“You… remembered… this as well? No, how could you…”
No, why are you crying? So quietly.
During my days in the Martial Forest, I saw the Heavenly Demon cry only a mere three times.
The first was when we were sparring in our very young days, and you hit me with ‘Heavenly Demon Spirit Shock.’ When I awoke after wandering near death’s door, the Heavenly Demon showed tears for the first time.
Then there was when you returned after your seclusion, and upon learning of the Demon Queen’s passing, you vented your grief to me with tears.
Lastly, it was when I died.
Looking back, all of those moments were only in front of me. What a world…
The tone of Heavenly Yuah, whose eyes were brimming with tears, suddenly shifted to Heavenly Demon mode.
By this point, even making sarcastic remarks has become difficult.
Heavenly Yuah truly is Heavenly Demon.
What exactly is this? What is happening here?
Though it’s not really my place to say since I leapt from the Martial Forest era back to modern times, this is an exceedingly irrational event.
Was Heavenly Yuah the Heavenly Demon from the beginning, or did Heavenly Yuah become the Heavenly Demon?
This is really the worst-case scenario, but I hope that the Heavenly Demon didn’t forcibly seize Heavenly Yuah’s body.
Frankly, even if it were the Heavenly Demon, that would be quite painful.
“To what do you refer? I am merely myself. Even if I have changed a little, I am still Heavenly Yuah.”
“…A little?”
“…A little too much?”
From what I can roughly gather, it doesn’t seem like a spirit possession or body seizure kind of situation.
Heavenly Yuah is still Heavenly Yuah, but the Heavenly Demon’s memories have been added? Somewhere around there.
Her skilled portrayal of Heavenly Yuah wasn’t an imitation; she was simply being Heavenly Yuah herself.
But how is this even possible?
“Could it be the sorcery of the Blood Religion?”
“That’s right.”
“Such sorcery exists?”
“At the time I didn’t fully understand it. But if I were to explain it in modern terms, it’s roughly like this—after memory transfer or soul transfer comes unity. Through your headband as a medium, my memories and soul were transmitted and added here.”
“Hmm…”
“In any case, Heavenly Demon and Heavenly Yuah have completely merged. Therefore, don’t have any strange misunderstandings. I am still myself, and there is nothing as foolish as denying that.”
“This is quite extraordinary.”
“Isn’t this the case with all the sorceries of the Blood Religion? Though I did benefit somewhat from it this time.”
Sorcery from the Blood Religion.
This place truly has no shortage of bizarre and villainous elements, so this method seems quite credible.
However, for the Heavenly Demon to resort to the sorcery of the Blood Religion isn’t very characteristic of her.
She is the type of person who intensely detests such dark arts.
However, the fact that she used Blood Religion sorcery implies that she managed to escape unscathed from the battle before my death.
It seems my death wasn’t in vain.
After all, the Demon of the New Religion is similar to the life-and-death realm of the Central Plains. Strictly speaking, it’s somewhere around the boundary between the manifest realm and the life-and-death realm.
Though I ignored it because I was technically dead, I was concerned because I was surrounded by three highly skilled experts from the manifest realm.
Of course, I believed I could escape if I were alone, but human affairs can be unpredictable.
In any case, it seems the Heavenly Demon overcame that crisis back then.
“If such sorcery was involved, perhaps there are no issues? From the look of it, the self of Heavenly Yuah still exists.”
If the Heavenly Demon didn’t consume Heavenly Yuah but rather the two beings completely merged, there probably isn’t much to worry about.
In fact, the Heavenly Demon has become much gentler than before.
I can’t describe it accurately in words, but even in her Heavenly Demon-like behavior, there is an unbroken scent of Heavenly Yuah.
Well, just the fact that I can speak freely before the Heavenly Demon now shows that she is a bit different from the original.
There’s plenty of Heavenly Demon essence, but the oppressive Heavenly Demon aura has diminished somewhat.
Only one thing is slightly concerning…
“…Uh, grgr, what?”
“What’s troubling you that you’re grunting like that?”
“By the way, you still have that headband?”
“…That was a gift from you, was it not? How could I treat it carelessly?”
“…Hmm.”
“In fact, when you gave me the headband, we also promised our marriage.”
“Wait, you remember that?”
“Hmph, I’ve never forgotten a single day of our promise.”
By the means of the Blood Religion’s sorcery leading to the awakening of the Heavenly Demon was already absurd, but the fact that the headband I once gifted was the medium makes me feel strange.
What, you’ve kept the gift I gave at the age of ten all this time?
“Somewhat regrettable. Without it, the memories and soul couldn’t have been transferred, though you’ve lost a precious item given by you.”
Moreover, her saying that makes me feel like I’m the bad guy.
She kept the item I gave when I was ten, yet I’ve been messing around with Wolyeon.
But this isn’t something to think about that way.
I, too, had my own reasons.
To be honest, there was a time in my youth when I genuinely intended to pursue the Heavenly Demon.
Let’s say… during the Young Heavenly Demon days?
Come on, think about it.
After ending up in the Martial Forest and making a childhood friend, that friend turned out to be a girl.
Not only from a wealthy family and incredibly strong but also incredibly rich with golden hair and emerald eyes—just an extraordinary beauty with a promising future.
Wouldn’t it be strange not to take a stab at becoming her boyfriend?
That headband was my chess piece in this boyfriend pursuit.
