Chapter 7: Seven Corpses
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 7: Seven Corpses
"Take your shoes off before you come in, you sons of bitches!"
At Seo-jun’s shout, the man leading the group blinked.
"Is this little shit talking to me right now?"
"It seems so, boss!"
"Wow, I’m actually speechless."
The man scowled fiercely, resting a massive broad blade on his shoulder. It looked identical to the weapons those two criminal bastards had used earlier.
"I am Jang Chun-deuk of the Black Tiger Sect, you little prick."
So, he was here to avenge his friends?
Grasping the situation, Seo-jun’s face scrunched up in annoyance.
"So, what are you going to do about my wall, you bastard?"
"That broad blade over there looks like it belongs to one of our guys. Explain what happened, and I might just let you live."
"I asked what you’re going to do about the wall!"
Jang Chun-deuk clicked his tongue. With a flick of his hand, a group of hulking thugs swarmed into the house.
"Beat him half to death. He’ll start talking on his own. Get him, boys."
The thugs approached, rolling up their sleeves. Seo-jun caught Chun-bong’s eye for a brief moment.
‘What should we do?’
‘Run, obviously!’
‘Wreck them? Okay!’
Of course, neither of them actually possessed the skill to communicate through mere glances.
Seo-jun kicked the sword resting on the ground, popping it up into his hand. He drew the blade in one fluid motion, spinning as he brushed past the closest thug.
Thud—roll.
The house fell dead silent as a severed head hit the floor and rolled. The rhythmic spurting of blood served as the only background music.
"…Fine. Just kill them!"
His face flushing bright red, Jang Chun-deuk hoisted his broad blade and stomped forward.
Seo-jun stepped in front of Chun-bong. She let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Haa… Fine. I guess this is how it has to be."
"Right?"
"It’s not like I’d come out in one piece if I let these bastards take me anyway."
Chun-bong gripped one of the broad blades leaning against the wall. She backed away until her shoulders hit the wall and whispered in a low voice.
"Fight just long enough to find an opening, then run. I can manage to escape on my own."
"Chun-bong."
"What?"
"My poor, foolish little sister, Geum Chun-bong."
Seo-jun raised his sword into a high stance. With the tip of his blade pointed toward the heavens and his eyes locked on the approaching Jang Chun-deuk, he spoke.
"Since I was born a man, I can’t do something as pathetic as running away alone."
Whoosh!
Jang Chun-deuk’s broad blade came swinging toward him. It was the same as before. The trajectory was clearly visible, as if drawn in the air.
If he could see it, that was enough. He slammed the heavens held at his sword’s tip down toward the earth.
The straight path of his sword collided with Jang Chun-deuk’s broad blade.
Clang!
"Ugh…!"
Sparks flew as Jang Chun-deuk was forced back. Cracks rapidly spread across his broad blade until—crack!—the heavy iron weapon shattered into pieces.
"W-What…?"
A stunned Jang Chun-deuk hesitated. Momentum was everything in a fight. Even without much combat experience, Seo-jun knew that much.
Seo-jun immediately slid his left foot forward and twisted his waist.
His legs braced firmly against the ground, transferring power through his core. His supple arms guided the sword, and the smooth movement of the blade’s tip carved effortlessly through bone and flesh.
Splatter!
A man was cleaved in half. Blood and entrails spilled across the floor. Seo-jun’s lips curled upward.
"Close one."
Because Jang Chun-deuk had retreated so quickly, an unnamed subordinate had died in his place.
That made two corpses already. Panic was quickly swallowed by rage, and the remaining men charged all at once.
Clang! Clang!
Steel clashed against steel. The only martial art Seo-jun knew was the Three Talents Sword Art. Knowing nothing else, he desperately parried and dodged.
With every collision of blades, it felt like his arms were going to tear off. He couldn't dodge every attack flying at him from all directions, and his wounds began to pile up.
The stench of sweat, body heat, and iron-rich blood swirled within the cramped room. Metallic blades flashed, hungering to extinguish lives.
