Chapter 562

Absolute memory was not a power with only advantages.

Because I remembered everything I saw, everything I had felt seemed like it had happened yesterday.

No, beyond that, it often felt like it had happened just a moment ago.

Did they not say forgetfulness was a blessing for humans?

Then it would be fair to call the opposite a curse.

That was how it was for me.

I had never once lived thinking it was not a curse.

I could not say there had been no benefit at all, but there had been far more bad than good.

That was how humans were, after all.

The bad stayed in memory longer, and upsetting things came back endlessly.

This was no different.

The bad stayed without end, never fading, rising again and again.

If that was not a curse, then what was?

Every time, I carried the sensation of wanting to vomit as I spat out rage.

I lived every day with that thought.

I lived a day of hell at a time.

Yes.

Hell.

I knew because I had lived it.

I knew because I had gone through it.

This was hell.

That was why the first thing I had asked the company to do was lock this damn thing away.

I had chosen a method that tied up several memories and erased them.

I reduced hell.

Cut it down, and cut it down again.

That was how I had lived until now.

It’s been a while.

It had been a long time since I had seen someone like this.

Heavenly Sword’s gaze.

The way he carried himself.

Every single thing he did as he moved.

All of it felt familiar somehow.

This bastard too.

For a moment, I wondered if he also had absolute memory, but it did not feel quite like that.

However—

He’s specialized in memorizing and putting things into practice.

I could feel it.

I watched him sidelong while memorizing his movements.

This bastard.

He’s taking something from me.

I could see him watching my actions and trying to memorize them.

That was why he had not been holding his sword properly, and why his movements had not been proper either.

“......Ha.”

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly on his expressionless face.

“Truly interesting. How did you know?”

“I’ve been through a few things—”

Enough of that.

“Then do it.”

“Mm?”

“If you can take it, take it. If you have something you can show me, then go ahead and show me.”

I was curious.

I can’t imitate, after all.

Seeing something and acting after it were different things.

I could memorize what I saw, but that did not put me in the realm of imitation.

That was obvious.

Imitating movement was hard enough as it was, but martial arts?

You had to read the flow and concentration of inner qi.

Even the speed at which that flow moved.

How were you supposed to imitate that?

If even the slightest thing went wrong, imitating martial arts could send you into qi deviation.

And on top of that—

How would he imitate a heart art?

I had a strange constitution.

Sword Saint Yoo Cheongil had acknowledged it, and so had the Heavenly Demon.

Given that situation, it made sense that I could use demonic qi or whatever else.

But this bastard?

How was he doing it?

My interest was stirred a little.

So—

“Do it.”

I raised my sword and aimed it at him.

Then, just like that—

CRACKLE—!!!

I used Moonbolt and burst my energy.

I drew my energy up and prepared.

How far can he go?

Could this bastard’s imitation take even Yoo Cheongil’s martial arts?

And along with that—

That too.

I wanted to see the sword Cloud Dragon had seen.

Just how similar was it?

Whose sword was it?

I expected that he would not change his heart art, but—

Would there truly be something contained in it?

As I tested that, I burrowed forward.

I immediately prepared Great Moon.

I dug into the sword path and watched Heavenly Sword’s movements.

SCREEEECH—!!

I thrust my first sword, and he rotated as if grazing past it.

He used the acceleration I had put in, added the rebound to it instead, and let it flow away.

Ting—!

My sword rose toward the sky.

My eyes widened when I saw his counter look almost like a block.

Look at this?

This was—

Wudang’s sword.

It was Wudang’s distinctive sword.

I was familiar with it.

I had seen it while learning Cloud Dragon’s sword.

Cloud Dragon’s sword was visible in Heavenly Sword’s sword.

Look at this.

“You’re showing me?”

“You wanted me to show you, did you not?”

“Good. Do a little more.”

CRACKLE—!!

I raised my speed even further and drove in.

Then I thrust my sword.

So what if my center was knocked away and the structure I had set came apart?

I could just seize it again.

My speed had slowed?

I shoved that through with inner qi.

“Ha!”

Heavenly Sword clicked his tongue at my actions.

“For your face, you fight rather stupidly.”

“Violence is supposed to be stupid, you stupid bastard.”

“That is also true.”

GRIND—!!!

Sword and sword scraped against each other.

As I watched them bounce away, I realized it.

This bastard.

He was not only imitating the movements of martial arts.

The energy I feel from him is similar too.

He was absolutely not fully following the heart art, but he was emitting energy similar to the martial art from within the martial arts he already possessed.

It was closer to carving and reshaping it again and again, somehow.

So it could blend into the movement.

That was how he made it, and that was how he put power into imitation.

This is monstrous too.

It was absurd all the same.

The fact that imitation gained power was absurd.

Was that why he was Heavenly Sword?

They said he was a sword bestowed by heaven.

I understood what it meant for him to have been granted talent.

Show me more.

I was glad.

Because he’s treated a little like me.

I thrust my sword.

Because I wanted to confirm more.

Because even though I had disliked his impression, I still wanted to know.

I dug in a little closer.

“Can you do mine too?”

It would be nice if he could.

Then Yoo Cheongil.

That old man would really love it.

Ah, but seriously, how would he react?

Would he be shocked that someone copied him?

Or would he hate it?

Either was fine.

I just hoped it would piss him off.

That crazy old man.

He had done far too much to me, so I really hoped he would get hit with it.

The more excitedly I approached, the darker Heavenly Sword’s expression became.

“......How strange.”

