The Sword God’s Opening Move
First, I measured the distance.
My distance. My opponent’s distance. I hammered the gap between them into my head.
Unlike the Black Dog I’d faced before, this one actually thought. That meant I had to be careful.
I ran through every possible scenario a fight could take, over and over in my mind. I couldn’t afford to give this worthless body even a single opening where it might be forced to react on instinct.
“Hey, kid. You nervous? Keh-heh-heh.”
A bandit-looking bastard had shown up late. His mouth was loose, but his eyes were calm as he watched me.
A provocation, huh?
So this is the kind of fight he’s used to.
The children they’d kidnapped had all been recognized for their talent. I figured this kind of mocking tone had developed from dealing with little kids and trying to rattle them.
In that case—
“Just how many kids have you kidnapped?”
“Who knows? I don’t keep track of the number of loaves of bread I’ve eaten, either.”
“Hah.”
I got it.
Even if I had to engineer a narrow defeat in this fight, I was going to kill this bastard before I went down.
“All right, that’s enough.”
“Keh-heh, looks like you’re ready to be taken, huh?”
No.
The scenario was complete.
Scrrrt—
I skimmed the ground, finding the place where the world’s grain should have been. I felt the earth beneath my feet.
Saaaaa—
Talent or no talent, if you practiced in the same place enough times, you’d eventually learn it by instinct.
And I wasn’t just some ordinary person.
I was the Sword God.
This was a feat only I could perform.
Now.
The moment I scattered my mana across the grain—
Crack!
I thrust forward as though folding the ground itself.
“What?”
The bandit’s mouth dropped open.
“What, something not working out for you?”
First, I needed to shut that mouth.
“You’re too noisy. I can’t concentrate.”
Thwip!
“Hah, crazy bastard.”
The blade I’d whipped up toward his jaw burst out through his mouth.
“You’re using your own mouth to stop a sword?”
The bastard was already done for.
His eyes bulged, but he would soon choke on the blood pouring from his throat.
I excluded him from the next move.
The instant I tried to push on,
Whoosh—
His leg flew toward me.
What?
I barely dodged it.
His body had died the moment the strike landed. Two others seized the opening in my broken stance and thrust their swords at me.
A simultaneous attack from both sides.
If my stance breaks, this is exactly how they’ll come at me.
I’d already predicted it.
I drew my sword and spun with the motion of my body. At the same time, the two blades that stabbed toward me skimmed past my flesh.
“What the hell?!”
“Fuck, he’s eleven years old?”
I dropped my body low, still carrying the momentum of the spin.
One second.
That was all I needed to vanish from their line of sight.
I reversed my grip and twisted the sword around.
Slash!
“Gahhh!”
“Too shallow.”
The strike had landed, but only barely.
Now was the time to let out a long breath.
“Hoooor—”
That was enough to make them think—
“He’s tired!”
“Yeah! Now this makes sense! He must’ve been fighting while burning through his own life! Beat him down!”
—which meant they’d fallen for it.
My goal wasn’t to win against these nobodies. I was going to uproot them completely, cut down every last shoot before they could spread.
Dig out the roots, and leave nothing behind.
What mattered wasn’t beating them here. What mattered was erasing where they came from.
And for that, there was something more important than all this swordplay.
Why hasn’t he moved yet?
The source of that foul stench—the true owner of it—still hadn’t made a move.
He was the most important color in the picture I was painting.
The bastards in front of me were nothing but scarecrows.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Which means I need to keep this even more precarious.
If I wanted the finishing touch, I had to draw him out.
I kept stirring and stirring the mix until the color I wanted finally surfaced.
A juggling act with my life on the line.
My lips dried out. I could feel blood racing all the way to my fingertips, every sensation sharpened across my body. A laugh spilled out of me before I could stop it. Yeah. This had always been my life.
Familiar.
“HAHAHA!! Yeah, this is it!”
“Has the kid gone insane?”
Not at all. I was in perfect condition.
“Crazy?!”
I swept my palm across the ground and charged them.
Slash!
I flung the dirt I’d grabbed at them.
“Ghk!”
One of them shielded his eyes with his arm. A reflex.
If you’re going to hand it to me like that—
I’ll gladly take it.
Shunk!
The tip of my sword pierced straight through the middle of his brow.
“Damn it!”
The spray of blood blocked my vision. But so was theirs. I had to make full use of that.
Now there was only one left.
