Myeongsin commissioned themselves.
To avenge their deceased parents.
It was the first commission they had ever given to themself in this life, and it would be the last.
Having accepted their own commission with this single coin, surely it was now time to accept the single-coin commission given by another as well. If they survived this fight.
And in this moment, Myeongsin savored a refreshing relief they had felt for the first time since birth.
Because they were now looking straight at a life they had been unable to face all along.
Even in this situation, Salwang merely gazed at them without revealing any emotion.
'Even at this moment when I am casting you aside, is that gaze all you have to give me?'
Geom Mugeuk's words came to mind.
"—Do not place meaning in that."
Until now, they had believed a deep heart unknown to them was hidden within that transparent gaze.
Once more, Geom Mugeuk's words surfaced.
"—Even if there is meaning, what great meaning could there be?"
Yes, there was nothing in that gaze.
They had merely tried desperately to find meaning out of the fear that if there were truly nothing there, their own life would amount to nothing as well.
It wasn't that he regarded them as special; it was merely that someone as special as them had survived.
Once these thoughts were organized, Myeongsin did not look back.
He was the head of the organization that had annihilated their clan, and he had raised them as an assassin while hiding that fact.
That alone was reason enough to settle things with him.
Before that, Myeongsin had informed Geom Mugeuk.
"There are five assassins mixed among the guests."
At those words, the guests, already frozen stiff by the preceding situation, turned deathly pale. As if the fight breaking out wasn't enough, assassins were hiding among them pretending to be guests?
They desperately wanted to flee outside, but they could not. The owner, whose identity had been revealed, was standing at the entrance, and if they moved in this situation, they would undoubtedly be the first to meet death.
Some shed tears in fear, some sank to the floor, and some trembled all over as they watched the situation.
Geom Mugeuk did not go out of his way to mention their safety. He did not warn the assassins not to touch them, nor did he bluster that he wouldn't bat an eye even if hostages were killed.
If they had investigated him, they would know well that he was someone who tried to save them.
They would actively use the guests as hostages. But there was an advantage to that too. Because they wouldn't kill them recklessly.
Myeongsin pointed out exactly those five.
"The assassins are the third, fourth, and fifth from the left. The eighth, and ninth."
On that side were Salwang and the five identified assassins.
On this side were Geom Mugeuk, Hwi, and Myeongsin.
In that taut confrontation, Geom Mugeuk and Salwang's gazes met in the air.
Salwang was not impatient. It was as if this situation were merely one of many things he had predicted.
"Why did you join hands with them?"
What desire of Salwang's had been stimulated for him to join hands with them?
Salwang answered impassively.
"I cannot speak about the client. It is the principle of assassins."
Because the clients for this assassination mission would be them.
Geom Mugeuk spoke as he slowly drew the Black Demon Sword.
"I too have principles. My demonic path does not break tavern tables. Yet today, I must break that principle."
Just before a massive fight broke out, Hwi spoke.
"There are not five assassins, but six. That person there as well."
The person Hwi pointed at was a guest sitting alone in a corner.
He was someone even Myeongsin did not know.
Hwi had found an assassin hiding his identity with the unique senses of a bodyguard.
"As expected! Uncle's eyes cannot be deceived."
As Geom Mugeuk rejoiced, Hwi's telepathic message flew in.
"—There are still those who remain uncertain. Do not let your guard down."
If so, it meant they had truly made extensive preparations. Because it meant they had hidden assassins capable of deceiving Hwi's eyes among the guests.
Meanwhile, Myeongsin realized one fact due to the existence of an assassin even they had not known about.
'You never trusted me.'
Originally, they too would have helped him in this fight and killed Geom Mugeuk. In such a situation, an assassin they didn't know about should absolutely not exist.
Perhaps that person was someone prepared to kill them.
They suddenly recalled Salwang's words.
"—If we weren't friends, you would already be dead."
Their relationship with him became even clearer. Now even the slightest possibility that they might have misjudged vanished.
'I didn't survive because we were friends.'
Now they could be certain. He had merely been surprised and amused that a child picked up on a whim had become his number two. He had only needed the killings that this number two carried out for the Myeongbu. That was the reason he had kept them alive.
Myeongsin had only denied it desperately because they didn't want to be miserable. They had desperately given it meaning, going so far as to construct an icy cliff.
In Myeongsin's heart, a vision was drawn of climbing an icy cliff to stand upon its summit.
