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

Chapter 63: Envy (2)

That night.

Upon returning to his room, Il-mok immediately sat cross-legged and sank into meditation.

It wasn’t that enlightenment had come to him.

‘Namu Amitabha. Buddha, divine spirits, banish these demonic thoughts!’

He was drawing upon every deity and religion that came to mind to fight against his Heart Demon.

The trigger was Bang Mi-hwa, a walking catalyst for his Qi Deviation.

Il-mok was a human with common sense, after all.

One simply couldn’t tell a woman upon first meeting that her face looked like it needed plastic surgery.

The problem was, the longer he spent around her, the worse his obsessive compulsions became.

‘I need to avoid her. I must avoid her.’

He felt that if he kept running into her, he’d end up performing the ‘Moonlight Sculpting Art’ on her jawbone and cheekbones.

***

From that day onward, life in the Hall of the Demonic Way flowed like a spinning wheel.

Eight hours of training a day, followed by free time.

With Jin Ha-yeon and the Heavenly Demon gone—the two who had forced him to study and train—Il-mok could finally indulge in laziness to his heart’s content.

At least, that’s how it was in theory.

The problem lay in the people around him.

While they weren’t as demanding as Jin Hayeon or his Master, they were a nuisance in their own way.

“Today will be different!”

Dokgo Pae, seemingly tireless, challenged him to a spar yet again.

“Hahahahaha.”

Instructor Chu Il-hwan’s constant, unnerving laughter and unsettling gaze sent shivers down Il-mok’s spine.

“Young Master! About Miss Jin Hayeon…”

Ju Seo-yeon, Jin Hayeon’s follower, who came looking for him every afternoon. She wasn’t even in the same classroom with him, yet always sought him whenever there was free time.

But the most terrifying of them all was, of course, Bang Mi-hwa.

As luck would have it, she was in the Upper Class like Dokgo Pae.

And for some reason, whenever Il-mok happened to turn his gaze toward her, she was always looking at him.

Every time their eyes met, she’d flash a radiant smile, proudly displaying her facial asymmetry.

‘Please. God.’

Whenever that happens, he would always quickly turn his head away, lest his Heart Demon go berserk—only to hear her giggle as if she found him cute.

Each time, the urge to switch careers and become her personal plastic surgeon grew stronger.

With traps lurking everywhere he looked, Il-mok had no choice but to fix his gaze on one spot.

Fortunately, during training hours, there was a designated place to fix his gaze—the instructor.

Ever since realizing the dangers of looking around, Il-mok kept his eyes locked on the instructor for the entire session.

A chance encounter with Dokgo Pae or Bang Mi-hwa could lead to unwanted complications.

Thanks to this, his reputation among the instructors had improved significantly.

“What do you think of the Eighth Young Master?”

“He’s certainly extraordinary.”

“Indeed. Talent aside, his enthusiasm is remarkable.”

“He was like that during Instructor Eun’s session too.”

“Did you feel it too, Instructor Cheok?”

“Yes. His gaze was so intense, I was afraid I’d make a mistake in my demonstration. Haha.”

“Hmm. He certainly seemed indifferent on the first day, but I don’t understand why he suddenly changed.”

“Mmm. Maybe he was disappointed in his peers’ skill level at first?”

“Well, given his talent, that’s understandable.”

Listening to his fellow instructors discussing Il-mok, Chu Il-hwan tilted his head in confusion.

‘How strange. I distinctly felt like he was avoiding my gaze during my classes.’

The only time Il-mok did not look at the instructor was during Chu Il-hwan’s classes.

***

Ten days into his stay at the Hall of the Demonic Way.

After finishing his daily routine.

“Young Master!”

Hearing the voices of Bang Mihwa, Ha Yeong, and Ju Seo-yeon coming from both sides, Il-mok instinctively thought, ‘Run.’

Training sessions were bearable. All he had to do was keep his eyes on the instructor. Chu Il-hwan’s classes were a bit of a problem, but he had his ways of coping.

However, there was no escape during free time.

He wanted to shut himself in his room and rest, but if he did, those three—plus Dokgo Pae—would barge in nonstop, leaving him no peace.

Pretending not to hear them, Il-mok turned his back and hurried off somewhere.

Pat!

Utilizing his lightness skill, he darted through the massive Hall of the Demonic Way, searching for a hiding spot.

‘Oh.’

Finding a secluded area between buildings, he leaped into the shadows.

