CHAPTER 530: EPILOGUE EARTH DEMON (27)

“But oddly enough, we didn’t find her ourselves.”

“What does that mean?”

“She came here of her own accord.”

I followed her as she explained. Our footsteps echoed down the corridor.

“First, I’ll give you a brief explanation.”

Fang Spirit stopped and turned around.

Her gaze was anything but ordinary.

“She comes from the Black Venus family. They supplied goods to our sect from the Western Regions, mainly gunpowder, special metals, and rare minerals.”

Black Venus.

A border between the Western Regions and the Central Plains, where desert meets grassland.

A vast neutral trading consortium where merchants from many lands meet; outwardly they trade spices, silk, and tea, but behind the scenes they deal in special weapons and forbidden goods, a dangerous group.

“About four or five years ago, during a trade, her family was ambushed.”

Fang Spirit’s voice dropped.

“They were after the delivery goods. Fortunately, the cult warriors patrolling the trade route subdued them, but….”

A moment of silence passed.

“She lost her parents and all her relatives.”

I drew a breath.

Until then I couldn’t see how that was related to So Ryeong here.

But the next words put the scattered pieces together.

“She returned to the Western Regions. She likely tied up the remnants of the household and prepared for revenge. But alone she would have limits. Years passed, and then the day before yesterday….”

She gave strength to her voice.

“She came here on her own.”

“To gain power for revenge?”

“Likely two reasons: to repay a debt of gratitude, and to gain power for revenge.”

“……”

“And she wanted to join the unit led by the person who helped her back then.”

“Could that place be…?”

Fang Spirit nodded slowly at my question.

“That’s right. Hidden Troops.”

‘Ah, so that’s how it was.’

This was the story.

It happened before Earth Demon came here, more precisely, before Heuk Gu was assigned as the commander of the Hidden Troops.

The sect had entrusted the Hidden Troops’ leadership with the task of overseeing trade with the Western Regions.

They were super warriors, nearly peak warriors, capable of carrying out escort duties within those trades.

They saved her there, and she chose to come here herself to repay that debt and to pursue revenge.

To enter the Hidden Troops, the squad leader’s approval was required.

Their leader was me, the Earth Demon.

‘So her outstanding martial skill… came from being born into such a family.’

I had thought she came from a reputable righteous clan once.

But it turned out to be a family active in the Western Regions, trading with many powers.

If they traded even with the Demonic Cult, they must have been notable; supplying special weapons meant their clandestine techniques for handling them would be excellent. s̈

“Have you arrived?”

In the sect compound, in front of the guest chamber. The guards all assumed ready stances.

I steadied my breath and stood at the door; Fang Spirit nodded toward it.

“Go in.”

I nodded and opened the door.

----------------------------------------

When I entered the room, I saw her seated from behind.

Delicate shoulders. Black hair.

Even that sight took my breath away.

“Ah. I’m So Ryeong.”

She turned and hurriedly greeted me as I came in.

A familiar face. A face I missed.

But she looked much thinner than the woman in my memories of a past life.

“I’m Earth Demon.”

“…Could it be… the Fourth Disciple?”

Her voice trembled.

“That is so.”

She hurriedly bowed and her hair cascaded forward.

“I have committed a grave sin. I did not come here to see the Fourth Disciple. I only asked to see the commander of the Hidden Troops once….”

“Do not concern yourself. I came here on my own accord.”

“…Yes?”

She looked up at me with surprised eyes.

“First, please sit.”

When I pointed to a chair, the hesitant woman sat down cautiously.

As if on cue, a maid appeared from the wall side, brought tea, and left.

A silence followed.

“Drink. Tea must be drunk while it’s warm.”

“Thank you.”

She lifted the teacup first.

I noticed her hand shaking slightly and thought to myself:

‘She’s nervous.’

There had been so much between us.

Happy and joyful memories surfaced first, but melancholic feelings and sorrow followed.

But even that tangled web of emotions could not intrude on the time I had lived with her.

“Is there something on my face?”

When So Ryeong asked with wide eyes, I snapped out of my thoughts and shook my head.

“No. I was just thinking for a moment.”

“….”

“But who introduced you here? If the sect prepared this meeting for you….”

“Seventh Elder arranged the convenience for me.”

“Ah. That makes sense.”

From So Ryeong’s words I could roughly guess who he was.

Seventh Elder Cheol Mu-gyeong.

A former master blacksmith for weapon making, responsible for trading special metals and weapons from the Western Regions.

He was someone who would plausibly have ties to Black Venus Family, which traded special weapons.

“But why did the woman come to the sect alone?”

“I heard that the person who greatly helped our family now serves as the commander of the Hidden Troops under the Fourth Disciple. I applied because I wanted to follow that person.”

“I see.”

That was the surface reason.

Something else must be hidden deep in her eyes.

“So, Seventh Elder sent you here?”

“Yes. Originally I was supposed to go to a group training like pursuing troops, but he said that given my skill, there was no need.”

‘Indeed. The skill she displayed when we met was very impressive.’

Black Venus Family dealt in dangerous trades, so the family’s children would have learned self-defense and clandestine arts from a young age.

I understood Elder’s reaction.

“Do you know the conditions for joining the Hidden Troops?”

“I do.”

Her eyes changed.

They held a resolute, determined light.

“You must prove your ability. I heard there’s a place to demonstrate oneself.”

She paused and took a breath.

“I will enter Martial Arts Island, that place.”

Thud.

