The Reason of a Hero (7)
In the darkness, the Sura-gangsi faintly revealed itself like death incarnate.
Pale skin traced with thick blue veins, empty pupils containing only an unfathomable abyss.
Even its every step exuded a heavy, suffocating chill of death.
Among all jiangshi, it stood at the pinnacle of taboo.
Its body was harder than steel, its movements faster than lightning.
But the true terror lay in the endless aura of death leaking from it.
Created by sacrificing a thousand virgins and boys, its power was closer to a curse than anything else.
It had no scent, no sound, yet it made even breathing feel like a sin.
Blood vessels froze, hearts clenched slowly, breath grew ragged, internal energy flowed backward, and finally, qi was severed.
Anyone touched by that aura stood on the threshold of death.
Within a curse that eroded the will, they faced the terror of not knowing when their last breath would come.
The reason masters like Hwangbo Gi-mun and Paeng Do-yun had collapsed so helplessly was likely because they couldn’t overcome the fear of death.
In contrast, Seomun Jin-gang was fiercely resisting the deathly aura reaching out like the grim reaper.
‘They said the one who climbed the highest in the trial was the eldest brother…’
The Cheonlyun-ogungjin created at the Seomun Clan.
To the public, they had promised great rewards for climbing just ten steps, while telling the second brother he needed to reach at least thirty.
In truth, they hadn’t held high expectations.
By Yongbong Gathering standards, thirty steps equated to passing the fourth stage—roughly silver rank.
There was no way upper-rank guards could overcome a trial that even the most celebrated geniuses of the gangho failed in droves.
Yet against all expectations, someone had succeeded in reaching thirty steps in a short time.
‘And that was the eldest brother.’
No one had seen it coming.
Hadn’t the eldest brother, who had been unusually frail since childhood, possessed martial talent lower than even an average guard?
Of course, resisting the fear of death had nothing to do with the height of one’s martial arts or natural talent.
Even taking that into account, Seomun Jin-gang’s achievement was enough to surprise even Seomun Hwan.
A mental fortitude higher than most Yongbong candidates.
With that strength, he was pushing back the Sura-gangsi’s malevolent energy.
Of course, that alone wasn’t enough to defeat it.
The Sura-gangsi’s power was equivalent to a superlative master, or perhaps even approaching the transcendent realm.
As expected, despite Seomun Jin-gang’s desperate struggle, he was being overwhelmingly pushed back.
“Ugh!”
The arm holding his sword trembled violently.
This was the limit.
The moment the terrifying jiangshi’s hand was about to pierce through his body…
“That’s enough.”
Clang!!
Seomun Hwan stepped forward.
“Lord Cheolmyeon-gaek!”
Seomun Jin-gang, recognizing him, shouted loudly.
Seomun Hwan waved his hand dismissively and said,
“I’ll take it from here. Take the survivors and stick to the wall!”
“U-understood. Please be careful.”
Seomun Jin-gang hoisted the fallen Hwangbo Gi-mun and Paeng Do-yun onto his shoulders and moved to the corner.
Though his own body was in terrible shape, he took out the golden wound medicine and internal injury pills from his robe and began treating them.
Watching this, Seomun Hwan clicked his tongue.
“Always sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong…”
He didn’t have the luxury of worrying about his brother right now.
In his previous life, he would have crumpled this thing in an instant using vast internal energy, but in his current state, it was a difficult opponent.
Even now, Seomun Hwan’s greatest strength was his illusion magic.
He had been using it sparingly to avoid his eldest brother’s eyes, but in a crisis like this, there was no reason to hold back.
However, the opponent was a Sura-gangsi.
A moving corpse.
A mass of flesh without thought or emotion.
No matter how elaborate the illusion, there was no consciousness to perceive it.
‘No choice, then.’
Seomun Hwan gave up.
Illusion magic was sealed.
All that remained was the sword.
But fighting with only the sword presented its own problems.
The Sura-gangsi’s body was like an iron wall that could deflect even the qi manifestation of a superlative master.
