I Became A Playwright In Medieval Fantasy-Chapter 32

The inner energy displayed by Xiang Yu in the play wasn’t mana.

For days after watching the first part of Farewell My Concubine, Maya had been instinctively practicing. Reflecting on the depiction of qi circulation from the play, she focused her entire mind on her dantian (energy center).

Despite being part elf, Maya was an orphan who had been born and raised in human society. She had no idea if the elves depicted in the play were historically accurate, as the portrayal of elven culture was vastly different from the teachings of her former elven mentor.

"..."

But as a Sword’s Champion candidate who had trained in the way of the sword her entire life, she knew one thing for sure.

The inner energy depicted in Farewell My Concubine—Xiang Yu’s power—wasn’t magic at all. It was more akin to the concentrated writhing of accumulated life force.

And perhaps… as someone hailed as a swordsmanship prodigy, she could replicate it.

Her instincts had not been wrong.

10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours, 6 hours…

As time flowed on, Maya pushed through new thresholds. An unfamiliar energy began to surge, snaking through her veins like a coiling dragon.

Finally, at the moment when all the energy reached its peak…

Kuoooonnng—!!

A powerful aura surged up the blade of Maya’s sword, Eternal Snow.

Though different from Xiang Yu’s Samadhi True Flame, the principle was strikingly similar.

It was a sign that Maya had broken through her stagnation, ascending to a higher level of mastery.

Maya looked at the massive boulder in front of her, lifting her sword to strike.

In the next moment—

Shwacck—!!

Boom!

With a swift slash, the boulder was split cleanly in an ‘X’ shape, crumbling to pieces.

What should have been an immovable chunk of stone, hard enough to chip the edge of a steel sword, had been cut through like a soft leaf of cabbage.

"..."

As the faint light of dawn began to creep over the horizon, Maya sheathed her sword and turned toward the path leading deeper into the dark, foreboding forest beyond the city.

She had unknowingly become the first Sword Aura user of this world—a momentous event born out of Farewell My Concubine’s influence.

<><><><><><>

In the dense, shadowy woods near the capital of the Holy Empire, there was a hidden cartel.

This cartel, much like the outlaw groups from old martial tales, had formed a powerful secret organization, known simply as the Dark Forest Syndicate.

For years, the Dark Forest had been notorious for its impenetrable thickets and labyrinthine terrain, attracting criminals and killers alike. A perfect haven for those with nowhere else to go.

Having gathered strength over time, the cartel had grown into a force even the empire struggled to deal with. Their hideout was difficult to siege, hidden deep in the forest. Their forces were bolstered by mercenaries, cutthroats, and even smuggled monsters, making them a fearsome enemy.

They were akin to the infamous Los Zetas cartel from Mexico—formidable and untouchable.

…but this terrifying syndicate was now being dismantled by a single swordswoman.

"Aaargh!"

"Run! Everyone, run!"

"Dammit! Where the hell did that monster come from?!"

Slash! Slice! Swish!

Flashes of steel danced through the air as blood sprayed like fountains, soaking the ground beneath.

In the middle of this carnage stood a lone half-elf swordswoman, gripping her icy blade.

Kyaaa! Kyaak!

The pitiful cries of guard dogs and hyenas rang out as their skulls were cleaved in two. Their tough hides, known to resist most weapons, proved useless.

Even their trusted biological weapons were no match.

Panicked, the cartel’s lieutenants shoved their men forward, shouting orders.

"What the hell are you waiting for?! It’s just one person!"

"Attack all at once! Surround her, and we’ll take her down!"

"We outnumber her! She can’t fight us all!"

Unfortunately for them, their numbers meant nothing.

The half-elf’s movements, newly enhanced after her awakening, were far too swift—

Slaaash—!!

"Huh?!"

"W-What?! Iron cut like paper?!"

—and her aura-clad blade cut through their weapons and armor like tofu.

With every tool of combat they had reduced to scrap, their fates were sealed.

"W-Wait! Wait! P-Please—aargh!"

"S-Spare me…!"

One by one, the cartel members fell, slaughtered by the prodigious swordswoman.

"Khuh…! Hrk! Who the hell are you?! What grudge do you have against us?!"

The cartel boss, having lost all his subordinates, writhed in agony as blood gushed from his wounds. Maya, the Sword’s Champion candidate, approached him calmly.

"Does it hurt?"

"Damn you! Of course it hurts, you crazy bit—aargh!"

Slash!

"Yes. It hurts, doesn’t it?"

A flash of blue light severed the boss’s fingers clean off.

"…My parents were killed by criminals from your cartel."

As blood poured from his mangled limbs, the boss writhed in the dirt. Maya’s cold voice rang out.

"Right in front of me. I was just a child, and they were murdered, mercilessly."

"Wh-What… What are you talking about…?"

"They tried to kidnap me, a half-elf child, to sell on the black market. But when my parents interfered, they killed them without a second thought."

Though over 15 years had passed, she had never once forgotten the trauma of that day.

If not for the intervention of an unknown elven swordswoman—who later became her mentor—Maya would have been killed, or sold into slavery.

Though she had survived, something inside Maya had shattered that day.

Her emotions, the natural reactions of any living being, had vanished. She had become numb, both to external and internal stimuli.

And with her broken psyche came an obsession that grew deeper over time—a fixation on power.

To never lose again, she had pursued only strength with a madness unmatched.

"Listen, I don’t know what happened, but I never ordered anything like that! It must have been a rogue group within the cartel! I-I’m sorry! Please, I’ll apologize, I’ll do anything, just don’t—"

Stab!

"Aaaargh—!!"

"You didn’t spare my mother."

Stab! Slash!

"Aack, urgh, noooo…!!"

"You trampled my father as he bled out, and laughed."

Crack! Crunch! Thwack—!!

"So why should I spare you? Hmm?"

There was no answer. The cartel boss’s mangled body had long since ceased to resemble anything human.

Yet Maya couldn’t stop her relentless, savage butchery of his remains.

This wasn’t just about avenging her parents.

"..."

As she stood over the corpse, her blood-stained hands trembling, Maya couldn’t understand why she felt this way.

She had killed countless bandits and criminals during her wandering life as a Sword’s Champion candidate. She had even slain monsters in service to her title.

…But this was the first time she had massacred such a large group with such unrelenting brutality.

And now, her delicate hands were trembling for some reason unknown to her.

What Maya didn’t yet realize was that she had awakened a new sensation—a dark pleasure from the violence and bloodshed.

The joy of killing had begun to surface within her, an instinct she was still unaware of.

She remembered the unsettling prophecy a witch had once told her during her travels.

"Kihihi, what a cursed child you are. Born of a tragic elven mother from the East, you were conceived with the energy of a bloody storm. You’re a blade, child, a blade that will bring nothing but ruin."

The energy of a bloody storm?

I was chosen to cut down the world’s evils as a Sword’s Champion, and yet…?