“It was you.”

At those words, the tendons in my arm stood out.

I strained to draw the sword somehow, but it would not budge.

It felt like a massive boulder was pinning it down. What the hell is this man?

He looked to be well past sixty, judging by the rough tie of his black hair and the wrinkles on his face.

On top of that, he was enormous. If you looked closely, he was big enough to rival Divine Spear or Yoo Cheongil—those monsters built like walls.

“It’s definitely you. Right?”

“...Who are you?”

Who the hell was this, and why was he doing this?

I asked, baffled.

[Ha. Look at this bastard.]

Yoo Cheongil’s eyes lit up as he stared at the old man.

[So he really came. That bastard who ought to be buried in Xi’an really came all the way here?]

Xi’an.

The moment that word hit, my eyes widened.

An old man who had come all the way here from Xi’an.

If that was the case, only one person came to mind.

“...The Tyrant King.”

“Correct.”

The moment I said it, the area around us froze.

“The Tyrant King...?”

“Tyrant King Muk Yeokseong...!? Why would the ruler of Xi’an be here...?”

Just that one title alone was enough to shake the entire atmosphere.

He was one of the Five Kings of the World, and a man who had won the title of king through sheer martial force.

If anything, any other reaction would have been stranger.

The problem was—

“Why are you suddenly doing this to me, sir?”

It was how he had reacted the moment he appeared.

At my question, the Tyrant King’s brow arched.

“Why, you ask?”

CREEEAK.

“...!”

A sound came from the hilt he was gripping.

Don’t tell me it was actually cracking?

I jolted in alarm and was about to react—

SHIIING—!!!

KRAAAAAK—!!!

Sword force sliced between me and the Tyrant King, forcing us apart.

The pressure behind it was ferocious.

“Tyrant King.”

The one behind it was the Small Moon Unit Leader.

Radiating a fierce blade of sword force, he addressed the Tyrant King.

“It is an honor to meet one of the Five Kings of the World. However, this seems to go a step too far. This is Blue Moon Sect.”

KRRRUNCH—!!

The sword force swelled larger and larger.

At the pressure pouring from the Small Moon Unit Leader, the other unit members all flinched back.

“I would like to ask why you are behaving this way inside Blue Moon Sect.”

Battle intent and hostility mixed together.

The violent pressure kept bursting out.

The Tyrant King stared straight at the Small Moon Unit Leader.

“Unit Leader. It seems you’ve gained something since I last saw you.”

Had he read something from the man’s aura?

A strange light entered the Tyrant King’s eyes.

“That’s good pressure.”

“I appreciate the praise. However.”

SHRING.

The tip of the Small Moon Unit Leader’s sword pointed at the Tyrant King.

“You will have to explain yourself for threatening a disciple of Blue Moon Sect inside Blue Moon Sect itself.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then...”

KUUUUNG—!!!

The ground beneath the Small Moon Unit Leader’s feet trembled.

“I will have no choice but to act according to the laws Blue Moon Sect has set.”

“Well said.”

The Tyrant King rolled his shoulders as he spoke.

Don’t tell me—

Are they really about to throw down right here?

Just the thought of two absolute masters fighting made excitement flash across other people’s faces.

These people were insane.

What do you mean, excited?

This place was about to become the eye of a storm, and these martial artists were still getting interested.

I was telling you, every last one of them was out of their goddamn minds.

At the very least, I should put some distance between myself and this.

The moment I thought that—

“Enough.”

A blue flash dropped down with the word.

The instant he appeared, the air, which had grown heavy under the pressure of battle intent, turned light again in a single breath.

Moon Immortal Sword.

The sect master of Blue Moon Sect had appeared and stepped between the Tyrant King and the Small Moon Unit Leader.

“Sect Master...”

The Small Moon Unit Leader tried to speak.

But Moon Immortal Sword spoke first.

“Tyrant King. This seems to be a different matter.”

