I won a victory by forfeit, out of nowhere.

I’d drawn my sword and tensed up for it, but instead I got handed a stupid win, so I just stood there scratching my cheek.

And then—

BOOOOOOO!!!

—What the hell is this!!

Jeers rained down from every direction. They weren’t aimed at me—they were aimed at my opponent.

People who’d been looking forward to the bout were pissed they didn’t get to see anything.

I get it. The fight right before this had to have been scorching hot, and then the last bout of the day goes ice-cold—of course they’d react like that.

Still...

...Thank god.

All I could do was keep breathing out in relief. Winning without having to work for it—how nice is that?

Bunch of damn lunatics. Do they love fights that much?

I’m the one who has to pay for it with my body. And they’re booing because I didn’t get into a brawl.

What a goddamn joke.

[Tsck tsck tsck tsck.]

Even Yoo Cheongil, acting like this was absurd, clicked his tongue as he hovered there.

[That cowardly bastard. He ran without even fighting? What a ridiculous thing.]

......

Yeah. The world really is insane.

If it were me, I would’ve bolted too, so what’s the big deal?

...Not that I even know what I did.

I beat the Wudang Cloud Dragon while blacked out, and even though I only saw the Black-Grand Saber and Do Hyeong’s fight for a moment, it was savage in a way that didn’t feel human.

And Baek Cheonin versus Sword Phoenix was elegant and flawless and razor-sharp.

If you weren’t on that level and you tried to step into the same ring, how could you not be terrified?

I understand.

If it were me, I would’ve run.

Spear guy whose name I can’t even remember properly.

I get you.

I nodded solemnly and sent him my gratitude.

Other people might not know, but I was the one who benefitted from this. I was lucky I didn’t have to fight.

Thanks to him, things got easy.

My body still wasn’t fully recovered—everything had been stiff and aching all day—so being able to save my stamina was a win.

“Hoo.”

I was about to step down from the tournament stage with a sigh when—

“It’s a shame.”

The referee spoke to me like he truly felt sorry.

“But don’t be too disappointed.... Tomorrow’s bouts aren’t just something the other fighters are looking forward to. Everyone’s waiting for them.”

“...Ah. Yes.”

Is he... comforting me because I didn’t get to fight today?

If that’s what this is—

Then the world is definitely out of its mind.

Every last one of these people is weird.

*****

And.

It wasn’t just the referee and the crowd.

“How could they do that...!”

“.......”

The moment I reached the medical station, Cheon Eujin let out a lament.

“You were treated so rudely....”

“...Rude. Ah... yes.”

When I said I’d won by forfeit, Cheon Eujin reacted like it was an outrage.

What the hell?

Since when is this considered rude?

I couldn’t understand it at all.

And then—

“I don’t like it.”

Even Do Hyeong—who’d just woken up—was frowning on the cot, which was rare for him.

If even calm, steady Do Hyeong reacted like that, then apparently this was a pretty shitty thing to do.

...So this was part of “common sense” too.

For someone who’d studied the Central Plains’ rules, this was my first time hearing it.

Walking off without fighting was rude to your opponent.

What a fascinating world.

Also a world I couldn’t understand.

“...Alright, stop being mad. Senior Brother. Are you okay?”

“.......”

At my question, Do Hyeong quietly closed his eyes.

The air moved—just slightly.

Energy brushed through his body.

And then—

“I’m fine.”

Do Hyeong answered flatly. He’d checked himself with energy.

But—

“Fine, my ass. I watched you collapse while coughing up blood.”

I jabbed his chest, reacting like it was ridiculous.

“Kh—.”

Do Hyeong let out a low groan. The man’s basically a rock, and he was hurting from that little poke.

“Sure. You’re fine. How about now—still fine?”

“...Fine....”

“That’s stubbornness, Senior Brother. If it hurts, say it hurts.”

“.......”

Do Hyeong clamped his mouth shut like he’d rather die than admit it.

