Oscar couldn’t move. The impact had paralyzed his brain.
‘…He didn’t see it coming at all…’
An absurd tension floated in the air.
‘Even at supersonic speeds, I can react.’
Kang Geom-Ma was moving at subsonic speed.
No wonder his earlobes burned. As expected, the frictional heat in the air had scorched his ears.
‘That guy… is he even a hero like us?’ More than that, was he even human?
“U-Uuuuuh…”
The tension quickly turned into terror. Although Oscar regained composure fast, the Royal Guard members seemed to have lost the connection between mind and body.
“Aaaaaaaaah!”
Samseok let out a scream halfway between a battle cry and a shriek as he charged with his mace.
Kang Geom-Ma dodged the heavy metal ball with just a slight tilt of his neck. The ball returned instantly, with its blessing activated, now lined with deadly spikes.
Whoooosh!
But just as the ball aimed for his nape, Kang Geom-Ma slid into the arms of the one who had launched it.
He was fast.
So fast no one could follow. Every move left only a trail. The space itself trembled. His every action distinctly different from that of any ordinary human.
Clank-clank-clank!
He placed the edge of the sashimi blade against the mace’s chain. A hard metallic clang rang out. The chain coiled as if wrapping around a thin blade. While Samseok could only utter a confused “Huh?”, Kang Geom-Ma pressed the sashimi down and retrieved the mace.
And in the next instant, that muscular shoulder of his was smoothly crushed.
Slash!
With a fleeting slicing sound, Samseok’s eyes lost all focus.
From his head to his crotch, red foam slowly bubbled out and spread.
“Kh… Kh… Hyaaaack…!”
A cry of agony.
Shrrrip!
Samseok’s body split cleanly in half. Blood sprayed out from between the two halves in a twisted arc before collapsing.
Horror.
“…”
Terror.
“…”
Silence.
People die.
But they don’t want to die that easily. That’s why the Royal Guards trained day and night, sacrificing their youth.
“What are you waiting for?”
Kang Geom-Ma spoke with a dark gaze.
Drip, drip.
Drops of blood fell from the tip of his sashimi blade.
“Come all at once. There’s no hope if you attack one by one.”
It was sincere advice. Though not without provocation, in a fit of frustration, Kang Geom-Ma opted to offer a fairer option.
“…You…!”
The Royal Guard took it the wrong way.
They all gritted their teeth and charged. After all, weren’t they inside a temporary subspace?
‘Even if we die… so be it…’
— Attack!
That impulse was, quite literally, pulverized with a single slash.
One of the guards charged. He was a hero blessed with neural acceleration.
Recruited specifically for his exceptional speed.
Tap.
Kang Geom-Ma took a tiny step back. Too short to even call a dodge.
Boom!
A dull thud. Kang Geom-Ma’s knee sank into the guard’s belly button.
As the soldier felt his stomach twist in pain, he turned his head with difficulty.
“Right on the escape route.”
Kang Geom-Ma’s eyes reflected nothing but shadow.
“There’s no turning back from that.”
The slash fell. It wasn’t cruel.
The guard became red dust in an instant.
Whoosh!
Crossbows. Not one, but several.
Kang Geom-Ma slightly tilted his head. He dodged almost all of them, but one came from a tough angle.
Crack.
“Hmm…”
So he bit down on the arrow shaft. His jaw tightened slightly and crack, it snapped.
Kang Geom-Ma spat out the splinter and turned his eyes. The crossbow user stood stunned.
“A Royal Guard attacking from behind…? Isn’t your discipline a bit lax?”
“…!!”
Kang Geom-Ma made a light leap. As if drawn by electricity, static energy clung to his body.
It was the result of forcibly slowing down, and even then, this was his speed reduced. Had he not slowed down, he’d have wiped out the entire Royal Guard in under a second.
“Remember this.”
He whispered like advice. So close his words seemed to pierce the corneas of those who had fired.
“Heroes aim forward, not at the back.”
“…!”
“When everyone’s running away with their backs turned, at least we should move forward.”
