Episode 297: Listen, Jegal Jin-seon. (1)
Time had grown dark.
And now, perhaps rain was finally coming, for storm clouds were slowly gathering.
Thick clouds obscured the moon.
The forest, untouched by moonlight, was nothing but darkness.
*Grrrk... Skrrr—*
The demonic beasts lurking in the vicinity
were all holding their breath.
Even the beasts that had lost all reason and retained only gluttony,
with what little instinct still left within,
seemed to recognize that those standing before them were existences they dared not approach.
Swish.
A fluttering hem broke the silence.
Hum—
The sword in her hand resonated, giving off sword light.
The dark clouds covering the moon shifted ever so slightly,
and moonlight briefly illuminated the forest.
Where the light reached,
the silhouettes of two people facing each other in the forest briefly appeared.
One
was a beautiful woman with snow-white hair and blue eyes.
The other
was an equally beautiful woman with golden hair and golden pupils.
The woman with white hair—
the Demonic Sword Queen—
was pointing the tip of the blue-glowing sword, Noea, at the other woman.
The energy of Noea, gradually pouring out,
circled the surroundings and crouched savagely.
Yet quite apart from that,
the expression of the one emitting that energy was perfectly serene.
The emotions hidden within her blank face were unreadable.
Only the faint scent of blood she exuded
hinted that she was by no means as safe as her expression suggested.
"What is it?"
A cold, firm tone.
At the thick killing intent embedded in her voice,
the demonic beasts holding their breath nearby shrank even further.
A wind blew.
From beyond, the wind carried a stinging stench of blood.
At the end of the direction from which the wind blew,
the corpses of the assault squads sent by Shaolin and Wudang
lay strewn across the plain,
having created pools of blood with what they spilled.
Though dozens had ambushed her at once,
the Demonic Sword Queen had killed them all without receiving a single scratch.
She was simply aloof.
That was the impression one had upon first seeing her.
The woman who heard the Demonic Sword Queen's question
still wore a hesitant expression.
The tip of the Demonic Sword Queen's sword did not waver as she stared at the woman.
As if she could swing it at any moment.
It sent chills down one's spine.
The Demonic Sword Queen was feeling a sense of danger for the first time in a long while.
The woman before her eyes
was someone who could make the Demonic Sword Queen feel sufficiently tense.
Amid the gradually fading moonlight,
a golden aura similar to her hair shone distinctly.
Little Sword Saint Wi Seol-a.
A descendant of the Sword Sovereign,
and the woman called the hope of the Central Plains.
The previous ambush had just ended.
The Little Sword Saint had appeared as if she had been waiting for this very moment.
The Demonic Sword Queen aimed Noea and drew up her internal energy.
After all, this was someone she had wanted to meet and cross blades with at least once.
*Kugugugu...*
At the fighting spirit and killing intent exuded by a martial artist who had reached a supreme realm,
even the flowing wind came to a halt.
The Little Sword Saint, who had lightly brushed aside the fighting spirit emitted by the Demonic Sword Queen,
opened her mouth while looking at her.
"I have something to say."
"You... to me?"
At the Little Sword Saint's words, the Demonic Sword Queen paused the internal energy she had been drawing up.
It was an unexpected statement.
For the Demonic Sword Queen, conversation existed only through the sword.
"What do you want to say?"
Even so, the reason she first listened was
because the one called the Little Sword Saint was someone 'he' cared about.
To the Demonic Sword Queen's question,
the Little Sword Saint hesitated for a long while before—
"Tomorrow, the Alliance's assault squad will come looking for you all."
She brought forth an incomprehensible story.
For a moment, the Demonic Sword Queen thought she had misheard.
It was not just anyone—
but the woman called the hope of the Alliance and the Central Plains,
speaking such words to herself, a demon.
"...What are you playing at?"
Her wariness rose instead.
No matter how much the Demonic Sword Queen was said to seem thoughtless in front of the Demon Lord,
she was not truly so.
It was not something that should be said to her
by none other than the person currently called the central pillar of the Alliance.
*Pzzzzt—*
Noea spewed forth energy as if enraged.
*Kugung.*
The energy approached the Little Sword Saint as if wailing, but
*Hwoook—!*
The golden aura lingering around her blocked the energy's encroachment.
As the energies clashed, a massive vibration rang out.
"This is no joke."
"Then what? Why come to me?"
