Chapter 572: The Conspiracy Begins (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 572: The Conspiracy Begins (5)
The executives of the Hunter Association.
Reporters who had received their approval.
And even the guild leaders of every major guild.
In the center of a space filled with the most distinguished figures in the country, two people ascended a stage encircled by a transparent barrier.
Namgung Hyeok, a man dressed in martial arts attire that seemed out of place in the modern era with a single sword at his waist, spoke with admiration.
“Incredible. A promotion match at your age… This is a feat even your father, Si-woo, could not achieve. It seems you will surpass him in the near future.”
“You’re too kind.”
“Not at all.”
It wasn’t mere flattery.
Son Si-woo and Namgung Hyeok.
The two had lived through the same era, crossing paths countless times, occasionally joining forces, and sharing drinks. While not the closest of friends, they were quite amicable.
Because of that, he had also seen Son Seo-yeon when she was young.
A child who, despite her bold declaration of wanting to become a great Hunter like her mom and dad, had been terribly frail.
That same child now stood before him.
On the verge of becoming an S-rank.
“Time… it flies.”
Namgung Hyeok felt a wave of emotion as he looked at the confident woman standing before him, her presence commanding.
The back waves of the Yangtze River push the front waves.
Wasn’t that the saying?
He had vaguely thought this day would come eventually, but he never imagined it would be so soon.
“It’s all so fast.”
The feeling was strange.
Two conflicting emotions, joy and sorrow, coexisted within him.
He was a man of the Republic of Korea.
Though he wasn’t born and raised here, this country had extended a hand to him in his time of need.
That was enough.
For a martial artist who valued chivalry and righteousness above all else, it was reason enough to serve this nation.
And so, he was happy.
Han Ju-hee, Son Si-woo, Namgung Hyeok.
Happy that even after they, who were slowly entering the twilight of their careers, retired, new talents were emerging one after another to protect this country.
At the same time, he was sad.
Sad that the youthful days when he roamed dungeons with grand ambitions had faded.
Sad that the time had come for him to step back from the lead role into a supporting one.
He reined in his wandering thoughts.
‘Not yet.’
The time was drawing near, but it wasn’t now.
The young ones were advancing rapidly, closing the distance, but he still had something left.
The strength to widen the gap once more.
He had no intention of having a beautiful retirement, leaving while the applause was loudest.
He would silently swing his sword as long as his body could move.
Until he was naturally left behind.
Shing—
He drew his sword.
Feeling the familiar sensation, as if his arm had grown longer, he asked his opponent.
“Come. I will see for myself.”
Whether you are truly worthy of S-rank.
Whether you have the ability to move past the name Son Si-woo and take responsibility for the next generation.
As if in response, she too drew her sword.
“Thank you for your high expectations, but I have no intention of leading the next generation.”
“No intention of leading…?”
When he repeated her words, she answered with a gentle smile.
“That’s right. Because there is someone so much greater than me it’s not even a comparison.”
“Hmm.”
As if he understood something, Namgung Hyeok’s gaze shifted to the audience seats, which offered a clear view of the stage.
Even among the diverse crowd, one man was instantly recognizable.
A man who was all the more special for his utter stillness.
The eye of a typhoon, kicking up a fierce wind that swirled around him.
“Kim Do-jin… Are you referring to him?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Indeed…”
If it was him, it was more than enough.
No, it was overkill.
It was hard to comprehend how such a monster could have been born in this small land.
He could understand why she was stepping back.
“A pity.”
But he couldn’t help but feel it was a shame.
“Because in my eyes, you seem to be no less of a monster than he is.”
At least, that’s how he saw it.
Han Ju-hee and Son Si-woo.
The talent of Son Seo-yeon, born to those two great heroes, seemed comparable to Kim Do-jin’s.
The only difference for now was in how much of that power they had managed to draw out.
At his high praise, Son Seo-yeon just smiled lightly and shook her head.
“Even if that were true… I cannot stand against him.”
“Is there a reason? Could it be… he has a hold on you?”
A hold on her.
She smiled bitterly and murmured.
“Perhaps you could call it that.”
There could be no greater weakness than having given your heart to another.
Of course, even if that weren’t the case, she would never fight him for his position.
She had made up her mind.
“I’ve made my decision. I will support that child from behind. I will become the pillar he trusts most in this world.”
Just like my mom and dad did for each other long ago.
She swallowed the rest of her words and readjusted her grip on her sword.
“So please, I ask for your guidance.”
An unwavering, virtuous will radiated from her eyes.
“Hmm, what a fine gaze.”
It was truly magnificent.
If only it weren't for that hint of excessive devotion.
But it didn’t matter much.
Such blind will was often born from the passion of youth.
It would naturally fade as she aged and gained more experience.
For now, he would simply gauge her current standing.
With the majesty of a great mountain settling on his back and shoulders, he spoke.
“Come.”
“…Yes!”
With a powerful reply, she moved forward.
Son Seo-yeon was surprised to find her steps, as she kicked off the ground, were lighter than ever before.
To think my body could feel this light just from unburdening my heart.
Holding on to this small realization, she swung her sword in a diagonal slash.
Clang!
The blow was easily blocked.
Beyond their crossed swords, she could see Namgung Hyeok’s satisfied expression.
“Not bad.”
It seemed her swordsmanship was quite to his liking.
His excitement growing, he said, “Show me everything you have. So that when you leave this stage, you won’t have a single regret.”
“Of course… I will!”
As she replied, her sword vanished from sight for an instant, unleashing dozens of flashes of light.
