Not Even in Death
[Hmm...]
From the ruined roof of the outpost, Yoo Chun-gil watched the scene unfold, his eyes gleaming.
It was a powder keg ready to blow.
Bang Seong-yeon, seemingly consumed by rage, had wrapped his sword in qi.
His opponent gripped his greatsword, looking somewhat flustered.
[What on earth is he doing?]
Yoo Chun-gil was filled with doubt as he watched.
What was the boy trying to pull?
[This doesn't suit him at all.]
For a guy who always calculated his gains and hated sticking his neck out, why was he acting so recklessly now? Yoo Chun-gil couldn't wrap his head around it.
[Hmm.]
Yoo Chun-gil's gaze drifted downward, landing on the child lying lifeless beneath the straw.
The reason Bang Seong-yeon had suddenly rushed here was undoubtedly because of that child.
That had to be why he had leaped out of the carriage without a word.
[...But why?]
What could possibly drive him to act so out of character?
[It's not like he's overflowing with righteous heroism.]
Sure, those types existed.
The fools who would throw themselves into danger to protect the weak, regardless of their own strength.
In any era, those who survived such folly were hailed as heroes, while those who died were forgotten as dogs.
[I thought he was different.]
Yoo Chun-gil had believed Bang Seong-yeon was cut from a different cloth.
He was unlike the typical martial artists he had known.
Put nicely, the boy was a clever opportunist who never took a loss.
Put bluntly, he was a selfish bastard.
Yoo Chun-gil didn't judge him for it.
People like that lived longer than the weaklings who overstepped their bounds.
Besides, it was in Yoo Chun-gil's best interest for Bang Seong-yeon to stay alive.
He had been so sure of that, and yet...
[This is bad.]
Had he misjudged the boy?
Yoo Chun-gil frowned.
It felt as though his calculations had missed the mark. He had never expected Seong-yeon to charge in blindly, let alone in such a furious rage.
[Why?]
What had triggered him? Though he couldn't understand the motive, Yoo Chun-gil focused on a more pressing matter.
Namely:
[Can he win?]
He quietly observed, assessing whether Bang Seong-yeon could defeat his opponent.
[Hmm.]
The bald man's realm was roughly First-rate.
Bang Seong-yeon, by comparison, was only Second-rate.
While the gap in realms was usually absolute for martial artists, it wasn't entirely impossible to overcome.
Especially for someone like Bang Seong-yeon, who possessed a variety of hidden tricks.
But did Bang Seong-yeon even know how to use them?
[I doubt it.]
Yoo Chun-gil lacked faith.
Under normal circumstances, he might have given him a chance, but...
[Not right now.]
Yoo Chun-gil shook his head firmly.
If it were the Bang Seong-yeon he knew—the cold, calculating boy who rarely showed emotion and whose mind worked at lightning speed—it might have been possible.
But not today.
Seong-yeon was currently blinded by rage.
There was no way he could think rationally.
If he could, he wouldn't have started this fight in the first place.
[Hrmmm...]
This only deepened Yoo Chun-gil's dilemma.
[Should I possess him?]
Should he take over Bang Seong-yeon's body and handle this himself?
Or should he watch a little longer?
If he just stood by, things could go south very quickly...
After a brief moment of hesitation, Yoo Chun-gil nodded.
[Let's see how this plays out first.]
His hesitation didn't last long.
It would be a shame if the boy died here, but...
[That would just be the limit of his fate.]
He wouldn't lose sleep over it.
With that, Yoo Chun-gil watched Bang Seong-yeon with renewed interest.
[Go on, show me what you've got.]
Since the boy had always defied his expectations, Yoo Chun-gil couldn't help but feel a flicker of anticipation.
Right then, the battle began.
Bang Seong-yeon made the first move.
Swish!
He thrust his sword forward.
The blade lunged toward the man, but the opponent nimbly dodged the attack.
A subtle shift in expression crossed the man's face as he evaded.
