Chapter 133
Chapter 133
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 133
>Chapter Title: Unwanted Conclusion (1)
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The next day, around afternoon.
Demonic Path Academy Lord Yeom Ga-hwi stepped out of the academy lord's hall and strolled through the grounds.
Some disciples were receiving doctrinal instruction in the main halls, while others were training in external arts or martial techniques on the training grounds.
It was a sight that should have brought satisfaction, but Yeom Ga-hwi's face remained impassive as he scanned the instructors teaching the disciples.
After making a full circuit of the academy, he spotted someone approaching from the opposite direction.
"Greetings, Academy Lord."
It was during a break from classes. Ma Do-young, on his way somewhere, clasped his hands in salute and bowed.
"You seem busy, Instructor Ma."
"Hahaha. I'm just preparing a bit for tomorrow's class."
Yeom Ga-hwi nodded at the response.
"Your diligence is commendable. To be honest, I was a little worried at first."
"...I'm sorry for showing such incompetence."
Ma Do-young's face flushed slightly as he lowered his head. He still carried the humiliating memory of being toyed with by a mere new disciple named Il-mok during his early days in the academy.
"Being an instructor is harder than it seems. I understand. The other instructors went through the same thing at the start."
"I won't let it happen again."
"I'll trust you on that."
Yeom Ga-hwi ended the conversation with his usual stoic expression, gave a single nod, and turned away briskly.
Ma Do-young watched his retreating figure for a moment before resuming his walk.
Once Ma Do-young's presence had faded into the distance, Yeom Ga-hwi subtly turned his head to glance back.
'Hmm. It was about a year ago that he broke through to Extreme Demon thanks to Disciple Il-mok. He's made considerable progress in that time.'
His gaze fixed on the path where Ma Do-young had just disappeared—more precisely, on the figure passing through right after him, completely invisible to the eye.
Even Yeom Ga-hwi, who had mastered the supreme demonic art Asura Blood Fist to the Transcending Demon level, only sensed the presence once it drew near. The stealth technique was that refined.
No matter that the intruder's demonic art specialized in concealment and assassination, it was certainly beyond the detection of ordinary instructors.
Even former chief instructor Chu Il-hwan or senior instructor Cha Eun-young wouldn't notice.
'The vice lord is the problem.'
Stroking his beard with his callused hand, Yeom Ga-hwi mulled it over.
There was no suspicious evidence against the vice lord. He simply refused to trust anyone fully while carrying out the Heavenly Demon's solemn command.
Secrets always leak when too many people know them. Only Yeom Ga-hwi himself, Il-mok, and Physician Seo Jae-pil knew of the man's infiltration.
'I hope we can wrap this up before the vice lord catches on.'
With that thought, Yeom Ga-hwi cracked a faint smile, uncharacteristic for him.
'I've changed too.'
Back in his days as leader of the martial unit, he'd earned the moniker Demon of Authority by fighting on the front lines himself. Delegating tasks and waiting idly didn't suit his temperament.
But as academy lord, supervising instructors while entrusting them with duties had made him accustomed to handing off work and biding his time.
'This must be the exalted one's will.'
Yeom Ga-hwi believed the great Heavenly Demon always harbored profound intentions beyond mortal comprehension.
* * *
The next morning, early.
While everyone at the academy prepared for the morning classes—a time when all were busy, leaving one place unexpectedly idle.
"Hmm."
Physician Seo Jae-pil let out an odd hum and spoke into empty air.
"Truly astonishing stealth. Honestly, I can't even tell if you're here right now."
But even after his soliloquy, nothing changed in the infirmary.
"......"
Seo Jae-pil scratched his head awkwardly and sat at his desk.
Then, the shadow in the corner of the infirmary expanded its territory and took on a human shape.
"Sorry about that. I was checking the surroundings just in case someone was tailing you."
"Ah. I must have been careless. I'll be more cautious next time. Hahaha."
Grinning sheepishly, Seo Jae-pil placed something he'd brought on the table.
"I brought breakfast. Let's share it."
It was a single person's portion from the dining hall. The black silhouette, now at the table, took only a tiny amount of food.
"Is that really enough?"
"If I eat too much, it increases the risk of detection while moving."
Seo Jae-pil looked at the shadow with pity.
It had been three days since the man infiltrated the academy.
Naturally, having snuck in, he had no designated place to stay.
Thus, he occasionally came here to eat or sleep with Seo Jae-pil.
"You only sleep an hour or two a day at most. It's like a true endurance test."
To avoid detection, he rose earlier than everyone else and only returned here after his target, Ma Do-young, fell asleep.
"Thanks to my time in the Shadow Pavilion, I'm used to it. Honestly, having a place to rest even an hour or two is a luxury."
Despite his calm reply, Seo Jae-pil wasn't reassured.
He knew the man's side effects and symptoms all too well.