The Demonic Sword Queen asked back in an incomprehensible situation, but
the Little Sword Saint did not provide an answer.
"The Heavenly Lord will participate in this attack."
"So?"
"Even for you and the Demon Lord, you will not easily escape."
The Heavenly Lord, and not only him, but those called the elite of the Alliance would attack all at once.
Having heard that much, the Demonic Sword Queen
only then seemed to understand why the Little Sword Saint had come to deliver this message.
"Little Sword Saint."
"Yes..."
"Are you worried about the Demon Lord?"
At the words the Demonic Sword Queen spat out,
the Little Sword Saint's shoulders flinched visibly.
It was a laughable reaction.
How contradictory and shameful it was
that the woman called the hope of the Central Plains
ignored the dead behind her and came to deliver such words to herself.
Did he know that the Little Sword Saint was this kind of person?
He probably didn't.
And the Demonic Sword Queen had no intention of telling him either.
Even if she did tell him—
"I could tell him, but he would still go."
Even if he knew it was a place where he would die,
he would still head there.
*Psssh.*
The energy of Noea that had been surging forth vanished,
and the fighting spirit and killing intent weighing down the surroundings subsided.
It was because the Demonic Sword Queen had withdrawn her energy.
"Because it is a task ordered by the Cult Leader."
The words of the Heavenly Demon were law.
Of course, the Demonic Sword Queen knew
that the reason he was going
was not solely because of the Heavenly Demon's command.
And yet she did not know.
What was the woman before him to him,
what she had gone through,
that he could make such a choice.
The Demonic Sword Queen did not know,
nor did she wish to understand.
Because her life was only for the perfection of the sword
and liberation.
No.
Perhaps by now, she might know a little.
Only it was too late to speak it aloud,
too late to ponder it for long.
At the Demonic Sword Queen's answer,
the Little Sword Saint made an unreadable expression.
What kind of emotion was that?
The Demonic Sword Queen, who did not understand others' emotions well,
could only feel it faintly.
"...If he goes there, really..."
"He won't die."
"...What?"
She was a woman who had not properly decided on a single thing.
Whether to live a life as a hero,
or if not, to walk a different path.
She had been unable to choose either.
It was disappointing.
She had thought that someone called the Little Sword Saint
might resemble her a little more,
but it seemed she was human.
She herself was a human who claimed to be a demon.
Then
what was this emotion she was feeling now?
The Demonic Sword Queen never realized, until the moment of her death,
that the emotion she was now feeling was jealousy.
"He will not die."
"...Demonic Sword Queen."
"Because I will make it so."
She swept back her hair and spat it out.
What meaning did those words carry?
The Demonic Sword Queen had to mutter them ceaselessly to herself as she spoke.
The Little Sword Saint remained the same.
Her pupils shook, and her unreadable expression was no different.
If she cut her down now, she felt like she could sever her neck in an instant.
Should she try?
She considered igniting Noea,
but the Demonic Sword Queen decided not to.
Because she did not feel like it.
She appraised the Little Sword Saint before her.
The internal energy flowing from her was serene,
and the golden aura enveloping her surroundings was brilliant.
But
her eyes were dead.
As if she was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.
Her flesh was wrapped in strain,
and the brilliantly flowing aura was somehow unstable.
If the appearance of a martial artist who could not find her bearings and wavered was like this,
she found it laughable.
If that was truly the hope of the Central Plains,
it felt as if even she could cut her down right now.
In that case.
[In that case.]
[Would he dislike it?]
At the thought that flashed through her mind,
the Demonic Sword Queen had to stop the fingertips that had been about to move.
Since when
had she started having such thoughts?
It was truly irritating and uncomfortable.
And at a thought that suddenly crossed her mind,
the Demonic Sword Queen spat out without hesitation:
"...It seems I dislike you."
It seemed that way after all.
The Demonic Sword Queen reached that conclusion.
At the Demonic Sword Queen's words,
the Little Sword Saint merely looked at her without any response.
Incomplete.
With such an aura, how had she entered the Demonic Realm?
The Demonic Sword Queen could not understand.
"If you are so worried, you should go yourself."
Rather than coming to tell her,
she simply had to block him with her own body.
If it were the Demonic Sword Queen herself,
she would certainly have done so.
If something displeased her, she would simply cut it down and go.
At the Demonic Sword Queen's words, it was the Little Sword Saint who bit her lip.
