The World's Greatest is Dead

Hiss—!!!

Swords flew in from every direction. Not one blade, but several. Sword paths stretched toward me as if they meant to carve my body apart.

I stood still and watched them.

People kept saying my realm had risen, that I had grown stronger and stronger, but I had never really felt it.

They’re slow.

Of all times, I felt it now. The blades slicing through the air looked absurdly slow.

At a glance, they were martial artists somewhere between second-rate and peak realm.

If it had been me around this time before, I would not have even been able to properly see a second-rate martial artist’s sword.

Now it felt almost as though time had stopped.

Slide.

I took one step.

Slash-slash-slash-slash—!!!

The swords seemed to pierce through me. Not a single attack grazed me. Not even the edge of my clothes.

The martial artists flinched at the sight.

My body was already standing behind them.

“...I’m honestly curious.”

I could not understand it.

“What exactly did you come here to do to me with this number of people?”

It was pure curiosity. Even if my realm was not properly known, there should have been rumors to some extent.

“Did you think this would work?”

“Kgh...!”

Jin Taeryeong groaned. That bastard was the strangest one. He looked normal enough, so why was he like that?

“What was your intention? Did you really think it would work?”

“You...! How dare...!”

“No, this isn’t about how dare...”

My head hurt. Why did I get so angry when I saw idiots this lacking? The moment I turned around, a sword was already flying toward me.

I tilted my head and dodged. As the sword brushed past, I flicked my finger. The tip of my nail touched the flat of the blade.

PANG—!!!

The sword shuddered violently.

“Aaagh!”

The swordsman’s body shook. He staggered and went flying. I turned my head at the sight, thinking the other martial artists might attack again.

They did not.

They were just standing there, watching.

What was wrong with those bastards?

“You’re not coming anymore?”

“...Kgh.”

“Ugh...”

The martial artists panicked and glanced at one another.

“...This isn’t what we were told...”

“Young Master Jin. You didn’t say the gap would be this big...!”

“...Damn it... Moon Hero is this strong...?”

“What are you babbling about?”

What was I supposed to do with these fools?

Holding back a sigh, I moved. I cut through the wind and arrived at the center of them. The moment their eyes widened—

Crack-crack!

I moved my hands and struck all their jaws. They swayed, then collapsed where they stood.

I left a few standing. The distance was slightly off, and they were not the sort who would go down from a single blow to the jaw.

Whirl—!

As if to prove it, a martial artist wielding a spear rushed in. He looked to be around peak realm.

Maybe because his level was higher, he was considerably calmer than the others. The meaning of that behavior was obvious. It meant he had fought someone stronger than himself before.

Whirl—! Crunch-crunch-crunch—!!

Hard aura. He swung the hard aura coiled around his spear and tore the ground to pieces. Flashy spearwork surged toward me like waves.

That was not all. Another martial artist began attacking in coordination. With Jin Taeryeong joining in, there were three of them.

Hmm.

What should I do? I watched them coming and thought for a moment. In truth, there was nothing to think about.

Slowly, I opened Moon Eye. Attack paths coiled within it. Countless lines gathered and stabbed toward me.

But even within them, gaps existed.

Standing in one of those gaps, I moved my hand lightly.

Thung—!!

“Kuhk!?”

First, the spear. Hard aura was broken with hard aura. I created fist aura around my hand and struck the spear. The bastard’s hard aura shattered on the spot.

The aftershock of the impact broke the martial artist’s posture.

Then came the sword flying toward my neck. I stepped out as I saw it. Crack—! I struck his wrist, and the sword he had been holding fell. I tapped the sword on the ground up with the tip of my foot.

Then I caught it midair and swung it toward Jin Taeryeong.

Whoosh—!!

“...!!!”

The sword stopped at the edge of his throat. Jin Taeryeong froze exactly where he stood.

I had subdued all three in an instant.

“That’s it?”

“...How... is...”

Jin Taeryeong’s eyes trembled. I laughed faintly at the look on his face, which said he had never imagined this.

“What’s funnier to me is that you thought this would work. What kind of head do you have on your shoulders to think like that?”

“...How... how can this be?”

If anything, Jin Taeryeong was the one wearing the expression of someone who could not understand.

“We’re both younger generation...! How can there be this much difference?”

“...Both younger generation? That’s an odd way to put it.”

Tap. I tossed the sword to him. He stared at the blade that fell at his feet with trembling eyes.

“How could we be the same? You and me, the same? Don’t make me laugh.”

Step.

I walked toward him. At that moment, my movement changed slightly.

There was one thing I would use.

Yoo Cheongil’s steps.

I stole them again. A small motion containing a great many things.

Wooooong—!!!

I wrapped energy over it.

At that instant—

“Kuhk...!?”

Jin Taeryeong groaned. His eyes shook, and his body stiffened.

The fighting spirit I released immediately fused with my step and revealed its force. As I felt that presence pouring out, I realized something.

Ah.

Now I knew why I had felt something foreign in his movements. They seemed like nothing special, but there was far too much contained in them.

Was everything planned from the very first movement?

Maybe so. Even when it looked like he was doing nothing, he put intention into everything. That was the nature of Yoo Cheongil’s power. As my realm rose and I became able to do things like this, I could see more.

They say you see as much as you know.

That was exactly right. Only now did I understand.

That old man.

