Kill Me (2)
The two faced each other.
Baek So-cheon was not just talking. His aura had shifted into the one he used against enemies.
It was the killing intent of someone who truly possessed the power to kill her.
Cheon-geuk's heart pounded like a drum. This was the first time in her life she had trembled like this.
Ssssss.
The air between them grew heavy. The atmosphere thickened, becoming suffocating. It wasn't sharp killing intent slicing through the air. It was an energy that dulled both body and mind, pressing down on her entire being.
Cheon-geuk knew it instinctively. This aura was several times more threatening than sharp killing intent.
Sharp killing intent jolted the mind awake, urging desperate resistance and fight.
But this energy sapped one's will to live.
Baek So-cheon seemed like a different person. The pressure bearing down on her was so intense that his previous demeanor felt like a facade. It was as if he had orchestrated everything up to now just to kill her today.
Of course, Cheon-geuk didn't yield easily to it. She struggled to steady her mind.
The aura Baek So-cheon emitted grew even heavier, crushing her further.
Even amid this, Cheon-geuk waited only for the moment he would move. He couldn't attack while maintaining such pressure.
The instant the nature of the oppressive aura shifted—
Ssshiik.
Baek So-cheon's sword flashed past her face. If she hadn't twisted away desperately, it would have sliced her face off—a genuine strike.
'……!'
Her heart sank. For a woman, a facial scar was a fatal threat, the first move to crush one's spirit.
The one fortunate thing was that Baek So-cheon wasn't using the forms of the Thousand-Handed Asura God Sword. He was employing a quicksword based on that martial art.
Even so, it had nearly severed her face—utterly threatening.
Ssshiik!
Baek So-cheon's sword flashed again.
This time, it grazed her chest.
Cheon-geuk didn't just take it. She barely dodged his attack and swung her Death King's Edge.
Shk!
With a short, cutting wind, her dagger flew toward Baek So-cheon's thigh.
A sword trail from Baek So-cheon's blade etched the air before his thigh.
Chaeng!
Sparks flew from somewhere along the sword trail. Baek So-cheon had deflected her attack with his own sword.
Cheon-geuk had no time to regret the failed strike or plan the next.
Baek So-cheon's sword was descending again to pierce her body.
She launched herself away. She moved as smoothly as a swallow skimming the water's surface, and Baek So-cheon's sword pursued like a falcon.
Pak! Paak! Pak!
Frightening sounds of the ground being deeply gouged echoed. If those had hit her back, her body would have been torn apart.
Cheon-geuk nearly cried out, It's over! But she didn't give up.
She knew this was the first and last chance of her life. For someone of her skill to advance a step required a stroke of fortune that might never come otherwise.
And she had encountered it now. A perilously dangerous stroke of fortune.
Ssshiing.
Her dagger thrust threateningly toward Baek So-cheon's throat. She gave her all. She believed Baek So-cheon wouldn't die even to her deadliest strike. In a way, this fight was utter madness.
She poured every ounce of her spirit and unleashed extreme power. She used every technique she knew. Never before had she fought in such urgency and terror.
The two figures leaped into the air.
Chaeng chaeng chaeng chaeng chaeng!
In direct clashes, the dagger was at an absolute disadvantage against the sword. But Baek So-cheon showed no mercy. He relentlessly drove her to the brink of death.
How many exchanges? What techniques had she used? What should she use next?
She fought in a trance, unable to think at all. She couldn't afford even an instant's distraction—death would claim her.
Complex sword trails from sword and dagger, powerful clashes erupting between them. A desperate battle where death loomed at every side.
And in that final extreme moment, Cheon-geuk experienced something unprecedented.
She saw herself objectively. As if her soul had left her dying body to watch from above, she observed her own fighting form.
Unbelievable. In a fight leaving no room for imagination.
In that instant, she realized what she had been missing. Why the wall had formed.
'Ah!'
The moment she understood, the wall blocking her vanished.
The next instant—
Puk.
Flesh tore, and Cheon-geuk's mind snapped back to reality.
The two, locked in frenzied combat, froze.
Her gaze slowly drifted downward.
Baek So-cheon's sword was embedded in her side.
Pak. Pak.
Baek So-cheon swiftly pressed her acupoints to staunch the bleeding. Fortunately, it had pierced cleanly between ribs, avoiding a fatal wound.
"Snap out of it, Cheon-geuk."
Cheon-geuk slowly raised her head to look at Baek So-cheon. The situation felt dreamlike—was this real or illusion?
"……You're calling my name for the first time right when you're about to kill me."
Baek So-cheon let out a sigh of relief.
"If you can joke, you won't die."
Cheon-geuk sighed in relief too. With the fight over and survival assured, tension melted away, draining her strength.
"You scarred my body. Take responsibility."
"How?"
The next moment, Cheon-geuk yanked Baek So-cheon close.
Cheon-geuk kissed him.
Her impossibly soft lips trembled against his.
Then, still in his arms, she lost consciousness.
* * *
Cheon-geuk dreamed.
Her childhood self.
She walked an endless corridor, hand in hand with someone.
She looked up at the man holding her hand.
The man didn't even glance at her as he said coldly,
"Be ruthless, or die."
How old was she then? Six? Seven? Did she even understand what "ruthless" meant?
