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

It was too easy.

His actions were so simple that I didn’t even need to use any sword techniques or moves, and they were that apparent to my eyes.

The Seo Gwangho I had assessed was not a man who would crumble so feebly.

Even those around were saying it ended too quickly, it was such an unsatisfying match.

I looked around, then lowered my eyes to quietly look at Seo Gwangho who had fainted with the whites of his eyes showing.

He was excessively excited and burning with revenge. He couldn’t swallow his anger towards Hyuk Dojin who had humiliated him, and he turned all that anger towards me.

Also, he looked down on women, or opponents who seemed weaker than himself, which martial artists shouldn’t do.

These aspects led him to the current situation. If he had maintained his composure and fought calmly, it would have been more difficult than now. But the result of me winning wouldn’t have changed.

After tidying my hair fluttering in the wind, I put away my sword.

As the commotion among the people rose like ripples over the silent martial arts arena, a rough shout pierced down.

“This is absurd!”

The person who appeared with that rough voice was the female elder of the Diancang Sect called Na Yul, and beside her stood Cha Jinmok of the Mount Heng Sect whom I had encountered before.

“How could Gwangho lose so pitifully! If my eyes weren’t mistaken, that girl’s skills should have been insignificant!”

“…”

“It must be sorcery, sorcery! If it’s not sorcery or cowardly poison, how could the star of Diancang lose so shamefully?”

Sorcery? I stared intently at Na Yul’s eyes approaching me, then glanced at Seo Gwangho before speaking quietly.

“There was no sorcery. No poison either. Of course no hidden weapons. This man was weaker than me and that’s all…”

“If that’s true, prove that skill to me!”

“Elder Na Yul!!”

Sword Protector Jin’s voice calling Na Yul rang out, but Na Yul ignored that voice and rushed in immediately.

It was the same Diancang footwork that Seo Gwangho had used. But the speed of closing the distance and the threat were truly tyrannical.

Na Yul’s Golden Willow Sword flew towards my neck in the instant I flinched. I would die if hit.

I retreated backwards as much as the distance she had rushed in and drew my sword.

As if she had already anticipated it, Na Yul kicked off the ground, jumped low, and swung her sword down from above as she drew it.

She’s strong. It wasn’t an attack with inner energy that could be easily parried.

Gritting my teeth, I imbued my sword with true energy and raised it upwards.

Plum blossoms were drawn following the path the sword flowed. The moment I performed the technique while reciting the incantation, exclamations of surprise burst out from around.

“Plum blossom?!”

“It’s Mount Hua’s sword technique!”

But there wasn’t enough leisure to hear those voices. Her attack was formidable enough to make me unfold martial arts I had been trying to refrain from using as much as possible.

Na Yul, who had stiffened her face as if surprised by her own sword bouncing off my sword, soon frowned and unfolded her martial arts again.

Blue and red energy simultaneously enveloped her sword.

“Wind-Dancing Flowing Sword!!”

It was the ultimate technique of the Diancang Sect and the ascending martial arts that had guaranteed Diancang’s place among the Nine Renowned Sects for a thousand years.

Na Yul gritted her teeth and unfolded the ultimate technique of the Wind-Dancing Flowing Sword. It wasn’t something I could easily respond to.

I moved to avoid the fragments of sword energy pouring down, but her sword accurately read the path I was going and chased after me.

She was the strongest and most life-threatening person among those I had faced so far.

I rolled my eyes slightly. In my field of vision, Hyuk Dojin had risen from his seat and was watching intently.

Na Yul’s intervention was completely different from what was expected.

The fact that Hyuk Dojin wasn’t intervening even thoughhe could if he wanted to meant…

‘It must mean I can win.’

I turned my eyes back to examine the excited Na Yul. A blue cloud-like mass of strong energy flew in and cracked the ground, while red sword energy flew in threatening my neck.

From the perspective of facing it, it truly felt like experiencing a natural disaster.

“Break me like you broke my disciple!!”

Na Yul shouted without hiding her excited voice and swung her sword down.

