Chapter 119: Fire of Emotion
"Do you know what my first objective is for this?"
Cheon Yujeong whispered.
"To take your man."
"…You!"
"Your talent. The position of Young Cult Leader that you gained through it. Even those Guardians and attendants. And the Heavenly Demonic Divine Art you've mastered."
Her tone was laced with hatred.
"All of those were merely things granted to you by the Cult Leader."
Cheon Yujeong truly believed that.
"But that man is different. That man, at the very least, is something you can claim as entirely your own—not something someone gave you."
His loyalty, his affection, his gaze, and his passion.
"If I were to take everything from that man… how utterly devastated would you be?"
Fwhoosh!
In that moment—
Like oil had been poured on a long-smoldering fire, Cheon Yura’s emotions flared violently.
But rather than being daunted, Cheon Yujeong welcomed the reaction.
"Ahahaha! That’s it! That look in your eyes! That childish emotion screaming that you never want to lose him! I knew I wasn’t wrong—your reaction says it all!"
Truly enraged, Cheon Yura reached for her sword’s hilt.
This time, she was determined to draw her blade and slash her enemy's throat.
However, someone intervened before she could act.
"That’s far enough."
From the entrance of the Lesser Demon Hall, a familiar yet clear woman’s voice rang out.
At the sound of that voice, the attendants and Guardians’ expressions lit up.
"Hmph, come to think of it, there was one more thing you obtained with your own hands."
Cheon Yujeong turned her head in the opposite direction.
"Sa Biyeon. You seem to have had the time to come here?"
At the end of her gaze stood Sa Biyeon, who had once managed this place as one of Cheon Yura’s attendants.
She was no longer clad in the neat servant’s garments of the past but wore luxurious robes, and by her side were elite warriors of her clan guarding her without the slightest gap in formation.
It was clear proof of her current standing within her clan.
"Recently, the Grand Heir of your clan has been raging, desperate to kill you."
Sa Biyeon narrowed her eyes half-closed.
"…You’re acquainted with my elder brother?"
"Oh, of course. Just how many places are there for a cornered rat to seek help from?"
It was practically a confession that Sa Bihwan had aligned with the Cheon Clan.
"He’s been wandering around doing every despicable thing imaginable."
"……."
To the silent Sa Biyeon, Cheon Yujeong gently extended her hand.
"What do you think? If you come to me, you could hand over all that information. With that alone, you could easily bring about his downfall."
"……."
"Then you’ll become the next head of the Sa Clan. And... the right hand of the next Cult Leader."
"Are you trying to win me over right now?"
"Of course! You’re far more appealing than that worthless man."
"Biyeon!"
Cheon Yura unconsciously shouted toward Sa Biyeon.
And Sa Biyeon responded perfectly to that call.
"I refuse."
"…Is that so?"
"What’s the point of glory gained through betraying the one I serve?"
Even in the face of such a firm refusal—
Cheon Yujeong laughed instead.
"Kuuh, kuhuhuhuh!"
"What’s so funny?"
"You’re foolish. So very foolish."
Cheon Yujeong looked at Sa Biyeon as though she found her truly amusing.
"Do you know the most common way that second-in-commands in history have seized power?"
Cheon Yujeong and Sa Biyeon locked eyes in midair.
"By striking the back of the person above them."
"…You!"
"Well, it doesn’t seem like it’ll work right now, so I’ll take my leave."
Swish!
"Even if it’s not you, I already have a right hand I can trust."
Gasp!
Like a ghost.
Someone slipped in between Sa Biyeon and Cheon Yujeong.
"Would you care to exchange greetings? I’m called Baekryeong."
"……."
The one called Baekryeong was a girl at least a head shorter than both Cheon Yujeong and Sa Biyeon.
A fragile body that seemed not even fully developed.
But the moment Sa Biyeon saw her calm eyes and cold lips, she instinctively knew this girl was no ordinary foe.
‘A top-tier expert!’
She looked like she had severed all emotion.
Or rather, as Cheon Yujeong had just implied, it wouldn’t be surprising if her mind had truly been tampered with.
While Baekryeong and Sa Biyeon faced off in a tense atmosphere—
"Ah, before I leave, let me give you a little information."
"Information, you say?"
Cheon Yujeong’s gaze turned again to Cheon Yura.
"Your man… Jin Yeomyung visited the Extreme Pa Clan just yesterday."
At the words "Extreme Pa Clan", both Sa Biyeon and Cheon Yura’s expressions slightly brightened.
They knew exactly why Jin Yeomyung had gone there.
But then—
Cheon Yujeong said something that defied belief.
"And… did you know the clan head of Extreme Pa Clan proposed a son-in-law match with your man? Specifically with their young mistress, Pa Yeongyeong."
Cheon Yura’s pupils shrank rapidly.
"What’s even more amusing is… your man didn’t refuse the proposal."
"W-what?"
"Cheon Yujeong! What nonsense is that!?"
Even as Cheon Yura shouted in fury, Cheon Yujeong laughed gleefully and exited the Lesser Demon Hall.
"I swear on my honor, it’s the truth. Ahahahaha!"
"What the—! Stop right there, Cheon Yujeong!"
"If you want the truth, why not find out yourself instead of asking me? If I say it’s not true now, would you even believe it? Hahaha!"
With those final words, Cheon Yujeong completely left the Lesser Demon Hall.
Swoosh!
Cheon Yura let her arms fall helplessly to her sides, her expression one of disbelief.
Her eyes were filled with indescribable shock.
* * *
“Marriage? What do you mean by that?”
I asked Pa Uryang again, stunned beyond belief.
