Today's Fortune (4)
Because he'd deliberately maximized the destructive power, an explosion loud enough to rupture eardrums boomed out—but there was no sign of anyone outside stirring.
A Geomunjinbeop that completely seals off the exterior?
Who the hell knew. From the moment they'd entered, it had been an absurdly convoluted Geomunjinbeop anyway. Given that Ilmyeong, who'd come in with them, still hadn't breached the interior, it had to be some bizarre Demonic Cult Geomunjinbeop he didn't know about.
Anyway, he'd timed it razor-thin...
As the scattered papers fluttering everywhere settled to the floor, Gun Yuhyeon's figure emerged from within, staring straight ahead with cold eyes.
"...How are you not scared?"
Fuck, what the hell? Weren't you just some desk-jockey? Why are you so unfazed?
"Didn't I tell you? I can use the Interest Method."
"...You're cracking jokes even now?"
"Why doesn't anyone believe me? I'm just speaking the truth."
He drew the Black Dragon Sword and unleashed the Twin Heaven Sword Conclusion.
Shrrrrrrrrk.
Starting from the ankles, waves of countless blades began slicing through Gun Yuhyeon's body in sequence—but
Crack, crack.
Strangely, wherever the blade waves swept, only chunks of thick ice scattered and fell away, without so much as a scratch.
Ha, what the fuck is this guy?
Gun Yuhyeon, still standing in place, calmly asked,
"The Shadow Hands are a hastily assembled group, so they have their flaws... but how did you uncover my identity?"
He seemed utterly convinced of his own safety. Rather than the immediate threat, he was only curious about how Jin Sowoon had figured him out. Was it confidence in his skills? Or did he, like the Twin Shadow Ghost Demon Brigade, not care if he lost his life?
His face, filled with pure curiosity, felt utterly out of place in the current situation.
"The gambling den."
"...There?"
"How many people in the world value anything more than money?"
"...Just from that?"
Of course, that wasn't all. But leaving some mystery would let him satisfy his own curiosity too, right?
"My turn to ask."
He pointed the Black Dragon Sword at him.
"Are you the captain of the Twin Shadow Ghost Demon Brigade?"
"Twin Shadow Ghost Demon Brigade...!"
The man's eyes widened. But soon, Gun Yuhyeon returned to his calm expression.
"I never imagined those words coming from your mouth."
He slowly shook his head, as if there was no helping it.
"I was just going to leave peacefully, but now I can't."
"Just going to leave peacefully?"
Jin Sowoon checked Damak's condition. Blood was flowing like from a wounded beast, but fortunately, he was still breathing.
After pulling that shit, he was just going to leave? Was the Demonic Cult's idea of "just leaving" different from the orthodox world's?
Whatever. It didn't matter.
"You Demonic Cult bastards have been crazy from the root!"
Socheon Sword Technique.
Jeon Cheon-gi's Three Forms.
Demon-Slaying Form.
A killing move refined solely for demonic foes.
Shhiiik—
The Black Dragon Sword shot out faster than ever, aiming straight for Gun Yuhyeon's nape in one breath.
Puk.
The Black Dragon Sword was just a hair faster than the ice barrier he conjured.
Pik. Psssh.
A small wound opened on his nape, blood beginning to flow.
"This... "
Gun Yuhyeon, staring at his own blood, looked slightly flustered as he alternated glances between Jin Sowoon's face and hand.
"Hey, you fraud. Got time to stand there like an idiot?"
Shhiiik—
With the sound of slicing air, the Black Dragon Sword shot like a beam of light, scattering to target his vital points.
Eyes, throat, solar plexus, heart, lungs, groin.
He raised a hand to form an ice barrier, blocking the Socheon Sword Technique.
But Jin Sowoon wasn't about to back off easily.
"Why aren't you answering my question?"
He withdrew the Socheon Sword Technique and scattered the Great Heaven Sword Method. Fewer illusionary swords than the ascending form, but faster—the Demon-Slaying Form.
Gun Yuhyeon wore his characteristic smile.
"Because the question was wrong."
Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping.
