Chapter 39. Sword Demon: The Unchanging World 

“Avalokiteśvara… Eight Guardian Deities… Please… please help me. I’ll do anything, really…”

Left alone after everyone else had gone, Seo Cheon-gi could do nothing but pray to every god he knew.

He was powerless.

Even when he got caught digging a latrine and was beaten for it, it hadn’t been this painful.

‘I couldn’t even protect one friend… with my own hands… What am I, really?’

Crunch.

He bit his lip hard, tasting the bitter tang of blood.

“Meow!”

Moon-myo, who had stayed behind with him, let out a sharp cry as if telling him to stop.

“…Sorry.”

“Meow-meow!”

The cat walked up and climbed into Seo Cheon-gi’s arms.

Finding solace in the creature’s warmth, Seo Cheon-gi bowed his head and prayed once more.

“Young Master Namgung… Please, I’m begging you…”

Crackle! Zap!

“Mm…”

At that very moment, Ho-yeon was gripping the neck of an assassin in stealth gear.

The assassin’s body trembled violently—it was already lifeless.

Whoosh! Thud!

When he loosened his grip, the assassin’s corpse convulsed and collapsed to the ground.

His skin beneath the scorched clothes was marked all over with branching red lightning scars.

“We did it! We really did it!”

“Hahaha! Behold! I am Seong Hyo-wol, fourth son of the Seong Family!”

“Hohoho! We defeated the vile thugs of the Strange Child Gang!”

“Justice knows no gate! With righteousness in your heart, nothing can stop you!”

The rookie martial artists around him were shouting with joy.

Most of them had merely finished off assassins weakened by Ho-yeon’s Thunderstrike, or struck down those already fallen—but that didn’t matter.

“…What is this?”

In this celebratory atmosphere, Ho-yeon’s expression remained grim.

“I still have energy to spare. That shouldn’t be the case.”

He tilted his head, feeling the thunderclouds swirling in his internal energy core. This fight had been too easy.

If the reason wasn’t due to his own strength—

“Then the assassins… were just weak?”

A crease formed between his brows.

Just last night, he had confirmed that there were over thirty first-rate assassins.

But when the fight started, there seemed to be more of them, yet they felt hollow—like brittle snacks with nothing inside.

“Something’s not right.”

Just as this uneasy thought crossed his mind—

“Hyung-nim!!”

“…Yul?”

“Huff! Huff! Huff…!”

Moyong Yul, the scruffy-haired boy assigned to the rescue mission, came running, gasping for air.

“How did it go? Was the mission a success?”

“Well, um…”

He caught his breath but hesitated to speak.

Tears welled up in his bright blue eyes.

“The kids… something’s wrong with them!”

“…What?”

“They’re unconscious… like their souls are gone!”

“…!”

Why do ominous premonitions always turn out to be right?

Crackle! Whoosh! Roar!

The Do-hwa Guild Hall was now surrounded by dozens of torches.

People from the Baekyak Mountain Villa, having been contacted, had finally arrived.

They were now carefully extracting the children—now soul-lost husks—from a secret chamber under the stables.

“What kind of monstrous cruelty is this…?”

“Is this really something a human could do?!”

“Everyone involved in this should be utterly annihilated!”

“This isn’t just the Baekga Sword Association’s issue anymore! How could something like this happen in Dandong?!”

The people carried the limp, helpless children on stretchers, seething with anger.

They didn’t know the kids’ names or faces, but these tiny, fragile lives were flickering toward extinction.

“Waaah! Narin! Wake up! Narin!!”

Seo Cheon-gi clutched one of the stretchers and wailed.

Ho-yeon watched silently before speaking.

“What’s the cause?”

“No idea.”

Tang Segi responded with a stiff expression.

“But it’s definitely not poison.”

“Could it be dark arts?”

“That’s the most likely explanation right now—possibly soul-capturing or soul-bewitching techniques.”

“Huh. The Jinju Un Clan didn’t attend the Baekga Sword Meet, but they’d know the most about such things…”

When Sangwanhae muttered, biting his lip, Ho-yeon asked,

“Jinju Un Clan? Why would they know about dark arts?”

“Hm? You don’t know them?”

“…Not really.”

“You’re a mystery. The Un Clan practices corpse control arts. They were originally a family of embalmers, but a hundred years ago, they turned into a martial household.”

Tang Segi added,

“They were initially seen as part of the demonic faction, but their actions were righteous enough that the Sword Emperor himself admitted them into the Baekga Alliance.”

“Still, they’re looked down on and rarely attend events like this.”

“From a poison master’s point of view, I sympathize. It’s the person who’s the problem, not the tool.”

“In any case, we’ll probably need their help to understand what’s happening to the children.”

Ho-yeon nodded and glanced sideways.

Moyong Yul stood there, staring at the weeping Seo Cheon-gi.

“Are you feeling better?”

“…Yes. I’m sorry for losing composure.”

“It’s natural. This is too much for a child to handle.”

He then turned to look at Team 3 of the Baekga Sword Squad.

The rookies who had been excited just moments ago now looked stunned.

Like frogs peeking out of a well, they now had two choices: hide deeper or climb out with all their might.

“Hyung-nim, how can you be so calm?”

Yul asked, his voice trembling.

Ho-yeon glanced at him.

“I don’t have expectations.”

“Of… who?”

“Of the world.”

The indifferent words hit Moyong Yul like a blow.

“There are things kids don’t need to know.”

“Grown-ups have their own reasons.”

Ho-yeon always treated him like a child.

Yul had assumed it was playful—but maybe it wasn’t.

‘Just what kind of life have you lived, hyung-nim…?’

He looked at Ho-yeon more closely.

Though his face was expressionless, he somehow looked incredibly sad.

