Then Die
'...What, he's dead?' Jin Hun stood in place, spewing blood and dropping dead on the spot. The bastard couldn't overcome his demon heart and self-destructed. Do Gwang hadn't expected him to actually roll his eyes back and die standing up.
'...What a shame.' Do Gwang licked his lips. He'd been planning to toy with him a bit more. The Cheongpung 19 Forms, the Blue Cloud Sword Technique, the Pine Wind Sword Technique, the Blue Thunder Sword Technique — among the martial arts that Teacher Jin Hun had so kindly demonstrated with his own body, Do Gwang had intended to let him choose his favorite and die by it!
'He dies from rage just because I copied his techniques a little?' Just as expected from a hypocritical and petty bastard — his heart was narrow, Do Gwang thought. Of course, if any martial artist in the jianghu heard this thought, they'd foam at the mouth and collapse on the spot. Having his lifelong martial art, which he trained in with blood and sweat and took pride in, stolen and toyed with right before his eyes — isn't it natural to suffer a demonic heart? But Do Gwang naturally didn't care about the circumstances of such martial artists.
Now what irritated him were the Heukpyochae bastards tied up on the cart behind him.
'Waaah! Boss! That was fucking amazing!'
'How did you kill that orthodox moron without even lifting a finger? You're the best!'
Despite being tied up tight, they started blabbering excitedly without any self-awareness.
'.......' Do Gwang's eyes narrowed.
'Which organization do you belong to! No wait, that dead guy earlier was right, wasn't he?'
'The name was definitely... yeah, Status Window! Brother Status Window the assassin!'
If only that dead Jin Hun hadn't eavesdropped on Do Gwang's muttering before he died! That damned bastard, being the second disciple and all! They wouldn't be chanting his embarrassing moment like that right now!
'Status Window! Status Window!'
'Woooo! Great Status Window!'
'Brother Status Window! We'll follow you too! Just take us in!'
'Just give us orders! We'll smash anything, hehe!'
They were beating their own drum and drinking their own celebratory soup — quite a sight.
'...You want me to give orders?' Do Gwang let out a hollow laugh, looking at the Heukpyochae bastards.
'Yes sir! If you say jump, we jump! Loyalty!'
'We may look like this, but we're men of loyalty!'
They were ridiculous! Words like loyalty or honor coming from the mouths of dark path bastards who were selfish to the bone! Even a passing dog would snort and laugh in scorn!
Then, an even more clueless idiot drove the nail in.
'If you take me in, I'll stake my life on it, boss!'
'Oh....' Do Gwang let out a short exclamation. And the foolish bastards took that as a sign of permission!
'I'll stake my life too! Long live Status Window!'
'We'll all serve you with our lives, boss!'
'...Really?'
'Yes, boss!!!' The Heukpyochae bastards answered loudly. Their chief had already been sliced by Jin Hun and sent to the underworld anyway. Rather than crawling into some other bandit den and starting from the bottom, if they could follow this monster-like assassin brother who showed near-supernatural martial arts, and join the legendary 'Status Window'! They were having an arrogant and foolish delusion that reversal of fortune was not just a dream.
They were truly simple and stupid. Why?
'Then....' The first order from Do Gwang's mouth was. Simply.
'Die.'
Because it was a death sentence completely opposite to their wishes.
'Huh...?' The bandit made a dumb expression as if he couldn't understand what he just heard. Before he could ask again. Slice! The bastard's neck flew cleanly into the air! Cheongpung 19 Forms! First Form! The move he couldn't directly embed into Jin Hun's body was now smoothly demonstrated on the bastard's neck!
'H-hiiiik!?'
'M-michin! Why are you doing this all of a sudden, boss!!'
The foolish bandits finally realized the head had rolled! And they understood! This was the crazy bastard who had crushed their vice-chief Hwang Chisam and Jo Gang in one blow, with no mercy! But what could they do? They were still tied up with thick ropes!
