The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 10

Baron Romero sat heavily in his chair. He couldn’t believe the words he had just heard. Roman?

Roman had defeated the Blood Fang gang. Baron Romero almost laughed. If Knight Commander Jonathan wasn’t the one telling him this, he would think it was a joke. The Blood Fang were a dangerous local gang.

Sir,

Jonathan said, his voice serious, “It’s hard to explain, but Roman… he’s different now. He defeated Ben Miles, the Blood Fang leader, right in front of everyone. And when he spoke to Viscount Lawrence, he was confident, explaining his actions. This isn’t the Roman we know.”

Baron Romero listened, his heart starting to beat faster. He had heard Jonathan’s report himself, and a feeling he thought was long dead began to flicker inside him – hope for his eldest son.

‘Could it be?’ he wondered. ‘Could Roman really have changed?’

Romero had three sons. But Roman was the one who caused him the most pain. Roman was his son from before he became a Baron, from when he was just a common man. Romero had tried to love Roman even more because of this, but it had all gone wrong.

He remembered a time, long ago. Baron Romero had been working day and night at the iron mine. Securing those tunnels was everything; his future depended on it. He barely slept, his face always covered in dust and dirt.

Then, one day, Roman, just three years old, had waddled towards him, his little legs unsteady. In his small hand, he held a cookie.

“For you, Papa,” Roman had lisped, offering it to him.

Unlike his other sons, Roman didn’t seem good at anything. Romero worried people would make fun of him. So, he gave Roman a lot of money, wanting to make his life easier. But he didn’t know he was making a mistake. The money became the start of Roman’s bad behavior.

Baron Romero didn’t know how to be a good father. He was deeply sad about how Roman had turned out. He arranged the marriage with Lawrence as a gift for Roman, even though it wasn’t a good deal for him.

But now, everything was different. Jonathan’s words echoed in his mind. Roman had changed. Hope, which Romero thought was gone forever, began to grow again. He didn’t care *how* Roman had done it. Even if Roman had just paid others to defeat the Blood Fang, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that Roman had *done* something, had taken action.

“Father,” Roman said, stepping into the room. His voice was steady. Baron Romero looked at his son. Roman’s face was calm, almost too calm. You wouldn’t know, looking at him, that he had just been in a dangerous fight, that something terrible had happened.

Baron Romero watched Roman closely. It wasn’t just what Jonathan had said. It was something in Roman himself. The way he walked, the way he stood, the look in his eyes – everything was different. Romero felt it in his gut: Roman had truly changed. Maybe, deep down, he had sensed this change even earlier, from the moment Roman had spoken to him with such confidence, defying him.

“So,” Baron Romero began, his voice a little shaky, “you’re saying… you defeated the Blood Fang yourself?”

The question was out before he could stop it. Even though he felt it in his heart, he needed to hear Roman say it. He needed to be sure.

Roman thought quickly. The answer was simple: yes or no. If he told the truth, his father would trust him. He could gain so much. But then, a thought stopped him. ‘Showing too much too soon can be dangerous.’

He remembered an old saying: ‘The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.’ People expected nothing from him. If he suddenly showed great strength, it would be a shock. It was better to surprise people slowly, than to shock them all at once.

He thought about people who were too talented, too quickly. Often, they became targets. It was better to hide your strength until you were truly ready. Only those who could survive the dangers of being noticed became true masters.

‘I still don’t understand this new world completely,’ Roman thought. ‘As Roman Dmitri, I’m weak, like an ant. Showing off my strength now would be dangerous. I need time to learn, to grow stronger. Being known as ‘Dmitri’s Fool’ is actually useful right now, it gives me time.’

He smiled to himself. It was the smart thing to do, the logical choice. But something had changed in him when he faced the Blood Fang. He couldn’t hide anymore. He wasn’t made to hide.

“Yes,” Roman said clearly, looking his father in the eye, “I did it.”

In that moment, the name ‘Roman Dmitri’ felt strange to him. Deep inside, he was still Baek Joong-hyuk, the Demonic Heavenly Destroyer. And Baek Joong-hyuk was not someone who could live a quiet, ordinary life.

Most children grow up feeling safe, loved by their parents. But Baek Joong-hyuk’s childhood was nothing like that. As soon as he was strong enough to crawl, he was left alone on the cold, hard floor of a dark cave.

In the echoing darkness of the cave, Baek Joong-hyuk’s father, a cruel and powerful man, had spoken to him. His voice was cold, without any warmth.

“You are the son of the Demonic Heavenly God,” he had said. “If you deserve to be my heir, you will survive this. Prove your worth in the cold, in the dark. I have twelve sons. One life means nothing. Even if all of you die, I will make more. Remember this: only by ruling, by being the strongest, can you prove you are worthy.”

This was the 12th Cave. Baek Joong-hyuk’s life began in this brutal place. It was a fight for survival every moment. The other children in the cave didn’t care who his father was. They were all hungry, all desperate. They fought for scraps of food, for any advantage. Baek Joong-hyuk was small and weak compared to them. He couldn’t win by strength. But even then, something inside him knew how to survive. He knew he had to be noticed. He had to show them he was dangerous, even if he was weak.

