Radiant Ascension Path

"Number 366."

Yeon Ye-ha's clean voice carried perfectly even through the noisy space. For the record, the number she had called — 366 — belonged to Jegal Mo-sun.

"I challenge you to a formal duel."

"...And the reason?"

Jegal Mo-sun, who normally kept his composure intact, furrowed his brow and let the doubt show. The people watching felt the same. Yeon Ye-ha's challenge had come far too suddenly — and she and Jegal Mo-sun belonged to the same unit.

"I want to confirm your skill."

"...Is there any real need to issue a formal duel challenge for that today? If that's the reason, a sparring match would be more than enough."

A formal duel was not the same as sparring.

Unlike sparring, which existed solely for improvement, a formal duel was fought with one's reputation on the line. Depending on the circumstances, it could even become a life-or-death match.

"I want to see the full extent of your power."

"...Do you harbor doubts about my ability as a fellow unit member?"

Jegal Mo-sun let out a sigh.

He had no choice but to accept. Elsewhere might have been different, but too many eyes were watching here. Refusing a duel in this place would set the recruits whispering. And this was the Heavenly Demon Cult — a place where the logic of strength mattered above all else. The moment you were branded a coward, contempt followed.

"Number 567. I accept your challenge. Do you want a life-or-death match?"

Yeon Ye-ha's answer was predictable. Given her personality, she would want a duel fought with lives on the line. Only then could she properly gauge Jegal Mo-sun's true ability.

Before she could reply, Cheon Yu-un stepped in urgently.

"Hold ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on. Life-or-death duels are forbidden in Ipmaso."

"...Number 88. Was there such a regulation?"

Jegal Mo-sun asked with an odd expression.

"There is. If you doubt my word, go ask the Ipmaso director yourself."

"I trust Number 88's word. Number 567. A pity. It seems a life-or-death match won't be possible. Why don't we call the duel off entirely while we're at it? We need to prepare to depart west tomorrow."

"It doesn't matter if it isn't a life-or-death match."

"You're stubborn. Very well. Let us go to the sparring grounds."

Jegal Mo-sun accepted the duel. Fighting and losing would gain him more than refusing outright.

"I'll serve as referee. If that makes you uneasy... you're free to call an instructor."

Cheon Yu-un stepped forward as he spoke. Those who knew his true identity did not refuse.

They headed for the training grounds. Drawing swords and fighting right there in the open simply wasn't an option. With every step they took, the crowd surrounding them moved a step as well. From the onlookers' perspective, a spectacle this good was not something to miss.

I followed behind them. My mind was a mess. The reason Yeon Ye-ha had challenged Jegal Mo-sun to a duel — that was almost certainly to determine whether he was the rapist.

Last time I subdued Yeon Ye-ha, I showed her my skill. If Jegal Mo-sun turns out to be exceptional... she'll be convinced he's the culprit and kill him.

She wouldn't kill him openly. But as the Sword Demon's daughter, she had any number of ways to end Jegal Mo-sun's life.

Jegal Mo-sun is going to lose.

In the past it might have been different, but the current Yeon Ye-ha had grown strong enough that even Cheon Yu-un could no longer dismiss her. Jegal Mo-sun, on the other hand, might belong to Unit One, but pure martial skill put him in the lower ranks even within that unit.

Damn it. I've been framing Jegal Mo-sun as the culprit this whole time.... Now he'll be scratched off Yeon Ye-ha's list of suspects.

Yeon Ye-ha and Jegal Mo-sun drew their swords and took positions a set distance apart.

"Before we begin, I'll say this once more. This is not a life-or-death match. Do not unleash killing intent."

Cheon Yu-un, serving as referee, spoke in a hard voice.

Cheon Yu-un had to be sweating bullets right now. Yeon Ye-ha and Jegal Mo-sun were both talents he had his eye on. If an accident during the duel left one of them crippled? The loss to Cheon Yu-un would be enormous.

"...I trust both of you understood me clearly. Begin."

Yeon Ye-ha struck first. She stepped forward with precise footwork and swung her sword straight at Jegal Mo-sun's front. It was a crude attack — no subtlety of martial arts, nothing fancy at all.

I would have casually sidestepped and counterattacked, but Jegal Mo-sun was not me.

He raised his sword and met Yeon Ye-ha's strike head-on. He had no other option. Her movements would not have been fully visible to him.

Yeon Ye-ha's simple attacks continued. The clash of steel filled the training grounds.

"Hah— huff...!"

Jegal Mo-sun was desperate. Just receiving her sword was pushing him closer and closer to his limit. The difference was raw power and inner energy.

As the one-sided fight dragged on, a pale hand suddenly shot up from Jegal Mo-sun's right foot and tried to seize Yeon Ye-ha's leg. A technique. Yeon Ye-ha slipped the attack with light footwork, then swept her sword through the air once and generated three blades of sword wind.

The sword winds grazed past Jegal Mo-sun's faltering body. He tried to counter again, but Yeon Ye-ha had already closed the distance — her blade was leveled at his throat.

"...I lose."

"......"

Yeon Ye-ha quietly sheathed her sword. Before Cheon Yu-un could even declare her victory, she turned and walked out of the training grounds.

