Chapter 1: Inner Administrator Jin Yeomyung (1)

The first life wasn’t all that bad.  

A hero who saved humanity. A guardian of Earth.  

He received blessings from the gods along with all kinds of praise, and in return, was promised two more lives.  

Though he died young due to injuries from the war, he had no regrets since he gained two more lives.  

A life that continues three times. Isn’t that just the best?  

Though he was called a hero, he lived a miserable life full of hardship in his first life.  

So in the next life, no matter what happened, he swore to live it up and enjoy a glamorous life!  

***  

Ah, I’m screwed.  

Staring at the many burning pavilions, I thought to myself.  

“Block them!”  

“The Murim Alliance bastards have reached near the Primordial Demon Pavilion!”  

“Don’t let them inside!”  

The countless voices ringing around me tickled my ears.  

Those sounds could be categorized into roughly three types.  

Shouts. The sound of blades. And screams.  

If I had to sum up all three in one word—  

Yeah, sounds of battle.  

‘The second life… is really screwed.’  

After confirming the devastation outside, I let out deep sighs while quickly moving my limbs.  

Of course, the direction I was heading wasn’t outside.  

Tens of thousands of orthodox martial artists from the Murim Alliance were swarming in all directions like ants.  

If I, already gasping for air, went out there with a sword, I’d be headed straight to the afterlife the moment I swung it.  

This was the result of me living it up like I swore to do in my past life.  

As I ran frantically, a middle-aged man with a heavy presence suddenly jumped out in front of me.  

“No, Inner Administrator! You haven’t escaped yet?!”  

“Huff! Huff! Ah, it’s Lord San Dojeon.”  

He was San Dojeon, Lord of the Wind Demon Unit, one of the four demon squads stationed on the outer perimeter of the cult.  

Known as Bloodless Thunderstorm.  

Though people often called him “Mountain Bandit” due to his rugged appearance, regardless of his grand title.  

“How could you be here without a single guard?!”  

Catching my breath, I replied bluntly.  

“I sent all my guards to reinforce the outer defenses. It’s not like the title of Inner Administrator means much anyway, right?  

I dressed down quite a bit, so to anyone who doesn’t know me, I’d just look like a regular cult foot soldier.”  

“A-All the same, this place is too dangerous! Please come with me!”  

San Dojeon urged me anxiously to evacuate.  

Of course, I knew I was in a dangerous place right now.  

Just a hundred yards from here, hundreds of our cultists were locked in a desperate defense against thousands of Murim Alliance members.  

But I calmly declined the offer.  

“You should be the one to evacuate.  

Have you forgotten the Cult Leader’s order to retreat to Shingang and prepare for the future? Your Wind Demon Unit should be preparing to fall back too.”  

“What will you do, Inner Administrator?”  

“What else would I do? I must go to escort the Cult Leader.”  

“The Cult Leader…”  

“After ordering all followers to abandon the Ten Thousand Mountain, for some reason, she hasn’t moved since.”  

Before San Dojeon blocked my way, I had been heading to the Heavenly Demon Pavilion to find out why.  

I lightly tapped San Dojeon on the shoulder.  

“Don’t worry about me. I intend to understand her intentions and retreat together with her.”  

“The situation isn’t good. Ever since those damn traitors left, morale among the followers has hit rock bottom.”  

San Dojeon’s expression darkened.  

The reason the gates of the Heavenly Demon Cult, with its thousand-year legacy, had been breached—  

was none other than betrayal by the high-ranking insiders.  

It was a shocking event that shook the very foundation of the cult, so it was understandable that morale had collapsed.  

More importantly, the Cult Leader, who should’ve been rallying the troops and boosting morale, hadn’t moved since her last order.  

“At this rate, the defense line will collapse in less than an hour.”

“I’ll take care of myself. You should gather your men when the time is right.”  

“Understood! Please be careful, Inner Administrator!”  

Perhaps realizing how dire the situation truly was, San Dojeon abruptly took off after that final warning.  

I watched his retreating figure and sighed.  

“Haah, this life is a total bust too, damn it.”  

***  

My name is Jin Yeomyung.  

Age, 37.  

Five years ago, I was appointed as the youngest Inner Administrator in the Heavenly Demon Cult. I’m also the first heir of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan, one of the cult’s undying noble households.  

