Chae-Aeng: The Cult Leader's End
The sharp chaeng of clashing blades filled Sin Hansu's room. He glared at Nam Gyuil.
"God's apostle come to deliver heavenly punishment? You're completely insane. As if God even exists in this world."
Sin Hansu sneered mockingly. Nam Gyuil wasn't one to provoke others lightly, but he relentlessly taunted this repulsive bastard to get under his skin.
"You claim to be the savior, yet say there's no God? What will your followers think if they hear that?"
"What?!"
"You just confessed yourself that you're not God."
"You son of a bitch!"
Blinded by rage, Sin Hansu howled and unleashed sword aura. He aimed to shatter Nam Gyuil's dagger and drive his blade into his throat.
"Die!!"
Sin Hansu bellowed as he swung his sword. Nam Gyuil gripped his own blade in reverse and countered with sword aura of his own.
Chaeng.
Sin Hansu's eyes widened in shock. He clearly hadn't expected Nam Gyuil to wield sword aura.
"What? Surprised?"
Nam Gyuil mocked him. This scum who profited from vile deeds couldn't be forgiven. He wanted to twist the bastard's face in agony.
"Tch."
Sin Hansu leaped back lightly, trying to create distance and think up a strategy. But Nam Gyuil wasn't about to let him.
Bam!
Nam Gyuil stomped the floor once, closing the gap to Sin Hansu in an instant.
"Kuh. You monster."
Sin Hansu gasped in horror. Nam Gyuil swung his dagger. The martial arts-enhanced sword aura sliced sharply and swiftly, tracing a perfect circular arc.
Slash.
Sin Hansu's blade shattered in a single stroke. Sword aura cleaving sword aura sent him tumbling backward. The skill gap was glaring.
Nam Gyuil approached slowly. The enemy's weapon lay in pieces. One thrust into his body, and it was over.
Sin Hansu dragged his heels across the floor, scrambling backward. Desperate to live, he flailed wildly. Nam Gyuil strode forward and brought his dagger down.
That was when Sin Hansu pulled a gold ring from his pocket and slipped it on. In the blink of an eye, he vanished.
Gige's Ring. Nam Gyuil reacted without surprise. He'd seen the item through psychometry. Twisting the flawed section rendered the wearer invisible.
But it has more drawbacks than merits.
While active, no mana or internal energy could be used. No attacks or defenses possible. The invisibility lasted a measly 10 minutes, with a week-long cooldown after. Detection magic or sharp qi senses pierced it effortlessly. And any attack broke the effect instantly. Constraints galore.
Nam Gyuil smirked. Thanks to psychometry revealing all its details, he'd already planned countermeasures.
This is a sealed room.
And Sin Hansu couldn't use mana or internal energy right now. Little more than a slightly strong civilian. Smashing concrete walls to escape? Impossible. His only route was the door Nam Gyuil had locked. But opening it would give him away with the noise.
Nam Gyuil glanced at the ceiling. An old, fragile fluorescent light hung there—not modern LED.
He picked up a nearby object and hurled it upward.
Crash!
The light shattered, showering glass shards everywhere.
Sin Hansu, who had barely escaped danger via invisibility, tilted his head at Nam Gyuil in confusion. No idea why he'd suddenly smashed the light.
Has this guy lost his mind?
But he snapped to his senses.
Invisibility only lasts 10 minutes.
He had to escape fast. Concrete walls were out. Door or window meant noise—he'd be caught immediately.
If I open the door and he charges, swinging wildly... I could die.
Sin Hansu gnawed his lower lip, pondering. Then a clever idea struck.
Do I even need to run?
For 10 minutes, Nam Gyuil couldn't see him. Sneak behind and ambush for a fatal blow?
That could win it.
Sin Hansu chose ambush over flight. He crept silently behind Nam Gyuil. Nearby lay a shard of his broken blade.
Stab his throat with this.
The moment he swung—
Whoosh.
Nam Gyuil's dagger struck first, piercing Sin Hansu's shoulder.
"Gaaah!!"
He roared in agony. Blood gushing from the wound painted his body, revealing his form through the invisibility—like red paint dripping off transparent glass.
The effect broke. Sin Hansu collapsed to his knees, staring up.