I pushed forward through the fountain of blood.
What did I look like to him?
“Boo.”
“You little son of a—!”
Good. Once emotion got hold of a swordsman, he became simple.
Whip—
Slipping just past the blade, I aimed for the bastard’s eye instead.
Swish!
The bastard bent his waist in an absurd motion to avoid the attack.
The one with the sewn-shut eyes really was a pain to deal with.
The very next moment would be the final act of my scenario.
The finishing touch.
Can I do it?
Doubt flickered.
I have to.
Clang! Clang!
Metal rang out behind me.
They still seemed to be holding out, but there was no telling how long that would last.
If I got too wrapped up in trying to engineer a narrow defeat and ended up hurting Yehwa, then I’d have missed the point entirely.
Do it.
This was a place I’d run and fought in so many times that it was practically engraved into my muscles. I’d memorized every spot that felt off.
Right here, where I’m standing now.
There was no time to sink my mind into stillness like I had when I first descended and took a breath.
“I’ll kill you.”
The same stance as in my past life.
The same flow of energy.
But this body’s talent was too poor, and mana refused to move the way I wanted.
In that case—
Whooooosh—
I forcibly broke open my blood vessels.
Grrrgh!
Mana charged with fierce willpower rampaged through my entire body.
I didn’t suppress it and guide it gently.
I built walls, forcing it to flow only where I wanted it to go.
Let’s see if you still don’t show yourself now.
Stance, mana, grain.
All three elements came together, and a technique that had vanished from this world was complete.
First Form.
Blade Peak Reaching the Clouds.
Clang!
My sword was blocked.
So you finally showed up.
The color I wanted had appeared.
“The target hasn’t come out of the house. We’ll have to change the plan.”
-What? I lent you four hunters because you said you needed them. Four! And now you want to change the plan all of a sudden? Have you lost your mind?
What a goddamn hag-like witch. Why don’t you do it yourself, then?
“If you just break the barrier, I’ll handle the rest.”
-Tsk, fine. I’ll hold you responsible for this later.
“Understood.”
Kim Seokhyun, that bitch, and the dragon. Nothing was left. If not today, I’d never get a chance like this again.
Yeh…
For my little sister, trapped in the cult, I could become a demon if I had to.
“We’re heading to Kim Seokhyun’s house. Get ready.”
“Yes, sir.”
The moment I reached the vicinity of Kim Seokhyun’s house, the witch’s voice sounded in my head.
-Get ready.
No answer was needed.
Crack!
“The barrier’s down. Move in.”
“Aren’t you coming with us?”
“I’ll watch the situation for now.”
Something felt wrong. There shouldn’t have been anyone strong enough here to threaten him, and yet the feeling was off.
“Tsk. If Kim Seokhyun isn’t here, I’ll let it slide.”
Trash.
A pathetic criminal gang. The moment I saved my sister, I was getting the hell out of this kind of outfit.
It had been a full minute since they went inside.
“Why is it still—?”
What the hell are those criminals doing to the kids?
No. That wasn’t it. One life sign had vanished. Not a child—the hunter’s.
“What?”
I flinched.
Another one had disappeared.
What the hell was going on? Did that make any sense at all?
Even if the kid had talent, could he really endure that dense killing intent and kill his opponent?
I’d never even heard of such a thing.
I had to get in there now.
Failure meant my little sister’s death. That was unacceptable.
The moment I climbed onto the roof and looked down, the sight was nothing short of a nightmare.
“What the hell is this…?”
One bastard was locked in a death match with Hong Yehwa.
For a kid, she was fighting pretty damn well, but that wasn’t the problem.
The bastard with his brow pierced, blood spraying everywhere, and the loudmouth whose mouth had been cut off were both sprawled on the ground.
That kid?
Only the one with sewn-shut eyes remained, standing off against Kim Jayeon.
Yehwa’s talent level is 8. It’s possible for her to hold out against one criminal like that. But…
Kim Jayeon. As far as I knew, his talent level was 2 or 3.
And yet, how could he be making a face like that?
“Am I dreaming? What in the—”
His presence had changed. His body looked as if it were growing larger and larger.
No. I had to block that attack.
If I didn’t, the operation would fail.
“I can’t let that happen.”
The instant Kim Jayeon’s sword was about to carve up the two criminals—
Clang.
Holy shit.
The blade shattered completely, and my arm broke.
“What the hell are you?”
A bastard wrapped head to toe in black cloth appeared.
