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**

I took a deep breath and looked ahead.

The blood-soaked underground training area was littered with the remnants of my nightly training efforts. To me, it was progress, but to others, it could easily be taken as a ridiculous misunderstanding.

And that goes for Ilma as well.

“Explain yourself.”

His tone was somewhat cold. But I knew there was concern for me woven into the words.

I sheathed the Ear Sword Bai Ya. The chill that threatened to crush me began to ease bit by bit.

Even so, my body didn’t recover easily.

The Ear Sword Bai Ya was peculiar in that it not only handled the chill but also accumulated energy on its own. It moved almost as if it wielded its own martial arts, constantly writhing to occupy my body.

The more I swung it, the more it fought back. It felt like being chased by a natural genius who was catching up with me at breakneck speed.

The moment I thought I had subdued it, I found myself in even greater danger.

Just like a moment ago when I almost lost consciousness!

“I clearly told you it was dangerous, and that you shouldn’t push yourself. Does my warning sound frivolous to you?”

“Well, that…”

“Then why did you ask me to teach you? If you wish to do everything your way, what use is there in anything I offer you?”

Is it merely simple worry?

…He’s angry.

I shook off the frozen blood. With the chill dissipating, my regeneration from Cheongeop became stronger again.

It growled, as if questioning why I was torturing myself. A sharp pain surged through me briefly, and I suppressed a moan.

I leaped off the training platform and stood before Ilma.

“I have not crossed the line, Ilma.”

“Does this not look like crossing the line? Do I look blind to you?”

“Even so, I have not crossed it. Instead, I was treading along it.”

“…What?”

What I had done was simple.

Repeating the same actions brought progress. Ilma’s instructions were correct, and I felt myself advancing more steadily day by day.

The Ghostly Spirit Step became heavy, unleashing thunderous sounds like a black lightning strike. The force felt like it could split anything regardless of who stood before me, and my body swung through the air with weight that made the air ripple.

But I still felt it was insufficient.

I realized that what I truly wanted to do was absurdly lacking.

“The Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique is known to grow stronger as you tread the line between life and death, Ilma. The more you see your own blood, the more meaning becomes imbued in the sword, and its weight changes depending on the blood spilled.”

I stroked Bai Ya.

“The Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique is a battle. The more you fight, the higher your level rises. I have diligently honed my skills endlessly…but within the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique, there lies something that practice alone cannot fill. Just swinging the sword isn’t enough.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?”

“Of course not.”

I turned my head and looked up at the training area.

“At first, I swung the sword according to your command, Ilma. I gained much and felt a great joy. My every swing was filled with intent, and I felt proud to reach levels I could never have imagined before. When my blood surged, I would move my body recklessly and fight with Bai Ya all day long.”

“…….”

“But that alone wasn’t enough. The Ear Sword wouldn’t move according to my will no matter how much time I invested. Even now, after all my efforts, it still feels like a difficult child; the longer I spend with it, the more ferocious its temperament grows. Perhaps, even at the end of my life, I shall be forced to fight against it.”

“So that’s why you felt impatience? I told you that it’s perfectly fine to take things slowly…”

“Impatience, indeed. That could be a fitting expression. But even so, I had to feel that impatience. If I do not act when it’s time to move, it feels like all the precious time I’ve spent could turn to nothing.”

“…What do you mean?”

The training area was filthy. It was the mark of my fights with Bai Ya.

I had pushed my body to its limits and swung the sword one more time. I left the rampaging Bai Ya unattended as I gathered its forms endlessly in my hands.

My stamina quickly reached its limits, and my mind was also in chaos. I nearly lost my senses amidst the upsurge of energy.

Cheongeop howled. My legs trembled, and my heart stopped occasionally.

I heard the laughter of the Ear Sword Bai Ya too. Within that laughter was a horrifying pain, as if my soul was being ripped from my body.

Yet I pressed on. I brushed aside the shards of frozen blood and kept moving.

There was only one reason I pushed myself to my limits.

A desire to act before it was too late to turn back.

“I’m clumsy with words, Ilma. There are times when I wonder how to express what’s inside me. During such moments, I sometimes choose to stay silent.”

Words are akin to swords.

And swords are akin to words.

If only I could show exactly what I felt to the other person, how wonderful that would be. But the world is not so accommodating. To utter a single word requires handling my tongue as delicately as one would wield a sword.

I lacked such eloquence. After all, the sword I wielded bore the finesse of a heavy sword, and it wouldn’t be strange for someone dealing with it to be poor with words.

I thought that even if I spoke, I couldn’t convince them.

So instead of speaking, I decided to show through action.

“Ilma, by chance, I have become able to hold what I wish to show you in my hands. As you said, a sword that feels familiar becomes like an extension of the hand.”

“…What?”

“Would you please watch? What I am trying to achieve.”

I took five steps back. After creating some distance, I unsheathed Bai Ya.

As if it was not tired at all, Bai Ya wriggled. With some power drained, I gently traced the blade with my fingertips.

“Good.”

Bai Ya surged forth. It looked like my provocation had struck home. I summoned my energy into my quickly freezing arm.

I still couldn’t handle the transformed sword.

But I didn’t come away with nothing.

“…Huh.”

The torment from Bai Ya had driven me so close to death that I felt its grasp. Cheongeop, who failed to respond in time, experienced the same. There were times when the world darkened, making it hard to breathe.

Yet still, I moved.

The bloody energy at the tip of my sword surged forward, propelled by the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique.

The scorching sword energy sparkled like stars. It formed a shape and inscribed my intent upon its surface.

Ilma gasped.

“That’s…?!”

Qi is a double-edged sword. If handled correctly, it can yield great benefits, but if not controlled, it can inflict harm.

