The crowd was silent.

All that could be heard was the faintest sound of breathing, and no one readily let any reaction show.

Every gaze was fixed on the platform.

Hm. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

A woman with cold features, yet clear, finely cut lines.

Cheon Hyein opened her eyes while holding her sword in a perfectly straight posture.

The instant her vivid blue eyes came into view, the people watching let out brief sounds of admiration.

Beautiful. Cheon Hyein’s presence was undeniably that.

I’ll give credit where it’s due. Forget whether her face was pretty or not. Her presence was the real thing.

...Pulling that off is a skill in itself.

A mood she had deliberately created. I knew that state was something Cheon Hyein had consciously staged.

Even though she can’t be feeling well.

They said it wasn’t a major wound, but she still had to have bandages wrapped around her chest, and yet she maintained that rigid posture. The low-lidded eyes. The thin, measured breaths.

As all those elements came together one by one, they produced an atmosphere so mysterious it almost didn’t feel real.

I watched it with dull eyes, yet admiration still slipped out of me.

The fact that she can control it at all is impressive.

To intentionally create that kind of presence. If that wasn’t talent, then what was?

Whatever the original is like, I’ll acknowledge what deserves acknowledging.

It was exceptional. That wasn’t something you got just by being beautiful.

Which was exactly why Cheon Hyein put me on edge even more.

She probably doesn’t even have a real face anymore.

If you live like that for long enough, people forget what their original shape was.

Cheon Hyein was already clever enough as it was. If she could immerse herself that perfectly even in fake selves like those, then maybe even she no longer knew what her real self was.

At least, that’s how it looks to me.

I’d known someone who lived like that once.

And in the end, I’d watched that person lose themselves and fall apart.

“Hm.”

As I remembered that and let out a quiet breath through my nose—

Something tugged at my sleeve.

It was Yu Yeon.

“What?”

I asked why she was suddenly pulling at me, but instead of answering, Yu Yeon just stared at me.

“...What’s with that look?”

“......”

“What?”

I still got no answer. We only traded looks for a moment, and then, before long, Yu Yeon turned her head away again.

What the hell? If you were just going to do that, then why look at ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ me at all?

Well.

She wasn’t exactly normal either, but it wasn’t like she’d ever been normal in the first place.

Honestly.

None of them were normal. This one, that one, all of them.

Especially—

That one.

The person standing across from Cheon Hyein. From where I stood, that bastard was the strangest one there right now.

Yu Yul.

Yu Yul, the Silver Moon Sword. The way he narrowed his smiling eyes and grinned like that was unbelievably irritating.

Just looking at him made my temper flare for some reason.

Maybe I’m being too biased against him.

Was it because our first impression of each other had already gone to hell? No matter how much I tried to see the Silver Moon Sword favorably, it wasn’t easy. He just looked bad to me.

...Tch.

I stared at the Silver Moon Sword, then asked Yu Yeon instead.

“Hey.”

“...?”

“Who do you think wins?”

At my question, Yu Yeon looked away from me and back toward the platform.

One of her fingers moved lightly.

What her fingertip pointed to was Yu Yul.

Not the slightest hesitation.

“...You think the Silver Moon Sword wins?”

Nod.

Yu Yeon nodded firmly. Her attitude was absolute.

So she’s sure.

Completely certain that out of Cheon Hyein and the Silver Moon Sword, the Silver Moon Sword would win.

That unwavering certainty felt strange, but I wasn’t much different.

Then again...

I thought the same thing.

Like I said before, credit had to be given where it was due.

The Silver Moon Sword is strong.

That bizarre bastard was strong. I could tell because I’d exchanged blows with him before. Compared to Cheon Hyein, I thought the Silver Moon Sword would come out ahead.

Which raised one more question.

“What about if you fought him? Who do you think wins?”

If the Silver Moon Sword and Mount Hua’s Sword Peak fought, what would happen?

At that question, Yu Yeon paused for a moment.

