Memory rose up.

‘Heaven-Extinguishing Sword, Ilhwa.’

As the Blood Cult’s Little Cult Lord and an assassin, I am the Blood Demon’s keen blade set against the Namgoong Clan.

I was raised for one purpose only: to bring down the Namgoong Clan. Only thus could I repay the Cult Lord who saved my life.

“I asked who you are.”

Then the man beyond that door is my enemy.

My target to kill.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Swwweeeek—

Seolhwa flicked a throwing knife at Namgoong Cheongun.

Crunch!

The instant the knife missed him and bit into the wall, she charged.

Kang— Ka-ka-kang! Ka-ang—!

Drifting into the Namgoong Clan after losing her memories was an opportunity.

A chance heaven had given her to kill the Namgoong Clan’s Lord.

‘Sado Union, Martial Alliance—whatever.’

It seemed a great many things had happened while she had no memories.

Ka-kang—! Ka-ang—!

Her objective had not changed.

Here and now, she would kill the Namgoong Clan’s Lord and fulfill her duty as the Heaven-Extinguishing Sword.

Seolhwa clenched her blade.

The room was too tight; her attacks would not bite cleanly.

‘Then—’

Whoosh— whooosh—!

Seolhwa launched a Force Aura at Namgoong Cheongun.

He dodged the stroke, but as intended, the wall blew out.

Kwa-aaang—!

“This way, Cheongun will be killed! Are you just going to keep watching?”

Even at Seop Mugwang’s urgent cry, Namgoong Mucheon did not move.

At first light, the two had been on their way to the practice grounds for cultivation when they sensed killing intent and came straight here.

They had arrived as Seolhwa threw her throwing knife at Cheongun and had seen the whole exchange.

“You know full well what that brat’s martial state is right now! Even I can’t gauge it—Cheongun is no match!”

When she appeared with her memories gone, Seolhwa’s realm had already stepped into the ranks of Flowering.

At first sight, Seop Mugwang had realized her state from the very fact he could not gauge it, and Namgoong Mucheon had likewise already noticed the change in her.

Only, a change wrought in so short a time—mere months—was nothing to welcome.

It meant the Blood Demon had yet again done something to the child’s body.

“Brother!!!”

“I will not let him die.”

“!”

KWA-AAANG—!!

The wall of Cheongun’s room shattered to pieces.

Namgoong Mucheon’s gaze sank low as he looked into the now-bared room, where the two crossed blades in a fierce clash.

“Neither of them will die. Be at ease.”

“....”

Even so, Seop Mugwang could not mask his anxiety.

For some reason, Seolhwa had begun attacking her own father.

If this went on, if Cheongun were gravely wounded, or worse, lost his life—

For Seolhwa’s sake, and for Cheongun’s, should they not stop this fight?

And yet—

‘Whatever you become, I’m on your side.’

So get your head on straight, ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) already!

Stop making people’s hearts jump!

You overgrown runt!!

Hff, huff....

Just after she blasted the wall apart with Force Aura,

Namgoong Cheongun looked back over his shoulder.

It was the direction of the quarters where she stayed.

Seolhwa knit her brows.

‘Is he worried about me right now?’

Since her memory returned, the hardest thing to comprehend had been the Namgoong clanfolk’s attitude.

By her memories, she was someone with no connection to the Namgoong Clan.

Merely an assassin.

Why, then, were they treating her so dearly?

The answer she had settled on was “coaxing.”

Knowing who she really was, the Namgoong Clan was treating her kindly to draw her to their side.

So surely the way Namgoong Cheongun worried over her was false.

‘He worried for me even when I didn’t know who I was?’

Why?

Was their goodwill toward me not a lie?

Whoosh—

In that instant, Namgoong Cheongun rushed at Seolhwa.

He meant to cross blades directly, to keep her from sending another blast.

Ka-kang—! Ka-ang!

His sword was desperate, fierce.

Even knowing she held the advantage in martial skill—

Even knowing that directly crossing blades like this was disadvantageous—

Ka-kang—! Ka-ang!

Namgoong Cheongun did not yield.

He staked his life.

To protect her.

In the end—

Chwaaak—!

“!”

Seolhwa, lost in thought, reacted a beat late to Cheongun’s sword.

The cloth hiding her face split.

“...!”

Namgoong Cheongun’s eyes shook wide as he saw the assassin’s face.

Now that she had shown her face, there was even less reason to let him live.

Tapt— shwiik—!

Taking advantage of Cheongun’s moment of shock, Seolhwa swept her sword at him.

His gaze fixed on the blade scything for him.

On the crimson energy coiling it, on the heavenly qi composing that power.

“....”

Cheongun closed his eyes.

He lowered the hand holding his sword.

