WAAAAAAAH—!!!

I won.

WAAAH—!!

Little Sword Saint—! Little Sword Saint—!

I forced my breathing back under control inside the pouring roar.

I felt like I could collapse any second, but for now, I could at least stay standing.

“Haaah—”

The breath I let out was low, and the tension inside it was obvious.

The tight coil that had been squeezing my body until now slowly melted away.

And as that heat cooled and cooled again, my body started to tremble in a soft, helpless shiver.

“Ah—”

I let out a single syllable.

“I... won......?”

I won this?

I widened my eyes as I looked at the fallen Black-Grand Saber. He was down.

How did I even win?

Even after winning, I couldn’t believe it.

‘I won?’

Did I really beat that monster?

I couldn’t understand it. What the hell even happened?

I swung my sword like a madman, and then it ended up like this.

And—

‘At the end, I thought I was going to lose.’

My energy bottomed out. I couldn’t fight anymore.

But—

‘He came over and pulled me up.’

Black-Grand Saber walked over, hauled me to my feet—

and then collapsed.

‘......What. Don’t tell me he let me win?’ 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

For a second I thought he’d dropped on purpose, but with his personality, that didn’t feel right.

So why did he grab my hand and pull me up?

I didn’t know.

I didn’t know, but Black-Grand Saber had been unconscious for a while now.

“......”

With tired eyes, I stared down at him.

Someone ran over in a hurry and loaded Black-Grand Saber onto a stretcher.

Probably Peng Clan martial artists.

They carried him away.

And—

no, Peng Dojun’s face was still smiling.

Like he was completely satisfied.

I was the one who won, so why the hell did he look more satisfied than me?

Seriously.

“He’s a weird bastard......”

The words that had been stuck inside me spilled out on their own.

Ha.

I spoke—and a laugh slipped out.

Was I laughing because it was over, because I felt empty?

No.

This emotion wasn’t that simple.

This was—

‘Satisfaction.’

I felt satisfied.

Strangely satisfied that the match was over.

It’s fun. Yoo Cheongil kept telling me to admit I was enjoying it.

Looks like he was right.

‘......I’m enjoying it.’

I really do enjoy fights.

I hated pain, and I hated moving my body like it would drive me insane—

but while I was fighting, I didn’t even care.

Even when my body got cut, when I bled so much my head went light—

I didn’t care.

I just thought crossing blades was fun.

Drip.......

“Ghh.......”

Something ran down my body.

Blood.

The clotting I’d forced with inner power came loose, and it started pouring down.

My knees buckled like I was about to drop—

TAP—!

Someone caught me and held me up.

I turned at the calm touch—

“......Sword Phoenix?”

“.......”

Sword Phoenix.

I didn’t even know when she showed up, but she was supporting me with that slightly blank stare.

“......What.”

When did you get up here?

I stared at her, stunned, and she tightened her grip on the arm holding me.

Slowly, she guided me down off the tournament stage.

Soon we reached the waiting seats.

The moment I sat down, other people approached.

Doctors—judging by the look of them.

“Please excuse me for a moment.”

One of the doctors asked permission and checked my body.

After inspecting my wounds here and there, he hurriedly brought bandages.

While treating me, the doctor explained.

“First, congratulations on your victory. The injuries are not immediately deep, however... the level of physical fatigue has accumulated to a significant degree.”

His face looked a little grave.

“You must prepare for the next match, but in this condition, we recommend forfeiting... What do you think?”

He was recommending a forfeit.

I had to fight the next match—the final.

And it wasn’t even the next day.

It had to happen today.

So if my condition was like this, he was saying I should give up instead of forcing myself onto the stage.

‘......Forfeit.’

He was right.

For now, forfeiting was the right call.

And it was obvious who my next opponent would be.

‘Sword Phoenix.’

The woman who’d just supported me down.

That woman looking at me with those black, emotionless eyes.

With the matchup, it was obvious Sword Phoenix would win, and in the end, the final would be her versus me.

‘Can I win?’

I didn’t know.

Even at my best, I didn’t know whether I’d win or lose against her.

