Twenty-Nine crawled across the ground. She kept crawling.

She had to return to where she had come from.

He was waiting. He was holding on.

Thirty.

She couldn’t imagine a world where he died.

So she had to go help. She had to help.

She couldn’t let him die. No matter what.

No matter what…!

"...Ah."

Her head fell, slamming into the ground for a moment. Dirt and dust filled her mouth.

She coughed violently, spitting out a mixture of blood and saliva onto the ground.

She needed to stand.

She needed to stand…

But her body…

Her body wouldn’t move...

"...Ugh."

No, this wasn’t the time to complain.

Instead of worrying, she had to reach out. She had to keep moving.

Crawl. Crawl forward.

Grab hold of something. Anything.

Grab hold and...

"...Hic."

She swallowed her tears. She crawled, sobbing.

Don’t die.

Don’t die.

Thirty, don’t die. You can’t die. After all this, it wouldn’t make sense for you to die.

You’re alive, aren’t you? Tell me you’re alive. Please. Please...

Someone like you shouldn’t die.

That would… That would truly be unfair.

You’re alive. You must be.

I’m coming now.

I’m coming now…!

"You."

A voice called out to her. She turned around belatedly.

Through her blurry vision, she saw someone standing there. She could make out something in their arms.

A man’s limp body, hanging like a corpse.

Geuk Jin-myeong’s body.

"What are you doing?"

"......"

She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Was this person an enemy? An ally? She didn’t know. Considering they were holding Geuk Jin-myeong, it was likely they were an enemy.

She flailed weakly, brandishing her sword. The woman laughed, catching the tip of her blade with both hands.

"Can you answer one question for me? I’m on a job and already received an advance payment."

"......"

"Are you with the Heavenly Demon Sect, or the Sama family?"

"......"

"Can’t answer? Well, you don’t look like you’re in any condition to, either."

Purple hair flowed into view, shimmering faintly under the moonlight. The woman bent down toward her.

She whispered.

"Just blink. Are you with the Sama family?"

"......"

How should she answer?

What was the right answer?

Twenty-Nine laughed bitterly at her own hesitation. Was this just her unchangeable instinct?

She was still a coward. But if effort could overcome that cowardice...

Resolve.

She needed to steel her resolve.

She didn’t want to lie at this point. Even if the person before her was an enemy, she wanted to stay true to herself.

Nothing was more disgraceful than resheathing a drawn sword.

She blinked.

The woman smiled.

"Is that so?"

She reached out her hand. Twenty-Nine flinched, squeezing her eyes shut as the hand came toward her face.

But the pain she expected never came.

Instead, something rolled into her mouth.

"It’s a painkiller. It’ll only dull the pain, so don’t push yourself too hard. Otherwise, you’ll really die."

"......"

"I’ve got somewhere to be. I need this guy for something useful. So just lie here quietly..."

A hand reached out.

She grabbed the woman’s ankle.

The gaze looking down at her stiffened.

"I said stay quiet. Crawling wasn’t part of the plan."

She coughed violently, her voice beginning to return.

So she begged. Because she didn’t have enough strength to do anything else.

Sobbing.

Whispering.

"Th...ir...ty... Help...him..."

"What?"

"The Blood...Demon... Please... Save him... He’s alone...there..."

"......"

She knew she couldn’t do it herself.

She knew she wasn’t strong enough to handle everything on her own.

So she clung to the woman, begging. Discarding even her pride.

"Please..."

"...This is the first time I’ve seen something like this. Kid, what you need to worry about right now is your own body. This isn’t the time to be worrying about someone else. You’re on the brink of death too, you know?"

"S...ave...him..."

"Geez. When you beg like that, I guess I don’t have much choice."

The woman’s eyes curved into crescent moons.

"Alright then… But this is a debt, got it? I’ll collect every bit of it later. Not a single penny short."

...

My body breaks apart. It regenerates and is destroyed again in a relentless cycle.

The Heavenly Body twists within me, the black roots embedded in my veins screaming in agony.

A body pushed to its absolute limits. The creaking grows louder, and I feel necrotic skin peeling away from my toes.

...Yet.

I am still walking.

"What could you possibly hope to gain by going this far?!"

It comes for me—the blade.

It crashes into me, colliding with my body.

--- KAAAAANG!!!

Our swords clash, and amidst the screeching sound, I let out a groan.

It hurts. It feels like I’m going to die. My creaking body threatens to tear itself apart.

All this, just for a single step forward.

I have to swallow thousands of groans for every step.

My body is freezing. I can feel it—death creeping in, moment by moment.

But still, I walk.

Don’t think.

Move.

I strike out. The enemy is forced back. I don’t pursue the distance created.

Instead, I grip my blade and dig beneath the frozen flesh.

I force awake the dead nerves with the tip of my sword.

"What in the world…?!"

The frost overtakes my body faster than it can regenerate.

So I dig deeper, carving through and forcing it awake.

Heavenly Body.

Don’t fall asleep.

It’s not time for you to rest yet.

Continuing my self-mutilation, I drag my dormant blood back to life. Screaming, I rip off the frozen skin.

Blood. Turn.

Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique. Awaken the blood, even at the brink of hell.

If you lack internal energy, claw it out.

Remember what you’ve consumed.

The time you’ve built.

The sword you’ve forged.

--- Rip it all apart if that’s what it takes to prove yourself!

"She’s waiting for you. At a height so distant you cannot even see."

I hear her whispered words again. They resound at the tip of my sword.

I step into the terror of the Soul-Severing Sword.

