Chapter 14: The Six Swords of Namjin (2)

Kkaang!

Taehoo suddenly pointed his sword and retreated, widening the distance.

‘So his main weapon is a dagger. But before that, that’s definitely the Fallen Flower Sword…’

[Your intuition is correct.]

Ba’al added his opinion, as if agreeing with Taehoo’s thoughts.

Moreover, he was inwardly impressed.

Even though he had held back a bit, Muncheol had blocked his surprise attack without a hitch.

‘I knew the Fallen Flower Sword could take many forms, but to think it could become a dagger… And a kid about my age, other than me or Bi, coming out of the Sanctuary…’

Taehoo’s gaze deepened as he watched Muncheol.

It was clear he had entered the Sanctuary with his grandfather’s permission.

‘That never happened in my previous life.’

The Sanctuary was a place even Taehoo’s siblings hadn’t set foot in yet. It wasn’t a place one could enter so easily.

‘No, in the first place, the odds are high my siblings don’t even know the Sanctuary exists.’

Not a single sibling had passed Namjin’s test.

This was clearly something that had changed because of him—a variable.

Peers. Martial skills nearly equal to his own. That pointed to one thing.

‘Does that mean Grandpa has marked him as my rival?’

As Taehoo assessed the situation,

Muncheol was also erasing his hesitation, one by one.

He had been a bit startled by the cold warning, but there was no need to shrink back.

Moreover, that last exchange—

Muncheol’s movements were in no way inferior to his own. He could still feel the tingling in his wrist.

‘No need to hesitate.’

Both of them had always faced opponents a step above themselves.

This was a situation that could only be exhilarating.

Muncheol didn’t hesitate. He unleashed his full strength immediately, confident Taehoo could withstand it.

His body rushed at Taehoo as if to declare the standoff was over.

‘He’s not hesitating, even after my warning. Or maybe he’s erased it. Either way, he must have something to rely on. Probably his grandfather.’

Taehoo swung his sword to match Muncheol’s speed.

They had each tried a surprise attack. From here on, it was all-out war.

Kwaaang!

Before they knew it, two swords, both shrouded in aura, collided.

The Fallen Flower Sword Taehoo wielded had a spirit different from the one Namjin had used.

But Muncheol was not intimidated by that spirit at all. Instead, he drew out his fighting spirit, clashing against Taehoo’s black and white aura.

His color was a deep black.

‘As I thought, this guy is on my level.’

Taehoo felt even more certain of his judgment.

Muncheol pushed back Taehoo’s sword as they clashed.

At the same time,

His waist twisted the other way in place. It bent so much a normal person’s back would snap.

‘What the—!?’

In other words, it was a movement impossible for a human.

In an instant, Muncheol rushed to the other side, now holding another dagger in his hand.

[He’s got another sword in his hand.]

Taehoo, having heightened his senses to the limit, could feel it too.

Kang!

Once. He blocked the continuing strike. But that wasn’t the end.

Kkagagang!

With a sword in each hand and bizarre movements, dozens of blows rained down.

[Both swords look the same. They’re both Fallen Flower Swords.]

In the midst of the chaos, Ba’al observed Muncheol’s swords.

‘So if it’s a dagger, you get two of them?’

The more he learned, the more fascinating the sword became, and the more he faced Muncheol, the more impressed he was by his movements.

“You’re overthinking things, Young Master!”

Muncheol shouted, nothing like the timid boy he’d been before the Asuras yesterday, as his swords scattered like a storm.

He picked up speed, using his whole body like a wild beast.

[He’s learned twin-blade techniques. Make sure to distinguish the real attacks from the feints.]

Ba’al warned him.

Kkagagagang!

Attacks poured down like a torrential rain, far more varied than before.

Taehoo was nearly at a loss for words at the complexity of the movements.

If he blocked the right, the left hand changed course and struck; if he blocked the left, the right hand would switch trajectory and charge in.

In between, Muncheol would even kick at him with aura-shrouded legs, avoiding Taehoo’s sword.

His whole-body movement truly felt like facing a wild beast.

[That sword is like a viper… Does your family have someone who uses twin-blades? I like this kid.]

A true outcast among outcasts. As expected of a demon, Ba’al seemed to love his swordsmanship.

Of course, Taehoo didn’t have the leeway to respond to Ba’al’s trivial remarks.

Moreover, a Hunter of the Sword God Clan who used twin-blades… He’d never seen or heard of such a thing.

Of course, it was possible he simply didn’t know all the family’s secrets yet.

‘He’s not an opponent who’ll go down easily.’

He looked to be a couple of years older than himself.

‘I thought there was no one among my peers who could match me…’

But the existence before his eyes shattered that expectation nicely.

‘Grandpa brought a really interesting one.’

A torrent of emotions, different from when facing an insurmountable wall, surged within him. The desire to clash!

The world is vast.

Surely, there are countless people out there who could match him.

And the child crossing swords with him right now was living proof of that simple truth.

‘I want to defeat them all.’

He wanted to reach the top.

The day before, he had faced the insurmountable wall that was his grandfather,

And today, he had met a rival almost equal to himself.

If this was a message to defeat this one first, if that’s why they’d been put together, then he would make sure to defeat him.

He would not be content with this place.

‘In my previous life, I was broken, defeated, and shattered too many times.’

He no longer intended to become accustomed to that feeling.

The tempering of his past life had given Taehoo an even stronger heart now.

Ba’al, too, cheered him on, if only a little.

‘It’s a bit unorthodox and troublesome, but…’

Taehoo kept deflecting Muncheol’s persistent attacks.

