The Last Sword
The box closed with a heavy thud.
The last sword, the tenth one...
I had pounded and hammered it out in a hurry, barely managing to forge it.
It was late at night, and my concentration would waver in the middle, and I'd almost make junk swords, thinking I was going to die.
Whenever that happened, my father would dash to the nearby convenience store.
He would quench his thirst with the coffee he bought from the convenience store and push away the fatigue, and in the end, he managed to make the 10 swords.
Unfortunately, I couldn't make anything beyond the expected masterpiece, and they were all just normal grade, but...
What did that matter. After all, I could make them later.
“Damn, this is tough work.”
“You brat, what do you mean 'damn' in front of your father!”
“Dad was also saying 'damn' the whole time while working. Looks like he moved on.”
“Hmm? Haha! So that's how it is!”
My father, seeing the completed swords, smiled brightly and laughed heartily.
“Iya... it's 7 o'clock...”
I had done this from around 3 o'clock, so I forged 10 swords in 4 hours.
If it was regular iron, it would be the kind of work that makes you say I ate the iron in the toilet.
But these swords use titanium as the material.
Rather, it wasn't that it took 4 hours, but that it only took "4 hours" at most. That would be accurate.
Thanks to the trait, the work time has definitely sped up dramatically.
If my concentration hadn't wavered in the middle, it would probably have been even faster.
It was a place where I felt the impact of the awakener's abilities on reality to a certain degree.
“Are you putting it here? Here!”
My father lifted all 10 swords at once and pointed his chin toward the box.
“Yes. Put them in there.”
The box rattled and blue light wrapped around it.
Whoosh!
Then the box disappeared with the light.
“Iya~ So this is the trait or something. It really is amazing like this, haha!”
My father, not seeming tired at all, smiled brightly and felt the situation as just amazing.
I had done the hammering alone, but my father must have been tired too, yet he didn't show any sign of fatigue. It felt incredibly amazing.
“These are good quality, aren't they? Aren't you giving them a little extra shine?”
“No. They're just normal grade.”
“Hah! You brat, you're no fun... You should have big expectations from the start.”
“Haa... You have a bit of romance in you. You should go to sleep soon. You worked hard.”
After leaving words of gratitude to my father and trying to leave the forge.
Something heavy grabbed my nape strongly.
“Are you going to sleep like that? No way. You can't sleep with ash and sweat all over your body.”
“Huh?”
“Come with me, you brat. Let's go to the bathhouse together for once in a long time.”
The bathhouse...
When I was young, my father would often take my hand and go to the bathhouse after finishing the forge work.
I don't remember going after becoming an adult.
My whole body was crushed by fatigue, my bones creaked from long labor.
My muscles were screaming...
The reason I was doing this hard work was because of memories with my father, so I had to go.
“It's good, right? Let's go, father.”
“Yeah. I knew you'd say that! It's been a while since Hwan and I went to the sauna~”
My father, soaked in memories, opened the forge door and looked at the night sky.
The early morning air swept through our bodies coolly.
When I was little, after finishing the forge work, my father would always buy me a banana milk at the sauna.
Thinking about it now, it was nothing special, but at the time, I was happy as if I had obtained the whole world.
As time passed, my height grew to be as tall as my father's, and I was starting to forget the sweetness of the milk.
By the time my steps toward the sauna naturally stopped, my father's firm grip still held the warmth of that era.
“Are you not coming?”
“Come on!”
The small scenery of that era when we were suffering from poverty and became black and white photos.
In the cold morning air, it was finally coloring in clear colors again.
“I hope this sword pleases you.”
***
The sound of the box arriving at the training ground.
Dang Ji-hyeok, the chief administrator of the Sacheon Dang Family, felt a strange fluctuation in the quiet air in a corner of his office.
The space twisted like waves, a crack opened in the space, and a large wooden box fell to the floor with a thud.
“You're here. Haa...”
Dang Ji-hyeok let out a deep sigh looking at the wooden box that appeared in the air.
Through the Veil ability similar to the dimensional exchange that Seo Hwan had, he had taken on many requests in the past.