Seeing that, the Demonic Sword Queen added one more word.
"Coward."
...!
Immediately after uttering the word, as if she had lost interest in the Little Sword Saint,
she turned her back and walked away.
Because she remembered that if she was late again this time, he would not let it slide.
And
the fact that the Little Sword Saint had said such things today—
the Demonic Sword Queen would absolutely never tell him.
The reason was the same as before.
Simply because she did not want to tell him.
If it was a bit of caprice, then so be it.
After the Demonic Sword Queen left,
the Little Sword Saint, now alone,
raised her head and surveyed the sky.
The moonlight that had been faintly shining
was completely hidden by the dark clouds.
..
....
!
.
There,
"Coward."
The words the Demonic Sword Queen had left behind felt as if they pierced particularly deep into her chest.
"Coward..."
That's right.
She was a coward.
Unable to properly choose any single path,
she was merely holding her breath.
If that was not a coward, what was?
She was tired.
Tired and suffocating.
Even so, she had to walk.
Until when?
To where?
Why me?
She habitually questioned herself,
but as always, there was no one who could provide an answer.
"Commander...!"
When she closed her eyes for a moment,
a voice sounded in her ears as if it had been waiting.
Only then could the Little Sword Saint open her eyes briefly.
When she turned her head, members of the Alliance appeared.
"Urk...!"
As soon as one member approached nearby, he covered his nose.
Even though it was wafting from afar,
the scent of blood was far too strong.
"Commander... what about the Demonic Sword Queen?"
"By the time I arrived, she had already fled."
"No...! It seems we were too late. Even though you rushed here... What a difficult situation. You've done well, Commander."
At the member's words, the Little Sword Saint nodded slightly.
It was a voice without a single doubt.
"...If you go to the rear, you will find traces of the others. Let us clean up and withdraw."
"Understood. Move out!"
"Yes!"
While the others moved,
the Little Sword Saint also moved her stiff body.
She must not show her exhausted appearance.
Because she was the Little Sword Saint.
Because she was their hero.
And a few days later,
the Demonic Sword Queen kept the words she had spat out.
She lost her life in his place,
and he survived.
"...Sister?"
At Wi Seol-a's words, the woman stopped her thoughts.
It was still a memory she did not wish to recall.
How much time remained for her to linger like this?
She truly felt
that there was not much left.
Therefore, before that,
she had to finish everything she could do.
"I told you once before."
"Yes?"
"The Wolseon Sword Art is a sword technique that contains the moon, but you must not chase the moon."
"Yes..."
Though the words were sudden,
Wi Seol-a nodded.
Because the woman's voice somehow seemed urgent.
"I hope you quickly find the meaning of those words."
"...Yes."
One must not chase the moon with the Wolseon Sword Art.
What did that mean?
It was a cryptic statement that did not reveal its answer.
Wi Seol-a had repeatedly asked what it meant,
but the woman had said she must not be told the answer.
That she had to find it herself.
Only then,
she said, could Wi Seol-a achieve what she desired.
'What I desire.'
Wi Seol-a thought.
What did she desire?
From the first time she thought of it
until now, her desire had not changed.
She would protect him.
It was the sword she had learned for that purpose.
It was the first goal she had set.
It would not set.
It absolutely must not.
And in the forest where the fierce battle had taken place,
there was someone lying collapsed, looking at the sky.
"Wow... Damn."
How exhausted he was; his body would not listen to him.
Should he say he couldn't even move his fingers easily?
Ha.
Setting aside his throbbing body,
he barely let out a sigh.
Not to mention, he felt empty.
"Freakishly strong, seriously."
Lying down, the sky he looked at felt as if it was spinning.
"Ngh..."
He tried to raise his body with difficulty,
but it was by no means easy.
It wasn't as if there were only one or two places where he had been beaten.
'Damn old man.'
He was sure he had delivered a proper blow to the abdomen.
Yet Bi Uijin had taken it head-on and looked perfectly fine.
"Aren't you hurt? You some kind of mutant, seriously?"
Even after taking that, he had nonchalantly said, "Not bad."
The problem started from there.
'I couldn't even graze him.'
At first, he had seemed flustered by the increased speed,
but after exchanging a few moves,
as if he had grown accustomed to a body surging with blood qi,
he had deflected every attack.
