"The sky gradually turned a deep crimson as dusk descended.
The scent of fallen leaves carried by the autumn breeze filled the air, mingling with the drifting foliage.
It swayed softly.
That was the only way to describe it.
The weather itself felt calm and gentle, the kind that brought a sense of abundance just by witnessing it.
Unlike my mood, the season and the day were perfectly at peace.
"..."
I frowned imdiately, refusing to let myself zone out even for a mont.
Damn it, there it was again—that feeling.
I pressed my fingers to my forehead.
As if things weren’t bad enough, the mont I saw her face, it beca even worse.
‘What is this?’
What exactly was this?
Ever since that day, the day my cultivation advanced... No, to be precise, since the incident with Tang So-yeol, everything had felt off.
A face, a voice—soone kept surfacing in my mind.
I couldn’t recall the details clearly, yet they continued to haunt .
And just yesterday, before I arrived in Hanam, I finally realized whose face I’d been wanting to see.
“You... What are you?”
Cheonma.
It was her I wanted to see.
“What the hell are you to ?”
“...?”
At my question, Cheonma tilted her head, as if she didn’t understand.
Of course she didn’t. How could she understand when I couldn’t even make sense of it myself?
“What did you do to ?”
I believed she would know.
Even if things had changed between this life and the last, she was still Cheonma.
If she was the sa Cheonma I knew, this kind of thing wouldn’t be beyond her.
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb.”
I growled and closed the distance between us in an instant.
“You must’ve done sothing to .”
“I didn’t.”
“You didn’t?”
Clench.
I reached out and grabbed Cheonma by the collar, pulling her effortlessly toward .
“There’s no way you don’t—”
Our eyes t up close.
Cheonma looked at with the sa expression she had from the start.
Her violet eyes ca into focus.
They were like a starry night sky—vivid and dazzling.
Unlike other demons, her irises shone with a pure and unique hue, unmistakably distinct.
That was why...
Why I found myself thinking, against all reason, that they were beautiful.
“Shit.”
As soon as I realized it, I released her and stepped back.
“...I’ve lost my mind.”
I had to be insane. There was no other explanation.
To think I found her beautiful—this couldn’t happen unless sothing had been done to .
‘Have I completely lost it?’
Maybe sothing had gone wrong in my brain.
Or... was it because her face resembled Wi Seol-ah’s?
That might’ve made sense.
‘No.’
But no, it wasn’t that. If it were, this would’ve been happening in my past life too.
Sothing was fundantally wrong. I narrowed my eyes at Cheonma, glaring intensely.
“What’s wrong?”
Cheonma tilted her head again, still looking at with that innocent expression.
It only irritated further.
‘Why?’
Why had I wanted to see her?
Why had this been happening to lately?
And, more importantly...
“...Why do you act like this toward ?”
Why was she acting this way toward ? Her voice from monts ago echoed in my head.
"I missed you."
It resembled Wi Seol-ah’s voice, yet it was much lower and carried a weight that lingered in my mind.
Anger flared up inside .
“What the hell are you?”
I dragged my deeply buried emotions to the surface.
“What the hell makes you miss ?”
I glared at Cheonma with twisted eyes, but her expression remained blank.
“Am I not allowed to miss you?”
Her tone was calm and composed, as though she was genuinely curious.
“No, you’re not.”
“Why not?”
“You’re not supposed to.”
“Why not?”
She repeated the question, her tone unchanged.
I could’ve given her countless reasons, but the thought of explaining them all annoyed even more.
“At the very least, you shouldn’t.”
“...”
For the first ti, her expression changed slightly.
One of her eyebrows twitched, just enough to notice.
A brief silence followed.
“I don’t understand.”
Cheonma spoke as though she’d thought it through and co to a conclusion.
“But I missed you.”
“...”
Crack.
My fist clenched tight. I summoned my fiery energy and ford the Fla Jade Holy Spear in my hand, thrusting its tip against her throat.
“I despise you.”
“...”
“To the mont you die, and even now, I hate you.”
How could I possibly see her in a positive light?
Even if the world had changed and so many others had changed since my past life...
