Geugak Soma was asking what kind of relationship we had.
Finally, within his understanding of human relations, the concept of a relationship had taken form.
I approached him, looked down at the line that had been drawn, then picked up a fallen branch nearby and drew a line.
I drew the line far short of where he had previously promised to spare my life.
“About here.”
“We haven’t gotten as far as I had thought.”
“Though we have been through much since leaving the sect, I feel my relationship with Lord Soma has been going in circles. The only reason we have advanced even this far is because we shared a meal and drinks together today. It was the first time we have eaten and drunk together.”
“We got this far just from eating and drinking together? Then what must we do to get to here?”
“To cross the gap between us, truly many experiences and memories would have to accumulate, one upon another. And to get to here... shouldn’t we have saved each other’s lives at least?”
“Isn’t the score too harsh?”
“The score is not harsh. It is Lord Soma who is too harsh in accepting the hearts of others.”
Perhaps no longer wishing to talk, Geugak Soma lay down.
“It’s all futile. We are merely strangers to one another.”
I gazed at his stubbornly turned back and drained the remaining alcohol.
Soma, it is not that people do this because they don’t know how futile it is. But it is still a path we must walk. We live by holding our temper.
I reclined halfway back and looked up at the sky.
Geugak Soma, who had been lying turned away, glanced at me before looking up as well. The countless stars covering the night sky shone equally upon the wicked man who claimed everything was futile and upon the one who stubbornly pretended to be good.
After staring at the stars in silence for some time, Geugak Soma suddenly spoke.
“You and I must fight.”
At times like this, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
Even beneath these beautiful stars, the bloody wind howling in his heart showed no sign of abating.
“Let it be so. Someday.”
* * *
The next day, too, we did not hurry.
We had to travel the appointed path and wait until Ian and Cheongmyeon returned from finding Heuksalju’s hideout.
Since Tongcheongak possessed the most outstanding information network in the Central Plains, if they set their mind to finding something, they would surely find it.
On the night of the third day since Geugak Soma and I had set out together, the Cheonma Body Protection Art woke me from sleep.
I sensed someone approaching us from all directions. From their covert movements, they were assassins.
I slowly sat up and drank water from the canteen beside the campfire.
As I rose, Geugak Soma spoke while lying down.
“As expected. You rise like a ghost when enemies approach.”
“But Lord Soma awoke first, did you not?”
“I was not sleeping.”
Come to think of it, Geugak Soma had never slept well at night. Most of the villains I had known slept soundly with their legs stretched out, but Geugak Soma was a villain who could not sleep soundly.
When we awoke and began conversing, the approaching assassins halted their movements, but they did not retreat. It seemed an absolute order to kill us had been given.
Geugak Soma rose from his place.
“I will handle them.”
Perhaps excited at the thought of seeing blood, his voice was slightly feverish.
“Is it alright in the dark?”
“I rather prefer it.”
Geugak Soma walked into the darkness.
From where he had gone, the sound of Hyeolangji being fired rang out.
Fwing!
At the tail of that sharp sound came the noise of flesh being pierced.
Thwok!
With that, the true battle began.
The sounds of Mageuk Gwangpokjang and Hyeolangji being fired rang out in succession.
From all directions, hidden weapons flew toward Geugak Soma.
Dozens of hidden weapons split the night air.
That Geugak Soma still lived could be known by the sounds of Hyeolangji and Mageuk Gwangpokjang being fired.
The sounds came from the left, then from the right. Each time, screams unfailingly followed.
I sat and imagined how Geugak Soma was fighting based on sound alone.
Thanks to the Divine Eye Art, I could have seen if I wished, but I closed my eyes and imagined the movements of Geugak Soma and the assassins based solely on the sounds I heard,
The assassins were no ordinary fighters. They were experts on par with the assassins who had ambushed us in front of the gambling hall earlier.
The sound of daggers slicing through the air, hidden weapons flying about, movement through the trees with lightness arts, flesh tearing and bones being crushed.
All manner of sounds filled the darkness. With my eyes closed, I continued to imagine based on sound alone.
