Amon summarized the incident in one sentence.
“There is no such thing as a good cursed sword.”
“Why are you stating the obvious like it’s some profound truth?”
A priest, nitpicking beside him, was just a bonus.
Of course, the cursed sword might have had its own circumstances or grievances.
‘But then again, who in this world doesn’t?’
More importantly, the moment it took over a woman’s body and started swinging a blade, any reason it had became irrelevant.
And so, the cursed sword, knocked unconscious by Amon, was purified without even a chance to defend itself.
No dramatic backstory like any other villain.
No Miranda rights read to it.
That didn’t mean Amon and the squinting priest had no interest in its story.
Instead of the cursed sword, they turned their attention to the unconscious woman’s younger brother.
***
“How did she end up picking up that sword?”
Inside a private room of an upscale Korean restaurant, the kind where important people whispered about secrets, Amon asked the young man.
The boy sat there, looking utterly bewildered.
“All this… just to hear a story?”
“Survival always comes first, brother,” Amon replied smoothly in refined Korean.
That only deepened the young man’s confusion.
“What the hell are you?”
“If I told you, you’d get hurt. Seriously.”
“Either be polite or speak casually. Pick one.”
“That’s not the important part, so let’s move on.”
Swept up in Amon’s pace, the boy let out a deep sigh before finally speaking.
“First off, my name is… Ji—Jisunwoo. And the sister you saved is Jisunhwa.”
According to Sunwoo, Sunhwa had once been a promising martial artist at a dojo.
Because of that, the two siblings—who would have otherwise starved to death on the streets, having no parents—were able to survive as disciples of the school.
But luck never lasts forever.
One day, while organizing the storage room, Sunhwa had accidentally fallen under the cursed sword’s influence.
To protect their reputation, the martial arts sect expelled her, pretending not to know her.
Later, Sunwoo discovered that the sect had actually been secretly creating cursed swords to gain more power.
But when they realized Sunhwa’s incident could tarnish their image, they cut her off.
Sunhwa lost her mind, and Sunwoo, now with no means to survive, began dabbling in various things.
Having trained as a disciple alongside his sister, he was confident in his physical abilities.
So, in his own way, he started earning money for their survival…
“Stop.”
Amon cut him off.
“Don’t lie to me.”
“What?”
“You didn’t even know your sister was possessed by the sword. If you had, you wouldn’t have mentioned something like an AI infection.”
Sunwoo’s expression darkened slightly.
After a brief moment of hesitation, he tried again.
“My sister was a hacker—”
“That’s another lie.”
“Was it that obvious?”
“Very.”
Even after that, Sunwoo kept trying to lie, but none of it worked on Amon.
Eventually, Amon got tired of listening and spoke up.
“Let me make this easier. I already know your sister was an assassin-in-training.”
Flinch.
Sunwoo’s poorly concealed surprise was obvious from the way his shoulders stiffened.
But Amon didn’t stop there.
“And I also confirmed at the hospital that both of you are living under false identities.”
“…Who the hell are you?”
Under Amon’s relentless questioning, Sunwoo hesitated before finally answering.
“If you knew, you’d get hurt.”
“I’ve recently realized something. Ignoring the truth and pretending not to know always makes things worse in the end. So, let me ask again. Who are you two, really?”
His speech mixed between formal and informal, Amon pressed him for the truth.
Eventually, Sunwoo gave up and admitted it.
“Do you know about the Gyeomgye?”
“Oh. That’s bigger than I expected.”
Gyeomgye, A unique assassin group that existed only in Joseon.
“They’re not private soldiers since they have no official affiliation. Not mercenaries, because they’re too dirty for that. Not criminals, because they carry themselves with pride. Not mere bandits, because they have honor. Not just warriors, because…”
“They’re closer to monsters.”
Sunwoo let out a bitter laugh.
“How do you know about them?”
“I studied.”
The Gyeomgye was a product of Joseon’s unique sociopolitical landscape.
In Joseon, the king’s authority was so absolute that private military forces were strictly forbidden.
The Yi dynasty despised private armies so much that even hearing the word ‘sa’ in ‘sabyeong’ (private soldier) was enough to make them send out troops in a panic.
That paranoia was understandable—once before, a rebellion had nearly toppled the monarchy.
The dynasty was still suffering from its PTSD.
But here’s the thing—Joseon was, in reality, a military dictatorship.
The government was run by former military officers.
And these military elites preferred swords over words and laws.
