Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: A Forging Persona
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All Blood Demons are beings born of deficiency.
They each have something they desire so desperately that they are willing to give up their humanity for it.
Power, strength, money, love, faith, freedom.
Whatever it was, they lived lives where the precious values of humanity were stripped away from them.
When that loss reached its peak, a monster began to grow in their hearts. And just as the line between human and monster blurred, the Blood Cult would appear to grant their wishes.
A boy who wished to avenge his family.
A loner who wanted to escape a life of slavery and attain true freedom.
A man who became greed itself to win the one he loved.
A mother who forsook her humanity to save her dying child.
A woman who sought to quell the anxiety in her heart to meet crushing expectations and scrutiny.
A fanatic who offered the world as a sacrifice to protect their own beliefs.
Among them, those who had their human values uniquely ravaged and felt a deep disillusionment with the world would cast off their mortal lives and walk the path of suffering known as the "Six Paths."
They would gain the power to achieve what they desired, only to be placed in a situation where they could not, or where it was already too late.
And the Six Paths Blood Demon that Unmyeong and the Soul-Severing Sword had met was the mother who had given up everything for her dying son.
While other Blood Demons sought to increase their own power and extend their lives, she had used her strength to save her dying son.
The desperation of a mother who sacrificed everything to save her only child.
The Soul-Severing Sword absorbed not only the Asura Path's life force, but also that desperation.
A Blood Demon's power is the very manifestation of their unyielding will, born from their deficiencies.
The will to save someone, to bring back one who had already left this world—that was the will the Soul-Severing Sword inherited.
***
-Clatter-
That night, Unmyeong unexpectedly visited the "Haunted Blacksmith's" workshop and placed two bundles on the table.
Feeling their hefty weight, the Blacksmith, his face flush with anticipation, slowly untied the bundles.
"Oh, ooh..."
Inside were a lump of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron and the inner core of some unknown creature.
"I've brought the materials as you asked. The amount of cold iron we can take out is limited, so I couldn't bring much, but this should be enough."
"Yes, of course. This is more than enough!"
He didn't know how much more there was, but this was enough to forge three or four standard swords with some left over.
"And the inner cores. These two are from a Human-Faced Spider and a Two-Headed Serpent that lived near Mount Cheon. They may not be on the level of a lesser dragon, but they should suffice as a temporary measure."
"A Human-Faced Spider and a Two-Headed Serpent?"
A giant spider with a human-like face and a venomous snake with two heads.
They were both mythical beasts that only appeared in legends.
'Did he hunt down beasts like that in a single day?'
"They were in the treasure vault."
"Ah, I see. Yes."
Even for the Sword Demon, finding and killing two spiritual beasts in a single day was a tall order.
The fight itself wasn't the issue; it was the time it took to locate their habitats.
No matter how skilled in combat he was, it was impossible for the Sword Demon to find the lairs of spiritual beasts that were deliberately hiding in just one day.
"So, is it possible?"
The Blacksmith hadn't expected to receive any inner cores at all, so getting them so suddenly put him in a good mood. He nodded and replied.
"Of course. With this, there should be no problem re-forging a vessel to contain the will."
Hearing the Blacksmith's positive response, the anxiety on Unmyeong's face instantly brightened.
"As expected, you're the only one I can count on, Blacksmith! With your skills, I'm sure you can do it!"
Unmyeong's sudden cheerfulness made the Blacksmith give a slightly awkward smile.
"Haha, yes. Well then, I'll get to work right away. You can probably come back tomorrow."
"I understand! Please, I'm begging you, bring her back to life!"
Unmyeong gripped the Blacksmith's hands tightly, his eyes filled with anticipation, before bidding farewell and leaving the forge.
Left alone in the workshop, the Blacksmith waited until Unmyeong was completely out of sight, then looked down at the materials and broke into a wide grin.
"Aha! This is why I catfish people! Who knew it would bring in such a haul?! Hahahaha!"
As he was laughing to himself, someone quietly asked from behind him.
"What's 'catfishing'?"
"Catfishing is... um. Ah."
The Blacksmith felt a sudden chill run down his spine.
'W-Wait, wasn't I alone?'
He slowly, creakily, turned his head.
There stood Hyeon-a, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.
Meeting the Blacksmith's anxious gaze, Hyeon-a's voice turned sly, like a predator that had found its prey.
"What is this 'catfishing' that has the great Sword Demon so completely wrapped around your finger? Huh? Won't you tell me?"
"Uh... um. Well. Can we talk about this later?"
The Blacksmith's body moved as stiffly as a rusty machine.
Seeing this, Hyeon-a's playful mood only grew. The corners of her mouth curled up as she spoke in a suggestive tone.
"If you don't tell me, I'm going to be a... *little*... troublesome. You okay with that?"
Hyeon-a licked her lips and slid a hand onto the Blacksmith's shoulder.
Then she slowly grabbed his cheek and began to stretch it.
