Chapter 25: The Debt Must Be Paid (1)
Episode 25
The Debt Must Be Paid (1)
The moment Se-woon heard from Jang Ja-su that Dokma had ambushed the escort convoy, a long-forgotten memory surged abruptly to the surface.
In the original timeline, it wasn't Manhaepyoguk but one of the four great escort bureaus of Sichuan—Ilyangpyoguk—that had been targeted.
An escort convoy carrying out a mid-level Martial Alliance mission had been attacked by unknown assailants.
Not only were the escort goods stolen, but the entire convoy vanished without a trace, leaving the case unsolved and eventually buried as a cold mystery.
Even in later years, no details or motives were ever uncovered—until now.
"...Could it be that Dokma was behind this all along?"
The moment Dokma's name was mentioned, Se-woon's fists clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms without him realizing it.
Salgaek, Seo Su-rin, Do Ha-young...
Those three were people he could never forget—people he must never forget.
And the name Poison Demon Yayul Seung was no different.
But.
The reason was entirely unlike the others.
"I knew we'd cross paths eventually... but not this soon."
Dokma was the first—and last—person in both his past and present life with whom Se-woon had ever formed a master-disciple bond.
A benefactor... and a sworn enemy.
"...So you've finally come, Master."
Se-woon bit down hard on his lower lip.
Before the Regression
Deepest level of the Blood Cult's Thunder Prison.
"Blood! Corpses! Bring me sacrifices now!!"
"Keeheehee! Keehee!"
The madmen imprisoned in the Thunder Prison roared with deranged frenzy.
This deepest layer housed those who had defied the Blood Demon's orders or committed atrocities driven by their own twisted desires—only to be captured and confined.
And among them stood the Demon Smith, Tang Se-woon.
Clank. Clatter.
Se-woon worked alone, replacing the shackles that bound the limbs of these fiends.
One of the imprisoned madmen slithered his forked tongue toward him.
"Demon Smith... help me escape this place. In return, I'll teach you a divine technique that will shake heaven and earth."
"......"
"You can't learn martial arts, can you? But my power is different. It uses sorcery, not qi! Just offer a hundred virgin girls as sacrifices, and—"
Swish.
Se-woon lifted his head without responding.
The madman flinched involuntarily.
In those hollow, empty eyes, a terrifying killing intent surged forth—so vicious it froze his blood.
"Ugh... ugh?!"
Because what he sensed from Se-woon was the same dreadful aura as the absolute ruler who had thrown him into this hell—the Blood Demon himself.
In the end, the madman rolled his eyes back, foamed at the mouth, and collapsed unconscious.
Clank.
After securing the new restraints, Se-woon stared down at the fallen man.
Worthless scum who hadn't changed even with death looming before them.
'If they're going to die anyway...'
A chilling glint flickered in Se-woon's eyes as he contemplated something dark.
Just then—
"If you wish it, I can use their lives to save your clan."
"—!!"
A shadowy figure slithered close, whispering like a serpent into Se-woon's ear.
Startled, Se-woon whirled around—
And found himself face-to-face with Poison Demon Yayul Seung, grinning with eerie delight.
"Kahaha! You were hesitating! You hesitated!"
"Shut up!"
Se-woon spat the words like a reflex, but his body trembled violently.
Because Dokma had seen right through him.
Se-woon had considered sacrificing these madmen to save his clan.
Yangsinru—the "Tears of Calamity."
Once regarded as one of the most forbidden poisons in the martial world, this extreme toxin could only be crafted using the resentment and Bushi Poison extracted from the corpses of such madmen.
And if he coated his demonic weapons with it...
Perhaps he could kill the Blood Demon.
But—
"...Ugh!"
Disgusted by his own monstrous thoughts, Se-woon retched violently, emptying his stomach for a long while.
The longer he lived among the Blood Cult, the more he had begun thinking like one of them.
As Se-woon limped away, desperate to flee—
Dokma's maniacal laughter echoed behind him.
"Kahahaha! You thought about it, didn't you? You did! I'll help you! You know better than anyone that no one understands Bushi Blood Poison like I do! So come! Come to me! You should've abandoned the Orthodox Faction and joined the Demon Sect long ago!"
With every word, Se-woon felt himself sinking deeper into a swamp of corruption.
"You're not like Tang Ui-tae—you're just like me! Kihihihihi! So come whenever you need me! I'll be waiting here for you with open arms!"
Even after escaping the Thunder Prison, Dokma's laughter continued ringing in Se-woon's skull like a haunting echo.
Present Day
The meeting was immediately disbanded.
Neither side could afford to overlook this matter.
Upon grasping the situation, Tang Mu-yeol acted swiftly.
"There may still be survivors! Leave only a skeleton crew at the main house—every available Tang family member will depart for Wayok Mountain at once! Prepare the Tang Elite Unit!"
"Yes, understood!"
"Clan Head, I will accompany you!"
"Are you certain, Abbess?"
