274. Someone's Malice (5)
Cheol Sunjik. He was a spine-chilling bastard.
My arms and legs, which moved by my own will, would come to their senses only to find themselves bound by the strings he manipulated. It wasn't just me. Everyone around me danced to his tune.
The more they struggled to break free, the more they tangled in the web he'd spun, rendering them utterly helpless.
Those who grasped his true nature feared him, while those who didn't instinctively avoided him. Survival instincts screamed a warning: Dangerous predator. Stay away.
Staring straight ahead, I saw him charging with his face flushed beet red. In that instant, Eunho stepped in front of me.
I gripped his shoulder and said, "Step back."
"But..."
Eunho met my eyes, realized something, and nodded. "Then... hand over the flag."
"The flag?"
He said it like it was the most obvious thing. "You're gonna win, right, big senior brother?"
A chuckle escaped me despite myself. "...Yeah."
Eunho, who had been commanding the sword formation, took the flag and fell back. The White Tiger Sword Formation had already collapsed, turning the area into a chaotic slaughterhouse, making any formation pointless now.
I quietly fixed my gaze on the culprit behind this mess.
"In a situation like this, even that eloquent tongue of yours can't save you."
I stepped toward Cheol Sunjik. Slowly at first, then faster and faster. And when I reached peak speed—
Shing!
I swung down with the Black Dragon Sword atop my charging momentum.
Clang!
The two swords clashed, resonating with a deep ring. The reckless speed amplified the shock rippling through both of us. He retreated five steps to keep from falling, and I fell back three.
"Jin Sowoon..."
"Not even calling me 'Representative Jin' anymore, huh."
His venomous glare, his murderous aura—it thrilled me to no end. I'd wanted a straight-up clash like this someday.
"I like it."
But he didn't seem pleased at all.
"Hah!"
In an instant, the Azure Bamboo Sword Technique of the Cheonhwa School unfolded. Rooted in the Thirty-Six Swords of the World, it wielded the profound weight of a mid-weight blade. Even without internal energy, each strike rang out like a bell fully absorbing the impact.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Unable to use internal energy, he poured his body weight into each swing. His adaptability rivaled any ronin. I couldn't help but admire it inwardly, purely and genuinely.
Is that how it is? You're this seasoned in combat?
I'd never witnessed his skill in my past life, so the surprise hit hard. How could someone so ferocious never showcase this prowess before?
Why not even once? Not a single time?
'Had he never shown his true colors as a comrade amid the brink of death?'
Cheol Sunjik spun twice sideways in midair with agile movements, slashing down. I gripped the Black Dragon Sword with both hands and parried.
Claaang!
My hands trembled, the vibration spreading through my forearms and shoulders. To halt it, I slammed the sword into the ground, then unleashed the Socheon Sword Technique.
Shing!
The blade flew exactly as I'd predicted.
"Hup!"
Cheol Sunjik's eyes widened as he swiftly raised his sword to block.
Ching ching ching clang!
Once more, the sword's wail echoed across the mountain. Our blades locked in a standoff. In a clash of heavy mid-sword and swift blade, the key was who seized the rhythm first. The swift blade would shatter against the heavy one, or the heavy sword would topple under the speed.
"Hng...!"
Neither yielded an inch, both vying to claim the opponent's breath.
Ching ching clang!
In that split second, Cheol Sunjik's vital point opened. He foresaw his own end but showed no fear—only seething frustration.
"In this life, I've won."
As he flashed a puzzled expression, I aimed the Cartoon Invincible Fist at his solar plexus.
"Sunjik!"
An unwelcome intruder intervened. Thud thud thump! Cheol Hyeonjik took the blow on his back instead.
As Cheol Hyeonjik writhed in agony on the ground, Cheol Sunjik glanced down at him briefly—then his hand moved like lightning.
'Damn it!'
The moment I tried to pull back from the heavy sword's influence—
"...!"
Cheol Hyeonjik, rolling on the ground, desperately grabbed my leg.
"Sunjik! Now!"
With Cheol Hyeonjik's shout, Cheol Sunjik spun once, loading power into his blade, and swung it like a waist-cutter. A motion brimming with pure sincerity. A hollow laugh burst from me unbidden.
Crazy bastard. Forgot this is just an evaluation?
...But somehow, I understood. I'd forgotten too that this "evaluation" was merely for points.
I unleashed the Yuyun Divine Art Lotus Blossom to its limit. My joints screamed as his heavy mid-sword met my blade guard, but I gritted my teeth until they bled and endured.
"Arghhh!"
Clang!
I barely deflected his sword, then kicked off the clinging Cheol Hyeonjik.
"Sunjik... now..."
What the hell is with 'now'?
Thud.
Cheol Hyeonjik, stuck like a leech, let out a yelp and fainted. Cheol Sunjik gave his brother one indifferent glance, then steadied his stance.
"You're lucky, Jin Sowoon."
"Ditched that ragged polite talk for good now?"
"...Strange. Everyone else loves getting honorifics."
I sneered. "Only those who don't see the sleaze behind it."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah."
One might expect outrage at his brother's fall, but he showed none. He just kept swinging.
His dry voice continued. "You thought saving just Seong Moran and Geum Pyo would do. That botching my plan to that extent was enough."
"..."
His eyes flashed as he leaned further forward, his sword growing heavier, as if echoing his mood.
"Did you never consider I'd predicted even that?"
Claaang! Claaang! Claaang!
Even knowing his Diamond Indestructible Iron Body, I worried his sword might shatter.
"You've ruined my plan, so you won't get what you want either!"
Cheol Sunjik shouted, more emotional than ever.
# In my past life, I despised Cheol Sunjik. His selfishness—prioritizing himself and his sect over the unit's victory—disgusted me. Their half-hearted efforts drew scorn from not just our Small Justice Squad but all warriors.
