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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Silverriver
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The story of Dokgo Seong-cheol, the Sword Demon, ended abruptly with his sudden return.
At first, he couldn’t accept reality. His life’s sole purpose had been revenge, revenge, and more revenge.
However, he was eventually forced to accept it. Because in this world, he had a family he’d been separated from fourteen years ago.
Fortunately, his wife and daughter were safe. His youthful wife was now middle-aged, and his small daughter had grown into an adult, but none of that mattered. The fact that he had been reunited with his family rekindled a positive will within Seong-cheol.
And so,
Dokgo Seong-cheol, the Sword Demon, became Baek Seong-cheol, the man.
Six months had passed since his return. During that time, which flew by as he adapted to modern society, Seong-cheol led a relatively happy life.
His swordsmanship school had long since been sold, so he initially worked as a construction worker, utilizing his physical abilities. Then, by chance, another Returnee noticed his sword skills and offered him a position as an instructor at their swordsmanship training center.
Seong-cheol hesitated. Did he, who had wielded a sword fueled by revenge, deserve to hold a sword again?
But his hesitation didn’t last long. The prospects of being an ability instructor were much better than those of an unstable construction worker. Seong-cheol was a father before he was a swordsman, so he made a decision for his family.
His sword was already stained with blood. From now on, he would wield it for the right reasons.
Seong-cheol worked at construction sites during the day and studied at night to obtain an ability use license for instructors.
The pen felt awkward in his hand after decades, but his daughter, who had grown into a fine university student, helped him, and he soon got the hang of it. His wife watched them with a warm smile, preparing late-night snacks every night.
Their life wasn’t luxurious, but it was peaceful and happy.
The flames of revenge that had once burned within Seong-cheol seemed to have finally died down.
However,
Tragedy always strikes without warning.
One day, Seong-cheol, returning home from work as usual, received a call from the police.
His daughter was dead. She was raped and murdered by a Returnee criminal.
The culprit was quickly apprehended, and since it was a Returnee-related crime, the government provided compensation. But none of that mattered.
What mattered was that his precious daughter, Ye-seo, the anchor of his life, was no longer in this world.
And she wasn’t just the pillar of Seong-cheol’s life. During the fourteen years he was gone, his wife, Eun-jeong, had also lived solely for their daughter.
What followed was predictable.
Unable to cope with their daughter’s death, his wife, consumed by memories, eventually decided to become a part of those memories herself.
Seeing his wife hanging, a note left behind apologizing for leaving him, Seong-cheol couldn’t even cry. He had already shed all the tears he had in a lifetime.
Seong-cheol was left empty.
Revenge yields nothing. Restarting his life in his original world, Seong-cheol had realized this. So, he had abandoned revenge, quelled his anger, and returned to his everyday life.
But the world reignited his dormant rage.
He still knew. Revenge yields nothing.
Yes, that was true. But even if it yielded nothing, it wasn’t meaningless.
Because if he couldn’t even cry out for revenge, there was no other way to vent this burning rage.
And so, Seong-cheol once again embraced the life of a Sword Demon.
He began killing criminals in the name of revenge.
But it was also a scream of anguish directed at the world that continued to torment him.
His scream turned into judgment, and that judgment gave him a twisted sense of purpose. He would rid the world of these criminal scum, preventing others from suffering the same fate as him. Under this warped sense of righteousness, Seong-cheol’s killing became even more unrestrained.
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And thus,
-Clang!!
Finally, Seong-cheol’s consciousness, having journeyed from the distant past, arrived back in the present.
His fist and a sword clashed. The opponent before him was an Enforcer, and also quite powerful. He is probably the strongest person he has ever faced.
But Seong-cheol couldn’t focus on him. Lost in thought, reminiscing about the past, he started questioning himself.
What am I doing? Why am I fighting this man? He’s not evil, a criminal, or scum.
-Shing!!
His swordsmanship was sharper than ever. He could feel it.
His talent was constantly blossoming. The experience Dokgo Jang-un had said was necessary to perfect the Dokgo Swordsmanship was rapidly accumulating through this battle.
The completion of his swordsmanship was within reach. But he felt no joy.
What difference would it make now, even if I perfected my swordsmanship? What lies ahead? These questions wouldn’t leave his mind.
-Shing!!
Seong-cheol stopped thinking and swung his sword blindly, desperately pushing aside his doubts and focusing on his sword and his opponent.
Then.
“Enforcer Kwon!!”
“Rookie?!”
A voice from afar. The female Enforcer he had seen earlier was rushing towards them.
Her eagerness had gotten the better of her. Driven by guilt for letting the Sword Demon escape, Lee Ha-yeon had come here hoping to be of help.
But it backfired. Ha-yeon’s appearance distracted Kwon Tae-ho. And the Sword Demon didn’t miss the opportunity.
-Crack!!
“What?!”
A sword ki infused with all of Seong-cheol’s internal energy.
Kwon Tae-ho, about to dodge, remembered Ha-yeon behind him.
