I dragged the Illusion Witch, who had been resting comfortably, out and headed to Tang Jincheon's office.
Perhaps it was because she had been suddenly ambushed (?) while wiping the mirror shard I had given her with a silly grin. The Illusion Witch was dragging her feet as she followed behind me. It was her own small act of defiance.
"W-Where exactly are you taking me so high-handedly, White Moon Sword Lord, Great Hero?!"
"Didn't I tell you? To the office."
"You reassure me like that, and then you're taking me to a secluded place where no one will find us…"
"Don't talk nonsense. You've been living with the Tang Clan for months now, so you should know the way by now."
"Hmph. You're a bit cold today, White Moon Sword Lord, Great Hero. Did I do something wrong?"
"No. And I'm the same as always. It's probably just your imagination."
"I see, I see. So it wasn't me, but the White Moon Sword Lord, Great Hero, who had the problem. I don't know the details, but I hope it works out well for you."
"…"
When I silently stared at the Illusion Witch, she naturally hid behind Seol Ri-hyang.
Seol Ri-hyang, who had suddenly become a shield, giggled and spoke up.
"Cheon Hwi. You're being too obvious. Were you that bothered?"
"…I'd say it's less that I'm bothered and more that I feel like I was hit on the back of the head."
"So you're saying it was so shocking that you can't forget it?"
"No. It means I'm staying vigilant, determined never to be caught off guard again."
"Wow… that serious? You know it's not just the Illusion Witch's fault, right?"
That was true enough.
Perhaps it was because the Heavenly Demon had tried all sorts of things, searching for a new ending. Sometimes, truly bizarre futures had come to pass.
Strangely enough, the further the timeline drifted from the current history, the more often the Illusion Witch ended up by my side.
In other words, the timelines where the Illusion Witch and I were connected were ones where quite unusual things happened frequently.
To give just one example that stands out most in my memory…
I don't know what on earth was done or how, but there was a world where the Demonic Cult had conquered the Central Plains not through force, but through religion.
Naturally, the Central Plains' unique ideology of martial arts supremacy had weakened, and in its place, sorcery had become enormously popular.
It was a timeline swept by the bizarre craze of every martial artist training in both martial arts and sorcery simultaneously, all aiming for ascension through enlightenment.
Perhaps the Heavenly Demon thought that while he himself couldn't achieve it, someone else with talent might break through to ascension through the orthodox path…
Back then, he either didn't know that the connection to the heavens had been severed, or even if he knew, he didn't fully grasp what it meant.
Later on, he grew disappointed to find that while many outstanding sorcery users had emerged, not a single one had mastered true Taoist arts.
Anyway, it was an absurd world where sorcery was prioritized over martial arts, and people worried more about how to cheat their way to a higher realm than about training themselves.
Surprisingly, the Illusion Witch was the number one martial artist of that twisted Central Plains. And what the Illusion Witch, who had mastered every kind of sorcery, did was…
Even while everyone was obsessed with sorcery, she spent her time trying to seduce me, who silently kept swinging my sword.
Suddenly reminded of this, I glared at the Illusion Witch.
"So you liked younger men that much."
"Weell… most men older than me were already dead…"
I shook my head at the dumbfounded reaction of the Illusion Witch and looked back on what had happened afterward.
The Illusion Witch hadn't just tried to seduce me outright—she had used illusion arts to disguise herself as someone else, attempting to get close to me that way.
Given my personality, it wasn't an easy task, but the Illusion Witch spent a year, then two years, and somehow managed to develop our relationship to the point where we were almost close.
…And then, using her illusion arts, she staged a tragic scene and died right before my eyes.
At first, I wondered why on earth she would commit such a meaningless, insane act—but then I saw her sneaking glances at my suffering form with a dark smile, and I understood.
She was delighted, seeing my suffering as proof that I loved her.
Truly a deranged way of thinking. I had always known she wasn't in her right mind, but I never imagined it went this far.
Having gotten a taste for "how I'd react to her death," the Illusion Witch repeated the same stunt twice more.
Once, playing the role of someone who comforted my grieving heart and grew close to me. The second time, she played the role of the previous persona's younger sister—her only remaining blood relative.
