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Translator: thursdays PR: LightBrin
Winter.
“It’s snowing.”
Master’s footsteps were light.
“It has already been two days since our match began.”
She stepped lightly, so lightly on the snowfield as if she would slip on the ice.
A world covered in white.
The black hem of Master’s clothes flowed like a brush on white paper.
-How long are you going to run away?
There was another brush following after her.
Its strokes were tougher, stronger, and more intense than Master’s. It was a brush dipped heavily in ink and pressed hard on the paper.
-If it’s a movement skill, I won’t lose to you.
With heavy steps, Bae Hu-ryeong broke the ice under his feet, rushing forward where his gaze hit like a bulldozer.
“I am confident that I can keep running forever.”
-But there will still be an end to it.
“Don’t you know? This world is an endless field of snow. There may be no place to go, but there is an infinite number of places to run.”
-I won’t leave you be.
Bae Hu-ryeong kicked the snow with a chwak, dashing forward.
-If you were in your prime, maybe you could run away forever. But this match is between us as we are now. If we’re counting the rest of your life, you don’t even have two hours left. The sand in your glass is falling quickly. Are you still going to run away?
“Oho. How unfair.”
-Life is unfair.
Bae Hu-ryeong swung his sword.
“You have a point.”
Master turned her head and easily avoided the attack.
“I don’t have much time left to live. I can’t continue running away.”
-At some point, we have to end the match.
“There’s no reason that that point shouldn’t be now.”
-Now you’re talking my language.
“If so.” Master grabbed the hilt of her sword. “I shall show you my maximum power.”
Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.
First form.
Sword of Starvation.
“—Starvation, like parents exchanging their own child with their neighbors’ to eat them.”
The sword parted the winter wind with a scream.
“Have you heard the tale of an adult who baked the neighbor’s child into jerky and buried them in the snow? Have you heard the rumors in the village? Did you hear that if you dig at the snow on the side of the village road, your shovel will discover young flesh at each plow?”
-How sad.
Shiiing.
Bae Hu-ryeong blocked Master’s blade with his sword.
-It must have been a famine year.
“That’s right. A famine is like an epidemic that always returns.”
-But that’s just chance.
Bae Hu-ryeong was hit by the cold gust, and swung his sword again.
-Good harvests happen by chance, as do famines. It’s nothing more than coincidence. Sect leader, if you mourn so much over accidental tragedies, you should celebrate accidental blessings just as much.
“…….”
-The depth of one’s sadness should be equal to the height of one’s happiness.
Shiiing.
The two swords clashed.
A red plum flower fell.
-So, I shall sing of the happy autumn harvest.
Snowflakes descended like falling leaves.
-There are days when I looked at the horizon as I walked down the street. It was a day when the golden sea of rice stalks stretched to the horizon. Young children played hide and seek among the rice paddies as tall as them. Laughter thundered and weaved in and out of the rows of rice plants.
Autumn.
The wind blew.
The mountains and fields turned red with autumn leaves, and the horizon turned yellow with rice stalks.
-You talk of children’s flesh buried in the snow? Then I’ll talk of the children’s laughter as they play under the bountiful produce.
It was a world full of crimson maple leaves fluttering to the ground.
Bae Hu-ryeong swung the sword.
-Either way, the days are both results of chance. If I have to put something into my heart as I swing my sword, I will think of the sound of laughter. When I think back on life before I die, I will think of the children playing hide and seek. It’s an obvious choice.
“Really.” Master sliced through the leaves. “What a blessing!”
Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.
Second form.
Sword of Thirst.
“Both cases are by chance, you say. Of course it is. But happiness does not kill a person. The suffering from starvation, the pain of thirst, can kill! And if you die, you’re dead forever. It’s the end.”
The sun began to set.
“I shall sing of the people who died, unable to drink a sip of water!”
Summer.
A heat wave covered the world.
All the vegetation on the mountain dried up.
Weeds turned yellow. Fruits shriveled up, the beetles crawled slowly, and hundreds, thousands, ten thousands of fish corpses were scattered along the side of the river. Flop. The fish’s round eyeballs were desiccated.
-Ah.
Master’s sword became sticky.
Bae Hu-ryeong parried the sword, but Master did not back down. Rather, she clung to him even closer. It was close combat. They were so close to each other that they could feel the opponent’s breath. Chaang! Shing! Sword quickly countered sword, so fast to make one’s eyes dizzy.
-If you wash and swim in the summer, it’s really cool.
