Chapter 46: What You're About to See
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 46: What You're About to See
Step. Step.
Black-White 13, his sword dripping with assassin blood, approached one step at a time.
The shocking sight filled Yang Ha-yun with a revulsion like insects crawling over her skin.
"How could you... your own allies..."
Black-White 13 paused, looked at Yang Ha-yun, and spoke with a hint of a smile in his voice.
"Take a look beside you. Didn't you also harm your own ally, Miss Ha-yun?"
"…!"
Yang Ha-yun bit her lip hard. She didn't need to look to know Ki Mu-hyeok's body was a wreck.
To overcome her Extreme Yin Constitution, a natural predisposition that felt like a curse, she had poured in painstaking effort.
Ever since her constitution manifested, she'd had to distance herself from her family and couldn't meet her friends.
This was because ordinary people couldn't endure the Extreme Yin Energy that grew stronger with each passing day.
'Because of me, even those around me...'
She hated seeing them suffer and become unhappy.
So she closed off her heart, acted as if being alone was comfortable, and avoided people for the past few years.
-Ha-yun-ah. Right now, the martial arts you're learning might seem to be making your Extreme Yin Energy stronger, but in the long run, it's the path that will allow you to control your own energy.
Her master, the Glacier Goddess, who was the Sun Moon Sect's top expert and Grand Elder, had told her that to overcome the Extreme Yin Constitution, she should, paradoxically, master the Ice Art.
She had always reassured her that while it might be difficult to control the strengthening Extreme Yin Energy now, with time, she would be able to reclaim a normal life.
'I'm sorry, Master. In the end, I only caused trouble for those around me again.'
Tears welled in her eyes as she thought of her master.
Yang Ha-yun's mind and body had already reached their limit.
Her body, which couldn't feel cold, trembled uncontrollably from fear.
Black-White 13 raised his blood-dripping sword and pointed it at Yang Ha-yun.
"I told you I would capture you alive. If you had come quietly, no one would have died or been hurt... but it seems your selfishness will end up killing your comrade."
"I, I..."
Everything was bleak: the life-or-death struggle with assassins she was experiencing for the first time, the still-formidable enemy, and the condition of her comrade, wounded because of her.
'In the end, we'll both die... because of me...'
Yang Ha-yun's stamina and spirit, pushed to their limits, were slowly crumbling.
Despair and terror, the certainty that she couldn't escape this crisis, were about to consume her.
"Who's dying? Don't fall for such cheap tricks. I'm still perfectly fine."
Ki Mu-hyeok stepped forward, placing a hand on Yang Ha-yun's shoulder. Hearing his calm voice, her trembling subsided.
"...Tch. Such bravado."
Yang Ha-yun bit her trembling lip hard and looked at Ki Mu-hyeok's injured back.
Along with her apology to him, the black and white eyes that had been staring at her no longer felt so terrifying.
"Using cheap tricks, are we? Don't seem very confident in your skills, do you?"
Ki Mu-hyeok, now in front, tilted his head askew and glared at Black-White 13. His expression was as if he knew exactly what the opponent had done.
"...You're incredibly sensitive to Killing Intent. Usually, in a situation pushed to the limit like this, people wouldn't notice."
Black-White 13 said, a strange light in his eyes.
He had deliberately shown the two of them a shocking sight, then, looking into their eyes, subtly released Killing Intent.
It was an assassin's method: to terrify cornered enemies into despair and surrender.
But even that didn't work on Ki Mu-hyeok.
This meant he handled Killing Intent as skillfully as the assassins themselves and understood their methods well.
"Martial Artist Ki Mu-hyeok. Just who exactly are you?"
Despite being pressed for time, Black-White 13 felt a strong curiosity towards his opponent.
"You understand the assassins' nature so well that you can't possibly be an Orthodox Faction Rising Star, you're so cold-blooded that your gaze doesn't waver even when facing imminent death, and you overflow with a sense of chivalry, willing to risk your life to fight alongside someone you just met today as a comrade?"
I've truly never seen such a unique case.
Black-White 13 muttered this and took a step closer to Ki Mu-hyeok.
"And how did you figure out my identity? Did I just bite the bait you casually cast?"
He pulled off the mask he was wearing. Beneath it, a black and white mask, half white and half black, was revealed.