Naturally, both of them met dramatic deaths before my eyes. Fake deaths, of course.
Even I was beginning to waver mentally when the Illusion Witch appeared in her true form and whispered to me.
She asked how much I would be willing to pay to see the one I loved again.
When someone hailed as the greatest under heaven makes such an offer, how many people could refuse?
In the end, I became the Illusion Witch's escort, and she began to seduce me in her true form.
This was essentially the fourth time she'd tried to charm the same kind of person, so she'd gotten the hang of it. Me, knowing nothing, fell for her completely in the blink of an eye. It didn't last long, though.
The moment I, who had been stuck at the Transcendent Peak, finally reached a half-baked Harmony Realm with the help of the Heavenly Demon and the Illusion Witch.
Once I could clumsily wield my Intent, I was able to see through everything the Illusion Witch had been doing all along.
It was a crucial moment—I learned that the Heavenly Demon knew a way to artificially raise one's martial level—but oddly enough, what stuck in my memory was something entirely different.
Trembling with betrayal, I grabbed the Illusion Witch by the throat, and she, even while choking, wore a look of ecstasy at my violent reaction.
In the end, my past memories resurfaced, and guilt made me release my grip—but even that seemed to delight her, and the Illusion Witch grinned foolishly.
After that, despite being only half a Harmony Realm, I wielded my sword with such skill that I became stronger than the Illusion Witch herself… but.
As the power dynamic reversed, I openly obsessed over the Illusion Witch, only to regret it and waste away in self-reproach—over and over again.
Each time, the Illusion Witch wore a look of utter satisfaction.
In the end, despite once holding the title of the world's greatest, and with all the wealth I had accumulated, I was caught by her and locked away in her home.
Yet she seemed happiest when she had me half-imprisoned.
Because that was exactly what she had engineered. Truly, there was no one more insidious.
I had forgotten because I was so clearly strong against the weak and weak against the strong, but I realized anew that the Illusion Witch was originally a martial artist with a considerable reputation for wickedness even among the Unorthodox Sects.
Was this how she treated even those weaker than herself?
"She's a vile woman."
"I haven't done anything yet, you know…"
"How can a person express their feelings in such a twisted way?"
"You do know I really haven't done anything, right…?"
"Now that I'm stronger than you, you'd best always be careful."
"Isn't it the White Moon Sword Lord, the Great Hero, who's the vile one, threatening me with stories only they know?! And what's that supposed to mean now? You've always been stronger than me!"
The Illusion Witch, looking wronged yet never stepping out from behind Seol Ri-hyang. Her instincts are sharp…
As I stared at the Illusion Witch with a hint of regret, Seol Ri-hyang waved her hand dismissively and spoke.
"Cheon Hwi. That's enough. There have been plenty of strange cases, but there have also been quite a few normal ones, haven't there?"
"…That's a fair point."
"Um. If you two are going to talk about things only the two of you understand, then why did you call me here… Or, if you just need someone to pick on, I'd appreciate it if you went easy on me."
The Illusion Witch, who had seemed fine a moment ago, timidly poked her head out. …Right. Holding the current Illusion Witch accountable for a past she doesn't even remember is nothing more than venting my frustration.
I let out a long sigh and tilted my head.
"From now on, I'm going to explain what we've been talking about. Illusion Witch, your job is to explain the parts I don't understand along the way."
"Is it the usual consultation on sorcery you need? Hehe. If you need me, you could just say so… Aaah! Joke! It's a joke! I'll do whatever I'm told, so just leave it to me this time too!"
Just a twitch of my eye, and the Illusion Witch was making a fuss. Watching her, my heart felt lighter.
Right. Seeing her like this, she's certainly different from the figure I saw in the Heavenly Demon's memories.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I kept walking for a bit longer, and before long I arrived at Tang Jincheon's office.
Creak.
As I opened the door and stepped inside, everyone who was supposed to gather was already there.
Tang So-wol, Seomun Hwa-rin, and even Tang Jincheon.
With me, Seol Ri-hyang, and the Illusion Witch joining in, that meant everyone who knew my secret was now present.
