The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel

[Agent No. 5. It’s a mission. Come to the designated place.]

Jeom So-i passed a note to the Heavenly Death Star during dinner. It contained instructions from the assassination organization to which she belonged.

The Heavenly Death Star, seemingly pleased about something, excused herself from the continuously smiling man and stepped out into the street.

It was already dark outside, and the shops in the marketplace were closing for the day.

Walking through the marketplace, she stealthily entered a hidden shop in a secluded alley and opened a secret door.

“You’re here. Sit down.”

Inside the secret room, a middle-aged man sipped tea.

“What’s the mission?”

The Heavenly Death Star asked, not bothering to sit down.

“You’re in such a hurry. We should catch up a bit before getting to the main topic. Is it okay to ask so directly?”

The middle-aged man, head of the local assassination branch, gestured for her to sit.

“I don’t have time.”

“Well, that makes sense. I heard you’ve been cozying up with that black-haired man lately.”

“We’re not in that kind of relationship.”

“Not in that kind of relationship? Then what other reason is there for a man and a woman to share a room?”

The middle-aged man wiggled his eyebrows and smirked slyly. The Heavenly Death Star glared at him, but no one at the assassination branch cowered under such a gaze.

“I’m just with him to find out something.”

“That’s how all relationships between men and women start. They begin with discovering what food he likes, move on to what cute acts he responds to, and eventually, you find out what positions he prefers.”

“I’m leaving.”

The Heavenly Death Star turned to leave.

“Oh, can’t even joke with Agent No. 5. Your next mission is to go to Heungguk near Baekunsan in Gangseong Province. The branch there will give you the details.”

“Gangseong Province?”

That was too far. Currently, they were in Hubei Province. A mission within the same province would be manageable, but traveling to a different province meant a long journey.

Would that man accompany her? Recently, he had just started making a living, as his diary revealed. Would he abandon his stable life to leave with her?“ The Heavenly Death Star wasn’t sure.

“Yes, Gangseong Province. Why?”

“It’s too far. I’ll reject this mission.”

Eventually, the Heavenly Death Star decided to refuse the mission.

“Wow! Never thought I’d see the day when Agent No. 5 would refuse a mission. Is this a first? Have you found something more important than your missions?”

The man’s eyes curved into crescent moons; his face displayed sly knowledge.

The Heavenly Death Star suddenly felt that killing this man might quell her urge to kill, even if she didn’t accept the assassination mission.

“Then I’ll go.”

“It’s fine to refuse the mission. But does that man know you’re the Heavenly Death Star?”

The man’s remark stopped the Heavenly Death Star in her tracks.

“He doesn’t need to know.”

The Heavenly Death Star’s response was confident, yet there seemed to be a catch.

“A woman sharing a bed who could turn around in the middle of the night and kill him should probably let him know. Can you keep controlling your murderous urges without taking missions? It might not matter now, but if you keep refusing missions to avoid leaving him, you might have to part with him forever.”

The middle-aged man indirectly warned her that she could end up sending the man she was living with to the afterlife.

For the Heavenly Death Star, murderous urges were like a constant hunger.

Even a person on a strict diet could be overtaken by hunger during sleep, letting their appetite override reason.

Even if one controlled their hunger with a strong will during the day, at night, they might unconsciously find themselves in front of the fridge, searching for something to eat.

The Heavenly Death Star was similar.

During the day, she controlled her murderous urges with willpower and martial arts, but at night, that control could slip away. If her urges spiked too high during sleep, the nearest appetizing man would become her first target.

“…. Qiyasheng (Seven-Night Rope). Can you bring it to me?”

The Heavenly Death Star pondered for a moment before requesting a temporary means to control her murderous urges.

“Using Qiyasheng (Seven-Night Rope)? It doesn’t just suppress murderous impulses. If I remember correctly, you disliked being defenseless when bound by it. Only your master in the assassination branch was allowed to bind you with Qiyasheng, right? And now you’re asking for that?”

Qiyasheng (Seven-Night Rope).

Qiyasheng was a rope made from the hide of a mythical creature and imbued with various spells, capable of suppressing the Heavenly Death Star’s emotions and martial prowess.

The assassination branch created it when the Heavenly Death Star began to wield her sword at night under the influence of murderous impulses.

However, such an artifact couldn’t completely prevent her from being consumed by murderous urges.

It served merely as an auxiliary tool to aid her sleep at night.

“I’m already using something similar. Get it for me.”

The ninja outfit that the Heavenly Death Star wore for important assassination missions contained straps imbued with spells akin to those in Qiyasheng.

Just as one might feel hungrier after eating while on a diet, the Heavenly Death Star’s urge to kill could grow stronger after committing murder. The straps on her ninja outfit helped control such situations.

They were artifacts that suppressed only her murderous urges, not her martial prowess or emotions. She was already using artifacts of a similar nature, albeit less effective than Qiyasheng.

