I’m Used To It

Gyo-ha’s foot came crashing down like a bolt of lightning.
Jeokyang Mok’s sword followed, aiming for Gyo-ha’s neck.
Gyo-ha twisted his body to evade it.
His other foot went for Jeokyang Mok’s head, but Jeokyang Mok lightly deflected it.
The sword he had used to block continued on and sliced across Gyo-ha’s thigh.
Despite wielding it with one hand, its power hadn’t diminished at all.
Despite sword and feet clashing without pause, the battlefield was eerily quiet.
That was possible because Jeokyang Mok either evaded or deflected every one of Gyo-ha’s attacks.
Only the waves of qi from the two of them shook the air.
Woong.
Those watching from afar stepped back whenever the waves of qi spread outward.
Even approaching them was difficult.

‘As expected, this isn’t easy.’

Gyo-ha clicked his tongue in amazement.
However, his surprise was nothing compared to Jeokyang Mok’s.

‘This bastard.’

Gyo-ha was reacting before his sword even moved.

‘He’s countering my clan’s martial arts?’

He had failed to notice because of Gyo-ha’s strange ability to absorb Heretical Qi and his inhuman strength.
Gyo-ha’s greatest ability was his eye for reading martial arts.
He had fought not only the Jeokyang brothers, but First Elder as well.
Little by little, he was beginning to follow Jeokyang Mok’s attacks.
And the speed at which he did so was increasing.
‘…I can’t let him live.’

He had intended to keep Gyo-ha alive and uncover the secret of his ability, but he had changed his mind.
It would become a problem if Gyo-ha’s method for countering their martial arts fell into someone else’s hands.
If he allowed Gyo-ha to live, he would become a future threat.
Jeokyang Mok adjusted his grip on his sword.
Pat!
Blood sprayed.
Gyo-ha’s eyes twitched at the sudden change.
It was not the Soul-Extinguishing Black Extremity Sword.
It was a new martial art Jeokyang Mok had created while consolidating everything he had learned in pursuit of another realm.
It did not even have a name.
For convenience, he called it Black Sword after his own epithet.
It was still incomplete, but it was more than enough to face Gyo-ha.
This was not the same as using a martial art he had yet to master.
It was a martial art that distilled Jeokyang Mok’s lifetime of martial learning.
Even incomplete, there was no questioning his mastery of it.

‘Yeah, that’s more like it.’

Unpredictable variations began mixing into his sword forms.
His movements were different from before.
Every path of his sword targeted vital and fatal points.
A chill ran through Gyo-ha, and he smiled.
Just when he thought he was finally getting used to it, something new had appeared.
It was different from the Soul-Extinguishing Black Extremity Sword.
It was not stealthy, but direct and aggressive.
Sword Qi shot out in every direction.
Gyo-ha had no choice but to keep retreating.

‘If only my arms were usable.’

He smacked his lips in disappointment.
There were limits to attacking solely with his feet.
Even if he didn’t attack with them, being able to support himself on the ground with his arms would have allowed him to devise a wider variety of attacks.
Chwaak!
Sword Qi sliced across Gyo-ha’s shoulder.
Jeokyang Mok’s eyes flashed.
The violet Heretical Qi around Jeokyang Mok’s sword grew even more intense.

“Keuk.”

This time, it was his thigh.
The moment his foot touched the ground, Gyo-ha staggered. The wound was too severe for him to maintain his balance properly.

‘Damn.’

Jeokyang Mok’s momentum grew even fiercer.
Gyo-ha hurriedly retreated to regain his stance.
Jeokyang Mok didn’t miss the opening.
Darkness flashed, and Gyo-ha’s chest split open.
Drip, drip, drip.
Blood poured down.
Gyo-ha clicked his tongue.

‘At this rate, I’ll lose.’

He needed to find a way.
Then his eyes fell upon the Jeokyang Clan martial artists in the distance.

‘If I kill them…’

Kwang!
Gyo-ha’s thought came to an abrupt end.
He had driven his knee into his own head.
Jeokyang Mok, who had been about to rush him, stopped at the sudden sight.
Blood ran from Gyo-ha’s split forehead.

“I really can’t let my guard down.”

Gyo-ha licked the blood running down his face.
It was a thought he could never have imagined having normally.
It was because of his yokai nature.
It hadn’t overwhelmed him all at once like before, but it was gradually eating away at him.
The metallic blood touching his tongue tasted sweet.

‘At least that snapped me out of it.’

Gyo-ha fixed his eyes on Jeokyang Mok again.
Jeokyang Mok merely frowned.
He was already familiar with Gyo-ha’s bizarre behavior.

“Then die.”

