Childhood Friend of the Zenith

had initially planned to leave inconspicuously after two days of staying here. 

 

  But then I had to get thrown into this mess.

 

  I had already received so much negative attention in my previous life that I figured I would be happier without any attention at all in this life. 

 

  I thought it would be great to live, quiet and peaceful, without needing anyone to acknowledge my existence. 

 

  But that plan of mine might be a tad bit—no, a huge bit ruined with this, so yeah. 

 

  I saw Gu Yeonseo already standing out in the open arena.

 

  Her posture and the way she held her sword showed a bit about her skill as a martial artist. 

 

  ‘I really don’t want to go…’

 

  I spoke to the Second Elder with an accusing tone.

 

  “You really want to see me get beaten up in front of so many people?”

 

  This old man was a demon in both this life and the last. 

 

  The Second Elder gave a weird smile at my resentment-filled words.

 

  Then, he said,

 

  “You’re really ‘not’ going to win?”

 

  I stopped at the Second Elder’s words as I was about to step up into the arena. 

 

  “What are you going on about again with your nonsense? What do you mean, ‘“not” going to win;’ it’s more like I ‘can’t’ win.”

 

  “Right, right, if you say so.”

 

  …This guy acts like a fox, even though he has the appearance of a bear. 

 

  Ignoring the Second Elder’s words, I stepped forth onto the arena floor.

 

* * * *  

 

  In the night sky, there hung a solitary moon.

 

  It was a waxing crescent tonight. 

’

 

  The arena was calm and quiet now that all the other fighters had left. 

 

  There were still many people watching from the spectator stands, but in the arena itself, there were just two people standing. 

 

  To make the blood relatives fight for people’s entertainment, even for the Second Elder, I thought he was going a bit far. 

 

  “You aren’t going to use a sword?” Gu Yeonseo asked as I stretched my body.

 

  A sword? Did I use a sword at this point of time?

 

  The Gu Clan fought with either swords or fists.
We were a little different compared to the Peng, Moyong, and Namgung clans, who only used swords. 

 

  The Gu Clan flame arts could be channeled through any kind of melee weapon. 

 

  And among them, swords, along with fists, were the most compatible with our flame arts. 

 

  For me in particular, the most efficient way to fight was with my fists.

 

  “I’ve decided not to use a sword; it doesn’t really fit my fighting style.”

  “You say that so easily, even though you haven’t even put in any effort and time to justify your decision.”

 

  Gu Yeonseo didn’t know what I had been doing recently, so it was obvious that she would look at it that way.
But I decided not to talk back, since it would look like I was only giving excuses if I did. 

   

  Gu Yeonseo spoke.

 

  “Do you know how long it’s been since our last bout?”

 

  “Nope.”

 

  “It’s been a long time.
I’ve always been longing for the next one.
This time I can officially beat you up.
Not that I really want to do it in front of all this crowd, though.”

 

  “How could you say such a scary thing so effortlessly?”

 

  Most of my memories were faint.
I had forgotten a lot of things. 

 

  But the last bout I had with Gu Yeonseo in my previous life was something I still remembered vividly. 

 

  It wasn’t just a sparring match. 

  Gu Yeonseo had been pointing her sword, engulfed in flames, at me.

｢Flaming Sword｣

  That was the title eventually given to Gu Yeonseo.
The name really fit her quite well.

 

  Even facing the image of a destroyed man, one with tears in his eyes and blood leaking from his lips—even then, she still brutally attacked with the single-minded intention of slaughtering him.
That was something that I could still recall vividly. 

  “You sick bastard, I will be the one to kill you! Me, and me alone!”

  It was raining that day.

  But it wasn’t raining right now.

  That event had yet to occur in this life, and I was now in a situation where I needed to prevent it from ever happening again.  

 

  I had to keep this in mind at all times. 

 

  “I’d always wanted to, if only I just had the chance.
But you’d always run away before I could.”

 

  That baby face of hers, along with her voice that still sounded like a kid even now—

  They were completely different from the fully matured appearance and voice she’d had in my past life. 

 

  But the way she drew her sword against me was the same. 

 

  It was a wooden sword rather than a steel sword, but was still far too similar to her appearance that day. 

 

  Gu Yeonseo spoke to me again while I was trapped in the memory of my previous life. 

 

  “I hate you.”

 

  Her words were far from kind, but I came back to my senses thanks to that.

