"No matter how off guard he was, still."
"...To subdue Jeochil in a single exchange!"
That man Jeochil must have been far ahead of Seohwan in skill.
Perhaps negligence played a part, but to take down such a man with one strike—
"Seohwan... it seems your strength has increased greatly."
The two beastkin could not hide their shock.
"Uh? Oh, well..."
"Indeed. Even while we were unconscious, you must have steadily trained. Excellent. That child who once clung to Senior Brother Cheonho has grown this far."
As though pleased by her junior’s growth, Miho nodded with a faint smile.
But—
"W-what in the world...?"
It was not only the two beastkin who were startled by what had just happened.
Seohwan himself looked bewildered, as if unsure of what had transpired.
—Am I really this strong?
That was no doubt what he was thinking.
‘Like hell you are.’
Seohwan had spent his time in this Gate locked away, drowning in despair, wasting the days.
There was no way his skills had truly advanced.
The reason he was able to crush Jeochil came down to two things.
First: the food I had made him eat beforehand.
And second—
‘The guild buff, obviously.’
Instead of his blood-soaked rags, he now wore the Iron Legion’s uniform.
And upon joining, the flood of guild skills had taken effect.
Right now, Seohwan was easily twice as strong as he had been just yesterday.
"To have kept up your training and achieved such growth—truly impressive."
"Uh... yes."
"And thank you, for silencing Jeochil."
"...What?"
Though that Senior Brother lay fainted far in the distance, Miho only smiled lightly and nodded.
"You’re not going to scold me for striking him?"
"What reason would I have? If you hadn’t, I would have done it myself."
She turned her gaze to me.
"Please forgive the offense."
"...Hmph."
"Jeochil entered around the same time as Seohwan. He had some prior martial training, so his skills weren’t bad, but his mental discipline is slow to mature."
Now that Seohwan had surpassed him even in martial skill, it would be difficult for Jeochil to insist on seniority.
"That said, Jeochil isn’t an evil man at heart. If he were, Master would never have accepted him as a disciple."
"Funny words for someone who almost got chopped in half by him."
"I understand. I’ll speak to Jeochil later and bring him to reason. Don’t worry too much."
When he’d swung at me, I had been exasperated—but hearing that Miho would have intervened herself eased my irritation a little.
"You said if Seohwan hadn’t acted, you would have stopped him. Was that the truth?"
"Yes. I’ve no intention of bringing harm to my benefactor."
"A good choice."
"...What?"
"If I had died here, you all would have been forced to close your eyes again soon after."
Not because my soldiers would come to avenge me.
"The effects of my cooking are temporary."
Those who had never been sealed might be another matter.
But these ones had been sealed precisely because of their overwhelming strength.
At the moment, they had weakened under my debuff-cooking, and so the seal had been lifted. But—
"Once the effects wear off, the seal will reassert itself."
"...!"
"If you want to keep moving freely, you’ll need to keep taking the junk food I give you."
Though this time, I may have pushed the debuffs too far. Next time I’d need to adjust the strength.
Hearing this, Miho lowered her head heavily.
"So in truth, we are leashed by you."
"Seems so."
Right now, I was the only one who could temporarily free them from their seals.
Of course, in a hundred days the seals would naturally expire, but they didn’t know that.
If they wanted to keep moving freely, they had no choice but to watch my will.
"You asked us to share the arts of the Sealed Hall. In that case, we had no choice, did we?"
"Does it displease you?"
"Not at all. You could have threatened us from the start. The fact that you asked politely is something I appreciate."
"Then... your answer to my request?"
"As you asked, we will share the martial arts of the Sealed Hall."
Got it.
Jeochil may have tried to split me in two, but Miho, who had stepped forward as their representative, showed no hostility.
On the contrary, she promised access to the Sealed Hall’s arts.
Still—
Letting my guard down would only invite a knife in the back. I had to make sure.
"That one, Jeochil—what he said wasn’t entirely wrong, was it?"
"Excuse me?"
"You people seem incredibly strong."
Especially the three who had just awakened—normally, they should still be sealed away. Out there, they could probably slice through most monsters with ease.
"So why don’t you follow Jeochil’s idea and invade this world?"
"To have power and not use it... If true, it’s admirable."
But admirable only if it could be trusted.
They’d said stronger monsters would appear as time passed. Those, too, were likely sealed beings.
When they broke free, they’d surely harbor thoughts like Jeochil’s.
And yet Miho had chosen not to invade.
Not because she owed me, or because Seohwan persuaded her.
"The answer is simple."
"What is it?"
The reason was something I could never have imagined.
"Invade? Hah..."
She chuckled softly.
"We know full well it would be pointless."
"...?"
I thought she might say fighting was meaningless, or that one must pursue non-attachment.
But no—
"If we could establish Heavenly Mountain in this world, as Jeochil said, it would be glorious."
"What?"
"If we could crown ourselves rulers, like that imperial dynasty did... there would be no reason not to."
So it wasn’t about forsaking desire.
She was, in fact, honest about ambition.
"Then why not?"
