The Intersection of Stars
A wooden board carved as if the stars of the night sky had been etched into its surface. And upon it, dark crimson droplets falling drip by drip.
The blood soaked into the timber, and vivid red marks rose faintly into view.
Between the star-spirits on the board, a red point was faintly inscribed as if foretelling something, then faded away again.
“The one who should have died… is still alive.”
The more he peered into the heavenly secrets, the paler the aging astrologer’s face became. Fear seeped in until his fingertips trembled finely.
The Southern Dipper Star Lord, who governed the death of all things, gazed down with stern eyes.
Yet some being was attempting to defy a destiny spanning eons.
Moreover—
“Why do the energies of the stars gather toward this cliff?”
Ominous energies one might not encounter even once in a lifetime were, for reasons unknown, converging upon this cliff.
As if drawn by the pull of fate itself.
Discovering three points that glittered ominously amid the blood, the astrologer murmured in shock.
“Three… three will come……”
“What is coming?”
A strange voice belonging to a black-clad man cut in midway.
“Ominous stars… Who the hell are you!”
At that question, the black-clad man swung his wolf-toothed staff—studded with sharp fangs—with vicious force.
Thud!
Blood and brain matter poured down onto the wooden board in a gushing cascade.
“Enemy of the Blood Sect.”
The black-clad man muttered so as he gazed at the corpse whose head had burst open.
Transcendental Peak Realm.
The stage said to be reachable when a Peak Realm martial artist—one who had already surpassed human limits—attained enlightenment once more.
It was the step immediately before the Transcendent Realm, the dream of every martial artist, and thus those who stood there could handle qi as skillfully as a part of their own body and briefly raise Sword Force.
Boom!
A faint blood-colored mist. Jo Harang’s greatsword, blazing blue, clashed with the Blood Sect master’s sword that flashed crimson, and a thunderous roar erupted.
Each time the sword and greatsword locked, shockwaves exploded outward. Dust swept across the ground; grass bent low. After only a few exchanges of blades, the clifftop already looked as if a storm had torn through it—pure chaos.
Boom! Boom!
The earth shook again and again as if an earthquake had struck.
The impact of the collisions raced up through the soles of my feet. Skin prickled; the air itself shuddered under the force of masters at war.
“Not bad. To hold your own against this body, which has reached the Transcendent Realm, even for a short while.”
Gwang Hyeol-so, eyes glowing blood-red, curved a chilling smile as if marveling at her talent.
Then, with some scheme clearly in mind, he ran his gaze over her body as though weighing whether her extraordinary martial gifts would make her flesh useful.
“Come to think of it, I never asked your name. Where did a wench like you crawl out from?”
He had expected to cut her down in an instant, yet she was lasting longer than anticipated, so Gwang Hyeol-so finally asked our names.
Earlier the bastard had called himself something like Left Blood Dharma. Judging by his martial might alone, he clearly held a high position within the Blood Sect.
“So why was Sister tangled up fighting a monster like that in a place like this?”
But Gwang Hyeol-so, absorbed in the battle, showed no intention of answering, and Moyong Cheonghye was unconscious, in no condition to explain.
“Divine Wind Saber, Jo Harang.”
Jo Harang adjusted her grip on the greatsword’s hilt and answered briefly.
When she spoke the epithet she had earned at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering rather than her old title of Minor Tiger Blade, Gwang Hyeol-so’s brows twitched and he let a quiet fury show.
“So that is the title you gained by slaughtering our disciples. Truly laughable.”
From her perspective she had only cut them down because they had suddenly come at her intent on killing; yet Gwang Hyeol-so, true to the nature of a terrorist who aimed for indiscriminate massacre, cared nothing for such circumstances.
He raised his blood-hued blade, murderous intent growing denser still.
“From this moment on, your epithet shall be Dead Man’s Blade, Jo Harang. Does that not suit you far better?”
A life already as good as dead, yet still brandishing a sword while claiming to be a chivalrous hero.
At that mockery, Purple Micro Star Jo Harang kindled violet light in both eyes.
A fierce battle cry. Her Tiger Hero Blade unleashed tremendous wind pressure. Savage blade strokes stormed forth like a tempest, flashing every which way.
“Incredible.”
I watched the collision between Gwang Hyeol-so and Jo Harang from the side and muttered in genuine awe.
No matter how strong the opponent, the moment she judged him evil she refused to yield and unleashed righteous fury—that was her way.
“Salsung. What do you think? After I did her that favor, she’s pretty useful, isn’t she?”
I asked while swallowing a strange pill to soothe my internal injuries.
Behold that dazzling talent of the Purple Micro Star, which awakens after only a few words of advice.
If I had not guided her into the Transcendental Peak Realm before, both of us would already have had our throats cut by this Gwang Hyeol-so by now.
Thus I pointed to the young female master who was holding her own remarkably well against a superior opponent and sought Salsung’s agreement.
Kill!
Yet whether it helped or not, Salsung instead urged me to seize this chance and strike Jo Harang from behind.
Truly creative. Suggesting I stab the one and only lifeline in this situation.
If I killed Jo Harang, my own head would fly off next. No doubt the little spirit had not bothered considering that aftermath.
