Is This How It Ends?

"Kill them all!"

Ju Seong swung his blade, charging toward Mu Hong. Their duel erupted instantly, but it was clear from the start that Mu Hong was no match for him. She took hit after hit, her body quickly becoming a map of jagged wounds. Soon, she was drenched in crimson, her form nearly unrecognizable under the mask of blood. Yet, her spirit remained unbroken.

"Die!"

Despite her grievous injuries, Mu Hong threw herself at Ju Seong in a desperate, suicidal gambit. Around her, the other female swordsmen were falling one by one, their screams piercing the air as they were cut ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠down by the superior force. Mu Hong ground her teeth in impotent fury.

Suddenly, Pung Sa-nang leaped into the air, hurtling toward Ju Seong.

"Sister Mu Hong! Take So-ryeong and get out of here, now!" Pung Sa-nang screamed, her sword blurring into motion as she engaged the enemy leader.

"No! My Lady! You must be the one to leave!" Mu Hong cried out in anguish. "I don't know how much longer we can hold! So-ryeong needs you! Please, escape while you still can!"

Inside a nearby tent, the commotion finally roused So-ryeong. The young girl rubbed her eyes, then burst into terrified tears at the sight of the carnage.

"Mommy! Auntie Mu Hong! Where is everyone...?"

The students watching from the shadows felt their blood boil. Their eyes turned bloodshot with suppressed rage. They couldn't stand it any longer, but Cho Heun held them back with a grip of iron, his face a mask of grim restraint.

"A-kwang," Bukjin whispered, his voice low and dangerous.

The leader of the Ghost Rats looked up at Bukjin with an innocent, cute expression.

"Go. Help them," Bukjin commanded.

"Squeak! Squeak!"

A-kwang gave a reluctant chirp before performing a Tunneling Art, vanishing into the earth. Moments later, the ground beneath the invaders erupted. Stone spikes shot upward, sandstorms blinded the attackers, and sharp rocks flew through the air like shrapnel. A-kwang was unleashing every trick in his arsenal, doing his best to disrupt the slaughter. It was a valiant effort, but even the Ghost Rat's powers had their limits. The tide of battle remained firmly against them.

Ak Hong-hyang finally snapped. "Dean Cho! Please, let us help!"

Cho Heun remained silent, his jaw set tight. Ak Hong-hyang pressed on, her voice trembling with conviction.

"The four of us will stay together. We won't separate! As long as we're a unit, we'll be safe. And you'll be right there with us, Dean... Please! We've never forgotten the academy's teachings. We were taught to protect justice, and that doesn't just mean when it's safe to do so. If we stand here with our eyes wide open and watch them die, our swords will never be sharp again!"

"She's right, Dean! Let us go!" Han Bul-bu added, his hand white-knuckled around his hilt.

Baek Geum-un clutched her chest, her breath hitching. "I can't take it! So-ryeong is in danger!"

After a long, agonizing moment of hesitation, Cho Heun let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine! You have permission to engage! But do not, under any circumstances, stray from my side! Move out!"

Joy flared in the students' eyes.

"Let's go!"

"Just hold on a little longer!"

Han Bul-bu and Baek Geum-un were the first to sprint forward. Bukjin followed close behind, raising his hand to fire.

Whish—! Whish—! Whish—!

Three masked men in black collapsed as Bukjin's silver arrows found their marks. In the chaotic darkness of the camp, his Double Flying Technique was devastatingly effective.

"Die!" Baek Geum-un screamed, swinging her massive greatsword with terrifying force. Her mastery of the Jesujeon Sword Technique had reached the Mastery stage, and her strikes carried the weight of the ocean.

Han Bul-bu fought with cold fury, his Sawol Sword Technique claiming the life of a masked man with a single, precise thrust to the throat. Ak Hong-hyang, meanwhile, was the picture of calm. She executed her Basic Sword Technique with rhythmic perfection—neither too fast nor too slow. It wasn't a flashy style, but her unwavering composure allowed her to systematically dismantle the enemies before her.

Bukjin wielded the Doran Sword in his right hand, sending invaders flying with every flash of his blade. Simultaneously, he expanded his mental awareness, using his left hand to fire precise shots that saved several female swordsmen from the brink of death.

"Over there!" Ak Hong-hyang's eyes sharpened. She had spotted So-ryeong crying amidst the spreading flames. "We have to save the child first!"

"On it!"

The group tightened their formation, deflecting arrows and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cutting through the press of enemies as they surged toward So-ryeong. Cho Heun followed closely, his sword clearing the path with waves of invisible sword qi. He hadn't yet unleashed his full power, keeping his strength in reserve to act as a safety net should the students encounter a threat they couldn't handle.

"Dean Cho! Be careful! Something is wrong here!" Ban Oe-min's voice rang in Cho Heun's mind via telepathy.

Cho Heun replied instantly. "Stop talking nonsense and focus on the enemies in front of you!"

