"...Hah!"

I could hear the voice of the Soul-Stealing Sword (탈혼검). I kicked the stunned 29th Warrior.

She immediately retreated. Realizing what my momentary decision meant, I lowered my voice.

"...Are you trying to bear all of this alone?"

"Step away from me. This has nothing to do with you."

I could feel the 29th Warrior's gaze, but I had no intention of lowering my sword.

I pulled Samaak closer. The Soul-Stealing Sword smiled, seemingly entertained.

"Young brother, have you thought about the repercussions of what you've just done? It doesn’t look like you planned this in advance."

"I drew my sword because I had to."

"Even if you draw your sword, what meaning does it have if it’s going to break?"

"Even if it breaks, the fact that I drew it is what matters."

Samaak, grabbed by the nape of his neck, struggled.

"You mad bastard?! Are you looking to die?!"

"Maybe I am."

"...What?"

"Maybe I’m desperate to die. Samaak."

I knew I couldn’t win.

I knew better than anyone that I couldn’t win.

But that’s why I smiled.

"Even so, I had to draw it."

I aimed my sword sideways.

At a beast I could never defeat.

"I’m a bodyguard."

"...You crazy bastard."

Samaak pushed my hand away. Realizing that the situation had spiraled out of control, he straightened his posture.

"I’m going to die."

"I will try my best to prevent that."

"...Ugh."

Samaak grabbed a piece of paper that had fallen.

"Can you... hold on?"

His voice, strained and full of regret, reached my ears. But I didn’t want to hear it.

There was no need for apologies. I had no reason to accept them.

This was just a choice I made for myself.

"I’ll endure."

"...Heh."

The Soul-Stealing Sword grinned.

"Impressive spirit. Unknown Blood Demon Army member, I don’t know how you’re involved with the Sama family, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen such a trained sword. I can tell from just your aura. I like that kind of sword. But you can’t defeat me."

"......."

"Few martial artists like you exist. So before we cross swords, let me ask: Even if you manage to restrain me, do you think you can capture my disciple too? It’s impossible. You only have one sword, and you can’t overcome the numbers. Since the head of the Sama family has failed to master martial arts, it’s natural that you can’t defeat the swords of those who have."

The Soul-Stealing Sword whispered.

"This is a meaningless fight. If you don’t sheath your sword, you’ll die. Even if you don’t die, the things you need to protect will die by my disciple’s hand. Yet, you still refuse to put down your sword?"

"...Why are you so certain there’s only one sword?"

I turned to look. The 29th Warrior had drawn her sword.

A sharp, blood-red glow flashed under the moonlight.

The Soul-Stealing Sword’s eyebrows twitched.

"If you had ears, you would’ve understood what I just said."

"I heard you. I know. Damn it. I know how ridiculously strong you are. And how heavy that title, Soul-Stealing Sword, is."

The 29th Warrior’s hands trembled.

Even the tip of the sword was shaking.

"...29th Warrior?"

She jerked her head sharply.

"Are you kicking me? After I worked hard for you?"

"I’m trying to keep you from getting involved..."

"30th Warrior. You’re really impossible. You're unbelievably reckless. You must be insane. But..."

She gritted her teeth.

"I must be insane too. Actually... I wanted you to say that. I had enough reason to draw my sword. I just couldn’t do it out of fear."

"......."

"Someone pushed me, and now it’s done. I’ve straightened my back. I see it now, what I have to do. Two is better than one. I’m tired of hearing stories of people getting deceived and losing everything. It’s unpleasant, even if it’s not my story."

"...You crazy woman?"

"Shut up, Samaak. Before you put your sword away, I’ve been thinking, your tone is really unbearable. So shut up and follow me. Don’t whine in my ear."

The 29th Warrior growled.

"I’ll get you out of here."

"Hahahahaha!!!"

The Soul-Stealing Sword laughed wildly.

"There are two treasures in this muddy swamp! This sight truly excites me! But it can’t be helped. I’m here under the orders of the Rakshasa Sect. Even though I don’t want to, I must strike. The head of the Sama family. Try escaping from the bodyguards of the Blood Demon Army."

---Swish.

The Soul-Stealing Sword drew his sword. It was heavy and long.

A sword so steeped in blood that a killing aura clung to its edge.

"What are you doing?"

The Soul-Stealing Sword’s mouth twisted into a grin.

"---Everything has already begun. Come in, unnamed Blood Demon Army member."

"29th Warrior. Please look after Samaak."

"...And you?"

She walked, her sword trailing behind her.

In a circle.

Eyes locked on the enemy.

"As I said, I will tie down the Soul-Stealing Sword, No Hacheon."

"......."

I could hear the 29th Warrior’s voice murmuring behind me.

"...Don’t die."

The voice of the dragged Samaak also vanished, timed perfectly with the silence in the room.

"Hold on! You bastard! If you don’t hold on, I’ll kill you!"

It was the opposite of what I’d heard from him before. Words full of anger.

I didn’t answer him. I only focused on the enemy in front of me.

Now, it was only a hair’s breadth away.

With that tiny difference, my body would be torn apart for sure. What stood before me was a beast with its teeth bared, a monster I could never climb to.

The Soul-Stealing Sword spoke.

"Geumunryong."

"...Yes. Master."

"Chase him. After a moment."

"...Why after a moment?"

"A martial artist who’s willing to risk death is right in front of you. Shouldn’t you show proper respect?"

