I arrived with Bi Sa-in at one of their safe houses not far from the Sado Alliance’s main headquarters.
Geugak Soma and the Thirteen Sado Wolves were waiting there.
Ilrang rejoiced as if a dead man had returned.
“Young Master! You’re safe!”
“Ilrang, I’m sorry I left without telling you in advance.”
“I was terribly worried. You must never do this again.”
“I understand.”
The other Thirteen Sado Wolves were glad as well. Seeing them welcome him seemed to ease Bi Sa-in’s heart.
“Demon Venerable Geugak did guarantee the young master’s safety, but…”
The thought of Ilrang wondering whether a guarantee from Geugak Soma might not make things even more dangerous made me let out a small laugh.
While Bi Sa-in and the Thirteen Sado Wolves were reunited, Geugak Soma called me aside into a room.
The two eyes behind the white mask scrutinized me from head to toe.
“Bi Sa-in probably doesn’t even know what was taken from him. Just what did you gain?”
“I simply tried to win that man’s heart.”
“That can’t be it. That much could have been done even if I or the Thirteen Sado Wolves had been there.”
After traveling together all this time, Geugak Soma had come to understand me far too well.
“Now that I look at you, your gaze seems to have deepened too. Did you perhaps make progress in martial arts?”
“A very little.”
In truth, reaching great completion of the Twelfth Stage of the Flying Heaven Sword Art was an enormous achievement, but I spoke only half the truth. I didn’t think I could deceive Geugak Soma completely, and I didn’t want to deceive him completely either.
“If the Second Young Master’s skills have improved even further, then if we fought now, I would lose.”
“I might not know about the other Demon Venerables, but I don’t think I could defeat you, Soma-nim.”
“Why not?”
“Because you are Geugak Soma.”
Knowing that I was praising him, Geugak Soma laughed.
That afternoon, Bi Sa-in came to see me.
He had come up with a plan, and it was extremely dangerous.
“I intend to use myself as bait.”
He was staking his life on this matter.
“I will leak word that I possess evidence. Evidence proving that Seok Gwan-chu was behind all the deeds committed thus far. If I say I will soon report it to the Alliance Leader, Seok Gwan-chu will surely come to kill us.”
Heuksalju had died, we had gone to Baegya Valley, and even Yukrang had died. It was a situation in which it was plausible that we had evidence.
“He has to kill us as quickly as possible, but he won’t be able to procure an outside expert in a hurry. Either he will come himself, or an expert deeply connected to Seok Gwan-chu will.”
“Do you know how dangerous this plan is?”
“I know. He will certainly send someone capable of killing me. He may even come himself.”
“Then why devise such a dangerous plan?”
“Because there is one thing they are overlooking.”
“What is it?”
“You, Second Young Master. They will never imagine that you and Geugak Soma will help me.”
He asked me.
“Will you help me?”
“I will.”
Bi Sa-in was instead taken aback by my answer, given without the slightest hesitation.
“Why are you not demanding a price? This is precisely the sort of situation where I would have no choice but to accept whatever conditions you set. Even if you told me to give you everything I own, I would have no choice but to do it.”
“Because I want to properly shake your hand one day.”
Bi Sa-in’s eyes wavered. Help received in difficult times always left the deepest mark. If I won Bi Sa-in’s heart this time, it would become a power greater than any elixir or treasure.
After parting with him, I met Geugak Soma and told him about this plan.
“Second Young Master, stay out of it.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“Because you’re worried about me?”
“No, because I’m worried about myself. I came out here with the Second Young Master, so if you die in the front yard of the Sado Alliance, what would that make me? I would have no face to show the Cult Leader.”
In truth, I had the exact same worry. Father had ordered me not to kill any more Demon Venerables, so if Geugak Soma were to die by some chance, what would that make me?
“Let’s decide after we see how things unfold.”
“Very well.”
“This is not our fight. There’s no need to throw ourselves into too much danger.”
At my words, Geugak Soma’s eyes instead began to shine. The stronger the opponent, the more fiercely he burned.
