Chapter 21
Changa nodded, looking like she was about to burst into tears.
Namgung Huimyeong took a deep breath and closed his eyes, as if he were sizing up his opponent.
Then,
"Now!"
Changa grabbed Yeo-il's hand and sprinted full-tilt in the opposite direction from where Namgung Huimyeong had jumped. She was so fast that she didn't even slow down, despite hauling Yeo-il, who was much taller.
"Huff, huff!"
A creepy laugh burst out behind them, followed immediately by a pained groan.
Just then, Yeo-il stopped.
Startled, Changa stomped her foot and yelled, "Miss? What are you doing? We have to get out of here!"
"Shhh."
She tapped her lower lip with a finger. Namgung Soyo, Changa's master, spoke in a low, calm voice, completely out of place given the urgency. Her eyes, no longer feigning blindness, blinked softly, and her lips curved into a slight smile. She bent down, picked up a small stone, and calmly started back the way they had come.
"Follow me, and be quiet," she said, her voice steady and calm.
Changa finally let out a breath she'd been holding. "…Yes," Changa said, finally remembering who her master was and how she'd gotten there, and followed.
When Yeo-il pushed back through the bushes to where they'd been, the Bloodthirsty Sword Demon's sword was inches from Namgung Huimyeong's heart.
"Relax, son of Namgung-je. You weren't a bad first kill."
Just as the sword was about to strike, Yeo-il channeled her energy into the stone and flung it.
"...Hmm?"
The sword tip, struck by the stone, twisted sharply, and instead of piercing Namgung Huimyeong's heart, it pierced a tree.
But that was all.
He'd dodged a fatal blow, but he was exhausted, and the cuts and slashes he'd taken made his legs give out.
Thud. He crumpled, his free hand grabbing the Sword Demon's ankle. Even as he blacked out, his determination to do something was palpable, squeezing out every last bit of strength.
"..............."
His ragged breathing stopped, and everything went quiet.
Slowly, the Bloodthirsty Sword Demon raised his head, his gaze fixed precisely on Yeo-il's face.
"...Bitch. Is this your doing?"
He couldn't believe it, even as he said it.
Of course. Yeo-il wasn't even carrying a sword.
A delicate flower of a girl from a noble family, with a sword? It didn't add up, did it?
The Bloodthirsty Sword Demon narrowed his eyes and closed the distance, a strange look on his face.
"I've been thinking... it's weird. You've got a pretty face, but you piss me off. You're a strange one, bitch."
He looked Yeo-il over, but she didn't react.
He seemed to shake off his doubt and smirked.
"I must keep my promise."
The moment the Bloodthirsty Sword Demon was about to grab Yeo-il's hair without hesitation.
Clack.
Yeo-il's hand gripped the Bloodthirsty Sword Demon's wrist. The old man frowned and tried to shake off the white hand, but Yeo-il's hand didn't budge.
Time passed. The Bloodthirsty Sword Demon's face, which had been calm, slowly hardened, though he was clearly angry.
His trapped hand trembled a few times.
Crack.
"Ugh."
His wrist twisted sharply, and the old man jumped back, putting a considerable distance between them.
"...You."
A clear sense of tension appeared in the Bloodthirsty Sword Demon's eyes.
"What kind of bitch are you?"
Instead of answering, Yeo-il lightly stepped forward, closing the distance again.
The opponent didn't panic and drew his sword, but it was effortlessly blocked by Yeo-il's swinging sleeve. The Bloodthirsty Sword Demon's expression became serious.
"...I'll ask you one more time. Who are you and where are you from, you bitch!"
Yeo-il remained silent. Namgung Huimyeong might be unconscious, but he could still be listening. Yeo-il knew from experience that desperate people don't easily give up their senses.
"What! First you pretend to be blind, and now you're playing mute?!"
The Bloodthirsty Sword Demon came at Yeo-il with twice the fury he'd shown Namgung Huimyeong.
Yeo-il, easily dodging his attacks, knocked the flat of the blade away from her neck with the back of her hand. Immediately, the Bloodthirsty Sword Demon's sword bounced back, cutting through the wind and embedding itself in a tree.
"Huff, huff, huff…………………."
