Chapter 48
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: The Gates of Hell Open (2)
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“She’s not here?!”
“N-No, sir!”
“Why not? Why the hell isn’t she here, you bastard!”
“My apologies! My apologies!”
Cha Gwang bowed so low his forehead touched the ground, a posture that truly demonstrated the limits of human flexibility.
Seo Ryang roared.
“You sons of bitches! I don’t care if it was the commander’s order, are you telling me not a single one of you knows where your commander is or what she’s doing? Does that make any sense! Argh!”
He was on the verge of exploding. No, he had already exploded.
Cha Gwang, along with all the other members of the Berserk Demon Unit, retracted their necks like turtles.
Who was this young man before them? He was the disciple of the Cult Leader, a man of the highest standing in the Divine Cult, and a tyrant who had effortlessly beaten their respected commander to a pulp.
Though they were infamous for being crazed demons, they didn't dare lift their heads. And looking at him now, the Third Young Master didn't seem particularly sane either.
As they say, it takes a madman to know one.
They realized that provoking the Third Young Master now would get them so thoroughly wrecked that their hellish training would feel like a sweet memory.
“Um…”
Seo Ryang’s head snapped around.
“What!”
One of the Berserk Demon Unit members stammered.
“Perhaps… she went out for a drink…?”
“You bastard! What fucking drink! You think this is a time to be happily chugging alcohol? Are you insane?”
*Our commander is quite insane, yes.*
The unit member couldn't bring himself to utter the words that rose to his throat.
Had he known that Seo Ryang himself was the one who told Wi Hongryeon to go for a drink, he would have been even more tight-lipped.
It would only have confirmed that the Third Young Master was completely out of his mind.
“I-In that case, perhaps she went to the True Demon Unit…”
“Think logically! If she went to the True Demon Unit, the whole neighborhood would have erupted in chaos by now! Did you hear any fighting? Feel it? Smell it?!”
“…The Young Master is a hundred times right.”
Seo Ryang scratched his head furiously.
“I must be crazy! I’ve lost my mind! What part of that deceptively charming bitch did I trust enough to give her a job!”
His anger had now escalated into self-reproach.
The Berserk Demon Unit members intuitively understood. This was a rather dangerous state.
“Excuse me…”
“What now!”
The unit member flinched. The Third Young Master’s glare was truly, truly murderous.
“Still, it might be worth checking the True Demon Unit…”
“You want to fight me?”
“N-No, sir! That’s not what I meant!”
“Then what! Are you trying to pick a fight with me? You want to die? Should I shatter your skull into about two hundred and thirty pieces?!”
“N-Not at all… I just meant… if it’s hard to find our commander, perhaps you could focus on finding the commander of the True Demon Unit…”
“You fucking bastard! In the end, that’s the same….”
Suddenly, Seo Ryang’s eyes widened.
“Huh? Huh?”
*What? That’s not a bad idea.*
No, it wasn't just "not bad"—it was a revolutionary idea. A paradigm shift, so to speak.
“You! What’s your name?”
“I-It’s Wonu, sir.”
“You bastard! Wonu! I’ll remember that name! Thanks, man!”
Seo Ryang mercilessly ruffled Wonu’s hair before swiftly employing his movement arts.
Leaving behind a storm of madness, he vanished into a single point in the distance.
“…”
A strange silence fell over the Berserk Demon Unit.
Cha Gwang glanced at Wonu.
“You’ve got some nerve, kid.”
“Not at all, Vice-Commander.”
“Don’t be modest. You saved our asses.”
“And well… we should get some fun out of this, too.”
“Fun? What fun?”
“The Third Young Master came all this way to find our commander, didn’t he?”
“Right?”
“We knew to keep our heads down because we know how scary he is, but those bastards from the True Demon Unit won’t.”
“…Huh?”
“We’ve had enough of their arrogant asses anyway. Let’s have a god of calamity descend upon them.”
A glint appeared in Cha Gwang’s eyes.
“You!”
“Yes, Vice-Commander.”
“Good job, kid.”
“Thank you, sir.”
* * *
*Crack!*
Wi Hongryeon, who had been sent flying through a perfectly good wall, quickly righted herself.
But that was all. Her low stance was unsteady, as if all the strength had been drained from her legs.
“Hah! Hah!”
The breath she exhaled carried the metallic scent of blood.
Her face was as pale as a sheet, and her limp left arm dangled as if broken.
“You… you bastard! You may be half-neutered, but you’ve sure as hell honed your martial arts.”