With that, his sashimi traced a silver arc in the air. The crossbow users saw Kang Geom-Ma upside down as they fell. Thud, their vision blurred as their skulls hit the floor.
Kang Geom-Ma kept breathing normally. Still in peak form. He gave them no chance to breathe and pressed on.
“H-Heek!”
The next target dropped his weapon unintentionally. His hand was drenched in sweat, trembling uncontrollably.
“U-uaaaaaah!”
He threw a punch. Kang Geom-Ma kept his speed while raising his sashimi. From the fist to the gallbladder, he sliced effortlessly.
Crunch!
The sashimi pierced the temple and protruded from the opposite side of the skull. Needless to say, it was an instant death. Kang Geom-Ma kicked the chest to retrieve his sashimi. At that moment, half the minute had passed.
“30 seconds left…”
He murmured, wiping his cheek with his thumb.
“If I take out ten every ten seconds, I should make it, right?”
“…?!”
Kang Geom-Ma said it—and did it.
BOOM.
A body flew skyward. Dust and fragments fell from the ceiling, and the body collapsed like a sprawled frog. The Royal Guard was being annihilated without landing a single effective blow.
“Ah…”
Oscar stood frozen, listening to his subordinates’ screams. He was the first to regain composure.
But for that reason, he also experienced the greatest emotional collapse. Like a stone, he remained motionless, witnessing the scene of carnage.
Oscar was a warrior-class hero.
From a young age, he had met all expectations and walked a bright path as a future prospect. Since his Joaquin Academy days, he’d stood out, and upon graduation, devoted himself wholly to the imperial family.
As Commander of the Royal Guard. Serving the oldest, most prestigious family in human history.
Naturally, Oscar hadn’t formed a strong personal conviction.
At first, he considered making a fortune at a hero agency, but over time, his loyalty to the imperial family hardened.
The more his devotion grew, the more solid his position became. His life, in many ways, was honorable and fulfilling. But—
Oscar wanted something “greater.”
He was convinced he shouldn’t remain stuck as just a Royal Guard commander.
‘To reach my ambition, I must remove obstacles one by one.’
And the immediate obstacle was none other than Princess Victoria. She was first in line to the throne.
For the person backing Oscar from the shadows, Victoria was like a thorn in the side.
Oscar personally held no grudge. If anything, he liked her.
Victoria was firm and sharp.
She may have seemed arrogant at first glance, but she often showed surprising depth and generosity toward servants.
She was the perfect image of a sovereign. But precisely because of that, enemies cropped up everywhere.
She had no weaknesses. So those who sought to bring her down had to resort to extreme measures.
‘Princess, your only sin is being too capable,’ thought Oscar.
‘I have nothing against you.’
But he did have something against her tutor.
“Heavenly Sword… Kang Geom-Ma…”
A hero who rose to fame while Oscar was dedicating himself to the imperial family.
As a mere teenager, he rose to the rank of Seven Stars, and later was hailed as the great hero who ended the Second Human-Demon War.
And throughout his cadet years, he was scorned for his humble origins. Ironically, that became a key part of the myth built around him.
Oscar was furious.
‘While I wasted time here…’
Kang Geom-Ma had risen to a status comparable to—or greater than—the emperor.
In short, Oscar was jealous of Kang Geom-Ma.
Among high-ranking heroes, similar complaints existed. Still, most kept quiet. None took action.
Because Kang Geom-Ma was a monster. They knew even united, they couldn’t stop him. It was common sense—unless you lived under a rock.
But Oscar and the Royal Guard weren’t like that. With their insular culture, they stayed only within the imperial circle.
Even if they’d seen him on video, they’d never experienced Kang Geom-Ma’s power firsthand.
Ignorant of the outside world, the Royal Guard had judged him:
‘Hmm… Is that all he’s got?’
That was their assessment. And now they were paying for it horribly.
Oscar suffered the most—physically and mentally. The confidence he’d built collapsed like a sandcastle, dragging public humiliation with it.
Even his original goal—“Wake the nobles and unite them”—was shattered.
Of course, nothing was recorded. But beyond that, they realized even united, they couldn’t rival Kang Geom-Ma.