Salsung seemed far more drawn by destinied grudge than by reason.
“If we want to live right now, there’s only one answer.”
A united front of two ominous stars.
So I gripped my Dog-Beating Staff once more and hurled myself back into that fierce battle.
Vicious Dog Blocks the Path!
My toes kicked off the ground. Using Whirlwind Steps, I blurred my form as if sinking away, shaking the enemy’s vision.
If a savage dog—moreover a fierce hound never seen before—blocked the way, what was one to do?
Head-Striking Staff Cleave…!
You simply thrash its head and scold it harshly.
The staff tip, wrapped in pure white staff qi, whipped toward the enemy’s skull.
It was the swiftest motion I had ever produced, yet the Transcendent Realm master seemed to have eyes in the back of his head; he tilted his neck and slipped past the attack by a paper’s breadth.
“What!”
Whoosh!
Then a counterattack lashed out like a snake flicking its tongue.
I twisted my whole body in panic. But his sword stroke bent unnaturally, sliced across my thigh, and cleanly sheared off the end of my Dog-Beating Staff that had been wrapped in staff qi.
Shlick!
“Kh—damn it!”
The Dog-Beating Staff had withstood every weapon it had ever met, yet before Sword Force it was utterly helpless.
So this was the wall of a Transcendent Realm master. Even with vast internal energy and the power of the Heavenly Killing Star, it was not a barrier easily crossed.
“If only… if only I had reached Transcendental Peak as well…!”
They said the Heavenly Killing Star’s talent for slaughter surpassed every other ominous star.
So why did the Purple Micro Star leap ahead after a few words of advice while I stood stuck in place?
Was it because I was a half-baked Heavenly Killing Star who rarely actually killed people?
Annihilating Kill!
Sensing the moment, Salsung goaded me toward slaughter.
Whenever I teetered toward strange heart demons, the creature’s ghastly demands inadvertently snapped my mind back—a peculiar little thing.
“Shut up!”
Whatever it ordered, I simply did the opposite.
I shook off the thoughts that had risen and, gripping the shortened Dog-Beating Staff, charged the bastard once more.
This time, though, I changed tactics.
Instead of intervening head-on, I darted in and out of the gaps between exchanges, nipping and harassing to fray his nerves as much as possible.
“You little fly of a bastard—!”
The effect was perfect.
He should have been pouring every scrap of focus into the Purple Micro Star swinging Saber Force in front of him, yet he ground his teeth and lashed sword strokes at me as well.
Under the joint assault of two ominous stars—one holding the front, the other stabbing from behind—he wavered ever so slightly.
“Did your Blood Heaven God order you to beat up random women?!”
“Silence!”
The instant I mentioned the Blood Heaven God, Gwang Hyeol-so flared up.
Whoosh!
A swift sword thrust like a bolt of light. Against a Transcendent Realm master, even “nipping” was no easy choice.
As the proportion of attacks aimed at me increased, so did my wounds, and the tip of my Dog-Beating Staff continued to be whittled away.
The gift Hwang Geolgae had given me, the symbol of a junior beggar, was being snipped shorter and shorter.
“Your Blood Heaven God must be embarrassed as hell! He finally sticks his head up after decades for revenge—and completely fails, becoming the neighborhood laughingstock!”
“Kh… that was all because of your interference—!”
People’s emotions surge hardest when you strike a nerve.
Already irritated by my harassing style of fighting, he now had his pride scraped by my mouth as well; pure rage flooded Gwang Hyeol-so.
“I’ll tear you to pieces…!”
The red flash condensed on his sword stretched long and split the empty air.
Slash!
Not merely coating the blade—he had reached the stage of projecting razor cutting force over distance.
Everything in the trajectory was sliced clean in half. Even the wind that had been blowing.
Jo Harang and I both blanched and flung our bodies aside.
“I had intended to restrain myself because your bodies are those of rare masters, but I’ve changed my mind! I’ll simply tear every last one of you apart!”
From that moment Gwang Hyeol-so’s mad rampage began.
Streams of blood-colored Sword Force swept across the clifftop like a tempest.
Slash! Slaaash—!
Left Blood Dharma Gwang Hyeol-so poured crimson Sword Force in every direction without the slightest regard for internal energy consumption.
“Ack! Kh! Harang! You try throwing some of that too!”
“Impossible! Just barely coating the blade is my limit!”
Apparently Sword Force manifested by a Transcendental Peak Realm master carried many restrictions. This technique seemed to be an art only true Transcendent Realm beings could unleash.
Shlick!
A blind stream of Sword Force carved through my shoulder and the Dog-Beating Staff alike.
The staff, snapped cleanly in two, rolled forlornly across the ground.
“No! My Hell Vengeance Staff—!”
At the death of the beloved weapon that had shared so much time with me, I let out a furious howl.
Yet the enemy’s aura was far too savage for me to charge in simply because I was angry.
Then, behind Gwang Hyeol-so, something like a pitch-black shadow flickered.
Boom!
A sudden strike. A suspicious black-clad figure whose entire body was wrapped in darkness. He had appeared out of nowhere and launched an attack wreathed in force against the Blood Sect master.