Then she looked at the Silver Moon Sword with those strange eyes of hers. She seemed to be thinking.

Maybe that question was harder?

I was watching Yu Yeon hesitate when—

She moved her finger again.

But this time, there was one difference.

She curled it.

She didn’t point at anyone. She just folded the finger in.

What was that supposed to mean? I waited for her reaction, unable to interpret it—

Ah.

Something changed in her.

Her eyes.

Emotion had gathered in the eyes that were fixed on the Silver Moon Sword.

That was—

Competitive fire.

That emotion in Yu Yeon’s eyes was unmistakably competitive fire.

The desire to fight. Looking at the Silver Moon Sword, she was drawing that battle-hunger up.

Hah.

The moment I saw it, I understood her answer.

So she doesn’t know.

She didn’t know who would win.

That was why she wanted to fight and find out.

That much came through clearly.

And then—

Ssssss—

Damn it.

Something alien stirred from Yu Yeon as her fighting spirit rose.

The scent of the Heaven-Slaying Star.

As Yu Yeon’s competitive fire rose, so did that presence.

Maybe he felt it too.

The Silver Moon Sword’s eyes shifted suddenly. His gaze came straight toward Yu Yeon.

The moment I saw that, I planted my hand on the crown of her head.

“What are you doing?”

“......”

I pressed the Heaven-Slaying Star down.

I moved my energy the way I had learned before, suppressing it as if pressing directly on the soul.

As I controlled the Heaven-Slaying Star, Yu Yeon’s energy gradually settled.

“......”

And I saw the competitive fire drain from her eyes.

I let out a breath at the sight of it finally calming down.

What is this, taming a wild beast?

What was I supposed to do if the Heaven-Slaying Star decided to crawl out at times like this? How the hell had Seongheon lived while keeping something like this under control?

After barely forcing it back down, I turned toward the platform again. In case it sprang back out, I kept my hand on her head.

Maybe that looked ridiculous.

The Silver Moon Sword smirked.

That bastard?

He was laughing?

My irritation surged at once.

...You’re laughing at this— huh?

Then I glanced to the side and saw Cheon Hyein was looking this way too. Her eyes looked faintly twisted into a frown.

What was her problem now? I stared back like I was asking what she was looking at, and Cheon Hyein sharply turned her head away.

What the hell?

Just as I was staring at her in confusion—

“We will now begin preparations for the bout.”

The judge spoke.

At those words, the two of them began to ready themselves.

*****

Clang.

Clang.

The swords drawn from their scabbards leveled toward each other.

Cheon Hyein’s eyes narrowed as she gripped her sword tightly.

What is this.

Why had that annoyed her?

Even she didn’t know.

What is that man doing?

He happened to be nearby, so she had only looked over for a moment, but for some reason he was stuck right up against Mount Hua’s Sword Peak.

That hand resting on her hair looked absurd.

Is he just cashing in on that face of his?

He seemed like the sort of man women gathered around no matter where he went. Was that it? Was he simply living off that face? Everywhere he went, someone seemed to get tangled up with him.

...Tch.

She clicked her tongue inwardly.

She didn’t even know why she cared.

She had to be out of her mind. That was the only answer.

This isn’t what I should be wasting thought on.

Why was she paying attention to something so ridiculous? It was absurd.

Of all things.

Was the problem that he had changed into exactly her type?

How laughable.

Idiot.

She strangled the emotion dead.

If something this stupid could shake her, then there had been no meaning in the way she had lived until now.

Even the tip of her sword wavered as though it had been swept up by that emotion.

That was bad.

She was forcing it back down, trying to recover her flow, when—

“You seem distracted by something.”

The Silver Moon Sword’s voice reached her.

“...Mind your own business.”

Cheon Hyein’s reply came out sharp.

Even to herself, her voice sounded vicious.

“Ahaha. So I’m still hated, then?”

The Silver Moon Sword spoke with an easy laugh, as if nothing were wrong.

Even that smile irritated Cheon Hyein.

“Hated?”

