What meaning is there in enduring the present?

Chueuigyeong stared at the back of the Sama family head. The former head, Sama Gon, who had disappeared without a word. Samaak, who was forced to take on that position.

Struggles were definitely visible. Yet, despite that, the Sama family's prestige was steadily declining.

Everything has its limit.

No matter how much Samaak was praised for his brilliance, he was, after all, just a sprout that had not yet grown.

And yet, he continued to watch. Chueuigyeong, rather than taking dangerous actions, chose the path he had always taken.

Silently guarding that back.

But...

The unease he held in his heart started to manifest in the real world.

The family slowly crumbling. Despite the visible effort from behind, nothing was changing.

His master was still stuck in place. He tried to protect what they had, but in reality, he couldn't protect anything.

"...Head. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Chueuigyeong."

...No.

Nothing is fine.

Chueuigyeong flinched at the words he muttered inwardly. Thinking about it, he realized that lately, he had often had such thoughts.

What if he had been in that position?

The beginning was small. Waiting for Samaak to fall asleep, sneaking a peek at the Sama family's hidden techniques.

Even after seeing them, he couldn’t understand, so eventually, he stole the entire manual. He created his own time and began to learn one technique after another.

However, the Sama family’s swordsmanship was not easy. Even someone who had dedicated his life to the sword found it difficult to understand.

Rumors of failed trade missions reached his ears. Chueuigyeong realized that, without knowing it, he had started to click his tongue more often in front of Samaak.

He also secretly compared them. If Sama Gon, the previous head, were here, would the Sama family have fallen so far?

The head’s dignity seemed woefully inadequate.

He thought to himself that, had it been him, the family wouldn’t have reached this point.

When he came to his senses, Chueuigyeong found himself complaining to a few of the warriors following him. He frowned, saying that if things continued like this, the Sama family he cherished might fall apart.

Then, his subordinates spoke up.

"...Certainly. We cannot really consider someone who can't even properly hold a sword as the head, can we?"

"Since the moment the former head left, isn’t this basically an empty position?"

"We are not some righteous sect like the Jeogalsega... Since this is the headquarters, in the end, if one doesn’t hold power, they will be swept away, right?"

They drank together.

Spent time together.

Those full of dissatisfaction spoke in unison.

"Perhaps the reason the Sama family has come to this point is because the head is not strong enough."

"It must change, even if it's late, Brother."

"I think someone stronger, someone who can withstand external pressure, should take the head of the Sama family."

It was just complaints spilled over a drink.

But Chueuigyeong’s heart was set.

Without Sama Gon. Without that strong master...

---What is there that I cannot do?

The Sama family must change. Someone must take the place of the head.

Hadn't I also cherished the Sama family?

He had served the former head, Sama Gon, with his life. This was the Sama family he had built, risking his life.

I can't just leave it to crumble like this.

Only someone with the qualifications, someone like me...

Only I can raise the Sama family again!

"Master."

It was in that moment the whisper came.

"Do you not need help?"

Methods and means.

Within that, Chueuigyeong smiled.

Finally, he could claim the position he had longed for.

***

They clash. They crumble.

The Beigak warriors swing their swords but fall one after another within ten seconds.

"Ugh!"

"What kind of power is this...!"

"Hahaha! Samaak! Look! Don’t you recognize this?!"

The sword gleamed menacingly. Its trajectory was deadly, yet fluid.

Samaak, following the blade’s path with his eyes, was horrified.

"Sama Swordsmanship?! You crazy bastard!"

"Yes! It's the Sama Swordsmanship! This sword proves that I have the rightful claim to the position of the family head!"

"Your grandfather would never have taught you this! No way... you... you stole the secret techniques?!"

"It’s too late to discuss right and wrong now! I’ve mastered it, and you haven’t! Everything in our family is divided by strength!"

Chueuigyeong smirked.

"What meaning does the head of the Sama family have if they can't even wield a sword?!"

It’s impossible to reason with him. He’s already gone mad.

"Reorganize the troops! Form a defense line! Now!"

The Beigak members move. Twelve remaining swordsmen hesitate but form ranks.

But their blades are dull. They tremble.

Beigak was originally an intelligence-gathering division for the Sama family.

Naturally, their combat skills were not on a high level. Most here are barely above the elite level.

"Is that really all you’ve got to block my sword energy?"

Chueuigyeong’s sword was filled with power. His Sama Swordsmanship, though lacking, was far more refined than the weak attempts of his opponents.

