‘Cheongil.’

A word I’d heard once, a long time ago.

‘What.’

As always, I answered bluntly, and without even looking, I kept my eyes fixed straight ahead.

‘What do you think the moon is?’

Another pointless question. That fake tone—so ridiculous I couldn’t even laugh.

‘Cut the dogshit. The moon is the moon.’

Yoo Cheongil pointed at the sky.

‘Can’t you tell by looking?’

Something floating up in the night sky.

Just something that kept the night from being completely dark.

If you asked what the moon was, that was all Yoo Cheongil could say.

To him—still not even fourteen yet—the moon was no more than that.

No meaning. No concept beyond it.

Just that, and nothing else.

That Blue Moon Sect belief that you had to become the moon?

Even that was worthless.

‘The moon, my ass.’

Yoo Cheongil laughed.

Drip. Drip. Blood fell from the tip of the blade in his hand.

The stink hit my nose late. Corpses hacked to pieces filled the place.

And Yoo Cheongil was perched in a pool of blood made right there.

‘Why the hell does it matter what the moon is. You’re not even Blue Moon Sect in the first place.’

Answering the same question over and over like it was nothing—there was a limit.

That bastard was always obsessed with weird things.

‘Who knows. I’m just curious.’

He lifted his head and looked at the sky.

‘Whether that moon is hanging there for the sake of the night. Or...’

His eyes, which had been watching the night, lowered softly.

‘Whether the night exists to embrace the moon. That’s all I’m curious about.’

More nonsense.

Whatever meaning those words were carrying, Yoo Cheongil didn’t think deeply about it.

‘Enough bullshit. Get up.’

He hauled his exhausted body up.

With tired eyes, he looked ahead.

Something was charging from far away.

‘It’s coming.’

Another fight.

Yoo Cheongil raised his sword.

And the bloodstorm howled again.

That was his life.

*****

KRRRRK.

“...”

A sword stopped right in front of him. Seeing that, Sword Demon frowned. The sword tip trembled—he was clearly putting strength into it.

And it got blocked. The sword he’d swung to cut down the Blade God’s clan—this kid had stopped it like it was nothing.

Sword Demon twisted the sword in his grip.

He was about to change the blade’s path and continue the offense—

KRRRK—!!

“—!”

Sword Demon’s eyes widened. The instant he tried to shift the path, the other side moved to match.

CLANG—!! Recoil exploded, and the locked blades sprang apart. Sword Demon widened the distance and tried to reset his stance—

SWISH—!!!

Night dropped in front of his eyes. A massive night clung to the blade and crashed down onto Sword Demon.

“Hm.”

Sword Demon dipped his body slightly and hauled his energy up.

SSSS.

Purple hardened qi whipped around the tip of his sword.

CLANG—!

The purple hardened qi drew a line and knocked the dark sword aside.

Both of us got thrown back, distance opening between us.

Thud.

Sword Demon, resetting his posture, stared at the opponent.

The opponent, too, rolled his sword and loosened up. Watching that, Sword Demon spoke.

“That’s a fine sword.”

He’d swung with the intention of breaking it, but astonishingly, that dark blade didn’t even have a nick.

“Black iron?”

“You’ve got eyes. Yeah. It’s a damn good sword. Even I’m satisfied with it. Not as much as what I used to use, though.”

At the young man’s words, Sword Demon’s expression tightened slightly.

“Short tongue, that brat.”

“Ha.”

At the grating remark, the young man—Bang Sungyeon—laughed.

“What the hell is that idiot even saying.”

“...What?”

“So you want me to show manners to some bastard I’m about to fight to the death? What a stupid thing to say.”

Click. As he spoke, Bang Sungyeon tightened his grip on the sword.

“Of course, I’m... no. I’m a gentle and kind soul, so if you want, I can do that for you.”

WHOOOO—!!!

Brilliance settled into the dark sword.

Energy rose as if swaying, spilling light as it wrapped around the blade.