Yoo Chun-gil smirked.
[He realized it.]
The enemy was quick-witted.
Sloppier than I thought.
Slower than I expected.
That was undoubtedly what the man felt upon facing Bang Seong-yeon's sword.
Confusion crept into the man's eyes.
He was likely wondering why a member of the elite Sowol Squadron was so weak.
Swish! Whoosh!
Seong-yeon didn't stop, relentlessly thrusting his sword.
"What is this?" the man muttered.
As he continued to dodge, confidence returned to his face.
Finally—
"You..."
Grab!
Catching Bang Seong-yeon's sword wrist, the man sneered.
"You're weak—"
*Splat!*
"Gah?!"
The man choked on his words, his body jerking back.
The moment his wrist was grabbed, Bang Seong-yeon had thrown a handful of dirt right into his face.
Blinded, the man stumbled backward.
[Ha.]
Yoo Chun-gil let out a startled laugh.
[...When did he grab that?]
He hadn't even noticed Bang Seong-yeon scooping up dirt.
When could he have done it? As Yoo Chun-gil retraced the events...
[...Ah.]
His eyes lit up as the realization struck him.
[It was then.]
The moment Yoo Chun-gil had warned him of danger and told him to duck.
When Bang Seong-yeon bent down to scoop up the child, he had grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground.
[Hahaha! Look at this kid.]
A wide grin returned to Yoo Chun-gil's face.
At the same time, he looked at Bang Seong-yeon's face.
It was completely calm.
The furious expression Seong-yeon had worn just moments ago was entirely gone, replaced by his usual indifferent, stoic face.
[You crazy bastard.]
Yoo Chun-gil felt a shiver run down his spine.
Even the rage had been an act.
It was all to distract the enemy from the dirt in his hand.
And to make the man believe he was fighting a hotheaded amateur blinded by emotion.
Bang Seong-yeon had planned it all.
And in doing so...
[He fooled even me.]
He had completely deceived Yoo Chun-gil, who had been watching his every move.
[Hahahahahahaha!]
Yoo Chun-gil burst into roaring laughter, unable to contain himself.
[I underestimated you.]
He admitted it.
He had vastly undervalued Bang Seong-yeon.
He had known the boy was twisted in some way, but he never expected him to be this bizarre.
To think he was capable of this.
Yoo Chun-gil's eyes blazed as he stared at Bang Seong-yeon.
[Fine. What will you do now?]
Now that he had fooled both his enemy and his ghost mentor to create an opening, how would he capitalize on it?
Yoo Chun-gil was dying to know.
[The window is short, boy.]
An opening created by dirt was fleeting. A First-rate martial artist would recover his sight in an instant. A single moment of hesitation, and Bang Seong-yeon would be dead.
[But can you actually pull the trigger?]
Bang Seong-yeon had never killed a man.
Or so Yoo Chun-gil believed.
Indeed, Seong-yeon had claimed with his own mouth that he had never taken a life.
Could a boy like that truly deliver a fatal blow in that split second—
*Thack!*
"Gurgle!"
[Huh?]
Something pierced the man's throat.
It was Bang Seong-yeon's sword.
*Spurt!* Blood sprayed.
"Ack..."
The man flailed his arms in panic, but Seong-yeon swept his leg out, tripping the stumbling giant.
*Thud!*
The massive body crashed to the ground with ease.
And right into the fallen giant's heart—
*Squelch!*
Seong-yeon drove his sword home.
"G-gurgle..."
With both his throat and heart pierced, the man convulsed for a brief moment before his eyes glazed over, the spark of life fading entirely.
[Ha.]
The corners of Yoo Chun-gil's mouth curled upward.
His grin, already wide, had turned downright chilling.
Looking at Bang Seong-yeon, Yoo Chun-gil was now certain of one thing.
[You are a boy of many secrets.]
*Schlick.*
Bang Seong-yeon pulled his sword from the man's heart, flicking the blood off the blade.
