---

**

I heard the news that my younger sister had died.

Tears didn’t come out.

…

The light flickered. The floor of the meditation room was cold.

I looked down at the hand I had placed on the floor. This wasn’t ordinary iron. The metal around me was covered in a faint reddish hue.

This was the legendary adamantine metal (金剛無壞鐵), known as the hardest substance in the world.

No matter how much you strike it, it leaves no mark. It’s renowned for taking hits with immense force without a single scratch.

Yet, there were depressions in it. Not just in one place, but drastically distorted everywhere.

It was as if it had experienced overwhelming violence.

“The dog must bark. It must bark with all its strength at the enemy. Jeok-un (赤雲). Now, try barking. Do you think this lady will spare you if you howl?”

A voice rang high above. I could also hear the sound of a chair being scraped.

I couldn’t respond. I could only remain silent.

In front of me was a monster.

The gap in our realms was so vast it was almost invisible.

One?

Two?

No. Counting was meaningless.

—I was not a being who could dare to speak first.

“Oldest of the ages.”

“Most beautiful under heaven.”

“One against a thousand.”

All these phrases only belonged to the woman in front of me.

“Surprisingly, you aren’t completely eye-less. You have some awareness. If you had forced yourself to cry just now, I would have pulled out that tongue of yours.”

“…….”

“This lady despises mediocrity. Jeok-un, many have tried to deceive her. But very few survived. The only ones left were those who crawled away in fear. But you wouldn’t be able to do that.”

The sound of the chair creaking was heard. I couldn’t even dare to meet her gaze; I was forced to look only at the tips of my shoes.

She advanced closer. It was just the tips of a delicate woman’s feet…

But they felt as heavy as all the metal in the world.

“The ones who managed to flee while maintaining their form were those worthy of it. The like of ‘Emergency Sword Yunchun’… ‘Valiant Dragon Sword Palaksa’… each had at least one fitting title. But Jeok-un, you are merely a gatekeeper. Just a pathetic gatekeeper. You guard the gates by day and still guard by night. Your role is to be the first to die. To die before anyone from this new church and signal the danger.”

“…….”

“Because your part is small, your strength is small as well. This lady does not rely on gatekeepers. Most of them perish without even swinging a sword. However, their corpses become excellent warnings. Thus they are dropped before this lady’s courtyard.”

“…….”

“Jeok-un. Poor gatekeeper. Your martial power is just as insignificant as your role. It’s laughable to watch. So I’ll only say this once, before I tear your limbs apart. There won’t be a second time.”

The girl halted before me. The tips of her feet lifted.

She positioned her chin atop my head and made me look up.

I met her gaze.

The Heavenly Demon (天魔).

—The leader of the most dangerous group in the world.

“Why is a just sect’s dog guarding my courtyard? Hmm? A spy from the Martial Alliance?”

…Indeed.

Did she know from the start?

I opened my mouth. But I didn’t know where to begin.

The weight that the eldest son had to bear to restore a poor family?

The feeling of helplessness because I had to do what everyone avoided due to lack of connections?

Even after becoming a spy for the Martial Alliance, I was cast aside as a pawn?

My head began to hurt. It wouldn’t function properly.

…But still.

—I don’t want to die.

“It’s to extract information.”

I tightened my vocal cords. I spoke.

I had to speak. In front of me was a beast.

So I had to state it. To survive, to not die.

“What information are you referring to?”

“All information regarding the new church.”

“I see. Quite good. I like the brevity of your answer. Let’s dig deeper. Jeok-un, as a gatekeeper, the information you can obtain is limited. You hardly receive useful information, do you?”

That was true. The role of a gatekeeper, even while I was a spy, proved not to be significant.

“That’s correct.”

“Then why were you a gatekeeper?”

“Because that was the task given to me.”

The Heavenly Demon yawned.

“You’re so lowly. Your worth is abysmally low. You were probably nothing more than a lowly tool amongst spies. A proper spy would have infiltrated deep inside the new church. Like… the two-headed snake that disappeared not long ago. One of the eight demons has also vanished. Many have suddenly detached from the new church. Let me ask you, Jeok-un. What was the reason behind the unexpected withdrawal order?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’ll change the question. Why did you not leave?”

