Puk— A sword wrapped in pitch-black energy pierced straight through Ilhwa’s heart. Caught completely off guard by the unexpected attack, Ilhwa could do nothing to defend herself. Dark red blood trickled from her lips.
“Wh… why….”
Ilhwa looked at the one who had driven the sword into her heart with eyes full of confusion. The man who had raised her since she was a child, taught her martial arts, and unified the martial world under one banner. The leader of the Blood Sect.
The Blood Demon. The sword that pierced Ilhwa’s heart belonged to him.
“My disciple. Do you remember what I wanted to achieve through you?”
Since she was young, Ilhwa had heard the same words over and over again until her ears bled.
“Destroy Namgung. You must break Namgung’s sword with your own hands!”
She never knew why her master wanted to destroy Namgung. She simply followed his orders, living the past twenty-five years with one goal: to bring down Namgung. She trained in martial arts with the sole purpose of breaking Namgung’s sword.
Because of that, within the Blood Sect, she came to be known as the Heaven-Destroying Sword, Cheonmyeolgeom. And finally, today, Namgung was completely annihilated. By her hand.
Ilhwa looked down at the last sword of Namgung, Namgung Cheongun, lying dead on the ground.
“I have fulfilled your will, Master.”
“Yes. At last, it is done.”
“But… why….”
The moment Namgung Cheongun drew his last breath, the Blood Demon’s sword pierced her heart. Just when she thought everything had been achieved after a long and grueling battle, the Blood Demon stabbed her heart.
“Why…?”
“Now, you are the only one left of Namgung in this world. Only when your life ends will my will truly be fulfilled. What else can I do?”
Ilhwa stared at him, her face stiff.
“You’re looking at me like I’ve gone mad, aren’t you?”
He chuckled.
Once again, her master had read her thoughts with uncanny accuracy. As if he knew everything, as if he could see right through her mind.
“Do you know who that is, lying at your feet?”
Ilhwa’s gaze turned again to the fallen Namgung Cheongun. The sword wound that had nearly severed his neck was made by her own hand.
“He’s your father.”
“…!”
“He gave up his position as head of Namgung just to find you. A pathetic man who wandered the world like a beggar.”
Ilhwa was shaken. Her master, the Blood Demon, was a man of cruel and wicked nature. He would kill people on a whim just to replenish his energy, so she couldn’t believe everything he said.
But— ‘Now that I think about it, it was strange.’ He, who treated human lives like insects, had raised her for so long, calling her his disciple. Even when those stronger than her pledged loyalty, he never abandoned her.
He kept her by his side, pushing her to destroy Namgung with her own hands.
Why? Cough.
Dark red blood gushed from her mouth. She was holding on with her inner energy to keep the wound from worsening, but she was at her limit.
“Hahaha! How does it feel? Killing your own father with your own hands!”
The Blood Demon’s laughter echoed in her ears.
“When he found out you were his daughter, he withdrew his inner energy. Isn’t that pathetic?”
“…!”
Ilhwa remembered the look in Namgung Cheongun’s eyes as he gazed at her just before he died. She had been losing the fight. After a long battle, Namgung Cheongun had prepared a powerful strike filled with inner energy, and Ilhwa had sensed her defeat.
But just as he was about to strike, he suddenly stopped. He looked at her with confused eyes. Ilhwa didn’t miss that moment and slashed his neck.
Namgung Cheongun knelt, blood gushing from his throat. Even then, his eyes never left her.
‘Seol…hwa….’
Tears streamed down Ilhwa’s face as she recalled the last word he had spoken. She didn’t know why she was crying. Her emotions had long been destroyed by the buildup of blood energy.
And yet, tears flowed from her eyes.
“Heh, don’t be so resentful. You enjoyed it too, didn’t you?”
Her vision blurred as she looked at Namgung Cheongun’s corpse. As the Blood Demon raised his inner energy, the sword embedded in her heart began to hum.
“I raised you with my own hands for this day. For this moment when arrogant Namgung would be destroyed by Namgung’s own hand! Hahahaha!”
His laughter shook the heavens and crushed the air around them. The Blood Demon was truly overjoyed. Ilhwa released the inner energy that had been holding her wound together.
Cough— Dark red blood poured from her mouth. Her body went limp, and she no longer had the strength to lift her arms. Her barely hanging breath began to fade quickly.
“Please… stop… this isn’t… fun anymore.”
At that moment, the Blood Demon’s laughter stopped. His indifferent eyes, looking down at her, flickered with a dark red light.
“I was just starting to lose interest anyway.”
A chilling energy swirled around the sword. In that instant, the Blood Demon’s sword slashed through her body. Starting from her heart, the blade cut through her shoulder and withdrew.
Ilhwa collapsed, coughing blood.
“It was fun. My disciple.”
Thanks to you, Namgung is no more. The Blood Demon’s laughter slowly faded into the air. Leaving her dying body behind, he walked away with light, carefree steps.
“Cough…”
As she watched the Blood Demon disappear into the distance, dark red tears streamed from Ilhwa’s eyes.
‘Foolish.’
What a foolish life. To have followed someone, calling him master, without even realizing she was being used and deceived. Why had she lived such a foolish life?
What had she believed in, to follow someone who knew only blood? She had lived her whole life for the Blood Demon, to destroy Namgung, but in the end, all that remained was the mocking laughter of the one she trusted. All that came back to her was a miserable death.
All that remained was blood. Dark red blood stained the entire world. The scent of Namgung’s blood, spilled by her own hand, clung to her like a curse.
And within that scent of blood, Ilhwa’s own death lingered.
Thud.
Ilhwa’s body lost all strength and collapsed. The Blood Sect’s Young Sect Master, the Heaven-Destroying Sword, Ilhwa. Her life, toyed with by the Blood Demon, ended just like that.