Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 135
>Chapter Title: Unwanted Ending (3)
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Il-mok froze in place as if his feet were nailed to the ground, his arms twitching faintly.
Meanwhile, Yeom Ga-hwi's blood-red energy clashed endlessly against Yu Geuk's pale yin energy.
At a glance, it looked no different from the early stages of the fight, but there was a crucial difference.
Sweat was beading on Yu Geuk's forehead before long, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
The ultimate goal of this operation was to uncover the ringleader at the main headquarters.
Yu Geuk and Ma Do-yeong weren't enemies to be killed—they were subjects to be captured and interrogated.
That was why Yeom Ga-hwi wasn't going all out. He had to prepare for the possibility of Ma Do-yeong taking her own life or fleeing.
But now, with Ma Do-yeong subdued thanks to Il-mok's ingenuity...
“Hup!”
Yeom Ga-hwi no longer needed to hold back. He could unleash himself fully.
Yu Geuk's stance wavered ever so slightly, his body riddled with internal injuries that left him unable to fully block Yeom Ga-hwi's relentless assault.
Thwack!!
In an instant, Yeom Ga-hwi's right fist slammed into Yu Geuk's side.
With that blow, a mouthful of blood erupted from Yu Geuk's mouth, already leaking crimson.
Yet even then, Yu Geuk didn't groan. He swung his blade straight for Yeom Ga-hwi's throat.
Seeing this, Yeom Ga-hwi spoke for the first time since the fight began.
“Impressive!”
Yu Geuk's style—ignoring minor wounds and fighting solely to kill—embodied the true warrior spirit of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Of course, Yeom Ga-hwi wasn't about to praise him and offer his neck in return.
Grab.
As if anticipating the move, Yeom Ga-hwi shot out his left hand and seized Yu Geuk's right wrist mid-swing.
Having neutralized the blade, Yeom Ga-hwi whipped his right arm—the one that had struck the side—once more.
Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!
He opened his fist and jabbed Yu Geuk's acupoints at five spots in rapid succession with his fingers.
Then.
Drop.
Releasing Yu Geuk's right arm, Yeom Ga-hwi watched as the man's body crumpled like rotten straw.
“Whew. My apologies to the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons, but direct action suits my temperament after all.”
He had thought himself adjusted to the role of Branch Leader, but fighting firsthand felt far more fitting to his nature.
With a relieved expression, Yeom Ga-hwi looked down at Yu Geuk sprawled on the ground.
‘A warrior of this caliber, reduced to playing lackey. What a waste.’
Stroking his beard with his bloodied fist as that thought crossed his mind...
“Whew.”
Il-mok let out a deep sigh.
‘Well done, Il-mok!’
He didn't hesitate to praise himself.
He had endured the feast of enlightenment and never drawn his sword to the end—nothing could be more commendable.
‘Where do you get off, you pathetic scrap of demonic arts, trying to possess your master's body!’
He wanted to flip off the other self grumbling indignantly and mock it to his heart's content.
But this wasn't the time.
“Instructors, lead the cadets back to the Black Dragon Pavilion!”
At Yeom Ga-hwi's shout after subduing Yu Geuk, the instructors stepped forward to clear the scene.
“Whew.”
Just then, Seo Wan-pyeong, who had been circulating his qi for recovery, opened his eyes with a deep breath.
“Are you alright, Third Brother?”
“The urgent fire is out, so don't worry. With things so pressing, we'll finish up here first and start proper treatment after.”
Seo Wan-pyeong struggled to his feet, trying to show his reliable side as always.
“My greetings are late—my apologies, Branch Leader.”
As the Branch Leader approached carrying the unconscious Yu Geuk and Ma Do-yeong, Seo Wan-pyeong hurriedly cupped his fists in salute.
“With the situation as it was, it couldn't be helped.”
Replying thus, the Branch Leader turned his gaze to Il-mok.
“Cadet Il-mok.”
“Yes, Branch Leader.”
“You head back to the Black Dragon Pavilion and rest now. We'll handle the interrogation.”
No matter what, a cadet was a cadet. Yeom Ga-hwi believed cleanup was their responsibility.
At that stuffy, old-fashioned attitude, Il-mok instinctively knew persuasion was futile.
“I'll trust you and wait.”
Il-mok replied and watched as Yeom Ga-hwi and Seo Wan-pyeong dragged off the two lackeys somewhere, along with Seo Jae-pil the physician trailing behind.
“Whew. At least we've caught two. They'll handle the rest. And we have that item.”
Shaking off any lingering thoughts, Il-mok turned to head back to the Black Dragon Pavilion—but paused.
‘Feels like I forgot something?’
But only for a moment. Il-mok sighed and resumed walking.
‘No point overthinking it and letting the side effects run wild again.’
Even just now, it was a relief the fight between the Demonic Path Academy Leader and his deputy ended quickly. He'd been on the verge of rampaging.
Step. Step.
Heading to the Black Dragon Pavilion, Il-mok thought.
He just wanted to rest deeply without a care for a while now.
* * *
Yu Geuk awoke to excruciating pain, as if his entire body were being shredded.
Yet even amid the agony, he didn't utter a groan. He merely furrowed his brow slightly.
The first thing he realized upon regaining his senses was that his acupoints were sealed.
Not a shred of internal energy responded to his will, and his body was the same. He couldn't twitch a finger.
It was like being paralyzed—conscious, but unable to move.
The second realization was that he was bound.
Lowering his head halfway, he saw iron chains wrapping his body.
‘Tch.’
Only then did he recall being subdued by the Branch Leader. Yu Geuk clicked his tongue inwardly.
