Chapter 381
Chapter 381
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 381
>Chapter Title: One Sword Versus Three
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I already knew plenty about the man named Yoo Hyun.
The current owner of the Veil, who was no longer active.
Which made Yoo Hyun the strongest among the Veil's active members right now.
“Didn’t get hurt, did you?”
As Yoo Hyun approached Yurim, the crow clinging to her flew straight at him.
Flutter...
Yurim passed information to Yoo Hyun.
“They use… three kinds of swords, Master. And also…”
“Answer my question first. …Didn’t get hurt, did you?”
“That’s… yes…”
She looked at me.
“Yes. Seol… saved me…. I’m sorry, it’s my fault.”
Yoo Hyun placed a hand on Yurim’s self-blaming shoulder and shook his head.
“It’s no one’s fault. No one can be perfect. That’s why we wield the sword.”
He straightened from his bent knee and rose, looking at Lucia’s group as he spoke.
“To reach perfection someday.”
“…Yoo Hyun. We owe you one, huh?”
As his surprised face suggested, Yoo Hyun had left many scars on the Faces. He’d killed the hateful faces and inflicted defeat on the smiling-face Jamad.
‘This guy… Yoo Hyun.’
Seeing the Veil’s master I’d only heard about in person felt strange.
“Be careful, Master. They use bizarre swordsmanship. When the three swords combine… it’s hard to block.”
Yoo Hyun listened, then grinned and scratched his chin.
“Sounds fun. Three swords becoming one.”
“Fun? You dare…”
“I’ll cut that mouth to pieces first.”
Flash-!
The three charged in a joint assault from the start.
Yurim and I had expended a lot of strength in that instant, so we couldn’t help Yoo Hyun.
“Danger…”
Clang-!
Lucia unleashed the first barrage of sword strikes.
Thud…
Yoo Hyun deflected them effortlessly.
‘Strange sound…’
At the same time, two more swords rushed at him.
Thung-!
Yoo Hyun deflected those too without issue.
Tong!
Thwoong!
Thung!
‘No way…’
With one hand behind his back, Yoo Hyun faced all three with a single sword.
In other words, he was suppressing three with one hand.
“Ugh…”
“You bastard!”
No openings appeared as expected, leaving the surprised faces grinding their teeth.
But people can’t be perfect.
The gap created the moment he parried Belian’s vibrating sword. It wasn’t intentional—it had to be a mistake.
That’s what the three judged.
Like a massive current, the three swords intertwined.
[Belian uses Vibration Sword.]
[The sword vibrates, making defense difficult.]
[Belldre uses Diffusion Sword.]
[The sword’s imbued effect gradually spreads across a wider area.]
[Lucia uses Bloodletting Sword.]
[The Bloodletting Sword causes massive bleeding to the target upon wounding.]
……
‘That’s…!’
We all saw the same spot at once.
They targeted it fiercely.
Three becoming one soon.
It was their breaths.
And opposing it…
A sword that had been one from the start.
[Yoo Hyun uses ultimate technique: One Heart Slash.]
[Cuts the target.]
At the point where the three swords met, Yoo Hyun’s sword was already waiting.
Standing at the crossroads, without a moment’s hesitation.
Kwaaaaa-!
It slashed through everything.
Spluuurt-!
Belldre, standing right in front, was gone without a trace, and the other two were shredded by fragments of their shattered swords.
In a single move.
One move subdued them all.
“Guh… kuhok…”
“U… uwuek…”
The scattered, collapsing sisters.
Now reduced from three to two.
Even that number seemed about to dwindle.
“You saw it well. As expected…”
Click…
“One is still better than three.”
Yoo Hyun sheathed his sword.
‘Overwhelming skill…’
Yoo Hyun, crushing incoming threats with nothing but a single sword, looked like a god.
“Master!”
Yurim’s face shifted from shock to emotion as she ran to Yoo Hyun and hugged him.
“…I missed you.”
“Me too, Yurim. Glad you’re safe.”
The reunion of master and disciple.
I’d already heard plenty about the bond between Yurim and Yoo Hyun. Stories of how he’d recognized her genius and taught her with all he had.
“U… uuu…”
Fragments embedded in Lucia’s chest.
She was still alive, but not for long.
