Chapter 43 - My Sword Is Faster Than the Eye

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon was startled by her arrival. I hadn’t told him the Sword Supreme would be coming here today.

“Welcome, Senior. Please, sit here.”

The Single Flower Sword Supreme stood there with a stiff expression, apparently not having expected the Blood Heaven Saber Demon to be here either. She looked ready to turn and leave at any moment, so I spoke calmly.

“Today is the Saber Demon’s birthday. I was taught that even if you hate someone, you should at least wish them a happy birthday.”

Perhaps she couldn’t simply leave after I’d gone that far, for the Single Flower Sword Supreme took a seat.

The atmosphere turned chilly once she joined us.

“Why did you ask me to come?”

Apparently, when I’d suggested having a drink at Merry Life Tavern later, she had taken it to mean just the two of us.

“It’s a happy occasion, so I invited you to celebrate with us.”

“Next time, invite me when you’re alone.”

As she started to rise, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon tossed out a remark.

“What exactly are you so unhappy about?”

It was the moment his resentment, held back for so very long, finally burst out.

The Single Flower Sword Supreme flared up in turn and snapped, “What? What am I unhappy about? Are you asking because you honestly don’t know?”

The sword of her emotions came unsheathed faster than her blade.

“Yes, I’m asking because I don’t know. What in the world are you so angry about?”

“You! You, of course!”

“What about me? What did I do wrong? Back then...”

“Shut up! I said shut up!”

She tensed, afraid that what had happened between them might come out. I could feel every bit of her anger and tension.

“You’re a selfish imbecile.”

“What did you say?”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon sprang to his feet as well.

“Are you going to swing that brutish saber that’s just like you? Go on, try it. Get drunk and run your mouth however you please again!”

The Heaven-Destroying Great Saber trembled in the Saber Demon’s hand.

I didn’t try to stop them.

I knew they wouldn’t actually fight.

There was an ironclad rule that Demon Supremes never fought one another. They argued, talked behind each other’s backs, and engaged in every kind of infighting, but they never fought to the death.

It was something like a principle of survival, observed for a very long time, and the most important reason the Eight Demon Supremes still existed.

“There’s still some time before midnight, so please calm down for a moment.”

The Single Flower Sword Supreme raised her voice, sharp and ringing.

“Second Young Master! What in the world do you think you’re doing? How little must you think of me to pull a stunt like this?”

Her composure had shattered, despite her usual unfailing courtesy.

“Please calm down.”

“I will not.”

“Let me explain why I invited you, Sword Supreme. To be frank, I need you, Senior. That’s why I hoped the two of you would reconcile here today. Though I don’t know what makes you hate each other so much.”

The Single Flower Sword Supreme let out a long sigh and struggled to regain her usual demeanor.

“If a drink could settle our differences, why would we have been on bad terms all this time?”

“Then you meet again and again until they’re settled. Curse at each other, pull each other’s hair. Keep meeting and fighting until you work it out.”

“Second Young Master, you’re far too greedy. I told you clearly on the first day. I cannot work alongside the Saber Demon.”

“Then are you confident you can make me the successor all on your own, Senior?”

“I am.”

“I can’t place my faith in that. If your feud were over official matters, I would know about it too. But no one in the Cult knows. That’s probably because the reason is entirely personal. How can I stake my life on you when you cannot put aside your personal feelings for a greater undertaking?”

The Single Flower Sword Supreme’s face twisted. She looked about to unleash a torrent of words, but instead glared fiercely at the Saber Demon and me, then spun around and left.

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon drained his cup and rose.

“Thanks for the birthday wishes, you damned brat!”

CRASH!

In the end, he smashed the table again today, then walked straight out as well.

Once again, I set money for the table on the neighboring one and smiled at Jo Chunbae, who stood by the kitchen.

“I suppose we should start by fixing that habit of smashing things?”

Jo Chunbae laughed awkwardly and made a joke.

“At this rate, I think I’d earn more money as a carpenter.”

I laughed too and left the tavern.

I had expected things to turn out this way when the two of them met.

I had to keep drawing them out. Bring their buried feelings to the surface, let them clash, curse, and fight. In time, I had to make them realize that the stale resentment consuming them was, when they looked back on it, not such a great thing after all.

I believed it was possible. Both had already lived through far more years than that.

Their reconciliation would take time, but the Single Flower Sword Supreme didn’t give me even a single day.

* * *

That night, I woke from sleep.

It was the Heavenly Demon’s Body-Protection Art that had awakened me. Sensing qi outside, I rose from bed, strapped on the Black Demon Sword, and went out.

The person who had awakened me stood in the middle of the courtyard.

It was the Single Flower Sword Supreme.

“As I thought. Your skill is no ordinary thing.”

She seemed surprised that I had awakened despite her giving little sign of her presence.

“I’m a light sleeper.”

“Second Young Master.”

“Yes, Senior?”

With her back to me, she said, “You’re sending ripples across a tranquil lake.”

Did that lake mean the Cult? Or her own heart?

“I’m still young, so I yearn for a stormy sea rather than a tranquil lake.”

“You once told me this, didn’t you? That you despise people who try to win their subordinates’ hearts for nothing with dreams and ideals.”

“Yes.”

“There’s a kind of person I despise too.”

“What kind?”

“Those whose fine words aren’t backed by skill.”

“Am I one of them?”

“Shall we find out?”

