Ch.61Chapter 61 – Towards the Transformation Realm (2)

When I rushed to the training grounds after hearing another disciple’s report, I found absolute chaos unfolding before my eyes.

Rising dust clouds, training dummies shattered beyond recognition into fragments, and countless sword marks etched into the ground.

“What in the world happened here…?”

I couldn’t hide my shock at the scene. I had already met the original story’s protagonists through the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament.

Though I was still troubled by the fact that I hadn’t rescued Seol-hwa yet, and that Kang Si-woo had fallen for her tricks.

‘There shouldn’t be any reason for such a major conflict…’

My disciples, whose relationships had only just started to improve, had no reason to turn the training grounds into a battlefield.

The only concerning issue was the method Divine Doctor had mentioned to free me from my terminal condition.

First, I needed to eliminate the Outer God possessing Seol-hwa’s body to remove the substance blocking my blood vessels.

And since I was currently at the Transcendence Realm, I needed to perform Absorbing Yang to Supplement Yin with someone who had reached the Transformation Realm.

‘…Perhaps my indecisiveness has made my disciples forget to fear their master.’

I covered my face with my hands and sighed deeply. The final bosses and protagonists of my novel were like children I had created together with Seol-hwa.

I couldn’t even imagine laying hands on them.

“……”

I scowled and glared toward where I sensed someone’s presence. This had gone too far, I thought.

“Master…? Why are you here…?”

The girl who had been about to throw a broken wooden pillar gently set it down upon noticing me. Bi-wol wore an expression of utter bewilderment.

There was no point in pretending to fix the collapsed pillar now—her intentions were already exposed.

“Bi-wol.”

I called her name in a scolding tone.

“I-I didn’t do anything…! I was actually trying to stop my martial sisters from fighting…!”

Bi-wol waved her hands frantically, denying responsibility. But no matter how much she tried to excuse herself, she couldn’t hide the demonic energy scattered around.

“Did you think such lies would work on me?”

My sect, the Ice Dragon Fate Sect, was originally a place that gathered society’s outcasts—orphans from wars or fires, the sick and injured, and the abandoned.

It made no sense for this situation to occur unless it involved those girls who were the final bosses in my novel.

“When disciples fight among themselves due to personal grudges and disrespect their master, how do you think the martial arts world will view me?”

“W-well… we could live in a remote mountain valley where no one visits. If we leave for treacherous lands where neither the central plains nor the martial world’s strongest can find us…”

Bi-wol’s voice trailed off as she faced my stern expression. Perhaps the aloof and powerful Heavenly Demon might think that way.

But,

“…So you’re telling me to abandon the people I’ve taken in. I have a sect and responsibilities to uphold.”

I am different from her. I needed to minimize the harm caused by my actions. That was what I believed to be Seol-hwa’s dying wish.

The difference between an adult and a child. As one grows older, the weight of responsibility falls squarely on one’s shoulders.

Although I had discontinued three works due to lack of profit and views, fiction and reality were different matters.

“Bi-wol, gather your martial sisters.”

I ordered her to summon the other disciples, intending to hold her accountable. After all, this commotion must have been caused by Bi-wol’s martial artist tendency to resolve conflicts through combat.

In the martial world, conflicts are often settled by following the words of the stronger party.

“B-but, Master…! We haven’t settled our match yet!”

Bi-wol, with a small scratch on her cheek and dust covering her body, tried to stop me with a startled expression.

“Which is more important to you—the outcome of your fight, or your martial sisters with whom you should be working together?”

How much more fighting would satisfy her? I was beginning to get slightly angry at Bi-wol’s attitude.

I had somewhat succeeded in persuading the original protagonists, and found a way to survive my terminal condition.

Now all that remained was to defeat the Outer God Shub-Niggurath, then confess the truth to Bi-wol and the children and beg for forgiveness.

Was it reasonable for disciples to seriously fight each other just to monopolize someone like me?

“I won’t say it again. Gather your martial sisters immediately and tell me who first suggested fighting. I will severely punish that child.”

I drew upon the cold energy within me, ignoring the reversal of blood flow in my meridians. If necessary, I would freeze this entire place to stop the fighting.

“…!!!”

As the air around us grew heavy, Bi-wol’s body began to tremble slightly. She was clearly gripped by fear and dread.

Seeing this reaction, I suspected Bi-wol was the one who had first suggested fighting. My prediction seemed accurate.