Heavenly Sword spoke as he blocked my sword.

“How is that your reaction?”

“What is?”

“You do not fear me.”

“Fear you? Why would I?”

“Most people do, you see.”

Click.

The sword path changed again.

The sword I felt was strange.

It felt like something I had felt somewhere before.

Or maybe it felt new.

But what mattered was that it felt completely different from the earlier sword that had imitated Cloud Dragon’s sword.

It felt as if he had become an entirely different person.

Interesting.

BOOM—!

GRIND—!!!

His speed grew faster.

Whose sword was this?

And while he used all of this—

His Sword Aura is changing.

I could see the color and texture of his Sword Aura changing as well.

This really was fascinating.

But—

“Kh!”

He was pushed back in strength.

I did not know whether that was the limit of imitation or not.

So I asked.

“Don’t you have an original? Is this all the power you can use?”

“.......”

At my comment, Heavenly Sword’s face creased.

It seemed his pride had been wounded by the criticism.

So what if it had?

Then—

“Show me.”

Show me the real thing.

That was all he had to do, wasn’t it?

I smiled and raised my speed even further.

“......I do not know why, but you look excited. I do not understand.”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t. I’m not exactly normal either.”

Great Moon.

Second sword.

Third sword.

Fourth sword.

I passed straight through to the fifth sword.

“Try copying it.”

So that old man could get pissed off.

That was what I meant.

As I dug in like a man gone mad, Heavenly Sword actually flinched.

I told you to try.

Why were you not doing it?

I pointed it out, then pointed it out again.

But seriously, why was he not doing it?

I looked at Heavenly Sword in confusion, but his reaction was odd.

Because I could see him try to do something, then stop.

Ah.

No way.

“You can’t copy it?”

“.......”

Looks like I was right.

“Why?”

I was puzzled.

From what I had heard—

“Can’t you use this side’s sword too?”

“......How do you know that?”

Heavenly Sword paused at my question.

How did I know?

How else?

“I heard it from our subordinate.”

“......Aha. You mean that chivalrous hero of Wudang.”

“Chivalrous hero...... Well, more or less.”

His temper was weirdly unlike Wudang, but if I had to classify him, he was a chivalrous hero.

“What did he say?”

“What would he say? He said it was similar to my sword.”

“He expressed it that simply?”

“It’s simple, but there’s no description more accurate than that. So do it. Can you really use the Azure Moon Sect’s sword too?”

“......Hmm.”

At those words, Heavenly Sword paused, then swung his sword.

CRACKLE—!

Sword Aura piled up.

The Sword Aura that accumulated truly resembled the sword used by the Azure Moon Sect.

However—

It isn’t mine.

It was not mine.

To be precise, it was different from Yoo Cheongil’s sword.

It looked like the real Azure Moon Sect’s sword.

Then a familiar sword flew in.

Moon Wave?

A crescent moon came flying.

When I saw it, I twisted my waist.

I was going to respond with the same sword.

Moon Wave.

Crescent moon struck crescent moon.

Crackle!!

Heavenly Sword’s crescent moon shattered.

Because their strength was different.

“As expected.”

Heavenly Sword reacted when he saw that.

“It is different.”

It was different.

In quality, in shape, in everything.

Yoo Cheongil’s martial arts stood above all of the Azure Moon Sect’s martial arts and heart arts.

I don’t know how this bastard learned the Azure Moon Sect’s martial arts, but—

I learned that this side’s martial arts were superior.

And on top of that—

He can’t imitate it?

He could not imitate it.

That was the problem.

Ah, that old man would be pleased.

It looked like imitation did not work.

That had to be why Heavenly Sword was acting like that.

Ah, what a shame.

CRAAACK—!

Heavenly Sword was blasted away.

He planted his feet on the ground and shook out his sword.

“......Well, this is something. To think not only that you saw through it, but also that there would be someone whose arts I cannot learn. Just how did you know?”

“When you watch enough, you start seeing things.”

“Do you possess the eyes of a god or something?”

“Mm......”

The eyes of a god.

That was roughly similar.

I had been told something like that once.

—You have a mind and eyes bestowed by a god.

—What is that supposed to mean?

—It means you’re not human, you bastard.

—......What a nice thing to say.

It had not exactly sounded like praise, but anyway.

“Is this all? It can’t be, right?”

I aimed the tip of my sword at him and said,

“Show me more. I trust this isn’t the end.”

“Is your faith in me not somewhat strange? I believe we were on bad terms.”

“Terms can change anytime. And they still aren’t that great right now.”

“That is true....... Hm.”

He tilted his head.

“What a shame. I meant to show this to the Young Cult Leader, not you......”

“Show what?”

After saying that, Heavenly Sword lowered his sword.

He relaxed his body completely.

Rustle.

Mm?

Energy rose.

I saw hard aura form on his sword.

What was that?

Reddish violet?

It was a color I had never seen before.

At a glance—

Demonic qi......

It looked like demonic qi.

It was an energy resembling demonic qi.

I was watching it when—

A chill.

Huh.

Goosebumps rose on my back.

The energy Heavenly Sword gathered and gathered resembled something.

Was this imitation again?

Even if I called it imitation, that seemed right.

But what mattered was—

That.

It was a power I knew as well.

Of course it was.

I had just used that power a moment ago.

That was—

[Now look at this?]

......Heavenly Demon Divine Arts?

The Heavenly Demon and I reacted at the same time.

Heavenly Demon Divine Arts.

Heavenly Sword’s sword resembled them.