“How did you know?”

At that bright, innocent smile, my hand moved first. I had meant to grab her hair.

Flash—!

The woman in front of me vanished as she was.

I shifted my gaze. Moon Eye had already caught her presence. Not even a few steps away. She stood there.

With her clothes thrown on loosely, she brushed her hair back. It was a seductive sight, as women went, but—

“How did I know?”

It didn’t interest me much.

“You smell.”

“Smell? I wash properly, you know. Want to check?”

“Not that kind of smell.”

I stood. The Divine Sword was already in my hand. I looked behind the woman as I spoke.

“Sometimes, I run into people who stink like you do.”

The distinctive energy visible around Sky-Crushing Palace martial artists. It was wavering behind her.

“......Ah, I didn’t know that.”

The woman smiled. That crescent-eyed smile, that voice. It was definitely the martial artist I had met the other night.

“I thought it would work....... I really didn’t think you’d notice. You’re sharp, aren’t you? For your age.”

“I don’t need praise.”

Crackle. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

I raised Sword Aura. I infused it with Radiant Moon Flash Aura and narrowed my eyes.

“Now we should do what we came here to do, right?”

“Oh my, what a rough man. This older sister likes that kind of thing. But......”

Ssssss—!

A floral scent drifted out. I rolled my eyes.

“Now isn’t a good time. Let’s play next time?”

The woman’s form vanished. She was about to turn transparent and scatter into flower petals.

Tap.

I moved. My sword cut through the air.

I did not aim at the spot where the woman had stood.

Farther to the left. I cut through that side.

Slash—!!

“Aaagh!”

A scream rang out. A woman’s voice. Blood sprayed as she staggered.

“......Ah....... Ugh....... How.......”

The woman’s eyes widened.

A shame.

“I should have cut a little deeper.”

“You......! How did you know?”

“What do you mean, how?”

“There’s no way you saw me. How did you know where to cut?”

Even while bleeding, that was what she was curious about?

What a strange woman.

“There’s no way I saw you? That’s a funny thing to say.”

Why would she think that?

“I can see you just fine.”

Too well, in fact. Moon Eye aside, the Sky-Crushing Palace energy she carried laid out her path perfectly.

“......You can see me?”

She looked shocked.

“How—”

“Enough questions.”

I didn’t want to hear it.

“I’m the one who asks now.”

Crackle crackle crackle—!!!!

I filled my body with force.

Moonbolt manifested.

“Yu Yeon.”

“.......”

I spoke to Yu Yeon, who had been watching warily.

“Take the women and go.”

“.......”

“Hurry.”

She hesitated as if she meant to join me, so I told her again.

At that, Yu Yeon finally nodded.

Yu Yeon moved, taking the terrified women with her, and only after seeing that did I properly step forward.

Shwik—!!

The distance closed in an instant. My sword drew a horizontal line.

It did not represent a sword path.

It was only a swing.

Sword Aura left a trace behind that honest cut.

Clang—!!

“Kgh!”

The woman barely diverted it with the dagger she held.

The attack’s path twisted away. It didn’t matter. I had expected this much.

Through the opening that was made, the woman thrust her dagger in. Fast. Hard aura had gathered around it too.

Good speed, and the force was well packed in.

But—

I can still see it.

My eyes caught it.

Moon Eye told me the opponent’s perfect path.

I twisted my upper body and avoided the attack.

“......!”

Then I kicked the startled woman in the chest.

“Gaaagh!”

A scream burst out of her. I had struck the exact spot where she was wounded.

She staggered. The impact widened the distance between us.

“Hah....... Ggh.......”

“Looks like it hurts a lot.”

“You little......!”

She glared at me while groaning. In the meantime, I could see madness gradually filling her eyes.

“This won’t do....... I really liked that pretty face of yours. I wanted to preserve it so badly......?”

“That’s a revolting thing to say.”

Preserve what?

“But when you’re this sharp-tongued....... This older sister can’t exactly stay still, can she?”

Ssssss—!!

Energy rose from the woman’s body. The energy of the Sky-Crushing Palace began to move.

“You’ll have to die.”

“......Mm.”

Not a bad line.

“That’s right. You have to die here.”

“You just can’t let a word go, can you?”

Pak—!!

“Annoying.”

The voice that had been far away came from right in front of my nose. The woman’s dagger appeared before me.

I dodged like before.

But—

Slash—!

“......Mm?”

A wound opened near my neck. What was that?

I covered it with my hand. It wasn’t deep, but because it was at my neck, I stopped the bleeding with inner qi.

“How was it? Surprised?”

The woman smiled, as if the pain from earlier had already disappeared.

Then her attack began again.

The dagger that flew in was the same as before. I used Moon Eye and avoided it.

Slash—!

My shoulder was cut again.

Twice.

Slash—!

This time, the back of my arm.

The third.

“I see.”

I understood.

After sorting my thoughts, I burrowed in.

“Hah!”

As if sneering at me, the woman moved her dagger again. I avoided the attack this time too.

“It’s over.”

The woman spoke as if the end of the fight had arrived.

But—

Shwik.

“Huh?”

I changed my movement and avoided one more attack in empty air.

“How—!”

Pshhk—!!

“Kghk!”

My sword pierced through her shoulder. I had wanted to drive it into her neck, but unfortunately, the distance didn’t allow it.

“The attack is a feint. The real strike is the hard aura that activates afterward. Interesting martial art. You create hard aura in empty air and move it later.”

“......!”

Her martial art was a feinting technique using hard aura.

A peculiar martial art. She could fight and ambush at the same time.

It was dangerous. If she had cut my neck at first, I might have died.

