The Vampire Incident (9)
I stopped stroking her hair and carefully stood up.
“Huh?”
Han Yeoreum stared at me with dazed eyes.
“I’ll be back in a bit.”
“...Suddenly?”
“Sorry. Go to sleep first.”
“What the hell? Without any explanation?”
Han Yeoreum narrowed her eyes and frowned.
“...I don’t have time. I’ll explain everything when I get back.”
“Then I’m coming too.”
“Han Yeoreum.”
I looked straight into her blue eyes and shook my head firmly. I couldn’t drag Han Yeoreum into danger. I didn’t even know what was waiting where I was headed.
“...Fine. But when you come back, you’d better explain everything properly.”
She clenched her fists tightly, biting her lip.
“Yeah.”
I immediately turned around and left the house. The moment I started running using light footwork, the smartphone in my pocket vibrated violently.
[Are you awake?]
[I was just about to contact you.]
[There’s suspicious movement from the Nanhua side. Three out of five locations. We’re investigating now.]
[What about the surveillance devices?]
[...That’s the bigger problem. All surveillance devices just went offline. It looks like they’ve been interfered with.]
[Just handle the Nanhua side. I’ll take care of the rest.]
[Understood. Once the Nanhua matter is settled, I’ll send the Black Dragon Shadow Troops your way, so please don’t overdo it.]
[Thanks.]
[It’s nothing. I wish you good fortune.]
There was no doubt that something serious was happening. The real question was whether I could stop it with my own power.
As I ran at full speed using light footwork, all sorts of distracting thoughts flooded my mind. Was it even meaningful for me to act like this? If I died, what would happen to Han Yeoreum left all alone? What if I went and still couldn’t save anyone?
‘No.’
I had already made my decision. I couldn’t let myself be tempted now. Even if this was a shitty game and a trash world, there had to be a path close to the right answer.
The related file wouldn’t have been updated for no reason. Preventing the murder of fellow students. It was close to the correct choice, and from a human perspective, it was clearly the ‘right path.’
I set my worries aside and channeled inner energy into the yongcheon points on my soles, kicking off the ground with force. In an instant, light flickered.
‘What...?’
The scenery changed in the blink of an eye, and I fell into the middle of darkness. I stopped moving and scanned my surroundings. Starlight twinkled within the deep darkness. It felt like I was floating in space.
A bright light was coming from straight ahead. I walked toward it. Though there was no visible ground, I could walk naturally. What I thought was light wasn’t ordinary light at all.
An old man with a fan and a skeletal frame sat cross-legged across a baduk board. His face was obscured by a strong halo of light, making it impossible to see clearly.
“Martial God...? Have you become an immortal? What exactly is this place?”
It was a continuous stream of incomprehensible events.
[This is your mindscape, practitioner. And I am not some immortal, merely an illusion created by your own heart.]
Unlike the cold universe, this place felt warm and comforting. This was my mindscape? It felt strangely fascinating.
“That can’t be...? I don’t have that kind of ability. Besides, I don’t have time for this.”
[One second outside can be a hundred years, or even a thousand years, in the mindscape. Time outside won’t flow, so don’t worry. Would you like some tea?]
Suddenly, steaming tea appeared on the baduk board. Drawn by an inexplicable pull, I sat down in front of it and picked up the cup. The bitter aroma of the tea and the warm temperature of the cup felt completely real.
“For an illusion, it’s incredibly vivid.”
[It is an illusion created through the ‘me’ that remains within your Martial Soul. Though it may still be too early for you to hear this.]
“Why did this phenomenon suddenly occur?”
And of all times, right when I was desperately running somewhere.
Though I couldn’t see his face, I instinctively knew that the Martial God was staring at me intently.
[I ask you, what do you think hyeop—righteousness—is?]
Out of nowhere, he was asking about hyeop. Even for empty talk, this was on another level.
“I don’t know.”
The Martial God burst into hearty laughter.
[As expected. Even after reaching the realm of holding a sword in one’s heart, I still don’t fully understand what hyeop truly is.]
“Is something like that important?”
[It may be important, or it may not. Some would call it an outdated question, but I believe it is important. What meaning could martial arts hold without hyeop?]
Even though I had played the game quite a bit, I had never seriously thought about hyeop. I had simply thought it was just the righteous faction people calling each other “Young Hero” or “Great Hero” to flatter one another.
