, the Heavenly Demon never unleashed her full power.

In comparison, the Divine Sword…

“Was at full strength in every fight.”

I acknowledge the Divine Sword’s power, possessing overwhelming martial might. However, compared to the Heavenly Demon, her stats inevitably fall short.

I believed the reason the Divine Sword beat the Heavenly Demon wasn’t just strength, but entirely due to the Pama power she possessed.

Overwhelming absolute defense.

Only the Pama energy could penetrate the superior form of demonic energy-based Ki reinforcement.

“That’s why I thought she beat the Heavenly Demon.”

Because their energies were mutually antagonistic.

Since the Heavenly Demon’s attacks wouldn’t ultimately work, I figured the Divine Sword must have overcome even the Heavenly Demon.

“…Really?”

Was that really the case?

This was also a question I had been ignoring, but.

Thinking about the Blood Demon, the Heavenly Demon, and Wi Seol-ah being intertwined.

Furthermore.

“When I realized that even my regression was called destiny, and the cause was the Heavenly Demon…”

It looks somewhat strange.

“I wish it were just suspicion.”

Just thoughts arising from my sensitivity. I wished it were only that, but as always, ominous premonitions tend to come true, damn it.

“Tsk.”

As I was smacking my lips and frowning.

Ziiiiing-!!

The air shimmered. Turning my head at the sudden vibration, I saw the Heavenly Demon tearing open the void to open the Demonic Mirror Gate.

“…What are you doing?”

“Now that you’re awake, we have to go.”

“What?”

“We’ll get scolded.”

“What are you talking about? Who’s going to scold us?”

“Get up.”

Ignoring my words, the Heavenly Demon spoke to Yarang, and she got up without complaint.

“Hey. I’m asking you.”

“I’m not answering. Go in.”

“Hmph.”

She was resolute. Despite her dazed expression, her words were utterly firm.

“Go in. We have to go now.”

“No…”

“Hurry.”

As if not wanting to hear any excuses, she kept pointing at the Demonic Mirror Gate with her hand.

I tried to say more, but just then, Yarang moved and slipped into the Demonic Mirror Gate.

The Heavenly Demon followed, moving too.

“Huh? Hey.”

Is she coming too? I thought she wouldn’t, but she went in first.

As I watched with puzzled eyes, the Heavenly Demon grabbed my wrist and pulled me along.

Unable to resist, I was pulled into the Demonic Mirror Gate.

Whoooosh-!

My body naturally passed through the barrier of energy.

By the time I realized it, the background had changed again.

“This is…”

The changed background was subtle.

Where the ashen sky and desolate land had been.

Although it was still a mess, the ashen sky had disappeared, revealing a blue sky and vibrant fields.

I wondered if I had returned somewhere else, but…

“No.”

This was the same place I saw before I lost consciousness.

The pit I created using my martial arts was still there. The aftermath of fighting that guy remained exactly as it was.

Seeing that, it certainly seemed like the place, but…

“What on earth…”

Something was the same, yet different.

On the beautiful fields, flowers and grass had grown amidst the ruins of collapsed buildings, as if marking the passage of time.

In the distance, a giant tree that hadn’t been there before towered.

An ancient tree, a great tree.

What looked like a sacred tree to anyone suddenly stood tall.

And.

“What is this now…?”

Putting aside the sacred tree, which was the original objective.

I scrunched up my face, seeing something filling the devastated field.

Something that didn’t match the green fields and the flowers upon them.

The skeletal remains of something that must have once been living creatures.

They filled the field.

And completely, without any gaps.