The ruined Hongseong Sect felt quite out of place compared to the familiar, intact version I had grown used to. But that didn’t pose a problem. It merely indicated how devastated the Sword Saint’s mind had become.
I glanced at the remnants of the destroyed gate.
The gate, a representative of all sects, is usually well-tended because a collapse suggests murky days ahead for the sect.
This gate was half-collapsed.
And in the spot where the Hongseong disciples always stood…
There lay a corpse.
I crouched down and gently lifted the corpse.
Hmm. I didn’t recognize this face.
“Yeerin! Try this! It’s super sweet and delicious!”
A girl with damp, indigo hair sparklingly received the confectionery and delighted in it.
She really loved the treats her teacher brought back every time they went out.
Looking at her, I could roughly guess what kind of Simma she had.
Her past.
The families of the Hongseong Sect that the Sword Saint couldn’t protect.
That past was unfolding before my eyes.
And it wouldn’t stop there.
As I climbed the stairs, I discovered a girl lying on the ground. The girl with deep blue bobbed hair was a face I recognized.
One of the current disciples of Hongseong, she was Whiho, just above Yoohee.
Whiho, who was shy but always moved quickly as Hongryeon had bragged about.
There was a huge hole in her chest, and blood and guts were spilling out.
“Master! Thank you always!”
She was the girl who blushed, overwhelmed when her master patted her head, unsure of how to express her joy. A well-off child of a prosperous family, she came to the Hongseong Sect and became a disciple, all thanks to her admiration for the Sword Saint’s righteousness, and memories of her danced vividly in my mind.
I had a feeling this would happen.
The Sword Saint’s Simma wasn’t just about the past.
It would be a despair that came from not being able to protect the people she should protect based on that past.
I continued climbing the steps of the Hongseong Sect. I saw traces of destruction along the way. Dead bodies lay everywhere.
With each one I confirmed, illusions gradually appeared and disappeared.
And then…
“Tsk.”
I couldn’t help but feel bitter.
I had found Hongryeon. It seemed she had fought to protect the other disciples and people of Hongseong, still standing there, dead with a broken great sword in hand.
I approached her and reached out my hand.
“I’ll definitely become someone like Master!”
I saw the young Hongryeon holding her hand and smiling. The Sword Saint made a promise to her.
The first disciple I had ever accepted.
I swear I would raise you well.
I closed Hongryeon’s eyes and laid her body down. Then I re-entered the Hongseong Sect.
“…Oh no.”
I saw more fallen disciples of the Hongseong Sect.
Among them was a girl with gray hair. When I saw Sayoon, I took her hand.
As soon as I held her small, cold hand, I saw the girl blankly staring up at the sky.
“From now on, call me Master.”
She was a child who resembled my younger self. That’s why I wanted to teach her so much.
Sayoon, holding the Sword Saint’s hand, was beaming with joy.
That smile was something the Sword Saint cherished deeply.
As the illusion faded, I stepped inside.
When I arrived in front of the main hall, I saw an indigo-haired woman kneeling in front of a black-haired woman, wielding a great sword and unleashing a loud awakening.
A woman with black hair kneels before a woman with navy blue hair.
She could see the Sword Saint.
Did she feel a presence?
The Sword Saint slowly turned her head. Her black eyes seemed empty.
As if there was no hope left.
As if she couldn’t escape this hell.
And then, the moment the black-haired woman’s great sword pierced the Sword Saint.
The surroundings changed.
This time, instead of what she had seen earlier, I found myself in the bleak garden of Hongseong, which, despite the renovations being complete, had not changed.
Next to me sat the Sword Saint, wearing a blank expression.
Tears streamed down her face, which she couldn’t hide.
The Sword Saint slowly pulled her legs up and hugged herself.
Listening to her sob while crouched with her face in her knees, I opened my mouth.
“Are you okay?”
There was no answer. However, her head bobbed slightly, as if she hadn’t completely given up.
“Then, can we try again?”
The Sword Saint lifted her head. Her pretty face, stained with tears, was twisted in anguish.
She stared blankly at me before burying her face back in her knees.