"Since we're not friends now, try to kill me!"
The will to kill Salwang blazed in Myeongsin's eyes.
Geom Mugeuk looked at Hwi. Though he didn't speak, Hwi could understand Geom Mugeuk's intention.
It meant watching Myeongsin's back.
This fight was Geom Mugeuk's own fight, but it was also Myeongsin's fight, and at the same time, Hwi's fight.
While the three fought, Geom Mugeuk intended to finish off all the assassins here.
'Finish them as quickly as possible and help those two.'
Geom Mugeuk shouted.
"Everyone not identified as an assassin, lie face down on the floor!"
At that, everyone except the assassins lay face down.
At the same time, Myeongsin rushed at Salwang.
Chaeng! Chaeng! Chaeng!
Their daggers clashed in the air. They knew each other better than anyone. Their martial arts, their skills.
Pushed by the fiercely pressing momentum, Salwang sprang outside the tavern.
Geom Mugeuk could tell. That he had deliberately taken Myeongsin outside. Because of his confidence that the remaining assassins could kill him here. And to let them freely display what had been prepared in this space of death.
Hwi looked at Geom Mugeuk, and Geom Mugeuk nodded silently. He was someone who would never leave this spot under normal circumstances, but Geom Mugeuk said with his eyes:
Trust me, and protect Myeongsin. I will go out right away.
Hwi's deliberation was not long. This time, Hwi had volunteered to be Geom Mugeuk's escort not merely to protect his life. It was because Hwi wanted to protect the person Geom Mugeuk wished to protect, and moreover, the conviction he held.
Swoosh.
Hwi vanished without a sound.
At the same time, the assassins in the hall all reached their hands toward Geom Mugeuk.
Special hidden projectiles were concealed within their sleeve cuffs.
Soul-Slaying Thunderbolts (殺魂雷).
Assassination weapons crafted by the Myeongbu.
Soul-Slaying Thunderbolts were powerful hidden weapons; if the user's internal strength was even slightly insufficient, their arm would be torn off.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Hidden weapons burst forth like explosions.
Geom Mugeuk flipped a table and infused it with internal strength. The moment he tried to block with the table.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Steel needles were fired from small holes in the bottom of the table toward Geom Mugeuk.
It was a device that anticipated the opponent flipping a table to block the attack.
So much so that the Soul-Slaying Thunderbolts of the six assassins could be called a diversion for this ambush; this hidden move was devastating.
Fortunately, Geom Mugeuk's instinctive evasion was faster than the attack. If he had been even a moment slower, he would have been caught by this deceptive strike.
Crack crack crack crack crack crack crack!
Even amid that, hidden weapons flew and embedded themselves in the table. Soul-Slaying Thunderbolts were no ordinary hidden weapons. Each and every one possessed devastating power, capable of shattering iron swords and piercing stone walls.
But they could not destroy the table infused with Geom Mugeuk's internal strength.
Geom Mugeuk threw the table and soared toward the assassin.
The moment the assassin swung his sword to knock away the table!
Behind it, Geom Mugeuk was not there.
Shhk.
Geom Mugeuk's sword slid across the floor as he charged, slicing through the assassin's belly.
The assassin, cut in half at the torso, collapsed on the spot.
At the thick scent of blood wafting forth, screams flowed from the mouths of the guests lying face-down on the floor.
Attacks of Soul-Slaying Thunderbolts poured toward Geom Mugeuk.
Crack crack crack crack crack crack crack!
The hidden weapons pierced through the floor.
But Geom Mugeuk was already cutting through the air, charging toward the second assassin.
Then. Another assassin struck down the abacus that was on the counter.
In that instant!
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Abacus beads poured out toward the front all at once. They looked ordinary, but when they separated and flew, they were anything but.
That hidden weapon, known to invariably kill any enemy within its range, was none other than!
Ghostly Abacus Pellets (鬼算彈).
Dozens of abacus beads flew in at terrifying speed. The beads of the Ghostly Abacus Pellets were no ordinary hidden weapons. Rumor had it they could even pierce the protective auras of experts.
Geom Mugeuk hurled his body. It seemed an unavoidable attack, but Geom Mugeuk found the space for survival among those lines of fire. Twisting his waist, arms, and body greatly, he dodged the flying attacks.
His posture was bizarre, but not a single one struck his body. The beads of the Ghostly Abacus Pellets grazed past his whole body.
Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud!