I too surrounded my sword with true energy to block the attack, then met her eyes full of anger and spoke briefly.

“There was no sorcery. Your disciple lost to me. Overwhelmingly at that.”

“Shut up!”

“Accept it.”

“Bewitching bitch! From the moment you entered the vile Demon Cult, you’re no longer a Righteous Sect woman nor a daughter of the Moyong clan! In my eyes, you’re just an evil woman trying to toy with the Righteous Sect without knowing gratitude, using vile methods!”

“…”

“Hehe, why? Are you angry? Do these words seem unfair to you? Then you should have behaved properly! You should have gone to the Demon Cult and died, or lived quietly hidden in a room! How could you not know that and act up like this! You ungrateful thing!”

Clang!

I diagonally pulled down her sword, then lightly bounced it off and retreated backwards.

Na Yul was glaring at me with her eyes shining.

‘Ungrateful, she says.’

I haven’t lived that long, but I’ve really heard all sorts of things. And experienced all sorts of things too.

It was just absurd that the Diancang elder, who had no connection to me at all, was calling me ungrateful and saying I should die.

I stared at her intently, then lowered my sword.

A stir arose from around. Looking at Na Yul’s eyes filled with bewilderment, I spoke quietly.

“Should I have died?”

“You call that words? Born in one of the Five Great Clans, from the moment you became the Young Madam of the Demon Cult without protecting righteousness and justice, you were an exemplar of shame. If I were you, I would have bitten my tongue and killed myself.”

“Why? It’s not like I went because I wanted to.”

“Is that important? What’s important is…”

“What’s important is that I was born inheriting Moyong blood and became the Young Madam of the Demon Cult… So that alone is a sin, is that it?”

Na Yul’s answer didn’t come.

But her expression was nonchalant, as if saying ‘You know well’.

Strength entered my hand holding the sword. I took a deep breath, exhaled, and smiled briefly.

“This is really interesting. It seems I’m learning a lot by showing my face at this martial arts competition. I learned that the Righteous Sect, which I thought would value righteousness and chivalry the most, were more vile than anyone and all talk. The rights and wrongs of their own actions don’t matter, they’re just called justice for the sole reason of being Righteous Sect.”

“How dare you run your mouth in front of…”

“I’m tired of this.”

I cut off her words with a sigh and erased the smile from my face.

Looking at the crumpled Na Yul, I tilted my head diagonally.

“What on earth did I do so wrong?”

Everyone desires and wants to live. I too didn’t want to die and tried to live.

Is that wrong? If that’s wrong, then it’s not my fault but this world that’s wrong.

If my life, which had already died once and accepted that end, goes out again with the same fate, how absurd and nonsensical would that be?

So I wanted to live. I wanted to repay the people who had worked hard for me.

More than anyone, I wanted to be with Hyuk Dojin, who loved me, told me I was an ordinary woman, and smiled at me.

So I was greedy.

But if that greed is wrong…

“If you want, I’ll give up the Moyong name. If that’s what you want.”

“What?”

Na Yul’s eyes were tinged with surprise.

To give up one’s roots. That was to deny one’s own existence.

“If my brother is cursed because of me, the clan is criticized… and I too have to be called ungrateful, I can give up that name. If that’s the condition for me to live.”

So. I straightened my posture and raised my eyes.

“You too will have to take responsibility for saying those words to me.”

With those final words, there was no need to hear an answer, so I rushed in immediately.

The basics of the Plum Blossom Sword Technique are changing swords.

Fast speed and freely performed techniques, and what I learned was destructive power added to that.

Na Yul’s reaction was slow. I swung my sword and raised the sword energy upwards from below.

I immediately spun my body and slashed diagonally, and the sword energy poured down on Na Yul like butterflies flying.

The technique called Plum Blossom Butterfly Dance, named because it looked like butterflies dancing, confused her vision.

But Na Yul knew the Plum Blossom Sword Dance very well, as much as she had lived her life and rolled in the martial arts world for a long time.

