Chapter 231 – Kojima’s Daughter

Kojima faced the sashimi blade. That threat, that gaze full of hostility—it was a situation far too familiar to him.

With his blue eyes, he looked past the knife at the young man wielding it. Kang Geom-Ma’s face was calm, but his eyes were feral.

‘This isn’t a kitchen knife. It’s a scalpel.’

Kojima smiled to himself.

‘Well, you’ve got to admire the nerve.’

He’d burst into his hospital room with a cheap sashimi knife. Had just neutralized the entire security team in one blow—though they were all still alive. He’d done it using sheer mental force. To handle a field like that so deftly at his age…

‘Heavenly Sword really is a monster.’

For a genius, age was just a number. Only those with nothing else to offer clung to their age like a badge of honor.

Kojima knew this well. He, too, had become one of the Seven Stars just after turning twenty.

‘But between him and me the gap is immense.’

A difference in strength. Even if they were both hailed as heroes of humanity, he didn’t hold a candle to him. Kojima knew that. And he wondered—if that boy received the secret of the Blessing Awakening from Meain, how far could he go?

‘A Kang Geom-Ma who has Awakened.’

You wouldn’t just be unable to sit beside him. You wouldn’t even be able to meet his gaze. He might even surpass the legendary Balor Joaquin. And yet, he still wasn’t the Hero. He kept stumbling against that invisible wall.

“Geom-Ma.”

This time, he used his name, not the title. His voice was solemn and cold.

“If you want to, you can stab me with that knife. Even kill me, if that’s what you wish.”

He spoke as if offering advice. Kojima was a seasoned politician. He knew how to read and manipulate people. In that regard, the boy was still inexperienced. A bit of rhetoric should be enough to sway him.

“I won’t lecture you with lines like ‘don’t act on emotion’. But if you do this, you’ll have to bear the consequences. I mean, you might ruin something important down the—”

Before he could finish, Kang Geom-Ma moved. Holding the sashimi knife in reverse, he drove it into his thigh.

Thud.

Only when he heard the sound of flesh tearing did Kojima look down. The white bedsheet slowly stained red. His solemn expression began to tremble.

“Guh… ngh…!”

Kang Geom-Ma’s left hand clamped over his mouth.

“Did you rent the hospital? Quiet.”

His empty eyes stared without emotion. Then he twisted the knife clockwise. A sharp pain shot through Kojima’s groin.

He tried to scream again but only tasted the bitterness of the hand in his mouth. He tried to fight back, but another blade had already been stabbed through his palm. He hadn’t even seen it coming.

The pain returned, muddling his mind. Negative emotions swirled without end.

“Kang Geom-Ma. You…”

Kang Geom-Ma spoke. His eyes gleamed with deep intensity, but his tone was savage and sharp.

“You got your ankles broken for running your mouth and you’re still talking? Aren’t you supposed to be the sharpest after Media? Why are you such a slow learner?”

“…Mmph… mmph!”

Kang Geom-Ma tilted his head while looking at him. There was something Kojima hadn’t anticipated.

A seasoned politician? In his past life, Kang Geom-Ma had dealt with all kinds of politicians and bureaucrats. He knew them well. They always talked about “the future.”

To avoid responsibility. To delay consequences. Pretty words wrapped around lies and manipulation.

‘Think about tomorrow’?

‘What a joke.’

Back on Earth, he worked himself to death dreaming of a decent retirement. But in this world, war was imminent. There was no room for fantasies.

In a dark age, the future was like a candle in the wind. That’s why he didn’t look far ahead. Only at the present. And he trusted his judgment completely.

That was his survival instinct.

‘I’m a swordsman. Not a politician.’

Kang Geom-Ma removed his hand from Kojima’s mouth and flicked his wrist.

“You know what guys like you usually say at this point? ‘Do you think you can handle this?’, ‘How dare you insult me?’—and from the look on your face, you were about to say exactly that.”

He retrieved all three knives one by one and placed a hand over the wounds, transmitting the Blessing of Regeneration. The flesh began to close.

Kojima looked at his palm. Though the pain remained, no visible wounds were left. He already knew Geom-Ma was a master of combat, but he could use healing blessings too? And why heal him?

As he pondered it, a chill ran down his spine.

“Don’t tell me… you healed me so you could…”

Finally, he realized what kind of monster stood before him.

“You’re quick on the uptake.”

Kang Geom-Ma nodded. Kojima understood what was coming. And why he called the knife a scalpel.

‘This guy has no intention of killing me.’

He’d dissect him with a sashimi knife and then stitch him back together with a creepy skill.

Kojima wasn’t exactly a moral man. But even he was horrified by the idea. That wasn’t a hero. Not even a human.

‘Did the Swordmaster know what kind of monster this kid was when he gave him the position?’