I approached her.
With her sisters already dead, what lingering attachment made her writhe?
“U… ahu… nooo… like this…”
“What’s wrong? Some regret?”
That’s when it happened.
Splash-!
She grabbed my collar and pulled.
“Th-this…”
“L-listen… listen…”
Listen to what?
Did she have something she wanted to say?
I brought my ear close to her fading voice.
“I… I… you… I remember…”
“…What?”
“I remembered… you have to remember… you… or else… everyone… dies…”
“…What are you saying?”
“Deja vu… I forgot… can’t… forget…”
Deja vu.
The word from her lips kept echoing in my head.
‘No way!’
Maybe she knew something about the phantom pain I’d been feeling.
“Lucia! Hey!”
Thud…
No response.
Her eyes and breath stopped.
She wouldn’t return.
“Damn…”
As I bit my lip and mulled her words, Yurim and Yoo Hyun approached.
“You okay?”
“You okay, Seol?”
I turned to look at them.
“Well…”
That’s when another illusion appeared beside Yoo Hyun’s figure.
“Ugh…”
Zzzzzzt…
Yoo Hyun, masked, eyes bloodshot.
‘What the… hell…’
Thud…
Yoo Hyun patted my shoulder and asked.
“You okay…?”
Zzzzt…
The headache gradually faded.
The hideous illusion vanished as if it had never been.
“…I’m fine.”
“Then let’s get out of here.”
At Yoo Hyun’s words, Yurim replied.
“But we don’t know where Lian is…”
“I’ve already confirmed where he is.”
Yoo Hyun looked at us with hesitant eyes.
* * *
We found a remote mountain lodge with Yoo Hyun.
Lian was there.
Poisoned, foam endlessly spilling from his mouth. Marks on his body showed he’d been tortured here.
“Heh… dying like this.”
“…Lian.”
“Yoo Hyun, listen well…”
Ssss…
“The Veil? Better leave it soon.”
Lian spoke while trembling.
Yoo Hyun grinned and said.
“Where would a vagabond like me fly off to after leaving here?”
“Heh… kihi… right. That’s… true…”
Thud…
“Urk…”
Lian’s death tormented me, even though we’d been strangers.
Creak…
I quietly slipped out the door and stood at the cliff.
Snow was falling outside.
Winter always came on my birthday.
Whenever it snowed like this, I recalled the past.
Days at the docks, snow on Santos’s ship, the mountain lodge scenery when I reunited with Yurim.
Snow brought it all vividly back.
Creak…
I turned at the presence—Yurim was approaching.
“Not cold?”
Her flushed cheeks, breath escaping her mouth. Winter brought nostalgia.
Yet the doubts in my chest wouldn’t fade. What was Lucia trying to say? Why wouldn’t the deja vu go away?
“Something… happened?”
“Actually…”
When I told Yurim about Lucia’s words, she pouted and said.
“Seol, actually… me too.”
“…What?”
“I’ve got two secrets I haven’t told you. Huh? Sorry, surprised?”
“Ah…”
I tried to recover from the shock. She’d been hiding things from me.
“Honestly, a bit…”
“Ahaha… what.”
“What are they?”
Yurim shared facts I hadn’t known.
“That deja vu. I get it too.”
“…What? Really?”
Someone else felt this deja vu besides me. And it was Yurim, closest to me…
“In my case, it’s a little different…”
“Different?”
“The dock manager, the Faces… even the Veil members.”
Yurim placed a hand on her heart.
“Every time I see them, this stings. Like it hurts?”
“…Hurts?”
“Yeah, not as bad as you… but it hurts, and paradoxically… feels like relief.”
An inexplicable emotion.
Yurim smiled brightly and said.
“You’re here.”
“……”
“You’re here for me.”
She was right.
We had each other.
“Actually, I heard about what you went through… from Nosa.”
“…You heard.”
My world after Yurim left.
Everyone has a secret they don’t want exposed. Mine was just weakness.
Especially not to Yurim—my painful past.
Crunch…
A soft sensation came.
“……”
Yurim hugged me.
I gently stroked her hair.
It smelled nice.
“All of the Veil are precious to me.”
“Yeah.”
“But all of them combined… you’re even more precious.”
“…Why?”
