I had to stop with a somewhat blank expression upon hearing Gu Huibi's words.
'Grandfather?'
Because an entirely unexpected person had popped up.
Grandfather (祖父).
If my understanding of the word was correct, it meant the former patriarch of the Gu family, the father of my father.
'Who is that...?'
I didn't actually know who he was.
To be precise, it would be more accurate to say I had never even heard of him.
Not only in my past life but also in my current life, I had never met my grandfather. Nor had I ever heard of him.
I only knew that he had died before I was born.
The Gu family, unlike other prominent families, originally didn't hold ancestral rites or rituals to honor their predecessors, so I naturally assumed he was dead and never thought deeply about it.
Yet he suddenly pops up here?
'Does this mean he was alive?'
I had heard the story a few times.
There was also a record of Amwang mentioning it directly, but I hadn't thought deeply about that either.
'Grandfather left Cheonma in Gu Huibi's care and left?'
Isn't that too abrupt and out of the blue?
"Grandfather, all of a sudden? What are you talking about?"
When I asked with doubt, Gu Huibi immediately flicked my forehead.
I could have dodged it, but I didn't bother to.
Smack-!
I covered my throbbing forehead and glared at Gu Huibi.
"Little brother, why are you referring to Grandfather so casually?"
"If he's my grandfather, then grandfather is what he is, what else?"
"You're so lacking in manners."
"I never thought the word 'manners' would come out of your mouth, Noona."
It was ridiculous for someone whose foul temper was notorious across the Central Plains to be lecturing about manners.
"I doubt I need to show manners to a man whose face and name I don't even know. Noona, is what you just said true?"
Whether my grandfather was alive or not wasn't important.
Since I had never seen him in my past life either, I didn't care whether he was alive or dead.
However.
"That Grandfather left *that thing* to you and left. Is that true?"
If he had entrusted Cheonma to Gu Huibi, the story changed completely.
Because that would truly make it a matter of the family.
"Do I have a reason to lie to my little brother?"
"If I look, maybe."
"I'm hurt. Is that all our relationship amounts to? Do you have any idea how much I cleaned up your poop and played with you when you were little...."
"Noona."
Feeling like her words were dragging on, I cut her off.
"I'm not joking around."
"Hmm."
Time dragged on. The longer it took, the shorter my patience grew.
"Did Grandfather really appear and entrust it to you?"
When I asked with suspicion, Gu Huibi extended her hand instead of answering.
"Grab it."
Feeling like I knew what she was trying to do, I grabbed her hand without hesitation.
Woong-! Qi stirred.
Gu Huibi's Qi intertwined with mine, and the Gu Yeomhwa Yungong began to resonate.
"From now on, I will only speak the truth to you."
As Gu Huibi spoke, the Qi shifted and began to bind us together.
A restriction. Gu Huibi intertwined her Qi with mine and placed a restriction on herself.
"Starting from the question you just asked."
I didn't ask the pointless question of why she was going this far. It was because I had long known this was the most comfortable method for both of us.
"That's right. Grandfather left that child in my care and departed."
There was no disturbance in the Qi. Her pulse was normal, and her breathing was steady.
Meaning it was the truth.
"Then... since when-"
"Little brother. That's not right."
Just as I was about to ask my next question, Gu Huibi smiled and cut off my words.
"We're supposed to take turns asking. Why are you being petty and trying to ask everything yourself?"
"..."
Did she have something to ask me?
"Hurry up."
Frowning at Gu Huibi's words, I whispered without much interest.
"From now on. I will only answer your words with the truth."
"Good."
As if satisfied with the answer, Gu Huibi smiled.
And soon, she asked me a question.
"That child. Are you going to kill her?"
I tilted my head at the abruptly asked question.
It was truly direct. So, I answered her just as immediately.
"I'll see."
It was ambiguous, but my mind was already made up long ago.
Even I thought I might have spat it out with too little hesitation.
"...Why?"
"Because it's something I have to do."
My thoughts on this hadn't changed.
"Killing that child is something you have to do?"
"Noona, stop treating it like a child. That's not what it is."
"Little brother."
"I know you're just protecting her because you don't know any better, so I'm holding back up to this point. Stop making me say things I shouldn't."
Irritation was rising. I tried to hold it in, but she was making it impossible.
As I suppressed my anger and looked at Gu Huibi—
"...Little brother, have you changed somehow?"
Gu Huibi said to me with eyes that somehow looked sad.
