The main estate of the Divine Sword Do Clan, the study on the second floor of the main building.
But the place was a study in name only; in reality, it was nothing more than an entertainment hall built to relieve boredom.
Most of the people attending the dinner banquet were gathered there, enjoying themselves.
“All right! Another win!”
“Ah, seriously, stop taking it all. We have to make a living too, don’t we?”
“Let’s go smoke one.”
“Don’t you have anything stronger than this?”
Those gambling at the baccarat tables and spewing excited, frivolous remarks.
Those brazenly smoking cigarettes or cigars and spreading smoke everywhere.
Those tossing back strong drink after strong drink at the bar set up in one corner of the study, even though the banquet hadn’t started yet.
And so on.
“….”
Inside the study, one could see people intoxicated by the fleeting pleasures of the moment.
“Ugh, cigarette smoke….”
“Those people, really… why are they smoking indoors?”
Han Jiae, Do Gyeonu’s mother, scrunched up her face as she entered the study at the smell of tobacco.
Do Sangjun glanced at the people smoking off to the side and immediately cast a protective spell on her.
At that, the smoke avoided her.
“Does it smell bad anymore?”
“No. As expected, there’s no one but you.”
The corners of Han Jiae’s eyes curved into crescents.
Do Sangjun took her hand and pulled her closer to his side.
A smile also curved his lips.
“Shall we go say hello to people, then?”
“Second Sister-in-law is over there, and Second Brother is over there.”
“Right, since the eldest brother hasn’t arrived yet, let’s go meet the second brother first.”
Soon, the two went around greeting those with whom they maintained a somewhat cordial relationship.
They welcomed the two gladly and offered them seats.
Of course, they didn’t forget to give hints while doing so.
“We know you two are close, but if Brother-in-law Do sticks right beside you, we can’t talk about everything among ourselves.”
“Exactly. We can only badmouth our husbands when Brother-in-law Do isn’t around. It’s hard to get close like this—”
“Haha… is that so?”
Do Sangjun was not oblivious to the intention behind their smiling words.
They were telling him to leave Han Jiae behind and go away.
But he couldn’t do that.
‘How do I know what might happen to Jiae while I’m away?’
It had been a few years ago.
Han Jiae had once tried to befriend the women of the Divine Sword Do Clan to be of help to him, only to be gravely insulted.
They said she had no proper roots to speak of and was merely a woman who’d married well thanks to her pretty face and nothing else.
Knowing how she’d been hurt by those words and returned home to weep bitterly, he could not leave her alone.
“I’m sorry, because of me….”
“What are you apologizing for? Instead, shall we go over there and have a light drink?”
They had seen everyone they needed to see anyway.
To comfort her, who was growing depressed, he decided to spend some time with her, just the two of them.
It was then.
“Sangjun, long time no see. How have you been?”
“….”
He had been pretending not to know him because he didn’t want to exchange a single word with him, but—
Do Beomjun, Do Sangjun’s third older brother, had spoken to him first.
“Yeah, long time no see. Why are you here?”
The father of Do Seungu.
He was an unpleasant opponent for Do Sangjun, who had recently learned that Do Seungu had been persistently bullying his son.
It couldn’t be helped that emotion seeped into his voice.
At that, Do Beomjun gave a bitter smile.
“We wrapped it up over the phone, but I thought I should say it in person as well. I’ve warned Seungu not to do it again.”
“….”
“He got an earful, so he probably won’t try to bully Gyeonu anymore. But is Gyeonu doing all right?”
“My son is doing just fine without you worrying about him, so mind your own business.”
“That’s a relief, then. I was worried that, given Gyeonu’s temperament, what Seungu did might have become traumatic.”
“….”
“If that incident leads to any hospital visits, let me know. I’ll introduce you to a doctor I know well in that field. Anyway, I’m sorry about what Seungu did. I’ll apologize on his behalf like this.”
Do Beomjun abruptly extended his hand.
It was a gesture telling him to stop making a fuss about this matter and reconcile here and now.
“Hah, really. What? An apology?”
But Do Sangjun had no intention of accepting Do Beomjun’s apology.
He snorted, swatted the hand away, and glared at Do Beomjun.
“If you’re going to apologize, tell him to do it directly to Gyeonu. You shouldn’t do it as a mere formality on his behalf.”
“What… are you trying to do right now?”
“And don’t try to subtly tarnish the kid’s reputation. What exactly are you trying to pull, Brother?”
It was a gathering of the clan’s people.
Do Sangjun knew that they were pretending to focus on their own affairs on the surface while covertly eavesdropping on the conversation.
And he also knew that Do Beomjun was doing this intentionally, spreading word of the friction between Do Seungu and Do Gyeonu to diminish Gyeonu.