“Isn’t it enough to live like a martial artist and do what’s right, even without a clear standard for hyeop?”
[Indeed. Justice. Perhaps for some, justice is simply another name for hyeop.]
“...That could be true.”
[Then let me ask you this. Is what you are trying to do right now hyeop? Or is it not?]
“I didn’t make this decision with some grand idea like that in mind.”
Did helping people really need a reason like hyeop or whatever? As Cheon Hayeon had said, I was simply acting according to my heart. I didn’t know anything about grandiose hyeop or great causes.
The moment I tried to speak again, the entire space suddenly shook violently as a massive voice rang out.
[That is correct! There is no need for a reason when one person saves another. I ask you, what is hyeop? I do not know. It cannot be known. If there are a hundred righteous warriors, there will be a hundred different forms of hyeop. Can something like that simply be expressed as ‘what’?
No. It cannot. Then does the concept of hyeop not exist? Is it merely an illusion that scholars babble about as they please? That is also not true. Are the things you are trying to do now hyeop? I can answer with confidence. They are. Anyone you ask would answer the same. Therefore, does a standard for hyeop not exist as well?]
Every time I heard the Martial God’s words, something surged up from within me.
“...It’s complicated.”
For some reason, it seemed like the Martial God was smiling. Even though I still couldn’t see any expression on his face.
[Think simply. If you had not chosen to uphold righteousness, I would not have appeared again. Therefore, practitioner, I earnestly ask of you.]
Crack—
The surroundings began to fracture like shattering glass.
[I hope you will practice hyeop through martial arts.]
The world flipped completely, and my consciousness rose back to reality. When I checked the time, not even a single second had passed, just as the Martial God had said.
I started running again using light footwork. Power was clearly overflowing through my body more than before. Following a sudden intuition, I opened my status window. A new trait linked to my Martial Soul had been added.
So that’s what it was.
This was why the conversation with the Martial God had occurred. If I had chosen to turn away, I probably would never have obtained this linked trait.
I still didn’t fully understand the standard for hyeop that the Martial God mentioned, but my stats had definitely risen. Which meant the trait had judged my current actions as hyeop.
...In other words, I could reach the scene of the incident even faster.
Honwon Sect.
Although it followed the principle of single-line succession, it was an ancient and prestigious sect that had produced several of the world’s strongest martial artists in the past. Just because it was a single-line succession sect didn’t mean its members lived alone. Human life required far more supplies than one might think, and that went double for martial artists.
The Shin Clan.
It was a family that had supported the Honwon Sect for a very long time. This year, a historic event occurred where both the successor of the Honwon Sect and the successor of the Shin Clan entered the academy at the same time. Having seen each other often since childhood, the two quickly became close.
“Ari? Is this the right place?”
Lee Jia tilted her head and asked.
Shin Ari. That was the name of the Shin Clan’s successor. The two had come out for the weekend. After playing until they forgot about the time, right before returning to the dormitory, Shin Ari had said there was somewhere she wanted her to go with her and brought her here…
A gloomy, deserted place with not a single person around.
Shin Ari trembled, cold sweat pouring down her face.
“Th-this isn’t going to work after all. Jia, listen carefully. Don’t look back, just run straight to the academy…”
“What’s going on?”
“There’s no time. Hurry…!”
Grabbing the hand of the bewildered Lee Jia, she started running desperately.
Crackle—
Suddenly, the streetlights around them flickered once. The moment she blinked, a pitch-black something appeared in front of them, blocking their path.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Tap. Tap.
A man wearing neat glasses and a crisp suit appeared from behind the ‘something.’
“No… no….”
The moment Shin Ari saw the man, her face was dyed with despair. A thick metallic smell of blood and a terrible stench. An unidentifiable monstrous roar reached Lee Jia’s sharp senses.
“Running away like this breaks our agreement, doesn’t it? Does it not matter what happens to your family?”
Looking at Shin Ari, the man curled his lips into a sneer.
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s simple. Honwon Sect’sLee Jia. She sold you out. The Shin Ari you thought was your close friend. To obtain the Honwon Sect’s vessel so easily. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“...Do you really think trash like you can stop me?”
Lee Jia had already identified every single entity lurking around them. Many people misunderstood her because of her timid personality—she usually just read books and extremely disliked taking lives—but the Honwon Sect had not remained a single-line succession sect all this time for nothing.