It was a polite gesture. I answered by removing my mask.

The Soul-Stealing Sword sighed.

"Young one. You still have much to learn. Do you have anything you’d like to say?"

"...No."

There was not a single lie in the words I spoke.

"Shouldn’t the one trying to survive give up now?"

"...Heh. You’re not wrong."

The Soul-Stealing Sword flashed his sword.

"Let me teach you your name."

"...30th Warrior."

"Isn’t that name insufficient?"

Blood-red sword energy trickled down from the tip of his sword.

"That will do."

"Then."

The Soul-Stealing Sword struck the ground.

I also moved my sword.

***

The 29th Warrior ran while holding Samaak in her arms.

They had to get out. As long as Samaak was alive, there might still be a day when the truth hidden behind lies would come to light.

"We need to get out of this village!"

"...Even if we get out, it’ll be the same."

"Then what do you plan to do?! 30th Warrior is holding them off! Are you trying to make that sacrifice meaningless?!"

"Shut up! I’m thinking!"

Her attitude was awful. Truly terrible!

But still, she had to protect him. This was the time that 30th Warrior had bought with his life. The 29th Warrior ran toward the back gate of the Sama family estate.

"...No."

Samaak, who had been thinking, suddenly raised his head.

"Turn the road."

"What?"

"Don’t leave the Sama family. We’ll be caught anyway. If that’s the case... we must gamble."

"What do you mean?!"

"We need to raise the stakes. Only then will they come. The Blood Demon Army. The Rakshasa Sect. The Heavenly Demon Sect. And the Sama family..."

Muttering to himself, Samaak raised his hand.

"Go higher. We need something higher. For that, we need the Chancellor’s Seal. We go to the secret vault! Turn the road!"

"Don’t touch my head! We could just go! You must know something, right?! Tell me!"

"My head is far more useful than yours!"

The 29th Warrior stopped her feet. It wasn’t because of Samaak’s curse.

She had sensed the presence coming from behind.

"...Then let’s go."

"What?"

"Go, Samaak."

It was coming.

It was getting closer.

I could feel it. A small beast. A terrifying strong one whose teeth were far from small.

The 29th Warrior gripped her drawn sword tightly. She steadied her breath amid the faint, trembling blood-red afterimage.

"Go to the secret vault. Do something, I don’t care what. If we can’t escape, then let’s gamble as you say."

"...You."

Samaak turned his head. He took a few steps but looked back again.

"The Sama family never forgets a favor."

"Favor or whatever, you can only talk if you’re alive. Go, now."

Samaak disappeared. The 29th Warrior was left alone, waiting for whoever was coming after them.

"My beloved younger sister..."

The voice that my older sister had always whispered to me. The family that had always sacrificed for themselves was still trapped in the abyss.

I couldn’t die. I knew that better than anyone.

...But.

Is it right to stay silent when I’ve seen it?

The reason I tried to capture Samaak was one.

I was confused. I was scared. There was a reason I couldn’t die, and a reason I just didn’t want to die.

But 30th Warrior did what was difficult without hesitation. I thought about that figure, but since I had never walked the path of my homeland, I reached out carelessly.

...Actually, 30th Warrior.

There’s something I never told you that day.

"White Plum. It’s okay. You don’t have to return anything."

My older sister always said that you didn’t have to return anything.

But I wanted to repay her one-sided love. I wanted to return everything she had given me.

I wanted to be proud. That the child she nurtured grew up like this.

But I knew best that I couldn’t do that.

On the day my sister went mad, I couldn’t even go into Hongbongru, even though I had screamed while kicking the walls, because my life was too precious.

I used my sister as an excuse to run to the Blood Demon Army. Now I’m endlessly running away under the pretext of training martial arts to save her.

I thought maybe if I became a Blood Demon, things would somehow work out. So I continue to walk toward that vague goal.

I’m a coward. I’m the runaway whose life is the most precious. The reason I act tough around men is because of that.

Because I know I’m a coward.

Because I know I can’t face myself.

"Little sister."

But.

Still... maybe this time...

Maybe this time, the flower that had been closed for so long could bloom.

The child my sister raised without shame. The child who wanted to be a female warrior wielding a sword for the weak, as my sister always talked about.

Even though I was scared, even though I knew I was going to die.

Even though my sword trembled madly and I couldn’t extend it.

Even though I’m a coward.

Even though I’m a runaway...

"Step aside. Then I won’t take your life. Where did Samaak go?"

The most precious flower in Hongbongru.

---Could the flower that my sister, Geummaehwa, cultivated bloom just once?

"...No."

A master.

A martial artist who belongs to a category I cannot defeat.

My voice trembled.

Still, I gripped my sword.

I raised my remaining hand and removed my mask.

In the moonlight, my white hair shook.

Fear made my sword tremble. Tears I didn’t even realize were flowing drenched the floor.

I felt my feet shake, sensing that I might never be able to return.

But even so, I raised my sword.

"I... won’t let you pass. I won’t tell you anything."

The child who was always discriminated against for her strange hair color in Hongbongru.

The child who had been taken from Geummaehwa’s hands, finally regaining her smile.

The child who had lost what was precious and fled into endless darkness...

"If you want to pass through here..."

The coward raises a sword.

To make the flower that had always been closed bloom, just once.

"Step over my dead body!"

---At least, to become proud, even if it’s late.