## Ch-111.
—
Yuri and Lorellia had moved somewhere out of sight.
Estor took out a mirror and examined his face from various angles, letting out a quiet murmur of admiration. Just how did one strike in such a way—leaving the bones intact, yet warping only the shape of the face like this?
“What sort of relationship do you think they have?”
Just as he lightly tapped the uncrushed side of his face with his fist, practicing impact control, Haryeong suddenly spoke.
Glancing sideways, he saw her rubbing the bridge of her nose, stuffed with cloth. Perhaps because of that, her nose seemed more wrinkled than usual.
She gave the robe Yuri had left behind an idle kick.
“Probably guide and guided.”
Before crossing into this world, the soul from another realm meets a priest of the Order Church.
“Or maybe they met after possession. Didn’t that brat wander alone for about two years? Perhaps the fortunate encounter he mentioned was with the Omi—Priestess.”
Thinking about it now, it might have been an excuse. But Yuri had claimed to gain various fortuitous encounters during those two years.
It was possible he met Lorellia then and formed a connection because he was a possessor.
“I think that’s unlikely.”
The Calamity Saint’s movements had been nonexistent for several years before recently resurfacing.
The martial art Yuri first revealed in Lagos.
Haryeong still did not know its origin. She had asked when they reunited in Panteleon, but he had never answered.
After possession, Yuri did not leave Aldor for about a month. Once he arrived in Lutran, he spent nearly all his time with Elena.
There had been no opportunity to encounter something capable of granting such a divine art.
Then from the very beginning?
Had he learned martial arts under Lorellia’s guidance before possession?
“Heavenly Demon Divine Art…”
The Blood Fiend Ghost, one of the former Seven Evils, would not have muttered *Heavenly Demon Divine Art* over something unrelated. Whether much or little, Yuri’s unnamed martial art likely resembled it.
Why would Lorellia’s martial art resemble Heavenly Demon Divine Art?
Bi-yeon, the Young Sect Leader of the Demonic Cult.
The pitch-black martial art she used against the Old Withered Crone felt different from Yuri’s. Lorellia’s felt different as well. If one categorized martial arts by “color,” Yuri’s was indeed red—
But…
Different.
Haryeong had seen Yuri’s art many times.
It burned bright crimson like flame.
What about Lorellia’s?
She had not exerted herself fully, so it was unclear… but that sticky, ominous aura—befitting the name Calamity Saint—did not evoke flame.
“Calamity Saint…”
Though today was their first meeting, Haryeong thought the title suited that beautiful priestess well.
—
—
“How have you been?”
There were plenty of rocks suitable as chairs. Yuri massaged his still-aching leg and looked at Lorellia.
“This Lorellia spent two years in the Penitence Cell as punishment for the favor I bestowed upon Yuri.”
She too sat upon a rock. Some magical treatment perhaps—her white vestments bore not a single stain.
“Tw—two years?”
Yuri’s mouth fell open. He had known she would face discipline, but to be confined for two full years?
Startled, he half-rose from his seat, but Lorellia smiled and shook her head.
“It was not so arduous! This Lorellia could have left the Penitence Cell at any time if I wished—I simply chose not to. Have you ever practiced wall-facing meditation?”
“Uh… sitting and staring at a wall meditating? No, I haven’t.”
“You made the right choice! At Yuri’s current level, you would gain abso~lutely nothing from wall-facing meditation. Better to move diligently than stare at walls.”
Was that advice—or mockery?
“So you practiced wall-facing meditation in the Penitence Cell?”
“Yes! I did violate the Order’s law, so I reflected deeply!”
Her crimson eyes curved into a bright smile.
“It seems you are using well the gift I sent you despite the punishment.”
Her gaze fell to his neck.
Yuri touched the hollow beneath his throat. He could not feel it, but the Veil of Deception lay there.
“This… is it really the Veil of Deception?”
He had begun to doubt it during the dream with the Evil God.
“That is an abrupt question. Why do you think so?”
“It seems to function very differently from the Veil of Deception I knew.”
“Oh dear, Yuri! Have you forgotten this Lorellia’s advice not to rely on knowledge from the game?”
It was not scolding.
Her voice carried playful laughter and goodwill.
“But yes, it is not the Veil of Deception. One might call it the original text upon which the Veil is based.”
“The original…?”
“Do you know what purpose the Veil of Deception serves?”
He knew its function in the game.
He did not know its true function here.
When Yuri shook his head, Lorellia laughed softly.
“How far have you cultivated the Evil-Quelling Heavenly Principle Technique?”
“Fifth Rank.”
