Even I wasn’t completely immune to mental attacks.
But after enduring the mental assaults of the Rakshasa Birds and the Man-Faced Crows, I had built up a certain level of resistance.
Seolhwa probably had a similar level of resistance as well.
Yet she collapsed from Suspicious Beyond Suspicion’s attack, while I remained standing.
Was it because I was stronger than her?
I wouldn’t know for sure unless we fought, but the gap between us shouldn’t be that wide.
If anything, she might even have an advantage when it came to mental resilience—after all, she was the Holy Maiden of a religious sect.
The reason I withstood it was simple.
I might have the body of a lizard, but my mind was that of a human.
And not just any human—a modern human.
For someone from a modern era, this world of murim was nothing but ancient history.
And the so-called “ancient era” of this world?
Completely rotten.
Any Shimma from a creature of that period was predictable at best.
Other martial artists might have seen it as an unavoidable ability, but from the perspective of a modern man?
It barely scratched the surface.
Sure, it threw me off for a moment, but I quickly adapted.
If all that happened was a bunch of fur flying around, well... in that industry, that was considered entry-level material.
The real nightmares had nothing to do with fur.
It was smooth, glistening scales.
And even worse, a certain someone wiping down a spear in a suggestive manner—
“GAAAH! S-STOP IT!”
Oh.
So you saw it too, huh?
Suspicious Beyond Suspicion, still struggling in my grasp, kept thrashing desperately.
I had been steadily increasing the pressure, planning to crush his skull, but the bastard was unexpectedly sturdy.
Even though I had a high tolerance for mental trauma, the feel of fur slipping between my claws was... unsettling.
Normally, in a situation like this, the classic move would be to slam his head into the ground.
Since his entire body would absorb the impact, the resulting shockwave would be devastating.
But for some unknown reason, whenever someone tried that, the one who had the advantage would start losing ground.
It was like an unwritten law.
If you used a throw while in a grappling state, you were essentially letting go of your enemy.
That made no sense to me.
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Why release the opponent when you already have them trapped?
CRACKLE!
Lightning surged through my hand, burning away every last strand of fur on his body.
His internal energy was definitely stronger than Seolhwa’s, but now that his spirit was broken, there wasn’t much he could do.
“GHHHAAAAH! WHY—WHY ARE THOSE SCALES WEARING CLOTHES—AAARGH! WHAT IS THAT BLUE SCALE—?! WHY DOES IT HAVE PINK POLISH ON ITS CLAWS—?! WHY IS IT SMOOTH AND SHINY INSTEAD OF FLOWING IN THE WIND—?! T-THE RUFFLES?! WHAT ARE THOSE RUFFLES?!”
...Wait.
Was he seeing something worse than Miss Shimma?
Tsk. You still haven’t finished him off in this state?
Shimma clicked her tongue.
I mean... he’s unnaturally durable.
And honestly, watching him suffer like this was kind of entertaining.
Oh? Quite the refined taste you have. Indeed, a ruler must be capable of such cruelty.
...Was this a bad idea?
Still, you must consider the situation. If it were any other human, fine. But you wouldn’t want to lose the Holy Maiden, would you?
Hearing that, I glanced at Seolhwa.
She was groaning in pain, her face contorted in distress.
What’s wrong with her now?
What’s with that expression?
Her whole body was ice-cold, yet she was drenched in sweat.
...Don’t tell me you think falling into Shimma is the same as catching a cold?
...What?
If she doesn’t escape from Shimma, she will be permanently locked inside it. No one will be able to reach her.
*She may end up as nothing more than a lifeless husk, or worse—a puppet with no will of her own. *
...Right.
That’s how Shimma worked.
It lured you in with sweet temptations before dragging you into the abyss.
I had overlooked that.
Because to me, Shimma was never really that dangerous.
I had fallen into it multiple times and always climbed back out.
So, are you just going to stand there?
I reached between my scales and pulled out a spiritual elixir I had been saving.
I had kept it just in case, not knowing when I might need it.
Turns out, this was the time.
I pried Seolhwa’s mouth open and pushed the elixir inside.
If she had trouble swallowing, this would’ve been a hassle, but thankfully, she managed to take it down just fine.
...You don’t actually believe that’s enough, do you?
Of course not.
One elixir alone wouldn’t be enough to pull her out of Shimma.
CRACKLE.
I had given her the elixir to restore her depleted internal energy.
Even while unconscious, her yin energy and cold aura were still leaking out. If left unchecked, she’d probably collapse from exhaustion.
As for how to bring her back—
Hmph.
Shimma would have to tell me.
You catch on quickly.
If her death had been the goal, Shimma would’ve kept its mouth shut.
Which meant it actually wanted to help me.
Whether it was because it enjoyed tormenting Suspicious Beyond Suspicion, or because it had other motives, I couldn’t say.
Helping you brings me pleasure.
...Why did that sound so off-putting coming from Shimma?
Your expression won’t change anything.
You, of all people, shouldn’t be overthinking this.
Yeah.
No matter what price I had to pay, I had no choice but to follow Shimma’s instructions.
It will be a painful process. Even I nearly lost myself countless times while walking this path.
...Great. Now it was trying to scare me.
Only by overcoming it will you be able to save her.
Shimma whispered in an eerily gentle tone.
Are you ready?
There was only one answer I could give.
“...Gehk.”
Of course.
KAHAHAHAHAHA!
Shimma howled with laughter.
Then... the contract is sealed.
