The Terminally-Ill Side-Character Inside of a Martial Arts Novel

As I received the gazes of countless spectators, it felt like the memories from that time were unfolding again.

The memory of the first time I stepped onto a martial arts arena was deeply engraved in my head.

I was able to cross swords with Nam Sojeong for the first time and experience my limits against Beon Yang at the end.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that was a turning point in my life.

Others probably don’t know how moving it was for me to be able to not only take medicine and be active under the sunlight after meeting Hyuk Dojin, but to hold a sword and have martial arts matches.

After that time passed, I even directly cut down trash worse than humans and experienced actual combat. Those memories were by no means trivial.

“Your thoughts are wandering. Or are your legs trembling in fear? Are you so scared you can’t open your mouth? Hm?”

I raised my eyes to look at Seo Gwangho.

I stared blankly at the man still noisily running his mouth while gauging his abilities.

He was certainly strong, befitting his evaluation as one of the Four Dragons and Four Flowers. To the point where I couldn’t have challenged him before.

“Draw your sword now. This elder will graciously give you three seconds. How about it?”

I pulled up the corners of my mouth, amused by his words calling himself an elder.

Seo Gwangho examined my lips drawn in mockery and frowned. His mouth twisted.

“You’re smiling like that again. Your brother smiled like that too. It made me sick to my stomach every time I saw it. As if looking down on everyone else except himself. Is it a family trait?”

“My brother isn’t someone who disrespects and looks down on others… Maybe you saw wrong.”

“You must not know Moyong Do well. Intoxicated by his skills, Moyong Do is someone who doesn’t even glance at those below him. He’s an arrogant bastard who keeps his mouth shut tightly and just nods his head even when someone talks to him!”

How pathetic. I stared at him intently, then turned my head to glance at Moyong Do.

Moyong Do, who had been staring at me intently, smiled slightly when our gazes met. I slowly opened my mouth and turned my head.

“Being quiet and having few words is being taciturn, and I don’t dislike taciturn men.”

“What?”

“At least, it seems better than a man intoxicated with arrogance while babbling unnecessary words like you.”

Seo Gwangho let out a hollow laugh and opened his mouth.

“You must want to die…”

“Besides, aren’t you the one who disrespects and is arrogant towards those below? You’re the one looking down on and disrespecting me more than anyone right now.”

Seo Gwangho flinched and gritted his teeth hard.

As I tilted my head diagonally, his mouth closed tightly and only the corners of his mouth rose slowly.

“…You’re just like that detestable Moyong Do.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment. And don’t feel too inferior. People who respect those more outstanding than themselves are cool, but men tainted with inferiority complexes are ugly. Honestly…”

I smiled faintly while facing his face boiling with anger.

“My brother is more handsome. So…”

“Finish those words in front of Yama!”

Before my words could finish, he swung his huge saber and rushed in.

Unlike his use of the large and heavy saber, his movements were very concise and fast.

Closing the distance in an instant and swinging down the huge saber was intimidating. It had enough destructive power that it wouldn’t be strange if my body was split vertically in two.

“Red Dragon Eighteen Saber Technique!!”

While hearing the shouts bursting out from around, I moved my body backwards and drew my sword.

Blocking that head-on would be suicidal. There was a difference in strength and weight.

The Celestial Steel sword wouldn’t break or snap, but my body wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

I quickly retreated backwards faster than the speed he rushed in, widened the distance, then adjusted the sword in my hand.

“You have no manners, starting without a signal.”

“Manners from the mouth of a Demon Cult bastard! You keep babbling till the end!”

Seo Gwangho closed the distance I had widened again.

‘For such a big body, he’s unnecessarily quick.’

I frowned and retreated backwards to avoid his great saber. Seo Gwangho’s mouth opened wide to reveal a sticky smile. A rough laugh burst out as his mouth opened.

“Hahaha! Why are you just dodging! This way you’re no match!”

“…”

I tried to retreat further back, but it was already the edge line of the wide martial arts arena. Seo Gwangho’s eyes flashed.

“It’s over!”

I felt the wind blowing even before the saber swung down.

I frowned as I glared at the huge saber rising tyrannically from below to above.

The wind that blew in soon overwhelmed me.

* * *

The ground split and an enormous amount of dust rose.

The ground that the saber had scraped past was deeply gouged, its shape unrecognizable, and the dust cloud that bloomed above it obscured people’s vision.

“Young Madam!”

Beon Yang shouted convulsively. It was an attack received at the edge of the martial arts arena while retreating.

For Moyong Sowol, there was no way to receive that tyrannical destructive power with a thin sword.

It wasn’t martial arts performed while maintaining a proper distance and removing killing intent like in other martial arts matches.

What Seo Gwangho displayed was killing intent determined to kill Moyong Sowol. Unless one was skilled enough to withdraw midway, it would be instant death upon being hit.

Beon Yang had risen from her seat and was frozen, but Hyuk Dojin and Man Do were relaxed. Rather, Man Do laughed lowly.

“Did you teach her even that?”

“Of course not. That’s not something that can be taught.”

“Then it’s amazing. To skillfully use something like that in just over half a year.”

“It’s something she can do because her body is light. I wouldn’t be able to do it.”

Beon Yang felt confused at the relaxed conversation between the two.

Yoo Doha approached, lightly grabbed her shoulder to lower it, then spoke leisurely.

“No need to worry. If the Young Madam was truly in danger, those two would have stepped in first to stop it. So you don’t need to react like that to everything.”