Seomun Hwan’s internal energy had not yet reached that level.
At that moment, the Sura-gangsi moved.
It kicked off the ground with a thunderous roar and charged.
The speed was enough to shake the earth.
Kwaaaaang!!
The rock wall shattered, sending dirt flying.
Seomun Hwan sidestepped and drew his Blue Stream Sword, swinging it.
A sharp blade line scraped across the Sura-gangsi’s arm.
A short, crisp strike.
However…
Clang!!
With a heavy sound like striking metal, the sword bounced away.
Not a single scratch marred the Sura-gangsi’s body.
‘It’s too damn hard.’
If it hadn’t been the Blue Stream Sword, the blade would have shattered.
Immediately after, the Sura-gangsi’s arm swept toward him like red lightning.
Whoosh!
That casual swing carried enough destructive force to pulverize even massive boulders like tofu.
A direct hit would reduce a body to scattered pieces.
Seomun Hwan lowered his stance and slipped aside like a shadow.
With no time to catch his breath, the next attack came.
A massive hand blade sliced through the air.
Seomun Hwan angled his sword to block.
Kwaaaang!!
His body staggered.
The impact, like being struck by steel, traveled up his arm.
The tip of his sword vibrated violently.
‘Damn it, my internal energy is still lacking.’
He had been rapidly accumulating qi with the Jamlyong-singong recently.
If he had created and practiced the technique just a few months earlier, the situation would have been vastly different.
Unfortunately, he still didn’t have enough internal energy to cut through a Sura-gangsi.
‘Well, nothing to be done about it.’
Seomun Hwan adjusted his stance.
From the beginning, the Sura-gangsi was a secret weapon designed to face transcendent masters.
Trying to defeat it with mere peak-level internal energy was greedy.
Still, there was a way.
‘If one strike isn’t enough…’
Seomun Hwan’s eyes gleamed as he leaped toward the Sura-gangsi.
Boom!!
Seomun Jin-gang, watching with a nervous heart, gritted his teeth.
‘…It’s impossible.’
Overwhelming in both power and speed.
The Sura-gangsi was quite literally a moving disaster.
This was not a fight that could be endured with courage alone.
Yet Seomun Hwan did not retreat.
He steadied his breathing and raised his sword again.
His posture was unshakable.
His eyes showed not a trace of fear.
He continued to swing his sword.
Short, precise cuts.
Again and again.
They sliced across the Sura-gangsi’s body.
All in exactly the same spot.
‘…The same place?’
Seomun Jin-gang suddenly realized.
He hadn’t been swinging recklessly from the start.
Seomun Hwan’s sword had always targeted the exact same location—the inner side of the Sura-gangsi’s forearm.
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Continuous cutting sounds.
As if shaving away iron-like flesh, Seomun Hwan relentlessly struck the same spot.
Dozens of times.
Hundreds of times.
The cumulative effect of strikes delivered in an instant.
Each blow, like water droplets piercing stone, gradually created cracks.
And finally…
Boom!!
The massive body staggered.
Seomun Hwan didn’t miss the opportunity and delivered the final strike.
Shaaaak!!
The Sura-gangsi’s arm was severed cleanly just below the elbow.
Sticky black blood flowed out.
On the inside of the severed arm, a bizarre red pattern was revealed.
A mystical formation engraved within its body.
The source of the Sura-gangsi’s power.
With one formation gone, the Sura-gangsi’s heavy aura wavered slightly.
Seomun Hwan took a short breath and raised his sword again.
This time, he didn’t hesitate.
“Hah!”
With a shout, he sprang forward like a released arrow.
He concentrated all his energy at the tip of his sword.
Cutting through the swirling killing intent and deathly aura, he swung with full force.
Slash!!
With a crisp sound of wind being cut, the Sura-gangsi’s head was severed cleanly.
With a heavy thud, the massive head rolled across the ground.
Crack!
The headless body convulsed several times before finally collapsing powerlessly.
Thud!
