Miserable Outcome

Crackle!

A gate opened with mana scattering in all directions.
Activated without a proper sorcerer’s control, it spat out its contents as if dumping trash.
Moon Ha-yeon popped out from within it.

Thud!

Moon Ha-yeon, who had lost all her limbs except her left arm,
landed in a steep back alley.

Her body, which she couldn’t control naturally, tumbled and rolled.
After rolling like that for about a minute, she hit down with a thud and sprawled out.

“…”

Moon Ha-yeon bled from a torn brow and looked around.

‘This place is…’

A familiar scene.
By coincidence, it looked familiar.
She frowned as past memories surfaced.

“Fuck, why here of all places?”

The slum she had first fled to from the Moon Family.
It was a large dump in that area.

Of course, calling it a dump was one thing,
it was in reality a place of corruption and bloodshed where every filthy act was carried out openly.

Looking down, among the unsorted trash, a few bones that looked like human remains lay scattered.

It was a place where human trafficking frequently occurred.
It was nothing unusual.

Drip drip.

Moon Ha-yeon looked up at the sky.
The falling raindrops grew heavier,
and pounded her face mercilessly.

She glanced to the side at the only item she had managed to keep.
A fairly delicate right hand for a man was held there.
It was Kim Min-su’s arm, severed when the gate closed.

“…”

Moon Ha-yeon, who instinctively cherished it in her bosom, soon sensed a presence.

She only moved her eyes.

“…”
“…”
“…”

Six in total.
They were slum residents, men and women alike, slinking out of the alley.

Their hollow eyes glinted with greed over the fresh prey that had rolled into their hands after a long time.
They weren’t awakened, but they naturally drew weapons.

Moon Ha-yeon gave a bitter smile.
Yes, this was the place she’d lived.

Probably, they would be thinking of organs,
or twisted outlets for sexual desire…
They would be greedily swallowing such ugly desires.

Moon Ha-yeon used her only remaining arm to lift her upper body.
She slumped like a cripple and gathered a cold made by melting life force into her hand.

“Come on, then! You bastards!”

Shortly after, Moon Ha-yeon jabbed a finger into the last resident’s eye and instantly froze his brain.

“…munch munch.”

She spat out something foreign-tasting from her mouth.

A piece of a severed ear from one of the residents she couldn’t identify was mixed with her saliva.

For a moment she wondered if she should have swallowed even that, but she smirked and dismissed the thought.

Moon Ha-yeon crawled forward, breathing hard.
The chances of other bastards coming at the sound of fighting were high.
On top of that, pursuers from the Academy would attach themselves…

‘By any means…!’

She had to get out of here somehow.

Chin.

At that moment.

A thick leather shoe appeared before Moon Ha-yeon’s eyes.
Recognizing the feel, she lifted her head,
And snorted when the old man who appeared came into view.

“…What, you’re alive after all?”
“Of course. Rather, it’s you who’s still alive.”

An old man with one eye covered by a scrap of cloth.
He was none other than Sword Ghost So Hang-woo.

About 40 minutes earlier.

A sparsely populated area within the Academy.
A place laid to waste by battle.
Rough noises echoed.

Sword Ghost So Hang-woo.

With a vacant expression, he parried every incoming strike without rest.

Two were pressing him as if to kill.
Overlord Sword Peng Jin-ah,
Plum Blossom Sword Saint Wei Ga-ryeong.

Each displayed tiger-like ferocious sword strikes,
and graceful, radiant plum-blossom blade techniques to apply pressure.

The first to seize the initiative was Peng Jin-ah.

[Overlord Sword technique], [Peng Commanding Sword].
Peng Jin-ah unleashed [Peng Commanding Sword], a fusion of the two techniques.

She channeled far faster, fiercer momentum into Great Hope and relentlessly aimed at the Sword Ghost’s life.

“So Hang-woo!”
“Do you remember Peng Chae-rin, my mother!”
“…”

The Sword Ghost effortlessly unravelled the secret of [Peng Commanding Sword], clearly wearing an annoyed expression.

