Sisters (2)

Moon Ha-yeon and Moon Bora.
They looked at each other in silence.

Saying “I didn’t miss you…” would be a lie.
Moon Ha-yeon had missed Moon Bora,
and Moon Bora had missed Moon Ha-yeon as well.

Of course, the standards of longing each felt were clearly different.
Still, regardless of how, it was true they both wanted to face each other.

But Moon Bora didn’t bother to say such things.
The same went for Moon Ha-yeon.

Thus a minute-long silence, like an eternity, continued and was soon broken.

Moon Ha-yeon started.
It wasn’t the usual family inquiries like “Are you eating well?”
or “Have you made good friends?”

“…Even if you’re descendants of the same Moon Clan, it couldn’t have been easy getting into this place, right?”

Moon Ha-yeon was clearly questioning the magic array.
Moon Bora smiled wryly at her sister’s words.
She actually felt relieved.

If she had asked something warm like “Have you been well?”…
it might have shaken the resolve she had sworn to keep.

Instead of answering, Moon Bora lifted the necklace hanging at her throat.
In the past, before going to subdue the Sea Dragon Temple.

Chairman Yu Neung-hae,
had handed an emergency teleport artifact to Yu Seha and the others, one apiece.
It was also an item made by the magus sect.

Moon Ha-yeon, watching, nodded.

“So, you used the ritual embedded in that to get in here…is that it?”

Moon Ha-yeon smiled brightly.
It was the kind of smile that seemed to say, “If you’re my sister, this is the least you’d do.”

That smile overlapped with Moon Bora’s memories.
Fourteen years ago.

Moon Ha-yeon was twelve.
Moon Bora was seven.

Her sister, who had killed their abusive parents after horrific experiments and beatings, set the house on fire.

She looked at the younger sister trapped under the wreckage,
and rescued her despite expecting to suffer burns.

Until then, Moon Bora naturally thought her sister would take her away.

But she did not.

Her sister pushed her away, saying she was unnecessary,
and she remained sitting there,
until other hunters rescued her.
That was the beginning of the crossroads and the start of the tragedy.

Moon Ha-yeon looked at her sister.
She recalled the expressionless face that saved her from the burning mansion.

Even as she etched that into her mind…
she clasped both hands without hesitation and cast a spell.

A fierce cold swept through.
She amplified its power in sync with hand seals and the ritual nuances.
The power of the Ice Moon Divine Skill she had been taught by her master, Cheon Mi-ra.
She covered the freezing core with the Burning Flame Demon’s power.
This too was power received from someone dear, Yoo Se-ha.

Clutching both bonds tightly, Moon Bora
aimed her magic at Moon Ha-yeon.

“If it were before…”

If it had been just a few months ago…
she would have been trembling.

Waves of guilt and fear about her sister would have crashed over her, making it impossible to look her directly.

She would have appealed to affection,
and begged her to return to the sister she once knew.

But not anymore.
Moon Bora was no longer weak.

To her, the existence of her sister was no longer the darkness of life or a symbol of guilt.

Because Moon Bora was no longer alone…

At her side now,
Yu Seha, Ma Hana, Ju Na-young, Professor Peng Jin-ah, and Master Cheon Mira stood.
Various bonds had placed hands on her shoulders.

For them,
Moon Bora steeled her resolve.

“Unnie, I’ll apologize in advance.”
“For what?”
“Today… I’m going to make sure to kill you.”

A calm declaration.
It wasn’t a plea to surrender, to give up,
nor to willingly be taken.

Moon Bora knew all too well.
That her sister, unless killed,
was not someone who would stop.

Hearing this, Moon Ha-yeon curled the corner of her mouth into a cruel smile.

“Oh my, that’s exactly what I wanted to say, little sister!”

Magic erupted with no one giving precedence.
Moon Ha-yeon too prepared magic to kill her own younger sister.

The sisters’ fight continued without end.

It was essentially a clash of equals.
Moon Ha-yeon frowned.
It was strange.
She couldn’t accept it.

‘How on earth could she become like this in such a short time…’

How could she get this strong?

Through Tartarus’s information network, Moon Ha-yeon had a rough idea of Moon Bora’s strength.

Top of B-rank.
A magician who at best could be expected to reach that level.

She and Moon Bora did not have an overwhelming gap,
but it was by no means an easily closable difference.

What on earth had she done to boost her specs like this?
Questions and suspicions piled upon one another.

These were naturally interrupted by approaching footsteps.

“Muaaah! Bora!”
“Moon Bora! Are you okay?!”

It was Ma Hana and Ju Na-young.
Both ran toward Moon Bora wielding the dagger and gauntlet gifted by Yu Seha.

From the small cuts on the two’s bodies, Moon Ha-yeon realized Kim Min-su, who had been guarding the entrance, had been defeated.

“…”

She had no particular intention of criticizing them.
Kim Min-su had already been grievously wounded by Na Tun-tun’s spear and was down.
As [Peacemaker] hadn’t worked on him,
it naturally wouldn’t have worked on the two of them either.

