Chapter 121

Sun Woo-jin bit his lip briefly, then decided to try persuading her.

“Dang So-jeo, I don’t think this is the way. We still have time—let’s think this through together. If we kill each other, we’re just playing into his hands, aren’t we?”

But Dang Yeo-eun, her eyes blazing red, refused to listen.

“There’s no other way! Don’t you get it?! If we both die here, Mak Woo-jeon will learn the secret techniques of the Light Sword! Do you have any idea how disastrous that would be for the world?!”

Her words might have been true.

Yet Sun Woo-jin was certain that wasn’t the real reason behind her actions.

Because the fiery red glare in her eyes was growing stronger by the second.

He tried to reason with her, his expression filled with regret.

“So-jeo, you need to calm down. You’re caught in madness right now—you can’t make a sound judgment. Please, put away the sword and let’s try the Great Peaceful Mind Technique again…!”

But Dang Yeo-eun wouldn’t hear another word.

Her eyes reddened further as she shouted desperately.

“Draw your sword! If you don’t, I’ll attack first!”

Her face twisted like a demon’s, screaming madly.

It was a sight so unlike the Dang Yeo-eun he knew that Sun Woo-jin had no choice but to accept that reason was lost.

“Hoo.”

He gritted his teeth.

There was no other way.

Clang!

At last, he drew his sword.

His plan was to subdue her first, then find another solution.

But Dang Yeo-eun narrowed her eyes sharply and charged.

“Haah!”

Swish!

A strike like a flash of lightning—her thrust aimed to pierce Sun Woo-jin through with deadly sincerity.

A vivid green aura shimmered along her blade.

It was even faster than the sword he had known her to wield before.

Probably the effect of her madness.

Still, Sun Woo-jin didn’t move.

He stood still, watching her sword fly toward him.

His eyes half-closed, his vision taking in the entire scene with detached calm.

His mind grew ever quieter.

It was true her sword had quickened.

But to Sun Woo-jin, the path of her blade was clear.

Fast, but straight.

No variation.

Fast, but linear.

That meant he could.

No—he had to.

For both their sakes.

The moment Dang Yeo-eun’s green blade entered his range, Sun Woo-jin thrust his sword like a ray of light.

The First Move of the Silent Sword Technique.

Il-si-sa-il.

“Haah!”

It was the very technique Mu-rang had once used on himself—piercing the opponent’s wrist to shatter their attack.

Sun Woo-jin had judged that he couldn’t waste time clashing swords with Dang Yeo-eun.

He gambled on ending it with a single strike.

Shiiik!

His sword, like a beam of light, pierced precisely along the axis of her sword.

But this time, not the wrist—it was the ho-su-gu.

Taeng!

“Ack!”

With a clear metallic clang, Dang Yeo-eun’s sword flew high into the air.

Sun Woo-jin’s gamble had paid off.

“No way…”

Dang Yeo-eun stared at her disarmed hand in disbelief.

Her eyes wide with shock, unable to believe what had just happened.

“Hoo.”

Sun Woo-jin exhaled with a complicated expression, sheathing his sword and stepping toward her.

Blood dripped from her torn hand.

“Let me see your hand.”

He carefully took out a handkerchief and wrapped her injured palm.

Her eyes were still stained red, so he remained alert for any sudden moves.

But she just lowered her head, staring blankly at her hand.

Even when Sun Woo-jin gently grasped the wan-maek pulse point on her wrist, she didn’t react.

With her wan-maek subdued, Sun Woo-jin finally felt some relief.

Without control of that pulse point, she couldn’t draw on her inner energy to attack him.

“Hoo.”

Feeling a bit more at ease, Sun Woo-jin held her wan-maek and looked around the molten lava lake.

Now that he could set aside worries about her, it was time to consider their situation.

Stopping her madness was urgent—but that was only possible if they survived first.

Then, Dang Yeo-eun, still bowed low as if defeated, whispered.

“I’m sorry, Sun Woo Gongja.”

Her sudden apology made Sun Woo-jin smile gently.

“It’s alright. You’re not yourself right now…”

Dang Yeo-eun lifted her head and looked at him.

Her eyes were even redder than before, and a faint, eerie smile played across her face.

That strange, chilling feeling made Sun Woo-jin unable to speak further.

Then she smiled slyly and said again,

“When I said I was sorry, I meant because of the Invisible Poison.”

Invisible poison?

Sun Woo-jin’s expression stiffened.

Dang Yeo-eun continued whispering with that unsettling smile.

“All direct descendants of the Dang family carry a trace of Invisible Poison to protect themselves in the worst of times.”

At that moment, a sharp pain struck Sun Woo-jin’s abdomen.

“Ugh!”

The sudden pang quickly escalated into agony as if his insides were being torn apart.

He looked at Dang Yeo-eun, bewildered.

“Ugh! D-Dang So-jeo?!”

She smiled wickedly.

“Invisible Poison is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. I’ve already taken the antidote, so there’s nothing left for you. I’m sorry, but Sun Woo Gongja, you won’t survive this.”

Sun Woo-jin’s face turned pale.

He could clearly feel it now.

He had been poisoned.

By a deadly, lethal toxin.

His vision blurred.

He couldn’t believe death was suddenly closing in on him.

Here, and by Dang Yeo-eun of all people.

He stared at her in stunned silence.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

She whispered,

“I’m sorry, Sun Woo Gongja. I’m truly sorry.”

Her expression was strange.

