Episode 118

In a brief moment, Sun Woo-jin had to prepare for a surprise attack.

He figured that if he was going to be discovered anyway, it was better to strike first.

Judging by the overwhelming difference in martial skill and his own physical condition, the odds were slim. Still, he wasn’t about to just give up and die.

Just as he was about to leap toward the figure raising his head above, a voice suddenly rang out.

“Master Gong! Please stay safe!”

It was Dang Yeo-eun’s voice, coming from far off.

At once, the figure—Mak Woo-jeon—snapped his head in that direction.

“Grrrrrrrr!”

Then, with fierce momentum, he charged toward her again, just like before.

Sun Woo-jin barely managed to stifle a sigh.

He had truly come close to death.

‘That was way too close. Damn.’

Dang Yeo-eun’s shout wasn’t because she fully understood the situation, but likely just out of concern for him.

Even though she must have known she herself could be in danger.

Her concern touched him deeply.

After Mak Woo-jeon moved away, Sun Woo-jin dropped to the ground.

He appreciated her care, but he couldn’t just let the enemy get to her.

Once Mak Woo-jeon was out of sight, Sun Woo-jin gathered his energy and let out a laugh.

“Ki ha ha ha ha ha!”

It was the laugh of the Cheonghong Twin Swords technique.

Suddenly, he felt the enemy halt abruptly.

Then, with renewed ferocity, Mak Woo-jeon charged at him again.

‘Good. Come on!’

Grinning fiercely, Sun Woo-jin started running in the opposite direction.

Though his body was weak, if he wanted to live, he had to keep moving.

He was confident he could still outrun the enemy for now.

But then, to his horror, he had to stop abruptly once more.

‘What the hell?!’

Someone else was running from the opposite direction.

Not as fast as Mak Woo-jeon, but still moving quickly.

Sun Woo-jin immediately guessed who it was.

‘Vice Chief Ga Yu-ak!’

Apparently, a crazed Ga Yu-ak had been chasing after Mak Woo-jeon.

He was trapped.

Strong enemies blocked him from both front and back.

But after a brief hesitation, Sun Woo-jin gritted his teeth and ran toward Ga Yu-ak’s direction.

Though all of them were experts compared to him, Ga Yu-ak was the lesser threat.

Besides, he had no intention of fighting them head-on.

That would be a losing battle.

As he ran, Sun Woo-jin focused intensely on the sensations from both front and back.

He had to act at just the right distance and moment.

So, just before both enemies came into clear view, he leapt up to the ceiling and vanished into hiding.

Crash!

In the next instant, he saw both Mak Woo-jeon and Ga Yu-ak charging toward each other.

Hidden on the ceiling, he silently prayed.

‘Well, isn’t it nice to see an old friend? Now go ahead and settle your score.’

It seemed his wish was granted.

The two let out beastly roars and launched into a fierce battle.

“Grrrrrrrr!”

“Heh heh heh heh!”

The two feral beasts clashed immediately.

“Arrgh!”

“Kyah!”

Boom! Bang! Crash!

Right beneath where Sun Woo-jin hung, two masters with over ninety years of internal energy were locked in a terrifying fight.

Swords, fists, kicks, even body slams—an intense, brutal brawl.

Mak Woo-jeon seemed to have the upper hand, but Sun Woo-jin didn’t care.

He remained hidden, slowly moving toward Ga Yu-ak’s side, focusing all his attention.

‘Slowly, carefully. It’s more important not to be seen than to move fast.’

Boom! Bang! Crash! Boom!

Below, the two were fighting so violently it seemed the passageway might collapse.

In fact, it was surprising the tunnel hadn’t caved in yet.

Apparently, the place had been reinforced carefully by someone named Gwanggeom.

But, like everything, there was a limit to its durability.

Crash!

When Ga Yu-ak dodged a powerful strike from Mak Woo-jeon, the blow hit the wall, shattering the stone.

Rumble…

Once part of the wall began to crumble, the surrounding stone started collapsing in a chain reaction.

The ceiling where Sun Woo-jin clung was no exception.

Rumble!

‘Damn it!’

As the ceiling gave way, Sun Woo-jin fell helplessly toward the floor, cursing silently.

But it wasn’t time to give up yet.

The two fighters were so absorbed in their battle they seemed oblivious to their surroundings.

‘Good. Keep it up.’

With a swift motion, Sun Woo-jin brushed aside the falling debris and flipped like a cat, landing silently on the ground.

Thud.

But the moment he landed lightly, he realized something.

His eyes met Mak Woo-jeon’s.

For a split second, they froze like statues.

Then, as Sun Woo-jin spun and dashed away, Mak Woo-jeon let out a furious roar.

“Arrgh…!”

But as Mak Woo-jeon tried to pursue, Ga Yu-ak landed a heavy blow on him.

Thud! Crash!

Sun Woo-jin ran with all his might.

Though pain from his injuries throbbed, he had to hold on at least until he passed through the circular passage and got outside.

After a moment, he sensed Mak Woo-jeon chasing him again.

It seemed Ga Yu-ak had been shaken off.

It was a bit disappointing, but Sun Woo-jin knew he should be grateful for that much.

Now, the only question was whether he could keep running until he escaped.

Checking his condition, he silently prayed.

‘Please hold on, body!’

After a moment of self-assessment, Sun Woo-jin judged his condition was better than expected.

Though he had coughed up blood, his body wasn’t as bad off as he feared.

He might not be able to fight, but running was still possible.

Besides, the passage was still intact.

Only the collapsed section was damaged; the rest of the tunnel remained solid.

There were no signs of further collapse.

‘So now, there’s only one thing left to do: run as fast as I can!’

He smiled grimly, tested his body, and gradually increased his speed.

The distance between him and the enemies grew wider.

