WeTried Translations
Translator: Joy
Editor: Joy
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Damned Transmigration ◈
Chapter 70: Wall staring
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Shinjeong, more commonly known as the Demon Subjugation Palace, was home to the Rudella Mage Tower and the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Strength rules.
That was the law that governed the Heavenly Demon Cult. That was why the cult did not hide. The massive red palace towering at the heart of Shinjeong was the Red Blood Palace, the Heavenly Demon Cult’s headquarters.
The Divine Demon Hall within the Red Blood Palace was where the cult’s leader had resided for generations. Every leader had inherited the name Heavenly Demon, striving for godhood in hopes of gaining the name Divine Demon. Yet not once in the cult’s history had a Divine Demon been born.
The current Heavenly Demon, Wi Jin-hwa, was regarded as the most outstanding and powerful of all previous leaders. Devout followers worshipped him, believing that the current Heavenly Demon would attain godhood and bring an end to the chaos of the age.
Biyeon was that Heavenly Demon’s sole disciple.
Clad in a bright red robe, Biyeon strode forward. She had only just returned from Foul Village and entered the Red Blood Palace, but she had no need to rest from the journey.
Reporting the details of her trip to her master came first.
“Tsk.”
A click of the tongue escaped from behind her white mask. Biyeon was displeased enough that she could not help making the sound.
Before she had even arrived in Shinjeong, the Orsia Family had released a public statement about what had happened in Foul Village.
Naturally, the statement mentioned Biyeon. The newspapers that carried it added all manner of speculation about her, from why she wore a mask to her age and what she had done before becoming the Heavenly Demon’s disciple.
The most common speculation was that Biyeon was a transmigrator. The second most common was that Biyeon was the Heavenly Demon’s illegitimate child.
Either way, it was unpleasant for Biyeon. Truth or lie, she disliked people talking about her as they pleased when she had said nothing.
“It seems the Sword Emperor wishes to use the Heavenly Demon Cult as a shield.”
Sword Shadow, following behind her, chuckled.
“From the Sword Emperor’s perspective, the heretics who serve the Evil God, risking death to throw the world into chaos, must not seem very different from the Heavenly Demon Cult.”
“Does the Sword Emperor want to use poison against poison?”
Biyeon sneered.
“Perhaps the Sword Emperor does not want the Sword Dragon, raised so carefully, to become a target of the Sect of Chaos?”
“Likely so. The Sword Emperor must have much to worry about. Judging from the situation, the Sword Dragon must have acted alone without asking the family for permission.”
At the end of the corridor stood a blood-red door. Before it, as though guarding it, loomed a massive statue of a demon.
Slide.
The statue’s eyes moved and looked at Biyeon and Sword Shadow.
When had it been? It was a toy the Corpse Immortal had given as a gift. A golem infused with the magically combined souls of demonic beings. Its combat power was nothing impressive, but the Corpse Immortal had placed the toy before the Divine Demon Hall’s entrance simply because it looked impressive.
No one knew what sort of relationship bound them together, but the Corpse Immortal was the Heavenly Demon’s oldest friend. In Shinjeong, only the Corpse Immortal and Biyeon could enter the Ascension Pavilion within the Divine Demon Hall without seeking permission in advance.
Rumble.
The moment Biyeon and Sword Shadow approached, the tightly shut doors of the Divine Demon Hall slowly began to open.
Biyeon’s expression stiffened slightly behind her mask as she walked toward the doors. Sword Shadow, who had received permission in advance, followed Biyeon without hesitation.
The sight beyond the wide-open doors was the familiar one they always saw. Yet the moment they passed through, Biyeon and Sword Shadow realized that everything they saw and perceived was an illusion.
Before they knew it, they stood somewhere entirely different.
A tranquil sea without the slightest ripple. A night sky illuminated by countless stars and a brilliant moon. At the center of that world floated a pavilion in the sky.
A separate space created from the Heavenly Demon’s Intent.
This was the Ascension Pavilion.
Normally, entering the Ascension Pavilion required walking into the lake behind the Divine Demon Hall. The Heavenly Demon had skipped that process and brought Biyeon and Sword Shadow directly inside.
The moment they entered the Ascension Pavilion, Biyeon and Sword Shadow knelt.
Unlike Biyeon, who merely lowered her head, Sword Shadow raised both arms high and shouted.
“Heavenly Demon Ascends to Heaven! Divine Demon Returns! Ten Thousand Gods Perish! The One Reigns Alone!”
“You’re loud.”
The grumbling voice came from the sky.
A woman floating among countless stars slowly descended.
