Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: A Demon with a Sword
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The stake embedded in his thigh felt like it was tearing his muscle fibers apart every time he tried to put weight on his leg.
His left arm was gone, nowhere to be seen, and his right eye was blind.
But Ga-un-seong stood tall, sword in hand.
He wasn't afraid of death.
He just wanted to take one more head, to console the spirits of his comrades. He wanted revenge.
But his body would no longer move. The only sensation left was in the fingers gripping the hilt of his sword.
“Impressive.”
Of the five masked men surrounding Ga-un-seong, the one who appeared to be the leader stepped forward.
“To still be standing on your own two feet in that state.”
“You bastards.”
As Ga-un-seong opened his mouth, bloody foam trickled out.
“I'll make you all… my companions on the road to the afterlife!”
“I wish you could.”
The masked man nodded and drew the black sword from his back.
“As a sign of respect, I'll kill you in one blow.”
Ga-un-seong calmly raised his right arm.
He had taken countless attacks until now, yet he had gotten back up every time, like a roly-poly toy.
It wasn't because of his exceptional martial arts or stamina, but solely due to his single-minded determination for revenge.
*Swish!*
The masked man's black sword cut through the air, piercing sharply into Ga-un-seong's heart.
*Thump.*
With a dull thud, Ga-un-seong fell to his knees without so much as a scream.
“He was a truly tenacious one.”
Just as the masked man pulled the sword from the heart and shook his head,
*Step, step.*
The sound of quiet footsteps echoed across the ground.
Turning his head, he saw a shadow calmly approaching, an iron sword in its left hand. It was Bu Eun-seol.
“That sword…”
The masked man's eyes widened as he saw what was on Bu Eun-seol's back.
Slung across his back was the black sword worn by the trainees who had entered the martial hall of the Geuk-sal-mil-gak.
“Why are you carrying a black sword?”
Bu Eun-seol replied calmly to the masked man's question.
“It seemed useful.”
The masked man's gaze turned cold at the unexpected answer.
The direction Bu Eun-seol came from was where his three comrades had been hiding. Since he was now carrying their swords, no further conversation was necessary.
*Flash!*
At that moment, a streak of light shot from Bu Eun-seol's right hand.
Assassins' true skills were mostly one-hit-kill sword or blade techniques. Bu Eun-seol had struck first to prevent them from launching their own attack.
“Agh!”
The masked man standing to Bu Eun-seol's side let out a bloodcurdling scream, clutching his neck.
The swift sword had instantly severed his carotid artery.
“Attack!”
The remaining four masked men quickly drew their black swords and charged at Bu Eun-seol.
*Swish, swish, swish!*
A barrage of sharp sword techniques, like a fierce downpour, rained down on Bu Eun-seol.
But Bu Eun-seol's body anticipated the path of the descending swords, and he dropped flat to the ground.
“Ah!”
The masked men cried out in disbelief at the sight.
The *Sa-sa-hyeol-sik* they had unleashed was a one-hit-kill technique that aimed for the enemy's vital points with all their strength.
But when Bu Eun-seol casually dropped to the ground, their all-out sword strikes missed completely.
*Shhhk!*
Rising like lightning, Bu Eun-seol's iron sword writhed like a living snake.
“Ugh!”
Another masked man's heart was pierced by Bu Eun-seol's iron sword.
He had consecutively unleashed the sixth form of the Hwa-u Thirteen Forms, *Jang-dan-sang-gyo*, and the seventh form of the Hwa-u Byeok-roe Sword, *Mok-in-seok-sim*.
“What kind of swordsmanship is this?!”
The masked men were utterly appalled.
An iron sword that should be rigid was bending freely, striking their vital points?
*Shiver.*
Just then, the tip of the sword trembled, and Bu Eun-seol's sword style changed again.
Simultaneously, another piercing scream rang out.
“Aaargh!”
The swift sword, thrusting straight forward, suddenly drew an arc and sliced open a masked man's side.
“Th-that bastard is a sword demon!”
Whenever the iron sword cut through the air, the hand of the grim reaper inevitably followed.
Terrified, the two remaining masked men executed a movement technique and scattered to the left and right.