After returning to my room, I wound the supreme Heavenly Silkworm Silk that had been wrapped around my sword hilt around my heart, neck, abdomen, and the vital parts of my limbs. Over it, I put on the Ghost Tiger Garment that the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had given me.
Then I quietly circulated my energy and regulated my breathing, preparing for the battle to come.
Late that night, I opened my eyes.
The Heavenly Demon Protective Divine Art had awakened me. This was the first time it had ever awakened me so violently and forcefully. I could tell.
‘A powerful enemy.’
I had expected a powerful enemy to come, but this was the first time an expert had made the Heavenly Demon Protective Divine Art react so strongly.
Geugak Soma, who had been sleeping in the same room, snapped his eyes open as well.
“Did you feel it?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go out.”
Like Geugak Soma, I put on a mask.
We headed toward the place from which that aura was flowing. It was the building where Bi Sa-in was staying.
Crack! Crash!
Warriors burst out, shattering the windows and walls. They were none other than Bi Sa-in and the Thirteen Sado Wolves. Their shock was unmistakable.
And soon after, an old man appeared, walking out at a leisurely pace.
Dressed in pure white, he had a white beard that flowed down to his chest like an immortal. His face and hands were lined with wrinkles whose age was impossible to fathom, yet his eyes alone were as terrifying as those of a wild beast.
The old man was dragging someone along. The man was already a corpse, and the place where he was dragged was smeared thickly with blood.
Whoosh.
When the old man threw the corpse, it flew into the middle of the courtyard and rolled. The dead man was Samrang.
At the death of their comrade, the expressions of the Thirteen Sado Wolves hardened. A murderous intent of vengeance filled their eyes, but none cursed or acted rashly.
They had clearly been suppressed by the swordsmanship the old man had shown when killing Samrang.
“Who are you?”
Ilrang suppressed his anger and asked the old man.
He was not Seok Gwan-chu. He was older than Seok Gwan-chu, who was an expert of the previous generation, and he exuded a far more intense presence.
“And who might you be?”
The old man’s voice split the night air. It was low and calm, yet one could feel profound inner power within it.
“I am Ilrang, leader of the Thirteen Sado Wolves.”
“Come closer and let me have a look.”
Of course, Ilrang did not approach.
“How does a coward lead the Thirteen Sado Wolves?”
Ilrang’s face stiffened, but he did not fall for the old man’s provocation.
Instead, he spoke quietly to Bi Sa-in.
“We will handle this place, so please escape.”
The plan to lure them in and capture them collapsed in an instant with the old man’s appearance.
Bi Sa-in had no intention of escaping, but even if he had tried, it would not have been easy. Another expert had appeared atop the wall on the opposite side.
It was Seok Gwan-chu, the mastermind behind this affair. He too displayed the bearing of an expert of the previous generation.
The fact that he had appeared in person meant he intended to kill everyone and silence them.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Seok Gwan-chu looked up at the night sky and said,
“The moonlight was lovely, so I brought my master out for a brief stroll.”
The instant everyone learned the old man’s identity, they were shocked.
Seok Gwan-chu’s master.
Sword Emperor Baek Mang-gi.
A master of swift swordsmanship, he was an expert of the generation before the previous one, already well over a hundred and thirty years old.
He, who had not shown himself in the murim for decades, had now appeared. We had tried to draw out a villain, but a monster had been dragged out instead.
“Listen, Young Master Bi.”
Seok Gwan-chu was calm and composed.
“There is only one way for you to live.”
“What is it?”
“You know what I want, do you not?”
“You mean the evidence I intend to present to the Alliance Leader? It seems even Elder Seok is afraid of the Alliance Leader.”
“Hand it over while I am asking nicely.”
“Do you think I am a fool? Why would I be carrying it on me? If you kill me, the evidence will go to the Alliance Leader that very instant. Then Elder Seok will have to bear the crime of killing me as well.”
At that moment, Seok Gwan-chu’s master, Baek Mang-gi, lightly launched himself forward. He slowly walked through the air and gently descended before Bi Sa-in. It was as if a divine general were alighting from the heavens.
Clang-clang-clang!
Every sword that tried to protect Bi Sa-in was deflected.