Peng Chae-rin, the origin and mother of the Overlord Sword.
Of course he remembered.

Among those the Sword Ghost had faced,
She was one of the top ten formidable warriors.

Therefore he could answer.
He could say it with certainty.

“I don’t know.”
“…What?”
“I said I don’t know.”

The Sword Ghost replied with conviction.
It was by no means to provoke Peng Jin-ah.

To him, those defeated and turned to dew were merely the dead not worth remembering.
He would further develop the Ghost-Shadow Sword,
And they were nothing more than offerings to reach the realm of the heavens.

“Once defeated, there’s no reason to remember them further.”
“…”

Peng Jin-ah filled her bulging eyes with murderous intent.
She poured mana into Great Hope, her mother’s heirloom, and pressed the attack in all directions.
Her swordsmanship, intent solely on killing, transcended limits.
Sporadically, she added derivative skills of [Annihilation Sword].

Peng Jin-ah had surpassed the S-rank ceiling and risen to a level equal to the reclusive Plum Blossom Sword Empress.
Undoubtedly mid-ranking among S-class fighters.

Despite such tremendous strength,
The Sword Ghost remained unimpressed as if unfulfilled.

At that moment, a precise thrust that filled Peng Jin-ah’s shortcomings unfolded.

The Sword Ghost leisurely avoided even that strike.
He glanced aside.
He saw the Sword Empress deploying [Plum Blossom Touch Dance], sending violet butterflies fluttering.

The Sword Ghost twisted the corner of his mouth.

“You’ve gotten quite usable while I wasn’t looking, Ga-ryeong.”

In response, the Plum Blossom Sword Empress Wei Ga-ryeong exploded with rage.

Through slitted eyes, a murderous intent matching Peng Jin-ah’s burst forth.

“Don’t call my name like we’re close, you bastard!”
“Was it around eight? You seemed talented, so I boldly kidnapped you.”

Literally a class of beating and teaching all day long.
Amidst becoming bloodied, Wei Ga-ryeong
Clung desperately to the Sword Ghost’s tutelage to survive.

After roughly two years of instruction.
The Sword Ghost abandoned Wei Ga-ryeong.
As if tossing a scrap of toilet paper into a trash can.

“You were a disappointment, and you still are. In the end, you couldn’t go beyond merely being ‘useful’.”

Wei Ga-ryeong,
You cannot escape that position.

“…”

Despite the plainly insulting words, Wei Ga-ryeong couldn’t refute them.

In reality, even with the two of them cooperating, they couldn’t inflict significant wounds on the Sword Ghost.

But that didn’t mean they could pass up this golden opportunity.

Wei Ga-ryeong signaled with her eyes,
And Peng Jin-ah nodded.

Immediately after, both unleashed their finishing moves as if neither would be first.
Tattoos flared simultaneously.

“<Pierce like a hundred islands>!”
“<Falling petals, bloom>!”

The <Ultimate Skill> of [Peng Commanding Sword] and [Twenty-Petal Plum Sword Technique] manifesting [Overlord Heavenly Strike] and [Plum Blossom Falling].
Both finishing moves emitted a fierce light.

Kugugu!
Smoke spread out.

Peng Jin-ah and Wei Ga-ryeong.
The two sisters stared ahead in disbelief.

Despite the ultimate skills detonating without doubt,
The Sword Ghost stood as if nothing had happened.

What’s even more shocking was
That he hadn’t even twitched.

Looking closely, thin strands of something whirred and spun around him with a sharp sound.

Wei Ga-ryeong immediately recognized what it was.

‘Ghost Shadow Sword…’

The supreme sword art of spirit-sword, embodied and deployed in the Sword Ghost’s own way.
What the Sword Ghost was displaying now was what he’d shown in his fierce battle with Yu Seha,
The supreme state where sword-energy is emitted without swinging.
It was the ultimate technique that could only be displayed upon reaching the tip of spirit-sword.

‘No way, he wrapped that like armor around his body, and countered?’

