Chapter 34
Chapter 34
************************-
Translator: uly
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Heavenly Demon Divine Cult Double Agent
************************-
What is the Soul-Stealing Sword?
It's a dangerous blade. Even his master had warned him never to use it except in dire circumstances.
At its peak, merely clashing swords is enough to shatter the opponent's internals. It destroys their insides, leaving only an empty shell, and grinds their very soul to dust.
That is the Soul-Stealing Sword.
Even short of mastery, it's perilous. Geuk Jin-myeong knew its dangers all too well.
Just a slight infusion of internal energy, and an ordinary person couldn't withstand it. Even against a martial artist of equal skill, they hadn't lasted three exchanges before dropping their sword.
They had writhed in agony for days afterward.
That was the nature of the Soul-Stealing Sword.
No ordinary master could even block it.
But... what the hell?
How was the woman in front of him still standing?
---Kaaaaang!!!
Their swords clash. For the first time, his foot- which had been steadily pushing her back-slides backward.
Sword aura. A hazy, blood-red haze surges toward him.
He resists fiercely, scattering the Soul-Stealing Sword's energy.
Sword meets sword. A piercing wail rises like a scream.
Soul-Stealing Sword.
Its tip gleams once more.
But for some reason...
The opponent doesn't fall.
"Grk?!"
He is pushed back. They clash.
Pushed back. Clash.
Pushed back. Clash.
Within the endless cycle of sword strikes, he can see her body breaking down in real time.
Even as he's being pushed back, he's winning. It's plain as day...
Yet it doesn't feel like victory at all.
"-----!"
A beastly growl. A sword strike that squeezes out blood itself.
Geuk Jin-myeong shuddered at the sheer menace. What am I even fighting right now?
What drives her to go this far?
What is martial prowess? He'd always thought it was simply power. But watching the warrior before him shattered that notion.
This wasn't the time for questions.
She's fighting with her life on the line right now.
Should he match her by drawing out his full strength?
---No!
This went beyond that level!
"You mad bitch!"
Every instant threatens his life. This was no fight where he could hold back.
To survive, he had to give everything.
The Soul-Stealing Sword gleamed ominously.
Geuk Jin-myeong ground his teeth. Gray sword aura flickered along his blade.
Change your thinking, Geuk Jin-myeong.
The thing before you isn't just a woman.
---A beast.
A beast through and through.
...
Colors mix. They keep blending together.
They fly away one by one. First red. Then blue.
With every sword clash, something in her vision drifts off. She feels her body crumbling in real time.
But Number 20 didn't stop. Instead, she poured more strength into her gripped sword.
Just a moment longer.
Just a fraction faster.
Press on!
---Kaaaaang!!!
She presses her opponent. Swings her sword.
She advances through the gray sword aura. No mercy-she draws out everything she has.
Nine Heavens Blood Demon Art
Second Form
Soul-Pulling Thrust - Grave Burst
She gauges the distance of the incoming blade. In the razor-thin gap that grazes her nose tip, she spins her body.
She thrusts in. With all her heart. Her opponent's face twists.
She charges over it.
Nine Heavens Blood Demon Art
Second Form
Soul-Pulling Thrust - Numb Friction
The opponent regains his stance. Amid the blood-red haze, Number 20 infuses her sword with internal energy.
This form isn't for destruction. It's a move to hold her ragdoll body together just a moment longer.
Her gritted teeth channel the energy; it rises in a blood-red bloom. At the clash, the surrounding air explodes.
But she endures.
She advances one more step, squarely facing the Soul-Stealing Sword.
---Kaang!!!
"What... beast...!"
Geuk Jin-myeong deflects the sword. Her opportunistic strike gleams menacingly.
Her clothes tear. Skin splits open. Blood spurts, but not enough to halt her.
Her opponent kicks her. Number 20's form is shoved back.
The opened distance. She doesn't miss it-slides her sword into its sheath.
Kicks off the ground like lightning.
Nine Heavens Blood Demon Art
Second Form
Soul-Pulling Thrust - Long Grip
She presses the assault.
To the very limit of her breath.
"What...?!"
Geuk Jin-myeong's face contorts. His body is flung back by the frontal sword strike.
Number 20 howls. All color has vanished from her sight. Only black and white remain.
Yet she charges on. Scattering sword strikes, thrusting wildly, giving her all.
She presses.
Keeps pressing.
She forgets to breathe. She moves relentlessly until everything drowns in black.
Pain surges. Her body trembles, on the verge of losing everything the next instant.
She collapses.
Collapsing.
Even as she collapses...
She's still running.
Why?
Why... why...?
"White Charm."
A gentle whisper. The hand that had stroked her hair.
The warm embrace that always took her side. Even if he never recognized her in the end, until that final day, the candy he'd quietly slipped into her hand.
She wanted to stand tall.
Just once...
She wanted to face him without running.
To repay what she'd received, at the very least.
"I'll catch up to you soon, so watch out."
She was sick of empty words.
Sick of half-hearted excuses.
Just for one moment.
"I'll be waiting."
Just one moment... of giving her all every instant...
"Number 20."
---Like you!
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!"
The growl amid halted breath merges with her sword art. It slices the air, cuts through tears, converges to a single point.