How would I move? How would Geugak Soma move? And if I were one of the assassins, how would I move then?
Within the darkness, my body was also moving. I took Geugak Soma’s side, and then the assassins’ side. When I took the assassins’ side and attacked him, I predicted how he would move.
Even so, the assassins continued to die.
The darkness, which had always been on the assassins’ side, betrayed them.
Tonight, the darkness was on Geugak Soma’s side.
Fwing!
When I instinctively turned my head to the side, a Hyeolangji grazed past my ear.
A scream erupted from where the Hyeolangji had flown.
He hadn’t needed to attack this way; he had definitely fired it in my direction to test me. Had I failed to dodge, it would have taken off my ear. Such a nasty temperament.
Then, one desperate assassin fell in front of me.
“Did you come here to hide from him? Or did you come to kill me too?”
Perhaps even he himself did not know.
“Die!”
The assassin charged at me.
How could the darkness be on Geugak Soma’s side alone? The true master of this darkness should be me.
Shk!
The charging assassin’s chest was cut through to the bone and he collapsed. I closed his wide-open dead eyes.
The screams echoing from all directions gradually faded, and soon silence fell.
After a moment, Geugak Soma returned to where I was.
I held out alcohol to him.
Geugak Soma drank deeply from the canteen instead of the alcohol. He no longer felt any hesitation about raising his mask to drink. The sweltering heat radiating from him was not solely due to the smell of blood on his body. He still hadn’t had his fill of blood.
“This time, they seemed like men who had come to commit suicide.”
I corrected Geugak Soma’s words.
“They were not suicides. They were murdered.”
“Murdered? Do you mean by me?”
“No. By their own leader. No matter how great the sum of one million nyang, the moment they accepted the contract to kill the Demon Venerable, they should have been prepared for annihilation. If they succeeded in killing Lord Soma, they would face our sect; if they failed, they would fall to Lord Soma. Then why did they accept the contract?”
“Perhaps they were coerced?”
“I think the opposite. It means they were guaranteed something besides money by the mastermind behind the Sadomaeng who commissioned this job. He probably promised them key positions within the Sadomaeng.”
Geugak Soma nodded in agreement with my words.
“Was this reckless attack today also because of that?”
“Yes. Heuksalju is currently cleaning up his organization. He is eliminating all the assassins who know his face so that no one can recognize him. He is throwing away assassins who earned him money and served him loyally for so long. And he will live on under a new identity.”
“He’s more of a villain than I am? This feels quite unpleasant.”
“With this choice, he has fallen from a villain to trash.”
“Second Young Master, you have seen through all of this at a glance.”
I felt a little sorry for him. It was only because I had already experienced such things that I knew; how could I possibly understand the background of such matters in a single go otherwise?
“Second Young Master, when you become the Heavenly Demon later, please spare me.”
Geugak Soma spoke as if joking, but I knew that this was rather a moment when I should be tense.
He must have thought this in that instant.
With an opponent like this, shouldn’t I kill him before he becomes the Heavenly Demon?
That’s right, Soma. If I become your enemy, of course you must kill me first. It is to prevent that situation that I am accompanying you on this journey.
I spoke in a voice filled with conviction.
“Let us work together to reach the survival line.”
When I called the line we had drawn the “survival line,” Geugak Soma burst into laughter, perhaps because it struck him as amusing.
“The smell of blood is overwhelming. Now, shall we leave?”
“Is it not a finer scent than women’s perfume?”
“Not to me.”
Just as we were packed up and about to leave, Ian and Cheongmyeon arrived. Ian was startled by the corpses strewn about, but relieved to see me unharmed.
“Tongcheongak has found Heuksalju’s hideout.”
Cheongmyeon showed us a piece of paper with the location written on it. It was not far from here.
Had we found out even slightly later than we did now, Heuksalju would have hidden himself in the embrace of the mastermind behind the Sadomaeng.
But if it was just now, at the point where the assassination had failed, there was a chance he had not yet left his hideout. Because he wouldn’t dream that we could uncover his identity and find his hideout this quickly.