At those words, the Tyrant King unclenched the fist he had balled up.

“It was just about to get interesting. What a shame.”

“Did you not say you would accomplish your purpose and leave?”

“I did. But I got curious.”

The Tyrant King’s eyes turned to me.

“I couldn’t help wondering what kind of brat that damned Sword Saint had raised. So I decided I ought to see for myself.”

Step.

The Tyrant King walked toward me.

The Small Moon Unit Leader moved again, but this time Moon Immortal Sword stopped him.

“It’s you, isn’t it? It has to be.”

“...Pardon?”

“Among this lot, you’re the best. You were the fastest. That one wasn’t bad either, but...”

The Tyrant King flicked his gaze aside.

The one on the receiving end was Do Hyeong.

“Still, it’s you.”

“...”

“Answer me. Are you Moon Hero?”

“...Yes.”

“As expected.”

The fastest one here?

Was he talking about the pressure he had released earlier?

Apparently I was the only one who had reacted to it.

“You’ve turned out well.”

His attitude was like he was appraising an object.

His curious gaze kept sweeping over me.

“...Very well, in fact. Then—” 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

WOOOOONG.

Huh?

The hair on my arm stood on end.

I felt something from the Tyrant King.

Before that numbing pressure could even fully spread—

[Half a step back to the left. Raise your sword diagonally.]

At Yoo Cheongil’s quick words, I moved immediately.

And then—

KRAAANG—!!

A fist slammed into the flat of the sword I had raised at an angle.

KUUUUNG—!!!

“Urk!”

One knee crashed down and I staggered.

I ground my teeth and forced back a groan.

The Tyrant King had thrown a punch at me.

The impact nearly lifted the leg bracing me clear off the ground.

Shit.

I hurried to twist my body before I got flung away, but—

Tap.

Someone anchored my body before I could go flying.

It was Moon Immortal Sword.

He had caught me and was bleeding the shock away.

“You really don’t listen.”

A chill ran down my spine.

The killing intent pouring off him now was on a completely different level from the pressure the Tyrant King had been releasing earlier.

The air froze, and even the nearby disciples stiffened hard.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”

Moon Immortal Sword glared at the Tyrant King with a razor-edged gaze.

The Tyrant King, meanwhile, looked at his own fist and smiled as if satisfied.

“So you blocked it.”

“...”

“You. You blocked this.”

Was it really that strange that I had stopped it?

The Tyrant King kept staring at the face of his own fist.

“I like you. The Sword Saint really did find himself a decent one.”

“Tyrant King.”

What he was saying no longer mattered.

Moon Immortal Sword let go of me and stepped toward him.

Then Moon Immortal Sword flicked a finger.

Everyone focused on him, wondering what a man holding no sword at all was about to do to the Tyrant King.

KRK-KRK-KRACK—!

“Huh?”

“Wh—what...!?”

Suddenly came the sound of bones twisting.

Everyone snapped their heads toward it.

The Tyrant King had grabbed his own right arm and broken it in an impossible direction.

“That is my apology. My apologies. There was something I needed to confirm, but I went a bit too far.”

“...”

The sight of a man breaking his own arm to apologize shut everyone’s mouth.

He really did seem completely insane.

...So the old man was telling the truth.

An eccentric bastard no one could understand.

That was how Yoo Cheongil had described the Tyrant King.

Looking at him now, it really was true.

Though saying he was a man of few words felt a little off.

Moon Immortal Sword looked at me then.

“What would you have me do?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked what you would have me do with the Tyrant King.”

“...”

What would I have him do?

Was he seriously going to do whatever I said?

If I told him to kill him here, would he actually do it?

The thought crossed my mind for a second, but—

“...I’m fine.”

That was the only answer I could give right now.

Looking Moon Immortal Sword in the eye and asking him to fight the Tyrant King here would have been insane.

“Understood.”

Hearing my answer, Moon Immortal Sword withdrew his aura.

