Chapter 327: The Demon Realm (1)
"…Were you waiting for me?"
In Jang Seon-yeon's voice as he spoke,
there was a very slight tremor.
"Not for long. I just arrived myself too."
The words spat out with a chuckle.
At those words, Jang Seon-yeon had to frown.
Those words meant that, in the end, he had been waiting here for him.
'How did he know…?'
Though Jang Seon-yeon harbored the question,
"Why are you surprised?"
At the question from Gu Yangcheon, who had been waiting for him, Jang Seon-yeon raised his head.
"After all, you were looking for me for the same reason, weren't you?"
"…!"
"Your reaction is amusing. Right, around this time, you were still like this."
Jang Seon-yeon pushed Gu Yangcheon's incomprehensible latter words to the back of his mind.
He focused on the words before him.
-The same reason.
Recalling those words,
he could simultaneously recall what Gu Yangcheon had said in his own faction before.
-You will die here.
It was what Gu Yangcheon had said to him. Recalling that, he lightly clenched his fist.
"Those are incomprehensible words."
"Yet you look like you understand better than anyone. If not, why would you have come looking for me? You've got something to do. Gotta catch demonic beasts."
Creak,,
Hearing the words Gu Yangcheon spat out,
his teeth ground together instinctively.
Was it because of that unique way of speaking?
Because of the mockery seething within it?
Or because of the malice directed at him, laid bare without concealment?
If not that,
then perhaps because that talent of Gu Yangcheon blocked his path from beginning to end.
He couldn't tell.
'No.'
It wasn't that he didn't know.
He was pretending not to know.
Jang Seon-yeon already knew the reason.
The bastard's very existence was the problem.
A talent that seemed to defy the will of heaven, and the malice he exuded toward Jang Seon-yeon.
From the moment they first met,
until now, and into the future, it would block the path he was meant to walk.
Jang Seon-yeon had to stand ahead of everyone.
He had to shine brighter than anyone.
Yet that detestable bastard had been ahead of him from the very beginning until now.
Moreover, he shone even brighter.
Even if he borrowed his own information network and the mouthpiece of the Beggars' Sect,
even that had its limits.
Moreover, the Beggars' Sect was even gradually pulling away.
How could he endure it?
That bastard was like a massive obstacle to him.
Hiding his trembling fist, Jang Seon-yeon spoke to Gu Yangcheon.
"Is the same not true for Young Master Gu?"
"What is?"
"I'm talking about waiting for me. Doesn't Young Master Gu also have to catch demonic beasts?"
At Jang Seon-yeon's words, Gu Yangcheon smirked.
"Right. Gotta catch 'em. Demonic beasts."
"Then right now…."
"I'm trying to catch one right now."
Jang Seon-yeon frowned at Gu Yangcheon's words.
Because there was no trace of demonic beasts nearby.
"They wear the shell of humans. Not all of them are human. If one is buried in instinct, forgetting their true will, and simply rampages. That's what a demonic beast is, isn't it?"
The words Gu Yangcheon spewed with a smile toward him,
as always, dug into the true feelings hidden beneath his dantian.
The emotion in the bastard's eyes was far too clear.
His attitude was the same.
Jang Seon-yeon disliked how he rampaged as he pleased, as if he cared nothing for others' gazes.
Jang Seon-yeon was busy wearing a mask and being conscious of others' gazes.
How could that bastard act like that?
Even while acting that way, how did so many others gather around him?
Was he the one who was wrong?
The more such thoughts crossed his mind,
the more Jang Seon-yeon disliked him.
He was not wrong.
He absolutely could not be.
"Are you saying you intend to kill me?"
To the words Jang Seon-yeon spat out,
Gu Yangcheon replied as if dumbfounded.
"Why are you acting like a victim now? This is hilarious."
At Gu Yangcheon's words, Jang Seon-yeon suppressed his emotions inwardly and looked into Gu Yangcheon's eyes as he asked.
"I still cannot understand."
"What?"
"The reason Young Master Gu hates me. What have I done so wrong to you?"
Jang Seon-yeon felt it was unjust.
And Gu Yangcheon could sympathize with that injustice to some extent.
It was true that he had received the Blood Demon's blood aura.
It was true that he had used various schemes to attain his position in rather dirty ways.
