Chapter 362
Chapter 362
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 362
>Chapter Title: A Brother's Plea
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No matter how ferocious a beast might be, it couldn't put up any resistance once its nape was bitten. That was exactly Belldre's situation right now.
Haa...
Belldre said as she supported Bellian.
"See you... next time."
"Yeah! See you next time!"
"......"
When Bitan cheerfully waved goodbye, Belldre shook her head and left the area.
- Bitan is such a social butterfly.
- They got close so fast again lololol
- Bitan probably thinks they're all friends lololol
- As long as no one died, it's just playtime for Bitan heh heh
Kang Seol watched them go, brushing off his hands.
'Fine control is still tricky.'
Controlling the night beasts brought a whole different level of fatigue compared to handling the crows, which were mere creations.
On the plus side, it allowed for more varied and intricate movements.
If Belldre had kept attacking the night beasts, he would've let them get a real taste.
'Too bad, but next time.'
He'd have to test it on someone other than Belldre.
"Not bad at all."
"...Pardon?"
"I figured something had changed about you, but..."
Whoosh-!
Shin Hyeon spoke, and Shin Rip appeared alongside him.
'Not bad?'
Hadn't they just arrived late?
Kang Seol gave him a puzzled look, and Shin Hyeon provided the backing explanation.
"We were watching."
"Since when exactly..."
"From the very start. Heheh... We saw your arm go flying off, then snap! right back on. Quite the fascinating body you have."
And that wasn't all—they must have seen him wielding the night beasts too.
Step...
Step...
Shin Rip approached and spoke.
"Do you know how dangerous the power you're trying to wield is?"
"...I do."
"That power... is the Chilheuk Labyrinth itself. It's what took everything from us brothers. Our bonds, our future, our lives..."
"But this power is..."
"Listen to the end."
Shin Rip's tone was gentle, not like he was scolding Kang Seol.
"All dangers are born intertwined with danger itself. Whether directed at enemies or oneself. Even a sword isn't guaranteed to stay unmarred by its wielder."
"Heheh... Right, swords are like that, and even bare fists are no different."
Shin Rip placed a hand on Kang Seol's shoulder.
"Hone it, and the danger fades."
"......"
"Strive forward, approach the essence of the danger you've chosen. Then..."
This was what he wanted to say.
"Your danger will become a threat."
As he spoke, Shin Rip even mentioned their future plans.
"We're changing our plans going forward. Hyeon and I won't be hunting night beasts anymore."
"...Pardon?"
"Heheheh... That means you'll have to work twice as hard to fill the gap! You might not know this, but once the night beasts start multiplying here, they become unstoppable."
Shin Rip and Shin Hyeon had gone out hunting every day. How many night beasts had powerhouses like them taken down? At least as many as a small hill's worth.
Yet the labyrinth remained lively. Night beasts still roamed the forest.
"We kept their numbers down every day, or it would've been worse..."
Shin Hyeon grinned.
"Now we're passing on that tedious... no, honorable duty to you."
"......"
"It's our way of saying we trust you. They'll probably outnumber the trees for a while."
* * *
Kang Seol accepted Shin Rip and Shin Hyeon's intentions.
It was practically special guidance.
They even patrolled the area to ensure no dangerous foes lurked, then designated his hunting grounds.
'From my perspective, it's an offer I can't refuse.'
He wasn't entirely sure of the power his created night beasts held, but this place was still a tough hurdle for him.
One misstep, and he'd plummet off a cliff below. He hadn't encountered any yet, but beasts larger than the mid-sized ones surely existed. If one appeared, even Kang Seol would have to flee.
It seemed Shin Rip and Shin Hyeon were excluding such risks.
Kang Seol accepted the offer.
Crackle... crackle...
As he sat by the fire, their hazy forms came into view.
It hit him again in moments like this.
They were souls of a lightless world, doomed to wander this darkness forever.
'Oh, right...'
Kang Seol figured it was time to bring it up.
"Um..."
