That will be enough. (3)

At the thunderous shout, everyone momentarily froze.

Even the swordsmen of Hwasan, who had been struggling to break through the elite forces of the Sun Palace, and the desperate members of Sapaeryeon.

Was it due to wounded pride, or perhaps trampled honor? The Palace Lord’s shout seemed even more desperate than Hwasan, who were on the brink of annihilation.

“You lowly scum! How dare you! Even if hundreds, no, thousands of you come at me, you won’t make me retreat! You will all die here. For daring to defy me and swing your swords, you will be thrown into a thousand-gil abyss! Your bodies won’t even remain in this world!”

Amidst the collapsing cliff and the sound of anguished screams, the Sun Palace Lord’s voice boomed out like a declaration.

“Regret it! Regret over and over again the insolence of you wretches who dared to defy me. And your foolishness in setting foot on this mountain without knowing your place!”

His voice now carried an authority that could only belong to someone standing above others, with a distinct composure that had not been present before. This composure, born from having the upper hand, stirred unease in the hearts of Hwasan’s disciples.

But at that moment, a low chuckle was heard. It was a sound so out of place in this tense and despairing situation that it drew everyone’s attention.

The laughter, coming from a curly-haired swordsman lying sprawled on the ground, echoed as loudly as the Palace Lord’s shout.

“You wretch…”

The Palace Lord’s face flushed with anger. At that moment, the man propped himself up.

“You’re having a lot of fun, huh? For someone so scared you had to resort to explosives.”

“What did you say?”

“Did I say something wrong?”

Casually wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Jo Geol stood up and bared his teeth at the Sun Palace Lord.

“Everyone here clearly saw you whining like a scared dog, begging to set off the explosives as quickly as possible. Now you think you can act all dignified, and people will believe it? Isn’t that right, Sahyeong?”

“Indeed… It’s not exactly a good look, especially for someone of his esteemed status.”

“Right?”

Yoon Jong, chuckling softly, stood next to Jo Geol. As Hye Yeon and Yu Iseol approached to join them, the Sun Palace Lord’s eyes flared with anger.

“You idiots… Are you so stupid that you don’t even understand your situation?”

“We understand it perfectly, you stupid bastard. That’s why we’re doing this.”

“What?”

Jo Geol raised his sword, holding it in a reverse grip. Inside, he sneered.

‘It’s a complete mess.’

His insides were churning. The internal energy of that wretched person was so immense that just clashing with it made his body feel like it was being cooked from the inside out. His head was spinning, and his legs felt weak.

But instead of collapsing, Jo Geol glanced back briefly. The cliff was still crumbling, swallowing up the desperate members of Sapaeryeon as they struggled to survive.

The desperate looks in the eyes of those being consumed by the abyss seemed to forcibly imprint themselves on his mind.

‘It will be over soon.’

The terrifying collapse would soon reach them. Yet, no one dared to step forward. Even the members of Sapaeryeon, who had desperately charged all the way here only to end up fighting against the Sun Palace rather than Hwasan, could do nothing but shift uneasily in their spots, unable to make a move. 

The Sun Palace Lord’s Hot Yang Qigong was that overwhelming. At least at this moment, the word ‘despair’ couldn’t be more fitting.

‘Despair.’

The gazes of everyone, filled with this unfamiliar emotion, converged on one place. Whether they knew Jo Geol or not, in this moment, they all shared the same sentiment. 

Perhaps, at some point in his life, Jo Geol had looked at someone else with the same gaze.

Rumble! 

The inevitable fate approached loudly from behind.

Jo Geol took a deep breath, fixing his gaze on the Sun Palace Lord, and spoke.

“Just one strike, right?”

“Most likely.”

“And if it takes two?”

“We’re all dead.”

“Damn it… You could’ve at least put it nicely. You’re always so cold.”

They couldn’t chip away at the shield bit by bit – they had to break through in one decisive strike. 

One move. 

One step back would mean failure, and that failure wouldn’t just be Jo Geol’s – it would announce the death of all of Hwasan and Wudang as well.

“What’s the chance?”

“…Slim, isn’t it?”

“So, is this the last conversation we’ll ever have in our lives?”

“There’s a high probability of that.”

“Hmm… In that case, there’s something I’ve always wanted to say.”

“If you’re going to spout nonsense, just don’t say it.”

“…”

Jo Geol decided not to say it. Instead, he clicked his tongue.

If they couldn’t pierce through the eye of the needle, they would die…

‘It’s nothing new.’

The path they had walked had always been like this. The only difference now was that Chung Myung and Baek Cheon were no longer in front of them. The path those two had always forged ahead of them was now one he, and the others, had to open.

Jo Geol lowered his stance heavily. Every muscle, every nerve in his body were ready for battle.

Jo Geol’s eyes closed slightly.

‘To be honest… this still feels too soon for me.’

As if understanding its master’s thoughts, the Plum Blossom Sword hummed softly. A deep red energy gathered along the blade. Like a meditating monk, his half-closed eyes sank even deeper into focus.

Vooooom!

The sword in Jo Geol’s hand resonated louder. Everything he had learned, everything he had trained for, was now embodied in the Plum Blossom Sword. All that he had honed throughout his life.

‘I am…’

His hand holding the sword trembled slightly.

Even though he poured everything into this moment, a lingering hesitation and burden remained. An emotion, difficult to shake off, clung to him like glue, holding him back.

Could he really do it? Truly?

His breath became stifled.

