Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Duel - 2
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Up until now, even while learning from Sword Heaven Yu Ye-ryeon, one of the Eight Great Heavens of the Nine Provinces, I had never once had a proper spar with her.
Most of it had been sparring where she went easy on me, and even that consisted only of attacks with almost no killing intent. When I asked how I could possibly spar like that, she flicked my forehead and ruffled my hair wildly before calmly saying,
that in the near future, I'd come to understand what the Eight Great Heavens truly were.
Was today that day?
I swallowed hard in front of the old man standing there with a calm expression, sword in hand.
"Come at me."
His stance was the same.
The exact same movements as the Soaring Palace Free Sword Art that Namgung Hye had unleashed.
But the speed was so slow it was almost yawn-inducing. Of course, that didn't mean I could let my guard down.
My opponent was one of the Eight Great Heavens of the Nine Provinces.
Even that slowness must have meaning.
As I tensed up with that thought, the slowly moving sword came to a halt.
And then.
The entire world stopped.
In a world where everything had frozen, only one thing moved. A single, razor-sharp sword.
The blade aimed straight at my heart was the only thing advancing toward me in this halted world.
I'm going to die.
If I stay like this, I'll die.
To survive, I have to kneel.
Before that overwhelming sword.
My body went limp on its own. I wanted to drop to my knees before that grandeur. And yet, the only reason I didn't was one thing.
The Three Ultimates Sword Art within me was rejecting it.
"Kuh!!"
I bit down hard on my lower lip, tearing into it to snap myself out of cowering before that massive sword.
With the spreading pain, my mind, which had been on the verge of submission, snapped awake.
"Haaah!!"
The rage of the small, the scream of the weak, the cry of the insignificant.
Before that colossal sword, I, no more than a speck of dust, raised the blade gripped in my hand.
A sword can make even Mount Tai kneel.
And thus reign supreme over all creation.
- Slash!!
"...Hoo."
In a world that moved for nothing but that colossal sword, one more thing stirred. The sword in my grasp. The tip, aimed at the peak of Mount Tai, slowly descended, blocking the great sword's dominion.
A clash of dominions. It was only natural that mine would be pushed back—it was my Mount Tai Pressing Down.
"Cough!!"
I ended up vomiting a mouthful of blood because of it.
As my legs buckled and my vision blurred toward unconsciousness, the dominating sword underwent a change.
The vast, lofty blue sky took form, enveloping me. Within it, only my Mount Tai Pressing Down reigned.
"This is impressive."
A voice of admiration leaked out. Impressive—those were words I should be saying.
Namgung Cheon, who had shown such overwhelming power with a single technique capable of inflicting internal injuries on me, withdrew the move and sheathed his sword.
At that moment, the azure sky's pressure bearing down on me vanished completely.
"What I just used was the first secret form of the Soaring Palace Free Sword Art: 'Soaring Heaven.' It's the technique Hye has learned but hasn't fully mastered yet. And..."
"...Hah... Hah..."
"We believe that 'Soaring Heaven' contains the Emperor."
The Emperor. I knew what the Namgung Family sought in their Emperor.
The Emperor Sword Form.
The sword lost by the Namgung Family.
Honestly, with that colossal sword and the blue sky just now, no one could deny it was the Emperor Sword Form.
But Namgung Cheon looked dissatisfied.
"The true sword of the Emperor is not something like this. Rather..."
He let out a small groan. Then, staring at me as if it were utterly fascinating, he continued.
"Your sword contains an Emperor as well."
It was hard to put into words. I'd simply executed Mount Tai Pressing Down. An Emperor? I'd only seen the Namgung Family's sword...
"Ah."
"Ah?"
"I realized the meaning of Mount Tai Pressing Down through Namgung Hye's Soaring Palace Free Sword Art. Yes. Seeing her execute Soaring Heaven back then allowed me to grasp at least a bit of its essence."
"Hoo. I see. That explains it. Your Mount Tai Pressing Down just now carried the essence of our family's style."
Did it? Honestly, I had no idea. But if that was the case, Yu Ye-ryeon would have said something already.
She had been wary of me getting too close to the Namgung Family. And she had warned me—if I learned their sword arts, to be careful.
Even the Soaring Heaven from Namgung Cheon just now might be...
...Huh? Wait a minute.
I closed my eyes. My internals ached from the injuries, but not enough to immobilize me.
What I needed to do now was recall the Emperor's aura contained within the 'Soaring Heaven' I'd seen moments ago.
"...Hup!"
I raised my sword. And slowly drew it downward.
What I drew was the sky.
