Chapter 24: The Sword Flower's Promise
Someone opened the door to the annex where Zien was staying.
"Brother, I have something to say."
"Come in, then." At Zien's words, Liza stifled a laugh. He was looking down at Hwang San-cheol with an arrogant posture.
But Hwang San-cheol didn't seem to care about such trivialities and immediately dropped to his knees.
"I must become the sect leader."
"San-cheol, with our eldest brother here, how could you possibly become the leader?"
Liza was impressed by Zien's natural acting.
"Our eldest brother has a violent temper. Didn't you see him beat a servant to death the other day?"
'No, I don't remember seeing that. I don't remember anything to begin with.'
"Yes, I saw."
Zien nodded calmly. Liza was now struggling not to laugh, on the verge of tears.
Hwang San-cheol swept a cold glance over Liza and pressed his case again.
"With an eldest brother like that becoming leader? I oppose it."
"Is that so? Not because you want to be leader yourself?"
Hwang San-cheol swallowed hard at Zien's question.
"For the revival of our sect, such qualities are necessary too."
"But..."
"Even for minor offenses, punishing one to warn a hundred—isn't that a picture for the greater good?"
At Zien's words, Hwang San-cheol's expression drooped.
"Yes... Eldest brother is more suited for it than I am."
"However, you're not wrong."
Hm?
Hwang San-cheol glanced at Zien's face.
"What do you mean...?"
"Eldest brother is too violent. Perhaps you're the one suited to be leader."
Hwang San-cheol wanted to scream at Zien's bait. In this atmosphere, he would be the master of the Golden Sect by tomorrow.
"Y-yes! If I become leader, I won't forget this favor. For little brother's sake, I'd rush in barefoot..."
"No, that's not what I want."
"What do you desire? Gold? If I become leader, your marriage to my wife would be the envy of even the highest nobles..."
At that moment, Liza's stigma on the back of her hand glowed, and her beautiful eyes shimmered with golden light.
Zien glanced at Liza, who nodded.
'So this conversation is genuine?'
Zien nodded at Hwang San-cheol's words.
"I can feel your sincerity."
"Yes, brother! I will keep this promise."
"No, what I want is simple. Answer my question from now on, and that's it."
Hwang San-cheol sensed something off in Zien's demeanor but didn't care. Just answer a question—it was nothing.
"Do you know who was behind the bandits who attacked me?"
Zien asked.
"E-excuse me?"
"It's strange. The bandits used poison-tipped arrows and fled at the sight of my guard."
Hwang San-cheol thought it over.
Of course, he knew the woman guarding Zien was a monster. But a mere bandit?
Even in rough martial robes, she was a pretty female warrior. For bandits to turn tail at first sight was odd.
'No way.'
Hwang San-cheol realized he himself was a prime suspect. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
"I... I know nothing about it."
Finally, the answer Zien had been waiting for. Liza's eyes flickered with golden light again as she watched from the side.
Liza's stigma, Dike.
Dike's magic tool was her eyes.
The golden light in Liza's irises was the reaction of her magic art, Truth Eye.
Its effect was exactly as the name implied: distinguishing whether the opponent's words were truth or lies.
She nodded. Truth. Zien sighed in relief.
"Hwang San-cheol. You will be the next sect leader."
"R-really?"
"Yes. Eldest brother..."
Zien's eyes flashed.
The chill in his words froze the air.
"...lacks the qualifications."
BAM!!
"Having quite the interesting conversation, aren't we?"
Hwang Yu-seong entered.
"Brother!"
Hwang San-cheol panicked.
"You've arrived."
Zien asked calmly, but Hwang Yu-seong eyed him with a meaningful expression.
"Yes. Tomorrow is a historic day, isn't it?"
"The day the next leader is decided."
"From what I heard, you've already chosen one."
In the ominous atmosphere, Liza pressed close to Zien.
Zien was currently in a body where even a 9-year-old child could pose a threat. A mere brush could mean death. Death in the gate meant death in reality. No room for carelessness.
"Yes, we've decided. The next leader is San-cheol."
"B-brother!"
Zien's expression didn't change. Hwang San-cheol just watched nervously.
Hwang Yu-seong's eyes burned like lava, but his voice was calm—a chilling contrast.
