WeTried Translations

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◈ The Heaven-Slaying Sword ◈

Chapter 5: Chapter One - Childhood (4)

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"I'll help."

Ma Il-seok said when he returned to the thatched cottage.

Mok Seon-o blinked at his awkward expression.

He could not understand it. Only moments ago, Ma Il-seok had angrily insisted that he had no desire to help. Yet now, he had changed his mind entirely.

Mok Seon-o thought for a moment.

In the end, all he did was smile.

"Thank you."

What else mattered when his younger brother had changed his mind and come to him like this?

* * *

At last, all three of them had gathered in one place.

Mok Ri-won blinked at Mok Seon-o's smiling face and Ma Il-seok's sullen one.

Then Ma Il-seok spoke.

"From today on, this Beggar King will assist with your training."

Though he delivered it as a formal announcement, Mok Ri-won broke into a bright smile.

"Really?!"

Ma Il-seok flinched.

He had tried to put on an imposing air, only for the boy to greet the news with such delight. He immediately felt awkward.

But the feeling did not last long.

Ma Il-seok hardened his expression again and continued.

"Yes. There are far too many strange things about your nature."

"Strange things?"

"Do you know what star you were born under?"

Mok Ri-won nodded.

"The Heavenly Slaughter Star!"

"Then do you know why that star is called the star of a killing fiend?"

Mok Ri-won had been about to answer, but he suddenly froze and closed his mouth.

Come to think of it...

He did not know much about that.

Even Mok Seon-o, who had told him about the Heavenly Slaughter Star, had only explained it vaguely. He had said that those born beneath it carried a fate of slaughter.

As Mok Ri-won fell silent, Ma Il-seok sighed and muttered,

"I knew it..."

His dissatisfied gaze shifted to Mok Seon-o.

Mok Seon-o cleared his throat, answering with his eyes as though making an excuse.

"I planned to tell him when he was older."

"I'm sure you would have, Brother."

"Urgh..."

Ma Il-seok turned back to Mok Ri-won and resumed in a stern voice.

"Listen."

"Yes!"

"The reason the Heavenly Slaughter Star is called the star of a killing fiend is simple."

Step.

Ma Il-seok took a step forward.

Mok Ri-won swallowed hard and looked up at him.

Ma Il-seok's hardened gaze held a trace of coldness.

The pressure coming from him was greater than anything Mok Ri-won had ever felt.

"Those born beneath the Heavenly Slaughter Star possess a certain peculiar trait."

As he spoke, Ma Il-seok drew a dagger from his robes.

Then he placed the blade against his palm.

"A peculiar trait?"

"Yes."

Mok Ri-won did not know what Ma Il-seok intended to do, but he had a feeling it would not be pleasant.

He was right.

Ma Il-seok glared at Mok Ri-won with a grave gaze as he answered, then drew the dagger across his palm.

Slice.

"At the sight of blood, they are swept up in excitement."

Red blood began to fill Mok Ri-won's vision.

At that moment, he felt it.

Thump.

His heart pounded heavily. Heat rose through his body, along with a thrilling sensation he had never felt before.

* * *

Mok Ri-won opened his eyes beneath a full moon shining over the night sky.

He stared blankly at the ceiling of his room. Then he remembered what had happened before he fell asleep and jolted upright.

Master!

This was what he remembered.

The moment that red, metallic-smelling liquid had filled his vision, his heart had begun to pound and a strange thirst had risen within him.

His insides had burned so fiercely that even breathing had been difficult. He could not take his eyes off Ma Il-seok's bleeding palm.

So he had lunged at Ma Il-seok.

Mok Seon-o had stopped him.

Remembering everything at last, Mok Ri-won rushed from his room.

"You're awake?"

Mok Seon-o had been gazing at the night sky from the yard outside.

His calm tone made it sound as though nothing had happened, and Mok Ri-won instinctively shrank back.

"Master...?"

"How do you feel?"

How did he feel? Of course he was fine.

He had to be.

When he lunged at Ma Il-seok, Mok Seon-o had stopped his attempted bite with his forearm.

Mok Ri-won's gaze fell on Mok Seon-o's left forearm.

Noticing it, Mok Seon-o smiled.

"I'm fine."

His voice was gentle.

For some reason, tears welled up in Mok Ri-won's eyes at the sound of it.

"Why are you crying?"

Mok Seon-o came over and stroked his head.

Mok Ri-won's throat tightened, and his body trembled.

"Master..."

"Yes. I'm here."

Pat.

Pat.

Mok Seon-o drew Mok Ri-won into an embrace and patted his back.

Mok Ri-won gasped between hiccups and spoke again.

"Am I going to become a demonic practitioner...?"

He was afraid.

What had happened that day had shocked him so deeply that he feared he would do something terrible every time he saw blood.

"Can't I become a martial hero?"

Ma Il-seok had said so.

Those born beneath the Heavenly Slaughter Star became excited at the sight of blood.

That was why it was called a star that carried slaughtering calamity wherever it went.

It was true.

Even in the grip of fear, Mok Ri-won's heart pounded whenever he thought of blood.

It was thrilling and frightening at once. The thought that he might live this way for the rest of his life filled him with anxiety.

Seeing Mok Ri-won on the verge of tears, Mok Seon-o felt as though his insides were burning.

How could he not understand?

