Chapter 24
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Master of the Black Moon (2)
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Haha, hahahaha...!
I was so thrilled that I lowered my sword and burst out laughing like a lunatic.
For the first time, I had sliced the Great Heavenly Demon's collar.
Thud!
I was cackling like a madman when the Great Heavenly Demon's fist sent me flying.
Kuhahaha...!
But I didn't stop laughing.
Tears welled up in my eyes from laughing so hard as I stealthily lifted my head to gauge the Great Heavenly Demon's expression.
I planned to mock him while watching his face.
Yet the Great Heavenly Demon looked strangely serene.
"Has the shock messed up your head?"
He showed no real reaction even to my taunting words.
"Congratulations."
The Great Heavenly Demon said something I never expected.
"Now that you've cut my collar, next time, aim to slice my flesh."
His words hit me like a thunderbolt.
"Are you really feeling okay?"
"What would make me feel ill? Now, pick up your sword."
I was sitting there, slowly trying to rise, when I jolted in shock.
Why did this man's figure overlap with my master's from long ago?
I didn't like my master much either, but the Great Heavenly Demon before me was someone I'd tear apart and kill right then if I had the power.
"This feels fucking awful."
Sword beams filled the space like a dense spiderweb, flying toward me.
Boom!
My sword cleaved through the web-like sword beams and swung past the Great Heavenly Demon's neck.
The blade that sliced his afterimage spun half a turn and parried the sword thrusting in from the right.
Clang!
The swords clashed, producing an eerie sound.
Then my sword spun through the air, snapped in half.
'W-what...'
Whether my sword broke or not, the Great Heavenly Demon's blade was coming for my entire body.
I urgently shifted my form left and right.
My figure multiplied into dozens, surrounding the Great Heavenly Demon.
Shing!
But even those dozens of forms were all severed by his single stroke, the blade passing right through my true body.
Urk...
A sharp pain flared, blood spurting from my leg, shoulder, and chest in succession.
"Damn it..."
As if saying that slicing his collar was mere luck, my whole body was soon drenched in blood.
Rumble!... Rumble!...
The downpour raged for five straight days without letting up.
The river overflowed, swallowing the land and surging wildly.
Gwang-u and I sat under the eaves of the backyard, watching the river's fierce waves carry everything away.
Brother, a boat's floating off.
Gwang-u pointed at the raging waters.
Not just boats—houses were drifting away too.
Brother, a pig's floating off too. Should I grab it?
"If you jump in there, even you won't make it out."
"What a shame. Looked tasty."
I said nothing, though I found Gwang-u smacking his lips as he watched the pig swept away absurd.
Staring at the river was making me hungry.
"Let's make dinner."
"Already that time? Watching the river made the day fly by."
Gwang-u headed to the kitchen and started cooking.
Soon, smoke rose, and the sound of grinding spices filled the air.
Creak... Creak...
Gwang-u was using Master's relic, the iron sphere, perfectly for grinding spices.
Thanks to the Great Heavenly Demon asking about the characters engraved on it so many times, I had memorized all 108 of them.
The Great Heavenly Demon seemed to be searching for something among those 108 characters but hadn't found it yet.
"Brother, dinner's ready."
I was just rising when a strange feeling hit me, and I turned toward the rain.
Far off in the downpour, it felt like someone was watching me, but no shadow was visible.
'What? Did I imagine it?'
It felt like an illusion, but an uneasy chill lingered.
"Brother, what're you doing? Come in already."
I entered the room at Gwang-u's urging.
"There's nothing more despicable than hiding and ambushing. Even if it's unavoidable to kill someone stronger, those who sell themselves to assassins for silver deserve to die a hundred deaths without complaint."
"Why bring that up all of a sudden?"
The Great Heavenly Demon's deep eyes returned to their original chilling gleam.
"If your body weren't mine, I'd never say such a thing."
"Cut the creepy talk."
The Great Heavenly Demon's eyes flashed with a blue glow beyond mere menace.
"Back when I ruled the martial world, there was an assassin called the Death King. The one lurking near you now isn't as good, but hiding in this pouring rain means you must never let your guard down."
Chills ran down my spine as I listened to the Great Heavenly Demon.
So that thing I saw at dinner wasn't a hallucination.
An assassin was circling me, intent on killing.
"Hurry and kill me."
The Great Heavenly Demon drew his sword without hesitation.
"Listen well. To catch an assassin, you must become one. If you can't sense his presence, you won't survive."
Slash.
The moment my head fell, I jolted awake.
Before my eyes was the still-pouring deluge and Gwang-u's massive face.
"Gwang-u."
"What's up, brother? Not sleeping?"
Staring into Gwang-u's huge eyes, I shoved him away and rolled aside.
Swish.
