It may not have been intentional on her part.
Hell, it might have even been a coincidence.
But Peter Parker thought otherwise when the super hottie new girl gazed at the class.
Her eyes—like dripping molten gold, the rarest amber color he had ever seen—felt spectrally intrusive. But not in a bad way.
Like she could see through him, cut through his nerdy outlook and expose who he truly was.
Honestly, all of that didn't matter. His teenage hormones were restless. He was still a hot-blooded teenager.
Beyond the hormonal mess, his spider sense went ballistic.
The tingle could never be wrong.
Her almost apathetic but serene gaze carried a predator's lethality, in a primal sense.
It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
Instinctively, Peter knew he was prey. Beyond the tingles he was getting, she was a scientific impossibility.
Unless she wasn't human. Still, Spidey sense couldn't have been wrong.
Seol Hwa was very dangerous.
But the biggest mystery was: how dangerous was she? What was her true identity?
Shaking his head, Peter decided to concentrate on the biology class.
He tried to, but the distant aching throb at his left rib thought otherwise.
'Fuck,' he cursed inwardly, his right hand slowly hovering over his left side.
That was just one of the consequences of juggling between two lives.
Spider-man had it physically rough when dealing with some annoying supervillains.
The current injury was courtesy of "The Scorpion".
Gwen noticed the almost imperceptible discomfort written on Peter's face through the corners of her eyes.
She chose to ignore it.
After all, most of her attention was currently being divided between the ongoing class and Seol Hwa.
The rest of the class didn't know that she already knew Seol Hwa.
It gave her some vague sense of advantage over them.
They were now friends.
They didn't know about the intimate situation she shared this morning with Seol Hwa.
'They can only look at her from afar. But I'm different hehe,' Gwen thought while subconsciously biting the endpoint of her pen.
'Damn, I need to concentrate, or Mr. Dawson will call me out.'
'Good god, how the hell does she make studying hot?' Gwen stole a quick glance at Seol Hwa before adjusting her posture.
While Gwen or Peter could temporarily resist stealing glances at Seol Hwa, the same couldn't be said for other classmates.
They struggled to keep their attention on Mr. Dawson.
How could they when a goddess was casually in the same room as them?
As for Seol Hwa, she really didn't care about their thoughts.
She cared more about the cellular biology Mr. Dawson was teaching.
She had learned the body's anatomy through the introductory medical scriptures authored by the Healing Immortal Maiden, Jeonghwa.
Jeonghwa was the greatest physician Seol Hwa had ever known, with deep knowledge about the human body.
The understanding of cellular structures in Murim lagged far behind that of the present world.
'This is only due to differences in civilization advancement. Jeonghwa would probably go crazy if she learned about the mitochondria.' Seol Hwa mused as she scribbled some notes.
'My spiritual essence has risen by 4%, huh?' she shifted her focus to the absorbed spiritual qi circulating through her meridians, constantly being refined.
Parallel Processing was just a side benefit of the [Mind-Demon Divine Thought Technique].
She could easily listen to the teacher, passively cultivate or do other things simultaneously with maximum efficiency.
If she wanted to perfectly make use of her time, then multi-tasking was a no-brainer.
[Mind-Demon Divine Thought Technique] boosted cognitive functions to 200%, increased neural activation, granted its user photographic memory and other positive mind-related benefits like parallel processing.
To be a Mind-Demon was to have complete control over your own mind, becoming a master of the consciousness.
Anyway, Seol Hwa found it easy to acclimatize to the modern education system.
It didn't take long before she shuffled through a couple of lessons like Biology, AP Physics and Mathematics.
That meant moving through classrooms and the brats constantly sizing her up.
Soon, lunch break arrived.
The first step she took into the cafeteria, Seol Hwa amusedly thought she was venturing into a marketplace.
It was chaotically noisy with hundreds of students scattered across the large room.
Some were holding conversations in groups, some sat alone, some just…existed.
'There's a hierarchy even among these younglings, huh?' she thought as she made her way to the serving area.
Yet again, every head turned to look at her.
Then, the noise gradually went down until there was only pin-drop silence.
Someone mistimed their spoon and dropped their food.
An absent-minded boy tripped and dropped his food tray, momentarily breaking the silence. However, no one paid him any attention.
By pure instinct, the students on her path gave way as if she was parting the Red Sea.
Seol Hwa calmly walked like royalty, immaculate and dignified.
No one objected to her cutting in line for they had willingly given her passage.
She picked something she was familiar with, steamed vegetables, and the meatloaf, since it had "meat" in the name.
She made a mental note to update her culinary repertoire.
'What the fuck is a hotdog anyway? A dog that's steamed? A hot dog?' she contemplated lightly as she scanned for a place to sit.