Cheonma hadn’t.
“My last shred of restraint is the fact that I’m barely keeping myself from killing you right now.”
In the beginning, I couldn’t kill her because I lacked the ans.
Even now, it wasn’t much different.
As long as Cheonma remained quiet and didn’t provoke , I had no reason to act.
But soday, I’d have to end her.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to do with , but it’s pointless.”
“...”
Cheonma didn’t respond.
She just stared at with those sa violet eyes, as serene as the night sky.
Even with the spear at her neck and the blazing heat emanating from it, she didn’t flinch.
Was it because there was no killing intent in my energy? Or did she simply believe I wouldn’t actually kill her?
Grit.
I clenched my teeth. If she thought that, she was gravely mistaken.
I tightened my grip on the spear, ready to strike at such a close range.
But—
“...”
For so reason, my body refused to move.
‘What the hell is wrong with you? Move already!’
It wasn’t external interference.
My own will was stopping .
My brain scread for my body to move, but every fiber of my being resisted.
It felt as though so primal instinct was telling I mustn’t harm her.
I struggled against it, forcing the spear forward, but in the end, I couldn’t move.
“Damn it.”
Cursing under my breath, I withdrew my hand. The spear dissipated, its heat scorching the grass beneath us.
Boom!
A burst of wind swept through the field, flattening the grass in its path.
The residual heat clung to my palm, and I wiped my face with it, trying to cool my rising frustration.
“Haaa...”
No matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t right.
Why had it co to this?
As I wrestled with the storm of emotions churning inside —
“Do you hate ?”
Cheonma’s voice cut through the air.
“I told you earlier—I despise you.”
“I heard that.”
Then why ask?
As the question ford in my mind—
“But... you didn’t say you hated .”
Her words made my frown deepen.
“What?”
“You didn’t say you hate .”
“What kind of bullshit is that—”
Was she trying to draw a distinction between hate and disdain?
It was a ridiculous ga of semantics.
“Do you hate ?”
Cheonma asked again, her calm voice tinged with curiosity.
I let out a bitter laugh before responding.
“I—"
"Yeah, I hate you. Hate you so much I could kill you."
That’s what I tried to say, but my mouth wouldn’t cooperate.
I had no trouble saying I despised her, but why couldn’t I bring myself to say I hated her?
My hands and mouth both seed to have a mind of their own, betraying in a way I couldn’t fathom.
Still, this was better than before.
“…Yeah, I hate you. Enough to want to kill you.”
“...”
Forcing the words out, they finally escaped my mouth.
Cheonma’s eyes widened slightly at my admission.
At the sa ti, a faint vibration rippled through my chest.
It was unpleasant. Even as I spoke, I felt utterly repulsed—not by her, but by myself for saying it.
Why did I feel this way?
I’d only said what needed to be said.
“…What the hell did you do to ?”
I started to confront Cheonma, but then I froze.
Her expression was strange.
Her gaze, which had been locked on , fell to the ground.
Her white hand clenched into a fist, and her crimson lips bit down ever so slightly.
Her appearance…
‘She looks hurt.’
Could Cheonma actually feel hurt?
The being who laughed in every situation, no matter how absurd or cruel, was hurt by a simple admission of hatred?
‘Don’t make laugh.’
There was no way.
Cheonma wouldn’t be affected by sothing like this.
That’s what I told myself.
But my chest ached.
Was it because she looked so much like Wi Seol-ah?
Yes, that had to be it.
“What’s with that face?”
“…Do you hate that much?”
“I do.”
“…Why?”
“Do I really have to explain it to you? You said it yourself earlier, didn’t you?”
There was an indescribable longing in her eyes.
Ignoring it, I spoke as if her gaze were nails scratching at my soul.
“You said you wanted to see . I feel the sa way.”
I swallowed my irritation and forced myself to continue.
“I just don’t like you.”
“...”
There were people I’d let go, thinking this life would be different from the last.
But…
‘You’re not one of them.’
No matter how I viewed them, I couldn’t extend the sa leniency to Cheonma.
To , she was that kind of existence.
“...”