"..."
His face remained entirely blank.
His eyes were cold and indifferent, showing not a hint of trembling or guilt.
It was a gaze that belonged to anyone but a first-time killer.
The corpse rapidly grew cold as life drained from it.
Blood pooled from the gaping wound in its neck.
"..."
Seong-yeon stepped closer to the dead body.
[Hmm?]
Yoo Chun-gil tilted his head. Why was he approaching the corpse?
He watched, filled with curiosity.
Bang Seong-yeon placed his hand on the dead man's forehead.
"...so... you..."
He whispered in a voice so quiet that even Yoo Chun-gil couldn't catch the words.
At that exact moment—
Ki-aaaaaaah...!!
[...What?]
Something burst out of the man's corpse.
Yoo Chun-gil's eyes widened to the size of saucers.
A figure had emerged from the dead man's body.
[What is that?]
The translucent figure... it looked exactly like...
[A ghost?]
It was identical to the spirits Yoo Chun-gil saw all the time.
Which meant...
[Did he... pull out a ghost?]
He had literally summoned a spirit from a fresh corpse.
And if that wasn't enough—
Ki-aaaaaaaaah...!!!
"Shut up."
The ghost instantly clamped its mouth shut at Bang Seong-yeon's command.
*Squeeze.* Bang Seong-yeon's grip on the ghost tightened.
The spirit screamed soundlessly in his grasp.
Bang Seong-yeon stared at it.
"I told you," he said, his eyes chillingly cold. "You won't even be allowed to die in death."
"Ugh!"
A man stumbled forward in a frantic rush.
He clutched his injured shoulder, blood dripping from his fingertips—a clear sign of his dire condition.
*Drip. Drip.*
To make matters worse, rain was beginning to fall.
Despite the deteriorating situation, the man ran like a madman.
"Damn it!" he cursed.
"Where the hell did those monsters come from?!"
They were supposed to gather information from this empty village, wipe it out, and flee.
But everything had gone horribly wrong.
And of all times, the combat squad had to be away.
The strike force that had prepared the raid had already finished their job and departed.
Only the low-ranking grunts remained.
And in this worst-case scenario...
The Sowol Squadron!
Those monsters were the elite of Cheongwol Gate.
Even the higher-ups had warned them to avoid any contact with them at all costs.
Yet a mere grunt like him had run straight into them.
"Ugh..."
He had to report this somehow.
I managed to survive.
He had abandoned his comrades and barely escaped. If he could just make contact with the combat squad, he could report the situation.
Where are they? How do I...
Scanning his surroundings, the man suddenly spotted something.
It was a carriage.
"...That's it!"
He stopped running and changed direction.
The heavens were helping him. He couldn't think of any other explanation.
There were horses, and someone appeared to be sitting in the driver's seat.
The man drew his sword.
He would threaten the driver to get moving, and once they reached the destination, he would kill him to tie up loose ends.
With that plan in mind, he lunged toward the driver.
"Hey! If you don't want to die, get—"
The man couldn't finish his sentence.
*Thud.*
*Roll.*
His head fell through the air, and his running body stumbled forward a few paces before collapsing.
Blood poured from the decapitated neck.
The old man sitting in the driver's seat didn't even turn his head at the sound.
He showed not a shred of interest in the man who had just been decapitated.
He merely stared into the distance with cold, sunken eyes.
His gaze was fixed in the direction of Bang Seong-yeon.
"Fascinating," the one-armed old man said in a dry voice.
At his words, the horses nearby didn't dare make a sound.
"How did he know?"
How had the boy sensed a presence from so far away?
Even he had only felt a faint anomaly, so how had that young boy detected it?
The old man recalled a certain foolish face.
"Does this mean he isn't entirely useless?"
The old man's expression shifted.
He had been prepared to kill the boy if he proved worthless.
But it seemed...
He would have to watch him a little longer.