A black line scored the floor mat where I'd been lying.
Ack!
Gwang-u's startled yell came at the same time.
"Watch out! Assassin!"
I dashed into the rain-soaked yard and checked Gwang-u first.
Blood flowed from Gwang-u's shoulder where he stood on the veranda.
His near-indestructible body had been cut by the assassin's sword.
"Brother, what the hell is this?"
Gwang-u looked at me in bewilderment.
"I told you to be careful, you idiot! Shut your mouth and—dodge!"
Gwang-u must have sensed the faint killing intent too, moving before I finished.
Thwack!
Two sharp daggers embedded where he'd stood.
Gwang-u leaped into the rainy yard, eyes darting frantically for the assassin.
But no sign anywhere.
"Feel for the presence."
Gwang-u understood martial matters instantly, even if he missed most else.
He stood still in the downpour, then slowly moved inside.
"Careful."
"Don't worry, brother. I'll take him out in one hit."
I stayed in the yard, searching for the assassin's presence.
Gwang-u checked the first room, then the second.
While he searched, I kept feeling for it in the rain.
The rain blinded my eyes and drowned my ears, making it hard to sense.
Then, as Gwang-u entered the kitchen, something faint registered.
"Gwang-u!"
Boom!
My shout was followed by the kitchen wall exploding.
The one flung out amid the debris and slammed into the ground wore black night clothes and a hood—an assassin.
The assassin bounced up from the muddy ground.
But I was already blocking his path.
Thud!
The assassin's dark eyes flew toward me, then rolled back white as he crumpled limply.
The iron sphere rolled beside the fallen assassin.
Red blood from his head mixed with the pooled rainwater.
"Brother! I got him!"
Gwang-u burst from the kitchen yelling.
Peeling off the black hood revealed a face full of wrinkles.
"Not yet."
I leaped up, vaulting the fence.
I headed for the pine grove a short distance from the house.
They spotted me in the pines, a small movement.
But too slow to escape my grasp.
Thud!
My fist smashed his back, and he pitched forward without a scream.
I flipped the sprawled figure over.
A familiar face frothed at the mouth.
'As expected.'
My suspicions ended the moment I saw that familiar face.
The old broker lived connecting clients and assassin gates.
He'd trained as an assassin in the Red Blood Gate but, deemed lacking talent, switched to handling commissions.
Long ago, assassin brokers only took jobs for their own gates.
But jobs from other gates came in, so they held meetings making brokers accept them too.
This old man was one such broker.
Ugh...
The recovering old man first saw a massive face.
"Fooled you, huh? With a face this kind, it's no wonder I fell for it all this time."
Terror-stricken, the old man squeezed his eyes shut.
Those cow-like eyes once seemed so innocent; now they terrified more than any demon from hell.
"Who's left?"
At the cold voice drilling into his ears, the old man opened his eyes and looked at its owner.
The villagers had all been fooled by these "hunters."
Their presence here meant the Black Blood Gate's lord was dead.
So they couldn't possibly be mere hunters.
"What... what are you really?"
"Hunters."
The old man shook his head vehemently at my answer.
"No, you're not. You can't be... absolutely not hunters."
"Does it matter? Hunter or not, what difference does it make?"
"Why? Why hide your martial prowess and live in seclusion?"
What an absurd question.
What business was it of theirs if I hid my skills?
I stayed silent, but they were the ones trying to kill me.
"You think we're hiding? No. We just wanted to live apart from the martial world."
The old man hung his head, speechless.
I wanted to end these tiresome assassin ambushes for good.
"Give me one reason to let you live."
Like a lifeline from hell, his reaction was swift.
"From now on... assassin gates will never... absolutely never ambush you two again."
"Add one more. Halt the hit on Seok Family Head Seok Yang-ho."
I didn't need to mention the Seok Family Head.
But if possible, I wanted to shield him from assassins.
"Impossible... Impossible. If gates take silver and fail, they can't survive in the martial world."
"Is that so? Then you're useless. Gwang-u, kill him."
Gwang-u clenched his fist, then glanced at me.
"Brother, for real?"
Grind...
'Goddamn, this clueless bastard.'
As I ground my teeth, Gwang-u reclenched his fist.
Then the old man pleaded desperately.
"The client wields immense power in the martial world. Fail, and they'll kill us."
"The Si Family of Huanin County has that much pull? News to me."
"H-how...?"
Shocked speechless, the old man faltered.
"Should I spread rumors that your gate leaked the client?"
Unable to endure my threat, the old man bowed his head.
"I'll... try to get the commission withdrawn."
"Gwang-u, let him go."
Gwang-u hauled the prone old man up by the shoulder.
Ugh...
A pained groan escaped him.
"What's your name?"
"People... call me 'Old Gong'."