On one side of her face, that eerie smile lingered; on the other, a look of sorrow.

As if joy and grief were warring within her.

Like a thread of her original self still clung on amid the madness.

Sun Woo-jin glanced down at his hand still holding her wan-maek.

With that pulse point subdued, her life was still in his grasp.

If he wished, he could end her life right now.

In fact, she might die before he did.

But she must have known that.

The fact she poisoned him despite that meant she was no longer thinking rationally.

“Dang So-jeo…”

After a moment, Sun Woo-jin finally released her wan-maek.

Surprise flashed across her face.

He had let go without any revenge, despite her having doomed him.

Dang Yeo-eun looked at him, bewildered.

Even as his consciousness blurred, Sun Woo-jin forced a smile and said,

“This isn’t really you, Dang So-jeo. You’re just caught in a bad energy, unable to think clearly. Like a nightmare. So… don’t blame yourself too much. Please…”

Blood trickled from his nose as he spoke.

A sudden cough brought blood up from his throat, cutting off his words.

Thud!

Sun Woo-jin collapsed to his knees.

He no longer had the strength to stand.

As his body fell and his mind clouded, he prayed silently.

That she wouldn’t hate herself too much for what she’d done.

That she would overcome her madness and live strong.

And then, he finally breathed his last.

The second time he had faced death.

He didn’t feel fear.

Instead, a strange calm washed over him, as if he could finally rest.

With a dazed expression, he murmured,

“What… just happened?”

Sun Woo-jin looked down at his body in confusion.

He couldn’t understand what was going on.

Just moments ago, he had been dying.

No—he was sure he had died.

Yet now, suddenly, he was standing there, perfectly fine.

The sudden change left him utterly disoriented.

One thing was clear: he wasn’t a ghost.

He was alive, fully intact.

He could feel the flow of his inner energy coursing through him.

“Then what was that just now…?”

Suddenly, a voice came from behind.

“That was a gateway. My second and third gates.”

“!”

He whipped his head around.

There stood the man.

Jeong Myeong-gang, the Light Sword Phantom.

“Se-Senior?”

Sun Woo-jin stared at him in shock.

He was definitely a Light Sword wielder.

But he looked so unfamiliar, it was as if Sun Woo-jin was seeing him for the first time.

“Se-Senior, what on earth…?”

Jeong Myeong-gang wore the same clothes, the same face as before.

But he was completely different.

The murderous aura that had stormed from him was gone.

Instead, he smiled kindly at Sun Woo-jin with a gentle expression.

In a warm voice, he said—

“I apologize. I deliberately showed a harsh side to test you all. Please forgive my rudeness.”

“Y-yes? Ah, yes. Of course…”

Sun Woo-jin was utterly flustered.

‘So it was all an act? A test?’

Seeing Gwanggeom apologize for his earlier rudeness was so unexpected that Sun Woo-jin didn’t even know how to respond.

But he quickly gathered his thoughts and asked urgently, “Th-then, what about Lady Dang who came with me…?”

Since coming back to life, there had been no sign of Dang Ye-eun anywhere.

If everything he had just experienced was truly a test, then she must have…

Gwanggeom smiled brightly and nodded.

“The woman you saw earlier was merely an illusion created from your subconscious. The real Lady Dang is safe. And… you’ve passed all the gates. Just like her.”

Hearing that, Sun Woo-jin’s face lit up with relief.

“Oh! So that’s how it was!”

He felt a deep sense of comfort.

Knowing she hadn’t fallen into madness and was unharmed was even more uplifting than hearing he had passed all the gates.

Gwanggeom watched him with a satisfied smile, as if he understood exactly what was on his mind.

Then, stepping aside a little, he snapped his fingers and said, “Well, it’s better to see for yourself than just hear about it.”

Snap!

Suddenly, right across from them, she appeared.

Dang Ye-eun.

Her expression was almost vacant, as if she couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

She looked around in confusion, clearly disoriented by the sudden change in her surroundings, until finally her eyes landed on Sun Woo-jin.

Startled, she covered her mouth with her hand.

“Huff!”

Her eyes trembled uncontrollably as she looked at him.

A complex mix of wariness, relief, joy, and resentment flickered in her gaze.

Seeing that adorable reaction, Sun Woo-jin was certain.

This was the real Dang Ye-eun.

“Lady Dang!”

He called her name and rushed forward.

Dang Ye-eun eyed him cautiously, her gaze filled with uncertainty, then asked softly, “Are you really… Lord Sun Woo?”

At her question, Sun Woo-jin peeled off the Infi Mask from his face and smiled warmly.

“Yes, it’s me. The real Sun Woo-jin! Lady Dang, you’ve been through so much.”

Her eyes reddened, tears streaming down her cheeks.

She weakly pounded his chest with her fist, sobbing.

“That’s cruel. Really cruel.”

Sun Woo-jin watched her quietly with gentle eyes.

Just from her reaction, he could tell how much she had suffered.

And while their experiences might not have been exactly the same, he could imagine what she must have gone through.

If she had passed through the same gates as him, she must have faced a version of him trying to kill her.

And perhaps, like him, she had given up fighting and accepted death.

The thought of her making such a choice filled him with admiration and gratitude.

Slowly, Sun Woo-jin raised his arm.

He felt a strong urge to hold her tightly as she cried.

But hesitating halfway, he lowered his arm and instead gently tapped her shoulder.

“You’ve been through a lot. Thank you, Lady Dang.”

For now, and for the moment, that was all he could do.