[You keep piquing my curiosity like this, making me want to know more and more about who you are, you know?]
It was a deception and a game that only a powerful individual, one who believed they had complete control over the situation, could display.
Ki Mu-hyeok willingly played along with his opponent's game.
"From the moment you first appeared as an examiner, I thought I might have to fight you someday. Though, I certainly didn't expect it to be like this."
[Oh-ho. So Martial Artist Ki Mu-hyeok was also watching me closely back then? I'm delighted! But that alone wouldn't have been enough to confirm my identity, would it?]
"Because you said it yourself."
[...I did?]
Ki Mu-hyeok slowly loosened his body, which was stiffening from the Extreme Yin Energy, and replied.
"Earlier, when I said I'd back out, you said 'as expected,' that I was being realistic. Someone seeing me for the first time wouldn't say that, so I figured you were practically asking me to notice, no?"
Black-White 13, who had been momentarily dumbfounded, suddenly burst into laughter.
[Hahaha...! My mistake, it seems. To make such a rookie error. It must mean I'm quite fond of Martial Artist Ki Mu-hyeok.]
He lightly tapped his forehead, as if impressed.
The atmosphere was amicable, as if friends were chatting.
However, the Killing Intent surging between them was growing steadily thicker.
[It was a pleasant conversation. So much so that I regret not being able to prolong it.]
Rumble-!
Just then, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and thunder suddenly began to crackle.
It was as if an enraged sky was issuing a warning to someone.
At the same time, the surrounding scenery was rippling. This meant the Spell Formation wasn't functioning properly.
Seeing this, Black-White 13 lightly clicked his tongue.
[...So they finally noticed.]
The plan to secure the Extreme Yin Energy, which should have been handled swiftly, had been excessively delayed by the single variable that was Ki Mu-hyeok.
He was always confident in extracting himself, but if the Martial Alliance Leader had noticed something amiss, there was no need to take any further risks.
After all, monstrous Peak Masters like that could simply shatter the Spell Formation itself and enter.
[Before we begin, may I say just one thing?]
Clink.
Black-White 13 dropped the sword he was holding to the ground and drew two slightly curved daggers from his waist.
These were his personal weapons, which he used when personally carrying out assassinations.
[Your current appearance is not being broadcast on the Martial Alliance's monitors. From this moment on, even if I cut off all your fingers and toes, gouge out your eyeballs, burn your tongues, and flay your skin before sprinkling salt on it, no one will know.]
Yang Ha-yun flinched and trembled at the horrific words.
But she put all her strength into her eyes, overcoming her fear, and glared fiercely at Black-White 13.
"I'm not scared anymore, not one bit!"
[When the rescue team arrives, your lives won't be in danger. Though you'll have to live as cripples for the rest of your days. And while the rescue team is treating you, I'll simply slip away, wearing this mask.]
Black-White 13 tapped his mask with a blade.
And the moment he heard those words, Ki Mu-hyeok understood what state a permanently crippled Yang Ha-yun would be found in.
"...So it really isn't being broadcast on the Martial Alliance monitors?"
Ki Mu-hyeok, his eyes sinking, asked Black-White in a low voice.
"Even if you overlaid another screen, if the original footage exists, it would be recorded, and they could trace your tracks later."
To Ki Mu-hyeok's serious question, Black-White 13 shook his head and replied confidently.
[I myself am a kind of virus injected into the Spell Formation. Until I disappear, this entire area won't be filmed or recorded, so no traces will be left behind!]
"Is that so? I quite like the sound of that."
Contrary to what he expected, Ki Mu-hyeok's satisfied reaction made Black-White 13 tilt his head.
[...What exactly do you like about it?]
"The part about no records being left behind."
Ki Mu-hyeok chuckled and then tossed aside his now tattered jacket.
Yang Ha-yun gasped in surprise, staring at him as he deliberately exposed himself to the Extreme Yin Energy.
"What are you doing?"
"Yang Ha-yun. You owe me your life today, right?"
"...Of course."
Yang Ha-yun bit her lip hard and nodded.
If she survived this place, she fully intended to repay the debt of saving her life.
Ki Mu-hyeok smiled, seemingly pleased with her answer, and stepped forward.
"Then, what you're about to see, pretend you didn't."
