Drip.
Something flows from the corners of his mouth.
Ilcheonggeom wiped his mouth with trembling hands. It was blood. Blood was flowing from the corners of his mouth.
How was the pain? His struck cheek felt like it was tearing apart. It felt as if heat had risen to it, and the burning sensation was intense.
What was going on? Ilcheonggeom couldn't understand the current situation.
He was lying on the ground. Why was he on the ground?
And. What was that gaze?
Ilcheonggeom looked up at the gaze looking down at him. Blue eyes were staring into him.
No expression could be seen on his shadowed face.
Gurgle. The goosebumps rising on his body gradually tightened around his neck. With his body drained of strength, the killing intent occupying the surroundings was taking its toll.
'Ugh...'
His body stiffened from the killing intent. It was a nauseating sensation.
Somehow, he circulated his inner qi. As energy spread through his body once more, his breathing returned. However, the pain remained the same.
'...Just now.'
What on earth happened? He repeatedly tried to recall it, but still couldn't understand. How on earth...?
Ilcheonggeom, his eyes wide with shock, asked Gu Yang-cheon.
"...You bastard. You were hiding your strength."
Kwang-!
"Keuheok!"
His head shook from the impact.
It was the same this time. He hadn't even registered what hit him.
"That is not an answer to my question."
Gu Yang-cheon grabbed Ilcheonggeom's disheveled hair, holding him in place.
"Don't you know?"
"...What... what do you mean..."
What did he mean? Ilcheonggeom couldn't understand. The only thing he could instinctively grasp was,
'Something is wrong.'
That Gu Yang-cheon in front of him was somehow wrong. The sneer he usually wore was gone. He was merely looking at him with an expressionless face.
Yet.
'What... is this.'
Why was it so terrifying? It wasn't difficult to recognize that the emotion welling up from within was fear.
"Haa... haa..."
His gaze kept averting itself. He couldn't bear to look into those eyes for long. It felt like if he kept looking, he would be devoured before long.
In the end, Ilcheonggeom averted his eyes from Gu Yang-cheon's gaze.
"Hmm."
Seeing that, Gu Yang-cheon nodded. And.
Kwaang-!
"Geuk."
He swung his fist, striking Ilcheonggeom's head once more. It was stronger than before. Perhaps because qi was infused into it, a gust of wind pressure swept over him upon impact.
Thud. Ilcheonggeom's body flopped and collapsed to the ground. Blood flowed from his nose, soaking the earth.
At that sight, the surroundings fell silent.
No way....
'Did he kill him...?'
'Did he kill him?'
'Did our Great Commander kill Ilcheonggeom...?'
Everyone was thinking the exact same thing. Blood was pouring out heavily, and Ilcheonggeom showed no signs of movement, so it was only natural to assume he was dead, but.
Gu Yang-cheon prodded Ilcheonggeom with his foot and spoke.
"He's not dead, so take him away."
"Huh?"
Not dead? In that state...?
"Take him away and save him. Because this guy shouldn't die right now."
"...What do you mean."
"Are you going to do it or not?"
"..."
He shouldn't die 'right now'. Those words invaded everyone's ears.
Calm. Yet chilling.
How could the words spat out from a completely emotionless face be so cold?
He was originally someone who made people feel a wall, but the current Gu Yang-cheon was vastly different from that.
'A different person.'
He was a completely different person from the one they knew.
The sight of him cloaked in such intense killing intent. Even the way he looked at the people around him was the same.
Unlike before, when he was somewhat fierce but consistently treated them like humans.
Now it was as if...
'He's looking at livestock.'
Something that didn't even view them as human. Eyes like those looking at a stone placed on the ground.
It was utterly chilling.
Ilcheonggeom was carried away by the squad members. Seeing his limp hands, he seemed to have truly lost consciousness.
Watching this quietly, Gu Yang-cheon turned his head away.
He felt no emotion whatsoever.
Gu Yang-cheon swept his gaze over the surroundings.
Those who met his gaze as it brushed past trembled or even lost the strength in their legs.
The killing intent had thinned slightly, but it was still emanating.
"Proceed with the search."
The quietly dropped voice sounded strangely loud.
The squad members couldn't easily bring themselves to answer.
However, as if an answer wasn't necessary, Gu Yang-cheon looked somewhere and slightly bent his knees.
"Young Master...! Wait...!"
At that action, Dang So-yeol hastily called out to Gu Yang-cheon, but.
Kwoong--!!!
Gu Yang-cheon leaped right upward, kicking up an immense cloud of dust.
As he faded into the distance, the killing intent that had filled the surroundings was withdrawn.
Only then did the people around them exhale rough breaths.
"...Young Master..."
Feeling Gu Yang-cheon's fading presence, Dang So-yeol bit her lip.
