Chapter 1: I Became the Terminally Ill Master of the Heavenly Demon (1)

The reason I first started writing novels was because of my first love.

The girl sitting next to me dreamed of becoming a 'novelist', and I began writing to impress her.

But I had no talent. Writing skills, descriptions, settings—everything was off.

In martial arts novels, historical accuracy was a disaster. In medieval fantasy, guns appeared out of nowhere. And the game settings? They were so chaotic that readers cursed me relentlessly.

‘…I didn’t know it would come back to haunt me like this.’

I sighed, pressing my hand to my forehead. Even after twenty years, I hadn’t grown accustomed to this body—snow-white hair, blue eyes, and coughing up blood every morning.

My current body belonged to a minor character from my first wuxia novel, The King of the Vajra Fist.

‘To think I’d be possessed as Bing Yeon (Ice Affinity), in a world where my novels have all fused together…’

I had fallen into such a world.

A world as strange as kimchi, pizza and sweet and sour pork mixed together, where all three of my novels were combined.

And to make things worse, I was a pitiful soul living on borrowed time, suffering from the Nine Yin Severed Pulse.

If I had to trace the cause of this disaster, it all pointed back to one dedicated reader.

Author, you can’t just stop the series! I’ve read all three of your works. If this one vanishes too, what am I supposed to read to survive?

A reader who had stuck with me all the way to my last novel, Possessed by an Idle Game, and tried to stop me from posting the notice of discontinuation—even when the view count froze at two.

(One of those views was me.)

Faced with this, I had no choice but to show my ‘sincerity’.

And when I read the reader’s comment, a flash of light erupted from the monitor, dragging me into this world.

Normally, it would’ve been the author who would isekai the reader, but this time I was the one on the receiving end.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself living as a low-level member of the Five Poison Sect in Yunnan.

In the novel, I was just a minor character hastily added to explain the constitution of the North Sea Ice Palace.

Later, because it became too tedious to deal with, I made him the half-brother of the North Sea Ice Palace heroine, only to be killed by the Heavenly Demon with a single gesture.

That’s why I had white hair and blue eyes.

In wuxia novels, such characters were always portrayed as peerless beauties, and I had the bloodline of a beautiful woman with tsundere traits.

‘I really shouldn’t have made his yin energy exceed that of the “Ice Emperor.” I should’ve given him a healthy body…’

I lived in the Five Poison Sect instead of the Ice Palace because of my extreme constitution—even worse than the heroine I had set up.

Because of that, I survived on looks alone, but my cursed yin constitution caused my blood to reverse flow.

No matter how many miracle medicines I chewed, my severed pulse wouldn’t heal.

Even the divine doctor in my story said it would be a miracle if I lived to adulthood. Needless to say, it didn’t sound promising.

'If I had to possess someone, why couldn’t it have been a powerhouse like the Infinite Sword Emperor or the Poison Dragon…?’

Once again, I dragged myself out of bed, struggling to catch my breath.

It was miserable—just standing required me to clutch my chest and cough up blood. They say you only realize the value of health after losing it, and that couldn't be more true.

To put it simply, I survived, even reaching adulthood.

Despite my wretched constitution, I refused to give up on life and trained my body.

Even though I coughed up blood several times a day, I didn't stop practicing qi circulation,

I sought out the strong characters I’d written into the novel, bowing my head to learn from them.

Since all three of my novels were combined, I traveled between the East and West, learning swordsmanship, aura, mana, and martial arts.

At first, I was rejected with comments like, ‘You? Someone who’s living on borrowed time?’ But eventually, they saw my determination and accepted me as their disciple.

I was that desperate—so desperate I’d do anything to survive.

Because if I could master anything to suppress the cold energy ravaging my body, I could extend my life just a little.

Perhaps thanks to my constant efforts,

I survived the bandit attack from my novel and even lived through the famous battle between righteousness and evil.

This wasn’t part of my original storyline. The two characters of my name, 'Bing Yeon (Ice Affinity)', became engraved in the history of all martial artists.

I earned the title of Ice Dragon, grew strong enough to establish a small sect, and earned recognition from the martial world.

Everything seemed to be going well—except for the fact that my body was about to die soon, and the fact that I hadn’t been able to find the final bosses from the novel no matter what I tried.

As I wandered around this strange world, my first priority was to track down the final bosses.

Each of them, in the original stories, held beliefs that clashed with the protagonists’, becoming twisted after living miserable lives.

If they were just fictional, it wouldn’t have mattered. But now, this was my reality. And as the creator, I had a reason to seek them out.

"Master, did you cough?"

"Ah, I just woke up."

Then, I saved a young girl from a group of crazed fanatics.

It was a deranged religious cult, attempting to force children to consume blood and human flesh as part of their twisted sacrifices.

With the martial arts and mana I had learned thus far, I wiped out the cult's very existence. I couldn’t stand to watch anyone torture innocent children like that.

"This girl was worried, seeing how difficult it was for Master to get up..."

The girl before me, her black hair framing her face, gazed at me with concern. Her eyes were red and swollen, evidence that she had been crying.

She was tidying a damp cloth and blood-stained rags, indicating she had been caring for me again today.

“Bi Wol, you don’t need to care for me so diligently. Haven’t your small hands become rough by now?”

“Please, don’t say such things. How could a disciple leave her master’s side?”

