Leave It to the New Era
Leave it to the new era? Kaaang—!
A metallic clang echoed through the chairman's office, too sharp to believe it had clashed with an old man's head.
No—by now, two swords existed between the chairman and me.
One was Kang Seo-ah's famed sword in my hand.
The other was the chairman's.
"...What a bold young thing. Do you know who I am?"
He didn't even turn around or move his hand.
It was like sword control arts—as if he'd imbued the blade with his will, letting it move freely.
With a simple trick, he'd effortlessly blocked a strike meant to kill.
This was the pinnacle of sorcery, what they called Special Grade.
The Sorcery Association. The chairman. Kang Moojin.
Kiiing—!
A chilling friction sound continued between the clashing blades.
No matter how much force I applied, the sword floating in midair like it was under telekinesis refused to let me close in further.
"It's been ages since anyone dared assault me after I reached Special Grade. Who are you, exactly?"
Even facing an assassin, he turned around leisurely, without a hint of urgency.
His slowly extended hand grasped the hilt of the floating sword.
His eyes widened slightly as he looked at my face, still in Estella's form.
"...What a stunning beauty. I doubt you've earned any grudges from someone like you. What's the reason for this?"
His syrupy response was so sweet it could rot teeth.
The moment he registered me as a beauty, his voice softened twofold, sending chills down my spine.
His gaze roamed everywhere without seeming to.
Kaang!
I flung the sword away fiercely and took a step back.
Honestly, at this point, revealing my identity wouldn't hurt.
The reason I'd struck the chairman's unguarded back was to prove my strength.
It was a blow and ambush that would've bisected a sorcerer like Choi Taeho ages ago.
It'd go a long way toward proving my innocence.
But stopping here felt insufficient.
A level of power that could only kill Choi Taeho would just give this sly fox of a chairman more excuses to exploit me.
I needed a procedure to reveal myself in a way that even the Association wouldn't dare touch lightly.
A show of force, so to speak.
A warning that rash actions would lead to dire consequences.
I drew up my core power.
The soul within me screamed as it ignited.
"A taciturn one, eh? Won't you let me hear that voice?"
I didn't reply to the chairman's casual nonsense and threw myself at him.
Kaaang—!
***
"What... A mere freshman holding his own against Grandfather, a Special Grade..?"
Kang Seo-ah, heading belatedly to the top floor where the chairman's office was, had assumed it was over.
Whatever his goal, Gong Siwoo had assaulted Choi Taeho and now the chairman.
Was it sorcery backlash messing with his mind? After a prestigious family head, now a Special Grade chairman?
Choi Taeho aside, challenging the chairman was madness.
She'd been certain he'd already be a cold corpse.
Kang! Kaang—! Chaaeng—!
Until the sharp metallic clashes kept ringing out, even after quite some time had passed.
"How..."
The sight Kang Seo-ah witnessed wasn't defeat or death for either side—it felt like an equal duel.
Their swords intertwined so fiercely.
"Hahaha! You're the best...! How long's it been since I had such a thrilling one-on-one?!"
"..."
"Not like Chinese martial arts. More like Western knighthood? No, different from that too! A complete original...! You've already forged your own sword style?!"
The chairman laughed with the innocent glee of a child finding a new toy.
As if, amid the deadly slashes, he'd rediscovered the joy of living he'd forgotten.
How hard did I try to see that face on him, and now you show it because of you?
Biting her lip in inexplicable resentment, Kang Seo-ah gripped the spare sword she'd brought and stepped forward.
"Kang Seo-ah!! Don't interfere needlessly! I'll handle this one!"
For the first time in her life, she froze at her grandfather's roar.
The killing intent aimed solely at Gong Siwoo engulfed her in an instant.
Terror that left her powerless, unable to even stand, invaded her mind.
Thud.
She was a top-tier 1st Grade sorcerer.
Yet the chairman's killing intent, just one step above, was enough to bring her to her knees.
1st Grade and Special Grade—a single step's difference.
But an uncrossable chasm, no matter the means.
"H-how are you... standing against Grandfather like that...?"
But Gong Siwoo, whom she'd pegged at best as 1st Grade, endured that intent unfazed and even counterattacked evenly.
Kang Seo-ah could only stare at them in dazed shock.
***
Chaaeng—!
"Ha! Show me more tricks! Your sword is endlessly fascinating!"
The chairman chuckled heartily, clearly delighted by the situation.
The man who'd eyed my sword with disdain was now the most immersed here.
