277. Qualifications of a Master (1)
What the hell.
I fumbled at the object that had inexplicably ended up in my hand.
Torn, tough wrapping paper, a rectangular shape, a familiar form.
"......Wh-why in the world is this...?"
My head was hazy and sluggish.
But I could at least recognize that the thing now grasped in my hand was a calorie bar.
The snack Master always used as a meal replacement.
A calorie bar, called the pinnacle of food engineering—designed so a single bar could cover several days' worth of calories.
Rustle. Rustle.
I immediately tore off the wrapper and brought it to my mouth.
Chew. Chew.
I worked my stiff tongue and jaw joints diligently, struggling to chew.
It was a food product created for the sole purpose of supplying calories.
The dry, choking texture that absorbed every last bit of moisture in my mouth was abysmal,
and the musty cheese flavor on the tip of my tongue was nothing you could call good, either.
But, in this moment.
It felt as if no delicacy in the world could ever compare.
A rapturous sensation, like fireworks bursting inside my head.
"Cough—!"
A sudden cough erupted, and I nearly spat out everything in my mouth, but I clamped my lips shut and averted disaster.
Every last crumb was my lifeline.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
For a long while I lay with my mouth open toward the ceiling, catching the falling droplets and swallowing.
Gulp.
Once the thirst and hunger had faded to some degree,
I felt my hazy mind slowly begin to return.
"Haah......."
I had been lying there with my eyes closed for a long time. I let out a long sigh of relief.
I genuinely thought I was about to depart from this world for good.
"This is....... Did the Sword Emperor give this to me?"
I turned the calorie bar wrapper over in my hands and muttered to myself.
I'd die before I'd say thank you, but just as I was about to concede that the Sword Emperor might actually have a conscience—
something felt off.
Slip—
A strangely sticky sensation had brushed over the wrapper.
'......Is this blood?'
Sniff. Sniff. Sniff.
I went so far as to press the wrapper right under my nose and inhale.
My nose, sharpened by prolonged starvation, managed to catch a familiar scent within the blood smell.
The rank tang of iron, and beneath it, a faint personal fragrance.
"Master......? Did you give me this, Master?"
And then, one after another,
the text messages I had exchanged with Master before entering this place surfaced in my mind.
The reply that had come back before I'd even sent my message, almost as if she'd predicted it.
And even that strange reply when I'd told her that the Sword Emperor wanted to take me as her disciple.
The calorie bar.
We had talked about that too.
'Was she watching over me? No—is Master here in this place?'
All sorts of hypotheses raced through my head.
Had Master thrown this to me to save me?
If so, why hadn't she shown herself?
Honestly, I still didn't understand what was going on.
But, judging by the blood smeared on this calorie bar wrapper,
I couldn't say that Master was in good condition right now.
'Don't tell me... she's trapped in here with me?'
I couldn't be certain.
But the thought struck me all at once.
'Then Master wouldn't have been able to eat either, would she?'
Worry flooded in.
Master was always a strong person, but she was still human in the end.
And in this place, hadn't our physical abilities and Mana completely vanished?
I stretched out my hand and began scouring the floor to find Master.
A cold floor radiating chill.
Damp moisture where droplets had fallen.
As I kept groping along the floor and walls, I soon found one strange spot.
A hard, alien texture—clearly not the same as the wall.
A repulsive force, as if something was blocking the space between me and the other side.
I knew it by instinct.
That Master was right here, right now.
"Master! Master! Can you hear me!?"
Thud. Thud. Thud.
I pounded on that hard wall and shouted.
"Master! Are you okay!?"
Thud. Thud. Thud.
"If you're okay, just knock on the wall—anything!"
Thud. Thud. Thud.
But only my own voice echoed inside the pit. Not a single sound came back.
Stagger. Stagger.
I slowly got to my feet.
My muscles were stiff and my joints creaked—I hadn't been able to use my body properly all this time.
Shing—
I drew Moonlight from my waist.
A sword I had held every single day, and yet now it felt impossibly heavy.
My arms trembled, unable to bear the weight.
Even so, I clenched my teeth and raised the sword with both hands.
I still didn't know.
What the Sword Emperor was even trying to teach me with bullshit training like this.
Trapped in darkness, enduring agonizing hunger and solitude.
What meaning could any of this possibly have?
So.