Considering Kim Min-su’s combat ability, it was actually commendable they held out this long.

In any case, if they cooperated like this, it would certainly become troublesome.

Even while fighting, Moon Ha-yeon poured more power into the “soul stone” that kept the ritual sustained.

“It’s a touching reunion of the sisters after a long time. Don’t interrupt!!”

Moon Ha-yeon stretched out her hand.
In response, the partially completed demon lord’s body began to move again.
Once a basic skeleton and shape had formed, what appeared was a humanoid mass easily over nine meters tall.

A black puppet as if woven from shadows.

Moon Bora, watching this sight, shouted loudly.

“Na-young! Hana! That’s not a proper demon lord yet! Everything’s incomplete compared to its full form!”

Of course, even so it was tremendously powerful,
but Moon Bora believed in the strength those two had reached.

“I’ll take care of the sorcerer sister…please handle the demon lord!”

Having said that, Moon Bora
saw Moon Ha-yeon smirk.

Without anyone going first, simultaneously,
they raised massive ice walls.

They were naturally divided.

Ma Hana and Ju Na-young took on the clumsily summoned demon lord,
while Moon Bora faced her sister, Moon Ha-yeon.
Clash resumed once more.

Meanwhile, at the same time.
The Sword Ghost and Yu Seha.
Their fight continued.

No—could this even be called a fight?
A fight is ultimately a process to determine which force, skill, or spirit is stronger as they clash.

That presumes a certain give-and-take of offense and defense.
In that sense, what they displayed could hardly be called a fight.
It was merely a struggling boy and an old man watching amusedly.

Bang-!!!

“Kraaaah!!!”

Yu Seha let out a shout.
He normally didn’t shout this loudly.

His fighting method was to calmly calculate and combine the most efficient, threatening attacks.

He judged the energy cost of screaming itself a waste.

Yet there he was, screaming.
Ironically, even Yu Seha himself couldn’t fully explain why.

It could be a frightened soul wailing at a stronger opponent,
or a desperate struggle not to be overwhelmed.

But one thing was certain…

Yu Seha was literally pouring everything he had into it.

The Sword Ghost watched this with an intrigued expression, silently assessing.

Kwarrrung-!
Kwakwakwak-!

Judgment by lightning spreading in all directions.
It was as if the thunder god had descended,
a storm of powerful electricity swept the area.

An Epic skill: [Roaring Thunderbolt].
A force indistinguishable from a divine power surged toward the Sword Ghost with killing intent.

That wasn’t the end.
Sea water that reacted even more intensely with the electricity.

A derivative of [Dragon-Rising Tide]: [Tsunami].
A stream of water taking the form of a sea dragon,
combined with the electricity and danced.

Shuk-!

But all of it…
was cleanly evaporated by a single slash.

A mere ordinary cut, not defined by any <System>.
Two Epic skills were undone by a single ordinary slash that didn’t even use the Ghost Shadow Sword’s power.

“…”

For a moment, the Sword Ghost looked up.

Flare-!

A hot surge of heat.
The Burning Flame Demon’s <Ultimate Skill>,
Flare Buster.

The guided technique,
fell exquisitely, aiming for blind spots and timings the Sword Ghost couldn’t see.

Bang-!

But even this meant nothing.
The Sword Ghost casually drew a karambit marked with a ‘5’ from the back of his hand.

With a single movement.
Over ten slashes of sword qi’s spread out,
and literally shredded the Flare Buster to pieces.

An ordinary awakened would have despaired here,
but Yu Seha did not.
Wrapping himself in [Roaring Thunderbolt],
he closed the distance like a flash.

Thanks to the power of [SlaSla], the beloved sword of Hormann was summoned.

<Azure Dragon Sword>.

Yu Seha swung his twin swords relentlessly.

“…”

The Sword Ghost lifted the corner of his mouth in a smirk,
and parried each and every strike.

He didn’t even take a step and deflected them all.
All the while, he gave Yoo Se-ha unsolicited advice.

“Inefficient. Grip the sword slightly further back.”
“Still slow. Fill it with mana faster.”
“Don’t overlook physical strength. The sword is an extension of the hand—focus on the unified sensation.”

Though it sounded like a kind whisper from a master…
Yu Seha broke into a cold sweat at the killing intent woven into each word.

It wasn’t merely instructive.

If he didn’t correct it right here and now,

if he couldn’t improve it,

it was a silent threat that he’d be killed.

Yu Seha gritted his teeth.
Determination and a blazing genius.
With each passing second,
Yu Seha’s swordplay grew closer to evolution.

Corrections that normally required grinding years of time.
In Yu Seha’s genius that achieved it after just a few words,
the Sword Ghost showed a deeper smile.

“Good.”
“…!”

In that moment, Yu Seha saw it.
The Sword Ghost reaching to draw a blade from his waist sheath…

Yu Seha snatched at it like lightning with his foot.
He blocked the hilt with his toe while pushing it away,
and prevented the sword from being drawn.
If he was facing a swordsman who cut through everything,
he judged it best to deny any chance to wield a sword at all.