My heart pounded.

The place where I, as a player, died dozens of times.

If fate had run its course, it would have been where she died.

‘Elder guided her down this path.’

Was this originally her life?

To suffer misfortune, steel oneself, join the Demon Cult, and then die miserably again.

‘Even if by some chance my guess is wrong and she passes Martial Arts Island, the result wouldn’t change.’

She would have done other trainings before entering Martial Arts Island and tried many things in her own way.

No matter how hard she tried, she’d end in a senseless death rather than achieving revenge.

So Ryeong’s life was that ill-fated destiny, no better than mine.

‘As expected, she shouldn’t have come here.’

The start of all tragedy was when she entered the Demonic Cult.

“I’m sorry, but you must return.”

“…!”

My voice cracked like a dry twig.

So Ryeong’s teacup clinked and trembled.

When she looked up at me with startled eyes, they trembled slightly.

“May I dare ask the reason?”

“Just. Because I don’t want to accept it.”

I said coldly and took a sip from my cup.

Bitterness spread across my tongue.

“I know I’m lacking.”

Even as her voice faltered, she did not give up.

“But I have trained without missing a day since I was sixteen. Since the day my family was annihilated….”

After a short hesitation, she continued.

“I lived thinking only of revenge.”

“So?”

“……”

“So you want to die a senseless death here? Do you know what the Martial Arts Island is and yet you speak of it?”

Her shoulders twitched.

This time she offered no reply.

I felt pity at that sight.

Thud.

I set the cup down with a sharp sound.

I felt I had to use another method.

“All right. Then let’s do this.”

Leaning forward, I spoke.

“I will find and eliminate those who killed your family. If I avenge them for you, there’s no need for you to build power here; wouldn’t that be the end of it?”

A long, heavy silence followed.

Only the faint sound of the tea cooling could be heard.

‘She won’t cling to this place anymore.’

I thought.

She said she came to repay a debt, but her true goal was likely to take revenge on them later.

If I remove that pretext, wouldn’t the matter be over?

“I….”

She barely opened her mouth.

“…I would be grateful if you did so.”

“All right. It will be done in a few days. Prepare to return home with tidings of victory.”

I rose from my seat.

My involvement with her had to end here.

That was the natural order.

There was no need to drag So Ryeong into this place any longer.

No, she didn’t need to be entangled with someone like me.

I had taken one step toward the door. Two. About three steps.

“It will be difficult.”

My feet seemed glued to the floor.

I slowly turned around.

So Ryeong had risen from her seat.

She was a completely different person from before.

The warmth in her eyes had turned as cold as ice.

“What do you mean?”

“The ones who targeted my family were not simple enemies.”

The air grew heavy.

“It was someone from inside the Demon Cult.”

“…!”

I could hardly believe my ears.

An act from within the Demon Cult.

What was this supposed to mean?

“On the day my father and relatives were attacked, I barely survived and returned home alone, but it was already engulfed in flames.”

Her eyes were bloodshot.

“And even from a distance I could tell. Those in black garments, those who killed my parents and relatives. They must have coveted what our family possessed, our family’s treasure.”

And slowly a tear rolled down one of her eyes.

“And that day, I also learned who masterminded the incident. When they left the blaze, I found my grandfather barely alive among the ashes. With his last strength he told me this.”

I waited for her next words.

“Supreme Pavilion… the Supreme Pavilion Lord had come.”

Bang.

It felt like thunder struck inside my head.

It was an extremely shocking statement.

The Head of Supreme Pavilion, the man who had been an enemy in the past but now served under me.

To be connected to this.

‘Could that treasure be… the divine weapon from the past?’

And an old memory, a life from long ago, faintly surfaced.

The Head of Supreme Pavilion wouldn’t have swallowed such a sacred sword himself; he would have given it to the First Disciple.

And the First Disciple must have later returned it to the Head of Supreme Pavilion for some reason.

A rough flow formed in my mind.

‘She came here for her family’s revenge.’

I began to understand her now.

And I seemed to understand why she wanted to enter Martial Arts Island voluntarily.

Because of the subordinates of the Supreme Pavilion Lord.

Wasn’t it to kill them legitimately?

So her talk of escaping from hell might not have been So Ryeong’s true intention.

“What is the name of that treasure?”

I asked her to confirm not just suspicion but evidence.

“It was the Absorption Ghost Blade.”

‘So it connects like this.’

I gritted my teeth.

Her words revealed their truth in that moment.

And I could understand how the Head of Supreme Pavilion might have come to possess such a divine item.

‘Fate is something else.’

Under normal circumstances it wouldn’t be an issue, just kill him, but this time was different.

The Supreme Pavilion Lord had become my subordinate.

A retainer playing a central role.

Yet perversely, he was the target of her revenge.

‘Now everything about her makes sense.’

Her reason for coming to Martial Arts Island.

It was to seek revenge for her family.

She chose the first battlefield to be Martial Arts Island, where the Supreme Pavilion Lord’s troops would be present.

Of course, had she survived there, she would later have sought to kill the Supreme Pavilion Lord as well.

“For now….”

Her voice trembled like a reed.

She swallowed and tried to calm herself.

“Stay here. You need time to think.”

“Disciple.”

As I grasped the doorknob, she called out.

“Even if I die at the Martial Arts Island, I will have no regrets. At least… I would have tried.”

Her words pierced my back like a dagger.

“Rest.”

I walked out as if fleeing.

A question without an answer circled in my mind.