Return of the Heavenly Sword

Chapter 62. Target (5)

“Haaat!”

As soon as I took a step forward with a kiai, a trajectory was drawn from his sword.

“Tsk. I see you’ve come here to die.”

At some point, the bastard had returned to his indifferent expression.

Swiiiiiiish.

And at a speed unfitting of the slowed world, his sword flew, aiming for my head.

I had never seen it directly, but from the rumors I had heard, it was undoubtedly that sword art.

Shadowless Blood Flash Sword.

A sword art that was like a symbol of the bastard who would later be called the Golden Demon and the King of the Underworld.

True to its name, it was a sword art that focused on the essence of speed, and it was also an extremely practical sword art that aimed only for vital points.

A swift sword that flew, piercing through the trajectory as soon as it appeared in the air.

Soon after, a faint bloody trajectory was drawn along that path.

Slice.

It was my blood.

I thought I had dodged it by turning my head, but it was the price for not dodging it completely.

While a thin stream of blood flowed from my forehead, I took another step and closed in on him.

At the same time, I thrust my sword toward his heart, but he simply dodged it by taking a step to the side.

Life and Death Blood Steps.

This too was a movement technique that was like a signature of the Golden Demon, Hyeok Ilso.

No, it was a fairly famous movement technique even before Hyeok Ilso appeared.

Hundreds of years ago, during the Warring States period.

There was an incident where a general who had rolled on the battlefields for decades retired and appeared in Murim.

That man displayed a truly mysterious yet practical movement technique, defeating countless masters of Murim, and was later called the Immortal Divine General.

Someone asked the Immortal Divine General about his movement technique, and he answered thus.

A battlefield where even the phrase ‘a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood’ was insufficient. He said it was a movement technique he had realized while stepping over countless corpses there.

A movement technique realized while treading a sea of blood and crossing life and death. Because it was a movement technique that found the path of life in a battlefield where thousands, tens of thousands of lives came and went, it came to be called Life and Death Blood Steps.

That legend had been passed down through the mouths of Murim's storytellers.

One strange thing was how on earth the Golden Demon, Hyeok Ilso, had learned the Immortal Divine General’s movement technique.

Regarding this, the storytellers of Murim speculated whether the Golden Demon, Hyeok Ilso, was a descendant of the Immortal Divine General.

But what did any of that matter?

“Die!!”

No matter who his ancestors were, that bastard was just trash who deserved to die.

I swung my sword at him again.

Several trajectories cross in the air.

A trajectory that foretells the flow of the Shadowless Blood Flash Sword he will unleash.

The silver trajectory drawn by the Restoring Name Sword I swung.

Slice.

Even the bloody trajectory that scatters with the intermittent sound of cutting.

But the flowing blood was only mine.

A place where the ground was deeply pitted. A place where wooden planks and the like were rolling around.

Even when I lured him to such places, he just showcased a strange movement and stepped as if on flat ground, dodging my sword.

And every time my gambit failed, his sword flew in at a speed like a ray of light.

Slice.

While blood once again spurted from my body.

“Dieee!!!”

I swung my sword, letting out a scream filled with malice.

Even as his sword aimed for my vitals, I just aimed for his vitals and swung my sword.

Yes. If I could just kill this bastard, I wouldn't regret mutual destruction.

“Tsk.”

Not wanting to die together, Hyeok Ilso lightly clicked his tongue and withdrew his sword.

Clang!

His sword, which had changed its path, collided with the Restoring Name Sword.

For some reason, there was no Sword Qi on his sword.

After that, our swords clashed several more times.

Clang!

Clang!

Still, there was no Sword Qi on his sword.

Instead.

Slice!

Only when his sword aimed for my body was there Sword Qi.

It was a trick to avoid breaking the Restoring Name Sword.

He was already acting arrogantly, as if the Restoring Name Sword were his own.

My pride wasn't hurt.

Pride didn't feed me, and clinging to pride wouldn't bring back my dead friend.

Swiiiiiiish.

Once again, his sword flew, aiming for my vitals.

I too, adjusted my sword path accordingly.

If I had been aiming for mutual destruction until now, this time it was the complete opposite.

