Choi Geon’s voice rang out quietly over the sea.

“One.”

Even with the waves turning rough and the situation in chaos, the voice counting off numbers was so clear it stabbed straight into everyone’s ears.

“P-Please spare me!”

“I was dragged here without knowing anything!”

The drifters who had thrown away their weapons flattened themselves on the fishing boats.

The Coast Guard speedboats surrounding them kept their barrels trained on them, and on deck, Martial Alliance masters glared with bulging eyes.

“Two.”

On the other hand, the unorthodox faction subcontractors who had brought the drifters here could only read the room.

No matter that the Martial Alliance had them surrounded—what they feared more was retaliation from the Black Heaven Society.

Choi Geon was happy to make their decision easier.

Meaning, he swung his sword.

SSSHHHHHHH— KWA-KWA-KWAANG!

A fishing boat that tried to run in the chaos was split clean in two by blade aura and sank. The people on it shared the same fate.

“Three.”

Choi Geon smiled coldly as he counted the remaining number.

A man who had once been called the Sword Demon by unorthodox faction martial artists.

His hand showed a lack of mercy that even the Five Great Unorthodox Sects would shudder at.

‘He’s horrifyingly strong....’

The Black Heaven Society’s smuggling handler, Lee Taehyun, abandoned the option of fighting the Martial Alliance the instant he witnessed Choi Geon’s single strike.

To handle that monster of an old man, it felt like the Black Heaven Society’s absolute elite would have to come pouring in.

“Hey. If you want to keep what’s above your neck, you’ll surrender, right?”

Kim Muhyuk—standing on the Black Heaven Society speedboat—offered surrender as well.

Even though he was unarmed and had a wound on his shoulder, he stood there brazenly enough that Lee Taehyun let out a hollow laugh.

“Fine, say we do. But you—looks like you’re confident you’ll make it back alive from here?”

The scar on Lee Taehyun’s face twisted, and a chilling killing intent flowed from his eyes.

Because thanks to the guy in front of him, the job was as good as ruined—ripping him apart right now still wouldn’t feel like enough.

But I just shrugged and pointed behind him.

“Four.”

Choi Geon was aiming his sword this way as he counted.

Only one number left.

“Fi—....”

CLINK-CLANG.

Lee Taehyun dropped his sword and raised both hands. Following that lead, the Black Heaven Society martial artists all threw away their weapons too.

“We surrender. So could you put that murderous blade down?”

“Tsk. Unorthodox faction scum these days have tiny guts.”

In the split second Choi Geon lowered his sword with a click of his tongue—

Lee Taehyun used the trump card he’d been hiding.

He tore at the necklace hidden under his clothes and shouted,

“Explode!”

In that instant, the spellcraft carved into the speedboat’s hull flared in a violet shape, and a powerful shockwave erupted from the hull.

PBBRBRBRBRBOOM—!

A huge wave surged up; boats rocked so hard they looked ready to flip, slamming into one another. In that gap, the Black Heaven Society speedboat punched through the encirclement.

“Stop!”

With a roar, Choi Geon swung his sword in a great arc.

The blade aura, curving like a crescent moon, struck the Black Heaven Society boat.

And in that moment, a half-transparent barrier formed to protect the hull.

KKAGAGAGAGAK—!

But the blade aura was too strong for the spellcraft to handle. Not only did the defensive spell formation tear apart, even the hull itself was scored with cuts.

A defensive spell formation installed at a cost of hundreds of millions had been shattered by a single strike.

“J-Just who the hell is that old man...?”

The sheer destructive power made Lee Taehyun’s face go pale, but while the defensive spellcraft bought time, the boat managed to barely break free of the encirclement.

“You think I’ll let you go?”

Choi Geon lifted himself into the air and tried to chase the fleeing boat, unfurling a water-walking technique. From the old man’s eyes, pure-white beams of internal-energy-enhanced sight poured out in streaks.

The moment Choi Geon kicked off the sea surface and resolved to chase the escaping speedboat—

[Master, I’ll handle things here.]

Choi Geon paused at the voice transmission from his disciple.

If he chased the speedboat right now, they could seize the Black Heaven Society—but there would be no one left to command the scene.

Knowing that, I told him I would take the Black Heaven Society. I was already on their speedboat anyway.

[Please clean up there first. You trust me, right?]

“Of course I do.”

Choi Geon gave a short laugh and stopped. More than anyone, he trusted his disciple.

“Good thing I brought it. Even for you, barehanded won’t be easy....”

Instead of chasing the fleeing Black Heaven Society, Choi Geon unfastened the thing slung on his back and threw it toward the speedboat pulling away.

“Catch—!”

SSWEEEAAAEK!

Something tore through the air at a terrifying speed.

It looked like a red meteor dragging a tail behind it. I smiled in genuine welcome, reached out, and snatched it out of the air.

“Long time no see?”

The moment the sword hilt hit my hand, I didn’t hesitate—I drew Phantom Dream from its scabbard.

SHING.

A crimson blade, as if it had been dipped in blood and pulled back out, showed itself to the world for the first time since returning from Jeju Island.

Along with a sulky voice.

Do you have any idea how much that nasty old man bullied me? He wouldn’t even let me look outside! He dragged in bald guys and made me listen to weird chants!

Phantom Dream rambled and complained, loaded with frustration over how Choi Geon had treated it all this time.

I stroked the blade with my hand, soothing it.

“I’ll let you feast after all this. So calm down.”

Really? I thought I was going to die of hunger! Can I eat the ones over there?

I looked at the Black Heaven Society martial artists who were already surrounding me with weapons in hand, and I grinned viciously.