But the Sword Ghost overturned that judgment entirely.
He put force into the hilt,
and tossed the sheath backward while severing both sides.

Srrr-!

“…!”

Yu Seha barely evaded the sword energy aimed at his throat.
He gasped for breath.

A clipped fringe fell to the ground,
and he watched the Sword Ghost nod in satisfaction.

“Not bad… but you surely know I’m not an opponent to be handled with such parlor tricks, right?”

When the Sword Ghost finished speaking,
he reversed his grip and scattered sword energy.

Different from before…
If one must say,
intangible blades similar to those aimed at Cheon Mira.

Yu Seha sensed it instinctively.

This peculiar sensation.
As if the very concept of “cutting” was unfolding across the world.

The sword master had taught and trained him,
and it had to be the Ghost Shadow Sword.

“Hoo!!!”

Yu Seha took a deep breath and forcibly gathered mana.

Focus.
Focus!

‘I can do it…!’

Though the sword was ever-changing,
he could adapt!

Yu Seha spun the sword in his right hand.
A square-shaped slash shot forward immediately.
The slash was eaten by the rotation and gradually vanished.

He pulled the sword in his left hand back.
The strike that had disappeared reemerged, cutting at the surrounding terrain.

What Yu Seha displayed was undoubtedly the pinnacle of Hormann’s flexible-strength-overcoming-hardness technique.

A secret art that neutralizes an enemy attack and uses that impact against them.

‘Although the level gap prevented a full reversal…’

this could roughly suffice to respond.
The Sword Ghost did not fail to notice this assessment.

“Good. But clumsy.”

Look at your hands.

“…!”

Only then did Yu Seha feel the throbbing pain.
He lowered his gaze.

His hands had somehow let go of the twin Azure Dragon Swords.
At the same time, his palms were mangled to the point bones showed.
Proof he hadn’t been able to block every attack.

“Ugh…!”
“Heal up. I’ll wait.”

Yu Seha didn’t miss the Sword Ghost’s mercy.
He wasn’t foolish enough to squander pride against such an opponent.

He calculated the cooldowns of all his skills.
Activating the charging [Rapid Healing] to recover wounds,
he kicked the blade upward,
and quickly regained his stance.

The Sword Ghost watched indolently.
He soon repeated the words he’d grown tired of saying.

“So, have you thought about my offer?”
“…”

Yu Seha frowned.
The Sword Ghost’s proposal was simply to become his disciple.
Nonsense unworthy of consideration.

So he ignored it and kept attacking, but
now he decided to stall for time to recover his body.

“Don’t talk nonsense. I already have a master.”
“You mean <The Overlord Sword>? I don’t think that foolish woman has the skill to handle you.”
“…”

An insult toward Master Peng Jin-ah.
Yoo Se-ha suppressed his anger and recovered as much as he could.
Feeling his vigor and mana return, he retorted.

“I’ll say it again: I refuse. I have no intention of listening to a murderer like you.”
“Is that so? That’s unfortunate. But you should know: I never asked for consent in the first place, Yu Seha.”

The reason he had waited despite the petty chatter
was to make it unmistakably clear to him.

“That the only one who can elevate your talent is me.”

The Sword Ghost sent a mad glare.
The twin swords in his hands marked ‘2’ and ‘3’ began to crack under the pressure.

“And once I say it, understand you have no choice.”

Immediately after, fragments of the Ghost Shadow Sword unfurled.
Facing the incoming strike,
Yu Seha re-established his stance.

It was different.

Much more refined and powerful sword energy, as if to mock the earlier display as child’s play, approached like a dance.

He felt it instinctively.
That the subtleties of the flexible-strength technique alone couldn’t handle this.

“To counter…”

he had to deploy the same Ghost Shadow Sword principle.
In an instant, Yoo Se-ha, gripping the hilt, recalled memories from the past.

A conversation he’d had with the sword master in the Eastern Sword Heaven Mansion.

About the true nature of the Ghost Shadow Sword she had told him there.

“Ghost Shadow Sword. The name comes from how it looks like handling shadows and ghosts. But that name was given by enemies who couldn’t perceive it and died; in reality it’s an orthodox sword art unrelated to that imagery.”

The essence of the Ghost Shadow Sword was the ultimate extreme of the Heart Sword.

A swordsman who reached the realm of the Heart Sword
Could project his will and resolve into the world.

“The fact the form can’t be properly perceived as it approaches is because the sword energy is deliberately manipulated that way.”

The principle itself was simple.
Decide to cut, and you cut.
What he cuts is the world itself.

Thus, the moment the Sword Ghost resolves and swings his sword,
In this world there is only the outcome “it was cut” inscribed.

This is the true nature of the Ghost Shadow Sword.
A sword that, literally, manipulates causality.
It was practically a kind of ‘ability’ or power.

The Sword Ghost himself wasn’t fully aware,
But the stellar realm he had reached,
And beyond that, the celestial realm, were domains called gods.

“In other words, the Sword Ghost… unknowingly obtained divinity.”

He was already a catastrophe in and of himself.