"Absolutely! I will lend my strength to treating the survivors!"
Abbess Geumhwa joined the rescue team without hesitation.
With Dokma's involvement, this was no longer just an internal affair of the Sichuan Tang Family.
Because the perpetrator was none other than Dokma—a former Great Demon Leader.
Over the years, Dokma had committed atrocities so horrific that even speaking of them was difficult.
The Martial Alliance had issued standing orders: if confirmed alive, he was to be executed on sight.
And then—
"Clan Head. After capturing Tang Ho-yeol, I will follow as the rear guard."
"...!"
Se-woon declared he would pursue Ho-yeol alone before joining later.
The sudden announcement left Mu-yeol stunned.
"What nonsense is this? That man has surpassed the peak realm. How could you possibly handle him alone...?"
"His level is the same as Son Wu-gon's. I can suppress him easily. Please entrust the criminal to me and depart first—time is of the essence, as you said."
"—!"
Despite his father's protests, Se-woon remained unmoved.
Even Abbess Geumhwa watched him with puzzled eyes.
But Se-woon hadn't made this decision lightly.
'My presence won't make a difference in tracking survivors.'
Without the "Ten Demon Weapons," Dokma's poison arts could be countered by the combined medical skills of Mu-yeol and Abbess Geumhwa.
And whether he joined or not, the number of survivors wouldn't change.
The reason was simple.
Any survivors existed solely because Dokma allowed them to.
'If he had truly intended to kill them all, no one would have lived.'
The fact that any Tang family members survived at all was merely a whim of Dokma's.
The madman made all decisions chaotically, unpredictably.
Moreover, Se-woon knew his father and Abbess Geumhwa would prioritize treating the wounded over pursuing Dokma or recovering the goods.
'No—even if they tried tracking him, it'd be impossible.'
Se-woon was certain that without him, the pursuit team wouldn't find even the faintest trace of Dokma.
The fastest way to hunt him down was to break away and chase him alone.
'No one in this world knows him better than I do.'
This timeline was different from his past life.
To prevent history from repeating, he had to tear out the roots here and now.
'And Tang Ho-yeol must also be eliminated in this moment. Leaving him alive will only bring greater suffering later.'
Whether due to his grandfather's dying wish or not, his father had always been soft when it came to blood relations.
That's why I had to cut them down with my own hands before then.
"Had I known you'd fit in so well with the Blood Cult, I wouldn't have kicked you out—I'd have made you chief escort of the escort bureau. Hahaha."
Selling orthodox faction martial artists to the Blood Cult, ruthlessly exploiting innocent civilians—
Tang Ho-yeol had been the one to carve out a place for himself in the Blood Cult, living out his days in mutual deception and protection.
'I'll sever both of these cursed bonds here.'
In the end, the choice Tang Mu-yeol presented was the result of weighing 'the lives of those who might be captured by Dokma' against 'the thousands of lives that could be lost in the future.'
The problem was...
'Damn it.'
...that this was precisely the twisted logic of the demonic cultivators he so despised.
No one noticed, but Se-woon had to suppress the urge to vomit several times over his own actions.
And then, back to reality.
"Sin? Payment for sin? Nephew, what kind of nonsense is this all of a sudden?"
Tang Ho-yeol looked at Se-woon, who had appeared out of nowhere, with an expression of genuine ignorance—so convincing that anyone watching would have been thoroughly fooled.
But in stark contrast to his act, the corpses of the escort bureau members lying dead on the floor, their eyes still wide open, painted a chilling scene.
"Ah! You must have misunderstood after seeing this bastard. I was shocked too—they sent assassins after me as well..."
"Enough of your pathetic act, Uncle."
"—!"
Se-woon's voice was icy as he cut through the man's continued deceit.
"Aren't you ashamed to behave like this in front of a disciple from another sect?"
"......"
"If you truly carry the blood of the Tang Family, stop acting like a fool and offer your neck with dignity."
Se-woon's scathing words were sharp enough to startle even those accompanying him.
But their effect was undeniable.
Crrrk!
The sound of grinding teeth accompanied the sudden shift in Tang Ho-yeol's gaze.
The sincerity from moments ago vanished, replaced by a viscous, murderous glint—a gaze so chilling it sent shivers down the spines of Se-woon and his companions.
In that instant, Ha-yeong and Cheong Yeon felt goosebumps crawl up their backs.
'Wh-what kind of human has eyes like a venomous serpent...?'
'They said that even if the Tang Family had fallen, Poison Toad Tang Ho-yeol should never be underestimated. It seems they were right.'
Their sudden involvement was the result of Abbess Geumhwa's intervention—just like Tang Mu-yeol, she had been worried about Se-woon.
"With your body still recovering, I couldn't just send you alone."
Though it seemed he had truly defeated Son Wu-gon single-handedly, knowing he wasn't at full strength, she had sent them as reinforcements.
In the martial world, Tang Ho-yeol was known to be at the threshold of the peak realm.
Ha-yeong stood at the same threshold.