The sword hilt, which had felt so familiar for as long as he could remember that he barely noticed it anymore, now felt strikingly distinct. It should have been familiar, but the sudden strangeness of its touch made his fingers tremble.

Can I really do this? Truly, can I…?

Unconsciously, Jo Geol began to turn his head to look back. No, he tried to look back.

Perhaps ‘he’ might be standing nearby, just within reach.

In moments like these, he had always appeared like the wind, breaking down the walls that blocked their way. He had always opened the path for them, their way forward, their chance at survival.

But before Jo Geol could fully turn his head, a calm voice brushed past his ear.

“It’s not behind you. It’s ahead.”

“…”

It wasn’t the person Jo Geol had hoped for. However, the owner of this voice was someone who had always been by his side, no matter what.

“Don’t look back. You just need to keep moving forward.”

The voice wasn’t loud, but it reached Jo Geol clearly.

“I’ll take responsibility. I’ll make sure to open the way, even if I have to throw away my life.”

Jo Geol looked at Yoon Jong.

He seemed utterly unfazed, as if nothing were out of the ordinary. There was no sign of grim determination or unwavering resolve on his face.

Even though he knew they might be facing the last moments of their lives, he didn’t seem to waver. 

The trembling in Jo Geol’s hand gradually subsided. After a moment of silence, he let out a small chuckle.

“Weakling.”

“You’ll get a good beating if you keep that up.”

The tension on Jo Geol’s face slowly eased as well. He shook his head slightly and fixed his gaze on the Sun Palace Lord.

Pressing his foot firmly against the ground, he thought to himself.

In truth, he didn’t know.

Chung Myung’s vision of the future, Baek Cheon’s beliefs he spoke of, Yoon Jong’s sense of justice… they all felt somewhat distant to him. He admired Yu Iseol’s blind determination and Hye Yeon’s steadfastness, but he couldn’t fully connect with them in his heart.

However, there was one thing he did understand. The world they saw was probably much clearer than the one he perceived. Compared to their world, his own was likely just a hazy, fog-covered place, full of ambiguity.

While they each found and forged their own paths, his path always seemed blurry.

It was probably because he was lacking. Lacking in resolve, conviction, in sense of justice, and warmth.

That’s why he couldn’t decide anything on his own. He had only struggled to maintain his place. Perhaps he was the only one in Hwasan who was so uncertain.

But there was one thing…

“You promised.”

Even so, there was something. A single light that quietly illuminated his dark path.

Jo Geol simply believed. He believed in the man standing behind him. Even if he couldn’t find the right path in this blurred world, he trusted that this man would inevitably find the ‘righteousness’ he believed in.

‘So that’s what it was.’

Jo Geol murmured to himself, recalling something he had heard long ago, something that perhaps even he had forgotten.

“I am… a sword.”

He couldn’t be sure of what was right. He couldn’t be certain of the path he walked. But he could believe in the righteousness of those who stood beside him.

And so, he was a sword. A sword that wouldn’t cut on its own, but when held, could be sharper than anything else.

Letting go of doubt was only possible under the weight of unwavering belief.

‘So, this is what it was.’

In the midst of the blurry, scattered world Jo Geol had always seen, a small point of clarity emerged.

It was faint and insignificant. Just a tiny speck for now.

But the moment this small focal point appeared, the world Jo Geol saw began to take on a uniform color. Not just the world, but his body, his mind, and even the sword in his hand started to be colored by it.

“You wretch!”

Was it instinct that made the Sun Palace Lord sense something? Or was it just a coincidence?

Suddenly, an immense force burst from the Sun Palace Lord’s hands. A storm-like pressure surged towards Jo Geol.

The heat and intense pressure were overwhelming – something that no mere sword could hope to counter.

At that moment, a sharp light flickered in Jo Geol’s previously unfocused eyes.

Boom!

He wasn’t even aware that his feet had left the ground.

In that moment, Jo Geol’s body, mind, and energy united as one. He became a single blade, extending towards the overwhelming force, towards the Sun Palace Lord standing beyond it.

‘I am…’

To advance is to confront, and to confront is to face head-on.

The world had never been clearer, yet Jo Geol’s consciousness didn’t linger on that clarity.

There were only two things his mind focused on now.

One was the enemy behind that dreadful flame.

The other was the steady breath he could hear just behind him – the breath of the person who believed in him and had plunged into this inferno without hesitation.

‘A sword is…’

Jo Geol’s eyes hovered on the boundary between clarity and ambiguity, sinking deeply into a distant focal point.

‘…just something that cuts.’

Swish.

His sword was swung. His hand swung. No, it was as if he himself was being swung.

The line he traced wasn’t clean. It was rough and unrefined, far from the precision of a seasoned swordsman putting all his strength into a strike.

Yet, the line faithfully cut through.

The wall that had stood before him, the one that had threatened them and seemed impossible to cut through, was now cleaved apart.

The fierce, searing crimson flames, which had once roared so violently, split in two as if they were nothing more than flowing water naturally diverging into separate streams. It was so effortless that it appeared as though this outcome had been predetermined.

It was an impossible sight.

Through the parted flames, Jo Geol’s half-closed eyes met the shocked and trembling gaze of the Sun Palace Lord.

And in that instant, Jo Geol’s sword…

No, Jo Geol himself pierced through. He drove straight into the wall named ‘despair’ that had stood in his way.

A dull, bone-chilling sound echoed.

Crunch.

Under the weight of the iron sword, Jo Geol plunged it into the Sun Palace Lord’s chest.