Ch.12Chapter 12 – Inner Demon (1)

“Hehe, you truly care for your disciple, Master.”

As soon as I asked Bi-wol who she was, she answered with an ecstatic smile. Her slightly twisted smile felt chilling.

Clearly, the body, face, and all information my eyes could perceive confirmed that the person before me was indeed my precious disciple Bi-wol.

“…Answer me. Where is the real Bi-wol?”

But my soul was denying it.

“I am myself, Master. Don’t you recognize me?”

Bi-wol blinked while placing her hand on my chest. In that moment, her eyes harbored killing intent.

“I am Bi-wol, the favorite disciple of Master Bing-yeon.”

If Bi-wol were to channel even a little demonic energy into her hand right now, a large hole would be punched through the center of my chest.

She was caressing my chest very carefully, like plucking a delicate string.

“…Verdandi, summon the Holy Sword immediately. This is an emergency.”

“What? But how am I supposed to summon it! I don’t know how!”

In that situation, I shouted at Verdandi to summon the Holy Sword. An artifact that holds absolute advantage against evil-natured humans.

Originally, it was a secret weapon I had reserved to use against Azazel, the Outer God’s Saintess, but now I had few means to safely subdue Bi-wol without it.

“Place your hand on your chest, face your target and shout ‘I shall execute justice!'”

I told Verdandi the incantation to summon the Holy Sword. While Bi-wol was distracted touching me, I needed to somehow subdue her.

“I shall execute just—”

That’s when it happened.

With a thunderous boom, Verdandi’s body flew and crashed into a nearby tree. The impact was so powerful that the tree’s trunk snapped with a cracking sound.

“Bi-wol, you…!”

“Master. This is an intimate moment between you and your favorite disciple. Why are you trying to bring in a third wheel?”

This was definitely the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. Specifically, the fourth form, Heavenly Demon Divine Palm.

I had written about it in the original work, but here, I had never seen her use this technique.

What was going on?

It was strange that she could display such movements without any enlightenment or training. Bi-wol’s current level seemed to be approaching the early stages of Transcendence Realm that I had achieved.

“Ha, hah… hnngh…”

Now Bi-wol buried her face in my chest, inhaling my scent. Hot breath and ticklish sensations were creeping up my body.

“If you stay still, no one will get hurt, Master.”

Bi-wol interlaced her fingers with mine as I tried to push her away. She had been sensing my movements through her energy perception even with her vision obscured.

Her other hand slipped inside my robe, now feeling the muscles beneath my clothes.

“But Verdandi…”

“I controlled my strength. No matter what, I’m her senior sister. Would I kill my junior sister?”

As if to prove her words, Verdandi showed signs of regaining consciousness, coughing repeatedly.

“I merely pressed her pressure points to prevent her from using her strength. Though I was a bit rough about it.”

“Master… are you… alright…?”

Seeing how Verdandi couldn’t move her arms and legs, trembling helplessly, it seemed Bi-wol had indeed pressed her pressure points in that brief moment.

I never taught her this.

Pressure point strikes are techniques that can only be used when there’s a significant gap in skill levels. One wrong move and your wrist could be severed.

“Bi-wol, just how strong have you become?”

“Well, if I were to use my full strength, I’d say I’m probably at the same level as you, Master.”

I recalled Bi-wol’s character settings in my mind.

Heavenly Demon, Star of Heavenly Murder, Heavenly Martial Body, sensitive to blood—why would someone with these traits behave this way?

‘Han Do-hyeon, think, think…’

Why had Bi-wol changed so drastically, like she was a different person?

“Bing-yeon! What should we do? Fight?”

“No, don’t move rashly. I’ll handle her.”

Even the Golden Pagoda Lord couldn’t attack Bi-wol in this situation. He knew that moving would mean death due to the difference in skill.

“As expected of my Master’s experience.”

Moreover, there were people around—the Golden Pagoda Lord, Verdandi, and her mother. I couldn’t subdue Bi-wol without casualties, as evidenced by how easily Verdandi had been taken down.

‘…I need to find the reason.’

I could win if I fought with everything I had, but at great cost to my body.

“Please don’t think about fighting me. I would hate to see your precious body harmed.”

If we walked just a bit further, we’d reach Wonderhill Village, and those people could be turned to blood and flesh under the curse of the Star of Heavenly Murder.

“That’s enough. Stop this. Do you mean to disrespect your master?”

“But Master, I’m merely showing you the affection I’ve held back. This is my desire, my true heart, my passion.”

For now, I needed to pretend to go along with Bi-wol’s words while figuring out why she had changed like this.

“Master, you are too stimulating for me. The smell of blood and flesh when you saved me from that cult, and the small groans you made while enduring pain.”

Breathing heavily, Bi-wol seemed to have fallen into madness. Had I written such settings in my novel?

“For my sake alone, to save only me, you pretended not to feel any pain despite all hardships.”

Bi-wol was caressing each part of my body where I had been injured.

Just as we discussed in the carriage before, she was leaving her traces all over my shoulders, back, hands, and arms where I had been hurt.

