The Sword Demon's Shadow

A flash of light split the air. A blade-glow shining ink-black sheared through one side of the plant monster's neck.

Watching the scene unfold, Kim Seohyun thought, ...He's grown again.

Lee Seoha's skill had undeniably improved. Back during the midterm evaluation, when he'd fought Saint, he'd settled the match with close-quarters combat alone. Back then, he was at the level of not being able to do it at all. That rate of growth was nothing short of miraculous. Among the students, there were already those who watched Lee Seoha and simply gave up on keeping pace. And honestly, even Kim Seohyun found it frightening when she stopped to think about it. He had once been at her feet — and before she knew it, he was chasing right up under her chin.

And I'd thought this year, at least, I'd be safe.

Lee Seoha's martial talent was, even as flattery, beyond genius — prodigy upon prodigy. Talents at that level were a dime a dozen. Look no further than this school; one or two students in every ten were that caliber. No, he was something else entirely. How should she put it — he used his body well. One truth she'd learned since enrolling here was that people, surprisingly, had no idea how to wield their own bodies. Watching him move his, all kinds of inspirations sparked in her mind.

He has his entire body under his control.

Kim Seohyun raised her sword. It was to support Lee Seoha. No buffs needed. For reasons she couldn't explain, magic simply didn't work on him. Which meant all she could do was handle the small things around him.

Kim Seohyun formed a seal with her hands. "Swiftly, swiftly, as the law decrees!"

The art unfolded. Her clothes rippled in the wind, and from within them talismans emerged. The talismans devoured the darkness, then took on the shapes of beasts.

Shikigami. The spirit entities hurled themselves at the plant monster's vines.

Through that gap, a black flash surged skyward.

Crack!

The vines split apart in a single instant, and the creature's true body was laid bare. The moment Kim Seohyun moved, Lee Seoha had already leapt swift as lightning.

Ssssaaah—.

Lee Seoha's arm blackened. A power that seemed to negate all of existence wrapped itself around his arm, and it drove straight into the very center of the plant.

"Haaah!"

With that shout, the negating force ballooned at terrifying speed, and everything the plant was scattered like dust. And where it had died lay a root herb shaped like a ginseng root.

"Gah — a wild ginseng root?!"

Kim Seohyun bolted over in wide-eyed alarm. Wild ginseng grown on Korean soil was an elixir so rare that people went without it not because of the price, but because there simply wasn't any to be had.

Lee Seoha trudged over and said, "It's a wild ginseng root. A fifteen-year one, at that."

"F-fifteen years?!"

"Yep."

Information confirmed through his talent, Perusal (-). A fifteen-year root usually went for around a billion won, and if it found the right owner, it could fetch as much as three billion.

But looking at Kim Seohyun's face, she clearly wanted to eat it.

"You want it?"

"Huh?"

"If you want it, it's yours. In exchange, the next thing we find is mine."

"Wh-what is it?"

The corner of Lee Seoha's mouth curled upward. He walked deeper in and lightly raised a hand.

Crunch.

The soil below began to lift. He raised the earth with his will and drew something out of it — a green, luminously radiant orb. Instinct alone told her: this was why Lee Seoha had brought her to this dungeon.

"It's a kind of essence, isn't it?"

"Yep. An essence that can reinforce a weapon or break a single seal."

"Still, the ginseng seems way more valuable."

"I don't need it."

"Is there anything you do need?"

"I'll ask when it comes up." Lee Seoha answered with studied nonchalance.

"...Should I pay you back, at least?"

"I'm not exactly short on money."

"Then should we start heading back?"

"Let's."

On the way back, we talked about this and that.

"Hey, is it really okay for me to just take this? The ginseng's worth way more."

"It's fine. This was what I wanted all along."

I said, rapping my knuckles against the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠essence. An essence capable of unsealing one of Heukcheon's sealed powers.

The description was simple. The effect was anything but — because it could undo one of Heukcheon's seals.

Hmmm...

Heukcheon was eyeing the essence with a strange look.

What?

I fear you may come to depend on me too heavily.

And what comes after that?

After that...

Before Heukcheon could finish, I whipped my head around.

...Master, prepare to run. Now.

...Understood.

The air had turned ominous, so I brought Kim Seohyun to a halt. I didn't say why. She seemed to feel it too, her gaze fixed hard on what lay ahead.

Ding.

I stared at the quest window with hollow eyes.

The Sword Demon, Na Bakcheon. A notorious man — a lunatic who had butchered over a thousand citizens for no better reason than that he enjoyed the sensation of people being cut down by his blade. An enemy I stood absolutely no chance against as I was now.

Hmph.

A quiet voice drifted over — soft, and utterly spine-chilling.

Click.

I opened the Sacred Eye and looked ahead. A force thick and settled, yet somehow not of this world, pressed against us from up front.

"...A demon."

But the power I could feel was different from anything I'd sensed before. Viscous. Sticky. Impossible to put into words.