One of them spits blood as they fall, their broken sword clattering to the floor.

The morale falters, and the formation collapses.

Rather than fighting, they choose to evade, causing whatever structure they had left to completely crumble.

Beigak Chief shouted.

"You need to retreat! Head!"

"Do you think I’d leave myself unprepared? My followers are blocking the back door of Beigak."

"You insane bastard! Chueuigyeong! What the hell are you thinking?!"

"I’m doing this to protect the name of the Sama family! Beigak Chief! If you have a brain, think! What’s changed while Samaak has been head?! What’s really changed?!"

Chueuigyeong twisted his sword and aimed it squarely at Samaak.

"It’s different now compared to when the former head was here! We... we are falling, and no one’s doing anything! Do you think I’m blind?! Even though I’ve been watching, nothing has changed, so I’m rising up!"

"......."

"Someone has to do it! Damn it! I don’t want to do this either! But the Sama family is precious to me! It’s the only connection left from the former head!"

The sword’s edge shuddered, reflecting his anger.

"Beigak Chief. I’ll give you one last chance. Come to me. If you do, I’ll guarantee your position. Everything else will remain as it is. Only one thing will change."

"...For the Sama family?"

"Yes. For the Sama family."

The Beigak Chief’s eyes grew cold.

"You’re babbling, Chueuigyeong. If you were being honest, you should have hidden the greedy look in your eyes. You just want the head of the Sama family for yourself."

"You refuse to see it even when it's right in front of you. You’re not suited for the Beigak Chief position."

"And if I’m not?"

"Then you deserve the grave. All of you here deserve a grave! I’ll place a tombstone over it myself! The powerful Sama family that the former head praised! I will raise it, not you, not with your incompetence!"

Amid the wavering gazes, Samaak gritted his teeth.

The Beigak Chief whispered.

"Head. There’s a secret passage. You should hide there."

"......."

"If you escape, we can plan for the future. The legitimacy of the Sama family belongs to you. Save yourself, and we can uncover everything..."

"---Shut up."

Escape?

Escape, you say?

I’ve already done that once. Just recently.

Fleeing from the Talhongeom. Now, am I supposed to flee from Chueuigyeong?

Samaak surveyed the area. The ones lying down, the ones standing—all of them, he remembered their names.

There were no strangers here. They were all people he had spoken to at least once.

The Beigak members.

They weren’t loud, but they followed the mood well, and their joking nature had always matched his own.

As for the Beigak Chief, his connection ran deeper than anyone here. Hadn’t he also learned how to handle information from him?

"...I’m not leaving this place."

"The name of the Sama family is heavy, Akah."

He searched through his long memories.

Muhyeolgeom.

He gripped it tightly.

Chueuigyeong laughed scornfully.

"That’s like putting a pearl necklace on a pig’s neck! What use is it to you?! Hand it over! Everything, including the Muhyeolgeom!"

It’s true. He knew it since the day he learned the sword from his grandfather.

The Sama family is martial-based. How could the head be incapable of using the sword?

Who would follow that? He had thought the same way even while working.

"...You crazy bastard."

But...

But surprisingly, many were watching his back.

"Responsibility isn’t in the sword’s hilt. It’s at the end."

"...I don’t understand."

"Akah. It’s simple. The sword’s hilt represents position. It’s what you hold to avoid collapsing. Who wouldn’t be able to hold it, if they truly wanted to? Who wouldn’t grip it, if they wished to?"

Eyes focused on him.

People gathered.

They all gathered, adding their will to create a better tomorrow.

"What’s important is the soul of the sword. A sword without a soul is not a sword."

"So how does one create the soul of the sword?"

"---When you truly wish to hold the sword."

The head of the Sama family.

The name was, in fact, heavy. At times, it was suffocating.

From managing the family to all the things that needed to be done, there was so much to handle. Sometimes, the burden kept him awake, and he would spend the night awake.

He didn’t have the strength to bear it all. There were many things he lacked to be an ideal family head.

...But.

Despite that, it remains the same.

The heart of the child he was still lingers. The young boy who once spoke with his grandfather is still standing here.

The back he had always seen.

The longing to be like him.

"What you see will shape the sword."

"What... sword?"

He grasps the sword.

He grips the Muhyeolgeom.

No one can avoid wielding a sword. Someone must bear the responsibility.

The longing turns into desire.

Desire leads him to grasp the sword without a blade.