“Let’s have a proper lightness skill race this time.”
Without waiting for my answer, Geugak Soma shot forward first.
“This time, I’m starting first.”
Cheongmyeon was startled by the sight of his back as he flew off first. This was Geugak Soma, who would normally yield leisurely and send me ahead first, so she was surprised to see him running off like a cheat. Though the more surprising thing was likely my composure.
I even exchanged greetings with Ian.
“How did it go?”
“Yes. I was incredibly busy. Running here and there. I learned a lot this time.”
She bowed her head to Cheongmyeon in greeting. Cheongmyeon also returned a polite bow. I could feel their relationship progressing little by little.
“But shouldn’t you be going? It seems you’re having a lightness skill race.”
“I should.”
I had to win and tease him again.
“You two pack up the gear and follow slowly.”
In a flash, my figure vanished from that spot in an instant.
* * *
Heuksalju was burning everything he owned in an empty courtyard.
All secret documents, clothes, and items related to the contract. Everything related to him, he burned.
The assassins who knew his face were all dead. No, he had killed them all.
Now he could leave light and free. He would leave behind the assassin life that everyone pointed fingers at, and now live an upright life before others. He would enjoy wealth and fame in the bright daylight. Now, a new life began.
Just as he was about to leave his hideout, he casually glanced at the wall and was startled out of his wits.
Someone wearing a white mask was sitting astride the wall. What was startling was that he had no idea how long the man had been there.
“Geugak Soma?”
His voice trembled. If it was Geugak Soma, he was a dead man.
“No. I am the victor of the duel.”
The one who pushed his mask up onto his head and smirked was none other than Geommu Geuk.
He had no idea what nonsense he was babbling, but Heuksalju felt secretly relieved that his opponent was at least a young man.
Geommu Geuk spoke to him.
“You could have just left.”
“What are you talking about?”
“If you wanted a fresh start, you didn’t have to go this far. You could have left the Heuksal organization to a trustworthy successor and lived anywhere with your skills. Even without that one million nyang, you’ve earned plenty of money until now, haven’t you?”
When I hit the mark on his situation exactly, Heuksalju flinched in surprise.
“Are assassins so diligent that they would expose a former leader’s secrets just because he’s starting fresh? Everyone’s busy just trying to stay alive.”
Geommu Geuk sensed a hidden killing intent from Heuksalju. He realized Heuksalju was about to launch a surprise attack, but pretended not to notice and continued talking.
“But you couldn’t do that. The moment you close your eyes, you probably see your subordinates betraying you. You can’t live with that anxiety. Do you know why? Because you’re that kind of person. If it were you, you would have threatened or killed your leader and taken everything.”
Heuksalju listened docilely, but his mind was entirely focused on his sleeve. The moment the secret hidden weapon, the Wind Wheel, concealed in his sleeve slid down into his hand, Heuksalju smiled a triumphant smile. At this distance, it was a certain kill.
“Done with your nonsense?”
“I’m finished, but be careful. I lost a match earlier, so I’m very angry right now.”
“What the hell are you babbling about!”
At the very moment Heuksalju tried to throw the Wind Wheel!
Fwing! Thwack!
A finger wind flying like light pierced Heuksalju’s shoulder. It was too fast to avoid.
Soon after, someone who had soared through the sky fell and landed, stomping down onto Heuksalju.
Boom!
A horrific scream erupted from Heuksalju’s mouth.
The one standing on Heuksalju’s pierced shoulder, crushing it, was Geugak Soma.
He vented his anger on an undeserving target instead of Geommu Geuk. His Hyeolangji punched holes all over the surrounding walls.
“Why the hell are you so fast! Why!”
The pain in his crushed shoulder was so great that only screams flowed from Heuksalju’s mouth. Overwhelmed by his opponent’s momentum, he couldn’t even think of counterattacking; instead, pleas came out on their own.
“Ugh! It hurts! Please! It hurts! Aaaargh!”
Only then did a cold gaze from within the white mask look down at Heuksalju.
“You? The bastard going around doing more evil deeds than me?”