"Sleep and nutrition deprivation are quite harmful to mental health. Any negative thoughts creeping in?"
As a physician, Seo Jae-pil posed the question, but the answer was unexpected.
"Negative? Quite the opposite—I'm in high spirits."
"???"
"I've always felt sorry for only receiving help from my youngest. I'd often think of myself as a pathetic senior brother. Of course, my youngest junior always comforted me, but isn't it pathetic for a senior to need consolation from his junior?"
Seo Jae-pil nodded with a neutral expression, as a doctor should, and the man answered his own question.
"In that sense, this mission is deeply rewarding. Almost as much as carrying out our revered master's command—though it might sound odd to say so."
"You're truly reliable, Third Young Master."
"Hahaha. I haven't even gotten results yet—reliable is a stretch."
The shadow's face held a strange joy despite his words. Seo Wan-pyeong turned his head to gaze somewhere.
Toward the training grounds, where his surveillance target Ma Do-young and his precious youngest junior Il-mok were headed.
"To avoid disappointing my youngest junior, even if it means sleepless nights and going hungry, I'll definitely catch the bastards targeting him."
Seo Jae-pil nodded, watching the man's resolute demeanor—uncharacteristic for someone plagued by persecution delusions.
'A chance to study the effects of malnutrition and sleep deprivation on persecution delusions.'
Seo Jae-pil was a madman when it came to medical research.
* * *
A few days later.
Changes came to the Demonic Path Academy. The second-year cohort was departing again for practical training.
With twenty of the forty disciples gone, and half the instructors accompanying them, an empty atmosphere settled over the academy.
The night after the second-years left.
"Greetings, Vice Lord."
At Vice Lord Yu Geuk's summons, Ma Do-young visited the vice lord's hall.
It seemed a natural call.
Instructors had been coming and going from the vice lord's hall one by one to prepare for the seventh exam in ten days.
"You've heard the exam in ten days is individual combat?"
"Yes."
Answering, Ma Do-young wondered.
*Is this really just calling me as an 'instructor' this time?*
But the vice lord's next words nearly made him flinch involuntarily.
"I'm planning to use this opportunity."
Ma Do-young, having disappointed several times before, forced a composed facade with extreme patience and asked back.
"It feels a bit rushed, doesn't it?"
"Lacking confidence?"
"...Killing him would be easy anytime, even during club hours. Leaving no evidence is the key, isn't it?"
"Don't worry about that."
Ma Do-young pressed for details with feigned calm at Yu Geuk's icy expression.
"Do you have a plan?"
Of course there was a plan. One to eliminate not just the youngest young master, but Ma Do-young himself.
But he couldn't reveal it all.
Yu Geuk intended to explain only up to how Ma Do-young would kill the youngest young master, omitting the rest.
"......"
Yet for some reason, Yu Geuk clamped his mouth shut and furrowed his brow.
As Ma Do-young opened his mouth to speak at the sudden pause,
"Vice Lor—"
Whoosh!!
Yu Geuk's drawn blade sliced through the air.
"!?"
Stunned, Ma Do-young moved to draw his own sword from his side, but he was a step too late.
The blade's energy, infused with阴寒 qi, flashed past Ma Do-young in an instant.
Slash!
Clang!
A cutting sound followed by metal rang out.
Ma Do-young finally drew his sword and turned, sensing something amiss.
There, pierced by the blade energy, was the wall of the vice lord's hall.
And through the gap,
"!!!"
A human-shaped shadow flickered.
Flash!
Ma Do-young realized someone had been eavesdropping.
Yu Geuk leaped forward in a blur, cleaving through the entire wall toward the shadow.
Slash!
Boom!
The wall, shredded by Yu Geuk's blade, collapsed.
"Die."
Yu Geuk burst out of the vice lord's hall, his blade tracing a pale trajectory.
'Urk.'
Seo Wan-pyeong, who had lost the initiative, was pushed back unilaterally.
It wasn't just losing first strike. Yu Geuk was originally two or three levels above him.
Even with Shadowless Fourteen Hands specialized in assassination and stealth, he'd been exposed like this. On top of that,
'I should have eaten something today.'
It had been over a week since Seo Wan-pyeong began tailing Ma Do-young.
Accumulated malnutrition and sleep deprivation left him unable to perform at full strength.
Chill seeped along his sword clashing with Yu Geuk's blade. Strikes he couldn't fully block or dodge tore his skin, adding wounds.
Infused with阴寒 qi, no blood flowed from the injuries.
Instead, frostbite spread from the wounds.
A few more, and his body would stiffen, making defense and evasion even harder.
"I'm joining in!"
Worse, Ma Do-young, grasping the situation, charged through the hole in the wall Yu Geuk had made.
It was a desperate crisis.
Heh.
Yet Seo Wan-pyeong's lips curved in satisfaction.
'At last, I can help my youngest junior.'