It's hot.

The first sensation of becoming a demon was that—it was hot.

From head to toe, everything felt hot. But it wasn’t the heat from the fire energy (hwagong) within me.

Demonic energy (magi) was far more aggressive than the already violent energies of hwagi (fire energy) or tugi (battle aura).

When it infiltrates the body of a warrior, it blocks internal energy (naegi) and causes the body to decay because it detests any energy that isn’t its own. Just as the Heavenly Demon (Cheonma), the source of all demonic energy, feels the same.

The path to becoming the ruler of all—the man-in-jisang—flows within it.

And becoming a demon means that one’s body becomes capable of wielding such demonic energy.

Demonic energy mixes with martial arts, allowing for even more intense power to be unleashed.

The constant hostility of the demonic energy, once fused with the body, heats it up uncontrollably.

“Hoo...”

A breath escaped my lips.

It wasn’t the heat from fire, but the sheer combativeness surging through my body that made it burn.

This brings another kind of sensation.

The first-timers who experience this sensation are devoured by the energy and succumb to madness.

But not me. I’ve been through this countless times, so I’d taken measures to prevent that fate.

‘Stay still if you don’t want to die.’

Shhhh...

I exerted a strong mental pressure, and the demonic energy quieted instantly.

The reason why the demonic energy had been rampaging was simple.

It wasn’t in harmony with its master’s will.

Demonic energy was originally a power bestowed by Cheonma, so it probably didn’t recognize a demon as its master.

That’s why I subdued it from the beginning—asserting that I was its master and forcing it into place.

Had I not, the demonic energy would have torn my body apart during our struggle, but in the end, I managed to subdue it.

‘Is it severed?’

I wondered if the thread that connected Cheonma and the demonic energy had been cut.

Even as I looked at Cheonma now, I didn’t feel the same resonance as before.

‘Could it have been this easy?’

The thin thread I’d seen when I was about to become a demon—when I severed it, something changed.

Could it have really been that simple to do?

‘There’s no way.’

That’s nonsense. If it were that easy, my life in the previous life wouldn’t have been such a struggle.

Could I have severed it just by wanting to? That’s absurd.

It’s simply another change.

One of the many changes I’ve felt since being reincarnated. And mixed in with those changes is someone’s unknown will.

I was beginning to realize that.

“…No… this can’t be…”

A frightened voice caught my attention. It was Wi Seol-ah, staring at me with her hands covering her mouth in shock.

I glanced at the white energy still swirling around her, and the power gathered at the tip of her sword.

Then I looked up at her face.

Her appearance was the same as the Wi Seol-ah I knew, but—

Her gaze…

The way she looked at me made me frown. There was a subtle difference in her eyes that bothered me.

“Just stay there.”

“...”

Wi Seol-ah flinched at my words.

“We’ve got a lot to talk about, it seems.”

“…Ah…”

I could see her large eyes trembling. Because her eyes were so big, it was easy to see even the slightest movements.

Come to think of it, what do my eyes look like now? Are they red or purple?

I reached up and touched my face, but of course, I couldn’t tell.

The only impression I had was that my skin, which should have felt hot from the fire energy coursing through me, felt cold.

Inside, my body was heating up from the demonic energy, yet my skin was cold.

This contradictory sensation… It’s been a while since I felt something like this.

Thud.

I turned my head toward the presence approaching me.

There stood Cheonma, her vivid purple eyes staring up at me.

“…Ah.”

I hadn’t failed to notice her approach. I had just let her come closer because there was no hostility.

That, too, was a difference.

I could now sense whether Cheonma bore any hostility or not.

And although I had noticed her approach, I wasn’t scared—just a bit tense.

“How did you do that?”

Her words came out with an awkward, though precise, pronunciation.

Was that how Cheonma normally spoke?

Or is that just how it is in this time period?

“What do you mean?”

“That.”

Cheonma pointed at my dantian.

“My thing… What did you do with it?”

I wasn’t sure what she was referring to at first.

It seemed she was talking about the thread I had severed that connected me to her, or perhaps the Madocheonheupgong.

Did this reaction mean that severing the thread was real after all?

“Why do you think it’s yours?”

“It’s mine.”

As we exchanged these few words, I felt something strange.

This was the first time I had ever spoken with Cheonma like this.

Her features were becoming clearer.

Previously, she had seemed blurry, and I only recognized her because she looked identical to Wi Seol-ah.

But now, I could distinctly see Cheonma’s appearance.