The main force of the Five Great Unorthodox Sects—especially the ones mobilized for smuggling—were the worst kind. They’d throw people into the sea to erase evidence.

“I told you before. I’d let you drink as much blood as you want—as long as it’s the blood of villains.”

Sssssss.......

Phantom Dream’s red aura flowed out like fog and mixed into the night air.

Seeing that, Lee Taehyun’s face hardened as he warned the subordinates.

“He’s holding a spellcraft weapon. If you can, don’t clash weapons with—”

Before the words even finished, I kicked off like I was going to smash the deck and plunged into the enemy line.

THUD!

A straight-line charge slammed into the closest enemy. As the opponent drew the sword halfway—

A blood-red trajectory traced a graceful curve.

SHHK!

The swordsman’s body split diagonally and collapsed.

At the same time, a thrilling cheer erupted in my head.

Blood! Blood for the first time in ages!

Phantom Dream, now holding blood in its blade, poured out an even more bewitching aura.

Under the cursed sword’s presence—the aura that had once dyed Jeju Island red—some swordsmen’s expressions turned hazy.

“Get a grip!”

At Lee Taehyun’s shout packed with internal energy, the Black Heaven Society martial artists snapped back.

As if the name “Five Great Unorthodox Sects” wasn’t earned for nothing, most of them were higher level—and mentally tougher—than the enemies I’d fought on Jeju Island.

“Keep your distance and surround him! If you just watch that red sword, he’s noth—”

CRUNCH!

The face of the martial artist leading the front line caved in.

I pulled my fist back, used the corpse of the dying man as a shield to block an attack flying in from the side, and turned.

“Don’t watch the sword. Watch the human holding it.”

“Ghk...!”

That reaction lag—just a fraction—was enough time.

Phantom Dream drew a red line across the throat and passed.

PFOOOWAAAH!

Blood shot up high behind him.

I immediately hunted the next target.

I wasn’t fighting by relying only on the power of a sacred weapon.

I cut with the right hand gripping Phantom Dream—and when enemies fixated on the blade, I stole their attention with feints, then crushed bone directly with my fists.

‘I thought it might feel awkward, since I haven’t held a sword in a while....’

That worry was pointless.

I could feel it—after proper rest, my body was far lighter.

My movements were crisp, and the sword path I’d only traced in my mental world while my hands were empty unfolded naturally in reality.

THUNK! CRUNCH! SHHK!

Blood dripped and poured across the deck.

As I carved a path of blood, corpses of Black Heaven Society martial artists piled up in my wake. The narrow space on the boat worked in my favor too—melee chaos was exactly where I excelled.

More! I want to fight someone stronger!

I flicked Phantom Dream’s flat with a finger, and it answered with a pleased—

ZZZIIING—.

“Eat too fast and you’ll get sick. Let’s savor it slow.”

The enemies flinched at the sight of me muttering and holding a conversation with my sword. With a faint smile on my lips, whispers of “crazy bastard” rippled here and there.

I looked straight at Lee Taehyun, who was staying behind and only shoving subordinates forward.

“You going to wait until they all die?”

“......”

Instead of answering, Lee Taehyun signaled.

At the same time, the machine gun mounted on the upper deck opened fire.

TUTUTUTUTUTUTU!

It meant subordinates getting shot didn’t matter.

And in fact, a few martial artists who were right up against me took bullets and toppled.

“Of course. Unorthodox faction bastards.”

Frowning, I threw myself into full lightness technique.

I still couldn’t outrun bullets—but I could move far faster than the muzzle.

“Dodge! He’s coming this way!”

“Where the hell are you shooting?!”

I dragged the barrels tracking me and churned through the enemy line.

A few bullets grazed my thigh and side, but in exchange, I turned enemies into pincushions.

Most of the Black Heaven Society martial artists on the speedboat were already down or combat-ineffective.

But I didn’t let my guard down. I tightened my grip on Phantom Dream.

‘The boss will step in soon.’

A predator that waits until its prey is exhausted will bare its fangs at last.

“You’re strong.” 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

“......!”

The voice came from behind me.

My body reacted on instinct as I turned—

And then I felt it: a foreign wrongness that threw my senses off.

Something so tiny I would’ve missed it without senses honed to the extreme. Something I could’ve brushed past if my judgment had dulled from the hard fighting—a small, nagging discomfort.

I knew better than anyone that one small thing like that could divide life and death.

‘Spellcraft. Not behind—front!’

The decision happened in a blink.

I forcibly twisted my rotating body and snapped my sword up.

KKAANG!

A sword that would’ve grazed my face was knocked upward.

A startled mutter spilled from the attacker whose perfect ambush had failed.

“...Impressive.”

“I hear that a lot.”

Blood trickled down from the cheek the blade had scraped.

I tore the human-skin mask clean off.

A far younger face than Lee Taehyun expected was revealed.

“Hah. The world’s unfair. A punk like this—”

Unlike Lee Taehyun, who strode in with killing intent rolling off him, I took a step back and stole a breath.

Then I spoke to the opponent who looked ready to pour attacks onto me at any second.

“But hey. Haven’t you been way too focused on me this whole time?”

“Trying to buy time won’t help. I’m killing you right n—”

Lee Taehyun’s expression froze mid-sentence.

“GHHK— ....”

A scream from above—and the speedboat stopped dead in the middle of the sea.

“Don’t tell me....”

“Why did you think I was alone?”

Grinning, I lifted my head to look up toward the upper deck.

While I drew their eyes, Han Jaechun had seized the bridge.

He waved down at me.

“Han. Nice.”

I raised a thumbs-up back at him.