NOVEL NEXT Chapter 16
*
As the Hero Verdandi watched the duel between the two, she was having a curious experience.
– “I will use the Heavenly Demon Art’s third technique, the Heavenly Demon Soul Attack, to shatter my master’s mind. Now, how will you counter?”
– “I will evade behind you using the Silent Dragon Blood Step of the Sichuan Tang Clan. Your poison will be my stepping stone.”
It was like watching the black and white pieces move on a chessboard; her ability, The Eye that Sees the Truth, sketched the duel in reality.
When one person got closer, they’d suddenly distance themselves again.
“Indeed, Master is amazing! To treat a senior who has turned evil with such methods!”
She could see them engaging in a tug of war, probing each other’s territories to seize control.
Even if she didn’t understand the meanings of Heavenly Demon Soul Attack or Silent Dragon Blood Step, she could perceive how people fought with her special eyes.
“Verdandi, do you understand what those two are saying?”
“I don’t know! But I can see their fight happening before my eyes!”
“…What?”
“First, my senior has seized control of the surrounding space using invisible poison, then using it as a launch pad, the Master has jumped into the sky!”
Verdandi was explaining for her mother, who had no knowledge of martial arts, and Wolfram.
– “Then I too shall use sword techniques! I’ll engage with the Lightning Thirteen Blade Thunder of the Namgung Clan!”
– “I will block that strike with the Fire Dragon Sword of the Thunder Clan.”
“This time, my senior is exploding the aura coursing through his body and striking the Master like lightning!”
The sight of the two martial artists clashing their skills through words in an unprecedented duel made Verdandi sweat with excitement.
“Master is lifting that sword, raising flames! It looks like a wyvern soaring enveloped in fire!”
What would it feel like to be chosen as a hero and fight the Demon King? Watching the Ice Dragon risk himself for justice, her heart thumped excitedly.
– [The person before you is an ‘absolute villain.’]
The information The Eye that Sees the Truth revealed about the drowned-in-malice Biwool, but unlike before, Verdandi didn’t charge recklessly into battle.
She believed without a doubt that her Master, Ice Dragon, would rescue his disciple before her.
– [The person before you is a ‘virtuous being.’]
Regardless of being a villain or a hero, a person willing to help, even if they were someone she had never seen before.
Thus, the black-haired girl, who seemed to have grown under such a person, must have similarly transformed for some reason.
That was what Verdandi believed to be the essence of the one who had saved her and her mother.
“Ah, it seems the Master has entered my senior’s heart! The scenery around has changed!”
Just as she thought so, Verdandi saw the landscape shifting around her. A large wooden building where heavy rain poured, and the screams of children echoed.
“…Is this… Purgatory? It looks like a place where demons gather! I see a villain torturing children!”
Inside, Verdandi caught a glimpse of Biwool’s past.
– Ugh… Ugh…
A child enduring the pain of nails and toenails being plucked, undergoing training in the torture of having thigh flesh carved away.
A forced training to acquire the Diamond Indestructible.
Each day, they would lose consciousness from pain dozens of times, only to be doused with cold water to be forcibly revived.
– Aaaaah…! Aaaaah!
She saw a child subjected to experiments to artificially attain the Extreme Yang Body by walking atop a heating iron plate.
The smell of cooking flesh, sizzling and burnt, surrounded her, yet no one else paid attention except her.
“This is horrific! Such facilities should vanish from this world! What kind of past has my senior endured for such a gruesome hellscape to unfold in their heart!”
Andrew took a frown at that scene. No matter how mere illusions might appear, this place was an assembly of wicked deeds beyond measure.
“There are humans injecting poison into children, and some trying to bury kids in the snow to make them stronger!”
The tortures that sought to artificially attain the Diamond Indestructible, Extreme Yang Body, Ten Thousand Poison Immune, and Cold Poison Immune were enacted by the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
If Verdandi had seen this before meeting Ice Dragon, she would have gone on a rampage to enforce justice.
“Can you elaborate a bit further, Verdandi?”
“No! My mother is already beginning to retch!”
Verdandi refused to speak further about such ghastly horrors as her weak-stomached mother was already spewing.
“Ugh. My daughter, can you handle such sights…?”
“Yes! A hero does not turn away from any sorrow or suffering for justice! I learned that from my Master!”
Verdandi watched intently, eyes wide, observantly focusing on Biwool’s past. It was a scene where anyone might scream.
“…To truly be a good hero, one must know the pain of others and strive to understand everyone!”
Even her Master, absorbed in that hell, was not closing her eyes, taking in every scene before her.
Biwool and Verdandi locked eyes as she peered into the Imaginary World, and Ice Dragon smiled warmly at her, as if to say she was doing well.
Seeing this, Verdandi determined that truly understanding and empathizing with the past of others was the path to becoming a real hero.
Before meeting her Master, she had been a self-righteous individual filled with the belief that evil must be eradicated at all costs.
She didn’t know how to empathize with others’ pain, only focusing on her suffering, thinking she bore the deepest wounds in the world.
“There seem to be many people in this world carrying more sorrow and struggling in pain than me! Mother!”
But the scene unfolding before her starkly contradicted that.
– “I came from a seaside village. I helped my dad catch fish to sell, but one day, tax collectors came and demanded all the food I had.”
She became friends with a child whose parents had died from taxes, only to soon bear witness to the gruesome scene where their bodies turned into blood and flesh.
– “My mother worked in a brothel. She hated the fact that I was born without my dad knowing and sold me here!”
In greeting a child who had never received love due to their decadent parent, she found them frozen as a corpse the following day.
