“Encountering someone you can’t defeat?”

Ilma scoffed.

“Just turn around and run, you fool. Why say something so obvious?”

“What if running isn’t an option?”

“Then close your eyes and beg for your life.”

“What if that doesn’t work…?”

“Then just die. If you’ve come to that point, dying is the right thing to do.”

Ilma tapped my forehead lightly.

“If you’ve already decided that you can’t win, why bother swinging your sword? If you value your life, just run. If you get caught while fleeing, you’ll die; if you manage to escape, that’s good enough. Is there anything to question about that?”

“…I realized after facing the Heavenly Demon. That I couldn’t run or fight.”

“It’s only natural when the Master is before you.”

“Then what should I do if I must draw my sword?”

“…You’re not seriously asking me how to fight the Master, are you?”

Ilma tilted her head skeptically. A growling sound was right in front of me.

“The Heavenly Demon is the Heavenly Demon. No one in this world can defeat the Master. Even if you point your sword at her, you might as well be a rat holding a toothpick.”

“…….”

“Given that we’re assuming an absurd situation, it can only be dismissed as nonsense. What are you? The Heavenly Demon? A passing dog would laugh. I could kill you without lifting a finger. The one above that is precisely the Master.”

“…But someday…”

“Someday, what?”

Ilma dismissed my words, telling me not to say such ridiculous things. Yet, it seemed she was thinking about a response to my question, as she spoke again a few days later.

“The question I mentioned before.”

“Huh?”

“When you must draw your sword against an unbeatable opponent. Such things happen once or twice in life, you know. You’re a foolish brat. Think again; that’s when you should run. It’s the right action, and by preserving your life for the moment, you can aim for the next opportunity.”

“…….”

“But, assuming it’s not the Master, if you must draw your sword…?”

I felt Ilma smiling beneath her mask.

“If it were me, I’d drag it out.”

“Huh?”

“If an unbeatable opponent toys with me, that’d be disgusting, right? So at least I’d leave a bite mark. I’m that kind of woman. How about you?”

“…I…”

I thought deeply.

Her words were correct.

I fear death. But if the situation has come to where I must die…

I want to show something.

That I’m different from before.

I’m not someone who just suffers.

“…I’m like you, Ilma.”

“Don’t act like you’re the same as me.”

I received a kick to my shins. Ilma clicked her tongue.

“If you’ve drawn it, then forget thinking you can’t win. That way, you might at least leave a bite mark.”

“…….”

“Remember this, you fool.”

Ilma moved her hand sharply.

The atmosphere trembled.

“No warrior extends their sword expecting to lose.”

…

I catch my breath. My vision is hazy. I can’t see clearly.

I grip my sword. My fingertips are dull, even though my wounds have healed. My entire body refuses to obey.

Is it a limit of stamina? No, it’s not that.

The sword.

As my opponent’s sword clashes with mine, something eerie digs into my inner strength. It tries to rob me from within and makes me kneel.

“I thought one second would be enough.”

The Soul Stealing Sword spoke, lost in thought.

“But after clashing my sword, I realized. I changed it from one second to ten seconds. But after swinging through the ten seconds, I extended it to thirty seconds.”

“…….”

“It surpassed my expectations. But still, it’s thirty seconds. That’s the threshold I set. Thirty (Male). The limits of my four voids within me are that much. It was astonishing growth for my age, but I thought I wouldn’t be able to endure to that point. Soul Stealing Sword. Do you know what it is?”

The Soul Stealing Sword, Noh Hwa-cheon, twirled the sword.

“The Soul Stealing Sword is a blade that steals the opponent’s soul. It absorbs your inner strength and stamina, turning them into my own. Anyone who mixes with me will destroy themselves. As I fight, I grow stronger, and the more you clash your swords, the weaker you become. The larger the gap in our levels, the sooner that distortion occurs.”

“……”

“But… I definitely expected… thirty seconds…”

Noh Hwa-cheon shrugged.

“You surpassed a hundred seconds. What in the world are you?”

I opened my mouth to answer the question. But all I could hear was the sound of air escaping.

My entire body was drained of energy. I barely had a bit of inner strength remaining, and even that was wavering.

I was dying. Outwardly, I looked fine, but I was nothing more than an empty shell.

The Soul Stealing Sword.

I already knew I couldn’t defeat him. But still, I had to hold on.

I poured in my bones, and I ground my very own life.

In the end, I even split time to snag him, but now that too was reaching its limit.

I tried to stand, but my weakened legs collapsed on their own.

No more…

There’s nothing left to give.

Yet, I stood.

Leaning on my sword, like a doll that could shatter at any moment.

“…A spirit holding up a failing body. That isn’t something anyone can do. Yet, you know, that’s reckless. Your body can’t swing a sword anymore, so it’s basically dead. You could be said to be done as a warrior. Your blood flow is twisted, and your dantian is on the verge of breaking. What do you have left?”

“…….”

What… is left.

I dug into my memories. What is left?

The tip of the sword trembled. The words I had spoken resurfaced.

“There’s still one left. The Bodyguard of Sma Family.”

I claimed the unfavorable position. There was only one reason.

I didn’t want him, who had done nothing wrong, to die. I had intervened knowing the circumstances, choosing to open my eyes instead of closing them.

Why?

—Because I wanted to.

I’ve always wanted that. I always wanted to.

I wanted to step away from the silent me of the past. I wanted to shake my head and silently refuse.

Do you know the weight of silence? I do.

I know how cruel, twisted, and annoying it can be.

Life.

That life.

—Is a single life so heavy that it can throw itself into silence?

With that question, I raise my sword. My answer waits for me now.

The sword trembles, and everything feels about to crumble…

But my answer guides me.

That is my sword.