But at least until the Martial Arts Tournament, he had not caused Gu Yangcheon significant harm.
It was merely his methods that were crude.
His innate talent was outstanding.
Even without pulling schemes, he possessed enough talent to reach the peak before his coming-of-age, as he had now.
Jang Seon-yeon was indeed a genius.
For Gu Yangcheon to suddenly say he hated him so much.
To display such malice toward him, saying he disliked him.
From Jang Seon-yeon's position, it was incomprehensible.
"It's a hassle to explain. Can't I just say I hate you and leave it at that?"
It was too bothersome to explain point by point.
'What good would it do to spell out the reasons I hate you?'
'Would he even understand if I told him about my past life?'
Put differently,
it meant that the current Jang Seon-yeon had not yet committed such sins.
Actually,
in this life, upon seeing sides different from his past life, there were those Gu Yangcheon had not killed.
Of course,
"You hate me too. Let's just call it even."
Not that Jang Seon-yeon was included among those.
"And if I do, what will you do about it?"
"So now you don't even deny that you hate me?"
"…Are you saying we should settle this as a battle to the death, right here and now?"
"A battle to the death sounds good. But are you confident?"
As Gu Yangcheon chuckled and spat out the words,
Jang Seon-yeon's face contorted.
His face had looked so kind when he smiled.
It was refreshing to see it twist so violently.
"…If not that, were you planning to assassinate me? In a situation where the Divine Dragon Hall's instructors are stationed all around?"
"That's what I'm saying. I was a bit curious too. What were you planning to do to me?"
He had revealed his presence and shaken off pursuit, but instructors were spread out in all directions.
One wrong move.
Gu Yangcheon shifted his gaze to look behind Jang Seon-yeon.
There,
stood Cheol Ji-seon.
The qi barrier spread around them was peculiar.
At Cheol Ji-seon's level, he couldn't completely hide his presence.
It seemed something else had been overlaid.
'What is it?'
It was ambiguous to call it a qi barrier. Something subtly tuned.
'Sound Arts?'
Ridiculously, it seemed to be in the domain of sound.
When he focused, he heard a faint buzzing sound.
Seeing that, it seemed he had somehow dragged Cheol Ji-seon along and avoided the instructors' gazes to find him.
If it was the same as his past life experience,
it seemed the same method was being used this time too.
Hence the question.
As Jang Seon-yeon said, instructors were posted all around.
If he pulled such a stunt out of nowhere.
….
!
Did Jang Seon-yeon have a way to handle it himself?
'He was always the type to not do things he couldn't clean up after.'
It meant he always left himself an escape route.
Such a bastard wouldn't have done this without thinking.
Gu Yangcheon, having thought that far,
took his eyes off Cheol Ji-seon. Then he looked at Jang Seon-yeon.
"Didn't you say you didn't know why I hate you?"
Creak,,
"If I had to pick a reason, it's because I can see all too well what you'll do in the future."
"What…?"
"You seem to think you're hiding it, but your filthy desires are so large they're plain to see."
Gu Yangcheon, who had been sitting on a rock, got down and continued speaking to Jang Seon-yeon.
"Do all the junior disciples look like shit to you?"
" "
"You think you're an incredible person, that everyone will kneel and you'll rise above them all…"
He had done so in his past life, so why would this life be different?
"After graduation, you'll enter the Murim Alliance. Even though you're the Alliance Chief's son, you'll start as the lowest-ranking sword agent. Because that's good for public perception."
With every word spoken, Jang Seon-yeon's expression changed.
"Since you'll rise up quickly anyway, it doesn't matter if you're the lowest rank…. You have plenty of schemers wrapped up in rumors, so they'll take care of it for you."
"…How do you…."
Jang Seon-yeon covered his mouth.
For a moment, he had almost asked how Gu Yangcheon knew that.
Without paying him any mind, Gu Yangcheon continued.
"What next? You'll pretend to be a good person and go around rescuing civilians suffering from demonic beasts. Up to here, it's all very nice."
Going around rescuing people.
By its sound, it was a good deed.
No matter how much trash Jang Seon-yeon was,
if his intentions were such, one could make some allowances.
However, Jang Seon-yeon was Jang Seon-yeon.
"Those raids by the demonic beasts. You're going to plan them, right?"
"…!"
"I have a feeling you would."