"Mind telling me why? Why choose San-cheol over me, the eldest son?"
As Hwang Yu-seong glared at Hwang San-cheol, the latter gulped involuntarily.
Zien looked back and forth between them, then made a weary face.
'Even beasts know the value of family.'
You wouldn't know.
Zien continued calmly.
"Since you don't understand that principle, how could you lead thousands of followers?"
Silence.
An astonishing silence fell after Zien's words. He thought to himself.
"Yes, yes, so that's how it is."
Hwang Yu-seong muttered like a madman and left the annex.
"Little brother, I... I'll take my leave too."
The annex felt like it had been swept by a storm. Zien glanced at Liza.
"Satisfied?"
"Totally... awesome!"
Liza's fists trembled.
"Feels like a weight's been lifted. But Evan, your acting is seriously good."
"Acting has its own curriculum. And studying the customs and speech of each zone in advance makes it not so hard."
Liza shook her head at Evan's words.
"No, this goes beyond that. First time acting? Even the professor couldn't touch you."
"Once Hwang the worm designates Hwang San-cheol as successor, the gate ends tomorrow."
Though he said that, Zien felt uneasy.
A magic tool used by a 5th or 6th-rank Saber. Given the scale, it was a high-handicap technique. And it ends so smoothly?
"Kinda disappointing now that it's ending. The setup was great for a 3rd-zone gate."
"...Yeah."
Thud thud thud thud!
Dozens charging in. Masked warriors lined up inside the annex in an instant. Hwang Yu-seong emerged from among them.
"Bare your neck."
Hwang Yu-seong's sudden action. Liza spat curses.
"That crazy bastard!"
Liza's rage stemmed from the "something" in Hwang Yu-seong's right hand.
The head of someone she'd just been talking to. It was Hwang San-cheol's head.
Roll roll.
The head Hwang Yu-seong tossed rolled across the annex floor. His eyes, having already resolved, gleamed like a demon's.
"Heh, yes. A beast has its own ways."
"You killed your brother over that petty position?"
Zien forgot his acting in his excitement.
"This is my best. For the greater good."
Zien shook his head at Hwang Yu-seong's words.
"I should have killed you the moment I knew you orchestrated the attack."
He'd been too complacent.
"Didn't know you and San-cheol were that close."
Hwang Yu-seong sneered.
"That close? What you abandoned was basic humanity. You're no longer human."
Zien signaled Liza.
Liza, the Number One, nicknamed Sword Flower. As she plunged into over thirty warriors, her sword bloomed like a flower.
Red blood sprayed everywhere, but none was hers. The golden flower absorbed the red dye.
"Kill her quick! Whoever kills that wench gets gold equal to this annex!" The once-proud Hwang Yu-seong screamed.
"Yes, s—"
The warrior's reply cut off.
Roll roll.
The masked head rolled on the ground.
A familiar scene.
The warriors were certainly strong.
Assassins of 1st to 2nd-rank skill. But the Golden Sect wasn't a martial house, and they'd picked the wrong opponent.
Liza. She was on the verge of 5th-rank Saber. A genius with peerless swordsmanship in academy history. Each swing of her plain sword—not a magic tool—unleashed mana that, in the 3rd zone, was called sword aura.
A defenseless mismatch.
Any other student would hesitate with a real sword.
A fatal mistake in true combat. But Liza's sword sought only the correct answer. Hesitation wasn't it, so she didn't hesitate.
Slash. Block. Cleave.
"What a... monster!"
"Six Directions Fist!"
"Finish before Father arrives! We have no time—kill her now!"
Her eyebrows didn't twitch.
This was clear killing, but in their world, it was salvation.
Three minutes later, the fight ended.
"...Spare me."
Liza's face saddened at Hwang Yu-seong's plea.
"Cowardly bastard."
Liza looked around. Outside the door was the beautiful Dragon Heaven Pond; inside lay the corpses of numerous warriors.
"This is all because of your greed. And you beg to live?"
Hwang Yu-seong prostrated flat and begged desperately.
"The leader position is yours now. I've come to my senses. Huh? Second brother? I'll hide away quietly like a dead rat. If you kill me too, Father will grieve. Please. Please."
Hwang Yu-seong hid his trembling hands in his robes. Liza shot him a contemptuous glare.
