Ch.191Chapter 191 – It’s You?

Heavenly Demon, Cheon Hyeryeong, the current leader of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

She gazed at the man standing before her.

Count Pathos Severio.

A man from the distant Western Continent.

He was a nobleman from a vast nation called the Gelebrio Empire, rumored to have destroyed a magic sword and cured an incurable disease.

When she first heard about him from Manoe, the strategist of the Heavenly Demon Sect, she had dismissed him with a single sentence:

“Merely baseless rumors and nothing more.”

To the Heavenly Demon, who considered even the gods above as conquests to be achieved through martial arts training, this man named Pathos was nothing but an absurd rumor.

Her sole goal was to cultivate the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, elevate her realm, and become a being capable of battling even the gods in heaven!

That was the objective of Cheon Hyeryeong, the current Heavenly Demon.

In truth, the name “Cheon Hyeryeong” was one she created upon ascending to the position of Heavenly Demon, as only those who attained that position could use the surname “Cheon.”

Before becoming the Heavenly Demon, she was called “Candidate.”

After proving her qualifications, she was known as “Little Heavenly Demon,” and even after becoming the Heavenly Demon, people addressed her as “Sect Leader” or simply “Heavenly Demon.”

Initially, she hadn’t thought about wanting a name for herself.

But only after ascending to the supreme position of Heavenly Demon, revered above all, did she begin to notice the things she lacked.

The first of these was a name.

After becoming the Heavenly Demon, the first thing she did was create a name for herself.

Having no surname of her own, she took it from her title, Heavenly Demon (Cheonma).

And her given name, Hyeryeong, was chosen simply because she liked how it sounded.

Once the name Cheon Hyeryeong was established, she made a promise to herself.

She would reveal her name only to someone she could open her heart to.

And for 40 years since then, her name remained unknown to anyone.

But now, for some reason, she kept feeling the urge to tell Pathos her name.

Isn’t there a saying that a thief who learns late doesn’t know when dawn breaks?

That perfectly described Cheon Hyeryeong’s current state.

The emotions that had been suppressed during her training to become the Heavenly Demon gradually loosened as she mastered the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to the 10th level.

And through Pathos’s abilities, she reached the 12th level, eliminating the side effects of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

The Heavenly Demon Divine Art was fundamentally created with the purpose of becoming the greatest demon under heaven.

Therefore, those who learned it had to pour everything into becoming the best.

That “everything” naturally included one’s emotions, dreams, and life.

Even achieving the 10th level was still 1% short of complete attainment.

Finally reaching the 12th level, she had achieved complete mastery.

Literally, she could now become a “god manifested in reality” at any moment if she wished.

However, she refrained from doing so because she had developed a taste for this late-learned thievery.

She could feel emotions vividly.

She could develop attraction toward the opposite sex.

When meeting someone she liked, her heart would race and her breathing would quicken.

What woman wouldn’t fall for a man who appeared in a moment of crisis and gallantly saved her?

Moreover, he didn’t demand her body in return; he was simply satisfied that everything had been resolved well, which made her even more interested in him.

Everything she was experiencing now was a first for her, making it all the more vivid.

That’s why she couldn’t give up.

“I already have someone I’ve given my heart to.”

A man saying he has someone he loves, asking her not to harbor romantic feelings for him.

Seeing this, Cheon Hyeryeong inwardly scoffed.

Ha, does he know who I am and still reject me?

I am the Heavenly Demon.

Supreme and unrivaled under heaven.

The reincarnation of the Heavenly Demon, before whom all demons bow.

The absolute sovereign of the Heavenly Demon Sect, who can claim anything in the world just by desiring it.

Isn’t it the teaching of the Heavenly Demon Sect that if something isn’t given freely, it should be taken by force?

And wasn’t she the one who had reached the pinnacle of those teachings?

“Hahaha. And why should that be a problem?”

He has someone he likes? Why should that be an issue?

Couldn’t he simply give his heart to her as well?

Cheon Hyeryeong was even more intrigued that Pathos wouldn’t open his heart to her because of his existing love.

Couldn’t she just break that resolve and transform his heart to love both his beloved and herself equally?

