Chapter 165
“I was a Heavenly Demon.”
Seo Sumin calmly revealed her identity.
There was no point in hiding it anymore, now that she had come this far.
It was not in her nature to deny the obvious truth shamefully.
“…I see.”
A Heavenly Demon.
Yu-hyun was slightly surprised, but he could accept it after reading her book.
What was a Heavenly Demon?
It was a being from another world, but Yu-hyun had heard of its name before.
In this hybrid world, there were various worlds, and among them, there were worlds where humans used qi to display transcendent martial arts.
In the hybrid world, such worlds were called the Central Plains Martial World.
Among them, the existence of the Heavenly Demon was ranked as the most feared existence in the martial world.
It was a demon of the sky, a supreme being of the earth.
It was the ultimate state that those who worshipped all kinds of power reached, and the authority that they praised.
It was not something that was given to one being, but a title that was given to those who surpassed a certain level.
That was what a Heavenly Demon was.
‘The girl who was so meek at first?’
A Heavenly Demon? That high school girl?
The Heavenly Demon who stood at the peak of all martial artists?
Yu-hyun could not believe it, but he did not deny the reality either.
She was definitely a Heavenly Demon.
And a reincarnated one at that.
“I see.”
“You believe me so easily.”
“Are you lying?”
“No. It’s true.”
Yu-hyun thought so too.
But what was important now was not her identity.
Seo Sumin might not know it, but Yu-hyun caught various clues from every word she said.
‘Seo Sumin is a reincarnated Heavenly Demon. But she died in her previous life, and now she lives a new life as Seo Sumin.’
That was fine.
He could even get over the fact that Seo Sumin hid her power and tried to live normally.
But her reaction.
The moment he heard her say that there was someone who was targeting her, Yu-hyun realized that he had faced a case.
‘Why did she guard against me when she had already reincarnated and lived in another world?’
The answer was simple.
There was someone.
Someone who had been targeting Seo Sumin, until now.
And someone who was strong enough to make Seo Sumin wary.
What he could tell from here was that the enemy was not just an individual, but a group.
Maybe even two groups.
Information and clues fit together like puzzle pieces in Yu-hyun’s head.
“So, what should I do now that you know my identity?”
“Is that some kind of lame threat at this point? If you’re a Heavenly Demon, you should be more dignified…”
“I gave up on that.”
Seo Sumin answered sharply.
The moment he saw her expression harden coldly, Yu-hyun could not say anything.
“I gave up on everything, in the past.”
“…I see.”
He could only guess that there was something in her attitude that spoke of pain, as if she was biting her teeth.
There was a deep scar somewhere in Seo Sumin’s heart that ordinary people could not see.
She was still suffering from the pain of that wound that had not healed yet.
Seo Sumin’s appearance, which seemed to be tormented by that pain, stimulated Yu-hyun’s strange feelings.
“I’m just an ordinary person now, Seo Sumin.”
“…I understand. Miss Seo.”
Yu-hyun nodded his head and respected her wishes.
He did not call her a Heavenly Demon, but by her name, Seo Sumin.
That was also his intention to treat her as she is now.
Seo Sumin nodded her head.
“That’s how it is, so keep it a secret from Yura. Oppa.”
Her voice changed instantly from arrogant and sharp to calm and gentle.
Yu-hyun could not adapt to the changing tone of voice.
It felt like he was looking at someone with a split personality, but then again, Seo Sumin’s appearance was so gorgeous that any behavior suited her well.
“That’s right. I’m not the type to blabber either.”
“You can be comfortable with me. It’ll be less awkward that way.”𝕟𝗼𝘃𝒆𝘭𝒃Ꭵ𝘯.𝚗𝑒𝚝
“…Okay. I’ll do that.”
“Yes. I think you understand well, so I’ll go now.”
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Seo Sumin bowed her head lightly and turned her back.
Yu-hyun looked at her disappearing figure and lamented the headache-inducing situation.
‘It’s good that I know her identity somehow, but the problem is that she has no motivation at all?’
Seo Sumin had lived as a Heavenly Demon, but now she lived a life that was so detached from her past that she said she had given up on it.
“Even though she said she would give up everything, her every movement was graceful. I guess she couldn’t help it when it came to what she was used to. Was it talent? Even if she tried not to use it, her body moved instinctively according to her talent.”