The reason the boyfriend pursuit collapsed was a single point.
She was the Heavenly Demon.
The passing of the Demon Queen might have influenced it somewhat, but the fundamental issue wasn’t that.
At the time, both me and the Heavenly Demon were struggling with feelings of futility, but those kinds of things can be overcome eventually.
However, the fact that the Heavenly Demon is a Heavenly Demon is something that can’t be conquered.
The Heavenly Demon of the New Religion is almost a divine being.
When I was younger, I didn’t fully comprehend, but as I grew older, I realized the reality.
How could someone like me, an unheard-of person from the outside, become the Demon Consort?
To make it even clearer, our Heavenly Demon was the first Absolute Demon since the First Heavenly Demon to reach Supreme Demon.
With the crazy Elder Council’s insistence on only the best seed, it was impossible for me alone to handle their outbursts.
Moreover, the Heavenly Demon’s attitude felt somewhat lukewarm.
For someone who ostensibly created the minimum conditions by forcefully transforming me, it felt somewhat passive.
Could she have expected me to knock out all the candidates and secure my place as Demon Consort according to the New Religion’s doctrine?
But how could someone like me, with my single body, compete with those from powerful lineages who even draw the support of the Elders?
As time passed in this manner, the situation became a bit ambiguous.
Constant assassins and poison hands becoming more frequent added to the fatigue.
Then I met Wolyeon, and things somehow fizzled out between us, right?
After Wolyeon’s passing, I was so overwhelmed with a sense of loss that I couldn’t think of much else.
To find out that the Heavenly Demon kept that headband the whole time is also…
“So, what do you intend to do?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing, just that you’re acting as an actress currently, and isn’t that somewhat unfitting for the Heavenly Demon?”
“Should anything change? I think I should just live my life as always.”
“…Is that so?”
“To be honest, personally, I find being an actress quite an interesting career. Acting too is quite enjoyable.”
Sure enough, this means she intends to continue living as she has been.
Considering the addition of the Heavenly Demon’s soul and memories, since she is still Heavenly Yuah, continuing her acting career won’t be a bad thing.
There’s some relief in knowing not much has changed, but it seems I’ll have to carry quite a significant variable on my back from now on.
“Damn, with this, Flame is really going to become the true New Religion.”
According to the New Religion’s teachings, where the Heavenly Demon is, there the New Religion exists.
I occasionally compared Flame to the New Religion, but that was merely a metaphor. It didn’t mean Flame is the true New Religion.
But with it now becoming the true New Religion, it feels somewhat absurd.
Is this really correct?
Moreover, the Heavenly Demon coming over here through the Blood Religion’s strange sorcery couldn’t possibly be…
Just moments ago, the Heavenly Demon, who declared there would be no changes, approaches me.
But she’s approaching too close.
This is too close…
“Hmm…”
The Heavenly Demon suddenly initiated a kiss.
Even without using internal power, the Heavenly Demon’s approach was one with no escape routes, snatching the goal in one go.
After thoroughly enjoying my lips, she now turns her reddened face slightly away from my eyes.
“This is a declaration of intent.”
“…A declaration?”
“Now that I’ve come to realize that merely observing is not enough.”
“…”
“I, too, am a woman, and I desired for you to claim me.”
“That would have been quite difficult, wouldn’t it?”
“That was certainly the case. I simply didn’t understand worldly affairs well enough.”
While staring off into the distance, the Heavenly Demon begins her story and then redirects her gaze to firmly look at me.
The emerald green eyes shine brightly just like they did in our youth.
“My heart has always remained the same. Outside of you, Siwoo, I have never considered anyone else as my match. Though my expression might have been clumsy, I’ve never harbored other feelings.”
“…”
“Looking back, I, too, have the same eyes as myself. I do retain a discerning eye for men.”
Damn, this feeling, I really don’t know how to describe it.
“It’s absolutely not that I’m forcing my feelings onto you. We have plenty of time, don’t we? I have no intention of coming in and disrupting your life suddenly. In fact, I lack the qualification to do so.”
“…”
“However, there is one thing you should remember. In this world, the only one who can fully embrace all of you is me.”
“That’s…”
“Moreover, I won’t simply be waiting around anymore. Haven’t I lost once already?”
Even with the Heavenly Demon mode added to Heavenly Yuah, it seems her feelings towards me have not changed.
In fact, the plausibility has been perfectly supplemented.
While Heavenly Yuah may not understand, there is a definite relationship built over time between the Heavenly Demon and me.
And while I may not have realized it, it seems she has always been quite interested in me even during the Heavenly Demon days.
“Could that 30-year-long excursion… have been a Heavenly Demon-style date?”
Though somewhat lacking in finesse, it seems she has been quite genuine in her feelings towards me.
We’ve spent nearly 30 years touring the Central Plains together.
This feeling is truly strange.
What I thought was merely a check on her situation has now brought an unexpected confession.
“But what you say isn’t wrong.”
However, there was one thing in her words that I could not disagree with.
Her claim that she is the only woman in this world who can fully embrace me.
Since most of my life has been tied to the Martial Forest era, and she is the only one in this world who knows about it, I cannot deny her statement.
“Hmph, I don’t know.”
Just because this all happened so suddenly, it’s hard to make a calm judgment.
She, too, said there’s no rush, so I need to think this over a little more.
