Chapter 5: Let’s Try This One More Time (1)
Chapter 5: Let’s Try This One More Time (1)
To start with the conclusion…
Kang Man, the Great Bear Twin Axes, barely escaped with his life.
Petrick had belatedly remembered the artifact he brought along, Sephiroth.
He had used it in a rush to bring the man back from the brink. However…
“Huh? Where am I? Who am I?”
His condition was a bit… off.
Persona checked Kang Man’s state. Standing beside her, Petrick asked with an anxious expression, “Is he okay? Can you fix him?”
She glared at Petrick and replied, “How am I supposed to fix this? He’s completely broken.”
“Tsk, tsk. You call yourself a Dragon Lord and you can’t even fix this?”
“……”
If he weren’t my master, I’d really…
As Persona let out a deep sigh, Petrick stepped forward again.
“Move aside. I’ll handle this.”
“What are you going to do?”
“He went weird because he got hit, right? Then he’ll come back if I give him the same kind of shock.”
“That doesn’t even make—”
“This punk dares to lose his memory? Who gave you permission to forget everything?!”
She tried to stop him, but it was already too late.
Petrick grabbed Kang Man by the collar, lifted him up, and began to pummel his face repeatedly.
“Are you going to snap out of it? Or not? Snap out of it! Or not!”
A scene of brutal violence unfolded.
“Gah… cough… why… why are you hitting…”
Thwack! Bam! Crack!
“Who are you, mister… Argh! Ugh! I’m… sorry…”
Thud! Crunch!
“You brat! Do you have any idea who I am… Gurgle! Blegh!”
Pow! Crackle! Boom!
“Huh? Where am I? I was definitely on my way to my part-time job when I got hit by a truck… Gack! Blargh!”
Smash! Bang!
“Argh, wake up! Wake up, you underworld scum!”
It felt like something strange had slipped out in the middle there, but…
* * *
Petrick Schneider.
He was a man who solved most of the world’s problems by beating them into submission. The problem was…
“Wheee! I’m a bird! Zoom!”
That method didn’t always work.
Watching the leader of an underworld gang, who once commanded numerous subordinates and lived in luxury, now completely broken, Petrick simply stood with his hands behind his back, staring at the distant mountains.
Persona cast a stinging gaze at the back of Petrick’s head.
“I thought you said he’d be fixed if you gave him the same shock?”
“I thought it would work.”
“……”
“Still, isn’t it better than not trying at all?”
“You’ve turned a man into a vegetable.”
“It’s fine. For underworld trash, not being killed is an act of great mercy. I’m practically a saint; I could be best friends with the Buddha.”
“……”
Just what kind of being have I taken as my master?
Persona began to feel a profound sense of skepticism regarding her life as a dragon.
“But what do we do? If this guy can’t get his head straight…”
Petrick’s gaze shifted toward the low-level thugs of the Twin Dragon Room, who were huddled together and trembling in a corner. Immediately…
“I’ll talk!”
“I’ll tell you everything!”
“I know everything too!”
“Just ask us anything!”
Seeing the members of the Twin Dragon Room become enthusiastically cooperative, Petrick nodded with satisfaction.
“See? In the end, beating them up solves everything.”
“……”
Persona felt that something was very wrong with the world.
* * *
To start with the conclusion…
Before the Twin Dragon Room took over, the Twin Dragon Sect had existed in Cheonsu County.
Though it was a small sect with barely ten disciples and its influence was waning, it had certainly been there.
The one who dealt the final blow to the Twin Dragon Sect was none other than Kang Man, the Great Bear Twin Axes.
Originally a bandit, he had come to Cheonsu County seeking a place to settle down with his followers.
While the Kongtong Sect held sway over Gansu Province, Cheonsu County fell just outside their sphere of influence.
The only Orthodox Faction sect guarding the area was the Twin Dragon Sect, and its power was pitifully weak.
Thinking he had found a prime piece of land to settle in, Kang Man went straight to the Twin Dragon Sect and picked a fight.
He forcibly drove out all the original members and established his own power in their place.
That was how the underworld gang, the Twin Dragon Room, was born in Cheonsu County.
“The guys we kicked out back then… cough…”
Creeeeeak!