I swung the Restoring Name Sword to meet his sword, which was imbued with Sword Qi.

In the slowly flowing world, I saw his brow twitch.

Clang!

Soon, our swords clashed.

His sword, which had been imbued with Sword Qi until just before, had its Sword Qi vanish like a mirage.

Clang!

Every time he aimed for my vitals with Shadowless Blood Flash Sword, I swung the Restoring Name Sword to block it several times.

Hyeok Ilso snorted and muttered.

“I thought you were a beast who only knew how to say ‘die’. It seems you have a minimum of a brain.”

I snorted back.

“A human face with a beast’s heart. The word ‘beast’ is a term for trash like you.”

Because that was the teaching of my departed friend.

He burst into laughter.

“Hahaha. The brat has learned some plausible words from somewhere.”

But his eyes were not smiling.

“Alright. Fight with all your might. No matter what you do, you will die by my hand.”

His lips curved up, but with his still indifferent eyes, he swung his sword again.

Clang!!

While our swords clashed, there was still no Sword Qi on his sword.

Clang!

He was saying that even though he had figured out my intention, he would fight at my pace.

Clang!

No. Rather, perhaps finding it bothersome to use and then withdraw his Sword Qi, he began to exchange blows with me without any Sword Qi at all.

He was arrogant.

Clang!

But.

Slice.

That arrogant bastard’s sword was once again carving a red trajectory on my side.

Slice.

A grown young man in his early twenties. A height a good handspan taller than my own not-yet-fully-grown body. Naturally, there was a difference in the length of our arms and legs.

He was using that advantage of distance to play with me from a range my sword couldn't reach.

Slice.

No, it wasn't just a problem of height and arm length.

The power in the sword. The speed of the swing. And above all.

Slice.

The precision was different.

In a world that had slowed to its limit.

My sword crawling like a grub and his sword flying like a hawk intersected.

My sword, shaking here and there, unable to perfectly follow the trajectory.

And his sword, flying in a precise trajectory, looked contrasting.

Because I had been pulled into an infinitely slow world, I could tell.

My goal, Sword Unification.

He was on the verge of Sword Unification.

The peak masters I had faced before. The Wolhyang Merchant Group leader or the branch leader in Zunyi. He was on a level incomparable to the Blood Shadow Ghost Spear.

Thinking about it now, it was also a matter of course. Neither Shadowless Blood Flash Sword nor Life and Death Blood Steps were martial arts that could be learned with mediocre skills.

I felt like letting out a hollow laugh.

In my previous life, I had trained for thirty-eight years and remained at the first-rate level.

But that bastard, at the mere age of his early twenties, had surpassed the peak and was on the verge of Sword Unification.

He had even learned some peerless martial art from who-knows-where.

Anger welled up at the unfairness of the world.

“Dieee!!!”

How could such a talent be given to someone less than trash?

The cries of the common people who suffered because of him.

The Scholar Chivalrous Hero’s head being cut off by his sword.

Was this truly the will of heaven?

“That damn fate!!”

I swung my sword, letting out a scream filled with malice.

At some point, my vision had turned red.

The blood flowing from my forehead drenched my eyes.

I felt a stinging pain in my eyes. But I had no time to blink.

Clang!

In the red-tinted world, sparks flew as our swords clashed.

Was it because of the blood drenching my eyes? Or because of the slowed world?

Clang!

Those sparks overlapped with my friend’s face.

With the face of my screaming friend I had seen in my dreams.

“I will kill you all!!”

Right after I shouted again, his sword flew in.

Why was it?

Slice!

The trajectory that had embroidered the air was gone.

The world was still flowing slowly, but that trajectory that had led me to the ideal state had disappeared.

His swift sword flew in without any warning.

I hastily threw myself to the ground and rolled.

Slice.

I heard a cutting sound and felt a searing pain from my forearm, which had been cut by his sword.

Just in case of a follow-up attack, I hastily rolled on the ground once more.

But he did not swing his sword.

He was just looking down at me and sneering.

“You’ve been howling like a beast since a while ago, and now you’re rolling on the ground like a beast.”

His smirking face is etched into my eyes.

