Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: The Sword Tiger's Secret
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Korea's first S-Rank Hunter and the strongest of them all, Sword Tiger.
An undefeated myth who had never lost a single time, a living legend.
Yet even he harbored a secret.
A humiliating secret he had never revealed to anyone.
And now, that secret passed from Sword Tiger's lips to Yong-un.
"They were monsters. Both of them..."
Sword Tiger, who had claimed first place in the World S-Rank Hunter Competition, had once challenged the top 10 rankings on the recommendation of the World Hunter Association.
And that's when he met them.
No. 4, Golden Cat Setojima Saki.
No. 7, Sword Dragon Xiao Chang Jiang.
"Even now, they won't leave my mind. Ten years later, and still..."
As he spoke, Sword Tiger shuddered violently.
Sword Tiger, showing such a side.
A glint of surprise flickered in Yong-un's eyes.
But given how Sword Tiger described their prowess, it was understandable.
The Sword Dragon, who unleashed four streams of crimson sword aura with no openings whatsoever. The moment their eyes met, Golden Cat made him see illusions of himself being torn to shreds at invisible speeds.
That was Sword Tiger's account.
All of this happened in just one minute, leaving both of Sword Tiger's hands shredded and causing him to lose consciousness.
When he came to, Sword Tiger had fled back to Korea on the first flight like a coward.
He shuddered again.
A humiliating sight, utterly unlike the man known for never having tasted defeat.
"It's a memory I never want to relive."
Yong-un silently nodded at the sight of Sword Tiger trembling even as he spoke.
'Must have been terrifying.'
He must have believed himself the strongest, never having suffered such a crushing blow before.
And never having witnessed such a vast gap in skill.
'Are they a wall to him? One he so desperately wants to shatter, enough to show this side of himself?'
Yong-un gazed at Sword Tiger, his serious expression melting into a smile.
'Still, that's a relief.'
The fearful trembling didn't last.
As time passed, Sword Tiger changed slightly.
Though his body shook with fear, a faint killing intent gleamed between his clenched fists.
It wasn't forced effort to overcome terror.
It was genuine fear, mixed with the venomous resolve to kill and win—and unshakeable confidence.
Yes.
What shone in Sword Tiger's eyes now was pure fighting spirit.
"If I meet them again, it'll be different."
A ferocious aura, as if he'd draw his sword and cleave them down on sight.
Admirable that he'd conquered his fear through sheer willpower, but some things needed clarifying.
"Next time, I'll definitely..."
Yong-un cut off Sword Tiger's gritted-teeth vow.
And brought him back to reality.
"No, you can't win."
"...What?"
Sword Tiger's eyebrow twitched.
"Were you expecting sympathy? Let me be blunt. You can't beat them as you are now. Not even the Golden Cat or Sword Dragon from ten years ago."
The twitching brow furrowed deeply, creases carving into his forehead.
"You serious?"
Was it because his lifelong obsession was being denied?
Anger flashed across Sword Tiger's face.
Yet Yong-un's expression remained unchanged.
"Not sure if you'll get it, but by my standards, the gap between you and them is exactly one step. Like the difference between peak and super-peak, or first-rate and peak."
"..."
"And needless to say, you're the latter."
In simpler terms, generously speaking, peak versus super-peak.
Any martial artist would know how vast that chasm was.
Heaven and earth apart—a gap one might never cross in a lifetime.
In the martial world, he'd grasp it instantly, but this was reality.
Sword Tiger scowled even harder.
"I don't get it. Say it plainly."
"Plainly put: Can you unleash sword aura like Sword Dragon did, without moving a muscle?"
"..."
Sword Tiger's scowl eased slightly.
"Now you see. That's the difference in realms. Why we divide peak from super-peak."
Too much negativity?
Or despair that all his efforts had been for naught?
Suddenly, Sword Tiger channeled mana and stomped the ground.
Boom!
The earth trembled faintly, cracks spiderwebbing out.
He glared at Yong-un and bellowed.
"So what am I supposed to do? It doesn't matter. If I can crush those bastards... I'd sell my soul to demons if I had to!"
Sell his soul to demons.
The words drew an involuntary chuckle from Yong-un.
