A heavier silence than before settled over the room.

Even Gok Cheonmu — who had been driving the pressure with such relish — was left without words.

It took a considerable stretch of time before he finally managed to speak.

“What…… what did you just say?”

Seo Woojin exhaled quietly.

“I said it looks pathetic.”

The veins in Gok Cheonmu’s knuckles bulged as if they might tear through the skin.

He appeared to be swallowing his fury.

Or perhaps deciding whether to move the blade right now.

“Unbelievable.”

In the end, the same words came out again.

His gaze shifted to Woon Seorin.

Her expression was written in pure shock as well — which confirmed this was not something they had coordinated.

“A greenhorn acting out…… Hah. Did you take a blow to the head while you were at the Murim Alliance? Do you see the Murim Alliance Lord standing here to protect you right now?”

Composed. Measured.

But what that restraint was containing was something beyond easy description.

“Which is precisely why this looks pathetic. Why do you keep bringing up the Murim Alliance Lord?”

“What?!”

“Isn’t it absurd? The Murim Alliance Lord hasn’t done a single thing — yet you’re talking about secret orders, about him protecting me. Clan Head Gok, isn’t the real reason you haven’t lifted that sword because you’re scared of the Murim Alliance Lord? Is he really that frightening to you?”

Flinch.

He nearly lost it. The blade almost moved.

But it didn’t.

Because Seo Woojin was right.

The Murim Alliance had sent Seo Woojin of their own accord. The intent behind that was clear — install him as Alliance Lord. Killing him this openly meant the Gok Clan would have to bear the full weight of that decision.

Which was exactly why he had endured the continued provocations.

Any retaliation had to be done in the shadows, with no trace left behind.

Gok Cheonmu’s jaw clenched shut.

And Seo Woojin spoke again into that silence.

“A moment ago, someone mentioned that I stayed locked in my quarters from the moment I arrived. There was a reason for that, embarrassing as it is to admit. I spent twenty years at the Murim Alliance — which meant I was just as ignorant of the Dark Path’s world. I had seen the records the Murim Alliance kept on the Dark Path, of course. But I wanted to read the history the Dark Path wrote about itself. So I shut myself in and studied.”

The unexpected confession sent another ripple through the mood.

No one could anticipate where this was going.

Which meant every word he said next landed more cleanly in their ears.

“Warriors of the Dark Path who gathered together to protect their freedom — hehe, a noble ideal. And yet the lives you’ve actually lived have been far harsher than that ideal, haven’t they. Before the Dark Alliance was founded, you were hounded by self-righteous heroes. After it was founded, you were crushed under the Murim Alliance’s boot.”

The faint smile that had been on Seo Woojin’s face the entire time slowly faded.

In its place — quiet anger, and something that looked like grief.

“What freedom? What exactly are you protecting? You can’t even shake the shadow of a Murim Alliance Lord who sits far away from here — and yet you’re debating whose qualifications are sufficient?”

His even voice carried reproach directed at them. And something that felt like sorrow for the reality the Dark Path lived in.

But what registered in the Family heads was not those feelings.

It was the sting of being looked down upon.

“You go too far!!”

“Mind your words!!”

“You think you can insult us and walk away unscathed?!”

It wasn’t only Gok Cheonmu.

All of them erupted.

Even those belonging to the Black Dragon Woon Clan’s faction.

Slide. THUD!!

Seo Woojin brought the sword leaning beside him down hard onto the table.

The outburst died in an instant.

“Clan Head Gok said it himself, just a moment ago. That the first thing I did when I arrived in Hangzhou was leave it.”

The measured voice doused what remained of the flare-up.

“The Sword Saint. I didn’t know until recently — but it turns out that name was something like a nightmare to Dark Path warriors.”

The expressions of the Seven Family heads turned rigid.

In the eyes of the Full Spear Yeom Clan head — the oldest of them all — something that looked very much like fear flickered briefly into view.

