POV Safi

  Every time she had one of her talks with Marion, Safi walked away feeling better.

  She was no longer the timid young girl in Celder—over a dozen

  years of travel, training, and fights with her life on the line had made

  her a true warrior.

  But even true warriors needed some encouragement and

  support sometimes, and Marion somehow always said the right things, even

  when it wasn’t intentional. Hearing the story of Marion’s past and how

  the cult had come to feel like home settled her own feelings about the

  Heavenly Demon Divine Cult her martial uncle had founded.

  After she left the garden, Safi strolled a few buildings

  over to report the results of her latest mission. She took the scenic

  route so as to postpone her inevitable return to something more

  productive and official. No matter how much she wanted to procrastinate,

  it wasn’t that far, so she could only squeeze in a few minutes

  of fresh air.

  When she finally arrived, the office was empty.

  A handful of mission slips were stuck to the mission

  board along the wall. Further in, there was a reception counter with a

  few service windows, all empty. Since the cult was growing, and the Red

  Sea was filled with gangs, bandits, and other criminals, they set up a

  system where the different squads accepted missions. It

  made sure that everybody had a chance to level up by ensuring that some

  squads didn’t monopolize the experience.

  That’s odd, this place always has at least someone covering it, she thought.

  Safi closed her eyes and activated her new Skill, [Mind Detection].

  As a senior officer of the cult, Safi had been given free

  access to the cult’s secrets a few years ago. That included all the

  Skill books sent by Elder Jeoksa Jaemin, and certain key points of

  cultivation.

  The first Skill she chose to work on was called [Extended sense].

  Her insight into the workings of the [Spirit Union] Technique and

  [Mind’s Eye] Skill through Sebastian, and her ability to meditate to access

  the Spirit Realm, however, gave rise to a happy little accident.

  Safi’s added abilities and understanding, combined with a

  strong intent, allowed her to gain a stronger, yet different version of the skill. It

  was a cousin of sorts to the [Mind’s Eye] Skill.

  As the Skill activated, she sank into a vast and pitch black abyss in her mind.

  Gradually, small flames burst to life around her.

  There were only a few dozen.

  Through the Skill, she could tell where other people, or

  animals and monsters for that matter, were as well as a minor insight

  into their state of mind. If they were calm then their flame would

  mirror that calmness, but if they were agitated, or worse, the flame

  would flicker and rage.

  At first, she didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary,

  except that there were fewer people around than there should be. Those

  who were, were calm.

  Then she noticed a few oddities.

  A couple of flames moved quickly, too quickly. There was

  also a distinct lack of people toward the garden. She knew for a fact

  that the groundskeeper had been there not too long ago, and he was too

  old to move very fast.

  Safi gasped in shock as one of the flames brushed up against another and extinguished it.

  Someone was just killed.

  Her eyes opened wide as she deactivated her Skill.

  Without hesitation, she ran back to the garden. Hopping

  over walls and sprinting at full speed, she made it there fast. She

  traversed walkways of the garden and jumped onto the bridge where she

  had parted ways with her mentor.

  The sight of Marion’s body lying there, in a pool of

  blood, her head detached and resting against the post of the handrail

  with a confused frown still on her face, broke Safi.

  A guttural wheeze escaped her lips as the tried with

  every fiber of her being to stifle a scream but failed to keep the air

  in her lungs. She stared at her mentor, eyes practically bulging out. A

  tremor took hold of her entire body. Even so, Safi tried desperately to

  maintain some measure of control over herself.

  Whoever did this was strong enough that Marion couldn’t even react, and they were still in the palace complex.

  “Well, look what we have here,” a voice sounded from

  behind her. “I thought I killed everyone in the area, but I guess a

  little mouse slipped through my fingers.”

  Safi looked up but couldn’t see more than a blur through

  the tears. Instinct trumped her emotions, and she dashed toward Marion’s

  body. In one fell swoop, she snatched the Wandering Wolves officer’s

  badge and turned around to block the sword aimed at her neck.

  The badges weren’t bound to a certain person, some were

  but not at the ranks they had been in the company. Anyone could use

  them. She didn’t have time to send a long message, but that was fine, a

  few words would be enough.

  Safi knew that the attackers were far too powerful for

  her to handle alone, even with the help of the palace guards, only her

  martial uncle was strong enough to protect them. The Heavenly Demon wasn’t there at the moment, however. She would have to deal with this enemy herself.

