No Twist: The Final Boss Has Fallen
There was no twist. Dokgo Seok and Dokgo Rin, who had gone to meet the final boss Wiji Cheon, returned safely. No, they actually seemed to be in an even better mood than usual, humming cheerful tunes to themselves.
“Miss, did something good happen?” I asked cautiously, seeing this rare side of her. Dokgo Rin answered with a blatant lie that was obvious to anyone watching. “No? Nothing at all.”
It looked like she had no intention of telling me the reason. Well, it wasn’t something I absolutely needed to know, so I let it slide. After the pair finished paying their respects to Wiji Cheon, we ate like normal, watched the birthday celebration like normal, and returned to our lodging.
…Is it really fine for nothing to happen? Then again, it would be far stranger if something did. To everyone who didn’t know the Murim Alliance Leader was a villain, today was a joyous occasion.
But they say spoken words become seeds. The news I heard the next morning left me utterly shocked. Wiji Cheon, who had been drinking with his acquaintances until late the previous night, had suddenly collapsed and fallen unconscious.
While eating breakfast, Dokgo Rin heard that the Murim Alliance Leader had collapsed and sneered to herself.
Just as planned.
Acute radiation syndrome. That was the condition the current Murim Alliance Leader was suffering from. There are generally two major types of radiation exposure: external and internal. With external exposure, a person can survive far longer than expected unless hit with a massive dose all at once. Internal exposure, however, was a death sentence the moment radioactive material was ingested.
No matter how high a master had reached the realm of being immune to all poisons, they would have no resistance to radioactive elements that destroyed cells at their core. If she had wanted to kill him on the spot, she could have used a much larger amount of enriched uranium. But doing so would have made Dokgo Rin—the person present at the scene—the prime suspect in the Alliance Leader’s sudden death. That was why she had deliberately used only a trace amount.
Thanks to that decision, there had been a delay before he collapsed, but by now his insides were surely shredded beyond repair. Even a Transcendent master would last no more than a week at best, three days at worst.
I’ve completed my revenge, Father.
In her previous life she hadn’t been able to put a proper period on things, but this time was different. By killing Wiji Cheon—the root of every tragedy—in advance, she had prevented the Dokgo Clan’s downfall. The family members and servants who had been massacred by the assassins he hired in the original timeline had all survived.
All of it had been possible thanks to the devoted help and sacrifice of Chilbok, whom she had met in her previous life.
Since you protected me in your last life, in this life I’ll protect you.
Having made that silent vow, Dokgo Rin gazed at Chilbok, who was eating without the faintest idea of what had happened. Maybe it was the love filter over her eyes, but simply watching him eat filled her with enough happiness to feel full.
Two or three children would be nice. They’d definitely be incredibly cute, taking after both of us.
Of course, her belly would also become physically full later on.
It was three days later that the news of Murim Alliance Leader Wiji Cheon’s sudden death after drinking with acquaintances spread throughout Chang’an. The official announcement stated the cause was unknown. At first there had been suspicions of assassination by poison, but because Wiji Cheon was a Transcendent master who was immune to all toxins, and no poison had been found in any of the food or drink at the gathering, the rumors were dismissed as groundless.
With the sudden death of Wiji Cheon, the man who had represented the righteous faction of Murim, those who had come for his sixtieth birthday banquet and suddenly become mourners gathered at the funeral hall one after another, all dressed in white.
“I never imagined the last time I’d see the Alliance Leader would be at his own birthday celebration.”
“To think someone so vigorous would pass away in just four days.”
“I heard he drank too much at the banquet and died from alcohol poisoning.”
“Hey! If people hear you say that they’ll misunderstand! How could a Transcendent master who has reached the realm of immunity to all poisons die from alcohol?”
“That’s just how the saying goes. From what I heard, while he was drinking his face suddenly turned dark, he vomited blood, and collapsed.”
“Tsk, what an insensitive fool. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”
Listening to the mourners’ whispered gossip, we stepped into the Murim Alliance Leader’s residence—which had transformed from a banquet hall into a funeral home in the blink of an eye—and bowed to the chief mourner, his son.
“Our deepest condolences for your loss.”
“Thank you.”
Perhaps because so many visitors kept coming, the son’s face was deathly pale. He looked as if he hadn’t slept at all.
