Chapter 102: Nice to Meet You, Brat. (3)

Nachal touched his own neck.

His whole body was frozen from the sensation of being hacked to pieces just a moment ago.

‘Was all of that an illusion?’

He could tell even better from the death aura that always accompanied someone’s demise. This was definitely not a delusion.

The sensation he felt was definitely ‘death’.

He had experienced countless deaths in just a step or two.

Was it killing intent? Or had he been overwhelmed by the atmosphere and fallen into delusion?

‘I, Nachal… defeated by such a mere blood clot?’

Originally, Nachal was a member of the Seven Night Killers Unit, managed by the number one killer, the Dark King.

Although he had now left the Dark King’s fold and pledged loyalty to the Palace Lord, his skills were already recognized by virtue of being a member of the Seven Night Killers Unit.

Assassins, compared to other martial arts, are relatively less concerned with cultivation levels. As they specialize in stealth and surprise attacks, their chosen path is distinct.

If you were to compare, perhaps it’s similar to poison arts.

Therefore, Nachal believed he himself could easily kill even those above his cultivation level, provided the time and place were right.

He possessed enough confidence to feel proud of his skills.

But what was happening now?

Nachal looked at Gu Yangcheon and steadied his disrupted breathing.

Even with monstrous talent, at best he was only at the first-rate level.

A martial artist’s true perspective traditionally begins after surpassing the Peak.

The Peak is the point where one breaks and expands their vessel, filling it with something new.

When using internal energy (Neigi), even with the same amount, its intensity changes, and the sense of energy develops further. It’s the point where the path is set for how to use Neigi and how it’s being used.

Martial artists, once they surpass the Peak level, are said to have stepped into transcendence. Despite the difficulty in advancing cultivation levels inherent to assassination arts, Nachal was a master who had reached the Peak.

That he, himself, was being pushed back by such a brat.

“What did you do….”

Despite Nachal’s question, Gu Yangcheon stood still, holding his sword.

“What the hell is this bullshit…!”

The guy still didn’t answer. He just kept staring.

Gu Yangcheon had just called himself Sincheol.

What could that mean? He thought for a moment, but nothing came to mind. As expected, this too was probably meant to confuse him.

According to the reports, Gu Yangcheon was definitely in the martial arts category, like a chivalrous hero.

He had indeed used proficient martial arts right up until just now, so it must be true.

Then what on earth was that?

‘Is he trying to pretend to be a swordsman now?’

To make Nachal lower his guard, Gu Yangcheon had shown too much.

Of course, he knew the Gu family practiced swordsmanship alongside kicking techniques, but he hadn’t thought Gu Yangcheon would be proficient in swordsmanship too.

No matter how sky-high his talent, mastering two martial arts shouldn’t be possible.

As if to prove it, the current Gu Yangcheon was full of openings.

At least when he was clenching his fists, he looked skillful enough that no openings were visible, but now, holding a sword, he seemed to have so many openings that you could stab him anywhere and kill him.

Of course, transcendent individuals who transcend the meaning of techniques, the essence of martial arts, shedding the concepts held within movements, can become one with martial prowess itself.

The Palace Lord was just like that, and so was the Dark King, known as the number one killer.

‘If so, could that guy too be like that?’

It’s laughable; even thinking it myself, I find it absurd.

There’s no way that brat reached the sublime realm that I couldn’t even dare to glimpse, let alone reach.

Even knowing that, why couldn’t I move?

“Brat.”

At Gu Yangcheon’s voice, Nachal flinched.

“You look scared, your stance is sloppy. You should fix it.”

“You…!”

At Gu Yangcheon speaking as if lecturing him, a vein bulged on Nachal’s neck.

“How dare you… you piece of trash, try to lecture me?”

“Tsk tsk…. You should find meaning even in a small leaf, brat, but you have already lost the essence a martial artist should possess.”

“Shut up! I watched you struggle because it was amusing, but now you don’t know your place!”

It was a pathetic provocation.

For an assassin who needed to maintain cold composure in the single-blade style to survive, it was a woefully insufficient provocation, but amusingly, Nachal was wavering. Realizing this himself, Nachal raised his Neigi.

‘Don’t be fooled by his clueless act; he’s just flailing.’

As his chest, forcibly cooled, his Neigi gathered into the dagger he held.

Gu Yangcheon was still looking at Nachal with a relaxed expression.

He targeted the guy’s exposed chest, specifically the heart.

With the Neigi gathered at his feet, given Nachal’s speed, a split second would be enough.

He had to finish this quickly, before sunrise.

As Nachal slightly lowered his stance to lunge.

“Long ago, I used to tell children something.”

At Gu Yangcheon’s voice, his body froze.

‘…What?’

He hadn’t frozen in surprise. His movements had been arbitrarily sealed. It wasn’t pressure from Neigi, so what was it?

“When consumed by anger, the mind becomes chaotic, and a disturbed mind is poured into the sword.”

Looking at the rotting corpses of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen around him, Gu Yangcheon continued speaking.

“If that happens, the blooming plum blossoms will disappear back into the earth according to heaven’s will, and it will take many years for them to bloom again.”

His eyes were empty. Yet, within his words, countless emotions were hidden.

“That old man who spoke like that, amidst the raging bloodbath, took the lead in expressing his anger more than anyone. Isn’t it funny? How could such a pathetic man, who abandoned his own will, cling so much to life?”