“I don’t like your religion’s grand doctrines either, but the ritual where you kneel and scream whenever you see the Heavenly Demon irritates me most of all. Isn’t it terribly inefficient to shout it every time you see him?”
The master of the Rudella Mage Tower, Herein Rudella, the Corpse Immortal, wrapped a large, soft-looking cloak around herself like a blanket. She snapped shut the book she had been reading and looked down at Sword Shadow and Biyeon.
“Don’t you think so, Young Leader? You’re always with the Heavenly Demon. You must hear that shout dozens of times a day.”
Biyeon did not answer and simply looked ahead. Sword Shadow did the same.
Being openly ignored was familiar to the Corpse Immortal. Clicking her tongue, she idly twisted her grey hair around a finger.
“Why not write it on your clothes? Or carry a flag? It would be more efficient than kneeling and shouting every time. It wouldn’t be so noisy for everyone around you, either.”
Still grumbling, the Corpse Immortal floated through the night sky. Wrapped in her pale cloak, she resembled a drifting cloud as she approached the Ascension Pavilion beneath the full moon.
“What do you think, Heavenly Demon? I think it’s an excellent idea. Surely you aren’t going to give some dull answer about tradition.”
“That, too, is a form of worship.”
On the roof of the Ascension Pavilion, the Heavenly Demon sat cross-legged with the full moon behind him.
His closed eyes slowly opened.
Boom.
The utterly still sea shook as one, and a massive ripple spread across its surface.
“The Heavenly Demon Cult is a religion where any follower may become the Heavenly Demon, yet its followers worship me, the Heavenly Demon. I do not enjoy that reverence any more than you do, but I am not so cold-hearted as to reject even the words they shout while kneeling to serve me.”
The Heavenly Demon looked down.
Biyeon and Sword Shadow both felt a chill from that gaze.
As the Heavenly Demon said, the Heavenly Demon Cult was a religion that worshipped the Heavenly Demon. To its followers, the cult leader was a being born human and becoming a god, one who would attain godhood through demonic power and rule as a Divine Demon.
Among all demonic practitioners who cultivated demonic arts in pursuit of godhood, the strongest earned the name Heavenly Demon. The current Heavenly Demon, Wi Jin-hwa, had ruled as the Heavenly Demon for forty years already.
The Heavenly Demon said that any follower could become the Heavenly Demon, but that was not truly the case. No matter how much Sword Shadow wished to become the Heavenly Demon, he could never take that name while the current Heavenly Demon remained. The Heavenly Demon was that overwhelming, and followers who revered demonic power and strength naturally believed such power deserved worship.
“You carried out the task I gave you well.”
The Heavenly Demon’s gaze turned to Biyeon.
Her shoulders twitched, but she did not lower her head in fear.
“I was unable to carry it out as Master intended.”
“My intent?”
“I could not defeat the Withered Crone, the Evil God’s Bishop, on my own.”
“I heard the Sword Emperor’s statement. It said you fought alongside the Sword Dragon, the Sword Emperor’s grandson, and two children named Thunder Cloud and Dark Blossom.”
“Yes.”
As Biyeon answered, she lowered her head slightly. She had not bowed out of fear, but shame and guilt made her lower it.
“I have no intention of scolding you.”
The Heavenly Demon, who had been seated cross-legged, settled more comfortably in the night sky. Resting his chin on one hand, he watched Biyeon.
“As you must have guessed, I sent you to convey my intent to the Sect of Chaos. It is difficult to send a letter to the headquarters of people whose location I do not know. At the same time, it would be ridiculous for me to step forward personally and declare that I would oppose them.”
“...”
“The Sword Dragon, Thunder Cloud, and Dark Blossom being there was merely a coincidence. Had you retreated, you would have failed the task I gave you. Or what? Do you believe it would have been right to kill the Sword Dragon, Thunder Cloud, and Dark Blossom first?”
“I do not know what answer Master wishes to hear.”
“The correct answer is one you decide, not one I decide. I ordered you to kill the Withered Crone, and you accomplished what I ordered. That is the end of the matter.”
A smile spread across the Heavenly Demon’s lips.
“So, what did you feel?”
“...?”
“About the world, about that place. I hoped your view would broaden, but seeing how slow you are to answer, it remains narrow.”
“I apologize.”
Biyeon lowered her head again, and the Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue.
“For my disciple, you bow your head far too readily.”
“I lower my head to no one but Master.”
“The problem is that you lower it so easily because I am your master. You are my disciple and the Young Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, the person closest to becoming the next Heavenly Demon. Reverence for your master is admirable as a matter of duty, but if you are to inherit my teachings, hide rebellious intent beneath that reverence.”