Is this the one?
I could feel a demonic aura as cold as a blade against my skin.
If he was here, then that meant my act was nearing its end.
Even if I wanted to keep fighting, I didn’t have the strength left to pour into my body anymore.
Any further combat was impossible.
Get kidnapped with as few injuries as possible.
The magic carved into the wooden sword wasn’t ordinary magic.
If it worked, I’d be able to blow their headquarters to hell.
“Are you the boss?”
“In this place, yes.”
So he was the one with decision-making authority here, at least in this situation.
“I have a proposal.”
“A proposal? Are you in any position to be making one?”
“Haha, of course I am.”
It was obvious the one who’d broken the barrier wasn’t him.
Even if this bastard was the one making decisions here, there was someone above him.
The real power who’d ordered them to bring Yehwa here.
Then what would be worth offering this man?
Find it.
“If you lose all your subordinates here, won’t that be pretty painful for you?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“I’ll kill myself.”
He flinched.
There it was.
I turned the sword in my hand and pressed it to my throat. A bead of blood welled there at once.
“No!”
Seeing me like this, Yehwa cried out.
“Will this work as a trade?”
“Damn it… are you insane? What do you want? For now, don’t ask me to release you two.”
I wasn’t expecting that anyway.
I just needed to get what I wanted without crossing the line too far.
“For now, I’ll let you kidnap me however you want.”
“Just what are you after…?”
“Leave Yehwa behind.”
The man in black furrowed his brow, looking like he was thinking it over.
“No.”
“Why not? I think I’ve shown more than enough talent.”
“Tsk, say something else. That’s not possible.”
So that’s how you want to play it.
Fine. That confirmed it—Yehwa was their target.
“Then lock me and Yehwa in the same place.”
“That much is possible.”
This was allowed?
“Why would I agree to something like that if I knew what you were planning?”
“Whatever I do, it won’t matter in there.”
Huh. Would it really, though?
I’m the old hand at catching people, pal.
“That enough?”
“Haha, not likely. Why would I trust you? Make a contract.”
“Tsk. Where did you dig up something like that?”
“From a book.”
“Fine. Then put that sword down first.”
“Contract first. And first, guarantee our safety.”
“Agreed.”
“Do it.”
-I, Kim Hajin, in the name of the cultist who worships the Demon God, hereby swear this: First, so long as Kim Jayeon remains compliant, I will guarantee the safety of both of them until they reach the Demon God. Second, I will ensure that the two of them are imprisoned in the same location. Therefore, Kim Jayeon will obediently follow Kim Hajin to the Demon God.
The words rose into the air of their own accord.
The demonic aura took on the shape of papyrus and split in two. One half flew into my chest, and the other into that Demon God worshipper’s chest.
“Done? Put it down.”
I’d already lowered it anyway.
After all this, it should have been airtight.
“Keep your word.”
The Demon God worshipper growled at the others.
“Don’t lay a finger on either of them now. The moment you do, I’ll kill you.”
At that, the three kidnappers clicked their tongues.
“Tsk. Who cares? They’re going to die anyway.”
“You never know what kind of trap this place has. Watch your mouth.”
“You were going to erase them all anyway, so what the—”
Was it this guy?
The two kidnappers approached the Demon God worshipper, and Yehwa came to me.
“A-are you okay? What do we do…?”
Yehwa was on the verge of tears, her hands trembling.
Hah.
“Trust me. I’ll figure something out.”
I wanted to tell her more. There was so much I wanted to say, but none of it could be said here.
“So the kids don’t even know what their future holds, and they’re still putting on some tearjerker act.”
The bastard with the sewn eyes sneered.
I’ll deal with you later.
Just as I reached out to take Yehwa’s hand—
The Demon God worshipper hurled himself at me.
I tried to react, but—
This worthless body…!
My flesh didn’t move in time for the unexpected attack.
The bastard spread his handblade and struck the back of Yehwa’s neck, and I slowly began to lose consciousness.
“You son of a bitch, that’s a contract violation.”
“I know.”
Crackle—
Black lightning flashed along the worshipper’s arm.
The price for breaking the contract.
“This much is bearable.”
He said it as he cut off his own left arm.
“If you’re awake, I don’t know what you’ll do.”
Even though he had no intention of harming the other party, the contract still took his arm away.
At this rate, I guess I still… held my own…
The world slowly began to go dark.
Good.
Everything was going according to plan.