Ch.87Floating Island

“Huh…”

“This is insane…”

The first thing Sae-erin recognized upon regaining consciousness was the rough breathing of her two juniors. Like awakening from a deep sleep, the sensations throughout her body gradually became clearer. Then, Sae-erin had to experience the terrible constraint that came with having a physical body.

Next came the smell of blood. The thick scent of blood filling the cavern stimulated her nostrils. Not the blood of beasts, but of humans. The blood shed by her two juniors. As soon as Sae-erin recognized the situation, she moved.

They had been protecting her. Or rather, they had been protecting her younger sister’s body while her consciousness was absent. She owed them an enormous debt. The two had dedicated themselves to protecting the ultimate beauty.

Now it was her turn to step forward.

‘Wind.’

Though her soul was imprisoned in a physical body, the power she had brought from the spirit realm hadn’t disappeared. Wind began to swirl around her fingertips, gradually growing in size. She wasn’t borrowing the power of spirits. The spirit’s power had been engraved into her very soul.

Though it was her first time using this power, she quickly became proficient with it. The wind enveloping her body naturally taught her how to use it. Wrapped in wind, Sae-erin took a large step forward.

Boom-!

A footstep infused with mana.

Rough wind added to it. It was an impact so massive it was hard to believe it came from such a small girl’s body. The entire cavern shook, and Parna and Bigart were pushed backward.

Filling the empty space they left behind was Sae-erin. Wrapped in the violently erupting wind, her cloak and hair trailed behind her like a tail.

“Wh-what…?”

“Senior…?”

“Rest now.”

The girl’s cold gaze fixed on the transmigrator. Once her own body, but now the body of an enemy. There must be no hesitation in cutting it down.

That’s when it happened. The expression of the transmigrator looking at Sae-erin suddenly distorted. It was quite different from the previous demeanor that rarely showed emotion.

“Could it be, that authority…”

Sae-erin didn’t hesitate. She didn’t wait either. She had been reconsidering her thoughts about transmigrators after encountering the Sword Master. But that was meaningless now. Transmigrators were merely those who plundered others’ lives. They even used the bodies of the dead who needed rest, moving them for their own greed.

‘They are beings that must disappear.’

She drew her sword while maintaining her advancing posture. The ultimate swift sword technique unfolded according to the principles of the Taebaek Snow Dragon Sword. Rough wind rode upon it. Unlike before, there was no hesitation.

Slash-!

The violent wind blade covered everything in a straight line. The rapidly extending wind left gashes on the floor and walls. Sae-erin’s gaze remained fixed on the transmigrator.

Despite using her breath to launch the attack, her posture didn’t collapse. The subtle wind emanating from her body naturally supported her movements. It assisted the rotation of her arms, legs, and waist, allowing her to recover quickly.

Soon, the next sword draw followed.

Swoosh-!

Attack and defense as one. The sharpness carried by the wind was both a shield protecting Sae-erin’s body and a sword. The transmigrator couldn’t even think of approaching and had to retreat.

The sensation itself was different. No matter what posture she took, the wind flowing from her body assisted her movement. Sometimes gently, sometimes roughly, sometimes boldly.

‘It feels like swimming in water.’

There was no other way to describe it. Sae-erin swam through the wind. After visiting the spirit realm, the wind had become something different for her.

Then suddenly, Sae-erin had a realization. Rather than just assisting her movements in place, if she used the wind when moving forward…

Wouldn’t she become even faster?

With this realization, her body moved. When her wind-wrapped legs struck the ground, the small girl’s form shot forward with a violent gust. She didn’t even need to exert force. All she needed to do was ride the wind.

The tension in her legs, waist, and arms eased appropriately. As the unnecessarily tense muscles relaxed, the speed at which mana transferred actually increased.

Even her method of holding the sword was adjusted on the spot. Due to the relaxation of force, she needed to grip it a bit longer.

And so, one step.

She arrived within reach of the transmigrator, a distance she couldn’t reach until now. In the brief moment their eyes met, she read emotions beyond surprise—shock. Simultaneously, Sae-erin’s left hand extended.

It was the girl’s hand not holding the sword. Nevertheless, an extremely threatening aura emanated from it. Mana originating from her heart repeatedly overlapped, generating cold energy that transferred to her hand. Added to this was the rough wind.

The wind gained sharpness according to Sae-erin’s will. Despite using two completely different powers simultaneously, there was no strain.