Jeokyang Mok leveled his sword at him with a cold gaze.
Gyo-ha would only have one chance.
He launched himself toward Jeokyang Mok.
Gyo-ha’s foot aimed for Jeokyang Mok’s head.
Jeokyang Mok twisted his upper body to evade it.
His sword immediately rose from below.
Chwaak!
A red line appeared.
Gyo-ha had failed to avoid it completely. But he didn’t stop.
He pressed forward and swung his foot.

‘Fool.’

Jeokyang Mok’s eyes flashed.
Instead of avoiding the kick, Jeokyang Mok stepped forward.
And then.
Puk.
Jeokyang Mok’s sword pierced through Gyo-ha’s chest.

“Keok.”

Gyo-ha coughed up blood.
The blade had barely missed his heart, but the wound was severe.
However.

“Got… you.”

Gyo-ha’s voice reached Jeokyang Mok’s ears.

“…!”

Jeokyang Mok raised his head and met the smiling Gyo-ha’s eyes.
Realizing something was wrong, he tried to pull his sword free, but Gyo-ha moved first.
Puk.

“What…?”

Sharp spikes burst through Jeokyang Mok’s abdomen.
When he turned his head, he saw Gyo-ha’s hand buried in his back.
His blackened, dying arm.
It trembled violently, as though even lifting it had taken everything Gyo-ha had.

“Your arm…?”
“I told you. Now we’re even.”

Only one of Jeokyang Mok’s arms was broken.
It wouldn’t be fair if Gyo-ha could not use either of his.
Jeokyang Mok’s face twisted as he kicked Gyo-ha away.
Gyo-ha was sent flying helplessly.
As Gyo-ha’s claws pulled free, Jeokyang Mok staggered as well.
Blood fell onto the ground.
Gyo-ha only managed to rise after rolling across the ground.
Blood also poured from the hole in Gyo-ha’s chest, yet he grinned.
There were four puncture wounds through Jeokyang Mok’s abdomen.
Even without much force behind them, Gyo-ha’s claws had pierced Jeokyang Mok’s Protective Aura Qi.
It showed just how sharp Gyo-ha’s claws were.

‘…Considering the wounds I already had, I’m still worse off.’

Even so, things were roughly balanced now.
Gyo-ha staggered toward him.
Jeokyang Mok adjusted his grip on his sword, but his face twisted as the pain from his wound surged through him.

“If you think this is enough to give you the advantage, you’re sorely mistaken!”

Jeokyang Mok swung his sword.
But it was visibly weaker than before.
Kwang!
Foot and sword collided.
The impact tore both of their wounds open further.

“Keuk.”

Jeokyang Mok was the one forced backward. Blood sprayed around him, and Gyo-ha’s eyes gleamed at the sight.
Jeokyang Mok’s brows rose when he saw Gyo-ha closing in.

‘Not a chance!’

His sword changed direction.
It aimed for Gyo-ha’s leg. Gyo-ha might be able to move his arm, but now that Jeokyang Mok knew to watch for it, it wasn’t much of a threat.
There was neither speed nor strength behind it.
Jeokyang Mok had only been caught before because he had let his guard down. That was also why Gyo-ha had been willing to sacrifice his chest.
But there was something even Jeokyang Mok had failed to anticipate.
Gyo-ha’s weapons were not limited to his two arms and two legs.
Kwang!
Gyo-ha slammed his forehead into Jeokyang Mok.
Jeokyang Mok was driven backward by the impact.
However, his Protective Aura Qi prevented any serious damage.
If anything, even more blood began pouring from Gyo-ha’s head.
But Gyo-ha didn’t care.
And once again.
Kwang!

Jeokyang Mok frowned at the impact of Gyo-ha’s head.

“It’s useless!”

It would be the same no matter how many times he did it. Something like this couldn’t break Jeokyang Mok’s Protective Aura Qi.

“Is that so?”

Covered in blood, Gyo-ha grinned.
Reading the madness mixed into Gyo-ha’s golden eyes, Jeokyang Mok tried to push him away.
Then he noticed Gyo-ha’s foot right beside his own.

‘Damn!’

Gyo-ha stomped down on Jeokyang Mok’s foot.
Kung.
Jeokyang Mok drove the pommel of his sword down into Gyo-ha’s wound.

“Keueuk!”

A groan burst from Gyo-ha’s mouth.
The pain felt as though he had been burned with fire, but Gyo-ha didn’t back away.
His head tilted back.
Gyo-ha’s eyes rolled wildly as he looked down at Jeokyang Mok.
And then.
Kwagang!
The two of them toppled backward.
A chill ran down Jeokyang Mok’s spine as he hit the ground.