"Ugh…!"
A blade grazed his side. His body recoiled from the searing pain.
If he stopped here, his head would be taken. Surrendering himself to the surging adrenaline, Seo-jun swung his sword like a madman.
Vertical slash, horizontal slash, thrust.
Condensing those three even further: slash and thrust.
Those two movements were the essence of the sword. Countless complex techniques were ultimately derived from them.
As his mind grew hazy in the heat of battle, Seo-jun began to realize these truths one by one with every swing of his blade.
Slash!
His sword tore across an opponent’s chest.
Crunch, snap—
The sensation of the sword’s tip scraping against ribs, the tactile feedback of tearing through tendons and veins. His heart hammered in time with the macabre duet.
"Mmm…."
Caught in a strange, addictive trance, he shoved his sword straight into the open mouth of a screaming man.
"Gurgle…!"
"Haa…."
His young body began to scream in exhaustion. His arms trembled violently, and the wounds he had failed to block burned like fire.
Nevertheless, Seo-jun’s eyes never stopped moving.
A blade from above, a kick from the front, another blade from the right. He stepped diagonally to the left while keeping his eyes locked on the descending blade.
And then, mimicking how Chun-bong had deflected a blade with her palm earlier, he pushed the falling weapon away with the flat of his sword.
Squelch!
"Aaargh!"
The deflected blade sliced deep into a comrade’s leg. An opening appeared in the ensuing confusion. Stomping his foot against the ground, Seo-jun thrust his sword straight forward.
Thuck!
Droplets of blood beaded on the tip of the sword that now protruded from the back of a man's neck.
"Gurgle…"
He yanked his sword from the throat of the man foaming blood and quickly rolled across the floor to dodge a flurry of falling blades.
"You little rat…!"
Jang Chun-deuk snatched a subordinate’s sword and charged. Seo-jun tracked his movements. Was I always this good at fighting? The thought was fleeting, instantly replaced by a sudden, misplaced sense of euphoria that made him laugh out loud.
"Hahaha!"
Blood flowed freely. A pond on the floor, a stream down his own body.
As flesh pressed against flesh and swords pierced through bone, the air grew hot and heavy with the misty spray of blood.
"Gotcha…!"
Seo-jun’s attention snapped toward the voice. One of the thugs had circled around and reached Chun-bong.
Thump—
Chun-bong tried to resist with a palm strike, but her body was too frail. The man easily endured the blow and grabbed her.
Right in front of Seo-jun, Jang Chun-deuk was bringing his blade down.
"Boss! I’ve got her!"
Ignoring the shout, Seo-jun struck the flat side of Jang Chun-deuk's blade to parry it. Simultaneously, he spun his body and pressed his thumb against his middle finger, as if preparing to flick someone’s forehead.
Pfft!
The Finger Pellet he fired pierced straight through the thug’s forehead. Chun-bong crawled out from the man's limp arms as he collapsed, blood pouring from his skull.
"Hey…! Watch out…!"
Before he knew it, the men surrounding him thrust their swords simultaneously. He made a split-second decision. Stirring his sword in a circular motion, he forced a gap between two incoming blades and threw himself through the opening.
Screech—
The thrusting swords became entangled with each other. The shallow grazes on his skin stung, but the pain only fueled his euphoria. He spun his body, swinging his sword in a wide, vicious arc.
Slice—
The men’s waists were slashed open. Through the spray of blood, he spotted Jang Chun-deuk, who had hastily retreated to the back of the room.
Instinctively, Seo-jun pressed close to the thug beside him and shoved his sword deep into the man’s stomach.
"Gah…!"
He pushed forward without withdrawing the blade. The skewered man was forced to move with him, serving as a living meat shield.
With his vision obscured by the human shield, Seo-jun recalled Jang Chun-deuk’s exact position and executed the Tanji-gong.
Zip—
He couldn't see the result with his own eyes.
"B-Boss…!"
