Darkness settled.
Chai Ran looked into the darkened alley with wary eyes. From within, she could feel a murderous intent holding its breath, and the air flowing around her foretold death.
Enemies were spread out all around.
Chai Ran carefully set Geom Mugeuk down.
Leaning his body against a wall, she lightly covered him with black cloth.
It was a concealment screen (暗幕), something assassins always carried to keep themselves from standing out in dark places like this. Thin and light, it folded down to the size of a palm.
Fortunately, the clothes she had worn today were the black martial attire Geom Mugeuk had said suited her. Easy to fight in, and inconspicuous in the dark.
‘It’s almost as if you knew something like this would happen.’
She moved silently into the darkness.
Inside the alley, a warrior stood leaning against the wall. He had not drawn his sword, lest the blade reflect light, and remained with his back against the wall.
Saaak.
With the sound of flesh parting, his throat was cut.
The one who had clamped a hand over his mouth and slit his throat was Chai Ran. At that moment, she had become a perfect assassin.
After quietly lowering the warrior’s corpse to the ground, Chai Ran was about to return to where Geom Mugeuk lay.
Shiiik!
A sword flew at her from the darkness. A warrior who had been hiding dispelled his concealment and revealed himself. From the start, the exposed warrior had been bait—a trap meant to kill her.
Chai Ran twisted her body by reflex and avoided the attack.
Paat!
The incoming sword grazed her arm.
Puk!
The dagger in her hand lodged in the warrior’s throat.
After laying the corpse down quietly once more, Chai Ran flew back toward where Geom Mugeuk was. She had dealt with her opponent, but had she been even a little slower, she might have been injured. That meant these were not opponents to be taken lightly.
‘They’re Hwa Domyeong’s direct subordinates.’
Their martial arts were one thing, but as befitting Hwa Domyeong’s men, their concealment techniques were no ordinary skill either.
She pulled away the concealment screen that had covered Geom Mugeuk.
A fierce heat emanated from Geom Mugeuk’s body as he lay with his eyes closed. No doubt, a desperate battle was raging inside him.
“I believe you can hear me. Hold on just a little longer.”
She hoisted Geom Mugeuk onto her back. Even with him on her back, she needed both hands free, so she tore her clothes and secured him tightly to her body.
The fastest way to Sinhwabang was to use lightness skill, leaping from roof to roof, but that method would make her too conspicuous, and every attack would focus on her. She could not fight like that while carrying Geom Mugeuk.
Once again, she began moving through the darkness.
Like the finest assassin, her movements betrayed neither breath nor footfall, not even the slightest aura. It was as if a shadow itself were moving through the dark.
Just then, the moon that had been hidden behind clouds suddenly revealed itself.
As the surroundings grew bright.
The outline of a warrior hiding in the shadow of a wall some distance from her was exposed. He saw her as well.
The warrior tried to draw his sword and unleash sword qi, but Chai Ran was faster.
Shiiiiiik!
Puuk!
Chai Ran’s dagger flew straight and swift as light, lodging in his throat.
At the same time, sword qi flew at her from behind.
Swaaaak!
The sword qi filled the alley completely, and with Geom Mugeuk on her back, she kicked off the ground and leaped upward.
As she appeared in midair with the moon at her back, two warriors who had been lying in wait on the rooftops on either side rushed toward her as if they had been expecting it.
The warrior flying in from the left was faster.
Swaaaak.
Chai Ran stretched out her body and laid herself flat in the air. The sword grazed past her face and missed. Reflected on the blade, her expression was utterly calm.
Crack.
Grabbing her opponent’s wrist and twisting it, her form rotated together with his.
Puuuk!
The sword of the warrior rushing in from the right pierced the chest of the warrior on the left. Using the left warrior as a shield, Chai Ran blocked the attack and at the same time thrust out her right palm.
Puaang!
Force qi poured out like rain and struck the right warrior’s chest.
Pupupupu!
Holes were punched through his chest, and the warrior was sent flying far away. Her special palm technique, falling like night rain.
Heavenly Maiden Night Rain Palm (天女夜雨掌).
Her hidden unique martial art had been unleashed.
Ordinarily, she used only hidden weapons and never revealed her unique martial art, but today she was laying bare everything she had.
In an instant, she dropped back down and slipped into the alley.
Clouds covered the moon again, and the surroundings darkened.
After retrieving her dagger from the corpse, she quickly moved on again.
A low groan came from Geom Mugeuk’s mouth. The more violently she moved, the harder it would be on him.
But moving safely would be even more dangerous. However perilous, she had to increase her speed and break through.
When she turned into the next alley.
Four warriors lying in ambush attacked her at once.
Puaang!
She unleashed Heavenly Maiden Night Rain Palm at the warrior on the left, hurled the dagger in her right hand at the warrior on the right, and knocked aside the sword flying at her from the front with the back of her hand, twisting her body to avoid the attack from behind.
Crack!
The warrior struck by Heavenly Maiden Night Rain Palm flew backward, and the dagger lodged precisely in the other’s throat. She had also deflected the attack from the front, but the problem was the warrior behind her.
Shiiiiiik.