*Sssss.*
Song Gyeong emerged through the shattered wall.
He too was covered in blood. Like Wi Hongryeon, his left arm was broken and dangling, though his dislocation seemed even more severe.
*Tsssssssss.*
Despite his injuries, his killing intent was as strong as ever. His bloodshot eyes glared at Wi Hongryeon, looking as if they could fire cannons.
Wi Hongryeon smirked.
“What a beautiful night.”
“…You bitch.”
“A long night makes for long dreams. Now, give me your neck. I’ll cut it off neatly and display it in my room.”
“I’ll skin you alive and wear you like a robe on anniversaries.”
“Fucking pervert.”
“A mad bitch even a dog wouldn't bite.”
The insults and killing intent they hurled at each other grew more venomous with each passing moment.
Yet, neither of them moved rashly.
The greater their anger, the stronger their desire to win, and they both knew that to win, one must not move first.
In the vast world, it was truly difficult to find someone of equal martial prowess. In that sense, though stained by a bitter rivalry, the two were a rather well-matched pair.
“Hoo!”
*Shing.*
Taking a deep breath, Wi Hongryeon relaxed her stance and sheathed her blade.
Song Gyeong’s face contorted into a deep frown.
“Sheathing your sword when you’re not surrendering? What are you trying to pull?”
“What do you think? I’m doing this because I feel like I can beat the likes of you with my bare hands.”
“…You were already crazy, but a few hits seem to have driven you completely mad.”
“Unlike some people, I’m not a moron who can only talk big with a weapon in hand.”
“…”
“What are you waiting for? Come on. I’m graciously offering to face you with my bare hands.”
Song Gyeong, after staring at Wi Hongryeon for a moment, carelessly tossed his sword aside.
*Thwack!*
The sword flew and embedded itself deep into a rock. Despite his severe internal and external injuries and significant loss of internal energy, it seemed he still had strength to spare.
*Crack.*
He set his broken left arm and hardened it with demonic energy to hold it in place, then raised both fists.
“True, killing you with a blade is too simple.”
“Oh? You sure you’ll be okay without your sword?”
“With you, even my feet are enough…”
Suddenly, Song Gyeong ducked.
*Crack!!*
His body slid back, jolting to a stop as it hit a wall.
Wi Hongryeon, who had charged in with incredible speed to deliver a kick, laughed heartily.
“Can you handle this much?”
“…You cheap-!”
“There’s no such thing as cheap in a life-or-death battle!”
*Pow-pow-pow-pow!*
The two exchanged a flurry of punches.
As expected, there was no dodging or deflecting. In the rapid but straightforward exchange of blows, their faces were quickly battered and bruised.
*BOOM!*
Their feet began to sink into the ground.
As they stomped relentlessly to hold their ground, the earth couldn't withstand the abuse. The cracked ground shattered, sending sharp stone fragments flying in all directions.
How many blows had they exchanged?
*Fwoosh!*
A powerful demonic energy pressed down on the area.
As if on cue, their punches stopped. The density of the demonic energy was too great to simply ignore.
“Commander Wi!”
*Fwoosh!*
With a sound of tearing air, Ma Dongpil rushed in from a distance.
Song Gyeong’s face, which had been swollen to a rather smooth-looking state, crumpled like a pig’s bladder.
“Who the hell is that?”
“Who do you think, you bastard?”
Wi Hongryeon grinned, her face also resembling a scored pig’s bladder.
“Reinforcements have arrived!”
*Crack!*
Song Gyeong staggered backward.
An upward palm strike to the chin. If he hadn't tilted his head back at the last moment, the blow would have knocked him unconscious.
At the same time, Wi Hongryeon also retreated. The moment his chin was hit, Song Gyeong had kicked her in the abdomen with the tip of his foot.
Even in this state, they traded blow for blow, an exchange that proved their skills were perfectly matched.
“Keuk!”
Wi Hongryeon coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“Commander Wi!”
*Swish!*
Ma Dongpil quickly arrived at her side and supported her.
“Are you alright?”
“Ugh… Bastard, do I look alright to you?”
The martial arts of the Berserk Demon and the True Demon were certainly on par.
However, Wi Hongryeon had not yet recovered from her previous internal injuries. This meant she had started the fight at a disadvantage.
No martial artist ever enters a life-and-death duel in perfect condition. But considering their physical states, Wi Hongryeon’s tenacity was clearly a cut above Song Gyeong’s.
Ma Dongpil clicked his tongue.