“I will try.”
Biyeon raised her head as she answered.
“The battle with the Bishop was not easy.”
She continued.
“Had I been alone, I would have needed to prepare for death.”
“My Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art holds an advantage over most magic. If your attainment in the divine art had surpassed the limits of your tier, you would not have been overwhelmed even if your opponent had been a mage of a higher tier.”
“As Master said, the Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art did not fall behind the Bishop’s magic. However, divine power was added to the Bishop’s magic, making her difficult to deal with.”
“When you say it was not easy, do you mean you still would not have lost?”
“Yes. If I had prepared for death, I could have killed the Bishop somehow.”
The Corpse Immortal, who had been floating near the Heavenly Demon as she listened, tilted her head.
“Then it seems the Withered Crone never managed to use Eternal Thirst?”
“Yes.”
“Foolish, pitiful thing. I wondered what form my magic would take when it bloomed through her, but in the end, she faded away futilely without accomplishing anything.”
Though the Corpse Immortal spoke as if she pitied the Withered Crone, she giggled.
“If you learned your limits, this outing was worthwhile. What else did you feel?”
“I felt that the world is wide.”
“What made you feel that way?”
“Before I saw the Sword Dragon, I thought the reputation was merely grand, while the person would be nothing special. But that was my arrogance. The Sword Dragon was strong enough to prove himself worthy of that name, family, and reputation.”
The Heavenly Demon neither answered nor urged her on. He simply wore a faint smile and waited for his disciple to continue.
“Dark Blossom did not stand on the same battlefield as I did against the Bishop, so I did not see much of her. But I believe I saw Thunder Cloud properly. Forgive me, Master, but Thunder Cloud was the strongest person on that battlefield.”
“Oh.”
Interest lit the Heavenly Demon’s eyes.
The Heavenly Demon slowly descended from the night sky and came to stand upon the sea.
“Are you saying that Thunder Cloud was stronger than you, the inheritor of my teachings?”
“Yes. I was utterly immature there. Thunder Cloud was the one who saved me after impatience and complacency led me to be caught in the Bishop’s mutual-destruction attack.”
“An interesting story.”
The Heavenly Demon had expected to hear Biyeon’s assessment of the Sword Dragon and what she had felt while fighting the Withered Crone. He had not expected Biyeon to praise a child named Thunder Cloud, whom he had never even heard of, so highly.
“Sword Shadow.”
“Yes.”
Sword Shadow slowly rose, lowered his head, and approached the Heavenly Demon respectfully.
Sword Shadow removed a necklace and held it up to the sky. Another scene appeared in the night sky.
It was the battle against the Withered Crone. Sword Shadow had not participated in the battle and had watched from above, recording it with a magical tool.
As the Heavenly Demon silently watched the recording, Biyeon knelt before him and felt her face gradually grow hot.
Looking back, she had made too many mistakes that day. She could have fought better. In particular, she would never have been caught in the final mutual-destruction attack if she had remained cool-headed.
“...”
However, the Heavenly Demon was not watching the recording to point out Biyeon’s mistakes. Biyeon knew that, and felt ashamed again.
That meant the Heavenly Demon was currently more interested in Thunder Cloud than Biyeon. As his disciple, failing to hold her master’s interest was something to be ashamed of.
‘Thunder Cloud was that strong...’
Rather than envy Thunder Cloud, who was not even here, Biyeon wanted to acknowledge him as a worthy rival. Thunder Cloud was undeniably strong. All she had to do was surpass him someday.
As she thought that, the heat born of shame cooled. Biyeon composed herself and watched Thunder Cloud’s movements in the recording.
“Hah...”
The Heavenly Demon let out a breath that could have been surprise or a sigh when Thunder Cloud’s foot split the Withered Crone’s magic.
It was a movement Biyeon had not been able to see properly. Thunder Cloud had darted into the mass of countless hands, using both legs, both arms, and his whole body in seamless coordination to engage them.
Then the Sword Dragon’s light sword swept the hands away.
No, before that.
Watching Thunder Cloud’s movements, the Heavenly Demon had smiled without realizing it.
“I see.”
Other demonic practitioners would not recognize it, but the Heavenly Demon knew what that flame was.
It was the martial art of the young junior fellow disciple he had once cherished, a divine art that began from the same source as the Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art before branching away as its opposite.
‘It is not exactly the same. Lorelia, do you wish to guide him along a path different from yours?’
The Sacred Flame Divine Art turned its user into fire to burn and cleanse all demons and the myriad heavens.