Kkaang!

A long reverberation filled the area.

Muncheol blocked Taehoo’s strike by holding his daggers in an X.

Through his crossed arms, he glared at Taehoo.

Even blocking with both hands, he was forced back three steps.

Seeing that, Taehoo was convinced.

‘In terms of aura’s power and purity, I’m definitely above.’

He hadn’t been able to tell with the first strike, but now he could feel it for sure.

With the special aura he’d gained and the mana he’d steadily absorbed in the Sanctuary, Muncheol couldn’t keep up.

“Truly… There are times when Master is wrong.”

Muncheol shook off his tingling hands as he spoke, clearly surprised.

Just as Taehoo could feel he was being pushed back, Muncheol could feel it too.

“I don’t know who your Master is…”

Taehoo roughly estimated the distance. Since Muncheol had been pushed back, there were about six steps between them.

Just the right distance to close with a single move.

Taehoo readied himself and kicked off the ground. As expected, the gap closed in an instant.

“You were taught a very interesting sword.”

Taehoo finished his sentence.

Kka?

Kwang!

The swords clashed again. The air rang. Taehoo moved completely differently from before.

Will the sword I created work on this guy, too? If it does, how far can I push him?

Such thoughts ran through his mind.

Kwang!

The sound of blade and not-blade, blunt and blunt, collided.

Kwaang!

Each time, he poured even more aura into his strikes.

Kwaaang!

Muncheol, sensing the difference, also raised his aura.

It had begun.

Taehoo’s sword. Sword dance. Everything he had achieved until now unfolded under the name Rain Thunder Origin Dance.

‘This isn’t something you can block with an ordinary sword…’

Muncheol sensed it too.

‘Illusory Soul Sword’

He gripped the swords in both hands tightly. Just as Taehoo did, he put everything into it.

Kkang! Kkagang!

They clashed with everything they had. Sparks flew, and their auras chipped away at each other.

Fragments of scattered aura gouged deep scars into the ground.

Gradually, Muncheol was being pushed back. The difference in pure strength was clear.

But.

The technique Muncheol called Illusory Soul Sword was Nachal’s.

Of the six Asuras, he was the only one who lacked mana the most, becoming the family’s sole shadow assassin.

Nachal, who walked the path of the shadow, infused endless variations into his sword, perfectly compensating for his weaknesses.

That’s how he claimed an Asura’s seat.

To block one sword, he would swing two, three times. He moved with matching flexibility and speed.

That was Nachal’s enlightenment, and the essence of the Illusory Soul Sword.

Acknowledging each other’s trickiness, they gritted their teeth.

It was a truly even match.

But,

‘This is as far as you go.’

When Taehoo had only two sword dance moves left.

Wuuuung!

He suddenly drew out his aura to the maximum. In response,

[Skill ‘One-Stroke Severance’ is activating!]

A ringing message echoed in Taehoo’s ear.

‘I felt it at the Heavenly Lake, but two times is the limit.’

That’s why he poured all his power into the final two strikes. At the same time, it was the most powerful attack Taehoo could unleash.

It was undeniably excessive, but he didn’t want to lose.

[Right, I can’t accept losing to someone like this.]

Ba’al clearly didn’t like the idea of his vessel losing, either.

‘What, what? He still has more hidden power?!’

Muncheol felt the change in real time before Taehoo.

Even the sword dance he’d shown so far was astonishing.

But now, he could feel an aura from Taehoo’s sword that surpassed even that. He almost wished his senses were wrong.

But they weren’t.

‘No way I’m wrong.’

Muncheol gritted his teeth.

‘Can I block this?’

That doubt surfaced in his mind. No, he had to block it.

He couldn’t let his Master’s sword be shamed here.

Just as the three swords were about to collide!

“Enough!”

Shinhyung rushed between them in an instant.

At the same time,

Kkang!

With a single swing, the intruder sent both Taehoo and Muncheol’s swords flying into the air.

The sudden intervention made them both lose their swords.

Moreover, the force behind the blow that knocked away their swords was on a whole other level.

The swords flew far behind each of them, embedding in the ground. As they vanished like falling flowers, only scars remained on the earth.

Muncheol’s eyes went wide as he recognized the face of the one who had intervened.

Dongo.

The face he had seen last night.

Taehoo, who hadn’t seen Dongo yet, watched the situation without understanding.

“No matter how much I told you to go wild, this is too much. This goes beyond just figuring out your rival, disciple of my brother.”

Dongo scolded Muncheol.

‘Brother? The only ones in the Sanctuary with that much power, aside from Grandpa, are the Asuras. That means…’

Taehoo recalled the two who were absent when he reached the summit.

‘I can guess whose disciple he is. So Grandpa really did set this up.’

Now that he’d confirmed his guess was spot on.

“Did you say rival just now?”

Here, he had to show he wouldn’t back down.

“At this moment, I am the Lord’s disciple and a blood member of the family.”

As Taehoo spoke, he recalled how he couldn’t say a word to the Dantalion Head.

“How could I be rivals with someone beneath my feet?”

He reached out.

As the Fallen Flower Sword returned to his grip, Taehoo aimed it at Muncheol’s neck.

Muncheol, tense from Dongo’s presence, failed to react properly.

Taehoo spoke again.

“He pointed his sword at me, so that counts as betrayal against the bloodline…”

Taehoo stared straight at Muncheol, and Dongo did not stop him. No, he chose not to.

“How will you pay for this?”

Taehoo was now acting as a blood member of the family.