But the panicked voice of a subordinate was confirmation enough. Certain of Jang Chun-deuk’s death, he ripped his sword free.
Splurt!
The man with the mangled stomach collapsed, his intestines spilling out onto the floor. Seo-jun grabbed the falling man by the hair.
Slash!
Seo-jun cleanly decapitated him and hoisted the severed head high into the air.
"T-That crazy bastard…."
The remaining thugs, their faces pale with horror, stumbled backward.
Seo-jun chucked the head at them. It traced a crimson arc through the air.
The sight of their comrade’s head rolling to a stop at their feet completely shattered their fighting spirit.
"Heh…."
Seo-jun took a heavy step forward, dripping sword in hand. The men frantically retreated a step.
"Waaagh!"
"Aaaargh…!"
The moment he let out a sudden shout to startle them, the thugs shrieked and scrambled over each other to flee the house.
Seo-jun found the pathetic sight so hilarious that he clutched his stomach and roared with laughter.
"…Hey!"
His head felt burning hot. He wanted to cut more—anything would do. Should I chase them down and kill them all? It seemed like a fantastic idea.
Whack!
Just as he was about to move his feet, a sharp blow made his vision wobble.
"Snap out of it, you idiot!"
There stood Chun-bong, looking absolutely furious. What was her problem now?
"What are you, some kind of Heavenly Killing Star? It’s creepy as hell, so stop smirking!"
"Why? It’s fun."
At those words, Chun-bong smacked her own forehead in disbelief.
"Good grief. You’re really going to end up in deep trouble if you keep acting like this."
However, Chun-bong didn't look well at all. Her face was deathly pale, the exact same sickly shade he had seen before.
"Blood has a demonic charm. If you let yourself get possessed by it, you'll become a demon. That’s why you always have to be careful."
"I think you’re the one who needs to be careful right now."
"I’m wha— bleargh! "
A literal waterfall of blood erupted from Chun-bong’s mouth. Having seen it happen once before, was he already getting used to it? Without panicking, he just calmly patted her on the back.
"Just focus on your breathing exercise, kid."
"You… hic … be careful… I’m telling you."
"I got it, so just hurry up and sit."
After he urged her a few more times, she sat cross-legged on the bloody floor and began her Qi cultivation.
It seemed like this happened every single time she used martial arts. Was there something fundamentally wrong with her body?
Seo-jun sighed, looking down at the top of her head with genuine concern.
"Tsk, tsk."
Staying healthy was the greatest act of filial piety. It pained his heart that his younger sister was already causing him such worry.
"Oof…."
Perhaps because the adrenaline had finally worn off, his body began to ache as if it were breaking apart.
Seo-jun slumped down onto the floor and started counting the scattered corpses.
"One, two, three… seven. I killed a lot."
To make matters worse, the room was a total mess. Blood, guts, corpses, and a severed head rolling around all on its own.
Come to think of it, he had basically just won a seventeen-to-one fight.
The day he had been gutted by those criminal bastards felt strangely distant now.
‘I said it as a joke earlier, but do I actually have some talent for this?’
Seo-jun poked the rolling head with his scabbard, sending it tumbling away.
"Hmm."
He had already killed nine people since falling into the Murim. In his original world, this would have been front-page news.
Was he strange for feeling absolutely nothing after butchering so many people?
‘Probably.’
He was definitely strange, but he didn't know if he had always been like this, if he had simply lost his mind after falling into this world, or if there was some other underlying reason.
"Ah, whatever."
Seo-jun sprawled out on the bloodstained floor. He planned to go to sleep the second Chun-bong woke up from her meditation.
After he woke up… yeah, maybe they should move? He didn't know if those Black Tiger guys were the only ones. No, wait. He thought it was the Black Tiger Sect, not the Black Tiger Gang. But since they acted like cheap thugs, "Black Tiger Gang" seemed to suit them a lot better than "Sect"… In that case…
A chain of idle worries followed. Chasing the tail of his own thoughts, Seo-jun’s consciousness slowly drifted away into the dark.