Well, technically not the heir anymore since my younger brother inherited the family.  

Anyway, my brother took over the clan.  

And I, who had been enjoying the life of a carefree idler, was forced into the vacant Inner Administrator post— thanks to my father’s “recommendation,” which was really more of a threat.  

“As expected, no one’s here.”  

I passed through the entrance of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion without hesitation.  

“Damn those Guardians.”  

Normally, if someone tried to enter like this, top experts from the Guardian Court should show up and block them.  

Unfortunately, the Grand Guardian who led them had been one of the leaders of the traitors that caused this mess.  

At the end of the long corridor, a massive door adorned with an Asura carving appeared.  

The Heavenly Demon Pavilion.  

Even here, guards were supposed to show up, take my name, and announce me inside—  

‘They’re all dead.’  

The iron smell of blood lingering in the air made it unnecessary to even guess what had happened here.  

Facing the firmly closed doors of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, I raised my voice quietly.  

“Cult Leader, it’s Inner Administrator Jin Yeomyung. Are you inside?”  

–……  

No answer came from within.  

Out of courtesy, I called once more.  

“Cult Leader! This is Inner Administrator Jin Yeomyung!”  

Still, there was no response.  

Then, when I finally raised my voice rudely—  

“Hey! Cult Lead—!”  

A woman’s low voice came from within.  

“Come in, Inner Administrator.”  

Flinch!  

‘Damn it! That scared the crap out of me!’  

If she was going to answer, she could’ve just done it the first time!  

‘No way… did she hear me talking back?  

Wait, it got cut off midway, so maybe it’s fine?’  

Nervously, I pushed open the door to the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.  

Creeeeaak—  

The heavy resistance was felt at my fingertips right away.

‘Damn it, those bastard Guardians! Couldn’t one of them have stayed behind to open the door?’

Honestly, this door is ridiculously heavy.

So much so that it’s impossible to open without internal energy.

“Huff, huff!”

After a struggle that lasted about a minute, I finally managed to open the door.

The sweat dripping down my neck felt incredibly unpleasant.

But just then—

Whoooosh!

A cool breeze blew from within and cooled the sweat on my skin.

An artificial wind that shouldn’t exist in such a sealed indoor space.

The being who created that breeze was inside.

I kept walking further inward.

At the highest seat of honor in the great hall at the heart of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion—

There sat Cheon Yura, the 29th Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, and The Demonic Faction Grandmaster, in perfect composure.

“C-Cult Leader, I pay my respects.”

A faint smile hung on Cheon Yura’s face as she looked at me.

“Your martial skills are still worse than those of third-rate demonic minions.”

She had clearly watched me struggling at the entrance from her throne.

Catching my breath, I replied.

“Thank goodness the other Elders or Lords didn’t see that mess.”

It wasn’t like I was completely hopeless.

My internal energy was still around first-rate level.

The Cult Leader looked down at me with an amused expression.

“True. If the First Elder had seen you rudely speaking to me like that, he wouldn’t have let it slide.”

I cursed inwardly.

‘Damn!’

So she heard it all!

Considering her usual temper, it wouldn’t have been strange if a blade had flown at me.

And yet, she had even cooled me off with a breeze.

She didn’t seem intent on rebuking my insolence today.

“Don’t you have any thoughts of training?”

I grumbled in reply.

“What’s the point of training now? It’s already too late.”

“That’s a shame. I remember you had quite a bit of talent.”

“I guess so. If I’d actually put in the effort, all the top seats in the Cult hierarchy would’ve been pushed back one by one.”

“Ku ku ku!”

The Cult Leader chuckled like she’d just heard an entertaining joke.

Well, she might not believe it, but it was sort of true.

The real problem was that I never followed through.

In this life, I’d leeched off the prestige of my clan and lived the sweet life.

Neglecting martial arts, I ended up being parachuted into the Inner Administrator position and became infamous as the weakest in the Cult’s leadership.

“So, our weakest Inner Administrator—what brings you before your Cult Leader?”

With her sarcastic question, I grumbled back.

“What else? I came to drag our heavy-bottomed Cult Leader to Xinjiang.”

“Fufufu, it’s truly a pity the First Elder can’t hear this.”

