Chapter 43: My Sword is Faster Than the Eye
Chapter 43: My Sword is Faster Than the Eye
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was taken aback by her appearance. The Second Young Master hadn't mentioned that the Sword Venerable would be coming today.
“Welcome, Senior. Please, have a seat.”
The One Flower Sword Venerable seemed equally stunned to find the Blood Heaven Blade Demon there. She stood frozen, her expression hardening. As she looked ready to turn back at any moment, I spoke calmly.
“Today is Elder Blade Demon’s birthday. I was taught that one should offer congratulations on a birthday, no matter how much you might dislike the person.”
Perhaps unable to simply walk away after I put it like that, the One Flower Sword Venerable took a seat.
As soon as she joined us, the atmosphere turned frigid.
“Why did you ask me to come?” she asked.
It seemed she had interpreted my earlier suggestion to grab a drink at the Pungryu Tavern as an invitation for just the two of us.
“It’s a special day, so I called you here so we could celebrate together.”
“Next time, call me when you’re alone.”
As she moved to stand up, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon let out a sharp remark.
“Just what exactly is your problem?”
It was the moment his long-suppressed frustration finally boiled over. The One Flower Sword Venerable flared up and snapped back.
“What? What is my problem? Are you really asking because you don’t know?”
The sword of her emotions was drawn even faster than her literal blade.
“Yes, I’m asking because I don’t know! Just what are you so angry about?”
“You! It’s you!”
“What about me? What did I do so wrong? Back then—”
“Shut up! I said shut up!”
She grew tense, terrified that the details of what had happened between them would come to light. Her anger and anxiety were palpable.
“You are a selfish moron.”
“What did you say?”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon lunged to his feet.
“What, are you going to swing that ignorant blade of yours just like you always do? Go ahead, try it. Get drunk again and babble whatever you want!”
The Heaven Extermination Great Blade in the Blade Demon’s hand quivered.
I didn't try to stop them. I knew they wouldn't actually fight.
There was an ironclad rule among the Demon Lords: they never fought one another. They might argue, gossip, or engage in all sorts of internal strife, but they never engaged in a life-and-death duel. This was a survival principle they had maintained for a very long time, and it was the primary reason why the Eight Demon Lords still existed today.
“There is still some time before midnight, so please, calm yourselves.”
At that, the One Flower Sword Venerable raised her voice in a shrill tone.
“Second Young Master! What do you think you’re doing? How much do you look down on me to pull a stunt like this?”
It was the moment her composure, which she always maintained with such rigid etiquette, finally crumbled.
“Please, calm down.”
“I will not.”
“I will tell you why I invited you, Sword Venerable. To be honest, I need you, Senior. That is why I hoped the two of you would reconcile here today. I do not know what happened to make you hate each other so much, but—”
The One Flower Sword Venerable let out a long sigh, struggling to regain her usual demeanor.
“If a single drink could have reconciled us, why would our relationship have been this bad until now?”
“You meet and meet again until it’s resolved. You curse at each other, you pull each other's hair. You keep meeting and fighting until it’s settled.”
“Second Young Master, your greed is excessive. I told you clearly on the first day: I cannot walk the same path as the Blade Demon.”
“Then, Senior, are you confident you can make me the successor all on your own?”
“I am.”
“I cannot believe that. If the reason for your bad blood were professional, I would have known about it. However, no one in the Main Cult knows. It is likely because the reason is deeply personal. How can I stake my life on a senior who cannot cast aside personal feelings for the sake of the Great Cause?”
The One Flower Sword Venerable’s expression contorted. She looked as if she were about to pour out a torrent of words, but instead, she glared fiercely at me and the Blade Demon before turning on her heel and storming out.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon emptied his cup and stood up.
“Thanks for the 'congratulations,' you brat!”
Slam!
In the end, he smashed the table again before stomping out.
I placed the compensation for the table on the neighboring one and smiled at Jo Chun-bae, who was standing by the kitchen.
“I’ll have to fix that habit of breaking things first, won't I?”
Jo Chun-bae gave an awkward laugh and cracked a joke.
“At this rate, I think I’d make more money if I became a carpenter.”
I left the inn with a smile. I had expected things to turn out like this when the two of them met.
I have to keep dragging them out into the open. I have to pull out those buried emotions so they clash, curse, and fight. In doing so, I have to make them realize that the ancient resentment consuming them isn't actually that big of a deal when they look back on it.
I believe it’s possible. Both of them have lived far too long for it not to be.
Their reconciliation was something that required time, but the One Flower Sword Venerable didn't give me even a single day.
* * *
That night, I opened my eyes in the middle of my sleep.
It was the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Art that woke me. Sensing a presence from outside, I rose from my bed, strapped on the Black Demonic Sword, and went out.
The person who had woken me was standing in the middle of the courtyard. It was none other than the One Flower Sword Venerable.
“As I thought. Your skills are no ordinary feat.”
She seemed surprised that I had woken up, even though she hadn't projected any particular presence.
“I’m a light sleeper.”
“Second Young Master.”
“Yes, Senior.”
She spoke with her back turned to me.
“Because of you, ripples are forming on a quiet lake.”
Did that lake refer to the Main Cult? Or did it refer to her own heart?
“I am still young, so I admire a stormy sea more than a quiet lake.”
“You said this to me before, didn't you? That you despise those who try to win the hearts of their subordinates for free using things like dreams or ideals.”
“Yes.”
“I also have someone I despise.”
“What kind of person?”
“A person who is all talk but lacks the skill to back it up.”
