Chapter 286: The Most Beautiful Under Heaven

"I’M HERE, LOVE! COME GET ME!!"

Rakshasa’s shout traveled across the entire Demonic Cult.

It was not a metaphor.

Her voice descended the mountain like a wave, passing through halls, courtyards, disciples’ houses and training areas. Some young people practicing sword techniques stopped moving at the same instant, while others raised their heads toward the upper parts of the mountain trying to figure out what had happened. Even those meditating opened their eyes, mainly because a considerable amount of rocks had just fallen from somewhere higher up.

Inside the Heavenly Hall, everyone fell silent.

Victor looked toward the exit.

He would recognize that voice even if he were on the other side of the continent.

"I’m going. Thanks, old man. See you later." Victor said while calmly rising from the chair, as if he had not just abandoned a meeting he had already interrupted without any ceremony.

Yu Jin Cheon turned his face toward him.

Victor did not wait for an answer.

His body dissolved into hundreds of black bats that crossed the hall and disappeared through the entrance before anyone present could say anything.

Silence returned.

This time, it lasted longer.

Yu Jin Cheon remained seated while staring at the empty space Victor had left behind.

Then he sighed.

It was such a tired sigh that some of the elders almost felt sorry for him.

The killing intent that came with it destroyed any possibility of that.

A heavy pressure spread through the hall, making several people hold their breath. Some of the weaker disciples near the walls went rigid, and even the elders had to control their own energy to avoid reacting on instinct.

"It’s been a long time since I’ve wanted to kill someone this badly when I know I can’t kill him." Yu Jin Cheon murmured while resting his forehead against one hand, seeming genuinely irritated by that limitation.

No one answered.

That would have been a terrible idea.

Yu Jin Cheon remained silent for a few seconds before raising his eyes.

"Not even the leader of the Murim Alliance makes me want to kill someone this much." He added while the pressure slowly began to disappear, making it clear that this was quite an impressive accomplishment for someone who had known Victor for a relatively short time.

One of the elders swallowed dryly.

Another decided to look at the documents on the table as if they had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the world.

No one commented that the man who had just provoked that reaction was now, technically, the Young Master of the Cult.

It was better to leave that problem for another day.

—

Inside the ring’s dimensional space, Fafnir was sitting on one of the old boxes while watching Rowena absentmindedly organize some of the objects they had placed there since Vlad’s Vault.

Ever since Victor had started using the ring properly, that place had become much more comfortable for the two of them. It was not exactly a house, but there was enough space for them to talk without depending on the outside world, and Fafnir seemed particularly fond of being able to examine everything that existed in that storage space.

Even so, at that moment, something else occupied her mind.

"Who exactly is this Heavenly Demon?" Fafnir asked while crossing one leg over the other and resting an arm on her knee. "And this Rakshasa who made half the mountain shake just to call Victor?"

Rowena raised her eyes.

"Rakshasa is a title." Rowena replied while placing a small scroll on one of the boxes. "Her name is Yu Seol-Ha."

Fafnir repeated the name mentally.

"She’s that man’s daughter?" Fafnir asked while remembering the enormous pressure she had briefly felt through her connection with Victor.

"Yes." Rowena replied while walking toward another pile of objects. "Daughter of the Heavenly Demon and a Vampire."

Fafnir frowned.

"A Vampire born from a human?" Fafnir asked while her eyes showed immediate interest in the contradiction.

"I don’t know how it happened." Rowena admitted while shrugging. "I’ve never heard the full story of her transformation, and Victor doesn’t know either. At least not that I’ve heard."

Fafnir rested her chin on her hand.

"But she’s strong." Fafnir commented while remembering that presence she had sensed from afar.

"Very." Rowena replied without hesitation. "Seol-Ha could destroy a large portion of the strongest Vampires of the current era without much difficulty."

Fafnir raised an eyebrow.

"Coming from you, that sounds like serious praise." Fafnir commented while realizing Rowena had no interest in exaggerating merely to elevate someone close to Victor.

"It’s not praise. It’s an assessment." Rowena replied while looking back at her. "Part of it comes from her own experience, but her bloodline also helps. Yu Jin Cheon didn’t receive the title of Heavenly Demon because he sits in a pretty chair."

Fafnir let out a short laugh.

"That name is equally exaggerated." Fafnir commented while seeming to notice a pattern on that continent.

Rowena smiled.

"You haven’t even heard the worst ones yet." Rowena replied while sitting on another box. "Easterners really love titles."

Fafnir tilted her head slightly.

"You talk as if you know quite a lot about her." Fafnir observed while absentmindedly running her fingers through her own hair.

Rowena became thoughtful for a few seconds.

"More than Victor imagines." Rowena replied while her expression became slightly more distant. "I lived in an era when Yu Seol-Ha existed, before I was sealed. We never met, but some people are too important to go unnoticed."

Fafnir became more interested.

"So Rakshasa wasn’t her original title?" Fafnir asked while leaning slightly forward.

Rowena shook her head.

"No." Rowena replied while a small smile appeared on her face. "Before she became known as Rakshasa, Yu Seol-Ha had another title."

Fafnir waited.

