Phantom Butterfly Soul-Bewildering Steps
When I opened my eyes, an endless expanse of pure white space stretched before me. No matter how many times I saw it, the sight never felt welcoming. The only memories I had here were of my limbs being hacked off. Yet today, the weight on my heart felt lighter than usual. Why? Because today was footwork training!
Even if Geomjeong-i tried to pick a fight, I’d have to persuade him somehow. What I needed right now wasn’t swordsmanship—it was movement arts. I dashed forward at full speed, practicing the Phantom Butterfly Soul-Bewildering Steps along the way.
In the blink of an eye, Geomjeong-i came into view.
“Hey, Geomjeong-i! You piece of shit, how’ve you been?”
But the bastard ignored my greeting with zero manners and immediately dropped into the Heugam-dol charging stance.
“Whoa! No, no! Not sword training today!”
Geomjeong-i tilted his head.
“Geomjeong-i? Are you speaking about me?”
“Yeah! Who else is here besides you?”
“I don’t understand. Why do you call me that?”
I shrugged at him. “We need names if we’re going to communicate. From now on, your name is Geomjeong-i.”
“...But why Geomjeong-i?”
“Just look at you. ‘Geomjeong-i’ fits perfectly.”
“.....”
“What, you don’t like it? Then how about Blackie—”
I quickly swallowed the rest of “Blackie” because it somehow sounded racist. Anyway, for the next five days I needed to train in movement arts. That meant Geomjeong-i’s cooperation was crucial. There was no point provoking this murder machine with sensitive topics.
“For the time being, I need to train the movement technique called Phantom Butterfly Soul-Bewildering Steps. Let’s put sword training on hold.”
I checked Geomjeong-i’s expression to gauge his reaction… but of course that was pointless. He had no face.
“So here’s the thing—I still don’t really get how this system works. How exactly do I train footwork? Can I just practice by myself? Or are you supposed to teach me?”
“You seem to be misunderstanding something. I was born from your ability and the will of the Dark Heaven-Defying Sword. Therefore, the martial art known as Phantom Butterfly Soul-Bewildering Steps has nothing to do with me.”
“Oh? So I can just practice alone?”
Wow! Today I don’t have to get slaughtered by this killing machine! This is huge! Jackpot!
Totally lucky. Hehehe.
I looked at Geomjeong-i—who had finally relaxed his attack stance—with a satisfied smile.
“So that’s where you dragged in such a pathetic wretch.”
“...Huh?”
What the hell is he talking about? The moment that thought crossed my mind, dozens of women in pure white martial uniforms suddenly appeared before me. They had feminine figures and clothing, but every single one of them had a stark white face. The only features visible were their mouths—there were no eyes or noses.
What the fuck are those things? They’re terrifying!
As I stood there in shock, Geomjeong-i kindly explained.
“If you avoid those worthless creatures and touch the ‘black stone’ far in the distance, you will obtain that Phantom Butterfly Soul-Bewildering… whatever it is.”
He added, “Isn’t it convenient having someone as great as me around? A speck of dust like you should feel honored.”
…Why is this bastard so rude?
So all I had to do was dodge the white figures and touch the black stone? Simple enough.
“Geomjeong-i! If I just touch that black stone, will I automatically reach great completion with the Phantom Butterfly Soul-Bewildering Steps?”
“Yes. Practice is unnecessary. Simply touching the black stone is enough.”
It was impossible to read his expression, but… the bastard definitely looked like he was mocking me.
“But I doubt it’ll be that easy.”
Ah! He really is laughing at me.
The distance between me and the black stone seemed to be a little over a hundred meters. At full sprint, I could cover it in about ten seconds. But judging from Geomjeong-i’s obnoxious reaction, it clearly wouldn’t be that simple.
Those white women with nothing but mouths are probably going to attack or block me.
Still, anything was better than the merciless Geomjeong-i. I took a ready stance, feeling a slight tension. Until that moment, the ‘white women’ hadn’t moved an inch.
I steadied my mind and sprinted straight toward the black stone. The instant I moved, the white women sprang into action.
[Swoosh—]
Like dozens of butterflies flapping their wings at once, they rushed toward me with fluttering, graceful motions. Their movements were elegant and light, almost refined. But the closer they came, the louder my instincts screamed in warning.
The fastest one reached out with a soft, sweeping hand as if to grab me. The motion didn’t look threatening, but I didn’t dare underestimate it. I twisted my upper body to the opposite side to dodge. Immediately after, the others surged forward with light, unpredictable movements—like dust scattering in the wind.
It’s impossible to dodge all of them!
Since they weren’t human anyway, I figured killing them was fine. I dropped into the Heugam-dol stance and unleashed a swift sword strike. But the target I aimed for fluttered away like a butterfly right before my blade could connect, creating distance. It was as if my sword had blown them away like dust on the breeze.
My failed attack must have given them time. In an instant, they surrounded me from all sides—close enough to reach out and touch.
I can’t block them all one by one!
I used the nineteenth form of the Dark Heaven-Defying Sword—Abyssal Waves. Layering darkness like crashing waves, I swept my sword in every direction!