It was a new discovery: a human neck could be shoved down into the torso like a turtle’s.
Petrick, who had just demonstrated this marvel of human anatomy, glared and said, “Guys? Guys?”
Ah, so that was what bothered him.
That was why he had crushed the man’s neck like a turtle. I see.
“The world has grown soft. It’s annoying enough that underworld scum are even breathing in this Cheonsu County, but you have the audacity to refer to the Great Twin Dragon Sect as ‘those guys’?”
Every single member of the Twin Dragon Room slammed their heads against the ground.
It was an action driven by pure survival instinct.
Petrick addressed them. “Keep talking. So… what happened to the Twin Dragon Sect?”
“……”
“Oh? You’re trying to read the room and use your brains? Fine, let’s all die today.”
Petrick drew his sword from its scabbard.
The moment the Black and White Twin Dragon Sword revealed itself, the thugs realized this was no joke and spoke up hurriedly.
“We didn’t kill them! They’re still alive!”
“…Go on.”
At Petrick’s word, the man continued as cautiously as possible.
“We just drove them out. We didn’t kill anyone.”
“You lot? Why?”
Petrick’s eyes clearly conveyed the message: Lie and you die.
The man spoke desperately. “It’s true! There were some with broken bones, but no one died.”
“…Why? You’re an underworld gang. Why would human trash and societal waste like you, who kill for a living, show such mercy?”
“That’s… because they didn’t seem worth killing… I mean, there was no need to…”
“Ugh…”
Petrick instinctively clutched the back of his neck.
Underworld gangs usually didn’t leave loose ends.
Their way was to cleanly eliminate enemies rather than leave potential risks alive.
For an underworld gang to say such a thing meant…
They were so weak they weren’t even worth killing.
The thought made him sigh involuntarily.
Well, the result was a relief.
It was a relief, but…
“This is irritating.”
At Petrick’s words, the shoulders of the Twin Dragon Room thugs flinched once more.
“So…”
“……”
“Cut to the chase. Where are the remaining disciples of the Twin Dragon Sect?”
“That is, well…”
* * *
Cheonsu County had become twice as large and three times as flashy as Petrick remembered.
It was large enough to be considered a city rather than a mere county.
When a city grows to such a scale, shadows inevitably deepen along with it.
The shacks huddled together in the back alleys of Cheonsu County were the final destination for the poor who had been marginalized by the city’s splendor.
The world called such a place a slum.
And in one corner of that slum stood a house that was slightly larger than the other shacks.
A sign hung on the shack: Twin Dragon Clinic.
In front of it, a boy was diligently swinging two wooden swords, one in each hand.
He looked to be about fourteen to sixteen years old.
Though still young, the boy was sweating profusely as he swung the wooden swords.
“Ha! Hah!”
Compared to his spirited shouts, the power behind the wooden swords wasn't particularly impressive.
However, the boy was training with a deadly serious attitude.
The boy only stopped his training when uninvited guests arrived.
“Yo, Moon Yul. It’s been a while.”
Five men with menacing faces approached, led by a massive man who looked like a pig’s older brother.
The boy called Moon Yul stiffened.
He looked at the pig-like man in the lead and spoke.
“Hooton, how dare you show your face here again?”
“What? Where did a brat like you learn to talk like that? Do you want to die?”
“Do you want another lesson?”
As Moon Yul spoke, he gripped the wooden swords in both hands tightly.
The name of the flabby, bloated giant before him was Hooton.
He was a thug who had drifted into this slum a few years ago.
Even in this slum where people had lost everything, stealing and extortion were common occurrences.
And that pig, Hooton, was trash who used his innate monstrous strength to bully and extort the weak.
Moon Yul had been one of his victims.
His father had been brutally beaten for refusing to pay tribute to the man, and Moon Yul himself had nearly died from the man’s violence.
The one who had stopped the man’s evil deeds back then was the current Sect Leader of the Twin Dragon Sect.
[Stop. What is this lawless behavior in broad daylight?]
[Who’s this old man?]
Hooton had hesitated for a moment, but when he saw it was just a shabby-looking old man, he acted even more arrogant.
But that was his mistake.
