The Taste of Blood and the Edge of Madness
As I slowly drew up my inner energy with a low hum, I could sense the agitation rippling through the black-clad assailants who had launched the first strike against me.
“This is…”
“That much internal energy…? Impossible.”
Hmm. From the presence I can feel, it doesn’t seem like there are any more reinforcements coming.
They must have thought a number like this would be enough to handle me. They had underestimated me. A dry chuckle slipped from my lips.
After a long stretch of silent pressure, the true masterminds—the ones who had been hiding behind the black-clad pawns—finally began to reveal themselves.
Step. Step.
There were four of them in total. They wore black robes and ash-gray hoods. Their attire set them apart from the dozens of ordinary black-clad fighters. A brief clash of auras followed before they finally shouted.
“…Who the hell are you?”
“…Tch.”
“No matter how insane someone might be, there hasn’t been a single bastard bold enough to mess with us until now.”
I let a faint sneer show as I opened my mouth.
“You talk too much.”
“…!”
“Enough with the chatter. Just draw your swords already.”
“What…!”
Two of their faces began to flush bright red with rage. The other two didn’t show it as openly, but they looked visibly rattled. The air slowly thickened with the heat of impending battle.
Watching their reactions, I continued.
“What a joke. You’re the ones overseeing everything that happens on Unhaeng Mountain, yet your skills are pathetically lacking.”
“You bastard…!”
I casually brushed off the formless energy they were secretly trying to shoot at me and shot back.
“This kind of pressure doesn’t work on me.”
Two years ago, it might have been a bit troublesome…
But now, I had already reached the peak of perfected Transcendence. Knowing that, I could easily deflect the inner energy they were consciously gathering. Besides, trying to suppress someone through sheer internal energy difference was something only third-class trash bothered with. It was starting to annoy me.
These bastards have the wrong mindset entirely.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, the four attackers—who barely deserved to be called masterminds—began to snarl at me.
“…If you’re so eager to bring disaster upon yourself, we have no choice.”
“A bastard who won’t even give his name… Don’t blame us.”
“…….”
What nonsense. That was exactly what I thought. I quietly placed my hand on my sword hilt and spoke.
“Then at the very least, put your lives on the line.”
“…?”
Their surroundings had already been completely dominated by me for some time now. They probably hadn’t noticed. It was only possible thanks to the senses I had honed through countless life-or-death battles. At a normal level, displaying such finesse was nearly impossible. This was closer to a forced, abnormal feat achieved through abnormally high synesthesia.
“M-my body…!”
“…I told you.”
Srrrng…
I drew my sword from thin air. The clear ring of steel echoed beautifully. I began to murmur softly.
“Put your lives on the line.”
“…!”
In that instant, perhaps sensing something ominous, they assumed defensive stances and tried to widen the distance. But I had no intention of letting them.
Too late.
Shaaak!
The Heavenly Net unfolded. It was essentially an intangible web crafted from sword energy. Scattering waves of sword qi, I charged forward. Startled by my sudden assault, they widened their eyes and swung their blades.
“This bastard…!”
“Don’t bother blocking.”
I swept my sword sideways, deflecting their weapons with ease.
Clang!
“You should have dodged.”
“You son of a—!”
My lips curled up on their own. I realized I was rampaging like a goblin. Like something had possessed me. The sword in my hand moved unpredictably, like a demonic blade, and my legs danced wildly across the battlefield.
Swish-swish— From front to back. Krrrk— From back to front. I traded blows with them, moving back and forth for dozens of seconds.
“Th-this guy…!”
“Our sword energy isn’t working…?”
Shaaak. Clang. Clang.
Fighting four experts of this caliber in a four-on-one battle is actually quite a rare experience.
I was thinking it was fortunate I had run into them so quickly when—
Piiing!
One of the swords clashing with mine lost its center of gravity and flew away. Their focus had broken amid the countless collisions of sword energy. I didn’t miss the golden opportunity and slipped into the gap.
“Finally showing an opening, I see.”
“…!”
Thud!
Nakseong pierced one man’s shoulder.
“Guh…!”
“C-Chief…!”
So this guy was the leader.
