“Warrior.”
At Cheonhwaru Ju’s call, Ian, who had been standing by the door surveying the situation outside, turned her head.
“Rest for a bit.”
Since receiving the mission to protect her, Ian had not let her mind wander for even a single moment. She checked the windows, the ceiling, and the walls. She listened for movement in the hallway beyond the door. She repeated this over and over.
Ian pressed her ear to the door again and spoke.
“There is a saying passed down among guard warriors. Accidents always happen the one time you turn your head.”
Only after checking the outside did she turn back to Cheonhwaru Ju.
“I’m fine, Ju.”
“Protection is truly no easy task.”
“Thank you for your concern.”
Ian felt at ease when she was with Cheonhwaru Ju.
When she had first met her, she had been suffering from side effects in her body. Because Cheonhwaru Ju had looked upon her with such warmth since then, seeing her felt like being with an older sister or a friend.
That was why she guarded her all the more carefully. She could not endure the thought of losing her to that one moment of turning her head.
“Don’t worry. I am, after all, originally from the guard of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s Young Cult Leader….”
The next moment!
Ian quickly turned and drew her sword.
Swhiiiiick!
Her sword flashed like lightning and split the air.
Srrrk, thud! Thud-thud!
The door was cut in a slanted cross shape and collapsed.
There was no one behind the collapsed door.
“Come out.”
At Ian’s single word, something leaped out from the wall beside the door.
Swish-thwack.
What unfurled as it emerged was a fan painted with a beauty. As if waving a flag of surrender, it fluttered lightly.
The one who poked his face in was none other than Hwado Myeong. He greeted Ian as cheerfully as if greeting an old acquaintance.
“Warrior, congratulations on advancing to the finals!”
His makeup was so thick as to be ridiculous that it was impossible to tell what kind of face he had or what expression he was making.
But there was one thing she knew.
*He is no ordinary expert.*
When the door was cut, he had definitely been standing behind it. He had avoided her attack in that split second.
The mere fact that she could not gauge his strength meant he was by no means inferior to her.
“Of course, you all overturned everything and flipped the tournament upside down in the process.”
Hwado Myeong examined the cross-section of the door lying severed on the floor.
“To have reached such a realm at that age.”
Only then did he fan himself lightly and step inside.
Ian focused all her nerves on her sword and her opponent as she slowly retreated.
“With such looks and such skill to boot. You would have every right to be arrogant. Truly impressive!”
He folded the unfurled fan and struck his palm with it repeatedly as if clapping.
Ian took something from within her clothes and placed it in her mouth. It was a pidokju. Those who used fans sometimes folded and unfolded them while releasing poison, so she had prepared for that.
In moments like these, one did not first look after the person they were meant to protect. If she fell, Cheonhwaru Ju would certainly fall as well, so she had to bite the pidokju herself first.
Only then did she send a signal behind her back with her free hand to Cheonhwaru Ju. Because the opponent might take this moment to launch a surprise attack, she used a hand signal rather than words.
At that, Cheonhwaru Ju placed in her mouth the pidokju Ian had prepared in advance.
At that sight, Hwado Myeong waved his fan left and right and shook his hand.
“Don’t worry. I don’t use poison. I’m not a meticulous person by nature. I’m so clumsy I’d end up poisoning myself with my own poison.”
Ian, who had been listening, asked tersely.
“Who are you?”
Since the opponent was observing manners, Ian also asked with basic courtesy.
“Let’s say I’m an errand boy for today. A congratulatory guest works too.”
“You’ve already congratulated me, so state your business.”
“Before that, let’s put down the sword. My stomach churns just looking at a blade.”
But Ian did not lower her sword. She wished she could act as leisurely as her opponent, but he was not someone she could let her guard down against.
Just then, Cheonhwaru Ju spoke calmly from behind.
“Were you the one who called me here?”
She was asking if he had summoned her as a tournament judge. Somehow, she had a premonition that this strange man had come looking for her.
Her guess was indeed correct.
“You could say it’s something like that.”
Cheonhwaru Ju, who had been watching him, walked to the table in the center and sat down first.
“Please sit.”
Cheonhwaru Ju looked at Ian and said.
“It’s all right, Warrior.”
Under normal circumstances, she should have prevented this unidentified man from approaching Cheonhwaru Ju, but she judged that Cheonhwaru Ju was acting boldly because she had something in mind.
Ian stepped back and allowed Hwado Myeong to sit.
Hwado Myeong, now seated, stared at Cheonhwaru Ju and asked.
“You can see things that we cannot, can you not?”
Cheonhwaru Ju gave no answer and only looked at him.
