The Authority That Is Truly One's Own
A soundproofed dark room. This was the place where the Fourth Elder of the Swift Sword Sect—a man who maintained his position more through political maneuvering than through his own martial prowess—entertained his distinguished guests. The Fourth Elder wore a gentle, amiable smile as he looked at the girl before him. She was none other than the Young Sect Master of the Swift Sword Sect, Jin A-rin.
“So… what is the reason you have called for me?”
“By any chance, do you still harbor the desire to become the disciple of the Sword Saint?”
Jin A-rin’s eyebrows twitched. The Fourth Elder continued.
“I will assist you. If you show the Sword Saint how much you have improved during the upcoming sparring match… wouldn’t that move his heart?”
“…The Sword Saint is not a man who would be swayed by such a trivial thing.”
The Fourth Elder merely kept his gentle smile. It didn’t matter; the sparring match would never happen anyway. After all, he had sent his own disciple to intimidate the Sword Saint’s disciple. Soon, the Sword Saint’s disciple would be defeated by Jin Mu-woong, and public opinion would boil over, claiming that she wasn’t even qualified to spar with the Young Sect Master. Wouldn’t the Sword Saint be disappointed in a disciple who couldn’t even seize the opportunity he had created by putting his own reputation on the line? If that happened, it would be much easier to push the Young Sect Master into the position of the Sword Saint’s disciple. Of course, it would be difficult, but the Fourth Elder believed it was a shift from the impossible to the possible.
Jin A-rin, unaware of these facts, let out a groan as if lost in thought.
“Is it… possible?”
“Of course. Please, leave everything to this Fourth Elder.”
“I have nothing to offer you, Elder.”
“As an elder of the Swift Sword Sect, helping the Young Sect Master is only natural. You need not worry about such things.”
The Fourth Elder spoke with feigned humility, but inside, his mind was racing with calculations. How much could he extract from the Sect Master, rather than the Young Sect Master, through this affair? If his decision truly led to the Young Sect Master becoming the Sword Saint’s disciple… ‘Perhaps I could even push for a marriage between her and my disciple… Is that going too far? No. If she really becomes the Sword Saint’s disciple, it might not be an impossible dream…’
Knock, knock, knock.
The Fourth Elder’s amiable smile wavered. He had explicitly ordered that no one was to disturb him while he was in this dark room, yet someone was seeking him out.
Jin A-rin asked, “Shouldn’t you go and see who it is?”
“Haha. It is fine. It is likely nothing of importance…”
BANG! BANG! BANG!
It was not nothing. The Fourth Elder’s final words were drowned out by the sound of someone violently pounding on the door, and he furrowed his brow.
“Ahem… Excuse me. I must check on this.”
Just as the Fourth Elder reached for the door handle, it flew open. Even though he hadn’t opened it himself, his chief steward burst in. The steward was immediately met with the Fourth Elder’s icy glare, but he didn’t care and sent a jeon-eum (telepathic message) to the elder.
“What is it? If it isn’t something major, your head will…”
“Elder, your disciple!”
“My disciple?”
“He tried to murder the Sword Saint’s disciple! And Jin Seo-ah has named you as the mastermind behind it!”
At those words, the Fourth Elder turned pale, and for a moment, he forgot to use telepathy and blurted out in a loud voice, “What?”
Jin A-rin asked, “Is something wrong? Elder?”
“Ah… that is… yes. I believe I must step out for a moment. Hehe… I will return shortly, so please wait here for a moment.”
The Fourth Elder clutched his throbbing head as he walked. ‘Murder? What kind of nonsense is that?’ Originally, he and the Sect Master had only intended to ruin Seo-ah’s reputation and force the cancellation of the sparring match. That was all. Because the process hadn’t gone smoothly, he had unilaterally kidnapped a maid to threaten the Sword Saint’s disciple…
‘It seems that didn’t go well. To come here and confront me so openly… she must be furious. Jin Mu-woong… how on earth did you handle things?’
Until this point, the Fourth Elder thought it was a headache, but something he could easily resolve. He would be scolded by the Sect Master and his trust would be damaged, but people slipped up sometimes. ‘How should I appease that lowly wretch…’
The Fourth Elder had no worries regarding Seo-ah. She was a lowly wretch, after all. Because of her background, she had always been a person who kept her head down and held her breath even when insulted to her face. He thought she had simply stepped on a bug and it had wiggled back. If this had truly escalated into a major incident, the Sword Saint himself would have come, not that lowly disciple. He would have been able to smooth things over with kind words… and if he bowed his head a little, it was certain she would back down.
However, the Fourth Elder’s prediction was easily proven wrong.