"Heh."
"Are you mocking me...?"
To sell one's soul to demons meant he'd stake everything on even the most evil beings to defeat them.
In Sword Tiger's resolve, Yong-un saw a reflection.
A little boy, having lost his slum family, knocking on the gates of the Heavenly Demon Cult—the martial scourge.
"Is that resolve real? That if you could topple them... you'd sell your soul to demons?"
"Dead serious. I'd swear it on my sword before a demon!"
That young recruit, brimming with venom but honing it into a dagger against his chest.
"Interesting."
Yong-un looked down at Sword Tiger, whose arms now trembled with tension.
Just like when he'd struck the deal before, Yong-un extended his hand again.
"Then sell it."
"What're you saying?"
"Didn't you say you'd sell? Your soul to a demon."
Sword Tiger stared at Yong-un's outstretched hand.
"You... you're a demon!?"
"Does it have to be a demon? I can make it happen."
A spark lit Sword Tiger's eyes.
As Yong-un gazed down, his own eyes briefly turned pitch black before clearing.
Then, a dark crimson dragon coiled around him.
"Wh-what is this...?"
"I'll say it once more. Stake everything on me. Then I'll grant it. Your wish."
As if echoing Yong-un, the dark crimson dragon bared its fangs wide at Sword Tiger.
Dazed, Sword Tiger alternated stares between the dragon's manifestation and Yong-un's hand, his body quaking.
"I felt drawn to you for some reason."
"What... are you talking about?"
In front of the Unwoo Guild office.
Yong-un halted and spoke to Sword Tiger.
"You're like me. Or more precisely, like I was forty years ago."
"So what're you getting at?"
"I sold my soul once too. To the Heavenly Demon Cult."
Sword Tiger's eyes widened, then settled.
"And I devoured it. The Heavenly Demon Cult itself."
Yong-un placed a hand on Sword Tiger's shoulder as he spoke.
Normally, he'd shrug it off, but Sword Tiger just stared silently.
"You're mine now. I lavish what belongs to me endlessly. Especially if it pleases me."
"..."
"That's an order. Put family above even me. Guard them with your life. Do that, and I'll share what's truly mine. Not the basics from our deal—something incomparable."
The dark crimson dragon behind Yong-un had long vanished.
Yet Sword Tiger shuddered as if facing it still.
"Enter the competition. Two weeks. I'll make your wish come true in that time."
"You mean... the rankings?"
"Trust me. You're mine. You can't lose to trash like that."
Sword Tiger's barely calmed pupils quivered once more.
But Yong-un left him there and entered the office alone.
Left behind, Sword Tiger stared at Yong-un's receding back, lost in a daze for a long while.
Entering the office, Yong-un immediately faced the guild members.
"You're late."
"Picked up something nice on the way."
Yong-un grinned and sank into the sofa.
The guild master, seated opposite, asked,
"And Sword Tiger...?"
"He'll come. I've got a job for him."
"Then I'll get right to it."
The guild master slid some documents across to Yong-un.
[World S-Rank Hunter Competition Entry Form]
Being an S-Rank Hunter had its perks.
Even entering late, everything processed smoothly.
"The English one's the certificate from the World Hunter Association. This is from Korea. The event starts in two weeks, in New York."
Yong-un pocketed both sheets.
That wrapped up today's talk.
Yet unlike usual, he stayed on the sofa.
Curious, the guild master probed,
"Is there more...?"
"While I'm gone, what do you plan to do?"
"Hunt gates like always, of course."
"Those pathetic requests from official guilds?"
Even at "pathetic," the guild master stayed silent.
C- and D-Rank gates were their staple.
B-Ranks were a pipe dream without Yong-un—that was Unwoo Guild's reality.
True, only half of official guilds could handle B-Ranks.
Still, they knew: without Yong-un, Unwoo was bottom 99% of guilds—weaklings.
"Guild master. Why do you think I chose you?"
"No idea. Honestly, I still wonder why you're sticking around."
They'd resisted fiercely.
Knowing this would happen.
Finally, the guild master voiced his long-held question.
Yong-un's reply followed.
"At first, for Myung-un. Then, because you're a master craftsman, I chose this place."
