The moment the Tyrant King’s objective became clear, I looked at him and thought:

‘Records.’

What kind of records? I didn’t know that much, but I did know the thing he was after was the armguard.

‘The thing Yoo Cheongil stole.’

Just from the way he mentioned it directly, that much was obvious.

‘If I resolve this, I’ll think about it.’

I understood what that meant.

‘He’s probing me.’ 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

I felt it immediately. This old man seemed to think I had some kind of information.

Otherwise, there was no way he would react like that.

‘Ha.’

What should I do? Should I say I know something? I was mulling it over for just a brief instant when—

‘Wait.’

Something about what he said struck me as off.

The biggest problem here.

‘How did the Tyrant King know the thing he was looking for was in Blue Moon Sect?’

If he was confident enough to say he would consider it if I resolved it, then—

‘That means he has information.’

And if so, that also meant someone had given him that information.

‘...Then.’

My mind started spinning fast. Like a carriage wheel rotating like mad, it kept turning without end.

The lines connected.

The line that began in my head dug from the starting point to the destination in an instant.

And in the end, I realized something.

‘Baek Yeon.’

Moonless Old Sword, Baek Yeon.

It had to be him.

‘Baek Yeon is the source of the information.’

Someone who knew about the vault, and someone who seemed to have some kind of objective.

He was also one of the people I had considered a suspect in Yoo Cheongil’s murder.

‘...There’s a high chance he gave the Tyrant King that information.’

I called it a possibility, but to me it was damn near certainty.

Once I weighed all the circumstances, Baek Yeon was the only one it could be.

Up to there.

Once I had sorted that much out, I asked the Tyrant King.

“What kind of records are you looking for that you suspect Blue Moon Sect...? And you’re saying my master stole it?”

“That’s right. Your master, the Sword Saint, stole it and ran.”

“Why...?”

“...”

At the question of why, the Tyrant King shut his mouth.

Just when I was wondering what the hell his problem was this time—

[Why else? The bastard was messing around with liquor, so I taught him a lesson.]

‘...What?’

Liquor?

Again?

My face twisted up on reflex.

No way...

‘Don’t tell me... he lost something that important over a damn drinking bet...?’

That was absurd.

I was still wondering if that could seriously be the reason when—

[And even after getting thoroughly beaten, he said he couldn’t hand it over because it was important, so I took it by force.]

“...”

I had been wondering why he kept calling it stolen, but apparently Yoo Cheongil had refused to hand it over, so he took it anyway.

“...There were various reasons.”

And in the middle of all that, the Tyrant King actually looked away like he was too embarrassed to say it out loud.

Yeah, if that really was the reason, I wouldn’t be able to say it either.

What kind of childish backstory was that?

“Anyway, until that matter is resolved, I think I’ll have to put your request on hold. You can understand that much, can’t you?”

“...Mm.”

It bothered me a little, since this was different from when he had practically said he’d grant whatever I wanted.

‘But he’s not wrong.’

In that state, I did need to wait a bit.

No. Even aside from that—

‘At this point...’

I felt like I needed to confirm it.

What exactly that armguard was.

*****

Late at night.

Unlike last time, the moon had risen.

It wasn’t quite a full moon, but the moon shining calmly overhead was large enough, and close enough in size, to pour out more than enough light.

Around the time that moonlight was spilling down—

Click.

Inside a residence, a woman, Cheon Hyein, was pouring tea with a languid expression.

Perhaps because no one else was there, only a single teacup sat on the table as she poured.

Pour—

Right as the cup filled to the brim with tea—

“Senior Uncle.”

Breaking the silence, Cheon Hyein spoke.

At a glance the room seemed empty, but at her call, someone appeared.

“Would you like a cup?”

Cheon Hyein lifted the teacup as she spoke, and from the darkness emerged an old man with blue eyes.

Baek Yeon appeared and answered.

“No. I don’t feel like drinking anything right now.”

“Is that so? Then it can’t be helped.”

Sip. Cheon Hyein wet her pretty lips as she spoke.

“I heard you completed the mission well.”

“Ah, yes.”

Cheon Hyein nodded.

Completed the mission well... Despite her answer, her eyes were full of doubt.

What had she done, exactly?

She had done nothing. He had done everything.

‘Bang Seongyeon.’

A man she disliked. Impossible to read, and the moment you tried, it felt like he would just dig into you instead.

Thinking of that thoroughly obnoxious young man, Cheon Hyein frowned.

Then—

“I heard your younger brother opened his Moon Eyes too?”

At the mention of Cheon Eujin, Cheon Hyein’s rigid brow eased.

“Ah, yes. He managed it too.”

Who would have thought he would open his Moon Eyes as he rose to Peak? That part she truly had not expected.

‘Someday, sure.’

She had always thought he would manage it eventually.

But it had happened sooner than expected. Judging by her younger brother’s talent, she had thought it would take a few more years.

‘This too.’

It was all because of that man.

Something had changed when that man appeared. Her younger brother had changed.

‘The sect master too.’

Even that man, whom she had thought would never change for the rest of his life, had changed in some way.

Maybe Blue Moon Sect as a whole had changed.

‘Because of just one person.’

Though calling him just one person was a bit ridiculous, considering he was the Sword Saint’s successor, called the Moon Hero, and had even become the youngest alliance leader candidate.

‘...Even so.’

At the end of the day, he was still just one person.

She truly couldn’t understand how someone like that could create this much of a ripple.

“Hoo...”

Cheon Hyein let out a breath. She took another sip of tea as if to ease the tightness in her chest.

“The time is coming.”

Freeze.

At Baek Yeon’s words, the teacup stopped halfway to her lips.

The time.

At those words, Cheon Hyein’s face went blank.

“It’s good that it’s come, but... will I really be able to do it?”

