Obtaining the Darkness (2)
The thunderous boom shook several caves in the underground lair.
It was fortunate he had unconsciously held back some of his power. This place was his master’s domain long before it became his own residence. Considering his terrifying master’s reputation, even punching a single hole in the wall could earn him a severe scolding.
But that was one thing. This was another.
“You… you son of a bitch!”
Rumble—!
Jeon Hong’s rage-filled roar carried an overwhelming killing intent.
With bloodshot eyes, he stared at his right arm.
From the right shoulder down—nothing. It was gone.
The pain was less than he expected. No, he couldn’t feel any pain at all.
The sense of loss was far greater. Only someone who had witnessed the permanent disappearance of an arm they had used their entire life could understand that horrific feeling.
“Aaaargh!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Jeon Hong slammed his fist into the ground again and again. His left fist quickly became drenched in blood because he struck without using any internal energy.
How much time had passed like that?
“Huff… huff!”
His eyes had rolled back so far he couldn’t even manage his breathing.
After taking several ragged breaths, Jeon Hong suddenly grimaced and clutched his chest. The internal injuries had flipped his insides. Damn it! Damn it! Once he acknowledged the pain, there wasn’t a single part of his body that didn’t hurt.
The sword wounds that crisscrossed his entire upper body like a spiderweb had yet to fully heal. Considering his usual recovery rate, it was truly astonishing.
That indescribable agony once again fanned the flames of his fury.
“Bastard! I’ll kill you!”
Rumble—!
Jeon Hong violently flung open the door and stepped out, only to flinch.
“Indeed, your recovery is fast.”
“……”
“…Second Senior Sister.”
The person waiting with arms crossed in front of Jeon Hong’s residence was none other than Bu Seon.
Jeon Hong’s lips twitched.
“Did you come all this way because you were curious how miserably your cute junior brother was beaten?”
His tone was openly hostile.
Bu Seon shook her head.
“I have no interest in your defeat.”
“Hmph! What nonsense. You must be laughing your head off on the inside. To the eyes of someone who clawed their way up with lacking talent, the defeat of a so-called genius junior must taste as sweet as honey, no?”
Bu Seon simply stared at him in silence.
Jeon Hong frowned. For some reason, she felt like a completely different person from the Bu Seon he once knew.
“Enough. Move aside.”
“Where are you going?”
“Do I have to report my every move to you, Second Senior Sister?”
Unexpectedly, Bu Seon nodded.
“Yes.”
“……”
“What did you just say?”
“Master anticipated your reckless behavior.”
Jeon Hong flinched. No matter how wildly he raged like an untamed colt, the title of “Master” still made him shrink.
Bu Seon continued with an indifferent expression.
“Such foresight isn’t exclusive to Master. Everyone who knows you predicted it. That the moment you woke up, you would go on a rampage. And you haven’t deviated from our expectations in the slightest.”
Jeon Hong’s eyelids trembled violently.
His stomach churned. Not because of his internal injuries, but because Bu Seon’s current smug attitude felt so repulsive it made him want to vomit.
“Master personally ordered me to control you.”
“That’s ridiculous! There are so many capable subordinates around Master—why would he give such an order to you?”
It was a question asking whether she had the ability and qualifications for it.
Even in the face of his continued aggression, Bu Seon remained completely unshaken.
“Are you doubting Master’s judgment? Or do you not trust Master?”
“……!!”
He had given as good as he got. Jeon Hong couldn’t find a single word to respond with.
Bu Seon glanced at his missing arm.
“Go back inside and rest quietly. Your recovery is fast, but that doesn’t mean this is an injury you can push through.”
“……”
Grind.
This was clearly mockery. That was how Jeon Hong felt.
Bu Seon turned away. The cold, decisive way she turned as if she had said everything she needed to say grated on Jeon Hong’s nerves more than anything.
With his mind twisted in knots, Jeon Hong spat out, “How did you seduce him?”
Bu Seon stopped in her tracks.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m asking how exactly you seduced Master to be given such an important task. Did you bribe him? Or did you offer him beautiful women from the entertainment houses?”
“……”
“I didn’t realize you had fallen so far.”
Killing intent flooded Jeon Hong’s eyes.
“Fallen?! Watch your mouth, or…!”
“Or what?”
WHOOOOSH!
Shock instantly spread across Jeon Hong’s face.
When Bu Seon turned her head to glare at him, the overwhelming aura radiating from her body completely bound his mind and body.
It was a shockingly powerful force. That dark, ferocious momentum that stimulated primal human fear was something he had only ever felt from his master, Yang Cheon.
Thud!
Was it from pure shock? Jeon Hong collapsed to the ground without realizing it.
The corner of Bu Seon’s mouth lifted. At the same time, Jeon Hong’s face flushed crimson. He had shown an utterly ridiculous disgrace.
“What sits on your shoulders is there so you can think. Your mouth isn’t just for shoveling food into—it exists to make careful statements.”
“……!”
“I now understand exactly how you view Master. Bribes? Women? Laughable. A pathetic wretch like you has no right to be a disciple of the King of Combat. I’m ashamed of my past self for ever feeling even a shred of envy toward someone like you.”
Bu Seon turned away once more and spoke.
“Reflect on yourself in your room. If you ignore this warning and cause any trouble, you will be thrown into the underground prison immediately.”
With that, Bu Seon disappeared.
Jeon Hong, still slumped on the ground, shook as if an earthquake had struck him.
A moment later—
KWAAAAANG!
His fist finally punched a hole in the ground.
“Aaaaaaaaah!!”
