Chapter 203
Chapter 203
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 203
Chapter Title: The Sword is Drawn
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Soo-hyuk came down to the cafe on the first floor of the dorm.
The surroundings buzzed with noise, but none of it reached his ears. His thoughts deepened, pulling him further into his own world.
"I don't know the details either."
Jaun-yeop had left nothing but a warning.
"All I know is that this time, my senior brother has finally drawn his sword for real."
Jaun-yeop's senior brother was Un Cheon-geuk, Unhyang's father. If that snake of a man was serious, it was no small matter.
'Shinryeonseong is the second most powerful faction in the murim world.'
His tea had gone completely cold by the time it arrived, lost as he was in thought.
'...Is it even possible?'
The more he pondered, the deeper he sank. It felt like quicksand swallowing him whole.
As his thoughts spiraled, confusion set in.
What exactly was he agonizing over?
Was it not the right time yet? Did he lack confidence in his own power? Was it because it was a family matter?
None of it felt clear.
He needed to pinpoint the root of his turmoil and conflict before his steps could feel light again.
That was when his scattered thoughts were swirling through his mind.
"Fancy running into you here."
Soo-hyuk's head snapped up at the voice right in front of him.
A woman with her hair tied up in a bun stood there, dressed in the Namgung Clan's martial robes. It was a face Soo-hyuk recognized.
'The Alliance Lord?'
The Murim Alliance Lord.
She was still in the area?
He'd assumed she'd returned to the murim world right after the inter-alliance competition ended, but here she was.
He'd heard she was looking for him, but he hadn't expected her to come out so aggressively.
Namgung Hwayoung's gaze drifted to Soo-hyuk's cold teacup.
"Waiting for someone?"
"Not really."
"Mind if I join you? I was looking for you anyway."
She played it off as coincidence, but that was unlikely. Soo-hyuk hesitated briefly before nodding.
Namgung Hwayoung ordered the same tea and slowly sized Soo-hyuk up.
Soo-hyuk quietly brought his cup to his lips. Her sudden appearance had oddly cleared his jumbled thoughts.
"I was really impressed by your match this time."
"It was an early exit, though."
"If that early exit was because of your fight with the Heavenly Demon, then in a way, it might as well have been the finals."
Soo-hyuk was the only one in this inter-alliance competition who had faced the Heavenly Demon.
And the match itself had been anything but lackluster.
"You're too kind."
"Not at all. I was genuinely awed by your performance, Soo-hyuk."
Her tone was friendly, but the atmosphere was different.
Soo-hyuk felt the fierce competitive spirit radiating from Namgung Hwayoung, seated across the small table from him.
She was probably curious.
Just how skilled was this player Lee Soo-hyuk, who had put up such a fight against the Heavenly Demon? Did he truly have the caliber for it?
"I heard you're still solo..."
Clink-.
Right on cue, her tea arrived.
"Any plans going forward?"
Namgung Hwayoung finally got to the point.
Join the murim world. Instead of asking outright, she phrased it indirectly.
"Plans..."
That was exactly what he'd been mulling over. Having her bring it up like this strangely organized his thoughts.
Namgung Hwayoung.
Did she even realize?
That the man sitting before her was the most dangerous enemy sharpening his blade against the Namgung Clan.
"One thing's for sure."
"What's that?"
"I might end up fighting you all."
Twitch-.
Namgung Hwayoung's brow furrowed.
A brief silence. She read Soo-hyuk's words, expression, and aura.
There was no overt hostility on the surface.
But the seething anger he was suppressing couldn't be hidden.
They were meeting for the first time today. And he had no special ties to the murim world.
"By 'you all,' do you mean the Namgung Clan?"
Her tone sharpened.
"Who knows. Depends on how far it goes."
Nothing was certain yet.
Namgung Hwayoung had become the Murim Alliance Lord after Jin Do-ha. And she hadn't been there on the day he died.
How much did the current Alliance Lord know? And if she did, how deeply was she involved?
Until he found out, his relationship with her would remain on equal footing.
"That sounds an awful lot like you might make enemies of the entire murim world."
"That depends on you, Alliance Lord. I have no idea how much you know or what choice you'll make."
Scrape-.
Before the conversation could drag on, Soo-hyuk stood up.
"We're not done talking."
"Nothing more to say."
"I do."
Rumble-.
Crack-.
The cafe's ceiling groaned as if collapsing. Namgung Hwayoung's mana filled the space, the air pressure crushing down on their bodies.
The Namgung Clan's secret art, 'Emperor Sword Form,' was beginning to manifest.
"Explain yourself."
"...No."
"You think I'll just let that slide?"
"Think carefully yourself, Alliance Lord."
Crackle-.
Sparks danced from Soo-hyuk's fingertips.
"Don't mistake me for someone who'll fight you here."
"...!"
Namgung Hwayoung's eyes widened at the unexpected response.
She recalled Lee Soo-hyuk's performance in the inter-alliance competition. Whether serious or not, he was a player who could trade blows with the Heavenly Demon.
And Lightning was one of the top mobility skills in this tower.
If Lee Soo-hyuk decided to flee rather than fight, catching him wouldn't be easy.
"You'll know why soon enough."
Step, step-.
Soo-hyuk brushed past her side.
"Unless the Alliance Lord doesn't care about family matters."
