Chapter 25: Only Two People
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 25: Only Two People
"I'll ask you directly. Who taught you your swordsmanship?"
The moment my eyes met the Sword Demon's as he asked that question, I had a premonition that I absolutely shouldn't answer carelessly.
'This might be my only chance.'
He was a man who had even mastered the Bone Shrinking Art, a martial art scorned as an Assassin's technique, all to erase his tracks and live in seclusion.
Depending on my answer, he could vanish to a place I'd never find again.
I hesitated for a moment before answering, then finally spoke.
"...I don't think this is a conversation to be had lightly in a place like this. Could we move somewhere else?"
The Sword Demon, who had been silently staring at me, showed a flicker of contemplation on his face before nodding.
"Follow me."
I followed the Sword Demon back to the old villa neighborhood where I had fought Yaksha Sword.
Surprisingly, his secluded dwelling was incredibly close to the rooftop room where Yaksha Sword had been hiding.
You could even see the rooftop room building where I'd fought Yaksha Sword from his window.
"It's humble, but come in."
I stood in the entryway, briefly surveying the bleak space furnished with only the barest necessities.
'This is the place I saw in the video.'
Old wallpaper, a moldy ceiling, a house with a musty smell.
When I found the familiar stain on the wallpaper, which I'd grown accustomed to after replaying the video hundreds of times, a faint smile touched my lips, a feeling of welcome.
"Don't just stand there. Sit anywhere."
"...Yes."
A moment later, the Sword Demon returned with barley tea from the refrigerator, set up a small table in the living room, and sat facing me.
Seeing me constantly glancing around the house, he raised one corner of his mouth.
"Looks like you've never seen such a shabby house before. Is it fascinating?"
"...It's not that, it's something else."
"Something else?"
"It feels like the person living here hasn't grown attached to it and is ready to leave at any moment... I felt a little sorry for the house."
As if struck by the truth, the Sword Demon's eyes widened for a moment. Then he took a sip of barley tea and spoke.
"Your youthful face suggests you're not even twenty, but judging by your speech and actions, you seem like an old soul who's at least forty."
If I knew the Sword Demon's future through my regression, it felt as though he was seeing through my very essence with his experience and insight.
I met his intense gaze without flinching and nodded.
"I tend to be a bit mature for my age. My parents often say the same thing."
"You've got quite the nerve. But didn't you think it might be dangerous to follow me?"
Even with the certainty that he wouldn't harm me, I couldn't help but swallow dryly when faced with the piercing gaze of a Martial Arts Expert.
Gulp...
But I forced a smile and bluffed.
"If you intended to harm me, you wouldn't have bothered bringing me all the way home; you would've used your needles, just like you did with Yaksha Sword."
A smile spread across the Sword Demon's lips, deepening the fine lines around his eyes.
His softened gaze was directed at my two hands, which were gripping the water cup.
"Shouldn't you hide your trembling hands before you try to bluff?"
"Oh, I wasn't saying I'm not scared."
"What? Hahahaha!"
Perhaps thanks to my honest answer, the atmosphere lightened a little.
This time, I spoke first.
"May I ask a question too?"
The Sword Demon readily nodded.
I took his reaction not as an expectation of one-sided questions and answers, but as a positive sign that he was willing to converse with me.
'This is where it gets important.'
For the past week, I had been running myself ragged, trying to ask the Sword Demon for swordsmanship instruction.
He was the founder of the sword technique that formed the basis of my swordsmanship in my previous life, and a sword master who, in his prime, was among the top five in the Korean Martial world.
If I received guidance from such a person, I would surely find a path to reach a much higher realm than I had in my past life.
But before that, there was something I absolutely had to confirm.
"Did you intentionally send us to Yaksha Sword?"
"Yes."
"...May I ask why?"
"Fighting Poison with Poison."
"Pardon?"
The Sword Demon turned his head and looked out the window.
At first, I thought he was looking at the rooftop room where Yaksha Sword lived, but his vacant eyes were staring blankly into space.
As if gazing at a distant, unreachable place.
The Sword Demon answered in a low voice.
"There are those who seek me. I thought you were the ones they sent."
From his words, I gleaned several pieces of information.
First, given that he mentioned "Fighting Poison with Poison," it was safe to assume that those who sought the Sword Demon and the Sword Demon himself were enemies.
Second, the reason the Sword Demon had been living in seclusion for twenty years might also be related to them.
"If I had been someone they sent, what would you have done?"
"I would have cut you down."
A simple, unadorned answer came back.
The Sword Demon didn't reveal any Killing Intent, nor did he contort his expression or lower his voice.
But that single sentence felt far more terrifying than Yaksha Sword, who had screamed threats of death while revealing his ferocious aura.
"...You're serious."
"Would I bring you all the way here just to lie? Don't be afraid, though. I brought you here because I judged you weren't their pawn."
The Sword Demon refilled my cup with barley tea and continued.
"I apologize for putting you in danger due to my misunderstanding. When you leave, I'll give you some Spiritual Medicine I have; take it, and it will help increase your Internal Energy."
Seeing the Sword Demon's straightforward apology and his honest admission of his mistake, I grew even more certain.
"I have one more question. Were you intentionally staying close to Yaksha Sword? To intervene if he harmed people?"
The Sword Demon quietly nodded.
"I didn't know his identity. I merely assumed, from the aura I felt, that he was some low-level thug from the Unorthodox Faction. He'd been quiet until now, but it seems his suppressed nature exploded after meeting you."