Her somewhat blank expression, her slightly displeased eyebrows, and most strikingly, those vivid purple eyes.

Was this what she really looked like?

Why does she now feel so… familiar, when before, she was terrifying?

Was it because she resembled Wi Seol-ah?

No, it couldn’t be that.

I am Cheonma.

There were too many differences.

Between this Cheonma and the one I knew.

Between the current me and my past self.

‘Was it always like this?’

Cheonma had always been brimming with confidence, the very embodiment of the term man-in-jisang—the supreme one above all.

But the current Cheonma was different, vastly different.

“That’s mine.”

Her whiny tone and the way her hair swayed with her movements…

Master.

She was completely different from the woman who had looked down at me in the past.

‘Is this even possible?’

I recalled when Cheonma had appeared in my past life. I was just over twenty years old at the time, so only a few years had passed.

Could such a small being change so much in that time?

‘Could it be that she’s not really Cheonma?’

That thought crossed my mind, but it was pointless speculation.

I could feel it in my bones.

The overwhelming energy within that small body was unmistakable.

So strong that its presence was hidden, making it difficult to fully grasp.

I looked into Cheonma’s eyes.

Her gaze, which was glaring at me with clear displeasure, reminded me of how Wi Seol-ah would look when I took away her sweets.

Was this little being really destined to become Cheonma?

Could it all be an act?

Perhaps. But it didn’t matter.

“You think it’s yours? No, it’s not.”

I gathered the demonic energy within me.

It surged to my upper dantian in an instant.

Faster and more intense than my internal energy, the demonic energy synchronized with my martial arts, amplifying my strength.

The demonic energy surged over my shoulders and quickly spread into the air.

“What… is that…”

The Heukya Palace Lord, who had been watching while coughing up blood, looked on with a bewildered expression.

Cheonma’s eyes widened, perhaps recognizing the energy coming from my body.

The demonic energy, having spread out, now took on its true nature—the nature of control and greed.

It spread as if trying to claim everything as its own, rising into the sky and mixing with the black barrier.

Crack… crack.

And then…

It began to devour the barrier that had been covering the sky.

Sensing the shift, I looked back at Cheonma and spoke.

“Now, it’s mine.”

The demonic energy flowing through my body no longer belonged to Cheonma.

Its origin may have been from demons, or from the Madocheonheupgong, but…

I had embedded it in my heart.

I had forced it into my body, crushed its will, and locked it away.

Now, it belonged to me.

“...”

Cheonma didn’t respond for a moment, then slowly reached out a pale hand toward me.

I wasn’t sure what she intended to do, but I wasn’t going to comply.

Grab.

Before her hand could touch my face, I caught her wrist.

Despite not having particularly large hands, her wrist was so thin that I could easily wrap my hand around it.

As soon as our bodies made contact—

Screeeeech!

The demonic energy within me screamed.

It wasn’t the same feeling as before, when it had tried to return to Cheonma.

This time, it was filled with hostility so intense that even I was taken aback.

Moments ago, it had been desperately trying to return to her, and now it was acting like this?

How absurd.

I sighed internally at the ridiculousness of it all, but the violent reaction wasn’t just coming from me.

Screech!

It seemed even Cheonma wasn’t expecting this backlash, as she quickly withdrew her hand.

Her surprised eyes were a curious sight.

I didn’t think Cheonma was capable of making that kind of expression.

“...”

She rubbed her wrist and looked at me with an unreadable gaze.

Seeing that, I summoned more demonic energy.

The black barrier I had devoured continued to grow, far surpassing the strength I had used to breach the Jeokcheon earlier.

I had consumed more than half of it already, but the sky beyond wasn’t red.

It was a deep black, even darker than the barrier.

The demonic energy and my internal energy had merged and affected the sky itself.

So now, it wasn’t Jeokcheon anymore.

Should I call it Heukcheon instead?

‘In any case…’

Why is it that whenever something involves the color black, it always turns out worse?

That was true in my past life, too. I really hate it.

Fwoosh.

Despite my words, black flames ignited around me.

They were for the battle with Cheonma that was about to come.

‘Could I defeat Cheonma here?’

Honestly, I hadn’t considered it.

I had always expected that we would clash eventually. It’s inevitable, isn’t it?

If I were truly to take up the position of the Divine Sword, I would have to face Cheonma one day.

Is that day today?

‘It’s too soon.’

It’s happening much earlier than I expected, but oddly, I didn’t feel any hesitation.

Perhaps that’s fortunate.

