“...Bang Seongyeon wins.”

As I win the bout, I look at Yu Yul at the same time.

There is competitive fire in his eyes. Faint, but unmistakable. It is a look that was never there before.

Those eyes that always seemed to be smiling are filled with an alien air.

So even that man lets something like that show.

It is strange, but not surprising. At this point, competitive fire is not the only thing I am seeing in Yu Yul.

The eye.

The eyeball lurking behind that bastard even now. Looking at it, I click my tongue inwardly.

Tch.

It grates on me.

That thing keeps wandering around. So I need to deal with it.

How should I do it?

I think about it. How can I get rid of it?

No...

How do I...

How do I wreck it without making it obvious?

Wrecking it itself is not difficult.

That is the kind of life I lived.

That whole field was what I had done all my life, and even if martial arts were another matter, in that line of work I had confidence.

So if I get the chance, I can hit it.

The problem is—

it is no easy thing.

From what I can see, that eye itself is not simple.

It is more intense than I expected. Not in the sense that its spiritual energy is especially strong, or that it is highly perfected.

I cannot see it clearly.

The composition of the soul making it up does not properly register in my eyes. That alone is enough for me to sense that it is no easy opponent.

If nothing else—

if my eyes cannot catch it,

that means the one who made that eye handles immortal-class spirits, or else—

an evil-god-class soul.

A higher god.

Unless one handles something of that level, it cannot evade my eyes. No matter how much it shackles its own soul and kills its karma...

my eyes are special.

Ghost eyes. And among them, mine are eyes that can even behold the making of gods.

There is a reason Grandmother tried to spend her entire life covering my eyes.

Click.

I push my sword back into the scabbard. Then I turn and walk down.

*****

Right after finishing the first bout, I meet Cheon Uijin and Yu Yeon beneath the platform.

For some reason, the two of them are together.

Were they close? It did not seem that way.

If anything, Cheon Uijin openly found Yu Yeon uncomfortable.

Yu Yeon is the sort of person who is difficult to get close to in the first place. Maybe because of that, the whole time we were traveling together, Cheon Uijin had been uncomfortable around Yu Yeon.

That was definitely the case.

“So what brings the two of you together?”

At my puzzled question, Cheon Uijin reacts.

“Ah. We just somehow...?”

While speaking, Cheon Uijin sneaks a glance at Yu Yeon. What is this?

What?

There is a hint of caution there.

As if—

that is a lie.

It feels exactly like they had a reason for being together and are pretending otherwise.

My eyes narrow on their own. I squint and glare at Yu Yeon, but—

“...”

Yu Yeon quietly turns her head.

Which means she avoided my gaze.

“Hey. Why are you avoiding my eyes?”

“...”

“Young Master Cheon?”

“Hm? Ah—yes?”

“What exactly were you doing?”

“I do not know. No, that is not right. We were watching the matches.”

“...”

It is absurd.

How can someone be this bad at lying?

The way Cheon Uijin stammers halfway through is almost ridiculous. It is so absurd that I do not even press further.

...Well, there must be a reason.

If they cannot say it, then there must be a reason for that.

Prying into it would not suit my temperament.

“...Fine. Sure.”

I nod roughly, and the moment they think I am letting it pass, the two of them quietly let out a sigh.

...What?

If they were going to make it that obvious, did they never plan to hide it in the first place?

A hollow laugh almost escapes me, but I let even that pass.

Even aside from that—

right now,

there is somewhere else I need to focus. I turn my head and look toward the platform.

Yu Yul is already standing on it.

Together with his opponent.

Shnk.

The two of them draw their swords. Watching that, I sense something strange.

His expression. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Yu Yul is not smiling.

It is the first blank expression I have ever seen from him. The air around him is so different from when he smiles that I flinch without meaning to.

What is this?

Why does he feel like that?

While I am watching in confusion—

“Bout.”

The referee’s voice rings out.

“Start—!”

With that short cry—

Crack.

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Wh—?”

The people watching let out startled breaths.

Something flies through the air.

A sword.

The shattered tip of a broken sword spins through the air.

Clatter.

The broken blade rolls across the floor.

“...Uh...”

The owner of the sword can only stare blankly.

He has no choice.

Just now...

What happened?

Yu Yul is still standing where he started.

What is astonishing is that the sword he definitely drew has somehow already gone back into its scabbard.

It happened in an instant.

In that brief moment, Yu Yul drew his sword, cut away his opponent’s weapon, and knocked it aside.

Which means only one thing.

Before the other man even coated it in Sword Aura.

Once Sword Aura wraps around a blade, its durability rises. It cannot break that lightly.

Which means he struck and shattered it before Sword Aura could even cover it.

I did not see that moment.

I did not see the instant Yu Yul struck the blade.

Ha.

How fast does he have to be for that?

At that absurd moment—

“...”

I feel a gaze.

It is Yu Yul.

That bastard is looking straight at me.

I meet those narrow eyes and frown.

—How about it.

His voice reaches me.

—Is that enough of an answer?

Ha.

I let out a hollow laugh at the voice transmission.

I do not bother thinking about what answer he means.

The answer is obvious anyway.

I do not pay much attention to Yu Yul’s words either.

