Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: The Branded Vow
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Light filled the massive screen at the premiere hall, illuminating a fallen little girl and a village engulfed in flames.
The little girl stared at the burning village with a dazed expression.
How had it come to this?
It had been a peaceful village, home to people living quiet, peaceful lives.
But in an instant...
That village had been swallowed by fire.
It wasn't due to some grand scheme like being implicated in a rebellion or having her clan wiped out.
A random woman had suddenly burst in, leaving the village in this state.
Not part of any group—just a lone woman, young enough to call a girl.
Her distinctive feature: horns protruding from her head.
"...I had high hopes for a village founded by skilled swordsmen, but this is all it amounts to?"
Those were the only words from the horned woman's mouth.
And that alone was the reason the village burned and its people died.
Why? Why on earth?
The girl's eyes trembled more with hatred than fear.
"Ah, a survivor."
The woman looked at the girl, blood staining her lips, as if delighted.
"...Hoo."
She smiled in satisfaction at the girl glaring back with pure hatred, devoid of any fear.
"Do you hate me?"
"...Why... why did you do this?"
"You ask the reason? Simple. I fought because I wanted to fight, and I killed because I wanted to kill."
Hyeon-hwa lifted the girl—Yul's—head with her fingertip and stared straight into her eyes.
Yul did not resist the touch. She had a faint feeling.
This woman before her... wouldn't kill her. It was just a feeling.
In that moment, gazing into the girl's eyes filled with revenge, hatred, and countless emotions, Hyeon-hwa felt an inexplicable shiver.
"Hyeon-hwa. That's my name. I'll spare you... so come and kill me. You have to seek revenge, don't you?"
Revenge.
And that became Yul's lifelong goal.
"I am... Yi Yul, Yi Yul."
In a childish voice, laced with hatred.
Not an explosive outburst of hate.
Just flatly, glaring murderously, grinding her teeth.
Those were Yul's words to Hyeon-hwa.
"Yi Yul... Yes. I'll be looking forward to it."
"...Urk!"
Hyeon-hwa's index finger ignited with blue flame, then pressed into Yul's forehead.
Agonizing scorching pain overwhelmed Yul, but the young girl simply clenched her teeth against it.
What was etched into Yul's forehead from Hyeon-hwa's fingertip...
Was a brand, a fetter, a mark.
Proof that her life was pledged to Hyeon-hwa.
She would die if she didn't kill her. She couldn't even run.
Until revenge was complete, she could not escape the bonds.
But that was fine.
As long as that brand remained, Yul would always brood over her revenge.
Until the moment she severed Hyeon-hwa's neck.
"Ten years. I'll give you ten years. If you don't come to kill me by then... I'll come for you. Don't think of running."
"I have no intention of running. You... don't run either."
"Hah, hahahaha! Yes, I won't run. I'll wait. Upon mountains of corpses and rivers of blood."
Hyeon-hwa turned away with a hearty laugh.
* * *
After Hyeon-hwa's raid, Yul wandered the world, honing her swordsmanship.
The swordsmanship taught to her by the villagers, who had been like family.
Fortunately, Yul possessed innate talent, allowing her to master their techniques perfectly.
She didn't stop there—she took one step further.
The screams and cries of the slaughtered villagers dwelled within her sword.
She didn't even need ten years.
Five years.
In a mere five years, Yul had become a master whose pure skill surpassed anyone.
And during those five years, Hyeon-hwa hadn't been idle.
She walked an endless path of slaughter.
Wherever Hyeon-hwa passed, only screams and cries remained, and true to her word, she piled corpses into mountains and formed rivers of blood.
Those captivated by her strength stepped forward as her minions.
Those who crossed blades with her, those who showed decent skill in battle against her.
Hyeon-hwa took them in personally, forging them into her own elite guard.
Trained under Hyeon-hwa's tutelage, they formed a cohesive unit, called the Blood Flower Corps for always blooming flowers with blood.
In truth, Hyeon-hwa had no need for them... but she gathered them solely to nurture Yul's growth.
The sword wasn't something mastered by swinging it alone.
They would be Yul's stepping stones.
From the moment Hyeon-hwa first saw Yul, she had realized it.
Yul was the rival heaven had sent her.
If that was truly the case, wasn't this level of effort justified?