Going out there like this meant I’d lose for sure.

I knew that.

But—

“......It’s fine. I’ll do it.”

My mouth said something stupid, completely separate from reason.

“......Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

The doctor reacted like he couldn’t believe it, and I gave the same answer anyway.

After that, the doctor didn’t say anything else.

He just started applying more wound salve.

He didn’t push the point.

Maybe he was used to it.

The dumb choices martial artists made.

“Huuu.......”

I breathed and steadied myself.

The heat still hadn’t cooled.

The aftermath of my fight with Black-Grand Saber.

And—

BZZZT—!

‘......Damn it.......’

The muscle pain that flooded my whole body, too.

Moon Heaven’s side effects.

Just like last time—every muscle screamed.

Even feeling that, I didn’t open my mouth.

I noticed it the first time I used Moon Heaven, but the doctors couldn’t recognize this muscle pain.

And if I groaned about being in pain, they’d just assume my condition was worse.

So I kept my mouth shut and endured it.

As I rolled my eyes with tired focus—

Step.

Someone approached.

Sword Phoenix.

“......Why.”

I asked, looking at her.

“Aren’t you up next?”

Sword Phoenix nodded.

“Then why are you here? Go prepare.”

“.......”

No answer.

She just stared at me.

What kind of look was that?

I stared back. I couldn’t read her emotions.

But given the situation...

“Don’t tell me you’re worried?”

“.......”

Sword Phoenix still didn’t answer, but for some reason I felt like that was the right one.

I let out a snort.

“If you’re worried, then why don’t you just lose next time.”

“.......”

This time, unbelievably, Sword Phoenix shook her head.

“You’re worried, but you won’t lose on purpose?”

Nod.

“......What the hell is that. Then go prepare for the match. I’m going to rest.”

“.......”

Sword Phoenix slowly stepped back, like she really was going to listen.

Then she disappeared.

‘Jesus...’

Everything hurts.

Feeling it, I laughed.

I’m really forcing myself to endure this.

If it hurts, I can quit.

If it’s hard, I can just not do it.

But here I am, insisting I’ll do it anyway—pulling this idiot act.

It’s ridiculous.

‘It’s all because of that old bastard.’

He blew pointless wind into me.

He shoved a weird kind of passion into someone who was planning to live without caring about anything.

It’s all his fault. I was sure of it.

‘And where the hell did he go, anyway.’

I won—so where did Yoo Cheongil disappear to?

Same as always.

This guy was never around when I needed him.

Even now.

*****

Around the time the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering was in full swing—

in the mountain range behind it, several people had gathered with hard expressions.

All of them wore pale blue clothing.

Clothes that marked them as members of the Martial Alliance.

Among them, a middle-aged man who looked like the highest-ranking spoke to his subordinates in a heavy voice.

“Split up and search. Move quickly.”

“Yes, sir!”

At his words, the men scattered in an instant.

Not a flicker of hesitation.

After they spread out to carry out the order, the man moved deeper into the mountains with a rigid face.

‘Where did he go?’

He was one of the Martial Alliance’s commanders.

A commander of the investigation unit managed by Thousand-Mile True Sight—

and he was moving through the mountain range to carry out an order directly issued by the strategist.

The contents of the order were simple.

—It has been confirmed that a problem has occurred with the Baek family. The person currently called “Cheonin” of the Baek family is an individual using a false identity and is presumed to be a remnant of the DEMON CULT.

—Upon discovery, suppress immediately and transfer to the Martial Alliance.

A mission of investigation and suppression.

And a DEMON CULT remnant?

Remembering that, the commander’s brow furrowed.

‘The DEMON CULT...’

Those bastards everyone thought were gone—how could they show themselves again?

And worse—

‘In Henan, the center of the righteous factions?’

Unbelievable.

Those filthy things were back.

To the commander, who had experienced the war as a child, it was even harder to accept.

So he would handle it—no matter what.

If the order was true, then the man called Baek Cheonin was evil.

He had to be captured, by any means necessary.

‘The last place he was seen was here.’

Baek Cheonin vanished right after the event ended.