“But…”

Beon Yang looked at the martial arts arena worriedly.

It wasn’t just her. The numerous martial artists and spectators who witnessed that scene, and even Moyong Do, showed noticeably shaken appearances.

Cha Yeonhwa quietly looked at the still thick dust cloud, then spoke slowly.

“I think even I would have died if I received that level of strike head-on.”

Cha Yeonhwa’s gaze rolled to examine Moyong Do. He was always a calm man, but his change in emotions was clear just now.

Cha Yeonhwa’s eyes narrowed. Moyong Do was still raising inner energy to his eyes to examine inside the dust, but the scene inside was completely obscured.

Moyong Do bit his lip hard.

‘Sowol.’

If something had happened to her…

Moyong Do hurriedly pressed his forehead at the thought drilling into his head. His face twisted.

It was the same for Sword Protector Jin and the other Righteous Sect masters watching the situation from afar.

“It must be over.”

“Indeed, it seems it was too much for that small body to face a man wielding such a huge saber.”

“…But what can we do? Otherwise we’d have to kneel before that young blood clot, did Sword Protector Jin want that?”

“…”

Sword Protector Jin stroked his chin beard without saying anything. His eyes turned towards the dust cloud.

The wind blew and the dust that had started to clear disappeared slowly, unlike when it rose.

The figures inside the dust slowly revealed themselves. Seo Gwangho who had swung the huge saber was standing, and the saber he had swung was also intact.

But Moyong Sowol was nowhere to be seen.

When the dust cleared completely, exclamations and gasps burst out from all around.

“Oh!”

“How did she…”

Not just the masters, but even Moyong Do clenched his fist tightly. What entered his eyes was the figure of Moyong Sowol standing calmly on top of the saber raised high towards the sky.

Moyong Sowol, standing on the wide surface of the saber with her sword raised downwards without wavering, had no injuries or scars. She looked the same as when she first stepped onto the martial arts arena.

The wind blowing to clear away the dust also made Moyong Sowol’s white hair flutter.

That appearance with fluttering clothes and disheveled hair left untidy naturally drew exclamations from people’s mouths.

Seo Gwangho glared at the ground, then frowned and threw his gaze to the sky. At the end, Moyong Sowol’s face was looking down from within a dark shadow with the sunlight at her back.

“Using petty tricks…”

At his muttering, Moyong Sowol smiled lightly, then jumped up from stepping on the saber, lightly spun twice in the air, and landed in a place distanced from him.

Moyong Sowol looked at him and spoke lightly.

“That was dangerous. If I had been hit head-on, I would have either flown away or died.”

“…”

Seo Gwangho’s face twisted. He had momentarily lost sight of Moyong Sowol’s figure.

Her movement, too fast for him to perceive, was as swift as the Shape-Shifting Step that makes one appear to have two bodies.

Impossible. It can’t be. Such a young girl couldn’t possibly use such an advanced rising step technique.

He shook his head, thinking he had simply lost focus.

But regardless of what he thought, the fact was that Moyong Sowol’s movement had surpassed the range he could perceive.

Seo Gwangho rolled his eyes while readjusting his grip on the saber with a twisted face.

Where and how should he attack? Should he push forward again? But would the same method work when it failed after pushing all the way before?

As his head was becoming complicated, Moyong Sowol’s voice pierced in.

“Your thoughts are wandering.”

“…What?”

“Are you scared? Afraid of losing? Well, it’s understandable to be scared. If you lose to me, it’s not just a defeat, you don’t know what kind of label the Righteous Sect will attach to you.”

“…”

He gritted his teeth hard.

Moyong Sowol smiled faintly and smoothed out her crumpled clothes.

“Take your stance. I’ll give you three more seconds. How about it?”

“…You’re insulting me.”

Seo Gwangho’s veins popped up at Moyong Sowol’s words returning exactly what he had said.

His anger rose as he realized he was being toyed with.

Seo Gwangho gripped his saber with both hands and his eyes flashed.

“Fine, thank you for giving me three seconds.”

“You’re welcome.”

Seo Gwangho felt his reason snap at Moyong Sowol’s smiling face.

“Die, white-haired witch!!!”

His appearance rushing in with the saber raised high while roaring was like a huge boulder rolling in.

Not one hand, but both hands. The chopping strike of the saber swinging down from above seemed to have the power to split the martial arts arena in two.

Finally, when he reached in front of Moyong Sowol after rushing in quickly, his eyes flashed.

“Huaaaaaa… Kuk!”

His voice that had been loudly echoing through the martial arts arena suddenly choked as if blocked by something.

Seo Gwangho lowered his eyes to the heavy and terrible pain he felt in his solar plexus.

The end of the scabbard, not even the sword, was touching his solar plexus.

“What is… this…”

Seo Gwangho crumpled his face. The saber fell from his hands with a heavy sound, and his body collapsed at the same time.

“Three seconds… grace…”

Moyong Sowol lightly spoke while moving to the side to avoid his body falling towards her.

“I remembered that earlier you said you’d give me three seconds of grace but didn’t. So I decided not to give you grace either. Is that okay?”

“That’s… cowardly…”

“Oh my.”

Thud!

Seo Gwangho’s eyes rolled as he fell to the ground and looked up at Moyong Sowol.

The corners of her mouth rose slightly.

“Aren’t you saying the Demon Cult are originally cowardly people?”

Along with Moyong Sowol’s smile, Seo Gwangho’s consciousness snapped off.