Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Justice (1)
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Thud.
A man walked silently forward, holding the pallid head of the Covert Hall Leader in one hand.
Thud.
His strides, soaked in blood yet leisurely extended, took on an eerie hue, as if a demon had crawled straight out of hell.
Thud.
When those steps reached the front gates of the Murim Alliance headquarters, the alliance members who beheld the sight could only gape in stunned silence.
Though he exhaled wearily, his eyes stared unyieldingly ahead, brimming with sheer tenacity. It was a tenacity that seemed to manifest as a colossal malice made flesh.
"S-Stay back! Identify yourself, or we'll cut you down right here!"
The flustered members drew their swords toward him. But in the man's eyes, the trembling tips of their blades were starkly visible.
That tremor rode the air as fear, plainly revealing who held the upper hand.
It was a sensation he had often felt back in the days when he was known as the Blood Demon.
"I am Yi Sowol, leader of the Lower Five Gates, the Sword Dragon. I have returned from carrying out the Alliance Leader's secret orders. Open the gates."
A chilling aura seeped from his calm voice, enough to make even the members of the lofty Murim Alliance shiver.
They thought the moniker Sword Dragon ill-fit him. Wasn't a Sword Dragon supposed to be a righteous scion of a prestigious family, embodying chivalry?
Yet this figure looked less like any prodigy and more like a battle-hardened general who had severed countless foes' necks.
'Can we really bring this guy before the Alliance Leader?'
Grotesque as his appearance was, the head in his grasp was unmistakably that of the Covert Hall Leader. And the ominous presence emanating from him was no trifling matter.
The warriors there, mere rank-and-file members, sensed the situation had spiraled beyond their judgment.
Yet even as foot soldiers, they were still part of the Murim Alliance.
"Even if your identity is verified, you're not one of ours. We can't open the gates just yet. Please wait here."
Ignoring the life-or-death peril, they took the utmost precaution they could.
They desperately hoped this unidentified man would comply and wait patiently.
"Do as you will."
Fortunately, the man was reasonable.
He sat cross-legged right there, pulled some He Shou Wu from his robes, and began chewing it noisily before settling into lotus position to circulate his energy and adjust his breathing.
It was the very picture of a warrior immersed in solitary cultivation, as if no one else were around.
The members watching him gawked in bewilderment.
They trembled with swords gripped tight, wary of the man before them—how could he so calmly cultivate in such a tense standoff?
One member snapped out of his daze and whispered to his subordinate, eyeing the scene incredulously.
"Report to the Alliance Leader at once. Tell him a raving madman has shown up."
It should have all gone off without a hitch.
Proof of the hall leader's ties to the Demonic Cult was secured, and invoking the Alliance Leader in front of all those witnesses had kept the alliance elders at bay—just as planned.
Everything had fallen into place perfectly...
"Why the hell am I locked in this basement?!"
Now, my hands were bound, and I was rotting away underground in the Murim Alliance headquarters.
Hah, yeah, things were never gonna go that smoothly.
Summoning the Alliance Leader would take time, and they couldn't just leave me be, so the members asked me to wait a moment and hauled me down to this cell.
Normally, I'd have resisted even if it killed me, but seeing them fumble so pitifully against me softened my heart, and I let them take me without a fuss.
"The mighty Blood Demon, brought low. Meekly letting these nobodies drag me off to a dump like this."
Back then, getting caught by Murim Alliance goons meant instant death. But now? Different story.
I'd be out in no time, for sure.
That's what I thought, at least.
A day passed.
And in all that time, no one came looking for me.
This is weird. I'm the Sword Dragon, for crying out loud. Is this any way to treat me?
"What if they've already decided on execution...?"
"Not at all."
Just as I pondered breaking out, someone finally showed up.
"Well, you're sharper-looking than I imagined."
"Who are you?"
A white-haired elder with piercing eyes scanned me up and down. Felt like I was some exhibit monkey—not exactly pleasant.
"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. The older you get, the more you forget the little things."
The elder placed a hand gracefully over his chest and continued slowly.
"Pleased to meet you. I am Yu Wunyeop, Punishment Hall Leader of the Murim Alliance."
Punishment Hall handled law and order in the alliance—interrogations, judgments, that sort.
Was I really being treated like a criminal?
"Heh, your expression says you're fretting. No need to worry. I'm neither here to deliver your verdict nor interrogate you."
"Then why come down here yourself?"
"Hmm, call it an old man's idle curiosity. I simply wanted to see the face of the prodigy who boldly slew the Covert Hall Leader and knocked on our gates."
"The Covert Hall Leader was a Demonic Cult spy. I didn't kill an alliance leader—I eliminated a cultist on the Alliance Leader's secret orders."
Our gazes locked. His eyes seemed to weigh if my words rang true.
"No hesitation in your eyes."
"Because it's the truth."
After a tense exchange of stares, the elder finally looked away.
