Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Swoosh.

Swoosh. An endless stream of black aura surged from the figure ahead.

Wi Seol-Ah trembled as she stood before the overwhelming presence.

How did it feel so unnerving?

And what was this aura that pushed back the ominous power?

Wi Seol-Ah wondered about the white aura radiating out from her body.

Despite using it herself, she didn’t understand what it was.

This was because Wi Seol-Ah herself wasn’t the one controlling this power.

[ What are you doing right now? ]

In a way, it was her, but the current Wi Seol-Ah was merely observing.

Since the moment that mysterious presence arrived, control of Wi Seol-Ah’s body had passed to someone else.

Swish! Swish!

Flash of light burst around her.

Each swing of her sword, imbued with the white aura, left dense trails in the air, so powerful it seemed to distort the very dimensions around it.

She could feel every movement of her body.

Though she’d lost control, Wi Seol-Ah could feel every shift of her legs, every direction of her gaze, everything.

She felt the flow of her Qi, the movement of her sword.

She could perceive each movement in vivid detail.

This was unlike the sword technique her grandfather had taught her.

It’s similar, yet different…

It was definitely the Moonlight Dance.

This Qi flow and swordplay clearly aligned with the Moonlight Dance her grandfather had taught her, yet something in her movements felt subtly different.

She wondered where she could have learned such movements.

…This is.

Then, she remembered.

The peculiar movements she had started learning on Mount Hua.

It felt similar to the peculiar sword movements she learned from her back then.

Then what was this aura?

This aura also felt akin to her own golden aura, yet it was distinctly different.

Its Qi flow was the same, but it was far denser and warmer.

-Focus. Try to feel it.

A voice began to echo in Wi Seol-Ah’s ears.

Only then did she grasp what was truly happening.

For a brief moment, she forgot her surroundings, entranced by the elegant swordplay.

[ Sis…! ]

-I didn’t want to teach it to you like this.

Her sword remained steady as she spoke.

The sword swung tirelessly, cloaked in white aura.

At first, it seemed she was overwhelming her opponent, but the enemy fought back with their endless aura which brought despair to Wi Seol-Ah, but the girl didn’t stop.

-Are you scared?

Light.

Brilliant light flashed before Wi Seol-Ah’s eyes with each swing of her sword.

The aura paused briefly.

In an instant, the girl took another step forward.

-Do you remember when I told you to find the essence of the Moonlight Dance?

Wi Seol-Ah remembered. The essence of Moonlight Dance wasn’t at the moon.

Did this mean that power she was displaying now was the true essence of the Moonlight Dance?

-No.

The girl answered.

-Don’t be misled by this power and stray from your path. You must uncover the essence in your own way.

The white aura that protected her almost seemed like a pair of wings.

The current Wi Seol-Ah knew that she wasn’t powerful enough to do such a thing.

She turned her gaze to the figure before her, emitting a torrent of black aura.

It had the exact same face as her.

How was that possible?

She was full of confusion.

Its face was expressionless, yet its violet eyes glowed intensely.

With a single gesture, an immense wave of aura flooded the area.

Her sword blocked the aura once again by slashing through, but she wasn’t able to block all of them and had to deflect some of it.

Did she reach her limit?

With that thought, Wi Seol-Ah spoke.

[ Sis… hand control back to me now**. ]**

She’d promised Wi Seol-Ah she wouldn’t take control of her body without permission again, yet here she was, breaking that promise once more.

Wi Seol-Ah may have been impressed by her sword and aura, but that was a different story.

-Sorry.

The girl apologized in response.

-I know you are not happy with me taking control of your body… but now…

She believed that it was for him.

This time, she felt she had no other choice.

[ That’s not it. ]

But Wi Seol-Ah responded.

[ You said… it would be the last time. That if you took over again, you’d disappear. ]

-…!

[ We can’t let that happen. ]

The girl became slightly shocked after hearing Wi Seol-Ah.

Her answer was not what the girl had expected.

-…Are you worried about me?

[Should I not be?]

One day, she told her this.

She said that she didn’t have much strength in her left, so that there was a limit to how many times she could take control of Wi Seol-Ah’s body.

