A sword flashed right in front of my face. In the world Moon Eye showed me, a thin line overlapped it.
I tilted my head and let the blade pass. A chilling presence brushed my cheek.
The aura was sharp. The speed had been fast too, but Moon Eye had caught it.
“...Well, well?”
The woman sounded surprised. Looking at her, I slowly raised my energy.
Azure Moon Heart Art flowed into my body. Heat rose, and inner qi ran through my veins.
Radiant Moon Flash Aura. Light spread, tearing through the darkness.
“...You.”
There was a tremor in the woman’s voice at the sudden brilliance.
“Don’t tell me... you’re Moon Hero?”
“Thanks. Nice of you to recognize me.”
“Ha... You’re really that Moon Hero?”
“Hard to believe?”
“No. Now that the light’s coming off you, I can see it. Just like the rumors, you’re handsome. Ridiculously so.”
“I hear that a lot. Not exactly shocking.”
“Your personality’s worse than the rumors said.”
“I hear that pretty often too.”
I crushed the ground underfoot and surged forward. In an instant I was on top of her. My sword ripped sideways toward her shoulder.
If I cut off her head, I couldn’t interrogate her.
Without my even noticing, my mind had already cooled enough to reach that conclusion.
The woman blocked with her sword.
Faster than before. As expected, she hadn’t been using her full strength either.
“Should the Hero of Henan really be threatening a woman like this?”
“A woman?”
I let out a short laugh.
“I don’t count trash as human.”
“Wow... this.”
The woman sounded dumbfounded.
“You’re rougher than I expected. I like that.”
That made me smile too.
“Get lost.”
Sorry, but you weren’t my type.
I widened the range of Radiant Moon Flash Aura. If the range broadened, that meant the force behind it had grown stronger too.
“...!”
The thin sword holding me back shuddered. I meant to crush it together with her.
Night Moon.
I didn’t use acceleration. I only poured strength into the ground supporting me and the hand gripping the sword.
A heavy force settled into the blade, and it began to press down little by little.
“Kh!”
I heard the woman grit her teeth as the power overwhelmed her.
Then—
With a sudden waft of floral scent from somewhere, her body vanished in an instant.
...
Where did she go?
I didn’t panic. The moment you panic in real combat, you die. Sword Emperor and Yoo Cheongil had both said that over and over.
Light burst from my body.
Moonlight.
Using inner qi, I blasted out a flash bright enough to blind the field for an instant.
“Ugh!?”
The sound came from the left.
But my sword went right.
The blade stopped at the woman’s throat.
“...How did you know?”
Her voice was filled with surprise. The sound had come from the left, but her body had appeared on the right.
A feint, then.
But—
“Because I can see. You’re the only one here who can’t.”
Moon Eye caught everything.
And even without Moon Eye—
An aura that disgusting isn’t exactly hard to notice.
The aura of the Sky-Crushing Palace rose behind the woman. It was right there in plain sight. How could I not know?
Keeping my sword at her throat, I examined the energy again.
As expected.
That was the aura of the Sky-Crushing Palace.
“I don’t get it,” the woman said to me.
“Why is Moon Hero here? How did you know? This isn’t even Azure Moon Sect territory.”
“That’s not something you should be asking.”
I moved the sword, trying to lift the veil from her face.
“A man shouldn’t go around stripping a woman’s clothes like that, should he?”
“Don’t worry. I have no interest in your body, and it’s worth even less.”
I didn’t bother entertaining the stupid wordplay.
“You’d better start answering questions. Why is some Sky-Crushing Palace stray here?”
“...So you’re really certain about who I am? That’s honestly fascinating.”
“Answer me. What are you here for—”
The wall exploded.
“...!”
My vision lurched. Before I could even start the interrogation, the wall behind us burst apart and something came flying in.
And on top of that—
Fast.
It was fast.
The figure shot in like an arrow and closed on me.
Then it struck my sword, knocking it aside.
“Kh?”
I barely managed not to lose my grip. Grimacing, I tightened my body.
Radiant Moon Flash Aura erupted and wrapped around me.
I used Moonbolt.
I moved to confront the one who had ambushed me, but—
He didn’t attack me.
He seized the woman and hurled himself straight through the window frame.
“Goddamn it—”
Grinding my teeth, I chased after them.
By the time I got outside, all I saw was forest.
But—
Their aura.
I locked onto the direction where the aura of the Sky-Crushing Palace had vanished and kicked off the ground.
I drove my speed to the limit. With Moonbolt layered over my body, the speed I produced was absurd. Enough to surprise even me.
But—
What?
At the strange feeling, I gradually eased the force in my legs.
“...”
Something was off.
“Why can’t I feel it?”
The aura I’d been tracking vanished in an instant.
The aura of the Sky-Crushing Palace had never been faint to begin with. And it wasn’t something I could write off as mere inner qi, so this wasn’t the sort of thing I should have lost.
Could it be...
Was the crack in the ring the problem?
For a moment I considered loosening it a little more and drawing out more power, but—
...Too dangerous.
If I loosened the soul’s power further here and it broke completely, there would be no restoring it.
“Damn it.”
Was I going to lose them like this?
I clenched my sword and ground my teeth when—
“My Sky...”
Freak Demon appeared behind me and dropped to one knee.
“I’m sorry. Please kill me.”
“...What happened?”
I turned and asked him.
“...I failed to stop the one who appeared so suddenly.”
“Even you?”
“...I’m sorry.”
Freak Demon lowered his head.
What surprised me was the fact that even Freak Demon hadn’t been able to stop the newcomer.
Which meant—
A strong one.
Strong enough that I might have lost if things had gone the wrong way.