‘Th-this… what is this?’
When he stepped outside, nearly a hundred people were surrounding his residence. As soon as he appeared, they all stared at him in unison. In the center of them stood Seo-ah, holding the mangled corpse of Jin Mu-woong in her left hand. As the Fourth Elder appeared, Seo-ah tossed Jin Mu-woong’s body toward him and said, “Fourth Elder. What do you think I am going to say?”
The Fourth Elder looked at the corpse thrown at him. It was so cruelly mangled that he couldn’t recognize it at first, but it was undoubtedly his disciple. The Fourth Elder’s face flushed red. What on earth was happening? Where had it gone wrong? How did Jin Mu-woong end up in such a state? Could it be that he had been hiding his strength? Why? Or was there an accomplice he didn’t know about? Had the Sword Saint intervened in this matter? …A thousand thoughts raced through the Fourth Elder’s mind.
‘First, I must get out of this situation.’
The Fourth Elder didn’t even glance at Jin Mu-woong’s body and bowed his head toward Seo-ah. “It seems… there has been a misunderstanding. Please, calm your anger. It is true that my disciple attempted to commit a discourtesy… but a plot to murder? That is not true! Perhaps, having gone through such a bewildering event… you have fallen into an Inner Demon… but do not worry. I will help you.”
At the Fourth Elder’s words, many people nodded. Even to those who hadn’t practiced martial arts, Seo-ah, with her unfocused eyes and shaky demeanor, certainly didn’t look normal. Just as the Fourth Elder was about to approach Seo-ah, having gained the justification to subdue the Sword Saint’s disciple who had fallen into an Inner Demon…
Shing.
Seo-ah drew her sword from its scabbard. The Fourth Elder sneered at the sight. ‘She’s fallen deep into her Inner Demon, hasn’t she?’ No matter how much she pointed her sword at him, she couldn’t even leave a scratch on him, a master of the Peak Realm…
‘Huh?’
Seo-ah didn’t point the sword at the Fourth Elder, but instead held it to her own throat and began to ramble. “Fourth Elder. If you take one more step toward me… I will cut my own throat. If you try to subdue me, it will be you who killed me. What do you think will happen then? I don’t think my Master will sit idly by, do you? I believe he will hold the Swift Sword Sect responsible… If that happens, wouldn’t many people die resenting you? Ah! The lives of everyone in the Swift Sword Sect depend on your next step!”
It was a stretch. It was absurd logic. The problem was the fact that if the Fourth Elder were to recklessly approach Seo-ah and she actually committed suicide… the Sword Saint’s wrath might truly descend upon the Swift Sword Sect. No one in the area could simply dismiss Seo-ah’s words as a mere bluff. Beyond her unfocused gaze, madness was glinting in her eyes.
The Fourth Elder swallowed hard and took a step forward. That step was so subtle that if one wasn’t watching closely, no one would have noticed. Seo-ah shouted, “Fourth Elder! Do you really want to see my throat being cut?!”
Seo-ah, having shouted that, pressed the sharp blade against her neck. It wasn’t deep, but fresh blood trickled down the blade along with a shallow wound. Sweating, the Fourth Elder asked, “Wh-what would you have me do?”
“Admit your crimes and commit suicide.”
“Did I not say it was a misunderstanding!”
Seo-ah merely scoffed.
The subtle standoff between Seo-ah and the Fourth Elder continued for about a minute. People began to gather in increasing numbers, and the elders of the Swift Sword Sect, having heard the rumors or Seo-ah’s shouts infused with internal energy, also began to arrive one by one. In the murmuring crowd, one Swift Sword Sect elder shouted, “Is that truly the truth?! Is it true that the Fourth Elder attempted to harm the Sword Saint’s disciple?!”
“No! It is not true!”
“Then what on earth is this situation?!”
“The Sword Saint’s disciple has fallen into an Inner Demon…”
Seo-ah cut off the Fourth Elder’s words. “The Fourth Elder tried to kidnap my maid. I realized that fact early on… and while searching for the culprit, I was monitoring the path my maid takes. And in one location, the Fourth Elder’s disciple, Jin Mu-woong, was waiting for me. As soon as he saw me, he shouted ‘sparring’ and immediately unleashed a killing blow, swinging his sword at me. After he was defeated, he was interrogated by me and confessed to everything. Evidence? There are two martial artists who saw Jin Mu-woong unleash a killing blow at me without provocation.”
Most of it was a lie. If it were a future that hadn’t happened yet, perhaps. But it was Seo-ah who had rushed in and unleashed a killing blow without provocation, and the claim that he had confessed everything through interrogation was also a lie. Seo-ah had pulled out his tongue before he could even utter a word. However, it didn’t matter. It was the truth that Jin Mu-woong and the Fourth Elder had truly intended to kidnap So-so. It was a fact that would be easily revealed if investigated. And that alone was enough to take the Fourth Elder’s head.