Third Form: Radiant Moon Annihilation-Overturn. The moon’s energy filled the sword.

“Go fuck yourself, sir.”

“...”

“Ah. Not that?”

A beautiful energy—paired with a gently handsome face—and yet the mouth didn’t match at all.

At the crude tone, Sword Demon’s face crumpled.

Of course, it wasn’t just the tone.

What mattered was that light.

Sword Demon was focused on the light pouring out of the young man.

“I see.”

He nodded, like he’d understood.

“Kid. You’re the Little Sword Saint.”

Disheveled hair and blue eyes.

A stance that was somehow tyrannical and rough, unlike the Blue Moon Sect’s value system that prized delicate sword patterns.

And that viciously bright sword force.

It made him think of a single existence—the terror of demon men.

“They said it was the Sword Saint’s return, and I dismissed it as nonsense.”

Sword Demon’s face hardened completely.

That exchange. And the way he looked now.

It was certain.

“You have to die.”

The Little Sword Saint wasn’t Sword Demon’s original goal.

His goal was Thousand-Mile True Sight.

But after trading blows just now, Sword Demon changed his mind.

That was dangerous.

A massive threat that would block the road ahead for them—or for the Deputy Leader.

A small exchange was enough to understand it.

So he °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° had to kill him here.

“...Heh heh....”

Sword Demon laughed lowly with a blank face.

“Little Sword Saint...”

A small Sword Saint. A simple, disgusting epithet.

It felt even worse in person.

“Even after you die, you’re still getting in our way.”

That filthy disaster of the DEMON CULT.

How many demon men had died under that damned light?

If he let this go, how many more would die?

“Better this way.”

Sword Demon honestly thought it was good luck. Better than letting him become another disaster—

He could cut the shoot here, now.

If that wasn’t good luck, what was?

GRRRRRRR—!!!

Killing intent burst out of Sword Demon’s body—an energy beyond imagination.

So much that even the others nearby felt it crushing down on them.

“Kgh...”

“Ghhh...!!”

Those with lower realms staggered and dropped to their knees.

Those who could endure poured out their energy, desperate just to push the pressure back.

An absolute master.

Past pinnacle or whatever—an inhuman existence that had reached a place beyond realms.

Even if the arm he’d used to wield was severed, the energy the old man had built didn’t disappear. He radiated an overwhelming presence.

But—

“Is it the aftermath of war?”

Watching him, Yoo Cheongil still smiled.

“Feels like you’re not what you used to be.”

“...Heh heh.”

Mocking? Provocation?

Sword Demon laughed without expression.

“You speak like you’ve seen me before.”

“Yeah. Maybe I saw you in a dream?”

Bang Sungyeon smiled brightly.

“Yeah, that’s probably it. In the dream, you did this.”

Even under that distant pressure, he moved steadily, like it didn’t bother him at all.

“You strutted around like some arrogant idiot and got that arm chopped off.”

“...”

“And that stubborn, stupid habit—you still haven’t fixed it even after dying and crawling back. What a shame.”

“...”

CRUNCH.

A harsh sound rang out from Sword Demon’s mouth.

“You’re full of yourself. You really do resemble your master.”

“Thanks. I hear that a lot.”

As if he liked that, Bang Sungyeon curled his lips up—then charged.

CLANG—!!!

With a clear ring, energy exploded.

Purple hardened qi and pure light tangled together by the thousand.

CLANG—! CLANG CLANG!

KRRRRK—!!!

Two colors clashed in midair like they’d gone insane.

Some people, despite being in live combat, stared blankly at their fight.

“The Little Sword Saint... was he that strong?”

“...He’s matching Sword Demon?”

Sword Demon was said to be Heaven-Beyond-Heaven class.

And even if the old man was the Sword Saint’s successor—how was he trading blows with the Little Sword Saint, a mere younger-generation martial artist?

It was absurd.

SWISH—!

Third Form: Radiant Moon Annihilation-Overturn drew a horizontal line. Sword Demon twisted his upper body and evaded, but he couldn’t avoid it completely—hair got sliced away.

