Chapter 0

The Heavenly Demon has died.

With that, the long and arduous Jeongma War also came to an end.

The hellish times that had continued for years finally concluded with the death of the Heavenly Demon.

Many rejoiced at the defeat of the Demonic Cult, celebrating the return of peace.

However, the aftermath of the war left behind more than just relief and peace.

Two of the nine factions of Gu Pailbang were burned to ashes, and one of the four great clans fell.

Among the countless warriors of the Central Plains, the three revered experts known as the Zenith of Heaven, all perished at the hands of the Heavenly Demon.

Though the Heavenly Demon was defeated and the Demonic Cult eradicated from this land, the war remained a costly endeavor.

Too much had been lost.

No one knew how much time it would take to restore what had been destroyed and fallen.

Still, amid the ruins, despair was not all that remained.

Hope would bloom somewhere, and heroes who overcome crises and continue the legacy of righteousness would gradually emerge.

But to me, it didn’t matter.

“Where is he?”

A woman whispered softly in a small voice.

She stood in the Torture Chamber beneath the Murim Alliance headquarters.

Her delicate figure, though weary from battle, carried an air of grace despite her disheveled appearance.

Even though the world seemed corrupt and fractured, she shone alone like a beacon.

Who could have guessed that this fragile, beautiful woman would be the one to sever the head of the calamity known as the Heavenly Demon?

No one imagined that the promising young girl once called a latecomer would become the Greatest King in the World.

Wi Seol-ah of the Divine Sword Academy, direct disciple of the deceased Sword Lord and now acclaimed as the Greatest King after the Jeongma War.

At just twenty, she reached such heights not merely due to the absence of the three greats of her era but through sheer skill.

With a single swing of her sword, she caused natural disasters and decapitated hundreds of Demonic Humans. In the final battle against the Heavenly Demon, she fought for three days and nights, erasing the Cheonma Sect from existence.

All knew that she had earned the title of the Greatest King in the World through her own strength.

And yet, she spoke to me.

“…Where is he?”

My vision blurred from blood lost during harsh torture, and I saw her uniform—once pristine white—now blackened with soot.

She awaited my answer, but my vocal cords were shattered, leaving me unable to speak.

Wi Seol-ah must know this.

Yet, her persistence likely stemmed from frustration.

“Surely you know where the remaining Demonic Humans have gone.”

I did know.

I wanted to tell her.

“If you have any last shred of conscience…”

She hoped I would write or draw the information.

The shackles that bound me had been removed long ago, even though freeing a prisoner might seem dangerous.

But how could I, who had witnessed the death of the so-called God, possibly harm her?

Still, there was nothing I could do, even if she desired it and my heart willed it.

For my chains were of a different kind.

Thus, I stared emptily at the floor.

-Crack-

The sound of her tightly clenched fists echoed.

“This is your last chance. Everyone wishes for your death, but if you help me this one time, I will swear on everything I have to spare your life.”

Now celebrated as the Greatest King after the war’s end, she still pleaded with me.

Hatred for the escaped Demonic Humans? Revenge?

There was more to it.

‘It must be about the Meteor Sword.’

The relationship between Jang Seon-yeon of the Meteor Sword and Wi Seol-ah was well-known across the Central Plains.

Jang Seon-yeon, a promising swordsman destined to lead the martial world, was engaged to Wi Seol-ah.

Rumors circulated that Jang Seon-yeon had gone missing and was captured by the Demonic Humans.

Was this why she acted thus?

Even someone as strong as her seemed troubled over a mere man.

“So please, tell me. Where are they hiding?”

Wi Seol-ah glared at me with fiery eyes.

It struck me as absurd.

We hadn’t always been like this.

Where did it all go wrong? It was endless, and perhaps all part of my karma. There was no point in dredging up old memories.

I felt only disdain for myself.

I was the traitor who betrayed everyone and became a Demonic Human.

She was the hero who saved everyone.

When I gave no response, Wi Seol-ah threw me aside in apparent resignation.

I collided with the jagged stone wall but felt no pain.

My body was already broken beyond repair.

“Had I known you were such a vile person, I would have killed you the moment I first met you.”

I regretted it deeply.

Her quiet muttering rang loudly in my ears.

Our first meeting.

Would she remember when it happened?

Perhaps her memory differed greatly from mine.

Or maybe she hadn’t attributed much meaning to it back then.

To her, it might be a trivial memory.

But for me, among the many regrets big and small, it was one of the larger ones.

A fragment of memory buried deep within the scattered pieces of my past.

What brought me here?

-Creak-

As Wi Seol-ah turned to leave, closing the iron-barred door, she paused upon hearing some noise.

Her gaze returned to me, my battered body trembling.

Her cold stare softened slightly as she noticed my hand scribbling something on the floor using blood as ink.

Each line I wrote brought forth gushing blood.

The curse was clear.

A simple condition: “Do not betray the Demonic Cult,” yet it bound my life.

I had seen countless others die because of this curse, regardless of their martial prowess.

Though she had defeated the Heavenly Demon, breaking this curse wouldn’t change anything now.

I was merely curious.

Was my heart enduring beyond its limit due to my willpower or was it a miracle?

Regardless, it was futile.

“D…ya…”

Wi Seol-ah rushed to me, saying something indistinct, but her words were muffled.

I ignored her and continued.

She must want this too.

Would she believe it wasn’t my choice?

Of course not.

There were plenty of excuses: reasons, explanations, justifications—but none mattered at this point.

Ignoring the pounding in my chest, I painstakingly wrote each word.

Blood trickled down my chin with every stroke.

Wi Seol-ah extended her hand toward me, sensing something amiss.

But I finished first.

As soon as the last word was written, my heart exploded with a sickening thud.

On the floor lay the information she so desperately sought—the hidden location of the Demonic Humans.

Wi Seol-ah caught me as I collapsed, likely to protect the message.

She looked at me with shock as my body grew cold and my consciousness faded.

Everything was a mess.

Why did I live this way?

Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter anymore.

Guy Yangcheon of the Gu Clan of Shanxi.

Born into a prestigious family, lived as a righteous person, betrayed them to become a Demonic Human, captured and tortured after the defeat of the Demonic Cult, and died.

A few lines summed up my meaningless life perfectly.

And now, even that meaningless life had come to an end.

“Thank you, whatever it means?”

“Huh?”

It should have been clear.