“Puhaha!”

I am super strong!

Super duper strong!

Narin, feeling great, put her hands on her waist, bent her back, and laughed.

She clearly only used the Plum Blossom Sword Technique, and couldn’t remember using Sammaejinhwa, but who cares.

‘The monster was completely burned up!’

Well, maybe it’s because her internal energy increased drastically. It’s natural that punching harder makes it hurt more, right?

Narin organized her thoughts roughly like that and hopped over to Hwaryeon.

“Elder sister! Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Huh? Ah… No. I’m not.”

“I knew it!”

Hwaryeon could only give a dazed smile while looking at Narin who was laughing heartily with a “Puhaha!”

It was because it felt completely unreal.

The monster of an indescribable form that suddenly appeared through the collapsed stone wall, and that monster vanishing at the hands of a child not even ten years old.

‘Everything feels like a dream. Even if I report to the Lady, she won’t believe it.’

Hwaryeon’s thoughts turned to Lady Jeon Si-yeol who had told her to guard Narin, and she smirked.

Who was supposed to guard whom?

Narin was the strongest person Hwaryeon had actually seen.

“You’re really strong.”

“Hehe. That’s right.”

Narin spun her sword around as if showing off.

Even though it looked like she was just swinging it around randomly, the lines the sword drew were smooth and beautiful, indicating that she had not haphazardly trained her martial arts.

“Let’s go now. Elder sister, you know the way, right?”

“Yeah. It should be this way.”

Hwaryeon tried to get up lightly but plopped back down as strength left her legs.

“Ah… Why am I like this. Just a moment.”

It seemed that dealing with the monster was more taxing than she thought.

After collapsing several times, Hwaryeon’s face turned into a frown from embarrassment.

Narin, who had been watching, crouched down with her back turned to Hwaryeon.

“Piggyback.”

“Piggyback, what do you mean…!”

Hwaryeon felt momentarily embarrassed, but changed her mind upon recalling Narin’s martial arts.

Excluding the awkwardness and unease of being piggybacked by a little kid, it was a rational choice since Narin didn’t know the way and Hwaryeon couldn’t walk.

“…Alright. I’ll hold the sword.”

“Okay.”

Narin was pleased that Hwaryeon didn’t have unnecessary pride as she handed over the sword.

But the moment the sword’s hilt touched Hwaryeon’s palm.

“Ahhh!”

“Elder sister! Are you okay?”

“Ah, yeah. I’m fine.”

She said she was fine, but there was a bright red burn mark on Hwaryeon’s palm in the shape of the sword’s hilt.

‘Does it burn others’ hands when they hold it?’

She thought it wasn’t an ordinary sword, but…

‘I thought it was a famous sword, but I didn’t know it was a demonic sword.’

Narin bit her lower lip and raised her head to speak to Hwaryeon.

“I’m sorry. I was careless.”

“No. You didn’t know.”

Hwaryeon replied with composure, but there was cold sweat on her forehead.

“Let’s hurry. You need to get treatment quickly.”

Narin held the fallen sword’s hilt in her mouth and crouched down.

It meant to get on her back.

Hwaryeon got on Narin’s back as gently as possible, as if worried about being too heavy. But Narin’s strength stat was a whopping 560. It was not a level for Hwaryeon to worry about.

Narin, who straightened her waist as if carrying a light bundle, hopped along.

“Mmph mmph! Mmrph!”(Tell me if I go the wrong way!)

“What?”

“Mmrph! Mmrph mmph!”(I said tell me if I go the wrong way!)

“Hmm.”

Hwaryeon thought hard about what Narin might be trying to say right now and spoke.

“You’re saying to tell you if you take the wrong path since you’ll go on your own?”

“Mmph!”

Narin’s noticeably brightened expression told Hwaryeon that her interpretation was correct.

“Got it. First, straight ahead…”

As Hwaryeon stretched out her hand and began to give directions.

Rustle.

At the subtle but uncanny presence, the hair on the back of Narin’s neck stood up.

Like someone venturing out alone at dawn, carefully stepping on untrodden white snow.

A chilling presence that leaves a clear trace while being secretive.

Rustle.

“Mmph!”(Catch it!)

“Huh? What?”

“Mmph mmph!”(I said catch it!)