To keep Geom Mugeuk from being injured, she would have to sacrifice one arm.
Puuuk!
The sound of flesh tearing rang out.
But it was not a sound from Chai Ran’s body.
Someone rushed in, driving the man aside as if snatching him away, and stabbed his flank repeatedly with a dagger.
Puk! Puuuk!
The one who subdued him like that was none other than Ilgyo.
The warrior who had attacked from the front was being attacked by two others.
Clang! Clang!
He blocked Ogyo’s attack from the left, but.
Puk!
He could not block the dagger Sipchilgyo thrust into his back.
Just as he gritted his teeth, turned, and tried to swing his sword.
Puk! Puk!
This time, Ogyo stabbed him in the back repeatedly.
The warrior could no longer hold out and collapsed where he stood.
His martial arts had not been weak. If they let their guard down, they could have been the ones to fall.
The women exchanged only glances.
As Chai Ran ran on, sending a look of thanks, they returned a steady gaze telling her to leave the rear to them.
Ilgyo instructed Ogyo and Sipchilgyo to take the road on the right, then entered the alley on the left herself.
This was not a battle where moving in a herd gave an advantage. It was a battle of hunting one another in the dark.
Ogyo and Sipchilgyo moved as a pair. Their movements were cautious. They did not know where another hidden ambush might be. Chai Ran could avoid such attacks, but for them it would not be easy.
A scream erupted from the direction Ilgyo had gone. Fortunately, it was not the scream of a woman.
At the moment their attention was drawn by that sound.
A sword suddenly flew at Ogyo in a surprise attack.
Swaaaak!
The instant she struck aside the sword that had suddenly flown from the darkness.
Puuuk!
Another sword, its wielder dispelling his concealment as he appeared, stabbed Ogyo in the stomach.
Clang! Clang!
Sipchilgyo threw herself in and blocked the attacks that continued toward Ogyo.
The two warriors who revealed themselves were swift and powerful.
Even within the same organization, there were always those with greater skill. The ones they had encountered now were far stronger and faster than those they had fought before.
Clang! Clang clang!
Sipchilgyo protected Ogyo with all her might. If not for her single-minded determination to protect Ogyo, she would not have been able to stop the combined assault of the two.
Thanks to that, Ogyo earned time to stanch the wound in her abdomen and join the fight again. But Ogyo, rich in real combat experience, sensed it instinctively. At this rate, both of them would die.
Ogyo hurled herself fiercely at one of the warriors. It was a move meant to take him down with her in mutual destruction.
“You crazy—!”
It was an attack threatening enough to draw such a desperate outburst, an assault that disregarded her own life.
In that desperate attempt, Sipchilgyo found an opening.
At that very moment, the two women crossed past the opponents they had been fighting.
Shiiik!
Slice!
Sipchilgyo succeeded in cutting down the warrior Ogyo had tried to kill, but Ogyo, who had made the reckless move, was stabbed in the shoulder by the other warrior’s attack.
In the end, Ogyo sank to the ground where she stood. The wound in her abdomen was grave, but the wound in her shoulder was serious as well.
Sipchilgyo had no time to examine Ogyo’s injuries. The opponent continued to press her.
If she were to make a plan to kill him, Sipchilgyo could certainly do it. But this fight was different.
Assassins were people who killed others in secret, not those skilled at battles fought openly like this.
As Sipchilgyo was being pushed back, a strained word came from behind her.
“…Go.”
It was telling her to abandon her and run.
But Sipchilgyo fought to the end. Her arm was cut, and her thigh was cut as well, but she did not give up.
Kaaang.
The dagger she held flew from her hand and fell to the ground.
The warrior did not hesitate and thrust his sword toward her.
Shiiiiiik.
A hidden weapon appeared in Sipchilgyo’s hand. If the sword pierced her chest, she intended to seize the blade with one hand and throw the hidden weapon with the other.
Would that even work? But even so, doing that might give Ogyo the faintest chance of survival. Just as Ogyo had aimed for mutual destruction, she too intended to sacrifice herself.
Puuuk!
The sound of flesh tearing rang out.
It was not a sound from Sipchilgyo’s body. Nor was it the sound made by the hidden weapon in Sipchilgyo’s hand.
A dagger was lodged in the side of the warrior’s neck.
Papapak!
When the dagger was pulled out, blood sprayed forth, and he collapsed to the side.
Behind him stood a Faceless Guest. Sipchilgyo recognized him at once. He was the Crescent Moon Faceless Guest.
Of all people, he had saved her yet again. If she happened to meet him in this fight, she had wanted to be the one to save him.
The Faceless Guest picked up her dagger from the ground and handed it to her. It was the dagger she had wanted to give him, and now he was giving it to her.
But this was no time to be caught up in personal feelings.
She hurriedly examined Ogyo’s wounds.
She pressed her acupoints to stop the bleeding and applied Golden Wound Medicine. Ogyo’s face was pale, having already lost a great deal of blood.
Then the Faceless Guest handed her a small pill. It was an emergency medicine used by the Faceless Guests in urgent situations.
When Sipchilgyo placed the pill in Ogyo’s mouth, a slight flush returned to her pale face.