But the results that came back were not good at all.
Junk swords that didn't even perform the sword's function properly.
For Dang Ji-hyeok, moving these wooden boxes was just a bothersome task now.
This was the last request, but he had given up big expectations, and Dang Ji-hyeok opened the lid of the box.
“Hmm...?”
Dang Ji-hyeok's eyes widened when he checked inside the box.
The color was completely different from the dark gray steel he had seen so far.
The sword's body, which received sunlight and showed a calm and neat silver color.
The sword that contained a faint yet calm energy was obviously on a different level from the ones he had received before.
“This... I can't even dispose of this...?”
Dang Ji-hyeok picked up the box and left the office, heading straight to the training ground.
The heat of Sichuan was unbearable.
Due to the hot and humid climate, even standing still, sweat poured like rain.
Sweat beads formed on Dang Ji-hyeok's forehead as he walked with the box.
Even in such climate, there was a woman swinging the sword alone in the middle of the training ground.
Dang Bilyeong, the young mistress of the Sacheon Dang Family.
Bilyeong, with her black hair tied back neatly, was not disheveled even in the piercing heat.
Her transparent and clear emerald eyes had a cold energy like frost, and her sharp and cold gaze suited her fair skin.
Her thick red lips.
A beauty worthy of the reputation of the Sichuan's No.1 Beauty, which made viewers want to hold their breath.
“Miss Bilyeong.”
Dang Ji-hyeok stood at the end of the training ground with the box, greeting cautiously.
Dang Bilyeong stopped her movement, slowly lowered the sweat-soaked iron sword, and turned her head.
Her cold emerald eyes lingered on the box in Dang Ji-hyeok's hand.
“Chief Administrator. That box is...?”
“Yes... This is the item that came in through the Veil this time.”
***
...
“Was this the last time?”
I had spent a lot of money on these unskilled people who were dimensional gate or something.
Junk swords that couldn't swing or cut.
If junk swords came in again this time... what would become of the Dang family's fate.
It was just vague.
“Miss Bilyeong.”
Dang Ji-hyeok shifted his gaze to the wooden box he had brought after breaking his thoughts.
When I looked inside the box, the swords that came into view were things with different grain from the swords I had seen so far.
They had a faint gloss like the ones the Malco Doja guys would use.
Moreover, the metal material was also a form I had never seen before.
It had been a while since I had seen such a form, so I was quite surprised, but nevertheless, I reached out and picked up one sword...
“What is this? It's so light?”
The moment I held it, it was so light that I wondered if I was holding the sword correctly.
It was much lighter than the training iron sword I had been swinging just now...
Lightness increases the speed of sword techniques or sword arts, but excessively light weapons are prone to breaking.
Especially... if I hit the Haebuk Paeng family, those bastards who I would kill a thousand times without relief, I would definitely break...
Can I really cut the opponent properly with this light iron rod?
My mind was full of questions, but nevertheless, I tried to confirm.
I lightly thrust the sword toward the wooden dummy wrapped in iron plate, which was set up in the corner of the training ground.
Squeak.
Thud
“What... what is this?”
There was almost no resistance felt at the tip of my hand.
No matter how much I poured internal energy and cut, there should have been resistance...
But where the sword passed, the wooden dummy wrapped in iron plate was smoothly cut in a diagonal line.
“Could it be...?”
Before the surprise could subside, I raised the internal energy in my lower abdomen.
Sss-
Heavenly Poison Mind Method.
The internal energy accumulated with this method contains deadly poison.
The deadly and thick poison that only the legitimate heir of the Sacheon Dang Family could handle flowed from the tip of my hand to the sword's body.
...
“It’s fine?”
The poison of the internal energy accumulated with this Heavenly Poison Mind Method is the best even within the family.
That's why with normal swords, I couldn't withstand this poison and ended up in this predicament...
But with the existing swords, the sword's body would corrode black the moment the poison touched it, and there were countless such cases.
But this sword... no corrosion occurred at all.
“Was it made with xuan iron or ten thousand year iron? But the cost wouldn't be cheap?”