Ridiculously, he flicked his fingers to bat away every true sword hidden among the illusions.
For a mere assassin squad leader, he distinguished illusions from reality with eerie precision. How the hell did he do it?
His martial prowess was no joke. And since the Red Spike Ring didn't react at all, he didn't seem to cultivate demonic qi either.
There was zero info on this guy in his mental library either.
Then.
"What... Twin Shadow Ghost...?"
Huh? Wasn't he passed out?
Damak's cracked voice rang out.
"Just who the hell is that guy's identity...?"
Like Gun Yuhyeon, Damak seemed more intent on satisfying his curiosity than clinging to life at death's door. What a bunch of weirdos.
"Demonic Cult."
"Demonic Cult?"
It'd be unfamiliar to the present-day Damak. He wasn't even from the orthodox world to begin with, and even among them, hardly anyone knew the Demonic Cult's true nature.
He added an explanation for Damak.
"The hated bastards who supposedly vanished five hundred years ago."
"Vanished...?"
It wasn't Damak who responded, but Gun Yuhyeon.
His head tilted slightly to the side.
"From your perspective, that's how it's been told, huh."
"Doesn't match the facts?"
"History is written by the victors, but... you've been throwing around words we can't tolerate."
Gun Yuhyeon flashed his usual affable smile. But the aura blooming around him was anything but friendly.
"We didn't vanish."
It felt like hell itself was about to return, thick with ominous intent.
Roarrrrr.
Around Gun Yuhyeon, who had used ice barriers until now, blistering flames hot enough to scorch skin erupted in an instant.
Handling both yin and yang qi arts at once...?
Fuck, what the hell is this! Are you a descendant of Zhang Sanfeng or something?!
Gun Yuhyeon raised a hand and spat out each word deliberately.
"We were driven from the orthodox world."
Boom boom boom!
Fireballs shot from both hands like cannon shells.
Slash—
He infused qi into the Black Dragon Sword to cleave the fireballs, but the severed chunks slammed into the walls and exploded anyway.
Boom boom boom!
With all the books and furniture, flames surged in an instant, making it harder to breathe.
Save me, you bastard...!
"...Was the orthodox world ever something that could be taken or stolen in the first place?"
He'd never held the orthodox world in his grasp, so maybe he couldn't empathize, but Gun Yuhyeon seemed seriously pissed about being driven out.
"...You wouldn't understand. The injustice of we, the rightful ones, wandering homeless for five hundred years."
"Then you shouldn't have dabbled in demonic arts, dumbass!"
As he swung his sword aura, the burning furniture sliced apart like paper. But Gun Yuhyeon leisurely moved his hands.
Ha... look at this fucker wrapping himself in ice because it's too hot.
Gun Yuhyeon twisted his lips at him.
"Setting your own limits and calling it orthodoxy. As expected of the Black Flame Dragon, a hypocrite of the righteous sects."
Whoa, finally acknowledged as a disciple of the orthodox sects. Now a Demonic Cult grunt. ...Whatever. The real issue was that dragging this out put him at a disadvantage.
For some reason, Gun Yuhyeon had set up a Geomunjinbeop in this space, separating interior from exterior. He was slowly getting smoked by the heat, while the bastard cooled himself with ice.
'Azure Dragon Ring, Red Spike Ring.'
Facing a heaven-defying existence stirred his sense of justice and righteousness, making them writhe to manifest. But with Damak still lucidly witnessing this, even if his justice was well-intentioned, manifesting it would appear as a terrifying form. He couldn't use it recklessly.
...He might end up known as worse than black path or Demonic Cult scum.
'Gotta get Damak out first.'
Ilmyeong, who'd entered with them, was still lost in the Geomunjinbeop—not even a sign of him. Useless bald bastard.
As he pondered,
"Jin Sowoon... leave me and go."
Damak spat nonsense, sounding utterly exhausted.
Uh, well... you can't die. If you die, I'll have to face those bastards alone later.
He shook his head at Damak.
"Don't worry, it's not because of you."
For a moment, light flickered in Damak's eyes.
"Just what are you...?"
He grinned at him.
"Gotta uncover that guy's identity."