“That’s exactly why I’m saying it.”

If I had said something that cheeky in a proper council meeting, the furious First Elder’s sword would’ve already sliced my throat.

And even if not the First Elder, other loyal Elders would’ve pounced on me.

‘But right now, there’s no one else here.’

The First Elder had perished at the hands of the Cult’s traitors.

The other Elders either helped kill him, died with him, or were out there leading the remaining cultists.

I dropped my playful tone and confronted the Cult Leader directly.

“Why haven’t you moved?”

The answer came right away.

But it wasn’t the one I wanted.

“Heaven-Destroying Poison.”

“…What?”

“Massacre Blood Poison. Formless Poison. Bone-Melting Elixir of Emotion. Spirit-Breaking Immortal Disabler…”

“N-No.”

“There are a few more, but that about sums it up.”

I wasn’t dumb enough to not recognize the names she was listing.

“You’re… poisoned?”

On the surface, she looked perfectly fine.

But I doubted she was joking at a time like this.

The Cult Leader silently nodded.

I asked again.

“Who did it?”

One name kept circling my mind.

“Don’t tell me… the Demonic Faction Lord? That bastard did this?”

There weren’t many who had the guts to try poisoning the Cult Leader like this.

She wouldn’t be an easy target to begin with, and unless the person was an extremely close aide, it would’ve been impossible.

But if I had to name one highly likely candidate among those close aides—

It could only be one man.

The Demonic Faction Lord, Han Mubaek.

Son-in-law to the previous Cult Leader and the Demon Lord Cheon Taejong, who stood above the Heavenly Demon.

In other words, the man chosen as husband to the current Cult Leader, Cheon Yura.

And now, the leader of the traitors who had flung open the gates of the Ten Thousand Mountains to the orthodox Murim Alliance.

The Cult Leader’s voice dropped slightly.

“Before he left me, he said this—  

That this had been planned long ago. That it was so hard to get close to me and earn both mine and the previous Cult Leader’s favor.”

“……”

“The poisons in my body—he said they were his way of asking me to acknowledge the hardship he went through.”

“That crazy son of a… ah, damn.”

I blurted out a curse without thinking, right in front of the Cult Leader.

Realizing my slip, I immediately covered my mouth, but the Cult Leader laughed with amusement.

“Fufufu, you really are amusing.”

“How can you laugh at a time like this?!”

Just one of those poisons was enough to melt even a peak-level expert.

She had taken at least five or six of them.

No matter how powerful she was, even she couldn’t withstand that.

“At first, I thought Han Mubaek had sent you to finish the job. To confirm my condition and tie up loose ends.”

My face twisted in disbelief.

“Who in their right mind would send someone like me as an assassin?”

“That’s why I quickly dropped the suspicion. Watching you groan just to open a door was so pathetic it made me laugh.”

“Agh, come on.”

Sweat ran down my face under the Cult Leader’s barrage of jabs.

Even so, my expression twisted further with frustration.

The Cult Leader normally never joked like this.  

As a woman who had risen to the seat of Cult Leader, she had always disciplined herself strictly to uphold her authority.  

Always solemn, always dignified, always stern.  

That was the image shown by the current Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult and Great Master of the Demonic Path, the Heartless Demonic Empress, Cheon Yura.  

For her to appear this relaxed now…  

“Is it… too late?”  

At my sullen question, Cheon Yura smiled faintly.  

“Probably. Once the Heaven-Destroying Poison seized my Dantian, it was already too late. I could manage the rest, but not that one. Ha, if only I’d noticed it three years earlier.”  

Her hollow laughter echoed throughout the hall.  

I bowed my forehead to the floor.  

“I’m sorry, Cult Leader. If only I’d done better.”  

“No need. I don’t blame you. When Han Mubaek held all key positions within the Cult, what could you have done with the now-empty post of Inner Administrator?”  

“Still, if I had realized that Han Mubaek was a spy planted by an external force, things wouldn’t have gone this far.”  

“Well, that couldn’t be helped. Everyone was fooled by him.”  

You, me, even Father.  

The Cult Leader muttered bitterly, then looked toward me.  

“Escape. It’s not too late, even now.”  

“I won’t leave without you, Cult Leader.”  