“You're awake, it seems.”
At the same moment, the voice of the man who had subdued him pierced his ears.
“I'll release your jaw acupoint.”
Then came the voice of the Third Young Master, the culprit behind this mess, followed by someone's hand lifting his chin.
Only then did Yu Geuk recognize it was the Third Young Master holding his jaw.
The Third Young Master carefully manipulated his hand to unseal Yu Geuk's jaw acupoint. But he kept his grip firm.
Ready to act the instant any suicidal intent showed.
“Why are you doing this, Branch Leader?”
Those were the first words from Yu Geuk with his jaw freed. His speech was slurred from the grip, but audible enough.
“You plan to pretend ignorance to the end?”
“...Did I displease you that much?”
Yu Geuk acted as if this were mere internal politics within the Demonic Path Academy.
“Good thing I brought that along, then.”
The Demonic Path Academy Leader shook his head once and said as much. Seo Jae-pil the physician fetched something and approached Yu Geuk.
Seo Jae-pil shoved a powdery substance—like ground herbs—into Yu Geuk's mouth, while Seo Wan-pyeong manipulated his jaw and throat to force it down.
“We'll see if you say the same after that.”
Having been forcibly fed, Yu Geuk glared at the Branch Leader with murderous eyes.
“Trying to poison me into a forced confession?”
But the response was unexpected.
“What I fed you is poison, but that amount won't kill you. You'll probably be fine in an hour or two.”
“???”
As Yu Geuk sensed something off from the Demonic Path Academy Leader's words...
“???”
Yu Geuk belatedly noticed something was wrong.
His consciousness began to blur gradually, and the figures of Yeom Ga-hwi, Seo Jae-pil, and Seo Wan-pyeong twisted bizarrely before his eyes.
The item Il-mok had requested from the Heavenly Demon via Seo Jae-pil.
The very thing Seo Jae-pil had once proposed as a psychiatric treatment, only for Il-mok to vehemently oppose and shelve it.
It was drugs.
Il-mok had suggested using it solely as a painkiller due to its addictiveness and risks—but ironically, now he requested it for another purpose.
That purpose: a truth serum.
Of course, it wasn't a reckless demand. Using drugs as a truth serum was highly dangerous.
The side effects and addiction didn't vanish just because it was for confessions.
Dosing every suspect to catch one criminal would turn the entire cult into a den of addicts in no time.
Worse, half of what they said under the influence was nonsense, like sleep-talk from a sedated patient.
But the lackeys they planned to capture were confirmed culprits—multiple, at that.
They could cross-verify the nonsense from true confessions, and since they were the real perpetrators, there was no risk of creating innocent addicts.
Il-mok had demanded its use as truth serum only when a control group existed and the targets were confirmed criminals. The Heavenly Demon had permitted it under those conditions alone.
* * *
Deep into the night.
As the interrogation of Yu Geuk and Ma Do-yeong continued...
“Zzz. Snore.”
Il-mok, dozing with snores, suddenly opened his eyes.
What met his gaze was a glint of silver in the darkness.
“!!!”
Reacting to the faint killing intent, Il-mok awoke and hurled himself aside from the blade plunging toward him.
Slash.
The bedding where Il-mok had lain was pierced, emitting a grating slicing sound.
“Damn it.”
Having narrowly dodged the ambush, a curse slipped from Il-mok's lips unbidden.
‘Thanks to Third Brother, my body reacts on instinct to night attacks now.’
That didn't mean the attacker was Seo Wan-pyeong, of course.
‘I forgot about this guy.’
It was Jeong Gyu-seok, the instructor in charge of doctrine education and the doctrine research club.
Come to think of it, the other suspected lackeys were Jeong Gyu-seok and Cheok Il-so.
He had unexpectedly hooked the bigger fish, Yu Geuk, instead.
And he knew this attacker was Jeong Gyu-seok, not Cheok Il-so, for a simple reason.
The attacker wielded a sword. Unlike Cheok Il-so, who used a spear.
Moreover, the black night clothes revealed a slimmer build—not matching Cheok Il-so's bulky, muscular frame befitting a physical beauty club instructor.
“Tch.”
As Il-mok evaded the first strike, the assassin clicked his tongue lightly and swung his sword wildly.
As Il-mok had guessed, it was Jeong Gyu-seok.
Ever since Third Young Master Seo Wan-pyeong uncovered Yu Geuk and Ma Do-yeong's secret meeting...
Jeong Gyu-seok had felt his blood run cold every moment.
Amid that, a thought struck him.
Time would eventually expose his identity anyway.
In that case...
‘Kill the youngest young master—the root of all this and my mortal enemy—and end it.’
Better to cleanly eliminate the source of this hellish ordeal and then take his own life than wait to be discovered and executed.
Watching Jeong Gyu-seok's sword flying for his neck, Il-mok burned with rage.
‘Damn! Damn! Damn!!!’
It wasn't anger at forgetting the remaining lackey.
Nor at nearly dying to the ambush.
And why?
Clang!
Il-mok's sword, swung just in time, barely blocked the assassin's strike.
While dodging the initial ambush, he had snatched the scabbard by his bed.
Yet he raged because...
‘Of all days, I should have held back today!!!’
He had drawn his sword— that's what infuriated him.
The lump of enlightenment, shoved to a corner of his mind and ignored, reared up again.
No.
- Heh heh heh heh.
The damned side effect, grinning like "screw you," danced gleefully while clutching the lump of enlightenment.
Having endured it countless times before, he had prayed this time would be different—the most unwanted ending.