As the Sword Ghost calmly blocked the attacks, he suddenly scowled.
It was an expression of sheer disappointment.

“Women not worth dealing with.”

Even if you four combined, you wouldn’t reach the tip of Yu Seha’s foot!

“The only one who can take my head is that guy alone!”

Immediately after, his index finger pointed at Wei Ga-ryeong.

Sensing danger instinctively, Wei Ga-ryeong hurriedly executed a technique, but it was already too late.

Kwak kwak kwak!
As if casting a spell, the Ghost Shadow Sword burst from his fingertip.
Amazingly, rhombus- and square-shaped sword energies mixed into a single spherical form.

This was the Sword Ghost who first experienced permanent bodily loss in his battle with Yu Seha.
And his five senses had been honed for decades, long reaching the lofty heavens.
This meant that through the absolute foe Yu Seha, he too had ascended another level.

Wei Ga-ryeong defended with all her might against the Guiying Sword.
That alone sent her body floating,
And it was enough to propel her at tremendous speed.

Fortunately, she exerted full strength.
She succeeded in bouncing upward, but having expended too much energy in the moment, Wei Ga-ryeong fainted.

Peng Jin-ah, watching, shouted.

“Sister!”

The Sword Ghost answered.

“Do you have time to be distracted?”
“…!”

Peng Jin-ah hurriedly got back into stance.
But the Sword Ghost merely spoke,
And made no special move.
Even though it was a clear opportunity to strike Peng Jin-ah down.

The Sword Ghost stared at Peng Jin-ah idly.
He looked at the pathetic female grinding her teeth and burning everything with vengeance.
Then he let out a remark as if incredulous.

“I’ve heard the gist. Yu Seha, you’re said to be my disciple’s master?”
“…!”

The phrase ‘my disciple.’
Peng Jin-ah’s eyes flared with fire.
Still, still spouting such nonsense,
this old man!

“Don’t use the word ‘disciple’, Sword Ghost! He is my top disciple-”
“-The one who shouldn’t use that word is you, Overlord Sword!”

The Sword Ghost’s shout cut across and resounded overwhelmingly.
Peng Jin-ah dropped to one knee under the immense pressure.

The Sword Ghost approached slowly.
Step by step,
The aura of an absolute master crushed Peng Jin-ah.

“You miserable female, don’t you dare call yourself his master.”

You raptor born with a slightly sharp beak and sturdy wings.
How dare you think you could harbor a phoenix that surpasses the stars.
Do you think he’ll fit into your tiny, cramped nest?

Peng Jin-ah clenched her teeth until they might shatter.
She had felt it on the way here too.

Yu Seha—he who took another’s body—displayed overwhelming martial might far beyond mere absurdity.

“You were long ago overtaken by him.”

And no matter how desperately you try,
No price you pay will change it.

“You cannot reach where he is now. In the end, your station is only that much.”
“…Shut… up!!!”

For a moment, Peng Jin-ah shook off the pressure with rage beyond limits.
She grabbed Great Hope.
White flames wrapped around it.
At the same time, in sheer power alone, she activated a top-tier skill.

“<Rend it apart>!!!”

She cast [Overlord Annihilation], the technique that had severed the Sword Ghost’s left arm.

The Sword Ghost snorted in disdain.
He swung his long blade like lightning.
Dozens of sword-energies that tried to burst forth vanished at once.

He laughed at Peng Jin-ah’s hollow expression as she watched in vain.

“Power, speed, momentum… none of it compares to what Yu Seha displayed.”
“…”
“I say with certainty.”

Sword Ghost So Hang-woo.
The old man, his eyes filled with crimson flame, said calmly.

“You women cannot achieve vengeance.”

Your sword will never touch my neck.
The day you take my life,
will never come, even in death.
Having finished speaking, the Sword Ghost suddenly turned and walked away.

“I can no longer see you, nor feel you.”

The Sword Ghost simply passed by as if Peng Jin-ah did not exist.

Peng Jin-ah was devastated by that sight.