The name of the girl by my side now is Bi Wol.

She completely matched the description, name, and appearance of the Heavenly Demon character from the novel I had written.

‘The cult was originally called the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect...’

Much like the witchcraft rituals involving poisonous creatures fighting in a jar until only one remains, this sect fed young girls blood and flesh, leaving them unable to satiate their hunger unless they killed.

This was the hidden backstory of the Heavenly Demon Bi Wol that I had only jotted down in the margins of my notes but never included in the original plot.

'It's all my karma. It's only fitting that I clean up this mess.’

The Heavenly Demon in my novel didn’t know how to ease her hunger without taking a life.

Only human blood and flesh could quench her thirst and quell her hunger.

The Heavenly Demon couldn’t find sleep without killing someone.

The sect had tortured her relentlessly, denying her rest unless someone died.

She had never known the warmth of a parent’s embrace

.

Her parents were the ones who sold her for just a measure of rice.

They were desperate people, starving, reducing the number of mouths to feed by selling their own child.

"I like being by Master's side. How could this girl forget the warm embrace that saved her life?"

In a moment of atonement for what I had written, I saved Bi Wol, even knowing she was fated to become the Heavenly Demon.

What reason does an adult need to save a child?

Even if it meant disrupting the flow of the novel, it didn’t matter to me. I was the author, after all.

“Didn’t Master teach me everything I need to survive? You’re the one who showed me how to breathe again, how to make my heart beat once more.”

“If you say it like that, people might get the wrong idea...”

Since rescuing her from the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, Bi Wol had been my disciple.

I taught her how to buy food, how to work, and gave her a safe place to live.

I even took in the other children from the sect, raising them as my disciples, ensuring B Wol wouldn’t have to kill me later on.

“What does it matter if they misunderstand? Out of all of Master’s disciples, Bi Wol is the one most deserving of being called Master’s favorite.”

“That’s not what I meant."

Bi Wol smiled brightly as she wiped the blood from my mouth. Her affection for me was overwhelming.

Her attachment was so intense that even those around us, including my other disciples, would shake their heads, whispering that it was inappropriate for a master-disciple relationship.

She stayed with me until I fell asleep and was always the first thing I saw when I woke.

One time, she even dragged me back to the sect from an inn, scolding me that a sick person shouldn’t be drinking.

‘Is this also the Heavenly Demon Star’s karma at work...?'

It was beyond my comprehension how she lived her life.

I stopped trying to understand her movements, which seemed to transcend the bounds of normalcy, as if she wasn't human.

"Master, your breakfast and bath water are ready."

"I told you, you don't have to do all this."

"But, there's no mistress. Shouldn't I at least play this role?"

As if the fact that I had just coughed up a handful of blood earlier didn't matter at all, Bi Wol was even rubbing her face against my chest.

Despite her unwavering care, my condition showed no signs of improving. I knew I wouldn’t live much longer.

‘I worry about what will happen after I’m gone... Would she revert to being the Heavenly Demon? I did destroy the sect, after all.’

I reflected on my choices.

I had saved a girl destined for misery and taken in beggars and children as disciples, helping many unfortunate people.

Now, the original protagonists of The King of the Vajra Fist wouldn’t die at Bi Wol’s hands, so I had to prepare for the next step.

"Master? The food is getting cold."

"Ah, Bi Wol."

Looking into Bi Wol’s round eyes, I said what needed to be said.

"...I’m planning to bring in your junior sister soon."

I still had to rescue Verdandi, the final boss from my second novel, and Azazel, the saint from my last novel.

That, I believed, was the reason I had been brought into this world.

“Junior sister? Judging by how specific you’re being, it doesn’t seem like you’re planning to take in another child sold by their parents or someone as a disciple without limbs…”

Bi Wol’s red eyes narrowed, her gaze sharp and dangerous like a serpent’s.

“May this girl dare to ask why Master is bringing another woman into the sect?”

"...She’s living an unfortunate life, just like you, Bi Wol. I expect you to set a good example as her senior sister."

“I refuse.”

Each word dripped with emotion as Bi Wol snapped the spoon in her hand, breaking it cleanly in two.

The spoon’s head clattered to the floor.

“If Master insists on this, if you’re planning to discard me and bring in someone new, then take me with you.”

Bi Wol’s hands trembled as she spoke, her voice slightly choked with fear. She seemed terrified of being abandoned again.

Truthfully, I feared how much Bi Wol, so reliant on me, would despise the world after my death.

She might very well become the Heavenly Demon Star, declaring the world unnecessary if I died.

“You remember our sect’s rules, don’t you, Bi Wol?”

"...The Ice Dragon Flower Affinity’s rules are carved into my heart. Do not take life without reason.”

“If you uphold that promise, I’ll allow you to accompany me.”

I had planned to take her anyway.

The other final bosses were just as dangerous as Bi Wol.

The Hero, whose overwhelming sense of justice would drive him to kill even good people if they violated his ideals.

The Saint, who had formed a contract with a foreign god in her pursuit of love, unable to receive it due to her tragic past.

I wasn’t sure if I, in my current state, could handle them.

“This girl swears—I'll protect Master from those vicious wolves.”

Bi Wol nodded enthusiastically, eagerly seeking my approval, like a puppy waiting to be petted.