“Kh… who the hell are you…!”
He had erased his presence so thoroughly that even a Transcendent Realm master looked as if he had taken a solid hit.
Gwang Hyeol-so let out a short groan and retreated.
He twisted his body swiftly and shot a counterattack, yet the black-clad man avoided it with movements as fluid as the wind itself.
He also dealt quite skillfully with the blood arts that used blood.
“What is your identity, you bastard!”
Gwang Hyeol-so exploded in frustration.
“Mujin, some weird guy just popped out.”
The cliff where the Heavenly Killing Star’s trail had vanished. Two ominous stars gathered atop it, plus one ninja-like person who had suddenly appeared.
“This cliff really must be cursed.”
What was so special about this place?
At best, Moyong Cheongjin had died once after being stabbed in the belly, my mind had taken residence in the gap, and the Heavenly Killing Star that would dye the earth in blood had lost its grip of control…
Hmm. Come to think of it, quite a few things had happened here.
Anyway.
“This is our chance. If the three of us press him together we might actually win.”
I had no idea what he was, but he seemed hostile to the Blood Sect and possessed mastery no less than Jo Harang’s.
Two Transcendental Peak masters and one Peak Realm martial artist—two of them talent monsters bearing ominous stars.
“This much is worth a try.”
As if reading my mind, Jo Harang swung her greatsword and began an unfamiliar joint assault with the black-clad man.
I cautiously began to entertain the possibility of victory in this fight.
The black-clad man who had barged in midway was so powerful that the old saying about a ninja suddenly appearing and massacring everyone came to mind.
Wielding a staff studded with sharp blades without the slightest hesitation, he joined us in driving Gwang Hyeol-so back.
The three of us filled one another’s openings as if we had long been comrades who breathed as one.
Thud! Thud!
Under that exquisite three-man assault, Gwang Hyeol-so was forced back helplessly.
Atop the rugged cliff, the three martial artists’ attacks poured down in turn. Whenever Jo Harang’s greatsword heavily split the air, I slipped in to split his attention, and the black-clad man’s flashing strike hid behind the greatsword for a sudden ambush.
“You rat bastards…!”
He had been on the verge of sealing Moyong Cheonghye’s pressure points and kidnapping her; now the meal was ruined at the last moment.
With the situation turning against him, an enraged Gwang Hyeol-so swung his sword in every direction and roared in fury.
Whoosh!
In that opening the Tiger Hero Blade sliced across his forearm, and Gwang Hyeol-so ground his teeth. Even a Transcendent Realm master could not afford leisure under such a joint assault.
The three of us together were producing power on the level of a Transcendent Realm martial artist. He gnashed his teeth at our uncanny synergy.
If he dodged one killing move, the next attack was already stretching out as if waiting for him. And even the subsequent killing move arrived as if it already knew his next action.
Under that talent-soaked barrage that seemed to read the next move in advance, his face twisted with incomprehensible rage.
“A trap… don’t tell me you laid a trap…!”
Apparently convinced this was a prepared joint formation, Gwang Hyeol-so finally accused the three of us of having set a snare.
“You there, black-clad sir! Let’s keep it just like this!”
“……”
An angle to take him down had appeared. Yet no matter what I said, the black-clad man maintained utter silence.
The more I looked, the more the word “ninja” slipped out of its own accord.
But that long staff studded with fangs that he swung… I was certain I had heard of it somewhere. What was it again?
“Gyaaah!”
Just then the black-clad man’s staff raked across Gwang Hyeol-so’s back.
Flesh tore on the sharp teeth; Gwang Hyeol-so sprayed a thick jet of blood.
“Gwang Hyeol-so, it seems the Blood Heaven God already chose this place as your grave.”
Sensing the tide of victory, I provoked him for all I was worth.
“These damned…!”
But he no longer seemed to have time to react to my taunts.
His face was that of a man who realized he had walked into a trap. Once the black-clad man’s intrusion made victory no longer certain, he cast a regretful glance at the fallen Moyong Cheonghye and began to edge his feet away little by little.
He looked back and forth between the two of us and even spat blood-tinged curses.
“I swear by the Blood Heaven God—someday I will kill all three of you without fail.”
A classic “just you wait until next time” speech.
After a quick glance at his escape route, Gwang Hyeol-so spun and fled in haste.
“Hah… hah…”
Jo Harang, who had been facing that Transcendent Realm demon head alone all this time, collapsed where she stood, gasping on the verge of exhaustion.
And the moment the bastard fled, the black-clad man immediately gave chase as if determined to kill him.
“Hey, black-clad guy! You’re that Wolf-Tooth Staff freak who suddenly popped out and only smashed the valuables, aren’t you?!”
Shasha-shak! Light footsteps of a movement technique.
Only then did the memory surge up; I shouted the question at the top of my lungs.
“……”
He glanced back once, then again without a word melted into the forest like a shadow—the Wolf-Tooth Staff freak.
“What a strange bastard.”
Back then I had only thought, “What kind of freak is that?”
Yet the irony was that letting him go that day was the very reason my life had been saved this time.