Chapter 808: Where is my son?

Wi Seol-ah and Namgung Bi-ah are fighting.

It’s not entirely a strange thing.

Even after entering this current life, I had occasionally seen them spar.

It wasn’t something that happened that often, but the two of them sparred occasionally.

The result wasn’t clear.

It wasn’t a spar meant to definitively decide a winner. Since it was just to clash swords, neither of them was likely giving it their all.

Just exchanging swords lightly.

That was the extent of the spar.

So, I didn’t think much of it.

I figured a spar would be simple, right? That’s what I thought.

Kkik-kkik-!!

Pajijijik—!!

“…”

Something was very wrong.

That was the thought that kept running through my mind as the fight progressed.

I was almost swallowing my gasp at the feast of energy scattering everywhere.

Kiiiiiing–!!

The roar caused by the high speed felt like it was tearing space apart.

Where the sword energy passed, faint golden fragments gently fell.

At first glance, the sight was beautiful, but.

Kiiik- giiiiing-!!

Seeing the torrent of sword energy, it was truly hard to call it beautiful.

Countless flashes illuminated the sky.

Crescent moons wrapped in Qi repeatedly filled the air.

Calling it mere sword wind felt inadequate given its intensity and destructive power.

It was obvious that firing it even once consumed a considerable amount of energy.

‘Speaking of which, Wi Seol-ah’s energy reserves are also extraordinary.’

I had seen Wi Seol-ah fall behind in skill or stamina during spars, but never in her energy capacity.

This meant she had a considerably deep core and a wide capacity.

She was unleashing firepower based on her vast energy reserves, but the important thing here was.

‘Separate from the explosive firepower, her control must also be high.’

Amidst the energy being poured out like that, her floating swords were still rotating.

It was for deterrence and simultaneously to create variables for attack.

She manipulates the floating swords while firing sword energy.

How difficult and nonsensical that process was could be seen just from the expressions of the onlookers.

From that small, delicate body, where did such explosive power and control come from?

It’s a result that’s hard to connect with the common sense of an ordinary martial artist.

To possess this much power at that age.

And to perfectly control that power, not dismissing it as mere luck or coincidence.

Wi Seol-ah was precisely the kind of existence that defied common sense.

It was natural for the onlookers to be astonished seeing that, but.

Pajik-

What was surprising was.

Paddeudeudeuk—-!!

It wasn’t just Wi Seol-ah; the same applied to her opponent.

Pajijik-

The lightning energy erupting from her feet revealed a massive presence.

Streams of energy that were by no means shallow.

They spread out into several streams, heading towards the sword energy in an instant.

Kwang- Kwaaang-!!

The moment the sword energy and lightning energy collided, an immense shock erupted and exploded.

And it wasn’t just once.

There were many streams of lightning energy, and they relentlessly surged towards all the sword energy without a moment’s rest.

Kwang- Kwangkwang-!!

All the sword energy filling the sky exploded in succession.

Furthermore, the lightning energy poured onto the floating swords that were circling protectively right after blocking the sword energy.

This wasn’t mere coincidence.

Could it possibly make sense for so much lightning energy to successfully attack by sheer chance?

It was correct to view it as an attack fired under perfect calculation.

Just as Wi Seol-ah showed high firepower and control.

This meant her opponent, the owner of the lightning energy, Namgung Bi-ah, was the same.

Hwaaaaaaa—-!!

The aftermath of the energies clashing looked like stars appearing in broad daylight.

Blue and golden dust mixed and scattered.

The sight was beautiful, like a fallen Milky Way, but.

Kang- Kkigigik-!

As if there was no time to appreciate it, their sword blades met and scraped against each other on the ground.

Close combat immediately followed the clash of firepower.

Both were filled with a chilling aura, as if neither had the slightest intention of backing down.

Kwang- Kkik-!

Sword paths of different colors and characteristics followed.

Not to mention the footwork they employed intermittently.

The way they maintained their stance without faltering despite the violent recoil was truly artistic.

Kkang- Kkang- Kkangkang-!

The impact sounds were dull, signaling the substantial power contained within each strike.

Paaaaa–!!

The dense feints filling the gaps between their movements were dizzying.

They’d feint an upper attack to aim for the lower body, or make you focus on the right before piercing through the left.

Moments where a split second of carelessness would directly lead to the end of the fight.

They were repeating such moments hundreds of times.

‘…Ho ho.’

This fight is just too high-level.

Watching it, all I could do was let out a hollow laugh.

‘Amazing….’

I knew the two of them were constantly getting stronger.

But I never dared to imagine they had grown this much.

They were in a state where they perfectly understood their own level and the power they possessed.

These were movements they could only perform by objectively recognizing that.

It was almost like.

‘Watching my past life.’

Not the two of them now, but the two from my past life.

