Chapter 64 – You Haven’t Forgotten
Skybreaker Sword.
The sword that could shatter the sky was now caught by the demon of the heavens and rendered immobile.
It was a truly overwhelming application of "grasping from the void" (a technique using intangible energy to seize objects).
“Where did you get that sword?”
“I ca across it during a mission in the Martial World.”
Then,
Swoosh.
The Heavenly Demon raised a finger. She made no visible move, yet a drop of blood had ford at her fingertip, and it fell onto the blade of Skybreaker.
However, her blood rely rolled down the edge of the blade.
“A treasured item that forms a bond through blood?”
“That’s correct.”
“How curious.”
Her silver eyes lingered on , as if trying to pierce right through .
“Normally, one who relies on such supernatural items, especially demonic swords, would never beco strong. But you…”
In that mont—one I didn’t even consciously register— The Heavenly Demon revealed her inner world (ntal landscape).
A chill brushed across my skin.
Snow.
At so point, snow had begun falling from the sky.
It was clearly an illusion—since I was aware it was her inner world. And yet, the cold felt vividly real.
Feeling that cold, I realized my mind was beginning to shrink.
The Heavenly Demon, who had surpassed the Transcendent Peak Realm and was heading toward the Enlightened Realm, was gradually dominating the ntal world of an ordinary man like .
‘I have to endure it.’
The Heavenly Demon was testing .
I couldn’t draw on the power of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art—she would sense it imdiately.
I couldn’t rely on Skybreaker either. That one was too busy maintaining the sword's control to intervene.
So I had to endure this myself. Hadn’t I trained to withstand Saweol’s inner world just for this reason?
“But how…?”
Saweol’s ntal world had been incomplete, but the Heavenly Demon’s was not.
The clear skies, once bright with sunlight, had disappeared.
Endless, despair-filled snow now engulfed .
Behind the Heavenly Demon, sothing enormous was casting its shadow.
My cognition couldn’t comprehend it—I couldn’t even describe it in words.
But when I saw that being…
‘I can endure this.’
My mind suddenly cleared.
There was no way sothing like that could be real.
In the world I ca from, people didn’t leap through the sky or shatter mountains with a single sword strike.
That world was ruled by science, not martial arts. So this was all unreal, just phenona within a script.
‘Yes, a script.’
The essence of this world is text—a written story.
“I am Sado Hwan.”
I am rely reading from the script and playing my role.
My essence is that of an actor. An actor shouldn’t be scared off by the presence of another role.
Even if he was a created character, Sado Hwan never bowed.
He always held his head high with dignity.
“…Not bad.”
At that mont, The Heavenly Demon withdrew her inner world.
The snow that had blanketed the world vanished completely, as if it had never existed. As expected—it was all an illusion.
Damn…
Did I just hold out against the Heavenly Demon’s ntal world?
But I couldn’t rejoice or relax. She was still standing in front of .
“Yes. You still carry a sweet scent about you. If you’d reached this level by relying on such a foreign object, that wouldn’t be possible.”
She sheathed the sword and handed it to . I received it with both hands.
She turned and began walking across the cloud bridge over the pond. Judging by her actions, she wanted to follow.
I cautiously walked behind her.
“I made a contract.”
“A contract?”
“Yes. With your brother, Sado Gwang.”
“…!”
What?! This wasn’t in the text I’d read.
“Sado Gwang made an offer I couldn’t refuse, and I accepted. That’s why I kept him alive.”
A contract? Was this about the engagent?
Even in Return of the Murim, the reason why the Heavenly Demon beca engaged to Sado Gwang wasn’t fully explained.
It was only revealed that their relationship was ford by a contract, not by mutual affection.
Kept him alive?
Right. The position of the Heavenly Demon in the Cult ant she wielded absolute power.
If she wanted, she could’ve executed Sado Gwang without consequence. Everyone in the Cult knew of his atrocities.
By the Cult’s standards, Sado Gwang was a broken man—soone unworthy of being treated like a person.
Their engagent was strange from the start.
There were even rumors that the Heavenly Demon had intentionally chosen him out of pity, to protect the weak.
After all, if anyone should have been allowed to choose the best possible partner, it would be the Supre One.
“That contract was made because of a promise. Do you know what that promise was?”
Her gaze turned to the ice sculptures at either end of the cloud bridge.
A pair of ice sculptures.
I had thought nothing of them before, but it didn’t make sense for ice statues to still be intact in this weather.
Most likely, they were created and preserved using her martial arts.
[Those statues… I feel like I’ve seen those faces before.]
I agreed.
In that mont, I realized what the "promise" she ntioned was.
Shit.
It was a common cliché.
Two childhood friends promise to et again once they’re grown… and part ways.
And, inevitably, one of them loses their mory due to so unfortunate event, leading to misunderstanding.
When she asked if I recognized her back in front of the Disciplinary Hall, it was because of this.
Skybreaker lost his mory.
He had learned the first half of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, which erased all mories before the age of ten.