Unfortunately, there was already someone there.

‘Hm? I thought no one was here?’

It was a strange feeling. He hadn’t sensed anyone’s presence, yet upon arriving, he found someone standing there.

‘I think I’ve seen them a few times? Or maybe not?’

Even among the small group of twenty disciples, Il-mok struggled to recognize this one. Partly because he had no interest in knowing potential mental patients, but mostly because this disciple’s presence was faint.

His gloomy, hunched posture should have been noticeable, yet somehow his presence was remarkably subtle.

The presence-less disciple, holding a drawn bow aimed at something, turned at the sound of movement—then shrieked.

“Hiiik!”

Seeing him tremble as if he’d seen a ghost, Il-mok made an awkward expression.

“Ahem. I apologize for disturbing your training.”

“N-n-no, Y-Young M-Master.”

The disciple stuttered a reply to Il-mok’s apology, trembling as they replied.

Il-mok was baffled. Even though he was the Heavenly Demon’s disciple, it was rare for someone to tremble so much in his presence.

After contemplating briefly, Il-mok approached the disciple.

No matter how he looked at it, this was the most secluded place in the Hall. Though he felt a little bad for the disciple who had been training here, Il-mok decided to hide here.

“This is the first time we’ve spoken directly. I’m Il-mok.”

“I-I-I am J-Jeong Hyeon, Y-Young M-Master.”

For a second, Il-mok wondered if stuttering was a side effect of Jeong Hyeon’s Demonic Art, but asking would be rude.

“We’re fellow disciples here. No need for formalities.”

“I-I’m m-more comfortable w-with this…”

Jeong Hyeon replied, avoiding eye contact with Il-mok and looking around anxiously.

Feeling somewhat awkward, Il-mok noticed the bow Jeong Hyeon was holding.

“Oh. It seems Disciple Jeong learned archery.”

“Y-yes.”

“I truly envy you.”

“!?”

Jeong Hyeon, who had been avoiding Il-mok’s gaze, looked at him with a startled expression.

“E-envy? It’s j-just a cowardly skill, unbefitting a disciple of the Divine Cult!”

Jeong Hyeon spat out the words as if expelling them, then belatedly avoided Il-mok’s gaze again.

Then, Jeong Hyeon quickly averted their eyes again, afraid Il-mok might take offense.

But Il-mok harbored no such thoughts.

Because he genuinely envied Jeong Hyeon.

‘Damn! Why wasn’t archery an option when I picked my Demonic Art?!’

Survival was Il-mok’s top priority. In that sense, what martial art could be more excellent than archery?

There was no need to charge in with a sword; one could simply hide behind cover and shoot arrows from a distance.

For the first time in a while, he resented his Master for not teaching him archery.

‘I envy him. Can I switch now? …Shit. Would that mean double the side effects?’

Pushing away these idle thoughts, Il-mok spoke sincerely.

“Why do the cult’s warriors learn Demonic Arts? Isn’t it to punish evil and protect the weak? There’s no such thing as ‘noble’ or ‘cowardly’ when killing villains. Being able to shoot and kill villains from a distance makes archery a truly excellent martial art.”

“!!!”

Jeong Hyeon, who had been avoiding his gaze, looked at Il-mok with a moved expression—before quickly turning away again.

Right at that moment.

“Young Master!!”

The voice of the walking catastrophe echoed from beyond the buildings.

Il-mok quickly moved to cling to Jeong Hyeon and whispered.

“I’m going to practice stealth now. If anyone asks where I am, pretend you didn’t see me.”

“…….”

Jeong Hyeon froze completely as Il-mok suddenly got way too close.

Taking Jeong Hyeon’s silence as agreement, Il-mok promptly leaped into the shadows and deployed his concealment technique.

It was the concealment technique he had learned from Instructor Eun Ryeo over the past ten days. Though he had only been learning it for ten days, thanks to his black clothes and the shadows, he could manage to hide his body fairly well.

No sooner had Il-mok concealed himself than footsteps drew near, and finally Bang Mihwa and Ha Yeong arrived.

Bang Mi-hwa quickly scanned the surroundings, then approached the dazed Jeong Hyeon who stood holding his bow.

“Have you seen the Eighth Young Master?”

“T-that…”

In response to her question, Jeong Hyeon stammered, unable to make eye contact.

“Did you see him? Or not?”