The blade’s edge is formed from now.

"Jeong Hansu. Song Hacheon. Gal Jungri."

He speaks the names aloud.

To understand what he is holding.

"Go Myeong. Choo Yanggeon. Song Hwangyeong."

He struggles to form the edge of the sword.

He opens his mouth, wishing for metal to resonate.

"Pung Jeongmun. Chang Maeng. Jang Gongun."

If the Sama family enters the Heavenly Demon Sect, it would certainly go against his grandfather's wishes. The name of the Sama family would inevitably change to the name of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

"Beigak Chief Jin Sanwol."

Even if he runs, the possibility of planning for the future is slim. Rather, as a traitor, the name of the Sama family could be completely destroyed.

More than anything...

He had left behind those who risked their lives for him.

He must help. Otherwise, he will die from the Talhongeom. He was known as a great warrior even within the school.

It will fall. It will definitely fall.

Therefore, before it collapses, he must reclaim it. By any means necessary.

Revenge is the Sama family’s policy.

This is the decisive moment.

With the sword in hand.

By any means necessary.

---Escape is never an option from the start!

"From now on..."

His voice trembles. Afraid to confirm the result, he closes his eyes.

Nevertheless, he speaks.

He swore to take responsibility, and he will not break that vow.

Find a way.

Open a path. Samaak. Open the path. With his own two hands.

Even if the result is not as expected, watching the end is the role of the one who leads.

"I will open the path."

He looks around.

He etches the names of those he called into his memory.

"---Stake your life for me. Sama family."

He whispers.

Believing that an answer will come.

"...Pfft."

Chueuigyeong laughs. His laughter wracks his body, clutching his stomach.

In that playful laugh was the certainty that no one here would risk their lives for a weak family head.

"You crazy bastard! Nothing will change with those words! You can't have the same influence as the former head...!"

But there was.

"...Jeong Hansu. I will follow your command."

A piece of the sword attaches itself.

"What the hell...?!"

"Song Hacheon. I will follow your command."

"Gal Jungri. I will follow your command."

"You crazy bastards...!"

Voices mix. They don’t end with just one, and they burst out one after another.

"Pung Jeongmun! I will follow your command!"

"I, Chang Maeng! Until the moment I die, I will be the head’s sword!"

"I, Jang Gongun! If this life has value, I will throw it away, no matter what!"

Their past actions.

The appearances they had shown.

The efforts they had made blended into one, creating an unstable but determined sword.

The collapsed momentum revives.

The gaze that had shrunk begins to move again.

"The Sama family you created will become your sword."

Voices gather.

The soul contained in the sword cries out.

"I, Go Myeong! I will surely save the head from that wicked man!"

"I, Choo Yanggeon! I will deal with the traitor!"

"Gal Jungri. I will follow your command, Head."

A sword that Chueuigyeong didn’t have.

He gathers it, fits it into the scabbard, and grips it in its proper form.

The sword he held for the first time was heavy.

Samaak hid it tightly, not wanting to let it fall.

The Beigak Chief’s gaze weighed down on him.

"Do you have a way?"

"There is always a way to break through. I’ve never taken a step without thought. Beigak Chief. Didn’t you teach me that?"

"...Even if the body is a deer, the soul is a tiger."

The Beigak Chief smiled faintly.

"Who would doubt the position of the head?"

A faint sword energy flowed from the tip of the Beigak Chief’s sword.

"Beigak Chief Jin Sanwol. I will follow your command. The Beigak, which should have collapsed long ago, is still standing thanks to the head."

"Y...you...!"

"---Shut up. Former bodyguard."

Samaak aimed the tip of the Muhyeolgeom at Chueuigyeong.

Chueuigyeong shouted desperately.

"You bastard who hasn’t even mastered martial arts! No matter how much you struggle, nothing will change! Even if you throw away your life, nothing will change! You... you won’t get anything by doing this! The Sama family is mine! It belongs to the talented!"

"Yes. I haven’t mastered martial arts. It’s true that I lack talent as the head of the martial family."

He could feel it at the tip of the Muhyeolgeom.

"But what about you? What about you?"

"You bastard...!"

"The Sama family is not only a martial family. It’s a family of the wise as well. So... isn’t it the same for you? You have a head, but you don’t use it to think..."

The sword mark that can only be used once.

"You’ve lived your life without a head, Chueuigyeong. Now, I will take it from you. This is my final mercy."

"You damn bastard!!!"