Chapter 3 

An old man, clearly irritated, stroked his beard as he sat at the head of the room.

“It has been one hundred years since the Heavenly Demon disappeared.”

“Yes, Father.”

“And once the Heavenly Demon vanished and the Blood Palace closed its doors, even the restless ghosts stopped appearing.”

Ghosts—gwi—were lingering spirits of humans or animals who died with deep grudges.
They sometimes took on twisted forms based on their resentment.

But ever since the Heavenly Demon vanished and the Blood Palace sealed itself a century ago, they had nearly disappeared.

With a quiet but stern voice, the old man addressed the son kneeling before him.

“They say the Martial Alliance is still searching for traces of the Demonic Cult, yes?”

“That is correct, Father.”

“Do you believe them?”

The old man’s hand clenched into a fist. His son answered as if supporting that anger.

“I do not believe it.”

“Of course you don’t.”

The old man’s eyes widened sharply.

“The Alliance Leader—
That bastard simply refuses to give up his power.”

THUD!

His palm slammed the low table like a lightning strike.

The son, Namgung Hyeonwon, bowed his head in agreement.

“It is time we stop letting that cunning old fox get his way. The name of Namgung should not be treated lightly.”

With a growl like an old tiger, the family head—Namgung Huicheon, over eighty but still strong due to his deep martial arts—continued lecturing his son.

“The Nine Great Sects have grown too powerful under the Alliance Leader. All the more reason for our Namgung family to remain united.”

Hyeonwon kept silent.
Huicheon clicked his tongue openly.

“You should be grateful I allowed that illegitimate girl from outside to become of use for our family.”

“Yes, Father.”

But whether this was truly a blessing or a curse, Hyeonwon did not know.

The illegitimate girl—Namgung Sa-yeol—had only just turned sixteen.

“She will live better in the Jegal family than she does here, haunting the detached quarters like a ghost.”

The groom, Jegal Hwangho, was over forty.

“If she’s lucky, she may bear a son.
Though I doubt her sickly body can manage even that.”

What could Hyeonwon say now?

“That stupid thing probably won’t understand anything you tell her.
Make sure she is prepared properly.”

“Yes, Father.”

Even if she was only a half-daughter, Huicheon dismissed Sa-yeol coldly—wearing the title of “father” without even trying to care.

If he hadn’t been so indifferent—
Perhaps the tragedy would not have unfolded.

If he hadn’t been so indifferent—
that small life wouldn’t have been extinguished,
and this disaster—the Namgung family’s disaster—would not have begun.

***

Elsewhere… thunderous noise erupted.

BANG—!

A heavy blow struck the table.

Outside, darkness gathered like the open jaws of a beast, while the bright full moon lit everything else.

A furious roar cut through the darkness and moonlight.

“What in the world happened!”

Namgung Huicheon’s furious voice shook the entire room.
His aura pressed down on everyone like a raging tiger.

“The head of the Jegal family was ATTACKED at the Namgung gates!”

“P-Please calm yourself, Father…”

Hyeonwon tried to speak, but Huicheon’s rage only grew.

“Are you telling me the Heavenly Demon—who disappeared a century ago—has reappeared in front of our gates? Or was it a ghost? Did a ghost attack our Namgung family?!”

Hyeonwon bit his lip.
If it had been the Heavenly Demon or a ghost, it would’ve been easier to report.

Finally, he forced himself to speak.

“…It was Sa-yeol.”

Huicheon’s brows knitted tightly.

“Sa-yeol… That girl stabbed the head of the Jegal family.”

Even Namgung Huicheon fell silent.

Because the claim was absurd.

“That sickly girl who couldn’t even walk properly stabbed Jegal Hwangho?”

“That is what the witnesses said.”

A cold dread washed over Huicheon.

It was so ridiculous he couldn’t even get angry.

“That is impossible.”

“I thought so too.”

“Unless she was possessed by a ghost, it’s impossible.”

