Ten Days, The Night of the Decisive Battle (3)
"Strategist."
In the small room, the woman known as the strategist sat in a daze, her eyes hollow and vacant. She kept fiddling with the blue ring on her finger.
"Namgung Strategist."
Namgung Hye. The youngest daughter of the fallen Namgung Clan. The unfortunate woman who had survived alone when the Demonic Cult slaughtered everyone else, all because she had been staying at the Murim Alliance.
After the string of devastating reports, she had abandoned food and drink entirely, simply drifting through each empty day.
"A guest has arrived."
It was only natural, but the Namgung surname before her name had lost all its worth. Its only remaining value was to serve as a broodmare for countless branch families. The Murim Alliance claimed to be righteous, yet in the end it was still the jianghu. Without power, she was no longer worth anyone's attention.
Even so, the fact that subordinates still sought her out spoke to the respect she commanded. It had already been three days since she had heard the news, broken down in tears, and collapsed.
Byeon Seong-hyun, one of her adjutants, had come with his colleagues to visit her every day. The only response she ever gave was a shake of her head in refusal. She would not stop until he withdrew, so he had no choice but to leave.
He intended only to deliver the requested message and depart.
"I don't know what it means, but the Sichuan Beggar Clan Leader insisted it must be passed on."
Under the blue sky, there is no place where lightning cannot reach.
Namgung Hye's head snapped up. It had been so long since she'd heard that clear voice. The voice of the superior her adjutant had longed to hear. Wondering if it was an auditory hallucination, Byeon Seong-hyun lifted his gaze. It was no hallucination. Namgung Hye had risen from her seat and was staring directly at him.
"How did you know about Changgung Muae... The Beggars' Clan."
With those words, she bolted from the room as if possessed. Hoping it would be good news, Byeon Seong-hyun quietly withdrew.
"...You said this is my sister's will?"
"Yes. If you check the final volume, Lady Blue Sky Sword Empress's name is written there. The handwriting matches the one we received before. It should be safe to believe."
She didn't need to compare them. It was unmistakably her sister's writing, the one she had seen every day of her life. Namgung Hye found herself unable to speak at the sight of something she thought she would never see again—something she could never see again.
"We only glanced at one or two pages for verification. Please rest easy. I will take my leave."
Hong Ryeon departed. Now only Namgung Hye and the seven volumes of her sister's final writings remained in the room.
She slowly examined each book. The Namgung Clan's advanced martial arts. Those priceless manuscript copies. From the ink marks that had not yet dried, she could sense exactly what her sister had been feeling.
"How did she manage to send something like this..."
How she had sent it while captured by the Demonic Cult. There were many things she couldn't understand, but none of them mattered now.
The final volume, where her last words were written. With trembling hands, she opened it.
Hye. Are you doing well? Probably not. I know your personality well enough to guess you'd stubbornly skip meals. Still, eat something. You have to live on, don't you?
I can't believe it myself, but I'm doing remarkably well. I'm locked in Pacheon Singun's room, but it's bigger than my room back at the main house? Everything I need appears the moment I look for it, so it's actually convenient.
I heard the bad news too. No words of comfort would be enough right now, but I'll tell you this—there will be many hardships ahead.
No one in the family will tell you to rebuild the Namgung Clan. If you choose to live a happy, modest life, the only people who would give you a standing ovation are... well, you probably know that better than I do, since I was the one always running around outside.
The rest was filled with all kinds of chatter. When you marry, inspect the man at least seven times. There's an anonymous account I set up on the battlefield, so don't forget to use it. Most of it was just nagging.
Until now, I hated how you nagged me just because we were born half an hour apart. But now I miss even that.
Namgung Hye. My little sister. Your big sister loves you.
Namgung Seha, who closes her life at the age of twenty-eight.
...Please be happy, little sister.
"Yeah... I'll eat properly from now on."
She couldn't even clench her fist tightly for fear of crumpling the book. She swallowed down the grief that threatened to burst out of her.
"Agh..."
Her heart ached. She just wanted to see her one last time before dying, but that was impossible now. The reality was cruel.
The rotten stench of stagnant water stung her nose. She opened her eyes and lifted her head at the unpleasant smell. It was dark. Was this hell? Everything before her was pitch black. She could feel the thick rope binding her waist tightly. It must have been wrapped many times; even the slightest twitch brought a heavy sensation. Having no limbs, she couldn't move without inner energy. They could have shown a little consideration for someone about to die.
"Pacheon Singun? Is that you?"