The way of a Vagrant who survived by any means necessary.
Ki Mu-hyeok, enduring the extreme cold, had kept one last trick up his sleeve to induce his opponent's complacency, preparing for the most dangerous fight.
That's why he hadn't shown any abilities beyond a Grade 4 Constitution until now.
Sizzle-
The pure white frost clinging to his body instantly melted away.
The ability to rapidly circulate energy throughout the entire body, permitted only to those with a top-tier constitution.
The Extreme Yin Energy that had permeated his body was pushed out, and his ice-pale face began to regain its color.
"Wh-wh-what...!"
Yang Ha-yun was so shocked she could only repeat herself.
[You truly surprise me again and again! Have you been deliberately enduring the pain of the Extreme Yin Energy all this time?]
Black-White 13 chuckled, shrugging his shoulders, then licked his blade with his tongue.
Indeed, his judgment hadn't been wrong.
Whether it was during the Third-Rate License Exam or the display now, Ki Mu-hyeok was different from the common rabble.
The pleasure of killing such an unexpected opponent, who occasionally emerged, was as addictive as a drug to him.
[Hahahaha!]
Unable to contain himself any longer, he immediately charged at Ki Mu-hyeok, swinging his daggers.
CLANG-!
Yang Ha-yun stumbled back from the shockwave of the clashing blades.
Where the dust settled, the two stood locked in a tense standoff, their weapons crossed.
Ki Mu-hyeok, emitting steam from his entire body, stared at Black-White 13, his eyes gleaming ominously.
"You should've attacked with your subordinates from the start. Starting to regret it now?"
[I'll admit I was complacent. But I don't think you can defeat me with just this much, do you?]
"I think it's quite doable? Unlike someone who killed off his remaining comrades, I've got solid backup here."
Yang Ha-yun, who had somehow gotten behind Black-White, swung her twin palms, wreathed in cold energy.
WHOOSH!
"You villain! To hide your true identity!"
Uttering words that could have been directed at either Black-White or Ki Mu-hyeok, her two palms, enveloped in Extreme Yin Energy, aimed precisely for Black-White 13's back.
[I wanted to have some alone time with you, but this is getting a bit annoying.]
With an irritated voice, Black-White 13 violently swung his pair of daggers. He intended to knock away Ki Mu-hyeok's sword in one swift motion, then immediately turn and slash Yang Ha-yun's arm.
CLANG!
But contrary to his expectations, he couldn't shake off Ki Mu-hyeok's sword. The blade clung to his as if glued, refusing to give him any opening.
Strength, speed, Internal Energy. Everything about him seemed different from the Ki Mu-hyeok he had been observing.
[...You've hidden a great deal of your skill.]
The ease in Black-White's tone gradually vanished, and his eyes showed bewilderment.
Ki Mu-hyeok's appearance, with new wounds constantly appearing on his body yet only a slight twitch of his eyebrow, made even an assassin like him click his tongue in amazement.
Moreover, the Extreme Yin Energy that had been wounding Ki Mu-hyeok's body just moments ago now enveloped him in a pure white shroud, as if protecting him.
As if obeying the will of one who could control it. Seeing this, Black-White unconsciously muttered.
[No way, your constitution...]
Black-White 13's eyes widened as if realizing something, recalling the moment Ki Mu-hyeok had clashed palms with Song Jun-ho.
Ki Mu-hyeok, having closed the distance with his opponent, whispered as if sharing a secret.
"It seems constitution measurement devices sometimes malfunction, you know."
[...!]
Realizing that his judgment had been completely wrong from the start, even a seasoned assassin like him experienced a momentary lapse in judgment.
WHOOSH!
Black-White's attack, almost a wild swing, cut through the air, and Ki Mu-hyeok didn't miss the opportunity.
"Didn't you say you'd cut off my fingers first?"
Ki Mu-hyeok, having ducked under his opponent, looked at Black-White with gleaming eyes and smiled.
Splurt!
Blood spurted, and three severed fingers plopped onto the ground.
Black-White 13, who had retreated, looked at his right hand, where his fingers had been severed.
Then he raised his head and looked at Ki Mu-hyeok again.
[...]
A shiver ran down his spine, and he realized he had provoked something he absolutely should not have touched.