False Accusation (Unresolved): Thud
Thud.
The limp sound of a thick hunk of flesh hitting the floor.
The pinnacle of sorcerers, the man bearing the title of Special Grade, the Association Chairman, had ultimately sacrificed his right arm to my blade.
But it was too early to relax.
"...Am I getting old, after all?"
Even with one of his limbs severed, he didn't so much as groan. Instead, he exuded an even thicker killing intent, calmly preparing his next move.
Refusing to retreat, the Chairman took a step forward and extended his empty left hand to the side.
From that left hand erupted an intangible surge of sorcery power, blazing like fire.
In an instant, it took the form of a new sword.
An immense amount of sorcery power condensed into a blade just over a meter long.
"Hup...!"
As if even staunching the blood was a luxury he couldn't afford, the Chairman stared straight into my eyes and swung his left arm down viciously.
Before I could flee, he was determined to end it right here.
The overwhelming pressure of a true Special Grade sorcerer, where any resistance seemed futile.
I'd held out well until now, but my breath caught in my throat.
The absolute difference in class was right before my eyes.
Taking just one arm from him.
It was as if that single feat implied it was the best resistance I could muster against a Special Grade's full might.
My sorcery, Life and Death Seizure, began to crumble.
The red thread lines coiled around my sword tip started vanishing one by one upon contact with the intangible blade.
Desperately, I managed to preserve just a single strand.
I swung Kang Seo-ah's famed sword upward along that one remaining trajectory to meet it.
Claaang—!
"...This is as far as you go too! Feel free to brag in the afterlife that you took my arm!"
As if my death was already assured, the Chairman looked down at me with arrogant composure.
Kagagak!
And he wasn't wrong.
My body creaked and groaned under the crushing overwhelming force.
With a grating scrape, Kang Seo-ah's famed sword was being whittled away pathetically.
No matter that it was a famed sword, further strengthened by my sorcery—it couldn't withstand the blade forged purely from the Chairman's sorcery power.
If this kept up, my body would be bisected just like his right arm.
But that was only if I stubbornly stuck to the sword.
"...Void Resonance Art."
Too pressed to counter with my sword, I murmured the incantation aloud.
Even if I'd been excommunicated so humiliatingly, it was the sorcery I'd faced the longest.
No matter how much time passed in the eons of my future lives, this was the spatial ability I could proudly claim made me the world's best.
Kwaaaang—!
The wall of the Chairman's office couldn't withstand the downward sword strike and crumbled away.
Beyond the gaping hole in the wall gleamed a brilliant blue sky.
And in front of the Chairman, who had caused such destruction, my figure was already gone.
"...Fighting a Special Grade like you and still pulling off spatial transfers so easily."
Behind him, where blood pooled on the floor.
I glanced at the blood-soaked ground, nudging his severed right arm at my feet with my toe.
"You rat... No swordsman's pride? You run the moment it turns disadvantageous."
"Before swordsman, we're sorcerers, remember?"
The Chairman whirled around in fury, but I didn't counterattack.
Further combat held no meaning.
Even one-armed, no openings showed in him anymore.
I couldn't kill him in one blow, and I was certain he'd cleave me in half the moment I slipped.
Still.
"I might not be able to kill you with my own hands right now, but sending you to the afterlife wouldn't be that hard, would it?"
There are villains in the underworld who go by that name.
And the title of Association Chairman was perfect for earning their grudge.
If word got out that his arm had been severed, wouldn't they come swarming?
But the Chairman didn't waver, instead aiming his left-hand sword at me.
"Try it. This body is still the Association Chairman, even in decay."
"If it were me, I'd target the other great families before you. Wouldn't those bastards who framed me come crawling out every day amid the bloodshed? They must want something, pinning crimes on me like this."
Even the most secure Association had been breached by my Void Resonance Art.
If villains wanted to live like villains, there were more efficient ways, no?
As I kindly previewed the massacre and its fallout, the Chairman's face grew gravely stern.
"This is an ultimatum. I won't become your family's hunting dog, nor devote my life to your family's swordsmanship. Bury this incident without conditions."
"...You think I'll accept that?"
"If not? Why should I be dragged around for crimes I didn't commit? I can't even find a reason to explain myself earnestly."
The Chairman's authority was mighty enough to cleanly erase a criminal without disqualification.
From the start, he'd planned to bury the incident and exploit my talents.
"If I look like a criminal to you, believe it. You're deciding my identity with your own hands. Choose. Will I become a righteous sorcerer like you lot, or the villain you want?"
I mercilessly stomped on his right arm rolling at my feet.
Splurt...!
The remaining blood inside couldn't withstand the pressure and spurted out.
"Ahh...!"
Kang Seo-ah, who had taken shelter in the corner, watched the arm get stamped with a pitiful expression.
Her passive demeanor, like a folding screen, unable to act either way.