“M-Master. Actually, I…”

“It was me!”

Just as Bi-wol was about to confess the truth, a resounding voice echoed through the training grounds.

“I was the one who asked Senior Bi-wol to fight with me!”

The owner of that voice was Verdandi. She rose, casually dusting off her hair.

Verdandi, who could now freely use her Holy Armor and Holy Sword, maintained her characteristically bright smile while telling this lie.

“So if you must scold someone, please scold me!”

“M-martial sister…”

As I watched Verdandi lie, I realized something strange. I covered my mouth to suppress a sudden gasp.

In my original work, “I Need To Kill The Hero,” I had established that she had such an aversion to lies that she was almost compulsively truthful.

I had decided this was natural given her past—her experiences of abuse and ostracism in her village had made her hate evil people and lies.

‘The Verdandi before me now seems to have almost healed from her past wounds.’

The women before me no longer had reasons to be final bosses.

Bi-wol had overcome her Inner Demon and erased the karma of the Star of Heavenly Murder, Verdandi hadn’t killed her mother and thus hadn’t fallen to darkness, and I had resolved Azazel’s unrequited love problem.

“…No. Sister, wasn’t I the one who first proposed the fight?”

While I hesitated momentarily, Azazel approached, her tentacles writhing.

They were all insisting they had been the first to suggest fighting.

“Then tell me why you were fighting.”

I asked for their honest feelings, hoping for clarity. After all, feelings of love should not be expressed through someone else’s words.

“It’s all to save Brother. You can’t perform Absorbing Yang to Supplement Yin with someone you have no connection with, can you?”

Azazel spoke with her hands clasped as if in prayer. Unfortunately, my prediction was spot on.

The only reason these women, who had grown closer after the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament, would suddenly fight was indeed this.

“That is not your concern.”

I expressed my will to Azazel and everyone else.

Bi-wol was a child I had raised like a daughter since she was young, and I had never harbored impure thoughts toward any of my other disciples either.

Even if I had to beg some hidden female master in the martial world, I would never touch children who hadn’t yet come of age.

“I know my body best. This isn’t something that can be resolved by your intervention.”

“Can’t we just reach the Transformation Realm ourselves?”

“Do you think that’s easy? The Transformation Realm is something that countless renowned martial artists have failed to reach.”

In my original novel “Diamond Fist King,” only two people reach the Transformation Realm: the Heavenly Demon Bi-wol and the protagonist Kim Hyul.

Among them, Kim Hyul is male, and his enlightenment comes at a critical moment during his final confrontation with Bi-wol, so the context is different.

“No matter how much you train, it would take years of dedicated practice to reach that level.”

In fact, even though I had been in the Transcendence Realm for quite some time, I still couldn’t glimpse the Transformation Realm above it.

“But we don’t want to lose Master to another woman!”

“I feel the same way, Master.”

Bi-wol and Verdandi raised their voices against me. Seeing their unyielding stance, I sighed deeply.

‘…So in the end, it’s all because of me.’

Looking at them like this, it seemed certain they harbored romantic feelings for me.

Children often confuse kindness with romantic interest, especially after experiencing something as significant as having their lives saved.

‘Is it right for me to accept these children’s feelings…?’

But they are like my own children. Looking up at the sky, I had never once thought of my disciples as members of the opposite sex.

I had only ever thought of them as victims of my inadequacy. Even if my terminal condition were resolved, I would still be the one who had caused their unhappiness.

There was no way I could be forgiven by them.

* * *

As Bing-yeon continued to ponder how to resolve his feelings,

“…It’s been a while, Bing-yeon.”

“It has been a while.”

Sieg-hardt and Kim Hyul, carrying someone on his back, appeared before Bing-yeon. The two bowed slightly while surveying their surroundings.

“How did this happen? Surely… they haven’t already discovered we escaped?”

“Look at those sword marks and that ominous demonic energy. An Outer God could kill us like ants with a mere gesture—they wouldn’t go to such lengths.”

They were confused about why the training grounds had been reduced to such chaos, even mistaking it for being tracked by an Outer God.

“That’s Kim Hyul and Sieg-hardt. And the one on his back is…”

“Yes. The master of the Golden Magic Tower, Wolfram Alchemista.”

Kim Hyul readily explained as he set down the woman from his back.

“Ah, hello… it’s been a while…”

Wolfram, her face bright red from physical contact with Kim Hyul, barely managed to speak while covering her face with both hands.