The Fall of Gangnam Sam-ung
The warehouse of Baekgom Bakery reeked of blood. Bulgom lay cold on the floor. His Murim Alliance uniform—the symbol of the alliance—had been stripped away, replaced by a baker's outfit draped over him like a blanket.
"These bastards really got holes in their heads or what?" A massive bald man sneered down at Bulgom. The title "Gangnam Sam-ung's Bulgom" floated above his shaved head. Shin-Bulgom. He was the new Gangnam Sam-ung's Bulgom.
"No matter how hard the Murim Alliance tries to sell itself as some noble, chivalrous group, their real business is running a bakery? If that's the case, why even bother joining the alliance?"
"And Baekgom Bakery? Seriously? Baekgom Bakery? Were they trying to sprinkle sugar on everything like a real Baekgom?" Another hulking figure chimed in. The title "Gangnam Sam-ung's Baekgom" hovered above him. He was the new Gangnam Sam-ung's Baekgom—Shin-Baekgom.
"Ugh… W-we… What did we do wrong to deserve this…?" Bandalgom croaked from beside the already-dead Bulgom, his voice strained. The death of his sworn brother, with whom he'd shared both joy and hardship, choked him with grief.
"Don't you feel a bit wronged? You just did your job, but those so-called brothers of yours went off on their own revenge spree and got wiped out."
The bald man looking down at Bandalgom was yet another bald man. Shin-Bandalgom. He was the new Gangnam Sam-ung's Bandalgom.
"But don't feel too bad. In the end, you're just another loser who got wrecked by Fantasia, aren't you? Weaklings like you have no place in our Murim Alliance."
"…Fantasia's Fighting Dog is strong. Losing to the strong doesn't mean we're weak…!"
"Bullshit. You couldn't even take down a single weak-ass goblin."
Shin-Bandalgom crouched to meet Bandalgom's eyes, smirking.
"If we're going with the logic that you lost because Fantasia's Fighting Dog is strong, then you got beaten by the Sacheon Three Snakes, didn't you? Are you gonna claim you lost because the Sacheon Three Snakes were just that powerful?"
Bandalgom couldn't grasp what Shin-Bandalgom was getting at. The Sacheon Three Snakes were genuinely strong—on a completely different level from bottom-feeders like them in a third-rate organization.
"The Sacheon Three Snakes are strong. The Sacheon Tang Family used to be one of the Five Great Clans…"
Before the North Sea Ice Palace rose to prominence, the Sacheon Tang Family had been one of the Five Great Clans. Though they'd been pushed out and reduced to an outer Murim faction, their strength was still comparable to the Five Great Clans.
"Even if the Sacheon Three Snakes are just the bottom rung of the Sacheon Tang Family, there's still a world of difference between the bottom of a second-rate group and the dregs of a third-rate one. You know that…"
"Right. It's hard to deny that the Sacheon Three Snakes are far stronger than us."
"Then what the hell are you trying to say…?!"
Bandalgom's eyes widened as he shouted. Shin-Bandalgom stood up, sneering.
"What am I saying? The Sacheon Three Snakes are mocked for relying entirely on poison. That's why they got the title 'Three Snakes.'"
But when they dealt with Gangnam Sam-ung, the Sacheon Three Snakes hadn't used any poison.
"They didn't even use their real weapon—poison—and still toyed with you. See how pathetic you weakling bastards are?"
Shin-Bandalgom slowly raised his foot.
"So all that talk about Fantasia's Fighting Dog being strong is pointless, you frail little shits."
Crack!
Shin-Bandalgom stomped down on Bandalgom's head. Bandalgom's body went limp, and he died.
"Well done, kids."
A woman and two men approached the new Gangnam Sam-ung. The men wore blue and red robes—Cheongsa and Hongsa. The woman wore a black robe, her wavy black hair and yellow snake-like eyes marking her as Heuksa.
"Even if you can't use poison and are stuck doing grunt work in our clan, you're still valuable members of the Sacheon Tang Family."
Sacheon Heuksa licked her lips with a deadly smile.
"Naturally, after eliminating Gangnam Sam-ung and taking their place, you'll infiltrate the Shaolin Temple as our agents."
The Sacheon Tang Family was constantly scheming to weaken the other Five Great Clans in hopes of reclaiming their former status. Even the Sacheon Three Snakes, as bottom-rung members, were no exception. They'd tailed Gangnam Sam-ung, witnessed their defeat at Fantasia's hands, and used that as an excuse to eliminate them—replacing the trio with their own people under the guise of the new Gangnam Sam-ung.
"Sneak into the Shaolin Temple and steal their martial arts bit by bit. Bring them to us, and we'll find a way to combine them with our clan's hidden weapons."
"But Lady Heuksa, what if we get caught?"
Shin-Baekgom asked cautiously. Heuksa flashed a cunning smile.
"Why would you get caught? Humans love generalizing by obvious traits. Everyone firmly believes the Sacheon Tang Family uses poison and hidden weapons. No one will ever suspect you of being from our clan since you can't use them. Relax."
Especially bottom-feeders like the old Gangnam Sam-ung.
"As expected of Lady Heuksa!"
Shin-Baekgom clapped loudly in flattery. Sacheon Heuksa chuckled, clearly pleased.
"Why are you sucking up so hard? Flattery won't get you anything extra from me."
"K-khm, if it's not too presumptuous… perhaps a reward of sharing a bed…?"
"S-sharing a bed?!"
Sacheon Heuksa stared at Shin-Baekgom in shock, her face flushing at his impossibly massive, muscular frame.