The Bloodthirsty Sword Demon was panting heavily, but Yeo-il stood perfectly still, as calm as could be.
"Hah."
The Bloodthirsty Sword Demon, glaring at Yeo-il, stepped back and lowered his stance, groping the ground to grab Namgung Huimyeong's sword.
Sweat beaded on his smirking face as he clutched his dangling wrist.
"............I see. Bitch, are you waiting for those two bastards who went to call for help?"
"..............."
"Heh heh. Funny, real funny! Do Namgung-je's son and those two idiots know you're a top-tier fighter? No way, they have no clue! If they did, that dumb kid wouldn't be in this mess!"
The old man's words were correct.
Yeo-il had no intention of killing the Bloodthirsty Sword Demon. It would be troublesome when Yurim returned. Cutting out his tongue and leaving him half-dead wasn't much better. It'd be too suspicious if she claimed some wandering hero had saved them again.
Then, should she make the old man run away on his own?
'It'd be a problem if one of the Eight Demons, not just some random assassin, started blabbing about me.'
Although troublesome, the best option was ultimately to buy time.
Yeo-il didn't give the Bloodthirsty Sword Demon time to speak and continued to attack. Every time she swung her bare hand, covered by her long sleeve, she relentlessly targeted the same area above his right abdomen.
It was as if a master were constantly attacking a disciple's weakness to make them realize their shortcomings on their own.
Half of it was intended to inflict internal injuries rather than external wounds, and the other half was intended to provoke the old man's temper.
"You son of a bitch…...!"
As expected, the Bloodthirsty Sword Demon's face turned red.
The Bloodthirsty Sword Demon, one of the Eight Demons, was a master of the dark arts who'd walked his own path, never joining any sect.
The height of the Bloodthirsty Sword Demon's pride could be clearly seen from his attitude of treating them like prey.
The more his anger towards Yeo-il grew, the more the Bloodthirsty Sword Demon would try to kill her at all costs.
At that moment.
An unprecedented noise arose in the quiet forest.
The newly appearing presences numbered three.
'One is Seolyeong.'
Then the other two must be Yurim and the nameless companion Yurim said he would ask for help.
"......This is."
The Bloodthirsty Sword Demon also seemed to sense the presences and changed his stance. He seemed to be contemplating whether to end it there or plan for the future.
At that moment, Yeo-il closed her eyes, as if showing off.
She stopped all movement and stood still, as if her feet were rooted to the ground.
As if she were no longer worth dealing with.
"You……………."
Perhaps he took her actions as contempt. The Bloodthirsty Sword Demon, who had been grinding his teeth all along, shouted with a crimson face.
"Alright, I will tear you apart as you wish!"
She should offer her body but not allow too large of a wound.
'A shallow cut on the left arm, bloody enough to look bad, but not actually dangerous.'
Planning it that way, she focused all her nerves on the path where the Bloodthirsty Sword Demon's sword would rush in.
"..............."
And then...
Yeo-il.
"Cough, hack."
Slowly opening her closed eyes, she wiped away the raindrops that had splashed on her cheek.
No, this wasn't rainwater.
It was blood.
She wiped the Bloodthirsty Sword Demon's blood, which had splattered on her eyelashes, with a delicate hand. The opponent's sword, which had been flying towards her neck, fell powerlessly to the ground and rolled away.
"What insolent bastard... dares to attack one of the Eight Demons...?"
His face, filled with resentment, tried to look behind him somehow, but in the end, he slumped down without turning his head.
The Bloodthirsty Sword Demon died just like that.
Killed by the one who flew in without a sound and stabbed a knife into his heart.
And by this man who nonchalantly shook off the blood from his sword and wiped away the remaining traces on the corpse's clothes.
"Evil Brother!"
Even at Seolyeong's call from afar, the man remained leisurely.
How peaceful it was after taking a life. The man calmly put away his cleanly handled sword and then turned to look at Yeo-il.
"You are truly too much, Master."
A handsome face with long black hair tied up smiled without humor.
"You should value your life, even for my sake. What am I supposed to do if you die away from home?"
The nameless companion Yurim had mentioned. Seolyeong called him Evil Brother. The old man had called him the Heavenly Killer Star, the one who failed to become the Heavenly Monstrous Star.
It was Jin Cheongak.