*Whoosh!*
Watching them, Bu Eun-seol threw the black sword from his back like a dagger.
*Thud.*
The light, short black sword flew straight and embedded itself in the back of the masked man running to the right.
But the masked man retreating to the left kept running.
*‘I'm alive!’*
As the masked man ran, cheering inwardly, he suddenly noticed a dark figure standing in the distance.
It was Ga-un-seong, who had collapsed after being stabbed in the heart.
*‘How is he…?’*
He had clearly pierced his heart, so how could he have gotten back up?
*‘Could it be?’*
The masked man suddenly recalled the knowledge of human anatomy he had learned in the advanced hall of the Geuk-sal-mil-gak.
*‘His heart is in a different position.’*
If you draw a centerline on the human body, the heart is located closer to the center, not the left.
However, there are sometimes individuals whose hearts are positioned slightly differently from the norm.
“I'll kill you again!”
The running masked man unleashed his sword technique, filled with all his pent-up frustration.
He poured out all the anger and helplessness he'd felt from Bu Eun-seol onto Ga-un-seong.
But there was something the masked man hadn't considered… Ga-un-seong no longer cared about his own life.
“Die!”
Ignoring the sword piercing his heart, Ga-un-seong charged straight into the masked man's body and drove his own iron sword home.
*Thrust.*
The masked man's eyes froze, his heart pierced by the iron sword.
He died on the spot, without even time to scream.
“Finally… my revenge…”
Ga-un-seong looked down at his trembling hand and collapsed to the ground.
“…is complete.”
Having suffered countless fatal wounds, he should have been dead long ago.
But his obsession with revenge was the only thing keeping his soul tied to his body.
“I did it…”
A faint shadow appeared before Ga-un-seong's smiling eyes.
It was Bu Eun-seol.
“Does it feel good?”
“What…”
“You just said you got your revenge.”
Bu Eun-seol asked with an incredibly serious expression.
“I'm curious what it feels like to complete one's revenge.”
“How it feels…”
A strange smile touched Ga-un-seong's lips.
The emotions in his eyes were a tangled mess, a mixture of feelings that couldn't be described in a single word.
*Thump.*
He never finished his sentence, dying with his eyes still open.
“…”
Bu Eun-seol stared endlessly at Ga-un-seong's lifeless face.
Was it because the assassins who had brutally murdered his comrades were all dead?
After he breathed his last, Ga-un-seong's eyes were shut tight, and his complex smile seemed to have transformed into one of relief.
*‘Will I be able to smile like that?’*
Staring blankly into the air, Bu Eun-seol shook his head vigorously.
*‘This is no time to be lost in sentiment!’*
The third trial of kill-or-be-killed had already begun, and the entire island had become a living hell.
Standing tall with an empty gaze, Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath and left the forest.
*Whoosh…*
After Bu Eun-seol left, a gray mist suddenly swept into the empty clearing.
The gray mist, pouring in from all directions, gradually gathered in one spot and formed a human shape.
“So that's the one.”
A low voice echoed from within the human-shaped mist.
“Using the basic sword techniques of the Hwa-u Sword Clan, which are completely useless in real combat, to cut down assassins from the Geuk-sal-mil-gak… hmm.”
The voice emanating from the mist was a mixture of intense curiosity and amusement.
“Since he's made it to the advanced hall, his final trump card will ultimately be the first form of the Hwa-u Sword…”
The voice in the mist was now tinged with a deep sense of pity.
“They say he's learned the Ya-su-do, but I see no signs of him having deeply mastered any martial art.”
He might possess outstanding talent, but this island was filled with prodigies no less remarkable than Bu Eun-seol.
They had all systematically trained in martial arts from a young age, conditioning their bodies to easily learn the most supreme techniques.
Above all, they had hidden claws, ready to be used to finish off an opponent in a life-or-death moment.
“At that level, he won't be able to survive in this hellscape.”
The low voice faded until it was barely audible, then disappeared without a trace.
At the same time, the mist that had gathered into a human form vanished completely, as if it were melting snow.
***
The third trial was a war of attrition.
Some ambushed their enemies with powerful martial arts, while others used superior concealment techniques to hide themselves.