Overwhelming martial prowess. Honwon meant the universe itself. The Honwon Sect’s exclusive martial art that sought the ultimate by containing the universe within the body.
The Honwon Mugeuk Singong was worthy of being called the best in the world.
“I wonder.”
The man leisurely crossed his arms. With just that short conversation, Lee Jia had figured out the entire situation.
“Shin Ari, step back.”
The Shin Clan wasn’t that large a family. Just entering the academy was enough for them to celebrate it as a great blessing. Naturally, Shin Ari’s parents would have come to celebrate her admission. And right after that, they must have been kidnapped.
Sold her out? They must have used her family as leverage to threaten her. Lee Jia was certain.
“They’re innocent people. They aren’t people that scum like you should be allowed to touch.”
Shin Ari’s parents were people Lee Jia had seen often too. They had visited the Honwon Sect many times to deliver supplies. Trash like this always targeted the weak. They forced the weak into impossible choices and then acted like it was ‘your own decision’ to intimidate them.
Could that even be called a ‘choice’?
Just by looking at the man, she could tell. He was enjoying this situation. He delighted in toying with people’s will and watching humans break according to his vile intentions. It was always the weak who suffered.
A rage like a erupting volcano began to sweep through Lee Jia’s mind. The Honwon Mugeuk Singong valued balance. The arrogant martial art that discussed the universe with a human body required extreme calmness.
Calmness. It was something her master had constantly emphasized. But looking at them, Lee Jia could not hold back the surging anger.
Her red hair fluttered wildly, wrapped in the fierce energy of the Honwon Mugeuk Singong. She immediately threw a punch at the head of the monster blocking her path.
Boom—
A roar like striking an iron wall rang out. The monster, which easily exceeded two meters in height, remained completely unharmed by Lee Jia’s attack.
‘Extremely resistant to external attacks.’
It was a bad matchup. Her sect pursued destruction through powerful external force. They must have known that in advance and brought these things.
“Please keep your promise.”
At the sneering man’s words, the hidden monsters all rushed toward Lee Jia.
Thud—
Suddenly, something approached from behind Lee Jia.
“I-I’m sorry.”
Shin Ari threw her body to block the attack coming from Lee Jia’s rear. Deep gashes were torn across Shin Ari’s back.
Splat—
Red blood sprayed everywhere, splattering across Lee Jia’s cheek.
“Tsk. This is why those righteous faction bastards…”
The man clicked his tongue and looked back and forth between Shin Ari and Lee Jia. Shin Ari was supposed to attack Lee Jia’s back. That had been the ‘promise’ between Shin Ari and the man.
“Ah…?”
Lee Jia blankly embraced Shin Ari. Even the monsters stopped their attacks.
“How truly regrettable. After selling out your friend, pretending to sacrifice yourself now—is there really any meaning to it?”
“Shut that filthy mouth.”
Lee Jia growled through gritted teeth. Her trembling hands began to be stained with blood.
“Shut up…!”
An uncontrollable killing intent completely dominated Lee Jia’s heart. Her heart demon had risen all the way to the top of her head.
“I’m afraid I must decline.”
As the man sneered and gestured, one of the monsters charged forward. The moment she laid down Shin Ari’s rapidly cooling body and tried to pour her rage at the monster—
Crash—!
Something flew in and sent the monster flying. The wide back of the man who had suddenly appeared and blocked the monster was one Lee Jia also knew.
Kim Mugong.
She didn’t know how he had gotten here, but it was definitely him.
“Acupoint strike. Snap out of it. She’s not dead yet.”
At the low voice, Lee Jia’s reason gradually returned. Just as Kim Mugong said, Ari wasn’t dead. She was bleeding heavily, but surprisingly, none of her vital organs had been hit. She could still be saved.
She hurriedly sealed the acupoints to stop the bleeding.
“Take her to the hospital. I’ll handle things here.”
Lee Jia nodded with a stiff face and lifted Shin Ari into her arms.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
The man gave orders to the monsters again.
“What…?”
Despite the command, the monsters remained frozen in place, staring at Kim Mugong. The man’s eyes widened.
“Disgusting Blood Sect bastards.”
A dark crimson aura began to flicker across Kim Mugong’s entire body. Meeting the man’s eyes, he slowly opened his mouth.
“Give up any thoughts of leaving here alive.”