“Do you think it will be impossible?”

“Well.”

She answered with uncertainty, but inside, she had already reached her own conclusion.

She thought it would be difficult. In their current state, even more so.

But—

“No. You can do it.”

Looking at Cheon Hyein, Baek Yeon spoke with utter conviction.

“If it’s you, it’s possible.”

“...Hmm...”

At those words, Cheon Hyein turned around. Baek Yeon was staring straight through her.

A feeling of certainty. Looking into those eyes, Cheon Hyein asked,

“Is there some kind of method?”

“There is.”

Baek Yeon nodded at her question.

“There is.”

His tone was firm. There really was a way? Could there be? Just as the doubt rose—

“I found Yoo Cheongil’s vault.”

“...!”

Cheon Hyein’s face changed at Baek Yeon’s words. Her eyes went wide as lanterns.

“...A vault? There was something like that? Where?”

“It was inside Blue Moon Sect.”

“Huh.”

Something like that existed in Blue Moon Sect? How could it?

Just as Cheon Hyein reacted in obvious shock—

“Inside it... there is something that could help you. If we can just find that, everything will be resolved.”

“What in the world is in there that makes you say that?”

“A divine pill passed down through Blue Moon Sect’s sect masters.”

“What?”

“If it’s there, then there should be ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) that divine pill, which only the sect masters are allowed to consume... and the method for making it. If only you can obtain that, there will be no problem.”

Just as she was wondering what sort of divine pill it was that made him react like that—

“Are you certain it’s in there?”

“I am.”

“In that case...”

Cheon Hyein had to ask the fundamental question.

“This vault you know of... are you saying Bang Seongyeon doesn’t know about it?”

“...”

The Sword Saint’s successor.

Was the man who could practically be called the true owner of the vault really unaware of it?

To that question, Baek Yeon answered with complete certainty.

“He won’t know.”

“Why?”

“If he knew, the things inside the vault would never still be there. And he would never have opened the space beyond it afterward. No matter how talented that bastard is.”

“...”

At the mention that there was yet another space inside the vault, Cheon Hyein frowned.

And then—

‘...He would never have opened it?’

That certainty. That confidence that Bang Seongyeon absolutely could not have done it.

That rubbed her the wrong way.

Because—

‘If it were him...’

The Bang Seongyeon she knew was exactly the kind of man who would casually crush expectations like that.

With that thought, Cheon Hyein spoke to Baek Yeon.

“Senior Uncle.”

“Yes.”

“The fact that you’re only mentioning the existence of the vault now means there must be a reason, right? In that case...”

Cheon Hyein looked at Baek Yeon and said,

“Can I go see that vault too?”

She was saying she wanted to see the vault Yoo Cheongil had left behind.

Hearing that, Baek Yeon smiled faintly.

“Are you curious?”

“Yes.”

How could she not be? It was a trace left behind by the Sword Saint of all people.

“Very well. Then let’s go now.”

Baek Yeon granted Cheon Hyein’s request. A vault with nothing inside. Still, somewhere within it, the divine pill was surely hidden.

That was all they needed to obtain. That was what Baek Yeon thought.

Never imagining that the divine pill had already been looted.

*****

“AH-CHOOO—!!”

I sneezed violently. Damn, now my nose was stinging.

I wiped the snot running down with my sleeve.

Seeing that, Yoo Cheongil looked disgusted and said,

[Disgusting little bastard...]

“What’s the big deal? It’s just snot. Ah, and now my ear’s itchy too.”

Is someone talking shit about me behind my back?

‘Could be.’

People talking shit was nothing new. Thinking that, I wiped myself off the rest of the way.

“Hoo.”

Right after that, I looked around.

At the moment, I was inside Yoo Cheongil’s storehouse.

My purpose was to check the Tyrant King’s armguard and the remaining sword marks.

“Let’s see...”

I was casually inspecting the piled-up items when—

“Found it.”

It didn’t take long for me to find the Tyrant King’s armguard.

“Hmm.”

I confirmed where it was, but I didn’t grab it right away.

‘If I do, I’m screwed.’

It belonged to Yoo Cheongil. Even if its original owner was the Tyrant King, right now it was Yoo Cheongil’s possession.

And if it was a ghost’s possession, that meant something entirely different.

‘So if I just grab it...’

Karma would come flooding in and I’d get hit with side effects, so I had to use another method.

“Let’s see...”

I pulled out a sheet of paper from inside my clothes. Yellow talisman paper.

The moment I took it out, I also pulled out a small bottle from another fold and opened the lid.

A fishy stench mixed with foul odor brushed past me. I stuck a finger inside. The moment the slimy sensation touched me, I dragged my finger across the talisman.

A red line was drawn. It was pig’s blood.

After writing a few characters with it, I attached the talisman to my arm.

WOOOOONG—!!

A faint vibration stirred from inside me.

The trembling of the soul.

‘It’s taken.’

A talisman made from pig’s blood. With that, I deceived the world.

I had covered my soul with something else.

‘Can’t use this for long either.’

At best, only for an instant. After that, the effects would hit me.

‘Do it now.’

I grabbed the armguard immediately. Then I turned it over and looked it over from every angle, but at first glance it was just an ordinary armguard.

‘What is this...?’

There was nothing there. What was supposed to be so special about it?

I kept fiddling with it, unable to understand, when—

WOOOOONG—

‘Hm?’

Something reacted from inside. What? Why is it reacting...?

‘Huh?’

The instant I felt the response, I let go of the hand holding the armguard.

Thunk—!

The armguard fell to the floor.

I was nearing the limit anyway, but I had realized something.

‘What the hell is this armguard...?’

It looked like nothing special, but this...

“It’s the Divine Sword...?”

It was an object I knew very, very well.