Chapter 487: Side Story 7 Baek Sang-ah’s Melancholy
Lesser Demon Hall.
One of the Nine Demon Halls of the Divine Cult, originally designated as the residence of the Young Cult Leader. However, since the former owner left, it had yet to find a new master.
A place that had become unbelievably shabby compared to the past, now maintained only by a few maids as even most of the Guardian Lions had departed.
Many considered it a hollow shell until a new Young Cult Leader arose.
Yet in recent months, there had been a top-secret large-scale reinforcement of personnel in that very Lesser Demon Hall.
“How’s your body?”
“It’s more or less fine.”
The top floor of a hall overlooking the entirety of the Lesser Demon Hall.
There, the former Cult Leader Cheon Yura, who had returned to the cult, attempted to rise from bed with the support of the maids.
I quickly rushed over and laid her back down.
“L-lie down! What if something goes wrong from overexertion?”
Cheon Yura pouted her lips.
“Hmph, even so, I’m not so frail that I can’t hold myself up from something like this.”
Though she said that, her condition didn’t look very good.
There was only one reason.
“Demon Doctor, how much longer do we have?”
The Demon Doctor bowed his head under my gaze.
“It is unprecedented, so I cannot judge carelessly, but if I dare estimate… it seems we have about eight months remaining.”
“…That’s long.”
I looked at Yura’s belly, which had swelled rapidly over the past few months.
By timing alone, it was already past the normal time of childbirth, but for some reason, these children had remained inside Yura for an unusually long time.
‘They’re still absorbing an unimaginable amount of energy and life from Yura.’
I sighed while observing Yura’s internal state.
Had the mother not been Yura, a disaster would have occurred long ago.
Sensing my concern, Yura stroked my head as I examined her belly.
“These children will likely be born with a Divine Demonic Physique… or something akin to it.”
“……!”
“Their bodies are almost complete, but their Spiritual Roots have not yet fully matured.”
Yura slowly raised her upper body, cold sweat trickling down.
“I owe these children.”
She looked down at her belly with a warm gaze.
“Because of them, I was able to return to my true self. As their mother, I have a duty to repay that debt and grace to the very end.”
“…….”
Among everyone in the room, I was the only one who fully understood the meaning behind her words.
Yura smiled faintly.
“So don’t worry too much. What you fear won’t happen.”
“…Alright.”
Yura wasn’t the type to bluff. If she said so, then it was so.
So I had no choice but to believe her.
“By the way, why have you come again? You must still be busy handling the cult’s affairs.”
“Ah, that’s…”
I scratched my cheek lightly at Yura’s question.
“I think something’s come up that requires me to head out into the Murim.”
“…Into the Murim?”
Flinch.
At those words, not only Yura, but also Sa Biyeon and everyone else who served her slightly stiffened.
Understandably so—my steps are never taken lightly.
A single step from me causes the entire world to tremble in fear.
That is what it means to be the one called the Heavenly Demon.
“Well, you did say there’s still much left to be taken care of.”
Understanding my circumstances, Yura nodded.
“How many troops will you take with you?”
“I plan to go quietly, so it’s fine. I’ll be taking So Cheon with me.”
“So Cheon? Wasn’t he still clinging to Sang-ah?”
“Ah, circumstances have changed.”
I revealed the secret—still unknown to the public—that the master of the So Clan had changed.
“Ho… So he was of that level?”
Yura, who had not had many dealings with So Cheon, opened her eyes wide in interest.
Of course, her reaction was mild. The rest of the group was outright shocked.
I chuckled and stroked my chin.
“I heard it wasn’t just the Murder Demon, but that he even subdued the elders and the seniors of the Hidden Shadow So Clan present there.”
No wonder he sustained more injuries than expected fighting the Murder Demon. To think he’d subdued all the others as well.
“To think he’s that powerful… I’d like to cross swords with him sometime. Arrange a spar later.”
“Sure, if he doesn’t run away…”
I trailed off while turning my head slightly.
That hope of Yura’s would very likely remain just that—a hope.
“Anyway.”
I pulled out a letter from the Saber Demon and spoke.
“There are two reasons for this trip to the Central Plains.”
“Tell me.”
“One is to confirm the sense of unease contained in the letter sent by the Saber Demon.”
“……?”
“Something seems to have happened to the Saber Demon.”
The handwriting and format were the same as usual.
However.
The problem lay not in the penmanship, but in the content.
“For some reason, the Saber Demon is currently unable to respond at all to the situation unfolding within the Imperial Family.”
“Hmm……”
The Saber Demon was never a passive man.
He was someone who would pounce aggressively for gain, not someone who would simply describe what was happening and send it off.
Even Pa Yeongyeong and Pa Seolyeong had raised doubts about this point.
“But even so, this doesn’t seem like something you need to handle personally.”
“That’s true. Still… there’s something bothering me. Even if it’s troublesome, it’s better to confirm it with my own eyes.”
It was, in truth, closer to a gut feeling.
A hunch that if I ignored it carelessly, I would suffer greatly later.
“Well, fine. And the other reason?”
The other reason I was heading to the Central Plains.
It was none other than…
“This time, I’m going to bind those two completely together.”
Flash!
The Heavenly Wolf Unified Sword Formation drew countless trajectories, adorning the sky.
Each time the sword path passed, wounds carved into the beast’s massive body, and agonized screams began to echo in every direction.
-Uoooooooh!
Though it had hide tough enough to deflect even qi projection, what was slicing it now was no ordinary qi.
It was the energy of the Death King imbued with death.
A mere demonic beast could not possibly endure power that surpassed the Extreme Demon Realm and reached the Transcendent Demon Realm.
“Ah, beautiful……”
The Crown Prince stared blankly with mouth agape, mesmerized by the dance of the Moon Maiden who had suddenly appeared.