Cheonma didn’t respond to my words.
A heavy silence settled between us.
“Then…”
Finally, as if she had been holding it back, Cheonma asked,
“…Why did you co to ?”
“...”
If I hated and despised her so much, why was I here?
This ti, her question left speechless.
It was a question I myself wanted to know the answer to.
‘Why?’
Why had I co here to see Cheonma?
With Madam Mi’s letter, my father’s affairs, and the troubles involving the Demonic Cult swirling around in my head, I had no reason to seek her out.
I had even left the others behind to co here.
Yet, here I stood.
Wanting to see the woman I despised, the woman I hated, the woman I intended to kill.
‘Why?’
The question repeated in my mind.
It had been there the entire journey, even as I walked toward her.
Why was I walking toward Cheonma?
It wasn’t to kill her.
Then why…?
‘...’
It was a question I couldn’t answer. Or rather, I knew the answer but refused to acknowledge it.
"I missed you."
When Cheonma said those words, the feelings that stirred within —
I hated those feelings.
Because they were emotions I shouldn’t feel.
Clench.
I balled my fists tightly, trembling with the force of my grip.
“...”
Cheonma’s gaze fell briefly to my shaking fists before she looked back at .
“…I see.”
Though I hadn’t spoken a word, it seed she had found an answer in my actions.
A faint look of pity appeared on her face.
It irritated .
That expression, her voice that seed so subtly different,
the emotions stirring endlessly inside —I hated them all.
Her small shoulders caught my eye.
So thin and frail-looking, as if I could crush them with one hand.
Before I knew it, my hand reached out.
Startled, I quickly stopped myself. But then—
Clench.
“…!”
Suddenly, Cheonma grabbed my wrist.
“What the—!”
And that wasn’t the end of it.
What happened next made my eyes widen in shock.
Buzz!
Cheonma, still holding my wrist, began gathering energy in her other hand.
Dark energy surged forth, thick and potent.
The mont I saw it, I felt the danger.
The density and intensity of the energy were no joke.
If it hit head-on, it would be devastating.
‘What the hell?’
Was she planning to kill just because I said I hated her?
Quickly, I summoned my own energy, preparing to counter. Flas surged around as I readied myself to strike back.
Whoosh!
But instead, Cheonma pulled into an embrace.
Sizzle.
The heat of my flas burned against her body, but she didn’t seem to care.
Her outstretched hand released the dark energy she had gathered.
Boom!
The blast of dark energy swept forward, tearing through the space ahead of us.
Her sudden actions left bewildered.
Why was she doing this?
I looked at her, my eyes wide with confusion.
But her gaze wasn’t on .
Instead, she was staring ahead, at the place where her energy had just struck.
Her face twisted with hostility, her expression brimming with malice.
“What are you—”
I began to speak, but—
Shiver.
A chill ran down my spine.
I imdiately turned my head to follow her gaze.
And then I saw it.
In the distance, soone was walking toward us.
Their hands clasped behind their back, their steps unhurried.
Thump. Thump.
The sight of them made my heart race uncontrollably.
Thud! Thud-thud!
My breathing beca erratic, nausea rising in my throat as I stared at the figure.
‘Why is that bastard here?’
The figure was soone I knew.
Even from afar, my instincts scread their identity to .
Even without that, those crimson eyes were unmistakable.
Chuckle.
A dry, eerie laugh reached my ears, as if to rot them.
“What a warm welco.”
“...”
Cheonma stood, her energy flaring once more.
Buzz.
Dark energy coiled around her hands again, radiating overwhelming hostility.
“What a sha…”
The crimson-eyed figure—Dokgo Jun, no, the Blood Demon—shook his head in mock regret.
“Your manners are sorely lacking.”
The closer he ca, the hotter my blood burned.
“Blood Demon…”
Yet—
“Good to see you.”
For so reason, the Blood Demon wasn’t looking at .
His eyes, still curled into a smile, were fixed on Cheonma.
He spoke, his tone dripping with malice.
“My daughter.”
“…!”
At his words, the stench of blood filled the air, suffocatingly thick and inescapable.
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