An ordinary person might say, “What kind of crazy talk is this?!” but the Heavenly Demon was no ordinary person.

She was essentially a social novice who had spent her entire life training in martial arts and was only now learning about relationships between men and women.

Moreover, the Heavenly Demon Sect was a society that strictly obeyed the strong.

As a result, the Heavenly Demon, positioned at the top of the power hierarchy, could obtain whatever she desired without any interference.

“Why do you think you must love only one person?”

“Uh… well…”

Pathos, flustered by Cheon Hyeryeong’s question, couldn’t give a proper answer.

But this wasn’t because he had nothing to say; rather, he was overwhelmed by the terrifying aura that Cheon Hyeryeong was unconsciously emitting.

Unaware of this, Cheon Hyeryeong believed she had gained a clear advantage and slowly approached Pathos.

“Hehe, see? Even you can’t give a proper answer about loving only one person, can you?”

“Th-that’s…”

As Cheon Hyeryeong drew closer, Pathos became increasingly crushed by the pressure.

The reason was that Cheon Hyeryeong, mistakenly believing everything was going according to her plan, was unconsciously emitting an increasingly powerful aura.

‘No! If you want me to answer, at least let me speak!’

Pathos was frustrated that he couldn’t express his true thoughts because he was being crushed by Cheon Hyeryeong’s invisible pressure.

‘Ugh! I can’t hold on much longer…!’

Just as Pathos was about to faint from the pressure Cheon Hyeryeong was exerting,

“Count!”

“Tch.”

The door burst open as Baek Yuwol appeared, and Cheon Hyeryeong used the Heavenly Demon Dimensional Step to vanish from the room before entering their line of sight.

“Haa, haa…”

As soon as Cheon Hyeryeong disappeared, Pathos began taking deep, gasping breaths.

“Count! Are you alright?”

“What on earth happened here?”

While Baek Yuwol rushed to Pathos to check his condition, Geum Taeyang, the head of the Paseong Geum family, entered the room to assess the situation.

“Lady Baek Yuwol. What happened here?”

“It was an incredibly powerful… martial artist, I believe.”

“A martial artist… you say?”

Geum Taeyang expressed doubt at Baek Yuwol’s mention of an incredibly powerful martial artist.

A powerful martial artist? Just how powerful could they be?

Simultaneously, Geum Taeyang noticed that the powerful protective formation surrounding the family head’s quarters was intact.

“It doesn’t seem like a martial artist. If it were, they couldn’t have penetrated the protective formation around the family head’s quarters.”

“But that powerful energy was definitely from a martial artist. At least comparable to Master Sword King or Master Spear King.”

“Hmm.”

Geum Taeyang didn’t think Baek Yuwol was lying.

He couldn’t imagine that she, who had reached the rank of the Fifteen Great Masters, would tell a falsehood.

“Then, could it be an attack from some malicious group targeting the Count?”

“That seems to be the case. They’re quite persistent.”

“Hmm… it seems we must cancel the plan to visit the other families. I’ll personally send messages to the heads of the major families.”

Geum Taeyang sensed the gravity of the situation, given that Pathos had been attacked twice.

The attempts to kidnap him were inevitably linked to evil groups wanting to use his abilities for nefarious purposes.

“We need to convene another meeting of the major family heads.”

“But…”

“Having been attacked twice already, we can’t guarantee that this land is safe. Besides, the protective formation around our family’s quarters would take a full day to break through, even for the Heavenly Demon!”

Geum Taeyang looked at Baek Yuwol and said:

“The solution to this situation… I believe we must send Count Pathos Severio back to his homeland as soon as possible.”

“What?”

“Yes.”

Faced with Geum Taeyang’s determined gaze, Pathos couldn’t say a word.

‘Uh, well… I should just stay quiet.’

Pathos decided to remain silent.

He instinctively realized that no matter what he said, they wouldn’t believe him.

Meanwhile, at that moment, the Heavenly Demon…

“So it’s you?”

She confronted a great mage who had teleported from the distant Western Continent, sensing a threat to her lover’s life and seeking the culprit.