Chapter 24: Who Taught You?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 24: Who Taught You?
Late at night.
In an alleyway of an old villa district, a fight suddenly broke out between Martial Arts Practitioners.
Clang-clang-clang!
The sharp, tearing sounds of metal clashing, rough battle cries, and shouts filled with Killing Intent woke the sleeping residents.
“Wh-what’s that noise?”
“Sounds like Martial Arts Practitioners fighting…”
Many people trembled with unease.
Some hastily reported it to the police or the Martial Alliance, while a few brave souls opened their windows to check the situation outside or tried to film it with their smartphones.
“Did you just hear that? Someone yelled to report it to the Martial Alliance and then ran off…”
“Stay still! What if they retaliate later?”
“Don’t turn on the lights, and stay quiet!”
On the other hand, there were also those who covered their ears and quietly hid under their blankets. They desperately tried to fall asleep, hoping the loud commotion, which had nothing to do with them, would quickly subside.
One couldn't call them cowards. After all, Martial Arts Practitioners could, if they so wished, smash through a window, enter, and kill someone without batting an eye. People knew that no matter how diligently the Martial Alliance's heroes and Special Police ran around, they couldn't stop all those villains.
“…”
As everyone trembled with unease, there was one person. An individual looked down at the fight from a high vantage point, their gaze serene.
“What a peculiar combination.”
He was wearing a worn-out bomber jacket and gray sweatpants. His posture was straight and his eyes sharp, making it hard to believe he was an old man, were it not for his neatly tied-back white hair and the stubborn-looking wrinkles around his eyes.
“One is a Vagrant, one is a beast, and one is a wielder of Monstrous Beings…”
The old man, muttering to himself, scanned Ki Mu-hyeok, Shin Kang-heon, and Kim Bok-ja, who were fighting Yaksha Sword, in turn. As he channeled his Internal Energy to focus his hearing, he caught snippets of their conversation.
“His left vision must be impaired because of the wound. Focus your attacks there.”
“Uraaaagh!”
“Bite him!”
It was half a joke, half truth, that a Martial Arts Practitioner who had reached a high level could discern an opponent's true nature just by observing their footwork. The old man continued his monologue as if he had seen through the essence of the three.
“They are a completely mismatched combination, yet they strangely create harmony. How peculiar.”
All three looked young enough to be barely past their coming-of-age, yet their talents were among the most outstanding the old man had seen in all his life, among both Martial Arts Practitioners and Spellcasters.
“Especially that child…”
The old man intently observed Ki Mu-hyeok, who was leading the other two while simultaneously clashing swords with Yaksha Sword at the forefront.
Clang-clash-clang!
It was as if he was watching a Martial Arts Practitioner who had accumulated countless real-world combat experiences, despite his young age. From an opponent's perspective, he relentlessly exploited weaknesses to the point of exasperation, reminiscent of a wolf biting the neck of a much larger beast and refusing to let go until the very end.
“Hmph! How tenacious, how utterly tenacious.”
However, contrary to his words, a smile played on the old man’s lips.
The boy, like a beast wielding a blade, was naturally fearless and impetuous. He swung his massive blade with exceptional Musculature, its power eliciting continuous admiration.
The girl, who controlled Monstrous Beings, didn't back down despite her eyes being filled with fear, cleverly assisting her comrades by using her spells at opportune moments.
Both possessed skills worthy of high praise from the old man, who was usually stingy with compliments. It was just that Ki Mu-hyeok alone displayed a presence that overshadowed them both.
There was also one more reason that kept drawing his gaze.
“That Swordsmanship, it’s strangely…”
The old man, who had a thought for a moment, soon shook his head. Muttering softly that it couldn't be.
As he watched intently, Ki Mu-hyeok displayed a combination of unhesitating impetuousness even as he bled, decisive judgment, and the coolness to know when to retreat. The old man found himself immersed in the boy's fight, nodding unconsciously.
“That’s it! Just a little more there…”
Then, realizing he had gotten carried away, he hardened his expression. A painful memory had suddenly surfaced. The incident that had led to him being disgraced and expelled from the Martial Alliance, forcing him into twenty years of reclusion. Recalling the shock that had left him tormented by a Heart Demon and unable to even move freely for a time, his fingertips still trembled.
The old man took a deep breath, let out a low sigh, and looked at Ki Mu-hyeok again.
“…At this rate, they’ll easily take him down.”
He had intended to intervene personally if Yaksha Sword went wild and attacked civilians or caused any other accidents. However, judging by the situation, it seemed he wouldn't need to step in.
That's when an unexpected variable arose.
“Kuaaaagh!”
Cornered, Yaksha Sword let out a monstrous roar like a wounded beast and wildly swung his blade. At first, it seemed like an act of desperation, but as the boys who had been pressing him back momentarily retreated to create distance, he immediately pulled a syringe from his pocket and plunged it into his forearm.
“Huuuh…”
Yaksha Sword's body trembled violently, as if struck by lightning. It was a type of drug that made one forget pain, caused blood and qi to surge, and temporarily amplified Internal Energy. Countless people became invalids or died from its after-effects, but it was used as a last resort to overcome immediate crises.
“…He’s crossing a line he shouldn’t.”
The old man, his eyes now fierce, leaped from the rooftop he was standing on in a single bound.
Whoosh!
In his hand, as he leaped between buildings and approached the battlefield in a flash, was a thin needle.
“Get lost! Unless you all want to die—!”
Perhaps his survival instinct remained even while drugged, for instead of letting his Internal Energy run wild to achieve a mutual kill, Yaksha Sword turned and chose to flee. In the process, he smashed and knocked down anything that blocked his path.
