Chapter 252 : Nightmare (2)
Chapter 252: Nightmare (2)
As expected of a seasoned Elder from the Tang Family, even with his wrist being lopped off cleanly, he didn’t waste time screaming in pain or freezing up in shock. Instead, he used the gushing blood and splashed it onto his opponent’s masked face.
But Tang Cheol-jin's quick thinking didn't amount to much in the end.
As the poison-laced blood flew toward his face, Il-mok simply formed a Sword Barrier and deflected it without breaking a sweat.
In that brief window, Tang Cheol-jin stumbled back a step. With his remaining hand, he quickly pressed down on the pressure point at his severed wrist to stop the bleeding, then barked out orders.
"Dark Poison Corps’ First Squad, go after those bastards who ran—"
Before he could even finish giving the command, Il-mok closed the distance in a flash.
"Kugh...!"
The assault was even sharper than before. Tang Cheol-jin desperately threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike by using the Lazy Donkey Roll, a move that scums from Unorthodox Faction use all the time, but which so-called righteous martial artists avoided out of sheer pride.
Just as Il-mok was about to finish off the Tang Family’s Elder who had been rolling on the ground—
"Elder!"
The clansmen who'd been spreading poison at the entrance of the Heavenly Demon Secret Cave all threw their hidden weapons at once.
"Tch."
Il-mok clicked his tongue lightly and changed the trajectory of his sword to draw a massive circle through the air.
Sword Qi flowed along his blade, forming a huge barrier. Every single hidden weapon that struck it lost its momentum and clattered uselessly to the ground.
Ting-ti-ti-ting.
Though Il-mok had blocked the barrage without taking any damage, Tang Cheol-jin had already gotten back on his feet in that brief moment.
Tang Cheol-jin, who'd looked so composed when bullying the Orthodox Faction’s kids earlier, now looked like a proper beggar from the Beggars’ Gang.
His arm was throbbing, and he was sweating buckets from the fear of dying. Tang Cheol-jin glared at Il-mok with pure hatred.
'Damn it all. If only I could use poison properly...'
Faced with death, Tang Cheol-jin couldn't help but feel the bitter sting of injustice.
The Tang Family's greatest weapons are, without question, poison and hidden weapons.
But in this fight, his poison is basically completely useless.
The wind was blowing toward the cave entrance, which meant that if he tried to release poison now, it wouldn't be a fucking suicide.
To make matters worse, they'd already used up most of their deadliest poisons inside the Heavenly Demon Secret Cave.
The martial artists of the Sichuan Tang Family could kill masters far superior to themselves if the conditions for using poison are fulfilled; in reverse, when their poison is neutralized, they are in many ways disadvantaged compared to other sects.
While Tang Cheol-jin swallowed his frustration—
Slash!
The Dark Poison Corps members who'd rushed in to help the injured elder started getting cut down one by one by the masked man's sword.
In the midst of this chaos, Tang Cheol-jin looked away for a second to check on the rest of the fight.
'Hurry up and kill those brats, then get back here.'
What he was looking at was the Dark Poison Corps’ First Squad, which had circled around the battlefield to chase after the kids from earlier.
Just then, a volley of arrows flew in from out of nowhere.
Swoosh!
"Kugh...!"
One of the squad members took an arrow to the back and went down with a choked gasp. As if someone had anticipated this development specifically, the arrows targeted only the Dark Poison Corps members who'd broken away to pursue the kids.
Because of the arrows, the pursuit team had to slow down. Once the Orthodox kids were far enough away to be hidden by the bushes—
Crunch!
A nasty sound rang out, and suddenly, dozens of black lines crisscrossed the air.
Those countless threads had pierced through the bodies of the Dark Poison Corps’ First Squad members. The Tang Family martial artists skewered on them died in grotesque poses, dangling from the threads like puppets.
'Thread...?'
Tang Cheol-jin belatedly realized what those lines were. A nasty sound rang out, and suddenly, dozens of black lines crisscrossed the air.
'What the hell...?'
Why would someone with that level of skill hide it until now?
The moment that question formed in Tang Cheol-jin's mind—
Thud!
Slash!
"Kyaaaagh!"
Screams and the sounds of bodies being smashed and sliced rang out from everywhere. And all the screaming was coming from his own men.
Following the screams, Tang Cheol-jin turned his head, and the horrifying scene burned itself into his memory.
On one side, he saw a woman wielding a short spear with so much swiftness that it made him dizzy when he saw it. On the other side, he saw a man wielding a saber with ominous energy slaughtering his men. There is also another woman with glowing red eyes and red hair with hands dripping with blood from ripping out his men’s hearts alive. And after seeing another woman blasting out another batch of his men with freezing cold Yin energy from her palm, Tang Cheol-jin belatedly understood one truth.
"You Demonic Cult scums!”
Right after Tang Cheol-jin's rage-filled roar burst out—
Slash!
A cold cutting sound rang out right before his nose, cold enough to freeze his anger solid.
Il-mok cut down the last guard standing in his way and walked toward Tang Cheol-jin with a cruel grin.
“Wow, took you long enough to figure it out.”
"You think you Demonic Cult bastards can cause this much chaos here in Sichuan and walk away unscathed?!"
To Tang Cheol-jin's furious question, Il-mok just shrugged.
"Thanks to you guys, I think we'll be just fine."
Even now, poisonous energy was billowing around the entrance of the Heavenly Demon Secret Cave. It was so potent that even Il-mok, who had undergone poison resistance training in the Hall of the Demonic Way, dared not go near it.
For a good while, it would be impossible for anyone to approach from that direction.
As for the opposite side, they'd left Jeong Hyeon stationed far back to signal if anyone approached.