Of course he did. He had a deep vision. He knew who Kang Geom-Ma was. Looking at his pale face, Kang Geom-Ma spoke coldly.

“Kojima. Even if you feel like you’re standing before a demon, to me, you’re the more disgusting one. If you treat your daughter like a tool, don’t you dare give me that look.”

“Why are you doing all this? Is it because Ryozo is your friend? Are you going to turn against Japan just for that?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

Kang Geom-Ma pulled a handful of sashimi knives from his coat. As he picked one, he answered.

“What I’m denying is the question ‘are you going to turn against Japan?’”

He picked one. The finely sharpened blade gleamed in the light.

“Japan? I’ll turn against the United States if I have to.”

It was bravado. Someone who could barely last a minute couldn’t possibly fight an entire nation. He only said it to break his spirit.

But for Kojima, it was more than enough to terrify him.

After all, Kang Geom-Ma was the heaven-blessed hero who had eliminated two Corps Commanders. A butcher powerful enough to shift the world’s balance.

To Kojima, those words weren’t just threats. Even if it was all his own delusion.

A chill pierced his chest. His usual composure shattered. After all, he was lying in a hospital bed.

“…You’re insane. Completely insane. Your way of thinking is no different from a demon’s.”

Demonic thinking? If you knew what you suspected lived inside me, you’d faint. Kang Geom-Ma let out a dry laugh.

“Looks like you finally understand how I felt about you a moment ago.”

“Enough…!”

Then, two hands shot out and grabbed the sashimi knife.

It was Hina, who had been pretending to be unconscious. She clutched the blade so hard that blood dripped onto the bedsheet.

“I… as his daughter, I apologize. Heavenly Sword, please… show mercy to my father. Whatever you ask, I’ll accept it.”

“Hina!”

Kojima exploded, but Hina stared at him with tearful eyes and glared.

“Prime Minister… no, Dad! That’s enough! You, who always talked about keeping calm, are now the most irrational of all.”

Her finger joints ached. Even though Kang Geom-Ma’s gaze bore into her profile, she forced herself not to look away.

She was terrified. Even so, she raised her voice.

“And how can you do that to Ryozo? Turn him into an Awakened just to leave your name in history? That she’ll thank you later? That’s pure selfishness. Have you even really talked to him? I’m not expecting a perfect family, but this is too much.”

Kojima’s daughter poured out her anger, her sadness, and her disappointment.

“Tell me, Dad. Do children have to fulfill your insecurities? Why do we have to fight over your ambition? Even Ryozo, your heir, you only see him as a tool?”

Her tears mixed with the blood falling to the floor.

“…And is that so important you’re willing to risk your life for it? If your condition worsens… if you fall into critical condition… what am I supposed to do? Even if you’re a despicable father…”

Even if she couldn’t call him father. Even if he wasn’t affectionate. Even if he left her with all the burdens.

Even so, she stayed by his side. Because despite everything, he was still her father. Because she still respected him.

“I’m not asking you to be loving, Dad… I just want you to remember you have a family. That’s all.”

Saki Hina dropped to her knees. With her bleeding hands gripping the knife, she broke down in tears.

Kang Geom-Ma glanced sideways at her. Then he withdrew the sashimi knife. He took both of Hina’s hands.

“Huh…?”

She looked in shock at the glow surrounding her wrists. It was warm.

After completing the healing, Kang Geom-Ma looked back at Kojima.

“Actually, I had planned to break you mentally today, Kojima.”

He barely heard it. His face was pale, his gaze unfocused. He truly seemed shaken by his daughter’s words. Kang Geom-Ma sighed.

“Thanks to your daughter, I’ll leave it at that. But I’m going to add two more conditions to what we talked about. In addition to full support for the Heavenly Class you mentioned before, I want Japan to deploy heroes en masse to the Gehenna Gate area.”

Kojima looked up with vacant eyes. Kang Geom-Ma looked him directly in the eye and added,

“If you agree, nod.”

“……”

Half in a trance, Kojima nodded. A few strands of hair fell over his forehead.

Kang Geom-Ma scratched his head and walked toward the door. Just before leaving, he turned again.

“You… Saki Hina, right?”

Hina looked up shyly. Her eyes were swollen.

“Instead of using strange charms, show that sincere side like you did just now.”

“Y-yes?”

“You don’t need to use the Seduction Blessing or anything like that. You’re pretty. But that kind of thing just puts people off. Anyway, I held back today because of you, so ask that man for something. If he has a shred of conscience, he’ll at least give you the scraps.”

Hina didn’t hear that last part. Her face was as red as a ripe autumn persimmon.

Kang Geom-Ma wondered what was wrong with her but quickly let it go. He had somewhere else to be.