Chapter 227: The Divine Maiden (2)

I touched Black Heaven.

Black Heaven still did not respond. It was as if it had left for somewhere. The same went for Eternal Heaven. There was still no news from them.

‘They say no news is good news, but…’

Both Eternal Heaven and Black Heaven definitely existed, but their sudden disappearance made me a bit uneasy.

However, I soon stopped worrying.

Eternal Heaven had already absorbed a considerable amount of my Heaven Defying Energy, enough to handle most things alone. Unless it was someone like Heavenly Demon, it would be difficult to even catch Eternal Heaven.

Black Heaven too, though only receiving scoldings from me and Eternal Heaven, had absorbed enough of my Heaven Defying Energy to momentarily become corporeal.

Still, I couldn’t help but be curious.

‘What could it be?’

This needed to be looked into.

But first, there was something else to take care of.

I would track down the ones who created the Divine Maiden.

Before engaging in battle with the Apostle, I needed to refine my external martial arts a bit more.

I also needed to find out which outer god the Apostle served.

However, the problem was that China was vast.

It seemed tight, timing-wise, to go after the creators of the Divine Maiden here and then head to Sichuan.

‘Why is this land so vast?’

China’s size was almost absurd. For example, Anhui Province, where the Namgung clan resided, was 40% larger than South Korea. Sichuan, where we were headed, was almost five times larger. And Sichuan only accounted for about 5% of China’s total landmass.

‘Perhaps it was this vastness that allowed them to gather their sacrifices.’

Thinking that, I glanced at the Thousand Sorcerer.

This was something that would have been impossible under normal circumstances. But the Thousand Sorcerer had transcended through the study of magic. The title “Thousand Sorcerer” referred to both a thousand spells and the heavens.

“What is it?”

“How long will it take to reach Sichuan?”

“An hour should be enough.”

“One hour, huh…”

That was more than enough. Judging by the Thousand Sorcerer’s demeanor, replenishing mana didn’t seem like it would be an issue either.

“Then let’s quickly finish the business with the Divine Maiden and head to Sichuan. After that, we can prepare and take down the Apostle.”

We had two weeks.

I had told Heavenly Demon that we could fight in two weeks, but the opponent was an Apostle.

These Apostles were beings beyond common sense, granted power directly by their gods.

‘I’d prefer a recovery-type or a physically durable one.’

Attack-type Apostles didn’t suit me well.

They usually had a “you die, I die” kind of attitude.

“So, when are you going to marry my granddaughter?”

The Thousand Sorcerer casually brought up the topic.

… It came out of nowhere.

I looked at the Thousand Sorcerer in disbelief.

“Is this something you talk about in situations like this?”

“It’s just before the battle against the Apostle.”

The Thousand Sorcerer smiled sadly.

“The Apostle isn’t a normal being. There’s also the matter of compatibility, but most of us could die in this fight. It’d be a shame if my granddaughter died unmarried…”

“She won’t die.”

Whether I risk my life to protect her or not, she will resurrect even if she dies.

I swallowed the words lingering in my mouth.

We arrived at the place where the Divine Maiden and her group resided.

Though most of the surrounding area had been half-destroyed by my fight with Heavenly Demon, there were still many intact buildings.

Our fight, aside from the initial clash between the Bottomless Abyss and the Destroyer of Heaven, hadn’t caused that much havoc.

“A fancy place.”

“Indeed, it’s almost unpleasant.”

Heavenly Demon, Kim Seo-hyun, and I walked inside.

“Welcome.”

The one who greeted us was alone.

She was a girl bathed in golden light, wearing a golden robe.

The Divine Maiden smiled as she spoke.

Though her mouth smiled, her eyes did not. It was a strange smile, like a doll forced to grin, giving off an odd sense of discomfort.

For a moment, I thought I could feel a strange ecstasy within that smile.

“Have you been waiting in advance?”

The Heavenly Demon spoke in a lazy voice, resting her hand on the hilt of Black Heaven, her expression bored.

“Are we going to fight from here?”

“I’m no longer interested in fighting.”

“…?”

Startled by the Heavenly Demon’s shocking words, I glanced at the Divine Maiden.

“Did you come here to fight? There should still be plenty of time left.”

“I’m not interested in that right now. There’s something more fun. Oh, by the way, are you aware of what’s happening in Sichuan?”

“Oh, right, I heard about something like that before we met. I received reports that people were being kidnapped randomly in Sichuan.”

“A monster will emerge there.”

“A monster?”

“Yeah, something worse than me.”

With that, the Heavenly Demon hurried ahead.

“So, we’re going to mobilize our forces. Can you cooperate?”

“Yes, I will summon the forces of the Murim Alliance.”

The Divine Maiden walked ahead.

I watched her. Her walk was impressive. It was fast, yet graceful. More speed than stealth.

I glanced at her legs. They seemed designed to run at explosive speeds.

[Your proficiency in the 「Illusionary Flame Step (S)」 has increased.]

It was quite an inspiring sight.

“Are long legs your type?”

The Heavenly Demon said with a smirk.

With a smooth motion, she glanced under her robe, as if contemplating whether to tear it apart.

‘No way.’

That couldn’t be it.

Must be my overactive imagination.