Bae Hu-ryeong parried Master’s quick sword.
-You’re teaching Gongja wrong.
“…What?”
-Sorry. My words were a little harsh. Rather than teaching him wrong, you’re teaching him too early.
Bae Hu-ryeong’s sword flowed like water.
-It’s good to talk about the pain of the world. It’s also good to look at other people’s suffering. But that isn’t something to be done forever.
“Why do you say that?”
-It’s just that it gets tiring.
Shiing!
Red lily flowers bloomed.
-This Gongja kid still hasn’t tasted the wonders of the world.
Suddenly, his fighting style changed.
-He has to taste its delicacies. It’s only when he tastes it he can further understand the sorrow of those who would never be able to feel the same. He needs to swim in the summer. He needs to swim in it so that he can feel the pain of those desiccated and weak. A human heart is like a candle. So long as it keeps burning, it will burn out one day.
-Cult master, did you know? This kid still has never fallen in love! He’s never been in a relationship!
His attacks poured down like a waterfall.
-But he already acts like he’s carrying all the pain and sadness in the world. What an act! Ha. He shouldn’t even dream of it. Even if your cult teaches kids young, he’s way too young for this!
It showered like rain.
-I’m going to teach this kid how to be happy.
The rain poured.
-I’ll teach him how to laugh without a single lie. I’ll teach him how to put his arm around someone’s shoulders. He should be able to learn how to be happy with someone. Only then can he learn endless sadness!
“You….”
The rain poured over the dry earth. The river became fuller with the rainwater. As the river’s level rose, it swallowed the corpses of the fish on the banks. Violet morning glories opened up to drink in the raindrops.
The sound of frogs croaking.
“You plan to be my disciple’s master?!”
Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.
Third form.
Sword of the Drowned.
-That’s right!
“How dare you!”
It was like a ceaseless stream of rain.
The sword struck again and again.
“Who do you think you are to covet my direct disciple?”
Midsummer.
The monsoons caused many floods.
Countless rose petals floated down the river.
-Ha! Is this a joke? I’d planned to be his master first!
The reservoir collapsed, and the village was locked in the water. The water rose up to the feet of the mountains. On top of the rising water, Master and Bae Hu-ryeong kicked at each other. Splish. Splash! Waves erupted from where the two people stepped.
-I was the one who taught this guy how to take the heads of orcs! I was also the one to teach him how to utilize Aura! I raised this brat with no talent in the martial arts until he could use it somewhat! And now, you’re interfering and being a bad influence!
“You’re calling me a bad influence?!”
-Yeah! The Demonic Cult is a bad influence, duh!
The two glided around on the surface of the water.
One was chased.
The waves bloomed at his feet with a splash.
The other was chasing.
Gently, her toes traipsed on the rose petals.
The two cast shadows over the waves and petals.
-Swinging a sword should be fun!
The smell of water on a rainy day.
The aroma of the flowers was thick.
-Gongja is not ready for the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art! It’s a sword that wields pain, understands pain! What’s that supposed to be? It’s too much of a demonic art! But he still needs to smell the flowers and feel joy under a summer shower!
“Gongja is! My disciple! He was born to be the next master of this sect!”
-It’s because you think so that I’m calling you a bad influence! You second-rate master!
Hundreds and millions of roses.
Before long, the flooded river was no longer visible. There was no sign of the water. The rose petals had covered its entire surface.
The world blazed red, becoming a flower garden.
“■■■■, ■■■. ■■■■.”
-■■■, ■■, ■■■■. ■■■!
Spring.
Flowers flowed.
Red peonies bloomed and flew into the air.
“——Governing Red Chaos Sword’s sixth form, Sword of Balanced Chaos, to slice your neck.”
Shiing!
Two petals gave way to her blade.
-I take two steps back with the Center Snow Step.
I could see it.
“…I’ll send you flying with the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art’s seventh form, Sword of Blunt Impact.”
I could hear it.
-I’ll use the Ocean Blossom Strike Style’s fourth form, Falling Harvest Moon, to confront you.
I could see the two people’s swords.
I could see the pressed peonies underneath the two people’s feet.
The red peonies’ aroma burst as they were stepped on.
“…….”
I could see it at last.
Master was… The Demonic Cult’s headmaster, the Heavenly Demon, was losing.
“……I will resist you with the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art’s eighth form, Sword of Incineration.”
Under the sky of peonies, Master’s blood spilled.
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