Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: I Meet the Real King of Hell!
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After that incident, my life within the Dong-ro Branch became much easier.
Just yesterday, most of the branch members had looked at me with disapproval.
Now, however, those looks of disapproval had turned into admiration and respect.
It was, of course, because I had laid waste to the Dong-ro Regional Branch of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union.
The thing that brought about such a result was power.
Justice without power is nothing but a pathetic load of nonsense.
By destroying Wi Heun-chang and the Dong-ro Regional Branch, I tasted the irresistible confidence and allure of the strong.
That confidence and allure are a temptation hard to resist.
***
As I was lying on my bed, I heard the voices of the Team 3 members outside my door.
“What is it?”
“We came to see the Team Leader.”
Yeon Cheong answered Dam Geum-hu’s stern question.
“Go back. The Captain is resting.”
“Brother Dam, we have something to say to the Team Leader.”
“Say it later when the Captain comes out.”
Dam Geum-hu remained unmoved by Deung Bo’s words.
I got up from the bed and went outside.
*Step.*
“What are you doing?”
“We are guarding the Captain.”
“Didn’t I tell you that was unnecessary?”
“But I…”
“Don’t do pointless things.”
I glanced at Deung Bo and Yeon Cheong, who were standing there awkwardly.
“Do you have something to say?”
Deung Bo summoned his courage.
“Team Leader! Please teach us martial arts!”
“Why should I?”
“Because you’re our team leader, aren’t you?”
“I’m your team leader, not your master.”
I refused flatly and went back into my room.
***
After dinner, I sat cross-legged on the floor and attempted to circulate my energy.
I tried whenever I had a spare moment, but I always failed. To circulate my energy, I needed to recite the incantations of a heart art, but I couldn’t remember any of them.
Still, I didn’t give up and persistently tried whenever I had the time.
Just as my body automatically unleashed the martial arts it had learned when facing an opponent, I believed that if I kept trying to circulate my energy, I might succeed at some point.
***
It was a very quiet night.
I was about to finish my energy circulation—or rather, my attempt at it.
But just then, I heard a sound.
*Rustle!*
‘The sound of clothes?’
It was clearly the rustling of a robe, not far away.
*Step.*
I opened the door and stepped out, but no one was there. It was past midnight, so the Team 3 members were asleep, and it was quiet.
*Flutter.*
But then I heard the sound of rustling clothes again.
I instinctively perked up my ears, trying to pinpoint the source.
*Whoosh! Flutter!*
‘The back wall!’
This time, it wasn't just the rustling of clothes; I also heard something cutting through the air. It was the sound of someone using a movement technique.
I quickly went back into my room and opened the window a crack. The window faced the back wall.
I strained my ears to locate the source of the rustling, and it came from outside the back wall.
The distance from my window to the back wall was about fifty feet, and the sound came from beyond it, at least a hundred feet away, yet I had detected it.
This would be impossible without internal energy.
In any case, it had happened according to my will. In other words, if my will desired it, my internal energy would be roused, and my hearing would follow suit.
I’d have to test it again later to be sure, but my feeling right now was that this was correct.
Hearing, after all, is a physical ability. It meant my body was responding to my will.
*Whoooosh! Rustle!*
Just then, I faintly saw a black figure fly over the back wall and into the compound.
He was the source of the rustling sound.
‘Who is it?’
The moment I wondered who it was, the black figure’s appearance became as clear as if he were standing ten feet in front of me under the bright sun.
This phenomenon, too, occurred the instant I willed myself to see.
And the moment I saw his face, I flinched in surprise.
‘Sang Gang-jo!’
The black figure disappeared from my sight. If I opened the window fully, I could see where he went, but I didn't.
The shock of it being Sang Gang-jo was too great. There was no way I had seen wrong. It was definitely him.
Though he was gone, the afterimage of Sang Gang-jo's face was seared clearly onto my retinas.