“…I had to be the last to leave. That was my role.”

“Ah. A distraction, huh. I see. So it feels that way to be a discarded pawn. In that case, it makes sense. There’s no need to inform a discarded piece about the seriousness of the situation.”

The Heavenly Demon shifted her shoulder slightly. She briefly nibbled on her fingertip and then turned her gaze toward me.

Her smiling face bore a wickedness that was closer to a mischievous sprite than a supreme being.

“Next question. It may very well be the last one. Don’t worry. Since you’ve been so obedient, I’ll break your neck in one go.”

“……”

“Gatekeeper Jeok-un. Where are we right now?”

“…In the Master’s meditation room.”

“Indeed. This is my meditation room. Quite famous, too. It’s said that nothing exists in the personal meditation room of Heavenly Demon Tian Xiaoxiao—that is to say, nothing at all. No warriors are placed here. Literally, there’s nothing. What’s engraved here are merely disorganized traces of martial arts. I don’t really restrain myself to techniques or forms. I don’t even reveal secret scriptures. I am the new church, and because I am, I can be called the Heavenly Demon.”

“…….”

“Just a sect’s dog. Gatekeeper Jeok-un. Why did you come to a place where you’ll get nothing? Don’t tell me you came to meet me. I had no plans to enter the meditation room, and it was supposed to remain empty for a while. The chances of you meeting me here were less than those of starving to death in this place.”

The Heavenly Demon flicked her toes. The chin resting on her hand slightly trembled.

“That information should be known even to your own gatekeeper. If you say you were lost, I’ll crush your jaw. You were definitely watching this place. Were you denying that you are a discarded piece, or were you attempting to gather information on the traces I left behind? If it’s the former, it’s meaningless; if it’s the latter, I would laugh and call you a fool. Now, which is it?”

Which… is it?

I closed my eyes. With my eyes shut, I could see nothing but darkness.

However, closing my eyes did not bring peace. There was always light beyond the darkness. I feared that light.

The world was harsh.

Light always passed in front of me. I couldn’t grasp it.

It had always been that way.

Enough to receive a letter that said my sister had succumbed to her illness.

I didn’t know whether the Martial Alliance failed to send money properly or if my parents spent the money on something useless. All I knew was that my sister died, and I was left holding a letter filled with my parents’ lengthy excuses for a while.

They were an infuriating family. My father was a gambler, and my mother was obsessed with some strange cult. Among the family, the only ones who were decent were my sister and I. But my sister, too, suffered from poor health, enduring countless ailments.

We needed money.

We needed it desperately.

So much so that it felt like I was pouring my entire life into it.

“…….”

I actually knew.

That being a gatekeeper for a demon cult was the position discarded first by just sects.

That the last order for withdrawal was intended to use me as a shield.

Even if I escaped from here…

—I still yearned for the light, yet held nothing in my hands.

“……”

What lay before me was death. No words could persuade or charm it.

The Heavenly Demon. The absolute being of the demon cult. She could snap my neck with just a flick of her hand.

But was I foolish? Not at all. She had survived all kinds of schemes. A genuine expert who combined martial prowess with intelligence.

That is the Heavenly Demon.

…So.

Maybe I could finally speak my truth.

My heart was growing cold. The cold sweat trickling down my skin was slowly subsiding.

Realizing the reality and looking at the future laid before me, my heart turned ice cold.

I want to live.

At the same time, I don’t want to live.

Recognizing that, my words tumbled out.

“No one born without something meets a death without a purpose.”

“…Huh?”

“That is what I dislike.”

I mean it. The truth is…

I always wanted to escape. From these damn shackles.

From all the negative words that bound me.

“I am Jeok-un (赤雲) of Bi Cheon (泌川邑). That’s me. Master. I was born without anything. Even on the day I was born, I couldn’t see sunlight; I was born under a cloud. It was so gloomy that I was almost called Black Cloud (黑雲), but the sun hanging on the mountain saved me. Therefore, I am Jeok-un. The Red Cloud.”