"Wait — please wait a moment!"

Jegal Mo-sun shouted. Yeon Ye-ha looked back.

"Why on earth did you duel me?!"

"...I already answered you."

"You wanted to confirm my skill? No — you had a different purpose! Answer me seriously!"

"I stated my purpose from the beginning."

Yeon Ye-ha left the training grounds. Jegal Mo-sun's face was twisted with frustration. The people who had enjoyed the free show drifted off to their own business.

Cheon Yu-un approached Jegal Mo-sun. I focused inner energy into my ears and eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Number 366. Number 567 genuinely just wanted to see your skill."

"...And how can you be so certain of that?"

"She and I have known each other since long ago. She is a martial artist. She pursues strength. Challenging you to a duel means she acknowledges you."

"I was thoroughly defeated. If she had wanted to, she could have dropped me in a single exchange. And you still think she acknowledges me?"

"She has grown stronger than before, but she does not lie."

"......"

"You don't seem convinced. ...What do you think her real purpose was?"

"...Number 567 was trying to confirm something through me. Not my skill — something else. That was the impression I got."

"...I don't know."

"Number 88. Would you ask her for me? You've known each other since childhood, haven't you?"

"She doesn't lie, but she knows how to withhold. Even if I asked, she probably wouldn't give a proper answer. By the way — that technique you used at the end... was that a jiangshi art?"

"Yes. One of the jiangshi techniques. A basic method that uses my own body as a medium to summon a jiangshi's hand...."

I shook my head. No need to keep listening to them.

After a moment's thought, I checked the direction Yeon Ye-ha had gone. The path toward the dormitories. The distance was considerable. She would walk at a leisurely pace, so if I ran I could overtake her.

Watching Yeon Ye-ha fight got me hard.... Should I go see her?

In a place free of watching eyes, I summoned the Illuciter and strapped it to my wrist. Then I activated it.

My body turned transparent. I sprinted full tilt toward Yeon Ye-ha's dormitory.

I waited for her in a narrow alley beside the path to the dorms. Before long, Yeon Ye-ha came into view. Fortunately, no one was near her.

As she was about to pass the mouth of the alley, I reached out.

I sealed her inner energy with a pressure-point strike, grabbed her waist and shoulder, and pulled her into the alley. In the dark passage where not even sunlight reached, I looked at her. She did not resist. She did not draw her sword. With an expressionless face, she spoke calmly to my invisible form.

"It's you."

"That's right. Still composed, I see. ...Did you anticipate I'd come for you?"

I spoke in an imitation of Jegal Mo-sun's voice.

"No. I didn't expect it. I was surprised. I never thought you'd attack me in broad daylight, right out on the street."

There was no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trace of surprise in her manner.

I looked down at my own body. She had spoken so matter-of-factly that I wondered if the invisibility had worn off. The Illuciter was working perfectly.

"So you weren't Jegal Mo-sun."

"......"

I reached out, undid her belt, and pulled down her pants. Ornate black underwear came into view — the underwear I had gifted her. She hadn't thrown it away; she was wearing it properly. I pushed the panties aside and touched her pussy. Her thick outer lips wrapped around my fingers. No time for leisurely foreplay, so I used Erogenous Amplification.

"Are you planning to rape me here?"

"I lost to you in that duel just now, so I need my revenge."

I kept pretending to be Jegal Mo-sun to the end. Whether the act was working was hard to judge. Her poker face was invincible.

"You're not resisting."

"I'll cooperate. In exchange, answer my question."

"This would be the fourth question, wouldn't it?"

"The fifth. Under our current terms, this is the last one."

Five questions, one truth.

Last night she had asked whether I was right-handed or left-handed. I had said right-handed. That was the truth. So I could lie on this question without consequence.

"Is your nearest residence to the east? Or to the west?"

"......"

Unit One's men's dormitory was to the west; Units Two and Three's men's dormitories were to the east. The south held the instructors' quarters, and the north held the female instructors' quarters.

Yeon Ye-ha gave two examples... but I can't fall for that. The question isn't multiple choice.

After thinking it through, I answered.

"The residence closest to here is to the south."

"I see."

Yeon Ye-ha nodded, then propped one leg up against the wall as if leaning on it and presented her pussy to me. Clear fluid was already dripping stickily from it.

"...You're being proactive."

"I agreed to cooperate, so I'm cooperating. I have no intention of wasting time on pointless squabbling."

"You do realize you're being raped right now?"

"...Yes. Which is why I'm going to find you and kill you."

I thrust my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠erect cock into her pussy.

"Ah..."

Yeon Ye-ha let out a small breath and her body flinched. Then she gripped my upper body with both hands. Her hands moved, stroking across my torso. The purpose was clear. She was checking my build, searching for any physical characteristics she might find.

She wouldn't find anything particular.

"Hahk... ahn."

I raped Yeon Ye-ha in the alley for thirty minutes, then returned to the dormitory. Because of the Illuciter's time limit, I couldn't fully enjoy the full hour we'd agreed on.

Sex while invisible... it's even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more exciting than I expected. I'll have to enjoy this more often from now on.