"Jeochil never saw the final battle of Heavenly Mountain."
"?"
"He was gravely wounded in an earlier fight and fainted. He saw nothing. That’s why he can speak so rashly."
Didn’t see? Didn’t see what?
"No matter how we rampage..."
A shadow fell across her face.
"Before the tide of giant demons that will one day come, we are fated to be crushed like ants."
****
The final war at Heavenly Mountain.
"The monsters that appeared there—each one was a vast evil, beyond resistance."
Perhaps... enemies that might be called gods without exaggeration.
When they set out to destroy the world, Heavenly Mountain became the final battlefield.
"We fought too."
The Master of Heavenly Mountain, greatest among mortals.
The Celestial Grand Immortals, guardians of the world’s laws.
And even the Celestial Emperor and his guards.
"All descended upon Heavenly Mountain to face that great evil."
But the result—
I turned my eyes toward the scenery beyond the Shrine Hall.
The shattered remnants of a world in ruin.
‘A crushing defeat.’
The world had been broken into fragments.
One of those fragments had drifted into our world.
"If we did as Jeochil says... yes, perhaps we could seize dominion of this world, for a time."
Make all people kneel, erect fleeting splendor.
But—
"How long would it last?"
Her eyes held only emptiness.
"Glory that turns to ashes has no meaning."
That was why she hadn’t heeded Jeochil’s words.
"Better to hide in a broken world, to enjoy brief peace, than to chase such futile conquest."
"I see."
"You desire the inheritance of the Sealed Hall’s martial arts. At first I hesitated, but... you may have them. We’ve already lost everything. If only I can spend my remaining life with my brothers and sisters, then martial arts—powerless before true strength—mean little enough."
How strong had those monsters been, to drive her to such despair?
"Benefactor, why not remain here with us?"
"Here?"
"Yes. It’s not vast, fragmented as it is, but there’s room for one more like you."
Her offer seemed sincere.
But—
"I appreciate it, but I’ll have to decline. I won’t be satisfied unless I at least try."
"I understand. Struggling in vain can still hold value."
Miho nodded gently.
"You’ve opened my eyes, and you’ve promised to awaken more of my brothers. Then I, Miho, will aid you with all the strength I can."
"Even though you think it futile?"
"Even futile resistance has meaning. Only by giving everything and failing can one finally let go of attachment."
"..."
And indeed, her words were no lie.
[One individual wishes to join the Iron Legion (1)]
[Beastkin Martial Instructor]
[Miho]
"...!"
The guild prompt appeared.
"This is...?"
"I told you—I will aid you with all my strength."
She smiled at Seohwan.
"I cannot let our youngest face this alone."
"S-Senior Sister...!"
Of course, I had no reason to refuse.
‘Two Trainer NPCs...!’
That meant my soldiers’ training speed would double.
No matter her personal motives, I would gladly make use of her help.
"Then, first of all..."
At my words, she nodded.
"Let’s go to the Sealed Hall."
****
"S-Sergeant Shin? Who are these people?"
"There’s a story. Just follow me."
Jeon Gwangil, startled at Miho’s sudden appearance, followed as I led him toward the library where the martial texts were stored.
"Gwangil."
"Yes, Sergeant."
"You once said you hated being a burden to me, didn’t you?"
"Uh? I... may have said something like that."
He looked puzzled, not sure what I was getting at.
I spoke in a teasing tone.
"Well, too bad. This time, I suffered because of you."
"...What!?"
He panicked visibly at my words.
I grinned.
"So, you’d better make it up to me."
"S-Sergeant Shin? What do you mean...!"
Meanwhile, at the far end of the library—
"Please wait a moment."
Standing before the Sealed Hall’s door, Miho drew the sword from her waist.
Slowly, she began to move it.
Before the massive iron door, she began a delicate sword dance.
Watching her, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» I recalled a conversation with Seohwan.
—Junior Sister Miho’s martial strength is not especially high, but her standing is.
—Hm? Why? The Master’s daughter, maybe?
—Hardly. Our sect is strict meritocracy. She holds her place for good reason.
Even in a group that prized only strength, Miho had risen to high position.
The reason was simple.
—In Miho’s mind is stored every martial art of Heavenly Mountain.
—...!
—She can even create new arts from that knowledge. She is our sect’s greatest intellect.
Because of that, Miho held an important position.
—Mistress of the Martial Library.
The Martial Library was this very archive.
‘So she’s its keeper.’
She knew every art housed here, and even devised new arts from them.
‘A kind of research director.’
And as Mistress of the Martial Library, that meant—
She had authority over all the arts of Heavenly Mountain.
Yes.
—The arts sealed in the Sealed Hall as well.
Shhhrrrk—
"...!"
Before the Sealed Hall, Miho’s sword dance flowed.
In rhythm with her dance, the heavy chains binding the iron door slipped free on their own.
Fwoosh—
The massive talismans sealing the door burst into flames.
Screeeech—
The enormous iron gate slowly opened its mouth.
The path to the Sealed Hall, repository of Heavenly Mountain’s sealed martial arts, now lay open.