“…….”

“My family was poor. There was hardly enough to eat. Even if I grasped a spoon, all I would end up eating was dust. My father was a gambler, and my mother was filled with discontent. I was the eldest son with just one younger sister. It was a dreadful family. My name was given to me by the village chief, so that says it all, right?”

The Heavenly Demon wiggled her feet slightly.

“I didn’t ask to hear your pathetic story. Jeok-un.”

“Because I was born without anything, I strived to have something. I learned to wield a sword from someone who claimed to be a top-class warrior. But as it turned out, he was a fraud; he taught me the Three Steeds Sword Arts. The same martial art that even street vendors could perform, yet he charged me three silver coins for it.”

Knowing the truth, I wanted to smash my fist against his sleazy face.

Though I had received a beating instead.

“Master, I learned the Three Steeds Sword Arts. I do not know the footsteps. What I can do is to infuse time into a sword that anyone can learn. There was hardly land to work as a farmer, and I had no confidence that I could raise my sister well alone as a porter. I had to eat my way through life with a sword to somewhat level the playing field. From the age of ten, as I juggled farming and martial arts, I barely became the gatekeeper of the Martial Alliance at the age of twenty, escaping the life of a wandering knight.”

“…….”

“The gatekeepers of the Martial Alliance are few but do receive a salary. It comes every month. I send it home. But all I hear is that it’s running low. Send it and it disappears; send it and it disappears… eventually, I started to lose track of why I picked up the sword. Pouring water into a bottomless pit is not something a normal person would do, right? I picked up a sword to earn money, but if I cannot do that either, what am I doing this for?”

I buried my head into the floor.

Blood trickled down to my forehead.

“I needed money. I had to do everything to get it. I moved. In addition to gatekeeping, I did all sorts of odd jobs, and people began to think of me not as a gatekeeper but as a gofer. I didn’t care. Now that my sister had become the reason for my existence, I thought everything would be okay if I just raised her well.”

“Hmm…”

“So when I was pulled into the dreaded spy job that everyone shunned, I didn’t care. Though the pay was less, it had risen. But just a few days ago, I received a letter with the withdrawal order.”

I searched my pockets. Inside was that letter.

A letter written by someone else, the handwriting blurred because I couldn’t even write myself.

“It said I needed funeral expenses because my sister died.”

“…….”

“So I came here. The reason to go back has disappeared, and I didn’t want to go back. What would a gatekeeper returning achieve? So I just… wanted to see.”

I want to survive.

At the same time, I want to die.

“The Heavenly Demon. How great it must be. How different from me.”

Amidst conflicting emotions, I raised my head.

The tips of the Heavenly Demon’s feet fell away from my chin.

Right now, my actions were like asking to be killed. The moment I moved, I wouldn’t have a word to speak even if my head was severed.

But perhaps this was the only moment to say what I wanted to say in my life.

Why did I not hide when the withdrawal order was issued that night?

Why didn’t I shed tears when my sister died?

Rounding back to a place where no one is around, what on earth did I come here for?

I lifted myself up.

“How dare you.”

The Black-clothed Man, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke, and I felt pressure as if my body was being crushed, blood pouring from every orifice.

Ah, I am dying. Just the sheer aura twisted and burst blood vessels.

—But it’s okay.

My feelings have organized themselves. Finally, a thread has emerged from the tangled feelings in my heart.

“Jeok-un.”

I mean to say.

—I always wanted to break free from the two characters that are Jeok-un.

“…What?!”

I straightened my knees.

I lifted my gaze.

I set my sagging shoulders straight.

I flexed my bones that were contorting.

Using sheer willpower was futile; I poured my soul into it.

No more.

—I don’t want to kneel anymore.

“How?! A mere third-rate warrior like you could resist my aura…?!”

“…Master.”

A place that might be my last.

Why did I think of this place as my tomb?

“What does it feel like… to be born a predator?”

“…….”