"Seol, here. Come sit with me!" A loud, excited voice cut through the stillness in the cafeteria.
Seol Hwa spotted the zealous friend, Gwen.
The moment she sat opposite Gwen at the table, the cafeteria returned to normal.
Though the noises were now much controlled.
"You can't help being the center of attention, can you?" Gwen cutely pouted, her pretty face brightening.
Seol Hwa shrugged. "This is nothing to a Heavenly Demon."
"Heavenly Demon?" Gwen raised a brow at the cringey name; however, it felt grand coming from Seol Hwa's mouth.
"What's a Heavenly Demon?" she curiously asked.
Seol Hwa realized she had let her tongue slip.
She wanted to brush it off, but Gwen Stacy was looking at her like an innocent pup.
"It's a title for the most powerful being," Seol Hwa said blandly, not expecting Gwen to believe such nonsense.
She wasn't spewing falsehoods, at least. She was formerly the strongest expert under the heavens.
"Alrighty, queen." Gwen rolled her eyes, subtly smiling. Of course, she didn't believe her.
'It seems there's also a silly Seol Hwa. How cute.' She thought.
"So…how was your first day? How were the classes?" Gwen asked, deciding to dismiss the "Heavenly Demon" thingy.
"Classes, huh?" Seol Hwa tilted her head as if thinking.
The simple action made Gwen's heart race.
"It was interesting. I want to learn more," Seol Hwa replied, her eyes burning with genuine avidity.
She then took a small bite from the meatloaf.
"Is the meatloaf supposed to taste like this?" A deep frown marred her beautiful features as she chewed.
"Huh? How is it supposed to taste?" Gwen inquired, puzzled by Seol Hwa's change in expression.
'Is the meatloaf badly cooked?' She casually took the half-eaten meatloaf and took a bite.
Seol Hwa squinted her eyes. She hadn't expected Gwen to dare eat her food.
'Just how unrestrained can she get?' An illusory image of an extremely beautiful, pink-haired woman overlapped with Gwen's form.
Seol Hwa faintly smiled as some fond memories resurfaced. 'I see.'
'Only that insufferable hag, Plum Blossom Sword Empress, dared eating from my plate.'
'I wonder if Heaven's Will patched the damage done to the universe. Did those three survive?'
"The meatloaf definitely tastes like…" Gwen finally said after swallowing.
"…like shit," Seol Hwa interjected, her appetite already extinguished.
Anyway, with the spiritual essence currently sustaining her, she could go weeks without food.
Eating mortal food was something she loved doing. She had developed an exquisite tongue only meant for the finest delicacies or something cooked by herself.
"I expected something like that from you. You are so direct," Gwen laughed.
"I cook better food than this," Seol Hwa stated proudly.
"Really? You can cook?" Gwen set her fork down, surprise and disbelief covering her face. "You don't look the part. You know royalty and all."
"If I say I have the best culinary skills in the world, you won't believe me," Seol Hwa smiled.
"I believe you," Gwen instantly replied.
"You believe me? That easily?" Seol Hwa asked in slight astonishment.
"Yes, because you'll be cooking for me soon. I'll be the judge of that." Gwen smirked confidently as if she had been hoping for such an opportunity to present itself.
There was no way she was wasting a chance to spend time with such an absolute bombshell.
She wanted to know more about Seol Hwa, peel back all the petals of her mystery.
'So, will it be a cooking date? Food date? What am I even thinking?' Gwen shook the thoughts off her head.
She was getting ahead of herself.
"Cook for you? Such audacity. I don't mind cooking for a friend." Seol Hwa calmly accepted the challenge.
It was, in fact, not really a challenge.
More like Seol Hwa indulging her new friend.
It was then that someone decided to disturb their peaceful moment.
"Hey, new girl!" A deep voice cut through the cafeteria's noise.
A huge, broad-shouldered boy in a jock jacket approached the two, swaggering like he owned the damn world.
He had a square jawline, thick neck and was mildly attractive. The standard features of a typical football golden boy.
He was the local tyrant, Flash Thompson. Following behind him were his cronies.
Gwen stared daggers at Flash, pure venom in her blue eyes.
If looks could kill, Flash would have already met Mephisto or Hades or whatever underworld deity that fancied his soul.
"Flash, what do you want? Just return to where you came from!" Gwen spat a warning immediately.
"Wow, Gwen. Take it easy. I didn't come for war. Just wanted to talk to our new friend here," Flash smirked arrogantly and ignored Gwen.
The background cronies whistled and laughed.
Flash then leaned on the table and looked at Seol Hwa.
"I'm Flash Thompson, the one who calls the shots around this area."