A flash of shock crosses Geuk Jin-myeong's twisted face. Number 20 doesn't miss it.
She reaches out.
Grabs hold.
Nine Heavens Blood Demon Art
Second Form
Soul-Pulling Thrust
Spinning and turning, it finally reaches...
---The origin.
"......!"
"......!"
In crossing voices, the battered Number 20 rolls across the ground. Her dropped sword skitters away.
Her elongated form fully collapses on the dirt. She tries to rise but crumbles again.
No strength left to even twitch. She can't move anymore.
With effort, she turns her head. Geuk Jin-myeong comes into view.
He, looking down at her, slowly turns his head.
He opens his mouth.
Asks.
"...Miss... what is your name?"
"......."
She opens her mouth but lacks the energy to speak, managing only silent movements.
Geuk Jin-myeong smiles.
"What a pity... If only... I could have heard your name..."
---Chwaaaaaak!!!
His deeply gashed torso sprays blood.
...
"Clan Head...? Why at this hour...?"
"Secret Pavilion Leader! Emergency! Relay my exact words and send them everywhere!"
"Pardon? What do you...?"
"That's an order! Do it now!"
The Secret Pavilion Leader bows immediately. He directs his subordinates at once.
Messenger pigeons fly in all directions. Sima Ak promptly commands his men.
Now, all that's left is buying time.
"Secret Pavilion Leader! Gather all the warriors from the main house right-!"
"Kuaaack!"
A scream erupts. Sima Ak whips his head around.
A corpse drops before him. The one who tossed it with an expressionless face is someone he knows well.
The Secret Pavilion Leader and his warriors draw their swords. Sima Ak grinds his teeth.
"Chu Ui-gyeong...!"
"Clan Head. How did you escape capture?"
"You filthy traitor! I'll crush your heart and drink it!"
A savage face. The scar-covered man sighs.
He steps inside past the door. The sheer pressure from his massive frame chokes the air.
Chu Ui-gyeong.
His former bodyguard...
Turncoat.
"The Sima Clan is already done for. Ever since the previous Clan Head stepped aside, its downfall was inevitable."
"That's not for the likes of you to decide!"
"Clan Head. I served you, but I never once offered my sword. Do you know why?"
Chu Ui-gyeong bares his teeth. He draws his sword and severs the corpse's head.
He lifts it by the hair and tosses it before Sima Ak.
"Sima One Sword. How could we acknowledge as Clan Head someone who couldn't even master the family's swordsmanship properly?"
"You bastard...!"
"I made a deal with the Heavenly Evil Sect. If they take the Sima Clan, they'll put my name at the top as its manager."
"You damn son of a bitch!"
"The Secret Pavilion Leader and everyone here won't leave alive. It was what I planned to do once I became the new Clan Head anyway. Doing it a bit early changes nothing."
Sword aura ripples from Chu Ui-gyeong's blade.
"The moment you tried to play Clan Head, the Sima Clan was ruined. Sima Ak. Can a fox become lord of the forest just because the tiger stepped away? Of course not. You'll die here, shouldering all the clan's scandals. Recorded as its worst leader ever."
"What the hell is this...!"
The Secret Pavilion Leader stumbles back.
"Clan Head?! Can you explain?!"
"Can't you see? It's a rebellion!"
"...Urk! Clan Head! Chu Ui-gyeong is the strongest warrior in the main house! His skill has reached the pinnacle of peaks! We can't take him with our current numbers!"
"Don't repeat what I already know!"
The situation keeps worsening.
As if whispering there's no way out.
But he can't stop thinking. Someone is buying him time. Even in a death trap, there's one who chose to stay for him.
Number 30.
He hadn't built much camaraderie with him. Yet that man had shouldered the role of Sima Clan bodyguard on his own.
Acting recklessly, taking responsibility recklessly.
A fool beyond words. Doing something that might mean nothing in the end, without hesitation.
He knows that act itself is infuriatingly stupid...!
---But how can he abandon the man who threw away his life for him?!
"...Everyone, draw swords!"
Sima Ak bellows as if vomiting blood. His drawn famed sword gleams fiercely.
"I won't die here! And the Sima Clan name won't fall under the Heavenly Evil Sect!"
Shoulder it.
Just as he always had.
That is the duty of the one who wears the Sima Clan name.
"Someone's holding out for us! That damn Sima Clan bodyguard is fighting alone! We can't abandon that idiot! Even a moment's delay means he'll die to the Soul-Stealing Sword!"
"What...?"
"The Sima Clan doesn't forget favors or grudges! Chu Ui-gyeong! You'll wash away your deeds in blood!"
Chu Ui-gyeong laughs.
"Think you can manage that, you?"
"...We'll see."
Sima Ak angles his sword obliquely.
The incomplete Sima One Sword shines at his fingertips.
"Guess we'll find out."
"Would be easier to give up."
"You worm."
Sima Ak bares his teeth.
"Shut your arrogant mouth. I'll make you pay."
The Secret Pavilion Leader and all his men draw their swords.
Chu Ui-gyeong clicks his tongue.
"Then die. Clinging to impossible ideals. The Sima Clan's master is me. The most talented retainer who served the previous Clan Head-me...!"