That gaze pierced my chest and made it sting.
"I have changed. I had to change."
Even so, nothing would change.
"The same goes for you, Noona. Why do you keep defending that thing?"
"Well."
At my questioning her inability to understand, Gu Huibi smiled and continued.
"But, I believe that once you get to know that child, you'll feel the same way. So."
"I don't want to know."
Absurd. There was no need to listen to any more of this.
'How much more do I need to know here?'
It was something I had experienced to the point of nausea in my past life.
Meaning there was no need or meaning in trying to know more or endure it.
'Cheonma is different from Namgung Bia or Jegal Hyeok.'
People can change.
It was a fact I had felt while living this life, but Cheonma was on a different level.
Can Cheonma also change? It's possible.
However.
'How can I believe that?'
What if it doesn't happen? Can I handle the consequences of that?
If I don't have certainty about this, it's better to deal with it before it occurs.
"Do you think that's the right thing to do, little brother?"
"The question of whether it's right or wrong has long passed. I told you earlier too. I'm doing it because it's something I have to do, that's all. So tell me."
The limit had been crossed.
Thus, my emotions began to mix into my Qi.
"Why did that man called Grandfather leave that thing with you and depart?"
"..."
Grind.
The old desk began to tremble from the Qi.
It wasn't an intention to threaten. It was purely because I couldn't suppress my rough Qi and it was leaking out.
"..."
"..."
Our eyes, each holding our own intensity, met.
Time passed. It was merely a fleeting moment, but that time felt particularly long. As that moment flowed by, the first to open her mouth was Gu Huibi, who had heard the question.
Just when I thought she was about to give an answer.
"I'm not going to answer."
"...What?"
Hearing Gu Huibi's words, I had to contort my already wrinkled face even more.
"...What kind of crazy talk is that?"
"It seems there's nothing more I can say to a little brother who has already decided on his answer. Isn't that right?"
In short, she meant "do whatever you want."
I glared at Gu Huibi, but her attitude remained unchanged.
If so, there was only one method.
"Do as you please."
If she wasn't going to speak, I wouldn't pry any further.
The restriction was ultimately only a condition that she wouldn't spit out lies, after all.
"Because I'll just do as I please too."
Family matters? Grandfather's request?
Who cares.
I will merely do what I have to do.
As I stood up with that thought.
Shring.
The sound of a sword being drawn was heard.
Vwooom-!
Following that, a deep sword cry filled the room.
My gaze grew cold at the eerie Qi.
"Noona."
I said without turning my head.
The one who drew the sword was Gu Huibi.
She was pointing the tip of her sword at my turned back.
Blaze.
Flames starting from her hand completely enveloped Gu Huibi's sword.
Heat radiated out.
The flames rotated, spewing out heat.
There was no hostility, but a sense of resistance could be felt.
Gu Huibi's sword was speaking as such.
"What's the meaning of this?"
"It means exactly what you see."
Gu Huibi said with a bitter smile.
"As long as your intentions are clear, I can't let you go to that child."
"So? Are you going to fight me?"
"A fight? Does my little brother think his big sister is that blind?"
Blaze-!
The intensity of the flames deepened.
"I'll probably be defeated one-sidedly. Because you're strong, little brother."
"..."
I was rendered speechless at her words spat out without hesitation.
To think that Gu Huibi, with such strong pride, would spout such self-deprecating words.
Even so, her expression didn't waver in the slightest.
Normally, she would have gnashed her teeth and refused to admit it.
To put it down like that and still draw her sword?
'Did she undergo a psychological change after reaching Hwagyeong?'
I didn't know. The changes in Gu Huibi over the past few years were beyond what I could understand.
However...
"You know that, and you're still going to stop me? Have you really lost your mind, Noona?"
Regardless of what it was, it was equally infuriating.
"Is that thing that precious to you?"
Enough for my older sister to point a sword at me?
I didn't utter the rest of my words.
Just as I was about to spit them out, I remembered.
That while we certainly shared the same father, we had never formed a relationship that could be called family.
Thus, I couldn't spit them out.
Because carelessly calling my older sister 'family' was hypocritical when I was the one who had created her end.
[Be happy.]
The image of Gu Huibi, who had closed her eyes while bleeding, yet still asked me to be happy, came to mind.
Recalling this, my mood instantly turned to shit.
'Fuck.'
Haa.
I swallowed the curse inwardly and let out a sigh.
Vwoong.