"A student of Korea Hero Academy, is it? A high-rank demon fled this way not long ago. A search is underway."

The words the man had spoken earlier came echoing back to my ears. I never dreamed that had been a death flag.

Sharp instincts, you whelps.

With a dragging, scraping sound, his figure emerged into view.

The demon's appearance was wretched. His right arm had been torn away entirely by something; half of one leg had been ripped off as well. Of his remaining left arm, two fingers were missing. One eye was gone, and countless sword scars crisscrossed his body. Not a single one of his four limbs was whole.

The demon crawled along on one hand, then gripped his sword and looked at us.

Just brats, were you.

The Sword Demon, Na Bakcheon. The epithet had been earned because he swung a blade like a vengeful ghost.

This is bad.

The demon had genuinely been crippled. And yet his signature vitality was already at work — I could see new flesh budding over the wounds even now.

Running will be difficult.

Yeah.

Fifty meters lay between the demon and us. But that distance was also precisely the interval within which that sword could be swung once and kill us both.

I slowly raised Heukcheon and readied myself for the fight. Kim Seohyun was the same. Her face was taut with tension, but there was no fear in her eyes.

Heh.

Na Bakcheon's lips curled upward. We must have looked laughable to him.

We do look pretty ridiculous, honestly.

Because he was Upper Rank.

Upper Rank — beings who had carved their epithets into the world itself, established their own laws, and bent the world's rules to them. Each and every one of their strikes was at a level that could casually snuff out dozens of lives. To put it simply: if Na Bakcheon were at full strength, then even if Instructor Seo Wooju, Kim Seohyun, and Erciel swarmed him in a pack, he could slaughter the lot of them.

Master — it seems his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ear is injured as well.

So that's why his balance is a wreck.

I sized him up. His limbs were far from whole, and he wasn't even fighting at full power — yet he remained an enemy strong beyond all reason.

Careful.

I sent my will to Kim Seohyun, along with everything I had pieced together so far. She put on a composed expression, but her entire presence sharpened.

Vermin. Ordinarily I would toy with you before ending you, but I shall grant you the mercy of a clean death in a single stroke.

Na Bakcheon raised his sword. Half the blade had long since ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flown off, and fine cracks ran sparsely across what remained.

Shwk—.

But its speed was anything but ordinary.

A sliver of time you could only call an instant. Even with the Sacred Eye open, I barely caught the slash — and threw myself into a roll along the ground.

Shffff—.

Something split. Then everything caught within that arc was cut apart. The plant's corpse, the stone walls, the air, the mana itself — every last thing was severed by that sword.

What the hell kind of sword aura is that!

The ability he had carved into the world was a simple one. The power to cut anything. His sword was a kind of divine authority — a force capable of severing all things in existence.

Watching my vision warp and ripple, I moved with desperate urgency. I drew Heukcheon. Sword aura came gushing out, relentless and thick.

Hm? A hero cadet, is it?

The demon's brow twitched slightly.

"I'll take the front!"

"Got it!"

At my shout, Kim Seohyun faltered for a beat, then readied herself to back me up.

Brats.

Shwk—.

The sword came free. A trajectory blurred even through the Sacred Eye, aimed at my throat. I raised Heukcheon. I poured Reverse Heaven into it — battle aura and Reverse Heaven merging, swung with the essence of the Black Flash Sword Art.

KRA-KOOOOOM!

The slashes collided, dragging a monstrous shockwave in their wake.

What the—

The strength was no joke. My body was blasted backward in an instant.

Master — your heart!

Heukcheon screamed. Reflexively, I swung Heukcheon again.

KRA-KOOOOOM!

Disengagement. I surrendered my body to the force and retreated a long, long way back.

...Worse than I imagined.

They say the Upper Rank is where the real ones begin. The gap between Middle Rank and Upper Rank is no mere single realm.

Whew. Catching my breath, I studied my opponent. His complexion actually looked somewhat better now. He had burned through a considerable amount of strength, but the regeneration he'd gained by becoming a demon more than outpaced the loss.

Troublesome.

Drawing this out into a long war of attrition was out of the question. I had to force a short, decisive battle and end it in one burst. The heroes were somewhere in this region, yes — but I doubted they'd stumble onto a hidden dungeon right away.

The worst possible conditions.

I looked at Kim Seohyun. Thankfully, she showed no signs of going berserk.

I opened a subspace and took out the elixirs, then passed the mana elixir to Kim Seohyun.

Drink. It'll raise your mana.

A nod. At the touch of my will, she dipped her head, then tipped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the liquid into her mouth.

From the jet-black bracelet, I drew out the black swords. And split them. All five black swords rose into the air, borne aloft on my will. I raised Heukcheon. The elixir lent fresh vitality to my body — my senses honed themselves to a razor's edge, and my stamina settled into something firmer, harder.

"Whew."

I drew in a breath and stared hard at what lay ahead. An enemy I normally wouldn't have dared to face.

And yet —

I think I can take him.