Monster (3)
Kang!
Once more, sparks flew fiercely. The sound of iron clashing against iron coloured the deep night, but no one came. It was an abandoned clearing in a remote corner of a village, not far from Chengdu. Since ancient times, curiosity was poison and the gateway to hell; if you heard swords clashing in the woods, it was all too likely that someone's head would drop right off.
The guards on the city walls yawned and counted stars, as if they had heard nothing. While idle chatter wove messily among the stars, in the woods beyond their sight, a man soaked in sweat caught his breath.
"As expected, this won't do."
It was Docheol. Je Gang's face still showed no sign of fatigue, but his brow was furrowed. Docheol, keeping his distance, was sitting on a tree stump, spinning his axe around.
The Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was no martial artist of the martial world. But that did not mean he was not a warrior. Drawing on years of accumulated combat experience, extreme training, and a murderous intent to kill Docheol without fail, Je Gang drove Docheol back relentlessly.
It was true they were exchanging techniques, but that was all. Je Gang's martial skills, steadily gnawing away at Docheol, waited for a single opening to deliver a killing blow. Docheol had no room for a counterattack.
That was how it looked.
"But why did you come alone?"
Docheol asked, still seated on the stump. Je Gang did not answer, but stepped forward and lowered his stance. Seeing an opening, he thought there was no need to hear more. Yet even as Je Gang was about to swing his sword, Docheol went on as if nothing were wrong.
"No, that's not it. Not alone. About three more came."
Je Gang stopped mid-swing and stared at Docheol. Seeing Je Gang's frozen face, Docheol giggled and went on.
"I'm not a fool. I understand well enough that when the Tang Clan was toppled, the Embroidered Uniform Guard would come running with the news. But when I heard that the Commander set out from Shaanxi alone, even though it was a case that required an investigative unit, I couldn't help but be puzzled. A major incident like the Tang Clan's destruction, and you come alone?"
Je Gang looked around. His constant wariness made it seem as if he was overly cautious of a trap. Docheol smiled generously at Je Gang and said,
"So I had no choice but to form a hypothesis. Our Lord Commander came not to investigate, but to kill me. The sight of allies killing each other wouldn't look good, and there could be internal opposition, so he planned to secretly kill me and simply list me as missing."
"...What of it?"
"And you, Commander, hired several unorthodox masters on your way to Chengdu. I've never met them personally, so I don't know what realm they've reached, but when it comes to killing a martial artist of the orthodox sects, there is no more convenient excuse or tool than the scum of the unorthodox faction. The entire time you were on your way, I was watching your movements. Did you look down on me that much?"
"...So what? Even without those bastards, you would die by my hand now. Are you trying to stall for time?"
When Je Gang showed signs of trying to unleash his special technique again, Docheol tapped his head with his index finger and said,
"Think carefully. You know our Commander wants to kill me, you know you hired three unorthodox bastards just in case, and you even know our Lord Commander's martial skill is high. So why would I be sitting here chatting like this?"
Je Gang's face, which had hardened for a moment, now froze. It was as if he sensed an unavoidable fate. From the moment he set foot in this clearing—no, from the moment he decided to kill Docheol, perhaps even from the moment Je Gal Yeong-yu dragged Docheol into this game—it was a fate already decided.
"You, Commander, hired three unorthodox masters to prepare for the possibility of me running away. Is there any reason why I wouldn't have prepared such a hidden card myself?"
Docheol kept throwing questions. They were questions that endlessly spun in Je Gang's head. And each time he sought an answer, Je Gang's sword lost power, and his steps kept staggering.
"And you, Commander, were too excited to even ask the fundamental question. Since I feel sorry seeing our Lord Commander floundering like that, let me give you a hint."
Docheol stood up and asked.
"So, what was the reason Docheol decided to attack the Tang Clan?"
It was a question that hammered at Je Gang's mind. When he thought about it, he had only been vaguely guessing at the reason. Docheol had found the Poison Human suffering underground. So, he destroyed the Tang Clan to save the Poison Human? No, something was off. Why would Docheol, who had quietly left for Sichuan to train, find the Poison Human suffering underground? Because he had been digging into the Tang Clan's weakness. Then why exactly had Docheol been searching for the Tang Clan's weakness? Why had he tried to attack the Tang Clan? Did he really suddenly decide to attack because the Tang Clan might one day be a threat? For no reason, just on that one grounds? Without knowing their weakness and without any connection to the Tang Clan, had he just gone all the way to Sichuan to attack them?