I circulated my Qi to cool my insides. Don't let yourself be consumed by emotions.
Now, more than ever, was a time to be careful.
Besides.
"Noona, you keep misunderstanding. It's not a matter of winning or losing."
Gu Huibi is amazing.
I didn't know how she reached it, but having finally attained Hwagyeong at that age, she was more than worthy of being a candidate for the future Geomhu.
Even so.
"I just have to finish it before that and go."
Thinking about my current level, it would take three moves at most.
So, it just meant I had to knock her down and leave.
Stomp.
I kicked off the ground and rushed at Gu Huibi.
To finish it quickly and get out.
"...!"
As I got right up to her face, Gu Huibi widened her eyes in surprise.
At that moment.
Crash--!!!
The roof of the cabin collapsed as something broke through.
Boom-!
Crumble crumble crumble---!!
The Qi clashed against each other, causing wind pressure to burst out.
A tyrannical Pagi (Wave of Qi) swept through the surroundings.
Like that, the old cabin vanished without a trace, and I stood on the devastated ground, looking straight ahead.
Through the thick cloud of dirt and dust, someone was standing in my way.
The fluttering Qi was an ink-black color that allowed no light.
Controlling that Qi to block the rough energy, she was glaring at me.
"...You. What are you doing?"
"..."
"Why are you hurting Unni?"
Looking at such a girl, I had to feel my heart gradually growing cold.
It was Cheonma (Heavenly Demon).
Cheonma stood in front of Gu Huibi, glaring at me with sharply changed eyes.
Her purple eyes were more radiant than the moon.
Her black hair, tinted with a purple glow, was more beautiful than a starry night.
Excluding her unique aura, it was the appearance of the Cheonma I had seen in my past life.
"Don't hurt Unni."
"...Haha."
At the words coming from her, I finally had to burst into laughter.
How could I not laugh?
"No. This isn't right."
Isn't this too much?
"At the very least, you shouldn't be standing there doing that."
"..."
It had changed too much.
To think I'd see such a sight in all my life.
The sight of Cheonma standing in front of the surprised Gu Huibi, blocking my way.
How could it be so contradictory?
Looking at that, my pent-up emotions slowly began to tremble.
The anxiety disappeared.
The lingering fear vanished without a trace.
And so, the remaining guilt cooled into anger.
"That position shouldn't have been mine. And it shouldn't be yours."
The position of protecting Gu Huibi.
Anyone else could take it and it wouldn't matter, but at least you and I cannot.
It should have definitely been that way.
"Especially if it's you, who knows nothing."
Hearing my words, Cheonma furrowed her brow and tilted her head.
"I don't understand what you mean. Anyway, don't hurt Unni."
"Yeon-ah. Wait..."
"If you hurt Unni..."
Cheonma tilted her chin up and said to me.
"I won't forgive you, 'even you'."
"..."
Her words echoed and shook my insides.
Forgiveness?
Did Cheonma just speak of forgiveness to me?
"How dare you spit out those words?"
It was absurd.
Both you and I.
We were both in positions where we could never be forgiven, no matter what, so how could she spit it out so nonchalantly?
Looking at Cheonma like that, a saying somehow came to mind.
-Oblivion is a blessing.
I couldn't clearly remember when or from whom I had heard it.
It seemed particularly fitting for the current situation.
Yes, oblivion is indeed a blessing.
Because she remembered nothing, she could say such things.
'No, even if you did remember, you would have been the same.'
That is why she is Cheonma (Heavenly Demon).
She wouldn't feel a shred of guilt, and in the end, she would obviously cause the same Hyeolgeop and dye the world in blood.
The being before my eyes was such an existence.
She absolutely had to be.
Grrrk.
I released my Qi and flooded my body with it.
The Qi starting from my heart bore into my blood vessels and took over my body.
Ssssss.
My hair dyed even blacker, and blood vessels rose in my eyes.
Afterward, the Gwijung wrapped around my hand also dyed in a deeper color.
"Right, no matter how I look at it, I was overthinking it. I can just end it right here."
"Little bro...!"
Gu Huibi tried to say something to stop me, but.
Boom-!
My body had already arrived in front of Cheonma.
Crush-!
"!"
I grabbed Cheonma's neck just like that, and
immediately detonated my internal Qi and leaped.
The thing I had thought of from the moment I resolved to prevent the Hyeolgeop.
Kill Cheonma no matter what.
That would be this very moment.