“By rank, yes. As this Lorellia judges it, your Evil-Quelling Heavenly Principle Technique has already stepped beyond the Fifth Rank. Yet your rank has not risen.”
The dividing line between Fifth and Sixth Rank is the opening of the Upper Dantian.
Upon fully opening it, one can wield Intent far more diversely.
It is often said:
To add Intent into martial force is Sixth Rank.
To embody Intent as martial force itself is Seventh Rank.
Yuri was still Fifth Rank.
He had pried open a small gap in the Upper Dantian to draw out Intent—but he was not proficient.
“I had the chance to rise. I chose not to.”
When subduing Geburah—if he had not withdrawn from that heart demon insight—he would have fully opened the Upper Dantian and ascended to Sixth Rank.
But had he done so then, the aftermath would have been far harsher.
“Why?”
“I believed it was the wrong path.”
“The wrong path. Yuri, there is no wrong path in martial arts. There is a saying—*all paths return to one*. If one seeks the ultimate martial way, even if one strays, one will eventually reach the desired realm. If there are thousands, tens of thousands of martial artists, then there are thousands, tens of thousands of paths.”
Her tone remained gentle.
“But if you believe it is wrong, then do not walk it. If you proceed despite believing it wrong, you will regret the choice with every step, questioning whether you walk the correct path.”
That was why he had not ascended.
Until then, he had never doubted the verses of the Evil-Quelling Heavenly Principle Technique.
But at the brink of Sixth Rank—
A fierce doubt had taken root.
*Is it right to walk this path? What lies “after” this? What heavenly punishment must I carry out? What is the principle of heaven? How can I correct something I do not even understand?*
“This Lorellia is truly pleased. You are not thinking merely of raising your Rank—you are looking at pure ‘martiality.’ That is why you search for the path that is right for you, and why you wander.”
It was Lorellia who first taught Yuri how to walk.
Lorellia who took his hand and led him down that road.
Lorellia who taught him how to clench a fist and swing it.
Lorellia who taught him the **Evil-Quelling Heavenly Principle Technique** and **Blazing Burst Fist**.
“While cultivating the Evil-Quelling Heavenly Principle Technique… I thought of it as a flame. The more I trained, the larger the flame grew, until it felt as though one day it might devour even myself.”
Only Lorellia could answer this question.
Yuri looked at her with tense eyes.
“I once fought Blood Fiend Ghost, who had been one of the Seven Evils of the Demonic Cult. As he died from Blazing Burst Fist… he left behind words I could not understand.”
“To slay one who had been among the Seven Evils—even in his ruined state—is commendable.”
Lorellia smiled, genuinely pleased.
“…Is the Evil-Quelling Heavenly Principle Technique the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?”
The dying words of Blood Demon Ghost had long remained lodged at the bottom of Yuri’s heart.
“What do you believe the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to be?”
Lorellia’s smile shifted slightly.
It could have been taken as a rude or insulting question—Yuri had braced himself. Yet the emotion behind that smile was neither anger nor displeasure.
It was as though she found his doubt admirable.
“I… don’t really know. Isn’t it the divine art passed down in the Demonic Cult, something only the Cult Leader can learn?”
“It is not.”
Lorellia slowly shook her head.
“The Demonic Cult is a congregation of those who seek to ascend to divine rank—worshippers of the future Divine Demon who will one day be born. Therefore, the title of Cult Leader—the Heavenly Demon—is not inherited.”
The Divine Domain where the Demonic Cult resided was vast. In particular, the city called **Demon-Subjugation Hall** was filled almost entirely with cult adherents. It was the Cult’s heartland, its sanctuary, its great diocese.
“In each generation, the demonic practitioner who reaches the Tenth Rank—or comes closest to divine ascension—earns the name ‘Heavenly Demon.’ The Heavenly Demon is simply the strongest demonic practitioner of that era.”
There is no “former Heavenly Demon.”
All previous claimants either died or were defeated by the reigning one.
Defeat meant they had failed to ascend and failed to bear the name.
Thus, they were not Heavenly Demon.
“Of course, there have been cases where a disciple or child of a Heavenly Demon later became Heavenly Demon. But there have also been many other cases—among the Seven Evils, among noble demonic lineages, among outside initiates.”
The Heavenly Demon owns all the Cult’s resources. If desired, even the predecessor’s martial arts may be learned.
Naturally, one who becomes Heavenly Demon possesses the qualities of a Grandmaster. The vast martial knowledge of the Cult is compiled and perfected under that figure.
“The martial art used by the Heavenly Demon is the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. If there were dozens of Heavenly Demons before, then there would be dozens of Heavenly Demon Divine Arts. But that holds no meaning. The weak who were defeated are not Heavenly Demon—and the arts they practiced cease to be Heavenly Demon Divine Art.”
