Chapter 110: Swaying Flame (3)
I anxiously watched the young members of the Six Great Demonic Clans and their escorts hurriedly exiting the Lesser Demon Hall.
What kind of rumors would spread throughout the Six Clans once they all returned?
Chances were high that they would unfold in the direction I intended.
"Well, as you said, the Exchange Ceremony is over."
And now, standing before my eyes, was a demonic god—one who could easily chew up something like the Three-Headed, Six-Armed Asura.
"Now, let’s hear your excuse."
The aura around her was intense enough that a single wrong word might make her draw her sword.
Even the attendants didn’t dare approach, and the Guardian Lions kept their distance as they closely monitored us.
Despite the heavy atmosphere, I opened my mouth calmly.
"As I said."
"What?"
"I intend to give up competing for the title of Demonic Faction Lord and instead join the Heavenly Thunder Corps."
"Heavenly Thunder Corps? Did you just say the Heavenly Thunder Corps?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Why the hell would you go in there?!"
Cheon Yura grabbed the collar of my robes in fury.
I gently placed my hand over hers and removed it from my clothes.
"I must."
"Don’t be ridiculous! What reason could you possibly have?!"
"The very fact that you don’t know the reason, Lady Yura, is exactly why I must go."
I had considered the possibility, but it was now clear she didn’t know about my encounter with Cheon Yujeong.
Had Sa Biyeon remained at her side, things might have been different.
‘This lack of information is deeply painful.’
Although the Divine Ghost Unit was present, they didn’t seem to relay information to her with any real initiative.
Most of all, the fact that their top command came not from her, but from the Cult Leader, said it all.
A brief silence passed.
In that moment, I saw the look of exhaustion in her eyes.
"You’re… hiding more and more from me as time goes on."
"That’s…"
"I used to believe that one day, when the time was right, you’d tell me what you were hiding. But the more time passes, the more you just keep it from me."
I really had nothing to say in response to that.
Wouldn’t I like to lay everything bare if I could?
But even if it was just to prepare for the worst, keeping the truth hidden was the wiser choice.
Still, I couldn’t guarantee that choice would be accepted rationally by the other person.
"I know. I know. I know that this choice of yours… is for my sake."
It wasn’t a total abandonment—rather, it was a strategic shift into the Heavenly Thunder Corps.
Given its function, she understood, deep down, that this move was for her.
But even so—
"Why do you have to be the one to do it? What could you possibly accomplish by going in there?"
Cheon Yura knew, at least to some extent, the true nature of the Heavenly Thunder Corps.
And its dangers as well.
"The Heavenly Thunder Corps is the Cheon Clan’s hellhole! It’s no place for someone from another clan!"
"I’m going, to suppress the enemy and forge allies."
"Enemy?"
For a brief second, Cheon Yura’s expression turned blank.
To her, who still didn’t fully grasp what was going on, the word "enemy" might have sounded unfamiliar.
"Cheon Yujeong… Is it because of her?"
"……."
I didn’t respond, unsure how much she knew.
But the fact that she immediately brought up Cheon Yujeong’s name suggested she at least sensed the danger.
Did she take my silence as an answer?
Cheon Yura began to speak slowly and at length.
"I heard from Biyeon that that woman’s been gathering the old fogies of the Cheon Clan to plot something. But that doesn’t make her a threat to me. She’s already lost to me once. No matter how many times we fight again, I’m confident I won’t lose."
"It’s different now."
Indeed, Cheon Yura was underestimating the threat Cheon Yujeong posed.
She still clung to the classic Heavenly Demon Cult mindset—‘If someone steps out of line, crush them with force!’
"Before long, she’ll pose a serious threat to the position of the Young Cult Leader."
"Then should I just kill her now? Wouldn’t that solve everything?"
"Lady Yura."
She knew, too. Just how childish that suggestion was.
But her expression right now—she looked like a cornered animal.
"…Don’t go."
"……!"
"If you enter the Heavenly Thunder Corps… you may never come back out."
If that happened, my relationship with Cheon Yura would essentially be over.
"Are you saying… you’d be okay with someone else standing beside me?"
I opened my mouth slightly.
Never in my life had I imagined hearing something like this from her.
Looking closely, I saw a faint glimmer of tears at the corners of her eyes.
"Ah…"
"I granted your requests, but you… won’t grant mine?"
"……."
My heart ached as if it were being torn apart.
Right now—more than anything—I wanted to say I would stay by her side forever.
But…
I couldn’t.
If it were only Cheon Yujeong, Cheon Yura could deal with her at any time.
But the problem was the Cult Leader.
The Cult Leader I knew—whom I had assessed—would undoubtedly bring some form of trial upon Cheon Yura.
If not through Cheon Yujeong, then by pushing forward another candidate.
The very fact that a family like the Cheon Clan, with its absolute ruler, was so fractured—was likely by the Cult Leader’s design.
Which meant I had to support her not from outside, but from within.
I slowly stepped away from Cheon Yura.