And so, in one brutal fight, Baek Joong-hyuk grabbed a rock. He swung it with all his might, smashing it against the head of the biggest boy. The boy fell, stunned. Baek Joong-hyuk didn’t stop. He kept hitting, again and again, until blood ran down the rock and onto the cave floor. The other children went silent, their eyes wide with fear and shock as they stared at Baek Joong-hyuk. In that moment, he became the king of the 12th Cave. His place was decided by blood and fear.

Baek Joong-hyuk had always lived by showing his strength, by facing danger head-on. He had survived so many threats. He believed that the Demonic Heavenly God was forged in hardship. He knew that if he hadn’t lived such a difficult, painful life, he would never have become who he was.

‘You can never be fully ready for anything,’ Baek Joong-hyuk thought, now Roman again. ‘You just have to face what’s in front of you and do your best to show who you are.’ His life had always been about being noticed, about being extraordinary. Could he suddenly become ordinary now? It was a ridiculous idea. His past had made him who he was. He was not meant for a normal life.

Roman. It was a new name, but it was him now. And Roman Dmitri, just like Baek Joong-hyuk, had no desire to hide. He would explain what had happened, but he would do it in his own way.

Remembering what Hans had told him about the Blood Fang, Roman gave his father an answer he thought would sound believable. He looked at Baron Romero and said calmly, “Actually, Father, I have been secretly training in swordsmanship.”

Baron Romero’s eyes widened. “Why would you hide this from me, Roman? If you had told me, I would have supported you completely!”

Roman lowered his gaze slightly, pretending to be humble. “I know, Father. But… after I was unwell for so long, after people started calling me ‘Dmitri’s Fool’, I lost my confidence. I couldn’t ask you for anything. I wanted to prove to myself, and to you, that I could achieve something on my own. So I trained in secret, and I managed to learn a little.”

It was a clever answer, vague enough to avoid revealing too much, but believable enough to satisfy his father, for now. It didn’t explain *how* he had defeated the Blood Fang, but it offered a possible reason for his sudden change.

“But how did you actually defeat them?” Baron Romero asked, leaning forward.

Roman explained, “I learned that the Blood Fang isn’t really a strong group. They are just held together by fear and money. A few leaders control everyone, but the rest don’t trust each other. Like a sandcastle, easy to knock down. I figured if I took out the leader, Ben Miles, the whole gang would fall apart. So, I tricked them, made them think I was an easy target, and then I attacked Ben Miles directly.”

“You lured Ben Miles?” Baron Romero asked, surprised.

“Yes,” Roman confirmed. “The Blood Fang, they are careful when dealing with powerful families. But they like to bully weaker people to look strong. And everyone thinks I’m weak, ‘Dmitri’s Fool’. So, I knew they would come after me. I used myself as bait. I made them spread out their men, thinking they were going to catch an easy target. Then, when they were distracted, I went straight for Ben Miles and defeated him.”

Baron Romero’s voice rose, filled with alarm. “That was incredibly dangerous, Roman! They could have killed you! If they didn’t care about Ben Miles, they could have just attacked you with everything they had!” His heart pounded in his chest. He imagined Roman facing that danger alone. His eyebrows furrowed, and a wave of fear washed over him.

Roman nodded calmly. “It was dangerous, Father, yes. But I planned for that too. I knew that if you noticed anything was happening, you would send the Dmitri Knights. And the Blood Fang would know that too. So, I asked myself, if I was one of them, would I risk my life to save Ben Miles when the Dmitri Knights might arrive at any moment? They are just a gang of cowards, Father. They only care about themselves. They wouldn’t risk everything for a leader who is already captured.”

This was close to the truth, but not quite. The real fight had been brutal. Roman hadn’t lured anyone. He had stormed into their hideout, a whirlwind of steel, cutting down anyone who stood in his way. He had found Ben Miles trying to flee and captured him. And yes, afterwards, the rest of the Blood Fang had scattered, abandoning their leader, just as Roman had predicted. His explanation was a mix of truth and clever lies, designed to sound reasonable and hide his true power.

“My son…” Baron Romero whispered, his voice thick with emotion. He was deeply touched. Roman, the son who had always been a disappointment, the son he thought was incapable of anything, had shown such intelligence, such planning. A wave of love and pride washed over him. He realized he had never truly given up on Roman. Even the harsh things he had done, the times he had been angry, even the slap he had given Roman once in frustration – it had all come from a place of wanting to help his son, of wanting him to be better.

“You have done wonderfully, Roman,” Baron Romero said, his voice full of pride. “You have achieved something incredible, something no one else in this region could do.” He was bursting with excitement, desperate to see this new Roman for himself.

“Roman,” he said, his eyes shining, “may I ask one more thing?”

“Of course, Father,” Roman replied.

“I want to see it for myself,” Baron Romero said eagerly. “I want to see this swordsmanship you’ve learned. Show me how you defeated the Blood Fang. Jonathan,” he called out to the Knight Commander, “prepare a sparring area, now!”

Jonathan bowed slightly. “At once, sir.” Baron Romero turned back to Roman, his face beaming. “I want to see my son, the swordsman.”

Roman nodded slowly. “I understand, Father.” He knew this was coming. This was the next step in his new life. And he was ready.