“I believe you know what the situation is. If you stay like this…”
Chained up and, even though they say they’ll help her, it’s only a matter of time before the Sword Saint, now a demon, breaks through.
“I really can’t protect you. But is that okay?”
A flinch, her shoulders trembled.
It must be hard.
It must be painful.
It must be scary.
And yet the Sword Saint knew who she was and what she had to do.
“You said you would entrust your life to me. Let’s go together.”
“…You might be in danger.”
As I looked at the Sword Saint wiping her tears, I thought to myself.
Surely, everyone knows what to say in situations like this.
“It’s fine. I won’t die.”
It’s okay. I won’t die.
Isn’t that the number one motto for men?
At my reply, the Sword Saint stared at me blankly before bursting into a chuckle.
“I always think about this, but you really are a strong person. Staying so calm in this situation…”
After thinking for a moment, the Sword Saint wiped her face a few times with her hands and got to her feet.
“Excellent. Now, what should we do?”
With a slightly tired expression, she calmly answered.
“…You have to defeat me, Simma.”
Together with the Sword Saint, we headed toward the castle of Hongseong. Unlike before, the people we encountered weren’t dead this time.
“Master!”
“Yerin!”
Of course, it was different from reality. There were people I didn’t know, and those I did, all seemingly together.
After gazing nostalgically at them, greeting and exchanging short conversations, the Sword Saint spoke up.
“She defeated me and… killed them. As if I could never protect them.”
“Really? That’s surprising. I didn’t think the Sword Saint would lose.”
“…Because she is me, too.”
So, the skill level is the same?
In the end, it would come down to mindset and how much of a gap one could create.
As we continued our conversation and finally arrived at the castle, we found a black mass shaped like a person sitting on the castle stairs.
A lump of practice sat there.
In an instant, that face changed.
Always calm, indifferent, and seemingly sleepy.
But it was now Sword Saint Na Yerin, her red eyes gleaming in an unsettling manner.
“Oh my. You’re back again? This time… heh, a guy I’ve never seen before?”
A mocking tone dripped from her voice as her appearance shifted once more.
She transformed into the black-haired woman I saw earlier—Senior Sister of the Sword Saint.
After she burst into laughter, she reverted back to the face of the Sword Saint, but neither I nor the Sword Saint uttered a word.
“Why didn’t you bring your master or your disciple instead? That person is…”
Tilting her head, the black-haired woman, the Sword Saint’s Simma, smirked.
“No matter how I look at it, you seem weak!!”
A red aura exploded like a volcanic eruption. Just standing there made me stagger backward; even the Sword Saint, gripping her giant sword, spoke.
“…This time will be different.”
“Hehehe. Are you starting to give up? It’s easier if you do. Ah, I really want to show you how sweet the power of the Evil Clan is. Yes, if I could just kill everything that’s holding you back…”
Her eyes gleamed. Unable to contain her madness, her blood-red gaze turned toward me.
“You’d feel better too!!”
Still, she wasn’t using shooting stars right from the start.
Well, it would be quite a gap if she needed to gather energy for that during a fight at their level.
She’d probably use it after gaining some upper hand.
While I was thinking this, the Sword Saint charged ahead, leaving me behind.
-Bang!! Bang!!
The clash of massive swords echoed. Yet, despite the powerful noise, no one came to the scene.
“Hahaha!! Ahahaha!!”
A sinister aura rose from the Simma, who was bursting with manic laughter.
The Simma and the Sword Saint.
Both used similar levels of Hongseong Divine Art, but the momentum was clearly stronger with the Simma.
Also, with her constantly shifting appearance and mental pressure, it seemed like the Sword Saint was being pushed back.
At this rate, the same outcome as before would likely occur.
Still, I quietly observed.
I was on the lookout for any movements or actions from the Simma, wondering if it would remind me of something.
Everything felt oddly familiar.
Right—the forced defeat event of Sayoon.
After witnessing an entire village being slaughtered by the Iron Blood Clan, when she could no longer suppress her rage and bloodlust, her Hongseong Divine Art was about to go berserk.
