069 - The Living and the Dead
Before long, the underground meeting hall was filled with crimson mist.
The blood-red haze churned like an ocean, swallowing all sight, leaving those standing within it as disoriented as if they'd plunged into the deep sea. Each breath brought the sharp tang of blood stinging their noses, while an unidentified energy seemed to clutch at their ankles from the floor.
"Where is he! Where's that bastard! Look around, now!"
Jin Muhon pierced the blood mist with his gaze fixed on one spot.
The flustered Gu Sa Gok leader, Mae Yeomcheong, was swinging his sword wildly and shouting.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Jin Muhon took a step forward.
Not hurried, not stealthy—a simple stride.
Just then, one of the blinded assassins happened to be groping about right in front of him.
He drew the Sa Hwang Geom lightly.
Slash—
It was a clean sound.
The sensation of slicing through flesh and bone in one stroke felt all too familiar.
The head hit the floor with a thunk, and the decapitated body sprayed blood as it flailed before toppling backward.
Thud—!
Mae Yeomcheong froze in place.
The assassins, sensitive to the slightest presence, swallowed hard and turned toward the noise.
"Over there!!"
Shing—!
True to his title of King of Assassins, Mae Yeomcheong moved first.
A strike meant to kill in one blow—swift and without hesitation.
"......"
But he'd picked the wrong opponent.
Anyone else would have had their heart pierced clean through, but Jin Muhon scattered like smoke right where he stood.
Splat—!
"......!"
He'd pierced a heart.
In his hazy vision, Mae Yeomcheong caught a glimpse of a distorted face.
It looked familiar. Not Jin Muhon.
"......!"
And while he'd only stabbed the heart, his subordinate's head slid off its shoulders.
"Damn it!"
Mae Yeomcheong whipped around, eyes bloodshot, sensing a presence nearby. He swung his sword.
Splatter!
"......!!"
No scream.
But this time too, one of his familiar-faced subordinates stood there, eyes bulging.
An assassin should be silent.
That's why Mae Yeomcheong had cut out the tongues of all his elite killers.
"You useless fucks! Stop fumbling around and speak up! Where is he! Where's that bastard!"
How could they speak without tongues?
He should have kept a deputy with his tongue intact by his side.
Regret always came too late.
Mae Yeomcheong bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.
"Calm... the Sword Demon."
The metallic taste of blood on his tongue sharpened his mind a little.
Slash—slash—slash—slash—
From then on, eerie sounds spread rapidly through the surroundings.
The sticky scent of blood, the killing intent tightening around their throats.
Terror of the unknown began to bind Mae Yeomcheong's mind once more, like a virulent plague.
"Where are you! Show yourself! Sword Demon! Fight fair and square!!"
Thud—!
Suddenly, the area fell silent.
Mae Yeomcheong, unaware that every last Gu Sa Gok assassin was dead, welcomed the quiet.
Then, a low voice echoed from within the blood mist.
"Fair and square, you say?"
"......!"
Mae Yeomcheong thrust his sword out on reflex.
Clang—!
The blade bounced off with a spray of sparks.
Mae Yeomcheong's eyes widened.
'Blocked!'
Soon, a burning pain erupted in his left shoulder like an earthquake.
He glanced down warily.
"Gah?!"
It was a grotesque sight.
His severed arm slid down from his shoulder like oiled silk.
Gush—
Blood spurted out.
Excruciating pain followed.
"Grraaagh!"
Mae Yeomcheong's face drained white as he staggered back.
"Why! Why are you here!"
The venom had fled his aged features.
In its place rose the fear of prey cornered as the weak.
"Forgive my rudeness! I, Mae Yeomcheong! I will serve the Sword Demon! Take me in! I offer my loyalty! No, I offer my loya—"
Slash—!
Mae Yeomcheong's ugly head hit the floor.
Jin Muhon looked down at it with impassive eyes.
The gaze, filled with terror, slowly lost its spark.
A familiar scene.
"......"
He raised his head.
Beyond the blood mist, a tumult of emotions churned.
Confusion and fear, doubt and denial, desperate yearning for survival.
Jin Muhon channeled those feelings into his sword intent.
Hiss—
Crimson shadows rose one by one from the floor.
"Clean it up."
No ghostly wails.
The summoned souls of the dead moved like loyal subordinates, obeying his command.
Jin Muhon turned and walked to the opposite side.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The Yangtze Waterway Gang and Paewang Bang were fine.
Their words and actions were rough, but they wielded their blades to survive.
Not Gu Sa Gok, Donghae Blood Shang, or Gwiyuan Temple.
They stole lives and wealth to sate their greed, raped women.
What about Haomen, then?
What to do with them?
Thud. Thud. Thud.
"He's coming!"
As Jin Muhon approached, an elderly guard of the Haomen leader shouted.
- "Gaaah!"
- "Agh! What the hell are these things!"
- "Save me! Somebody save meee!!
Miserable screams began to echo from beyond the blood mist.
The spreading blood scent amid the silence had been terrifying enough, but the agonized death cries of dozens of men shook the souls of the Haomen folk.
"Ugh......"
The middle-aged man gripping an axe trembled, his focus wavering. Thick drool trailed from his mouth.
Terror of death. Dread.
This was the power of the Sword Demon.
Realizing the man had fallen to heart demons, the elder shouted urgently.
"Chobu! Snap out of it!"
"Uwaaaah!!!"
But as if the shout were a signal, the axe man bellowed and charged forward.
Whoosh—
The gleaming axe cleaved through the blood mist toward Jin Muhon.
"Uwaaaah!"
Shing—
Jin Muhon swung the Sa Hwang Geom.
Clang!!