"I'm also the captain of my team, the best player there is, with hopes of hitting the major leagues." He boasted some more, his followers nodding their heads in confirmation.
"Am I supposed to care?" Seol Hwa replied flatly.
Several students reacted animatedly to that "burn".
Snickers and laughter spread, but when Flash scanned his eyes for the culprits the sounds disappeared.
Flash clenched his hand, determined not to give up.
"I have a party. I would like you to come," he said.
"Oh, Flash fucking Thompson, can't you see she's just not interested? Get a move on!" Gwen stood up and said in a steely voice.
"Can you—?" Flash started but Gwen cut him off again.
"Save it, Flash. Do you remember who my dad is? I can pull up at his station later for some 'de-briefing'?" Gwen's voice was dangerously low.
"You don't wanna ruin your shots at the major leagues, do you?"
Flash looked at Gwen with a contemplative expression and then finally at Seol Hwa, before leaning back.
"Let's go," he muttered to his cronies before leaving, tail between his legs.
Gwen harrumphed, glaring at their backs until they disappeared.
It was only then that she took her seat.
"You bared your fangs quite nicely," Seol Hwa, who had been silent during the whole skirmish, commented.
"That's one of the perks of being around me." Gwen repeatedly jabbed her thumb into her chest with pride, her head comically tilted up. "My protection is a guaranteed benefit. I also happen to know how to deal with people like Flash."
"You are too nice, so someone has to back you up."
"Nice? Too nice?" A genuine laugh escaped Seol Hwa's lips.
If the Divine Sovereigns and the whole of Murim heard what Gwen had said, they would probably suffer Qi deviation.
Because it was a false evaluation to impose on the Bloodborne Devil Empress.
"Do you know what I considered when he addressed me as 'you'?"
"Tell me," Gwen nodded for her to continue.
"I was going to dismantle his arm off his body if you hadn't been so chivalrous," Seol Hwa explained in a chilling tone.
Gwen felt a sudden drop in the temperature, her eyes wide with shock. "W-What?"
"Are you serious, Seol?"
"I have never joked when it came to dealing with my opponents."
Gwen stared at the terrifying Seol Hwa.
"I never knew you could be so…badass."
"The reason why I didn't go along with it was because of you. And partially because I didn't want to cause trouble for my mother," Seol Hwa said honestly.
"Aww, now I know you were mad serious," Gwen placed her hands on her mouth, hiding half of her face.
Her eyes were slightly teary.
She felt touched that Seol Hwa had taken her into consideration.
But the scary part of it all was Seol Hwa's supreme confidence.
There had been no room for doubt in her tone.
'Where did she get the confidence from? Maybe she's studied how to fight?' Gwen analyzed but couldn't be conclusive.
Seol Hwa seemed to have a way to always keep you guessing.
"You are weird, you know that?" Gwen grinned widely.
"The same applies to you," Seol Hwa countered, a grin plastered on her face.
"You are way weirder," Gwen added.
"I know."
"Here take my veggies," Gwen suddenly offered her tray.
"Never," Seol Hwa gently refused and pushed the tray back. "Thanks."
Suddenly, a redhead in a white shirt and a pair of blue jeans arrived, carrying her food.
She was followed by an average brown-haired boy.
"Um, is it okay if we sit together with you, Gwen?" Mary Jane tentatively asked, her eyes lingering on Seol Hwa.
She was familiar with Gwen, but not Seol Hwa.
Gwen looked at Seol Hwa as if looking for an answer.
"You may sit," Seol Hwa replied as if giving permission.
"I'm Mary Jane Watson. You can call me MJ," Mary Jane politely introduced herself as she sat beside Seol Hwa.
"Hmm," Seol Hwa calmly nodded in recognition.
Peter uncomfortably sat next to Gwen, a bit fidgety.
"Um, I…I am Peter Parker, the science guy," he stuttered nervously, failing to meet Seol Hwa's gaze.
"Are you a body cultivator?" Seol Hwa suddenly asked, her eyes trying to decipher Peter.
"Huh?" All three had dubious expressions on their faces.
Gwen was less surprised since she knew Seol Hwa was, well, different.
"I-I don't know what you mean by 'body cultivator'?" Peter found the courage to ask, briefly looking at Seol Hwa before looking away.
"Hmm, nothing," Seol Hwa said flatly, not bothering to explain.
'He's certainly unique. Like some rare insect those Tang Clan bastards liked to breed. And that injury on his left, lower ribs…' she pondered and left it at that.
Peter nervously laughed before stopping when he felt three pairs of eyes looking at him.
'That was awkward,' he thought in embarrassment, wishing the ground could just gobble him up.
"So, where are you from, Seol Hwa? How do you know Gwen?" MJ curiously asked, undeterred by the recent awkward moment.
