I Spent One Night with the Terminally Ill Daughter of the World’s Greatest Warrior

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“At that time, the Demon Cult was defeated.”

In a place where orphans were gathered, the Heavenly Demon spoke.

“Until a few years ago, I referred to myself as ‘the Master,’ but after losing in the Life-and-Death Challenge, I returned to the Demon Cult disgracefully.”

The man with long black hair, appearing to be in his mid-thirties, removed his martial robes in front of me and the other children.

“Behold, this scar. The scar of the Sword Saint engraved onto my body.”

It was horrifying.

More terrifying than the body of my family murdered by the Mountain Bandits.

The scar shaped like a cross on his chest looked deeper than his fingers.

Since the wound was stitched with a needle, it seemed like it would split open if the black thread came undone.

“I, Sword Saint Mo Yongcheon, have lost to him.”

Sword Saint Mo Yongcheon.

It was a familiar name.

“He is the number one in the world, and I am the number two.”

The Heavenly Demon of the Demon Cult lost to the number one of the White Path.

“It is the defeat of the Demon Cult. Because there is no one in the Demon Cult who can surpass me, this is the defeat of the Demon Cult.”

Can the defeat of a group be tied to a single individual?

Not knowing the concept of a Heavenly Demon or Martial World Alliance Leader well, I could only look up in a daze at those standing behind the Heavenly Demon.

“My law enforcers have also lost to equal opponents. The masters of the Demon Cult lost to the gatekeepers of the Seven Great Families.”

I see.

They have lost.

But why are they sharing this with us ‘orphans’ locked away in a cave?

“You seem to be getting curious about the reason I brought you all here, the reason I gathered orphans from across the Central Plains.”

Unlike the rumors, the Heavenly Demon was kind.

“Do not be afraid.”

He had no choice but to be kind.

“You are the future and hope of the Demon Cult, the ‘Subtle Poison’ that will lead the White Path to destruction.”

In the gaze of the Heavenly Demon looking at us, a hint of ‘hope’ was faintly visible.

“I will inject solitude into your bodies. Using soul-binding techniques, I will hypnotize you. You will not be able to refuse my orders.”

With a hint of madness mixed in.

“If the current Demon Cult cannot win, then the future Demon Cult must win.”

It wasn’t just the Heavenly Demon; the law enforcers felt the same.

“The next generation of potential talents to lead the golden age of the White Path. One day, they will become dragons and receive praise from countless people.”

The Heavenly Demon extended his hand sideways.

“Kill them.”

The Heavenly Demon raised his hand and mimicked cutting someone’s neck with an aura that felt dark and sticky.

“Comrades. Childhood friends. Distant relatives. Children of old friends. Children of enemies. It doesn’t matter how you make contact. You have two missions to carry out.”

The Heavenly Demon had certainly captured us orphans with a clear purpose.

“First, you will infiltrate each faction. You will clean your past and disguise yourselves so that they do not suspect you, hiding in each faction to report back to the Demon Cult regularly.”

He intended to use us as spies.

“Second, this is the main mission. Most notably… yes.”

The Heavenly Demon pointed at me.

“How old are you this year?”

“T-ten years old.”

“Ha.”

I answered when asked.

However, the law enforcers widened their eyes in surprise, and the Heavenly Demon smiled, showing his white teeth, as if he found it amusing.

“You will infiltrate the Mo Yong Family. No matter how you do it, kill the only daughter of Mo Yongcheon, Mo Yongseol.”

The Heavenly Demon threw a dagger at me.

“The specific methods will be instructed by the law enforcers who will become your teachers.”

With those words, the Heavenly Demon left the cave.

“…What are we going to do?”

“Seems like there are hardly any talented kids here. If it’s not just the order, it’s too… ha.”

“Cluck, cluck. It’s actually good. If they awkwardly learn martial arts, wouldn’t those sharp-eyed kids notice?”

It’s a spectrum of personalities.

One by one, the various law enforcers stepped aside from me.

“Our lives are tied to your mission. Cluck.”

Each law enforcer seemed to have a role.

“The Poison Master. What are we going to do about the kid entering the Four Heavenly Families? You plan to infiltrate as a master of poison?”

“Well… should we approach through cooking?”

“Are you planning to mix poison into the dishes?”

“No. I’ll make them sick through cooking. There’s a way to make them eat nothing but flour for life to ruin their bodies.”

“Ha, that’s the idea you came up with….”

“I think it’s better than the method of ‘death’ you thought of.”

Perhaps it was because they were called demons.

Or maybe because their usual method of ‘killing with power’ wasn’t working, they were all struggling to come up with new methods, leading to various ideas.

“I will do it with these kids.”

“Alright. I’ll do it with these kids. The more girls, the better.”

“…Follow me.”

All ten law enforcers left, each taking a child with them.

About a hundred young kids had been captured, but I was the only one left in the cave.

“…….”

I grasped the fallen dagger.

The dagger didn’t feel warm at all.

Was it a signal to die?

Or was it the impulse to feel abandoned even in this Demon Cult?

“Are you thinking of dying?”

A woman crouched before me and gripped the dagger I held.

“Or are you thinking of just killing anyone with it?”

Her face was sickly pale.

It felt like a beauty—though the aura coming from her body felt like a dead person speaking.

“Then, how about entrusting that life to this Witch Doctor?”

The Witch Doctor’s white face.

I became her disciple and received the order to kill the golden child of the Sword Saint.

* * *

Three years passed.

I turned thirteen, and each law enforcer raised their disciples while contemplating ‘how to kill the heirs’ whenever they gathered.

“My apprentice. What methods are there to kill the heirs of the White Path?”

