Ch.137Miho 8

The once vibrant Japanese village is now silent, not even music can be heard.

The masked theater troupe, having circled the village, all stop their performance and cause a commotion.

The protagonists of this commotion are Suda and my sister Jisu.

With her skirt rolled up revealing her undergarments, she grips her sword firmly.

Like a noble Joseon warrior.

Jisu closes her eyes.

Though it’s merely a bundle of bamboo, she never underestimates it.

Like a humble and righteous swordsman, she focuses all her attention on the target before her.

And finally, she opens her eyes.

In that moment, my sister raises her katana high toward the full moon.

The blade flashes like moonlight cutting through darkness.

“Wow…”

Seeing that brilliance, my mouth falls open involuntarily.

The way my sister swings her sword happens in the blink of an eye.

Like iaido, she moves behind the bamboo in an instant.

“What… what just happened?”

“Did she actually cut it properly?”

“It happened so fast I couldn’t see!”

The crowd’s reaction isn’t much different from mine.

They look puzzled at my sister who passed the bamboo as if teleporting.

“Cut? What cut! Look. There’s not a single mark on the bamboo!”

The Japanese spectator mockingly points his finger upward.

Then he points at the bamboo bundle that appears completely intact on the surface.

At those words, the entire crowd stretches their necks like ostriches.

Incited by Suda’s words, they cast suspicious glances at my sister.

Then, unlike before, she turns to look at them with a serious gaze.

The moment I see those eyes, I realize.

That my sister has indeed cut the bamboo.

Because the look in her eyes is…

The same as rankers like Anna and Red Lion.

The absolute confidence in one’s abilities that only they possess.

As if to prove that confidence, the night breeze blows.

Following that wind, my sister’s black hair flutters.

Eventually…

The bamboo, pushed by the wind, slowly twists…

And then splits cleanly in half.

The heavy bamboo falls to the ground with a thud.

That sound fills the entire Japanese village square.

“This can’t be…”

The locals clutch their heads in despair.

To think that this seemingly modest woman was a swordsman.

And not just any swordsman, but a top-tier one who could cut with speed comparable to iaido!

Cold sweat runs down their spines like children caught in a lie.

And among them was Suda, the master of iaido.

Soon my sister raises her sword again.

And like pronouncing a death sentence, she points the tip at Suda.

“Now, look at my blade.”

Everyone focuses on my sister’s sword.

Indeed, the sharp edge is covered with moisture.

So much moisture that droplets drip from the tip of the blade.

“It’s true. There’s moisture!”

I shout loudly as if cheering for my sister.

The crowd then unanimously turns to look at Suda.

“Why are you all staring at me?”

Under the piercing gazes, the samurai shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly.

He appeals to everyone with a relaxed voice.

“How can the primitive swordsmanship of Joseon compare to ours? Even if the speed was similar, mine was much sharper, which is why not even a drop of water remains on my blade!”

The Japanese nod in satisfaction at Suda’s appeal.

The crowd begins to tilt their heads in doubt again.

After all, Suda did cut the bamboo in an instant…

There’s no way to prove his technique wasn’t iaido.

“If you’re so confident in your swordsmanship, would you care to spar with me?”

Jisu returns the sharp katana to him.

Receiving the sword, Suda laughs at her incredulously.

“Don’t be ridiculous. How could you spar looking like that?”

Suda crosses his arms and looks her up and down carefully.

Indeed, her current appearance resembles more a refined noble lady than a swordsman.

But…

“Will this do?”

She grabs her skirt in front of everyone.

And tears it forcefully for all to see.

Thanks to this, her firm thighs are revealed.

Because her figure is so beautiful, even the torn skirt seems like a fashion statement.

“—!”

The crowd urges a duel in response to my sister’s bold move.

Displeased by this, Suda chews his lip.

If he runs away now, all his previous arrogance will be exposed as mere bluster.

He reluctantly heaves a deep sigh.

And extends one of the katanas he was holding to her.

“Don’t regret this, miss. I’ll make you pay dearly for ruining the performance.”

“You’re the one who will pay for insulting Korean swordsmen.”

My sister boldly accepts the sword.

Numerous spectators watch the duel between the two swordspeople.

Among them, I was the only one worried about my sister.

Everyone else was just enjoying the heated show.

“Sis…”

I watched Jisu from a distance.

Her opponent is an A-rank hunter.

During the Wyvern raid, my sister was a B-rank hunter.

Even with Anna’s training, could she defeat Suda now?

I watched her earnestly with my hands tightly clasped together.

My sister made the first move.

Never considering him a true swordsman from the start, she rushed with her sword to identify Suda’s true nature.

The katana is certainly an unfamiliar weapon to her.

But my sister disregards this and aims for the samurai’s shoulder with incredible speed.

The downward strike of the long sword.

It’s an unbelievable speed that’s hard to believe comes from a B-rank hunter.

Seeing that speed, I was confident in my sister’s victory.