Though the Sect Leader had fallen to the slums and neglected his swordsmanship to run the clinic, he wasn't about to lose to some common thug.
[I was wrong! Please, just spare my life! I’ll never set foot here again!]
After being severely beaten by the Twin Dragon Sect Leader, Hooton had begged for his life on his hands and knees.
It was two years ago that he had barely escaped with his life after the Sect Leader showed him mercy.
“Hehehe, I heard the rumors. You became a disciple of that annoying old man?”
“Don’t you dare mention my Master with your filthy mouth.”
The boy had been so moved by the Twin Dragon Sect Leader who saved him that he had begged to be taken in as a disciple.
Despite the Sect Leader’s refusal, claiming the sect’s circumstances were too difficult to take on disciples, Moon Yul had persisted with desperate sincerity.
Thus, a year ago, he had finally received permission and became a member of the Twin Dragon Sect. However…
“Hmph, do you think I’d be afraid of some dying old man?”
“You dare…”
The boy glared at Hooton with wide eyes.
But internally, he was panicking.
As I thought, he found out about Master’s condition and came here.
Six months ago, his Master had fallen ill and become bedridden.
Moon Yul was shocked that his Master, who was both a martial artist and a physician, had fallen ill, but he did his best to save him. However…
[Tsk, tsk. His internal energy and blood flow are a mess. This isn't something I can fix.]
The words of the physician who had struggled to diagnose his Master were despairing.
His Master’s illness was a form of Qi Deviation caused by strained cultivation.
It was a miracle he hadn't died instantly, but he was now unable to even lift his own body.
And it was clear that the pig had realized the Master’s state and come seeking revenge.
“Hehehe. Move aside while I’m being nice. Today, I’m going to repay the humiliation I suffered from that old man.”
“Your entire life is a humiliation, you pig.”
“You brat!”
Enraged by Moon Yul’s mockery, Hooton swung the large club in his hand.
Stay calm.
Moon Yul calmly watched the club’s trajectory and took a step back.
Whoosh!
“This brat… you dare dodge?”
Hooton’s face turned bright red when his attack hit nothing but air.
“I’ll kill you!”
The club swung repeatedly.
It was a reckless barrage without a trace of martial skill, but the heavy power coming from such a massive frame was threatening enough to the young Moon Yul. However…
It’s okay. I can do this.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Hooton’s club continued to strike only the air.
Though it had been a short time, Moon Yul had trained his martial arts diligently.
True martial arts created a clear distinction between those who had learned and those who had not.
By simply following the footwork as taught and focusing his mind, he could avoid such reckless attacks. And then…
“Whoops…”
The moment Hooton’s balance faltered from a wide swing, Moon Yul’s eyes flashed.
Now!
“Haaah!”
Moon Yul lunged forward.
Twin Dragons Eight Sword Styles.
Third Form.
Flash Dragon Strike.
And Moon Yul’s form turned into a streak of light—
“Slow.”
—or not.
Hooton smirked and swung a massive fist at the charging boy.
Crunch!
“Agh!”
Moon Yul was struck by the fist and sent flying backward.
“Hehehe. Trying to use some pathetic martial arts from a third-rate sect on me?”
The moment he heard Hooton’s words, Moon Yul gritted his teeth and stood up despite the pain of his broken nose.
“Shut up! How dare you insult my Master’s martial arts?”
“Bwahaha! What’s wrong with calling pathetic martial arts pathetic?”
“You pig, how dare you…”
“If the martial arts weren't pathetic, why would the Twin Dragon Room take your place and all the disciples run away? Now you’re just a quack giving fake acupuncture in the slums—whoa!”
“I’ll rip that mouth open, you pig!”
Moon Yul charged wildly.
He could never forgive this pig for insulting his Master.
For a martial artist, there were battles one must never retreat from, even if victory seemed impossible.
But then…
“Who is it?”
A man appeared from behind Hooton.
With the backlight framing him and a woman by his side, he spoke in a voice full of dignity, as if delivering a stern reprimand.
“Who dares to insult the Great Twin Dragon Sect?”
The owner of the dignified voice drew closer, his appearance becoming clear.
And the moment Moon Yul saw him, he thought:
Why is he wearing an eye patch over one eye?