"Very well, I believe you. Your words are undoubtedly true. But truth can twist into convenient lies. The world calls what the powerful wish to believe the truth."
"He was consumed by demonic energy. Isn't that proof enough he was a spy?"
"The world isn't so simple. I admire your boldness and resolve, but sometimes that's not enough."
His eyes narrowed. Though the basement ceiling blocked the sky, his gaze seemed to pierce toward the heavens.
"Those who seem to have colluded with the Covert Hall Leader—and others who dislike you—are denying the facts. They're claiming someone forced the Soul-Chasing Forbidden Demon Pill on him."
"Even the Demonic Cult bans making that pill. How could I possibly obtain it?"
"Truth matters little. What matters is they want to believe it. In short, you've already made enemies."
Damn, so no direct evidence? I thought his demonized head would suffice.
"In the end, all they have solid is that a mere prodigy from the Lower Five Gates killed the Covert Hall Leader. The Alliance Leader backs you strongly, but too many oppose him."
"So what happens to me?"
"You won't walk free easily. But don't worry—this old man will ensure you avoid execution."
So I'd rot in prison for years, only getting out after the war with the Demonic Cult ended.
Assuming they even let me go nicely, now that I've pissed them off.
"Thank you for your consideration. But I can't just sit pretty in chains."
"Planning to break out? Abandon that thought. It would tie the Alliance Leader's hands too."
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"Spending a few years quietly here isn't so bad. Who knows? Evidence of your innocence might surface."
With that, the Punishment Hall Leader turned his back to me.
"We'll summon you for judgment tomorrow. Behave until then."
"Wait, Hall Leader...!"
He left without a backward glance.
This is insane.
I caught their spy, got the evidence, even chopped off his head myself—and I'm the one in jail?
Hah, I'm gonna lose it.
"Better off back when they called me Blood Demon. They wouldn't even dream of grabbing me then, but now I'm easy pickings?"
The basement floor was ice-cold. I leaned against the frigid wall and waited for tomorrow.
"Prisoner Yi Sowol, step forward."
In the grand assembly hall of the Murim Alliance headquarters, all the hall leaders had gathered—an extraordinary measure given the incident's gravity—for the judgment.
"Do you admit to slaying the Covert Hall Leader?"
"I killed him, yes. But it was on the Alliance Leader's secret orders to eliminate a Demonic Cult spy."
"Evidence he was a spy?"
"Everyone should know his body was overtaken by demonic energy. Do you need more?"
Amid the overly authoritarian atmosphere, Yi Sowol stood defiant. Some watched him with admiration, but most with disdain.
"That demonic energy stems from the Soul-Chasing Forbidden Demon Pill. We can't rule out it being forced on him."
The Heavenly Secrets Hall Leader spoke to Yi Sowol with blatant scorn. As a covert ally of the Covert Hall Leader, he had led the charge to brand Yi Sowol a criminal.
"I saw him ingest the pill myself."
"You expect us to believe that? For all we know, you're the spy. More believable than an alliance leader—some filthy Lower Five Gates rat like you..."
"Hall Leader!!"
The Alliance Leader barked at the insult to their ally, the Lower Five Gates.
"Best not push your tongue further."
"Tch."
The Alliance Leader's shout instantly quelled the room. But inwardly, everyone sympathized with the Heavenly Secrets Hall Leader.
To them, a Lower Five Gates prodigy was just a dirty rat.
"Allow me to speak. I understand he claims the Alliance Leader's orders, but how could you be certain the Covert Hall Leader was a spy?"
"I heard it from a Covert Hall agent embedded in the evil factions. That the Covert Hall Leader was using them to cleverly sever the Demonic Cult's intel flow."
The hall erupted in murmurs.
"Acting on evil faction word? A baseborn can't hide his roots."
"Can't escape his past after all."
"Heavens weep at this."
To them, right or wrong mattered little. Who the man was and his affiliation weighed far more.
"Everyone, restrain yourselves. Given the circumstances, he harbored no malice. Thus, this hall leader proposes one year imprisonment for the prisoner Yi Sowol."
"One year is too lenient."
"Indeed. He should be grateful killing a hall leader ends in mere prison."
The alliance elders raised their voices. Truth be told, most didn't care about the matter. They just craved reaffirmation of their righteousness.
"Enough."
Then the Alliance Leader spoke softly.
"This incident partly stems from my secret orders. Let the judgment be one year imprisonment."
No one objected. Speaking up would be tantamount to accusing the Alliance Leader.
He gazed at Yi Sowol with regret. Guilt gnawed at him for ruining a promising young warrior's future on his account.
But this was his best effort. Despite trying to help, no evidence had surfaced.
Just as Yi Sowol's sentence was sealed...
"A moment, if you please?"
A man strode into the assembly hall and raised his voice.
"I object."
He was the sole friend of Blood Demon Yi Sowol from his past life.
Jegal Hyeon, the alliance's chief strategist.