Layering darkness like crashing waves, sweeping the sword in every direction!
[Kwaaaaaang!]
My blade sliced through the afterimages of the white women. I was certain I had hit them, yet I felt no sensation of cutting flesh.
…?
At that exact moment, a white woman shot in from my side at terrifying speed. She spread her hand like a hook and swung it toward me. Just seconds ago she had been fluttering around me like a butterfly—now she dove in like a wasp ready to sting!
I swung my sword to sever her arm. But my blade simply passed straight through it.
“!!”
Physical attacks… don’t work?!
In that split second, I twisted my body to avoid the strike aimed at my throat, but I had to sacrifice my shoulder instead.
[Shluck!]
A tearing sound rang out as excruciating pain exploded in my left shoulder. I quickly rolled across the ground to break free of their encirclement, then glanced at my wounded shoulder while keeping them in sight.
…A chunk of flesh had been gouged out, and blood was gushing like a volcano.
Fuck… I thought this was footwork training?
While I was distracted, another one raked across my left side.
[Slash!]
Blood sprayed as another chunk of flesh was ripped from my left arm. In a panic, I immediately shifted sideways. My left arm had gone completely limp.
I can’t use my left arm.
The creatures were circling me with eerie, fluttering motions. As I watched them warily, one slithered low to the ground like a snake and bit down on my ankle. The movement was as fast as a flying tiger!
Isn’t that kind of movement cheating?!
My heel was torn off in an instant. My leg lost all strength, and I lost my balance. With my Achilles tendon severed, my knee buckled to the floor.
“Ugh!”
I tried to stand up immediately, but another one bit down on my right hand—the one supporting me on the ground!
“Let go!”
I swung my immobile left arm at the back of its head, but it passed right through, just like before. The moment I left an opening, the white women rushed in from all directions, their mouths ripped open all the way to their ears.
They bit into my arms, legs, torso… and even both of my breasts at the same time!
[Crunch! Crunch!]
[Gulp, gulp!]
The white women tore into my flesh and crushed my bones with their teeth. They greedily drank the blood that poured out. The very first one that had attacked me seemed to be smiling, her mouth torn ear to ear.
Though they all looked identical, I could somehow tell this was the same white woman who had attacked me first. She bit into my neck… and chewed, slurping loudly as she ate me alive.
“Fuck… I thought this was footwork training…?”
Nearly a hundred white women swarmed me at once. They tore into my face and used their sharp nails to pry open my skull. My extreme pain tolerance—honed through countless deaths—prevented me from fainting or dying from shock. One of the women who had cracked open my skull stirred my exposed brain with her hand, and that was when I finally died.
And then.
I opened my eyes again.
“Huk… huk… huk…”
The horrifying aftertaste of pain still lingered. My whole body was shaking uncontrollably. I had suffered terrible injuries back in my original world and died hundreds—thousands—of times at Geomjeong-i’s hands here, but being torn apart piece by piece and ultimately eaten was a whole different level of terror.
“I don’t understand. Didn’t you say you were training footwork? Then why are you using sword techniques?”
At Geomjeong-i’s words, I realized my mistake.
Because this is footwork training, my swordsmanship doesn’t work?
The core of the Phantom Butterfly Soul-Bewildering Steps was movement. Did that mean any method other than footwork was forbidden?
But they’re attacking me!
This fight was completely unfair.
“Observe the movements of those worthless things. You can’t just charge in blindly, can you?”
Geomjeong-i was giving advice again. …But it was genuinely helpful. I gathered my scattered mind and took one step toward them—then stopped.
The white women moved in sync with my step, then froze again when I stopped. Just like before, they were reacting to my movements. I took another step and stopped. Sure enough, they moved and then halted. But they had definitely closed the distance.
Can’t you move a little ahead of time? Then I could observe and try to copy…
Extreme tension and fear gripped my body. Dying to Geomjeong-i was a clean death—neck sliced or body cut in half. But dying to these things meant being torn apart and eventually eaten. Chewed, ripped, tasted, enjoyed… I absolutely refused.
Being eaten by something else brought a primal terror that went beyond mere pain. It was the feeling that your dignity was being shredded and violated. It could drive a person insane.
The distance between me and the black stone was short, yet it felt endlessly far. The only path forward was to use the Phantom Butterfly Soul-Bewildering Steps. Of course, if I didn’t move, they probably wouldn’t attack me either. If I just stood still long enough, I might wake up from the dream.
Normally, the “just endure” option would have been available. But since I had to escape the Repentance Cave in five days, I couldn’t afford such a cheap trick. After today, I would only have three days left to train in the dream.
…Can this even be called training? What kind of training is this?!
Shedding hot, manly tears, I charged at them once more. All the while, I kept muttering under my breath.
“Observe, observe, observe, observe…”
That first night in the dream, I was eaten alive fifty times. Still, I didn’t die completely helplessly. Following Geomjeong-i’s advice, I frantically observed their butterfly-like movements, imitated them, and observed again. As a result, on the second day I died thirty-five times. On the third day, twenty times.
And… tomorrow, I would leave the Repentance Cave.
Thus, in the dream, the final night before escaping the Repentance Cave arrived.