Swordsmanship and close combat were branches of sorcery too.
Specialized enough to spawn terms like Chinese martial arts or European knighthood.
Mine, if anything, was based on otherworld knighthood, not Europe.
Ten years ago, when I opened the gate to the otherworld.
Unable to use sorcery due to the binding, how had I reached the elf forest?
I'd overcome most trials with a puppet of my own making and my body.
Facing monsters and otherworlders with just one handmade sword.
To me, swordsmanship was a survival tool I'd devised to make use of my powerless body.
"What experiences have you had?! That murderous edge is terrifying! Your blade reeks of blood!"
Kaaang! Kang! Kang—!
Our swords clashed sharply, aiming for vitals.
Neck or heart as expected, but eyes, spine—any hard-to-heal spot, no holds barred. A duel of life and death.
But the gap was clear.
Even I couldn't surmount the Special Grade wall.
Shaaak...!
Once more, my shoulder was sliced, blood spraying.
Unlike the chairman, whose clothes were merely torn, my skin was turning to rags.
The fight dragged because of his whim.
Greedy to see more of my swordsmanship, he pressed me solely with blades, no secret arts.
My limits approached, so I leaped back far.
"Ha. Already done? These young ones are so frail..."
"Enough with the sword. We're sorcerers, after all."
"Hm..?"
For the first time since facing him, I spoke.
A thick male voice from a beautiful woman's form startled the chairman.
I covered my face with my left hand and released the transformation spell.
"You're...!"
Revealing my true face from under my lifted hand.
The chairman's eyes wavered briefly.
His Special Grade senses hadn't pierced the transformation.
"Void Resonance Art that bypasses Association barriers. Transformation sorcery mimicking appearance to core power waves perfectly. Swordsmanship that can somewhat match the chairman."
"...What's your goal?"
I listed my revealed abilities politely, and he countered, baffled.
"Trying to say you didn't assault Choi Taeho? Pity, it changes nothing. You might've planned from the start not to kill outright, just turn him vegetative."
"That I spared him on purpose?"
"Making him cling to life pathetically as a vegetable could be revenge too. Punishment's inevitable. Unless you refuse my proposal."
He nailed down that marrying into his family was fait accompli.
Otherwise, a sorcery criminal faced life imprisonment or death.
Yet he eyed my swordsmanship with greedy hunger.
Clearly valuing my abilities enough to gloss over the assault without question.
"Even if you're innocent, it's no loss. Don't like our granddaughter? Not to boast, but she rivals that woman you transformed into. ...If her personality's the issue, I'll fix it quick."
Objectively, not a bad deal.
Join his clan, gain a beautiful partner, and with my whims, wield the state's and Association's absolute power.
But weren't there other paths?
A way to live freely, unbound, by my desires.
"You live however the fuck you want, so why can't I? Turning villain ain't bad."
"...You. Are you sane before me? Spouting 'villain' to the chairman?!"
Killing intent on another level erupted from him.
A fitting reaction from the Association head who hid corruption behind justice.
Sickening.
Excommunicated Gongmyeongdang, Hwaseong Group, the shadows behind, now the Association.
Rather than force-fitting this stifling world, starting a villain group for world domination sounded fine.
Second life—might as well live wild once.
Worst case, hole up in the otherworld with Estella for years.
"Watch closely. What I can do."
Snap.
My left fingers, not gripping the sword, flicked lightly.
"...?!"
Dimensional Arrival's side effect made my steps unstoppable.
Improved Void Resonance Art transfer speed outpaced the chairman's sword.
I was behind him now.
I'm a space sorcery master, not a swordsman.
Though my swordsmanship wasn't lacking.
I'd even crafted something near a secret art.
"You brat with your tricks...!"
A red thread line connected the turning chairman and me.
Based on Void Resonance Art's space severance, a sorcery solely to slice foes.
—Life and Death Seizure.
I activated the swordsmanship forged in otherworld battles.
From my right sword tip, red threads spiderwebbed out.
Dozens of baselines weaving the air as I passed the chairman.
"Not a standard sorcery? Don't tell me...! You invented a new one?!"
Space transfer for a blind spot ambush.
Sword swung along the red line; he countered a beat late.
My sword's peak power versus his unstable low from the awkward swing.
Sslash—!
Kang Seo-ah's famed sword cleaved the chairman's blade like tofu along the red line.
Thud.
Spurt!
His proud right arm fell, blood fountaining.
"Grandfather!!"
Kang Seo-ah, the sole witness to our victor, screamed in anguish.