Facing this young Cheonma, who’s not yet at her full power, will be much easier than fighting her when she’s fully grown.

I opened my palm.

Fwoosh!

The black flames wrapped around my body gathered in my hand, forming a flame orb (yeomok).

I could tell.

This flame orb was far stronger than the ones I had used before.

If I unleashed it thoughtlessly, it would obliterate everything around me.

‘This is too much of a change, just from becoming a demon.’

I had surpassed half of my previous life’s power.

Becoming a demon had made me this strong.

No wonder so many people in my past life had flocked to the demonic cult, hungry for power.

As the flame orb reached completion, I turned to face Cheonma.

Noticing my intent, she looked up at me with a curious expression.

Her hand moved again.

“…!”

She reached for the flame orb in my hand.

Surprised by the unexpected action, I hesitated for a moment.

But I still moved to hurl the flame orb at her.

Crunch.

“What?”

Cheonma had caught the flame orb and was about to crush it with her bare hand.

This flame orb, empowered by the insights of the Hwakyung and my demonic transformation, was supposed to be far stronger than anything I’d used before.

But she just grabbed and crushed it?

Boom! Crack!

The shockwave from the destroyed flame orb caused chaos around us, uprooting trees and tearing through the landscape.

Although the windstorm didn’t knock me off my feet, I couldn’t suppress my shock.

‘What the hell just happened?’

I looked at Cheonma, my mind blank.

She was still wearing a pouty expression, as if annoyed.

She glanced at her hand for a moment.

There was a small cut, some blood trickling from her palm.

But that was it.

Just that.

She had crushed the flame orb with her bare hand, and all she got was a tiny cut.

Looking at the bleeding palm, Cheonma spoke again.

“…I’m leaving.”

“What?”

“I’m leaving. This isn’t fun anymore.”

I thought I’d misheard, but Cheonma simply turned her back and walked toward the Heukya Palace Lord.

As she finished speaking, the space behind the Heukya Palace Lord began to tear open.

It was the same dimensional gate I had seen in Heukya Palace.

What the hell is going on?

She suddenly shows up, causes chaos, and now she’s leaving?

Am I supposed to just let her go?

“What kind of bullshit is this?”

Fwoosh.

I covered my body in flames.

There was no way I was letting her leave like this.

Did she really think she could just walk away after all this?

I gathered the flames in my fist and punched forward.

Guyeomtaearang.

Roar!

A ferocious beast made of flames, one of my strongest techniques, surged forward, infused with demonic energy.

The heat from the attack was so intense that the grass around us instantly dried out, but Cheonma kept walking as if nothing had happened.

She barely glanced over her shoulder at me.

With a casual flick of her hand.

I thought it was a weak, dismissive gesture, but—

The result was anything but.

Fwoosh!

Rumble!

“What the…!”

The energy Cheonma released was nothing like what I had seen when she fought Wi Seol-ah.

It was as if that earlier battle had been child’s play.

The black energy that surged from her swallowed my Guyeomtaearang flames, then crashed down on me like a tidal wave.

The massive wave of energy struck the ground where I stood.

Crack!

The earth shattered beneath me, splitting and crumbling in every direction.

Boulders were smashed like paper, and the ground tore apart so easily.

The landscape was completely transformed.

All of this was the result of a single, light gesture from Cheonma.

The most astonishing part was that despite being caught in the middle of this destructive attack, I wasn’t harmed.

The energy had intentionally missed me.

I could tell immediately that this was Cheonma’s intention.

She was telling me not to bother her anymore.

That everything I had seen up until now had been a joke.

The battle with Wi Seol-ah had just been… play.

I stared at her, wide-eyed with disbelief.

Cheonma turned to me and spoke.

“I’ll see you… again.”

“What?”

“You’re interesting. I want to see you again.”

There was a faint smile on her face as she said this.

And then she turned away.

As Cheonma passed by the Heukya Palace Lord, he floated into the air.

“H-Heavens…”

The Palace Lord muttered something under his breath, clearly terrified, but Cheonma didn’t even glance at him.

Eventually, Cheonma and the Heukya Palace Lord disappeared into the dimensional gate.

Thud.

The gate closed, leaving no trace behind.

I stared at the spot where they had vanished before I collapsed, my body shaking.

“…!”

Wi Seol-ah rushed over and caught me as I fell, holding me up.

I glanced at the half-ruined ground around us and swallowed hard.

I corrected my earlier assumption.

An incomplete Cheonma?

No.

The small figure I had just faced—

Was already complete.