Chapter 118: Radiant Sword Tomb-4
Chapter 118: Radiant Sword Tomb-4
In that brief moment, Seonwoo Jin had to prepare an ambush.
It came from the thought that if they were going to be discovered anyway, it was better to strike first.
Judging by the overwhelming difference in martial prowess and his physical condition, there was almost no chance of victory, but he couldn't just lie down and die.
So, just as he was about to leap out at the bastard raising his head upward, a sound suddenly reached him.
- Young master! Please be safe!
A voice from far away, it was Dang Yeo-eun's voice.
At that, Mak Woo-jeon's head, which had been turning upward, whipped around in that direction.
"Keurrrrrr!"
And then the bastard launched himself that way again with a bang!
It was a dash with the same ferocious momentum as before.
Seonwoo Jin barely managed to suppress the sigh that had almost escaped him.
He had truly nearly died.
'Barely survived. Haa.'
Dang Yeo-eun raising her voice was probably not because she knew the situation, but simply out of worry for him.
Even though she surely knew full well that doing so could put her in danger.
Once again, her heart filled him with gratitude.
After Mak Woo-jeon had moved far away, Seonwoo Jin dropped to the floor and landed.
He was grateful for her feelings, but he couldn't just let the bastard go after her like this.
Around the time Mak Woo-jeon was no longer visible to the naked eye, Seonwoo Jin gathered his internal energy and let out a sound.
"Keehahahahaha!"
Ghostly Laughter, the very laugh he had used when disguised as the Blue-Red Twin Swords.
Then, within Seonwoo Jin's perception, he felt the bastard come to a sudden halt.
And immediately after, he began charging fiercely back in this direction.
'Good, come on!'
With a ferocious grin, Seonwoo Jin started running in the opposite direction.
Even if his body wasn't in good shape, if he didn't want to die, he had to run.
And he was still confident he could produce enough speed to not be caught by the bastard yet.
But Seonwoo Jin, who had been running like that, was shocked and had to skid to an urgent halt again.
'What the hell?!'
Someone else was charging from the opposite direction.
Not quite as fast as Mak Woo-jeon, but still someone with considerable speed.
And Seonwoo Jin could immediately deduce who that someone was.
'It's Vice-leader Ga Yoo-ak!'
It seemed Ga Yoo-ak, having lost his sanity, had continued to chase after Mak Woo-jeon.
It was a dead end.
He was blocked from both front and back by powerful enemies.
But Seonwoo Jin, who had hesitated for only a very brief moment, gritted his teeth again and began running in the direction Ga Yoo-ak was coming from.
They were all masters compared to him anyway, but still, Ga Yoo-ak was the easier target.
And he had no intention of fighting them anyway.
A head-on fight would be hopeless, after all.
As he ran, Seonwoo Jin focused his senses to the extreme on what he felt from ahead and behind.
He had to act accurately at the right distance and the right moment.
So, just before both came into a distance visible to the naked eye, he leaped up to the ceiling and concealed his presence again.
Pabak!
Then, in the very next moment, the forms of Mak Woo-jeon and Ga Yoo-ak charging from both sides were caught by his naked eye.
While hiding on the ceiling, he prayed in his heart.
'Now, aren't you glad to meet an old friend? Then how about you two catch up a bit.'
Perhaps Seonwoo Jin's wish had come true.
Because the moment the two men saw each other, they roared like beasts and lunged fiercely.
"Keurrrrrrr!"
"Keukeukeukeukeukeuk!"
The two wild beasts immediately began to fight.
"Keuaaaa!"
"Kyaaaaaa!"
Kwakwakwakwang!
Right beneath where Seonwoo Jin was hanging, masters with over ninety years of internal energy were waging a heaven-and-earth-shaking battle.
A brutal fight using swords, fists, kicks, and even body slams.
Mak Woo-jeon seemed to have the upper hand, but Seonwoo Jin didn't care about that anyway.
He simply focused his entire mind on slowly moving, while hidden, in the direction Ga Yoo-ak had come from.
'Slowly, carefully. Not being detected is more important than going fast.'
Kwang! Kwakwang! Kwang! Kwakwakwang!
Below, the bastards were fighting so fiercely it seemed they might collapse the passageway.
No, it was actually more amazing that it hadn't collapsed yet after receiving this much impact.
It seemed the one called Gwanggeom had built this place to be extremely sturdy, paying great attention to it.
But, as with all things, durability had its limits.
Kwaaaang!
When Ga Yoo-ak dodged Mak Woo-jeon's powerful palm strike and it hit the wall, the stone wall around it shattered.
Kurururrrng!
And as one side began to collapse, the surrounding stone walls also started collapsing in a chain reaction.
