The Sword of Winter

The commotion died down quickly.

With Paewang on the scene, none of them were leaving alive.

Though what happens to Villains, I can't say for sure.

The Retribution Brigade had a notorious reputation. Plenty of people would be celebrating their deaths, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so their fate would likely end at execution rather than trial.

I was mulling all this over when Kim Seohyun approached me.

"What was that?"

"Hm?"

"That sword-aura thing."

Ah, she meant the Black Calamity. To be fair, it *was* an alien power — above all, the conceptual stat against heaven had made it look exactly like sword aura.

"It wasn't sword aura. Call it a finishing move."

"It looked more dangerous than any sword aura I've ever seen."

"Because it's a finishing move."

"You've been hiding a lot more than I thought."

Kim Seohyun's eyes glittered. That was the look she only ever gave a worthy rival — or a classmate stronger than herself.

Luckily, it seems she doesn't know I've crossed the wall of transcendence yet.

I'd only just stepped into that realm myself — a fresh new god of it, no less.

I gave her shoulder a couple of pats as a job-well-done, then tried to walk away — except my body had absolutely zero strength left in it, so I just shuffled past instead. Against Heaven had drained me far worse than I'd expected. On par with the Bottomless Pit, which I'd used to kill the high-rank Nabakcheon not long ago.

I sank down where I stood and looked around.

The place was a disaster. Everything had been gnawed, shattered, and scorched by something. As I stared at the wreckage, the Red Tower Lord came toward me.

"Was it you who summoned Lord Paewang?"

"Yes."

"How did you— no. That's not what matters right now."

With that, the Red Tower Lord bowed her head to me.

The kids standing nearby gasped at the sight.

"First and foremost, I wished to thank you. If not for you, there would be hardly anyone left alive here. And without question, I myself would be dead. You are, for all intents and purposes, the savior of our lives."

"……"

I knew this was how the Red Tower Lord was. Still, I hadn't expected her to say it so openly, in front of a crowd no less.

"It was nothing. Anyone else would have done the same."

"But they would not have drawn Lord Paewang himself into it. In any case — thank you. Ah, is there anything you need? I know this sounds like I'm slapping gold leaf on my own face, but I'm a rather capable mage, for all appearances. If there's something you want, I'll see that you get it."

"I'll let you know if anything comes up."

Her offer reminded me of all sorts of things I'd like to get my hands on eventually.

"And… one more thing."

The Red Tower Lord trailed off, studying me.

"Has my Yuhwa ever caused you any trouble? I indulged her far too much growing up, so the girl has trouble distinguishing her privileges from her responsibilities."

"……She's fine."

Apart from the occasional cheekiness, she wasn't a bad kid.

The Red Tower Lord regarded me for a moment, then hesitated.

"Do you, perhaps… hold any particular feelings for our Yuhwa?"

"Are you scheming to seduce my son-in-law?"

A heavy voice rang out. Paewang was approaching us with the half-dead vice-commander slung over his shoulder.

"Lord Paewang?"

"Quite the troublesome one, he was. Trying to save his own subordinates after they'd abandoned *him*."

Clicking his tongue, Paewang dropped the vice-commander onto the floor. His condition ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was better than I'd expected. Aside from one leg having been torn clean off by something, he was more or less in one piece.

Then again, his opponent *had* been Paewang.

That intimidation technique of his was Paewang's own skill — the power of the Prefecture Lord lineage.

"Oh, right. That sword this guy was swinging around looked decent. Want it?"

Grinning at the corners of his mouth, Paewang held out the blue-hued blade for me to see.

The Winter Sword.

"The Winter Sword!"

The Red Tower Lord stared at it, wide-eyed.

"Lee Seoha, take it. You couldn't buy that thing for ten fortunes if you tried."

"Of course, once people notice it, it'll bring that much trouble with it, but…"

I accepted without hesitation.

"Thank you. It's something I've genuinely wanted for a long time."

"Hahaha, would you look at this brat?"

Paewang let out a booming laugh. Movement stirred at the entrance — the Association was finally arriving.

"About time. Those people's work has been getting slower by the day."

"There seems to be a political struggle going on at the top."

"Tch. Fools, the lot of them."

Paewang crossed his arms and clucked his tongue.

The Red Tower Lord looked at me.

"Lee Seoha. Do you intend to conceal today's events?"

"……Would that be possible?"

"Of course. Most of the guests I invited today are cherished acquaintances of mine. And—"

She shot a sidelong glance at Paewang. The unspoken meaning was clear: no one here would dare cross him.

"Then I'll leave it in your hands."

"Very well. They said the Retribution Brigade targeted you specifically, Lee Seoha — be careful."

