The Last Blade of the Assassin Clan
An age of chaos.
The world had shattered like glass, fusing with things from every dimension conceivable. It was during that era that the Assassin Clan was born.
A family raised by those who had lost their families, their friends, the people they loved — to Villains and demons. A clan bound by a Blood Oath, sworn to kill only those connected to the demons, forged for one single purpose: the extermination of Villains and demons alike.
It was the age of madness, after all. An era when a human life was worth less than a single meal — when lives vanished like weeds trampled underfoot.
And then the times began to turn.
The emergence of the greatest hero in the history of mankind. He reigned over the age as a symbol of peace. He drove the demons beyond the Boundary, hunted down every Villain and tore them apart, and gathered the heroes together to found the Association.
The world knew peace once more.
But the assassin clan faced the machinations of demons and Villains, the threat of being branded Villains themselves, and the fear of politicians and chaebol dynasties. And with that, the Assassin Clan vanished from history.
From history, that is.
Seol Hwaryeon was the assassin that clan had poured its every last ounce of strength into creating. A killing machine built to erase demons from the world and cut down anyone who cooperated with them.
That was precisely who Seol Hwaryeon was — the one who would one day stand beside the protagonist and shake the world as its greatest demon slayer.
"Wow, you look suspicious. You shouldn't strike a pose with that mask on, you know. Isn't that embarrassing?"
"......"
An exaggerated expression. A mocking, teasing tone. And yet, for all her flippancy, not a single opening showed in her stance.
Seol Hwaryeon was a living weapon, raised from childhood for one purpose alone: killing demons. For a girl whose own ironclad code had been hammered into her since birth, compromise simply did not exist.
"Judging by the look of you, you're no demon. A Villain, then? Well, whatever you are, I'll find out once I catch you."
She took a single step forward.
Crackle!
Frost began to bloom across the ground. The temperature was dropping.
If Seo Gayeon had blossomed into the mana of the stars, then the mana flowering within this girl was the mana of ice itself. But it was still unrefined. She seemed a long way yet from awakening that power — the one that could freeze every phenomenon in existence.
She slid her right foot forward, extending her short sword, while the hand gripping her long sword drew slightly back behind her.
-Master, be careful.
At that stance, the Heukcheon Demonic Sword spoke — a rare occurrence indeed.
-Twin blades are difficult to wield, mostly because of the balance they demand. That is why those who use them fall into two categories.
-The first: style-obsessed fools. Wielding two swords naturally weakens the transfer of force, and since both hands work simultaneously, one's senses must be exceptional to compensate.
-The second: those born with senses extraordinary enough to cover all of the above flaws.
-Against such an opponent, there is no easy answer. Twin-blade arts are no common weapon school. Two swords create far more variation than one could imagine. In such cases, the answer is to overwhelm them head-on with greater power — but alas,
the sword spirit lamented, for an assassin like me, who sought a single lethal strike through an opponent's gaps, she was a troublesome foe indeed.
She might be the world's greatest assassin, but her killing intent was reserved entirely for demons and Villains. I couldn't kill her — and fighting her outright risked exposing my identity.
I gazed at her calmly.
"Do you have any last excuses before I take you in?"
"......The Assassin Clan."
Thud.
At my words, Seol Hwaryeon's footsteps stopped dead. Her face had twisted into unmistakable bewilderment.
The timing was perfect.
Baehon — the Soul-Flag — activated.
"......!"
Seol Hwaryeon's expression transformed in an instant. From grave solemnity to sheer, wide-eyed shock. It was the effect of Baehon channeled through Yeokcheon.
"……!"
The Assassin Clan had retreated into the shadows of history. They had poured everything they had into creating the killing machine known as Seol Hwaryeon — and spent the whole of their strength doing it.
But not everyone had agreed with that plan.
All I needed to do was hint, ever so subtly, that I was a clansman walking the same hidden path they once had. There was no fear that this clan would ever come looking for me. They had already died at other demons' hands, long ago.
"N-no... could it be... are you the Elder?"
"【...I am.】"
Getting called "Elder" by a girl the same physical age as me. Wonderful.
"【So you are the child our clan created.】"
"Th-that's right, Elder."
Seol Hwaryeon gazed up at me, tears brimming in her eyes.
...Come to think of it, she did have that backstory — the one about being desperately starved for affection. Twisted by loneliness, it had hardened into her singular conviction: that demons must be annihilated without exception.
"D-do you... p-perhaps live nearby, Elder?"
"【No. I came in search of the traces of a certain demon in this area.】"
"A demon, you say?"
"【That is so.】"
In truth, no demon of any real significance existed around here. Why? Because this was the vicinity of Korea Hero Academy — the fortress Seo Yebin had claimed as her own territory.