******************
Why did I do that? I pondered deeply.
I shouldn't have done that then. At the same time, I blamed myself.
'I shouldn't have called him.'
I knew Ilcheonggeom was watching. Then I shouldn't have called him.
Did he come to watch because of the killing intent I was emitting? Or was there another reason he came to watch?
I should have figured that out first.
Even if I had to call him by some chance, it shouldn't have been like this. I shouldn't have shown my strength to that guy.
I shouldn't have demanded to know if he knew something. And I definitely shouldn't have crushed him just because his tone was annoying.
I originally had a plan today, didn't I? I clearly had a plan to use Ilcheonggeom.
'Why did I do that?'
I turned everything I had prepared so far into foam myself.
Why on earth did I do that? Even I couldn't understand.
Just.
Truly just.
'It was annoying.'
Everything was annoying.
Thinking about something. Making plans and dealing with every single thing.
In a single moment, I let go of the reason I had been desperately clinging to.
What were the eyes looking at me from the surroundings at that time? They were probably eyes of fear.
Yes, just like in my past life. The eyes of those who looked at me in my past life were like that.
Even Dang So-yeol was the same.
I remembered her not being able to look me in the eye properly.
I unconsciously disliked that, so I tried to live differently, but I even let go of this.
Why did I do that.
I had definitely resolved never to do that.
How could I give up so easily.
The justification burned. Everything was solely for the sake of justification.
Even when doing things, so there would be no repercussions. That was the only reason I had done all this until now.
'I don't know.'
Now, I didn't even want to think about that.
In this situation, there was only one thing I could do.
Not killing Ilcheonggeom, but keeping him alive.
That was the only thing I could barely bring myself to do.
No, I didn't even want to do that. Why must I keep such a shabby bastard alive?
The guys around him were the same.
There was no need to bother keeping them alive. Also, there was no need for me to keep them with me.
Why not just kill them all and go my way.
That was the thought that crossed my mind then.
The funny thing is, even now, I was thinking that was the right thing to do.
Something went wrong. I was self-aware of my different thoughts from usual, but I wondered if it really was wrong.
'This is the original me.'
Since when was I altruistic and rational? If I didn't like something, I would break it without a second thought; that was me.
Embracing no one.
Holding nothing.
No, even if I did hold something, I had to hold it so that no one would know.
It was clearly supposed to be like that...
-Do you think you've changed? No. You haven't changed.
Recalling the words I had heard, my eyes gradually sank.
That's right. Looking at this state, I haven't changed.
I'm just living pretending to have changed.
Thump-!
He dropped to the ground, the impact bursting outward. The middle of the forest was turned into a mess.
The location wasn't the western forest. Rather, the opposite side. He was supposed to look for the kids, but the reason he purposely came here was for something else.
"Is this the right place?"
-Yes.
He narrowed his eyes at the sound transmission. It was Amwang.
-It's not certain. But this is the area where they were last identified.
"...Understood."
The location where Namgung Bia and Wi Seol-ah would have been. That place was here.
Since Amwang and the others hadn't constantly kept an eye on the two, it wasn't an exact location, but at least knowing it was around here was enough.
As long as Namgung Bia, of all people, was involved. There was no way they would have moved normally. Even if Wi Seol-ah was involved, she would have yielded to Namgung Bia's opinion.
The two, even if they didn't seem like it, were somewhat similar.
Squeeze.
Centered on his heart, power wrapped around his entire body. His swollen blood vessels were painful, but he paid it no mind.
He spread his qi sense to the maximum. Countless pieces of information inserted themselves through his ears and nose.
He tossed them all aside. That wasn't what he was looking for.
'Where is it.'
A very slight trace. Something minute that Wi Seol-ah and Namgung Bia might have left.
Or the presence of those two.
If nothing happened, it would be the best. But he already knew that wasn't the case.
The two had reached the Hwagyeong. They had even achieved Simgeom, albeit faintly, so they weren't people who would lose easily anywhere.
'There's something.'
Gyecheon Munju was plotting something, and he recognized that it was no ordinary matter.
Therefore, he intended to approach more carefully. Since things had come to this... not a single thought of that remained.
Huuuuuung---!!!
He spread his qi sense to the limit. Truly the limit. After consuming the Baekmaseok last time, his qi sense had risen extremely, and he spread it to the very last point he could.
His head throbbed, and his heart continued to beat faster.
"...Do you feel anything?"
He caught his breath and asked Amwang.
[Not yet.]
Even Amwang couldn't easily figure it out.
Then should he consider that there was nothing?
'No.'
There was something. He had that conviction.
The reason was purely a gut feeling, but he believed it.
"I'll look around here, so could you search the other side?"
[I will obey.]
In preparation for any unforeseen situation, he sent Amwang to the west and maintained his qi sense.