“It must be devastating to lose your father so suddenly.”
The son nodded with an exhausted expression. “Honestly, I’m still in a daze. Father was only human, so of course he would die someday, but I never imagined it would happen like this.”
“I understand how you feel. Please stay strong, brother.”
“Thank you for the kind words. You must be hungry after traveling so far. At least have a bite before you leave.”
“Then we’ll…”
Once Dokgo Seok, who was acting as our representative, finished speaking with the chief mourner, we all sat down at the tables of food and drink prepared for the visitors.
“There seem to be even more people here than during the birthday banquet,” I said, looking around.
Dokgo Seok gave a bitter smile. “One of the great stars of the righteous Murim has fallen, after all.”
Noticing that Dokgo Seok seemed more subdued than usual, I asked carefully, “Young Master, what was your relationship with the Murim Alliance Leader?”
He poured liquor into his cup and answered, “Nothing in particular. But ever since I was a child I heard stories of his heroic deeds and dreamed of becoming a hero myself. I’m sure the same goes for children around Chilbok’s age.”
“Is that so?”
Just to be sure, I glanced at Dokgo Rin sitting beside me. She gave a small nod. “What my brother said is true.”
No wonder he had seemed to admire the Alliance Leader so much. There had been that kind of backstory. Since I knew the man’s true nature, everything he did looked negative to me, but to those unaware of the truth, his death would seem like the tragic passing of a hero.
“Actually, the reason I attended this birthday celebration was because I had a personal request for the Alliance Leader. Now that’s all gone up in smoke.”
“A personal request?”
Hearing the complaint slip from his lips, I doubted my own ears for a moment. This was the first I had heard of it.
“What was it?”
Dokgo Rin showed the same interest. Dokgo Seok, as if it were nothing to hide, spoke openly while drinking.
“Over the past few years, various clans and sects have been attacked in the middle of the night by unknown groups. Have you heard about that?”
“It’s the first I’m hearing of it.”
Dokgo Seok nodded as though he had expected that answer and continued. “Rumors say it’s the work of the Demonic Cult, but it feels too systematic for that. I was going to organize the information I gathered and hand it over to the Murim Alliance, then use my connections to request protection for our clan. But with the Alliance Leader dead, all of it has fallen through.”
“……”
Listening to him felt like a missing puzzle piece had finally clicked into place. The groups attacking clans and sects, Wiji Cheon the Murim Alliance Leader, and the story of how Dokgo Seok had essentially sold Dokgo Rin to him. Still, it was all speculation, so I couldn’t jump to conclusions.
When I fell into serious thought after hearing Dokgo Seok’s story, Dokgo Rin asked curiously, “Chilbok, what are you thinking so hard about?”
“I was just wondering if there was another way. Since we’ve already come all this way, we might as well take care of our business before leaving.”
“But with the Alliance Leader gone, there aren’t any useful connections left in the Murim Alliance. And unless you’re in a high position, I doubt they’d grant protection to a clan…”
I tilted my head. “In that case, shouldn’t we just go see Master Jegal Gyun?”
“!”
Dokgo Seok looked at me with genuine surprise. It seemed he had been so fixated on the Alliance Leader that the existence of Jegal Gyun, the Murim Alliance’s strategist, hadn’t even crossed his mind.
“Chilbok, are you a genius?”
“…Isn’t this the kind of thing anyone would think of?”
Dokgo Rin chuckled softly. “Our Chilbok is just too humble for his own good.”
“No, it’s embarrassing, so please stop.”
With the siblings praising me from both sides, someone unused to compliments like me couldn’t help but feel his face growing hot.
“They say to pull the horn while the iron is hot. Let’s finish this drink and head to the Murim Alliance.”
Once the conversation had more or less wrapped up, Dokgo Seok shook the liquor bottle. Gyeong-a let out an exasperated sigh.
“Even at a time like this, you’re still talking about drinking.”
“It would be disrespectful to the liquor to leave it unfinished.”
“Yes, yes, of course it would.”
The two of them bickering in front of the drinking table as usual. Thinking they really did seem close no matter when you saw them, I was about to pick up a pancake when—
“Well, isn’t this nice? All the familiar faces gathered in one place.”
At the familiar voice I turned my head, and standing before us was none other than Jegal Gyun, the strategist of the Murim Alliance.