“Just as it sounds. It’s an official marriage proposal between the Pa Clan and the Jin Clan.”
Pa Uryang continued calmly.
“Isn’t the Jin Clan on good terms with the So Clan because your grandmother is from their line?”
He was right.
The current matriarch of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan and Jin Gun-ak’s mother, So Eunryeon, was the younger sister of the previous clan head of the Hidden Shadow So Clan.
“We’re about to go up against none other than the Cheon Clan. Since alliances of interest can break at any time, if we bind ourselves through blood, there’ll be no need to worry about betrayal.”
“But I…”
“Don’t bring up your relationship with the Young Cult Leader. Didn’t you officially sever ties with her?”
I clamped my mouth shut.
I had walked right into my own trap.
“The Asura King would likely consider it quite favorably. He might even force the marriage through.”
“T-That’s!”
“I’m trying to do you a favor in my own way.”
Favor, my ass.
I could practically see the greed dripping from his eyes!
‘This is bad.’
I never imagined the Clan Head of the Pa Clan would take a personal interest in me.
The real problem was that his justification sounded very reasonable—and I didn’t have a strong one to reject it.
Honestly, I had come here asking for help with nothing to offer. It was shameless of me.
“What happens if I refuse?”
“Hmm, I won’t withdraw support for the Junior Brother.”
Pa Uryang grinned.
“But the support from the main house will significantly weaken.”
That was a roundabout way of saying I’d be left high and dry if I turned him down.
“The Young Cult Leader might be hurt, but she can’t do anything to you. The Cult Leader himself wouldn’t allow it.”
Chills!
A shiver ran down my spine.
‘He’s got the situation completely figured out.’
At a glance, he might seem like some eccentric obsessed with martial enlightenment, uninterested in the Cult’s affairs, but Pa Uryang clearly had the insight and intelligence worthy of a clan head among the Six Great Demonic Clans.
He had grasped the Cult Leader’s true intent, and the full nature of my relationship with Cheon Yura, with shocking precision!
‘I’ve been far too complacent.’
I had convinced myself I understood the Pa Clan’s tendencies and planned things too loosely. Now it had come back to bite me.
“I don’t think I can give you an immediate answer.”
Pa Uryang furrowed his brow slightly.
“Hmph, so you want to gauge the situation? Not very manly.”
“Even if you say that, I can’t help it. The proposal was just too sudden.”
“Well, I suppose that’s fair enough.”
Pa Uryang slowly rose from his seat.
“Before you go, why don’t you meet Yeongyeong? Your personalities seem compatible, and she’s been wanting to see you.”
“…Understood.”
“You can even consummate things on the spot if you like.”
“…I’ll pass on that.”
He really was a man with unstoppable drive, like a bull.
* * *
Was this what people meant when they said you removed a lump only to grow another?
“Judging by your face, I can tell exactly what the Clan Head said to you.”
“……”
“Why the long face? Do you hate me that much?”
“You know it’s not that kind of issue.”
Pa Yeongyeong, resting her chin on her hand and watching me with an enigmatic smile, didn’t look at all like a terminally ill patient.
But in the world of martial arts, internal injuries mattered far more than external wounds.
Right now, Pa Yeongyeong was no different from a critically ill patient with twisted qi circulation throughout her body and ruptured internal organs.
Even with her calm expression, the sweat trickling down her forehead said it all.
“That duel felt truly liberating. You’re really strong.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“Once I recover, let’s fight again. Thanks to you, I had a small enlightenment. One more match, and I think I’ll solidify that understanding.”
I slightly opened my mouth in surprise.
Even if it was nearly a life-or-death battle, to achieve an insight from a single duel?
Given who she was, if she said it aloud, it had to be something significant.
“Let’s consider that after you’ve made a full recovery.”
“Mm, fair.”
“By the way…”
I glanced cautiously at someone sitting nearby and cautiously broached the topic.
“Your younger sister is putting a lot of pressure on me. Could you maybe… talk to her?”
“Hmm?”
“What do you mean, Master Jin?”
Sitting beside us with a beaming smile was Pa Seolyeong.
She hadn’t erased her smile once, yet I could feel the silent pressure she was sending my way.
“What did I do?”
“...N-Nothing at all.”
She had been refining her killing intent so precisely, she was shooting it at me without her sister noticing.
Just from that, I could tell her skills weren’t far off from Pa Yeongyeong’s.
‘My stomach feels like it’s being poked.’
Taking on the pure killing intent of a Master-Level expert bare-bodied was definitely no joke.
“Seolyeong, enough.”
“Yes, sister.”
Finally noticing the situation, Pa Yeongyeong gave a look, and Pa Seolyeong stopped sending her killing intent my way.
And then—
“Hmm…”
Pa Yeongyeong, for once, made a troubled face.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect the Clan Head to make that proposal either.”
“…Is that so?”
“Seolyeong argued we should pull out, but I thought forming an alliance with the Jin Clan might not be a bad thing.”
Pa Yeongyeong thought that?
I didn’t expect that at all.
“Why did you think that?”
“Obviously, because of you.”
Snap!
Pa Yeongyeong pointed her finger at me.
“I never imagined the Young Cult Leader would change so much in such a short time.”
Changed?
“I thought, after about ten more years, she’d become such a tyrant that no one could stop her.”
She wasn’t wrong.
“Yet she changed—after meeting you.”
Pa Yeongyeong’s eyes were serious.
Even Pa Seolyeong wiped the expression from her face and listened quietly.
“It wasn’t just the meeting that changed her. It was all the effort you put in.”
I couldn’t find the right words and just moved my lips soundlessly.
“To positively change someone else’s emotions—that’s an incredibly hard thing to do.”