Someone called to her from the opposite side. She struggled to raise her head and saw the Blue Sky Sword Empress. She too was bound all over with chains.
Weren't you dead? If she was dead, that woman would surely be in heaven. There was no way she would be in the same place as her.
"You—no, I was alive too?"
"I don't know whether you were alive. In my case, I've lost one limb each, but I am alive."
She struggled to lift one arm and shake it. The other side was empty. Her legs were in a similar state.
"...How embarrassing."
"Pardon?"
His face flushed red. When he muttered self-mockingly, she asked back like a ghost. With no hands to cover his face, he turned his head as far as possible toward her opposite side.
"I put on such a grand show sending you away, only to fail."
"I'm fine with that. Weren't we going to die anyway? More importantly, are you all right?"
Why. When he asked, she slowly lowered her gaze.
"My limbs..."
"Were cut off? Well, that can happen. Quite a lot of blood must have flowed, but they kindly stopped the bleeding for me. I'm not dead."
At this point, blood no longer flowed from the wounds. He thought about correcting her but simply remained silent, as if demanding a little concern.
"...I'm sorry."
"What for? I don't regret it."
In thirty years he had harbored countless regrets, but at least in this moment he had none. Even if he could go back, instead of plotting how to survive, he would be thinking about how to slaughter every last elder.
"Now that I think about it, you're the one who should be sorry! You may not know, but just looking at my face means we have to stay like this for at least several hours!"
His face wasn't particularly handsome, and it had originally been covered in all sorts of scars.
"I see."
The Blue Sky Sword Empress simply nodded quietly where she sat. She reacted with perfect calm, as if completely detached.
"That reaction isn't fun anymore."
He turned his head, spat dry saliva outside the iron bars, and stared at the ceiling again. It was wide. So this was the greatest prison in the central plains? Utterly useless. He felt bored and lonely. Swept up in that feeling, he suddenly offered her an idea that had occurred to him.
"This is a real suggestion. Since we're going to die anyway, want to screw those bastards over one last time and go together?"
"How?"
"Let's commit suicide."
One, two seconds of silence.
Puhup. The sound of the Blue Sky Sword Empress laughing at him reached his ears.
She couldn't understand this simple yet profound thought. Suicide. It was simple, yet what it implied ran deep. In the short term, it was liberation from pain. In the long term, it was the key that would shatter the sweet dreams of the elders and the Heavenly Demon who were probably reveling somewhere.
"Suicide... I like the idea, but have you already forgotten the restriction? They must have placed one on you as well."
She pointed out the practical issue and rejected his suggestion. However, to someone like him, that level of restriction was hardly a restriction at all.
"So, yes or no."
When he pressed her again, the Blue Sky Sword Empress pondered briefly before nodding.
"If it's possible... I like it."
"Then come over here first."
He was now like an old man without limbs, unable to move. So she approached him, dragging the clanking chains behind her.
"Ugh..."
They must have been heavy; she groaned roughly. Her arm trembled.
"Climb on top of me. More, more. There."
She gradually moved past his legs, across his waist and chest, closer to his face. Perhaps she didn't realize it, but unfortunately he could no longer see the embarrassment from before.
"Biting your own tongue is suicide, right?"
She nodded.
"But biting each other's tongues isn't suicide, is it?"
Her eyes widened to twice their size in shock. At the same time, the strength left her trembling hands and she collapsed powerlessly on top of him.
"My, how impatient."
"Don't say strange things."
The cold chains pressed against his body.
"Not a rope?"
"My dantian is completely destroyed. They must have thought it was pointless."
Their faces were extremely close. When he nodded to confirm her final intention, she nodded as well.
"I'll count to three."
Their lips met.
"Three."
Their tongues tangled between their lips.
"Two."
As their tongues crossed and settled, a thought occurred to him.
"One."
This was the moment to ask.
The sensation of his tongue tip being severed was vivid. Along with the pain that made his face twist involuntarily, he swallowed his opponent's tongue.
"Ow, you bite hard."
"I did it on purpose."
After exchanging one joke, they could say no more. The tongue that had slid down his throat made even breathing difficult.
Soon, as if his breath would stop, he closed his eyes to make it a little easier. The last thing he saw was the white hair of the woman who had collapsed on top of him.
Krrk. Farewell.
If there is such a thing as a next life, let's meet again without fail.
That day, the two greatest stars of the Murim vacated their places in the night sky. The two stars that fell together shone their light brilliantly as they plummeted, and those lights overturned not only the heavens but the world itself.