Would something that mild even cover it anymore?

No.

If anything, maybe it wasn’t even that now.

“It just stopped mattering. That’s all. It isn’t hatred.”

“Really? Then if it’s not hatred, I suppose that’s a good sign?”

“......Haa.”

A sigh escaped her on its own.

Talking to this man still did that to her.

Even now, after all these years.

Cheon Hyein brushed a hand over her forehead as if easing the pressure in her chest.

“And yet you used to chase after me, saying you liked me. Have you grown up already?”

“...Enough nonsense.”

There had been a time like that.

A very long time ago.

Back when she knew nothing.

Slowly, Cheon Hyein set her stance.

“Hmm...”

Seeing that, the Silver Moon Sword scratched at his cheek.

“I thought we might chat a little. You’re still impatient.”

Whirl.

He spun his sword once, then took his stance as well.

“Fine. It’s been a while, so shall we enjoy a little game together?”

“...A game?”

Was that still all this was to him?

It felt like something was scraping at Cheon Hyein’s insides.

“The bout...”

After confirming that both were ready, the judge raised a hand.

“Begin!”

The instant the word rang out, Cheon Hyein unleashed Sword Aura.

“Hup—!”

With a sharp shout, she burst forward.

This sword was different from her usual one. A sword strike with its elegance stripped away and its force compressed instead.

Not the dancing style that had earned her the name Moon Dancer, but a violent sword path.

Crunch—!!!

Sword marks tore across the platform.

“Oh.”

The Silver Moon Sword voiced his admiration.

But he had dodged.

Cheon Hyein was not surprised.

Krrrk—!!

The second sword.

Since she had already spent violence, what came next was flow.

She fed recoil into her softly twisted waist.

As though a ball were rebounding.

Light and swift.

Her sword spun at startling speed. Cutting through the air, it flew toward the Silver Moon Sword.

At the sight, the corner of his mouth lifted.

“You’re good.”

A short compliment.

What followed it—

Ting!

“......!!”

—was her sword springing up into the air.

The Silver Moon Sword had struck it upward using the blunt part near the hilt, turning the grip back.

That’s impossible—!

Not even the blade, but the hilt?

Cheon Hyein’s brow twisted deeply.

Grit.

She clenched her teeth and corrected her stance again.

Azure Moon Sword Dance.

Fourth Form.

Moonlit Night Golden Lotus Flash.

She cut through the stars.

The spread of Sword Aura was like the Milky Way itself. As it drifted outward in serene beauty, it was precious and magnificent.

A sword form handed down through the Azure Moon Sect.

Beautiful, yet the dense edge within it was clearer than anything else.

It was a well-honed sword.

The result of the brutal training she had endured.

It was with this sword that she had entered the Seven Rising Stars, so it was a sword path she took fierce pride in.

And yet—

“You’re good.”

That sword—

“You’ve improved a lot.”

Crunch.

—collapsed right in front of her eyes beneath those brief words of praise.

“......!”

The galaxy shattered beneath the sword the Silver Moon Sword swung.

The stars she had raised were the stitches that formed the sword itself.

And what should have connected along them was completely destroyed in his hand.

Two exchanges.

The Silver Moon Sword had casually cut twice.

And with those two exchanges, he destroyed Cheon Hyein’s stars.

Time stopped.

...How.

Was the gap still this wide?

You’re good.

It was the same thing he had said the last time.

It had been like that then, and now it was the same again.

As she stared at the crumbling fragments of stars, a smile appeared before her eyes.

Tap.

The Silver Moon Sword lightly touched her brow with his scabbard. She hadn’t even seen when he had sheathed the sword again.

“Keep training. That wasn’t bad.”

“......”

At his words, Cheon Hyein bit her lip.

And without realizing it, she looked toward that man.

Bang Seongyeon.

“......”

Bang Seongyeon was staring at the Silver Moon Sword with an unreadable expression.

And for some reason—

Cheon Hyein felt unbearably humiliated.

So much so that she couldn’t even understand why.