"H-How..."
He couldn't fathom how Nam Gyuil had pinpointed him.
Nam Gyuil chuckled and pointed downward. Glass shards littered the floor from the broken light.
"You had to step on them to move."
"What?"
"I tracked your position by the faint sound of the glass crunching."
"You bastard!!"
"Good call fighting back instead of running, but you thought I wouldn't prepare?"
Sin Hansu's face trembled. Knowing about Gige's Ring meant he wasn't ordinary.
"Who the hell are you?! A victim of my followers? Family of one? Or someone scammed out of everything by FP? Yeah, family of a crippled devotee, right?"
Nam Gyuil nearly laughed in disbelief. How many evil deeds had this guy done that he couldn't even guess who wanted revenge? Absurd.
Too repulsive to even retort. This scum is beyond saving.
Nam Gyuil swung his dagger, severing Sin Hansu's head cleanly. It rolled across the floor, coming to rest by his shoe.
The fight was over. Nam Gyuil removed Gige's Ring from the corpse.
Nice loot.
Too many flaws for frontline combat, but perfect for infiltration.
He pocketed it. Then—
"Lord, are you alright?"
"What? Why are the Lord's guards dead?!"
"Lord!!"
Devotees swarmed the room, prying desperately at the locked door.
Nam Gyuil smirked. With Sin Hansu dead, FP was finished.
But that's not enough.
To truly wreck the table, scatter ashes so they couldn't recover. He had a plan—and he'd brought Form Change for it.
He transformed into Shim Jeong-un.
Nam Gyuil smashed through the concrete wall and fled outside.
Rumble.
The crashing wall drew the devotees' gazes. They saw him emerge from the Lord's room... no, Shim Jeong-un in disguise.
Perfectly witnessed.
Nam Gyuil bolted into the nearby mountain. The devotees entered the room.
"Lord."
"Lord, are you okay?!"
They found Sin Hansu's corpse. Their "god" dead, they screamed in chaos.
"Aaaah!!"
"The Lord's dead."
"It was Shim Jeong-un. The one who came out of the Lord's room. Shim Jeong-un."
"Did he kill the Lord?!"
"Revenge! On Shim Jeong-un!! We can't forgive anyone who harms our god!!"
Their vengeful oaths echoed through the countryside.
Nam Gyuil's lips curled. Now Shim Jeong-un was FP's sworn enemy. No one would heed his words. And revenge attacks were inevitable.
Playing out perfectly.
The devotees pursued into the rugged mountain paths under the dark night but lost him. Enraged, they shouted.
"To Geumryong, where Shim Jeong-un is! For revenge!!"
"For the Lord."
The frenzied devotees headed for Geumryong Guild.
The next day, Nam Gyuil arrived at Public Guild and checked news articles on his smartphone.
Nam Gyuil felt deeply satisfied. Shim Jeong-un, who tried to exploit the cult for his greed, was hoisted by his own petard.
Further reading showed FP devotees ambushing Geumryong members post-gate clears, stirring massive chaos. Geumryong's reputation would tank. Tied to murder suspicions, Shim Jeong-un's image was smeared. And Nam Gyuil scored prime loot.
Recalling Gige's Ring, his lips curved.
Perfect timing—Form Change hit its limit, back to plain robe.
He kept scrolling. A breaking update appeared.
His satisfaction deepened. He couldn't attack devotees outright—too much prior investment. To sway the opposition leader vote, he'd have to persuade, not kill.
But that wouldn't fly. They were convinced he killed Sin Hansu.
Stuck between rock and hard place, Shim Jeong-un's plight made Nam Gyuil grin. His scheme neutralized.
Alright, time to train hard today.
Nam Gyuil dove into sword training, then pondered internally.
Got a stockpile of items. Should bring some to the kobolds for new weapons.
He cultivated internal energy via Yang's Heart Method. After about three hours.
"Hoo."
Nam Gyuil exhaled deeply, ending the session.
Feeling my internal energy build steadily.
His teammates trained alongside. Then—
Ring ring, ring ring.
His smartphone rang. He answered.
"Hello?"
"Nam Gyuil. You got time?"
"What’s up?"
"Well... How about working on something with me?"