Within the winds of air, I refine my words. I manage to push air into my lungs and utter a phrase.

“The sword.”

With my exhalation, I remind myself once again of what I have left.

“The sword remains. The Soul Stealing Sword.”

“…Kuhuhuhu.”

The Soul Stealing Sword laughed.

“Kuahah! You madman! How unfortunate! There was none like you among those you’ve seen! If I’d had the opportunity, I would have taken you under my wing, but…”

The laughter in the Soul Stealing Sword’s voice disappeared. The gigantic blade it raised scraped the ground.

“The circumstances won’t allow it. I will let you go now.”

The sound of slicing through the air.

The weak sound of steps hitting the ground.

The end of that stance was faster than I could grasp. Even so, I reached out.

I reach for the sword.

—KAAAAAAANG!!!

The resonating metallic sound rang out. The sword intent trembled as if it would snap at any moment.

I coughed blood. For a moment, my vision went dark, and I reflexively bent forward.

The sword passed over my head. Soon, the sword, which had its trajectory changed, plunged down toward me.

I block.

I shatter.

The broken femur crumbles into dust on the ground.

“Ugh!”

I rolled away, my body scooting along the ground, swinging my sword in a shattered shape.

But the Soul Stealing Sword was faster in coming at me. The flash of the sword in front of me took my right arm.

Blood splattered.

I lost my sword.

“Now there’s truly nothing left.”

The world spun around me. I couldn’t even see the stars twinkling in the night sky.

The crossroads of life and death stood before me. I felt the whispers of the dead.

Just a breath away.

The moment that sword moves again…

Everything will end.

Would this body, racked with pain, finally find peace? If I give everything, will I be free?

“…Don’t die.”

My head spun.

I lost my sword, so isn’t it time to lie down now?

I want to rest. I long for rest. The pain of the Cheongeop, and the pain of my body breaking, are unbearable.

Pain piled upon pain. The body, which felt like it was going to shatter, now screamed to be saved.

…Perhaps in this world.

There could exist things that can’t be changed through effort.

In truth, I had thought so. Suddenly, a bit of that thought came in while wielding the sword.

The more the pain escalated, the more I struggled to endure. I was weak. Weak enough to doubt my own efforts.

That’s why I swung harder.

To prove my thoughts were wrong.

But I couldn’t stop thinking.

No matter how endlessly I swung my sword, wouldn’t I eventually fall into the ranks of those who can’t change?

“Endure! You jerk! If you can’t hold on, I’ll kill you!”

It may have seemed solid, but it was a perilous path filled with crisis.

I was walking that path, struggling not to look back.

The blade of the Soul Stealing Sword sparkled in front of me. I closed my eyes against that merciless straight sword cut.

Death is approaching.

I had no strength to resist it.

Some things you can’t change with effort.

And that was something that had slipped from my grasp…

“Once you draw it, abandon thoughts of losing.”

…slipped away…

“Only then can you leave a bite mark.”

…

..

.

I reached out.

Unknowingly.

Through the narrow moment of a gap, the crimson remnant slipped in. The face of the Soul Stealing Sword, which I thought had ended, twisted in an instant.

“Ilma (Male).”

My remaining left hand exploded into her waist.

—Kuda-duduk!!

“Ku-ugh?!”

The Soul Stealing Sword stumbled back, grasping its half-severed neck with its hands.

I pulled it in forcibly to land a hit. Gasping, I trusted in the regeneration of Cheongeop.

Why…

Why did I reach out?

The sword is far away. My right arm is severed.

The tide has clearly tilted. I am collapsing while my opponent is still full of life.

Holding on only means more pain.

I know that better than anyone.

“What the hell…?! How are you doing this with that body?!”

I drew a breath. I looked down at the fist I had clenched.

Ilma. The basis of Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique.

That crimson remnant whispered to me. It awakened what I had forgotten and revived old memories.

“No warrior extends their sword expecting to lose.”

…It was only natural to be filled with doubt since I had forgotten the teachings through pain.

I gather my hands. Clenching my fist, I steady my breath.

I struggle.

My life has always been a struggle at the edge of existence.

But this time, I had forgotten that. I was frightened by the pain and had entirely given up the fight.

Now that I’ve realized my mistake, I must correct it.

I walked. I reached for the sword I had lost. The Soul Stealing Sword, who had been watching me, questioned.

“Your arm is still attached…? What on earth are you…? ”

The blood-stained blade reflected the cloudy moonlight.

Who am I? What have I been striving for all this time?

The answer is simple.

There’s a back I long for.

I am running endlessly to follow her.

There’s no time for questions. No time to ponder.

In every single moment, I take the next step.

Thinking is a luxury.

Put it away.

That is the work of a scholar. It’s far removed from me.

I grasp the lost sword again. I respond to the question.

“There may be things in this world that can’t be changed through effort.”

Still, I walk. Into the sword I dropped, I whisper my fate.

…Yeah.

Sometimes, there are paths like that. Even if I try to turn away, I can’t avert my eyes from that back.

Then what should I do?

I need to move forward.

“I am a Warrior.”

To not leave my longing as merely a longing.

The distorted face of the Soul Stealing Sword expressed admiration. Finally, as if unable to bear it any longer, her shoulders shook with laughter.

“Ha…hahaha! Uwahaha! You madman! So what if that’s important now! What’s important is the sword! A warrior has nothing but the sword! You’re someone who leans your life at its end! What it is doesn’t matter! How you wield it is what matters!”

“…Draw your sword, Soul Stealing Sword.”

I discard my unstable position.

In return, I bare my teeth. I imbue the forgotten teachings into the blade’s tip.

As a warrior.

As someone pursuing the back of the Heavenly Demon.

“From now on, I’m thinking of winning.”

I put down the sword for endurance and draw the sword for victory.