Yu-hyun stroked his chin.
“She’s really tempting.”
He had thought that Kang Hyerim was very talented as a swordmaster, but Seo Sumin was even more so.
If he could recruit her as the third member, the power of Baekhwa Management would increase tremendously.
The biggest problem was, Seo Sumin had no interest in this kind of work at all.
“If I had suggested that she become a collector here, it would have only made the atmosphere worse. For now, the only thing I could do was to go along with her mood.”
Still, he had gained something.
He learned what Seo Sumin was in her previous life, and what she wanted now.
“And that someone was after her.”
Yu-hyun began to finish the big picture that had been cut off earlier.
In her previous life, Seo Sumin lived a normal life as she wished.
She hid her power and identity, and lived as an ordinary person named Seo Sumin.
But the world didn’t leave her alone.
The apocalypse that would happen in about five years did that.
“She didn’t do anything after that. That means she either died before the apocalypse, or after it started. That must be it.”
At first, he thought that the most likely cause of her death was suicide.
He judged that there was a high chance that she had lost her will to live and ended her life by her own hand after losing everything.
That thought crumbled like a sandcastle hit by a wave when he saw Seo Sumin’s hostile attitude towards him.
“It wasn’t suicide, it was homicide. Her death involved a third party.”
Then, was homicide possible? Even though she was a transcendent in her previous life?
Yu-hyun nodded.
“It’s possible. She’s so weak compared to her previous life’s power right now. If someone found out her identity and plotted something.”
It wouldn’t be impossible to kill her.
He didn’t know how much the rainbow-colored book was worth. But considering how Galiaz’s dazzling golden light surpassed the dull spirits.
“Seo Sumin’s power in her transcendent days… must have been at least equal to a second-generation spirit.”
The fact that Seo Sumin was wary of someone meant that the other party was not easy either.
On top of that, there was some kind of trauma that she had that pushed her mentally.
“What if.”
Yu-hyun thought that this was a ridiculous hypothesis even by his own standards, but he didn’t stop.
“What if there was someone who could kill Seo Sumin, who was a reincarnated transcendent?”
There was no such ‘person’ in the memory of Yu-hyun’s previous life.
If there was such a human being, they would surely be exposed to the world in some way.
A sharp needle would poke out even if it was put in a pocket.
“But what if it wasn’t a person?”
As soon as he thought that far, Yu-hyun’s expression hardened.
It didn’t make sense.
The only thing that could do such a thing was a spirit.
But how?
Spirits couldn’t directly interfere with humans under the limit.
If they wanted to do that, they would need an enormous amount of power and be able to withstand the penalty imposed by the Genesis system.
To do that, they would have to be at least a great star cluster (大星群).
“A great star cluster? That’s absurd.”
Yu-hyun shook his head.
He thought it was too far-fetched even for himself.
“This is nothing but a conspiracy theory without clear evidence.”
He hadn’t even found any proof to back up his claim, so hasty thinking was forbidden.
Yu-hyun tried to reflect on his actions.
But then.
[The fragment of Laplace’s demon reacts.]
[Information gathering rate: 9%]
As soon as he saw his own story appear in front of his eyes.
Yu-hyun had no choice but to stiffen his expression.
***
“Sumin! Over here!”
“Yeah. Yura.”
Seo Sumin joined Yura right after parting with Yu-hyun.
She had left for a while after saying that she had something to do.
She didn’t want to miss Yura’s departure.
Her mind calmed down as she saw her friend’s bright smile welcoming her.
‘That man won’t go around spreading this matter.’
She had eyes too.
The Yu-hyun she saw was not someone who talked more than he did.
He was someone who kept his word and had a firm belief that he didn’t show on the outside.
Seo Sumin suddenly overlapped Yu-hyun’s image with the past.
-Hehe. I guess this old man is no longer needed.
As she recalled that voice that had become a memory now, Seo Sumin clenched her fist without knowing it.
A scene unfolded beyond her retina.
The burning temple and the ruins that were hard to recognize. Blood and corpses everywhere.
And the monster that was wailing at the sky in the center of it all.
‘I am.’
Seo Sumin looked at her friends and made a firm resolution as she saw another precious day of her life.
‘I’m not a Heavenly Demon anymore.’
From the moment that incident happened, and after she lost everything.