Baek Mang-gi’s sword was back in its sheath. In that brief instant, he had drawn his sword, knocked away the swords of the Thirteen Sado Wolves, and returned it.
The Thirteen Sado Wolves were overwhelmed by that swift swordsmanship.
Baek Mang-gi silently looked into Bi Sa-in’s eyes.
“Those are eyes that do not know how to lie.”
Baek Mang-gi looked at Seok Gwan-chu and said,
“There is no evidence.”
“I thought as much.”
As if he would believe anything his master said, Seok Gwan-chu rebuked Bi Sa-in with a composed face.
“Just what did you trust in to do such a thing? Did you think I looked like a fool who would walk into the trap you dug and offer up my neck?”
Bi Sa-in said nothing. The moment Baek Mang-gi came, every plan had been thrown into chaos.
Seok Gwan-chu could be faced if the Thirteen Sado Wolves joined forces, but Baek Mang-gi was an existence far beyond their abilities.
Then Baek Mang-gi turned his head and looked this way.
“It seems you trusted those fellows playing at being ghosts over there.”
Naturally, Baek Mang-gi and Seok Gwan-chu had been aware of our presence from the beginning. Seok Gwan-chu knew exactly who we were.
“He is Geugak Soma, one of the Eight Demon Venerables.”
“I have heard that the Demon Cult has underlings who wear mask shells and strut about pretending to be mysterious. But if they know who I am, why are they standing there like that? Do they think I will fear the Heavenly Demon and spare them?”
“It appears so.”
Then Geugak Soma said to me,
“It is not too late even now.”
“Should we run?”
“Do as you wish, Second Young Master.”
At that moment, my eyes met Bi Sa-in’s. Instead of fear, his expression held dignity. It said that it was all right for me to leave, that he would not resent me.
“I don’t want to remember that expression as the last thing I saw. Damn loyalty, pride, promises. Ah! This is why the average lifespan of murim people drops so sharply.”
“I knew you would say that.”
Geugak Soma laughed. Even if he were to die when the time came, dying while fighting like a madman was Geugak Soma’s way.
That was not why I decided to fight. It was because I knew they had no intention of simply letting us go. They would never allow such a great secret to leak outside.
“Hey, old man. Your opponent is over here.”
At Geugak Soma’s words, Baek Mang-gi laughed. Seok Gwan-chu laughed as well.
“Did you think I cared about the Heavenly Demon?”
The instant Baek Mang-gi finished speaking, he charged toward us. He was truly fast. The moment I perceived his attack as him coming at us, his sword was being drawn right before our noses.
Shiiik! Shiiik!
Piiit! Pat!
In an instant, it was over.
Baek Mang-gi had taken one step back from us and was staring at me with a startled face.
“You?”
His long beard had been cut and was fluttering between us.
Baek Mang-gi had tried to cut down Geugak Soma first, and I had cut at Baek Mang-gi. He was fast, but I was fast as well. Baek Mang-gi had nearly had his neck severed by my sword.
The ease vanished from Baek Mang-gi’s face. He must not have experienced such a dangerous moment in decades. It must have been the first time his heart had dropped like this.
Not only Baek Mang-gi, but Seok Gwan-chu, Bi Sa-in, and the Thirteen Sado Wolves all stared at me in astonishment.
It was right then.
Riiip.
The mask of Geugak Soma, struck by Baek Mang-gi’s earlier sword, split in half from forehead to chin and slid down.
Even Geugak Soma had failed to perfectly evade Baek Mang-gi’s attack.
As the mask slid away, Geugak Soma was flustered. If asked whether he would rather die or take off his mask, he was the kind of man who would choose death.
And just as his face was about to be revealed—
Clack.
A new mask covered his face.
I had taken off the mask I was wearing and blocked his face with it.
For an instant, our eyes met. Instead of the shame he would have hated more than death, his two eyes were filled with surging emotion toward me.
“Remove your mask only when you wish to, Soma-nim.”
Leaving behind Geugak Soma’s swelling emotions, I turned toward Baek Mang-gi.
I hadn’t known. I hadn’t known that the fact Geugak Soma had nearly died would make me this angry. Truly, I hadn’t known.