'Sp-spare me...! Somebody help!!!'
'Run!! Cut the ropes and run... kuaaaak!!'
Even though they struggled and tried to flee belatedly!
Slice! Second Form!
Slice! Third Form!
They were just scarecrows for Do Gwang's Cheongpung 19 Forms practice!
'Kuaaaaaaah!!!'
No matter how desperately they screamed, Do Gwang's sword danced and severed their breath.
Slice!
'Sp-spare me, Brother Status Window!!'
When had he ever seen them before? And stop calling him that embarrassing name!
Slice!
'You crazy murdering bastard!!'
Oi! Crazy murdering bastard? He was merely, as an aspiring righteous hero of The Chronicles of Righteous Heroes, executing just judgment by eliminating evil.
Slice!
'Who are you calling a crazy murdering bastard.' Do Gwang had annihilated the Heukpyochae bastards in the blink of an eye, and as he flicked the blood off his sword, he muttered quietly.
He earnestly reflected on himself. 'I am not a psychopath.' It was just that due to the game's traits, he could kill without hesitation. And honestly, everyone he had killed today deserved to die. First, the Heukpyochae bandits who plundered and killed powerless civilians who hadn't even learned martial arts — needless to say. Next, the Cheongseongpa disciples who tried to turn him over to the authorities without a word.
'They deserve to die.' Yes, they were all trash and scoundrels. In the first place, these Cheongseongpa disciples were all from prestigious families or wealthy houses, and they were corrupt bastards with histories of directly or indirectly exploiting and harming those weaker or poorer than them. This wasn't speculation. Do Gwang had played for thousands of hours and memorized even the detailed backstory of the game.
'In Cheongseongpa, the only ones who weren't snobs and were decent were Cheongun Jinin and U Gyeong...' Do Gwang shook his head inwardly. 'But still, I have no intention of justifying it.' He had no intention of wrapping his killing in grandiose justice or righteousness. Because the real reason Do Gwang killed them without mercy was simply 'because he didn't like them.'
He hadn’t liked them since he played the game. So he had killed them many times in the game too. 'I never wiped them all out cleanly from the start like this before...' More precisely, he couldn't kill them. Because in the game, the content flowed differently depending on the route. If he had realized a little earlier that this wasn't a dream, that he had possessed the character, that this was reality, maybe the result would have been different.
'Hmm... no, I think it would have been the same.' Even if the timing of killing was a little different, he would have ended up killing them all later when he got the chance. Why? 'Because I persist in not liking them.' The reason was truly simple and clear. Even so, Do Gwang nodded to himself. 'But still, I'm not a psychopath...'
Hiiiiiing--!! Prrrrummm!!! The horses pulling the cart couldn't stand the bloody and brutal slaughter scene, reared up in fright, and started running away madly into the distance. Do Gwang watched the retreating back of the horses and smiled contentedly. 'See? I spared the innocent animals.' ...Of course, even most serial killers wouldn't go out of their way to chase down running horses to cut them down after having already sliced up the tied-up bastards. Anyway, Do Gwang thought he was quite rational and merciful.
'And I didn't kill all the people either, so I'm not a psychopath. Yes, that's right.'
Yes, Do Gwang truly had not killed absolutely everyone. There was one person whose life was spared. When he had blown away the faces of Hwang Chisam and Jo Gang who was grinning beside him, the first guy who had wet himself in fear and fainted. Even now, he was still collapsed in the corner of the half-destroyed cart, not having woken up. Do Gwang had not sliced him. Because the pathos of that guy forcing himself to laugh and humor his boss Hwang Chisam's awful uncle jokes to survive — that tear-jerking struggle of social life — felt pitiful and relatable to Do Gwang, who had been a modern office worker. Ah, what a flexible and merciful heart!