The man with the deep shoulder wound coughed up blood. I immediately reversed my grip on the sword. I intended to end this here and now.
Swish-swish-swish!
Moving as swiftly as mist, I closed in on the fatally wounded man and whispered quietly.
“It’d be a waste to kill you, so just stay unconscious for now.”
“Y-you crazy—!”
Thwack—!
I struck the back of his neck with the blade of my hand. At the same time, the dagger he had been holding clattered to the ground.
Rattle.
Panicked voices rose from the remaining men.
“N-no way… The chief’s been taken down…!”
“…Are you going to get revenge?”
I pointed the tip of my sword at the last remaining man.
“Want to try again?”
“Y-you madman…”
The rest of them stared at me in disbelief, tongues clicking as if they never imagined the situation would reverse like this. Their leader, who had been impaled through the shoulder and collapsed, was groaning in agony. The subordinates who looked at him swallowed hard.
I didn’t think he’d be this strong…
Their expressions clearly revealed those exact thoughts. I could feel their shoulders beginning to tremble. It was the emotion of fear.
In this case, the difference in experience lightly decided the outcome.
Watching them shake with terror, I raised my sword high.
Let’s finish this here.
One of them was already incapacitated. If I rode this momentum and subdued the rest, there would be no more annoying obstacles bothering me.
I glanced far into the distance. A massive presence could be felt there.
If I do this much, even that Thunder Dragon Elder should have noticed by now.
I shook my head once and thought.
That I’m not someone he can communicate with.
I smiled. The moment the man called Thunder Dragon Elder saw me, he might realize I was not someone he could associate with. Yet for some reason, I found it enjoyable.
“Ugh…! You bastard.”
“If you’re not coming, I’ll go to you.”
…It was about time for them to give up and run. With a slight sense of hope, I cracked my neck once and adjusted my stance. Then the remaining three seemed to reach a decision and spoke.
“…Even if we die, let’s fight him to the end here!”
“Hmm…”
I clicked my tongue. Their loyalty was disgustingly high.
Still, they were at least worth playing with for a bit.
With my blade held straight, I let my eyes gleam. The outcome would soon be decided.
“…Ah.”
Surrounded by blood splattered in every direction, I came back to my senses. I had been so drunk on the frenzy of battle that I seemed to have lost myself for a moment and gone completely wild.
The black-clad attackers were all sprawled across the ground.
“Guh… guh…”
At least they won’t die.
I let out a sigh of relief. The one who seemed to be their leader was still alive. Even in that trance-like state, I must have held back. Even so, he probably had a broken arm or leg or two.
“There’s no point killing them here.”
It would be better to take the time to interrogate them. With that thought, I looked at the bloodstains covering the area and muttered.
“The rest ran away, huh.”
When I looked around, the surroundings had fallen silent. Except for the ash-gray-hooded masterminds, all the other black-clad men had fled the scene. After the one-sided massacre that bordered on slaughter, I took a deep breath.
I should probably restrain myself from fighting four-on-one like this in the future.
No matter how far I had climbed into Transcendence, charging in recklessly just because I got excited was practically suicidal. Realizing that, I clicked my tongue once more—then sensed a familiar presence nearby.
When Mu Yeong and Yoo Seong-ho revealed themselves, I asked as if I had been expecting them.
“You’ve arrived?”
“…What the hell happened?”
To the first question thrown at me, I answered casually.
“I was interrogating Hyeol-rang and Jeon Gwang-do when some hidden weapon flew in from somewhere and lured me this way. So I killed them all.”
“Survivors?”
“I left one alive. We can interrogate this guy.”
“Well done.”
Mu Yeong answered briefly. At my senior brother’s acknowledgment, I nodded once and turned to Yoo Seong-ho beside him.
“I had no choice but to kill Hyeol-rang and Jeon Gwang-do before these guys attacked. Is that okay?”
“Mm… As long as we have the heads or some kind of evidence, it should be manageable.”
“A silver lining in the misfortune, then.”
I let out a sigh. Then I reached out toward one of the black-clad men lying on the ground.
Slap—!
“Guh!”
“Get up already.”
When I smacked his cheek, the black-clad man’s eyes snapped wide open as if he had regained his senses.
“K-khhk…”