The Faceless Guest pointed in one direction with his finger. It was a path where they had already cleared out the enemy.
“Take your comrade and get out that way.”
It was the first time he had ever spoken to her.
Sipchilgyo bowed her head respectfully.
“Thank you.”
Regrettably, their conversation ended there. Sipchilgyo carried Ogyo on her back and ran in the direction he had indicated.
Before turning out of the alley, she looked back, but the Faceless Guest had already vanished into the darkness.
* * *
Amid the corpses, Chai Ran was gasping for breath.
“You brought quite a lot of spectators.”
Hwa Domyeong had said he would merely watch this affair, but in truth, he had staked everything he had on it.
She returned and looked at Geom Mugeuk, who sat leaning against the wall.
The bastards had tried to take him away from where she had seated him, and while forcing herself to stop them, she had been cut in two places. Fortunately, they were not severe wounds, but she had lost a great deal of blood, and her condition was not good.
‘Just a little farther.’
Now she had escaped the maze-like alleys, and if she only crossed that forest, Sinhwabang would not be far.
“Young Cult Leader, hold on just a little longer! I’ll make sure to get you there!”
Just as she was leaving the alley, Chai Ran stopped in her tracks.
Her expression darkened.
In the clearing before the forest, more than twenty warriors stood in formation with swords in hand.
They wore the same clothes as the ones she had fought earlier, but their gazes were sharper, their auras keener. They were likely the most skilled within the organization.
Even breaking through them in her current condition would not be easy.
And Hwa Domyeong stood among them.
That was not all. Behind Hwa Domyeong stood three warriors, two men and one woman, wearing bamboo hats. They revealed no aura whatsoever, but their very presence grated on her nerves. She could tell by an assassin’s instinct.
‘They’re dangerous.’
Hwa Domyeong looked at her and spoke calmly.
“He must be heavy. Put him down now.”
Chai Ran untied the cloth she had bound and carefully seated Geom Mugeuk in place.
She looked at Geom Mugeuk.
It seemed as though he would open his eyes at any moment and smile brightly. Yet Geom Mugeuk still had both eyes closed, saying nothing.
“I’m sorry, but it looks like the commission failed.”
A faint smile formed on her lips as she prepared herself for death.
“Abandoning a commission, failing a commission… I really am a hopeless assassin.”
Still, Geom Mugeuk said nothing.
After gazing at him for a moment, she slowly rose and turned around. A dagger was in her hand.
“May I choose who goes with me?”
Without waiting for an answer, Cha Iran aimed the dagger in her hand at Hwa Domyeong.
“You.”
Swaaaak.
Hwa Domyeong spread his fan and waved it gently. If it had been just the two of them, he would have hidden his face behind that fan. But before his subordinates, he became a different person altogether.
“Right. Only at times like this are you a spectator?”
As if he would not permit even a single word of mockery, Hwa Domyeong gave a cold order.
“Kill her and bring the Young Cult Leader.”
Just as some twenty martial artists were about to step forward.
Someone flew in from behind.
The one who rushed over and blocked the way in front of Cha Iran was Ilgyo. A few more assassins arrived behind her. The fighting was still continuing in the alley, and Ilgyo had arrived first with only a handful of assassins.
Cha Iran could tell. With just them, they could not turn the tide. Hwa Domyeong was one thing, but those three mysterious figures were even more ominous.
That was why she gave Ilgyo an order.
“Take the girls who are fighting and leave this place.”
“I cannot.”
Ilgyo had absolutely no intention of retreating. For the first time, she disobeyed Cha Iran’s command.
The same order fell from Hwa Domyeong’s lips.
“Kill them all.”
At that moment, the moon, which had been hidden behind the clouds again, revealed itself, brightening the surroundings.
Compared to the enemies closing in, their side’s forces were far too weak.
It was then.
Ilgyo said to Cha Iran,
“I will obey your order.”
At her sudden change in attitude, Cha Iran was puzzled, and Hwa Domyeong sneered.
“Yes, those who can live should live.”
As if to say that was not the reason, Ilgyo raised her head and looked upward.
Then everyone’s gaze followed hers.
The place Ilgyo was looking at was a great tree. Someone was up in that tree.
When on earth had they arrived?
On the high branches of the great tree were the Faceless Guests.
Some were standing, others crouching. Others were sitting astride the branches. Wearing masks, they silently looked down upon the scene below, their appearance so bizarre it was frightening.
Whish, whish, whish, whish, whish, whish, whish!
Those in the tree leapt down all at once.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap!
Even from that height, the Faceless Guests landed lightly.
Like a shield, they formed a single line between Cha Iran and the assassins.
Hwa Domyeong stared at them with cold eyes.
Earlier, he had disregarded the assassins, but he could not disregard the Faceless Guests. Not because he feared them, but because—
‘If they have come…?’
Then a low voice came from behind Cha Iran.
“Young Cult Leader.”
When Cha Iran and the assassins turned around in surprise, Geugak Soma was already sitting before Geom Mugeuk, who lay behind them.
Bathed in cold moonlight, Geugak Soma’s white mask shone blue. From within that chill flowed a burning gaze.
“I have come, so please open your eyes!”