 

  “I know.”

 

  I already knew.
There was no way I didn’t, considering how much she showed it when we were all alone. 

 

  “I hate how you don’t ever put effort into anything, and how you have a trash personality even though you were born as a son of the Gu Clan, and would ride on the Clan’s coattails.”

 

  “I’m aware, but hearing it first-hand does hurt.”

 

  I understood her.
Even I would hate myself if I had to meet the past me.

 

  ‘It’s funny how I think I’m different now?’

 

  That was something I didn’t even know the answer to begin with.

 

  “Begin!”

 

  The Second Elder shouted with Qi amplifying his voice.
My ears felt numb as I was caught off guard. 

 

  Gu Yeonseo immediately bolted forward, as if she had been waiting just for that moment.
She didn’t show an ounce of mercy, even to a weakling like me.

 

’

  I felt Gu Yeonseo’s heat as she narrowed the distance.

 

  It was the heat from a practitioner who had reached the third realm of the Gu flame arts.
The emanating heat permeated through the surroundings. 

 

  ‘She really has no intention of holding back even a little.’

 

  Gu Yeonseo’s form as she swung her sword truly showed the efforts she had put into her training.
The movement seemed flawless. 

 

  I stepped back, and bent my torso to dodge the attack. 

 

  Gu Yeonseo’s eyes widened.
She hadn’t expected me to be able to dodge that. 

 

  But she immediately continued to dish out more attacks.
All of her strikes were aiming for my vital points. 

 

  At this point, all I could do was dodge using my basic physique.
Using Qi while relying on this weak body only meant that I would stiffen up when I needed to stay relaxed instead.

 

  All of the attacks coming at me were definitely fast and critical, but I could still evade them by moving just a beat faster each time.

 

  I felt myself breathing heavily already.

 

  In my head, I thought about how to end this in the most natural manner, without getting beaten half to death or making the Second Elder suspicious.

 

  “You’re still! The same person! Who only knows how to dodge!”

 

  Gu Yeonseo exclaimed while continuing to swing her sword. 

 

  I was almost able to physically visualize her ferocity with how blatantly vicious her strikes were. 

 

  Although, I still managed to survive her offense unscathed

 

  Gu Yeonseo clenched her teeth progressively harder as none of her attacks had landed.
The confident aura from earlier was nowhere to be seen. 

 

  What was she so impatient for? 

 

  Then, she stepped back to create more distance between us and shifted into her battle stance. 

 

  From within her wooden sword, some sort of heat rose up.

 

  That looked dangerous.

 

  ‘…I definitely can’t let that strike hit me.’

 

  Gu Yeonseo, who had just broken through to the third realm a while ago, was able to infuse her flame arts into her wooden sword.
This meant that she was already closing in on ascending to the fourth realm.

 

  It was an incomplete and scuffed technique.
Qi, on the other hand, was still unstable. 

 

  When I took a quick glance at the Second Elder, he was watching with his hands on his chin, implying that he somehow found our spar amusing. 

 

  He had no intention of helping me.

 

  ‘…Shit.
Can I dodge this while also making it look like I get hit?’

 

  I felt like I could do it, but the risk seemed a little too high.

 

  ‘What should I do…’

 

  Gu Yeonseo’s wooden sword now had a faint red aura enveloping it. 

 

  Her hand was shaking, as she couldn’t fully handle the Qi circulation yet. 

 

  “You don’t do anything, you have no talent, and you never put in any effort to make up for it.
But just because you are a son…!”

 

  She rambled on, as if her mind was a little shaken from trying to use too much Qi. 

 

  Again, I fully understood Gu Yeonseo’s feelings.

 

  I knew why she hated me and found it completely justified, so I was able to accept it all. 

 

  However, Gu Yeonseo kept on talking after that.

 

  “If you’re living like that, then… You should just disappear, just like your mother.”

 

  “What?”

 

  She said something she shouldn’t have.

 

  Gu Yeonseo rushed at me swathed in Qi.
The arena cracked under the strength she exerted into her feet.

 

  However, her attack, infused with all her rage, made her impatient and easy to read. 

 

  I tilted my body enough to dodge her sword.

 

  As she registered that the opponent she had tried to strike was not there, she lost her balance, unable to control her power. 

 

  She reacted quickly and tried to balance herself, but—

 

  I, without hesitation, struck my fist into her face.