Episode 147 is the 147th episode of Hero Killer.
Synopsis[]
The Executioner steps out of the Forest of Immortals and meets the Hero Clan Task Force. The Punisher instantly takes up a defensive stance and the assassin summons both her Snakeheart Swords, weighing the options of the task forces' chances of succeeding in a fight with the famed swordsman.
However, instead of fighting, she chooses to talk. Dalia tells Ijincheon that this is her first time seeing and meeting him in person. And that out of the Four Swordsmen members, he is the one that the Hero Clan is the most curious about as he is also the most unpredictable amongst them.
The assassin then recalls some of his history of once being known as the "Inept Apprentice" of the Executioner's pupils. Yet, he became so powerful in the blink of an eye while indirectly asking how he achieved such strength.
Flashbacking, Ijincheon meets with his teacher the Executioner one night in the Silver Forest. The old swordsman tells his student that his end is near as his body is failing him while coughing up blood. Ijincheon, with a look of sadness, tells his master not to say such a thing.
But the Executioner tells him that he knows the state of his body and knows that he doesn't have much time left. He then says that he will soon have a visitor, and Ijincheon asks his teacher who will be with the Executioner telling him it is Yushin of Yerim. The Executioner believes that the Elder will give him a graceful departure and be a worthy last adversary to face before he dies.
The Executioner notes to his student that he harbored a dream to accomplish something great with his skill when he was a young man but he was born with a fragile physique which is why he could only work on a single swordsmanship technique to gather whatever energy he could muster to unleash a single, ultimate attack to execute his enemies without the need for a follow-up attack. Ijincheon responds by saying that is how he became one of the five most reputable swordsmen to which the Executioner says that it is a name that means nothing and what he wanted was the skill to reach the skies. That he wanted to become the very best.
The Executioner, with his death near, then tells Ijincheon that he was born with pretty much no talent to speak of. He remembers that his other students were able to cut through the cliffside as soon they picked up a sword, but that Ijincheon took a year to scrape a boulder.
He explains that if a talented young warrior is described as one in a million, then Ijincheon's lack of talent is one in a billion. However, the Executioner tells Ijincheon that he believes he is the one who will make his dreams come true despite that. But confused at his master's words, Ijincheon repeats back to his master that he is indeed talentless to an extraordinary extent as his master described him to be, and if he were at least mediocre in skill, he would have hope for more, but the Executioner asks Ijincheon even if he were to have an infinite amount of time which confuses his student further.
The Executioner then states that his other pupils have already taken his three cherished swords and that he only has one left. The old swordsman draws his blade of white energy from his walking cane and asks Ijincheon if he still wishes to become strong, like what he said on the first day that they met.
Ijincheon draws his respective sword. And the Executioner commands him, the Inept Apprentice, to take his master's sword. Ijincheon unflinchingly accepts and readies himself. The two swordsmen simultaneously attack each other, but Ijincheon fails to defend against this attack and is wounded. He sheathes his sword and closes his eyes as he slowly passes out. The Executioner gives his wounded student one final monologue:
“ | ” | |
— {{{Source}}} |
The Executioner then passes on his title on to Ijincheon as he is absorbed by his master's sword.
Ijincheon, strangely healed of his wound, finds himself in a void of complete, utter white with only a single sword in front of him. Grabbing the sword, he hears laughter coming from somewhere and meets a strange-looking giant entity wearing a straw hat and dressed in old clothing holding an equally massive sword. It welcomes him into the Sword Purgatory, where souls of swordsmen driven mad by the desire to perfect their skills have gathered. The entity tells Ijincheon that he will see what lies at the end of the path of swordsmanship by "training" with the souls for eternity.
Ijincheon spends over one year endlessly fighting against the souls as they exchange blinding slashes and strikes. He repeats this for over ten years and then one hundred years. One thousand years later, Ijincheon is set on top of a mountain of the souls' broken swords and blades. He asks the soul with the straw hat, which was the first one to greet him if it is the last foe. As it answers him, Ijincheon cuts it down in an instant. The soul praises him and acknowledges him to be The Executioner.
Upon his return to the real world, Ijincheon finds himself in the same place of the Silver Forest where he was absorbed. He sees that his master's sword is broken opposite to his master's clothed skeleton. His master's skeleton immediately releases a phantom-like technique to attack him. Though surprised, Ijincheon easily defends against the attack. His master's spirit, content, offers him one final goodbye, and the skeleton turns into dust. Ijincheon, grateful, bows his head down before his master's final resting place.
Now again in the present, Ijincheon responds that he has his ways to the Punisher's questions. He then tells her and the task force of Heroes to relax as he's just passing through, relieved, Dalia can't help but feel a certain vibe coming from the swordsman while looking at him walk away, a similar one she felt coming from Hero Killer when she met and tried to kill the young villain. She thinks to herself that these feelings match the ones she keeps feeling from the image of the silver-haired woman from her fractured memories as she whispers Hero Killer's name. Ijincheon stops in his tracks and answers the questions flooding her head. He tells the assassin, of course, they're similar. It's because he is her father. At that moment, Dalia finally remembers.
Character Appearances[]
- The Executioner of the Silver Forest (Flashback/Death)
- Yushin (Mentioned)
- Executioner's Students
- The Souls of Sword Purgatory (First/Last Appearance)
- Dalia Mendoza, The Punisher
- Narkle Encilion
- Paladin
- Yeon (Vision)
- Hero Killer (Mentioned/Vision)
Music[]
Episode Links[]
Trivia[]
- The words 不忘絶對決斬 that were craved by the Executioner's students means Never forget the absolute resolve to sever. This phrase suggests a strong determination or making a critical decision without hesitation.
- The Four Swordsmen are referred to the Five once again.
- The Executioner's youth is briefly shown in his early days when making a name for himself.
- This is the last time that the Executioner is shown alive in the series.
- It's assumed that Yushin was the one to have place Executioner's remains in its final resting spot.
- The concept of a "spirit" is shown in the phenomenon of the Executioner's final strike against his pupil.
- This episode is the second to have an OST song featuring Ijincheon aside from A swordsman known as the Executioner in Episode 106 of the Nostra City Arc.