“…What nonsense are you spouting.”

Has he gone mad? Nachal couldn’t understand a single word of the nonsense Gu Yangcheon was spewing, not at all.

“It’s okay if you don’t understand.”

Sarak.

“This is just the venting of a pathetic old man.”

“…What…?”

Something fell in front of Nachal.

The ceiling was a solid stone roof; there was nothing that could fall.

Nachal shifted his gaze and looked down at the floor.

What had landed was a plum blossom petal.

As soon as he saw it, it crumbled.

“What is this….”

He looked back at Gu Yangcheon. As if Nachal had misseen, Gu Yangcheon’s surroundings remained empty.

Kkeudeuk-!

Was he hallucinating? Due to the confusion unfitting for his station, Nachal gritted his teeth.

His body, frozen for a moment, had loosened. There was no hesitation. He couldn’t afford to stall any longer, and he had to quickly complete the mission assigned by the main palace.

Nachal, enveloped in Neigi, shot forward like an arrow aimed at Gu Yangcheon.

His target was the heart, just like before. Seeing Nachal charging, Gu Yangcheon reacted, but slowly.

‘So it was just a desperate struggle after all.’

He could see Gu Yangcheon raising his sword. It was, as expected, an incredibly crude movement.

At that speed, before he could even swing it, his dagger would be lodged in the heart.

As Nachal’s slashing strike, having burrowed into his chest, was about to reach.

Puwhak-!

With a chilling sound, blood splattered, something flew backward and hit the floor.

“Kkeueueuk…!”

Then, Nachal screamed and knelt on the floor.

Clutching his shoulder, he looked behind him with trembling eyes; Nachal’s arm, still gripping the dagger, was rolling on the ground.

“What is this…!”

Clearly, Gu Yangcheon’s movements were slow, and his own movements were much faster.

But how was it his own arm that was severed?

Sarak… Sarak…

“…!”

The sound tickling his ears again.

Plum blossom petals began to appear again. Where… where were they even coming from?

Sarak….

Watching the leaves fall one by one onto the floor.

Nachal realized something was wrong.

---

[What is this?]

When I regained my consciousness after losing it for a moment, a strange situation was unfolding.

I was somehow holding a sword, and the assassin who called himself Nachal had become one-armed and was slumped on the floor.

[No way….]

Had I lost consciousness again? Like in the fight with Yaheoljeok?

‘You’re awake.’

[…Huh?]

For a moment, I wondered who was speaking.

Following a thought that flashed through my mind, I asked involuntarily.

[Shin No-ya…?]

‘Yes, it’s been a while.’

[What are you doing right now…?]

Trying to come to my senses and move my body, not even my fingertips would budge.

My body’s control had already been taken.

‘Don’t cause a ruckus; I’ll return it soon.’

[What in the world happened here?]

‘What do you mean, ‘what happened’? Aren’t I the one saving your ass?’

[What is that… No, last time you said you couldn’t possess my body.]

You clearly said you couldn’t do possession or anything like that, so I shouldn’t worry. But if this isn’t possession, what should I call it?

As I pressed him, Shin No-ya said,

‘…Yeah, well… I didn’t think it would work either, but it did.’

…Is this crazy old geezer…?

[This is insane….]

‘Hey, I can’t stay long anyway, and it doesn’t seem like I can do this often, so just stay still!’

“Kkeueuk….”

Suddenly, grabbing Nachal’s arm, staggering, he created distance.

“Hoo… hoo…!”

“You’re much faster than you look.”

“…You were hiding your skills…!”

“…You spout clichés more than I thought; that’s a bit disappointing….”

Even though it was just a basic motion of flicking the sword, I, feeling the movements within my body, couldn’t help but be surprised.

‘This is also a good opportunity for you, so feel it intently.’

There was no need to ask what he meant. Even if I couldn’t control my body, I could feel exactly how the energy was moving within my body.

‘Thanks to the demonic artifact I consumed from the Ghostly Beast, perhaps, it’s fortunate that there’s no strain in using the sword.’

Not using the unfamiliar fire arts of the Gu family, but drawing only upon the mixed demonic energy felt indescribably itchy.

I looked at Nachal, panting from a distance. Shin No-ya, using my body, had cornered Nachal with relatively little demonic energy.

Martial artists, while having great destructive power, struggled to shine until reaching a certain level.

I too am currently compensating for my shortcomings through the increased Neigi.

Still, I didn’t think my swordsmanship was outstanding….

‘Tsk, from the start, your habit has been overusing Neigi.’

Shin No-ya spoke as if frustrated,

‘It would be better if you used it efficiently, only as needed, but even considering the nature of fire arts, you overuse it too much.’

To spew flames, you have to draw out that much Neigi.

This was unavoidable.

‘Don’t frame it as ‘unavoidable’; even if you hit a wall later, you won’t think it’s unavoidable, will you?’

[…Why are you suddenly trying to lecture me?]

‘Because I’m frustrated. Frustrated! I thought you were just a talented kid who’d figure things out on his own, but later, you, who supposedly reached a sublime realm, are rotting like this, aren’t you?’

[…!]

What did Shin No-ya just say…? Did I mishear?

[What did you just say….]

‘I know you traveled back in time.’

At Shin No-ya’s words, my heart sank like a stone.