And as Hyeon-hwa intended, Yul honed her skills by mercilessly cutting down the Blood Flower Corps.
Her lacking combat sense sharpened through them, until even those Hyeon-hwa had painstakingly trained could not escape having their heads lopped off before Yul's blade.
Thus, after seven years, they met again.
When Yul faced Hyeon-hwa once more, despite the seven years passed, Hyeon-hwa hadn't changed a bit.
In contrast, Yul had become a mature woman. Had she not taken this path, she might have become some man's wife and lived out her days.
Hyeon-hwa gazed at Yul's form with satisfaction.
The current Yul was like a masterpiece sword forged by Hyeon-hwa herself.
"...Splendid. To grow this strong in just seven years."
But facing Hyeon-hwa, Yul couldn't imagine victory.
She wasn't the only one who had grown stronger over those seven years.
Blue flames danced at Hyeon-hwa's fingertips.
The flames soon took the shape of a sword... and as it swung once, Yul instinctively swung hers in response.
Clang!
But the moment Yul blocked Hyeon-hwa's sword, her own melted away, unable to withstand the flames.
"But still, not enough. It's not time yet."
Yul silently glared at Hyeon-hwa with a devastated expression.
"Five years. I'll give you five more years. If you can't kill me then, that's when I'll take your head."
As if her interest had waned, Hyeon-hwa vanished, leaving Yul behind.
Yul collapsed in stunned despair.
The gap was too vast; she couldn't even glimpse a path to close it.
But she couldn't abandon revenge. The brand on her forehead constantly reminded her to do so.
In the end, Yul wandered the world in search of power.
And to her came a certain rumor.
Far in the north lived a colossal dragon, and striking a deal with it could grant power to rule the world.
A fanciful rumor, but it was all Yul had left.
Ultimately, Yul headed far north... and there.
She confirmed the rumor was true.
-What brings you to seek me?
A dragon the size of a mountain.
Just facing it made her legs buckle, an overwhelming pressure demanding she kneel.
Yet defying that pressure, Yul held firm and met the dragon's golden eyes.
"...I heard I could gain power."
-To gain power from me, you must pay an equivalent price.
"I know that much. What must I give?"
-Your lifespan. Half the days you have left. Offer that, and I'll grant you power. Do you accept?
Without a moment's hesitation, Yul nodded.
Revenge was her reason for living.
If she failed, Hyeon-hwa would kill her anyway.
With no attachment to life, she had no qualms offering half her lifespan.
-...Are you truly sure?
"It's fine. My life holds no value to me anymore."
-Understood.
Was it an illusion? For a moment, pity seemed to flicker in the dragon's eyes.
But Yul dismissed it as her imagination.
Why would such a being pity her?
She pushed aside the doubt.
It was utterly useless.
Through the deal with the dragon, Yul felt a blazing new power ignite within her body, and she learned the dragon's name.
Hyeon.
Over several seasons, Hyeon taught her all she knew, and through that guidance, Yul broke out of her shell, growing even further.
When all training ended and she parted from Hyeon, Yul unwittingly bowed in respect and gratitude.
Only then did she realize the pity in Hyeon's eyes hadn't been her imagination.
But would she let such pity bind her feet?
She had already staked her life.
No matter how strong Hyeon-hwa was, Yul intended to burn her body and sever her neck.
* * *
Before the final battle, Yul decided to visit her hometown.
She likely wouldn't return, so to recall those dear faces one last time.
On the way, she felt an odd sensation.
Somehow, a feeling that Hyeon-hwa was there.
When Yul finally arrived, she knew her intuition was correct.
Someone familiar stood before the graveyard where the villagers were buried.
Jet-black hair, two horns on her head, blood-red eyes.
Hyeon-hwa.
"You're here."
"...Yes."
Hyeon-hwa welcomed Yul with a smile.
Just by looking at her, she knew what realm Yul had reached.
She might die today.
Feeling that, Hyeon-hwa smiled.
The moment she had anticipated since sparing Yul had finally arrived.
And Yul felt the same.
Yul smiled back at Hyeon-hwa.
The end of this long journey had come at last.
The moment to behead the hated Hyeon-hwa had arrived.
And that smile of Yul's...
Somehow resembled Hyeon-hwa's.