I am only curious.

Why?

Why is that man so concerned with me?

That is what I want to know.

Just then—

Slide. Click.

Yu Yul lightly draws the sword he is holding, then sheaths it again.

A small gesture, but its meaning is violent.

“The break is over.”

“What...?”

“Let’s proceed with the next bout right away.”

Yu Yul says it with a smile.

By putting the sword away once like that, he is declaring that the previous bout is completely over.

“...Right away?”

“Yes. Right away. There is no need to wait any longer. It was not °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° especially tiring.”

“...”

At those words, the man who had just fought him frowns. But perhaps he has nothing to say. He only grits his teeth and steps down from the platform.

“Now.”

Then Yu Yul looks at me.

“Come up.”

“...”

“It is time to do what we have to do, right?”

The words are calm, yet they sound strangely loud.

Probably because everyone is silent.

All eyes turn.

It feels like I have drawn a pointless amount of attention.

Ha.

A sigh escapes me. Irritation rises, and yet, absurdly enough, my feet are already carrying me up onto the platform.

“...Member Bang, are you all right?”

This time the referee asks me.

At that, I nod.

“Yes. Well... I am no different.”

I mean that I am not especially worse off.

That is a lie.

Not tired, my ass.

The moment I used Moonbolt, however briefly, fatigue began to pile up inside my body little by little.

Still.

I am not used to it yet.

Even after reaching transcendent peak and achieving rebirth, that part is the same.

It is a truly insane martial art.

The effect is certain, but the backlash afterward is maddening.

While I am still feeling that—

“Should I have shortened the rest a little?”

Yu Yul says it with a smile.

Hearing that, I frown.

“There is no need.”

“Really? Hm. It looked like there was.”

“...”

Sharp bastard.

Did he notice that I was feeling fatigued? How did he see that?

“You really do not need it?”

“...I do not.”

Is it pride?

Or stubbornness rooted in competitive fire?

From my perspective, it looks closer to useless pride.

It does not suit me at all.

Why do I keep...

Why do I keep showing this kind of pride whenever I get entangled with that man?

I cannot understand it.

“Really? Then that is good.”

Shrrrng.

Yu Yul draws his sword.

Seeing that, I draw mine as well.

The surroundings are quiet. They have been ever since the moment we stepped onto the platform.

Even the low whispers that had remained have vanished now.

In that silence, I shift my gaze.

Toward where the Lesser Moon Unit leader and Moon Immortal Sword are seated.

The sharp-featured handsome middle-aged man looks down at us with calm eyes.

There is no emotion on his face, but if I look closely—

interest.

I can tell there is interest in his gaze.

“Hoo...”

I let out a breath.

Then, before the bout begins—

“May I ask one thing?”

I speak to Yu Yul.

“Hm?”

“Why are you doing this to me?”

I am genuinely curious.

What exactly is this man doing to me?

“I do not think I have done anything. So why are you paying this much attention to me?”

I do not feel any malice from him.

That makes it even more irritating.

He is doing this to me without any malice at all.

“Hmm...”

At my question, Yu Yul scratches his cheek.

Then—

“Do I really need a reason?”

“What?”

“If you insist, I was simply curious.”

Slide.

The tip of his sword points at me.

The moment I am looking at that light-filled blade—

“I wanted to see how much value there was in the one who took my place.”

“...What?”

At the words that follow, my brow tightens.

What did he just say?

“What place of yours did I take...?”

“Your place.”

“What place do I have—”

“The Sword Saint’s inheritor.”

Ssshhh.

As Yu Yul speaks, energy gradually rises from his body.

A hard aura lightly veils him.

“That place. It was originally mine.”

“...?”

I have never heard anything like this in my life.

What kind of bullshit is that?

I am left staring blankly at him in disbelief.

Then—

“Ah—there is no need to care that much. It is already in the past... and I do not really have any lingering attachment.”

The bright smile on his face does not register properly.

“I already got what I wanted anyway.”

By the time the blue heat has spread over even his sword—

“So I am simply curious.”

The smile vanishes from Yu Yul’s face.

“The one sitting in the place I did not take—how much are you, really?”

A chill crawls down my back.

What is this?

The blankness on Yu Yul’s face, and the fighting spirit I feel from his sword, forcibly awaken my body.

“So show me. And also—”

Yu Yul quietly adds,

“Please let it be different from last time.”

“...”

The moment those words end—

“Bout—”

The referee raises his hand.

Then lowers it immediately.

“Start—”

At that word, Yu Yul’s presence vanishes.

I lost him.

I open Moon Eye too late.

Because I already missed him, I cannot see him.

Just then—

Sting.

...!

I feel something on my left.

I move my sword.

But instead of blocking the left, I scatter the blade to the right.

Clang—!!!

The blades crash together, sparks bursting out.

“Oh!”

Yu Yul sounds surprised.

That bastard really does appear on my right.

“Not bad. How did you know?”

“...”

He smiles as if satisfied.

Looking at that, I grit my teeth.

For fuck’s sake.

That place. It was originally mine.

Those words echo in my ears in a strangely persistent way.

No matter what, you beat him.

That is how I steel my mind.