The Witch Doctor asked me while carefully tending to one of the deceased disciples.

“Become a master and kill the heirs.”

“That’s correct. That’s why disciples, including the orphans, continue to die.”

The orphans who came with me were killed.

By another orphan’s hands.

“Raise strong disciples to crush their martial arts. Only those who are filled with internal energy can even think of doing that.”

To become a disciple of the Demon Cult.

Other law enforcers’ disciples were the same.

“The Demon of Color and Shadow is trying to assault the adult heirs. Oh, was that a bit too early for a young disciple?”

“…….”

“However, that is also a method of killing. There’s a way to induce them into addiction and a way to trap them through machinery. Like this….”

The master, the Witch Doctor, brandished a needle.

Thud.

“There’s also a way to kill a person through medicine.”

While sticking needles into the body of the deceased, my master imparted her teachings to me.

“Remember the vital points. Disciples must become physicians.”

“Are you saying to pretend to be a physician and then kill with the needles? If I fail, the master will die.”

“Apprentice. Anyway, humans die.”

My master seemed somewhat detached from life.

“Death comes early for someone, and it may suddenly arrive one day, or it may be delayed.”

“…….”

“Have hope. No matter what the other law enforcers say, the disciple will surely survive.”

“Why do you think so?”

“The master sees from the fortune-telling; you are someone born under the sign of woman trouble.”

It must have been a joke.

Probably.

* * *

Seventeen years old.

“Mo Yongcheon’s daughter is said to have the Sickness of Absolute Meridians.”

Hope settled upon me, while despair fell upon others like a thunderclap.

“The only daughter of Mo Yongcheon was found to have a terminal condition.”

The Sickness of Absolute Meridians.

“We couldn’t find a way to treat it, and in the end, we had to send someone to the Demon Cult. They sought the Witch Doctor.”

Due to strong internal energy, her blood vessels twisted, and the circulation of Qi did not proceed properly, ultimately leading to death.

“The Witch Doctor said she also doesn’t know how to cure the Sickness of Absolute Meridians. Congratulations. You stayed still and completed the mission.”

The Heavenly Demon mocked me.

The disease that appears particularly often in the children of martial artists is Absolute Meridian Sickness, and when it reaches its final stage, known as ‘Sickness of Absolute Meridians,’ there’s effectively no way to survive.

“I cannot leave her to die like that.”

Although he sat on the throne, the elderly and emaciated Heavenly Demon was filled with madness.

“It is an order. Before the Sickness of Absolute Meridians claims her, you must kill that girl.”

The Heavenly Demon commanded.

Given that solitude is embedded in my heart, the order must be followed absolutely.

“Yes.”

Unless I extract the solitude from my heart.

“Go, disciple.”

As an apprentice to the Witch Doctor and an assisting physician, I headed toward the Martial World Alliance.

There, I met a silver-haired girl.

She was beautiful.

Honestly, I fell in love at first sight.

They say the flower before it falls is the most beautiful—she was incredibly lovely despite being heavily ill.

“Leader. Even with this, to the Witch Doctor….”

“Listen, Sword Saint. Lady Mo Yongseol is the hope of the White Path.”

It seemed like there were many discussions within the righteous faction as well.

“Witch Doctor and disciple, listen. You are not from the Demon Cult but from Kunlun, and we will pretend that we have found answers regarding the Sickness of Absolute Meridians by winning the medical competition.”

“Is Kunlun okay?”

“I am the leader of the Kunlun Sect, therefore, how could my disciples raise their objections?”

I didn’t know the details, but that’s how the Witch Doctor and I disguised our identities and infiltrated the White Path.

Only the Martial World Alliance Leader and Sword Saint knew about it.

“Are you the disciple of the Celestial Maiden?”

“Yes, Miss.”

“Don’t call me Miss. Just… call me Seol.”

Thus, I was able to approach the assassination target, Mo Yongseol, as an excellent physician’s disciple.

“The treatment, there’s not much progress, is there?”

“Yes, Miss Mo Yong.”

I learned about medicine and could tell.

“I see. Then, it seems I will die soon after becoming an adult. I might barely make it through adulthood.”

Treatment sometimes is of no use to those who give up on being healed.

“I have a request. I want to do as much as I can before I die, could you help me?”

The girl desired it.

To experience as much as she could before dying.

“If I’m destined to die, then I want to do a bit more before I go.”

I felt the same.

As long as I didn’t brutally kill Mo Yongseol in a way that would tear the Sword Saint’s heart apart, I was destined to be killed by the Heavenly Demon anyway.

“I understand. What can I help you with?”

“Everything that comes to mind!”

* * *

And the day before Mo Yongseol became an adult.

“…Miss Mo Yong?”

“Shh.”

Near midnight, Mo Yongseol snuck into my room, dressed only in a thin robe.

“I’m going to die tomorrow. Or today.”

“……Once the clock passes midnight, it’ll be your birthday.”

“So, I want to do something I’ve never done before as a birthday gift.”

Mo Yongseol pushed me, who was half sitting up from the bed, down.

“Will you help me?”

“…….”

If I do, she dies.

But if she’s going to die anyway.

If that’s the wish of a dying person.

“Is it possible to die not from the Sickness of Absolute Meridians but from shock while doing it?”

“Ha, would dying like that be considered a happy end?”

And thus, I spent the last night of my life with a terminally ill woman.

Yeah.

The golden child of the Sword Saint.

On the day a terminally ill woman turned into an adult, I spent the night with her.

At the very last moment, waiting for the end.

…

…

…

“Uh?”

Blood, spilled.

“What, how did…?”

I saved her.

…….

It’s a disaster.