And at the center of those lost mories was Lee Seryeong—who later beca the Heavenly Demon.
The one standing in front of now.
And in the original novel Return of the Murim, the Heavenly Demon was the heroine.
She looked at with quiet intensity. But I couldn’t say a word.
Checkmate.
You might think it’d be a good thing if soone like the Heavenly Demon were the official heroine. But I couldn’t think that.
Because in the original, the Heavenly Demon wasn’t a typical heroine. To be more precise—she was a yandere heroine. Obsessive, broken, and possessive.
In the original, she acted more like a villain, stalking Mujin obsessively.
She even imprisoned him in the Heavenly Demon Palace, refusing to let him leave.
If it hadn’t been for the war that broke out, the story might’ve ended right there. What could you do when trapped by a terrifying force you couldn’t defy?
This was why I’d tried so hard to avoid getting involved with her.
Fortunately, she hadn’t yet revealed that obsessive side. Right now, she was still just asking if I rembered the promise. At best, she might feel a small interest or faint affection.
In Return of the Murim, her obsession started after Sado Hwan went missing for three years.
During those three years, she realized how passive she had been as both the Heavenly Demon and a woman.
When news of his return reached her, she rushed out imdiately.
But…
When the Heavenly Demon cos at you full force, how could anyone refuse? Especially when being found out ans instant death.
That’s when she descended into darkness.
And now, even though things were still stable…If she beca obsessed with ?
It’d be just like the title of a novel, but for it was a matter of survival.
Escaping the Cult quickly is the only answer. Otherwise, the only outco is being trapped here forever.
To a Cultist, that might be glorious—but not for .
I’m just an ordinary aspiring actor who ca from reality.
[What is Her Supre One even talking about…monster?]
Skybreaker knew nothing—he’d lost his mory. He only saw Lee Seryeong as the Heavenly Demon, not the girl from his childhood.
I had to answer carefully.
If I said I didn’t know the promise,
→ She might get angry.
If I said I did know,
→ She might get happy—but that could be even worse.
Rejection is the trigger for her descent into obsession. If I carelessly deny everything, I might awaken the yandere inside her.
But if I boldly say I rember, she might grow dangerously attached.
“I’m not sure what you an.”
I chose to play dumb—for now.
“Is that so.”
For a mont, her eyes looked dejected. Like a scolded puppy. But I couldn’t let that soften .
That yandere monster was still inside her.
And her sorrow was only montary.
“I understand.”
Her eyes beca clear again—so transparent they felt icy.
“There’s no need to tell you about the contract I made with Sado Gwang, if you don’t know the promise.”
I was dying of curiosity, but I couldn’t ask. To ask now would be the sa as asking for death.
“You may leave.”
She turned her back to . A clear dismissal.
“Then, may your noble body remain unhard, Supre One.”
I bowed to her retreating figure and turned away.
I survived.
I wanted to sprint out of there, but that would definitely trigger her senses. I had to walk with dignity until the very end.
When I reached the gates of the Heavenly Demon Palace, Saweol was waiting with a refreshed expression—he must have completed his elixir absorption.
Gu Jin-gyeong, the guide, was also present.
“Did your conversation with the Supre One go well?”
“Yes, thanks to you. Oh, right.”
I took a small wooden box from my robes.
“What is this?”
“Sothing to be given to the Supre One.”
“You won’t hand it over directly?”
“I’m not qualified yet. Please wait. Can you deliver it for ?”
If he delivered this, my plan would be complete—A scenario where the Heavenly Demon neither obsessed over nor completely rejected .
Gu Jin-gyeong stared at silently, then nodded.
“I will.”
“Thank you. Let’s go.”
I descended the mountain path of Ascension Valley.
***
Back at the Ice Plain, Gu Jin-gyeong furrowed his brow.
Sothing ominous filled the air.
Did Sado Hwan touch Her Supre One’s heart?
The Heavenly Demon sat on the cloud bridge. The pond below was frozen clear.
“Supre One.”
When he approached, she lifted her head. Her expression looked sulky.
“Commander.”
“I shall bring Sado Hwan back.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“But—”
“I said no.”
Gu Jin-gyeong raised the wooden box.
“Then, shall I dispose of this?”
“What is that?”
“A gift from Sado Hwan. He asked that it be delivered to you.”
“To ?”
She waved her hand.
The box flew from Gu Jin-gyeong’s hand and landed in hers.
She opened it—her eyes trembled violently.
Inside was a small white bead. It radiated an overwhelming yin and cold energy. The box itself was a treasured item, preventing the energy from leaking out.
This was a Frost Essence.
To be precise, it was the core that restored the Witch of Frost, a condensed crystal of icy energy.
“He understood my condition… Commander, did he say anything when he gave you this?”
“He said… he wasn’t qualified to give it to you directly. And he asked you to wait.”
“Not qualified yet…”
“He also asked for your patience.”
Her gaze flickered. Clutching the box to her chest, she murmured:
“…You haven’t forgotten.”
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