“Am I such a person?”
“Shall we find out whether you are or not?”
The One Flower Sword Venerable slowly drew her sword while still facing away. It was a perfect draw. Even with her back turned, I couldn't sense a single opening.
Nevertheless, I spoke coldly to her.
“There is another type of person I dislike.”
“Who?” she asked without looking back.
“A person who is strong but lacks consideration. I despise those who use force to suppress others and manipulate relationships to their advantage. I hate seeing people hurt others with their impoverished imaginations.”
Demonic energy exploded from the Sword Venerable’s body.
“Shut up! I’ve been indulgent because you’ve been doing well, but your arrogance has gone too far.”
She turned toward me. A powerful, frost-like demonic energy was pouring from her eyes.
“What will you do if I win?”
Seeing her come to find me immediately after the conflict, I realized that the only way to make her mine was to suppress her with pure skill. In a situation where a single display of strength is more effective than a hundred political maneuvers, her relationship with the Blade Demon was a secondary issue.
For a moment, the Sword Venerable looked incredulous.
“Did you just say 'if you win'?”
“Yes.”
“If you defeat me, I will do whatever you wish. If you tell me to die, I will die.”
She staked her life. It was a confidence born of the belief that she could never lose.
“Very well.”
“What will you do if you lose?”
“I shall also do whatever you wish, Senior.”
“What I want is simple. Cut the Blade Demon out of your life.”
Her confidence was, in a way, natural. She prided herself on being the strongest in martial arts after my father.
“Are you not curious about what I want?”
“I’m not curious at all. It’s something I will never have to hear.”
I slowly drew the Black Demonic Sword.
“Then today, you shall learn what it is I desire.”
With our swords drawn, we stared at each other in silence.
I know well how fast a Demon Lord-level master is. You cannot block an attack by seeing it. If the instincts honed through training fail to function, you die. It’s the same reason why underlings die without being able to block my attacks. My sword is invisible to them.
Whoosh.
A gust of wind blew from somewhere, fluttering the Sword Venerable’s hair. She slightly twisted the tip of her lowered sword. That alone changed the entire pressure of the air.
This kind of tension—it had been a long time.
“Second Young Master, though I will not kill you, you should be careful. You might suffer internal injuries.”
If this had been a life-and-death battle against a mortal enemy, I would have cut off the opponent's breath and struck the moment they said "be careful." Since those words stem from a conceit that underestimates the opponent, that is the moment to strike.
Of course, since this wasn't a life-and-death battle, we had the leisure to converse calmly.
“Yes, I will be careful. However, my sword is the Black Demonic Sword, so your blade might be damaged, Senior.”
She ignored my concern and went a step further.
“I will grant you three free moves.”
In the past, seniors would grant juniors three moves. That was the way of the old-timers; nowadays, you can't find a senior who gives such leeway to a junior. In that regard, the Sword Venerable was a romantic.
“I accept your generosity. Well then, here I come.”
I was by no means overconfident, but I did hide one aspect of my skill. I intended to face her without using the Wind God Four Steps. One must always keep an ace up their sleeve. The One Flower Sword Venerable would surely be doing the same.
My strategy was this: Finish it within the three moves she granted.
I skipped the probing phase and immediately unleashed the Flying Heaven Sword Technique, which I had mastered to Great Achievement.
The First Form: Balanced Heaven Form was deployed.
Swish!
A streak of sword light looked as if it would bisect her horizontally, but—
Clang!
Blade met blade right in front of her chest. Her surprise was transmitted through the swords. The internal energy contained in my attack must have been far beyond what she expected; the sense of crisis one feels when meeting a true arch-nemesis must have made the hair on her body stand on end.
I immediately followed up with the second attack.
The Second Form: Changing Heaven Form scattered a brilliant display of sword light. The sword underwent twelve variations before her eyes, and the Sword Venerable retreated, parrying each strike.
However, on the ninth variation, she broke her promise.
Shhh!
Clang.
Her sword flew toward my chest, and I twisted my body, parrying the attack with the Black Demonic Sword.
The One Flower Sword Venerable had broken her promise to grant me three moves and had gone on the offensive. She had no choice. She couldn't block the continuous variations of the Changing Heaven Form with defense alone, so she had eventually substituted defense with an attack.
“Oh, dear.”
Just as the dismayed woman was about to offer some excuse—
I was already launching my third attack. This was the opportunity. Her state of mind was heavily shaken, and she was even trying to speak.
The Third Form: Profound Heaven Style flew forth.
Screeeech!
Clang!
Along with the sound of clashing steel, a single cry rang out—words that should never have come from the mouth of a Sword Venerable.
“Not the face!”
And then, silence.
My sword was stopped right in front of the One Flower Sword Venerable’s face. In truth, the sword had stopped before her cry. My sword was faster than her eyes.
On the other hand, her One Flower Sword had left her hand and was hovering in the air.
Our gazes followed the One Flower Sword together. The sword was falling to the ground in a parabolic arc. Perhaps the One Flower Sword Venerable wished it would never hit the ground.
Thud.
The One Flower Sword pierced the earth. The quivering blade and its pure white hilt made it look as if a white flag were waving.
The One Flower Sword Venerable, who had been staring blankly at the sight, slowly turned her gaze toward me. Her eyes looked as if she couldn't believe this situation at all.
I sincerely hoped.
I hoped her first words would be a string of curses. I hoped a single stone would crumble from the dam of nobility she had built so firmly. So that through that hole, I might catch a glimpse of her wounds...