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Black Mask

Brown hair.

And within that mask, shining golden eyes.

White Qi wrapped around the sword.

With the delicate fragrance wafting through the vibrating air, I had to widen my eyes at the woman who appeared before me.

“You….”

Why did she suddenly pop up here? I was bewildered at the unexpected appearance of Yarang, who had come to my rescue.

“Yarang….”

Even the crow in front of me seemed to be taken aback.

“What are you doing?”

The crow asked Yarang with a fierce expression.

Whoosh.

Yarang spun her sword without answering, aiming the sharp tip at the fiend.

“Huh?”

The crow let out a breath in disbelief upon seeing that.

“Are you trying to interfere with me?”

“…….”

“I was attacking an enemy causing chaos in Mankye. What you are doing now is clearly against the will of Mankye. Are you aware of this?”

“…….”

Yarang remained silent. However,

Swish.

She moved the tip of her sword, pointing it somewhere—the blue Qi rising into the sky.

As I pointed to the shimmering energy that filled the heavens, the crow’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“Yes, as you can see, that creature seems to be plotting something in Mankye, and I am here to stop it. That is the evidence.”

What the hell is this crazy guy suddenly saying?

Is he blaming me for this? I couldn’t help but let out a bemused laugh.

‘What that means is…’

Blaming me for something she saw means,

‘It signifies that something was happening without the knowledge of other generals or masters.’

It seems I wasn’t the only one involved in this mess. Just as I had that thought, I opened my mouth to speak, but—

Swoosh.

Yarang’s sword did not move. It only pointed its blade towards the crow.

“Sigh….”

Seeing this, the crow finally let out a quiet sigh.

Then he said, “Interfering for no reason. This constant interruption is getting annoying.”

In an instant, his expression changed, and he disappeared.

He flew right in front of Yarang.

His speed was so fast I almost lost sight of him.

But.

Crash!

Yarang nonchalantly blocked his trident with her sword.

Whoosh—!!

The white Qi shimmered and spread out.

I was certain of it.

‘Pa Ma.’

This is the energy of Pa Ma.

The current Wi Seol-Ah can use it, and also,

‘In her previous life, the Divine Sword was used against the Heavenly Demon.’

It’s the sacred energy that can destroy all evils.

The energy Yarang was using was indeed from the Divine Sword.

Crumble—

“……!”

The crow widened his eyes. As his trident touched the energy of Pa Ma, it shattered apart.

Immediately, he conjured another trident, but Yarang’s sword was already slicing through the air.

Swoosh—!!

It swayed rapidly. The white streaks crazily cut through the air.

Amazingly fast.

Even as he raised his power and attacked, Yarang’s blade seemed poised to effortlessly cleave through it all.

‘……This is.’

An incredible display of swordsmanship.

My eyes trembled before the intricately woven sword path.

I wasn’t surprised by her advanced sword skills.

‘It is the sword of the Divine Sword.’

The Moonlit Sword Dance that Wi Seol-Ah used.

The same sword path from back then was being replicated right before my eyes.

A beautiful performance.

The blade continued its dance, determined not to break its flow.

Crash—! Bang!

All the movements of the crow were resolved within that flow.

Whatever move he attempted was met with Yarang’s sword reaching the destination first.

Bang—!

With every touch of Pa Ma’s power, his trident broke apart repeatedly.

It was clear that Pa Ma’s power affected him. I couldn’t take my eyes off it.

“Ugh.”

How many tridents had shattered? By the time I lost count, it finally dawned on me.

“This girl…!”

The crow shouted, spreading his wings.

Whoosh—!

The two pairs of wings spread widely, bursting with fierce wind pressure, from which countless feathers erupted.

The number of feathers was enough to obscure the front completely. Just when I wondered how to deal with this,

Swish.

Yarang raised her hand.

Not the hand holding her sword, but her bare hand.

White energy gathered at her fingertips.

Realizing this, I thought to myself,

‘Could it be?’

Is she trying to do that?

Before I could finish my thought,

Whooooosh—!!!

Yarang’s fingertips glowed, and light erupted from behind her as well.

Fireflies.

White fireflies rose slowly into the air, twinkling like a calm wave.

As the created fireflies grew larger, each one transformed into a sword.

Dozens of swords appeared in mid-air.