“This is why you should have waited for me to arrive. Why did you have to rush in and get yourself beaten to a pulp?”
“You son of a bitch. You expect me to hold back when I see that bastard’s face?”
“You didn’t just ‘see’ his face, you went looking for it, didn’t you?”
“…”
“You did well.”
Wi Hongryeon muttered under her breath.
From what could be heard, it was a string of phrases that would make any listener’s mind go numb: ‘Have you ever been passionate about anything, you cold bastard?’, ‘Frigid son of a bitch,’ ‘Mentally impotent,’ and so on.
Just then, Song Gyeong spoke.
“And who are you?”
Ma Dongpil performed a cupped fist salute.
“I am Ma Dongpil, Third Team Leader of the Hall of Protectors.”
He was showing his opponent a measure of respect.
Even the leader of an internal combat unit should be shown proper courtesy. The position of a Team Leader in the Hall of Protectors was not a light one.
However, as if they were a matched pair, Song Gyeong also seemed to be the type who didn't care for such trivialities.
“I don’t give a damn about the Hall of Protectors! Get lost! How dare you interfere in the middle of a fight!”
Ma Dongpil’s eyes deepened.
If his opponent was going to be like this, then there was no need for him to be polite either.
“I won’t say it again. Kneel.”
“What?!”
“I said, kneel. The Third Young Master will be here soon…”
*BOOM!*
Ma Dongpil faltered slightly.
Wisps of smoke rose from the longsword he had half-drawn. It was the part that had blocked Song Gyeong’s fist wind.
“So you have the skill to back up your big talk.”
“I’ll say it one last time. Kneel.”
“…How dare you!”
Song Gyeong’s hands moved like lightning. He swung his broken left arm as if it were perfectly fine, seemingly feeling no pain at all.
*Pow-pow-pa-pang!*
A torrent of fist wind and palm energy rained down.
Ma Dongpil’s eyes flashed.
*Fwump-fwump-fwump!*
His sword strikes, though not fast, were heavy and powerful, blocking every one of Song Gyeong’s attacks.
*Chk!*
He even went a step further. The tip of Ma Dongpil’s sword was now an inch from Song Gyeong’s chest.
Song Gyeong’s cheek twitched.
“You were holding back?”
Ma Dongpil said coldly.
“Kneel.”
Wi Hongryeon grumbled.
“Hey! Leave him! That bastard is mine!”
*Saaaaa.*
Just when it seemed to be over, her killing intent surged once more. It was impressive. Song Gyeong was becoming the very embodiment of killing intent.
“…Fine.”
“Kneel…”
*BOOM!*
Ma Dongpil staggered back.
A palm blast detonated at close range. Song Gyeong, having overexerted himself, also coughed up a large amount of blood. His trembling legs made it look like he could barely stand.
But there was a reason Song Gyeong had forced out that palm blast.
*Fshhhhh! Pung!*
A small cylinder taken from his robes. A red flare shot high into the sky, flickered a few times, and then went out.
Ma Dongpil sighed.
“You’re making things difficult.”
“That bastard’s always like this. He’s fundamentally a cheap son of a bitch.”
“What now? He’s called for reinforcements.”
“What about our reinforcements?”
“…”
“What? Is he not coming?”
“This is all your fault!”
“What’s with you? Why are you suddenly yelling?”
“If you somehow survive this, you’d better watch out. You’re going to get a thorough beating from your Young Master.”
“Hmph! Nonsense.”
While the two bickered in a manner unbefitting the situation, Song Gyeong spoke coldly.
“You, Hall of Protectors Team Leader, deal with whoever comes. You! You bitch, get over here right now!”
“You come here first, you bastard! Are you scared?!”
“You wench!”
…The situation was devolving into quite a mess.
At that same moment, at the True Demon Unit’s base.
“S-Sorry…”
“Forget sorry, what is this? Why are fifty men missing? Where did they go?”
“With the Commander…”
“Huh?”
Just then, a crimson flame appeared high in the sky.
Seo Ryang let out a low whistle.
“Well, that’s pretty.”
But the True Demon Unit members reacted differently.
“What? Move! Now!”
“The Commander’s call…”
“Hah! Hey! Shut your mou—.”
Just then, Seo Ryang slung an arm around the shoulder of the member who was about to say "shut your mouth."
“What was that?”
“Keok!”
“The True Demon Commander is over there?”
“…”
“Oho.”
Seo Ryang’s eyes filled with madness.
“You son of a bitch, you’re so busted.”