"I caught a glimpse before… it looked big… I'll be looking forward to tonight."
"I'm looking forward to it too. The hidden weapons of the legendary Sacheon Heuksa."
Sacheon Heuksa fanned her burning face with her hand and glanced at Cheongsa. Cheongsa didn't even blink at the vulgar exchange happening right in front of him.
"Cheongsa, what about the last bear's whereabouts?"
"He seems to have gone to Fantasia."
"Fantasia? Puhaha!"
Shin-Baekgom burst into laughter at Cheongsa's report.
"Birds of a feather, huh? Looks like the weaklings found some common ground. Crawling there begging to be saved when they're on the brink of death!"
As Shin-Baekgom snickered, someone spoke.
"You guys are weak too."
"What?"
Shin-Baekgom turned his head. A man in a leather jacket was walking toward them. His hair was slicked back with wax, but a few spikes left in the front reminded one of a dog's snout. His hair and clothes were black, but his red eyes, radiating killing intent in the darkness, were chilling. Though smaller than Shin-Baekgom, his presence was more than enough to dominate the room.
For a moment overwhelmed by the man's aura, Shin-Baekgom asked,
"W-who the hell are you to call us weak?"
"Me?"
At Shin-Baekgom's question, a title appeared above the man's head—Woo Hyun-woo.
『Fighting Dog of Fantasia (Just Before Resurrection)』
"I'm the mutt you were mocking for being so weak, you bastards."
The oppressive atmosphere vanished. No one felt overwhelmed anymore. Shin-Baekgom burst into laughter.
"Puhahaha! What, did that pale little brat beg you to save her? I should grab that little bitch and force her into bed too. It's only natural for a female bear to be devoured by a male bear."
Grinning lewdly, Shin-Baekgom slowly approached Woo Hyun-woo.
"So where's that female bear now?"
Woo Hyun-woo didn't even look at him. His eyes were fixed on the fallen Bandalgom.
"Bandalgom… The others, I don't know, but at least that guy was a decent opponent."
"What? What the hell are you suddenly saying?"
"Why'd you kill him?"
The reason? Shin-Baekgom found it absurd and roared with laughter.
"Isn't it obvious? He was a weakling who tarnished the Murim Alliance's image. Useless trash like that doesn't help the alliance at all, so we killed him. Got a problem with that?"
"Tarnished the Murim Alliance's image? Really? That guy was so single-mindedly devoted to his mission that it was almost admirable."
Woo Hyun-woo recalled his fight with Bandalgom. Bandalgom hadn't wanted to fight, but had done so because it was his duty.
"Even if you call it a mission, it was basically volunteer work. You mocked them for running a bakery? Those idiots were just trying to keep things as wholesome as possible by running a bakery. The Murim Alliance's free protection service doesn't make any money."
The Murim Alliance's free protection service earned nothing no matter how diligently it was provided. It was essentially volunteer work done solely for the alliance's image.
"But he gave it his all. No money in it, and fighting would only get him hurt. He thought it was for the Murim Alliance."
Woo Hyun-woo glanced at Sacheon Heuksa.
"Hey, black snake bitch. You said it yourself—humans love generalizing by obvious traits."
"How did you hear that…?"
"None of your business. But let me add something to that. Bandalgom was just a bottom-rung Gangnam Snake, but he worked his ass off providing free protection. That improves the Murim Alliance's image, not just Gangnam Snake's. Don't you think?"
They'd lived desperately, not for their own gain, but for the image of the Murim Alliance as an organization.
"Can you really say they tarnished the Murim Alliance's image? Do you even have the right to kill them?"
"So what the hell do you want, you bastard? You wanna fight or something?"
Shin-Baekgom sneered at Woo Hyun-woo. Without hesitation, Woo Hyun-woo provoked him back.
"You're all filthy bastards. Killing people without a second thought, then talking about getting laid in front of their corpses."
One of them was clearly male inside but got excited at the thought of a hole to fuck, and
"Another one's a male inside but gets off on getting fucked by a bald guy—a total fag."
Not that he had anything against gays, but doing that shit in front of corpses made them filthy bastards for sure.
"Now I get why the Murim Alliance treats you like animal brats—bear brats, snake brats, beast brats."
—I'm a dog bastard myself, after all. Wanna turn this into an Animal Farm?
"This little shit's really asking for it…"
Shin-Baekgom flexed his shoulders threateningly, loosening his muscles as he looked down at Woo Hyun-woo.
"A weak-ass mutt like you running your mouth?"
"How do you know I'm weak? We haven't even fought."
Woo Hyun-woo pointed at the dead Bandalgom.
"For the record, Bandalgom was strong. I had to pull out a weapon and fight dirty to beat him."
"Bandalgom was strong? Then your level's obvious!"
"You think Bandalgom was weak?"
"Yeah, so what? That bastard was the weakest in the Murim Alliance."
"Then if I beat you barehanded, that makes you even weaker trash than Bandalgom?"
—From now on, you're all weaker trash than Bandalgom, the weakling who ruined the Murim Alliance's image.
Boom!
It happened in an instant. Woo Hyun-woo drove his fist into Shin-Baekgom's chest. Shin-Baekgom vomited blood and flew backward, slamming into the wall. His head drooped, and he didn't move. Dead.
"I'll give you ten seconds, you weaklings. Kill yourselves before you ruin the Murim Alliance's image any further."
—Or don't, and die by my hand while dragging the Murim Alliance's image through the mud. Your choice.