With a sharp ring, the axe's handle snapped and flew off.
The Sa Hwang Geom traced an arc into the man's throat.
At that moment,
"Uncle!!!"
The Haomen leader kicked off the floor, crying out.
"My lord!"
"No!"
The elder, old woman, and middle-aged matron reached for her, but the Haomen leader darted toward Jin Muhon with nimble footwork.
Jin Muhon halted his sword.
The Haomen leader stopped just within arm's reach.
"......!"
"......"
"......"
Everyone swallowed and held their breath.
Jin Muhon kept his sword at the axe man's throat while eyeing the Haomen leader.
Red blood trickled down the man's neck.
Veins of crimson traced across the leader's trembling pupils.
"My lord... forgive me..."
"......"
Jin Muhon gazed silently at the Haomen leader.
No emotion showed in his eyes.
Finally, she shuddered and bowed her head.
"Please spare him! I beg you!"
A flicker of feeling crossed Jin Muhon's eyes.
Unexpected.
Those who prided themselves on their wits never bowed.
Yet the Haomen leader sought pardon without hesitation.
Jin Muhon wondered what had broken her will—simple fear, or was this man truly that vital?
"Why should I?"
Thud!
At Jin Muhon's cold question, the Haomen leader dropped to her knees.
The three guards behind her flinched in shock.
"My lord!"
"My lord!"
Jin Muhon, unmoved, looked down at her.
The Haomen leader gazed up with desperate eyes.
"He's like family to me. Whatever you want, I'll do it. Just please spare his life. My lord."
As the elder had advised, she no longer called him Sword Demon.
Sword Demon or whatever—did it matter?
She only hoped her change of heart wasn't too late.
"What if I want your life?"
"......!"
Jin Muhon's lips parted slowly.
The Haomen leader's eyes bulged.
The immediate reaction came from her guards.
"You can't!"
"Kill me instead!"
"I'll die in her place!"
Jin Muhon ignored them, eyes only on her.
Her pupils quaked like an earthquake.
Had she answered easily, he'd have struck.
She pondered long, and he waited in silence.
"......"
"My... lord."
At some point, her gaze settled calmly.
The turmoil gone, replaced by resolve and determination.
Their eyes locked through the blood mist.
"Yes! If it saves my uncle!"
The Haomen leader nodded without hesitation.
"No!"
The axe man shouted and thrust his neck toward the Sa Hwang Geom.
Jin Muhon flicked his finger.
Snap.
"......!"
Thud!
The four guards collapsed like puppets with cut strings.
Their unstable minds had made Jin Muhon's Point Soul strike take hold instantly.
"Ah, no! Why!"
Bloodshot, the Haomen leader's eyes flared.
Jin Muhon spoke.
"Don't worry. They're just asleep."
"......!"
She hurriedly checked them.
They were breathing, as he'd said.
Hiss—
Jin Muhon dispersed the blood mist.
The meeting hall's scene gradually revealed itself.
"Ah..."
"Hmm..."
"Gasp!"
The survivors gaped, speechless.
It was a slaughter.
The piercing blood stench, chunks of rent flesh everywhere.
The floor pooled with red—this was a sea of blood and corpses if there ever was one.
Jin Muhon scanned the carnage with cold, sunken eyes, then met the Haomen leader's gaze.
"Satisfied? This is the board you set."
"......"
Thud!
In the end, even she fainted and crumpled to the floor.
Gu Sa Gok was annihilated.
Donghae Blood Shang and Gwiyuan Temple had fewer than ten survivors.
Paewang Bang and the Yangtze Waterway Gang suffered no losses.
Without Jin Muhon's mercy, they'd be cold on the floor too.
Everyone knew it, their faces grim and dark.
"Gang leader. The Four Emperors—"
"Shut up and help clean."
"......Understood."
Gwak Woong, who'd spoken to Ak Manho, shut his mouth and joined the corpse cleanup.
Waterway hands and ronin.
Men as rough as they come, now silently focused on the work.
"......I knew it'd end like this someday."
Gwak Woong picked up Gu Sa Gok's leader's head from the floor and flung it aside with a whoosh.
Then he glanced toward the central altar.
A man too fearsome to even look at stood there, hands behind his back.
Gwak Woong called to Ak Manho again.
"Gang leader."
"What now!"
Chills were bad enough already.
Ak Manho glared irritably.
"What... is the Four Emperors doing now?"
"Hell if I know. How should I—huh?"
Ak Manho followed Gwak Woong's gaze, whipping his head around, then clamped his mouth shut to observe Jin Muhon.
He'd thought he was standing on the altar, waiting for an excuse to crush them.
So he'd avoided even glancing that way, working diligently.
But Jin Muhon wasn't even looking at the waterway gang or Paewang Bang.
"What the hell's that guy up to now..."
There was nothing special on the altar.
Just an empty brazier and the grand seat where the Sa Hwang Alliance leader once sat.
Yet Jin Muhon stood motionless before the large brazier, hands behind his back.
Gwak Woong tilted his head.
"Staring at the brazier...?"
From where Gwak Woong and Ak Manho stood, they only saw his back.
Ak Manho frowned and grabbed a passing waterway hand.
"Hey. Nothing weird in there, right?"
"Huh? Where?"
"Where do you think, idiot? That brazier. You check inside?"
"Uh... no one went near the altar."
"Useless! Get back to work!"
"You ease up too, gang leader."
"What'd you say!"
The hand bolted away.
As Ak Manho turned to chase, Gwak Woong gasped and grabbed his arm.
"G-Gang leader! Look!"
"What now—"
About to snap, Ak Manho's eyes went wide, mouth snapping shut.
A red-glowing orb floated up from within the brazier.