“Qiyasheng is at the branch. It will take some time to get it. Can you hold on until then?”

“….”

She had not yet experienced heightened murderous urges in the few days she was with the man. But could she manage until Qiyasheng arrived?

The Heavenly Death Star couldn’t give a definite answer.

The man, observing her, smiled and reached under the chair.

“I thought so! I brought it here.”

The middle-aged man took out Qiyasheng from a box beside him.

“How?”

The Heavenly Death Star was surprised to see Qiyasheng, which should have been with her master at the assassination branch, right in front of her.

“Your master heard about it and sent it urgently. There’s also a note, so take it with you.”

The Heavenly Death Star took Qiyasheng and the note from her master.

What news had her master heard to send this? She was puzzled.

Qiyasheng was an item she had stopped using as her mastery in martial arts deepened and she could control her murderous intent through regular assassin duties.

-Just throw this away.

-You might need it when you get older. I’ll keep it.

Her master had taken Qiyasheng that day with a mysterious smile.

Did she foresee a situation where she would need to use it again?

What had she anticipated to send it to her?

The Heavenly Death Star cautiously unfolded the note to see its contents.

[Be sure to use contraception.]

For a moment, the Heavenly Death Star seriously considered whether she should immediately take up a sword and head to the branch office.

The Heavenly Death Star ultimately did not return to the branch but went back to the guesthouse where Kang Yun-ho was staying.

She reached the door of the room she shared with Kang Yun-ho quickly but hesitated to open it.

‘Is there no other way?’

She looked at Qiyasheng in her hand, contemplating.

Qiyasheng was something she even hesitated to use during training at the assassination branch. How much she must have disliked it to ask her master to discard it when she gained control over her murderous impulses.

Being bound by this rope would prevent any mishaps at night, but it would also leave her defenseless.

The rope not only suppressed murderous impulses but also her martial prowess and emotional control. Should she really allow herself to be bound by it? The Heavenly Death Star gazed at the black rope.

“I need to sleep.”

She hadn’t slept for two days straight, trying to detect any suspicious behavior in the man who also did not sleep.

Even the Heavenly Death Star, with all her abilities, couldn’t continue to ponder the man’s mutterings in his sleep. What his face looked like, what he looked like as a child—did she remember his face? She couldn’t dwell on these thoughts all night.

Even someone trained in martial arts needs sleep and food, for they are not immortals.

“I don’t want to sleep in a different room.”

It was the simplest solution, but she was reluctant to take it.

When with Kang Yun-ho, her emotions fluctuated in an unusual way.

She feared that her inner calm would be disturbed, unleashing her murderous intent. Yet without doing so, her past memories would remain forever elusive.

She didn’t know when her murderous urges would consume her, but she was aware that she didn’t have much time left. Despite her wish to deny it, the Heavenly Death Star knew the truth.

Her memories were like mist, elusive despite her efforts to grasp them. Perhaps by allowing herself to ride the waves of her emotions, she might break through the fog and uncover her hidden memories.

She had to keep him in her sight to continue this journey.

“Can I trust him?”

Bound by Qiyasheng, she would become defenseless. Could she trust this man?

She was all too aware of the dangers a defenseless woman faced in the martial world.

How would this man treat her if she were defenseless? So far, everything might have been an act, and her true vulnerability might be exposed.

Even if he didn’t reveal his true intentions, dark desires might tempt him to take advantage of her.

The Heavenly Death Star briefly imagined a scenario in which Kang Yun-ho assaulted her.

“Where have you been?”

Kang Yun-ho’s voice emanated from inside the room, making her flinch momentarily.

Why had she been startled? She had done nothing wrong.

Just hearing the man’s voice sent her emotions into disarray.

“When are you coming back?”

His voice, tinged with anxious longing, steadied her wavering heart.

Kang Yun-ho wasn’t just relieved by her absence; he was actively looking for her, earnestly waiting for her return.

Unbeknownst to the Heavenly Death Star, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly at this thought.

“I’m here.”

Restoring her usual expressionless visage, she opened the door and approached him.

“Sohee?”

Could she entrust this rope to him?

Could she entrust herself to him?

The Heavenly Death Star reflected on his behavior over the past three days.

“How foolish it is for humans to wash blood with blood.”

“So that’s why I’m treated like a barbarian here.”

When given power over another, a person’s true nature was revealed, she remembered her master saying.

He might have been acting in front of her. But in the current situation, there was no need for pretense. He could have simply ordered the execution of that contemptible man.

Yet, he had chosen to forgive.

[Be sure to use contraception.]

She thought back to her master’s note.

If she were bound and defenseless, his true nature might come to the fore. But she was not afraid.

The true character she had witnessed today was undoubtedly that of a virtuous person.

Looking at his perplexed face, the Heavenly Death Star spoke.

“Tie me up with this.”

Today, she would be bound by this man. With resolve, she extended the black rope to him.

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