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Translator: uly
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Heavenly Demon Divine Cult Double Agent
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I heard the news that my younger sister had died.
Tears didn't come.
...
The light flickered. The floor of the training room was cold.
I looked down at the hand propping me up against the floor. It wasn't ordinary iron. The metal around me was covered in a faint reddish glow.
It was Adamantite Unbreakable Iron, said to be the hardest metal in the world.
No matter how hard you struck it, no marks would remain. It was famous for not even getting scratched by the strongest martial force.
Yet it was dented. Not just in one place, but distorted wildly all over.
As if it had endured overwhelming violence.
"Dogs have to bark. They have to bark with all their might at enemies. Gatekeeper Red Cloud. Come on, give it a try. Bark like a dog. Woof woof. If you do, I might let you live."
A voice spoke from high above. I could also hear the sound of her shifting in her chair.
I couldn't respond. I just stayed silent.
The one before me was a monster.
The gap in our realms was so vast it was invisible.
One?
Two?
No. It was a difference that made counting meaningless.
-Someone like me could never dare to speak first.
Peerless of Past and Present.
World's Greatest Beauty.
One Knight Equals a Thousand.
All those titles belonged solely to the woman before me.
"At least you have some sense in those eyes. Pretty perceptive. If you'd just forced out a bark, I would've ripped out your tongue."
"......"
"I hate half-measures, Red Cloud. Plenty have tried to deceive me. But very few survived. The ones who barely clung to life were just the ones who crawled away begging. But you can't even do that."
The sound of her rising from the chair. I couldn't even dare to meet her gaze, so I just stared at her toes.
She drew closer. Just the toes of a slender woman, yet...
They felt as heavy as if all the iron in the world had been gathered there.
"Those who managed to keep their shape and flee were at least worthy of it. Flying Sword Yeon-cheon... Nine-Headed Dragon Sword Pal-ak-sa... They had impressive nicknames. But you, Red Cloud? You're just a gatekeeper. A worthless little gatekeeper. You guard the gate when the sun rises. You guard it when night falls. Your role is to die first. To die before anyone else in this cult and sound the alarm of danger."
"......"
"Your role is small, so your strength is small too. I don't expect anything from gatekeepers. Most of them die without even ringing the bell. But their corpses make excellent messengers. They come flying back to my front yard in no time."
"......"
"Red Cloud, you pitiful gatekeeper. Your skills are just as worthless as your role. They're laughable to watch. So I'll say this just once. Just once before I tear off your limbs. No second chances."
The girl stopped right in front of me. The toes I'd been staring at lifted.
They rested on my chin, forcing my gaze upward.
Our eyes met.
The Heavenly Demon.
-And the leader of the world's most dangerous group.
"Why is a dog of the righteous faction guarding my front yard? Huh? A spy from the Murim Alliance."
...As expected.
She knew from the start.
I opened my mouth. But I didn't know where to begin.
The weight of being the eldest son who had to lift up his poor family?
The helplessness of being forced into the jobs everyone else avoided because he had no backing?
The story of being used as a disposable pawn even as a Murim Alliance spy?
My head hurt. It wouldn't think straight.
...But still.
-I don't want to die.
"To extract information."
I strained my vocal cords. I spoke.
I forced the words out somehow. The one before me was a beast.
So I had to speak. To survive. To avoid death.
"What information?"
"All information about the cult. Anything I think has value, I send to the Murim Alliance via messenger bird."
"Hmm. Very good. I like concise answers. Let's continue. Gatekeeper Red Cloud. As a gatekeeper, the information you can access is limited. You hardly get anything useful, right?"
She was right. The gatekeeper position proved that even as a spy, I wasn't playing an important role.
"Yes."
"Then why stay as a gatekeeper?"
"Because that was the mission assigned to me."
The Heavenly Demon yawned.
"Low. So low. Your value is pathetically low. You must've been the lowest rung among spies. A proper spy would've infiltrated deep into the cult. Like... that Twin-Headed Snake who vanished recently. Even the Seventh Demon among the Eight Demons disappeared. A large number suddenly left the cult. Tell me, Red Cloud. Why did the sudden withdrawal order come?"
"I don't know."
"Let me rephrase. Why didn't you leave?"
"...I had to leave last. That was my role."
"Ah, to draw attention. I see. A sacrificial pawn... That's the vibe. Makes sense. No need to tell a pawn about the importance of missions."
The Heavenly Demon shrugged her shoulders. She lightly bit her fingertip before turning her gaze to me.
Her smiling face was bewitching. Less like an absolute ruler and more like a mischievous child.
"Next question. Might be your last. Don't worry. You've been such a good boy with your answers, so I'll snap your neck in one go."
"..."
"Gatekeeper Red Cloud. Where is this?"
"...The cult leader's training room."
"Right. My training room. It's pretty famous too. They say Heavenly Demon Cheon So-so's personal training room is empty-and that's literally true. I don't station any guards. There's truly nothing here. All that's etched here are traces of unstructured martial arts. I'm not one to be bound by formulas or forms. I don't reveal secret manuals. I am the cult itself, and that's why I'm called the Heavenly Demon."