With a flick of her fingers, Yarang activated them at once.

Crackle-crackle-crackle—!!!

The glowing swords that danced in the air moved as if they had their own will, shredding the feathers.

The white swords clashed with the black feathers, but the outcome was all too clear.

Not long after, the feathers dwindled.

When over half the swords remained, all the feathers had vanished.

Whoooosh—!!!

The swords spun in circles, gaining speed as they twirled through the sky.

Whooooosh—!!!

So fast was their rotation that they merged into a single ring that seemed to appear.

Whoosh.

Yarang moved her hand again.

ROOOOAR—!!!

The ring moved. The wildly spinning ring of swords shot towards the crow.

“Cough!”

The crow, upon seeing this, quickly spread his wings and flew away.

Crack-crack-crack—!!!

The ring gouged into the ground beneath.

Had he not dodged, he would have been annihilated right there.

The crow, whose wings were spread, saw the ground being torn up and tried to gather his power again.

“……!”

As if sensing something, he turned to look behind him.

There, Yarang was already getting closer, preparing to attack.

Swoosh—!!!

“Ugh!”

His back was sliced. With that impact, the crow plummeted to the ground.

Bang—!

With a small sound, as soon as the crow fell, swords poured down from the air.

Crash-crash-crash—!!!

Countless swords rained down.

“Graah!”

Screams echoed as swords impaled his limbs, pinning him down.

“Ughhh!!”

The crow attempted to move in desperation. But his body was trapped, and he could only tremble futilely.

Then,

Swish.

Yarang aimed the tip of her sword at the crow.

Whooooosh.

The white Qi expanded brilliantly. And as the sword’s size grew larger,

Thump—!

Yarang swiftly thrust the sword into the crow.

Just before the sword pierced the ground where the crow lay,

“Stop—!!”

The crow shouted.

At that moment, my body froze. It was a command.

“……!”

The aftereffect wasn’t just on me; Yarang’s body swayed as well.

Whoooosh—!!

The sword swerved and pierced the side instead of hitting him.

An explosion occurred.

The ground shattered with a jolt.

Caught in the tremendous blast, my body was pushed back. I barely managed to hold my foot down.

Only then did I realize my body had fully healed. Although my energy was over half depleted, it was still no strain on my body.

“Ha.”

Taking a deep breath, I focused my eyes to check the situation through the rising smoke.

As I gazed beyond the smoke,

Clang—! Shatter—!!

Light burst forth ceaselessly. Not long after, something burst through the smoke.

It was Yarang.

Seeing her approach, I hurriedly moved.

I supported her back to keep her from falling further back.

Yarang successfully performed a roll.

She spun her sword half a turn, regaining her stance. I understood then; the fight was far from over.

“Damn it—!”

A raucous voice rang out. At that sound, the smoke that had enveloped the area vanished.

Woahhh—!!

As the dust cleared, the crow’s condition came into view.

It was tragic.

Blood poured from the wounds on his body, soaking the ground. His limbs were no better off. Unlike earlier when he was fighting me, healing from his injuries didn’t seem to be functioning.

Could this also be an effect of Pa Ma?

“……You damned girl. You were hiding this kind of power?”

With a painful expression, the crow questioned.

“It seems there’s a reason the Master of Mankye treated you as his daughter. Ha. How irritating.”

The crow growled, clenching his hand. In his clenched fist, a trident already appeared.

Clearly, Yarang had the upper hand in this situation, but

“This isn’t going according to plan. That’s something I truly didn’t expect.”

Even in that situation, the crow didn’t seem to feel an imminent sense of danger. Instead, there was merely a hint of confusion and disappointment.

“……I can only apologize to my Master.”

The crow whispered, lifting his hand.

“But if I can dispose of you here, that will be enough. After all, the Master of Mankye must already be in a bad state.”

Seeing this, Yarang moved. I followed suit. For some reason, it felt like I had to stop whatever that was.

“……It’s something inappropriate for an audience. But it can’t be helped.”

Whoosh—!!

The Holy Spear and the sword of Pa Ma burst forth with brilliance.

As we charged toward the crow, he declared,

“Welcome, noble beings. You insignificant ones.”

With the crow’s words,

Bang—!!!

The whirlwind spinning in the sky suddenly plummeted down towards the ground.

 

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