So? Did Someone Force You to Become the Heavenly Demon?

Chapter 50: Punishment (2)

Jin Hayeon. She was the eldest daughter of an ordinary family.

Of course, by the standards of the Demonic Cult, “ordinary” meant her parents were low-level martial artists without much talent in martial arts.

They rarely had reason to visit the main headquarters and were low-ranking martial artists working at a branch in a quiet village.

If there was anything unusual about them, it might be that although their martial arts skills and understanding were average, they were fairly good-looking parents.

Under such parents, Jin Hayeon’s birth was nothing short of a miracle.

Setting aside her striking appearance, her talent in martial arts and her intelligence were both exceptional.

In her village, she was known as a “genius,” and all the villagers congratulated her parents. She was the pride of her parents, the pride of the branch they belonged to, and the beloved daughter of the entire village.

And fortunately, though her parents were ordinary as individuals, they were excellent as parents. That is to say, they were excellent by the standards of the Demonic Cult.

From a young age, Jin Ha-yeon’s parents raised her according to the teachings of the cult. She could have grown arrogant or spoiled from too much affection, but being raised with the doctrines, she became a devout believer.

“When I grow up, I’ll definitely become a great person who contributes to the Divine Cult!”

This was what she used to say habitually before falling asleep every night after studying the cult’s scriptures with her parents during her childhood.

—Hohoho. I believe Hayeon will definitely accomplish that.

—Of course! She’s smart and takes such good care of her siblings. Where else could you find a child as good as our Hayeon?

As the eldest daughter, she often looked after her younger siblings when her parents were busy with branch duties. And when her siblings took naps, she would clean in place of her parents or follow them to help those in need in the village.

After her parents finished their branch duties, they would teach her martial arts. Of course, as low-level martial artists, their techniques weren’t particularly powerful, so she never suffered severe side effects.

By the time she turned fifteen, she had already caught up with her parents’ achievements and told them,

—I want to enter the Hall of the Demonic Way!

Having been praised as a genius by everyone in the village, she was confident. But she wasn’t arrogant.

—After completing the Hall of the Demonic Way, I want to help people who are struggling!

Although her statement omitted the phrase “by killing bad guys with Demonic Arts,” her parents understood her meaning.

It was a natural statement in the Demonic Cult.

Those with great power punished evildoers who oppressed the weak. This is why the Demonic Cult revered martial arts.

Even at the risk of developing mental illness.

The Demonic Cult even considered this a noble mindset. And her parents, as martial artists of the Cult, supported her decision.

Eventually, at sixteen, she took the entrance exam for the Hall of the Demonic Way and passed with flying colors.

As the nineteenth out of twenty.

It was the first shock in her life.

She, who had been praised as a genius by everyone in her village, was at the bottom of the rankings at the academy.

That day, she realized she was a frog in a well.

But she didn’t give up.

‘Right. Everyone except me is from the main headquarters! They’ve just had access to better martial arts from the start!’

The Hall of the Demonic Way, which trained the future of the Cult, openly taught all martial arts except for the Heavenly Demon Divine Technique and the techniques of the Five Great Families.

So, she believed that if she could just master the highest-level Demonic Arts, she would be able to catch up to them. The question was which Demonic Art to choose.

While pondering this dilemma, a young man named Ouyang Mun approached her. Just as Ouyang Mun had fallen for her appearance at first sight, Jin Hayeon was also aware of Ouyang Mun’s existence.

The boy who had ranked first in the entrance exam.

So, her impression of Ouyang Mun was: ‘A spoiled brat born with a silver spoon in his mouth.’

She didn’t like it.

In the village where she was born, there were many people who lived difficult lives. That’s why the warriors of the branch would help the villagers, and she too would follow her parents to help the village elders.

While she spent her time helping others, he had lived a comfortable life focused solely on training and studying.

‘According to the doctrine, I acted righteously, so why…’

Oblivious to her thoughts—

—Ahem. Need any help?

He casually spoke to Jin Hayeon who was immersed in her lone training.

 —No need. I can do it myself.

Even at her caustic words, that guy kept talking to her whenever he had a chance.

From then on, she focused on the Hall’s curriculum, debating which martial art to pursue.