The Red Tower Lord produced a red badge from inside her coat and pressed it into my hand.

"If anything dangerous happens, press the button on the badge. I'll come running."

"Ah, and if you're taking the Winter Sword, hide it quickly. Those bastards won't steal it while I'm watching, but they'll still make a nuisance of themselves."

Paewang said this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠while eyeing the arriving Association personnel. I swiftly stowed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Winter Sword into my subspace.

Once the chaos had settled, I made my way outside.

I sat down on a bench placed nearby, uncorked a recovery elixir, and tilted my head back to watch the sky — where I spotted a woman. Business suit, ponytail tied back behind her head.

Her presence was considerable. But perhaps that was only natural. This was the monster equal in rank to the vice-commander of the Retribution Brigade — the brigade that had nearly overwhelmed the Red Tower Lord just moments ago.

"You."

A living symbol of the Association. The woman I'd crossed paths with once before, during the demon incident — the Sword Queen, Baek Ji-yeon.

"Been a while."

I inclined my head in a suitably measured bow. Baek Ji-yeon's gaze swept over me, and her eyes began to register something increasingly unusual as they took in my body.

"You've grown far stronger than the last time I saw you. Kids your age grow fast, but you're exceptional even by that standard. Truly befitting a boy the Emperor took notice of."

Baek Ji-yeon said this, then drew a cigarette from inside her jacket and put it between her lips. She flicked open her lighter, caught sight of me, and froze for a beat.

"Ah, sorry about that. Habit. Anyway — it's good to see you again like this."

With that, Baek Ji-yeon looked toward the hotel with her sunken, weary eyes. At her level of mastery, she could read the general state of affairs inside the hotel at a glance.

She'd be reasoning something like: no trace of the demonic signature unique to demon cultists, so it must have been a Villain attack, and the situation is mostly resolved. And given the sheer magnitude of the power that was felt here, some transcendent being must have intervened.

Pretty quick on the uptake.

About now, she would be starting to feel that creeping sense of unease.

The Association was always slow to respond. An incident would occur, and by the time the Association arrived, it had already been more or less resolved. The reason was simple: the demon cultists and Villains had deliberately made the Association one of their primary targets. Meanwhile, the government remained uncorrupted, its ranks filled with the honest and incorruptible.

"Anyway — pass my regards to Seo Yebin sometime."

With that, Baek Ji-yeon headed out. Not long after, Association members wearing the Association's emblem began streaming out of the hotel.

"Seriously, what is *wrong* with the higher-ups these days?"

"They were always slow, but they've gotten way worse lately. Wanna go do a sword dance at their office?"

"Watch your mouth. Keep that up and you'll seriously screw yourself over."

The Association members grumbled their way outside.

And before long, Hong Yuhwa appeared.

"You still haven't left?"

"Yeah, no point going home just to sit around."

I looked at Hong Yuhwa. She'd changed out of the dress that had been reduced to rags in the fight — a beige short-sleeved blouse and a high-waisted black skirt now. She was regarding me with a haughty expression.

Looking at her, a sudden mischievous streak welled up in me.

"Guess who I am?"

"Hah?"

I tilted the corner of my mouth up and met her eyes.

"The guy who soloed one of the Retribution Brigade's high-ranks, and landed the critical blow on the high-rank the rest of you were struggling against."

Hong Yuhwa stared at me, dumbfounded. Her mouth hung open.

"So — who's beneath who now?"

The next instant, a scream tore from Hong Yuhwa's lips — impossible to tell whether it came from beast or human.

I smiled, well pleased with myself.

— Husband, you're not going to cast me aside, are you?

Heukcheon sat down beside me, feigning tears. The reason for this theatrics was exactly one thing: the Winter Sword I'd received from Paewang.

The Winter Sword is a fine blade, granted.

But not fine enough for me to abandon *her*. Not unless I got my hands on one of the Four Seasons Swords, anyway.

I appraised the Winter Sword.

The effects were simple. The power behind them, however, was anything but. I raised the Winter Sword and cut a horizontal slash through empty air.

Crrrack—!

The air along the arc of the slash began to freeze over.

It's weaker than I expected.

But that couldn't be helped. This was a weapon that scaled with one's realm of mastery. The moment I surpassed the high-rank and stepped into the apex tier, it would unleash its true power in earnest.

I lowered the Winter Sword and stowed it back into my subspace, then checked the time. Eight in the morning.

School was on break right now, but if I didn't get moving soon, I'd be cutting it dangerously close.

At my age, having to attend school AND show up for work.

A sigh escaped me unbidden. Still sighing, I threw on a short-sleeved hoodie and some slacks, sloppy as could be, and headed out the door.