The next morning.
“Did you stay up all night?”
At Jeong-an’s greeting, Yeon Hojeong simply raised a hand in response.
Jeong-an looked at the seat across from him.
A chair pulled slightly back. Empty wine cups and scattered chopsticks were visible.
Jeong-an’s eyes deepened.
“The Lord of the Black Dragon Department… don’t tell me he left?”
“He did.”
Yeon Hojeong’s voice was noticeably dry.
Jeong-an stared at him quietly before sitting down across from him.
“You told me to come with you, didn’t you, Hojeong?”
“I did.”
“There were probably many reasons behind the invitation, but you know that the reason I accepted was because of my meeting with the Lord of the Black Dragon Department, right?”
“I know.”
“Then why didn’t you call for me?”
Jeong-an was also aware that an unfathomably powerful expert had visited last night. She had felt the powerful surge of internal energy coming from the rear garden.
But after that, she couldn’t sense anything. In other words, the opponent was a master beyond what her senses could detect.
Yeon Hojeong silently filled his cup. Five empty wine jars stood lined up beside him.
Jeong-an waited patiently. He must have something in mind.
Although they hadn’t known each other long, Jeong-an trusted Yeon Hojeong.
At the very least, he wasn’t the kind of person who would lie or break a promise he had made. She was certain of that much.
After some time had passed—
“Listen carefully.”
Yeon Hojeong explained without omission what had happened to Botam and what Yang Cheon was thinking.
Slide.
The hand gripping her sleeve trembled faintly.
“Just… just because of such petty scheming?”
Yeon Hojeong shook his head.
“Don’t call it petty. A single whisper can give a person courage, and a single mocking remark can make someone lose confidence and abandon even the things they could have done.”
“Even so!”
“Their actions were clearly wrong. But if you ask whether leading an army there and crushing them would have been better, that’s not necessarily true either. The important thing is that Botam was attacked by the Black Dragon Department.”
“This is a cowardly act. Botam is a temple where practitioners gather. Even if they held ill feelings toward us, they should have at least started with dialogue…”
“Trying to resolve conflict through dialogue is ideal. However, even the righteous sects of the Orthodox Faction will skip dialogue and draw their swords the moment they believe their power is superior. How much more so for the Black Dragon Department?”
“So you’re saying we should just let them be?”
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes deepened.
“That’s not possible.”
“Exactly. I don’t know what process led to it, but if the Black Dragon Department did that to our main temple, this is an issue we absolutely cannot overlook.”
“Right. Since we’re on the subject, let’s hear your thoughts.”
Yeon Hojeong crossed his arms.
Although he had stayed up all night, his eyes seemed even deeper than before.
“If we can’t let it be, what do you want to do? The Black Dragon Department is not a group you can handle with your personal strength. You can’t even deal with Yang Cheon alone. So, are you planning to gather people who will lend you strength and attack the Black Dragon Department?”
Even though Yeon Hojeong hadn’t said he would help directly, Jeong-an didn’t waver.
“Of course. I know the limits of my own power. I’m not someone who doesn’t value my life either. But I can’t just stand by and watch.”
“……”
“You told me before, didn’t you? That my half-hearted response was wrong. If I had thrown myself into the changed situation of Botam with my life on the line, even if it didn’t change anything immediately, it would have been a change in itself.”
“I did.”
“Now that I know the full circumstances, I can’t just stay still. That doesn’t mean I plan to gather forces and charge in. Not yet, anyway.”
“Then?”
“I will contact the Lord of the Black Dragon Department and ask to meet.”
Yeon Hojeong couldn’t help but burst out laughing. It was a serious situation, but he couldn’t stop himself.
Jeong-an frowned.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Ah, sorry. I’m not laughing at you. I’m not dismissing your resolve as the shallow thoughts of someone without experience either. It’s just…”
Yeon Hojeong scratched his cheek.
“It just feels like such an obvious step.”
“Of course we should meet and talk first.”
It was an almost naively simple way of thinking.
But Yeon Hojeong thought her mindset and determination were right.
That she didn’t know the world? That she was just young?
That was true. However, before the world sneered at Jeong-an’s judgment, it should have first reflected on the fundamental problems that had caused the world to become this way.
A conflict arises? Resolve it through dialogue.
Dialogue doesn’t work? Then try dialogue again.
They refuse to meet? Still, make every effort to meet and talk.
Those who committed sins must offer a clear apology, and those who suffered must receive appropriate compensation. That was the natural order of things.
But the world doesn’t work that way.
Jeong-an was young and inexperienced. Things wouldn’t go according to her thoughts.
Nevertheless, Yeon Hojeong found her will and determination truly admirable.
Yeon Hojeong shouted toward the window.
“Gang Ryang! Get ready to head out!”
Jeong-an tilted her head in confusion.
Get ready to head out? Suddenly?
A moment later, Kang Liang rushed up to the fourth floor in a panic.
“What is it, Brother? Why are we leaving so suddenly? Where to?”
Yeon Hojeong emptied the remaining wine in one refreshing gulp, slammed the cup down, and stood up.
“Where else? We’re going to settle the score with the person who turned this situation into such a mess.”
“Huh?”
Yeon Hojeong looked at Jeong-an steadily.
“Are you prepared to risk your life?”
Jeong-an nodded vigorously.
“Of course.”
“Good.”
Hsssss—!
In an instant, Yeon Hojeong expelled all the alcohol from his system. He rolled his shoulders and said,
“Let’s start by straightening out what’s twisted. That’s the right thing to do.”