That was true for Jin Wi-lyang’s case. He couldn’t even manage the strength he exerted, resulting in him being stabbed in the shoulder. The hollow mass of Qi carried nothing within it.

But what about mine?

Before showing something substantial, I simply loosened my grip. I traced out the shapes of what I had learned in the air.

I twisted my body. I gripped the sword hilt with force.

I embedded the critical energies into the following strokes.

Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique

Fourth Form

Flash Dispersal

The bloody energy split the realm apart. The fourth form of the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique, executed flawlessly without a preparation move, wrapped itself perfectly around my hand.

Ilma gasped in astonishment at the wrecked training area.

“Did you modify Flash Dispersal? All alone?!”

It was too early to be surprised.

This was not the end result. It was merely part of the process.

What I wished to show lay beyond this. The modified Flash Dispersal was just part of my newfound understanding.

I sheathed the sword. Having loosened my body, now the real stage begins.

I checked my lightly clenched fist.

“……”

I erased each sound one by one. I focused. I could not afford a single mistake in showing perfectly what I wanted to convey.

My heart. I wanted to show her what kind of feelings went into building my martial art.

…I am…

I appreciated the guidance Ilma gave. I received everything I needed from her.

All her teachings were advice that became flesh and bone, and I was happy to find direction just by listening.

Most of what I could achieve was thanks to her. Our first meeting might have been a bit of a mess, but that relationship had gradually changed over time.

The once abrasive woman had begun to take my hand first at some point.

Not only did she teach me how to wield a sword, but she also brought new martial arts to my attention.

She worried about me, a mere stranger, and would get angry on my behalf.

…Thanks to her.

I gained many experiences.

“…Huh.”

I exhaled the frozen breath. I pondered endlessly about what the heart truly was.

I thought of Seongja Myung, and I also thought of Maeng-cheon, the leader of the Black Heaven Sect.

I remembered the sword wielded by Baekmae and reflected on the tenacity displayed by Smaak.

I saw many people.

And I thought I would see many more in the future.

I was a blessed person. The end of the sword I had forged held stories of people, and because of that, I could examine the sword I extended with greater detail.

Strong physicality.

Having a sword that wouldn’t break.

And if ample energy followed, what fear could be left in the world?

I cast myself into endless questions. In the end, I realized how to impart what I wished to express into the tips of my fingers.

Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique

Fifth Form

If the foundation of the first half relied on Ilma, then the foundation of the latter half rests on this martial art.

A rising martial art that unfolds the foundational method using strength.

Within countless sword swings lay what I learned, held in the tips of my fingers.

My body is the sword, and the sword is my body.

The bloody energy contained within my hand sparkled like stars. Inside was mixed everything from the past that had brushed against me.

Seongja Myung.

Why did I rage so much for my deceased friend?

To go beyond mere appearance…

What is needed to deepen what lay within?

Before reaching the striking point, my strength bloomed. I could hear Ilma retreating with a start.

And I whispered within that strength.

One alone is not enough. Two.

If the shape hadn’t yet taken form, it wouldn’t be visible either.

“Whoo…”

With my words, strength packed within each utterance. I set my intent into the strength contained within.

Two flowers blooming with a single stroke. Amidst the blooming confusion, past and present overlapped.

What I wished to show her was just one thing.

To show that one thing, I fought against Bai Ya, who sought to freeze me endlessly.

The death line and the thread of succession.

I truly wished for this within that realm.

Not just to receive…

But to give back as much as I’ve received.

“Blood Shadow Dual Flowers…!”

—Boom!!!!

The flowers bloomed.

The flowers stacked upon the blood.

“……!”

Countless shards of ice scattered chaotically around. One side of the training area, crushed by the force, shattered into pieces.

A storm surged. It swept away all the smells of blood in this place and surged upward to the ceiling.

Ilma raised her head. I too followed the direction of her gaze.

Something fell from the sky. A warning from above.

After blooming fully, the flowers of strength began to fall.

“……”

Time passed. It transformed impossibly.

But amidst that change, something remained unchanged.

Even when one thinks it has ended, do the flowers not continue to bloom? Even if it seems like they will never bloom again, when the seasons return, do they not bloom once more?

Having mastered my art, I had changed considerably since the beginning, yet I remained standing in the same spot. The first flower I had bloomed may have seemingly faded, but I produced the same second flower in its place.

The realms, the sword I held, and the martial arts I learned were all different…

But what I sought to grasp remained unchanged since the start.

“I have completely mastered Blood Shadow Dual Flowers.”

What is martial arts?

What is it that I wish to achieve?

I unfolded that for her.

The petals sparkling like stars in my hand slowly began to scatter. But the heart I showed her did not disperse.

It was heavier than mere appearance, and even if its form vanished, it would still linger in that spot.

“With the will to fulfill, I grasped the sword. That heart remains the same even now.”

“…You…”

I was clumsy with my words.

So I spoke.

In what felt the most familiar.

“I will go as Eungmin, Ilma. With the person I am now, the Master will surely let me go. I will bring back Blood Sea Member Wolhyang with my own two hands.”

Ilma fell silent.

Her response came hesitantly, trembling.

“…Why go this far, when you’ve never even met Wolhyang…?”

“If that person is precious to you, then that person is precious to me as well.”

“It’s just…you say that just to say it…how much blood…”

“I figured it would be best to earn my qualifications since you surely wouldn’t allow it. Fortunately, I’ve bled enough to roughly match the timing. Now, I won’t easily lose to any demon I might encounter. Even if cornered, I should be able to escape.”

Ilma’s hands trembled. I slowly placed my hand over them.

“If you can’t draw it when you want to, can you even call it a sword?”

“…You…”

“Draw it without hesitation.”

I smiled in her place.

Because I didn’t want to see her cry.

That was all I wished to convey.

“I am your sword, aren’t I?”

 

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