Knowing this, Do Sangjun couldn’t help but be furious.
“If that’s your answer, it can’t be helped. I have nothing more to say. If you ever need my help later, contact me.”
“I won’t ever need help from you, so keep that in mind.”
However, regardless of Do Sangjun’s feelings, Do Beomjun turned his back in a manner suggesting he had done everything he could.
Just as he was about to leave….
“Sub Lord Do Beomjun!”
While the eyes of those in the study were subtly focused on the two of them,
a man in a Regulus Clan uniform entered the study and sought out Do Beomjun.
“…That’s what I’m saying.”
A man who appeared to be Do Beomjun’s follower whispered something to him.
Soon, his expression changed.
‘What is it?’
Do Sangjun felt an unpleasant premonition at his sneering gaze.
That premonition was not wrong.
Do Beomjun raised his voice, speaking loudly enough for everyone around to hear.
“It seems they intend to settle the matter themselves between the parties involved?”
“What do you mean?”
“For some reason, my son and your son are sparring in the training grounds, or so I hear.”
“Gyeonu… sparring?”
“I heard that Gyeonu challenged Seungu to a spar first. It doesn’t sound like the Gyeonu I know, but I suppose the information can’t be wrong.”
“….”
“Well, come to think of it, Gyeonu is also a member of the Divine Sword Do Clan, so it’s nothing strange. He ought to know how to uphold his own dignity. I suppose the boy does have the blood of a lion after all.”
Do Gyeonu was fighting with Do Seungu.
Do Sangjun turned pale at Do Beomjun’s mocking words as he shrugged his shoulders.
He had told him not to cause trouble, yet in the end, he had gone and done exactly that.
‘So that’s why I had a bad feeling….’
Do Sangjun let out a low groan.
Having seen Gyeonu’s skills once before, he no longer worried about his son’s abilities.
“….”
The problem was that he didn’t know what Gyeonu, whose personality had changed recently, might do.
Do Sangjun was deeply worried.
He would be the one who had to clean up the mess Gyeonu made.
His complexion grew darker by the moment.
“Why? You look worried?”
Do Beomjun was mistaken about the reason for his change in expression.
He smirked and snidely remarked, speaking to the others.
“If we go now, we’ll be able to watch the spar. This is perfect timing since I was bored. Is anyone else going to watch Seungu and Gyeonu spar?”
“Oh, that sounds great!”
Do Beomjun induced a response.
Starting with those feeling the effects of the alcohol, several people got up.
His scheme was obvious.
He intended to make the spar public and diminish Do Gyeonu’s influence.
Of course, that scheme was only possible on the premise that Do Gyeonu would lose.
“Everyone’s going; aren’t you going to watch, Sangjun?”
“…I have to go too.”
“Good thinking. I understand how you feel, but they said they’d resolve it themselves, so let’s not interfere unnecessarily.”
“….”
“Let’s just end it with this spar. You know what I mean, right?”
“Yeah. Don’t forget those words.”
“Quit acting tough.”
By that point, Do Sangjun simply stopped trying to think.
The situation had grown too large for him to attempt to handle.
He was also annoyed by Do Beomjun, who was looking down on his son.
‘Actually, this might be for the best.’
In a way, this was an opportunity.
If Do Gyeonu were to turn the clan members’ opinions around and defeat Do Seungu, his standing would rise greatly.
It wasn’t something to be distressed about forever.
So he tried to leave the study, following the others.
Naturally, he didn’t forget to bring Han Jiae along.
Do Sangjun called out to her; she had been standing apart while he talked with Do Beomjun.
“Let’s go too. It’ll be a good show… hm?”
“Seungu bullied Gyeonu?”
And he froze in place.
“What on earth do you mean? Why does this sound like the first time I’m hearing of it?”
“H-honey….”
“You seem to have known about it.”
Han Jiae was smiling.
But it was not a smile.
Do Sangjun instinctively called her by a pet name in order to survive, but it had no effect whatsoever.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
I’m dead.
Do Sangjun trembled in terror.
* * *
Do Seungu, the prodigy of the Divine Sword Do Clan.
He still vividly remembered the events of the past, years ago.
“—You understand ten things when taught one, and you seem to know instinctively how to execute the Suwang-ryu.”
“—Thank you!”
Before Do Seungu was called a prodigy.
The one who had borne the clan’s expectations during that time was not him, but Do Gyeonu, who was the same age.
He had demonstrated such outstanding talent in swordsmanship that he had even received lavish praise from his grandfather, the clan head.
Perhaps because of that, his personality back then had been proactive and filled with confidence, unlike now.
“—Hah, to think a child like that was born….”
“—He’s already mastered the breathing technique?”