The next moment, Narin’s body soared high.

Even if Hwaryeon didn’t understand what she meant, there was no time to hesitate.

Because the flesh of the monster, believed to have been annihilated, had transformed into a shadow-like black liquid and was chasing after Narin’s ankles as she leapt into the air, as if it would grab her at any moment.

[This is the timeline separator]

That’s the nature of liquids.

One drop, then another drop. The boundary between one’s own and others’ becomes ambiguous, merging and separating, gathering strength and dispersing, digging into the ground to make a path, and even shattering rocks.

That’s why there’s the saying about cutting water with a knife.

Because no matter how much you slice and cut, it easily merges back together.

‘It’s really dirty.’

She felt a hollow sensation as if wind was entering her lower dantian.

‘At this rate, I’ll only waste my internal energy.’

Narin made a resolution along with her tired breath.

“Elder sister! Are you okay?”

Narin’s question was directed at Hwaryeon, who was barely hiding her body behind a stalagmite.

Hwaryeon checked the burning pain in her palm and her legs that seemed to collapse whenever she put her feet on the ground, then calmly lied.

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

“Then go call someone!”

“And leave you alone?”

“I’m strong, you know!”

As if to prove the words she just uttered, Narin gathered her energy with a “Heup!” and scattered crimson sword energy.

Then, the sticky liquid pieces of the monster burst like black bubbles, one after another with a “Pababang!”

The foul stench emanating from the black liquid dripping on the ground was awful.

“You’re the one who knows the way. To be honest, it’s tiring to fight while protecting you.”

“…!”

It would be a blow to Hwaryeon’s pride to hear that. Even if she was young, she was also a martial artist.

But then, was there anything wrong with what Narin said?

‘No.’

Hwaryeon bit her lower lip in pain.

It may be a heartless thing to say, but her current unwillingness to leave Narin alone was just petty pride. Or rather, it could be called selfishness. Perhaps it could even be called hypocrisy or arrogance.

‘I’m a burden.’

Then at least let her be a burden that disappears on her own feet.

Hwaryeon’s legs, which had been trembling with fear until just now, were more steadfast than ever.

“Which person should I ask for help from?”

Narin thought for a moment, rolling her eyes, then replied.

“If possible, someone on the level of a Dharma Protector.”

“So Sword Sage level won’t do.”

No way.

Narin assessed the fight with the monster based on her previous life’s standards.

‘If there’s no special destruction method… I think having a lot of internal energy is the best bet.’

Judging from the experience of slicing the monster as large as a hill right before, the attack that was actually effective was not the Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

‘The answer is probably Sammaejinhwa.’

The idea came from the fact that even if all the monster’s flesh pieces currently surrounding and attacking Narin were gathered into one lump, it would not reach the huge size from before.

“I’ll be back.”

“You don’t have to come back, Elder sister.”

“…Okay. Thank you.”

Hwaryeon smiled faintly, lifting the corners of her mouth.

At a glance, it sounded like a blunt order to leave, as if saying ‘don’t come back since you’re a burden’, but Hwaryeon noticed the hidden meaning of ‘don’t come back and get your hand treated’.

“May fortune be with you.”

With those final words, Narin watched Hwaryeon’s back as she dashed towards the exit and thought.

‘Fortune, huh.’

It was something she needed anyway.

Whirrr! Chak!

The moment Narin’s blade spun rapidly like a whirlwind and settled in place, a bright pink light began to emanate from her entire body.

“Hey. Monster. Prepare yourself.”

If one had to specify, it was Protective Energy.

Or perhaps the spark of Sammaejinhwa burning her whole body.

“I’ll burn you all to ashes!”

Kaboom!

The moment Narin thrust her sword, an explosion-like boom resonated and a pillar of bright pink flames erupted from the tip of the blade.

Then, the flames of Sammaejinhwa spread out fiercely as if swallowing the surrounding air in an instant, charring the inner walls of the cave black.

Enough to completely incinerate the persistent pieces of the monster’s flesh that had been gnawing at Narin.

“Huh? What the?”

Narin scratched her head in embarrassment.

It was too grandiose to be called Sammaejinhwa released with the energy she had barely gathered after using it all up.

