Peng Jin-ah (2)

A quiet silence hung in the air.

Peng Jin-ah stared blankly at the Sword Empress.

What on earth was this noise?
Was the samae making a nasty joke?

But the senior sister’s eyes were far too serious for that.

Peng Jin-ah stammered.

“…What?”
“From now on, I’ll tell you.”

The story mentioned and the truth about her mother.
Each was like a bolt from the blue.

“…You mean the Faded Ones?”
“I’ve heard of them. Surely in the notes mother wrote… probably a group that uses the .”
“Yes, precisely, they are descendants of heroes who fought against the Demon King in the past.”
“…What?”

.
The ability to materialize the inner white flame.
The blazing white flame is known to burn and destroy any evil, literally a power that exists to annihilate evil.

“No one knows who developed this or under what conditions it is possible. Jin-ah, you can wield it, but you don’t know the exact principle, right?”
“…Yes, mother only told me it was such a power.”
“One thing is certain: those who use this power were stronger than anyone against demons. And even the ‘Demon King’ was no exception.”

The Sword Empress said.

The dragons who fought fiercely against the 72 Demon Kings one day discovered this.
For the first time, they paid attention to humans they had considered insignificant and sought them out.
They met and formed a contract.
They fought the Demon King by supplementing each other’s strength.

“You’ve heard of it, right? The story of those who contracted with dragons in the past.”
“…Yes, aren’t those commonly called Dragon Knights?”
“Yes, that’s right. I’ll skip the boring history quickly. What I want to say isn’t an old story.”

The heroes fought evil alongside dragons.
And finally achieved victory.

But the cost was terrible.
All dragons were cursed terribly, degenerating over generations or falling into a near-eternal slumber.

This curse also befell the heroes.
As a result, most died young or met unfortunate ends.

“But some survived long and formed groups and powers to maintain their lineage. Some even operated under names like clans or sects as a kind of deception.”
“…No way?”
“Yes, exactly. One of them is .”

Here’s the important part.
is an extremely dangerous and powerful force.
Therefore, there were those who constantly pursued it to eliminate it.

“…Those who wish for the Demon King’s resurrection.”

The rise of .
They searched and hunted down one by one like catching rats,
and eliminated the successors barely maintaining their lineage.

Eventually, their sword reached the head of at the time,
Peng Jin-ah’s biological mother.

“It even reached Peng Chae-rin, unnie.”
“…”

There are many intermediate steps, but they are omitted.
Those details aren’t important.

The conclusion is one.

The leader among the pursuers and the strongest being.
The only person who realized and reached the truth about .

One man pointed his sword at Peng Chaerin.
They made a contract that the loser in their duel would obey the absolute command, entering a life-or-death pact.

“Unfortunately, that man’s sword… eventually defeated unnie.”
“…W-when did that happen…”
“You will remember. One day, suddenly drowsiness overwhelmed you and you slept for two days straight. Peng Chae-rin gave you medicine. I resisted, so I woke up immediately after taking it.”

The young Plum Blossom Sword Empress ran madly to the duel site.
There, she saw clearly.
Her sister forced into a contract with a demon, moving like a puppet.

“…Why didn’t he just kill her and did such a thing?”
“To find more.”
“What?”
“Descendants of the Faded Ones not yet found. Since unnie was a successor, he probably thought she knew.”

What a great relief.

When Peng Chae-rin was the lord, contact had long been cut off, so she didn’t know others.

“But one person. One person knew.”
“…Who is that?”

At the question, the Sword Empress silently looked at Peng Jin-ah.
That gaze made Peng Jin-ah’s expression harden.

“…No way.”
“That’s right. Jin-ah. It’s you. The biological daughter of Peng Chae-rin. You learned from her and could wield the .”

The order was to find and kill you, who never spoke and kept the secret even unto death.

That was the only and final command given by that man.

“…”

Peng Jin-ah stared blankly at the ceiling.

Only one thought,
Only one memory,
Only one scene came to mind.

The tragic end of her mother who wept blood tears, screamed, and wildly swung her sword before her, dying miserably.

Like fighting against something, resisting, and self-destructing alone.

She thought, could it be?
The Sword Empress’s words hammered in like a wedge, confirming that thought.