“—He’s nothing short of a prodigy.”
If Do Seungu was an acquired prodigy, one made through effort,
then Do Gyeonu was an innate genius, born with his talent.
There was a difference between their talents.
That difference was enormous—a gap that could not be easily bridged.
For Do Seungu, who had been compared to him and forced to compete with him for his entire life simply because they were of the same generation and age, it was akin to despair.
“—Why can’t you even do that much! You were born as my son, yet you can’t even catch up to half of him!?”
Starting with the competitive exhibition in which the direct descendants had to learn the foundational forms of Suwang-ryu and demonstrate them before the clan for the first time,
Do Seungu was constantly compared to him and received harsh rebukes from his parents.
“—You can do it. You have to.”
“—And you can still fall asleep after this?”
“—You brat, is that all you can do!?”
“—Are you really my son!?”
The memories of that time were nothing but horrific.
Do Seungu was dragged around by his father, cutting down on sleep as he tried desperately to surpass Do Gyeonu.
Yet no matter how hard he tried, he could not defeat Do Gyeonu.
The more that happened, the more he resented Do Gyeonu for no reason.
“—If only you, if only you weren’t here….”
I wouldn’t be going through this.
Do Seungu swallowed his resentment toward him and gritted his teeth.
The truth was, Do Seungu also knew.
Do Gyeonu had done nothing wrong.
Even so, Do Seungu couldn’t bring himself to resent his parents, nor could he resent his own talent.
To resent those things would be tantamount to denying his own existence.
Therefore, to protect himself, he unconsciously blamed Do Gyeonu.
He hated him, resented him, loathed him.
It was a twisted ego.
The incident occurred precisely during that period.
“S-Seungu!”
During the evaluation match where they sparred for the first time.
Do Seungu ended up sparring with Do Gyeonu, as if fate itself bore him malice.
A spar using wooden swords.
In that spar, he was injured by an offensive form unleashed by Do Gyeonu.
“O-oh no. Blood….”
Do Gyeonu was young and inexperienced.
He could not perfectly judge how dangerous the attack he swung was, nor how much damage it would inflict on his opponent.
Understanding something purely in one’s head was different from seeing it with one’s own eyes.
Do Gyeonu was at a loss at the sight of blood flowing from Do Seungu’s elbow, caused by his own sword.
“—This!”
On the other hand, Do Seungu was calm.
He immediately exploited that opening.
Do Gyeonu failed to respond properly. He focused solely on defending and no longer tried to attack.
As a result.
“…I won.”
Do Seungu won for the first time.
By the time he finally came to his senses, Do Gyeon-u was pinned beneath him.
—S-stop already….
—….
With both arms raised to protect his face, sobbing uncontrollably.
Do Gyeon-u, whom the family had praised as a prodigy, was begging.
In that moment, as Do Seung-u looked down at Do Gyeon-u, he felt a strange pleasure and satisfaction.
From then on.
—I thought the kid was a prodigy, but he’s no different from the others.
—Everyone’s a genius when they’re young. I knew this would happen.
—What do you expect from a commoner’s child?
Do Gyeon-u stopped being a genius.
As if they had been waiting for his downfall, the people of the family mocked him relentlessly.
Eventually, he came to be called Rabbit, ending up in the position he was in now.
And from that point on, Do Seung-u began raising his own reputation.
—You can’t even kill a single rabbit. You really are a mor✕n, aren’t you?
Do Seung-u picked on Do Gyeon-u.
Having gained a mental advantage over him, Do Seung-u unleashed all the feelings he had kept suppressed until then.
—D-don’t talk like that.
—What if I do?
—Huh?
—What are you going to do about it? What, want to fight?
—….
—I’m fine with that. Fight me. Let’s go at it again. I’ll beat you down just like I did back then.
Do Gyeon-u could not say a word.
He had completely submitted to Do Seung-u.
—From now on, know your place and crawl.
—….
A coward who was terrified to an extreme degree of harming others.
To Do Seung-u, Do Gyeon-u could no longer be his rival.
However, Do Gyeon-u’s very existence itself stirred the inferiority complex of the past.
No, unconsciously, he was afraid of Do Gyeon-u.
‘This bastard thinks he can climb back up!’
What if Do Gyeon-u overcame his weakness and returned to how he had been as a child?
What if, with that, his own standing wavered, and the life of being compared to Do Gyeon-u all over again returned?
Without realizing it, Do Seung-u harbored such assumptions deep in his unconscious.
That was why….
‘I’ll trample you so miserably that you’ll never dare defy me again.’
He intended to defeat Do Gyeon-u in front of the family members and drag his influence down to rock bottom.
But the situation flowed differently.
“…!?”
As if he had read his thoughts, Do Gyeon-u dodged the attack.
