My talk with Jegal Hyeongyeon ended.

Maybe his purpose really had been about the Peng Clan from the start, because the moment the main point was done, he immediately moved to leave.

He wrapped it up with something like we’ll see each other again, and in the middle of it...

‘...A wooden token.’

He handed me a wooden token and left.

It looked like it had been slightly scorched by fire, and the name Jegal was carved into it clearly.

They said if you carried this and showed it, you’d be treated almost like direct blood—allowed in as an honored guest...

‘Will I ever have a reason to go to the Jegal Clan?’

Even if I got a gift like this, I didn’t know whether I’d ever use it.

Well. Of course—

‘...Feels like I will.’

Judging by the circumstances, I’d probably have to once. It depended on how Jegal Jin moved, but still.

“Hmmm.”

I tapped the wooden token lightly as I walked.

WOOOONG.

“Hm?”

Something brushed my senses from behind. Before I even processed what it was, I dipped my body low.

WHIIK!!!

An arm whipped through the space my head had just occupied.

What the hell? An attack?

I jacked my tension up and snapped my gaze back—

And there.

“Oh? You dodged?”

A woman stood there, smiling like she had a screw loose.

A face I knew way too well.

I let out a sigh and spoke with pure resignation.

“...Sister.”

Bang Seojin.

My older sister.

“Huh. I didn’t think you’d dodge. How’d you know...?” 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

“...No—why are you suddenly lunging at me?”

I thought it was an ambush.

Once I confirmed it was her, I loosened the strength in the hand that had gone to my sword.

“You scared me.”

“Of course you were scared. That was the point.”

“Unbelievable.”

Why was she so proud?

Even as I spoke, I looked her over.

Bang Seojin caught the look and snorted softly.

“I’m not hurt, so stop looking at me like that.”

“...I was looking because your clothes are weird.”

“Yeah, yeah. Mouth.”

Watching her try to laugh it off, I asked with a sigh mixed in.

“When the assault happened, where were you?”

“Where was I? I was running around too.”

“...Sister. You’re the strategist’s guard. Where were you running around, then?”

She’d taken the guard role, but Bang Seojin hadn’t been around Jegal Jin.

So I’d been keeping it in mind.

Still—she didn’t look like she’d been seriously hurt.

At my question, Bang Seojin scratched her cheek lightly with a finger.

“I told you. I had something to do.”

Something to do.

What kind of “something” made a guard leave the person they were guarding?

I stared at her, not understanding.

“Strategist told me to do it. I was really busy—no, wait, why am I even explaining myself to you...?”

She’d been doing something Jegal Jin personally ordered.

I tilted my head at that, and then—

SMACK—!

“Ghk!”

Bang Seojin flicked my forehead with a knuckle—hard.

“This little punk. Don’t test your sister.”

“...Ow...”

Her hand is vicious. For a second I thought my forehead cracked.

“Getting cocky because they call you Moon Knight? What—now you’re gonna try to act like you’re my equal?”

“...That’s not it.”

“Oh, sure it’s not. Tch.”

“...Does that temper get dirtier with age or what...?”

“What’d you say, punk?”

“I was talking to myself—!”

I dodged another hit.

She was disgustingly fast.

“Oh?”

“...Stop hitting me. How old are you, beating people like that?”

“It’s discipline. If my little brother starts going crooked, the big sister has to straighten him out. Right?”

“Discipline, my ass. You’re the one who ran ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) away from home first. If you wanted to ‘straighten me out,’ you should’ve done it when I was little. When you ditched me and bolted, what was that—tch...”

The words slipped out because it was absurd.

And the moment they did, silence brushed past us.

“......”

“...?”

What’s with that uncomfortable silence?

Bang Seojin’s brows pinched slightly.

“...What’s wrong with you?”

I hadn’t said anything untrue.

I asked again because the silence was bothering me, but—

“...No. Forget it. Just rest. I saw you’re fine, so I’m leaving.”

Bang Seojin reset her expression, waved her hand like it was nothing, and turned to go.

“Sister?”

I called again, but she didn’t stop. She just disappeared.

What the hell?

‘Don’t tell me...’

Did she get sulky? The reaction looked exactly like it.

“......”

Where, exactly, was the part she could get sulky about?

I thought for a second, but nothing came.

‘What is her problem?’

If anyone should be sulking, it should’ve been me ages ago. Why is she sulking?

It annoyed me a little.

“Whatever.”

So I decided not to care.

‘It’ll work itself out.’

I already had too much to worry about. I didn’t want to add more.

“Ah... right.”

Then I remembered.

“...I didn’t finish what I needed to say to Black-Grand Saber.”

I’d gone to see him for a reason, and Jegal Hyeongyeon showing up made me forget.

‘Do I have to go back?’

I debated turning around for the main point I hadn’t gotten through.

That was why I’d come out in the first place.

Yeah. Since I was already out, I might as well handle everything.

I started to move—

[Tch.]

Yoo Cheongil clicked his tongue.

My feet stopped on their own.

[You’re popular. Visitors just keep coming.]

“......”

I narrowed my eyes.

Then—

TAP. TAP.

A sound came from somewhere.

I turned my head carefully, and someone was leaning against the side of a tree.

Not big. Skeletal thin.

An old man with one arm.

Normally, he would’ve worn a kind smile and kept his attitude endlessly low.

But right now, the old man carried a completely different air.

The old man who’d volunteered as the Blue Moon Sect’s driver and brought us to Henan.

And the one who’d saved me from the Heaven-Breaking Palace Lord during the assault.

He was staring at me.

Without a single word.

Quietly. Still.

Like he was waiting for me to speak first.

I could guess what he wanted from me.