"You getting all flustered like this... you're doing it on purpose to provoke me, aren't you?"
"Hyeon-a, I'm a bit tired today. Can we talk about this tomorrow?"
An unmistakable note of panic crept into the Blacksmith's voice.
"Are you sure you want to talk tomorrow? Really? If we talk tomorrow, it won't be in the forge, you know?"
The Blacksmith instantly understood his predicament.
He was caught, hook, line, and sinker, by this sly vixen.
A day later.
-Clatter-
Early in the morning, not long after sunrise, the Sword Demon returned to the haunted forge.
"Blacksmith! I'm here! How is she?"
"Ah, yes. The work is all finished."
"Ooh! Already?!"
Unmyeong examined the completed demon sword.
Outwardly, there wasn't much difference, but the murky quality in the area of the red eye was gone, and the surface was a bit smoother.
"The will might awaken on its own after some time. If not, it might awaken when it absorbs something with dense life force and power, like the core of a spiritual beast. Well, this is a first for me, so I'm not entirely sure."
Seeing the dark circles under the explaining Blacksmith's eyes, Unmyeong assumed he had toiled all night to revive the demon sword. His eyes filled with emotion as he slowly spoke.
"Blacksmith. This help you've given me... I will never forget it."
"Ah, yes..."
His voice sounded as if all his energy had been sucked out of him, but Unmyeong was too focused on the fact that the demon sword could be revived to notice.
"Well then, I'll be on my way. Thank you again. I will be sure to remember today's favor."
With those words, Unmyeong left the forge.
Clutching the Soul-Severing Sword, Unmyeong headed straight for a nearby pond.
Looking at the water's surface always brought back memories of the conversations he'd had with the demon sword.
"Did I not tell you? I can never give up on you."
But no answer came back.
Still, he spoke, the demon sword resting beside him.
"As you said, I have never truly grown up. I could not escape the deficiencies of my childhood."
He had hidden his inner self from others his entire life.
Because even though the exterior was fine, a frightened child cowered within.
"But it was you who guided that person toward true adulthood. It was you, and you alone, who called me from my dreams into reality."
And so, under the bright sun, he spoke to the demon sword with a gentle smile.
"So wait for me. I, too, will pull you from your nightmare."
Unmyeong's hair fluttered in the wind, revealing his bright face.
"When that time comes, I hope we can speak face to face."
***
The blue night sky flows by.
Where am I?
I lie in a grassy field, gazing up at the dark yet brightly shining heavens.
"I am..."
A story is written upon a sheet of white paper.
The daughter of a betrayed general.
A rising star of the Unorthodox Faction.
One who rages after losing her parents to the Blood Cult.
The soul of a revenger, trapped within a demon sword.
And a tool that made a spectacular exit as the Sword Demon's blade.
A hazy but brief story.
Yet, it is enough for a single being to be completed.
The powerful obsession and desperation of the Asura Path seeped into that unrefined ego, and her eyes grew clearer and clearer.
But her ego was not yet complete.
All beings must have a name.
She did not yet have a name to define herself.
"Who am I?"
She began to ponder deeply, to explore the meaning and value of her own existence.
An attempt to perceive her own being, to understand her thoughts and feelings.
Though she was created by a mischievous prankster, she still sought to be forged into a human.
***
"A sword with a will?"
Hyeon-a looked at me with a surprised expression.
"Is that really possible?"
"That sword the Sword Demon took. That's it."
"Wow..."
Hyeon-a marveled for a moment, then her signature mischievous expression returned.
"So, you're saying you seduced the Sword Demon by pretending to be a girl, just like you said yesterday?"
"No, I didn't! I never seduced the Sword Demon!"
"Really? But from the way you tell it, it sounds like you were blatantly hitting on him. Why do you play with people's hearts?"
"When did I ever?!"
I thumped my chest in frustration.
"I helped him advance his realm! I gave him the demon sword for free! I healed his childhood trauma! I did everything! What's the problem?!"
Hyeon-a narrowed her eyes.
"As expected of the Haunted Blacksmith! Not a shred of human emotion! A wicked fiend incapable of the slightest empathy!"
"..."
I gave up, realizing that arguing any further would only lead to more teasing.
"Fine. Fine. I get it. I need to start my next project, so you can go."
"Hmm, it feels like a waste to just leave."
"What's a waste? Go on, get out!"
Hyeon-a pushed her face, full of anticipation, toward me.
"Are you going to keep playing with that demon sword exclusively on Mount Cheon?"
"Of course not. From now on, I'm sending it to the Central Plains."
It had been more fun than I expected, so this time I was planning to play for real.
"You asked me about getting weapons out before because you needed my help, right?"
"Right."
"Hey, if I promise to help you out with your little pranks from now on, I have a favor to ask."
"What kind of weird favor are you going to ask for now..."
She pointed a finger at me.
"Give me one of your demon swords with a will, too!"