“Do you see anything regarding me?”
Cheonhwaru Ju, who had been staring at him intently, shook her head.
“I see nothing.”
Whether that was true or not was something only she could know.
This time, Cheonhwaru Ju asked.
“Why did you seek me?”
“I have words to deliver.”
“Go on.”
Within the thick makeup, his two eyes chilled and sank. Though only the light in his eyes had changed, the man who had seemed so lighthearted just moments ago now felt like a completely different person.
Swish.
Hwado Myeong unfurled the fan and completely covered his face. From behind it, a voice unlike his original one flowed out—cold and sinister.
It was such a natural voice that one might think this was his true voice, not an imitation.
“The Sado Maengju must die. If this fate is defied, the martial world will be destroyed.”
In that instant, Cheonhwaru Ju’s eyes opened wide in shock. Ian, who stood between them listening, was also greatly shocked.
The moment that astonishing message ended.
The fan fluttered lightly.
Srrrrk.
His figure suddenly vanished as if a ghost had disappeared.
Ian raised her qi and surveyed her surroundings, but Hwado Myeong had already completely vanished.
“Are you all right?”
At Ian’s question, Cheonhwaru Ju nodded and rose from her seat.
“I must see the Young Cult Leader immediately.”
* * *
“The Sado Maengju must die?”
Geom Mugeuk, who had heard the story, looked at Geugak Soma standing beside him. Geugak Soma also received that gaze with a surprised expression.
What followed was an even more astonishing story.
“He said that if that fate is defied, the martial world will be destroyed.”
The one who relayed the message was Ian. Cheonhwaru Ju was lost in deep thought for a moment.
“What kind of person was he?”
At Geom Mugeuk’s question, Ian described him. He was so distinctive that describing him was easy.
“He was a man wearing thick makeup and flashy clothes adorned with many accessories. He held a fan painted with a beauty, and his stealth and movement techniques were extraordinary. I could not tell how great an expert he was.”
Geom Mugeuk looked at Geugak Soma. At the glance asking if he knew the person, Geugak Soma shook his head.
He had been someone Geom Mugeuk did not know in his life before regression. Meaning he was at least not another of the Twelve Zodiac Kings.
Not knowing someone with such skill and characteristics meant he was a figure who had not been active on the front lines of the martial world. Or else he had died before the era of the Twelve Zodiac Kings.
In any case, one thing was certain.
“The reason they are targeting the Sado Maengju seems related to the words that man delivered.”
As if in agreement, Geugak Soma and Ian nodded.
Just then, the silent Cheonhwaru Ju opened her mouth.
“What he said was a prophecy.”
An astonishing fact was revealed from her.
“The moment I heard it, I knew. That those words were a prophecy.”
There must have been something only she could feel.
If so, then the question that naturally arose.
“In this generation, besides you, is there anyone else who can make prophecies?”
At Geom Mugeuk’s question, Cheonhwaru Ju nodded.
“The Palace Lord was capable of delivering prophecies. I left the Palace long ago, so I do not know who can make prophecies now.”
Geom Mugeuk could guess from her words. That she had been the one to become the next Palace Lord.
She had refused the destiny bestowed upon her and left the Palace.
From that, there was one more fact that could be naturally known.
The reason Cheonhwaru Ju had been invited as a judge to this tournament was precisely related to the prophecy the man had delivered.
Cheonhwaru Ju looked at Geom Mugeuk with worried eyes.
Her heart was heavy because she knew that Geom Mugeuk and the Sado Maengju maintained a good relationship.
If the man’s words were truly a prophecy as she felt, then that prophecy too would come to pass.
Though he read her anxiety, Geom Mugeuk gave an easy smile.
“It’s all right. It is not that I do not believe in your prophecy, but I believe I can definitely change it. Otherwise, wouldn’t I be fated to have my chest pierced by Soma’s dagger?”
Geom Mugeuk sensed her lingering worry behind the smile Cheonhwaru Ju forced.
Yes, until now, that prophecy must have come true. That was why she was so worried.
But Geom Mugeuk also had something he believed in.
If a prophecy showed the path, it was humans who walked that path.
*I will definitely find another path!*
Geom Mugeuk left the room to meet someone.
“I must see the Sado Maengju.”
* * *
An estate not far from Sinhwabang.
Assassins of the Gain Cult stood guard all around.
Chairan was alone in the room.
She sat, silently staring at the box containing a pearl on the table.
The words Geom Mugeuk had spoken came to her mind.
—The chief came personally. How could I leave my subordinates behind and lose face?