I mean around the time they were called the Sword Demon Empress and the Little Sword Saint.

The Sword Demon Empress, who was as cruel as the Sword Demon, and the Little Sword Saint, who gradually built her reputation by eliminating demonic beings.

The current battle reminded me of those two back then.

The difference was.

‘The level of perfection was much higher with the Sword Demon Empress and the Little Sword Saint….’

And perhaps the fact that there was no killing intent in the sword strikes they were unleashing.

When was it.

There was a time the Sword Demon Empress and the Little Sword Saint clashed in earnest.

Also, there was a considerable difference in their power levels back then.

It was a mission where the Sword Demon Empress was supposed to buy time to prevent the Little Sword Saint from intervening, as I was better suited for large-scale slaughter.

At the time, the Little Sword Saint was clad in the power of ‘Pama’, which was fatal to demonic beings, but.

Unlike her epithet ‘Ma’ (Demon), the Sword Demon Empress wasn’t a demonic being.

So, the plan was to cripple the Alliance’s forces within that time and then rendezvous with the Sword Demon Empress who was holding the line.

‘I was late.’

Something went wrong in the process, and my arrival was delayed beyond the plan.

Anxious that problems might have arisen, I rushed to the destination.

The scene I witnessed then still remains etched in my mind.

‘…Because it was too terrifying to forget.’

The sight of the two women clashing while emitting killing intent made my legs tremble.

The surroundings were already ruined and utterly devastating, and they were covered in blood, as if they had wounded each other.

They looked like they could collapse from exhaustion at any moment, yet the two of them fought endlessly, as if refusing to back down even in that state.

It would be accurate to describe it as desperate.

Yes, it was truly desperate.

Fueled by what seemed like immense rage, they acted as if they couldn’t stand not killing each other.

Did they have a verbal argument right before the battle?

The Demonic Cult and the Martial Alliance were opposing forces, so it wasn’t strange for them to fight like that, but.

Recalling that time, it felt somewhat different.

Because it was different from simply calling them enemies.

It was a bloody battle.

A bloody battle as if they had sworn never to lose to each other.

The two fought tenaciously, as if losing meant losing something crucial.

In the end, no decision was reached.

It was because I intervened before a decision could be made.

If left alone, one of them would truly have died, and I didn’t want to see that.

Thus, consequently, the fight could be stopped.

And right after, I asked the Sword Demon Empress.

I asked why she fought so fiercely when she was only supposed to stall for time.

Back then, the Sword Demon Empress replied.

-Because…there are things…I can’t give up…

She said something I couldn’t understand.

It seemed to mean she couldn’t give up somehow…

‘If they had continued fighting.’

The Sword Demon Empress would have lost in the end anyway.

I was certain of it.

In fact, the Sword Demon Empress had more wounds and was even injured near vital points.

Judging by the amount of bleeding, she seemed like she would collapse soon.

If she had used her ‘Neua’, it might have been slightly different, but.

‘The same applied to the Little Sword Saint.’

The Little Sword Saint hadn’t used her power to the absolute limit either, so the conclusion was that the Sword Demon Empress would have lost.

That was certainly the case back then.

And yet.

Ppeok-!

It seemed slightly different now compared to back then.

“Ugh!”

With a rough sound, Wi Seol-ah was pushed back.

‘Damn.’

I got distracted and didn’t see it properly.

What did she get hit by?

Judging by the sound, it wasn’t a sword.

Kkeugeuk–!!

To stop the recoil, Wi Seol-ah jammed her sword into the ground.

Thanks to that, the recoil stopped immediately, but.

Pajijijik-!!

“…Kkuh!”

Namgung Bi-ah had already reached Wi Seol-ah’s face and was swinging her sword.

Her stance wasn’t good enough to block the sword.

Knowing that, Wi Seol-ah chose only one method.

Tuk-!

She dropped her sword.

And then.

“Hup!”

She channeled Qi into her fist and slammed it into the ground.

Kwaak-!! Kuuung-!!

The ground shattered with the impact, sending fragments flying.

Her vision was obscured.

However, Namgung Bi-ah seemed unfazed and remained steady.

The only thing changing was the trajectory of her sword.

Saak-

From straight to diagonal.

The sword tip flew, slicing through the debris along with it.

Kkang-!

“Eut!”

It finally connected with Wi Seol-ah.

However, the sound was somewhat strange for it to have hit her body.

This was because the attack wasn’t fully successful.

Even though she immediately redirected her sword, the debris had slowed it down, and that split second provided enough help for Wi Seol-ah.

Wi Seol-ah, having successfully defended, held a sword in her hand.

It wasn’t her usual steel sword, but a sword made of Qi, used as a floating sword.

Naturally, its durability wasn’t great, so it shattered the moment it blocked the strike.