“You......”

Thwack—!!

I kicked her in the stomach. The sword buried in her shoulder came free, and the woman rolled across the ground.

As she flew back, blood soaked the ground.

Wooooong—!!

Keeping the power boiling inside my body, I looked at the woman.

“Is that all?”

“Kgh.......”

“You don’t really have much, considering how much you talk. Is this really everything?”

“.......”

Frustration appeared on the woman’s face.

“Looks like it is.”

Judging by her expression, that seemed to be the case.

Then was this enough?

I turned my gaze away from the woman and spoke.

“I think I’ve seen everything here. Why don’t you come out now?”

I looked toward the forest as I spoke.

At that moment—

Step.

Footsteps rang out.

“......Remarkable.”

A heavy voice.

A giant nearly eight feet tall appeared and looked at me in surprise.

“To think you had noticed me. Since when?”

“Hard to say. Probably since that woman got caught by me?”

That was probably when.

The moment I had felt a presence from far away.

“......What a bizarre creature you are. No wonder that person has been watching you so closely.”

“.......”

I looked at him.

This was the bastard who had broken through Freak Demon’s guard and infiltrated.

“Dohyang.”

He called someone’s name. Apparently the woman’s.

“I believe I told you, didn’t I? Always act with caution.”

“......Shut up. I’m already irritated enough.”

The woman rose unsteadily.

“......I need that bastard. I have to peel off his face somehow.”

“......You idiotic bitch.”

The giant sighed.

“When we return, to that person......”

Just as he was about to say something, I moved.

“—!”

The giant reacted a beat later, but—

Slice—!

It was right after my sword cut through the air.

I had approached the woman named Dohyang and swung my sword. She let out a single sound.

Then—

Thud.

Her head fell and rolled across the ground.

“......Ha.”

The giant let out a breathless laugh when he saw it.

After killing Dohyang, I looked at him.

“Sorry. One mouth is enough.”

“.......”

“Now that one more person came along, I don’t need this one anymore, do I?”

At those words, energy gradually began pouring out of the giant.

Rumble rumble rumble rumble—!!!!!!

Tension surged through my body.

It was a tremendous force.

“......Insolent. Truly insolent.”

My body stiffened at an energy stronger than I had expected.

“Perhaps because you are Yoo Cheongil’s inheritor—that monster’s inheritor—you are unbearably arrogant. I will admit one thing.”

Whirr.

A spear he had drawn from somewhere lengthened.

“You possess power enough to be arrogant. That is surprising. So I shall acknowledge it.”

Thud.

The spear was fully drawn, and the giant looked at me, wrapping himself in killing intent.

“You die here.”

“......What a frightening thing to say.”

I lifted the Divine Sword.

From what had just happened, I had learned one thing.

He couldn’t react.

That bastard hadn’t been able to react to my speed.

I confirmed that.

What level is he?

I didn’t know.

He might be stronger than me.

Normally, I would have thought through each thing like that before fighting.

Crackle—!

I wrapped myself in Moonbolt again and stared him down.

But right now—

More than any of that, I strangely wanted to fight.

Was this also because of something Yoo Cheongil, that old man, had done?

Maybe.

“Mokhak.”

“Mm?”

“That is the name of the one who will kill you.”

“Oh, really?”

I wasn’t all that curious.

“I would have found out anyway.”

“.......”

Instead of answering, Mokhak acted.

Rumble—!!!

His massive frame filled my vision.

He was fast, just like last time.

Whooooosh—!!!

The spear came down.

Taking it in with my eyes, I moved half a step.

Kwaaaaaaaa—!!!

As it stabbed into the ground, fragments flew everywhere.

I cleared the debris and moved my sword.

Creeeak—!

I poured more power into Radiant Moon Flash Aura.

Stronger and harder.

The spiritual energy in my middle dantian mixed with inner qi and seeped into the sword.

Hwaaaaaaa—!!!

Something else wrapped around the light. Blue flashes traced lines through the white radiance and mingled with it.

“......Huh?”

Mokhak’s eyes widened when he saw it, but his movements did not change.

When my sword dug in, his spear bent like a whip.

That was how violently it moved.

Creeeak—!

I diverted it.

Then knocked it away.

Bang—!!!

I burrowed into the gap in his energy and forced friction to form.

I applied the Deflection Art.

The spear bounced into the air.

“What is this—!”

Not a bad method.

I wondered if it would work, and it did.

I took one step forward.

First Form.

A thin crescent moon modeled after Moon Wave cut him.

Slash—!!

“Kgh!”

Blood sprayed. Droplets brushed my cheek.

Then the Second Form.

Third Form.

Fourth Form.

The chained sword paths covered Mokhak. He endured the pain and moved his spear again, but the sword had already been unleashed.

Fifth Form.

The continued form was a flow.

He failed to interrupt that flow.

And what followed crossed the sixth and seventh.

Thus—

The sword carrying that fragment finally reached what it desired.

Great Moon.

A great moon.

The result of the sword path wrapped in Radiant Moon Flash Aura.

Grasping that heavy sensation, I thrust it at Mokhak.

“You—!”

I did not listen to that single word.

Energy erupted from the sword I drew.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!!!!!

Light burst out in front of me.

The vast radiance covered my entire sight.

“......Whoa.”

Strong.

Why was it so strong?

Even I was shocked after doing it myself.

And on top of that—

“......Ah, damn.”

Looking at Mokhak’s state before my eyes, I had to groan.

His entire upper body had been blown away.

It was a shape no one could possibly survive.

“......I didn’t get to ask him anything.”

I had failed to control my strength.