Grrrggh…
The last Royal Guard member lay face down in his own blood.
“…Haa.”
Kang Geom-Ma exhaled warmly and turned toward Oscar.
“Do you know what the best decision of my life has been?”
Watching his master’s back, Choi Seol-Ah suddenly asked Shail. She replied coldly:
“Joining the academy?”
“That was necessity. Not the best choice.”
“I see.”
“…Aren’t you going to ask what it is?”
“Sorry, not really interested.”
Choi Seol-Ah and Shail were always engaged in a subtle war of nerves.
Both served Kang Geom-Ma’s wives.
Though the main wives had a cordial understanding, their aides remained divided. That’s why Choi Seol-Ah, Ryozo’s secretary, and Shail, Abel’s maid, radiated tension between them.
Choi Seol-Ah clicked her tongue and eventually spoke.
“Choosing to stand by him.”
“…”
“Devoting my life to him. That’s one of the best decisions I’ve made. Gosh, I’m really lucky…”
“Good for you. But I’ve always wondered… why do you call him ‘sir’?”
Boom!
“T-That… it doesn’t mean much.”
“Isn’t that how you address a master?”
“B-because Heavenly Sword used to be my master!”
“…Excuse me?”
Choi Seol-Ah began to ramble.
“You know… in a man-woman way, that kind of thing…”
“…”
Shail flinched and tried hard to hide her reaction.
‘They say heroes like women…’
With curious eyes, she scanned Choi Seol-Ah from head to toe.
‘Seems his standards aren’t as high as I thought…’
Shail smirked mysteriously.
As they chatted, the purple subspace barrier began to fade. The time limit approached.
Oscar noticed too, and made his final desperate strike at Kang Geom-Ma. He gripped his weapon with brutal force.
“…Oh, please…”
Choi Seol-Ah and Shail shook their heads in pity.
Slash.
The great sword, unintentionally, split in two. Oscar stood dumbfounded, staring alternately at the hilt and the blade.
In that instant, his vision blurred in multiple layers. The bottom edge of the sashimi blade struck his jaw like a gust of wind.
Thud!
Oscar fell flat on his back. Kang Geom-Ma had taken him down with a sweep of the leg.
“Get up.”
Oscar was stunned. His attempt at resistance had failed as if following a predetermined script. Whether warrior-class or even super-warrior-class, in that situation, he couldn’t help but succumb.
“Haa.”
Kang Geom-Ma kicked the weapon. Spinning in the air, the great sword landed at Oscar’s feet.
“Pick it up.”
“I-I can’t…”
“I said pick it up.”
Kang Geom-Ma tilted his head slightly, and Oscar flinched instantly. Using the weapon as a cane, he slowly got back on his feet.
Clang!
A single strike. The sword flew like a propeller and embedded itself in the wall.
“Again.”
“W-what’s wrong with you? Why are you doing this?”
Oscar looked down. He felt a burning on his clavicle. Hanging right in front of his sternum was a 30% discount tag. It was the sashimi blade from Daiso.
“Gyaaaaaaaah!”
“If you’ve got time to scream, use it to pick that up.”
“Why… why me?”
Oscar raised his face from the ground in a posture of submission.
“Look around. The subspace is already over.”
“Exactly! That’s exactly why I’m objecting!”
“Hahaha…”
Oscar shouted in frustration.
And Kang Geom-Ma let out a short laugh.
“You interpret things differently than I do.”
Suddenly, his face turned emotionless, as if he had never smiled. In that moment, Oscar’s entire body broke out in goosebumps.
“I told you to look around.”
“…!”
If I don’t grovel, this guy’s going to—
“I knew it already.”
Choi Seol-Ah rubbed her chin with a satisfied air.
“I told you I picked the best side possible.”
Kang Geom-Ma spoke with a voice so sharp it felt like it could cut skin.
“If you can’t understand your mistake, you’ll suffer until you do.”
Oscar’s face froze. Only then did he understand—after paying a steep price.
The sky he believed the emperor had reached was nothing but a tiny hole at the bottom of a well.
‘A sky above the sky.’
That was the world where Heavenly Sword belonged.
____
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