I stayed silent for a long time, because I was deciding whether to say it or not.

But—

‘Damn it.’

There was no real way around it.

I looked at the old man and forced the words out.

“...I pay my respects to the Sword Emperor.”

“......”

Sword Emperor.

The Greatest Sword Under Heaven.

If Yoo Cheongil was the Greatest Under Heaven, the singular existence said to have reached the heavens through the sword—

A Heaven-Beyond-Heaven.

The moment I named him directly, the old man tilted his head and spoke.

“Follow me.”

“......”

The voice wasn’t warm or gentle.

It was bleak. Sharp.

You could’ve told me he was a completely different person and I would’ve believed it.

Sword Emperor turned and started walking.

‘...Damn it.’

Holding back a sigh, I followed after him.

I really couldn’t be anything but busy.

*****

The place I reached while following Sword Emperor was a forest.

Maybe it was a path made inside the Martial Alliance grounds—there weren’t many people around.

Was it even okay to come here whenever we wanted?

No, wait...

‘If it’s Sword Emperor, who cares.’

Inside the Martial Alliance right now, there wasn’t a single person who could stop Sword Emperor.

If he wanted something, he could do it.

That was what Heaven-Beyond-Heaven meant in the Central Plains.

With Divine Spear gone...

Honestly—

‘If Sword Emperor wanted, couldn’t he even become Alliance Leader?’

If he proved he was alive, taking the Alliance Leader seat would probably be possible without much trouble.

‘Yoo Cheongil is the one who shattered Heavenly Demon’s heart and killed him, sure...’

But Sword Emperor was the one who severed Heavenly Demon’s arms and legs and killed a huge number of the demonic warriors under him.

If you judged by deeds alone, Sword Emperor didn’t fall behind.

Still—

‘...It’s awkward.’

Sword Emperor’s current position was... awkward.

‘Is he Righteous Faction?’

It felt stupid to ask whether a Heaven-Beyond-Heaven hero was Righteous Faction or not, but Sword Emperor’s position had always been uncertain.

‘Neither Righteous Faction nor dark faction. Just a martial artist.’

A man who belonged nowhere, living as a wandering fighter.

If you really wanted to label it, mercenary was probably more accurate.

He took contracts and carried out work.

But because his power was absurd, his position and fame kept rising.

In wartime, he stood on the side of the Righteous Faction and slaughtered demonic warriors, becoming a hero—

‘But if you ask if that makes him Righteous Faction... who knows.’

Before any of that could be defined, he vanished.

And now he’d appeared again.

‘...Nothing’s easy.’

Nothing was easy. Righteous Faction, dark faction—none of it.

Right now, just the fact that I was here with Sword Emperor was the bigger problem.

And then, the moment we stepped deeper into the path—

WHOOOOSH—!!!

Wind brushed past my body.

[It’s a barrier.]

Yoo Cheongil told me the “wind” was actually qi.

He’d set a barrier so sound couldn’t escape.

‘...This is insane.’

Meaning if I died here, no one would know.

Cold sweat wanted to break out on its own.

Sword Emperor kept his remaining hand clasped behind his back and turned to face me.

“I’ll ask.”

That was when—

My skin crawled.

‘What is that?’

It felt like the tip of a sword had touched my throat.

There was nothing visible.

So what was it?

[Don’t move.]

Yoo Cheongil warned me again.

Proof it wasn’t my imagination.

“Kid.”

“...Yes.”

“When did you realize who I was?”

“......”

My throat bobbed.

When?

What was I supposed to say?

In truth, I’d already thought through the answer a long time ago.

“From the beginning.”

From the first moment I saw you.

I’d known.

That was the best answer—clean and honest.

“......”

One of Sword Emperor’s brows moved.

“From the beginning? How?”

Anyone looking at his clothes and body would never think “Sword Emperor.”

That was the point. He couldn’t understand how I’d recognized him.

He was right.

If it weren’t for Yoo Cheongil, I never would’ve noticed either.

“Even in that situation, you recognized me. I don’t understand. Explain.”

He pressed as if he wouldn’t let the question go.

At the same time, the cold pressure I felt sharpened.

If I said the wrong thing, I’d die.

Instinct wrapped around my whole body.

What do I do?

How do I make Sword Emperor understand?

Normal words won’t work.

But—

‘There’s a method that’s best for me.’

I had one technique that was easier than anything.

One I used all the time, and it always helped.

That was—

“My master told me.”

“...What?”

[What did you say?]

Selling Yoo Cheongil out.

There wasn’t an easier or better method than this.

[You insane bastard—seriously?]

The old man I was throwing under the cart would glare at me like not again—but what was I supposed to do?

‘I have to live first, don’t I?’

Damn it. If we’re being precise, this was Yoo Cheongil’s mess anyway. I was just cleaning it up.

“...Yoo Cheongil?”

Sword Emperor’s face twisted.

“Yes. He... told me about your appearance.”

The moment I used Yoo Cheongil as an excuse, Sword Emperor’s eyes changed.

Wait—

SSSS—!!

Gooseflesh ran up my skin.

The killing intent felt thicker.

[Kid. Change what you’re saying.]

Yoo Cheongil spoke urgently.

[Sword Emperor used to be bigger than that.]

“...You were originally much more solid and larger in build, but...”

SSSS...!

The pressure eased slightly.

That was close.

‘So Sword Emperor used to be big?’

I didn’t know how big, but it was nothing like the image in my head.

If Yoo Cheongil hadn’t corrected me just now, my neck might’ve been gone.

“He told me that if I met you again... you’d look like you do now, so I should recognize you.”

“...That bastard said that?”

“...Yes.”

I didn’t lie.

Because what Yoo Cheongil had just said was true.