‘Impossible! How on earth….’
Do Seung-u could not understand it.
Each time his sword seemed about to reach him, it narrowly grazed past Do Gyeon-u and merely sliced through empty air.
After that, Do Gyeon-u’s attacks came in.
Each time, Do Seung-u hurriedly brought back the sword he had swung into empty space and blocked.
Ting!
Sword clashed against sword.
It was then that his gaze met Do Gyeon-u’s, who had been moving swiftly.
Do Seung-u glared at Do Gyeon-u.
Do Gyeon-u’s gaze was utterly indifferent.
‘What are those eyes?’
A gaze that seemed to say he was nothing special.
Do Seung-u felt an inexplicable displeasure at that gaze.
No, it was the emergence of his inferiority complex.
The inferiority complex that had been hiding within him all this time surged up when he saw Do Gyeon-u’s eyes.
‘You bastard…!’
Don’t look down on me.
Do Seung-u swallowed the words that threatened to burst out and gritted his teeth.
He knocked away Do Gyeon-u’s sword and immediately assumed the stance of the Beast King Style.
At that moment, Do Gyeon-u responded as well.
Matching the direction in which Do Seung-u would swing, he drew one foot back.
Mana dwelled in his blade.
Lion Iron Whip
In the world Do Seung-u saw.
The sword art he unleashed flew toward Do Gyeon-u from right to left.
A strike like an iron whip curved as it aimed for Do Gyeon-u’s flank.
──!!
Do Gyeon-u raised his sword in a reverse vertical position, with the tip of the blade pointed toward the ground.
His right hand, which had been above the hilt, moved downward, while his left hand, which had been below, moved upward, changing his grip.
And thus….
Lion Iron Armor
A defensive form that activated the mana circuits in the lower body, firmly anchoring the feet so they would not leave the ground,
and activated the mana circuits in both arms, receiving the impact and sending it through the lower body into the ground.
It belonged to the Second Form, so it was easy to learn, but it was still a fairly difficult sword art.
Because it was practically no different from giving up flesh to take bone.
In truth, the Second Form was a sword art meant to lead into other defensive forms.
“Ugh…!”
And yet Do Gyeon-u had used Lion Iron Armor to block the attack.
Do Seung-u clicked his tongue in frustration.
Cut flesh, sever bone.
If Do Gyeon-u had offered up his flesh like this, next it was his turn to take Do Seung-u’s bone.
‘The attack forms that can follow from Lion Iron Armor are….’
Do Seung-u’s mind worked quickly.
It was a situation where he could be hit by a counterattack.
His mind calculated the possibilities more sharply than ever before.
The possibilities he derived were two.
‘Third Form, Lion Iron Whip.’
And Fourth Form, Lion Returning Needle.
Those were the only attack forms Do Gyeon-u could use in this situation.
‘Which one is it?’
Do Seung-u watched Do Gyeon-u’s movements, intending to respond accordingly.
At that moment, Do Gyeon-u moved.
Do Gyeon-u used the Beast King Style attack form, the—
“…Keugh!”
Do Gyeon-u did not unleash a sword art.
Instead, he suddenly delivered a roundhouse kick, striking Do Seung-u in the chest.
Hit by an attack he had not anticipated, Do Seung-u had no choice but to be pushed backward.
Immediately after….
“You’re slow.”
“…!”
The corners of Do Gyeon-u’s mouth curved upward.
Do Seung-u’s face twisted.
Having been kicked in the chest and forced back, he quickly tried to regain his stance and defend.
However….
“I said you’re slow.”
Him, stumbling backward.
And Do Gyeon-u, stepping forward.
Do Gyeon-u was one step faster.
In an instant, he moved behind Do Seung-u and brought his sword down.
“…!”
He had to use a defensive form.
But his thoughts could not keep up.
More than anything, his body could not keep up.
He could not block it.
It made no sense.
He denied reality.
But Do Gyeon-u’s sword did not stop and fell toward him.
“…Ugh!”
A powerful impact struck the back of his head.
Do Seung-u tried to withstand the shock.
But the moment his body took a single step, he lost his balance and collapsed.
His consciousness grew distant.
Strength would not enter his body.
‘No….’
Do Seung-u tried to move his lips.
But they would not move as he wished.
Only his two eyes moved even in that situation, capturing Do Gyeon-u at the edge of his vision.
Soon, his view flipped upside down, and Do Gyeon-u’s figure was inverted as well.
In that state….
“Sleep well. You really weren’t anything special.”
He saw the corners of Do Gyeon-u’s mouth.
The words Do Gyeon-u spoke as he lifted the corners of his mouth reached him through his fading consciousness.
Before long, his consciousness cut off.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss