My Only Sister
“There is a separate place prepared for the performers once the show is over. Wait for your husband there.”
The warrior spoke to Cheon Sohee, who had been waiting endlessly near the entrance.
“Yes.”
At the warrior’s pointed reminder not to loiter, Cheon Sohee obediently turned and walked away.
It’ll be fine.
She thought as she headed toward the banquet hall reserved for the entertainers.
All he has to do is finish the performance and come out. The client has already promised to protect Yunho.
Even if something goes wrong, it will be a problem between the Seong Family Head and the client—never Yunho himself.
If he successfully completes the performance and she successfully carries out the assassination, their business in this place will be finished.
Once she assassinates her target and confirms that the killing urge has lessened, she can simply move on to the next one. Even if it doesn’t lessen, that will be fine too.
— Promise me this, big brother. That we won’t give up. That we’ll find the answer together.
Because she can find the answer with Yunho.
Yunho.
When Sohee recalled what had happened a few nights earlier, her chest swelled so full she quietly pressed both hands over her heart.
His broad embrace. The warmth of their bodies crossing in the cold night. His breath brushing her ear. And his sincerity.
Just as she had needed Yunho, Yunho had needed her.
That single truth alone gave Sohee the courage to keep walking forward.
Even if the road led straight into catastrophe, she would not be afraid as long as he walked it with her.
Holding that thought, she took another step.
[Kill.]
“Uhk!”
The sudden surge of killing intent made the Heavenly Killing Star lurch backward.
[Let’s kill.]
She retreated another step.
[Kill them all.]
Cheon Sohee urgently cycled internal energy into the Yongcheon point on the sole of her foot and shot farther back.
What’s happening?
The range in which the killing urge vanished was shrinking at a terrifying speed. Every step she retreated, the safe zone shrank by exactly that much. It had never collapsed this fast before.
“A fight has broken out in the inner courtyard!”
“Swords are being drawn!”
Distant uproar reached her ears.
The rapidly contracting range. The chaos. The steel.
There was only one thing it could mean.
“Yunho!”
The Heavenly Killing Star spun on her heel and sprinted toward the banquet hall.
The range where the killing urge disappeared kept shrinking.
[Let’s kill.]
Shut up.
Cheon Sohee wrestled the killing intent inside her and raced for the banquet hall.
“You crazy bastards! Everyone run!”
“Hurry and get your swords in there!”
Far too many people were pouring out of the doors and shoving their way in. Cheon Sohee vaulted the wall in a single leap and landed inside the feast grounds.
“For Young Master Seong Sehui!”
“How dare you betray the Seong Family Head!”
Blades were already clashing everywhere, but Sohee paid none of it any mind.
Where is Yunho?
Yunho’s scent. Where is it. She turned her head, tracking the place where the Thousand-Li Pursuit Fragrance she had smeared on him hung thickest.
And there—
Sprawled on the floor, blood pooling thickly beneath him, clutching his chest—was him.
“Yunho!”
No. The stage is soaked in blood. Sohee tried to rush to him at once.
[Let’s kill.]
No. The killing urge is surging.
There is no time for this. Right now. Yunho. Treatment.
Cheon Sohee forced herself forward through sheer will. But even as she closed the distance, the killing urge refused to fade any further.
Why.
You already know. She clenched her teeth and fought the urge with everything she had.
It’s already too late. It’s my fault.
Why did I think everything would be fine?
Sohee’s feet stopped. She had sworn she would never make the same mistake again. Why. Why had she let herself believe that?
Because of my greed.
Because she had thought that if she just succeeded in this one mission, she could go back to ordinary days with Yunho.
Because she had wanted so badly to watch him shine brighter than anyone on stage, and when the performance ended, to say “You worked hard,” and receive his smile in return—to return to that everyday life.
That greed had ruined—
[Let’s kill.]
Who.
[The one who killed him.]
How am I supposed to know who that is.
[Just kill them all, then.]
That’s right.
[Let’s kill.]
Let’s kill.
[Kill every last one of them.]
Kill them all.
Kill them.
And then I die too.
Screams filled the air.
“Somebody save me!”
“What the hell is that bitch?!”
The sound of people dying. Wails. The honest-to-god chorus of a whole army of screamers.
The kind of noise that made it very clear that if I stayed down I was going to get fucked too.
“Ugh!”
Pain bloomed in my chest and jolted every nerve awake. Guess I’m not dead. Still lying on my back, I carefully pressed a hand to my chest. No more blood was flowing.
Must be the Okmyeon Hoshingong stopping the bleeding. Sohee had said that when it came to personal protection it was the finest external art she knew. Looks like she wasn’t exaggerating.
Still flat on the stage, I braced a hand against the boards and carefully turned my head toward the front.
How’s the situation looking? Is Seong Sehui winning? Is Seong Jiru winning?
I’d prefer the side that’s winning to be our side, but if Seong Jiru is on top I need to crawl out of here no matter what.