His Adam’s apple bobbed once, for the last time.

Shiiiiiik—

At length, Seolhwa’s blade touched his neck.

Shiiiiiik—

Srrrk—

Thud... thud, thud....

Before Seolhwa’s eyes, Namgoong Cheongun’s head dropped to the floor.

[Seolhwa....]

With his last breath, his lips shaped her name.

His eyes held only her.

It was not resentment or hate.

[I love you.]

It was the warm gaze of a father who had searched long and far for his daughter—

And, knowing his daughter was on the wrong path, a sacrifice made in the hope that, even so, she might live.

A death he chose.

Upright—

All at once, Seolhwa’s sword halted.

The crimson-dark energy that had been whirling around the stroke was already gone.

From Cheongun’s nape, where blade met skin, bright blood welled and ran down her edge.

Drip. Drip—

The blood that traveled her blade ran down the guard to her hand, to the floor—drip, drip.

“....”

Cheongun opened his eyes.

In their clear depths, he saw his daughter, tears like hen’s-egg drops rolling down her cheeks.

“......Why.......”

Like a sigh breathed out, like a thin thread of air—

A fragile voice slipped from her lips.

“......Why didn’t you dodge...?”

Her lower lip trembled fine and small, bitten bloodless.

In that brief span, Seolhwa’s face was already stained with tears.

“Why.......”

“I...”

Cheongun lifted the hand that did not hold a sword and cupped Seolhwa’s cheek.

“How could I ever cut you....”

“.......”

“You are the daughter for whom I have wished, all my life, to know no pain. How could I... bring you... pain.”

“.......”

Hhh....

Seolhwa bowed her head.

A stifled sob escaped her.

“Hhhuuk... hic....”

Clang—

The sword she let go clattered down amid the shattered wreckage.

The hand that had held the blade still quivered, steadily.

Cheongun stepped to Seolhwa and gathered his precariously standing daughter into his arms.

“It’s all right. It is not your fault.”

Holding her in his warm embrace, he patted her, soothing her weeping.

“It’s not your fault....”

Hhik—

At last, Seolhwa broke down and cried.

Like a burst dam, the pent-up outrage poured out.

“Daddy— Daddyyy...!”

“It’s all right... Your father is all right....”

Cheongun lifted his gaze to the blue sky where the sun had, before he knew it, risen.

In the distance, he saw his own father, Namgoong Mucheon.

‘Seolhwa will surely keep her promise.’

‘Believe in her and wait.’

Namgoong Mucheon met Cheongun’s eyes and dipped his head.

“Thank you... for coming back....”

Clear tears ran in streams from Cheongun’s eyes as he patted Seolhwa.

“Thank you... Seolhwa....”

For a long time, the two clung to each other and wept.

They were tears that washed away, completely, the long guilt of a daughter who, in a past life, had killed her father with her own hands.

And they were sobs that meant the long wandering of a man who had lost his family and lived on having abandoned everything was now completely ended.

As the two clung to each other and wept aloud, people drew near at the noise.

But the Black Dragon Unit, arriving a step ahead, kept them from approaching.

“...Sir?”

The Chief Steward arched a brow at Seop Mugwang, whose eyes had gone red.

Seop Mugwang rubbed his sniffling nose.

“The Chief Steward is a fool who knows nothing.”

“...What was that?”

“Seolhwa has come back.”

“!”

The Chief Steward’s eyes went round.

“What...!”

He began to rush inside in a panic, but Seop Mugwang caught his arm.

“Do you know?”

“What now!”

“That little runt... is my disciple!”

Seop Mugwang suddenly hauled the Chief Steward into a tight hug and—puh-haaaeng—broke into tears.

“W-what are you doing?!”

The Chief Steward, recoiling in distaste and trying to shake him off, went stock-still at the sound of genuine sniffling.

“My disciple, I tell you....”

“....”

Seop Mugwang’s shoulders shook in tiny tremors.

The Chief Steward let out a small snort of laughter.

“Good grief....”

This tofu of a man.

He’d heard the young lady’s abduction had kept him from sleeping properly.

Instead of pulling people from the Alliance Patrol Unit to search for Seolhwa, he’d taken on all that gap himself, they said.

For fear that, within the Martial Alliance, anyone might speak ill of the Namgoong Clan or the Alliance Lord.

Because of it, he hadn’t even been able to visit Chor Yeon for a while; seeing his face had been hard.

The Chief Steward patted Seop Mugwang, pat, pat, to comfort him.

“Congratulations. I truly envy you.”

He meant it.

It was as if she were a child born straight from his heart.

If he’d known it would turn out like this, perhaps he should have put a bit more sweat into martial training.

Thinking so, the Chief Steward looked up at the blue sky.

A small white cloud drifted by, swimming along.