Suddenly, the Fourth Elder shouted at me as I poured out words. “No! It is true that I intended to arrange a sparring match, but…!”
“Are you saying you intended to kidnap my maid and threaten me to arrange a sparring match? If so, how do you intend to explain the killing blow?”
At Seo-ah’s words, the Fourth Elder’s mouth snapped shut. The murmuring grew louder, and the elders of the Swift Sword Sect began to shout at the Fourth Elder in unison.
“Then, is it true that you intended to kidnap the maid and threaten the Sword Saint’s disciple?!”
“Hah! With what kind of mind did you do such a…”
“Fourth Elder! Say something!”
The Fourth Elder couldn’t say a word, realizing too late that he had fallen into a dilemma. No matter what he said, it was meaningless. In any case, it was true that he had intended to threaten the Sword Saint’s disciple. ‘I didn’t intend to kill her!’ But who would believe that? And did that fact even matter? If Seo-ah herself stated that Jin Mu-woong’s sword had been filled with killing intent during a sparring match that hadn’t even been properly arranged, it would be the end. They wouldn’t even listen to his claim that he had only intended to threaten her. Instead, he would lose his head for tarnishing the honor of the Swift Sword Sect. The Fourth Elder’s complexion turned deathly pale. ‘What have I done?’
He had done something truly absurd. However, the Fourth Elder had been truly confident. Based on the personality of Seo-ah he had observed until now, she was never the type to escalate things to this extent. At most… he had expected her to quietly come to him, knock on the door of his residence, and demand an apology. In fact, he hadn’t even expected that much. He had thought it would pass quietly, as it always had. If one watched Seo-ah’s path… wasn’t that the case? Thinking about it again, it was a truly foolish act. It was the end for a man blinded by power.
“Say something, I tell you!”
“I… did I not say it was a misunderstanding! In the first place, this matter was the Sect Master’s!”
“F-Father did?”
The Fourth Elder turned around at the sound of the Young Sect Master’s voice from behind him. Jin A-rin was asking the Fourth Elder repeatedly with an expression of disbelief. The sound of people murmuring grew louder. The shouting of the elders echoed in the Fourth Elder’s ears. His head was throbbing. How could he escape this situation? Why on earth! Where did it start! How did things get so twisted!
The Fourth Elder glared at Seo-ah with bloodshot eyes. ‘It’s… all… because of that bitch.’ It was over. No matter how he thought about it… blinded by the Sect Master’s secret orders, he had committed a truly pathetic mistake due to his own greed. However, if that lowly wretch had just acted as she usually did! Because she had gathered a huge crowd and given him no room for compromise!
The Fourth Elder sprayed killing intent, drew his sword from his waist, and rushed toward Seo-ah. It was an Inner Demon. However, the Fourth Elder was only at the mature Peak Realm. The other elders of the Swift Sword Sect, who had reached the pinnacle of the Peak Realm or even the Transcendental Realm, did not just watch this idly. Five or six elders, who had been wary of the Fourth Elder as he exuded an unusual aura, finally decided he had crossed the line and swung their swords at him.
Thus, the Fourth Elder’s sword ultimately failed to reach Seo-ah. It was shattered into pieces right in front of her nose, and he met a miserable end in front of countless people. Seo-ah watched the scene with a smile of pure joy, as if she had finished a long-overdue assignment.
‘Looks like it’s mostly over…’
Since today’s events had unfolded in front of so many eyes, the Swift Sword Sect would immediately begin a large-scale investigation. An investigation into whether the Swift Sword Sect Master had truly intended to harm the Sword Saint’s disciple, as the Fourth Elder had inadvertently blurted out, and whether other members of the Swift Sword Sect were involved in this affair. After that, No-ya would handle it on his own. Above all… Seo-ah had gained an authority that was entirely her own, which she could not have obtained if No-ya had simply handled everything. She had shown countless people that she could kill Jin Mu-woong single-handedly, and she had also demonstrated how far her Master’s influence reached and how she could use it. At the very least, no one in the Sword Family would ever look down on Seo-ah again.
Everything had gone according to Seo-ah’s plan. As soon as she confirmed that she had finished everything perfectly, Seo-ah collapsed to the ground like a doll with its strings cut. Someone caught Seo-ah as she fell, so she didn’t smash her head into the ground. Before losing consciousness, Seo-ah locked eyes with No-ya, who was looking down at her with a complex and subtle expression.