The same went for the ceiling Seonwoo Jin was clinging to, having crawled forward only about a jang.
Warurururu!
'Ah, shit!'
As he fell helplessly to the floor along with the ceiling he had been holding onto, Seonwoo Jin spat out a curse in his mind.
But it wasn't time to give up yet.
Those two were fighting mindlessly and didn't seem to be in a state to pay attention to their surroundings.
'Yeah, just keep doing that.'
Hwiiik!
Seonwoo Jin first deflected the falling debris around him to the left and right, then flipped his body like a cat and successfully landed silently on the ground.
Chak!
But Seonwoo Jin, who had landed lightly on the floor, had to realize in that instant.
At that very moment, his eyes had met with Mak Woo-jeon's, who was fighting Ga Yoo-ak.
For a split second, the two froze like stone statues.
And the moment Seonwoo Jin turned around and shot off, fleeing with a whoosh, Mak Woo-jeon let out a roar of fury.
"Keuaa...!"
But Mak Woo-jeon, trying to chase after Seonwoo Jin, ended up taking a direct punch from Ga Yoo-ak.
Puh-eok!
Kwadangtang!
Seonwoo Jin ran with all his might.
He felt pain within from his internal injuries, but he had to endure at least until he passed through the circular passage and got outside again.
A moment later, Seonwoo Jin's senses detected Mak Woo-jeon's presence chasing him again.
It seemed he had succeeded in shaking off Ga Yoo-ak.
It was a bit disappointing, but he knew very well that he should be more than grateful for just this much.
All that remained now was whether he could keep running until he escaped.
Checking his physical condition, he prayed in his heart.
'Please hold on, my body!'
After a moment, Seonwoo Jin, having contemplated his condition, could make a judgment that things were sufficiently positive if this held.
The state of his body after vomiting blood wasn't as bad as he had thought.
He didn't know about fighting, but at least running seemed fully possible.
Moreover, the passageway was still sturdy.
The collapsed part was just that one place; the surrounding passageway was still perfectly intact.
There seemed to be no sign at all of further collapse.
'So, there's only one thing left. That means I just have to run as much as I want!'
With a smirk, he checked his condition and slowly increased his speed.
The distance between him and the bastards was actually widening rather than narrowing.
'Alright! Let's go to the exit like this!'
But it wasn't long after he had that thought.
Just when he was thinking that if he ran just a bit more, an entrance might appear in the other direction as well, he suddenly sensed the presence of someone who shouldn't still be in here up ahead.
Seonwoo Jin was horrified.
'Lady Dang?!'
It was Dang Yeo-eun's presence, which he felt he could now identify as hers anywhere.
Her presence, which he thought would have already gone outside, was being sensed up ahead.
Seonwoo Jin was completely flustered.
'No, why are you still in here?!'
And a moment later, Seonwoo Jin could confirm Dang Yeo-eun's figure with his own eyes.
Dang Yeo-eun, seeing him, cried out with tears welling in her eyes.
"Young master! You're safe!"
At that look of pure joy, Seonwoo Jin, who had been about to shout, asking why she was still here, could only manage an awkward smile.
He first conveyed his thanks to her.
"I survived thanks to you raising your voice, my lady. Thank you."
"Ah, it really helped! I did it just in case! I'm so relieved!"
She had taken such a risk just on the off chance, even though she herself could have been in danger. Seonwoo Jin was so grateful for that heart of hers that he could only reflect on himself for having been about to shout at her moments ago.
But even so, he couldn't forget that there was no time.
"But my lady, why didn't you go outside and come this way instead? The bastards are still chasing us..."
At that, Dang Yeo-eun, who immediately looked tearful, answered.
"I kept running, but there was no way out. I felt like I had run much farther than the distance I came in, and I was just finding it strange why there was no path..."
"...Excuse me?!"
Seonwoo Jin, who had thought 'Does that even make sense?', suddenly realized that it could make sense after all.
This place was a maddening trap built by the one called Gwanggeom. Something that prevented those who entered from ever leaving again was entirely plausible.
Or perhaps the door had closed due to the shock of the wall collapsing earlier.
The moment his thoughts reached that point, a sudden tension crept over him.
'What, so you're saying we're trapped in here without a way out? With those monster-like bastards? On top of that, the middle of the passage collapsed and is cut off?'
If that was the case, it was nothing short of a truly serious matter.
Because it meant that even if they ran, they would hit a dead end.
He reflexively gulped down his saliva.
That was when it happened.
Dang Yeo-eun pointed at something with her finger and spoke to Seonwoo Jin.
"Uh, young master. Please look over here."
"Huh?"