“Aaaaaargh!”
“All of you come at me together!”
“Somebody saaaave meee!”
What met my eyes was an unexpected sight.
“…Sohee’s winning.”
Back in school we once took a field trip to a slaughterhouse.
I had watched the butchers break down cattle, but Sohee was dismantling people with even greater skill.
“Save me!”
Has she awakened fully as the Heavenly Killing Star?
Sohee was carving people apart. Literally disassembling them.
One look was enough to know she was completely gone. I didn’t know the details, but it was almost certainly because of me.
What do I do?
— Yunho. If the one standing in front of you is the Heavenly Killing Star and not Cheon Sohee, then Cheon Sohee is already dead. You can’t bring a dead person back. So run, Yunho.
Two days ago Sohee had drilled that into me. Don’t take stupid risks. Just run.
“Nngh!”
I forced myself upright with every scrap of strength I had. The bleeding might have stopped, but my chest still burned. Lack of blood made my head spin.
Should I run?
This time I don’t even need a fake corpse. If I slip behind the stage I can escape easily.
And the situation after escaping is better than before. I’ve learned martial arts. I can accumulate internal energy. If I make a living as a Maedamja I won’t starve.
You wanted to run, didn’t you?
The Heavenly Killing Star can kill me. Even if she doesn’t, there’s no telling when she might lose control again. In the beginning every day had been spent trembling with fear.
All I have to do is step backward.
It’s a shame that history won’t change, but if I move now I can save my own life.
Sohee might be a true heroine.
A girl fated to become a mad mass-murderer who spreads slaughter and then dies.
If I can change that destiny, the odds that she’s a true heroine shoot way up.
If I can’t pull Sohee back right now, I might never get to see the true-heroine ending.
The Heavenly Killing Star I knew and the Cheon Sohee I have lived with are two different people.
If she is a true heroine, then I have to bring her back now.
So it’s a binary choice.
My life, or the true heroine.
Which one do I pick?
“I want to save her, so I’m saving her. Why am I looking for some grand reason?”
I brushed the dust off my clothes and mocked myself.
I want to save Sohee.
That’s enough.
I just have to save her without dying myself.
Why did I even think it had to be either-or?
There is a way.
I strode into the chaos of the banquet hall, closing the distance toward the Heavenly Killing Star. After only a few steps she staggered, then hurriedly backed away.
Just as I thought.
Startled, the Heavenly Killing Star locked eyes with me. Every ounce of her wariness was fixed on me.
“Dieee!”
Even while cutting down the warriors around her, she never stopped watching me.
Those red eyes stared at me with the predatory focus of a hawk aiming for the throat.
Looks like she wants to kill me while she has the chance.
Her greatest natural enemy is probably me. Trying to finish me off while I’m weakened?
If that’s really the case, I need a safety measure.
“Benefactor! You’re alive? Your wife is indiscriminately slaughtering everyone!”
Seong Sehui called out to me, face full of shock, from where I stood once more on the stage.
“She’s doing it because she thinks I’m dead! Bring the black rope from my quarters, quickly!”
“Why the black rope?”
“I have to bind her with it if I want to bring her back to her senses!”
“Understood! I’ll fetch it at once!”
Seong Sehui glanced around, then vanished from his seat. Couldn’t you just guard me yourself and send someone else?
“I will take the field myself! Form the joint assault!”
Unable to watch any longer, the Seong Family Head charged in with his warriors.
A one-versus-many raid, huh. Not sure whether I should be cheering for Sohee or for the Family Head.
At the very least I hope they chip away some of Sohee’s stamina.
“Kraaaagh!”
The fight lasted longer than the others, but the result did not change.
When the Seong Family Head’s head went rolling across the dirt, the battle was over.
Now only corpses and I remained around the Heavenly Killing Star.
She quietly watched me and tightened her grip on her blade.
She was circling me like a predator scouting prey.
The Heavenly Killing Star began to pace at a distance that was neither far nor close.
She’s careful of the range where the killing urge vanishes.
I had taken only a few steps toward her earlier, and she had lost her balance for a moment.
Just being near me must act as a debuff on her.
“Sohee! Snap out of it!”
I shouted at the top of my lungs, but she gave no reaction. She simply prowled around me like a beast stalking a kill.
I have to keep her inside the range where the killing urge disappears.
The Heavenly Killing Star wants to kill me—her only weakness. Yet at the same time she is afraid of me.
If I can pin her so she cannot leave my side, Sohee will be able to return to her senses.
Those red eyes fixed on me.
Can I even fight this?
A hollow laugh escaped me. Countless warriors had failed to survive even a single exchange against Sohee.
My chest still throbbed. I gritted my teeth and held onto consciousness.
I only need one opening.
To swing her blade at me she will have to risk entering my range.
Once the Heavenly Killing Star steps inside the zone where the killing urge vanishes, she will be greatly weakened.
That is the moment I aim for.