“…”

Peng Jin-ah tried to rise,
But her legs gave out and she collapsed.
She screamed loudly.

“Where are you going, where are you going! Look this way, look this way!!”

She shouted at the top of her lungs, but
The Sword Ghost did not turn back to look at her.

And so the Sword Ghost…
left calmly.
He had appeared with such dignity,
just like at the beginning.

“…Ah!”

A little later, Wei Ga-ryeong regained consciousness.
She had been unconscious for exactly fifteen seconds.
Using a broken sabre as a staff, she pulled herself up.
She steadied her internal chaos with her breathing.
Using her characteristic footwork, she quickly returned to the battlefield.

Returning to the scene,
The Sword Ghost had long since gone.

“…”

Wei Ga-ryeong looked up at the sky in despair.
The broken sword slid across her hand and tumbled on the ground.

She walked out slowly.
She sat beside Peng Jin-ah, who knelt in misery.

Fortunately, Peng Jin-ah was alive.
She had injuries here and there, but none life-threatening.

However…

At the sight of her sworn sister clutching her fists and crying uncontrollably…
Wei Ga-ryeong could only look on with a sad expression.

Wei Ga-ryeong faced a reality she didn’t want to admit.
She forced the word to roll around her mouth.
She had to.

‘I lost.’

It was an unequivocal, perfect defeat and a humiliation.

When they had arrived late, the Sword Ghost
Was in a state with wounds so severe even Wei Ga-ryeong couldn’t believe it.

One ear was gone,
One eye was lost.
Countless small wounds all over his body bled.
Decisively, his left arm—
a limb as vital as life to a warrior—was missing.

All of this was thanks to Yu Seha’s efforts.
That one person had done it all.
It was such a one-sided set of injuries that the fight shouldn’t even have been considered fair.

It was a match they absolutely had to win.
A moment they absolutely had to kill.

Yet they lost.
They still lost.

Even though two attacked together…
They couldn’t even inflict proper wounds.

Such thoughts—
Were the same for Peng Jin-ah.
No, hers were even greater.

Tears flowed incessantly along with the downpour.
Peng Jin-ah wanted to die.
She felt so utterly miserable.

‘Yu Seha…’

Her precious top disciple…
No—he was no longer someone she could simply call a disciple; he had given everything…

She’d pushed him this far and given him the chance…
He had boldly asked her to watch his back…
And she could do nothing.

What on earth had she…

‘What have I been doing until now?’

“Ugh, ughhh!”
“…”

Despair bursting forth.
Anguish spilling out.

Peng Jin-ah felt the greatest despair of her life.
What had she even been striving for?
What was this ‘Tower of Sword Emperor’ even worth?
What of the ‘Unconquered Floors’?

All for, all for…
risking life to clear a few floors…
with the stats and level-up rewards they gave…

How keenly she realized how big a miscalculation it had been to think that would be enough.

“Aaaahhh!!!”
“…Jin-ah.”

Peng Jin-ah wailed.
She had no face to show Yu Seha.
How could she ever look him in the face again?

She remembered vividly even now.
His body, with the lower half of a Kirin attached.

What kind of price…
A boy barely nineteen had pledged to pay…
Was that what it had resulted in?

The opportunity she had pushed him into like that,
Foolish, idiotic…
Stupid…
Had been ruined by her foolish, incompetent self.

Peng Jin-ah clenched her fists.

She struck the ground.
Strike after strike after strike,
she vented her fury.

Her punches had no mana to protect her body.
Her nails broke and bled, yet Wei Ga-ryeong watching did not stop her.

Eventually she buried her head in the rain-soaked mud and screamed.

“Aaaaaaah!!!!!”
“…”

Plum Blossom Sword Empress Wei Ga-ryeong.
Tears flowing, she silently hugged Peng Jin-ah.

Thus, the resolve of the two sworn sisters who had sharpened their blades vowing vengeance,
And the duel of the two swordswomen—known as Overlord Sword and Plum Blossom Sword Empress and respected by the world—
ended in the miserable result of letting their enemy slip away right before their eyes.