Cheong Yeon had reached the pinnacle of the first-class realm.
Abbess Geumhwa had assessed Se-woon's level as the extreme of first-class.
She believed that with the three of them working together, subduing their opponent would be effortless.
"Heh heh, well. Seems you already know everything, so let's drop the charade."
"—!"
Whoosh!
In an instant, a sinister aura erupted from Tang Ho-yeol's entire body.
Releasing his peak-level energy, he slowly stepped out of his office and into the hallway where Se-woon's group stood.
He moved with such leisure, as though he didn't consider himself in danger at all.
"So, is it those women behind you that's making you so cocky?"
"Shut your mouth, you villain!"
"Martial Sister, stay calm."
Cheong Yeon shouted at Tang Ho-yeol's provocation, now that his true nature was revealed. Ha-yeong quickly steadied her.
"The Emei Sect Leader must have headed straight for the ambush site. Keh heh, I suppose I should be grateful."
"...Tang Ho-yeol. No one is coming to help you. Surrender, and I'll spare your life."
Ha-yeong spoke with a voice as cold as ice, maintaining her composure.
The subordinates of Manhaepyoguk had already surrendered the moment they heard their mission had failed.
It was only natural.
They were, after all, connected to the Martial Alliance.
Not a single one would risk their life to protect Tang Ho-yeol.
"Surrender, you say..."
At the suggestion of surrender, a troubled expression flickered across Tang Ho-yeol's face.
In that brief moment of distraction—
Twang!
"—!"
A sharp whistling sound tore through the air as a crossbow bolt shot from Tang Ho-yeol's sleeve with lightning speed.
It was one of the martial world's forbidden weapons—the Forbidden Crossbow.
A wrist-mounted automatic crossbow, a terrifying contraption capable of killing even peak-level martial artists with a single shot.
'The trajectory—it's not aimed at me! Then...!'
"Martial Sis—!"
The target was Cheong Yeon.
But unfortunately, Cheong Yeon, still lacking in training, didn't even realize the bolt was coming for her.
Just as it was about to pierce her eye and skewer her skull—
Swish!
"—!"
A black thread flashed past Ha-yeong's vision.
At the same time—
Whoosh!
Cheong Yeon spun her body with the grace of a peak-level master, effortlessly dodging the incoming bolt.
"!!"
Tang Ho-yeol paled as his trump card failed.
"H-huh?!"
But Cheong Yeon, who had miraculously evaded the attack, was just as stunned.
Her wide, bulging eyes showed she had no idea what had just happened.
'...A thread?'
Meanwhile, Ha-yeong noticed something peculiar—a black thread tied around her martial sister's wrist.
Indeed, Se-woon had forcibly moved Cheong Yeon's body using the Golden Threads of Heavenly Net.
Cheong Yeon, realizing belatedly that Se-woon had saved her, turned to thank him—
But neither of them had the chance.
"Tch, what a shame. I could've killed that brat right there."
"You shameless—!"
"Well, not that it would've bought you more than a few extra moments anyway!"
Tang Ho-yeol immediately drew his main weapon and launched his attack.
Crack!
Slash!
The whip that earned him the nickname Poison Toad split the air.
A venomous weapon forged from the scales of a silver horned serpent—its leather as hard as steel.
The Silver Horn Snake Whip.
Crash!
Snap!
The whip lashed out violently, tearing through everything in its path.
Its reach was so long that all three could only focus on evasion.
But even that wasn't easy.
'This man... he's definitely not just at the threshold of the peak realm.'
The energy imbued in the whip was not at the threshold—it had reached full maturity.
A cold sweat trickled down Ha-yeong's forehead.
Realizing the danger, she immediately sent a Sound Transmission to Se-woon.
[Young Master Tang, I've trained extensively with my martial sister. Let me direct our joint attack.]
[No.]
[What?]
[I will give the orders.]
[W-wait, Young Master Tang!]
[If you won't follow, then fight alone and step aside.]
[!?]
Ha-yeong was stunned.
She hadn't expected Se-woon to be so stubborn.
Of course, since the enemy was from the Tang Family, he would know more about hidden weapons and techniques—like the earlier crossbow.
'...But in terms of combat experience and martial prowess, I'm clearly superior.'
With the enemy stronger than expected, the leader's skill in coordinating their joint attack was crucial—since they would engage the enemy the most.
[One step to the upper right.]
"Hup!"
Swish!
Reacting instinctively to Se-woon's sudden command, Ha-yeong leaped back.
And then—
Slash!
"—!"
A chilling slash carved through the spot where she had just stood.
"Hmph! Let's see how long your luck holds!"
The whip, swirling like a storm of blades, lashed out at her again.
Crash! Crash!
[From the lower left—aim for the head.]
Se-woon's Sound Transmission echoed once more.
In the heat of battle, doubts vanished from her mind.
Whoosh!
As a member of the Nine Dragon Spear Sect, she began moving diligently under the command of Se-woon—a mere unknown junior.