Then he turned and began walking away.

“Come with me. I will not overlook any further discourtesy.”

“Fine. I was rude.”

The Tyrant King moved to follow Moon Immortal Sword.

So that was it?

What a walking storm of a man.

As the Tyrant King slowly disappeared—

“Ah.”

He glanced back toward me and whispered.

—See you again later.

The voice transmission made me flinch.

It left me with a crawling feeling all over.

What the hell is wrong with that man...?

The Tyrant King.

The man they said was supposed to replace me as alliance leader candidate.

My first meeting with him left me with nothing but a deeply bizarre feeling.

*****

Right after the Tyrant King finished causing chaos and left, everyone was too rattled by his appearance for training to properly happen at all.

The Small Moon Unit Leader must have decided there was nothing he could do in this atmosphere either, because he called the training off.

After that, it was changed to everyone doing personal training on their own.

Thanks to that, I was able to return to my quarters and rest.

“Ugh... I slept hard.”

I lay down and rose again as if making up for lost sleep.

About one shichen seemed to have passed.

I pushed myself up.

Yoo Cheongil, sitting beside me, looked at me as though I were unbelievable.

[After going through something like that, you can still sleep?]

Sleep after something like that with the Tyrant King?

“Well, nothing actually happened in the end, and thinking about it won’t change anything. First thing I need to do is get rid of the fatigue.”

If I stayed awake, all I would do was waste time.

Better to rest, even if only a little.

That way I can get my head working again, too.

For sorting out my thoughts, this was the best way.

“Hoo...”

I looked around the room.

Apparently Do Hyeong still had not come back yet.

Seeing that, I shook off the drowsiness and thought.

The Tyrant King, huh.

A black-haired, massively built old man.

I tried to think through what sort of person the Tyrant King was from that attitude of his, the way he had acted like he had finally found me.

“...Old man.”

To do that, I needed Yoo Cheongil first.

[What.]

“Let me ask you something first. You don’t happen to have some kind of history with the Tyrant King too, do you?”

[What kind of history?]

“Like stealing his fiancée or ripping out one of his eyes. Something like that.”

[Look at this bastard. Do I seem like the kind of man who did something to every person he met?]

“Judging by everything I’ve seen so far, you absolutely do.”

[...]

For once, even Yoo Cheongil had no reply.

[I didn’t do that to him.]

“Really...? Seriously?”

[If you’re not going to believe me, why ask?]

“I still have to ask first. If that’s not it, then good—”

[Ah, right.]

“...Why?”

Was there something?

I asked with sudden ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) unease.

[You know. That thing from before.]

“That thing?”

[The item I put in that vault.]

“The item...?”

My thoughts turned over.

It did not take long before I remembered.

“Ah...”

There was something.

A piece of gear that looked like an armguard.

And Yoo Cheongil had said—

He’d stolen it from the Tyrant King.

That thing had belonged to the Tyrant King.

That was a problem, sure, but...

Honestly, I hadn’t cared that much.

It had not looked all that impressive at a glance.

And I had figured there was no way the Tyrant King had come all the way here just to get that thing back.

“There’s nothing else besides that, right?”

[Nothing. If there were anything else besides that, it would be a real problem.]

So he did know that, did he?

I let out a sigh of relief.

“That’s good. As long as that armguard isn’t some important heirloom his family passed down or something, then we can probably just let this part slide—”

[Oh? How did you know?]

“...What?”

My eyes narrowed.

What did he just say?

“...What do you mean, how did I know?”

[That armguard.]

Yoo Cheongil spoke as if genuinely impressed.

[That thing is a sacred heirloom passed down in his family for generations. Since he lost it, he must have gone through quite a bit of trouble. Kkhkhkh.]

“...”

Rub. Rub.

After hearing that, I dragged both hands over my face again and again.

Ah, for fuck’s sake...

It had been a while since I’d felt this strong an urge to go exorcise an evil spirit.