The demand for private forces remained high.
If left unchecked, the underground world would have thrived.
So instead of allowing private armies, the royal court sanctioned a special group—an organization that served no master but honored martial arts itself.
In Joseon, where firearms were banned, these warriors carried swords, leaped over walls under the cover of night, and wielded their blades in the service of those who could afford them.
That was the Gyeomgye.
And Sunwoo and Sunhwa weren’t full-fledged assassins, but trainees.
“So, you and your sister were part of the Gyeomgye?”
“We were.”
“Not anymore.”
“Why?”
“Because of the cursed blade.”
Sunwoo let out a bitter laugh.
“The first story I told you wasn’t entirely a lie.”
The cursed blade was indeed created by the Sword Guild, and it was true that Sunhwa, as an apprentice, became entranced by it, leading to both of them being cast out.
The only difference was that their sect happened to be the Sword Guild.
It wasn’t a complete lie.
“I apologize for lying.”
With that apology, Sunwoo began recounting the events that followed.
“I started hating you and the priest because of what happened afterward.”
With nowhere else to go, the siblings sought out numerous exorcist priests and shamans in hopes of returning to the Sword Guild.
They believed that if the cursed blade was purified, the guild would accept them again.
However, every single one of those exorcists either failed or took their money and ran.
After repeated scams and failures, Sunwoo’s distrust only grew.
Then, one day, on a whim, he administered some medicine from the hospital to Sunhwa, and she showed slight improvement.
Her condition, which had remained unchanged, suddenly improved with mere medication.
At that moment, Sunwoo stopped believing in possession and became convinced it was an AI infection instead.
“I never imagined that the cursed blade had just gotten bored because it had no one left to cut.”
Sunwoo spoke with self-mockery.
Amon, who was dipping tofu into soy sauce, nodded.
“I understand.”
“Good. Looks like all your questions are answered now.”
“Yes, my curiosity is satisfied. However, there’s still unfinished business.”
“What now?”
“Sunwoo, do you want to return to the Sword Guild?”
“If I had a choice, yes.”
The Sword Guild was an assassin organization, but in terms of societal status, it was on par with HOD in the United States.
It wasn’t something he could easily give up.
He wanted to return badly enough that he could answer the question without hesitation.
Amon silently observed the boy.
Then, after a brief nod, he said, “Understood. I’ll help you.”
“How? Are you planning to bribe the boss?”
Sunwoo glanced around the private room he was sitting in as he spoke.
“Forget it. Only people obsessed with swords can become official assassins in the guild. People like my sister.”
“I know.”
“Then what’s your plan?”
“You said it yourself.”
“Said what?”
“That they are obsessed with swords.”
“???”
Sunwoo couldn’t grasp Amon’s intent.
‘What did that have to do with anything?’
But Amon didn’t seem interested in explaining.
Instead, he stood up.
“I’ll leave the details as a surprise for later. If you’re finished eating, let’s go.”
Caught off guard, Sunwoo rose from his seat.
Amon extended his hand toward him.
“So, will you accept my proposal?”
After some hesitation, Sunwoo reluctantly took his hand.
“If you can do it, then please. But first, let me ask you one thing.”
“Go ahead.”
“Why are you helping me this much?”
“…Would you believe me if I said it was because of my faith?”
Amon held up the cross pendant on his chest.
Recalling everything Amon had done so far, Sunwoo had no choice but to believe him.
“Alright. I’ll trust you.”
Sunwoo shook the hand he was holding.
Amon nodded in satisfaction.
However, behind that gentle smile, there was a purpose that wasn’t entirely pure.
‘Looks like I’ve gotten involved in another huge mess…’
As they shook hands, Amon used his ability to peer into Sunwoo’s soul.
What he found was something that should have been there but wasn’t.
‘No thread.’
A translucent thread, which was supposed to start from the heart and extend all the way to the royal family.
Neither Sunwoo nor Sunhwa had it.
Even newborns in hospitals were connected to that thread.
Their anomaly was more than enough to spark Amon’s curiosity.
‘I wonder what kind of incident awaits me this time.’
With that thought, Amon absentmindedly tossed another piece of tofu into his mouth.
***
Meanwhile, while Amon was ‘coincidentally’ stirring up a new incident purely out of interest…
“See? Choosing a good son-in-law is so important.”
Unaware of the storm to come, the squinting priest was enjoying a full Korean meal with Sonia in the next room.