“She fought on her own. She struggled so as not to kill you. She endured until morning… and won.”
“…”

Peng Jin-ah bowed her head.
Maybe because she heard such an unbelievable story.
Her mind wouldn’t work.

After a while, she looked at the Sword Empress.

Trembling.
The Sword Empress’s body trembled like a trembling a tree branch
She clenched her fist so hard that blood dripped and pooled on the training ground floor.
Her bitten lips left marks but showed no sign of stopping.

“I drew my sword to stop unnie… but I couldn’t. I was too weak then.”

Still vivid in her eyes.
Watching silently as that man turned and disappeared.

“To be honest, I don’t know why he spared her.”
“He spared her?”
“Yes, frankly speaking, if he truly intended to eliminate all future troubles, he would have killed me on the spot… and followed unnie to find you.”

He would have perfectly eliminated both your defeated sister and you.

“But he didn’t. Maybe old feelings remained… or some other reason.”

The word “old feelings.”
Peng Jin-ah roughly guessed who the man was from that one word.

Still, she asked.
She felt she had to.

“…Who is he? The man who defeated mother and took the oath.”
“So Hang-woo.”

A super-strong figure known as the Sword Ghost.

“I don’t know exactly why he drew his sword. I guess it was a condition to join .”

Suddenly—!

The Sword Empress couldn’t continue.
Because Peng Jin-ah grabbed her collar.
Peng Jin-ah shouted.

“Why, why did you tell me all this so late! You know how much I resented mother! Why, knowing everything, only now the truth—”
“If I told you earlier, you would have died!!!”
“…”

Smack!

The Sword Empress pushed her hand away.
She looked at Peng Jin-ah with the coldest expression in the world.
Her words were colder and sharper than anything.

“If I told you… you would have immediately gone to the Underworld to hunt Tartarus and the Sword Ghost. Right?”
“…”
“That would be a senseless death. I’ll be honest, Jin-ah.”

If you hadn’t had a chance to reach S-rank this time, I would never have told you this truth in my life.

“Jin-ah, you are weak.”

Too weak to fulfill your revenge.

“Even you now would be a senseless death before that man.”
“…Is he that strong? Is it that much? I am stronger now than mother in her prime.”

Peng Jin-ah’s words were true.

She had long surpassed her mother, Peng Chae-rin.
A strong person worthy of pride.
That is the .
Daring enough to challenge the qualification of the Five Swordsmen said to have sword skills reaching the heavens.

But the Sword Empress shook her head.
As if it was impossible.

“Even I can’t beat that man one-on-one.”
“…!?”

Peng Jin-ah flinched.
Even the seasoned S-rank Sword Empress can’t win…
The realm the Sword Ghost has reached, the step he stands on.
It meant he was at an unbelievably high place.
Literally the pinnacle of swordsmen.
A being worthy of the grand title “The World’s Greatest.”

The Sword Empress clenched her fist.

“I also wanted to avenge my unnie.”

For that, she chased the Sword Ghost for ten years, analyzed his sword, and sharpened her blade of revenge.

“You know too. When I was eight, I was kidnapped by him and learned swordsmanship briefly.”
“…”
“So I know well. It’s frustrating, but I can’t win. No matter how long I swing my sword, I probably won’t touch his neck.”

The following decisive phrase, the core of this conversation.

“One-on-one, that is.”
“…That means…”
“At least if a swordsman equal to me perfectly synchronizes with me. If 1+1 is not simply 2 but more than that…”

Then we can reach him.
We can win.

The Sword Empress shed tears.
For Peng Jin-ah, it was practically the first time seeing her samae’s tears.

“Jin-ah. You must become strong. To avenge unnie…”

And this is also for the future of Yu Seha, whom you love so much.

“The Sword Ghost I know would never leave Yoo Se-ha’s talent alone. I’m sure. By any means, he will turn him into a terrible star of disaster, a Fiend Star.”

The Sword Empress placed her hand over Peng Jin-ah’s.
A blazing gaze of revenge was felt.

Still, Peng Jin-ah could say nothing.
Because she was too bewildered and shocked.

Could all this be just a nightmare?
A delusion?
But it was undeniable reality.

Thud.