Xuan iron or ten thousand year iron could withstand the poison to some extent.
But such metals couldn't produce such light weight.
What the hell is this?
“Amazing...”
A low exclamation escaped from between my lips.
During the war with the Demon Cult, all the dimensional gates within the family had fallen, and because there was no suitable weapon to hand over to the family, the Dang family had been ignored for decades.
The reputation of being the No.1 family under heaven had gradually faded.
Now, it was being ignored even by small fry like the Haebuk Paeng family.
The precious sword that would raise the Sacheon Dang family again was now in my hand.
“Miss Bilyeong! The young master of the Haebuk Paeng Family, Paeng Dae-hyeok, has arrived!”
One of the family soldiers rushed to the training ground and bowed his head.
The moment I heard the name, my face, which had been full of admiration just a moment ago, cooled down.
I clicked my tongue and pushed the sword I was holding into the sheath.
The small fry of the Haebuk Paeng family came all the way to Sichuan.
It was a bothersome feeling with a tangled pest.
However, since there was the position of young mistress, I couldn't drive him away and went to meet him.
“Miss Bilyeong, it's been a while. Since the distance between Haebuk and Sichuan is so far, I was worried that our relationship might become distant, so I came directly.”
Paeng Dae-hyeok, sitting in the reception room, showed his characteristic slippery smile and stood up from his seat.
The appearance of someone with a huge body spewing out slippery words was disgusting.
“I didn't want to see you at all. And reducing the steps I take to come and go doesn't make my position any worse.”
Even with my cold counter without giving an inch, Paeng Dae-hyeok responded with a brazen laugh.
But soon, cunning energy swirled in his eyes.
“Hoho, miss. If we get far apart, we won't be able to get the precious ores like xuan iron or iron that the Paeng family used to supply, is that okay?
Disgusting bastards.
They monopolize the small amount of xuan iron and iron on the market and give us only a tiny amount.
Moreover, they charge 5 times the market price for those bastards.
“And I heard rumors that the weapon situation in the Dang family is getting worse day by day, so I'm really worried about this Dae-hyeok.”
Pretending to be worried, subtly mocking the Dang family's sore spot.
I gritted my teeth.
“Stop with the unnecessary talk and tell me the main point. What business did you come to Sichuan for?”
“This is disappointing. When I say main point, it's not that... I came to hear your final answer about our Paeng family's marriage alliance with the Dang family.”
That bastard had been persistently asking me for marriage.
He had brought up grand reasons like improving the relationship between the Paeng and Dang families.
But I know your dirty intentions.
Many women who went through you have become ruined and are rolling in the dirt.
I have no intention at all to go to a man who uses women just for his own selfish desires.
“The current situation of the Dang family, a marriage alliance with the Paeng family is clearly a disadvantage to our side, right? Nevertheless, we are considering the Dang family's situation, but it seems you've been dragging it out too long."
Disadvantage to the Paeng family.
The way he looked down on the Dang family subtly made a fire rise from below my navel.
“Prince. During the war with the Demon Cult, do you really not know what sacrifices the Dang family made for the world? How can you treat us like this?”
When I denounced with anger, Paeng Dae-hyeok listened with one ear and laughed through his nose.
“Sacrifice... sacrifice is good. But... that was a sacrifice because the Dang family was weak, right?”
At that moment, when I heard Paeng Dae-hyeok's words, I almost drew my sword, but the chief administrator shook his head as if he had read my mind.
If I drew my sword here, it would become a war between the Paeng and Dang families.
If I fought the Paeng family head-on now when my father was in a difficult position, I would definitely walk the path of family extinction.
...
“Well, it's a sacrifice. I heard that your father, the head of the Dang family, has become a cripple... It's really unfortunate.”
Hold it.
“You're right. Why did you go to the front line trusting only your own strength. If you hadn't gone, the dimensional gates you boasted about would have survived, right?”
“That's right, Miss Bilyeong. That's what it is. Kkuk.”
“Hahaha!”
My nails dug into my palm, and blood seeped out from my hand.