The more I looked, the more of a monster he was. Ridiculously enough, I had thought I already knew that, but apparently I had not.

...How much more is there to learn?

He said he had a mountain of things to teach me, but he was not showing himself. Thinking that, I approached Jin Taeryeong.

“Ghhh... kkgh...”

Crushed beneath my pressure, Jin Taeryeong kept groaning.

“Hey.”

“Kuhk... haah...”

His eyes shook. He looked at me and trembled.

“You and I are the same?”

As if.

“Can you still say that after seeing this?”

“M-monster... you monster...”

“Monster? If you say that in a world full of real monsters, you’ll get cursed at.”

I laughed. Who was he calling a monster?

“Why do you keep messing with me? What’s the reason?”

“You...”

Resentment wrapped around Jin Taeryeong’s eyes.

“Because you exist... Lady Mo Yong will not come to me... If your engagement was broken, you should have disappeared quietly...! Why do you keep hovering in front of her...!”

“...”

At those words, I narrowed my eyes. They made me think several things.

“You’re right.”

He was not wrong. Half right, at least.

“But even if I weren’t here, you would never have had a marriage arrangement with her.”

“...What?”

“She has very high standards.”

Do not underestimate Mo Yong Yeongsun’s standards. That woman’s standards were unbelievably high.

“They were high enough that someone like you would never have satisfied them. But an idiot like me forgot that for a moment. Ridiculous as that is.”

“What are you talking about...!”

“If my engagement was broken, I should have disappeared quietly? That’s right too.”

That was what I should have done. I had tried to do it, too.

But it had not gone the way I wanted.

“What can I do? Still, it’s not like you didn’t help.”

I reached out. Jin Taeryeong flinched at the hand I extended. My hand brushed his neck, then tapped his shoulder.

“It’s thanks to you. I was reaching the point where I had to either admit it or do something about it. Because you pulled this stupid shit, I realized that.”

“...What...?”

“So I’ll stop at this much.”

I straightened. I released the pressure I had been pouring out. Once the force vanished, the things trembling around us settled down.

Even the unconscious bodies had been shaking in response to my pressure.

“Kuhk... haah... hah...”

Maybe because the energy had eased, Jin Taeryeong barely managed to get his breathing under control. I tilted my head at him.

“Leave for the Jin Family. Don’t think about seeing me again. If we do happen to meet, I won’t necessarily do anything, but... if you do something that annoys me, there won’t be a second time.”

“You...”

“Jin Taeryeong.”

“...!”

I spat his name with killing intent in my voice. I put my soul into it. The rank my soul had built up. When I placed it into my voice, the atmosphere changed in an instant.

“There won’t be a next time. Understand?”

“...”

“If you understand, nod.”

Wooooong. At the words I spoke while making my soul resonate, Jin Taeryeong finally nodded. It was like watching a broken doll creak.

Seeing that, I swept my hair back.

I stared silently at Jin Taeryeong for a moment, then turned away.

There seemed to be no need for any further conversation.

Leaving Jin Taeryeong and the collapsed men behind, I returned.

Was I worried he might do something if I left him alone?

Not really. Looking at him, he did not seem like a bastard capable of doing anything.

And even if he did—

I told him.

There was no next time. I would simply keep those words.

*****

I arrived at the Mo Yong Family.

The one I faced was the White King.

“What is it?”

Since I had appeared again when I should have left yesterday, the White King wore a peculiar expression.

“There is something I need to tell you, Family Head Mo Yong.”

“What is it?”

“I have to return to the Murim Alliance, but I would like to ask you for one favor before I go.”

“...Hm?”

At the word favor, the White King tilted his head. He looked as though he had not expected me to ask for anything.

Of course. Even I thought the same. I had never imagined there would be something I needed to ask this man for.

“It is nothing too complicated.”

“Go on.”

“If possible, I would like you to postpone Lady Mo Yong’s marriage arrangement for a while.”

“...What?”

The White King’s eyes widened.

“I do not have much time, and I will be busy going forward. It is something that will take some time. Could you delay it until this is over?”

“...”

The °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° White King stared fixedly at me. After a silence, he spoke.

“Do you understand the meaning of the words you are saying right now?”

“Yes. I do understand. If you refuse, there is nothing I can do... but it is simply a request mixed with my own selfishness.”

“...Ha.”

The White King laughed. The laugh was strangely frightening.

“How do you intend to tell my daughter?”

“I do not intend to tell her. I would appreciate it if you did not tell her either.”

“And that means?”

“If she says she will marry someone else, I will not stop her. I am only... asking that anything pursued from the family estate’s position be delayed for a while.”

“...”

After hearing me, the White King stared through me. His gaze was sharp. Even as I said it, the words sat heavily in my stomach.

Then—

“How long?”

“Yes?”

“How long do you think it will take?”

“...”

I calculated. How long? I had never thought about it. So I spun my head quickly and answered.

“Three years should be—”

“Very well.”

“Yes?”

“Let us make it three years. There will be nothing after that.”

“...”

That was too fast.

I regretted it.

I should have just said five years.

“...Understood.”

At that answer, the White King added,

“There will not be a second time.”

“...”

I froze at those words.

Because they were the same words I had just said to Jin Taeryeong.

“...Yes. I am fine with there not being a second time.”

That was my resolve, and my sincerity.

I did not need a second time.

I would end everything within three years.

For that, I had created the thing I had to do.