She gave up on everything.
“Sumin? Are you okay?”
“Uh, yeah. It’s nothing. I’m just, a bit sad.”
“Hey. What’s there to be sad about? We can still keep in touch, right? And we can meet when we go out.”
“Yeah. You’re right.”
Sumin smiled at Yura’s words.
Yura narrowed her eyes at her unique aura.
“Ah. Sumin is smiling like that again.”
“Uh, me?”
“You know, when I look at you, you smile so kindly? Like you’re our mom or something.”
“That’s right. I felt that too.”
“Me too.”
The other friends chimed in with laughter. Sumin awkwardly smiled and said ‘Really?’
Yura shouted playfully and hugged Sumin.
“Sumin mama!”
“Hey, hey. What are you doing? What mama?”
“I want to do it too! Sumin mamang!”
“Me too!”
The place became noisy in an instant.
***
After meeting with Kang Yura, Yu-hyun was welcomed by Kang Hyerim, who was studying hard by reading a book.
“Oh. You’re back?”
“Yes. You’re doing well studying as I told you to.”
The book that Kang Hyerim was reading was a thick one that contained the history of the world.
At Yu-hyun’s words, Kang Hyerim pouted her lips.
“Yu-hyun~. Do I really have to do this? It’s so headache-inducing just by looking at it.”
“You can’t just look at it. You have to remember everything, and be able to recall it at important moments.”
“Aww. Why do I have to do this?”
“To survive in the world of thoughts, you have to do this.”
Yu-hyun had recommended studying to Kang Hye-rim and Kwon Jia during the break.
The two of them reacted with ‘What study?’ when they heard that. Yu-hyun had strongly suggested studying more than personal training to them.
“I told you, right? The world of thoughts is where the stories of the world are realized. The stories can be history, legends, folktales, myths, etc.”
“I know that. But still…”
“Well, I can’t blame you for not being convinced. But there’s no choice. From now on, we will clear the Worlds of Ideas that no one has ever seen before. But don’t you think it’s dangerous if you don’t have basic knowledge?”
It was exactly what happened to the exploration team.
They needed skills, but more than that, they also needed a lot of knowledge about the stories.
She remembered what happened in the Moby-Dick world of thoughts and couldn’t argue back. Yu-hyun was right.
“But wouldn’t it be better to call an expert in this field when that happens? Like some old scholars or professors. It would be easier if we had them.”
Kang Hyerim timidly retorted. She was convinced by her own words, thinking that it wasn’t a bad idea.
Yu-hyun looked at her and shattered her complacency.
“There used to be such a method.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. But it changed nowadays. Do you know why? Because the survival rate was terrible. Especially when those non-collectors entered the world of thoughts, 99 out of 100 died. Just look at the Theodolant Swamp we went to last time, isn’t it obvious? Ordinary humans would have suffocated from the spores and died.”
Collectors could withstand the environment of the world of thoughts. But not those who couldn’t.
Like what happened in the Twilight Curtain and Hanul incident, ordinary people could enter the world of thoughts too. It wasn’t impossible. But they didn’t go because it was dangerous.
“In the past, when they formed an exploration team, they always brought along expert scholars with them. But they died too much, so there was a problem. After all, intellectuals are valuable resources, and it was too much to send them to dangerous places.”
So the method changed.
Instead of sending professors or doctors to risky places, they just raised collectors smarter.
“There weren’t any new Worlds of Ideas lately, so you might not have felt the need to study, but until then, the amount of study required for collectors was really huge.”
And that was still maintained in the Academy, albeit weakly.
In the world of thoughts where stories were realized, information was the biggest weapon.
That was why Yu-hyun made Kang Hyerim study.
“So don’t complain and do it.”
“Hmph.”
“Don’t pout your lips and act cute either. It makes me want to hit you. Just be defiant instead.”
“Really? Should I be defiant?”
“Yes. Do it, please do it. You must do it. You understand?”
“Ah, I understand. I said I understand!”
Kang Hyerim finally gave up and immersed herself in reading again.
Yu-hyun nodded satisfactorily and took care of Baekryeon.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to stop by the headquarters for a moment.”
He had to submit an application for the expansion of his study room to the headquarters.
‘And.’
He also needed to find out about Daeseong Group, which might be related to Seo Sumin.
