Chapter 23: Three Changes Everything
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 23: Three Changes Everything
The moment the disheveled white-haired elder emerged from the darkness, I realized something was wrong.
‘It’s not the Sword Demon.’
His face was completely different from the one I’d seen in videos hundreds of times.
But that alone wasn't why I concluded he wasn't the Sword Demon.
There was always the possibility he was wearing a Human Skin Mask to conceal his identity.
I was certain after seeing the elder's eyes, gleaming with Killing Intent.
‘Someone like that couldn't possibly be the Sword Demon.’
The Sword Demon Choi Geon, despite having ‘Demon’ in his alias, was a figure emblematic of an Orthodox Faction Member.
A swordsman with an unyielding personality who wouldn't compromise with injustice, and whose merciless hand against evildoers had made him a figure of terror in the Unorthodox Martial World of the past.
But he was never one to carelessly wield his sword against just anyone.
“Has your mouth been glued shut? Will you answer if I rip it open with my blade?”
In contrast, this cackling elder had just swung his sword with the clear intention of killing Shin Kang-heon and me.
Simply because we'd suddenly shown up at his house.
“Wait a minute! We’re—”
I stopped Shin Kang-heon, who was about to step forward and explain.
“Stop. He’s not the person we’re looking for.”
“...He’s not?”
“Just look at him, he’s clearly Unorthodox Faction. We just stepped in shit, unlucky us.”
I admitted to myself that I had been too complacent.
Why had I thought the Sword Demon was the only Martial Artist who would hide his identity and live in seclusion?
‘I should have approached this more carefully.’
Naturally, there were more Unorthodox Faction Martial Artists living in hiding than Orthodox Faction ones, and among them, there were surely those who were wanted or had committed heinous crimes and fled.
The elder currently oozing Killing Intent in front of me was undoubtedly one of them.
“It seems there’s been a misunderstanding between us.”
There was no reason for a confrontation, so I explained before the other party lost patience.
“We were looking for someone else and got the wrong address. We don’t know who you are, and we don’t care.”
“Hmph. And you expect me to believe that?”
“If we were really targeting you, would we have foolishly announced our presence and come knocking? We would have ambushed you quietly.”
“...”
Perhaps thinking there was some truth to my words, the elder narrowed his eyes and scrutinized us.
The tip of his sword remained aimed at my glabella.
‘Can I handle him with my current skill?’
I estimated his approximate level based on the aura he exuded, his sword-holding posture, and the recoil I felt when our blades clashed earlier.
‘At least a First-Rate Expert... perhaps even a Peak Master.’
The survival instincts I'd honed as a Vagrant in my previous life were sending out fierce warning signals.
Avoiding a confrontation and moving on was the best course of action for now.
“It wouldn’t do you any good if a commotion broke out, either, would it? Let’s just call it a misunderstanding and forget it ever happened. We’ll leave quietly.”
“Heh heh...”
The white-haired elder replaced his answer with a wheezing laugh.
Like me, he must have assessed our skill.
Whether he judged himself overwhelmingly stronger than us, arrogance was clearly laced within that laugh.
“Even if you didn’t know who I was at first, haven’t you recognized me by now?”
“...I told you. We have no idea who you are.”
“Don’t lie! After witnessing my sword, you still don’t recognize the Yaksha Sword?”
Who the hell is the Yaksha Sword?
I swear, I’d never heard of such an alias.
Given his scumbag personality, swinging a sword just because we got the wrong house, I could guess there was a high probability he'd met a violent end before I even became active as a Vagrant.
“As a token of apology, each of you sever an arm before you leave. Then I shall forgive you for disturbing my rest.”
“...There’s no reasoning with him.”
“So, negotiations are off?”
Shin Kang-heon, drawing his saber, stood beside me.
I glanced back and saw his face was taut with tension.
“You’ve never cut anyone before, have you?”
“You crazy bastard. What about you—?”
The moment Shin Kang-heon saw my expression, he swallowed hard.
He seemed to have instinctively realized that I had ‘experience cutting people.’
The elder, listening to our conversation, cackled and naturally closed the distance by a step.
“You dream big, don’t you? Do you truly think puny wretches like you could even cut the hem of my robe?”
Shin Kang-heon and I simultaneously took a step back, matching the opponent’s advance.
As if enjoying our tense expressions, the elder leisurely continued speaking.
“You look like Orthodox Faction youngsters... Hmm, but one of you isn’t?”
Why is he tilting his head while looking at me?
Without taking my eyes off the opponent, I spoke to Shin Kang-heon.
“You run.”
“...What?”
“You’ll just get in the way anyway. I’ll hold him off and buy you time, so bolt. I’ll find an opening and get out myself.”
“...”
As Shin Kang-heon remained silent, his face crumpled, the old man burst into laughter as if amused.
“Hahahaha! Do you think I’d let you escape? Go on, try it! The moment you turn your back, you’ll see what happens...”