—Ahem. You’re supposed to do it like this. See? Easy, right? You try it too.

Ouyang Mun would always approach her casually and give advice as if it were nothing.

She was angry. Angry that while she was struggling to keep up with the academy’s lessons, that guy was accomplishing them as if they were nothing.

True to her devout nature, she turned to the Cult’s scriptures when her emotions wavered.
She believed the truth was there.

And the scriptures didn’t betray her faith.

‘Truly, all humans are inherently evil. And that includes me…’

She finally realized what she was feeling.

Emotions she had never felt while living in the village.

Jealousy and envy.

She felt disgusted with herself.

And sure enough, the answer was written in the scriptures.

All humans are inherently evil and the one who judged and watched over that evil was the Heavenly Demon.

‘Heavenly Demon, please save me.’

As she confessed her wicked thoughts to the Heavenly Demon, she had an epiphany.

‘That’s right. Since the human heart is inherently corrupt, I must abandon my emotions.’

This was why she chose the White Hand Demonic Art even after knowing that she would slowly lose her compassion and empathy.

‘Even without emotions, acting according to the scriptures will lead me to save others.’

Instead of clinging to human emotions that are filled with malice, she decided to entrust her judgment entirely to the scriptures.

After she started learning the White Hand Demonic Art, her skills grew rapidly.

She, who had been ranked nineteenth out of twenty and belonged to the bottom class, was able to enter the top class shortly after learning the White Hand Demonic Art.

She had proven that she was not inferior to those from the headquarters; they had simply had an easier start.

Except for one person.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t take first place.

First place was always Ouyang Mun’s.

—Hmm, this won’t do, I’ll be caught up if I don’t work hard at this rate.

—If it’s at this level, you definitely can do it right?

He acted as if he were a rival in a friendly competition, casually giving her advice even when she didn’t want it. For Jin Hayeon who hadn’t mastered her Demonic Art at that time, she found his attitude to be truly infuriating.

‘I’m giving it my all, yet he’s so relaxed, even finding time to patronize me while outperforming me.’

But what angered her most wasn’t about grades.

‘Why do you keep trying to help me! Why!’

She wanted to become a great person who contributed to the Cult. She had entered the academy to help others. But that guy kept treating her like a helpless child.

Thus, she forced herself to endure Ouyang Mun’s needless meddling throughout her year in the academy.

She suppressed her anger and jealousy toward him and channeled them into her training.

She wanted to surpass him and change his condescending attitude.

She wanted to prove that she was a full-fledged martial artist.

But in the end, she never managed to take first place from Ouyang Mun.

Therefore, after completing the academy, she headed to the Dark Shadow Pavilion. To fulfill her childhood goal of being someone who helps others, not someone who receives help. But after two years of struggle, she realized that she lacked the talent to reach the top.

So, she decided to dedicate herself to serving the Heavenly Demon.

***

When Jin Hayeon’s finished her explanation, Il-mok momentarily lost his words.

Not that Jin Hayeon had shared every detail. She hadn’t mentioned her childhood or the jealousy and envy she felt toward Ouyang Mun.

Just—

“At first, I didn’t like him because I thought he was a spoiled brat born with a silver spoon in his mouth.”

“I hated how he kept trying to help me. It felt like he was looking down on me.” She only briefly explained why she disliked Ouyang Mun.

But Il-mok, with a mental age in his mid-thirties, could grasp the situation roughly.

‘Ouyang Mun… I think you’re out of luck.’

He had noticed to some extent before, that Jin Hayeon was a woman with a strong sense of independence. She preferred to help others rather than receive help.

The modern-era analogy was like a rich boy casually throwing expensive gifts at a woman striving to make it on her own and acting as if the gifts were nothing.

From Jin Hayeon’s perspective, that attitude might have felt like he was mocking her.

‘Things might have been different if their circumstances were similar. And to think he’s a direct descendant of the Ouyang Clan.’

In fact, this was the most surprising part of Jin Hayeon’s story.

The Ouyang Family—like the Hyeokryeon Family—is one of the Five Great Families of the Demonic Cult, known as the five pillars of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

Having spent over six months in the cult, Il-mok knew of their existence.