Her bewilderment was only momentary, she quickly responded and struck down the sword energy, trying to counter the next Plum Blossom Earth Flame technique that would unfold.

But my next technique wasn’t Plum Blossom Earth Flame. I immediately drew up true energy, forcibly took a stance, and condensed strong energy on my sword.

Although I’m not skilled enough to freely use strong energy yet, this was the best I could do.

The fragments of strong energy that left my sword swirled around her like the butterflies that had flown to Na Yul and fallen after being cut by her sword were rising again.

“What is this…!!”

The flustered Na Yul tried to retreat backwards, but the Plum Fragrance Intoxicating Butterfly that had intoxicated the butterflies chased her and soon dug into her shoulder.

“Aaaagh!!”

Along with the fragment of strong energy that pierced her shoulder, the tip of my sword that dug in simultaneously sliced the flesh of her thigh as she forcibly tried to avoid it.

Blood burst out. Na Yul flashed her eyes while looking at me, who had wounded her body, as if she would kill me amidst the pain.

“You bitch!!”

As a rough roar burst from her mouth, the ultimate technique of the Blue Cloud Red Mist Sword condensed on her sword.

I would die if hit. But I had no intention of avoiding it.

It was impossible to perform the techniques of Plum Fragrance Flowing Stream and Plum Blossom Ten Thousand Li Fragrance in my current state.

Just maintaining the strong energy was draining the energy in my dantian as if someone was scooping it out.

Her sword rushing towards me and the enormous amount of sword energy fragments flying like clouds beside it flew in.

I too swung my sword to collide the sword energy fragments and they exploded.

Water vapor swirled and obscured the view between her and me, but I could feel where she was.

Because that thick killing intent towards me made the hair on my body stand on end.

Finally, as the water vapor cleared and Na Yul’s figure jumped out, I swung the final technique as soon as I saw her.

Sharp sword energies blocked her front like butterflies, and exploded.

I spoke quietly while catching my breath, maintaining distance from Na Yul who had stopped with a flinch.

“Have you ever smelled plum blossom fragrance? It’s so strong that even if you just brush against it slightly, it remains on your body all day.”

“What nonsense are you… Ugh!!”

I put away my sword while looking down at Na Yul who was covering her mouth spitting blood and collapsing.

“Plum Fragrance Permeating Bones. That fragrance is so strong you wouldn’t even know if your bones were intoxicated by it.”

“You… you bitch, where did you learn such sorcery…”

“When Mount Hua uses it, it’s righteous martial arts. When I use it, it’s lowly sorcery. How convenient for you. You can just pick and choose whatever suits you.”

As Na Yul collapsed with her head hitting the ground, I stared at her intently and let out a deep sigh, when a loud sound rang out from behind.

When I turned my head, Cha Jinmok was positioned at a distance so close I didn’t know when he had approached.

The middle-aged man who always smiled gently was nowhere to be seen, and he was submerged in anger-filled eyes looking at me as if I were his mortal enemy.

But I had no strength left to react to that. My body was stiff from drawing out the last of my energy.

Cha Jinmok’s sword flew as if to pierce my neck. I narrowed my eyes and stared intently at the sword trying to end my life.

“That’s enough.”

But that sword didn’t pierce my neck.

Hyuk Dojin, who had appeared at some point, wrapped my shoulder in his arms and caught Cha Jinmok’s sword with his bare hand while embracing me in his chest.

And as if they had been waiting, five men jumped up from all directions and pointed their swords at Cha Jinmok.

“Kuk…”

“Three times is a bit much.”

I glanced up at Hyuk Dojin speaking slowly, then turned to look at Cha Jinmok.

“You don’t want to claim it’s justified because the Righteous Sect did it, do you?”

His eyes were sharp as if they would tear me to death. Resentment towards the Demon Cult.

I stared at him intently, then spoke quietly.

“It’s a shame Elder Na Yul couldn’t see this.”

Hyuk Dojin held me more comfortably as my body tilted. From his arms, I looked at Cha Jinmok and finished speaking.

“This is what being ungrateful really is.”