At that moment, a small book landed in Peng Jin-ah’s arms.
It was an item the Sword Empress took out from a pocket dimension.
The book was inscribed with [Peng Fearsome Sword].

“…This is.”
“A book unnie recorded. It’s practically a keepsake I took care of.”

Kept to give when the time came.

“Now that time has come.”
“…”

The Sword Empress stood up.
She wiped her tears with her sleeve and turned around.

“Here in ‘Eastern Sword Heaven’ there is a floor only a very few can enter. The reason I came this time is for this.”

An unexplored floor in the <Sword Empress’s Tower>.
A floor with tremendous difficulty left untouched to avoid repercussions.
At the same time, a trial that offers a definite chance to become stronger if cleared.

The Sword Empress said resolutely.

“In a few days, I will enter there and risk my life to conquer it. And become stronger.”

Jin-ah.
If you also have the will, tell me.
With those words, the Plum Blossom Sword Empress slowly left.
About 20 minutes after the Sword Empress left.

“…”

Peng Jin-ah just blankly…
Sat dazedly staring at the book.

Peng Jin-ah regained consciousness three hours later.

Her mind was complicated.
It felt like a thick fog filled her brain, paralyzing thought itself.

Step by step.
Walking aimlessly again and again.

Where on earth was she going?
She didn’t know herself.
She just moved wherever her feet took her.

She felt she had to.

At that moment.
A murmur was heard.
She looked ahead.

Flash!
With a feeling of the world brightening, illusions from memory unfolded.

Peng Jin-ah clearly saw.

-Mom~!
-Our Jin-ah~

Her childhood self and mother playing in the garden of .

Her mother held her and lifted her up.

Her childhood self smiled brightly in response.

An involuntary happy memory.
Peng Jin-ah smiled.
But that smile soon turned into a terrible memory.

It was blood-colored.
A world of red light.

The collapsing .
A torrential rain with lightning.
She sat trembling, watching.

At the end of that gaze was her mother, wailing and swinging a sword at the air.
Unnatural movements.
Movements as if not her own body.

Words barely uttered with tears of blood.
Only then did Peng Jin-ah understand what her mother had said.

-R. U. N.

“…”

Peng Jin-ah staggered.
Leaning against a nearby back.

Tears flowed down.
Thud.
She tried to steady her legs but trembled like a newborn fawn.

She muttered.
Grabbing her head as if tearing it apart.

“Then, all this time…”

Had she resented her mother without knowing such things?
Had she created the [Overlord Sword] filled with such resentment?

Her breath choked naturally.
Cold sweat flowed.

Ah, ah.
What on earth had she done…

“I, I…”

She squeezed her eyes shut.

Before she knew it, Peng Jin-ah pulled her knees and cried like a child.

Unconsciously, she muttered.

“…Mom.”

How long had she been like that?
It seemed like no more tears would come.

Urgent footsteps approached.
A familiar voice echoed.
Warm hands she had felt many times before touched her shoulder and crown.

That warmth was so cozy and comforting.
She felt like falling asleep.

Peng Jin-ah raised her head.
A young man with natural black hair and violet-tinged eyes.

Yu Seha.

He, drenched in sweat as if just finished training, looked down with a flustered face.

“Teacher! Teacher! Are you okay!?”
“…”

He looked surprised and worried.
Peng Jin-ah quietly stared at him with dead eyes.
He seemed to sense the gravity of the situation.
Yu Seha sprang up like lightning and turned around.

“W-wait a moment. I’ll get Su Ok-bin noona-”

-Grab.

“T-teacher?”
“Yu Seha…”
“Yes, speak!”

Peng Jin-ah’s pupils trembled like an earthquake.
Her breathing grew heavy.
It was warmth coming from the abyss of despair.
She didn’t want to lose this even for a second.

Barely, she stammered on.

“May I… ask a favor?”
“Yes, of course.”

As soon as she said that, Peng Jin-ah cried again.
Like a child, like a young girl.
Endlessly and sorrowfully.

Then, she opened her arms toward the helpless Yoo Se-ha.

In Peng Jin-ah’s eyes…
Undoubtedly, a pink-filled affection was swelling.

“Even just a little…”

Will you hold me?
And if possible…
If possible….

“Hold me so tightly I might break.”
“…Yes?”