It’s just that—

‘Considering how he’s been acting like a fool around Jin Hayeon, I thought he was just a branch family member.’

He couldn’t believe one of the Five Great Families would let him act like this.

Well, after asking Jin Hayeon more, he learned that although he was a direct descendant, he wasn’t the eldest son, so he seemed to live quite freely.

Far from being the eldest son, he was apparently the youngest son of the current family head.

It was a classic tale of a chaebol’s youngest son pursuing a hardworking, beautiful commoner and getting utterly rejected.

‘This is like a morning drama.’

From a bystander’s perspective, it was truly an entertaining spectacle.

***

That night.

As he shared his room with Ouyang Mun again, Il-mok hesitated for a moment before calling out to Ouyang Mun.

“Young Warrior Ouyang.”

“Yes, Young Master!”

“Actually, I had a brief conversation with Miss Jin this morning.”

“…What kind of conversation?”

“A conversation about Young Warrior Ouyang.”

“!! D-Did you tell Hayeon about my feelings for her!?”

As Ouyang Mun was about to have a panic attack, Il-mok quickly added, “I just asked why she dislikes Young Warrior Ouyang so much, so don’t worry!”

“…Hayeon dislikes me?” Ouyang Mun’s face turned pale like someone who had suffered a serious internal injury.

“…Hasn’t she always been cold to you?”

“I thought she was just shy…”

“……”

At a loss for words, Il-mok sighed once and said, “There seems to be a bit of a misunderstanding between you two, that’s why I’m telling you this.”

Il-mok carefully recounted what Jin Ha-yeon had said while omitting some things so that the poor guy wouldn’t cough up blood from internal injury.

“Try to not meddle in her affairs too much. She takes pride in doing her share on her own.  The more you try to help, the more you’ll upset her, especially since you are the direct descendant of the Ouyang Family.”

“Then, how am I supposed to express my feelings without helping her?”

No, that’s not it, don’t convey them at all.

The words rose to Il-mok’s throat, but he managed to hold them back and said, “Don’t help her, just watch and acknowledge her as a martial artist in her own right.”

After that, Il-mok continued to offer advice, and Ouyang Mun listened with a serious face. Just as Il-mok was about to sigh in relief that this guy was listening to his words,

Ouyang Mun suddenly got up and left the room.

“…Young Warrior Ouyang?”

Feeling an inexplicable sense of foreboding, only to stop and facepalm in the hallway.

“Hayeon!!”

Why do you ask?

Because this fucking madman had run to Jin Hayeon’s quarters in the middle of the night and was calling out to her.

Swoosh.

“What do you want?”

Facing Jin Hayeon, who had opened the door with a cold expression, Ouyang Mun shouted, “I heard from Young Master Ilmok. About why you dislike me.”

Il-mok, who had been facepalming his face, unwittingly groaned, “Please. Gods above. Just kill me.”

He wanted to knock Ouyang Mun unconscious and drag him away, but Jin Hayeon’s icy gaze made him quickly lower his head.

Undeterred, Guyang Mun declared with uncharacteristic seriousness, “It was all your misunderstanding. I didn’t try to help you because I thought you were pitiful or inferior to me!”

“Then why did you?”

Jin Hayeon’s face grew even colder than usual, yet, Ouyang Mun declared boldly, “Because I love you!”

Il-mok, who had been trying to find a hole to bury his head from embarrassment, looked up and widened his eyes.

“Crazy bastard.” The words escaped his mouth before his brain could catch up.

Confessing his love was one thing, but this was the worst possible time and place.

Unaware of Il-mok’s embarrassment, Ouyang Mun continued his attack. He told her how he had fallen for her at first sight, how he had approached her to help because of his love.

He went on and on, trying to clear up her misunderstanding.

Yet, for some reason, the more Ouyang Mun spoke, the more flushed Jin Hayeon’s face became.

“So, you’ve been doing that because you like me?”

Mistaking her blush for reciprocation, Ouyang Mun delivered his final blow.

“Yes. It was all a misunderstanding! I’ll do anything for you. I’d even leave my family if it’s for you.”

And as soon as he finished.

“Cough.”

Jin Hayeon coughed up blood.

Her flushed face wasn’t from embarrassment or affection. It was a prelude to Qi Deviation.