‘Good! Let’s make it to the exit like this!’

But not long after, just as he thought the exit might be ahead in the opposite direction, he suddenly sensed someone ahead who shouldn’t be here.

Sun Woo-jin was shocked.

‘Dang Sojeo?!’

It was the unmistakable presence of Dang Yeo-eun.

He had thought she’d already made it outside, but her presence was right ahead.

Sun Woo-jin was completely thrown off.

‘Why is she still inside?!’

Moments later, he saw her clearly.

Tears welled in her eyes as she called out.

“Master Gong! You’re safe!”

Her pure joy made Sun Woo-jin’s urge to scold her for still being here fade away, replaced by an awkward smile.

He first expressed his gratitude.

“Thanks to your shout, I survived. I’m grateful.”

“Oh, it really helped! I wasn’t sure, but I had to try! I’m so relieved!”

Knowing she risked herself out of concern for him made Sun Woo-jin feel deeply thankful—and guilty for almost yelling at her earlier.

But even so, time was running out.

“By the way, Sojeo, why didn’t you leave? The enemies are still chasing us…”

Dang Yeo-eun’s face fell as she answered.

“I kept running, but there was no way out. I think I ran even farther than I came, but I couldn’t find an exit…”

“…What?!”

Sun Woo-jin thought, ‘That can’t be,’ but then realized it might be possible.

This place was a trap set by Gwanggeom to drive people mad—once you enter, you can’t leave.

Or maybe the earlier collapse had sealed the exit.

The thought sent a chill down his spine.

‘What? So we’re trapped inside with those monsters? And the passage is broken in the middle?’

If that was true, it was a serious problem.

Even if they tried to run, the way out was blocked.

He swallowed hard.

Then Dang Yeo-eun pointed at something.

“Master Gong, please look over here.”

“Hm?”

She pointed to the upper inner wall of the passage.

“I was carefully checking around to make sure I didn’t miss anything, and I saw this written above.”

There, inscribed on the wall, were the characters: 二人關.

‘“Irin-gwan” — The Two-Person Gate.’

Sun Woo-jin’s eyes sharpened.

If those words were written here, it meant there was some kind of gate or checkpoint.

And judging by the placement, it looked like a plaque above a doorway.

He examined the stone wall beneath the inscription closely.

He realized that section of the wall was slightly different from the rest.

“The stones form a continuous line, don’t they? And in a square shape, too. It’s like…”

He muttered aloud.

“A door?”

That’s right.

It really did look like a door.

Dang Yeoeun nodded in agreement.

“Yes, I thought so too. But no matter how hard I pushed, it wouldn’t open…”

At her words, Seon Woojin stepped forward and tried pushing the stone wall that looked like a door.

But it didn’t budge an inch.

Then—

Tat-tat-tat-tat!

He heard the sound of Makwoojeon running closer.

The distance between them and the creature was closing fast.

His heart raced.

He thought quickly.

“Dang Sojeo is definitely slower than Makwoojeon. But I’m not in shape to carry her and run.”

If they tried to run now, the chances of getting caught were high.

And even if they somehow escaped, what if the entrance had disappeared, just like Dang Yeoeun said?

The passage had even collapsed halfway through, breaking apart.

“Damn it.”

Seon Woojin gritted his teeth and pushed the stone wall again. Somehow, they had to get through that door to survive.

But still, the wall didn’t move.

Tat-tat-tat-tat!

The sound of the creature’s footsteps was now audible.

Then Dang Yeoeun shouted,

“Gongja! There are handprints here!”

“What?!”

Seon Woojin looked where she pointed and saw faint palm prints on the stone wall beside the door.

He called out,

“Press them!”

“Okay!”

Dang Yeoeun placed her palm on the prints and pressed hard.

But nothing happened.

“Step aside, I’ll try!”

Seon Woojin rushed over and pressed, but still no response.

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

“Grrrrrrrr!”

Now, Makwoojeon was visible in the distance.

Seeing Seon Woojin and Dang Yeoeun, the creature’s eyes blazed with streams of red light as it charged even more fiercely.

Seon Woojin clenched his teeth and shouted,

“Damn it! Run, Dang Sojeo!”

There was no other way now.

They had to run.

If they delayed any longer, escape would be impossible.

Damn that Lee In-gwan!

At that moment, the name ‘Lee In-gwan’ suddenly struck Seon Woojin’s mind.

“Lee In-gwan? Two of them?”

He stopped running abruptly and glanced to the opposite side of the door.

There, he spotted faint handprints mirroring the ones Dang Yeoeun had found.

“Dang Sojeo! Wait!”

“What?!”

He wasn’t sure if this was the right move.

Makwoojeon was only a few strides away.

Grrrrrrrr!

But somehow, he had a feeling.

He decided to take the risk.

Seon Woojin ran over and pressed his palm against the handprints, shouting,

“Press over there!”

Understanding the situation, Dang Yeoeun glanced briefly at the charging Makwoojeon.

Then she turned back and pressed her palm against the prints on the stone.

Despite the urgency, she trusted Seon Woojin’s judgment.

They pressed simultaneously.

Kkuuuuk!

Then—

Rrrrrrrrrrrrummmmbllle!

The stone wall that looked like a door slowly began sliding inward.

Grrrrrrrr!

Makwoojeon was now only a few strides away.

Seon Woojin drew his sword, watching the charging creature and the slowly closing door in turn.

“Get inside the moment there’s an opening!”

At that instant, Makwoojeon lunged forward.

“Kyaaaah!”

But Seon Woojin didn’t collide with it.

A narrow gap had formed between the stone doors.

Grabbing Dang Yeoeun’s hand, he dashed through the opening.

“Go!”

Pak!

Right after, Makwoojeon’s massive blade struck the stone wall in vain.

Kraaaang!