This child was so gentle that he could not bear to ignore even a rabbit caught in a trap. Mok Seon-o knew how terrifying such a trait would be to him.

In truth, Mok Seon-o did not welcome Ma Il-seok's method.

Its purpose, to shock the boy into caution, was sound. But he could not shake the feeling that it had frightened the child before anything else.

Mok Seon-o hugged Mok Ri-won tightly.

Then he answered in a soft voice.

"You're wrong. You can become a martial hero."

"But..."

"Won."

Mok Seon-o released Mok Ri-won, placed his hands on the boy's shoulders, and looked him in the eye.

"Do you know the difference between a demonic practitioner and a martial hero?"

Mok Ri-won did not answer.

Mok Seon-o gave him a gentle smile and continued.

"A martial hero does not use their strength carelessly. Even when wicked thoughts arise, they endure them and hold them back."

Explaining it to a child was difficult.

The boy still knew little of the world, so lofty ideals and difficult words would not do. Mok Seon-o had to use words that would move his heart, and make abstract ideas easier to grasp.

Mok Seon-o looked quietly at Mok Ri-won for a while before asking,

"Won."

"Yes..."

"If someone possessed pure inner energy and used that power righteously, would you call that person a martial hero?"

Mok Ri-won held back his tears and thought.

Then he nodded.

"Yes..."

He could answer with certainty.

After all, Mok Seon-o, standing before him, was exactly that kind of person to Mok Ri-won.

Mok Seon-o smiled and asked his next question.

"Then if someone possessed such pure martial arts but used that power to exploit others, would you still call that person a martial hero?"

Mok Ri-won shook his head.

The martial heroes he knew were people who helped others, not people who exploited them.

Mok Seon-o continued.

"Then what if someone with wicked inner power used that strength to help others?"

Mok Ri-won flinched.

Mok Seon-o smiled a little mischievously.

"Would you call that person a martial hero, or would you call them a demonic practitioner because their inner power is wicked?"

Mok Ri-won's lips moved soundlessly.

His eyes had risen to meet Mok Seon-o's.

"Won."

"Yes..."

"A sword has no eyes. A sword cannot choose its opponent, nor can it speak of good and evil. To a sword, only the swordsman who wields it exists."

Mok Seon-o stroked Mok Ri-won's face.

One by one, the tears clinging to his cheeks fell beneath his touch.

"What does it matter if a sword is a little wicked? What does it matter if it is ugly to look at? If you, the one wielding it, understand chivalric righteousness, isn't that enough? Would that sword not be a martial hero's sword?"

Mok Ri-won simply listened and looked into his eyes.

His pupils were the only black part of his otherwise snow-white face.

Black was often compared to evil.

Mok Ri-won knew that too.

Yet he knew that blackness and evil were not the same, because those black eyes held brilliant starlight.

"No matter how wicked your peculiar trait may be, wouldn't it be enough if you suppressed it and directed that killing intent toward righteous causes?"

Mok Seon-o did not stop speaking.

"There is a man called the Demon Hero."

"The Demon Hero...?"

"Yes, the Demon Hero. That is the name of a man who possessed wicked demonic arts, yet used that power to punish evil people. He appears in a book called Tales of Martial Heroes, which you can find at the bookshop in town."

Curiosity appeared in Mok Ri-won's eyes.

Mok Seon-o smiled awkwardly and continued.

"Who is to say you cannot become like that man?"

It was a lie.

The man called the Demon Hero did not exist, and Tales of Martial Heroes was nothing more than a frivolous book written for entertainment.

No, it was even criticized for defending demonic practitioners.

But Mok Seon-o did not care.

Even so, what did it matter?

Could even a book dismissed as worthless not become hope for someone as desperate as this child?

"Won, aren't you a kind child who can direct the killing intent within you toward the right place?"

Having finished, Mok Seon-o waited for Mok Ri-won's answer.

Mok Ri-won looked at him, his fingertips twitching.

He looked at the stars in Mok Seon-o's eyes, the stars scattered across the night sky, and the pale moon embracing them all.

The sight was achingly beautiful, and unbearably tender.

Mok Ri-won watched it quietly, then slowly nodded.

"Yes..."

"That's right. You are a kind child who understands righteousness. You can surely become a martial hero."

Mok Seon-o's laughter tickled Mok Ri-won's ears.

At that moment, Mok Ri-won realized it.

His heart...

It was no longer racing.

"I'll tell my beggar to fetch Tales of Martial Heroes for you. You'll like the Demon Hero's story too."

Too.

At that word, Mok Ri-won asked,

"Master, do you like the Demon Hero too?"

Mok Ri-won did not know the Demon Hero.

He did not know Tales of Martial Heroes, nor did he know the martial world.

To Mok Ri-won, only one thing mattered.

Could the man who was both his master and parent truly love someone like himself, someone who belonged to the demonic?

Would he say that chivalry achieved through demonic power was righteous?

Mok Seon-o blinked at Mok Ri-won's tense expression. Then he burst into laughter.

"Of course. He is a martial hero too, so how could I dislike him?"

A child's world was small.

It was no larger than a thatched cottage in a mountain valley and the stream before it.

That was why the old man's words moved the child so deeply.

He rejoiced in the affirmation of the parent who upheld his whole world.

That day, the child finally gained a clear dream.

He would follow in the footsteps of a man called the Demon Hero, whom he had never even met.

Footnotes:

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