There was someone I wanted to protect.
Even if an army shrouded in a curtain of blood were to invade.
Even if a catastrophe of collapsing heavens and splitting earth were to come.
There was someone I wanted to protect, someone I wanted to keep from having even a single drop of blood on their hands.
The army had retreated. They were my creation, using infinite time as the material.
The calamity had passed. It was a difficult and fearful time, but we endured, and a peaceful world arrived, almost like a lie.
Then, why.
Why, you.
In this peaceful world where everyone looks up to the blue sky.
Why do you lie there with your eyes closed in such apparent joy?
Open your eyes. The person you’ve longed to see is right before you. And you haven’t even had the chance to forgive them.
Please, open your eyes.
My dear…
When a white-haired man was fervently whispering to a woman with chestnut hair in his embrace.
Above them, more specifically inside the wardrobe, a woman was quietly watching.
This woman’s alias was Heavenly Demon, a practitioner of martial arts so superior that even Sword Sage, considered the first among martial artists in the land, failed to detect her hidden presence.
This Heavenly Demon, however, sorrowfully gazed at the Sword Sage and Soeun Yu for some reason. Deep regret flickered in her eyes.
“Haa, haa, haa…”
“…”
“Madam, please, wake up. If the elixir of life that supposedly revives the dead has been taken, why can’t you rise…!”
“…”
“…”
Byul Rak embraced what appeared to be a corpse, murmuring almost like a sob. Watching this, the Heavenly Demon was overcome with deep remorse.
‘They’re all the same, aren’t they?’
In the past, she had been arrogant, crushing others and believing the world existed solely for her.
Above all heavens and beneath all the earth, she alone existed.
Then, a certain man boldly invaded her domain. He was utterly unimpressed even by the name “Heavenly Demon,” possessing a clean, pure spirit.
This man loved exercise more than anything. He was more interested in maintaining physical beauty rather than martial arts training and strength.
Somehow, over time, Heavenly Demon found herself drawn to him. Before she realized it, she was completely infatuated. A man who hadn’t even mastered martial arts had penetrated her realm, a place no one had ever entered or could ever penetrate.
To Heavenly Demon, the way others viewed humans was akin to the way humans looked at cattle or pigs. Only this man was an equal in her world.
Heavenly Demon was not someone who found joy in evil deeds. She had simply devoted everything to this first being she ever loved.
Not only her own life but also the lives of others. It was a time of obsession with him.
Now, although she had accepted their separation.
Heavenly Demon remembered the words he had left her before he died.
– It’s enough now… Let that person go…
– Don’t stay confined with just me… Look at the world…
– Learn about people… Feel the emotions you’re meant to feel…
– Don’t become a monster just because of me…
These were the words that had helped break the long shackles of her cycle and create the Heavenly Demon she is now. She never forgot these words, repeating them endlessly in her mind.
However, merely repeating them and truly understanding and practicing them were two different planes. Heavenly Demon couldn’t comprehend what it meant for her, who was already a person, to become one again.
She thought.
“To a couple like this… what am I…?”
It was a bitter soliloquy.
Heavenly Demon saw the Sword Sage merely as a tool, just like all the other objects in this world.
Just a tool to turn back time for her husband.
But through the last few days of observing him, she understood she had been wrong.
The Sword Sage, who was always covered in blood during struggles, was just an ordinary person in peaceful situations. Just like anyone else — laughing when appropriate, resting when needed, and joking around when it was time to — a person exactly like herself.
Others were the same too. They weren’t that different from her. The nuances of personalities aside, the empathetic points in their conversations were mostly similar. Moreover, everyone seemed to have experienced love as deep as hers.
It was then that Heavenly Demon began to slightly understand his words.
Her, trapped in her own world.
How narrow and prejudiced her perspective had been.
“Sword Sage.”
Coming out from the wall, Heavenly Demon spoke.
Byul Rak responded by tilting his head up while still holding Soeun Yu in both arms. Tears streamed down his face.
“…Heavenly Demon? When did you get here?”
“That’s not important now.”
Entering the private chamber, Heavenly Demon extended her hand and placed it on Soeun Yu’s forehead.
Byul Rak, who had seen tragedies before, stiffened momentarily but realized resistance would be futile and stayed still.
“This is the child you have protected so much.”
“…Heavenly Demon, what are you trying to do…”
“You’re too agitated. If you were in your right mind, you would have examined this girl’s condition first. Calm down for a moment.”
“…”
While Byul Rak remained silent, bewildered by Heavenly Demon’s serious expression, she gathered her internal energy at her fingertips.
