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Translator: uly
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Soul-Pulling Thrust
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Blood dripped from my fingertips. I exhaled the breath I'd been holding all at once.
My head was spinning. My whole body rattled, and waves of pain kept surging through me.
Number 2 opened his mouth. His trembling eyes stared at me in utter disbelief.
"Clearly... you... were... weaker... than... me..."
"..."
"H-how..."
I pulled my hand free. Amid the excruciating pain, I staggered backward.
Number 2's knees hit the ground, his chest pierced through. He stared up at me for a long moment before collapsing face-down onto the dirt.
--Thud.
I slumped against a tree like I'd been struck down. My mental strength was so drained that closing my eyes felt like it would send me straight into unconsciousness.
But I fought it desperately.
I'd won, damn it. There was no way I could close my eyes here.
This was the Dark Forest. Even in Demon Valley, it was a place teeming with dangerous beasts.
If I passed out, I'd be torn apart by them overnight, leaving nothing but bones.
I staggered to my feet. For some reason, I could walk. Beyond that, I noticed my body felt different from before.
A little stronger. Power filled my outstretched hand, and my movements were more fluid than ever.
First-rate.
It felt like I'd barely scraped over that precarious threshold.
Was this what the First Demon had meant?
She'd said that fighting on the edge of death using Heavenly Tribulation would bring definite rewards.
"..."
I limped toward Number 2's corpse. I had no time to worry about my newfound strength right now.
I grabbed his unresponsive body by the clothes and dragged him forward.
Seong Ja-myeong's corpse lay right where I'd left it. So I dropped the body in front of him.
"...Ja-myeong. The wind is still silent. I can't hear a thing."
Could he hear me?
I had no idea. But I said it anyway. Kneeling on one knee, I took his cold hand in mine.
"I wanted to let you hear his screams, but I killed him before he could make any. Your teachings must not have sunk in yet. Winning was incredibly hard. If not for you, I wouldn't have even dreamed of facing him."
I stroked his cold hand.
"But I won. Ja-myeong."
Instead of taking his sword, I reached for the one at Seong Ja-myeong's waist. I carefully unfastened it and strapped it to my own.
"...I won."
I sat before the corpses for a long while. Staring at him in silence, then I rose.
I was exhausted, but it felt refreshing.
For the first time in my life, I'd succeeded at something I thought impossible.
...
The next day at roll call, I ran into Number 20.
She glanced at me and asked.
"How'd it go?"
The question was obvious, so I answered.
"I fought while taking hits."
"No wounds."
"Special constitution."
"You were covered in blood."
"It was a fierce fight."
"The guy Number 2 killed-was he an old acquaintance?"
"Met him here."
"...He mattered to you?"
"Just keeping my word."
She didn't pry further. She just gave me a look like it was unexpected, then left as usual.
I trained my martial arts as well. The form of Ghost Hand One Demon had sharper angles than before. Battling on death's doorstep had given me enlightenment. My internal energy hadn't grown, but handling my body felt much easier now.
Turning calamity into fortune.
I realized the path I needed to take. Growth came faster from these extreme battles than steadily building power.
To do that...
I couldn't avoid the fights coming my way.
I honed my martial arts. The second form of Nine Heavens Blood Demon Art was even harder than the first.
For the first time, I properly gripped a sword. From the second form onward, the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Art required a blade. After all, it was a composite art blending swordsmanship and lightness skill from the start, so it made sense.
Nine Heavens Blood Demon Art's Second Form.
Soul-Pulling Thrust.
If the first form took the shape of a violently ferocious beast,
the second was the form of an absolute sword that ripped out severed souls.
A swordsmanship prioritizing severing strikes. I lightly assumed the stance and swung.
The reason Nine Heavens Blood Demon Art had "Nine Heavens" at the front was simple.
Each form was like a full martial art in itself, pieced together like nine distinct ones.
That's why entry was easy, but mastering each form perfectly was near impossible-or so I'd heard. The manual the First Demon gave me said as much.
Even though I'd grasped the form of Ghost Hand One Demon to some degree, it didn't mean I'd fully mastered the first form. It just meant my foundation was solid enough to learn the second.
I didn't rush. While learning Soul-Pulling Thrust, I kept drilling Ghost Hand One Demon.
Calmly.
One step at a time.
Number 20, who'd been watching me, spoke first for once.
"You're pathetic."
"Pardon?"
"I don't know how you reached first-rate level, but you're pathetic. Starting with how you hold the sword-it's all wrong."
Number 20 drew her sword.
"Grip it like this."
She brought it down lightly.
"Strike down like this."
--Crack.
The rock in front of me split open.
"That's Soul-Pulling Thrust."
I trembled as I touched the mark.
The cut surface was mirror-smooth. Where the hell was she standing?
I couldn't gauge it, so I glanced over.
Her internal energy consumption didn't look extreme at all. Even as she sheathed the sword, her movements showed no disruption.
An expert.
An expert at a level I couldn't even imagine. At least...
Peak.
I mimicked her sword grip. Channeling internal energy into my blade, I unleashed Soul-Pulling Thrust at the rock.
--Clang.