“Have you gone mad from the scent of blood?”

“No. No matter how much I smell others’ blood, what in this world could be more stimulating than your scent, Master?”

Bi-wol had stopped burying her face in my chest and was now nibbling on my earlobe seductively.

“This is my true heart.”

She was licking and sucking inside my ear, making provocative sounds. Ignoring the gazes around us, she kept trying to seduce me.

‘Inner Demon.’

The phrase “true heart” suddenly reminded me of something. Originally, it was a trial that Kim Hyul, the protagonist of “Diamond Fist King,” would face.

It was a device I created where he would fight another version of himself in his inner world, mature mentally, and reach a new level.

‘But why is Bi-wol experiencing this now?’

It didn’t make sense. She was the final boss, created from birth to commit slaughter…

‘…This is because of me.’

Suddenly, I realized.

I had changed her past with my own hands.

I created an environment where she didn’t need to drink blood or eat human flesh to satisfy her hunger.

For her who couldn’t sleep well, I provided a quiet, sunny place as her bedroom.

I made sure that friends she got along with today wouldn’t turn into cold corpses tomorrow.

“Master, you are my world. Like a bird breaking out of its shell.”

“Bi-wol, come to your senses. You’re being consumed by your Inner Demon…”

“Whether I’m consumed by an Inner Demon or not, what does it matter? What matters is how desperately I long for you.”

With a smooching sound near my ear, Bi-wol smiled brightly. Her slightly heated breathing and intense gaze were overwhelming.

‘An Inner Demon is originally a demon hidden in one’s heart.’

An Inner Demon is something that, like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, must be overcome to become a complete martial artist.

‘This is different from the curse of the Star of Heavenly Murder described in the novel.’

I swallowed hard as I thought. Seeing that she wasn’t committing murder or self-harm, the essence wasn’t the Star of Heavenly Murder but something hidden in Bi-wol’s inner self.

“Master, you probably think I’ve fallen into madness.”

“What exactly do you want?”

“Ahaha! What I want? Isn’t it obvious what your one and only beloved disciple desires?”

As I bit my lip, barely enduring her provocative actions, Bi-wol burst into laughter.

“Your love, Master. I want you to look only at me.”

She placed the back of her hand against my lips, then brought it to her own lips as she spoke.

“I want to be your wife. I want to be your first and last lover.”

She was performing an indirect kiss, slowly, as if savoring candy, and I could only be shocked.

Could it be that the emotion created by the Inner Demon was love for me? Had she been suppressing it all this time, causing it to manifest in this twisted form?

It was possible.

“So you were jealous of your junior sister Verdandi? Didn’t you think I would dislike such behavior?”

I asked this question to test Bi-wol. After all, jealousy and love are inseparable emotions.

“No, as long as I don’t kill anyone, as long as I only subdue people without harming them, I know very well that you won’t scold me.”

Bi-wol was keeping her promise made before this journey—to follow the Ice Dragon Fate Sect’s rule against taking lives.

“…Why do you think that?”

“Because Master cherishes his disciple very much. That’s why you’re trying not to touch me.”

Bi-wol slightly loosened her collar, revealing a bit of skin. I turned my head away to avoid looking, but—

“Master, please look at me. Your disciple is gathering courage to express her feelings.”

Her hand guided my face back as she puffed her cheeks. She seemed to enjoy seeing my reactions.

“…I desperately adore you, Master.”

“You’re confusing that emotion with paternal love.”

“How could I confuse the emotion of love? I learned everything from you.”

My face reflected in Bi-wol’s red eyes. It was the face of someone biting his lip, struggling not to reveal his base nature before his disciple.

“Master, I would do anything for you. I could throw myself into a purgatorial fire pit or remain alone on ice in the dead of winter.”

Bi-wol said this while wrapping her arms around my neck.

“I adore you this much, so why won’t you accept my feelings?”

Her lips were getting closer; Bi-wol was standing on her tiptoes, trying to kiss me.

“…Bi-wol. Then I have a proposal for you.”

“A proposal in this situation? Master, you have a bold side too!”

To overcome the Inner Demon controlling Bi-wol without any casualties, this was the only way.

“If you win, I will truly accept your affection. It’s partly my fault for not noticing until things got this far.”

“I see you’ve come up with a strategy… haup.”

I blocked Bi-wol’s lips with my hand. She licked my palm as if even that was lovable.

“So, what is your proposal?”

“Let’s have a verbal duel. I’ll give you a three-move advantage, so clash with your master using all your strength.”

This was the way to deal with Bi-wol’s Inner Demon without betraying her feelings while resolving everything.

“Excellent! Let’s do that! Love is truly genuine when hearts connect.”

“Let me be clear about one thing, Bi-wol.”

Bi-wol confidently accepted my proposal, and I smiled inwardly watching her.

“…You are the challenger.”

“Heh, you look like a fish laid out on a cutting board. I’ll finish this quickly and devour you.”

When it came to verbal duels, I was confident I wouldn’t lose to anyone.