“Let’s chase him!”
Led by Ki Mu-hyeok, the three pursued Yaksha Sword. And the old man quietly followed behind, leaping across the rooftops of the buildings. Their conversation reached his ears, his senses heightened by Internal Energy.
“Can’t we just leave him? From what I know, that kind of drug doesn’t last even ten minutes.”
“He’s not in his right mind, he might harm civilians he encounters.”
“…I hadn’t thought that far.”
“What kind of drug is that? Don’t talk like you’re the only ones who know!”
The old man’s expression softened for a moment as he overheard the trio’s conversation.
‘They’re far better than those who are Orthodox Faction Members in name only.’
He had assumed that since they fought like Vagrants from the Underworld, their dispositions would also be rough, but it felt like he was seeing another side of them. Feeling pleased, the old man decided to give the children a little help.
Having sufficiently closed the distance with Yaksha Sword, his hand lashed out like lightning.
Thwip!
The needle, having left his hand, pierced through Yaksha Sword’s calf and embedded itself deep into the ground. It was a move sufficient to break his balance.
“Gah! Who…!”
“Uraaaagh!”
As Yaksha Sword stumbled and looked around, Shin Kang-heon tackled him from behind, knocking him down, and Kim Bok-ja cast a spell to bind his body. Finally, Ki Mu-hyeok struck the old monster’s face with all his might using his heavily cracked practice sword.
Thwack—!
Yaksha Sword, who had been writhing and struggling, lost consciousness and slumped limply.
“Haa, haa… What was that just now?”
Ki Mu-hyeok, breathing heavily, raised his head and looked around. This was because he was bothered by the old monster suddenly stumbling at the end, and then looking around as if searching for something.
However, the old man was already watching him from a considerable distance away.
“Hoo. So his instincts are good too, eh?”
Just then, Martial Arts Practitioners from the Martial Alliance, having received the report, were rushing over using Lightness Skill. The old man watched the boy who had piqued his interest days ago for a while, then muttered softly.
“…I’ll have to confirm one thing.”
And a moment later, his vanished figure could not be found anywhere.
*
We handed over the unconscious Yaksha Sword to the Martial Alliance members who had arrived late after receiving the report.
“…Did you three really capture this man alive?”
“It’s true! See the wound on his side? I almost kicked the bucket before I could become Korea’s Greatest Swordsman!”
Shin Kang-heon was excitedly explaining the whole story to the Martial Alliance Practitioners. His own exploits were being tremendously exaggerated in the process, but I was too exhausted to even open my mouth, so I didn't bother to interject.
“So, how much is the bounty? He wasn’t just any expert, it must be at least three thousand, right?”
Kim Bok-ja began inquiring about the bounty. Exactly how much they would receive, by when, whether taxes would be deducted, and so on. Then she glanced back at us and said, suggesting we settle the calculations beforehand.
“You know you all would’ve died if I wasn’t here, right? So, the bounty gets split exactly into three. Any complaints?”
I waved my hand, indicating agreement, and Shin Kang-heon seemed uninterested in the bounty. I, too, had something on my mind that bothered me more than the bounty.
‘Someone intervened at the end.’
Bothered by his stumbling and looking around as if searching for something, I meticulously checked the area where Yaksha Sword had fallen and found a single needle hole in the ground. The needle had penetrated so deeply that not even its tail end was visible.
What if that needle had targeted one of the three of us instead of Yaksha Sword….
“The investigation is complete, you may return home now. You’ll be contacted separately regarding the reward money.”
I shook off the assumption I didn't want to dwell on and stood up.
After the investigation, we left the police station and faced each other, all of us looking like utter wrecks. We chuckled at each other's appearances.
“Good work, everyone. Get home safe, and I’ll see you later.”
“You’re so annoying, I don’t want to see you for a while.”
“I’m dead tired. If you have anything to say, text me later.”
And so, we each went our separate ways, heading home.
“Student! Are you alright?”
“…Mister?”
It was the mister who had given me the address in the park, telling me to go find Grandpa Choi. In a way, he was the root cause of this whole mess, but instead of resentment, only a hollow laugh escaped me. Because the mister approaching me had a face full of apology.
“Grandpa Choi was a criminal Martial Arts Practitioner, you said? I was so worried about what if you got hurt because of me. Oh dear! These aren’t just one or two wounds, shouldn’t you go to the hospital first?”
I pushed away the mister’s meddlesome hands, which were fussing over my body, and said, “Excuse me, but I’m a bit tired right now…”
At that moment, a strange thought suddenly occurred to me. More precisely, a vague unease I couldn't quite explain. That peculiar chilling sensation, developed from countless experiences with backstabbers during my Vagrant days, tickled my skin, sending a signal.
I soon realized the reason.
‘Yaksha Sword… wasn’t a Choi.’
When I checked his personal details at the Martial Alliance, his surname was Lee.
Feeling my gaze turn cold, the mister stepped back, laughing awkwardly.
“Indeed, your instincts are sharp.”
“You…”
At the same time, the appearance of the ordinary, pot-bellied middle-aged mister began to change. His hunched back straightened, and his ordinary eyes, which could be seen anywhere, sharpened.
Bone Shrinking Art (縮骨功).
It was a martial art that allowed one to freely manipulate bones and joints to completely change one's appearance, a technique primarily practiced by Assassins. The opponent, who had instantly transformed into a completely different person, looked at me with eyes that seemed to pierce through me and asked,
“Since you’ve caught on, I’ll ask you directly. Who taught you your Swordsmanship?”
“…”
I realized instinctively. That the person standing before me was none other than the Sword Demon I had been searching for.