Eighteen trajectories drawn in a single breath.
Namgung Hyeok remained unfazed by the attack, which was so fast and complex it could make one dizzy just by watching.
Chaeng!
Clang!
Skakakak!
In contrast to Son Seo-yeon’s flashy swordsmanship, Namgung Hyeok’s defense was simple and direct.
He intercepted her moves with the shortest, most efficient path, free of any unnecessary movement.
Then.
“Hmph!”
He launched a counterattack.
Swoosh!
Son Seo-yeon was taken aback by the strike that flew at her like a beam of light.
But only for a moment.
“Hah…!”
She blocked the light-like thrust with the flat of her blade.
Namgung Hyeok immediately twisted his sword, transitioning from a thrust to a slash, drawing a series of short arcs to strike at Son Seo-yeon’s blind spots.
Even in a spar, allowing such an attack to land would result in excruciating pain.
To untangle a complex knot, one must start with a single thread.
She read the sequence of the distorted trajectories before her.
‘This is the first one.’
And she dismantled them, one by one.
Kiiing!
Krrrrk…!
The trajectories were erased from the world, one after another.
Another chance to attack presented itself.
To make the most of it, mana erupted from her core and surged through her entire body.
Her body grew hot.
Her sword, now far more flexible, targeted Namgung Hyeok’s entire form.
Son Si-woo had once said this technique was like a sudden downpour from the sky, and so he had named it:
「White Rain.」
Each strike was a single point—small, yet dense and fierce. The attacks rained down on Namgung Hyeok, a literal summer shower of blows.
Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish!
Fwing-fwing-fwing!
Whoosh!
But Namgung Hyeok was unharmed.
Not a single drop from the torrential downpour had touched him.
The same was true for the attacks that followed.
No matter when, where, or how she aimed, Namgung Hyeok easily blocked her sword strikes.
Finally, she understood.
Namgung Hyeok.
She now understood why the sword style of the man who was once the direct heir of China’s Namgung clan contained the words ‘Vast Sky’ (蒼穹) and ‘Boundless’ (無涯).
It truly felt like she was fighting the sky itself.
A feeling of swinging her sword aimlessly against a vast, endless sky, robbed of all meaning and purpose.
‘I get it now that I’m facing him.’
Now she understood.
She understood why Kim Do-jin had said that facing Namgung Hyeok and his Boundless Azure Sky Sword Style was extremely difficult.
Her attacks became futile, while his were impossibly sharp.
The directions of his attacks, which targeted every part of her body, were so widespread that it was difficult to read their trajectories.
Even if she could, the trajectories would change in real-time right before her eyes.
Like clouds, which have no fixed shape and can form in any way.
‘Do-jin predicted all of this.’
The only reason she had managed to block his attacks without missing a single one, dangerous as they were, was thanks to Kim Do-jin’s training.
He had imitated parts of Namgung Hyeok’s swordsmanship to constantly challenge her.
Drawing countless trajectories from unexpected directions, just like now.
And after blocking all her attacks with an incredibly defensive form, he had told her in a low voice.
—“The Boundless Azure Sky Sword Style, if you look at its ultimate goal, has no real weaknesses. In fact, you could say it’s a sword style that should be invincible.”
The vast sky.
Unpredictable attacks and a defense that lets everything flow past like a single gust of wind.
And the infinite potential to switch between them at will.
It was a sword style through which a human could become the sky.
That was the ultimate goal of the Boundless Azure Sky Sword Style.
Hearing this, her tension had grown, and she had asked.
—“Then… is there no way to fight it?”
Kim Do-jin had shaken his head firmly.
—“That’s not it.”
He had continued.
No matter the technique, even if it was close to perfect, it could never be truly perfect.
And then, he told her the flaw in the Boundless Azure Sky Sword Style.
—“No matter how much a human becomes the sky, they’re not the real sky, are they? It might seem vast, but compared to the real thing, it’s infinitely small and shabby.”
So.
—“You just have to shatter that small, imitation sky entirely. With overwhelming attack power.”
See?
It’s easy, right?
“……”
She had ended up recalling that last, unwelcome memory, but the point was this:
Instead of small, scattered attacks, she had to shatter the sky her opponent had draped over himself with a single, powerful blow.
So, what could she use to achieve such attack power?
As she pondered, he had whispered to her.
—“There’s probably a technique among Hunter Son Si-woo’s sword styles.”
And she remembered.
Among the techniques she had learned by watching over his shoulder, there was one that had seemed the most simple and unimpressive.
She hadn’t known it then, but after training repeatedly with Kim Do-jin, she learned the truth behind its plainness.
‘This absolutely requires mana and Sword Aura.’
A single strike that unleashes an overwhelming amount of energy from Sword Aura in an instant, devastating the surroundings.
She wouldn’t know it, but this technique was created from an epiphany Son Si-woo had during a spar with Namgung Hyeok.
He had shattered Namgung Hyeok’s sky, but that was due to a difference in skill.
This was a strike honed for the future, for an enemy that couldn’t be defeated by mere cutting and thrusting.
‘Sky-Shattering (破天).’
A sword strike aimed not at cutting or piercing, but at destruction itself, was about to be unleashed.
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP—!
A piercing siren echoed throughout the entire space, followed by an urgent voice.
[Emergency situation.]
[Emergency situation.]
[Multiple rifts are currently forming all over Seoul.]
[They are showing signs of breaking simultaneously upon generation. All personnel, please deploy immediately.]
[Repeating transmission.]
[Emergency situation….]
It was the beginning of a sudden crisis.