"Damn it..."
As Tang Cheol-jin finally grasped the full situation, a dark shadow fell across his face.
Slash!
In an instant, Il-mok's sword swept through and severed Tang Cheol-jin's neck.
As poison-laced blood spurted from the severed carotid artery, Il-mok simply stepped back once to avoid it.
Having dealt with the enemy leader, he turned around to find the battlefield nearly cleaned up.
“You filthy demons!”
Whether it was due to Tang Cheol-jin’s shout or because they recognized the martial arts, the few surviving warriors were screaming curses at them.
Crunch!
But it was all meaningless noise.
Right after they finished off the Tang Family warriors, Dam Bin walked up. She still had that disturbingly seductive vibe hanging around her.
"What shall we do?"
"We should probably clean up the bodies first."
Il-mok answered and pointed toward the cave entrance.
“Ideally, we’d bury them, but that cave is overflowing with poison. If we just toss them in there, the poison will get rid of the evidence for us, right?”
Following Il-mok's instructions, the group moved like a well-oiled machine.
They grabbed the bodies off the ground and started throwing them into the cave.
They were just about done when a strange energy suddenly emanated from all directions.
"!?"
The moment Il-mok finally sensed something was wrong and looked around with a startled expression—
Whoooosh!
The energy throughout Mount Baihe twisted and engulfed everyone present.
***
Right after the sudden wave of energy wrapped around her entire body, Jeong Hyeon opened her eyes.
The scene before her is quite familiar. It’s the landscape of the Hall of the Demonic Way.
Just moments ago, she'd been stationed in the rear to snipe the Tang Family’s clansmen while keeping watch to make sure no one approached the battlefield.
Yet, the question of why she is now at the Hall of the Demonic Way did not cross her mind.
It just feels like it's in her dream.
Then, she saw Il-mok in the distance.
"Y-Young Master!"
She mustered her courage to call out to Il-mok, but what came back was a cold expression.
“I’m tired of this. Do you really think anyone in this world wants to hang around a mute like you, Miss Jeong."
"!!!"
As Jeong Hyeon froze at Il-mok's curse-like words, he turned away coldly without a second thought and left. Jeong Hyeon’s face went pale, but she couldn't bring herself to reach out and stop him. She just stood there as if nailed to the spot.
After standing there in a daze for a moment, Baek Cheon appeared from the side.
"...Wh-what should I do now, Senior Baek?"
"I don't know what to do with you either, Miss Jeong."
"Pardon...?"
“I have taught you acting and vocalization for over a year. Why do you show no improvement?”
"......"
"I think I understand why Young Master Il-mok abandoned you, Miss Jeong. You're a lost cause. Don't come looking for me anymore."
"......"
With those final words, Baek Cheon also turned away coldly and left.
Why is this happening?
After years of effort, she thought she could finally hold at least some conversation with people.
But now that those two had abandoned her, her mouth simply wouldn't open.
***
Jin Hayeon forgot all about the fight and suddenly found Il-mok standing right in front of her.
Instead of his usual languid gaze, his eyes held clear disappointment.
"Miss Jin, please return now.”
“Return? Where do you mean?”
“To the Hidden Guard Pavilion, or wherever you can go. I don't need you anymore."
"......"
Jin Hayeon's expression, but something felt different from normal.
As if reading her inner thoughts, Il-mok's lips twisted into a sneer.
“You’re so incompetent. I don't know where you get the nerve to think you can protect me. You’re just in the way.”
"...I'll take my leave then."
Jin Hayeon answered through clenched teeth, gave one final bow with clasped fists, and turned to walk away.
Strangely enough, though she'd only taken a few steps, the scenery completely changed.
It was a familiar place.
It’s the Heavenly Demon Palace.
"Raise your head."
She realized she was already bowing flat on the ground. She looked up at the sound of his voice.
The Heavenly Demon was usually kind to his followers, but today, he looked down at her with eyes cold as ice.
"I've heard what happened. Tsk."
The Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue in disappointment and condemned her.
“You are absolutely useless. You're just a parasite staining the reputation of our Divine Cult.”
Hearing such harsh insults from her god broke something inside her. The cold Yin energy in her gut started to twist and lose control.
***
When Seon-ah opened her eyes, what she saw was a heartwarming scene.
Windrock Palace.
The only sanctuary for her, who'd lived like an outcast within the family.
"Seon-ah."
She turned toward the familiar voice and saw the master of the palace.
It was Il-mok, the person who gave her this sanctuary.
But his expression was different from usual.
Usually, he smiled at her like she was the cutest thing in the world. Now, his face was stone cold.
"Don't come here anymore."
"...Big Brother?"
"You scare me now. How long are you going to keep clinging to me?”
"Wh-what are you talking about?”
"I'm sick of you. Stay away from me.”
"How could you..."
These were the words she least wanted to hear, the ones she'd sometimes heard in her nightmares.
***
"Nngh."
As Il-mok let out a pained groan as if caught in a nightmare, a strangely familiar voice reached his ears.
"Yo. How long is this bastard gonna sleep?"
"Wake him up already."
No sooner had he heard the conversation than a sharp pain struck his abdomen.
Thud!
"Kugh...!"
Il-mok opened his eyes clutching his stomach, immediately feeling a sense of wrongness.
'I-I was just cleaning up bodies a moment ago???'
Why the hell am I like this when I was just at Mount Baihe?
The moment that question formed—
The man who'd punched his stomach scowled and shouted.
“You lazy piece of shit Private! How long are you gonna sleep? Huh? You wanna die?!”
This man is wearing a military combat uniform with South Korea’s insignia emblazoned on it.