But…

Suda read her movements.

He rotated his body accordingly to avoid the attack.

And simultaneously…

He makes a gesture as if lightly drawing his sword.

With that action, my sister’s clothes and hair flutter as if caught in the wind.

More than flutter—her clothes tear and parts of her hair are cut off.

“—!”

My sister quickly retreats from the bizarre wind blade.

Her undergarments now show signs of being torn here and there.

“Wow… I couldn’t see it this time either!”

“See? This is the swordsmanship of Great Japan!”

The crowd marvels at his ability.

But I couldn’t agree with those words.

I was gradually noticing his trick.

Since gaining animal eyes, my perception has become sharper.

He never actually drew his sword.

While pretending to draw it, he extended his palm.

And at that moment, a sharp wind rose to attack my sister.

But my sister doesn’t seem to have figured out the attack yet.

Strength gained through training and perceptiveness are fundamentally different domains.

“Come on, try showing off again like before!”

Jisu struggles to block Suda’s bizarre attacks.

But it’s impossible to block the wind.

Her body gradually becomes more and more tattered.

My sister was slowly being devoured by Suda.

“Sis… no, Unni!!”

The crowd’s cheers.

I shouted at the top of my lungs through the gap in their voices.

At that voice, my sister’s golden eyes flash.

I shouted to her as our eyes met.

“Watch out for his right hand!”

“His right hand…?”

My sister focuses on her opponent again with sharp eyes like Anna’s.

To verify my words, she stares only at his right hand.

Indeed, every time she swings her sword, Suda’s right hand moves.

And when he attacks, his palm extends repeatedly as if throwing a shuriken.

And from that gesture, sharp winds are emitted.

“This bastard… he’s a wind ability user!”

“So what if you know?”

Suda smiles vilely and begins to extend his hand more boldly.

His hand, hidden behind the pretense of iaido, repeatedly emits wind blades.

But my sister wasn’t just taking it.

She focuses more intently on the sharp winds, eyes wide open.

And she starts targeting his right hand instead of just dodging.

Thanks to this, Suda can no longer counterattack while dodging.

“Damn it…”

As this continues, the crowd also shows puzzled expressions.

“Suda, why are you only dodging!”

“Finish off that damn Joseon wench already!”

“Shut up!”

Suda, annoyed by those voices, shouts.

Unable to hide his ability any longer, he throws his scabbard to the ground.

“Insolent girl… you’re just targeting my hand, aren’t you?”

“If you hadn’t pretended to use iaido from the start, it would have been easier.”

My sister smirks as if regaining her composure.

Suda’s eyelids tremble at the sight, finding it unsightly.

“Somehow, sis is becoming more and more similar to Red Lion in personality…”

I muttered to myself.

But I had to focus on the fight again immediately.

The guy who gave up hiding his ability started attacking in earnest.

He extended both hands as if shooting an air slash.

The cool night air concentrates at his fingertips.

Leaves fluttering in the air swirl violently.

Leaves sharpened like arrows rush toward my sister.

This is different from before.

The air alone was sharp enough to tear clothes…

Now he’s even throwing leaves!

“Sis, it’s dangerous!!”

I shouted loudly without realizing.

Responding to this, my sister also regained her composure from her dazed expression.

The shower of leaves.

Her entire body is cut, torn, and split by them.

The spectators are shocked by the crimson blood that spurts forth.

They thought it was just a show, but my sister’s white jeogori turning red shows the seriousness of the situation.

Everyone worries about my sister.

But…

She wasn’t weak enough to collapse so easily.

She’s a strong swordsman who faced 06, 08, and 09, who were much stronger than A-rank hunters like Suda.

Red flames rise from her torn wounds.

Soon her golden eyes also burn intensely orange.

My sister swings her katana against the showering wind blades.

The rising flames devour Suda’s wind like a phoenix.

The crowd flees from the overwhelming wave of flames.

But I remained until the end.

“—.”

Flames spreading enough to engulf the tourist village.

I worried that those flames might burn the entire village.

But my sister controlled the flames with newfound skill.

And she absorbed the flames back into her torn wounds.

When the flames died down, a blackened Suda lay sprawled on the ground.

Fortunately, he seems to be alive as his fingers twitched on the dirt.

Only then could Jisu breathe a sigh of relief.

She carelessly dropped the bent katana to the ground.

“Haah…”

“Sis..!”

I rushed to my sister.

And examined her wounds that were dripping with blood.

“My goodness… you’re too injured.”

“It’s okay, this much is nothing…”

“What do you mean it’s okay! Give me your arm quickly.”

I took hold of my sister’s blistered hands.

And then I concentrated to manifest Angelic Hand.

A familiar and subtle radiance.

As that light envelops her hands, my sister looks down at me intently.

I met her again.

And just like before, I healed her the same way.

I’m ashamed of my meager healing ability.

But my sister stares at me for a long time as I carefully hold her hands.

As if she’s realized something.