Could she dodge if he did? Could she withstand it if she got hit?
Thinking this, Kwon Tae-ho decided to take the sword ki head-on.
-Thwack!!
He reinforced his Force Shield just before impact, but the Sword Demon’s attack was at its peak. Blood trickled from a long gash across his left arm. Ha-yeon cried out, her face pale.
“I-I’m sorry, Enforcer Kwon! It’s my fault…!”
“It’s alright. Just a graze. But it’s dangerous, so stay back.”
Meanwhile, Seong-cheol, who had been swinging his sword in a trance-like state, finally grasped the situation.
He could have easily dodged. But he hadn’t, to protect Ha-yeon. He had effectively taken a hostage in his fight against Kwon Tae-ho.
‘I…’
Reaching that realization, the thoughts he had been suppressing resurfaced.
Why am I wielding this sword?
“…You’re pathetic.”
Kwon Tae-ho spoke.
“Your swordsmanship is impressive. Admirable, even, though you’re my enemy. But that’s why it’s so sad and pathetic. Why would someone with such skill end up like a criminal? It’s frustrating.”
Those words struck a nerve. Seong-cheol yelled in rage.
“Don’t spout nonsense just because you can! What do you know about my life?!”
“Nothing.”
But Kwon Tae-ho was beyond being affected by a criminal’s anger. He was practically enlightened.
“I don’t particularly care why you became a criminal. Knowing wouldn’t change anything.”
However, he could say this much with certainty.
Kwon Tae-ho stepped forward, his battered fists raised.
“You’ll never defeat me with a sword wielded by uncertainty and fueled by blind rage.”
His words cut through Seong-cheol’s current state.
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-Crackle!!
With those words, Kwon Tae-ho unleashed his full power.
Through their fight, he had learned what Seong-cheol’s Dokgo Swordsmanship was all about.
It was a counter-attacking style, reading and exploiting the opponent’s techniques.
‘Then I’ll end this with a blow he can’t counter, even if he sees it coming.’
-Crackle!
Blue electricity crackled around his body. Not satisfied with dedicating all six of his spell slots to Haste, he began burning his excess mana, converting it into kinetic energy.
-Crack.
The very air around him shifted as he assumed his stance. The ambient mana and energy resonated with the power he was emanating, causing the space itself to vibrate.
And then,
-Boom!!
Kwon Tae-ho launched himself forward.
It was, without a doubt, his fastest and most destructive charge yet. Seong-cheol quickly drew his sword.
-Thump.
Just before the clash, time seemed to slow to a crawl for Seong-cheol.
‘I see it.’
Watching Kwon Tae-ho’s attack, Seong-cheol thought,
This blow embodies his entire life.
It was a magnificent strike, but Seong-cheol had captured it perfectly with his eyes.
All that remained was to calculate how to exploit its weakness and swing his sword along the optimal trajectory.
The moment he realized this, Seong-cheol instinctively knew.
This swing would finally complete the essence of the Dokgo Swordsmanship. He was just one step away.
-Thump.
But in that split second, a wave of emotions washed over him, holding him back.
Doubt.
Rage.
Regret.
Remorse.
In short, hesitation.
That hesitation gripped him, preventing him from taking that final step.
Then,
-Boooom!!!
Their techniques collided, and energy exploded outwards. A shockwave rippled through the air, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
“Enforcer Kwon!!”
Ha-yeon cried out in worry.
If Kwon Tae-ho had lost, or worse, died because of her, she would never be able to forgive herself.
“Enforcer Kwooooon!!”
“…Quiet.”
But thankfully, Kwon Tae-ho was alive.
The dust settled, revealing him standing with his fist extended.
A long, X-shaped cut crossed his right arm. Blood, delayed by a beat, began to flow. It was a significant amount, but Kwon Tae-ho simply brushed it off, as if it were nothing.
“W-where’s the Sword Demon…?”
“Over there.”
Kwon Tae-ho pointed. The Sword Demon was slumped against the exterior wall of the building.
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His arms hung limply at his sides, and the sword he had been holding was shattered. His chest, where he had been struck, was caved in, and blood gurgled from his mouth.
“…….”
The outcome was clear. Kwon Tae-ho had won, and the Sword Demon had lost. Lying there, defeated, Seong-cheol analyzed the reason for his loss.
He had clearly seen the attack.
He had seen its weakness.
But he hadn’t been able to create the trajectory to exploit that weakness. Because of a moment of hesitation.
He had been just one step away from a successful counter and the completion of his swordsmanship. Why, at that crucial moment, had he hesitated, preventing him from taking that final step?
‘…Oh.’
Then, he realized.
It wasn’t hesitation. It was a lack of will to move forward.
The Dokgo Swordsmanship was a style that constantly adapted and evolved to counter the opponent’s techniques.
To wield it, one needed an unwavering desire for improvement.
But Seong-cheol, having lost his loved ones twice, lacked that desire.
He had lost everything. So, he had nothing left to lose.
With nothing to lose, he had nothing to protect.