  Failure meant death.

  His first attack made that much clear.

  The follow-up did the same.

  With his first attack

  blocked, he transitioned into a second with a practiced ease and

  exemplary flow.

  Safi let the [System] guide her into another block. The

  sword was stopped but not before drawing blood from her shoulder. She

  winced, but it wasn’t the first time she had been hurt. If anything, it

  woke her up from the shock of discovering Marion's body.

  The assassin pressed his attack, and Safi backed up as

  she defended. A flash of frustration made it across his face as Safi

  continued to block, parry, or dodge every attack.

  Realizing that he couldn’t win with just his base Sword

  Style Skill and physical superiority, his sword glowed with energy. With

  a wide swing, a spiral of sharp sword energy rushed at Safi.

  In response, she activated a Skill of her own. She swung

  down sideways in front of her and a veil of energy formed that dispersed

  the incoming spiral.

  The attacker’s jaw dropped before a smile formed on his

  lips. “You’re stronger than expected, Little Mouse. We were told that

  the Heavenly Demon was the only one strong enough to matter, but I guess

  that information was outdated. I didn’t think I would get to fight

  another First-rate during this mission.” He stood up straight, and he tilted his head to the side in a condescending manner. “Still, I hope you don’t think you stand a chance

  here. You’re what, level 42? Maybe 43. I’m 48, Little Mouse, and as I’m

  sure you know, each level as First-rates are like mountains. You can

  never overcome the difference of our levels. I only hope you don’t die

  too fast, I want to have some fun before I kill you!”

  Safi grimaced and her face twitched in disgust.

  The man blinked as he realized what went through Safi’s

  head, then he sighed. “Oh, get your head out of the gutter, Little

  Mouse. That’s not the kind of fun I’m after, I’m not some monster. I

  just want to cut you to pieces and listen to you scream!” he shouted as

  he pounced on her.

  With a swift stab, his sword extended toward Safi—not

  physically, but a blade of sword energy formed at its tip and reached

  out toward her.

  Safi used a Movement Skill from the Violent Dawn Sword

  School to dodge. By pivoting on the ball of her left foot, she dashed to

  her side. As she landed, she threw a crescent of sword energy at him.

  It wasn’t quite as powerful as her martial uncle’s [Crescent Cloud

  Slash] as it lacked the density and the intent, but in turn, it was

  fast.

  The attack reached him in a fraction of a second. It was

  sharp enough that the edge of the crescent cut through a tree as it sped

  across the garden. He jumped backward to gain an extra moment to

  defend. There was no time for any Advanced Skills, so he charged his

  sword with energy and crushed the crescent with pure strength.

  There was no mistaking it, his advantage in levels was immense.

  For every dozen exchanges, Safi received a handful of

  cuts. They were glancing blows, but it was only a matter of time until

  her stamina ran out. She could barely draw a mere drop of blood once in two dozen

  exchanges.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  Her only advantage was the teachings of her martial uncle.

  For most of her life, he had hammered into her that

  letting the [System] guide your use of Skills was fine but to never let

  the [System] control you. Her opponent did just that. His moves were

  mechanical, and that meant that even with his impressive ability to

  transition from one Skill to another, she could find small flaws to

  exploit. More importantly, she could create and trigger those flaws.

  For warriors of their level, a fight was like a

  conversation, and a fight to death even more so. Every attack and every

  block told a story, and Safi gradually came to understand her opponent.

  His attacks were brutal, but his defense was desperate. He was

  rigorously and systematically trained, but he clearly lacked real world

  experience.

  There was a fear hidden in his defense.

  Not for death or injury, his arrogance wouldn’t entertain

  that possibility, but rather for his face. His appearance. His attacks, as well, focused less on vital spots and more on points of vanity. He

  likely expected her to share his apprehension.

  Safi had long since given up on any such issues, especially ever since her face was scarred.

  As she took advantage of the flaws in his swordsmanship

  and from his vanity, she gradually got more and more hits in. The more

  he got hit, the angrier he got, and the more flaws there were to

  exploit.

  Even then, she was still losing the battle of attrition due to the sheer difference in their levels.

  Then, the world trembled.

  The air around them thickened and pushed down on the garden, as if the heavens themselves were falling.

  Safi remained unaffected, but the assassin found himself down on his knees from the pressure.

  He grunted as he struggled not to fall flat on the ground.