Then I knelt and bowed deeply before her.
"Jin Yeomyung!"
"I promise… I will return."
"……!"
"I may be stepping back for now, but the day will come when I’ll once again stand at your side."
I lifted my head and met Cheon Yura’s gaze.
"On that day… I’ll tell you everything I’ve kept hidden."
This was my final gambit.
If she pushed me away here, our relationship would spiral into complete ruin.
Of course, that didn’t mean I would give up on ‘Cheon Yura’s dream,’ but it would still be a bitter and lonely conclusion.
I waited quietly for her response.
And then—
“…Get lost.”
She spat the words with a trembling voice.
“Disappear from my sight. Now.”
Cheon Yura wasn’t looking at me.
She had turned away, her two clenched fists shaking as she effectively banished me.
I wasn’t sure if that was her way of accepting or rejecting my decision.
But one thing was certain—I would be apart from Cheon Yura for a while.
“Until then, please preserve your noble body.”
Leaving those words behind, I exited the Lesser Demon Hall.
Naturally, there was no farewell nor anyone to see me off.
And so, when I had put some distance between myself and the Lesser Demon Hall—
Rumble!
“Hm?”
Rumble rumble!
Suddenly—
A deafening explosion erupted from deep within, shaking the entire Lesser Demon Hall.
“W-What the hell?!”
As Gu Chil, who was escorting me, jumped in fright at the sudden noise—
“T-There! Look!”
Myeong-oh pointed a finger in shock at something in the distance.
Rumble rumble rumble!
It was collapsing.
The massive cliff behind the Lesser Demon Hall was suddenly crumbling, as if struck by a natural disaster.
RUMBLE! CRASHHHH! RUMBLE RUMBLE!
Accompanied by sounds of something shattering, the cliff, which had likely stood firm for tens of thousands of years, collapsed like a sandcastle.
“W-What is that?”
“……”
For some reason, from that scene—I felt someone’s emotion.
Fury. And sorrow.
“Young Cult Leader!”
“Hold her back!”
“What are the Guardian Lions doing?! Stop the Young Cult Leader immediately!”
Faint voices reached me from afar.
I couldn’t make out their exact words through the thunderous rumbling, but it was clear many people were trying to stop someone.
“Damn it.”
I shut my eyes tightly and turned my body back around.
***
After wounding someone’s heart so deeply—
I was now lying spread-eagle in the middle of the training ground, blankly staring up at the sky.
Normally, I should’ve been busy moving right now.
I had to visit the Heavenly Thunder Pavilion Master and formally apply to join the Heavenly Thunder Corps, and return to Heaven-Ascending Pavilion to dig out the rest of the information on the Cheon Clan…
Prepare countermeasures against Cheon Yujeong…
And figure out what to do… next…
…I couldn’t think of anything.
“Are you going to be okay, Young Master?”
“What do you mean?”
“Shouldn’t we start preparing?”
At Gu Chil’s practical advice, I let out a sigh through my nose.
“Yeah… you’re right. From now on, it’s a race against time.”
I pulled myself up at his words, sitting up straight.
Damn it. What kind of riches was I hoping for, to be going through this hell…
“No, I mean something else.”
“Huh?”
Gu Chil tilted his head as if wondering what nonsense I was talking about.
“The Patriarch will likely try to kill you, Young Master. You did all this without his permission, after all.”
“……”
Chill.
A shiver ran down my spine, worse than when I faced Cheon Yura.
How… how could I have forgotten that?!
“You think… he’ll come all the way to the Thousand-Day Pass?”
“He’s that kind of man. Wouldn’t it be better to run now—or at least prepare an excuse?”
I seriously considered fleeing.
If not, maybe I should just dash straight to the Heavenly Thunder Corps and hole up in there.
With what I had already done, no excuse in the world would work on Jin Gun-ak.
“Hahaha, how are you holding up?”
“Pavilion Master?”
Just then, the Pavilion Master of Thousand-Day Pass, Jo Jin-sang, suddenly appeared before me.
Through the mask he wore, I could see his eyes glinting with intense curiosity.
“I heard all about your little incident. Quite an impressive mess you’ve made.”
I frowned at his words.
Damn it. Just one day, and the rumors had already spread this far?
“…Is that so?”
“To think that Little Bell Peak would be destroyed like that. The rumor of the Young Cult Leader’s rage at you has already reached even here. Thanks to you, the entire movement of the Six Clans may shift dramatically.”
“Shift… how?”
“It means the race for the position of Demonic Faction Lord, which had died down, may flare up again.”
“……”
“So, was it your intention all along?”
The Pavilion Master, who knew a bit about our situation, looked down at me with an odd expression.
Then, he said something completely out of the blue.
“Not everything in life follows logic.”
“Well, that’s true.”
“Especially when it comes to love.”
“…?”
“You think, ‘You’d be happier with someone better than me, so I’ll step aside for your sake’?”
What the hell was he trying to say?
I glared at the Pavilion Master.