Seomun Hwan slowly sheathed his sword.
A cold gleam flickered across the blade stained with red blood.
“Seriously, what a pain in the ass.”
He muttered briefly as he looked down at the fallen Sura-gangsi.
He had needed to unleash an extremely fast sword technique hundreds of times in an instant.
His dantian was nearly empty, and his muscles felt like they might spasm, but he hadn’t suffered a single wound.
If it had been an ordinary weapon instead of the Blue Stream Sword, the blade would have broken first.
Still, the result was an overwhelming victory.
Seomun Jin-gang, having witnessed it all, asked in a trembling voice filled with shock.
“G-great hero… how is this possible… how could you defeat such a monster…”
“This doesn’t seem like the time to be asking such things.”
He had no idea why this man had entered this place.
If he hadn’t arrived in time, their lives would have been in danger.
Naturally, his tone came out rather sharp.
Whether he noticed or not, Seomun Jin-gang seemed to snap back to his senses and said,
“Y-you’re right. We should hurry and get these two to safety.”
While Seomun Jin-gang tended to the fallen pair, Seomun Hwan spotted a box nearby.
It looked similar to the one that had contained the spiritual medicine earlier.
Curious, he opened it… and found an old book inside.
Hwanma Secret Sword Art
“Hah! These guys really know how to cause trouble.”
A quick glance confirmed it was indeed a manual he had created in his past life.
Of course, it was a technique made when his realm was still low.
Later, when illusion magic allowed him to do anything, there had been no need to use such sword arts.
The important point was that this ‘fake’ Hwanma Cave contained ‘real’ techniques of the Phantom Demon.
“The murim is going to flip upside down.”
The murim could wait. Right now, escaping this place was the priority.
With Hwangbo Gi-mun and Paeng Do-yun each draped over their shoulders, they quickly made their way out of the crumbling cave.
Even as they passed through the space thick with dust and the metallic stench of blood, they never once stopped moving.
Crunch. Crunch.
Only the sound of crushed stone powder beneath their feet broke the silence.
After a moment of quiet, Seomun Hwan spoke without turning his head.
“Seomun Haengsu, may I ask you something?”
Seomun Jin-gang seemed slightly surprised but nodded while continuing to move forward.
“Of course. Ask me anything.”
“Why did you come to such a dangerous place? I didn’t think you were the type to covet treasures.”
It was a casually thrown question.
Yet it contained a sharp edge of rebuke.
Seomun Jin-gang hesitated for a long time before finally speaking in a heavy voice.
“It wasn’t… because of the treasure.”
He took a deep breath and continued.
“The fact that the Jangbodo spread throughout the world… is my responsibility.”
His voice was quiet, but it carried an undeniable firmness.
“When I asked the Omniscient Elder for the truth, I should have ended it there. But it was my hand that divided it between the two families.”
Seomun Jin-gang lowered his head as if reproaching himself.
“If I hadn’t personally taught the Jangbodo with my sword, the world wouldn’t have fallen into such chaos.”
His steps never faltered.
Crushing the powdered stone beneath his feet, Seomun Jin-gang spoke calmly.
“This matter is my responsibility. So… how could I possibly turn a blind eye to it?”
Seomun Hwan glanced at his brother from the corner of his eye.
The guilt and resolve that crossed his face were both completely sincere.
Yet seeing his brother’s attitude made Seomun Hwan feel like his insides would burst from frustration.
‘This frustrating idiot!’
Barely suppressing his irritation, Seomun Hwan continued.
“Why go this far?”
His voice was calm, but it contained restrained frustration.
“Do you really think the world will acknowledge you for doing something like this?”
No matter how right the choice, the gangho was a place that only looked at results.
If you lost, justice and good intentions meant nothing.
Seomun Hwan knew this better than anyone.
At those words, Seomun Jin-gang smiled faintly.
It was a cold, yet somehow lonely smile.
“I have a younger brother who is far too good for me.”
Seomun Hwan’s footsteps halted for a moment.