With nothing to protect, there was no reason to become stronger.
And with no reason, there was no will. He could wield his sword with blind obsession and rage, but the moment he began to question himself, his swordsmanship had reached its limit.
“I told you. You couldn’t defeat me with that kind of swordsmanship.”
“So I was wrong?”
Seong-cheol, accepting his defeat, asked Kwon Tae-ho, still unable to fully comprehend.
“In a world overflowing with evil, I lost my loved ones multiple times. How can I live without going mad? What’s so wrong with me, who lost everything because of those scumbags, crying out for revenge…!”
“Stop.”
Kwon Tae-ho shook his head at Seong-cheol’s anguished cry.
“I understand you’re upset after losing, but don’t ask me for the answers to your life. I’m not your life coach or therapist. I can’t give you satisfying answers to such difficult questions.”
“What…?”
“E-Enforcer Kwon…?”
Ha-yeon looked at him, a bit taken aback.
But what else could he say? It was the truth.
Kwon Tae-ho wasn’t eloquent. He wasn’t the type to convert his enemies with inspiring speeches like a comic book hero.
“Damn it, I lost to this…!”
Seong-cheol was beyond disbelief. He felt wronged, his fists trembling. Ha-yeon looked back and forth between Kwon Tae-ho and Seong-cheol, unsure what to do.
“Hmm.”
Kwon Tae-ho considered. It certainly didn’t look good.
Normally, he wouldn’t care about a criminal’s sob story, but Ha-yeon was here. As a senior Enforcer guiding a trainee, he needed to set a good example.
“You asked what’s wrong with clinging to revenge, right?”
He glanced at Seong-cheol to confirm, and it seemed he was more or less correct. Kwon Tae-ho crossed his arms and struck a pose.
“It’s not necessarily wrong. But it’s not right either.”
“Stop with the word games! Then what the hell was I supposed to do?!”
Seong-cheol yelled in frustration at the cryptic answer.
Kwon Tae-ho had effectively invalidated Seong-cheol’s life with this fight. He should at least offer a comprehensible explanation.
Otherwise, Seong-cheol’s frustration wouldn’t dissipate. Seeing his anguish, Ha-yeon couldn’t help but feel sympathy.
But Kwon Tae-ho was different. He didn’t feel sympathy. He didn’t want to.
“Well? I don’t know.”
“Enforcer Kwon.”
Oops. He had let his true feelings slip. Kwon Tae-ho quickly waved his hands.
“No, don’t look at me like that, rookie. In situations like this, pretending to understand only insults the other person. What, am I supposed to say, ‘Don’t dwell on the past, the present and future are what matter’? How infuriating would that be to hear? Of course, he’s clinging to the past because he lost something precious. How annoying would it be to have some stranger, who has no connection to you, lecture you about life?”
“You…”
Kwon Tae-ho had simply spoken his mind, but paradoxically, because it was genuine, his words resonated with Seong-cheol. At least he knew Kwon Tae-ho wasn’t thoughtlessly dismissing his life.
“Anyway, so, uh…”
Kwon Tae-ho wanted to say something comforting, now that he had started. But he couldn’t think of anything profound. Then…
“Oh.”
Kwon Tae-ho’s gaze drifted towards the street below. A faint smile touched his lips.
“But… dwelling on the past isn’t good, you know.”
“Huh? You just said that was the worst thing to say-”
“No, no. What I mean is… take a good look around. See if you’ve really lost everything. Isn’t there at least something, anything, left?”
“What are you-”
Just as Seong-cheol was about to retort,
“Mister!!”
A familiar voice reached his ears.
-Tap tap tap!
Before he could turn his head, Feifei, having run from across the street, knelt beside him, tears streaming down her face.
“Mister…!”
“Feifei? What are you doing here…?”
“I-I’m sorry, Mister! It’s my fault…! I deceived you… I was going to report you… I was so ungrateful… I…”
From Feifei’s rambling apology, Seong-cheol pieced together what had happened. But he didn’t blame her.
He was, in fact, surprised that she would cry so sincerely for him, someone she had only known for a day or two. He had projected the image of his daughters onto her, but to her, he was just…
“Oh.”
Then, Seong-cheol realized. Just as he had done, Feifei had also projected the image of someone precious onto him.
In this strange coincidence, Seong-cheol felt a connection. He also understood what Kwon Tae-ho had been trying to say.
“I see. There is something left.”
Seong-cheol, raising his arm with difficulty, wiped away Feifei’s tears. Feifei clutched his hand, repeating her apologies.
Seeing this, Seong-cheol sighed. Then, he chuckled hollowly.
“I’m such an idiot.”
Revenge was pointless. What mattered wasn’t the past, but the present and the future.
He, the fool, had realized this simple truth only after being consumed by revenge twice.
“Hmm.”
Kwon Tae-ho nodded, seeing Seong-cheol’s reluctant acceptance.
“It’s good that you understand now.”
And so, that day,
The Sword Demon, consumed by revenge, finally returned to being Baek Seong-cheol, the man.
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