Still facing away, the Single Flower Sword Supreme slowly drew her sword. It was a flawless draw. Though her back was turned, I could sense no opening in her defenses.

Even so, I spoke coldly to her.

“There’s another kind of person I dislike.”

“Who?” she asked without looking back.

“Someone strong but inconsiderate. I despise people who use their strength to force others down and gain the upper hand in a relationship. I hate watching them hurt others with that impoverished imagination of theirs.”

Demonic qi erupted from the Sword Supreme’s body.

“Shut up! I’ve indulged you with praise, and now your insolence has gone too far.”

She turned to face me. Powerful demonic qi, sharp as frost, poured from her eyes.

“What will you do if I win?”

Seeing how she had come to me immediately after our conflict, I realized the only way to make her one of my people was to overcome her through sheer skill.

This was a situation where one demonstration of strength would accomplish more than a hundred political maneuvers. Her relationship with the Saber Demon could wait.

For a moment, the Sword Supreme looked incredulous.

“Did you just say you’d win?”

“Yes.”

“If you defeat me, Second Young Master, I’ll do whatever you want. If you tell me to die, I’ll die.”

She had staked her life on it. She was certain she could never lose.

“Very well.”

“What will you do if you lose?”

“I’ll likewise do whatever you wish, Senior.”

“What I want is simple. Cut the Saber Demon out of your life.”

In a way, her confidence was only natural. She prided herself on having the strongest martial arts after Father.

“Aren’t you curious what I want?”

“Not in the slightest. It’s something I’ll never have to hear.”

I slowly drew the Black Demon Sword.

“Then today you’ll find out what I want.”

With our swords drawn, we stared at one another in silence.

I knew well how fast a master on the level of a Demon Supreme could be. You couldn’t wait to see an attack before blocking it. If the instincts honed through training failed to do their job, you died.

It was the same reason lesser fighters died without stopping my attacks. They couldn’t see my sword.

WHOOOOSH.

A breeze blew in from somewhere, stirring the Sword Supreme’s hair.

She tilted the tip of her lowered sword ever so slightly. That alone changed her bearing.

It had been a long time since I’d felt this kind of tension.

“Second Young Master, I won’t kill you, but you will need to be careful. You could suffer internal injuries.”

Had this been a fight to the death against an enemy I had to kill, I would have struck as she said “need to be careful,” breaking the rhythm of her breathing. Those words came from the arrogance of underestimating an opponent, making that the moment to attack.

Of course, this wasn’t a fight to the death, so we had the leisure to converse calmly.

“Yes, I’ll be careful. But since mine is the Black Demon Sword, your sword may be damaged, Senior.”

She ignored my concern and went a step further.

“I’ll give you the first three moves.”

In the past, seniors would concede three moves when facing their juniors. That was the custom of people long ago; these days, you couldn’t find a senior willing to give a junior that advantage. In that respect, the Sword Supreme had a romantic streak.

“I gratefully accept. Then allow your junior to begin.”

I was by no means overconfident, but I did keep one of my abilities hidden.

I intended to face her without using the Wind God's Four Steps. One should always keep a trump card concealed. The Single Flower Sword Supreme would surely be doing the same.

This was my plan.

'Finish it within the three moves she’s conceded.'

Skipping any probing exchanges, I immediately unleashed the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art, in which I had attained complete mastery.

The First Form, Heaven-Balancing Form, unfolded.

SWIIIIISH!

For an instant, a streak of sword light seemed about to cleave her in two horizontally.

CLAAAAANG!

Our swords collided in front of her chest. Her surprise traveled through the blades. The internal energy in my attack would have exceeded her expectations, and the sense of danger that came with meeting a true nemesis would be making every hair on her body stand on end.

The second attack followed without pause.

The Second Form, Heaven-Changing Form, scattered brilliant sword light. My sword underwent twelve transformations before her eyes, and the Sword Supreme retreated, deflecting each attack in turn.

But at the ninth transformation, she broke her promise.

SWISH!

CLANG.

Her sword flew toward my chest, and I twisted aside, knocking the attack away with the Black Demon Sword.

The Single Flower Sword Supreme had attacked despite her promise to concede three moves. She had no choice. Defense alone couldn’t stop the successive transformations of the Heaven-Changing Form, so she had ultimately substituted offense for defense.

“Oh dear.”

Just as she was about to offer an excuse in her dismay, I was already launching my third attack. This was my chance. Her composure had been badly shaken, and she was even trying to speak.

The Third Form, Profound Heaven Form, swept toward her.

SHWAAAAASH!

CLANG!

With the clash of swords came a cry—words that should never have escaped the Sword Supreme’s lips.

“Not my face!”

Then silence.

My sword had stopped in front of the Single Flower Sword Supreme’s face. In fact, it had stopped before her cry. My sword was faster than her eyes.

Meanwhile, her Single Flower Sword had left her hand and hung in the air.

Our gazes turned toward it together. The sword was falling toward the ground in an arc. Perhaps the Single Flower Sword Supreme wished it would never reach the ground.

THUNK.

The Single Flower Sword sank into the ground. The blade quivered, its pure white hilt making it look like a fluttering white flag.

After staring blankly at it, the Single Flower Sword Supreme slowly turned her gaze toward me. Her eyes showed that she could not believe what had happened.

I sincerely hoped her first words would be a vicious curse.

That a single stone would come loose from the embankment of lofty dignity she had built so solidly. That through the opening, I might glimpse her wounds...