"If I'd known he was such a scoundrel, I would have cut him down long ago," the Sword Demon muttered softly to himself, sipping his tea.
He was a man whose methods were so ruthless and uncompromising in his fight against the Heretical Path that the ignominious character 'Demon' was included in his alias.
But by my standards, the Sword Demon was an upright Orthodox Faction Member, worthy of being called a chivalrous hero.
'But why?'
The Sword Demon before me now looked a little lonely, but his eyes were clear, and his body seemed incredibly robust.
It was hard to believe that he would become a cripple and make an extreme choice just five years from now.
'You're not someone who should die like that.'
I still didn't know much about the Sword Demon, but one thing was clear: I didn't want to see the future I knew unfold again.
"Your expression looks complicated."
"I have a lot on my mind. There's so much more I want to ask..."
The Sword Demon shook his head decisively.
"This time, I'll ask. Who taught you the sword? No, I'll rephrase the question."
His quiet gaze simply stared at me, yet it felt as though I was being cut by a finely honed blade, over and over.
"How did you learn my swordsmanship?"
"..."
It suddenly occurred to me that this conversation was a kind of sword debate.
How to wield the sword, where to move one's feet, how much strength and Internal Energy to infuse into a technique.
The process of probing each other through casual conversation, and then discerning the opponent's true intentions based on the information gathered, felt similar to that.
'The Sword Demon must have become certain through our conversation just now, and by observing my movements.'
That I had mastered his swordsmanship.
It must have been because of that certainty that his question changed.
My palms grew sweaty with tension.
In this situation, I was clearly the weaker party.
But precisely because of that, I needed to go on the offensive more aggressively.
"...You published a book a long time ago, didn't you? When you were a swordsmanship instructor for the Martial Alliance, I believe you released a book about the mindset of approaching swordsmanship."
The Sword Demon quietly set down the cup of barley tea.
With slightly surprised eyes, he murmured.
"That book is over thirty years old..."
"I managed to get my hands on a rare, out-of-print copy and read it."
After watching the video the Sword Demon left and hearing of his death, I searched for everything related to him.
That's how I managed to acquire a single, out-of-print book.
It was a book titled Living by the Sword.
It was the story of how a man named Choi Geon had approached the sword throughout his life, from first picking it up as a child, through his youth, and into middle age.
I read it until it was worn out, learning about the swordsman Choi Geon, and found some answers to the swordsmanship block I was experiencing at the time.
Not only that, but the book, which had been a great comfort in enduring my solitary life... I had acquired it again after returning to the past and placed it on my bookshelf.
"I've looked up every YouTube video, article, and record related to you. I don't know the reason you suddenly retired and vanished, but I know quite a bit about your actions before then."
"..."
Thus, Sword Demon Choi Geon, like Kim Bok-ja, was a great benefactor to me.
Filled with sincerity, I unleashed my strongest prepared technique upon him.
"I am a fervent fan of Sword Demon Choi Geon."
"...Huh."
Seeing such an aloof swordsman look flustered, it seemed my tactic was working.
To not lose this momentum, I immediately launched a chain attack.
"So, please teach me swordsmanship."
"What an impudent fellow... I refuse, you rascal!"
To the Sword Demon, who refused outright, I asked with an utterly wronged expression.
"Why?"
"Because your words are a mix of lies and truth. You claim to have stolen my swordsmanship just by reading my book and a few videos and articles? Does that even make sense?!"
It was a sharp rebuttal, but it was also true that I hadn't learned swordsmanship directly from him.
Here, I needed to be a little brazen.
"Perhaps I admired you so much that I came to resemble you. Or maybe our aptitudes just align well. Wouldn't that make me an even better disciple?"
"Hmph! You're utterly shameless!"
"If you're so curious, why don't you just teach me and find out?"
"Seriously, what kind of guy is this..."
The Sword Demon clenched his fist as if to punch me, but then let out a long sigh and shook his head.
"Conversely, I'll ask you. Why did you come to me?"
"Pardon?"
"With your talent, you could enter any Martial Sect you wished. You must know that yourself. Your Musculature is exceptional, and your Constitution is equally outstanding... all of the Eight Great Sects must be salivating over you."
It might have been my imagination, but the moment he mentioned the Eight Great Sects, the Sword Demon's expression seemed to darken.
"You've assessed my Constitution?"
"I knew it when I touched you earlier. While not as precise as a machine, I can roughly gauge it. I even found it strange that I hadn't heard your name in the news."
"..."
It seemed he had checked my Musculature and Constitution when he approached me disguised as a middle-aged man, making a fuss as if to examine my wounds.
"What could a Rising Star with such exceptional Musculature and Constitution possibly lack, that you would seek instruction from a washed-up old man who retired twenty years ago? You... you could find any number of masters far superior to me."
I firmly refuted the Sword Demon's self-deprecating words, spoken with a bitter smile.
"I cannot agree with that."
Sword Demon Choi Geon was an incredibly stubborn man, but I was confident that when it came to stubbornness, I wouldn't lose to anyone.
"There are only two people in this world who can help me perfect my swordsmanship."
"...Two people?"
For a moment, the Sword Demon's eyebrows twitched.
He had called himself washed-up, but perhaps his pride was wounded in that instant.
However, once he heard the names that followed, he would have no choice but to acknowledge them.
"One is Sword Demon Choi Geon. The other is the World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament champion, Richard Han."
"...What did you say?"
"I don't think there's anyone else worth learning from besides these two."
"Pfft, puhahahahaha-!"
A hearty laugh erupted, shaking the entire room.