Even though I spoke from a place of loyalty, the Cult Leader tilted her head slightly.  

“I didn’t know you were such a loyal man.”  

“I do value my life, but I still have at least a shred of loyalty.”  

“Loyalty, huh.”  

Her expression darkened slightly.  

Loyalty, not devotion.  

To her, the man before her was nothing more than a noble son once considered as a potential political marriage partner when she was a young Cult Heir.  

That was the extent of their “connection.”  

…Or so she probably thought.  

The truth was different.  

‘Honestly, it is too late. If I were anywhere near the Master level, I’d have just bolted already.’  

With my barely first-rate-level movement techniques, there was no escaping the clutches of flying Master-level experts.  

‘If that’s the case, then next time, I’ll make sure…’  

I steeled my resolve and looked up to meet the Cult Leader’s gaze.  

“Cult Leader.”  

“Speak.”  

“If, hypothetically…”  

“Yes.”  

“If really, hypothetically speaking…”  

“Yes.”  

“If I mean really, really hypothetically…”  

“…If you say ‘hypothetically’ one more time, I’ll rip out your tongue. Get to the point.”  

“Yes, ma’am.”  

Cowardly, I nodded repeatedly under the thick killing intent pressing against my skin.  

At last, the big question left my mouth.  

“If you had one more chance to reincarnate—what would you do?”  

“..Reincarnate?”  

“Yes, that’s right.”  

The Cult Leader didn’t seem to understand what I was saying, but from my perspective, I was making a heartfelt confession.  

“Didn’t we talk about this in the past?”  

“It’s hard to believe that you, of all people, saved the world in a past life…”  

Her cynical gaze was downright disrespectful.  

“So, what—you’re saying that because you saved the world in a past life, you’re granted one more chance?”  

“You catch on quickly.”  

Cheon Yura’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.  

‘Is this punk mocking me right now?’  

‘Just because I eased up a little, he dares to play games at a time like this?’  

Her face clearly said as much.  

Reading her inner thoughts, I slowly bowed deeply before her.  

“Even if I get one more chance to reincarnate, you probably wouldn’t remember what’s happening now.”  

“……”  

“But if there’s something you wish for, I—Jin Yeomyung, who remembers this moment—will do everything in my power to make it happen.”  

Right here, right now, I made a decision.  

The traitors who betrayed the Cult.  

The orthodox Murim Alliance scum who invaded the Ten Thousand Ten Thousand Mountains.  

And the third party that orchestrated this whole catastrophe.  

Even if I have to stake my soul—  

I will slaughter them all.  

“……”  

The Cult Leader remained silent for a long time.  

I assumed she was about to strike me down.  

It wouldn’t have been surprising if she exploded in rage after thinking she’d been made a fool of.  

“Setting aside whether what you said is true…”  

She finally opened her mouth, with difficulty.  

“Why would you go so far for me?”  

She now understood that the man before her was offering everything purely for her sake.  

“Well, nothing too deep.”  

I raised my head and shrugged.  

“First off, I’m not the kind of guy who lets things slide when I’ve been wronged.”  

I may have lived quietly in this life, but I’m the type who always pays back kindness and revenge alike.  

“And also, I owe you a debt. I figured I’d repay it while I’m at it.”  

“A debt?”  

“Don’t think too much about that part. I just mean I need to take out the trash ahead of time so I can live in peace in my next life.”  

I spoke with heartfelt sincerity.  

Thanks to that, she quickly lost interest in the so-called “debt” I mentioned.  

“Hmph.”  

The Cult Leader let out a small laugh.  

“Reincarnation, huh.”  

A claim so outrageous it could easily be dismissed as nonsense.  

Though still perplexed, she didn’t get angry.  

Was it because she believed this really was the end?  

Was she indulging my nonsense out of amusement?  

Or… did she really believe me?  

Her lips slowly parted.  

“If what you said is true, could I ask one favor of you?”  

“Whatever it is, say the word.”  

“If you truly do reincarnate…”  

“If I do?”  

“Hmm…”  

For some reason, she trailed off.  

And then—she said something that, had I been drinking tea, I would’ve spat it right out.  

“Could you… try courting me?”  

“…Excuse me?”  

Dumbfounded, I repeated her words like an idiot.

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