Especially if Gun Yuhyeon was a key figure in the Twin Shadow Ghost Demon Brigade—he had to capture him here.
"So hang in there."
You're someone I need to use properly later.
He gripped his hand tighter, facing forward again. Unleashing the Ten Thousand Swords of Heaven and Earth summoned six myriad swords.
He'd never pulled this many against a single foe, but the opponent wielded yin-yang qi like a demon. Overkill was better than short.
Half executed the Socheon Sword Technique, the other half the Twin Heaven Sword Conclusion.
Amid the storm of sword shadows, blades shot like lightning.
Gun Yuhyeon, who had flicked them away wildly at first, soon swung his long robe repeatedly to form ice barriers.
Kaboom kaboom kaboom.
He shattered what the man made, shattered again what reformed. After several exchanges, the shattered ice amid the blazing heat soaked the floor, soon pooling enough to splash with every step.
He shouted at Gun Yuhyeon.
"Pretty confident in your internal energy, huh?"
"...Don't the orthodox folk childishly rank prowess by internal energy volume?"
"Yeah, spot on."
Gun Yuhyeon scoffed derisively.
"Too bad, but it doesn't work that way in our Heavenly Cult."
"Yeah?"
He grinned back in kind.
"Still, give it a taste. I've got quite a bit myself."
Grrrrrrrrumble.
His palms grew heavy. Layer upon layer of energy stacked like it might burst, growling deeply.
"Take this! The taste of justice!"
Kaboom kaboom kaboom boom boom boom!
The Radiant Heaven Divine Palm spread rapidly, filling the narrow chamber. The small room shook like an earthquake, soon flipping entirely.
Books and furniture aflame scattered to powder, the heat vanishing entirely.
"...Not a very good taste."
Gun Yuhyeon, who had taken the Radiant Heaven Divine Palm head-on, revealed himself. His state was a mess—fingers twisted wildly, body covered in wounds large and small.
But what mattered was he was still fit to speak.
"Damn, doesn't suit your palate? It's Anhui's specialty."
He swung the myriad swords into the Socheon Sword Technique. The moment ice barriers rose against the pouring sword qi—
He unleashed the form he'd hidden until the end.
White Moon Heaven-Subduing Three Forms.
First Form: Extreme Swiftness.
Shiiiiiing—
Formless sword qi tore through space itself.
The ice barrier, raised to dispel the Socheon Sword Technique's qi, couldn't react in time to the White Moon Heaven-Subduing Three Forms.
Extreme Swiftness's qi pierced the gap, aiming to skewer Gun Yuhyeon's heart in one stroke.
Grriiinnnd grriiinnnd.
A grating screech assaulted the eardrums unpleasantly.
No matter the protective gear, Extreme Swiftness's destructive power guaranteed at least a critical wound.
He expected to see blood any second—
Crack.
The sight revealed as the ice barrier shattered was shocking beyond belief.
"...What."
Gun Yuhyeon was utterly unscathed.
'There was definitely an impact sound.'
Looking closely, a pitch-black wristguard adorned his right hand. The moment he saw the pig emblem on it, he couldn't help but gasp.
"Ha... Devouring Armguard?"
Forgetting Damak was even conscious, the hated memory from his past life slipped out.
At his groan-like words, Gun Yuhyeon's eyes widened slightly instead.
"Hmm... You even know this item's name... Just what is your identity?"
Gun Yuhyeon now stroked his chin, eyeing him with keen interest.
Jin Sowoon, meanwhile, found no room for leisure.
The Devouring Armguard was one of the Demonic Cult's Thirteen Demonic Treasures. A heaven-defying artifact that absorbed not just sword qi, but physical impacts too.
Its material was unknown.
But one thing was certain.
If the Demonic Cult had armed everyone with Devouring Armguards, the Murim Alliance's downfall would've come years sooner.
And the owner of that hated demonic item was...
"You're one of Demon Brain's limbs."
"...!"
Jeongumhak, one of the seven disciples of Demon Brain—who would later become the Cult Protector Dharma King. That damned name was Gun Yuhyeon's true identity.