Episode 12: Return of the Instructor
“Gah!”
Yeom Jaryang instinctively let go and stumbled backward, his eyes wide with shock.
“In-Instructor…!”
“Mind your manners.”
Sabi Kang frowned, unimpressed.
Yet Yeom Jaryang stood there, dazed and speechless.
“H-How are you here, Instructor?”
“Did you really think I wouldn’t notice anything with your clumsy skills?”
Sabi Kang chuckled, scratching his head with a hint of amusement.
“You’ve been sneaking around since early evening. How could I sleep with that going on? So I pretended to sleep, and you took the bait. Ha.”
“So you knew everything from the start…”
“How could I not, with you being so obvious?”
Yeom Jaryang’s jaw dropped.
Sabi Kang glanced at Jo Muntak, who lay unconscious nearby.
“I saw everything you did from the beginning. Every single detail.”
Finally, Yeom Jaryang’s gaze shifted to Jo Muntak, his face turning pale.
“N-No! It wasn’t me! I didn’t do it!”
“Oh? But I clearly saw you stab him. Now you’re lying too?”
“Yes, I stabbed him, but it wasn’t me! I swear, it wasn’t me!”
Yeom Jaryang clutched his head, his pupils dilated with panic.
Sabi Kang shrugged.
“What’s that supposed to mean? ‘I did it, but it wasn’t me’? What kind of nonsense is that?”
Sabi Kang mocked him, mimicking his voice, and Yeom Jaryang snapped.
“I’m telling the truth!”
“Still speaking informally?”
“I-I mean, I’m telling the truth… Please believe me! It was like… I was possessed…”
Sabi Kang left Yeom Jaryang mumbling to himself and walked over to Jo Muntak, crouching beside him.
“He’s lost quite a bit of blood. Let’s stop the bleeding first.”
He quickly applied pressure to the wound.
Yeom Jaryang, regaining his senses, suddenly turned to Sabi Kang and shouted.
“Wait! Does that mean you were following us from the start, Instructor?”
“That’s right.”
Sabi Kang replied nonchalantly, picking up his scabbard.
Yeom Jaryang looked between Jo Muntak and Sabi Kang, his voice rising again.
“Then why didn’t you stop it?”
“Stop what?”
“You said you saw everything! You saw me stab him! Why didn’t you intervene? Can you even call yourself an instructor? You should be stripped of your title! What were you doing while he ended up like this?”
Yeom Jaryang clenched his fists, trembling with a sudden surge of betrayal.
Shouldn’t an instructor step in during such situations? To correct a student’s mistake, to protect them from danger…
“Are you saying I should have ‘rushed in to save you from danger’?”
Sabi Kang’s expression turned icy, and Yeom Jaryang involuntarily stepped back.
But he quickly gritted his teeth and stood his ground.
“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?”
“No, you’re right. But you’re not the one who should be saying that. You treated me like dirt, and now that things are tough, you want to talk about an instructor’s duty? Are you kidding me? I’m here to guide you, not to babysit you!”
Yeom Jaryang took another step back, feeling as if a cold wind had pushed him.
Sabi Kang sheathed his sword and continued.
“I told you, didn’t I? If you challenge me and fail, be prepared to pay the price. That guy’s paying it now, even if it was at your hands.”
“Damn it…”
“Feeling betrayed? You shouldn’t. Betrayal is something you feel from someone you trusted. You never saw me as an instructor. You’re just making excuses.”
Sabi Kang walked toward Yeom Jaryang.
“What… What are you doing?”
This time, Yeom Jaryang couldn’t move. His body felt stiff as a board, his feet glued to the ground.
When Sabi Kang finally stood right in front of him.
“What do you think? Have you forgotten already? It’s time for you to pay the price too. Starting now.”
“What… What are you going to do?”
“Time for some guidance.”
Sabi Kang reached out slowly.
Yeom Jaryang clenched his teeth.
‘Why can’t I move?’
In truth, