Chapter 29: The Unbreakable Bonds of Family

-The Uncalculated Factor

1.

[Story Mode]

The yokai hermit had returned to a human form.

Before him stood the silent swordsman, holding a sword, and the battered Inmyeon Jiju.

It was the same standoff as before, but the situation had completely changed.

The hermit roared furiously.

[Do you even understand what you’ve done?!]

Inmyeon Jiju responded coldly.

[I don’t care to know.]

[There’s only one thing I want to see.]

[The expression on your face when I cut off your head.]

Her gaze was devoid of sympathy or mercy.

A cruel stare that reflected no emotion.

Inmyeon Jiju, trying to suppress any excitement until her revenge was fulfilled, and the yokai hermit, whose 20-year plan had crumbled, was now consumed with rage.

Although Inmyeon Jiju was better at controlling her emotions, even a brief moment of hesitation could unravel 20 years of careful planning.

[You hesitated, focusing on the greater yokai while ignoring the enemy before you, and now that indecision has sealed your fate.]

[I admit it, young hanyou. I underestimated your determination and your human companion.]

The yokai hermit, who had endured for more than a decade, showing a patience spanning 20 years, declared that he would no longer be careless.

The atmosphere shifted as the surrounding air thickened.

The yokai energy and the natural qi he commanded became visibly alight in a light purple aura, wrapping around his entire body.

[First, I’ll strip you of the very reason you continue to fight.]

The enormous yokai energy spread, forming a summoning circle in mid-air.

From that circle emerged two colossal spider-human hybrids.

[M-Mom? Dad? No, this can’t be! It’s impossible!]

Inmyeon Jiju, the hanyou.

Her parents, who had disappeared 20 years ago, had returned.

But now, they had grown even larger and more monstrous, becoming fully mature Inmyeon Jiju themselves.

[This forest no longer holds any value. I’ve called upon the sentinels to guard the northern part of the Great Forest, and I’ll also be reclaiming the yokai energy I used for the downpour.]

As the yokai hermit’s talisman glowed, the rain that had been falling throughout the forest stopped abruptly.

[With the last of the reclaimed energy, I will lay a geas, amplifying my power. From this point on, only one living being will leave this place alive.]

[Until the final survivor is determined, no one can escape the barrier, and if no resolution is reached in 10 minutes, all within will be sealed forever.]

[Including myself.]

The hermit laid down a geas that would bind even his own life and freedom, significantly amplifying the power that flowed back to him.

• Woah, this is insane.
• Is this really Phase 3?!
• The final phase is always the toughest.
• How is his human form stronger than his giant form?
• Those yokai can destroy entire forests when they’re serious, but we humans are wrecking the whole planet with fossil fuels, aren’t we?
• Oof…
• Sorry, Earth…
• Guys, is that really important right now?! This is supposed to be a final boss fight, but we’re already getting geas-wielding yokai in Phase 3!
• Oh, you’re right.
• The Silent Swordsman is already fighting final boss-level enemies in just the third field.

The difficulty had been insane from the start, but after clearing two fields perfectly, it had ramped up even higher now.

[Mom, Dad, please move aside! If I just push a little harder, I can kill the hermit!]

[You think I’ll allow that? Every time you strike me, your parents will lose a limb. Like this, for instance!]

[Nooooooo!]

Splat!

Inmyeon Jiju’s parents, with their own hands, each tore off one of their spider legs.

In a panic, Inmyeon Jiju lost the will to fight.

What was once a 2v1 battle had now shifted dramatically into a 1v3 situation.

[Now, let’s see who the final victor will be.]

The hidden boss raid entered its final phase.

[Player Mode]

The Inmyeon Jiju’s body was impenetrably tough, so much so that even a sword couldn’t pierce it.

One of these half-yokai creatures was enough to be called a catastrophe, but now two more had appeared.

And these were far larger and stronger, fully matured versions of the Inmyeon Jiju.

Rumble

Boom, boom!

With a quick burst of speed, they charged on seven legs, crashing their iron-hard limbs down like pillars.

As soon as the joint attack from the two hanyous ended,

Whoosh!

Talismans filled with ominous yokai energy shot toward the Silent Swordsman.

Quickly recovering her stance, she dodged between the giant forms of the adult Inmyeon Jiju, but where she had stood just moments ago, the talismans exploded, melting the ground into a swampy pit.

“!!”

In this final phase, the battle had now turned into a fierce struggle for [control of the space].

The two hanyous pressed forward with their massive frames and sturdy legs.

If the Silent Swordsman was cornered, talismans rained down to obliterate the landscape.

But if she slipped past the talismans and into the gap between the hanyous, the iron-hard legs would rain down in another devastating assault.

• Isn’t this an inescapable trap?
• Sensei, is there any hope here?
• It looks like a nearly unbeatable combo.

At first glance, it seemed like a flawless, unstoppable sequence of attacks.

But for the Speedmaster, something else was visible:

A critical flaw in this seemingly perfect assault.

“The attacks that eliminate the ground are more of a threat to the hanyous than to the human. If she holds out long enough, there will be a moment when the hanyous themselves start to sink.”

Even a relentless barrage like this would eventually come to an end.

And when that time came, it would be the perfect moment to strike the yokai hermit in his final phase.

The hanyous would be locked down, leaving only the human to move freely.

If she could withstand the onslaught until then, the Silent Swordsman would have her chance to win.

“The question is, can she endure that long?”

As the legs rained down one after another, the situation was so tense that seeing even a step ahead seemed impossible.

Yet, the Silent Swordsman’s focus was not on the ground but on the joints of the two hanyous attacking from above.

“What a terrifying woman. She’s reading all their movements.”

She wasn’t relying purely on her speed;

She was also analyzing the enemy’s motions, reacting just a step ahead.

With a total of 14 legs combined between the two hanyous, they were hammering down as if it were a rhythm game,

But she dodged every single strike without missing a beat.

Her stamina, concentration, reflexes, agility, and flexibility…

Each of these came together in perfect harmony, allowing her to weave through the deadly attacks.

Boom, boom, boom!

For others, it would have seemed like a desperate situation,

But for the Silent Swordsman, her heightened concentration allowed her to remain in control.

In the Speedmaster’s consciousness, everything appeared to slow down, becoming more detailed, as though watching the scene unfold in slow motion.

‘As expected, she’s not just dodging aimlessly.’

In the blink of an eye—so brief that even if it was explained during the broadcast, the viewers wouldn’t understand it—she memorized the range of motion of each joint and the order in which they moved, constructing a three-dimensional map of the incoming attacks and charting a path to escape.

When simultaneous assaults or blocked routes made it impossible to dodge in this predictive manner,

She utilized the recoil from striking their legs to change her trajectory midair, moving in an unpredictable direction that the fully-grown Inmyeon Jiju couldn’t anticipate.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Her concentration waned for a moment.

The pace of the attacks accelerated once again,

How long had the Silent Swordsman been maintaining this deep level of focus?

‘It’s a battle of resources.’

On one side, the yokai hermit was whittling down the landscape, limiting the space the half-yokai could move in.

On the other side, the Silent Swordsman’s concentration was steadily being drained.

It was clear that whichever side reached their limit first would be the one to face defeat.

‘It’s here.’

Dodge after dodge, an endless barrage of ferocious attacks.

But in the end,

The ones who reached their limit first

Were the fully-grown half-yokai.

• Doesn’t it seem like the Silent Swordsman would be amazing at rhythm games?
• What kind of rhythm game punishes you like this when you miss a pattern?!
• She could probably create her own level with 8 keys at difficulty 15.
• Haha, no, don’t actually make it!

Dodging everything purely by grit was legendary.

The ground had melted away.

Now the enormous bodies and legs of the fully-grown Inmyeon Jiju were sinking into the swampy terrain.

The relentless opponents that had cornered her so thoroughly were now completely sealed.

Finally, the moment had come for the Silent Swordsman’s counterattack.

‘Any further delay would be a disadvantage for me.’

If not only the Inmyeon Jiju but also the Silent Swordsman herself lost her footing,

The yokai hermit, who had been protecting the last patch of solid ground, would undoubtedly be the final survivor within the barrier.

This single moment, where the yokai hermit was at his weakest and the Silent Swordsman at her strongest—

It was in this fleeting instant that the Silent Swordsman placed all her strength.

<Blue Sea Technique>

<Blood Meridian Unleashing>

The explosive power of the Haenam sect’s second-tier technique surged through her, accelerating as it flowed through nine blood meridians.

BAM!

Ziiiiiiiiing—

With a devastating blow, she used the sinking body of one of the fully-grown Inmyeon Jiju as a foothold, launching herself toward the yokai hermit.

But her path was perfectly blocked by another Inmyeon Jiju that soared forward, sealing her attack.

Crash!

Groooaaar!

The enormous creature was violently knocked back, sinking deeper into the swamp.

The sword marks, like twisting dragon scars, were left on its body, which even a blade couldn’t penetrate.

Though the attack had been immense, it ultimately failed to land a decisive blow.

Now, as the Silent Swordsman plummeted, there was nothing left to shield her from the talismans flying toward her from the yokai hermit.

• Ah!
• Did she block that?!
• What a shame, it’s so unfortunate.