"......"
"Dog of the righteous faction. Gatekeeper Red Cloud. Why did you enter a place with nothing to gain? That's what puzzled me most. Don't give me that nonsense about coming to see me. You had no plans to enter the training room, and it was supposed to stay empty for a while. Your chances of meeting me here were slimmer than starving to death."
The Heavenly Demon wiggled her toes. My chin shook slightly under them.
"Even my gatekeeper could know that much. Say you got lost, and I'll crush your jaw. You were definitely scouting this place. To deny being a sacrificial pawn? Or to take away some info on the traces I left? The former's pointless, the latter makes you an idiot. So, which is it?"
Which... one?
I closed my eyes. Darkness was all I saw.
But that didn't bring peace. There was always light beyond the darkness. I feared that light.
The world was harsh.
The light always passed me by. I could never grasp it.
It had always been that way.
To the point where a letter informed me my younger sister had lost her battle with illness.
I didn't know if the Murim Alliance hadn't sent the money properly, or if my parents had spent it wrongly. All I knew was that my sister was dead, and I held a letter full of their endless excuses for a long time.
It was a suffocating family. My father was a gambler, my mother obsessed with some weird cult. The only decent ones were me and my sister. But even she was born frail, constantly plagued by illnesses.
I needed money.
A ton of money.
Enough to pour my entire life into it.
"......"
Actually, I knew.
I knew that being a gatekeeper in the demonic cult meant being the first spy from the righteous faction to be abandoned.
I knew the withdrawal order coming last was meant to use me as a shield.
Even if I escaped from here...
-I'd still yearn for the light but grasp nothing.
"..."
Death stood before me. No words could sway it.
The Heavenly Demon. The absolute ruler of the demonic cult. A monster who could snap my neck with a flick of her wrist.
But she wasn't stupid. Far from it. She'd survived countless schemes. The supreme expert who wielded both might and intellect-Peerless of Past and Present.
That was the Heavenly Demon.
...So.
Maybe now I could speak the truth.
My heart grew ice-cold. The cold sweat stopped flowing.
Fully aware of reality and facing the future ahead, my chest chilled instead.
I want to live.
At the same time, I don't.
Realizing that opened my words.
"Those born with nothing meet only a death of nothing."
"...Hmm?"
"I hated that."
I... actually...
Always wanted to escape. From these wretched chains.
From all the negative words binding me.
"The Red Cloud of Bicheon Village. That's me, cult leader. I was born with nothing. Not even able to see sunlight on the day I was born-under the clouds. Nearly called Black Cloud for how gloomy it was, but the sun over the mountain blocked it. That's why Red Cloud. Red clouds."
"......"
"My family was poor. Scarcely any food. Even holding chopsticks meant eating dust. Father gambled, mother full of complaints. I was the only eldest son... and there was my younger sister. A hellish home. Even my name came from the village head. Need I say more?"
The Heavenly Demon shook her foot slightly.
"I didn't ask to hear your pathetic life story, Red Cloud."
"Born without possessions, so I strove to have them. Learned the sword from a guy claiming to be a first-rate warrior. Turned out he was a con artist. Three Disasters Swordsmanship. That street-level junk, and he took three silvers for it. Damn bastard."
I learned the truth and tried to smash that slimy face with my fist.
But I got beaten instead.
"Cult leader. I learned Three Disasters Swordsmanship. I don't know footwork. All I could do was put time into a sword anyone could learn. No land for farming, no confidence to raise my sister alone as a porter. Sword-for-hire was the fairest way. From age ten, juggling farm work and martial arts, I barely escaped being a wanderer at twenty and became a Murim Alliance gatekeeper."
"......"
"Murim Alliance gatekeepers get little pay, but it comes monthly. I sent it home. But I only heard it ran out fast. Send, gone. Send, gone... Soon I forgot why I picked up the sword. Pouring water into a leaky jar isn't sane. I took up the sword to earn big money, but if even that's impossible, why bother?"
I slammed my head to the floor.
Blood beaded on my forehead.
"I needed money. To get it, I did every job. From gatekeeper duties to all sorts of odd chores, others saw me as an errand boy, not a gatekeeper. Didn't matter. My sister had become my reason to live. As long as I raised her well, everything was fine."
"Hmm..."
"So when they dragged me into spy work that everyone avoided, I didn't mind. The pay went up a bit. But days ago, with the withdrawal order came a letter."
I fumbled in my bosom. Inside was the letter.
A letter written in someone else's handwriting since I couldn't read.
"It said my sister died, and funeral costs were needed."
"......"
"So I came here. No reason to go back, no desire to. What's a gatekeeper returning but still a gatekeeper? So I just... wanted to see."
I want to survive.
At the same time, I want to die.
"How great the Heavenly Demon is. How different from me."
Amid conflicting emotions, I raised my head.
The Heavenly Demon's toes left my chin.