“I was born as prey. Just one of the many pillars supporting the predator. My life is third-rate. It was at the starting line, and it would probably end up there too. That’s why I was curious. What it feels like to be born a predator.”

The Heavenly Demon’s eyes curved like a crescent moon.

“Well, since I was not born prey, I don’t know how you see your gaze.”

“…Is that so.”

“Jeok-un. Gatekeeper Jeok-un. You, the dog of the just sect who lived his life guarding another’s door.”

She whispered.

“You just saw my traces. You caught a glimpse of the predator’s gaze, even if just for a moment. You concluded as you wished. Then—what are you thinking now?”

“…I just.”

It wasn’t long ago that I entered the Heavenly Demon’s meditation room.

Dozens of moments ago.

I had forgotten my hunger and was simply gazing at the traces she left behind.

Delicate traces that even a third-rate warrior could recognize. That incredible hardness. The howling that transcends the line.

Struggles. Claws. Teeth. Everything of a predator.

The desperate roar of the one who reigns.

…That was.

“I’m only dreaming.”

“What are you dreaming about?”

So far removed from my dreadful life…

So alluringly magnificent.

I want it.

That gaze.

That realm.

…As a warrior…

To reach a state beyond anyone’s glance.

“Before the master arrives…”

I lightly smiled. I was spitting blood from my mouth, my nose, and my ears, but I didn’t mind.

I just smiled.

Because I sensed it was the end.

“I wish I could have swung my sword a few more times—that is what I wanted.”

“…Pfft.”

The Heavenly Demon chuckled. Her laughter echoed and shook her shoulders.

A roar of laughter filled the meditation room, and it continued for a while before it stopped.

“This is absolutely insane! I like it! Gatekeeper Jeok-un!”

“…….”

“Because of this matter, many have suddenly fled the new church. I don’t know why they bolted so suddenly, but something must have happened at the Martial Alliance.”

“……”

“I am one against a thousand. I can manage a thousand with ease. However, even though I’m strong, I’m outnumbered. Those fools of the just sect, let alone the Sapa rats, outnumber us overwhelmingly.”

The Heavenly Demon raised one finger.

“However. I don’t like it. Even if I like the mountain of heaven, I cannot simply be bullied by those loyal dogs of the just sect, can I?”

“…….”

“Those who were close while trying to deceive me—all of them are nothing more than traitors. And the Heavenly Demon does not spare traitors. This will serve as both a warning to the just sect and a foundation to remind them again of the Heavenly Demon’s fear.”

She reached out. Her hand grazed my chin.

“Jeok-un. Gatekeeper Jeok-un. You, the dog who lived guarding another’s land, now on the verge of death.”

“……”

“I was pleased with your dying words. So you are now dead here. Alive but dead. What remains here is a dog without a place to go. And by chance, I need a suitable dog to plant in the just sect. One who is quite bold and quite twisted. If you are a spy with guaranteed status, it would be superb for use on this side, right?”

“……”

“I will say it only once. There will be no second time. I do not like to repeat myself. Remember this. What I have said must be kept, no matter the circumstances.”

My strength drained away. My body fell limply to the floor.

The gaze that was looking down became one that was looking up. The girl who continued to stroke my chin spoke.

“Gatekeeper Jeok-un.”

The Heavenly Demon smiled at me.

“Become my dog. Become my blade and slay those who betray me. Go to the Martial Alliance and act as a double agent under my will. Then you shall become a predator. Though you were not born as a predator…”

Her mesmerizing lips moved.

“I shall make you complete.”

The distance closed. I felt the sensation clinging to my lips.

…A kiss?

From the Heavenly Demon?

With a slight tug, the string of saliva hung long between our parted lips.

She grinned cunningly.

“I am the Heavenly Demon. Jeok-un. The Red Cloud. You must have resented your name. But now, you may take pride in it. You shall stand beneath me, soaring in the skies. It may not be the highest point of heaven, but…”

I stared at her blankly.

And I realized.

“The commoners who call themselves geniuses will no longer look down upon you.”

I will never forget this scene for the rest of my life.

 

---