‘Did I still have the habit of gauging with the standards from two lifetimes ago?’

Well. My internal energy suddenly doubled, so that could be the case.

But… this can’t be, can it?

“Why won’t it go out?”

Narin’s eyes gradually turned upward, filled with the bright pink light.

The flames of Sammaejinhwa, swirling like a dragon and rising vertically in a long line, were spreading wider and wider.

‘The fuel for Sammaejinhwa is a person’s internal energy.’

In this case, it should be Narin’s internal energy. However, Narin’s lower dantian, which she checked by touching her lower abdomen, was exposed like a rice field that hadn’t seen rain for two years.

Then, what the hell was that fire burning?

“Could it be…”

Narin’s hand moved from the lower dantian in her lower abdomen, past the middle dantian in her heart, and further up.

To the upper dantian, in her head.

‘I’m screwed.’

Narin scrunched up her face, made a frown, and shouted.

“Mary, I don’t know how to use this!”

[This is the timeline separator]

Ju Narin.

That was the only thought in Dokgo Cheon’s mind.

Just as a traveler crossing the desert yearns for water, Dokgo Cheon was thirsty for Narin’s existence.

The longer he was separated from Narin, the more he felt his emotions growing numb.

‘The spring I barely reawakened.’

He didn’t want to become a breathing corpse that couldn’t feel anything again.

As soon as he had that thought, Dokgo Cheon was grateful that he could still feel the emotion of ‘dislike’.

“Was it around here?”

Dokgo Cheon’s figure, which had been gliding through the night sky, abruptly stopped in midair.

There were quite a few masters who could run on grass or water, known as grass-stepping and water-stepping, but right now there was literally nothing under Dokgo Cheon’s feet.

Treading the Void Path.

It was a lightness skill befitting an absolute being.

‘If there’s one more sound, I can definitely tell… that light is!’

Dokgo Cheon’s eyes flashed open.

The faint bright pink hue seeping out from under the shadows between the layers of fallen leaves.

Not red, not crimson, and definitely not purple.

Dokgo Cheon had only seen one person in his life with such energy.

“Ju Narin!”

Boom!

Dokgo Cheon plummeted to the ground like a meteor, creating a circular crater with a 1 li radius around him, and that single impact created cracks throughout the entire rocky terrain.

Rumble! Crack!

In an instant, the entire ground cracked like an egg hatching, and bright pink heat began to seep out through the cracks.

As if a dam had burst.

“What’s going on?”

Gong Son Wu, who arrived late, asked a question that implicitly meant ‘What did you do?’ So Dokgo Cheon shook his head.

“It wasn’t me.”

“Then what’s all this chaos?”

The answer revealed itself before the question even ended.

A pillar of bright pink flames erupted through the weakened ground due to Dokgo Cheon’s strike.

“Ugh!”

Sparks flying in all directions and a radiance that made it difficult to even open one’s eyes. Even the heat pushing out from the entire body.

‘Did a volcano erupt or something?’

It wasn’t unreasonable for Gong Son Wu to have such a thought.

At least, it was hard to imagine that it was Sammaejinhwa created by a person.

“…! Where are you going!”

“Inside.”

Dokgo Cheon expressionlessly stretched out his arm and pointed inside the pillar of fire.

“Ju Narin is there.”

“Narin is? No, wait!”

Regardless of Gong Son Wu’s surprise, Dokgo Cheon moved his steps into the pillar of fire without hesitation.

Because the one running out of time was none other than himself.

‘I have to hurry.’

Before his heart turns to stone.

Gong Son Wu’s eyes were filled with confusion and dejection as he looked at the empty spot where Dokgo Cheon had thrown himself into the pillar of fire without giving him a chance to stop him.

“Ah Cheon…”

Dokgo Cheon’s words that he wouldn’t be living without Narin lingered in his ears.

Gong Son Wu clenched and unclenched the fist he had failed to reach out, trying to calm his mind.

“Yeah. What’s the point of saving just the body.”

And he sat down and took out the wine bottle hanging from his waist.

Knowing that waiting was the best thing to do in this situation. But also knowing that waiting with a sober mind would be too upsetting.

“My lord, may fortune be with you.”

After a short toast, Gong Son Wu gulped down the burning liquor in one go.