'His hands...?'
Zien clutched his forehead against a horrific headache. It was the suppressive power of the illusion's magic tool, designed to achieve its nightmare purpose.
"Ugh! Urgh!"
At Zien's groan of agony, Liza dropped her sword and turned.
Carelessness.
A Saber must never be careless. With their life on thin ice, they must maintain cold, rational focus every moment.
Or else.
"Liza! Behind! Watch your back!..."
The price was too great.
As Liza turned at Zien's shout, she saw a flying dagger.
"Evan!"
The dagger wasn't aimed at Liza.
Hwang Yu-seong knew exactly who to target in this moment.
Zien realized too late. The reason the gate had changed. The physical penalty. Up to headaches.
'This is...'
No time for Liza to raise mana—barely a handful.
Snap!
Liza poured it into her left foot. No time to shift stance; her body covered Zien's.
Whoosh! Thunk!
The dagger embedded in something.
"Ha, hahahaha! Stupid bitch! Fooled you? Fooled ya!"
Hwang Yu-seong cackled madly before fleeing.
The commotion outside meant escape was futile.
But that wasn't important now.
"Liza..."
Black blood oozed from her back where the dagger was lodged.
"Yeah."
She tried to play it cool, but Liza's breathing was ragged. The poison on the dagger gnawed at her.
"Why... why did you block it?"
"You're... weak right now. If this hits and you die... what then? We can't clear the quest."
Liza chuckled.
'It was like this back then too.'
To his 18-year-old self, a comrade's death was some vague terror. Too young for such experience, and he didn't want to imagine it. Zien's gaze turned to the fallen Liza.
'It's all an illusion anyway.'
A fake world conjured by the illusion magic tool. Zien knew everything was fantasy. That the Liza before him was mere illusion. But.
"Damn it..."
Through the crack in his emotions, the illusion's mana relentlessly assailed Zien.
"...It's all."
All illusion. The scene before him was false.
"Damn it!"
But his head understood, while his heart—a 6th-rank Saber's mana was overwhelming. Holding out this long was a miracle of Zien's mental fortitude. But even that had limits. His past life's memories were devouring him.
"Not yet..."
Consumed by mana, Zien assimilated into past emotions. Feelings and thoughts alike.
"Not yet. Too soon... I told you. I'd win. Our 323rd spar?"
"Obviously... I won." Liza spat black blood.
The ultimate poison of the Sacheon Tang Clan, said to kill even elephants instantly. She looked fine outside, but inside she was a mess. But knowing didn't block the emotions.
"Evan? It was... bound to happen someday. Not your fault."
Unlike Liza's calm voice, her hand trembled.
"Liza."
"Maybe... I should've just given it to Hwang Yu-seong like you said?"
"Liza."
"No, even so... I didn't like that guy."
Liza's body against Zien's burned like fire.
"Liza, I..."
Zien's thoughts melted away rapidly. A scene he'd lived before, but emotions that never grew familiar. Now Zien was truly no different from 18-year-old Evan.
"Don't say it. Evan."
Golden light gathered in Liza's eyes.
"Forgot my magic tool?"
Her forced smile twisted. If her truth-discerning eyes said so.
"If that's sincere... you can't die... heh."
She was smiling, but crumbling.
"If you don't say it, I can't know."
Her labored words.
"So, I'll die not knowing."
"You're the idiot? You're way stronger than me. You had to survive to the end and save humanity."
"Hm, yeah..."
Liza closed her eyes, pondering.
She breathed shallowly for a long time.
"True... someone has to save the world."
Her voice faded.
"The strongest after me. Save it, Evan."
Now her voice was a whisper, like falling asleep.
"...Survive to the end. Save it all for me."
"Of course. I promise. I swear, Liza. I'll save everything."
Yes. The promise.
The reason Evan had grown strong. Memories sealed for this moment. Now everything was clear.
"If you don't say it, I can't know."
"That tired already? How'd you fall asleep so fast?"
A person lost once.
A world lost once.
Shaaak—
Before Zien's eyes, Liza turned to smoke. Not just her—the Golden Sect, the warriors' corpses, all dissolved into smoke and vanished.
'Now I understand.'
The purpose of this magic tool.
Probably showing the scenery I desired most. Zien slowly closed his eyes.