'...Hmm!' Satisfied with his own perfect logic, Do Gwang nodded alone and gave a very satisfied smile. And then. Whiz! Clang! He threw away the sword carelessly and walked away leisurely without looking back.
Left in his wake were: one bandit fainted while reeking of stale urine, and blood-red corpses whose shapes were unrecognizable, a red-stained ground, and the debris of a smashed wagon — only this desolate scene remained.
'Aaaagh!'
'Save me, save me!!'
Slice! Slice! Slice!
Blood sprayed like a fountain in all directions. A very small and delicate young girl. But the daggers in both hands of that child mercilessly cut through the air. Slice! Clean and perfect amputation. Not only the necks of the Murim Alliance warriors charging ahead, but also their arms and legs were sliced off piece by piece, rolling on the ground. It was a truly hellish sight of utter carnage.
At that moment, a clicking sound came from behind.
'Tsk tsk... A young child has such cruel hands.'
'Indeed. Truly horrific.'
The third elder of the Tang family, wearing a pine-green robe, and the Ami sect elder in an indigo-purple robe appeared. The two looked at the bloody carnage scattered on the floor and couldn't hide their shock.
Soon, the Tang family third elder turned his head to look at the user.
'Young hero, you must never let your guard down just because she's a child. As you can see, the Murim Alliance warriors ahead of us were butchered so horribly!'
'That's right. That thing is a monster wearing the mask of a child. You must not harbor personal feelings!'
The Ami sect elder also drew her sword and warned the user solemnly.
'.......'
The girl, covered in blood, stared at the three with empty eyes devoid of any emotion. And then. A fierce battle begins.
'...Hmm.' After neatly mincing the Cheongseongpa and Heukpyochae small fry and walking away leisurely, Do Gwang stopped abruptly. While walking, a slight regret began to creep in.
'...I shouldn't have left him behind.' Because the sole surviving bandit who had wet himself in the corner of the half-destroyed cart came to mind. Ah, don't misunderstand. It's absolutely not regret for failing to kill everyone down to the last man. Do Gwang, as he repeatedly emphasizes, is not a crazy psychopath. Well, that's entirely his own claim though. Anyway. The real reason Do Gwang stopped was one.
'...I have no fucking idea where I am.' He was lost. He wasn't bad with directions. But this wasn't a game on a monitor. Reality had no world map that would kindly pop up with a press of the [M] key, nor a minimap. Mountains were mountains, trees were trees. No matter where he looked, it was all green vegetation. It was an environment where a modern person would inevitably get lost.
If he had known this would happen, he should have dragged that unconscious piss-bandit by the scruff and used him as a human navigation. But Do Gwang shook his head firmly. 'No. Too dirty.' That's right. That bastard had pissed his pants full of stinky urine, hadn't he? Accompanying a smelly and musty hairy middle-aged man through this rugged forest? Rather than that choice, it was better for his mental health to wander lost.
'Yes, I'm a clean and rational person.' After completing a miraculous self-rationalization, Do Gwang shook off the unpleasant feeling and resumed walking. 'Well, if I keep walking, something will come up.' No matter how deep the forest, if he kept walking, wouldn't he eventually meet someone? As he walked comfortably, enjoying the scenery, then.
'Hmm...?' Do Gwang's gaze was glued to a certain spot. A giant old tree that stood out among the dense trees. Its thickness was of a different class from the ordinary trees around it. The branches, twisted grotesquely, stretched robustly toward the sky. If an ordinary person passed this way, they would have thought: 'Hehe, this tree has lived a long time!' They would have clicked their tongue once, expressed some light admiration, and passed by. But. Do Gwang was not an ordinary person. A veteran, no, a rotten veteran who had been immersed in this world for thousands of hours. This old tree was a tree that existed in the memories of that rotten veteran!
'Oh....' A deep exclamation flowed from Do Gwang's lips. His dull pupils, which had been full of annoyance and lethargy from being lost just moments ago, began to gleam with a sparkling light.