“I just found her walking style impressive. I thought it would be nice to learn.”

“Want me to teach you?”

“I’d appreciate that. But do you know it?”

“Yeah. I’ve been interested in the Jeonju Steps, a footwork technique from the Wudang Sect.”

With that, Heavenly Demon walked ahead.

“So, who else is here right now?”

“The Sword Emperor, Namgung Sword Dragon, is here.”

Heavenly Demon’s eyebrows furrowed momentarily before relaxing.

She had just said she disliked fighting, but now her face brightened again.

“Now that I think about it, there was someone like that. Should I warm up after such a long time?”

It had been a while?

It hadn’t been that long since we fought.

Did she not consider that a warm-up? Or perhaps…

“…Heavenly Demon. Isn’t there still plenty of time left in the grace period?”

“Ah, something came up, you see,” Heavenly Demon answered with a smile.

“How much do you know about the situation in Sichuan?”

“Sichuan? Now that you mention it, I did hear reports about some disappearances happening there. But I hurried over here when I heard you were going wild…”

“They say an Apostle has been summoned.”

“An Apostle…?”

The man called Namgung Sword Dragon spoke with a puzzled expression.

“Is that why you came here?”

“Well, it’s something like that.”

With those words, Heavenly Demon lightly stretched her body. It was clear to anyone watching that she was about to fight.

Crack.

“Since you’re on the way out anyway, shouldn’t you know why you’re going to die?”

“Are you breaking the grace period yourself!”

Namgung Sword Dragon drew his sword.

“I didn’t want to do this either, but I heard a bit about how the Divine Maiden was created, and it was more disgusting than I expected.”

Namgung Sword Dragon remained silent, staring at Heavenly Demon. His gaze wavered as if realizing she had crossed a line.

“So, stop bothering me with all these questions and bring me all those who were involved in creating the Divine Maiden. Then, I’ll send you off without pain.”

Heavenly Demon declared this and then made it happen.

Kim Seo-hyun looked at the Divine Maiden.

The Divine Maiden looked back at Kim Seo-hyun.

“I’m jealous,”

“Of what?”

“You have emotions, don’t you? It seems like you love that man.”

Her golden eyes followed a young boy.

Kim Seo-hyun suddenly recalled the first time she met Lee Seo-ha. Back then, he had overwhelmed everyone with his extraordinary abilities, and she simply wanted to win.

Even though his fragile body didn’t match his well-trained abilities, seeing him push himself with sheer willpower made her want to help him in many ways.

Curiosity grew into affection.

And more than that, they had crossed life-and-death situations together, creating a bond. Through that process, she came to love him.

“Yeah.”

“I’m jealous.”

“You can have it too.”

“In your world?”

“Yeah. There are many things to enjoy in my world.”

“That doesn’t sound bad, but I’ll pass.”

The Divine Maiden smiled as she spoke.

“I’m a created human.”

“…”

“You must be the same, created from the power of a dragon. Your beauty could only have been born from the form of a dragon.”

“No way…”

Kim Seo-hyun muttered.

The Divine Maiden smiled sorrowfully.

“A doll that cannot resist. A being that looks human but is impossibly beautiful, made to sway the base nature of vile humans.”

The Divine Maiden turned her head.

Heavenly Demon had already made Namgung Sword Dragon kneel and was now glancing around.

“…”

“Living is already hell, and this wound will never heal. So, I will kill them and then die,” the Divine Maiden said quietly.

“So, you should devour me.”

“Wh-what?”

“You heard me earlier, right? We were created using the power of a dragon. In a way, it’s more accurate to say we are dragon people. You… seem to have something overlaid on you, though.”

Her golden eyes locked onto Kim Seo-hyun.

“I don’t know what the Mine did in Sichuan, but you said something was coming, right?”

“Yeah. Something monstrous is coming.”

“Then protect that.”

With that, the Divine Maiden turned her back.

What would her future self do?

Would she ultimately kill them, or would she continue to suffer at their hands?

‘I don’t know.’

The important thing was that she could now kill them with her own hands.

That was enough.

“You’re going to kill them, right?”

“Yes, I am.”

While Heavenly Demon subdued the martial artists, the Divine Maiden intervened. Her presence was intimidating. Her eyes had transformed into reptilian slits, and her killing intent was turning into a tangible force.

Golden light began to shine, and a halo of light appeared in her hands.

“If you’re going to kill them, may I do it?”

“Hmm, did they do something even dirtier than I thought?”

Heavenly Demon asked, looking at the subdued martial artists with a contemptuous gaze.

“I was thinking of playing with them a bit, but if you have a grudge, I’ll hand them over. Do as you please.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

Heavenly Demon lost interest and came over to me.

“You said we have two weeks left, right? Let’s go quickly.”

Heavenly Demon pulled me along.

I mulled over the conversation I’d heard earlier.

‘She said to devour her.’

It was probably not the literal act of eating.

When a dragon tribe passed on their heart, they imbue it with the full strength of the dragon.

By simply taking her heart, Kim Seo-hyun would grow immensely stronger.

‘Well, that aside…’

I looked at Heavenly Demon.

“You… are Black Heaven, aren’t you?”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, Master.”

“…”

I was left speechless.

If she was going to lie, she could at least do it properly.