Published at 13th of February 2026 4:02 pm

Chapter 395

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Right after the topic of secret manual came up, we exchanged a few more words, and then Chun Hye-In withdrew.

- We'll talk about the secret manual more next time.

Confirmation of existence. This was immediately after she revealed that she knew something about the secret manual.

Chun Hye-In abruptly got up, as if she wanted to end the conversation for now. She looked rather urgent as she left.

"Hm."

Left alone, I tilted my head.

"Secret manual, huh."

To be honest, I hadn't expected her to bring up secret manual. It made sense. Even if Chun Hye-In knew about the secret manual—

'That's some pretty important information.'

It was strange. We were talking about the Sword Saint's secret manual. She somehow got hold of that, and even tried to use it as a bargaining chip.

Furthermore—

'She must have considered the possibility that I'd know.'

Chun Hye-In isn't an idiot. If she knows I'm the Sword Saint's disciple—

She must've guessed that I might also know about the secret manual.

Yet even with that in mind, she tried to use it as leverage in a deal.

'What is she thinking?'

I was genuinely curious about what Chun Hye-In was aiming for.

'Well, I'll leave that aside for now...'

Even if I put the business about the secret manual on hold, there was something more important.

'The matter of Silver Moon Sword and Bow Ghost.'

I recalled what Chun Hye-In was suspicious about.

'Is it true?'

That Silver Moon Sword was a spy for Bow Ghost and the Death King. I didn't quite believe it.

'It just feels odd to call him a spy.'

The evidence she brought was just conjecture.

There were too many strange things to simply take at face value.

To begin with—

'Even the very existence of Bow Ghost is strange.'

That Heaven Beyond Heaven is on bad terms with the Blue Moon Sect—and on top of that—

'The Death King's master is Bow Ghost.'

And that eccentric old man is a disciple of Heaven Beyond Heaven, too.

'It's all tangled up weirdly.'

Creak.

I leaned back against the chair, frowning.

'Bow Ghost, huh...'

What kind of person was he? I'd never really thought it through, which makes this all the more odd.

'Of all times, now...'

And right now, I didn't have Yu Chun-gil to ask. In this situation, another Heaven Beyond Heaven was getting me caught up in something troublesome.

'What should I do?'

As I was puzzling over it—

"Ah."

A thought flashed through my mind. That's right. I didn't have to only ask Yu Chun-gil.

There were plenty of people around who knew about Bow Ghost. After all, there were many survivors from that era still active.

Whether the Sword Emperor, or the Tyrant... or—

'That person, too.'

Someone from that era who had a good relationship with me.

Only one person came to mind.

"Are you asking about the Bow Ghost?"

Ghost Demon.

A man who disguised himself as a woman. A demonic being active in the same era as Heaven Beyond Heaven, and once acted as the strategist for the Demonic Cult.

When I summoned him and asked about the Bow Ghost—

"... Why bring up that crazy bitch...?"

'Huh?'

Ghost Demon showed an unusual reaction. Normally, he carried an unreadable expression, but as soon as I mentioned Bow Ghost, that façade broke.

"... Do you not get along with her?"

A silly question, since as a demonic being, it was obvious he wouldn't get along with others from Heaven Beyond Heaven.

'But it's strange even for that.'

If Ghost Demon reacted so strongly, there must be a reason.

"We didn't have a good relationship."

"I figured as much."

"... If it were someone else, maybe. But especially when it comes to Bow Ghost, it's different."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know how Bow Ghost operated during the war?"

"Not in great detail."

That goes for the other Heaven Beyond Heaven members too.

What little is known—

'Like Yu Chun-gil or the Tyrant.'

Those who harmed Heavenly Demon.

Those who killed Heavenly Demon directly.

That sort of story was mainly passed around, but no one knew the specifics of what other Heaven Beyond Heaven members did.

I had never bothered to find out.

"Bow Ghost is known as an expert of assassination and sniping. But that's not the truth."

"Then what...?"

"Her true role was torture officer."

"Huh?"

A torture officer?

That was completely unexpected.

'... The supposedly most beautiful woman in the world was a torture officer?'

I'd never seen her, but those who had claimed she was breathtakingly beautiful.

And yet, she tortured demonic beings for a living?

'I can't picture it.'

It didn't fit at all.

"If you mean torture, what exactly did she—"

In wartime, torture is not unusual. In a world where good and evil are blurred, torture isn't unthinkable.

'But just how brutal was she?'

For Ghost Demon to despise her this much...

"So is that why you're so wary of Bow Ghost?"

"It's not the only reason... but I imagine almost anyone who met her even once would react the same way."

"... I see."

Ghost Demon's reaction was vivid. I didn't realize it was possible to display such clear aversion.

'Even when discussing Yu Chun-gil, who killed Heavenly Demon himself, he never reacted like that.'

It made me genuinely uneasy that he hated Bow Ghost so much.

'... What kind of person is she?'

Heaven Beyond Heaven, back in the Northern Sea...

Now supposedly back in the Central Plains.

'Tsk.'

A troublesome person.

'Leaving the torture officer bit aside... Why would such a person be involved with the Death King and that old man?'