Thunder Cloud had inherited that teaching.
‘Is that your answer?’
When he first declared that he would become the Heavenly Demon, the face of his young junior fellow disciple, tears of blood streaming from her resentment-filled eyes, remained vivid in his memory.
That day, Wi Jin-hwa’s Sacred Flame Divine Art became Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art and gave him the name Heavenly Demon.
His young junior fellow disciple’s Sacred Flame Divine Art became an entirely different martial art and gave her the title Calamity Star.
“Indeed. Excellent.”
The Heavenly Demon smiled as he muttered.
He had chosen and named Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art, a martial art that ruled and reigned rather than burned.
The Calamity Star still remained within that flame.
Naturally, the countless demons she wished to burn included the Heavenly Demon.
The Heavenly Demon knew well that her murderous intent remained as strong as ever.
The Heavenly Demon thought of his young junior fellow disciple.
The Heavenly Demon Cult had already established a training ground in the mountains near the Sect of Order’s Sacred Domain. As a result, that area had been excluded from the Sect of War’s search, while the Sect of War’s elites and the Battle Saint were currently intervening in the Vernoc conflict.
Was that why?
Even now, more than two years later, Lorelia remained in the Punishment Wing of the Sect of Order’s Sacred Domain, meditating before a wall.
She could leave whenever she wanted. If Lorelia wished to leave, not even the Sect of Order’s Archbishop could hold her back.
Yet Lorelia still had not left. No enemies threatening the Sect of Order came near, so there was no reason for her to go outside. Her wall-facing meditation had become training rather than a way to pay for her sins.
‘Can you overcome the wall while burdened by your delusions?’
The Heavenly Demon thought with a pleased smile.
* * *
Two years.
For Lorelia, it had not felt particularly long.
Though it was called the Punishment Wing, Lorelia was free. She could do anything she wished, and she could leave whenever she wanted.
But she did not.
During the time she had spent in the Punishment Wing, the Heavenly Demon’s visit was the only time Lorelia had left the cell of her own accord. About a year ago, the Archbishop had personally visited and even told her to come out, but Lorelia had not listened.
The Sect of Order no longer needed Lorelia’s violence.
The barrier of that damned Demonic Cult stood tall, and the sect’s pursuers could no longer come close.
Thanks to that, Lorelia had been able to sit before a wall for two years and focus on her training.
The Archbishop had already said Lorelia’s punishment was sufficient, but Lorelia remained devoted to paying for her sins. Since entering the Punishment Wing, she had not put any food other than fasting pills in her mouth.
Hunger could not even be a trial for Lorelia. The only trial she felt was her own helplessness, trapped behind a wall.
‘Thunder Cloud.’
Lorelia opened her eyes and stared at the wall, a smile forming on her lips.
Though she had eaten nothing but fasting pills for two years, Lorelia’s body was only slightly gaunt, not ugly and emaciated. Her realm had already reached the point where she could sustain her body with qi alone.
‘This Lorelia has never taught him a martial art worthy of such a title.’
The news that had recently come from outside made Lorelia’s heart race.
‘Fifth tier in just two years...’
It was an unprecedented speed. Lorelia firmly suppressed the excitement in her heart and the desire to break her shackles and leap out of the cell at once.
‘I should praise him when we meet.’
She had heard that he had defeated the Evil God’s Bishop. Perhaps, perhaps Lee Su-hyeok might cross over to the Evil God’s side. She had worried about that, though she had not truly expected it.
It had been needless worry after all.
‘No... should I scold him instead?’
She had also heard that he had joined forces with the Young Leader of the Demonic Cult, that detestable Heavenly Demon’s disciple.
That was difficult to forgive. If he had encountered Biyeon, he should have killed her immediately. How could he join hands with her?
Lorelia steadied herself amid her conflicted feelings and closed her eyes.
‘Should I praise him first and scold him after, or scold him first and praise him after...?’
Only the order differed. Lorelia had decided to do both.
It was not something she could do immediately anyway. Going to find him first would be both dangerous and ridiculous. If they moved toward the same goal, they would naturally meet someday.
‘I should leave soon.’
Lorelia had gained a small realization from more than two years of wall-facing meditation. It would be difficult to gain any greater realization by doing nothing but staring at a wall.
Lorelia’s title was Calamity Star. She was the violence that represented the Sect of Order.
Most of the advances she had made in martial arts throughout her life had blossomed from violence.
To move forward again, she had no choice but to return to the battlefield.
Footnotes:
Wall-facing meditation is a practice of prolonged contemplation while seated before a wall.
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