They punched through the surrounding walls like Go stones.
Sunlight entered the room through the walls, creating dozens of lines.
A feast of light created in an instant.
At a glance, the sight looked fantastical.
Between the shafts of sunlight, hidden weapons flew, their blades gleaming.
Swish swish swish swish!
The assassins of the highest skill had no hesitation. Their judgment was quick, and their actions fearless. Had their opponent been anyone other than Geom Mugeuk, they would have already exchanged greetings, remarking on the ordeal.
Dodging the flying hidden weapons, Geom Mugeuk leaped over the counter.
Thud!
The assassin who had fired the Ghostly Abacus Pellets had his jaw shattered and flew backward, crashing into the wall.
Then another assassin was pulling the kitchen curtain hanging in the kitchen. The moment the curtain was pulled.
Shhhhhhriek!
Bone-Melting Powder poured down over Geom Mugeuk's head from above the counter.
Sssssssss!
A terrible odor rose together with smoke.
The earlier abacus attack and this poison attack were a linked ambush. If one tried to eliminate the attacker who launched the abacus attack, the Bone-Melting Powder would immediately be poured down.
But Geom Mugeuk's form crossed through the space in an instant and escaped that place.
The Wind God's Stride was displaying truly remarkable divine footwork in this narrow place.
Another assailant rushed in, kicking up a table as he charged.
The moment he kicked the table, it broke, and the objects on it sprang into the air.
Bowls, liquor bottles, and dishes on the table flew into the air.
Among them was a chopstick container holding chopsticks.
Boom!
What burst in front of Geom Mugeuk was the chopstick container.
It was a device where, when the chopstick container received an impact and chopsticks sprang out from it, the container would burst and toxic smoke would explode out.
When the opponent smashed or overturned a table, who would pay attention to a chopstick container? This too was something Myeongsin had made. This was the reason Salwang had taken Myeongsin outside from this place. Because most of the things prepared today were developed by Myeongsin.
Huuuuh.
Geom Mugeuk, hit in the face by the toxic smoke, collapsed straight away with a thud.
The man who had attacked while overturning the table also had his chest slashed by Geom Mugeuk's sword and collapsed together. Even as he died, he made a satisfied expression, as though he had accomplished his mission.
Two assassins carefully approached to confirm the death of Geom Mugeuk, who had collapsed on the floor.
The moment they, examining Geom Mugeuk, tried to finish him off by thrusting daggers into his neck from both sides!
Shwick.
Their daggers stopped in midair.
Geom Mugeuk's two hands, having opened his eyes at some point, were gripping their wrists.
Geom Mugeuk's hands were holding their wrists.
As they quickly tried to strike down with their other hands.
Huff!
Geom Mugeuk exhaled the toxic smoke he had been holding in his mouth with a huff.
So fearsome was the poison that the two assassins met their deaths screaming in agony.
Then, this time, the last remaining assassin grabbed the hostage who had been lying face-down on the floor and pulled her up.
"Aaaack!"
The assassin who had taken the woman hostage placed a dagger at her neck.
"Drop the sword. Or this wench dies."
"Seems you didn't investigate me properly. I'm not the kind of person who drops his sword over hostage theatrics."
The moment the words ended, Geom Mugeuk charged at him.
Shhhriek!
Using a flickering stride, he charged at the assassin holding the hostage.
The moment the assassin pushed the hostage woman he used as a shield forward and swung his sword from behind.
Slash!
Thud!
The sounds of tearing flesh were heard in succession.
Unfortunately, both the hostage and the assassin collapsed.
Blood flowed from the cut throat of the hostage woman, and blood flowed from the assassin's heart.
One might think the hostage woman was killed by the assassin, but surprisingly, Geom Mugeuk had killed both of them.
The dying assassin asked with a surprised face.
"...How did you know?"
A dagger was held in the dead hostage woman's hand.
Surprisingly, she too was an assassin.
Pushed forward, she had launched a surprise attack at the decisive moment.
Rather, her martial arts skill was stronger than the assassin who had taken her hostage.
She was precisely the core of the assassins prepared here today.
It was an unexpected and fatal attack that even Geom Mugeuk could not have avoided had he not known beforehand.
But Geom Mugeuk had cut her down and then the assassin behind her as if he had known in advance.
Geom Mugeuk left the dying assassin with words he could never know even in death.
"Our uncle said there was still someone suspicious remaining."
Absolute Regression, Episode 489.