What Dang Yeo-eun was pointing at with her finger were characters written on the upper part of the inner wall of the passageway.
"I was going along, carefully examining the surroundings in case I missed something, and found this written up there."
Written there were the characters for Two Person Gate.
'Two Person Gate?'
Two Person Gate, a gate for two people.
Seeing that, Seonwoo Jin's gaze sharpened.
Having such characters written there, didn't that mean there was some kind of gate in this place?
Furthermore, considering the position of the writing, it looked just like a signboard placed above a door.
Seonwoo Jin closely examined the area below the characters.
Then he could realize that the stone wall directly beneath it was slightly different from the other areas.
'The boundaries between the stones are connected in a single line, aren't they? And in a square shape at that. This is just like...'
He murmured aloud.
"A door?"
That was it.
It looked just like a door.
At that, Dang Yeo-eun nodded as if she agreed.
"Yes, that's what it looked like to me too. But no matter how much I pushed, it wouldn't open..."
At Dang Yeo-eun's words, Seonwoo Jin immediately approached and pushed the stone wall that looked like a door.
But it didn't budge at all.
That was the moment.
Tadadadadak!
He began to feel Mak Woo-jeon's presence charging closer.
The distance he had put between himself and the bastard had shrunk.
His heart grew urgent.
He thought quickly.
'Lady Dang is definitely slower than Mak Woo-jeon. But my body's condition won't support carrying her and running.'
If they fled like this, they would likely be caught.
And even if they managed to flee well somehow, what if the entrance had vanished as Dang Yeo-eun said?
On top of that, hadn't the middle of the passage already collapsed and cut off?
'Damn.'
Gritting his teeth, Seonwoo Jin pushed the stone wall that looked like a door again. He felt that somehow, they had to get through this door to survive.
But the stone wall still didn't budge at all.
Tadadadadak!
The sound of the bastard charging was now audible to his ears.
At that moment, Dang Yeo-eun shouted.
"Young master! There's a handprint here!"
"What?!"
Looking where Dang Yeo-eun pointed, there was a faint handprint on the stone wall beside the door.
He immediately shouted.
"Try pressing that!"
"Alright!"
Dang Yeo-eun placed her palm on the handprint and pressed with all her might.
But still, nothing happened.
"Move aside, let me try!"
Seonwoo Jin rushed over and urgently pressed it, but it was the same.
Tadadadadadak!
"Keurrrrrrrr!"
Now, Mak Woo-jeon's figure appeared far away, visible to the naked eye.
At that, the bastard, seeing Seonwoo Jin and Dang Yeo-eun, emitted streaks of red murderous light from his eyes and began charging with even more ferocious momentum.
Seonwoo Jin gritted his teeth and shouted.
"Damn it! Run, Lady Dang!"
There was no way now.
All they could do was run.
If they delayed any longer, even their escape might become completely impossible.
Damn this Two Person Gate!
That was the moment.
The word "Two Person Gate" suddenly loomed large in Seonwoo Jin's mind.
'Two Person Gate? Two people?'
Seonwoo Jin, who had been about to run and stopped abruptly, examined the opposite side of the door.
And then he was able to find it.
The faint handprint on the opposite side of the handprint Dang Yeo-eun had discovered.
"Lady Dang! Wait!"
"Huh?!"
He couldn't tell if this was a good move or not.
Because Mak Woo-jeon was now just a few jang ahead.
"Keurrrrrr!"
But somehow, he had a feeling.
He decided to take the gamble.
Seonwoo Jin dashed over, placed his palm on that handprint, and shouted.
"Press that one!"
At that, Dang Yeo-eun, realizing the situation, glanced sideways at Mak Woo-jeon charging ferociously toward them for a moment.
Then she turned back and placed her palm on the handprint on the stone.
It was an urgent situation, but she had decided to trust Seonwoo Jin's judgment.
The two pressed them simultaneously.
Kkuuuuk!
And then,
Urururururrng!
The stone wall that looked like a door slowly began to slide inward.
"Keurrrrrrr!"
Mak Woo-jeon had now charged to within a few jang.
Seonwoo Jin drew his sword, looked back and forth between the charging Mak Woo-jeon and the slowly sliding door, and shouted.
"Get in as soon as there's an opening!"
And at that moment, Mak Woo-jeon flung his body to pounce.
"Keuaaaaaa!"
But Seonwoo Jin did not clash with him.
A slight gap had formed between the stone doors.
Seonwoo Jin, grabbing Dang Yeo-eun's hand, immediately jumped into that gap.
"Go!"
Pabak!
Right after that, Mak Woo-jeon's palm strike struck the stone wall in vain.
Kwaaaang!