‘Dangerous.’

He drove the sword pommel into Gyo-ha’s wound once more.

“Keuk!”

Blood sprayed across the ground.
When Jeokyang Mok twisted his wrist, the pommel ground into the wound.
At that moment, something seized Jeokyang Mok’s arm.
He turned his head and saw Gyo-ha biting down on his wrist.
The pommel slowly lifted away from the wound.
The moment Jeokyang Mok tried to exert force again, an impact struck his temple.
Kung!
His head jolted violently.

‘What the hell…?’

This time, he saw it clearly.
Gyo-ha’s knee was rising and coming down.
Kwang!
His head jolted once more.
The impact penetrated through his Protective Aura Qi.

‘I need to get away…’

Jeokyang Mok tried to throw Gyo-ha off his body.
Gyo-ha was pinning him down with only one knee, so merely twisting his body should have broken his balance.
However.

“Keok!”

He trembled as searing pain burned through his brain.

“You… bastard!”

Gyo-ha’s knee was grinding down into Jeokyang Mok’s abdominal wound.
The corner of Gyo-ha’s mouth rose even as he kept Jeokyang Mok’s arm clamped between his teeth.

“Yoo don’ eem used ta pain?”

His pronunciation was mangled, but the meaning came through.
You don’t seem used to pain?
His golden eyes curved into crescents.
Pain was a familiar companion to martial artists.
To become a master of Jeokyang Mok’s caliber in particular, one had to experience countless battles.
It was not a realm one could reach through theory alone.
Even so, there were limits.
Few people had experienced having their abdomen pierced through multiple times.
That was because suffering a wound of that severity usually left little chance of survival.
Gyo-ha was the strange one for having experienced wounds like that several times.
Jeokyang Mok gritted his teeth and moved his other hand.
Peok.
He swung his broken arm, but he couldn’t put any real force behind the blow.
Instead, even greater pain shot up his arm. Merely moving it hurt, so striking Gyo-ha’s head with it could only make things worse.
But he couldn’t give up.
Enduring the pain, he struck down again.
Peok! Peok! Peok!
Blood sprayed as Gyo-ha’s head rocked from the blows.
Jeokyang Mok’s efforts eventually had an effect.
Gyo-ha’s head was finally knocked away.
But he hadn’t simply let go.

“Keuheuk!”

The scream came not from Gyo-ha, but from Jeokyang Mok.
It was not because of his broken arm.
Twae.
A mouthful of flesh fell to the ground.
His arm had been gouged deeply enough to expose the bone.
In the end, Jeokyang Mok had no choice but to release his sword.
Chaeng.
The sword struck the ground with a clear ring.
Jeokyang Mok grabbed Gyo-ha’s throat with his trembling hand.
But he could not put any real strength into his grip.
Gyo-ha, battered beyond recognition, grinned at him.
His eyes were swollen, and his face was split open in several places.
Even his nose was broken and mangled.
Yet Gyo-ha smiled brightly as though he couldn’t even feel the pain.

“I’m used to it.”

It was the continuation of what he had said before.
Jeokyang Mok swung a fist at Gyo-ha.
But Gyo-ha met it with his forehead.
Kung!
Blood sprayed as fist and forehead collided.
Jeokyang Mok grimaced from the impact.
Even Protective Aura Qi couldn’t shield him completely from the force transmitted inside.
Unlike Jeokyang Mok, Gyo-ha took the blow with his bare body and no Protective Aura Qi at all.
And he didn’t stop there.
He twisted his body and climbed onto Jeokyang Mok from the side.
The sole of Gyo-ha’s foot was suddenly right before his eyes.

“…!”

Jeokyang Mok hurriedly tried to move his head aside, but Gyo-ha’s foot was faster.
Kwajik!
Gyo-ha’s foot slammed into Jeokyang Mok’s head.
Jeokyang Mok’s head was driven into the ground.

“You… bastard!”

The hand gripping Gyo-ha’s throat turned violet.
Flesh and nerves had been torn away, leaving him unable to exert proper physical strength, but qi was another matter.
Jeokyang Mok’s hand dug into Gyo-ha’s throat.
Despite what should have been agonizing pain, Gyo-ha was still smiling.
Kwang!
His foot came down again.
Gyo-ha didn’t stop. Even as his face turned blue from being unable to breathe, he continued bringing his foot down.
Kwang! Kwang!
Jeokyang Mok’s head bounced back up from the ground.
Jeokyang Mok felt his forehead burning. He was bleeding.
His Protective Aura Qi had been broken through.
Jeokyang Mok’s eyes began to tremble. At last, fear entered them as well.