But I couldn't say anything.
“Haha, this is... Once upon a time, he was called the No.1 person under heaven, giving to the No.1 family under heaven, tsk tsk... It's so unfortunate.”
Even in the midst of my stomach churning as if internal energy was reversing.
I couldn't say anything.
“Shut up.”
“Hmm? Ah, I was a bit harsh with my words. Sorry.”
“No, it's fine.”
The box closed with a heavy thud.
“You’ve endured well, Miss Bilyeong. They are my guests.”
The chief administrator patted my shoulder and encouraged me, then opened the reception room door again and entered.
Leaving the reception room and heading to the deepest place of the family, the hideout.
The door opened, and the first thing that pricked my nose was the pungent smell of alcohol.
In the middle of the room, the head of the Sacheon Dang Family, my father, who was the heart and center of the family, was sitting.
The dignity that had commanded the world and slaughtered the Demon Cult experts on the front lines was nowhere to be seen.
His arms and legs were thin and bony like winter twigs.
The eyes that had made wise judgments for the family had lost all spirit.
Only emptiness filled that place.
After the war ended.
Dang Baek had used civilians as meat shields for the war.
Dang Baek had used civilians to experiment with poison for his own reputation.
Such unbelievable rumors spread and instantly, my father's reputation fell to the bottom.
Not even shouting, all that came back was mixed with contemptuous finger pointing.
It was the Haebuk Paeng family's scheme.
They spread nonsense in the dirt and trampled the Dang family's honor to the ground.
Whether it was because of the grudge over killing the Demon Cult experts at the front line, the Demon Cult came toward our family after returning from the front.
Inside the Sacheon Dang Family without a head, the Demon Cult's evil ones ruthlessly killed our soldiers.
They killed my mother...
The one who met the father who had willingly spilled blood to save the world was only a stained accusation and the corpses of loved ones.
The mother who was to welcome him with a bright smile had died with her arms and legs cut off.
The colleagues who shared a drink with him without any formality had died with their necks hanging.
My father had fallen like that.
“...Father.”
I called my father, who had become crippled and couldn't hear others' words, by his name.
“...Father.”
Even so, my father's eyes were blankly staring out the window.
“Haa... Please... be safe.”
Creak- thud.
When the door closed, I leaned weakly against the doorframe and collapsed.
The weight of replacing my crippled father.
The disregard of the Haebuk Paeng family.
And... the faint despair of the family.
Something hot flowed down over my face and fell on the back of my hand.
Even in the training ground where I had swung the sword alone.
Even in front of Paeng Dae-hyeok's humiliation, I didn't shed tears.
But now, I could no longer... endure it.
In the quiet where no one was around, I sat in front of the door and shook my shoulders dejectedly.
The family was slowly falling apart.
There was no one to protect me.
Where should I start to raise this family again.
At the time when everything became vague.
My gaze, as if bewitched, landed on the sheath hanging at my waist.
Squeak-
When I pulled out the sword, the silver sword's body flashed as if illuminating the entrance of the dark hideout.
The sword that had not corroded even a little despite containing my poison.
...
At that moment, the tears that had been pooling in my eyes were withdrawn.
“This sword.”
If it can withstand my poison, it can withstand anyone else's poison except my father.
Of course... I would need a better sword than this for me, the Poison Dragon Lord, and my father...
But... with just this sword, I can raise the elite unit of the Dang family, the Poison Dragon Unit again.
I can gather the Dang family soldiers again.
The Dang family that has regained strength can stand up again.
Then... my father can be raised.
I fiercely wiped my eyes and stood up from my seat.
I took out the black sphere from my pocket and threw it on the floor with a thud.
Veil... A mysterious ability that appeared one day to all in the martial world.
In front of me, a blue mysterious spear-like thing appeared, and I manipulated it.
Target: Seo Hwan
Do you want to move?
Yes / No
Without a moment of hesitation, I reached out my finger and tapped "Yes."
Illuminating the dark entrance of the hideout, a blue, door-like phenomenon materialized.
Let's go. Toward the only light of the Dang family.