The guild members bowed their heads.
Rephrased, it meant the members didn't matter.
"But now, it seems there's more to it."
"Pardon?"
"Like Sword Tiger, you all drew me in. Aimless lives, grinding away hopelessly without growth."
The guild master's brow furrowed at words that felt like insults yet weren't.
Yong-un smiled and continued.
"It's strange. Things I never saw before are clear now."
"What are you trying to say?"
"I hear there's a guild showdown in a month."
Guild showdown.
The air chilled instantly at those words.
There was another event as big as the World S-Rank Hunter Competition.
The Guild Showdown.
A massive ranking event for guilds nationwide.
To civilians, it looked like a festival, but really, it was an unavoidable trial.
A test no Korean guild could skip.
"Just as I thought—those faces."
That was why Yong-un had brought it up.
Every guild member's expression hardened at "Guild Showdown."
They knew it was coming, but hearing it soured the mood.
'Can't blame them.'
Unwoo Guild barely scraped by in past showdowns—the weakest of the weak.
To them, it was pure nightmare fuel.
"Last showdown, you barely made the cut for the first time. Enough to get flagged for dispatch."
That was the terror of the Guild Showdown.
Guilds failing the cutoff got dispatched.
A system Korea made, as a hunter-weak nation unable to dodge deployments.
To protect strong guilds and hunters from death pits.
Unwoo had slipped outside the cutoff for the first time.
Because stronger guilds proliferated in Korea.
Targeted for dispatch, they'd nearly marched to doom.
Amid mockery from countless guilds.
"We know..."
The guild master wasn't unaware.
But knowing sometimes tormented worse.
"What can we do? We're weak."
He knew the problem.
They bled to pass the cutoff each time.
Results never changed.
Hunter limits—no effort could breach certain grades.
Unwoo Guild's office froze over.
So quiet, breaths echoed.
Clink.
The silence shattered as Yong-un's teacup hit its saucer.
"In the past, I recruited underlings like you."
Myung-un looked up at Yong-un's voice.
Having heard yesterday's martial world tales, his eyes said he knew the story.
Yong-un smiled.
"The Demon Shadow Ghost Slayers."
Originally the Unripened Demon Squad.
A Heavenly Demon Cult combat unit named for recruits—not yet demons.
The trashiest, weakest bunch in the cult.
Always cannon fodder in wars, first to die.
After one campaign, numbers halved—no one volunteered.
Then Sword Demon Yong-un took command, transforming them.
From survival-worried fodder to elite killers plotting enemy sweeps.
Renamed Demon Shadow Ghost Slayers, they claimed elite status.
With "kill" etched crimson on their backs, later called Crimson Ghost Reapers, shaking the martial world.
This feat elevated Sword Demon Yong-un to Demon Commander rank, elder-level.
Yong-un smiled, surveying the guild members.
Hollow eyes, like pigs awaiting slaughter.
"They had eyes like yours at first. But after becoming mine, they changed."
They rose to the top.
Supreme guards of the Heavenly Demon Cult's Lord, the Heavenly Demon.
'They're probably honoring me now.'
Guarding the Heavenly Demon, they'd late learn of the vice-lord and Yong-un's "deaths."
Heads to the ground in guilt for failing him.
Yong-un smiled nostalgically at the guild, seeing his old squad's eyes.
Rising from the sofa, eyes locked on theirs, he repeated those past words.
"What is mine must be the best. You're mine now. Will you grasp my hand and become the greatest?"
The guild members' pupils trembled fiercely.
Not just any strongman—a Heavenly Demon-acknowledged, Sword Tiger-recognized powerhouse said this.
But Yong-un awaited no "yes."
"C-can we really become the best?"
"The four great guilds... surpass them?"
Questions of disbelief, just like the Unripened Demon Squad's.
Yong-un grinned.
In that moment, he realized.
Yes.
Choosing Unwoo wasn't just for the guild master or Myung-un.
The empty, dynamic-less eyes like his old squad's.
He'd been drawn to these members' gazes.
"I stake my name and life on it. Follow me, and become the greatest. My strength."
His small but mighty voice shook their hearts.