Jang Seon-yeon's eyes widened in surprise.
This was unexpected.
In his past life, Jang Seon-yeon had indeed been an outstanding martial artist.
But compared to Wi Seol-a, who had ascended to the position of the youngest Great Lord, he had many shortcomings.
The reason such a Jang Seon-yeon was called the Meteor Sword, hailed by many as a hero, and ascended to the position of Great Lord,
was because there were so many instances where he truly appeared like a meteor in times of crisis, slaughtered other demonic beasts, and rescued people from the Demon Realm Gate.
The people praised him as a new hero, a chivalrous hero.
They even highly esteemed Jang Seon-yeon, the son of the Alliance Chief.
But Gu Yangcheon knew.
In the end, the demonic beast raids they suffered and Jang Seon-yeon's rescues
were all plays orchestrated by Jang Seon-yeon's own hand.
Ah, strictly speaking, it was slightly different.
Those who were devoured by demonic beasts and met their deaths were real.
Only Jang Seon-yeon, who used this to play the hero, was the act.
As if to prove that,
"…What… do you mean…."
Having heard Gu Yangcheon's words, Jang Seon-yeon's face trembled uncontrollably.
"Your delusions are excessive, Young Master Gu. How could a person do such a thing?"
"Who knows what you'd do. It's just a guess."
If one were to ask, as Jang Seon-yeon implied, how a human could utilize the Demon Realm Gate,
the answer was already nearby.
Right behind him, wasn't it?
The bastard who could open and close the Demon Realm.
'Jegal Ji-hui.'
Whether it was Cheol Ji-seon or Jegal Ji-hui.
Whether dressed as a man or a woman, one couldn't tell.
Because that bastard existed, Jang Seon-yeon had been able to rapidly burrow into a high position.
The world always wanted a hero.
Handsome and strong in martial arts.
With a solid backer, Jang Seon-yeon
did not take long to ascend as a young hero by rescuing people from the Demon Realm Gate.
In secret, through demonic beasts and the Demon Realm Gate,
he threw away people's lives as feed.
It was no different from using them for his own status.
Of course, that wasn't the reason Gu Yangcheon hated Jang Seon-yeon.
While it was indeed a pathetic act, from the standpoint of someone who had no faith in the righteous faction bastards to begin with,
he wouldn't be shocked to hear such things.
He merely thought.
Jang Seon-yeon had indeed been like that then.
And wondered if now would be any different.
Gu Yangcheon recalled.
-What have I done so wrong to you?
At the same time, he thought.
Of Jegal Hyeok, the brain of the Demonic Cult and Cheon Yu-rang-a, whom he should have killed from the very beginning, and the reason he had kept him alive.
He had let that bastard live.
So what was the reason he had to kill the current Jang Seon-yeon?
Looking at Jang Seon-yeon, who kept his head lowered in silence,
Gu Yangcheon suddenly opened his mouth.
"Fine. I'll give you a chance."
Creak,,
Jang Seon-yeon flinched at Gu Yangcheon's words.
"If you turn around and do nothing right now. I was thinking of looking at you favorably, just once."
Was he looking for a justification to let Jang Seon-yeon live?
No.
He simply wanted to escape the contradiction.
Keeping Jegal Hyeok alive while killing Jang Seon-yeon.
At that time, the reason had been simple.
Because he was not the Cheon Yu-rang-a he knew.
He was merely a young boy.
And.
The reason he had come to see Namgung Bi-a as someone other than the Demon Sword Empress as well.
Because she was not the Demon Sword Empress.
She was a woman merely struggling to find ordinariness.
Gu Yangcheon was no saint.
He knew that better than anyone.
Those who should be killed, he would kill.
That bastard was foremost among them.
Even so, he had wanted to check.
"How about it."
Jang Seon-yeon still kept his head lowered, saying nothing.
What choice would he present?
Waiting for Jang Seon-yeon with a somewhat interested expression,
Gu Yangcheon eventually opened his mouth impatiently.
"Say something…."
"It doesn't matter anymore."
Only then did Jang Seon-yeon raise his head.
"…!"
The moment Gu Yangcheon confirmed Jang Seon-yeon had raised his head, he had to clamp his mouth shut.
Expressionless.
Neither the contorted face from before,
nor the face that had been smiling as if wearing a mask.