"MJ!" Gwen glared at Mary Jane, a pink hue coloring her cheeks.
"What?" MJ innocently shot back, a shameless grin on her lips.
Seol Hwa casually watched the ensuing banter with the boy occasionally intervening unsuccessfully.
Though she had lost all her comprehended laws, her experienced eyes could still see what others couldn't.
Those three seemed to be connected by invisible links of destiny.
The boy named Parker had unusual threads, slightly ominous.
'Maybe that's why they get along so much. Youth, huh?' Seol Hwa sighed internally.
While she was lost in her thoughts, Seol Hwa's facial expression briefly shifted before returning to normal.
'Interesting.' Her gaze hardened.
Someone just tried to probe her mind.
The one behind the psychic probes was not trying to be subtle. Like they were already used to such audacity.
'It is a pity they just had to try a telepathic probe on the Heavenly Demon.'
'Why knock on a door that's impossible to open?'
The mortal behind the probes seemed to be overly curious about her after failing to read her surface thoughts.
How can she hope to breach impenetrable mental walls set up via [Mind-Demon Divine Thought Technique]?
Let alone the mind forged by an everlasting demonic will?
Seol Hwa smirked. 'Since you want to know me, I'll play with you a bit.'
She allowed the perpetrator to enter her mind.
To enter Hell.
***
Jean Grey couldn't anticipate how things escalated so fast.
Just when she had been about to give up her probing on the mysterious girl, she suddenly found a vulnerability on the nearly unbreakable psychic walls.
Her overwhelming curiosity overruled the possibility of it being bait.
After all, she was pretty confident in her own psychic talent.
She had never failed to enter any mind unless it was Eric with his annoying helmet.
The place Jean found herself in was not a mind.
It wasn't even structurally human.
It was like a world.
How?
She could create her own mind space but this…this was beyond her level.
The sky was crimson red, seemingly stretching to infinity.
And then there was blood. A blood sea that hinged on insanity and cosmic horror.
Jean tried to speak but her voice didn't obey her.
She sensed an unseen hand gently massaging her heart.
It was fear.
And that was not all.
Her psychic body was pulled towards the center, infinite distance crossed instantly.
In the center of the crimson world, a terrifyingly transcendent figure sat cross-legged.
It was a woman dressed in white pristine robes. Her perfect skin glowed with divinity, and she radiated the regality of an existence that shouldn't be looked upon.
She was a taboo.
Slowly, her eyes opened.
Indescribably gorgeous, silvery eyes locked Jean in place.
Jean couldn't move even if she wanted to.
The rules in this world were not hers to command for the existence before was the Bloodborne Devil Empress, the usurper of the heavenly rules.
The One who fought Heaven's Will.
The Slaughterer of the Disillusioned.
The Tainted Queen of the Ultimate Demonic Dao.
Eight hundred years of mental apotheosis coalesced into one being. Seol Hwa's mind.
The Bloodborne Devil Empress didn't have to do anything drastic.
She only smiled and through the smile the blood sea churned and revealed the souls of the dead.
Not the real souls but the marks of their extinction.
Jean saw slaughter and madness she had never witnessed, not since birth and even after awakening her mutant powers.
She totally regretted the conceit that she could rawdog any mind she encountered.
Her psychic consciousness was going to collapse to oblivion if she continued seeing the chaos.
Jean knew she was royally fucked.
And being rendered existentially catatonic was the last thing she wanted.
It was then that a cold voice reached her, surrounding every fiber of her being.
"Know your place, mortal."
"I don't offer second chances."
After those words, she was ejected from that treacherous mind world.
---<>---
"Haaa, haaa, haaa," Jean gasped for breath, her slender, shaking hand clutching her neck.
Her head was intact.
She had returned to reality. Alive.
Multiple beads of cold sweat rolled down her temples.
She removed her hand from her neck and placed it against her rapid heartbeat.
She no longer felt those unseen hands that could squeeze her heart.
"Jean? Are you alright?" Kitty Pryde asked, her brows creased with concern as she gently patted Jean's back.
"You look deathly pale as if you have seen a ghost."
Jean tried to form coherent words but failed. The dread was still there.
She searched the cafeteria.
Her green eyes inevitably met with amused amber eyes.
She immediately turned her gaze.
'That was terrifying.'
"Jean, what's the problem? I can—" a boy with dark spectacles said anxiously, but Jean cut him off.
"I'm fine, Scott. I'm okay. It's just a slight headache," she replied with feigned bravery.
She was scared.
'There will be no second chances!' The words repeatedly echoed in her mind.
Jean Grey blankly stared at her food.
The reflection on the silver tray was not her face but…
Enchanting silvery eyes.
---<>---
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