Seeing her so fragile, I could understand why the Chairman didn't rely on her.
"Think of it as a deal if you like. I cut it cleanly, so with proper care, it can be reattached, right? ...Refuse, and I'll personally curse it so it never regenerates."
"Nngh.... So that's what you were aiming for...."
The benefits of acquiring me weren't many conditions to counter.
So how about returning the severed arm?
No profit gained, but preserving the value of arm restoration.
And the sorcery most tied to dark arts? Curses, of course.
Perform a ritual with this arm as sacrifice, and even a Special Grade sorcerer would live out their days as a one-armed cripple.
I wouldn't even need to do it myself—the villains would handle it enthusiastically.
"...You're truly not a villain, are you?"
He could ignore losing an arm to deal with an enemy like me, but now the binary choice of hostility or not was shoved in his face.
His wrinkled forehead twisted miserably in deep thought.
He wasn't particularly upright.
His true nature was that of an old raccoon scheming to cover my crimes with power and use me for his family's gain.
Moreover, a sorcerer's arm was a key conduit for sorcery.
For the Chairman, who wielded swordsmanship secrets, that arm's value was priceless—he'd pay any fortune to reclaim it.
"...Very well. It was I who tried to use you clumsily, so... I apologize."
"Grandfather?! How can you take that man's word for—!"
"Silence, girl!! This isn't about some arm—it's a grand strategic decision!"
"Eek!"
Kang Seo-ah protested in disbelief, but froze under the Chairman's thunderous roar and killing intent.
Even showing such disgrace before his granddaughter, he stood tall.
"Even if we can handle it, turning Gong Siwoo into an enemy would bring costs we can't even calculate."
"But..."
My abilities so far were enough to brand me a Special Grade threat.
Disguise no one could see through, unrestricted spatial jumps, and the power to sever a Special Grade sorcerer's arm.
In this barbaric modern world, I was perfectly capable for attempting such backroom deals.
"Then handle the cleanup on your end. Might happen again, but bury it yourselves."
Snap.
I flicked my fingers, storing the Chairman's right arm in my subspace.
Once settled, I'd package it nicely and return it.
The Chairman eyed the vanishing arm with lingering regret, but then, as if struck by a good idea, a eerie smile spread across his wrinkled face.
"Cleanup won't be hard. But in exchange.... If you dislike marriage to my granddaughter, how about becoming my adopted son instead?"
"...The man I was just fighting to the death with?"
"No lingering sentiments at this point. But if you're innocent as claimed, and remain intact, won't you pull the same or worse again? Shielding you every time would draw backlash from other families."
One Chairman's authority couldn't bury it all, so he dispelled the sword in his hand and raised his one arm in mock surrender.
"Besides, you're an asymmetrical force who can match me. Beyond 1st Grade, quasi-Special Grade caliber. The Association can't ignore your status so easily. And a free agent unbound by any family?"
Surveillance, vigilance, background checks.
He subtly implied he'd use the Association's power to monitor my every move.
"It's a deal you'd like. Stamp out the nuisances by affiliation with the Association and Kangmu Dang. You have ties to Tsuchimikado, but in Korea, there'd be restrictions, no?"
"Adopted son, then? I'd rather refuse that too."
"Find a suitable affiliation, and I'll let you go without regret. Unlike Gongmyeongdang. And...."
—How long do you plan to use that excommunicated surname?
The words etched naturally into my mind.
The name Siwoo from the orphanage.
The Gong surname granted upon entering Gongmyeongdang.
Just a matter of sentiment, but realizing it now felt deeply unpleasant.
"Hoho. Did I hit the mark? The conditions are simple. We'll reveal our family's sorcery, excluding the Kang surname and sword secrets. Just train with us—that's enough."
Not skimping on rewards tied to achievements, he didn't forget material incentives.
"You'd be on par with my son. Equal to Kangmu Dang's family head. I'll strictly order no meddling within the family. You warrant that much. A future Special Grade sorcerer."
The Chairman, who had schemed to exploit me, flipped upon confirming my power and began treating me like an honored guest.
The first button was badly twisted, but forging this tie now would bring benefits, his calculation went.
A relationship with no bindings, linked by equal trade—not bad at all.
Plus, I could bail anytime, enough for me to decide lightly.
"I'll accept the proposal. As long as my freedom's guaranteed."
"Ha, finally some respect. Being your enemy is tiring for this old bones."
Kang Seo-ah muttered softly, unadjusted to the sudden amicable shift.
"...Deciding family matters so abruptly? ...A younger disciple now my uncle? Ha. At least stay uninvolved and go to Japan quick."
"No intent to learn the swordsmanship you teach, so not your disciple. Oh, and."
I sneered at Kang Seo-ah's complicated expression.
"No more fake dating now, right? Niece."
"Fake dating? What nonsense is that?"
Kang Moojin, grasping the situation, needed no time to roar again.