“Before the Murim Alliance, the one figure the Dark Path feared above all others. Every time someone here tried to act, he would appear from nowhere and drag Dark Path warriors off to rot in cells. A genuine nuisance, wasn’t he. Rather than killing them outright, he made a point of sending them to the Murim Alliance’s dungeons alive. Warriors of the Dark Path — who yearned for nothing so much as freedom — were denied it more completely than anyone.”

He had been active before the Dark Alliance was even founded, which meant his name carried weight beyond what anyone living today had personally experienced. As fortune — or misfortune — would have it, he had vanished from the world not long after the Dark Alliance was established. And so, gradually, he had been forgotten.

“What on earth are you going on about!! Just say what you’re trying to say!!”

Gok Cheonmu, who had been holding his tongue, finally raised his voice.

Seo Woojin smiled faintly and lifted the worn old sword resting beside the table.

“Do you know what this is?”

“……?”

Most of them tilted their heads in puzzlement.

But someone recognized it.

“Th-that’s——!!”

Cho Igyeom of the Soaring Wind Cho Clan.

He dealt in information — which meant he was already well-versed in the Sword Saint. Which meant recognizing the Sword Saint’s personal blade came naturally.

Thud. Shhring.

Seo Woojin drew the sword.

A blade with a cold, clear edge. A blinding gleam. And the blue dragon motif unfolding along the flat of the steel.

There was no mistaking it.

“Th-that’s…… the real thing, it’s r-r-really the Sword Saint’s——!!”

“That’s right. The Sword Saint’s sword.”

“How on earth did you——”

Seo Woojin’s gaze found Gok Cheonmu.

“The reason I had to leave Hangzhou the moment I arrived. This is it. I needed the Sword Saint’s sword.”

“Nonsense!!”

Gok Cheonmu’s voice cracked across the room.

“Even if that really is the Sword Saint’s sword — what does it matter?! If anything, the more convincing story is that the Murim Alliance Lord handed it to you personally!!”

Cho Igyeom still looked rattled — but nodded along.

“H-he’s right. If you’re trying to win our favor by handing over the Sword Saint’s sword……”

But his words never reached their end.

“What is the Dark Alliance to them.”

The ghost of a cold smile touched Seo Woojin’s mouth.

“Let me be blunt. To the Murim Alliance, the Dark Alliance is not a thing of that much weight. Do you know what the Sword Saint’s sword represents? It is the blade of a hero who saved the Central Plains. Within the Murim Alliance itself, it is a symbol. And you think they would hand over that symbol merely to buy the Dark Path’s goodwill?” He gave a short laugh. “That is delusions of grandeur.”

Faces flushed with anger. But not one of them found a rebuttal.

Seo Woojin’s expression grew more resolute.

“Then why did I bring it here? Because I wanted to show you something. My resolve. And the pride of the Dark Path.”

“……!!”

“Does it matter that I was raised by the Murim Alliance? No. That is not what’s important. What’s important is that I have the will to change what the Dark Alliance has become. The determination to face the Dark Alliance’s grim future — together.”

Seo Woojin rose from the Alliance Lord’s seat and walked forward.

He stopped before the carved dragon-head stone statue that stood as decoration beside the seat.

He raised the sword.

“To me, as I stand here now — more than some Murim Alliance Lord sitting far away from here——!!”

He brought the blade down.

CLANG! SHHHREEEEEEE——!!

A shriek of steel filled the air.

And the Sword Saint’s blade — edge so sharp it gleamed — shattered into fragments.

Clatter.

Seo Woojin tossed aside what remained of the broken sword without a second glance and turned back to face the room.

A deep smile was on his lips.

“——this place, the Dark Alliance, matters more. That is what I am saying.”

What did Seo Woojin look like right now?

Did he appear sincere? Or did he look like a man performing on the Murim Alliance Lord’s orders?

It didn’t matter.

What mattered was the symbol.

