Chapter 29
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Yearning Heart - 1
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"What is a heart demon?"
When Namgung Hye heard the story about the heart demon and decided she needed treatment, she asked Yu Ye-ryeon exactly what a heart demon was.
And she had given a firm, single answer.
"Another self."
Another self? Did that mean a heart demon arose from developing a split personality?
"It's another self born from doubt. Most of the time, it possesses the exact opposite temperament from one's own."
"Isn't that dangerous?"
If it was another self, then in the worst case, couldn't the heart demon push aside the original personality and take its place?
She nodded at my question.
"It is. Especially for masters—the damage is immense when they lose themselves to their heart demon. I haven't seen it myself, but... there was once an absolute master from the past called Fierce Moon Horse Gwiwol. They say he lost himself to his heart demon."
Fierce Moon Horse Gwiwol. One of the supreme experts who could wield qi, always in the running for the strongest of his era.
A righteous man and a paragon of virtue, his change came after defeat at the hands of his lifelong rival, Thunderbolt Sword Emperor Sanhu.
Having staked everything on that duel only to lose, he began doubting himself—and that gave birth to his heart demon.
Unable to overcome it, Fierce Moon Horse Gwiwol lost everything to his heart demon. From then on, he awakened to murder and slaughter.
"They called it the Moon Horse Calamity."
"The Moon Horse Calamity..."
"He grew obsessed with blood and delighted in killing. He massacred countless people and raped many women. People were horrified by the transformation of the once-virtuous man, and in the end, all the top experts of that era banded together to slay him."
"It seems you get much stronger when possessed by a heart demon."
"Something like that. But as time passes, reason fades, leaving only instinct behind—you turn into a beast or a monster."
"I see..."
"So be careful. If the heart demon emerges, you'll be far stronger than usual."
...
"Ahahahaha!!"
A sharp laugh rang out as the sword swung down. Snapping out of the past memory, I blocked Namgung Hye—no, the heart demon's—attack and stepped forward.
"Hup!"
I swung my sword in a circle.
Domain. The key to the Taiji Sword lay in creating a domain to pressure the opponent.
Faithfully executing that, I formed my own domain and calmly blocked or deflected the onslaught of sword strikes raining down, biding my time for an opening.
"Aaaah!! So fun!! So much fuuun!!"
Glad you're enjoying it.
The heart demon swung her blade with an ecstatic laugh.
Soaring Palace Free Sword Art? But it took a different form from anything I'd faced before.
Darkness. Yes, it resembled a deep, inky night sky.
Not the serene night sky I'd seen before, but a foreboding, ominous one. Black eyes in an unstable night sky that seemed ready to collapse any moment flashed past my body at a dizzying speed.
- Slash! Slash!
I blocked only the deadly strikes and let the others glance off.
Grazes on my arms and legs burned like fire.
"Huuu..."
As one sequence of moves ended, the heart demon glanced at the blood on her sword and smiled brightly. She slowly licked the blade, savoring my blood, then fixed her lightless eyes on me again and parted her blood-reddened lips.
"You're so weak, after all."
"It's not over yet."
"Hng. Fine by me."
She laughed seductively and leveled her sword at me. Then, pointing the tip my way, she began to move her feet lightly.
"You know what happens if I win, right?"
"......"
"I'll lock you in the basement."
What? Lock me where?
"And make sure you can't go anywhere. The world is dangerous, after all. So I'll protect you. No matter the peril, no matter the threat."
I glanced at my wounds.
Looking over my bloodstained body, I lifted my head to the heart demon again. She burst into giggles and slowly closed in on me.
"Ahahaha!! Don't worry! Eeeeverything! I'll heal it all for you!"
"Hm... still, I'd pass on the imprisonment."
"Aah? Talking nonsense...?"
The smile faded from the heart demon's face as her words trailed off.
"That's for the strong to decide!!"
The deep night sky unfolded once more.
The sword of that ominous, peril-filled night sky pressed in around me. The domain I'd formed with the Taiji Sword began to shatter.
As expected, the Taiji Sword from my insufficient training wasn't enough. So there was only one thing to do.
"Hah...!!"
With a low shout, I raised my sword.
Had she guessed my intent? The heart demon's lips twisted.