Mount Tai may be lofty, but it remains beneath the heavens. Mount Tai Pressing Down doesn't depict Mount Tai itself—it signifies the vast sky that encompasses even the mountain.
The first form of the Three Ultimates Sword Art, Mount Tai Pressing Down, also represents 'Heaven.' If so, perhaps what I needed to do was not to dominate, but to draw the sky itself.
- Claaang!!
Namgung Cheon blocked my downward slash with his sword gripped in both hands. And at that moment, what formed behind him was...
- KABOOOM!!!
A colossal explosion accompanied by the strike of a giant.
A single blow utterly demolished the rear garden.
"Uh."
"Gaining enlightenment is worth celebrating, but..."
Namgung Cheon said coldly with an icy expression.
"destroying someone else's home like this."
.
.
.
I couldn't lift my head before Namgung Cheon, who looked colder than ice. The commotion outside made it impossible to ignore.
"What in the world?!"
"Moonlit Pavilion is flooded..."
"The rear garden... all those flowers and plants..."
My shoulders shrank at the sighs from outside.
"Fortunately, no one was hurt."
"Th-that's a relief."
Icy. His sharp gaze stabbed like daggers. Unable to bear the chill running down my spine, I forced a smile, and Namgung Cheon bared his teeth at me without even a hint of one himself.
"Smiling?"
"...I'm sorry."
What could I say? I just kept my head bowed.
Namgung Cheon stared at me impassively, without even a sigh, and continued in a flat tone.
"In any case, it seems you've grasped at least the first form of the Soaring Palace Free Sword Art."
"Yes. Thanks to you..."
"Then you can fully cure Hye now, right?"
Heart demons aren't something someone else fixes for you. You have to awaken from them yourself.
"It should be possible."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. If it's Namgung Hye..."
"I sense some distance there. Didn't you say you were close friends?"
Close... Well, true. She's the only one around my age I could call a friend, so yeah, close friends with Namgung Hye.
"Yes. I think Hye can do it. She's surprisingly strong-willed..."
"But soft-hearted inside. I'd appreciate it if you stayed by her side and took good care of her. Do that, and you'll be a benefactor to the Namgung Family—I won't even mention cleaning up today's mess."
So basically, stay by her side and help until she snaps out of it.
It wasn't a burden. That was my goal in coming to the Namgung Family, after all.
"To dispel the heart demon, the priority is making her focus on something herself... so I'll spar with her as much as possible."
"Good. Then we should start by changing your lodgings."
"Uh... where to?"
"The Inner Residence."
The Inner Residence—where the Namgung bloodline stays, right? Could I really live there?
But Namgung Cheon stared at me without so much as a twitch of his brow.
"Stay in the Inner Residence, spar with Hye often, and talk with her a lot."
"Understood."
It wasn't a bad deal for me either, so I nodded. Soon after we reached an agreement, my belongings were moved.
And then.
"...You want me to stay here?"
"Yes."
The place Namgung Cheon brought me to was right next to where Namgung Hye lived. Close enough to touch if we fell over. Was that okay?
"I-I'm a guy, you know..."
"And?"
"I'm worried about rumors."
"Do you think the Namgung Family is so lax that rumors like that would spread?"
"No, not like that, but..."
"Then stay here..."
"J-Jin Hyun?! Why are you here!? What's with the luggage? You're moving in next door from now on?!"
That was when Namgung Hye came out, spotted me, and lit up with joy.
As she approached with an oddly uneasy grin, arms out to hug me, I blocked her and shook my head firmly.
"No."
Hearing me, her bright face instantly fell into gloom. As she pitifully reached for me with her head hung low, Namgung Cheon cleared his throat lowly.
Her shoulders flinched at the sound. The eyes that had been on me fixed on him.
"...H-hello."
"...Yes."
Grandfather and granddaughter, yet somehow more awkward than strangers.
Were they on bad terms?
"Then carry on. I'll visit again later."
Namgung Cheon patted my shoulder and left. Namgung Hye hesitated, then approached me with a voice full of worry.
"D-did Grandfather do something to you?"
He did, yeah. Thanks to him, my Mount Tai Pressing Down got stronger. But that wasn't what she meant...
Eh, it didn't seem like a big deal, and there's nothing she could do anyway, so I'll skip it for now.
"I'm staying here for a while to help treat your heart demon."
"Is that... okay?"
"I'm fine with it. I'm just worried about you."
"M-me? Why?!"
"That you might get too dependent on me. Anyway, I'll do my best, so..."
I grabbed Namgung Hye's shoulders and said,
"You try your best too."