Just who was Sang Gang-jo?
He was the Hall Master of the Hall of Justice, the most feared department within the Martial Alliance headquarters.
The Hall of Justice was the organization that oversaw crime and punishment for the entire Martial Alliance. It was said that even an innocent person, once suspected and dragged into the Hall of Justice, would have a crime fabricated for them.
It was a hellish place where, of every ten who walked in, three would die, five would be imprisoned in the dungeons, and the remaining two would emerge crippled or as broken shells of their former selves.
Thirteen years ago, I had been dragged into the Hall of Justice and subjected to brutal torture.
The reason was that when the Martial Alliance annihilated the Seven Soul Demon Palace, a subordinate of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union, with explosive charges, I was the only one who returned alive.
After being tortured in every way imaginable, I was left in a state where I couldn't even crawl on my own.
Fifteen of my fingers and toes were broken, and all my fingernails and toenails had been pulled out.
Both my arms and legs were broken in six places, and five of my ribs were fractured, piercing my internal organs.
I had been waterboarded so severely that my lungs filled with water, and my head had been beaten so much that my mind drifted in and out of consciousness, and I fainted frequently.
And the person I had just seen was none other than Sang Gang-jo, the Hall Master of the Martial Alliance headquarters' Hall of Justice.
Sang Gang-jo’s title was the Light-Splitting Sword. When he unleashed the Eighteen Stances of Light-Splitting Swordplay, a torrent of sword light would pour from his blade and strike down his enemies.
*Whoooosh! Rustle!*
As I listened intently, the sound of something cutting through the air and the rustling of clothes headed toward the First Hall, where the Branch Master stayed.
Then, I heard the sound of a window opening, followed by someone sneaking inside.
‘Ho! So this is what’s happening!’
I was more intrigued by the fact that I had sensed it than by the fact that a stranger—Sang Gang-jo—had infiltrated the Dong-ro Branch.
To confirm this new discovery, I decided to test it further.
I spied on what Sang Gang-jo was doing in the First Hall. He woke up one of the Team 1 members sleeping there and asked about the Branch Master's whereabouts.
When the member replied that the Branch Master had gone home for the night, Sang Gang-jo immediately ordered him to summon the Branch Master.
Their conversation was as clear as if they were speaking right next to me.
After sensing that Sang Gang-jo had settled down and was waiting, I took it a step further and spied on Deung Bo, Yeon Cheong, and Dam Geum-hu in the Third Hall.
The three were sound asleep. Their breathing was as vivid as if I were right beside them.
From this, I confirmed that my hearing and vision could be activated as long as I had the will to do so.
‘This is incredible!’
***
At breakfast, Sang Gang-jo appeared in the dining hall.
Sitting ramrod straight next to An Do-pil, Sang Gang-jo’s face was stiff, his complexion gaunt and melancholic.
Everyone except me ate in an awkward atmosphere, their faces filled with puzzlement.
I wasn’t particularly curious why Sang Gang-jo had come to the Dong-ro Branch looking so haggard. While I held a grudge against the Martial Alliance, I had no interest in its affairs.
It was obvious to anyone that An Do-pil was walking on eggshells around Sang Gang-jo, which made the mealtime atmosphere unavoidably tense.
An Do-pil looked at me and spoke.
“Team Leader of Team 3, this man will be assigned to your team starting today.”
An Do-pil’s words were completely unexpected. No one had seen it coming.
I looked at An Do-pil and Sang Gang-jo without answering.
Thirteen years ago, I wouldn’t have dared to even look at Sang Gang-jo.
If the masters of the Hall of Justice were grim reapers, then Sang Gang-jo, the Hall Master, was the King of Hell.
But the me of today did not fear the King of Hell, Sang Gang-jo. I didn't know what would happen if we fought one-on-one, but one thing was certain: I was not afraid.
I chewed my food slowly, staring at Sang Gang-jo.
“How old are you?”