Only expressionlessness.
Not a single emotion resided on Jang Seon-yeon's face.
Then.
Crack—!
"This…!"
An anomaly occurred on the ground where Gu Yangcheon stood.
Because the ground began to split apart, riddled with cracks.
Swoooooosh!
The wind pressure from the ground anomaly swept the surroundings.
Something was opening.
Looking at it, Jang Seon-yeon spoke to Gu Yangcheon.
"It's my first time seeing it. Truly a fascinating sight."
"You…!"
Gu Yangcheon tried to move with effort, but
perhaps because of the anomaly that had appeared on the ground,
his body stiffened rigidly.
"You won't be able to move easily."
That thing opening on the ground
was said to possess the power to bind even a peak expert.
Having confirmed Gu Yangcheon's rigid, immobile appearance,
Jang Seon-yeon let out a slight breath and spoke.
"As expected, it was right to eliminate you. You have been an eyesore from the very beginning."
Perhaps because the binding was unexpected, Gu Yangcheon's eyes widened in surprise.
"From the very beginning… you intended to kill me?"
"Yes. I didn't like your eyes."
As if exhausted, Jang Seon-yeon brushed his hair back.
"For some worthless junior disciple of a petty clan to look at me like that. I truly disliked it."
" "
"Besides, I hate to admit it, but you were monstrously strong."
Having said that, Jang Seon-yeon smiled faintly.
"So annoyingly so…."
His appearance, having cast off the mask,
was completely different from the face he had shown in the Divine Dragon Hall.
"Earlier, you asked what I planned to do about there being many instructors, did you not?"
"You…."
"I found that rather difficult as well. So I decided to simply flip everything over comfortably. It happens there is someone whose heart aligns with mine on the matter. In any case, this is not something you need worry about, as you are about to disappear."
The gradually widening fissure
eventually took shape.
Though it was strange that it formed on the ground,
that appearance was unmistakably the Demon Realm Gate.
A Demon Realm Gate created by another.
At that sight, Jang Seon-yeon let out an exclamation of admiration.
"As expected…. I'm glad I found it. It will be of great use going forward."
He was satisfied.
Far more than he had anticipated.
Jang Seon-yeon felt a chill run down his spine unconsciously at the overwhelming energy and atmosphere just from looking at it.
Was that not Gu Yangcheon himself, unable to move even a single step?
'I told you. I wouldn't leave you be.'
He had wanted to make that bastard kneel.
Though he had ultimately failed to make him kneel,
this much was satisfactory.
At least he could eliminate him forever before his own eyes.
If so, Wi Seol-a too. And the world's opinion, eventually….
"Is this enough?"
"…What?"
Just as the Demon Realm Gate fully opened,
a voice, unlike before, invaded Jang Seon-yeon's ears with composure.
"What did you just say…."
"Hey, you can close it now."
As Gu Yangcheon's words were heard,
Hup!
Gu Yangcheon, who had been standing atop the Demon Realm Gate, vanished from Jang Seon-yeon's sight in an instant.
He definitely shouldn't have been able to move…!
"Keuk!,,",
Jang Seon-yeon's vision shook, and his body was violently jolted.
By the time he barely came to his senses, his neck was already grabbed, and he was being dragged atop the Demon Realm Gate.
"Th… ick… this…!"
"That's a relief."
Gu Yangcheon, gripping Jang Seon-yeon's neck,
was smiling brightly.
"If you had really said you'd leave without doing anything. It would have been a bit troublesome."
"H… how."
Craaackle—!
While Jang Seon-yeon was aghast at the current situation,
the Demon Realm Gate embedded in the ground stirred.
It was like a sticky swamp.
And also like a giant mouth trying to swallow them whole.
"Surprised that I can move?"
"L… let go of thi…!"
"Well, I found it amazing too. I was able to move, you see. Ah, but that's not what's so important."
"I said let go right now! If this happens, you too—!"
Despite Jang Seon-yeon's shout,
Gu Yangcheon merely smiled.
"I was planning on going from the start. You just didn't know, did you?"
"What do you mean…!"
"Shall we take a nice little trip together?"
As Gu Yangcheon spoke with a hint of laughter,
Kwoaaaaak—!
The Demon Realm Gate embedded in the ground
savagely devoured them both.