Whoosh-!

Sae-erin frowned. She felt a strong repulsive force. Her extended hand couldn’t advance, as if blocked by an invisible barrier. It wasn’t protection by spirits. A more heterogeneous energy was protecting the transmigrator’s body.

“If you’ve taken another body…”

At close range.

The transmigrator’s murmur flowed out. It wasn’t directed at anyone else. Yet it contained content that couldn’t help but raise questions. The moment Sae-erin raised her gaze and their eyes met.

Bang-!

With a strong repulsive force, both figures were flung away. Even while flying, Sae-erin maintained her posture. The naturally approaching wind supported her body.

In that moment, Sae-erin had a strange feeling. A feeling like future prediction. It seemed the opponent before her would disappear immediately.

Would this be how her sister felt toward her? Thinking they would disappear, urgency welled up. Her hand extended with an anxious heart. But these emotions weren’t her own.

Sae-erin used her extending hand to throw the White Dragon Sword. The swirling wind around her concentrated toward the White Dragon Sword. Simultaneously, the sword technique transformed. Soon, the Formless Flying Sword technique unfolded.

Boom-!

The flying sword containing a storm shot in a straight line, creating a massive explosion. Sae-erin didn’t stop there. One wasn’t enough. She needed more swords.

As the girl’s small hand gesture glided through the air, the Black Dragon Sword lying around rose. That was just the beginning. Soon the Moonlight Sword and the Mage Killer were drawn out.

A total of four swords mixed chaotically, pouring out a storm.

As the storm of swords began to pound the cavern, collapse began. The ceiling fell, and the floor overturned. Still, Sae-erin didn’t stop.

Eliminating the transmigrator before her was more important than preserving the traces of her ancestors, even if the entire cavern collapsed.

Crash-!

Caught in the storm of swords, the transmigrator couldn’t maintain an intact appearance. The clothes worn became rags, and large sword wounds were carved into the arms, legs, and chest.

Blood didn’t flow out. Beyond the widely opened wounds, red flesh twitched violently.

‘What on earth did you do to my body…’

The more she looked, the more disgust welled up. Just as she thought she should end everything with the next attack, Sae-erin felt her strength draining.

‘Mana is…’

Her mana was insufficient. Had the freedom she experienced in the spirit realm become poison? The distribution of power had been done thoughtlessly. She had poured out all her mana from start to finish.

Her body felt weak. Her mouth began to dry, and mild dizziness came. These were the precursors of mana exhaustion.

The first to detect Sae-erin’s abnormality was the transmigrator. They had been continuously retreating from the violent storm. There had been no chance to escape or counterattack. But now an opportunity had arisen.

The storm’s momentum decreased. Its speed slowed, and the sharpness left the blades.

The transmigrator, who had retreated significantly, stomped the ground three times. Boom boom boom-

Amid the collapsing cavern, blue light burst from beneath the transmigrator’s feet. Seeing this, Sae-erin immediately waved her hand. But it was too late. The current Sae-erin didn’t have the strength to maintain the storm of swords.

Just as the violently swirling storm was about to touch the blue light, the transmigrator’s form instantly disappeared.

“Ah, ahhh!”

“S-Senior! We need to escape quickly too!”

Everything around them shook as if an earthquake had struck. Bigart and Parna ran around frantically, urging Sae-erin. Rather than chasing after the transmigrator who had just disappeared before their eyes, they chose survival.

A wise choice. But it didn’t sit well with her. Sae-erin glared once at the place where the blue light flickered, then extended her hand.

The four swords that had been rotating slowly quickly returned to find their places.

Swish, clack-!

Then, Sae-erin collapsed to the floor. Exhaustion. She couldn’t move any further. Sae-erin said:

“Carry me. No, not Bigart. Parna should do it.”

“Ah, yes…”

Though she needed help, she couldn’t allow a man to touch her sister’s body. Sae-erin extended her hand and was carried on Parna’s back.

Bigart, who had been blankly looking up at this scene, stepped back with an awkward expression.

It was when the three people barely escaped from the cavern and the collapsed building. A violent roar was heard from the high mountain range, and then a huge brown wave came rushing with dusty soil.

A landslide had occurred.

Bigart and Parna had to run without rest.

The massive landslide covered all the remaining ruins. The huge cloud of dust that rose spread throughout the forest.

Sae-erin’s group climbed up a tall tree and blankly watched it all.