-Master, we have a problem. Someone of considerable power is approaching this area.
The Heukcheon Demonic Sword spoke, its gaze fixed on one side.
I looked at Seol Hwaryeon.
"【I would relish further conversation, but it seems our time is up.】"
Thud.
I walked toward the window.
"【Judging by your uniform, you attend Korea Hero Academy. Beware the alchemy professor there — one Han Yunbi.】"
"Is... is he a demon?"
"【He is. And with that, I must take my leave.】"
"E-Elder!"
Just as I unlocked the window with my telekinesis and moved to slip out, Seol Hwaryeon clung to me.
"【......】"
"F-forgive me, but... c-could I possibly have a way to c-contact you?"
"【None. A phone is the single easiest way for a demon to uncover one's identity.】"
"Th-then... c-could I at least... k-know where you l-live?"
Looking at her clinging there, I couldn't help but feel a pang of pity for the girl. She had endured every manner of training since she was small — and in return, her clan lay in ruins, with not a single soul left in the world to look after her.
More than I had expected, Seol Hwaryeon held the bonds of family far deeper in her heart.
I switched off the Baehon.
"Two weeks from now. Meet me here, at this exact hour."
"Y-yes, sir! Understood!"
Only then did Seol Hwaryeon release me.
I opened the window and slipped out into the night.
A light leap. This was the fifth floor, but with telekinesis I sharply cut my speed before the fall, then landed with an effortless breakfall. Looking up, I saw Seol Hwaryeon waving down at me with a radiant smile. I gave her one last glance, then headed toward the crowds.
Seol Hwaryeon vividly remembers you. You gain 1,500p.
You killed the demons of the Black Bear Gang and the Rupture. You gain 3,000p.
After finishing that hellish morning training,
I sat slumped, utterly drained, shoveling down breakfast. Across from me, Hong Yuhwa wore the smuggest expression imaginable.
"You do realize I beat you today, right?"
"......"
Truly, absurdly ridiculous.
Hong Yuhwa and I had clashed roughly ten-odd times by now, and just as always, I had beaten her in nearly everything. And today — today, for the very first time, I lost to her during morning drills.
The reason was exactly one: I was exhausted from ambushing demons the night before.
'She's insufferably pleased with herself.'
Hong Yuhwa had been riding this high all morning.
"Haha, you're competitive as ever, Yuhwa."
Kim Seohyun said with an awkward laugh. Hehe, Hong Yuhwa giggled, scooping up a spoonful of bean sprout soup and popping it into her mouth.
I chewed on a vienna sausage and turned my thoughts to the schedule ahead. The midterm assessment was coming soon. That was where the alchemy professor, Han Yunbi, would engineer his incident — sabotaging a dungeon to cut it off from the outside world, then sending demons in to search for Seo Gayeon.
'I need to find them before that happens.'
And yet the alchemy professor had been suspiciously quiet. Normally he'd be snooping around the moment a dungeon expedition was announced.
'They can't be crazy enough to storm the school directly with demons, though.'
An operation on that scale would demand direct intervention from the ones called the Seven Evils. Because this place was a fortress guarded by Seo Yebin — the woman known as the Emperor. Unless one of the Seven Evils stepped in personally to pin her down, any such attempt was hopeless.
The only remotely viable target would be the dungeon featured in the midterm assessment.
"Seoha, want some tteokgalbi?"
I accepted one of the grilled short rib patties Seo Gayeon offered, sinking into thought as I ate. A dungeon was, admittedly, the easiest place for demons to strike — but the alchemy professor wasn't moving.
'Has the difficulty risen enough that more professors have joined the demons?'
I'd have to dig deeper into the school.
I returned to the penthouse.
I wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed, but the Heukcheon Demonic Sword hovering at my side would not allow it, nagging me relentlessly.
-At your current level, there is no harm in learning this next art.
With Yeokcheon surpassing ten, the sword spirit had declared she would pass a new martial art down to me.
-The Heukshin Art is a technique of movement. Tell me, Master — do you know what is most essential to moving the body?
"The eyes?"
-Correct.
The Heukcheon Demonic Sword curled her lips into a smile.
-The eyes are the beginning and the end of all things. In a duel between masters, sharp observation alone can end a fight almost anticlimactically. And the Heukshin Art is, of all techniques, the supreme art from the perspective of 'seeing.'
It was also, she added, the art her previous master had poured the most care into perfecting.
-That is why this venerable one is rather looking forward to this. Your eyes were always exceptional, Master. Your eyes alone might even surpass the previous master's.
"......"
Somehow, that felt strangely good to hear.
-Now then, to training. I shall explain the Seongshan — the Eyes of Radiant Dawn.