That old man—just thinking about him was irritating. And a Heaven Beyond Heaven member connected to someone like that? I hated it even more.

If possible, I wanted to avoid any connection at all. A ruined first impression, you could say.

'... Alright.'

I nodded. Best to stay away from Bow Ghost.

As I came to this conclusion—

"If possible, I hope you never have to deal with that damn bitch—I mean, with Bow Ghost."

"Yes, I was just thinking the same."

Absolutely, I should never get involved.

That's what I resolved.

'But something feels off.'

I had a bad feeling. Almost as if my soul was trembling. An anxious energy wrapped around me.

I hate this feeling the most.

As always. Whenever I get this feeling—

'I just know I'm going to get tangled up.'

These ominous premonitions... have a way of being unnecessarily accurate.

* * *

Night had fallen. There wasn't much to do during the day—no training with the Sword Emperor, no lessons with the Small Moon Division leader.

Even my lessons with the Poison Dragon had stopped.

It was because Virtuous Moon Sword had granted me a few days' rest.

'Not that it really feels like rest.'

It'd have been nice just to relax, but I now had homework of my own.

"Haaa..."

I didn't want to sleep. I lay on my bed, sighing.

'It's obvious...'

If I doze off, I'll end up in the Mind Realm again. I knew it instinctively. I scratched my cheek furiously.

'... What should I do?'

There was no answer. I'd been through it before, but—

'That thing was an absolute monster.'

I preferred the ruthless, bloodthirsty Yu Chun-gil of his twenties over the current conniving one.

'His skills are one thing... but there are all these other problems.'

An atmosphere that made it seem utterly impossible to win.

That was the worst part.

'Jeez.'

How many more times would I have to die this time? How many repetitions until I manage to win?

'Still, the saving grace is...'

With each repetition, I'd managed to find a way, somehow.

"Haaa."

I let out another deep breath.

'Whatever this ordeal is...'

Surely there was a reason for it.

Whether it was Yu Chun-gil's doing or something else—I didn't know. But it was always like this.

'There's something to be gained in the Mind Realm.'

There was always something to reap within Yu Chun-gil's mind realm.

That was what I chose to trust.

No matter how much I didn't want to, in the end there was always something to be gained. I decided to rely on that.

Slowly, I closed my eyes.

'Let's go...'

It felt like stepping up to the guillotine. My consciousness faded away.

Ssssss—

* * *

"..."

When I opened my eyes again, the same scenery as before greeted me.

'The grassland.'

A grassland reeking of blood, with corpses splayed everywhere.

The moonlight shining down, and a solitary boulder.

And Yu Chun-gil sitting atop it.

Everything was the same. Not a single thing was different—I clicked my tongue.

'Alright.'

Let's do as I memorized before.

Since I'd already fought once here, I wasn't totally without information.

Clink.

I gripped the sword's hilt. Then looked across at Yu Chun-gil, who sat in the distance.

'... Last time.'

He charged at me first. Remembering that, I settled into a stance.

"Hmm."

Yu Chun-gil noticed me and reacted. I tensed up as I saw it.

'Focus.'

I couldn't afford any miscalculations. It was no different this time—through countless repetitions, I had to seize what I wanted.

Whether that took thousands of times, or tens of thousands—I didn't know.

As I steeled my mind, determination flaring in my eyes—

"We meet again."

"... What?"

Yu Chun-gil spoke, blue eyes glittering.

As he curled his lips in a smile, my body tensed.

'... What the—?'

That was completely unexpected.

* * *

Sssssss—

Late at night, with the moon hidden behind clouds and precious little light trickling down.

As the atmosphere slowly settled into stillness, someone opened their eyes.

Light blue irises shone through a veil, piercing the darkness.

The wind was blowing.

"The weather isn't so good, don't you think?"

A hoarse, burnt voice addressed the woman. She glanced at the hunchbacked old man at her side.

"Really?"

Her tone was soft, and the air grew heavy.

"Seems like perfect weather to me."

It wasn't bad at all. Not hot or cold.

Completely different from the bitter winds of the North Sea.

The woman liked it.

Yes, she loved this land.

Just—

Now it was no longer so.

"Disciple."

At the gruff tone, the hunchbacked old man responded again.

"Yes, master."

"The wind has changed."

"..."

It wasn't a simple comment. As the old man rolled his eyes, searching for the reason—

"That despicable one's disciple is here, isn't he?"

"Ah..."

With those words, the old man understood her meaning.

"That's right."

"They call him Moon Hero, I believe."

Just thinking of that face was enough to turn her stomach.

The disciple of her bitterest foe.

That thing, crawling about on this earth.

"Such a worm."

Ice glittered in the woman's eyes.

Ssshhhhhh—

A cold wave swept over the entire mountain.

Screeeeeeee—

As chill and gloom raged together, the mountain's guardian spirits screamed in unison.

Amid a storm of malice and killing intent—

"I suppose I'll pay a visit."

The woman slowly rose.

A land she hadn't visited in over ten years.

And now, the owner of the snowfields began to move atop it.

For Bang Sung-Yun, it was a most ill omen.

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