Cho Igyeom had already authenticated the sword. So — a man who had just destroyed something even the Murim Alliance held as a symbol: what did that make him?

At least in the eyes of the Dark Path warriors not present in this room, it would leave a powerful impression.

That was right.

This had never been about winning the Seven Family heads’ approval.

This was Seo Woojin’s greeting — and his proof — directed at the Dark Path below. The ones this room never reached. The ones who couldn’t see the top from where they stood.

Seo Woojin’s smile widened into something bright.

“Well then. Does that answer your question?”

He directed it at Gok Cheonmu.

Gok Cheonmu could only stare. No words came.

The hand trembling faintly at his side told exactly how much he was holding back.

“Uncle. I think that’s enough.”

The only person who had maintained a consistent expression throughout was Cheon Doyun, Young Clan Head of the Black Sword Cheon Clan.

He had not joined in the criticism leveled at Seo Woojin. He had simply listened.

And now, for the first time, he acted.

Cheon Doyun lowered his head toward Seo Woojin.

“I have heard what you had to say. And I believe I understand what you were trying to convey to us.”

“……That’s good to hear, then.”

Cheon Doyun lifted his head. A quiet smile.

“I imagine everyone has quite a great deal to think about. I would suggest we bring today’s meeting to a close.”

Seo Woojin found himself smiling faintly despite himself.

Not someone to underestimate at all. I didn’t see him coming.

Cheon Doyun’s words were courteous — but in a single sentence, he had seized the momentum Seo Woojin had been building and brought it to a halt. Pressing forward with the meeting now would be awkward. But ending it meant falling in line with Cheon Doyun’s wishes.

“Let’s do that. The Dark Alliance isn’t about to collapse today.”

Woon Seorin stepped in at just the right moment.

Seo Woojin nodded as though he had been waiting for exactly that.

“Let’s.”

Seo Woojin left first.

The Family heads filed out quietly after — without much in the way of parting words.

The last two remaining were Gok Cheonmu and Cheon Doyun.

Gok Cheonmu kept his head low as he spoke.

“When will your father be coming out?”

“I’m sorry — I don’t know either.”

“……Then I’ll handle this matter myself.”

“No. You won’t.”

Gok Cheonmu’s head snapped up at Cheon Doyun’s blunt refusal.

“You too…… are you also looking down on me?”

The bloodshot eyes burned with a dangerous light.

Cheon Doyun absorbed the pressure and exhaled quietly.

“Did you notice the expressions of the warriors standing watch inside the meeting hall?”

“What?”

“Even our own men had their eyes on Seo Woojin. Whether the Sword Saint’s sword is truly symbolic within the Murim Alliance or not — and even if it is, there’s something suspicious about how easily he got his hands on it — at the very least, to them, what he said rang true.”

Gok Cheonmu ground his teeth, displeasure plain.

Cheon Doyun sighed quietly and continued.

“The Seven Families may be what holds the Dark Alliance together — but the overwhelming majority of the Dark Path is still the warriors at the bottom. We need to be careful about letting sparks of the wrong kind spread through their hearts.”

Gok Cheonmu drew in a long breath.

Then let it out slowly.

He repeated it several times, letting the anger subside, before asking in a somewhat more measured voice.

“Do you have a plan?”

Cheon Doyun looked at the seat where Seo Woojin had been sitting.

“He seems to like things ‘reasonable.’ So we approach this reasonably as well.”

A brief gleam moved through Cheon Doyun’s eyes.

“He won’t be able to refuse. Because it’s the path toward the future of the Dark Alliance he’s so concerned about.”

To Gok Cheonmu, those words sounded less like a plan — and more like a prophecy.

Bang!!

Woon Seorin slammed the door shut and raised her voice the moment it closed.

“What were you thinking?! And what was all that about the Sword Saint?!”

Her anger was entirely warranted. He had deviated from their agreement — and then pulled the Sword Saint out of nowhere on top of it.

Seo Woojin gave a small cough and gestured ahead of him.

