Reunion's Embrace (2)
Gu Cheon-woo's dry, emotionless reply—that he believed in Cheon-gi even if no one else did—came across as chilling to Cheon-su and Ga-bok.
'Bro, you're not mad, right?'
'Why does it feel like you're pissed?'
Once you gave an idiot certainty, the outcome was predictable. Just like now.
"That sorcery crap won't work on me anymore! I'm a genius who masters a hundred techniques after learning just one!"
Master one before you talk about breaking a hundred! You moron!
Anyone with a brain could tell from the start that it didn't add up. It wasn't even proper sorcery—he hadn't used anything that impressive. Besides, he'd met Mother first. If he'd pulled some shady trick, would Mother have just stood there?
'As expected, you've built your justification.'
'Turning one slap into ten beatings is a talent in itself.'
Cheon-su and Ga-bok picked up on the blatant malice because it was so obvious. At this point, they should've backed off, but unfortunately, idiots didn't know when to quit.
"Even if it kills me, I won't yield to injustice! I'll expose your villainy to the world!"
"A noble cause. Prove your conviction."
Cheon-gi vowed that this time, he'd show his eldest brother what real sorcery looked like. He'd fooled everyone else, but not him. The genius who mastered one and shattered a hundred was stepping up.
Hiyap!
With a fierce kiai, Cheon-gi thrust his fist forward. His full power surged into it.
'Got it!'
This punch wasn't ordinary. A shiver unlike any before raced from his toes to his scalp. It was the perfect fist technique, one that might come once in a lifetime.
No sooner had he recognized it than a thunderous roar exploded in his mind.
Shwooo!
Eh?
No thunderous boom—just a hollow whoosh of wind.
Flustered by the unexpected turn, Cheon-gi's bloodshot eyes fixed on the fist's shadow.
Splat!
That was the sound. The one he'd craved.
Shatter!
Crash!
The destructive force from the collision of thrust speed and forward momentum was at least double. He flew twice as far as the distance he'd charged.
Dazed not by dizziness but by a soul-shattering blow, his mind reeled. He couldn't even recall who he was or where he was. His brain felt like it had frozen solid.
At least he didn't have to worry about blacking out.
Boom!
The rebound from the struck ground launched him into the air. Before he could savor the flight, Cheon-woo's fist drew countless fist-shadows.
Pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow!
Amid the downpour of shadows, Cheon-gi reached the realm of free flight. Unfortunately, he couldn't descend at will. He could rise, but landing was impossible.
His body swelled like a leather ball about to burst.
Crack! Craaaack!
Each strike was too deep and precise to dismiss as mere speed, piercing straight through his mind. He couldn't tell where or how he was being hit, but the pain etched itself into his bones with surgical precision.
Kaaaaah!
His screams echoed everywhere, but they never left the inner courtyard.
Cheon-gi tried calling for Mother to save him, but it fell on deaf ears with Cheon-woo. The barrier wasn't perfect, but it shattered sound waves to control distance.
Kaaaaang!
The roar raged only within the inner quarters, unable to propagate outward.
Overwhelmed by unrelenting agony, Cheon-gi began to crumble. Surrender rose to his throat, but he couldn't spit it out.
"A hero doesn't yield to pain."
He'd invoked heroes himself. He didn't want to eat his words about resisting injustice even unto death.
He hadn't buckled under Mother's brutal threats to become a warrior. He wouldn't submit to his big brother either.
"That's the mark of a true hero."
I acknowledge you.
Cheon-gi nearly lost his mind at the recognition. If you acknowledge me, stop already!
The fists' power was growing fiercer.
"Even in death, I'll remember you as a hero."
...It's a threat, right? I won't submit.
Cheon-gi repeated it hundreds of times, but his brother's calm demeanor made it feel too real. When their eyes met briefly, an unimaginable terror surged through him. This was a ruthless tyrant who wouldn't blink at killing trash like him.
"...I surrender!"
"I can't believe you."
"Big bro, spare me! I quit being a hero! For real!"
"Would a hero fold to this much pain?"
"...I said I'm not a hero!"
The flat, toneless indifference terrified Cheon-gi more than any curse. And "this much"? It hurt like hell. His body and soul felt like they were shattering.
"Die an honorable hero."
"...Bro, you're joking, right?"
"......"
No, you're not!
Cheon-woo had staked his life on the Mireok Paedo. In tens of thousands of years, he'd never denied it once. For the Path of Dominance Through Destroying Evil, he could gladly discard this one life.