As the Silent Swordsman seemed to be on the brink of death, many forgot that the real fight was only just beginning with Speedmaster’s strategy.

While everyone watching couldn’t help but sigh,

“It’s not over yet.”

Speedmaster, the one who would benefit the most from her death, was the only one who realized the last variable still in play on this battlefield.

“There isn’t just one half-yokai ally, is there?”

The growing Inmyeon Jiju, who had been left out of the yokai hermit’s calculations, was immobilized due to the brutal condition that if they intervened, their parents would suffer—the devastating truth that their parents had become half-yokai like them.

[Your parents are already lost. They’re nothing more than puppets, controlled by the hermit’s will.]

[You! Will you only come to your senses after you witness the death of your parents?]

[If that’s the case, you should have never turned them into this.]

The mother, using the father as a foothold, leaped forward.

The father, who had already sunk under the swamp, was long gone, and now the mother, having taken the Silent Swordsman’s attack, was also being driven into the swamp.

The yokai hermit’s shield tactics had worked perfectly against the Silent Swordsman,

But in doing so, they had also freed the young Inmyeon Jiju, who had been shackled to the sidelines.

[Step on me and attack.]

“…!”

[Take revenge for me, too.]

The Silent Swordsman, understanding the resolute eyes of a child ready to die,

Leapt into the air, using her friend as a stepping stone.

Sacrificing their life, the Silent Swordsman was given one final opportunity to land a decisive blow.

In the midst of this desperate situation, with the yokai hermit cornered,

[No, this is my victory.]

He unleashed hundreds of talismans, spreading them in both hands, gathering a deep purple radiance.

Just like an arrow that had already been fired and could no longer go faster,

The Silent Swordsman, now targeted by the radiant light,

Could only watch helplessly.

[You’ve grown up to be a good child.]

[What?!]

The yokai hermit, certain there were no more variables left, and believing himself the final victor, realized too late that he had made a grave error.

His calculation didn’t account for the unwavering love of parents toward their child.

After twenty years of being mentally enslaved,

Trapped in the body of a half-yokai,

Used as nothing more than puppets,

The parents, discarded like worthless trash,

Suddenly awakened a faint will—

Slash!

They unleashed a thread tougher than steel, twisting the angle of the hermit’s arm at the last moment. Even the yokai hermit couldn’t have predicted this.

• The parents just saved the day!
• Parents coming through!
• Is this a comeback?!
• Oh my god, this is touching.
• Could it happen? Could it really happen?

Cheered on by the 6,600 viewers,

In the final moment,

The direction of the battle shifted.

[Don’t you dare speak nonsense!!]

The yokai hermit poured all his remaining energy into the talismans, striking the ground with fury,

But even as his energy drained away, he condensed every bit of his remaining power into his eyes,

Shooting a bright purple light.

<Yokai Energy Destruction Beam>

• Whoa, it’s like a demonic death beam!!
• This guy is totally unhinged, seriously.
• Just stop already, man!
• Just die already!!
• How is he still acting like the final boss?!

The energy gathered in his eyes moved faster than the talismans,

And just before it could be released,

The yokai hermit’s legs buckled, causing the beam to veer off course,

Missing the Silent Swordsman and striking beside her instead.

[If you’re our daughter’s friend, then you’re precious to us, too.]

Only then did the yokai hermit realize his fatal mistake.

In a final bid to unleash all his strength,

He had used the energy that controlled the two half-yokai,

But now the battlefield that had once been 3 against 1

Had instantly turned into 1 against 4.

The power of the Inmyeon Jiju family, the former leaders of the vast forest human tribe,

Could not be underestimated, even after 20 years.

The yokai hermit, having become fixated on the strength of the Silent Swordsman,

Had forgotten about the invisible bonds of family,

And that was why he was now facing defeat.

<Horned Charge>

Like a ship ramming into another with its bow,

The Silent Swordsman’s sword, carrying the force of an entire ship,

Charged straight into the yokai hermit, who had wasted all his energy.

There was no way the yokai hermit, whose wrists and ankles were still bound by the threads of the Inmyeon Jiju couple,

Could dodge, deflect, or block the attack.

BOOM!

With the sound of flesh being torn apart,

A massive hole exploded in the yokai hermit’s torso,

So large it seemed as if his entire body had been vaporized.

[How… How could I, a great yokai, who was on the verge of surpassing even the grand yokai stronghold…]

[Be defeated by mere half-yokai and humans…]

With a pale face drained of all color, the yokai hermit clung to his delusions.

Slice

The Silent Swordsman’s blade ended his life.

The headless corpse knelt down and sank into the swamp.

Thus ended the long, grueling battle to defeat the hidden boss of the third field,

The melting forest.