She’d spent more time with the Veil than with me.
“They all cherish me, but without you, I’d never have met them. You gave me the world.”
“…Ah.”
The girl beloved by the Veil.
I’d introduced her to them.
I brushed some snow from her hair.
“Wh-what! Ah, does it… smell?”
“Yeah, good smell.”
“……”
I didn’t ask about her other secret.
It had its reasons too.
Yurim blushed and sat at the cliff edge.
My spot.
I sat beside her.
“Don’t know.”
“Hm? What?”
“Why is everyone so strong?”
“…Seol, Lian’s death isn’t on us…”
“No, not about blame. Your master took down opponents who gave us trouble—easily.”
“…You’re strong too, Seol.”
Sweet comfort.
But my anxiety lingered.
“No, I… need to get stronger.”
“Why? Why want to be that strong?”
“To escape the labyrinth, to reunite with everyone…”
“…What?”
Yurim tilted her head.
“…What did I just say?”
“Labyrinth… something like that?”
“Labyrinth?”
Labyrinth?
Why say that suddenly?
“No, not that. Something in my chest keeps screaming. Do we really need a purpose to get strong?”
“Hmm…”
Yurim pouted and said.
“Master said getting strong doesn’t always need a purpose.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah, but he added this. Ahem… you need a story.”
“…Story?”
“Yeah! All strength follows a story. Um… so like I…”
Right then.
“…Correct.”
A voice came from behind.
“Eek… you scared me! Master! I almost fell!”
Yoo Hyun stood there before we knew it.
Yoo Hyun grinned and said.
“Kang Seol, strength doesn’t always need a purpose. If anything’s needed… it’s a story.”
“Story…?”
“Fortuitous encounters, or time and effort… or the pain of loss and fierce trials.”
“…Ah.”
“All become stories.”
Aiming to get strong doesn’t guarantee it. But every powerhouse had a story. The story that let them reach that realm.
“Stack stories the world acknowledges… only then can you surpass realm walls.”
Yoo Hyun grinned.
“That’s from my experience, anyway.”
Story…
Did I have one?
‘…Yes.’
Not just dock experiences—countless ordeals made me this strong.
So the method was right. Just lacked stories.
Splat-!
“Now, shall we stack some stories together?”
“Seol too?”
“Of course. The theme… time and effort.”
Yurim’s face crumpled.
“…Can you agree to that with us?”
“No.”
“Hiiing…”
Yurim looked ready to cry. Couldn’t help but laugh.
Snowy winter at twenty.
* * *
Time flows like running water.
“Happy birthday, Seol!”
Pushing training hard blurred time’s sense.
Once counted painful days.
Now by months, no… seasons.
“Already… that time?”
“We’re twenty-three now!”
Heh…
Yurim seemed happy growing older.
No, childish glee at matching my age.
Three years brought many changes.
Dozens of missions.
Clashed with Faces’ figures. We survived; they died.
Well, some undying ones.
Our biggest survival reason: Yoo Hyun. He gave me new direction.
His skill absolute.
Power from effort and conviction—untouchable.
“Don’t rush, Kang Seol.”
He told me endlessly.
“In the end, all paths lead to one.”
“All paths lead to one…”
“Called the truth of the crossroads. Ask any powerhouse—they’ll recall breaking walls the same way.”
Yoo Hyun’s finger extended straight ahead.
“Light bursts from afar. Head there… simple as that.”
“Did you see the same path, Master?”
Smerk…
Yoo Hyun smiled evasively.
Swordsmanship his specialty, but filled my gaps perfectly.
I grew stronger.
Far more than before.
Swish…
“Ahem…”
Yoo Hyun offered black gloves.
“These…”
“Happy birthday, Kang Seol.”
“……”
Twenty-three’s birthday.
Another one.
Celebrating birthdays felt natural now. Gifts from Yurim and Yoo Hyun overflowed with joy.
Seemed these days would continue.
But someone said it once.
Life’s scales always balance.
Crash-!
When happiness swells, misfortune knocks.
“No… no…”
Yurim trembled at the letter from the crow.
Swish…
Yoo Hyun took the paper she held.
“…I see.”
Yoo Hyun turned to me.
“Togi is dead.”
“…Pardon?”