Namgung Hwayoung, left alone, didn't leave her seat.
Ignoring the sidelong glances from around her, she instructed her strategist to look into one thing.
The Murim Alliance's intelligence network was vast and precise. With the handy tool called Kit, the information arrived in less than an hour.
"...Shinryeonseong?"
"They clashed once before, apparently."
"Why? They have no connection."
"It'll take more time for the details, but all we know is it involved his manager."
"His manager?"
A manager and Shinryeonseong. What kind of connection could spark something like this?
As Namgung Hwayoung massaged her throbbing head, the Murim Alliance's strategist, Jeon Gal-gyu, asked,
"Alliance Lord, did he really say that? That he'd fight us?"
"Yes. Quite explicitly."
Jeon Gal-gyu's expression turned grave as well.
"What is it?"
"Maybe... Lee Soo-hyuk is planning to go to war with Shinryeonseong."
"War?"
Namgung Hwayoung's eyes widened briefly before she shook her head.
"No. Even so... he can't do it alone."
It wasn't just Shinryeonseong's forces.
Their leader was Un Cheon-geuk. That madman of fanaticism was unrivaled in the current murim world, save for Jin Do-ha.
No matter how impressive Lee Soo-hyuk had been in the competition, taking on Shinryeonseong was impossible.
He seemed smart enough to know that much. Namgung Hwayoung had no doubt.
Besides...
"I have no idea how much you know or what choice you'll make."
What did that even mean? She couldn't figure it out no matter how much she thought.
"If you were so curious, why not just grab him and ask?"
Jeon Gal-gyu looked genuinely puzzled.
She was still compared to Jin Do-ha at times, but Namgung Hwayoung was the Murim Alliance Lord.
The leader of that colossal organization. She possessed skills worthy of the immense mantle.
No matter how prodigious a rookie Lee Soo-hyuk was, it was hard to imagine her letting him slip away.
"I would have if I could."
"You let him go?"
"Didn't even try. If I'm not killing him here, he can't become an enemy."
She didn't have enough allies as it was—turning him into a foe was the last thing she wanted.
Anyway...
"What was your impression of him?"
"I can't say for sure. But the feeling was clear."
Grip-.
As if tense just thinking about it, Namgung Hwayoung clenched her fist tight.
"Lee Soo-hyuk will one day be able to stand against that demon."
The So-cheon Family.
They were a righteous murim clan built on sturdy strength, unyielding to fire, with a spirit that endured.
Over long years, deeply rooted in murim history, the So-cheon Family had settled in Shanxi, cultivating power without joining the Murim Alliance.
They had produced a few rankers and lived peacefully without seizing power.
Drip, drip-.
But now, the So-cheon Family...
Rivers of blood flowed.
"Jeong-ah..."
So-cheon Family's patriarch, So Wu-gak, gazed at his son's corpse, chest slashed open, and let out a voice boiling with rage.
It wasn't just his son.
The main hall was littered with the bodies of numerous clan warriors—enough blood to make sense of it all.
Among them were So-cheon bloodlines and disciples he had personally raised.
Not one was unimportant. Not one life was expendable.
Shiver, shiver-.
"P-Please... spare us..."
"Mercy... just our lives..."
A few surviving warriors knelt in the main hall.
Before the very man who had wrought this massacre.
"Why..."
So Wu-gak bellowed at him, his voice thick with fury, sorrow, and passion.
"Why do this?!"
"Because the murim world came for me first."
"Even so, why us! The So-cheon Family isn't even part of the Murim Alliance!"
Swish-.
The man's gaze turned to So Wu-gak.
Knowing he was the enemy of his house, So Wu-gak still trembled in terror. The man exuded a primal fear deeper than death itself.
And for good reason.
The man before him was the demon who terrified not just the entire murim world, but this tower—the Heavenly Demon.
"You want to know why?"
So Wu-gak nodded at the Heavenly Demon's question. Even if he died, he had to know why his clan was exterminated.
What had they done so wrong?
But the Heavenly Demon's answer was nothing like he expected.
"Deaths with just cause aren't frightening enough."
"...What?"
"Their deaths have no reason. If there's fault, it's with those who drew blades on me first."
"What madness are you spouting...?"
Blood surged to his head.
"So... because of the Murim Alliance's sins, our family...?"
"Curse them if you must. But make sure to spread the word, wherever you go."
As if finished, the Heavenly Demon turned away.
"You're the ones who awakened the Heavenly Demon again."
The survivors: So Wu-gak and three So-cheon warriors.
They would detail what happened here today. And the Heavenly Demon's intent in exterminating the So-cheon Family.
Naturally, the terror would spread.
The Heavenly Demon's blade could strike without reason. What fear could be greater than that?
The Heavenly Demon exited the main hall. A heartrending scream from So Wu-gak followed.
As if it were none of his concern, the Heavenly Demon walked the path slowly. Corpses tripped his feet, but he paid them no mind.
He had tread blood-soaked paths countless times before.
No.
Bloodless paths felt more alien to him now.
Splash-.
As he walked the river of blood,
"Coming out already? That's poor manners."
Shimmer-.
He addressed the crimson mirage rising from the blood.
"Didn't we agree? This part's mine."
Exterminating one house didn't stop the Heavenly Demon.
He passed straight through the blocking mirage, sword still in hand.
"The warnings are just beginning, aren't they?"