IBGVMW~07

Chapter 7

It was the first time in days that Yeong-ho and Woo-hee had set foot on solid ground. The two quietly surveyed their surroundings, trying to assess the situation.

First off—there wasn’t just one man in black.
Nor two.
A whole swarm of them stood there, cloaked in darkness, swords raised, radiating killing intent.

The one who spoke to Woo-hee and Baek-ho appeared to be their leader, standing boldly at the front.

The black-clad men all reeked of blood. Scattered around the dim forest floor were several corpses, their presence making the air even heavier. From a glance, it was impossible to tell what—or who—these men had been fighting so fiercely.

“Ah, damn it!”

Beside Yeong-ho, who was busily analyzing the situation, Woo-hee stomped her foot with the petulance of a child.

“Hey, Blackie! That’s not cool!”

The strange, out-of-place cry froze everyone on the spot.

“I said I was sorry for accidentally smacking one of your friends earlier, didn’t I? I was even trying to be nice enough to overlook the rest of you! I was sending you all sorts of peaceful signals! You think my brilliant energy sense failed to notice you? Of course not!”

“……”

“Blackie, what’s your problem, huh? Can’t you read the room? You got no sense of self-preservation?”

The clear, rapid-fire voice came without pause—and the black-clad men all fell into an uneasy silence.

Because it was becoming very obvious that the “Blackie” she kept yelling at was referring to them.

…Had they misheard? Surely they had.

She couldn’t have noticed them from the start. Otherwise, how could she casually joke around after smashing one of their comrades?

No, this couldn’t be real.

A pair of lunatics?
That seemed more believable by the second.

“Junior Sister, even if your mouth is crooked, at least speak the truth. You didn’t just hit Blackie’s friend—you killed him. Brutally. With your head, no less.”

That confirmed it.
The black-clad men began to genuinely believe these two were utterly insane.

“What are you talking about? I only ran too hard. You saw someone standing there and didn’t warn me! You’re my Senior Brother—if you didn’t teach me properly, that’s your fault! Don’t dump it on me!”

She was definitely crazy.

“Oh, really? By that logic, every murder in the world should be blamed not on the killer but on the bystanders who didn’t stop them?”

The black-clad men looked on as the pair bickered, unsure whether to attack or call for exorcists. Woo-hee, meanwhile, was beginning to feel that Yeong-ho might actually out-argue her.

“I’ll tell you this much: if you don’t shut that mouth of yours soon, I will bite you.”

Even in the growing darkness, her bared white teeth gleamed like a beast’s.

Were they dreaming?

As that thought passed through the minds of the black-clad group—

“Fine! Let’s settle this now!”

Woo-hee finally drew her sword.

She didn’t bother unsheathing Mu-hyeol, the bloodless blade strapped to her back—it was too good for dealing with someone like Yeong-ho. Instead, she pulled a decent sword from her waist.

Her movements were smooth and natural, as though drawing breath itself. After countless bouts of sparring, her body took form before her mind even caught up. She widened her stance slightly, channeling power through her legs.

The sharp tip of her sword pointed straight at Yeong-ho.

The black-clad men were utterly lost.

Judging from their words, these two were supposed to be martial siblings… yet here they were, on the verge of fighting each other, surrounded by enemies.

Was this a nightmare?

“Junior Sister, now’s not the time to swing your sword at me.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got more than enough skill to finish you and those black-robed bastards after you.”

“I’m not worried. I just don’t think you’ve noticed yet—see that body you smashed earlier? Look closely at who your victim was targeting.”

“…And if I do?”

“The person he was about to kill is still alive.”

Woo-hee finally shifted her gaze away from Yeong-ho—and spotted something lying behind the corpses, motionless as a lump of meat.

“Ah, damn it again!”

She burst out furiously.

“What the hell is this mess?!”

That was exactly what the black-clad men wanted to say themselves.

Completely ignoring their bewilderment, Woo-hee tilted her head with a defiant air and addressed them with a cocky tone.

“Hey, Blackie, let me ask you something.”

For a moment, they almost thought she was an old friend.

“Between you guys and that half-dead one lying over there—who’s the worse bastard?”

As soon as she finished speaking—

Her sword shifted from Yeong-ho’s direction to theirs.

The leader in front flinched before he realized it. His grip on the sword tightened instinctively. Ridiculous—his body was reacting before his mind? Over a brat who barely reached his chest? Absurd!

“What an arrogant fool!”

He spoke coldly, channeling inner power into his voice, as if to deny his own unease.

“You may be young, but your insolence knows no bounds. Still, that’s not the reason you must die. Every man has a reckless phase where he cannot tell heaven from earth. Your mistake lies not in arrogance, but in ignorance.”

His words steadied him, and as he examined her small frame—barely fifteen or sixteen at most—he began to feel foolish for being tense.

There was nothing threatening about her.

“Well, I don’t know about all that, but go ahead and finish your speech.”

Woo-hee casually kicked at the blood-soaked grass and raised an eyebrow as if mocking him.

He steadied his temper and continued.

“Your sin is meddling in affairs you do not understand. I would spare you for your youth, but it is too late. Blame fate!”

“Okay. So, that’s all you’ve got to say? Nothing else?”

“…What do you mean, nothing else?”

“I asked which of you bastards was worse—him or you. But instead of answering, you gave me some pompous lecture. That’s rude, don’t you think?”

“……”

The man faltered. Technically, she was right… but what was he supposed to say to that?

“Hmph. Well, if that’s your final answer, I guess I have no choice…”

Woo-hee scratched her nose, frowned, and glanced back at Yeong-ho.

“Yeong-ho, I’m pretty sure those guys are from the Righteous Sect.”

No one—absolutely no one—had expected her to say that.

“I can feel it. The way they lecture people about manners and morality—it screams ‘self-righteous old men.’ And telling me not to meddle in their business? What a joke! I might be new to the martial world, but even I can tell what kind of idiots these are!”

The black-clad men exchanged looks of utter confusion.

They were in the middle of a bloody mission, and suddenly found themselves being judged by a girl who couldn’t be more than a teenager.

They had absolutely no idea what in the world was happening.