The idea that there exists a special divine art prepared solely for the Cult Leader is but a worldly illusion.
Whatever art the Heavenly Demon practices—
That is the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
“Therefore, the Evil-Quelling Heavenly Principle Technique is the *Heavenly Demon Divine Art*.”
There is no former Heavenly Demon.
Thus, no former art may claim that name.
“……”
Yuri was too stunned to speak.
“The current Heavenly Demon, Wi Jinhwa… was once my senior disciple-brother.”
Lorellia’s smile faded.
“The original name of the Evil-Quelling Heavenly Principle Technique was the Sacred Flame Divine Art.”
Today’s Demonic Cult teemed with practitioners of demonic arts, but that had not always been its foundation.
With time, the name Heavenly Demon and the religion that followed him had become synonymous with wicked demonic tyranny.
But the original Heavenly Demon Faith had not been so.
Its core doctrine was ascension to the Tenth Rank—becoming a god in a mortal body.
Yet in a world where gods already existed, how could mortals be permitted to become gods?
One who defies divine will.
One who seeks to correct the natural order.
Thus, the first faith named its leader Heavenly Demon.
“The Sacred Flame Divine Art was the guardian art of the ancient Heavenly Demon Faith—an art cultivated in pursuit of becoming Heavenly Demon.”
An art is not demonic merely because it is evil.
An art becomes demonic when it is excessively domineering and carries severe risk of heart demons.
By that measure, Sacred Flame Divine Art was demonic.
It sought to become flame itself—to cleanse all demons and all heavens.
But such flame inevitably risks burning its wielder.
“Wi Jinhwa, once my senior disciple-brother, was the legitimate heir of the Wi clan—a secret demonic lineage that inherited Sacred Flame Divine Art. And this Lorellia was an orphan taken in by the Wi clan.”
The Wi clan had cultivated and refined Sacred Flame Divine Art for generations.
But over time, even the name Sacred Flame Divine Art faded from the Cult’s history. Few remembered the Wi clan at all.
Nor did the Wi clan seek remembrance.
The Cult had already degenerated.
One could challenge divine ascension without becoming Heavenly Demon and ruling the faith.
Thus the Wi clan lived in seclusion, preserving the lineage.
“Born into that clan was an unprecedented genius—Wi Jinhwa.”
Recognizing Lorellia’s talent, the clan head passed Sacred Flame Divine Art to her as well.
“Yet in time, we walked different paths. Wi Jinhwa declared he would become Heavenly Demon, annihilated the clan, and departed.”
He had always been alien.
Even as a child, she had felt it.
When “Young Master” became “Senior Brother,” and they trained side by side, fists colliding—each time, his otherness grew clearer.
When the Wi clan was slaughtered and Wi Jinhwa declared his intent—
Lorellia had not been shocked.
He had always been capable of that.
“Sacred Flame Divine Art is an art that embodies one’s mental image. Depending on the image one holds, the form of the art changes—its path diverges.”
Her face no longer bore a smile.
It had settled into the cold stillness of the days when she had been known as the Mad Demon and Calamity Star.
“In those days, this Lorellia’s mental image was nothing but blood, hatred, and killing intent.”
An art that seeks to become flame will one day burn even its wielder.
It had always carried risk of heart demons.
When the mental image fueling that flame was hatred and killing intent, it was only natural that it would grow uncontrollably violent and vast.
“The divine relic I gave you originally belonged to the Heavenly Demon Faith. It was bestowed upon the Wi clan, who sought to become living flame. It suppresses flame, madness, and demonic nature. Its true name is the Blazing Fire Binding Chain.”
Though meant to restrain flame and madness, Lorellia had never used it in those days.
“Because I did not wish to suppress them.”
She wandered and wandered—
Until at last she reached him.
Wi Jinhwa was already called Heavenly Demon.
“I attacked, vowing to kill him. But I failed. Instead, this Lorellia survived only by the Heavenly Demon’s mercy.”
Now she could recount that humiliation without smiling—
But at the time, she could not endure it.
“Wounded inside and out, afflicted by heart demons—this Lorellia was little more than a walking corpse. Wandering until collapse, thinking this was how I would die… I received grace from the Order Church.”
At that time, possessors had not yet crossed over.
The Order Church was not yet treated as an enemy by the world.
“I received grace. I was guided. Had I been fully consumed by the flame that failed to burn the Heavenly Demon, I would have become Mad Demon. Instead, through faith, this Lorellia learned to govern the flame.”
She shed martial robes for priestly vestments.
She swallowed killing intent and received baptism.
The Calamity Star became the Calamity Saint.