Pajijijik-!!

Lightning energy flew in.

At the same time, Wi Seol-ah reached out.

Huuk-!!

Faster than the incoming lightning energy, Wi Seol-ah’s sword was retrieved into her hand.

Swiiik-!! Swik-swik-swik-swik-!!

Wi Seol-ah swung it at incredible speed, cutting down the lightning energy.

“…”

This is intense.

There’s barely enough time to breathe.

Just watching it made cold sweat trickle down.

Even those who were just screaming from the energy were now holding their breath, watching the two fight.

‘No….’

What’s so special about the position of Unit Leader that they’re fighting so desperately?

‘Weren’t they usually on good terms?’

They seemed to hang out together quite a bit, so why are they fighting so fiercely? Watching them, I could only swallow my gasp.

Perhaps it was because I was watching? Suddenly, I remembered something Shin-ui had told me.

‘You think those two are on good terms? Ha. Even a passing dog would laugh.’

I had said that because they seemed so friendly, playing with air.

As soon as he heard that, Shin-ui told me.

‘You idiot, that’s not what you call being on good terms.’

I couldn’t understand. Anyone could see they were close friends.

It felt different from my past life, so I was watching comfortably, but….

‘Then what is it?’

So I asked, filled with doubt, and Shin-ui added.

‘That’s just predators sizing each other up over prey.’

‘Huh?’

‘If one attacks rashly, both suffer losses, and the prey they’ve secured might escape. So, it’s like a temporary alliance. It’s better than letting the prey get away.’

‘What strange talk is that? Where is this prey you speak of?’

What are predators and what is prey?

I asked Shin-ui again, unable to comprehend his words.

‘….’

Shin-ui looked at me with extreme displeasure and said.

‘Just live your life like that. It seems to suit you.’

‘…?’

He shook his head as if giving up and gave me that answer, didn’t he?

I asked more afterward, but he didn’t answer, leaving me feeling quite unsettled.

My thoughts remain the same.

‘Predators, my foot.’

They’re just like dogs and cats, what are you talking about with predators?

They’re probably just fighting like this because the Unit Leader position is important.

Thinking that, I let out a sigh.

“…Hoo.”

I was barely holding back because they told me not to intervene, but I was reaching my limit.

‘Now it’s genuinely dangerous.’

Right now, they only have minor bruises, but I can see their stamina draining.

As it gets harder for them, the end is drawing nearer, and the possibility of a major accident increases exponentially.

Moreover.

‘Reaching their limits means they might use hidden moves.’

They seem to be holding back well for now, but.

No one knows what might happen.

So, I watched the situation with a deep frown.

Ready to intervene at any moment.

As I endured my thoughts and watched the two of them.

Swiiik-! Kkang!!

“Hut!”

Wi Seol-ah’s right arm went up, and she let out a startled gasp.

Unable to maintain her balance, she couldn’t properly block Namgung Bi-ah’s assault.

Her sword was raised high.

Her stance broken, creating an opening.

It was a perfect situation to be attacked.

Namgung Bi-ah wouldn’t have missed that.

Kwak-!!

She immediately stomped hard on the ground and crouched down.

Paddeudeudeuk—-!!

A flash of lightning energy condensed intensely.

Her fierce determination to end it with one sword strike was evident.

In a situation like this, that attack is absolutely unavoidable.

So.

Hwaa-!

Wi Seol-ah made a choice.

“Oh, damn it.”

If the situation couldn’t be avoided, she decided to make it avoidable.

A change flickered through Wi Seol-ah’s golden aura.

A faint white hue peeked through the golden aura.

It wasn’t clear yet, but I predicted it would spread instantly.

It was dangerous.

That’s dangerous.

‘Shit.’

The moment I saw it, I channeled power into my body.

I had intended to stop this disaster from happening much earlier.

Kwaduk.

My feet dug into the ground, preparing to leap at maximum speed.

Kkuuk-!

My muscles swelled intensely.

I was going to quickly intervene in the middle and stop them both…

“…Huh?”

Meomchit-!

…Or rather, I froze solid right then.

I should have run over and stopped them immediately, but I couldn’t.

And for good reason.

Tuk-! Tuk-tuk-!

“…Eut!?”

“Oht….”

The two people, who were preparing their final blows, suddenly started collapsing onto the ground.

The reason was simple.

In the moment they were preparing their moves, both were simultaneously hit on the jaw.

They took direct hits, lost consciousness, and fell to the ground.

Standing in the center of the two fallen figures was the one who stopped the fight.

A lover with short, green hair and a small build.

“Hoo!”

The daughter of the Tang family.

The Poison Master Tang Soyeol.

Seeing the two unconscious figures, she placed her hands on her hips and declared with a triumphant expression.

“I did it!”

“…”

Her expression looked genuinely proud.