"...The hand?"
"Yes."
Shin Hyeon scratched his chin, as if he'd anticipated the question.
"Heheheh... Those things are awfully nosy about other people's family business. The Sacred Object Society or whatever..."
"That's no hand of a god."
Shin Rip denied its existence outright.
"It's our brother, Shin Yu."
"...Shin Yu?"
Kang Seol already knew of the entity, but not the full story. To hear what he wanted, he'd have to wait for their tale to unfold.
"Yes... that child was our family's treasure. From me to Hyeon and even Gang. We were all said to be sword prodigies, but..."
Shin Rip's expression grew heavy.
Even with his bushy beard, eyebrows, and hair, you could tell what face he was making.
"Shin Yu was incomparable."
"......"
"Shin Yu was a sword from birth. No swordsmanship lasted more than three days in that child's hands."
"Heheheh... I still can't forget it. That monstrous talent."
"He was called the Myeongeon, or sometimes Demon Sword. There was no sword art Shin Yu couldn't comprehend or wield. The child possessed a talent beyond human understanding."
As Kang Seol listened, he realized anew how Shin Yu resembled Yacha.
The power to comprehend and wield every swordsmanship—a devilish force.
Whether sword or man, it deserved the name Demon Sword.
"But the world seeks balance. The child had a frail body."
"He didn't live long. A congenital illness eventually flared up."
"Before turning ten, our family lost him. Or so we thought."
"Right, that's what we thought. I cried so much my eyes wouldn't open. But back then, we didn't know."
Shin Hyeon grinned.
"That he'd come back alive..."
"Shin Yu appeared one day. While our third brother Gang's arm turned black..."
The one-armed sword saint Shin Gang's greatest reason for reaching that realm, his special power.
'Just like Han Yeomyeong.'
Cases of blackened hands weren't rare, but this one was...
"The Ghost Hand."
Ghost Hand.
The intense lingering desire of the slain manifesting in the living.
Just as Han Yeomyeong's sister appeared in his hand, Shin Yu manifested in Shin Gang's.
An ordinary Han Yeomyeong reached unimaginable heights using that power.
The Ghost Hand was mighty on its own, but what made it terrifying was that the ghost in Han Yeomyeong's hand—his powerless sister—held no special strength.
Shin Gang's hand, however, belonged to Shin Yu, a genius swordsman among the continent's best.
That's how Shin Gang surpassed his brothers and survived the Chilheuk Labyrinth—thanks to Shin Yu.
'This much I knew...'
Now for the latter part.
What happened after Shin Gang and Shin Yu parted—that's what intrigued him.
Their awakening likely tied into it.
"So as they said... the hand possessed by Shin Yu is still in the labyrinth? Is that true?"
Shin Rip closed his eyes.
"It is."
Kang Seol listened to Shin Rip, his mind drifting back to past memories.
* * *
Haa...
Haaaa...
A blood-soaked world.
If seeking light in pitch-black darkness, this moment might be it.
Shin Gang gasped for breath, his sword plunged into the labyrinth master's shoulder.
Here, his sword was perfected.
No—he had become the sword.
Shin Gang gripped his right hand tighter on the hilt.
"Urgh... Killing me... won't change anything... I am the master of Chilheuk... The labyrinth will reclaim its original form."
"......"
"And... your brothers... they're still alive, aren't they? If you kill me..."
"My brothers are all dead."
"Kihihik... Alive... Their spirits are... urgh... Their bodies merely died. Souls are such things."
The labyrinth master spoke with a face eerily like Shin Gang's.
"Kill me, and their existences will be purified once. Meaning... the purified souls will no longer be your brothers."
"......"
The worst entity encountered at the bitter end of the vile labyrinth.
A strength that made his teeth chatter, but with the peerless swordmaster Shin Gang and once-in-a-generation genius Shin Yu combined, any foe before them would fall.
Would fall.
So it must fall.
Hesitate...
"...Shin Yu."
Shin Gang's right hand did not swing the sword.