“W-well, t-that…”

“Could you please look me in the eye when speaking?”

As Bang Mi-hwa and Ha Yeong drew closer and pressed him, Jeong Hyeon began to tremble anxiously, as if about to have a seizure.

Alarmed by his sudden distress, they rushed to his side.

“A-are you alright?”

“Breathe! Take deep breaths!”

But their sudden proximity only made Jeong Hyeon’s condition worse.

While the two were at a loss for what to do, Il-mok, who had already dispelled his concealment technique, quickly approached Jeong Hyeon.

He couldn’t just hide after causing this.

“Young Master?”

Confused by his sudden appearance, the two women watched as Il-mok scooped Jeong Hyeon up and dashed away while using his lightness skill.

***

Il-mok, Bang Mi-hwa, and Ha Young stared down at Jeong Hyeon, who lay on a bed like a corpse.

Not dead, actually. Just got knocked out by sealing his pressure points.

Soon after, Instructor Eun Ryeo opened the door and entered the room.

By sheer luck, they had encountered her shortly after Il-mok had carried Jeong Hyeon away.

The instructor had sealed Jeong Hyeon’s pressure points to stop his seizure and moved him here.

She had just returned from checking the official register listing the disciples’ special conditions to determine the cause of the seizure.

“Do you know what happened?” asked Il-mok.

The stern-faced Instructor Eun Ryeo responded with a question of her own.

“Do you know anything about the Demonic Art Disciple Jeong Hyeon has learned?”

“I haven’t heard anything about it.”

Il-mok replied, speaking for the group. Bang Mi-hwa and Ha-yeong shook their heads in agreement.

Instructor Eun-ryeo sighed lightly.

“The Demonic Art that Disciple Jeong has learned is the Ghost Spirit Divine Bow (鬼靈神弓). It specializes in long-range assassination. As befitting such a skill, it has a hidden effect that makes the practitioner’s body and mind extremely sensitive to anyone approaching them.”

Instructor Eun Ryeo’s explanation finally allowed Il-mok to grasp the situation.

‘So the side effect is anthropophobia?’

Now Jeong Hyeon’s dejected behavior began to make sense.

The way he constantly avoided eye contact, and how he would flinch at the slightest approach.

Though unintentional, Il-mok had caused Jeong Hyeon’s breakdown.

He expressed a remorseful expression.

“I’ll be more careful in the future.”

“That’s good. Disciple Jeong must also overcome his side effects, as avoiding people completely isn’t the right solution. Approach him cautiously from now on.”

Instructor Eun Ryeo spoke as if explaining how to deal with a skittish pet.

“He needs rest, so you three should all return now.”

The three left the room as instructed.

“I never thought he would have a breakdown because of us.”

Ha Yeong muttered with a deeply shaken face, and Bang Mi-hwa also nodded and said, “My beauty must have startled Disciple Jeong.”

Il-mok nearly laughed out loud at her baseless confidence.

‘They don’t seem like bad people, so I’ll let it go for now.’

They had genuinely tried to help Jeong-hyeon when he collapsed.

But Bang Mi-hwa seemed unwilling to let this opportunity pass.

“Still, thanks to Young Master Il-mok, Disciple Jeong was able to receive treatment quickly.”

Seizing the moment, she suddenly began chattering away to Il-mok, and Ha Yeong joined in to support her.

“But where were you, Young Master Il-mok?”

“You appeared so suddenly, it startled us.”

Thanks to the two women talking incessantly, Il-mok felt that he might soon have a breakdown himself and end up lying next to Jeong Hyeon.

“Ahem. I was honing my stealth technique.”

Il-mok responded casually as he walked straight ahead, trying to avoid looking at Bang Mi-hwa.

Misreading his attitude as shyness, Bang Mi-hwa stepped in front and turned to face him directly.

“!!!”

Her asymmetrical smile filled his vision. His brain, fighting for his sanity, scrambled for a solution.

At this rate, he really might pull a knife to carve her face.

In this crisis, his brain found a brilliant workaround.

“Could you walk beside me, Miss Bang?”

“Your side?”

If facial asymmetry was the issue, then he only needed to see one side of her face.

But he couldn’t just force her to stand sideways without reason. Il-mok was able to recall an excellent excuse from his modern memories.

“Yes. I think Miss Bang looks more beautiful when you walk by my side.”

The so-called “best angle”—a trend that had been popular when Il-mok was a student.