The pain grew fiercer, and the repercussions visited his body.
Drip. A stream of blood flowed from his nose.
It was because he forcefully used it while his blood vessels were still swollen and he wasn't used to it.
'Was it my imagination?'
Was the gut feeling that this side was right wrong? He didn't know.
'...Then, concentrate a little more.'
Even if this wasn't the place, he would do everything he could.
Only then could he go somewhere else.
Little by little.
Even a little more.
He expanded his qi sense that had reached its limit rather than just maintaining it.
Physical burden? He didn't care.
While he was blasting it out for a while.
Vroom.
"..."
He felt something faint from the inside. He immediately retracted his qi sense.
At the same time, he wiped the blood flowing from his nose and mouth and shined his eyes.
"Found it."
It was definitely here.
******************
A damp and quiet space. Faint moisture could be felt in the inhaled air.
Moreover, the space was expansive and dark.
What was this space used for? It didn't seem like a naturally formed cave.
That was only natural, as a natural cave wouldn't have such angular walls.
Wi Seol-ah, leaning against the dark wall, looked around the space and spoke.
"Sister. We're going to get scolded a lot when we go back, right?"
"...Yeah."
Namgung Bia agreed with Wi Seol-ah's words. She was certain of it.
Probably going to get scolded quite a lot this time?
"...That's a big problem."
"Yeah..."
"Wouldn't it be fine if we just go back right now...?"
"Seol-ah..."
"Yes."
"...Do you... know the way out?"
"..."
Wi Seol-ah fell silent at Namgung Bia's words. That hit the nail on the head.
She wasn't as directionally challenged as Namgung Bia, but this place was strange.
'At some point, I lost my way.'
Where this place was. Just how far down they had come. It was hard to perceive.
"...It feels like something is overlaid on this space itself."
"Yeah..."
Namgung Bia nodded. Seeing her, Wi Seol-ah let out a soft sigh.
"...Really. You were the one who said we should go back because we'd get scolded, Sister. How could you just barge right in?"
"...Sorry."
Namgung Bia chose to apologize rather than make excuses. It was entirely her fault.
Her body had moved on its own the moment Gu Yang-cheon was mentioned. And that—
"No. I'm sorry... I shouldn't be blaming you, Sister."
Wi Seol-ah was the same. If Namgung Bia hadn't rushed in, she would have run in anyway.
"The problem is... I don't even know how much time has passed."
Their return time had probably passed by a long shot.
Since the two hadn't returned, the others would likely make a move as well.
"I hope the Young Master hasn't made a move, but... that's probably not the case, right?"
"Yeah."
The two were certain of it. That man would definitely come looking for them.
That was what worried them.
Afraid that he would search for them recklessly and cause a scene. Afraid that it would be their fault.
"We need to get out quickly."
Wi Seol-ah's golden eyes gleamed as she scanned the darkness.
'If it's not this way either, then where on earth is it?'
They had already wandered down numerous paths.
They had gone down, and they had gone up.
If they went down, just how far? If they went up, just how far?
How could such a massive space exist underground in the first place? That in itself was incomprehensible.
'I even lost the people who were tailing us.'
The squad members had secretly followed the sound of their voices, but the girls had lost their pursuers halfway through.
They couldn't even find an exit, leaving them completely at a loss.
Then.
Tug.
"Sister?"
Namgung Bia grabbed the hem of Wi Seol-ah's clothes. When Wi Seol-ah looked at her as if asking what was wrong—
"For now... let's go."
She pointed straight ahead with her finger.
In front of them stood a giant iron door. A door that looked far too massive compared to the walls and ceiling.
It was a door they had discovered while searching for a way out. The two were now hiding their presence in front of it.
Should they finally go in? Wi Seol-ah pondered for a moment.
"..."
No other method came to mind. Besides...
'Something...'
Something bothered her. It was the thought that crossed Wi Seol-ah's mind the moment she saw the door.
There was something about that door. To be precise, it seemed there was something inside.
"...Shall we go?"
"Yeah."
Wi Seol-ah and Namgung Bia moved, keeping a wary eye on their surroundings.
Not long after, they reached the iron door, and the two began to inspect it from all angles.
It looked like nothing more than a rusted, old iron door. Nothing special stood out.
Especially.
"There's no doorknob."
There wasn't even a doorknob to open it. So how on earth were they supposed to open it?
Push to open? Wi Seol-ah placed her hand on the door, thinking it couldn't be that simple.
At that moment.
Hwaaak--!! The door suddenly radiated light.
Wi Seol-ah and Namgung Bia immediately grabbed their swords.
Kiiiiek.
The door groaned as it slowly began to open.
The interior became visible through the gap of the slightly opened door.
"Huh?"
Wi Seol-ah let out a gasp of surprise at the sight.