What am I supposed to do with these people?

“...As long as you’re alive, that’s enough.”

Yeah, whatever. It’s not even my problem.

I nodded and decided to let it go. I did come because I was worried, but that wasn’t the only reason I’d come to the medical station.

“So, Senior Brother.”

“......Yeah.”

Still hurting, Do Hyeong shifted slightly and looked at me.

I asked while watching him.

“That last part—do you remember it?”

“.......”

The last part.

When I asked about Black Cloud—the thing the Black-Grand Saber used—Do Hyeong’s eyes narrowed.

“You’re asking about the technique.”

“Yes. I’ve never seen it before.”

The rest was famous, and most of it was written in the information the Moon-Thread Sword had gathered.

But when something like that happened, there were all kinds of gaps I didn’t know how to fill.

Especially Black Cloud.

A unique martial art created not long ago.

And a power that had never been shown to the world before.

The Blade God had refined and developed it, Yoo Cheongil said.

The hero who represented the Peng Clan.

The ultimate and secret core created by the Blade God Peng Seolhyeok.

There was no information on it.

None.

Meaning: the world had just witnessed it for the first time.

And it had been revealed by the Black-Grand Saber—called the Peng Clan’s masterpiece and miracle.

No wonder everything was still loud.

The result mattered, sure, but people were going crazy about the martial art that caused that result.

—What was the martial art the Black-Grand Saber showed?

—A new Peng Clan ultimate being revealed?

—The name of the martial art is...?

And on and on.

Like the trash articles I used to see in my past life—words and rumors crawling everywhere.

Apparently, the manifestation of an internal art carried that kind of value here.

“So since there’s no information, I came to ask you. My next opponent is my next opponent.”

Even if you only glanced at the match board, you knew.

My next opponent was the Black-Grand Saber.

Meaning I was finally going to face him.

So I came to squeeze whatever I could out of Do Hyeong about Black Cloud.

Hearing me, Do Hyeong thought for a moment.

Then, after a short pause, he started to answer.

“I don’t remember clearly.”

He spoke slowly.

“Black energy covered my vision in an instant. I couldn’t see anything.”

So it blocked sight.

Just like we couldn’t see what was happening inside from the outside—inside was the same.

“Even my senses felt blocked. I couldn’t hear. I couldn’t smell.”

Not just sight—everything?

“With all senses cut off, it even felt like time slowed down. I felt the wrongness and tried to respond somehow, but...”

Do Hyeong tapped his own chest as he continued.

“When I opened my eyes, it was already after I’d been hit.”

“...Mm.”

I twisted my face as I listened.

Which meant—

“There’s basically no counter, huh?”

“...Yeah. Sorry I can’t help.”

“No. I at least know what it does now. Thank you.”

Having something is better than having nothing.

And also—

“Senior Brother.”

“Yeah.”

“By the way—did you hear you got an epithet too?”

“...?”

Do Hyeong had shown real skill against the Black-Grand Saber—enough that people had already started attaching a name to him.

That name was—

“They’re calling you Moon-Azure Qi Sword.”

“.......”

Do Hyeong, the Moon-Azure Qi Sword.

People gave him that name because he didn’t get pushed back against the Black-Grand Saber.

Something about how he stood against black energy while wrapped in a blue moonlight aura—whatever.

It wouldn’t have been strange if he’d gotten an epithet a long time ago.

Do Hyeong wasn’t weak. He was Small Moon Unit. He’d opened Moon Eyes.

The fact he’d had no epithet until now was what was weird.

So yeah—getting one now made sense.

But still.

“Senior Brother. Are you smiling?”

“No.”

“No you’re not. You’re smiling.”

I could see the corner of his mouth lift, just a little.

Is he happy?

An epithet... made him happy?

“...Anyway, congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

I gave him a quick congratulations and stood.

“Rest for now. I’ll come back later.”

“No, I can get up now—”

“...Tomorrow, I’ll tell them you can come out. Don’t be stubborn—rest today.”