The moment the elder, who was greatly underestimating us, rambled on, excited by the impending kill, I pushed off the ground and charged.
‘Now!’
Pretending to be scared to induce complacency was a classic tactic, but it worked well.
I shifted my center of gravity forward, almost as if falling, and swung my sword.
In a flash, my arm and sword left a lingering afterimage as if they had stretched, aiming for the opponent’s neck.
Clang—!
My decisive strike was narrowly blocked right before the elder’s neck.
A few strands of white hair, severed by my sword, fluttered in the air.
Beyond them, the elder’s voice, a mix of bewilderment and fury, rang out.
“...You’re quite good.”
A chilling Killing Intent seeped out from between his clenched teeth.
And as a consequence of my failed surprise attack, I had to face the counterattack of an opponent who was clearly a cut above me.
“I’ll gouge out those fierce eyeballs first!”
The elder curled his sword-free hand like an eagle’s talons, aiming for my eyes.
However, that hand had to change its trajectory mid-way.
Because Shin Kang-heon’s saber, which had somehow followed me, was descending with the force to split the elder’s head in two.
CRACK—!
The elder parried Shin Kang-heon’s saber to the side, but the brute force pushed him back.
In that interim, I regained my stance.
“Who are you calling a coward and telling to run, you idiot!”
Shin Kang-heon, glaring at me with tiger-like eyes, took up his stance again and declared.
“If you’re scared, you run. Shin Kang-heon, the future World’s Greatest Swordsman! Today, I shall eradicate this Unorthodox Faction demon leader and make my debut as a hero!”
I chuckled at his idiotic remark, always striking a pose even at death’s door.
‘I knew it.’
I knew that telling Shin Kang-heon to run from the start would only ignite his personality further.
In other words, it was no different from sending a signal to attack together, unbeknownst to the enemy.
‘In a disadvantageous fight, you have to create variables somehow.’
I could feel the opponent’s surprise when the guy he expected to flee suddenly intervened.
And as we, whom he had underestimated, attacked more fiercely than he expected, that surprise gradually turned into fury.
“You wretched mongrels...!”
His face, twisting hideously, was no longer that of an elder, but of an old monster.
But we couldn’t ignore him.
Soon, a translucent aura began to rise from his sword.
Whoosh—!
Sword Qi.
Seeing that it wasn’t perfectly refined, he wasn’t a Peak Master, but for us right now, it was threatening enough.
“Watch out for the Sword Qi. Your thick saber won’t be easily cut, but avoid clashing with it if possible.”
“You worry about yourself.”
Clang.
We lightly tapped our sword tips together, as if bumping fists, then immediately split to the left and right.
CRACKLE—!
The Sword Qi unleashed by the old monster left clear marks on the ground where we had just been standing.
It was powerful enough to split a body in two if it made contact.
“It means nothing if it doesn’t hit.”
Attacks that expend a lot of Qi inevitably create a momentary opening.
Quickly closing the distance, I clashed swords with the old monster.
Clang!
The moment my blade met his Sword Qi-infused one, I smoothly twisted my wrist, deflecting the force.
It was a trick a Vagrant, always lacking in absolute Internal Energy, had learned to counter Martial Artists who used Sword Qi.
‘It's a good thing my practice sword is thick.’
A sharp, real sword wouldn't withstand Sword Qi more than a few times unless it was a rare treasure blade, but a thick practice sword could endure it for much longer.
“I’ll hack you to death, into dozens of pieces, along with your sword!”
His sword, fiercely assaulting us with a roar, was certainly wild enough to be called a Yaksha.
If I had faced him alone, I would have quickly been pushed onto the defensive and injured.
But I wasn’t alone now.
“URAAAH!”
Shin Kang-heon appeared from the old monster’s right, swinging his saber like a giant windmill with a booming shout.
Having experienced that brute force, the old monster retreated, executing a backward footwork technique.
Our eyes met for a brief moment, and we nodded simultaneously.
While I aimed for the old monster’s vital points with my sharp, swift sword, Shin Kang-heon used the explosive physical power he exuded to disrupt the opponent’s balance.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!
It had only been two duels, but we understood each other’s styles perfectly.
Even without ever having coordinated before, we distributed our roles as if we had planned it in advance.
“You arrogant brats!”
Faced with fierce resistance he hadn’t anticipated at all, the old monster irritably swung his sword.
A ferocious Killing Intent erupted, enough to make one’s hair stand on end, but I, accustomed to such situations, calmly pushed through the Killing Intent and clung closer to the opponent.
Shin Kang-heon, unlike his initial flinch, now charged at the old monster with reckless abandon.
‘It's not quite enough.’
Although it seemed like we were pushing him back, I wasn’t optimistic about the situation.
The old monster was also gradually getting used to our combined attack.
Fortunately, he wasn’t a Peak Master, but he was still an expert with an undeniable amount of experience and wisdom.
As proof, the number of injuries accumulating on our bodies was far greater.
CRACK!
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!