Tang Jincheon, seated at the head of the room since it was his own office, waved a hand lightly and spoke.
"Tsk tsk. Come now, son-in-law. How can the one who called everyone be the last to arrive?"
"I forgot one person, so I was a bit late fetching them."
"Hmm. The Illusion Witch, is it? So this isn't simply a family matter. I'm aware that Haomun was also attacked by Demonic Cultists… Is this related to that?"
"Something like that."
I took a seat and began explaining everything that had happened, in order.
Her father's betrayal, the memories of the Heavenly Demon I was suddenly pulled into, the repeated deaths, and the conclusion I had reached.
It took a while, but I explained each detail carefully so that nothing was missed.
Only after a long time did I finish my explanation, and after a brief silence, it was Tang So-wol who spoke first.
"Hmm. Young hero Cheon? Is all of this true?"
"Yes. Why would I gather everyone here and lie to them?"
"…Then let me confirm just one thing."
"What is it?"
"By any chance, everyone who has ever been involved with young hero Cheon…"
"That will never happen, so don't say such frightening things."
As I shook my head in alarm, the Illusion Witch, now understanding my reaction, shrugged her shoulders and spoke in an arrogant tone.
"Hehehe. So the White Moon Sword Lord had such tastes. I understand now…"
"Those are your tastes, not mine. Who on earth would accept such a thing?"
"B-but still, I thought the last one was rather admirable…?"
"…"
That aside.
At the final moment of that round, the Illusion Witch—judging that she could no longer withstand the Spirit Beast's assault—sacrificed herself to seal me within a powerful illusion.
From the outside, no one could perceive this side, and from within, it was an illusion where the happiest days one could hardly even dream of continued on.
What I and Seol Ri-hyang saw was, at best, the memories of the Heavenly Demon, so I do not know what kind of end I met while trapped in that illusion.
After all, the Heavenly Demon had died fighting the Spirit Beasts before that.
Still, I could tell that the Illusion Witch had died protecting me until the very last moment.
Seeing that I could not easily deny it, the Illusion Witch wore her usual sinister smile.
"Heheh. I got points without doing anything at all…"
"I'm telling you, that never happened."
I swallowed the words that I'd actually lost points and grumbled for a moment.
Instead of voicing what I was thinking, I decided to ask something that had been nagging at me ever since I saw the Heavenly Demon's memories.
"By the way, Illusion Witch. Those other minor Spirit Beasts—it seems the Heavenly Demon was secretly hunting them all along. I suppose that absurd amount of internal energy must have been built up by consuming the inner cores of Spirit Beasts that have since vanished without a trace."
"That's probably the case…?"
"Then what about the Divine Beasts?"
"Huh?"
"Even if the Heavenly Demon remembers his Enlightenment, after going through a regression, he'd have to build his power up from scratch again, wouldn't he? He wouldn't have had the leeway to deal with the Divine Beasts… And yet the Central Plains have been quiet. At least as far as matters involving Spirit Beasts go."
Even though the Heavenly Demon had supposedly held them back, the rampages of Spirit Beasts had originally been severe enough to drive people away from the Central Plains.
Even if he somehow managed to defeat the Heavenly Demon, he had no confidence he could withstand a horde of Harmony Realm Spirit Beasts charging at him all at once.
After hearing my explanation, the Illusion Witch shook her head as if to tell me not to worry.
"Those Divine Beasts won't be a problem anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"The Heavenly Demon said it himself. That the White Moon Sword Lord, the Great Hero, was his nemesis. And if he were to die at the White Moon Sword Lord's hands, it would be a true death with no further regression. …Besides, the Heavenly Demon was once the enemy of the Divine Beasts."
"Ah."
I finally understood why the Heavenly Demon never coveted the inner cores of the Divine Beasts he had slain in any of his cycles.
It was because that power could never truly become his own—once he defeated them, that power would be gone by the next regression.
Fortunately, the worst-case scenario seemed to have been avoided: I had defeated the Heavenly Demon, and I would not have to face the Spirit Beasts that had been his original purpose for repeating his regressions.