But he didn’t stop. Purple hardened qi bored in toward Bang Sungyeon.

The sword tip rose sharply and flew in—

But Bang Sungyeon casually tilted the flat of his blade and bled Sword Demon’s attack off.

As soon as he succeeded, a sliver of an opening formed.

Before that even happened, Bang Sungyeon was already moving.

He’d been certain the opening would appear.

And he’d prepared the next motion to match it.

A crescent moon formed from his sword and shot straight at Sword Demon.

Sword Demon narrowed his eyes.

KRRK—! BOOM—!!

He barely blocked it with his sword, but he couldn’t swallow all the impact—his body shook.

He rotated his body, shaking off the remaining force, and spoke to Bang Sungyeon.

“You’re a nasty one.”

“That’s a good compliment, too.”

Sword Demon’s face wrinkled deeper.

Nasty meant exactly this.

It was shocking enough that the kid could cling to his blade cleanly, but the attack pattern itself was truly vile.

‘He’s doing it on purpose.’

He was deliberately attacking only Sword Demon’s right side.

He was mercilessly exploiting the fact that Sword Demon fought one-armed.

And the way he kept brushing aside a thrusting sword—he was fighting him directly, and it was still a level that made him want to gag.

‘A monster.’

The Seven Prodigies? Ridiculous. That was a monster, plain and simple.

‘...Hmph.’

Sword Demon glanced around. He still had forces left, but the situation wasn’t good.

‘Two commander-level.’

Martial Alliance commander-level martial artists—those assigned to guard Thousand-Mile True Sight—were bogged down by other forces.

It was fine, since that was how the plan had been set up.

But—

‘It’s dragging.’

He’d never imagined getting his ankle grabbed by a younger-generation martial artist.

Even missing an arm, this shouldn’t be possible...

‘...No.’

Sword Demon knew the reason wasn’t just the missing arm.

‘This...’

It was the effect of the “golden seal.”

Because of that, he couldn’t even bring out three tenths of his wartime strength.

“Hmph.”

Sword Demon hauled his power up. The light of his purple hardened qi grew viciously strong.

The plan—and that bastard himself—he had to deal with it, no matter what.

Everything was—

‘For the Deputy Leader.’

For the sake of the DEMON CULT’s new sky.

KAKAKAKAKAK—!!!

The purple light didn’t just intensify—it started to spray out.

Watching that, Bang Sungyeon tilted his head.

“In a hurry?”

Sword Demon didn’t answer.

But Yoo Cheongil didn’t care.

“Good. Hurry’s fine. I don’t have that much time either.”

WOOOONG.

WHOOOOSH—!!

Just like Sword Demon’s purple sword force—

Bang Sungyeon’s Third Form: Radiant Moon Annihilation-Overturn swelled and covered his body in an instant.

Moon Heaven.

Hair turned white. Blue eyes holding light.

Energy rising like heat-haze.

Before Sword Demon could even react to the alien shift in atmosphere—

SWISH—!

“...!”

Bang Sungyeon arrived in front of him.

Fast. Not even comparable to before.

The good news was, it wasn’t so fast that Sword Demon couldn’t block.

CLANG—!

The exchange started again.

Dozens of strikes. While they fought and fought—

“...”

Something caught in Sword Demon’s eyes. Maybe his movements had gotten too intense. Maybe he couldn’t keep up with the speed.

A gap flashed in Bang Sungyeon’s body. He could cut there.

It was a gap so clear anyone could see it, but—

SWISH—!

Sword Demon didn’t swing for it. He chose elsewhere.

And then—

“As expected.”

Bang Sungyeon smiled.

“You.”

At that crazed gaze, Sword Demon flinched without meaning to.

“You can’t kill people right now.”

“...!”

Words that pierced straight through him.

And with those words—

WHACK—!!!

Bang Sungyeon’s sword sliced straight across Sword Demon’s chest as it passed.