Shin Kang-heon stumbled several times, unable to withstand the old monster’s sword power, and spiderweb-like cracks were spreading across my practice sword.
‘This won't do. I need to make a decisive move or assess the situation and escape...’
It was then, as I pondered how to break through this disadvantageous situation.
“URAAAH!”
Suddenly, Shin Kang-heon let out a shout and recklessly charged at the old monster.
‘Why?’
My mind couldn’t comprehend his actions, but my body was moving instinctively.
I hid behind Shin Kang-heon, sticking close.
“Th-this wild boar of a man!”
The startled old monster stumbled backward, swinging his sword.
The faintly formed Sword Qi seemed poised to cleave Shin Kang-heon in two, but he didn’t dodge, instead raising his saber like a shield to protect only his vital points.
SWISH!
The old monster’s sword path, which had sharply changed trajectory mid-swing, cut into Shin Kang-heon’s exposed flank.
“Ugh!”
While Shin Kang-heon took the old monster’s sword with his body, buying time, I slipped past him, brushing by, and swung my sword at the old monster’s face.
SPLAT!
Blood spurted from the old monster’s face, and a scream filled with agony echoed.
“KAAARGH!”
Immediately, I pulled Shin Kang-heon back by the shoulder and checked his wound first.
“What the hell were you thinking, taking that with your body, you idiot!”
“...Because a wound on the back is a Martial Artist’s disgrace.”
Seeing him crack a prepared joke despite his corpse-pale complexion, it seemed the wound wasn’t fatal.
Only then, looking closely, did I see that blood was slowly seeping from his flank, which I’d thought was deeply cut, but it wasn’t a dangerous level.
And above it, a torn, thin black vest was visible.
“Actually, I was wearing a stab-proof vest underneath.”
“...Does that mean it doesn’t hurt?”
I wanted to smack his head hard for grinning after getting stabbed, but instead, I supported the stumbling guy and whispered lowly.
“Now. Let’s bolt.”
“What?”
I didn’t wait for an answer and started running.
It was in the direction of the stairs leading down from the building.
At that moment, the old monster’s furious shout came from behind.
“Do you think I’ll let you escape—!”
I glanced back to see the old monster, his cheek deeply cut and bleeding profusely, chasing after us.
WHOOSH!
Dodging the Sword Qi that grazed over our heads, we leaped down from the building.
Mid-descent, I grabbed the stair railing once to slow down, then slid and simultaneously jumped down.
THUD-THUD-THUD!
We rolled a few times on the ground to absorb the impact, then sprang to our feet.
My whole body ached, but it didn’t feel like any bones were broken.
Supporting Shin Kang-heon, who was clutching his flank in pain, I said.
“Can you run?”
“Ugh...! Hahaha! Crazy, this is so damn funny!”
“Is this funny?”
“Aren’t you laughing? And I can run by myself, so let go.”
With Shin Kang-heon’s laughter, whether from pain or madness, the chase began under the moonlight.
“You wretches, I’ll tear your limbs off and kill you! Can’t you stand still?!”
We ran at full speed through the winding alleyways to escape the pursuing old monster.
We warned the people peeking out of their windows about the danger.
“Don’t bother coming out of your houses, just report it to the Korean Martial Alliance!”
“Do you think I can’t kill you before the Martial Alliance arrives?! I’ll kill all these annoying pests and leave this place!”
As if completely losing his reason to fury, the old monster relentlessly pursued us.
As he compensated for his dwindling stamina with Internal Energy, the distance between us gradually closed.
“Damn it...”
“Hoo, hoo...”
To make matters worse, we took a wrong turn into a dead-end alley, blocking us both front and back.
“Heh heh heh. I think I’ll have to kill you wretches, chew and swallow your raw flesh, and drench myself in your blood for this pain to subside...”
The old monster, completely transformed into a demon, strode purposefully towards us.
We raised our weapons again, preparing for a final stand.
SCREEECH!
Just then, something like black cotton candy flew down from the sky and lunged at the old monster.
Startled by the sudden attack, the old monster wildly swung his sword through the air.
“KAAARGH! What the hell is this now?!”
The familiar Vengeful Spirit, clearly visible only to my eyes.
And with a humming wave of Qi, a welcome red-haired figure lightly descended from a high place.
“The Freelance Spellcaster, Red Rabbit, possessing both beauty and skill. Making her entrance right here.”
Shin Kang-heon and I stared at Kim Bok-ja, mouths agape with dumbfounded expressions.
“What are you?”
“...How did you know to come here?”
“Because the divination was ominous.”
It was unclear if she was joking or serious, but it was certainly a welcome situation, as if a mighty army had appeared.
“KAAARGH! Get away from me, you wretched thing!”
I turned back to the old monster, who was still wildly swinging his sword at the Kkagwi, and said.
“With three, the story changes.”
I cracked my neck left and right and stepped forward.
Kim Bok-ja and Shin Kang-heon stood side-by-side to my left and right.
“Yaksha Sword, you said? I hope the bounty on your head is hefty.”