As I bound the Black Cloud Faction leader with roots and vines, a deep red glow flickered.
Just what kind of price was I about to pay for this?
Feel the same despair and powerlessness that I once did.
KAHAHAHAHA!
*
It was a winter so cold, it could only be described as brutal.
The oldest winter in Seolhwa’s memory.
And the coldest.
Two beings, abandoned in the world with no one but each other.
The only person she could rely on was her older sister, the one who shared her face.
No—only their faces were alike.
Unlike her fragile self, Seolhwa’s sister was strong.
As children, they hadn’t understood much, but Baek Yeon-yeong, born with Cheonmu Physique, did everything she could to keep Seolhwa from starving.
Watching her sister’s efforts, Seolhwa could only resent herself.
She had been born with Extreme Yin Physique, a body that made her nothing but a burden.
Memories flooded into her.
The humiliation and discrimination she had suffered repeated once again.
She hated the righteous sects that oppressed their followers.
She despised the unruly marauders of the unorthodox factions.
She hated the world itself.
But more than anything—she hated herself the most.
Baek Seolhwa was far from talentless.
Even reaching the Hwagyeong level at her age was proof of that.
It only seemed inadequate because her sister, Baek Yeon-yeong, was her comparison.
Even if you searched all of the Central Plains, you would find few who could match Seolhwa’s talent.
Her Extreme Yin Physique came with many drawbacks, but after reaching a certain level, she had learned to control them.
In fact, her body was perfectly suited for learning Ice Arts, meaning her so-called “flaw” was no longer a weakness.
Even so, she despised herself.
Baek Yeon-yeong’s Heavenly Demon Cult sought a world where no follower would ever go hungry.
Would such a world ever need Ice Arts?
No matter how she thought about it, the answer was always no.
Ice Arts were winter.
Winter froze the earth.
Winter starved the people.
Winter was the season that had abandoned her and her sister, the season where life perished.
How could she not hate herself?
Once again, a harsh wind blew.
The cold air constricted her throat.
Everything Suspicious Beyond Suspicion had shown her had long since frozen over.
The horrors he revealed had already lost their effect.
She was trapped now not because of his power—
—but because he had awakened the memories she had desperately tried to forget.
Would it be so bad to just stay like this?
No one would come looking for someone like her.
A surge of Extreme Yin Energy and frost poured from her body.
She had fallen into Shimma in the most absurd way possible.
She wouldn’t be able to escape on her own.
Because this wasn’t something caused by Suspicious Beyond Suspicion’s power—
—This was her own doing.
Fwoosh.
Suddenly, a warmth spread through her.
The frozen mountaintop slowly began to melt.
Seolhwa’s blue eyes widened.
She had never felt such warmth before—not even once in her life.
If her body was Extreme Yin, then this presence was Extreme Yang.
And standing before her, wearing an equally ridiculous outfit, was a very familiar lizard.
“...Gehk.”
If she had fallen into Shimma in such an absurd way—
“...Then really.”
It should be just as possible to escape from Shimma in an absurd way.
“A lizard... wearing those clothes.”
Seolhwa let out a small laugh.
“So that’s why you went through all the trouble of making those ridiculous outfits.”
She couldn’t help but laugh.
She had never seen anything so ridiculous before.
Compared to the bizarre fur creatures she had just witnessed, this was on an entirely different level of comedy.
A scaled being dressed in flowing robes, where black and white intertwined in an elegant yet absurd design.
A familiar face peered out from under the extravagant garments.
“...You actually look kind of cute like that.”
And to top it off—
The lizard had lowered its head in embarrassment, its cheeks tinged pink.
“...It’s kind of a shame I’m the only one seeing this—wait.”
Pink cheeks?
But his entire face was covered in scales.
How could she see his cheeks at all?
Baek Seolhwa was the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
She could see things that most people could not.
And this place—this was her mindscape.
A space where one could see things that normally remained hidden.
A place where one could glimpse the essence of things.
And there—beyond the form of a lizard—
—she saw something else.
Flowing white hair that reached past his shoulders.
Piercing blue eyes.
A height that made her look up.
He was still a lizard, yet she saw the image of a man layered over his form.
The black scales became black robes.
Though he said nothing, his gaze held meaning.
If a dragon were to take human form, would it look like this?
His expressions were few, much like her sister’s.
Yet his gaze carried a warmth she had never felt before.
“...Where on earth did my sister pick up a lizard like you?”
That gaze—
It was so warm that even the frost of her Extreme Yin Physique seemed to melt away.
Like an indifferent sun, rising with quiet inevitability—
—and yet, it illuminated everything.
Of course, the real lizard outside would vehemently deny that he had ever dressed like this.
He would never know what he looked like in this space.
After all, this was her mindscape.
Baek Seolhwa had spent her entire life envying her sister.
If she had been born with Cheonmu Physique instead of Extreme Yin Physique—
If she had moved first instead of hesitating—
If she had been the one to get hurt, instead of her sister—
She loved her sister deeply, yet buried in that love was a small, unspoken jealousy.
A natural emotion between siblings.
To Baek Yeon-yeong, it was nothing more than her younger sister’s adorable tantrum.
Seolhwa stared at the lizard, then slowly reached out her hand.
Her fingers brushed against cold scales—
—and warm skin.
She decided to indulge herself, just this once.
“...Sorry, Sister. But this is mine to keep.”
She would hold on to this moment—
Just for herself.
CRACK—!
The frozen world around her split in two.
And as the last traces of snow melted, the blazing sun shone down upon her.