Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Heavenly Demon Divine Cult Double Agent
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"...Hah!"
The voice of the Soul-Separating Sword rang out. I kicked away the stunned Number 20.
She immediately retreated upon being kicked. Realizing what my split-second choice meant, she lowered her voice.
"...Are you thinking of shouldering all of this alone?"
"Step back from me. This has nothing to do with you."
I could feel Number 20's gaze on me. But I had no intention of sheathing my sword.
I pulled Sima Ak toward me. The Soul-Separating Sword's lips curled up as if finding it amusing.
"Little brother. Have you considered what kind of repercussions your actions will bring? It doesn't seem like you've coordinated this with anyone beforehand."
"I drew my sword because I had to."
"But if that sword of yours is going to break anyway, what's the point?"
"The meaning lies in having drawn it, even knowing it would break."
Sima Ak, grabbed by the scruff of his neck, struggled wildly.
"You crazy bastard?! Are you insane enough to want to die?!"
"Maybe I am."
"...What?"
"Maybe I really have gone mad wanting to die. Sima Ak."
I can't win.
More than anyone, I know I can't win.
But that's exactly why I smiled.
"Even so, I had to draw it."
I angled my sword obliquely.
Toward the lion I couldn't possibly defeat.
"Because I'm your guard."
"...You crazy bastard."
Sima Ak shook off my hand. Seeming to realize the situation had spiraled beyond control, he straightened his posture.
"You're going to die."
"I plan to do my best not to."
"...Tch."
Sima Ak clutched the fallen paper.
"...Can you...hold out?"
His strained voice carried a hint of guilt. But I didn't want to accept it.
There was no need for apologies. No reason to receive them.
It was simply my own choice.
"I'll hold out."
"...Kuhuhu."
The Soul-Separating Sword bared his teeth.
"Impressive spirit. Nameless Blood Demon Squad member. I don't know how you got tangled up with the Sima Clan, but it's a finely tempered blade I haven't seen in ages. I can tell just from your aura. I like swords of that caliber. But you can't beat me."
"........."
"There are hardly any warriors like you. So before we clash swords, let me ask: even if you capture me, do you think you can take my disciple too? It's impossible. You have only one sword, and you can't overcome numbers like that. It's natural that the head of the Sima Clan, who hasn't learned martial arts, can't fend off the blade of a trained warrior."
The Soul-Separating Sword whispered.
"This fight is meaningless. If you don't sheathe your sword, you'll die. Even if you don't die, what you're protecting will perish by my disciple's hand. Will you still refuse to sheathe it?"
"---Why are you so sure I only have one sword?"
I turned my head. Number 20 had drawn her sword.
A fierce blood-red gleam flashed under the moonlight.
The Soul-Separating Sword's eyebrow twitched.
"If you have ears, you heard what I just said."
"I heard you. I know full well. Damn it. How disgustingly strong you are. How heavy that title 'Soul-Separating Sword' carries."
Number 20's hand trembled.
The tip of her sword trembled too.
"...Number 20?"
She whipped her head around.
"You kicked me away? Me, who worked my ass off following your lead?"
"So you wouldn't get dragged into this..."
"Number 30, you're truly reckless. Reckless to the point of absurdity. You must be insane. But..."
She ground her teeth.
"I must be insane too. Truth is...I was hoping you'd say something like that. Because I owe you too. I had every reason to draw my sword. I just couldn't out of fear."
"........."
"Someone gave me the push, so now I'm good. I've straightened my bent back. Now that the gazes have shifted, I can see it. What I need to do. Two is better than one, right? I'm sick of stories where someone gets deceived and loses everything. Even if it's not my story, it's plenty infuriating."
"...You crazy bitch?"
"Shut your mouth, Sima Ak. Before I put this sword back. I've thought it for a while, but your mouth is seriously foul. So shut it and follow along. Don't whine in my ear."
Number 20 growled.
"I'll get you out of here."
"---Uahahahaha!!!"
The Soul-Separating Sword burst into laughter.
"Two treasures in the mud! What a delightful sight! But it can't be helped. I'm here on orders from the Rakshasa Clan. Even if I don't want to, I must cut you down. Head of the Sima Clan. Escape between your Blood Demon Squad guard."
---Shing.
The Soul-Separating Sword drew his blade. It was a heavy, long sword.
A blade that had killed so many, its edge naturally exuded murderous intent.
"What are you doing?"
The Soul-Separating Sword grinned ear to ear.
"---It's already begun. Come at me, nameless Blood Demon Squad member."
"Number 20, take care of Sima Ak."
"...What about you?"
I walked forward, sword dangling at my side.
Tracing a circle.
Staring down the enemy.
"Just like I said, I'll keep him tied down. The Soul-Separating Sword No Ha-jin."
"........."
I heard Number 20's lips moving behind me.
"...Don't die."
Sima Ak's dragged voice faded from the hall in perfect timing.
"Hold out, you bastard! If you don't, I'll kill you myself!"
Words the opposite of his usual foul-mouthed self.
I didn't respond. I only glared at the enemy.
From here on, it was a razor's edge.
The slightest difference would shatter my body to pieces. Before me stood a beast baring its fangs openly-a monster I couldn't even climb toward at my level.
The Soul-Separating Sword spoke.
"Guk Moon-ryong."
"...Yes, Master."
"Pursue them. One incense stick's time."
"...Why one incense stick..."
"A warrior defying death stands before me. Shouldn't we show him proper respect?"