To such a man, Cheon-gi's resolve was laughable. Yielding to mere pain, not even death? As the Paewang's brother, he should never break, even in dying.
Besides, Cheon-woo had never intended to kill him. Just beat some sense into the fool. No flaying skin. No breaking bones. No severing tendons. No shattering the dantian. No gouging eyes. No pulling nails. Nothing extreme.
Just punches. For a fool prattling about heroism with such weak resolve, it was an unbearable insult to Cheon-woo.
"Not enough malice."
"...No malice? First time I've heard that! I'm the Poison Arm General of the Guga Clan!"
"When malice runs dry, gouging an eyeball works wonders."
"...Wait!!"
When something's lacking, desperation kicks in. Limbs crippled make mastering martial arts hellishly hard. Eyes? Plenty to spare. One missing wouldn't kill you. Reach Absolute Realm, and sixth sense lets you see without them anyway.
Cheon-woo decided to give his brother the spark to become a true hero. Use the pain of loss as a stepping stone.
"No... Bro, you're insane!"
"One eye won't stop you from living."
Chills ran down Cheon-gi's spine. No hesitation—it didn't sound like a joke. Terror hit that he might really end up one-eyed. He prayed it was a bluff, but the hand approached.
This crazy brother!
"No worries about optic nerve damage. I'm an expert at this."
"...Why?"
Why the hell are you an expert at eye-gouging? What have you been up to these past few days?
Mercy for villains was a luxury. Gouging eyes was basic for rooting out evil. Start with eyes, and the rest gets easier. Leave one, and survival instinct kicks in. Remove them all, and torture fails.
"Bro! The body hair, skin, limbs, and parents—it's all from them! Mother might faint seeing my googly eye!"
Freeze!
Cheon-woo halted at Cheon-su's shout, hand poised over the eye. Strictly speaking, it was fair payback for lightly invoking heroism. Any Tom, Dick, or Harry called themselves heroes, but true ones were needles in a haystack.
As Paewang's brother, he wanted a real hero, not a fake. But venting Mireok Paedo's denial on Cheon-gi was unfair.
"Sorry about that."
"Didn't I tell you over and over? Cheon-gi's an idiot."
"I figured one eyeball was fine."
"Even idiots don't need to become actual cripples."
Cheon-gi, nearly one-eyed, was utterly spent. Was this brotherly talk? He might snap from it. Rage should've boiled at his brothers' antics, but he couldn't even glare at the eldest.
'Staring won't make him pluck it first, right?'
He had to admit: the once-reclusive shut-in big bro had changed. But positively? Debatable. His extroversion had swung to maniac, targeting his own brother's eye.
Why so scary? Shit, gonna piss myself.
Brothers supported each other despite flaws, deepening bonds. Even if the little one threw a slight tantrum.
Where'd he learn this eye-gouging habit?
Swish!
As big bro looked over, Cheon-gi hunched like a turtle.
He wasn't timid, but practical like a battle-hardened vet.
"Plenty of heroes lost an eye and thrived."
"Aren't there more with both eyes intact?"
Statistically true. Cheon-gi's desperate ploy worked, but Cheon-woo didn't reply.
Hmm.
Under his eldest brother's appraising gaze, Cheon-gi felt like a hog at the slaughterhouse. Low grade, and bye-bye eyeball. "Eye-free meat's still prime," he'd say.
"No heart for heroism?"
"I wanna be a hero with all limbs and eyes intact!"
"One eye's plenty for heroism."
"I won't be an unfilial son!"
Instinct against idiocy or well-oiled mouth today? Cheon-gi was slick. Cheon-su and Ga-bok were impressed. Heart an idiot, but body spared—petty thrashing.
Cheon-woo remained skeptical. Time had erased brotherly memories. Today felt like a first impression after 40,000 years. Quitting over pain? Solo heroism doubtful.
"It'll be tough."
"My heart's Absolute Realm at least!"
"If you're set on it, Yeoui Seon-gyeol suits you."
"Mom has to teach it."
"I'll tell her."
Even with permission, Cheon-gi looked uneasy. Maternal clan's arts? Unknown power, maybe not divine. Just family heirloom. He craved renowned arts—Nine Great Sects or Five Great Families level minimum.
"What art do you practice, bro?"
"Paewang Gong."
Grand name, but unheard of. Tyrannical vibe beat Yeoui Seon-gyeol, which sounded girly. Men heaven, women earth—guys needed Overbearing Path arts.
"Doesn't suit you."
"Who are you to judge... Never mind."
Cheon-gi shut up. Cross the line, one-eyed.
'Too hot-tempered for the Overbearing Path.'