— You might not be able to react to the opponent’s speed. When that happens, quickly figure out where they’re aiming.
Here she comes.
The instant the thought formed, she was already lunging into my face.
— I tend to go for the throat first.
The throat. Sohee’s dagger flashed for my neck. Half a step. I retreated. Twisted my ankle. Twisted my body. Her blade skimmed the skin of my throat.
Her red eyes flashed past me at the edge of my vision.
I can’t let her go.
I barely managed to grab her as she tried to leave the zone where the killing urge vanished.
“Ghk!”
She twisted and slashed the dagger across my forearm. The Okmyeon Hoshingong held once. But if she put real strength into it my arm would be severed.
Fortunately I still had a trump card.
“Now!”
“Got it!”
Seong Sehui, who had been waiting for the chance from the side, charged in. He slipped a noose of black rope around her neck.
She staggered for an instant.
“Sohee!!! Come back to your senses!!!”
I seized the Seven Night Rope. Her entire body shuddered violently. Is it working?
Cheon Sohee tried to cut the Seven Night Rope at her throat, but the rope would not part. Artifacts really are something else.
“Grrr!”
Sohee made a strange animal sound and lunged at me with the dagger raised.
“Look out!”
Seong Sehui blocked her blade for me.
Thank you! So he does protect me once in a while!
I had thought he was just a bastard, but it turns out he’s simply a friend who’s just incompetent enough to lose the family headship!
I yanked hard on the Seven Night Rope around her neck. Her red eyes wavered for a fraction of a second.
I have to hold her!
Still gripping the Seven Night Rope, I pulled her into my arms. Sohee. Please. Come back to me.
“Ghk!”
A hot lump of fire punched into my lower abdomen. Fuck, she stabbed me.
I’m really going to die.
One hit to the chest. One hit to the gut. The fact that I’m still conscious is a miracle.
Then at the very least I have to save Sohee.
The months I spent with her.
Had those months been nothing but constant threats to my life?
No.
She was a completely different woman from the Heavenly Killing Star I had known. Awkward with her feelings, yet a girl who possessed more emotions than anyone.
The months I spent with that girl.
When I first fell into this world I thought there was no one I could rely on. But now there is someone who always comes running the moment I am in danger.
Being with her is enjoyable.
It began as a false relationship, yet now she has become precious to me, and I have become precious to her.
“Sohee! Are you planning to lose another precious person right in front of your eyes again?!”
I shouted until my throat tore.
Her body trembled. The strength I used was nothing compared to hers, yet she could not resist.
“Yu… Yun…”
The light in her eyes shifted from moment to moment. She was fighting inside herself as well.
“Sohee!”
Isn’t there any way to drag Sohee back out?
Shock therapy to calm the Heavenly Killing Star’s killing urge!
A way to wake the sleeping Sohee!
Is she sleeping?
In that instant I saw her face clearly.
Ah, fuck it.
“Mmphp!”
I boldly kissed Sohee.
Our eyelashes brushed. The Heavenly Killing Star’s eyes flew wide open.
For a fleeting second, what looked out of those eyes was not the Heavenly Killing Star but Cheon Sohee.
The Heavenly Killing Star’s gaze began to fade.
While I was still wondering whether sticking my tongue in would get it bitten off, the red eyes of the murder-crazed Heavenly Killing Star slowly transformed into the flustered eyes of Cheon Sohee.
Did it work?
“Yu… Yunho…”
When the Heavenly Killing Star’s resistance finally ended, I quietly broke the kiss.
Sohee’s voice trembled. Has she come back?
“You’re here.”
Welcome back. I’m home. Not exactly the situation for greetings like that, but I smiled at her anyway.
“I told you to run…”
Even after I save her she still has to lecture me.
My consciousness was growing hazy.
I should at least end this with something cool.
I weakly stroked her cheek.
“Sohee. Didn’t I tell you? You are the only little sister I have left in this world.”
Everyone who remembered Kang Yunho is dead. If even the one person who still remembers him is about to disappear, then of course I have to save her.
I gave her the gentle smile of an older brother who had simply done what was natural.
“Yunho.”
“Ugh…”
“Yunho!”
Looks like this is as far as I go.
With the satisfaction of having accomplished at least one thing, I lost consciousness.
One month passed.
Cheon Sohee had carried the unconscious Kang Yunho to a safehouse of the Salmak in Daeheung County and devoted herself entirely to his recovery.
We’ve run out of medicine.
After disguising herself with the Art of Bone and Appearance Transformation, Cheon Sohee stopped by an apothecary.
As she stepped out with the medicine, a familiar face called out to her from the doorway.
“Hmm. Just as I thought. I was told I would meet a person of destiny if I came here. And this time I found them right away.”
“Cheongija?”
The man standing before her was the same seer who had once read Cheon Sohee’s fortune in Chilgok County.
Why had he appeared here?
“It’s been a while. Do you have a moment to spare?”