Awakening the blood.

Swinging my blade.

Proving with my entire being that I am alive.

"What?!"

I strike at his now-twisted, laughterless face. He blocks it.

But I don’t stop.

"This brute…!"

He scatters his sword techniques. I dodge the incoming blade.

I grab my severed right arm. I force it back into place.

"This… This…!"

I grab my sword. I lose it.

I grab my sword. I lose it.

I grab my sword. I lose it.

But even so, once more...

--- I grab my sword.

"I’ve never seen a beast like you in my life!"

The Soul-Severing Sword roars.

He’s coming.

A technique unlike anything I’ve seen before. A blade surpassing even earnestness, rushing straight toward death itself.

I stumble as I grip my blade. I force tension into my slackened muscles.

"Wait for me, Cheonma Cheon Soso."

To give weight to my own words.

To make sure I never look back on the blade I’ve thrust forward.

Now, this sword, as if one with my body, rises from the depths of hell.

A dazzling technique?

I don’t have that.

Phantom swordplay? False techniques? Those petty tricks mean nothing to me.

All I know is a blade that rushes forward like it’s intoxicated. A sword that sets a goal and drives forward, unwavering.

That’s all I know of the sword.

The hilt trembles in my grip. The frozen blade shivers.

Once again, I dream of that far-off goal.

I grit my teeth to seize it, refusing to let my longing remain mere admiration. I shout with my entire body.

Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique.

Second Form.

Danhonchu (丹魂趨).

"I’m coming after you. Always."

The frozen blood mixes with my breath.

The blade I extend cuts through even sound, gleaming as it seeks to devour everything.

The Soul-Severing Sword chokes on everything it had consumed from me, spitting it back out. The blue flames fill every corner for an instant.

But even so.

Even so, I…!

"Enough."

A hand grabs my neck.

"That’s far enough. Stop this rampage."

My body is pulled backward.

The wild flow of my sword is interrupted. The blade in my hand trembles as I nearly drop it.

Someone is behind me.

Their presence is so strange that I didn’t notice them until they arrived.

The Soul-Severing Sword retreats, sheathing his weapon. His face, dripping with cold sweat, blinks in shock.

"Who are you…? What is this…?"

"Soul-Severing Sword Nohacheon. Let’s end it here. From now on…"

I look up. My blurring vision catches a figure standing before me.

Purple hair. A composed yet enchanting smile.

"This is the domain of the ‘Sahyeoldae.’ The Sama family requested special oversight."

"Sahyeoldae? Why are the Sahyeoldae here all of a sudden…?"

"To distinguish right from wrong. Finding and handling traitors is part of our domain, isn’t it? We’re just doing our job. Nothing unusual about it."

"......"

"Step back. This is a notification, not a suggestion."

"...Hah."

"If you refuse to step back…"

The woman gestures behind her.

"Your disciple might be in danger."

"Jinmyeong...? Was that your doing?"

"No, some kid did it. Looked like a Blood Demon unit member."

"My disciple, at the hands of a Blood Demon unit member...? Is he still alive?"

"I’ve done everything I could. He won’t die. Probably."

"...Thank you. I have no intention of fighting the Sahyeoldae. Not in this condition. Besides, if the Sahyeoldae are properly overseeing matters, I have no reason to interfere. Aren’t they the most righteous faction in the sect?"

"I appreciate your understanding."

"…Understanding or not, I’m exhausted. Ha… What madness. What did the Blood Demon unit even raise? That… that thing… what is it?"

"I wouldn’t know. I’ve never seen a monster like this before either."

My vision blurs until it’s swallowed entirely by darkness.

The side effects hit belatedly. My frozen body succumbs to the cold, unable to move.

"Soul-Severing Sword?! What did you do to this child?!"

"I don’t know. They seemed to… eat something?"

"Dear heavens. The Heavenly Body? Don’t tell me…!"

"Do you know what’s going on?"

"It’s the Sect Leader’s toy! Dammit! I’ve stepped in it now! I shouldn’t have taken this job!"

"You were paid for this?"

"Let’s skip the minor details! Soul-Severing Sword, help me out here!"

"You want me to help, after we were just enemies?"

"As the Sahyeoldae! I’m invoking our name to request cooperation! I don’t want to die at the Sahyeoldae Leader’s hands!"

"Sahyeoldae Leader? Are you referring to someone tied to the Thousand Blood Demon? If that’s the case, it makes sense! No wonder such an anomaly exists!"

"Stop rambling and move!"

My body trembles.

Did I endure? Did I make it?

I don’t know anymore. Where is my sword?

"...Even now, you haven’t let go of your sword?"

Where is my sword?

"A true beast."

"This isn’t the time to admire them, Soul-Severing Sword! Hold formation! What is this madness? I thought I was making easy money, but now… Dammit! Why didn’t you finish them off before I arrived?!"

"Finish them off? Do you think I didn’t try?! They’re the fiercest I’ve ever faced! Cut them, and they keep fighting back. I’ve never been so unsettled by an opponent! It’s not that I didn’t kill them—I couldn’t!"

Get up…

I need to get up…

"What are you doing?! Lie down! Are you insane?!"

"Huh? Even in that state, they’re trying to stand again? This is absurd…!"

"Soul-Severing Sword! How many times do I have to tell you this isn’t the time for admiration?!"

I need to stand…

But now… Truly…

"What on earth did the Leader raise?!"

My frozen body halts.

Standing still.

Even the Heavenly Body falls silent.

Everything...

--- Comes to a quiet stillness.