A gracious courtesy. I responded by removing my mask.
The Soul-Separating Sword sighed.
"So young. A shame to cut down. Any last words?"
"...None."
There wasn't a shred of falsehood in my words.
"How could someone fighting not to die give up so soon?"
"...Kuhuhu. Can't argue with that."
The Soul-Separating Sword flashed his sword.
"Tell me your name."
"...Number 30."
"That name won't suffice, will it?"
Blood-red sword qi dripped from my gripped blade tip.
"It's enough."
"Very well then."
The Soul-Separating Sword kicked off the ground.
I moved my sword as well.
...
Number 20 ran, cradling Sima Ak in her arms.
They had to get out first. If Sima Ak survived, the truth hidden behind the lies might one day come to light.
"We need to escape this village!"
"...Escaping here changes nothing."
"Then what do you plan to do?! Number 30 is holding them off! You want to waste that?!"
"Shut your mouth! I'm thinking!"
What a nasty personality. Utterly filthy!
But she had to protect him even so. It was the time Number 30 had bought with his life. Number 20 dashed toward the Sima Clan's back gate.
"...No."
Sima Ak, who had been racking his brains, lifted his head.
"Change course."
"What?"
"We can't leave the Sima Clan. We'll be caught anyway. In that case...we need to gamble."
"What are you talking about?!"
"Escalate it. Make the stakes bigger. That's the only way to draw them in. Blood Demon Squad. Rakshasa Clan. Heavenly Evil Sect. And the Sima Clan..."
Muttering to himself, Sima Ak raised his hand.
"Higher. We need even higher. For that, we need carrier pigeons. To the pigeon loft! Change course!"
"Don't grab my hair! Just go, isn't that fine?! There's something there, right?! Tell me!"
"My head is far more useful than your dull one!"
Number 20 stopped. Not because of Sima Ak's insults.
She'd sensed the presence catching up late.
"...Then go."
"What?"
"I said go. Sima Ak."
He's coming.
Coming.
She felt it. A small beast. A terrifying powerhouse whose fangs were anything but small.
Number 20 gripped her drawn sword tightly. She steadied her breath amid the faintly quivering blood-red afterimage.
"Head to the pigeon loft. Whatever it is, make it happen. If running won't work, then gamble like you said."
"...You."
Sima Ak turned his head. He took a few steps, then looked back again.
"The Sima Clan doesn't forget favors."
"You can only talk about favors if you're alive. Go before you die. Now."
Sima Ak vanished. Number 20 remained alone, waiting for the pursuer.
"My lovely little sister..."
The voice her older sister had always whispered to her. Her family, who had always sacrificed for her sake, was still captive in the brothel.
She couldn't die. No one knew that better than she did.
...But.
Was it right to stay silent even after seeing it?
There was only one reason she had tried to capture Sima Ak.
It was confusing. Scary too. There were reasons she couldn't die, and she simply didn't want to die either.
But Number 30 had done that difficult thing without hesitation. His retreating figure was a path she'd considered but never walked, so she reached out instinctively.
...Truth is, Number 30.
There was something I couldn't tell you that day.
"Baek Mae. It's okay. You don't have to give anything back."
Her older sister always said it was okay, even if she gave nothing back.
But she wanted to repay that one-sided love. To return everything her sister had given her.
She wanted to stand tall with pride. To show her sister that the child she'd raised had grown into someone magnificent.
But she knew better than anyone that she hadn't.
On the day her sister went mad, screaming and kicking the wall, she hadn't stormed into the Crimson Peak Pavilion because her life was too precious.
She'd even used her sister being held hostage as an excuse to flee to the Blood Demon Squad. Now, under the guise of rescue, she endlessly dodged by training her martial arts.
Clinging to the vague hope that becoming part of the Blood Demon Squad might somehow work out, she kept walking toward an ambiguous goal.
She was a coward. A fugitive who valued her own life above all. That's why she put up a strong front especially against men.
Because she knew she was a coward.
Because she knew she couldn't face herself, that's why she'd bared her fangs.
"Little one."
But, Number 30.
Still...just once...
Couldn't she bloom just once?
Even if that flower bud had stayed closed all this time, couldn't it bloom at least once?
The child her sister raised, unashamed. The girl who wanted to become a female warrior wielding her sword for the weak, as her sister always spoke of.
No matter how scary and fearful.
Even knowing she'd die.
Even if her sword trembled madly and she couldn't extend it.
Even as a coward.
Even as a fugitive...
"Step aside. Then I won't take your life. Which way did Sima Ak go?"
The most precious flower in the Crimson Peak Pavilion.
---Couldn't the flower bloomed by her sister, Golden Plum Blossom, bloom just once?
"...No."
A master.
A warrior in a league she couldn't touch.
Her voice trembled.
But she gripped tighter.
She raised her free hand and removed her mask.
White hair swayed in the moonlight.
Fear made her sword shake. Tears she hadn't noticed streamed down, wetting the ground.
Her legs trembled with the instinct that she might never return.
But even so, Number 20 raised her sword.
"I,I won't let you pass. And I won't tell you."
The child always discriminated against in the Crimson Peak Pavilion for her unusual hair color.
The child who barely regained her smile under Golden Plum Blossom's care.
That child, who had lost what was precious and fled into endless darkness...
"If you want to pass here..."
The coward raises her sword.
To bloom the flower that had stayed closed all along.
"S,step over...my corpse...!"
---To finally stand proud, even if belatedly.