“I… I don’t really understand.”

“Seeking answers for everything is a sign of immaturity. This world doesn’t have answers.”

Step, step, step.

After saying that, Ho-yeon turned around and began to walk off.

“Hyung-nim? Where are you going…?”

“Stay here. I’m just going for a walk.”

“Uh… okay?”

He vanished in an instant—so fast Yul didn’t even notice—

—didn’t see the pair of crimson eyes gleaming in the moonlight.

Once far from the others, Ho-yeon suddenly burst out laughing.

“Ha… hahaha!”

Snap.

He abruptly stopped laughing, and a faint, bitter smile twisted his lips.

“Everything’s the same. This world hasn’t changed one bit in 300 years…”

“Excuse me.”

“Hm?”

“Do you sell herbs?”

Ho-yeon had arrived at the apothecary he’d visited yesterday and asked the shopkeeper.

“…We’re closed. Come back tomorrow.”

The man looked Ho-yeon up and down and tried to send him away.

Step, step, step.

But Ho-yeon didn’t stop—he walked straight into the store.

“W-what do you think you’re doing?! I’ll call someone!”

“Go ahead.”

“Who the hell are—ugh!”

The shopkeeper’s angry retort died in his throat when he saw Ho-yeon’s glowing red eyes.

Swoosh!

Those eyes radiated cold, ominous energy like a ghost’s gaze.

“Well? What are you waiting for?”

“W-what do you want…?”

When the man asked with a trembling voice, Ho-yeon tilted his head.

“You were going to call someone, weren’t you?”

“Wh-what…”

“You’re with the Hao Clan.”

“…!”

The shopkeeper’s eyes widened.

“H-how did you know…?”

“Your friend told me.”

“No way…”

Ho-yeon smiled as he picked up a small dagger used for preparing herbs.

“You were ordered by your clan leader to observe and report my every move, weren’t you?”

“…”

“I don’t know who the current leader of the Hao Clan is… but are they really trying to get entangled with me again?”

In the past, as the Sword Demon, this man would never have survived such a revelation.

Tracking the one once branded the scourge of the martial world wasn’t something one could do with good intentions.

‘But now I’m Namgung Ho-yeon. The only grudge I’ve had with the Hao Clan was smashing their duel tower in Shenyang—and even that was self-defense.’

“To live is to weave connections. But you formed too many bad ones—and tried to sever them all with a sword. I hope you build good ones in your next life…”

Those were Namgung Cheon-gang’s words, and Ho-yeon remembered them.

“Choose. Do you want a bad tie with me, or a good one?”

“W-what do you want? If you mean the incident at the Do-hwa Guild Hall, we really know nothing…”

The man glanced nervously at the dagger.

Ho-yeon shook his head.

“Not that. I already have a rough idea who the real culprit is.”

“…Huh?”

“More importantly, spread the word as fast as you can. Tell Teams 1 and 2 that the Strange Child Gang’s base is in Dandong.”

“T-that’s doable, but…”

“And send someone to Shenyang to tell the Iron Sword Corps lazing around at the Moyong Family that I’m calling for them.”

The man’s eyes widened.

“If you directly mobilize your family’s forces, you’ll be disqualified from the Baekga Sword Meet…”

“I don’t care.”

“…What?”

“I’m starting to lose interest in this whole ‘Sword Meet’ thing.”

With that, Ho-yeon turned and walked out of the apothecary.

Moments later, three carrier pigeons flew through Dandong’s night sky.

“Haah…”

Moyong Yul sighed and picked up a teacup with trembling hands.

This was a separate annex at Baekyak Mountain Villa. Due to the incident at the Do-hwa Guild Hall, Teams 4 and 5 had also gathered here.

‘Because we crossed into “Blood-Kill Territory.”’

Among the Nine Heavens, Blood-Kill was notoriously dangerous.

If a member of the Baekga Sword Squad died here, it would be bad for the villa too.

‘Still… it’s amazing I’m even alive right now.’

He sipped his tea, deep in thought.

By all logic, he should have already been assassinated.

‘Someone’s protecting me.’

He looked into his teacup.

He was smiling.

‘It can only be hyung-nim. He hates formalities and would never boast—even after defeating those assassins.’

“If you stay near me, at least you won’t die in your sleep from a sneak attack. Want to ally with Team 5?”

Hyung-nim was a man of his word.

Yul knew his survival was thanks to Ho-yeon.

‘Hyung-nim. Ho-yeon hyung-nim.’

His heart swelled as he closed his eyes.

And it felt like he could hear Ho-yeon’s voice again:

“Don’t let others make you shrink. Your eyes are beautiful like the blue sky. That’s the best compliment a Namgung can give.”

“You’re like a white swan in a flock of crows.”

“It’s a compliment. Like a cloud—it’s lovely.”

He was the only one who ever praised Yul’s blue eyes and pale skin.

A person he wanted to follow and resemble.

“I wanted… to be of help too…”

That’s why he had revealed one of his secrets.

The mission was half a success—Ho-yeon had crushed the assassins, but Yul had failed to rescue all the children.

“Will he… think I’m useless?”

Suddenly gripped by fear, Yul nervously bit his thumb.

At that moment—

Creak!

The door opened.

Startled, Yul looked up as Ho-yeon spoke.

“Yul. You still have the red rat?”

“Uh, Red-Seo? Yes, here it is. Cheon-gi hasn’t returned from the apothecary yet…”

“Chirp?”

Yul reached into his sleeve, pulling out the crimson rat that had been nibbling candy.

“Good. Yul, I need your help. Can I count on you?”

Seeing Red-Seo, Ho-yeon nodded.

Yul’s face lit up with excitement.

“Of course! I’ll do anything!”