In the gazes of her subordinates looking at her, her dignity was certainly restored. One might ask what great meaning that held, but it clearly had meaning. Since she had become the chief who led them out of Geugak Soma’s den.
—If you fight by taking hostage what the opponent can never give up, wouldn’t that be too pathetic a life?
She recalled Geom Mugeuk’s words as she fiddled with the box.
Just as her thoughts deepened, someone’s voice was heard.
“Aren’t assassons supposed to be heartless?”
Hwado Myeong was standing in front of the door, having entered unnoticed.
“Assassins are supposed to be heartless by nature. Emotional assassins have a way of dying early.”
Hwado Myeong walked over and sat facing her.
“What did the Young Cult Leader demand in exchange for releasing your subordinates?”
Chairan continued to look down at the box as she spoke.
“He told me to make sure to kill any rude person who enters a room without the master’s permission.”
Hwado Myeong unfurled his fan and covered his face.
“Don’t forget I’m a spectator, not an enemy.”
The moment he appeared before Cheonhwaru Ju, he had become an actor on stage rather than a spectator. Yet before Chairan, he still called himself a spectator.
“I asked what demands were made while releasing your subordinates?”
When she still did not answer, Hwado Myeong guessed.
“He asked for the pearl, didn’t he? Or? To give up killing the Sado Maengju? Or else to tell him who is above you?”
Still keeping her eyes on the box, Chairan answered.
“He made no demands at all.”
Hwado Myeong could feel from her expression that she spoke the truth. Derision overtook surprise.
“He’s toying with you. The Young Cult Leader is an arrogant man.”
“Shouldn’t I be grateful he’s bothering to toy with me?”
“What?”
“If he weren’t, we’d all be dead. Back there.”
Silence fell for a moment, and Hwado Myeong fanned her as if flattering her.
“You aren’t someone who dies easily, are you?”
“The moment the Young Cult Leader, who had been spouting nonsense, put his hand on his sword hilt, I thought, ‘Ah, I might die.’”
“Were you scared?”
She only stared at the box and shook her head.
“If I die to a handsome Young Cult Leader, will a handsome evil spirit push me into a fire pit even in hell?”
At her words, Hwado Myeong laughed and spoke.
“Then have you kill me.”
Then Chairan raised her head and looked at Hwado Myeong.
“Not now.”
Hwado Myeong avoided her gaze, turned his body to sit sideways, and fanned himself lightly.
Then, without looking at her, he suddenly asked.
“When will you do it?”
From Chairan’s mouth flowed the time that would change everyone’s fate.
“Tomorrow.”
Hwado Myeong rose from his seat.
“If I want to enjoy a good spectacle tomorrow, I should sleep early today.”
Then Chairan asked.
“Where is that person, Akgunhak, right now?”
Hwado Myeong’s eyes sank.
“Why do you ask?”
“I thought I might confess once before dying.”
“Who before dying? You? Or Akgunhak?”
“In your view, who looks like they’ll die faster?”
Silence flowed between the two.
Eventually, Hwado Myeong turned and spoke.
“Confessions don’t suit you. An assassin who falls in love becomes miserable.”
The moment Chairan bit her red lip slightly.
Their gazes turned toward one wall at the same time.
An immense presence felt from far beyond the wall.
The next moment.
Swish.
Unfurling his fan, Hwado Myeong vanished in an instant.
Chairan retrieved the pearl box on the table. Then, turning her back to the wall, she raised her protective astral barrier.
Kwaaaaang!
Along with an ear-splitting explosion, one wall was blown away entirely. An enormous astral energy raged there.
Kwaaaaaaaa!
Everything was swept away by the astral energy.
When the rising dust settled.
The room she had been in had been blown away entirely, and nothing remained.
Only Chairan, standing with her back turned, stood there alone.
“It was a new outfit, and now I’ve lost it all again.”
She turned around slowly.
In the distance, a man in black martial attire was walking this way.
He was none other than Sado Maengju Baek Jagang.
It was not a surprise attack. He had announced his arrival beforehand with his momentum, so this was his greeting.
Ilgyo flew in leading the assassins and blocked his path.
Baek Jagang warned in a low voice.
“That child went to the trouble of saving you. Don’t make me kill you with my own hands.”
Chairan could feel it. Baek Jagang was determined to kill everyone who stood in his way.
Chairan gave Ilgyo an order.
“Stand down.”
Ilgyo hesitated for an instant but soon accepted the order. The Sado Maengju was not an opponent he and his subordinates could stop.
Baek Jagang strode up to where she was.
“I will ask you now.”
Baek Jagang’s sharp gaze pierced into her.
“I will not ask you twice.”