  “Wh— What. IS. THIS!?”

  Safi raised her head. A breath of relief washed over her,

  refilling her body with energy. She stepped up to the assassin, and she

  looked down on him with hatred in her eyes. Loathing dripping from her

  voice, she said, “The wrath of the Heavenly Demon.”

  The assassin opened his eyes wide, rage fueling him a final rush of energy. “Don’t condescend me, you bitc—“

  His final words were silenced by her sword as it severed his head.

  POV Sebastian, a few minutes earlier.

  Sebastian stood opposite Chul, swords drawn.

  The tiled stone floor of the new fighting arena of the

  Cave of Latent Demons had been meticulously constructed. It was the only facility not placed inside the caves, but on the mountain side, accessible only through tunnels from the cave system. The guidance of

  the System Skills used by the workers of the cult’s Construction Hall

  had made every stone identical to the next, and they were placed with a

  precision that could rival, if not surpass, modern machines.

  There was a slight hum coming off the stones. It was

  difficult to hear over the sounds of nature, ever-present on the

  mountainside, but it was unmistakable to someone of Sebastian’s level. The arena was walled in on all fours sides, seats carved

  into the mountain walls on one side and protruding rocks protecting the

  edge of the arena from the cliffs on the others. Above was the open sky.

  The Cave of Latent Demons was the foundation of the

  Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. They had spared no expense to expand and

  improve the cave system to house thousands of disciples and cover every

  need they might have.

  Even so, it was still a cave.

  When disciples first arrived to the caves, they stayed in

  basic hovels without much comfort, and as they progressed, the

  facilities gradually improved. By the time they were about to graduate,

  they would have private quarters better than anything they would have

  experienced before.

  As such, the Cave of Latent Demons was the site of a great deal of testing, attempts to improve it further.

  Formation Hall Master Jum used the Cave of Latent Demons as a testing site. He ran trials for the research

  and development of various formations within the cave system to produce

  a number of effects. They ranged from simple quality of life

  improvements, such as cleaning formations which automatically cleaned

  shared residential areas, to supportive formations to help the

  disciples’ cultivation, both in terms of increasing the density of natural essence and displaying three-dimensional, visual diagrams of meridian systems to make it easier

  for the disciples at the [Spirit Sculpting] stage.

  Another area of focus was the fighting arena. A series of

  formations were installed to protect the arena, to make it durable

  enough that the demonic cultivators could fight without causing any

  damage. It was the cause of the hum and why the stone tiles were

  slightly warm to the touch.

  Chul pounced and launched a series of attacks with his sword, which was of the same kind as Sebastian’s.

  “Good, but your intent is lacking,” Sebastian said as he

  defended, not with his usual [Intergalactic Sword Art] but with an

  iteration of the Sword Art they were in the process of developing.

  With a slight frown, Chul said, “It’s difficult to get

  the intent right, Demon Lord. To think it is one thing but to truly

  believe it is another.”

  “The need to believe implies that you are yet to be convinced of its potential. Do not try to believe, accept the intent into every fiber of your being.”

  Chul nodded and steeled his gaze. With his resolve strengthened, he relaunched his attacks with the Sword Art under development.

  It was direct and simple, focused more on efficiency than

  looks. There were very few flourishes and artistic stances. Whereas some

  sword styles Sebastian had seen in this world could almost be called a

  dance, what they were developing was pure destruction.

  His own Sword Art was based on the basics of the

  [Imperial Sword] Silas had taught him back in Lumeria, which

  Sebastian then adapted with his own intent. It had served him well but

  using something based on the standard Lumerian sword style bothered him,

  even if he had made it his own.

  Each of Chul’s attacks were aimed at a vital point and

  swung with a reinvigorated intent to kill. Sebastian contemplated the

  appropriate intent to imbue into his defense as he blocked the incoming

  attacks.

  Chul is improving fast! His

  cultivation isn’t quite as fast as his Technique comprehension, but his

  cultivation will improve in time.

  Sebastian blocked a powerful vertical slash that sent vibrations down his arm.

  The offensive intent is clear.

  Stand against your enemies, and cut them down.

  Stand against the enemies of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, and cut them down.

  If you find yourself up against the world itself, cut it down.

  I feel like the defensive intent

  should rival the offensive, but how do I do that? “Block the world…”

  That doesn’t make sense. Not to mention, it’s a Sword Art and not a

  Shield Art. I’m close, but there’s— Huh?