Despite the difference in their skill levels, the movements she displayed back then were quite similar to those of the Simma now.
And after being blocked by Chaejin and overwhelmed by Doje, she gained insight and became one step stronger after breaking away from being a Simma.
“Urgh!!”
The Sword Saint gritted her teeth as she was bounced back. When she tried to charge forward again, I spoke to her.
“Sword Saint, do you trust me?”
“I do.”
There was no hesitation whatsoever. She was resolute, so I continued.
“Then, please trust me and give me a chance. I think I could create an opening, just once.”
“…It’s risky.”
But isn’t that better than just standing back?
After all, it would just get overwhelmed anyway.
In battles of might, one tiny opening can shift the momentum and decide the outcome, something the Sword Saint understands better than I do.
Maybe that’s why? The Sword Saint looked at me intently before asking with a trembling voice.
“…Can you do it? It’ll be dangerous.”
“I’m fine.”
“…You’ve always honored your words, and achieved what you aimed for. So… I will trust you.”
The Sword Saint nodded, and I stepped forward. Seeing this, the Simma let out a derisive snort in disbelief.
She nodded, and I stepped forward. Seeing me, Simma snorted in disbelief.
“You think someone like you can stop me?!”
I extended my right hand.
And then my left hand down.
Just like when Chaejin did.
She didn’t use any high-level martial arts to counter the overwhelming force.
She merely unfolded her Taegeuk-kwon.
Of course, the level difference between my Taegeuk-kwon and Chaejin’s was substantial.
And there was also a gap in skill between the rampaging Sayoon and Sword Saint Simma.
Mockery, contempt, and insignificance.
She swung her greatsword at me as if swatting away a bothersome bug.
Hongseong Divine Art Greatsword Technique. Destruction.
It was the weakest attack in the Hongseong Divine Art’s greatsword techniques.
An attack that fully revealed Simma’s arrogance.
“You’re nothing more than an ant.”
Not a strong force, just a powerful yet simple blade strike was aimed my way, so I reached out with my left hand.
I felt the heaviness. The strength pouring into my arm was powerful.
Simma before me possessed the might of a Sword Saint, and her guilt was triggered by countless deaths she caused, pushing her into despair.
So it wasn’t inaccurate to say that I was just an ant to her.
Thus, it was only natural not to exert much strength to wipe something so trivial away.
Maybe that’s why it was possible.
Of course, even so, I would still have to struggle a bit.
My left hand met the greatsword. There was no need to block it.
I just had to change its powerful flow, even if just slightly.
I saw it.
Sayoon, who, in her arrogance, possessed a mighty yet reckless strength.
I saw it.
Chaejin, who redirected that power using only the tiniest bit of her strength in her Taegeuk-kwon.
I saw it.
And I was also learning, albeit inadequately.
Using a feather’s worth of strength to change the course of a river through my Taegeuk-kwon.
-Crack!!
Of course, it wasn’t easy.
Even changing the direction of the force required the minimum qualifications to alter its momentum.
So I heard the sound of my left arm twisting.
Even using Ogumhee’s taboo to protect my body, it turned out to be like this.
A chilling pain coursed through my spine.
A strong pressure hit my core.
I took it all in and let it flow out.
“Cough!”
It felt like something hot rose up from inside, spilling out of my mouth.
But I had already factored in this level of injury.
And I wouldn’t be able to do this again.
Simma wasn’t foolish; she wouldn’t use such a simple attack on me a second time.
But still, just once.
If I could just change the direction and create a tiny opening…
To receive an injury like this from someone with the same level of power as a Sword Saint?
That’s a profitable trade.
Besides, I heard from the Doje that injuries sustained in someone else’s mirror realm were treated as nonexistent when you returned, so this kind of pain?
There’s no reason I couldn’t endure it.
“Huh?”
The tsunami-like attack that was about to slice my body passed right by me. As she sliced the air with her greatsword, I lightly shoved her aside with my right shoulder, causing Simma to stagger slightly.
And with the gap created.
The miraculous result that I had brought about.
The Sword Saint didn’t miss it.
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