“.......”

He was obviously going to drag that broken body up to train. So I shoved him back down.

“Got it?”

“...Yeah.”

Do Hyeong nodded, looking dissatisfied.

I turned to Cheon Eujin.

“Cheon Eujin, you should rest too. And... keep an eye on him.”

“Me too...? But I—”

“You’re worse off. Do it.”

“Yes....”

Do Hyeong had “just” been cut up.

Cheon Eujin had a blade stuck into him.

I get that he wants to train right away because he opened Moon Eyes.

That’s separate.

These stubborn idiots...

If you’re hurt, you rest. That’s the correct answer. Why are they all like this?

“Anyway, I said it, so I’m leaving. Make sure you do it.”

I left them behind.

They both looked like they had a lot to say, but I ignored it.

Because I already knew what it would be.

But the moment I stepped out of the medical station, someone was waiting right in front of me.

“I found you.”

“.......”

It was the Commander of the Guards.

On paper, it was protection.

In truth, it was surveillance.

The man who’d vanished for a bit when things blew up—he finally reappeared.

It had been so peaceful when he wasn’t around.

Seeing him again, I clicked my tongue internally.

“...Yes. Let’s go.”

I give up fast.

Honestly, with things this dangerous, having one guard at my side isn’t the worst thing in the world.

I’d just about convinced myself of that and started to move when—

“Young Lord Bang.”

“Yes?”

The Commander of the Guards spoke.

“You’ll have to come with me.”

“...Where?”

“A request came in for you to attend as a witness.”

“...?”

He handed me a letter.

It was a request for witness attendance regarding the Little Azure Sword and the DEMON CULT.

“...Damn it.”

I frowned hard.

Because something annoying had just landed in my lap.

*****

Instead of heading back to the inn, I turned and went deeper into the Martial Alliance.

This was a place even I hadn’t been before.

When I went through a door leading underground, I found a quiet space thick with dampness.

A metallic smell—sharp and bloody—rose into the air.

A prison.

Bars everywhere. The purpose was obvious.

As I walked through with the Commander of the Guards—

“Heaven... the Heaven....”

A voice came from one of the cells.

The moment I looked—

BANG!

Someone grabbed the bars hard.

I almost yelped without meaning to—

“The Heaven!! The Heaven is coming!!”

“...Namgung Seong?”

It was Namgung Seong.

His eyes were crazed, his whole body wrecked—he looked like a ruined man.

And—

Where’s the malicious ghost?

I couldn’t see the malicious ghost that should’ve been attached to him.

“The Heaven is coming... the Heaven...!!”

Namgung Seong reached his hand out at me through the bars like a madman.

Before I could even react—

WHACK—!

“Ghk!”

The Commander of the Guards fired energy without hesitation.

Namgung Seong’s jaw snapped to the side, and he collapsed.

“Calm the criminal.”

“Yes.”

And then he moved again immediately.

......

I followed.

Namgung Seong’s state bothered me.

What the hell happened to him?

How did he end up like that?

With that question gnawing at me, we kept moving—until we reached a room.

“I’ll tell you now—this isn’t for interrogation.”

At the door, the Commander of the Guards spoke to me.

“There are just a few things we need to ask. Answer comfortably.”

“...Yes.”

What a thing to say.

In this atmosphere, “comfortably” can go to hell.

I swallowed my sigh and stepped inside.

A desk, and one man sitting there.

“Ah, welcome.”

The man smiled warmly and introduced himself.

“I’m Hyung Yeonghwa, from the Martial Alliance Guards. I’m in charge of this investigation. Please, have a seat.”

At a glance, he looked like a good man.

Unlike the harsh vibe of this place, he had the kind of face that could put people at ease.

But—

What is this.

Even with him right in front of me, I had to look at something behind Hyung Yeonghwa.

Malevolent aura.

It was floating in a thick cluster behind him.

And it was holding him.

Like it had taken on a human shape.