The cosmic energy she wielded, far superior to what Byul Rak could control, concentrated at her fingertips.
That energy slowly flowed into Soeun Yu’s head, and color returned to her face.
“Standing on the edge of life and death, she has managed to return. If it hadn’t been for the elixir of life you provided, she would have been doomed, but fortunate circumstances have prevailed.”
“Is she alive?”
“Isn’t she breathing normally right now? She fainted merely because she drained herself all at once. Likely, waiting a bit should resolve it.”
“Ah… thank you.”
“Your reaction to her fainting is what surprises me. Although… she means everything to you, doesn’t she.”
“Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“Perhaps not, but… tsk, it’s done. Handle things well. A guard saw your state and ran off screaming, so they’re sure to bring more people soon.”
“I’ll try to calm them down. You shouldn’t be discovered, so please go back inside.”
“Very well, take care of it yourself.”
Once Heavenly Demon disappeared back into the wardrobe, several guards soon burst through the door.
“Phew… Blood…”
Regardless of the situation, Byul Rak continued to caress the breathing Soeun Yu gently.
Judge Bao was asking questions while facing Sword Sage, the main figure in the upcoming trial.
He was there because the previous visitor had collapsed during the visit.
“What exactly happened? Explain everything clearly. It’s my duty to investigate any unpleasant incidents that occurred during your visit.”
“It was nothing much. Lady Yu simply fainted during the meeting.”
“What about the shattered table and the chair?”
“I broke them. I’ll compensate later.”
“Not quite, I’m asking the reason. Compensation is naturally necessary, of course.”
“…I was startled when Lady Yu collapsed and moved toward her, breaking them in the process. Sorry. I lost control of my strength.”
Byul Rak wasn’t lying. He omitted a few facts and responded like a knife’s edge.
The tougher it got, the more Judge Bao had a headache. A mere visit before the trial, and somehow the visitor came out as if dead and things were broken. What happened?
“So… your claim is that even an absolute master like yourself didn’t realize that the table and chairs would break while moving?”
“In the heat of the moment, my emotions were too heightened. I apologize again.”
“Anyway, since they’re not my belongings, an apology isn’t required, but it is still suspicious. Now, moving on… the previous guard said that you were hugging the visitor and crying. Why is that?”
“I thought she had passed away.”
“Hmm… so you’re saying an absolute master like yourself couldn’t distinguish between someone unconscious and dead, hence you wept? Am I supposed to believe that?”
“Whether you believe or not, this is the truth. Not an inch of falsehood.”
“Heard you were a bachelor, huh.”
Judge Bao put down the information sheet he had been holding and spoke.
“Interestingly, among your charges, there’s one of adultery.”
“It’s a false charge, as I’ve repeatedly mentioned.”
“Hmm… regardless, I understand your point. The lady has been moved to the infirmary. You can visit her after the trial is over. Of course, that’ll be if you’re found not guilty.”
“When is the trial?”
“In three days. Wait patiently until then. Your meals will be served on time.”
“…”
“If judged as a heinous criminal, such meals might not come regularly. The guards might take offense and eat it all themselves. So eating well is a good idea.”
The door creaked shut as Judge Bao left, his tone devoid of any emotion. The tightly sealed door blocked the entrance to the private chamber.
Left alone, Byul Rak recalled the limp figure of Soeun Yu being carried away by the guards.
Her vital energy was stable, her breath and complexion all fine. With Heavenly Demon’s unwavering word, Byul Rak was inwardly relieved.
However, he couldn’t fully let his guard down. Especially since this person had gone through so much for him, even enduring his mental pain without hesitation.
If only she were within sight, three days felt far too long.
– You should meditate.
“No, I’ll be going out for a bit.”
Of course, Byul Rak had no intention of sitting idle for the three days.
When night fell and the guards’ attentions waned, Byul Rak slipped away from the secret chamber, tearing through space using his mastered concealing techniques, heading toward the infirmary where Soeun Yu was.
Even through the shift from day to night, Soeun Yu hadn’t regained consciousness. Byul Rak stayed by her side throughout the night when no one was around.
Flowing essence into her body, he took great care of her. It wasn’t a return of romantic feelings, but he deemed it as his duty — a duty owed to her sacrifice for his sake.
Thus, the three days passed, and the trial’s day arrived.
Before dawn, as the roosters were just about to crow announcing the new morning, Byul Rak quietly whispered into the still-unconscious Soeun Yu’s ear.
“I will return without fail.”
It was a whisper filled with resolute determination.