  He parried a diagonal swipe and pushed Chul back few

  meters. The Demonic General slid on his feet before stopping.

  “Is there

  an issue, Demon Lord?”

  “No, just a message from Vice Leader Macias. She doesn’t message very often so when she does, I try to answer.”

  Sebastian held up his badge and sent some essence into it

  to activate it. A screen projected in front of him with six simple

  words.

  Under attack. Granny dead. Please help.

  Sebastian’s mind went blank for a moment before it began racing.

  What—? Who—? ‘Granny’, did Safi send

  this? Is Marion dead? No, that’s not possible. Even if some big gang

  led by an Expert over Major Accomplishment attacked they wouldn’t be

  able to reach the palace, not fast enough. We don’t have anyone other than

  myself rivaling a Major Accomplishment Expert yet, but we have half a

  dozen First-rates. They wouldn’t win but they would hold them off until I

  got there. This doesn’t— It shouldn’t—

  “D— Demon Lord! Please! What happened…?”

  Chul struggled against the immense gravitational pressure which Sebastian hadn’t even realized he was exerting.

  As a cultivator, Chul managed somewhat better than the

  group from the Jeoksa Family, even though he wasn’t quite as strong in

  general. Having liquid essence and a powerful physical cultivation made a

  massive difference.

  “The cult is under attack. Stay here, keep the disciples

  and the Cave of Latent Demons safe, they’re the cult’s lifeblood.”

  Sebastian took off into the air before Chul had a chance to respond.

  He pushed his [Fleeting Cloud Step] harder than ever before.

  The air beneath his feet paused for a moment as he took

  each step, as if his purpose surpassed its own. His Soul Seed exerted a

  constant pressure, overpowering the winds.

  As he ran, his essence circulated naturally,

  automatically, in response to his will. His intense desire to move even

  faster, and to reach Mujin, made his essence push forward by sheer

  instinct.

  It followed new paths along his meridian pathways, and it

  even flowed out in front of him. It bent to his desire, and his subconscious will, to combine itself with the natural pressure and

  senses of his Soul Seed.

  Then, his body shifted.

  With a single step he crossed ten times the distance of a

  normal step. Space itself compressed to allow him to reach his

  destination faster than should be possible.

  A [System] alert dinged in his mind.

  NOT NOW!

  Seconds later, he arrived over Mujin. Clashes rattled the

  city, screams echoed, and smoke billowed at several places of vital

  importance to the city, and the cult.

  He turned to the palace in the distance and took a single step to reach it.

  His spiritual sense spread out as far as he could push it. It covered the entire palace complex.

  With a mere thought, he found Safi fighting a man in the

  garden, and Sebastian pushed the pressure of his Soul Seed toward the

  man. The distance was great so the power was weak, and it was only a few

  seconds, but it was enough.

  Sebastian stepped through space itself and appeared on the bridge in the garden.

  Through his spiritual sense, he knew that Safi was safe as her enemy fell dead on the dirt path as he arrived.

  Sebastian’s eyes were locked on Marion, who also lay lifeless.

  Safi hugged him, practically tackled him. She said something, but Sebastian couldn’t hear her.

  A rawness crawled up his throat, and he was overcome by an existential emptiness, as if his heart had been hollowed out.

  It wasn’t his first time losing someone. He kept hoping

  that it would get easier, but it never did. With every loss, he was

  hollowed out more and more. The growing void in his heart left him

  detached. It made it easier to not react, to endure the pain, but the

  price was that the pain never truly left. It was always there, eating

  away at him.

  Reality snapped back, and he took a deep breath.

  He placed his hand on Safi’s head. She was still talking,

  but it was difficult to understand exactly what she was saying through

  the sobbing.

  “You did good, I’m really glad you’re alright,” Sebastian

  said when Safi paused for breath. He made sure to look her directly in

  her eyes and project unyielding confidence, in spite of the turmoil

  inside. “Do we know who they are, how many of them there are?”

  Safi forced herself to answer. “No. I went to the mission

  office but couldn’t find anyone. As soon as I realized something was

  wrong I rushed back here and found— I was too late, Granny was already—“

  She had to stop when she looked back at Marion.

  Pulling her back into his comforting embrace and said, “That’s alright, kid. You rest. I’ll find them.” His voice was soft, but his eyes burned with fury.

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