And the last reported location was this mountain range.

The Martial Alliance had patrols moving nonstop, like they’d drawn a net over it.

Getting in could happen.

Getting out wouldn’t have been easy.

Which meant—

‘He’s hiding somewhere in these mountains.’

For whatever reason, he was keeping his body here.

And the commander had to find him.

‘Where are you.’

Traces of the DEMON CULT.

The commander’s parents had died in that war, and the war itself had been beyond horrific.

The peace they had now was built by enduring that desperate time.

They could not go back to that.

So the commander moved like a man possessed.

After a long search—

—Commander.

A voice transmission came through.

—We found traces.

The commander stopped dead and turned at once.

—Order all members to gather.

—Yes, sir.

With that command sent out, he sprinted toward the location the transmission indicated.

After running for a while—

“This is the place.”

A member was crouched on the ground.

The commander approached and assessed the situation.

“......This is.”

It wasn’t obvious footprints {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} or anything like that.

“It looks like someone erased what was here.”

Signs something had been wiped.

At that, the commander immediately sent out his perception.

His sharp perception scattered through the area in every direction—

“......Found you.”

At last, he pinpointed a single spot.

There.

—Move.

His voice dropped. They were close enough that sound mattered.

He led his people forward—only to find a cave.

Obstacles were set up here and there, making it hard to see inside.

But it wasn’t enough to fool the investigation unit.

—What should we do? Contact the combat unit...?

A member spoke carefully, but the commander shook his head.

—We’re not looking to start a battle. We continue the investigation. Cheongho, report this location to Main Alliance Headquarters.

—Understood.

The man called Cheongho turned back.

After sending him, the commander slipped inside.

The cave was wider than expected.

He walked deeper.

Soon, the end of the passage came into view.

A rounded interior.

And someone standing inside it.

The commander flinched when he saw it.

‘What?’

He panicked.

The person wasn’t hiding.

They were just standing there.

The problem was—

‘I couldn’t sense him.’

The commander couldn’t feel a trace of presence from the figure standing there.

That was the problem.

Then—

“Are you a guest?”

“......!”

The figure turned their head and looked at the commander.

The commander confirmed the face and immediately drew his sword.

SWISH.

“Baek Cheonin. Information has come in that you are a remnant of the DEMON CULT. To confirm, you will come to Main Alliance Headquarters. Do not try anything unnecessary. Surrender.”

The commander said it with a sharp blade aimed forward.

Baek Cheonin smiled.

“......Interesting. Where did you get that information...?”

“You can speak at Main Alliance Headquarters.”

“...Hah.”

Baek Cheonin frowned like he was irritated.

“Look there.”

Then he spoke while staring past the darkness.

What?

‘Is someone there?’

As the commander hesitated—

“I told you it got annoying.”

At Baek Cheonin’s follow-up—

“Interesting.”

“......!!”

The answer came from right behind the commander.

The commander spun around, eyes wide—

“What...?”

Bodies lay on the ground.

The members of the investigation unit he’d brought.

Every one of them had collapsed with their throats cut.

“What the—”

The commander flinched at the sight—

Slide.

“Huh?”

But despite his stiff body, his gaze moved on its own.

Slowly twisting, dropping toward the floor—

and only then did the commander understand.

Ah.

My throat got cut.

Thud-thud-thud—

The commander’s head rolled to the ground, and his body crumpled down.

A commander called one of Main Alliance Headquarters’ greatest forces died without resistance.

Step.

The one who had cleaned up so many in an instant walked out of the darkness toward Baek Cheonin.

Blue eyes flashing, he spoke.

“I’ve confirmed it. Looks like the Young Sect Leader was right.”

“.......”

Baek Cheonin frowned—

but the man didn’t stop.

“We’ll start the festival immediately.”

The man—

the Palace Lord—said it like that as he slid his sword away.

CLINK.

Steel went into the scabbard.

And with that sound, the Heaven-Breaking Palace Lord spoke.

“From this moment on, we kill the Divine Spear and the Little Sword Saint.”

At those words—

—Understood.

—We obey.

The darkness spread in all directions answered.