He was an opponent whose outcome was uncertain even if his body had been fine,
so fighting in an imperfect state was nothing but torture.
'...No matter what, I didn't think the gap would be that wide.'
Bi Uijin moved
as if he had grasped everything—
the advancing distance,
the extending trajectory,
each and every bending joint.
Not just the part where I would finally reach,
but every single moment of movement—he seemed to see it all.
I had experienced it in my previous life too,
but experiencing it in my current state made the difference painfully clear.
They said he was the pinnacle of the martial world, and it was no empty boast.
As a result, it led to my defeat.
"...It was taken."
Moreover, even the belt I had held onto until the end had been taken.
I couldn't use blood qi for long to begin with,
and with internal injuries, strain came to my body quickly.
In the end, the moment my energy fell, the match was decided,
and I ended up lying on the ground.
How long had it been since my last defeat?
It was my first defeat since reaching the advanced stage.
'...Not that I'm actually at the advanced stage.'
Even considering Bi Uijin's true identity as the Defeated Lord, with a body that had undergone a rebirth,
the circumstances were much more in my favor.
Though I had the excuse of internal injuries.
'Even if I had been in perfect condition, could I have won?'
I didn't know what would have happened if I had poured out all my internal energy,
but I couldn't be satisfied with just that.
Though the defeat was vexing,
my previous life had been one repeated failure after another,
so losing once now didn't stir any particular feeling in me.
Thinking that, I felt a bit pathetic.
"You are truly peculiar. Compared to your visible talent, your close combat skills are remarkably lacking."
Right before leaving with my belt,
these were the words Bi Uijin left me, having returned to his original manner of speech.
'My close combat skills are lacking.'
I had been feeling that lately.
I had adapted to wrapping myself in flames and controlling them
based on my overwhelmingly high internal energy capacity,
but regardless, since I was throwing punches up close,
I needed to train in that area.
"As for internal energy, I won, so as promised, let us arrange another appointment later."
*Kyu...*
Why did the Defeated Lord's voice have to come to mind at this moment?
Since he was the Defeated Lord, he might teach me something, but
no matter what, that wasn't it.
'No means no.'
I didn't have enough time to hone what I already possessed;
learning something new was out of the question.
Rather,
'It would be better to go find Father.'
A man who might have reached the pinnacle of the martial arts I possessed.
Since he was right nearby, it would be better to learn from him.
Though I couldn't imagine that human teaching me anything.
"Now, just a little... after I rest..."
I have to go get the belt back.
Around the time I harbored that thought,
I moved my head and spoke.
"...Ah, what a pain..."
I sensed a presence I hadn't noticed.
It seemed my senses hadn't been working properly due to exhaustion.
What a bother.
This was a bit troublesome right now.
Besides, it was close.
Very close.
Thinking of the position...
'Right... beside me?'
At that moment.
*Swoosh!*
I saw a hand digging into my chest.
It was probably aiming for my belt.
'...But.'
*Smack.*
"Why so slow?"
"Urk...!"
So much for a surprise attack.
I succeeded in snatching the opponent's wrist at a speed that was far too slow.
For them to be caught even when my body was in this state,
they were incredibly slow.
One had to wonder how they had survived even the third test.
I had wanted to rest a bit more, but
given the situation, I raised my body.
Trying to force my body up, it felt like my muscles were screaming.
I endured it.
The opponent showed signs of trying to pull their arm free from me somehow,
but they didn't seem to have the strength to do so.
Using the caught arm as leverage,
I checked the opponent.
"What, you?"
"I—I was wrong...!"
The opponent had black hair,
and covered their face with long, drooping bangs.
Their flustered appearance, as if they hadn't expected to be caught, was incredibly feeble.
They seemed like a man, so why so soft...
"Hm?"
Between the hair covering the face,
trembling eyes that seemed about to cry came into view.
At the eyes I glanced at,
I immediately grabbed the bastard's neck and pinned them down.
"Kk...! W-wait...!"
"You."
I let go of the wrist I was holding
and lifted the bastard's bangs.
Thereupon, I could see the hidden face and eyes.
"Huh?"
The moment I confirmed the face,
I let out an empty laugh.
I had been wondering how on earth to find him here,
but the bastard I was looking for had come on his own two feet.
'Wait...'
Could I even call him a bastard?
In my previous life, certainly—
'Why does he look like this?'
I could have sworn it had been a woman's form.