– “I almost got eaten by an uncle after swapping places with a neighbor’s kid, but I barely escaped!”
– “My mom and dad urged me to eat mushrooms together, but it turned out they were poisonous ones they hid for a joint suicide!”
– “My dream is to one day become a strong martial artist! Just like the Ice Dragon from the Great Martial Arts Tournament, I want to help the suffering and pitiful!”
The child who wanted to live another day, the child who wanted to share even a slight morsel with their parents, the one who spoke of dreams for the future.
“This is terrible! Was this truly what happened in the place where my Master and senior live!”
All had transformed into icy corpses. Verdandi couldn’t help but sigh.
– Huh, Huhhh…
She observed Biwool, who had developed a habit of eating dirt and muddy water to avoid human flesh and blood from her childhood.
It felt much like looking at herself, having been ostracized by villagers and enduring various forms of bullying and violence.
“Senior, please hold on! Master will come to rescue you soon!”
Verdandi couldn’t help but shout encouragingly towards her within the Imaginary World.
*
Once all duels had ended, I slowly opened my eyes.
Biwool’s oppression had been shattered thanks to the duel I assisted with. She looked just like the character from the original novel, King of Diamond Fist—a manifestation of the Heavenly Demon.
I had no idea how this coincidence occurred, but, ultimately, it had been resolved favorably, hadn’t it?
“Master, have you coughed? Hoo hoo.”
As she leaned her face close to mine, Biwool playfully snorted while wrapping her arms around my neck.
“Isn’t this suffocating? Get away.”
“I won’t! Master, you are a saint who came to rescue me from my hellish heart, are you not?”
I sent a signal for her to back away, just like tapping out in boxing, but she seemed to enjoy it even more, rubbing her scent onto me.
“If there is a Buddha in hell, it must be you, Master. Please allow me this level of childishness.”
After some time, Biwool cleared her throat and created a bit of distance.
“Ahem, if I really was making it hard to breathe, I apologize. It’s just, I’m so delighted to see your esteemed face again…”
After overcoming the oppression, Biwool’s expression seemed lighter than before. Rather than thrusting heavy feelings onto me without consideration, she was moving more carefully.
“…Is your body alright?”
“Yes, I’ve now surpassed the peak and entered the threshold of transcendent excellence without falling into a trance.”
The aura I felt emanating from Biwool now resembled a well-trained sword, perfectly controlled as if it were sheathed.
“It is all thanks to you, Master. Thank you for imparting your teachings to this ignorant disciple.”
Biwool expressed her gratitude with a deep bow, just like someone paying respect. Seeing her serious demeanor, I felt an urge to joke around a bit.
Her oppression was also a hidden part of her heart.
“I didn’t know you held me in such high regard. I’m sorry for failing to recognize it sooner.”
“Please, do not jest. The reason I acted this way is that I know the time I have left with you is limited…”
Biwool turned bright red immediately. Her face was as flushed as a ripe pear, and sweat dripped from her forehead like steam rising.
“Yes, as you know, my life span is limited. Still, you put forth such earnest feelings…”
I gestured for Biwool to come closer to me, her expression puzzled as she approached slowly.
“…As your Master and as a man, I cannot return such earnest feelings empty-handed.”
I pressed my thumb to my lips, then smiled gently at Biwool.
And,
“I hope you can hold out with this for now.”
I quickly pressed that thumb, cute and soft, onto Biwool’s lips. While I couldn’t give her an adult’s kiss, this level of affection should be alright.
“Ah? Huh?”
Biwool emitted a sound like the air being let out of a balloon, as though she were at a loss for what just happened.
She touched her flushed cheeks, her eyes wide as she replayed the moment in her mind. Her soft, small lips quivered as she savored the aftertaste of the indirect kiss.
“Until you become an adult, if this heart of mine doesn’t change, should I still be alive, then I will accept your feelings.”
“…Master.”
As I gently patted Biwool’s head, perhaps that was the trigger because she suddenly pushed me down onto the ground.
“……?!!”
Thump.
“Hmm…♡ Ugh, ooh…♡ Huh….”
Taking the chance, Biwool slid her tongue deeply into my mouth, making delicious sounds as she devoured me.
Warm breaths mingled, and the sweet sound of tongues and saliva filled the air.
“Please remain still… Master… you’re the one who first tempted me…”
Like a succubus, she explored my weak spots with her tongue, circling and probing.
“…Phew, Master. Originally, this is how kisses are done.”
“……”
Gulp.
Biwool’s throat audibly moved up and down.
Holding the back of my neck to prevent me from escaping, Biwool continued to taste my lips for a while before exhaling heavily.
“Ugh…♡”
She elongated her tongue and opened her mouth wide, making sure I saw her swallow my saliva.
“…Biwool, the oppression has been resolved, hasn’t it?”
“Yes, so I will not make any further advances towards you, Master. At least, until I reach adulthood.”
“Then why are you doing such a grotesque thing…?”
“I merely wanted to show you my commitment.”
With narrowed eyes like a cunning fox, Biwool enunciated each word clearly.
“I vow, I shall keep this affections alive! I will definitely conquer you one day, Master!”
Even those around us were at a loss for words, faces flushed from the bold declaration and actions.
“Indeed, that’s my senior for you!”
In the meantime, a blonde-haired Hero with sparkling eyes was jumping up and down, shaking her fists.
“If I can keep to my promise one day, can I share such a loving kiss with my Master, just like that?!”
Only Verdandi felt a bittersweet sensation rising within her, casting a slight jealous glance at Biwool.
“I too wish to make a promise with my Master here!”
“…What?”