And yet—
Even then, he only took the woman and ran?
He hadn’t tried to kill me by joining forces with her. He had grabbed the woman and fled.
That was the part that bothered me.
If he realized Freak Demon was nearby...
Then choosing escape over creating a more dangerous situation would have been the rational move.
“...Shit.”
It pissed me off that I’d let a Sky-Crushing Palace presence get away.
But more than that—
“Looks like...”
Something was happening in Liaoning.
Something around this area too.
And whatever it was, it felt thoroughly fucked.
*****
Birds burst out of the forest in a flurry.
Late at night, in a place where human presence was scarce, two figures arrived.
“Ow...”
The woman who had been carried on someone’s back was set down on the ground.
“That was close.”
She removed the veil she had been wearing. Sweat had plastered strands of hair to her forehead, but even in the dead of night her striking features seemed bright enough to shine.
“Thanks to you, I liv—”
Before the woman could finish expressing her gratitude—
A large hand clamped around her throat.
“Urk!”
The woman’s eyes twisted as her neck was caught in that huge grip.
“Dohyang. I know I made myself clear.”
“Khk—”
“You were told to avoid pointless interference. Especially on this land.”
The man’s voice was steeped in anger.
“You seem to have forgotten what the Palace Lord said as well. Someone blessed by the Lord should not be moving around like this.”
“Ghh...”
At the painful groan, the man loosened his grip slightly.
Feeling that, the woman spoke through clenched teeth.
“...Let go... you lowborn brute...”
“....”
At the defiant words, the man released her completely.
Only then did Dohyang collapse, gasping for air.
“...A brute like you dares...”
“The situation twisted. I never expected Moon Hero to interfere.”
“What do you mean it twisted?”
The woman snarled.
“You should’ve just killed him and come back. Why did you bother running—”
“There was something nearby.”
“What?”
“There was something unpleasant in the area. I couldn’t identify it, but Moon Hero wasn’t alone.”
“...”
“He’s aware of our existence. For some reason, he realized you were someone from the Sky-Crushing Palace. Do you know why?”
“...I didn’t have time to figure that out.”
“I see.”
The man turned his back on her.
He started walking in the opposite direction from the one they had come.
“We return to the hideout first.”
“What? Then what about the job?”
“For now, we watch the situation. Now that we’ve left a trail, we’ll need to be more careful.”
“...You’re saying we waste even more time?”
“Your mistake. Accept it. Unless you’d prefer I snap your neck here.”
“...Tch.”
Grinding her teeth, Dohyang pushed herself to her feet.
Moon Hero.
That brute, and that smug bastard too.
She disliked all of them.
See you next time, pretty boy...
At least his face had pleased her.
The next time they met, she would make absolutely sure—
I’ll catch you alive and stuff you.
With a chilling look in her eyes, the woman steeled herself.
*****
I returned to the campsite.
I wanted to inspect the dead bastards and drag their souls out if I had to, but I couldn’t do that. My soul wasn’t in good enough condition for that kind of thing.
The dead girls had been buried.
The unorthodox bastards had been burned.
There wasn’t much information to be had.
This got ugly.
The smell of blood on my sword and body wouldn’t wash off.
And on top of that, now I knew this was tied to the Sky-Crushing Palace too, which made it feel even worse.
Why does something have to happen everywhere I go?
Couldn’t anything ever go simply?
I was just trying to head back to the main house, and some damned incident had to break out.
“Ha.”
I let out a sigh.
Behind me, Freak Demon still looked like a condemned man.
“...Why are you still making that face?”
“Please kill me...”
This was ridiculous.
He looked like a corpse because he thought letting that bastard escape had been his fault.
“It’s fine, so stop looking like that.”
I didn’t think Freak Demon had half-assed it.
The only issue was the fact that even Freak Demon had failed to stop him.
“There was nothing you could have done about it, was there?”
“...”
“We’ll be seeing the others soon. Get your face under control.”
“My Sky...”
“It’s an order.”
“...Understood.”
Only after I used the word order did Freak Demon look even slightly better.
Watching that, I let out another breath.
I ran a hand slowly through my hair and steadied my breathing.
Shit.
What the hell was this?
Something ugly seemed to be happening.
Was there a way to find out more on the road?
Or maybe—
Could I find out after I arrive?
A way to get information on Liaoning.
Ah.
There was one.
A surer method, even if it involved the very people I wanted least to get tangled up with.
...
I already didn’t want to go.
My mood soured in an instant.
Still, what else was I supposed to do?
If that was the only method I could use, then I had to go.
“Hoo...”
I held back another sigh and was just about to walk off when—
“My Sky.”
Freak Demon spoke.
“...Freak Demon, I already told you, this wasn’t—”
“Someone is approaching.”
“....”
At his words, I turned my gaze.
“Shall I bring them?”
“Yes. Please do.”
I asked Freak Demon to handle it so there wouldn’t be a repeat of what had happened earlier.
His figure disappeared.
It didn’t even take a few seconds before he returned.
“Hey, what is this? What’s going on all of a sudden!?”
He was dragging back something noisy.
...The problem was—
“...”
“Hey! Why are you dragging me around like this! Let go!”
It was someone I knew.
“Even if you kidnap me, the only thing I have to offer is this face—! Huh?”
Our eyes met.
Ah, damn it.
Why did our eyes have to meet?
I should’ve looked away.
Embarrassment washed over me, and at the same time—
“Well, well, look who it is!”
The absurdly handsome young man sounded delighted.
“Isn’t this our youngest?”
It was Bang Yuseong.
The young patriarch of the Bang Family.
And my eldest brother, greeting me warmly.