She said she had just one more chance to do it, and that time was now.

But this was what the girl wanted.

If it was for him, she could do anything without a moment’s hesitation.

Even if this meant perishing and facing an unimaginable punishment on her soul for her sins, she didn’t care.

She couldn’t repay what he had done for her, nor could she show him that she was here now, but it was enough if she could save her and buy him more time.

However, she didn’t expect Wi Seol-Ah to worry for her.

[ If you keep going like this… you’ll disappear. Are you really okay with that? ]

Wi Seol-Ah was asking if she was willing to never see him again after this.

The girl smiled at Wi Seol-Ah’s words as she swung her sword.

-You are quite different compared to me.

Wi Seol-Ah was different from her.

And she preferred it that way.

-That much is enough.

It meant that, if her first meeting with him had been just a little different, she might have turned out the same way.

-I pray for your happiness.

Though she’d never found that happiness herself, she truly wished for Wi Seol-Ah to live the life she could not.

[ Sis…? ]

-I have a request.

The girl carefully spoke.

-Please, don’t hate your grandfather too much. He has his reasons. So… please don’t hate him.

[ What did you say? ]

Wi Seol-Ah asked confusedly, but the fight became more intense.

Then, Wi Seol-Ah was able to somewhat notice.

The aura pouring from the girl’s body wasn’t just coming from her Dantian.

It went much deeper than that.

It was so deep, Wi Seol-Ah knew she couldn’t hope to reach it in her current state.

Where was it coming from?

What would happen to her once she uses all of this aura?

Her sword surged with even more power.

Its gradual rise in its power felt flawless.

The process was without a single flaw.

It showed a perfect usage of Qi.

Her opponent seemed to sense this too and tilted its head.

Instead of appearing threatened, it seemed almost amused.

Was it curious about what would happen next?

[ Sis…! Wait…! ]

The girl wondered what would happen to her after she was done using this power.

She knew that she would be punished due to all the sins she committed, but she didn’t know what kind of punishment she would get.

More importantly, she wondered if this power could kill the presence before her.

It’s impossible.

It was impossible.

The girl understood that, with only this much power, she couldn’t do anything against the presence.

‘After all, she was just like her.

However,

‘As long as I can damage it a little,’

She tried to buy time.

She believed that she would be able to buy a decent amount of time for him.

It wasn’t only her Qi that now infused her sword.

Unable to draw from this body’s life energy, she poured her own presence and soul into the sword.

This would be the ultimate strike.

That was her goal,

Woong-

“…!”

The girl froze, compelled to glance behind her.

She looked toward the place where he was seated.

The Heavenly Demon did the same.

The Heavenly Demon, too, widened its eyes and turned to the same direction.

Then,

“…Huff… Ugh.”

A groan broke the silence, and Wi Seol-Ah immediately reacted to the sound.

To her surprise, the groan came from the Heavenly Demon.

******************The Demonic Qi that twisted my insides.

Unlike its usual effect of blocking Qi flow and decaying the body, this pain felt different.

Resonance, was it?

Sensing the presence of the ruler of ten thousand demons before me, the Demonic Qi within me began to respond.

More than that, it went wild, as though trying to tear free from my body and return to the Heavenly Demon.

It felt as if it was trying to explode my body.

Despite reaching Fusion Realm, I was powerless before the Heavenly Demon, all because of the Demonic Qi within me.

So what was the solution?

Wi Seol-Ah fought against the Heavenly Demon in front of me.

The Dishonored Venerable behind me wasn’t in the state to fight, and it would be dangerous once the Palace Lord recovers his energy.

Wi Seol-Ah could very well be killed.

I wasn’t concerned with who would stop the Heavenly Demon if Wi Seol-Ah died.

I simply couldn’t bear the thought of her dying.

More than I feared my own death.

So, I had to find a way out of this situation.

What, then, was the solution?

It was simple.

If the Demonic Qi within me was trying to return to the Heavenly Demon, all I had to do was make it mine, so it would lose its pull toward its owner.

Instead of confining the Demonic Qi in a corner of my Dantian, I needed to fully merge it with my body.

This meant turning myself into a Demonic Human.