The sword bounced off. But unlike before, a deep groove remained.
It hadn't shattered, but the sword mark was etched into the rock.
Incredible.
What always just clanged like iron against iron had finally...
I couldn't hold back my smile and laughed.
"Thank you."
"..."
She looked away from me. Passing by as usual, her whole body screaming it was just a whim.
I practiced Soul-Pulling Thrust endlessly. Worried about damaging the blade, I struck the rock only once a day, when my internal energy was ample.
The sword marks on the rock grew clearer little by little. Eventually, I could reliably leave traces.
Number 20, who always glanced at me as she passed, started talking to me more often.
"Why are you working so hard?"
"I want to get stronger."
"To get out?"
"That's part of it, but not the goal itself. There's someone I admire."
"Who?"
"The Heavenly Demon."
"A mountain you'll never climb."
"That's why I dream of it."
"...Weirdo."
I knew that too. But even so, I didn't let go of the sword.
Steadfastness and endurance.
Those were my greatest weapons.
Time passed. My Soul-Pulling Thrust stance ripened, and the wind-whistling sound from my thrust Ghost Hand One Demon grew sharper.
I could feel myself getting stronger, bit by bit. My internal energy was stagnant, but I definitely felt like I'd entered first-rate now.
Peak was still far off. No matter how much I trained, I might never reach it.
Peak realm was the domain of geniuses, or so I'd heard.
But I didn't give up. I kept training.
When the number of marks on the rock lightly exceeded two hundred and reached three hundred,
"Number 20. Number 30."
For the first time, different words came from the mouth that checked survival.
"Mission."
...
The orders came via document. We read it once, then burned it clean.
The orders themselves were simple: Bring the head of Maeng Cheon, leader of the Black Heaven Axe Sect.
I reviewed the document's contents.
Martial prowess estimated at mature first-rate. Possibly higher.
Leave no traces. One chance only. If mission fails and you're captured, take the poison pill.
Execution in 20 days. Hide in nearby villages until then.
We each received a human-skin mask. The face that clung like real skin felt strange at first, but we adapted quickly.
We could finally ditch the stifling black hoods. Officially, we couldn't remove them in Demon Valley except when alone, so even fake faces felt liberating as I breathed fresh air for the first time in ages.
From below to above.
Number 20 and I exited Demon Valley.
"...Hoo."
The light outside was blindingly bright after so long. I couldn't open my eyes fully for a while, squinting instead.
Seeing Number 20 in the light made her look strangely unfamiliar.
Small.
Almost like a girl.
But her martial prowess wasn't that of a girl. There must be some reason. I stared hard at her face. A fake one-plain and utterly ordinary.
Number 20 stared right back at me.
"Ugly."
"Not bad, right?"
"Not at all."
"My real face is better than this."
"For real?"
"...Ahem."
"Pfft."
She laughed for the first time in front of me. Spinning around to face me.
"Warm sunlight. A bit chilly, but spring must be coming. Number 30."
"Seems so."
"Hungry. How much money do we have?"
"Plenty."
"Can we eat first?"
"No reason not to."
We hit the nearest eatery. The outside food felt so foreign after so long.
Full of umami. At the same time, it almost didn't feel like food from this world.
I ate while tearing up, then glanced sideways. She was sniffling too.
"...It's spicy."
I took a bite of the same thin noodles she'd ordered.
Not spicy at all.
"...Yeah, it is."
I chuckled.
"Spicy. Really."
...
I realized it after stepping outside.
The reason she'd stayed quiet inside was because she truly hated that place.
She was surprisingly chatty. Her naturally clear voice was pleasant to listen to nonstop.
"Number 30. You know normal mission cycles are about a month to two, right?"
"First I heard."
"This one dragged on weirdly long. I even wondered if we'd been abandoned. But good thing we got out."
I asked her humming back.
"Why'd you enter Demon Valley, Number 20?"
"...Not a topic I wanna talk about. Something else? What do you like?"
"Hmm..."
I stroked my chin.
"Meat...?"
"You ate plenty raw inside."
"Grilled, not raw."
"Both?"
"Just the latter."
"I'm the former."
"Knew it."
"...That was a joke."
"Me too, Number 20."
She giggled and poked my side.
"Progress on Ghost Spirit Step?"
"Still clumsy."
"Sword's important, but footwork is basic of basics. Train hard-it'll help."
"Stomping till my bones crunch."
"What if you can't walk?"
"Crawl."
"Hands break?"
"Roll, then. No choice."
Chatting with her, now so talkative, was fun. Sticking to light topics without going deep was surprisingly relaxing.
But the fun didn't last. We soon arrived at the Black Heaven Axe Sect's turf.
Fifteen days left.
We blended into the streets. Secured lodging, then scouted the sect with our eyes.
A fair number of warriors. Even at night, too many to punch through easily.
Number 20, used to it, sketched a map from memory at the inn.
"Learn by watching me, Number 30. Useful later."
"Always getting help from you, Number 20."
"Pay me back someday."
She glanced at me. I straightened my collar.
"Even my body, if you want..."
"Wouldn't take it if offered."
Number 30 set down the brush. She spread the finished map flat.