Into Je Gang's tangled thoughts, Docheol threw another question.
"How did he obtain the help of a master strong enough to defeat Commander Je Gang?"
Docheol, who had suddenly declared he must attack the Tang Clan. The way he had gone straight to Sichuan to search for the Tang Clan's weaknesses. And Docheol, who had toppled the Tang Clan using the Great Cause as justification, and who now had the help of some powerful master.
In Je Gang's mind, the picture seemed to be falling into place. The attack on the Tang Clan had not been carried out by Docheol's own desires alone. Someone had wanted the Tang Clan shattered through Docheol.
"...Who the hell did you crawl under?"
Je Gang asked. Docheol smiled and raised his hand. An empty hand.
Then the grass rustled, and three round objects flew out.
"Keueuk!"
Startled, Je Gang raised his sword and struck the objects away. The things that flew apart were faces, each drenched in blood. They wore expressions of agony, mouths gaping wide, and the flesh below their necks looked as if chewed out by a beast.
Je Gang saw the faces and wore a horrified expression. Then he clicked his tongue and turned to flee. But faster than Je Gang could run, a shadow like a wild beast burst from the darkness and struck him in the side.
"Kkeo-eo-eok...!"
A man in beast-skin clothing crawled on all fours and turned around. Je Gang swayed, his face deathly pale, staring at his flank where a chunk of flesh the size of a head had been ripped out. The blood wouldn't stop, and his face was so twisted with pain he couldn't speak anymore.
"Kkeu-euk...! Ueuk...!"
But Docheol nodded as if he understood the meaning behind Je Gang's voice and said,
"That's right. I hooked up with the Demonic Cult."
"Kkeo-eo-eo-eok...! Eo-eo-eok!"
Blood gushed from Je Gang's side like a fountain. His eyes were dyed crimson, and even as he crawled on the ground, he thrashed as if to seize Docheol by the throat. But there was no way to kill Docheol, who stood far away.
"Don't worry too much. I'll be taking Princess too."
"Kkeu-aa-aa-ak! Eu-aa-aa-ak!"
The moment he heard those words, Je Gang's waist heaved, and a handful of entrails gushed out along with blood. He trembled violently, his whole body drenched in cold sweat, and gaped open-mouthed, gasping for breath.
"Kkeok...! Kkeo-eo-eok...! Eo-eok...!"
Je Gang, who had been thrashing and gasping for breath, finally let out a harsh breath, and with his eyes rolled back, reached out toward the empty sky.
The sky was filled with stars. In a sky without light pollution, stars inscribed with the names of someone's family and friends looked down upon the world. Among them were stars that Je Gang, too, had long ago named together with someone as a close friend.
Je Gang reached for those stars, flailing his hands, and muttered while trembling.
"Y- Young Lady Yeong-yu..."
"...Young Lady Yeong-yu?"
Docheol stared at Je Gang with a puzzled expression. Je Gang could not say anything more and his arm dropped limply. Docheol rubbed his chin and mulled over Je Gang's last words again.
"...Young Lady Yeong-yu?"
*******
"So, where did you hide the Poison Human?"
Docheol faced the Demonic Cult master. He was a man clad in beast skins, with a sturdy, muscular build and striking eyes. He was very large, and his blunt manner as he looked down at him carried the air of a yokai from old folk tales. Docheol put away his axe and said,
"I already moved her and hid her somewhere no one knows."
The Demonic Cult master said,
"She is a threat to the Demonic Cult. Hand her over immediately."
"Even if it means deciding where I die, I won't do it."
The man hesitated for a moment, then took a step forward and scowled. Clad in beast skins and wearing a beast-like snarl, he looked like some monstrous, overlapping visage—chillingly ferocious.
"So you wish to die right now."
"Go ahead and try. Then you'll be searching for a Poison Human whose whereabouts you don't know. The Heavenly Demon, having just cleaned up the Tang Clan, isn't going to like the fact that she still has to worry about poison."
The beast-man kept his gaze on Docheol. Docheol merely accepted his stare with an indifferent air. After a long standoff, the man spoke.
"...Jjeut."
And the man disappeared back into the darkness.