Since absorbing Demonic Qi in this life, I’d hesitated to use it, doing everything I could to avoid it.

Yet now, I was willing to step my foot into that mess.

I released the Demonic Qi I’d been holding back.

Rumble.

The Demonic Qi surged wildly within me.

It was painful.

It felt like knives stabbing me from the inside.

Through the pain, I channeled more power into the Demonic Qi within me.

Roaaaar!

It almost sounded as if something was roaring inside my body.

The Demonic Qi was making a beast-like sound.

It surged through my veins.

It wasn’t moving toward my Dantian.

Instead, its destination was my heart.

[ Grrr! ]

A low growl echoed in my ears.

The beast that had stayed silent until now finally stirred.

I expected frustration at its late appearance, but surprisingly, I felt none.

It’s you, right?

I asked the beast.

You were the one holding back the Demonic Qi, weren’t you?

[ Grrrr… ]

Even with Demonic Qi inside me, I felt no pain, nor had I transformed into a Demonic Human.

You’ve been blocking it all this time, haven’t you?

I’d credited the Destructive Flame Arts with purifying it, but reflecting on my past life, I began to reconsider.

When I was turned into a Demonic Human by the Heavenly Demon, I hadn’t descended into madness.

I just believed that I was a special case, but considering how the World Tree said that the beast had been inside my body the whole time even in my past life, perhaps it was the beast that stopped me from turning mad.

The beast hadn’t just awakened after my regression; I’d simply never realized it had always been within me.

With each level I attained in this life, the beast appeared less and less. Perhaps as my Demonic Qi grew denser, the beast was working harder to keep it from going wild within me.

That was the thought I had.

I wondered if the beast might also be purifying the Qi, but I couldn’t be sure.

However, I was certain about one thing.

You don’t want me to turn into a Demonic Human.

[ Grrr… ]

Right?

The beast didn’t want me to become a Demonic Human.

I couldn’t be certain, but I believed it was true.

However,

Sorry, but I don’t think I can fulfill your wish.

Even though the beast didn’t want this, I believed it was inevitable.

Perhaps I’d been delaying the inevitable all along.

I’d vowed to achieve my goal by any means, yet I’d put this off, haunted by memories of the hell that was my past life.

I believed that if I went through with this, any hope of a normal life would vanish.

That’s why I hesitated.

Cggck-

Demonic Qi surged through my body, growing wilder.

It thrashed wildly, as though it had a life of its own, now that it was unleashed.

I directed all of the Demonic Qi toward my heart.

It surged there instantly.

Not all of it obeyed, but most of the Demonic Qi converged at my heart.

Veins bulged across my body.

The pain was incomparable to anything I’d felt in my past life.

Was it because back then, it was the Heavenly Demon who turned me into a Demonic Human and now I was turning myself into one?

I wasn’t certain.

I just endured for now.

I forced my bloodshot eyes open and fixed them on the Heavenly Demon.

Turning into a Demonic Human would let me stall against the Heavenly Demon for a while, but in the end, I’d fall under its command.

Then it would just be the same as before.

If that happened, I’d just be repeating history.

So, I decided to try a slightly different approach.

I’ve been thinking about this endlessly in my mind ever since.

Since discovering that the Demonic Absorption Arts remained with me after my regression, and that I could turn others into Demonic Humans, I’d realized something.

As I climbed to higher levels, I found myself replicating what the Heavenly Demon had done in my past life.

It was as if something was pushing me toward becoming the Heavenly Demon myself.

How sickening, isn’t it?

It felt like all my experiences had been orchestrated by someone else’s will, even with the Heavenly Demon right in front of me, still breathing.

Was that really incorrect though?

I couldn’t answer myself.

With everything I’d been through, it felt like I was fully capable of doing the same.

Did Demonic Qi really belong to the Heavenly Demon?

How could it belong to the Heavenly Demon, when its Qi was drawn from other demons?

Was it just because it ruled over ten thousand demons?

But there were barely any Demonic Humans right now.

Roaaaar!

My Demonic Qi continued its wild surge near my heart.

It kept trying to return to the Heavenly Demon.

No, let me rephrase that.

I changed my thoughts.