Had he encountered the characteristically gloomy and repulsive energy of the Heaven-Slaying Strong Qi, his reaction would have been quite different.
Recently, Baek Sang-ah, for the sake of her public reputation as the Murim Alliance Leader, had taken to using the Moon Maiden Sword she learned from Cheon Yura.
The silvery radiance unique to the Moonlight Sword Qi, which concealed the color of true inner strength, was more than enough to captivate the Crown Prince.
Boom!
Before long, the invading demonic beasts were annihilated by Baek Sang-ah’s hand.
And shortly after, the elite warriors of the Murim Alliance arrived late.
“Alliance Leader!”
“You were too fast!”
Those who appeared to rescue the Crown Prince were all clad in yellow martial uniforms.
The Golden Dragon Heavenly Sword Squad.
Once the elite unit representing the former Justice Alliance, it had been revived in the Murim Alliance.
Thus, the Golden Dragon Heavenly Sword Squad lined up behind her.
“We greet His Highness the Crown Prince. I am Baek Sang-ah, the current Murim Alliance Leader.”
Baek Sang-ah offered the utmost courtesy, bowing deeply before the Crown Prince.
“I rushed here at the fastest possible speed upon hearing the news. Please, do not be too angry if I was too late…”
Snap!
Baek Sang-ah couldn’t finish her words.
The Crown Prince had suddenly stepped forward and grasped her small hands holding the reversed sword.
With a trembling voice, the Crown Prince spoke to Baek Sang-ah.
“This subject greets the Crown Princess for the first time.”
“…Pardon?”
…What did he just say?
While she briefly lost her senses at the sudden words the Crown Prince had blurted out—
“It is truly a pleasure to finally meet you!”
Squeeze!
The Crown Prince shouted, gripping her hands tightly, as if to never let go.
“……?”
“……?!”
The silent shock of the unexpected proposal from the Crown Prince spread among the warriors of the Alliance.
Nearly seventy members of the Royal Guards had died, and aside from one, all warriors of the Extreme Saber Clan had perished.
Yet the Murim Alliance had managed to secure the Crown Prince’s safety just in time.
And so, on the way back to the Alliance with the Crown Prince—
“…….”
“…….”
The warriors of the Golden Dragon Heavenly Sword Squad watched the Crown Prince, who kept speaking to the Alliance Leader, and swallowed hard.
“…I’d rather a horde of demonic beasts show up instead.”
Nod nod!
At the senior warrior’s mutter, the others around him nodded in perfect unison.
Though called the Golden Dragon Heavenly Sword Squad, the name was the only resemblance. Among them were many former members of the Black Lotus Union.
They were the ones who had followed Baek Sang-ah the longest.
Naturally, they knew better than anyone about her relationship with So Cheon.
‘Alliance Leader, you look extremely displeased.’
‘Will you be alright……?’
Though they dared not reveal discomfort in front of the Crown Prince, they instinctively realized it.
That she was uncomfortable with the Crown Prince’s very existence.
“In truth, this Crown Prince did not find this marriage particularly agreeable.”
“I… is that so?”
“Hmm? What did you just say?”
“Nothing at all.”
The Crown Prince, being merely an ordinary man, did not catch it, but the warriors with sharp hearing certainly did not miss it.
That she had muttered in a very quiet voice, “Keep thinking that way.”
The Crown Prince tilted his head briefly but felt no sense of discomfort and continued speaking.
“However, I now understand why the Imperial Preceptor so strongly pushed for this marriage.”
Even while riding, his hand once again clasped Baek Sang-ah’s hand.
“This meeting… is a fate bestowed by the heavens.”
“…….”
“…….”
Not only the Golden Dragon Heavenly Sword Squad, but even the Royal Guards.
The warriors following behind trembled without realizing it.
It wasn’t killing intent.
But the Sword Intent filled with icy chill pressed down on their entire bodies.
“Hmm? Perhaps because it’s not yet midday, the weather feels a bit cold.”
“Is that so? It feels rather warm to me.”
“Hmm… perhaps fatigue from the rough journey is catching up to me.”
The Crown Prince, continuously tilting his head, still failed to identify the source of the chilling Sword Intent.
Thus, over the next few days, the Crown Prince’s aggressive advances(?) and Baek Sang-ah’s firm resistance(?) continued.
Finally, upon arriving at the Murim Alliance in Luoyang, the Crown Prince dismounted and spoke to Baek Sang-ah.
“It seems, young lady, that you are not particularly fond of this marriage.”
“…….”
The Crown Prince was by no means slow-witted.
No, in fact, his perception was quite sharp.
“Of course, I understand completely. The spirit of one sacrificing their youth to rebuild a broken Murim world… that is certainly worthy of praise.”
Before arriving here, the Crown Prince had received a report on what kind of woman Baek Sang-ah was.
Of course, the parts concerning her relationship with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, which had been kept secret, were mostly omitted.
But even by analyzing her activities following her time as the Black Lotus Union Leader, it was enough to grasp the kind of person she was.
However.
“As stated in the letter, even after being chosen as Crown Princess, you are not obligated to the Imperial Family.”
That was, after all, just Baek Sang-ah’s personal disposition.
“I promise that the Imperial Family will spare no support in helping you fulfill your aspirations. And… should the day come when I ascend to the highest seat of all.”
The Crown Prince paused briefly, then raised his voice firmly.
“I shall surely make you……”
No, he tried to raise it.
“Hey.”
“……?”
The Crown Prince instinctively turned his head toward the one who interrupted him.
It was so sudden that he didn’t even have time to get angry.
Where the Crown Prince’s gaze landed—
“You. Who the hell are you?”
A young man with the crest of Hidden embroidered on the front of his robe was glaring at the Crown Prince.