After becoming alliance leader, she banned child abductions. Now they only accepted those who sought to become assassins.
Cheon-geuk chuckled in her dream. Even dreaming, she thought that change was her one good deed—and laughed to herself.
The scene shifted, her dream continuing.
This time, the day her master—the previous alliance leader—chose her.
Probably around thirteen, that verdant summer of girlhood.
"This child?"
"Yes, she achieved the highest scores in history."
The previous leader stared at Cheon-geuk. She met his gaze without fear.
"Aren't I frightening?"
"You are."
Her voice trembled.
"Then why stare so boldly?"
"To counter if you try to kill me."
Curiosity flickered across the previous leader's face. No assassin—let alone a fresh trainee—had ever reacted this way.
"How do you tell if someone's trying to kill you?"
"From their eyes."
"And now?"
Cheon-geuk looked at him and said,
"You're not thinking of killing me."
The previous leader snatched her hand. A sharp needle hid between her fingers.
"Then why keep this?"
She replied with fearful eyes,
"Hearts can change anytime."
The previous leader started in surprise, then burst into laughter.
"Hahahahaha."
The scene changed again.
Baek So-cheon stood alone amid corpses everywhere. The reapers known by many names lay dead. No assassin of the era could kill him.
For the Black Heaven Alliance's three million nyang bounty, the Assassin Alliance had staked everything—and paid the price.
Baek So-cheon approached her, blood dripping from his sword.
Right before her, he said,
"You're the alliance leader now."
The next moment, Cheon-geuk's eyes snapped open.
Baek So-cheon looked down at her—not the terrifying figure from that day, but one filled with deep concern.
'Right. At thirteen, I learned the world's truth. That hearts can change anytime.'
Looking at Baek So-cheon, Cheon-geuk sank into peaceful relief.
"How long was I out?"
"Three days."
"I'm dead. My guards must be worried sick, not sleeping a wink."
"I sent word."
"That I got hurt?"
"Yeah. I asked the elder to pass it on. Figured she'd come after me if I spoke directly."
"You get it."
A thick medicinal scent wafted from her side.
"Used the most expensive salve—no scar."
"What about my heart's wounds?"
"Did I wound your heart?"
"Nah."
Baek So-cheon chuckled, touching her wound.
"Better?"
"Hurts like hell. You know, you've taken plenty of blades."
"I do."
Cheon-geuk grabbed his wrist as he caressed her wound.
Their gazes met naturally.
"Thanks. The wall before me vanished."
"Really?"
"Yeah. The moment I realized why it formed, it was gone."
"Congratulations."
Baek So-cheon smiled brightly. The life-risking fight had been worth it. She had broken her limits and grown a step.
"But us? That kiss—was it a dream?"
She remembered the kiss before blacking out.
"No."
"You know? I was bummed passing out then. That was prime for advancing things. Find that hundred thousand nyang?"
"Nope. Want me to hunt it down now?"
"No time. Just call it treatment fee—hundred thousand nyang."
Cheon-geuk tugged his collar, and Baek So-cheon kissed her.
A deep kiss, devouring each other.
From that kiss, pent-up desire erupted. Without a word, they stripped each other. No thoughts of consequences.
Their bodies floated into the air. Baek So-cheon had lifted them both.
"Can't do it on the ground with your wound."
A soft energy cradled them like a fluffy blanket.
Her sensual body, never shown to another, was revealed.
Graceful neckline, full breasts, slim waist, firm thighs, perfectly shaped legs. Her figure was truly fantastical.
Each touch from Baek So-cheon drew trembling moans from her lips. He was more aroused than ever. Cheon-geuk was breathtakingly beautiful, and their mental bond ran deep.
But he didn't rush. For her first time, he claimed her body slowly, tenderly, like handling a child.
Like winds from all directions merging into one, they became as one.
"Haa, haa."
They gasped raggedly.
Their floating bodies slowly descended to the ground.
Clothes flew over, covering them.
"Having my first time right after getting stabbed? Guess I'm a true murim dweller."
Her words were so funny Baek So-cheon burst out laughing.
"Haha."
"Laughing now?"
"Sorry."
She'd joked to ease awkwardness, but it was still awkward. A pleasant awkwardness, though.
They lay gazing at the sky visible between the surrounding cliffs.
"Just in case—just saying, nothing changes 'cause we slept together. Got it? Don't get clingy saying you like me. I hate whiny guys."
How could Baek So-cheon not see through her? She said it fearing he'd feel burdened.
"No answer?"
"Got it. Hundred thousand nyang ain't pocket change anyway."
"Right? This time you covered treatment, but how often do I get hurt like this? Hmm, anyway. You helped me big time, so I owe you. You raised my martial art a step—what's that worth? Million nyang? Nah, can't buy this breakthrough for a million anywhere. Fine, ten million nyang. How's that? I owe you ten million. I hate owing debts……."
Baek So-cheon hugged her tight. He felt her relief in his arms, free from tangled thoughts.
"I'll collect every debt."
At his words, Cheon-geuk smiled, closing her eyes. Since being dragged into assassination against her will as a child, this was her first true peace.
She fell asleep in his arms. For the first time, without guard. For the first time, dreaming without death or blood.