Strangely, his sneer and the Scholar Chivalrous Hero’s face overlapped.

Even though their faces were not at all similar.

“How dare you!! Mock my friend!”

I screamed as if letting out a shriek, got up, and charged at him again.

Soon, the Scholar Chivalrous Hero, borrowing Hyeok Ilso’s face, sneered and opened his mouth.

“So you’ve finally gone mad.”

- That’s too much of a joke, Brother Jin. If you considered me a friend, why did you not try to take revenge?

Words completely different from Hyeok Ilso’s lip movements pierced my ears.

I had been rushing at him, but I flinched to a stop without realizing it.

“That was to honor Brother Sama’s last will…”

As I was making that excuse, the sneer on the Scholar Chivalrous Hero’s face was reflected in my eyes.

“It seems you’ve gone completely mad now. Seeing you spouting nonsense to yourself.”

- Hahaha. You’ve become quite the liar since we last met. Weren’t you just scared of dying?

The Scholar Chivalrous Hero’s accusation.

And the blade that flew in to match it.

My friend, borrowing Hyeok Ilso’s body, was swinging a sword at me.

I had to stagger and throw myself around at the blade that flew without a trajectory.

Hyeok Ilso. No, my friend swung his sword as if playing with me.

Even though I couldn't react properly because I couldn't see the trajectory, my friend swung his sword toward non-vital areas as if playing a prank.

While wounds piled up all over my body, memories of that time rushed in like a flood.

I couldn't help but stagger around, swept away by those memories.

Memories of turning a blind eye even after hearing of my friend's death, even after seeing the common people who had suffered horribly at the hands of the Black Market bastards.

Why did I act that way?

Because of my friend’s last will?

Bullshit.

Yes. This was bullshit that ignored the truth hidden deep in my heart.

Because I didn't have the courage to attack the Black Market.

Because I was afraid of ending up like my murdered friend.

I, who had only talked a good game about striking Hyeok Ilso and the Black Market, was ultimately just a coward who ran away.

My desperate struggle, my search for only the villains I could kill with my own hands, was because of that truth I had painstakingly ignored.

Guilt towards my friend.

Hatred for myself for not being able to step up boldly even at my friend's death.

To erase those things from my head, I had repeated my chivalrous acts and training even more tenaciously. Like a coward.

- If you’ve realized your mistake even now, please follow me in death, Brother Jin.

Once again, the voice of my friend, borrowing Hyeok Ilso’s mouth, is heard.

Perhaps tired of playing, my friend’s sword was flying towards my neck.

I stared blankly at the scene for a moment.

A sneer formed on my lips without me realizing it.

It was a sneer directed at myself.

“Brother Sama is not such a petty person to spout such nonsense.”

My friend and teacher was that kind of man.

A man who, if stabbed in the back, would blame himself for not recognizing the other person’s character.

Because he was a chivalrous hero for whom the expression ‘gentleman’ was truly fitting.

I let out a refreshing laugh at myself for not recognizing such a friend.

“Hahahaha.”

At the same time, I swung the Restoring Name Sword to meet Hyeok Ilso’s sword, which was aiming for my neck.

Clang!!

While Hyeok Ilso, superimposed with the Scholar Chivalrous Hero’s face, frowned and muttered to himself.

“Madman.”

I took several large steps back. Then, I boldly closed my eyes.

Yes.

This was not some chivalrous act for the future victims who would be harassed by the Black Market. It was not my friend’s revenge either.

This was simply a personal act for my own sake, to alleviate my self-hatred and guilt.

“Hoo.”

I opened my eyes again with a deep breath.

My vision became clear, as if the blood had been washed away by tears.

The face of the Scholar Chivalrous Hero that had been superimposed on his face had also disappeared.

“Was I too excited?”

It seemed I had fallen into an inner demon without realizing it.

If it weren't for the help of my dead friend, I probably wouldn't have come to my senses until the end.

Still, it wasn't a bad experience since I saw my friend's face after a long time.

Also, what goes around comes around.

When the illusion of my friend disappeared, the trajectory that had vanished was once again embroidering the air.

“Now I can see a little.”

The most perfect trajectory to plunge my sword into his vitals.