- Kuuuung!!
Our swords hadn't even clashed yet. What collided were merely the Mount Tai Pressing Down I'd drawn forth and the energy she'd conjured.
But the shockwave from sky clashing against sky rippled outward fiercely, destroying plenty in its wake.
"Urk...!!"
"Euuut...!!"
And among the destruction were the heart demon and me. Standing at the center where energies collided, neither of us yielded an inch.
"Tch!!"
In the end, the night sky's energy retreated.
Knowing further clashes could lead to disaster, perhaps? As the heart demon fell back, I recovered my sword and pointed it skyward.
"You wanna go all the way?!"
"Wasn't that your plan from the start?"
Neither of us intended to yield.
So while the heart demon ground her teeth, I simply lowered my sword again.
- Kuuung!!
This time, no direct clash. As the heart demon leaped aside to evade Mount Tai Pressing Down and prepared to counterattack, I used the Taiji Sword domain to unleash Sweeping Away Heavenly Armies.
Struck by it, she flew back. And as she did, Mount Tai Pressing Down unfolded again.
She was being pushed back.
The night sky sword couldn't match Mount Tai Pressing Down, so the heart demon yielded ground.
"Aaaah!!"
Displeased by that? Her face twisted more as she closed in on me.
"With mere Three Ultimates Sword Art!!"
A fierce shout accompanied the unfolding Soaring Palace Free Sword Art. Facing the night sky sword, I slowly drew back my blade.
And what I thrust forth was a strike aimed at a single point.
The Immortal's Path, a sword that embraced all.
Namgung Hye swung her sword in a daze, as if drunk, lost in thought.
Each time a red flower bloomed on the man before her, each time its scent tickled her nose, her mind grew hazier.
Yet there was one thing she couldn't ignore.
Jin Hyun's eyes.
Unyielding, upright, unshakable eyes.
Eyes utterly unlike her own, which had turned away from her weakness in the end.
Those eyes, she could never evade.
Not a word spoken, yet they held countless meanings. Was that why?
Namgung Hye felt sensation returning to her hands and feet.
- You stay put!! I'll handle everything! That man too! The Namgung family! The swordsman’s path! The righteous way! Everything!! I'll bring it all to you! Just watch!!
The heart demon's shout rang out as it stepped forward. She'd been sitting quietly inside, listening, but those eyes forced a reaction.
- I'll do it all!! You can't!! I said I'll do it all...!
Aah. I see.
At the heart demon's desperate cries, Namgung Hye smiled faintly.
- ...Ah.
You are my weakness.
- Busted?
She finally realized the heart demon's true nature. And with that, Namgung Hye regained her senses.
All this time, the burdens, agonies, and negative emotions within her. They had coalesced into the heart demon inside.
In other words, that heart demon was her as well.
In that moment came a single thrust.
Namgung Hye stared at it blankly.
At a glance, it seemed a simple stab. But the energy it contained was vast, embracing all.
Her inadequacies, her weakness. All the negatives. Staring at that immense sword seeking to embrace them, Namgung Hye smiled faintly.
You carry everything.
Unlike me.
That's why I admire you.
Because I'm weak, I've always yearned to be strong like you.
Realizing that, all her senses awakened.
And what she unleashed was the Soaring Palace Free Sword Art—but different from the heart demon's version.
Yearning for the sword that embraced all, the heart demon had tried to mimic it and embraced in turn.
Thus, the sword she now formed was utterly distinct from before.
Rejecting the night sky sword filled with killing intent, battle lust, and madness. The sword she sought was one of boundless expanse and freedom.
- Chaaeng!!
Immortal's Path clashed with Soaring Heavens, the secret first form of Soaring Palace Free Sword Art.
At the same time, Jin Hyun and Namgung Hye each staggered back a few steps.
But there was no follow-up barrage like before. Namgung Hye simply smiled softly.
Meeting that smile, Jin Hyun spoke calmly.
"You're back."
Aah. Yes. I came back. Your sword, your eyes—they brought me to my senses.
Namgung Hye smiled faintly at Jin Hyun and slowly lowered her sword.
"I lost."
I could never beat the one I admire, after all.
Swallowing the words that followed, Namgung Hye smiled more beautifully than ever before.