It wasn’t that the Demonic Qi was trying to return to the Heavenly Demon, it was instead trying to move towards a better and stronger vessel.

I let you live in me rent free, how dare you bastards.

Thinking of it that way is infuriating, you know.

The Heavenly Demon once said this to me.

It said that this power belonged to the Heavenly Demon itself.

No, that’s not how this works.

It’s mine, because it’s in my possession now.

If you handed me something I never asked for, then you should allow me to keep it.

I had no intention of giving it back.

Return it? Not a chance. This is mine now, and I won’t let go of what’s mine.

Roar…!

The Demonic Qi continued its rampage.

It grew even wilder as I blocked its path to the Heavenly Demon.

I pulled it towards me instead.

The pain intensified, as if my body was ready to explode any second, but I didn’t care.

Shut up and obey me.

I’d been patient, willing to hear out every demand from the world.

Do I look like a joke to you because I held back up until now?

It took up a place in my body on its own will, and now it wanted to leave just because the Heavenly Demon had shown up?

No, I will not let that happen.

Squeeze.

I seized all my Demonic Qi and forced it toward my heart.

It grew more violent under my grip.

My heart would explode if I lost control of it even for a second, but it was too late for me to go back now.

I carefully channeled the Demonic Qi into my heart.

My body wouldn’t have been able to endure it before, but I was now barely able to thanks to me reaching Fusion Realm.

It almost felt like I’d reached Fusion Realm just for this moment.

This current situation seemed more than just a coincidence.

If someone had set this up, what did they want from me?

Could it be pushing me to become the Heavenly Demon?

How foolish. The Heavenly Demon was standing right before me, how could I become it?

Even the thought was terrifying.

Such a thing was absurd and impossible.

Just then, I sensed something faintly.

As Demonic Qi filled my heart, I noticed a clear line on my body, connected to something beyond me.

It was connected to the Heavenly Demon.

What was this line, when I’d barely encountered the Heavenly Demon in this life?

Was it the symbol of my Demonic Qi being connected to the Heavenly Demon?

I didn’t think for long.

Whether it was an illusion, why it was connected, or how it related to the Heavenly Demon, I dismissed it all, reached out, and snapped the line.

Tap.

The line snapped effortlessly.

“…!”

The Heavenly Demon’s gaze immediately turned toward me.

Could it feel the line break?

Rumble!

The instant the line broke, I felt the Demonic Qi in my heart shift.

The Demonic Qi I’d barely contained began flooding my body once more.

But there was one difference.

Instead of pain, the Demonic Qi now radiated warmth within me.

It began flowing into my Dantian.

It mixed itself with Qi already there.

Rather than devouring my Qi, it fused slowly with it.

Once my Qi merged with the Demonic Qi, it surged up to my middle Dantian.

There was no blockage.

It flowed smoothly, naturally.

With my middle Dantian filled, there was only one destination left for the Demonic Qi.

It was my top Dantian.

The Qi moved toward my top Dantian, which I had only unlocked upon reaching Fusion Realm.

It surged like a tsunami.

It moved almost too fast, yet I could feel every detail of its path.

How could I not, with its presence so unmistakable?

My top Dantian began to fill with Demonic Qi.

Then, heat began to build behind my eyes.

“Haah…”

The pain faded for a moment, and I exhaled, overwhelmed by an unfamiliar sense of joy.

There was no time to waste.

I rose to my feet.

The Heavenly Demon was staring at me.

Its glowing violet eyes bore into me, yet I didn’t feel fear instead, a strange sense of kinship.

Blaze.

I conjured flames in my hand as I faced it.

It wasn’t flame made with Qi, but instead Demonic Qi.

As a result, the flame burned black with a violet glow.

“Oh, for fucks sake.”

I cursed out loud at the sight.

I’d avoided becoming a Demonic Human to avoid seeing exactly this.

In the end though, I ended up wrapping myself in this shitty color of flames, so how could I not curse?

Setting aside the fact that I was now a Demonic Human and facing the Heavenly Demon, I made myself one promise as I stared at my flames.

I vowed not to end up with the ridiculous title I’d had in my past life if I wasn’t going to die here.

Ironically, that was the first thought that crossed my mind.