This action was as good as begging to be killed. If my head rolled the moment I moved, I had no grounds to complain.
But in life, this might be my only chance to say what I truly wanted.
Why hadn't I hidden in the night despite the withdrawal order?
Why no tears the night my sister died?
Why come to the Heavenly Demon's empty training room?
I rose to my feet.
"...How dare you."
The Black-Clothed Person behind her, silent until now, barked. An immense pressure crushed me in an instant, blood pouring from my eyes, nose, and ears.
Ah. I'm dying. Just from his aura, my blood vessels twisted and burst.
-But it's fine.
My emotions settled. From the tangled mess in my heart, a single line finally emerged.
"Red Cloud."
I...
-Always wanted to escape those two words: Red Cloud.
"...What?!"
I straightened my knees.
Raised my gaze.
Squared my slumping shoulders.
Poured strength into my twisting bones.
I forced my half-bent knees straight. Willpower alone wasn't enough, so I poured in my soul.
I hate it.
No more...
-Kneeling.
"How?! A mere third-rate warrior enduring my aura...?!"
"...C-Cult... leader."
This place might be the end of my life.
Why did I choose it as my grave?
"How does it feel... to be born a beast?"
"......"
"I was born prey. Just one of countless pillars supporting beasts. My life is third-rate. Start to finish. So I wondered. What does it feel like to be born a beast?"
The Heavenly Demon's eyes curved like a crescent moon.
"Who knows. Never born prey, so I don't know your view."
"...I see."
"Red Cloud. Gatekeeper Red Cloud. Righteous faction dog who's guarded others' gates his whole life."
She whispered.
"You've seen my traces now. Stolen a glimpse of a beast's gaze, if only briefly. You've ended it your way. So-what are you thinking now?"
"...Just."
I hadn't entered the Heavenly Demon's training room just moments ago.
Dozens of hours earlier.
Forgetting my hunger, I'd simply stared at the traces she'd left.
Even a third-rate warrior could see the delicate marks. That intensity. Roars transcending limits.
Writhing. Claws. Fangs. Everything of a beast.
The ruling one's desperate roar.
...That was.
"Just dreaming."
"Of what?"
So far removed from my wretched life...
So enviably wild thrashing.
I want it.
That gaze.
That realm.
...As a martial artist...
To a height no one can look down on.
"Before you came..."
I smiled faintly. Blood spewed from my mouth, nose, and ears, but it didn't matter.
I just smiled.
Sensing it was the end.
"I wish I'd swung my sword a few more times-"
"...Pfft."
The Heavenly Demon giggled. Her laughter burst out, then she shrugged her shoulders.
Roaring laughter filled the training room, lasting a good while before stopping.
"You're completely insane! I like it! Gatekeeper Red Cloud!"
"......"
"Many fled the cult suddenly over this. Don't know why they're bailing, but something must've happened in the Murim Alliance."
"..."
"I'm One Knight Equals a Thousand. One of me can handle a thousand. But still just one. Know why I base myself in the Thousand Mountains? We're strong but few. They're weak but many. Even if one can match a thousand, there's only one like me in the Thousand Mountains. We lose in numbers. Overwhelmingly to the damned righteous faction, even more to the unorthodox."
The Heavenly Demon raised one finger.
"But I don't like it. Even if I love the Thousand Mountains, I can't just take the righteous faction's dogshit because they fear me."
"......"
"Those who deceived me and stayed close are all betrayers to me. And the Heavenly Demon doesn't spare betrayers. This will be a warning to the righteous faction and lay the foundation to reawaken fear of me."
She reached out. Stroked my chin.
"Red Cloud. Gatekeeper Red Cloud. Dog facing death after guarding others' land your whole life."
"..."
"I liked your last words. So you've died here. Alive but dead. What's left is a homeless dog. And conveniently, I need a dog to plant in the righteous faction. One with huge guts and thoroughly twisted. A spy with verified identity would be perfect for our side, no?"
"..."
"I'll say it once. No twice. I don't like repeating myself anyway. Remember. Whatever I say, you obey no matter what."
The pressure vanished. My drained body collapsed to the floor.
Her downward gaze became my upward one. The girl still stroking my chin spoke.
"Gatekeeper Red Cloud."
The Heavenly Demon smiled at me.
"Become my dog. Become my blade, kill those who betrayed me. Go to the Murim Alliance, serve as a double agent under my will. Do that, and you'll become a beast. Born unable to be one, but..."
Her alluring lips moved.
"I'll complete you."
The distance closed. I felt the sensation on my lips.
...A kiss?
From the Heavenly Demon?
Our lips parted with a pop, a sticky thread of saliva stretching long between them.
She smiled slyly.
"I'm the Heavenly Demon, Red Cloud. Red clouds. You've resented your name. But now hold pride. You'll be beneath me as I roam the skies. Not the highest heaven, but..."
I stared at her blankly.
And I knew.
"Even those self-proclaimed geniuses will never look down on you again."
I'd never forget this sight in my life.