But that was absurd as well.

Ghosts had vanished a hundred years ago.

Huicheon stroked his beard grimly and ordered:

“What have you done with the girl?”

“T-That is… We sent servants to drag her out of her room, but… for some reason, no one can enter. It’s as if an invisible wall blocks the entrance.”

“Cannot enter?”

“Yes. They say it feels like hitting a barrier.”

“Hmph.”

Huicheon’s face twisted into a snarl, revealing sharp teeth.

“Then she must have picked up some demonic trick—perhaps something from a forbidden sect.”

“Forbidden… sect…”

Hyeonwon frowned.

Even if the Heavenly Demon had vanished, remnants of demonic factions still existed.
Especially the Blood Palace and the Ice Palace—two factions that stopped all activity the moment the Heavenly Demon disappeared.

“Bring the girl to me! Jaewon, Jaechun!”

“Yes, sir!”

Two elite guards outside answered immediately.

“She’s probably using some cheap trick. Tricks like that don’t work against first-rate masters.”

Huicheon wanted to resolve this quietly.

Announcing that something had gone wrong would benefit no one.

As long as they broke whatever forbidden technique Sa-yeol used and returned her to the Jegal family after Hwangho recovered, everything should blow over.

“The foolish girl threw away her chance to live decently in the Jegal household.”

Huicheon clicked his tongue.

Perhaps her poor bloodline made her stupid.

Time passed quietly.

Only the wind could be heard outside the room—
Yet no footsteps approached.

The two guards had left long ago.
Still, no sign of them returning.

“What are those fools doing…”

The girl’s strange barrier shouldn’t be enough to stop first-rate experts.

So why—
Why were they not returning?

Creak, step—

Tap.

Creak, step—

Tap.

Footsteps.

Someone was walking on the wooden porch.

Creak… step…
Tap.

Creeeeeak…
Ssshhh—

A lantern cast a long, eerie shadow on the paper sliding door.

A child’s shadow.

“W-Who is there?”
Hyeonwon stuttered.
Something was wrong.

The air was too quiet.

Not even the wind could be heard anymore.

The shadow didn’t move.
Didn’t answer.

“I asked who you are!”

Silence.

One second.
Two.
Three.
Four.

Time crawled by, suffocating them.

Then—

“It’s me.”

A soft voice replied.

“Sa-yeol.”

The daughter, who could barely speak normally in front of her father, now spoke casually.

“Please open the door, Father.”

“Y-You can open it yourself!”

Her cold, empty voice whispered back through the door:

“Father—”

A faint giggle.

“Please—open—the—door.”

Scratch, scrape, scratch, scrape—

Scratch, scrape—

Her fingernails scraped the door like something gnawing on their nerves.
Even though the movement was small, goosebumps crawled across their bodies.

Hyeonwon forced himself to speak.

“W-Why did you come alone? I sent guards to fetch you!”

The scraping stopped.

“Don’t worry. I came with them.”

Hyeonwon stared at the shadow.

“Then… why is there only one shadow?”

Silence.

Thick, suffocating silence.

Hyeonwon couldn’t endure it.

“W-Who… what are you—”

CRACK!

SPLAT!

Something punched through the paper door.

Something round.
Something the size of a human head.

A human head.

“—ghk!”

Hyeonwon swallowed a scream.

It was Jaewon’s severed head.

One of the guards was sent to retrieve Sa-yeol.

Blood streamed down his torn flesh.
Chunks of meat dangled from the ripped skin.
His mouth hung open—black and empty.

His tongue had been ripped out.

Hyeonwon collapsed, staring wide-eyed.

His eyes were hollow.
Scratches covered his face.
Blood stained his jaw.

“Khh…”

Both men bit their tongues in shock.

Scratch… scratch…

Scrape… scrape…

The scraping on the door resumed.

As if the girl outside were calmly asking:

“Shall I come in?”