That right hand was the Ghost Hand housing young Shin Yu.
Shin Gang and Shin Yu had spent ages together.
Guessing Shin Yu's heart was child's play.
Shin Yu adored his brothers.
So he'd been swayed by the demon's words.
"You wish me not to strike down that monster?"
No answer, but Shin Yu's intent reached him. His right arm still wouldn't move.
The first time Shin Gang and Shin Yu's wills diverged.
Remain a swordsman, or a brother?
Shin Gang spoke.
"Shin Yu, I'll respect your will. But a hand that can't swing a sword is useless to a swordsman."
Splurt-!
His arm severed near the shoulder.
True to his nature, Shin Gang coldly cut far beyond the blackened part.
Shin Yu writhed in disbelief as it was severed from his shoulder.
The hand twitched on its own.
"Shin Yu, leave me. I have no need of you."
It felt like the hand was weeping.
The hand bounced away toward the labyrinth depths.
As Shin Yu departed, Shin Gang's voice reached it.
"May we meet again at the end of this path."
This was the extent of Kang Seol's memory of Shin Yu.
Shin Rip and Shin Hyeon recounted what followed.
"Shin Yu came back. I could tell. He'd abandoned his brother, after all. Gang must've been worried."
"Gang is a strong kid. He'd have escaped even without Shin Yu."
They knew nothing of Shin Gang's fate.
'Did Shin Yu not tell them?'
Kang Seol drew out the rest.
"But... how did you awaken? Was it really something..."
"Heheheh... Shin Yu's stubborn. He possessed us."
"...Pardon?"
What did that mean?
"Literally. He dwelled in night beasts' arms and trained us. Our unconscious souls were weaker than his, so he moved our bodies as he pleased."
"How long..."
"How much time passed like that? When I came to, I was in the middle of grueling training. Swinging a log around. Heheheh! Funny, right? Not funny? A night beast training with a log!"
"The same for me. He went between us, constantly rousing us."
"Those painful training memories ultimately anchored our minds again."
Kang Seol couldn't help but chuckle.
Shin Yu's childlike thinking had saved his brothers.
'But...'
Shin Rip continued.
"The years of hardship we endured woke Hyeon and me."
"I'd have given up. Only he could do it. Foolish kid—should've left with Gang."
"Then why not join us here?"
Shin Hyeon gave a bitter, self-mocking smile.
"You know why..."
"We're not living beings. We're wraiths doomed to live in this labyrinth forever."
"......"
"We're dead. Shin Yu eventually realized that too."
He tried to save them, but couldn't.
His brothers were already gone.
The labyrinth master had lied.
"Shin Yu couldn't accept it, it seems."
"He still haunts our side but doesn't mingle. If he acknowledges our deaths... that's when any chance of us returning truly vanishes."
"Idiot! We're already dead... Foolish kid."
When all-in efforts end in failure, the monster called despair opens its maw.
Shin Yu was surely suffering.
"Kang Seol, you have talent."
"......"
"You're sharp, alert. You never stop, always charging ahead. That's talent too. We saw potential in you, felt you could challenge the labyrinth. But... that's not enough."
Shin Hyeon nodded.
"The Chilheuk Labyrinth can't be breached with that alone. Even if you could, who knows how long it'd take."
"Listen well. From now on, we'll impart everything to you."
"...Pardon?"
"It's not swordsmanship. You don't need to learn the sword. It's not because of the power you wield or any incompatibility with swords. You'll learn why later."
"Then what will I gain?"
"Your power. We'll awaken ways to amplify it. And even how to dispel that filthy darkness."
They were incredibly favorable to Kang Seol.
But such deals always came with a price.
"It's not just out of kindness."
"Right, this isn't a transaction. It's a request."
Shin Rip spoke gravely.
Even dead, their brotherly love endured. One wraith stayed in the labyrinth for his dead brothers; another struggled to free that wraith.
"Take my brother Shin Yu out of this hellish place."