“Please, sit down first. Ah — the Sword Saint was a convincing lie I came up with after hearing you say your intelligence doesn’t reach inside the Murim Alliance.”

“What? A lie? Are you joking? One wrong step and you could have destroyed everything before we even started! Not just your neck — mine too!!”

She was too worked up to settle down easily, so Seo Woojin gave up trying.

He sat down alone at the table and looked at her.

“You said we needed to buy time.”

“……”

“Then I have to ask — how long are you planning to buy it for?”

“That’s……”

He exhaled.

“You said it yourself, Lady Woon — when I left for my grandfather’s home, you used me as bait. Which means you found the base of the assassins who attacked us. And you sent the Four Black Dragons there.”

Woon Seorin’s expression stiffened.

She had agreed to work with him — but outside of what was strictly necessary, she had kept information tightly controlled. And yet Seo Woojin had pieced together this much from the barest of fragments.

“I imagine you weren’t optimistic. Whoever ran assassins that boldly would have been prepared to cut the trail. At best, all you’ve confirmed is that someone is secretly raising trained killers. Ah — and given what Clan Head Gok said today, he’d be the most likely candidate.”

“What are you trying to say?”

Something cold settled into Seo Woojin’s eyes.

“The weaknesses you haven’t been able to find until now — do you really expect more time to turn them up? You must know that as well as I do. So then — why did you tell me to take that approach?”

Woon Seorin’s pupils wavered.

Just for a fraction of a second.

Seo Woojin didn’t miss it.

“Honestly, I’m not entirely sure what you’re trying to gain through the title of Alliance Lord. But one thing became clear to me. You intend to make me a puppet.”

“……”

“You underestimated me. I’m not foolish enough to be used up and thrown away.”

Woon Seorin looked at him in silence for a moment — then finally let out a sigh.

“Hah. That doesn’t mean what you did today was the best move either.”

Seo Woojin nodded without argument.

“I know.”

“No. You don’t. Because of what you pulled today, their guard is up higher than ever. They don’t care about your sincerity. If anything — you’ve probably only reinforced their conviction that you’re carrying secret orders from the Murim Alliance Lord.”

Seo Woojin smiled slightly.

“Which is exactly why I need Military Advisor Woon, isn’t it?”

Woon Seorin’s brow furrowed.

“What are you——!!”

She stopped mid-sentence and pressed her fingers to her temple.

A headache had started pounding behind her eyes.

“Haah…… I’ll think on it more.”

She turned and moved toward the door.

She was almost there when she paused.

“I’m sorry.”

Seo Woojin looked up in surprise.

An apology was the last thing he had expected.

Woon Seorin let out another sigh and turned back.

“I won’t pretend I had absolutely no intention of making you a figurehead. The less capable you were, the more room there would be for the Woon Clan to act.”

“……”

“But at the very least, for my part…… I chose the safer path. It’s true that the approach I proposed wouldn’t have put your life in danger.”

Seo Woojin shook his head.

“Coming back here at all meant putting my life on the line.”

“……I suppose it did. That resolve — I can see it now.”

She turned back to the door and opened it.

“From now on, I’ll share everything with you. All information. That should be enough of an apology for today.”

With that parting word, she was gone.

Her words were genuine. He was certain of that. It was what let her hold her head that high on her way out.

Thank goodness…… I really didn’t want that woman as an enemy……

Seo Woojin sank back into his chair with a heavy sigh.

“Haah……”

He hadn’t done anything physically taxing — and yet he felt completely wrung out.

His chest ached. A bitter taste sat at the back of his throat.

Perhaps that was only natural.

His grandfather’s keepsake.

Deciding to destroy it had not been easy.

But he had no regrets.

This was the only way to truly stand at the top of the Dark Alliance.

And that was the only way this would be easier.

Finding his enemy.

His grandfather would understand. He was sure of it.

Seo Woojin sat in the stillness and quietly renewed his resolve.

(End of Chapter 12)