Some gathered allies to form groups, while others used exceptional leadership and command to create factions that followed them.
In that respect, Bu Eun-seol was at a great disadvantage.
Those who walked alone became prey for those in groups. There were no allies or enemies, only foes who had to be cut down before they killed you.
But Bu Eun-seol didn't care.
The enemy he had to face was far stronger than all the trainees on this hell island combined.
If he couldn't overcome a trial of this magnitude, then even if he survived this place, he would never be able to kill *him*.
“Hah… Hah…”
Bu Eun-seol's body was covered in blood.
As soon as he left the forest, he was ambushed by four boys wielding whips as thin as paper.
They were trainees who had learned the Baek-ma-gu-yu Whip Technique of the Baek-ma Temple.
*Chwaak. Paang!*
They had surrounded Bu Eun-seol, freely extending and retracting their thirty-foot-long Baek-ma Whips.
It was the Baek-ma Temple's unique formation, the Byeok-rin-geum-sa Formation.
*Piiing! Paang!*
Every time dozens of Baek-ma Whips rained down, the sound of tearing air and explosions echoed simultaneously.
With incredible reflexes, Bu Eun-seol dodged the dozens of whips raining down like a storm and attempted a counterattack.
*Sshk!*
He broke through the afterimages of the whips and slashed at the wrist of one of the wielders.
*Ting!*
Bu Eun-seol's eyebrows shot up.
The iron sword had only cut through the sleeve, not the wrist. They all had transparent Baek-ma Whips wrapped around their wrists and other major joints.
“It's the Hwa-u Sword!”
One of the boys wielding a whip recognized Bu Eun-seol's swordsmanship and exclaimed.
“Use the *Yeong-sa-gu-yu*! Don't give him a chance to use his sword!”
As time passed, the afterimages of the whips grew denser, and Bu Eun-seol's robes became stained with blood.
But his legs remained steady, and the fire in his eyes burned even brighter.
*Piiing!*
One of the four Baek-ma Whips, moving with the agility of a snake, wrapped itself around Bu Eun-seol's iron sword.
*‘Got it!’*
The boy who had caught the iron sword with his whip cheered inwardly.
Swordsmen who practiced the way of the sword considered being disarmed a disgrace.
Not only that, but with the whip wrapped around the sword, it dealt a psychological blow and could also turn the fight into a contest of internal energy.
“What!”
The boy's triumphant eyes filled with disbelief.
*Thud.*
Bu Eun-seol had thrown away the sword he was holding without hesitation.
*Shing.*
Then, Bu Eun-seol drew the black sword from his back and resumed his sword techniques.
He had never thought of himself as a martial artist and had never staked his pride on a mere weapon.
“Kuh…”
The boys were greatly flustered by this, and their movements, as they unleashed their techniques, slowed slightly without them realizing it.
*Flash!*
When the whip offensive, which had been pouring down like a storm, momentarily slowed, Bu Eun-seol seized the opportunity.
*Swish, swish, swish, swish!*
Using a combination of swift sword and chain sword forms to push them back, he quickly escaped the range of the Byeok-rin-geum-sa Formation.
“…”
Even after escaping the formation, Bu Eun-seol didn't flee. He stood his ground, holding the black sword at the ready.
The boys felt a chill as they looked at him, covered in blood and gripping his sword.
—This guy… is strong.
Even though Bu Eun-seol was the one accumulating more wounds.
The boys felt a pressure as if an invisible hand were slowly closing around their throats.
“What are you afraid of?!”
One of the boys clutching a whip roared at his companions.
“Have you forgotten what the boss said? When we use the Byeok-rin-geum-sa Formation, no one can beat us!”
*‘Boss?’*
Standing still, Bu Eun-seol's brow furrowed.
Did that mean there was a leader commanding these four boys?
“Alright! Let's do this!”
Their courage restored, the boys began to swing their whips again.
*Whoosh…*
The transparent whips emitted a golden glow, creating the illusion of dozens of glittering snake shadows.
They were about to activate the Byeok-rin-geum-sa Formation again.
“…!”
Just then, the boys' movements stopped.
*Th-th-thump.*
It was the sound of a large group approaching from somewhere.