Rowena let several seconds pass only because she knew that would probably annoy the Dragon.

"’The Most Beautiful Under Heaven.’" Rowena finally said while observing her reaction.

Fafnir stared.

Then laughed.

"That’s ridiculous." Fafnir replied while shaking her head. "I’ve met far too many women in this world for anyone to have the courage to call a single one of them ’The Most Beautiful Under Heaven.’"

Rowena shrugged.

"I warned you." Rowena commented while seeming to find the reaction perfectly fair. "Easterners have a strange tendency to give completely unrealistic titles to people they admire, desire or fear."

Fafnir made a face.

"And what’s her father’s title?" Fafnir asked while vaguely pointing outside the ring, although Yu Jin Cheon was very far away.

"’The Demon Devourer.’" Rowena replied while crossing her arms.

Fafnir fell silent.

"Does he eat Demons?" Fafnir asked after a few seconds, seeming genuinely curious.

"As far as I know, no." Rowena replied while beginning to laugh.

Fafnir ran a hand over her face.

"Then it really doesn’t make sense." Fafnir grumbled while standing up from the box.

"You get used to it." Rowena replied while smiling. "After a few years, you start hearing someone being called ’The Sword That Divides the Nine Heavens’ and you just accept it."

Fafnir stood still for a few seconds.

"Does that exist?" Fafnir asked while her expression became strangely serious.

Rowena started laughing.

—

Victor returned to human form a few minutes later.

The bats gathered in the middle of a long stone staircase and reconstructed his body while he adjusted the cloak over his shoulders. The place was much higher than the regions he had crossed before, near one of the Cult’s restricted areas, and the wind descending the mountain slopes carried a pleasant chill.

Victor raised his eyes.

Stopped.

At the top of the staircase was Yu Seol-Ha.

Rakshasa remained seated on the highest step with one leg crossed over the other, her arms resting calmly on her knees and a serious expression on her face. Her dark hair fell down her back, and her red clothes contrasted with the gray stone around her.

Victor stared at her for a few seconds.

It was difficult to associate that woman with the same voice that had just shouted across the entire mountain.

"So you remembered that you have someone who loves you waiting?" Rakshasa asked while keeping her chin slightly raised and her eyes fixed on him.

Killing intent left her body at the same instant.

Victor blinked.

For a fraction of a second, he saw something behind Rakshasa.

An enormous Demon formed from blood energy seemed to be crouching behind her, with red eyes and a mouth far too wide to look human. The image flickered like a mirage, but the pressure it carried was perfectly real.

Victor blinked again.

The Demon disappeared.

Rakshasa did too.

"Hm?" Victor murmured while his eyes instinctively moved downward.

She had simply thrown herself from the top of the staircase.

Victor opened his arms the moment Rakshasa fell onto him.

The impact made his feet slide a few centimeters over the stone, but he managed to hold her without difficulty. Rakshasa immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, burying her face between his neck and shoulder as if all the previous theatrics had ceased to exist.

Victor started laughing.

"That was a quick change." Victor commented while placing one hand on her back and the other beneath one of her legs to hold her more securely.

Rakshasa completely ignored him.

"I missed you." She murmured while tightening her arms around him even more and beginning to scatter small kisses across his neck.

Victor closed his eyes for a moment.

"I missed you too." Victor replied while tilting his head slightly to give her room.

Rakshasa pulled her face away just enough to look directly into his eyes.

The serious expression had completely disappeared.

Now there was a satisfied smile and an excited gleam in her eyes that Victor knew very well.

"You took too long." Rakshasa complained while holding his face between her hands and bringing their noses close together. "I was stuck in that cave training like a damned woman while you were off who knows where."

Victor made a small grimace.

"I was in a coma for a month." Victor reminded her while keeping his arms around her.

Rakshasa fell silent.

"Details." She replied while looking away for half a second, obviously knowing that part of the complaint was not very fair.

Victor started laughing.

"Then I had to deal with a few things." Victor continued while beginning to climb the steps, still carrying Rakshasa. "Attack, family, a fake political engagement, Vlad’s Vault, a Dragon sealed inside a sword..."

Rakshasa immediately turned her face back toward him.

"A what?" She asked while her eyes narrowed.

Victor stopped in the middle of a step.

"Dragon." Victor replied as naturally as possible.

Rakshasa stared at him.

"Woman?" She asked while her voice became dangerously sweet.

Victor thought about Fafnir.

"Yes." Victor replied while deciding that lying would be much worse.

The killing intent began to rise again.

Victor sighed.

"She tried to kill me first." Victor added while resuming his walk.

Rakshasa continued staring at him.

"That doesn’t make it better." She commented while slowly running her fingers through his hair.

"We’ll talk about it later." Victor replied while feeling that explaining the entire Fafnir situation in the middle of a staircase was probably not the best choice.

Rakshasa remained quiet for a few seconds.

Then her smile returned.

"All right." She replied while wrapping her arms around his neck again. "Let’s go. My room is up there." She said while pointing toward an enormous building.

"All right." Victor said with a smile and kissed her on the lips—

"Let’s have some fun." He murmured.