"You'd better show me......."
I spat it out in a bleak, sunken voice.
Because if you don't,
I will never be able to forgive the Sword Emperor.
Moon Shadow Sword Technique.
A blue gleam kindled in my eyes.
'......!'
A changed landscape filled my vision.
Threads of possibility, ceaselessly moving and shifting.
What had once been hundreds of lines now branched out as if multiplying, filling everything before my eyes.
It looked as if everything in the world was connected by thread.
On top of that,
if there was one thing that had clearly changed from before,
it was that the threads of possibility were now colored.
The blocked-off space was thick with pitch-black lines stretching outward.
In dark hues that seemed to reflect death, pain, and despair.
And through them.
A single thread shining pure white stretched out.
Wobble.
Wobble.
With my pathetic, unsteady movements,
I put every last ounce of strength into it.
And swung my sword toward that pure white thread.
The blade slipped through a tiny gap and lodged there.
In that moment,
Crash—!!!
Along with the sound of something shattering,
the surroundings that had been stained pitch-black came into view.
And there, collapsed and covered in blood, was Master.
"Master!!!"
I flung myself toward Master.
Above, the Sword Emperor had pried open the ceiling and was staring down at us, her face caught in pure shock.
* * *
"Mmm......."
Baek Seol-hee's brow twitched.
For some reason, she felt languid.
The soft touch of a plush pillow grazed her cheek.
How long had it been since she'd felt this at ease? Ever since she'd begun operating with the Demonized Human Extermination Squad.
Her days had been an unbroken chain of tension, where not even a moment's carelessness was permitted.
It was a little strange that she somehow seemed to be hugging something hard, but.......
'What......?'
In that instant, a scene flickered through Baek Seol-hee's mind.
The light of life fading from her disciple's eyes,
his gaunt face as he lay dying.
And her own powerlessness.
- Master, please save me.......
Flash!
Baek Seol-hee's eyes flew open.
"......?"
And then her eyes went round.
Because, close enough that she could feel his breath, her disciple lay there with his eyes closed.
Hee-haw. Hee-haw.
Jin Yu-ha's face, sound asleep.
His peaceful expression as he breathed made everything that had happened feel like a lie.
'Is this a dream......?'
It didn't feel real.
She couldn't tell if this was reality or yet another nightmare.
Baek Seol-hee reached out a trembling hand toward Jin Yu-ha's face.
Even as her fingertips approached his cheek, she couldn't be sure this situation was real.
Poke.
Her fingertip pressed into Jin Yu-ha's cheek.
'His face has grown so thin.'
Sunken cheeks and a pallid complexion.
His long eyelashes only accentuated that pitiful atmosphere.
It was as if all the pain and hardship he had endured remained carved into his face.
But.
Even so.
Nevertheless.
He was alive.
He was alive.
He was breathing.
That single fact alone was enough to make Baek Seol-hee's heart swell to bursting.
She went on stroking Jin Yu-ha's face, tender and sorrowful.
Warmth traveled through her hand.
Feeling his warmth, Baek Seol-hee couldn't contain the emotions welling up inside her.
Tears streamed down from her eyes.
Had she always been the kind of person who could shed tears like this?
"Hnk....... Thank you....... Thank you....... Thank you......."
She didn't know to whom these thanks were directed, but Baek Seol-hee kept voicing her gratitude over and over.
That was when.
"Mmm......."
Jin Yu-ha's eyes opened halfway.
A drowsy look, as if he hadn't fully woken yet.
He gazed at her blankly, then smiled a languid smile.
"Ah, it's Master."
A low voice, still husky with sleep.
That voice was thick with relief and warmth.
"Master, why are you crying. Don't cry......."
Squeeze.
His arms wrapped firmly around Baek Seol-hee's back. As if he never wanted to let go.
"Thank you....... Thank you, Master......."
Her disciple mumbled those words and then sank back into the depths of sleep.
His breathing steadied into a regular rhythm again.
And Baek Seol-hee, held in her disciple's arms,
froze for a moment before reaching out and slowly stroking Jin Yu-ha's back.
That was when she felt a gaze on her.
She rolled her eyes.
"......."
Leaning against the doorframe, puffing leisurely on a cigarette, was the Sword Emperor.
"......Monster runt. How's your body holding up."
Baek Seol-hee's face flushed tomato-red.