"I can't finish them quickly! These guys are incredibly strong!" Ban Oe-min countered. "I thought these were just thugs from the Evil Adventurer Alliance, but there shouldn't be anyone here I can't handle..."

"That's why I'm saying it's strange," Cho Heun muttered back. "Don't let your guard down. Save your strength."

"Understood."

Finally, the four students reached So-ryeong's side.

"Come here, quickly!" Baek Geum-un called out, waving her hand.

"Big brother...!"

So-ryeong didn't seem to see anyone else but Bukjin. As if she had found her own flesh and blood, she waddled toward him with open arms. Watching the scene, Baek Geum-un felt a strange, inexplicable tightness in her chest. Bukjin reached out and pulled the girl into a protective embrace.

"This territory is lost! We can't hold it!" Bukjin shouted toward Pung Sa-nang. "Captain Pung! You need to escape—"

In that instant, a bone-chilling sensation washed over Bukjin's chest. It was a feeling unlike anything he had ever experienced—a wave of absolute cold. The strength within his body began to drain away with terrifying speed, like air hissing out of a punctured balloon.

Bukjin looked down.

He saw a small dagger gripped in So-ryeong's tiny hand. The blade was buried deep in his chest. For a moment, his mind refused to process what had happened.

"No...!"

Ak Hong-hyang, standing right beside him, witnessed the betrayal. A scream tore from her throat as a chill ran from her head to her toes. So-ryeong's face was no longer that of an innocent child; a wicked, malevolent smile—utterly unbefitting of her age—twisted her features. She yanked the dagger out of Bukjin's chest and lunged again, aiming straight for his heart.

Teetering on the edge of life and death, Bukjin ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠found a final surge of strength. He swung his arm, his fist slamming into So-ryeong and throwing her back.

"Dammit!"

Cho Heun finally realized what had happened. He swung his sword, sending a sonic boom of sword qi toward the girl. In the same breath, he used a high-level movement technique to blink across the battlefield, appearing instantly at Bukjin's side. He checked the wound in Bukjin's chest, and his heart sank into a pit of despair.

It was a fatal blow. Even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a cursory glance told him the blade had pierced the heart. This was the kind of injury that even a Divine Physician couldn't mend.

"Wahahaha! The mongrel is finally going to die! All of you, rot in hell!"

A booming laugh erupted from the shadows. One of the seemingly ordinary attackers shed his disguise, revealing his true form. A massive surge of Mystic Energy radiated from him, glowing with the intensity of a blood-red sun. He swung his blade, a beam of sword light tearing through space toward Cho Heun.

Cho Heun's eyes widened. 'A master of this caliber was hiding here?'

Supporting Bukjin with one hand, Cho Heun desperately struck back with the other. The sword light from his hand merged with his Mystic Energy, manifesting into the shape of a colossal, roaring bear.

"What? A man of the military?" the attacker shouted in surprise. He clearly hadn't expected an academy teacher to possess such high-level cultivation. The technique Cho Heun had just used was a secret art reserved for the Imperial Army's elite.

BOOM!

The clashing sword qi exploded in a blinding flash of light. The situation was spiraling into total chaos.

"Screech! Screech!"

So-ryeong was making bizarre, inhuman noises as she leaped through the air. She moved with supernatural agility, dodging Cho Heun's sword qi and lunging back toward Bukjin.

"Look out!"

Ak Hong-hyang threw herself in front of Bukjin. CLANG! The impact was immense. Her sword shattered into pieces, and two jagged shards of the blade flew back, slicing across her left cheek. Blood sprayed from the deep gash on her face.

"Die!" Cho Heun roared, swinging his sword again.

CRACK! A bolt of sword qi, fast as lightning, struck So-ryeong mid-air. She coughed up a fountain of blood and was sent tumbling into the distance.

"Dean Cho... I..."

Bukjin tried to speak, but as soon as he opened his mouth, blood welled up, choking his words. All strength left his limbs, and he slowly slumped to the ground. He reached out, trying to manifest a Water Ring to heal himself, but his body was too broken. His internal Mystic Energy was a chaotic mess, completely beyond his control. He couldn't even trigger the skill.

The frantic shouts of Ak Hong-hyang, Baek Geum-un, and Han Bul-bu sounded muffled, as if coming from underwater. Bukjin's vision began to blur. The faces of the people he cared about flickered before his eyes like fading photographs. He saw Cho Heun's distorted, screaming face, but he couldn't hear a single word the man was saying. The world was growing dark, and his hearing was failing.

His sense of reality drifted away. He felt as though his soul was about to slip from its mortal coil.

'Is this how I die?'

Bukjin felt himself falling into an endless, bottomless abyss.

'If I die like this... will I go back to Earth? Was all of this just a dream? A cruel joke played on me by a god? When I wake up, will I see the familiar skyscrapers, the cars, the traffic lights, my monitor, the delivery guys... will my parents and friends be there, smiling?'

With that final thought, Bukjin's consciousness winked out. Pitch-black darkness swallowed him whole.