It was a provocation. I found things like this both fun and thrilling. This man was the former Hall Master of the Martial Alliance’s Hall of Justice.
An Do-pil flinched, while Hyeong In-geol and the other branch members watched with expressions of interest.
No one had expected me to ask such a question. Everyone wore an expression that said, *That’s a question worthy of the Team Leader of Team 3.*
From Hyeong In-geol’s face, it seemed An Do-pil hadn’t told him about Sang Gang-jo.
An Do-pil, hiding his panic, spoke in a placating tone.
“Team Leader of Team 3.”
Sang Gang-jo, on the other hand, answered calmly.
“Forty-eight.”
That’s right. If you’re going to be a member of Team 3, you should act like a subordinate.
That age seemed about right. Thirteen years ago, Sang Gang-jo had been in his mid-thirties.
He was a promising young man who had risen to the position of head of the Hall of Justice, which oversaw law and order within the Martial Alliance headquarters, at a young age.
“Branch Master, isn’t this man a bit old?”
“Team Leader of Team 3! Just take him as a team member for now.”
I nodded.
“Come over here. If you’re a member of Team 3, you should eat with your team.”
An Do-pil was once again quite flustered, but since my words were reasonable, he couldn't object.
As Sang Gang-jo stood up and came to the table where the Team 3 members were sitting, the women moved his food over.
Sang Gang-jo looked emaciated and tired, but being the formidable figure he was, his words and actions carried a sense of composure.
He didn’t say anything unnecessary, like asking them to take care of him, and simply ate in silence.
“What’s your name?”
“It’s Jo Gang-sang.”
A pseudonym made by reversing the characters of Sang Gang-jo.
Dam Geum-hu looked displeased at having an older team member, but the good-natured Deung Bo and Yeon Cheong offered Sang Gang-jo various side dishes.
“What should we call you?”
Sang Gang-jo glanced at Yeon Cheong and said nonchalantly.
“Call me whatever you’re comfortable with.”
“Then I’ll call you Uncle Jo.”
‘Suk’ meant uncle.
And so, Sang Gang-jo became Team 3's Uncle Jo.
***
An Do-pil summoned me.
When I went to the Branch Master’s room, Hyeong In-geol and Sang Gang-jo were already there.
An Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol were standing, while Sang Gang-jo sat with his arms crossed. It looked for all the world like Sang Gang-jo was the superior, and An Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol were his subordinates.
I guessed that An Do-pil was about to explain who Sang Gang-jo was.
Judging by his face, Hyeong In-geol seemed to know nothing.
An Do-pil was so nervous he didn't even offer me a seat before pointing at Sang Gang-jo and speaking.
“This man is from the headquarters.”
“Ah!”
Hyeong In-geol was startled, but I remained impassive.
Sang Gang-jo watched my calm reaction with a sharp gaze, but An Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol took it in stride.
The peculiar personality I had developed since coming to the Dong-ro Branch had branded me in their minds as someone bizarre, cold, and at times, even cruel.
They also saw me as someone who didn't know joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure because I had lost my memories.
Sang Gang-jo soon averted his gaze from me, his expression suggesting he found it plausible.
An Do-pil must have explained my situation to Sang Gang-jo: that I was found unconscious, washed up on a riverbank, and because I had a Martial Alliance Medallion in my possession, a fisherman brought me to the Dong-ro Branch, but tragically, I had lost my memories.
He would have, of course, also explained my remarkable achievements as a member and then leader of Team 3.
Just now, Sang Gang-jo must have concluded that the reason I wasn’t surprised to hear he was from headquarters was due to my amnesia.
Just in case, An Do-pil asked me.
“Team Leader of Team 3, do you remember the Luoyang headquarters?”
“I don’t know.”
Hyeong In-geol froze stiff at the mention of the headquarters.
I stood there quietly, as if I wasn’t curious about anything. In truth, I wasn’t.