Yet there was nothing I could do. Force wouldn't bend him; my skill fell short. Intellectually, he was too cunning. Even Jegal Cheongi fell for his schemes every time but once.
So I loathed and scorned him to the bone.
But...
'Truth is, I envied him.'
Those who clung to life till the end. Him saving his people by any means. Yeah, I envied it.
Them surviving amid curses and blame, time after time. Because I couldn't. Because I had no one left to protect.
"Kugh...!"
My bone-deep contempt for him might have stemmed from self-loathing—for failing to protect my precious ones.
That's why I couldn't lose. No, I mustn't lose. I wouldn't repeat past life's mistakes.
No more hiding, cursing foes while watching fallen comrades lag behind. I'm sick of it.
"That's why I can't stop here!"
Even as the heavy sword's shockwave toppled me, I desperately swung the Cartoon Invincible Fist. No major blow, but enough to obscure his vision briefly.
"Kuh!"
The instant his narrowed eyes refocused—
Shing!
I thrust the Black Dragon Sword without hesitation. Knowing his skill, I knew this wouldn't kill him easily.
Shing!
It grazed his ear by a hair, and he jerked his head, stabbing at my side with his sword hilt. One wrong move, and my ribs would fly.
I recalled the Black Dragon Sword while elbowing his jaw.
Thud!
He staggered back two steps from the impact, his face a mix of rage and injustice.
"Why... why do you always interfere, Jin Sowoon...?"
His usually neat hair disheveled, head bowed, he spat it out bitterly.
"I have to bring down the heavens. Yet why does a nobody like you... block my grand cause!!"
Incomprehensible words, but no questions arose. I roughly knew what he meant.
He wailed desperately again. "Why... do you always block my path?"
Claaang!
"Why... why!"
Claaang!
"Every time...!"
Our swords clashed, but the earlier heaviness was gone. No probing for openings either. Just frantic lashing out.
"Why do you block my path!!!"
Claaang!
I no longer retreated from the impacts. Instead, he stumbled back two steps after each clash. Yet he screamed until his throat tore.
"I absolutely cannot yield!"
I stared at his staggering form. "Same here."
"..."
I met his eyes, filled only with rage and malice—like the expression I'd worn in my past life.
"I absolutely cannot yield either."
He stared blankly at me, then twisted into a faint, crooked smile.
"...Is that so? You desire the same as me, Jin Sowoon?"
"..."
"Then why can't I? What's the reason you can and I can't?!"
The very question I'd hurled at myself watching him in my past life. Now he screamed it at me.
"Why must I just stand by helplessly?!"
In my past life, I couldn't even guess the answer. But now, I'd found it amid the tangle.
And surprisingly, it was simple.
"Because I'm more desperate."
"..."
I hadn't answered back then from sheer cowardice to face the truth. The answer was plain as day from the start.
"Than you, Cheol Sunjik!"
I plunged deep into his lungs.
"Because I'm more desperate."
I instilled massive despair.
"That's all."
"..."
He shook his head vehemently, refusing to accept it. "No way. I'm more than anyone... more than anyone..."
His hollow gaze swept over me and Tae-eul Gate's members—Geum Pyo enduring against five swords to the end...
"More than anyone... desperately..."
Hong Saryeon, never dropping her trembling sword amid her wild hair...
Then he clamped his mouth shut. His jaw clenched visibly.
Crunch.
Blood trickled from his lips. Head bowed, trembling, he suddenly glared at me with flashing eyes.
"Then..."
His face hardened rigidly. "If that's true, prove it. How desperate you are..."
Veins bulged anew on his limp arms, ready to burst.
"...This time, I'll be your Mount Tai."
I poured all my strength into my shaking arms.
"Even without you, bastards blocking my path are thick as heaven and earth!"
Shing!
As the Black Dragon Sword shot forward, Cheol Sunjik blocked with his blade face.
Ching clang.
Immobile, he focused solely on defense. True to his word, he'd become a wall—a Mount Tai.
Shiiiing!
"Come at me all you want!"
Swift sword without internal energy had limits, and against a Cheol Sunjik familiar with the Socheon Sword Technique, simple trajectories failed.
"You won't cross easily, Jin Sowoon."
"...That so?"
"Yes... Feel it yourself, how revolting it is to have your path blocked..."
But that Mount Tai held no terror.
Why? "If I can't cross it, I just smash it down."
"What?"
I gripped the Black Dragon Sword two-handed, abandoning the Socheon Sword Technique.
"Like you tried to do to me."
And swung the Azure Bamboo Sword Technique he'd wielded—honest, upright, unyielding, faithful to basics. A heavy mid-sword perfect for shattering solid walls.
Deeeeng!
I replicated his exact forms.
Deeeeng!
Cheol Sunjik's eyes widened in shock. "What the...?"
Using another’s technique without internal energy was madness. Most martial arts were built on qi circulation. Without lifelong training and study, efficiency plummeted sans qi.
But I had no such worries.
Cheol Sunjik had already shown me his lifetime's worth.
The ultimate Azure Bamboo Sword Technique without internal energy.
"Impossible!!!"
I just faithfully mimicked his displays. In this moment, that made it the finest form possible.
Claaang!
Like he'd struck to shatter my wall.
Claaang!
Now I struck to shatter his.
Claaang!
Qi replaced by weight, speed by rotation.
Claaang!
Crack.
A tiny fracture appeared on Cheol Sunjik's sword for the first time.
"Wh-what!!!"
As he panicked and tried to retreat, I spun three times in place without pause and swung the Azure Bamboo Sword Technique.
Thuuud!
Finally.
Craaaack!
Shatter!
A ear-splitting screech tore through as Cheol Sunjik's sword broke.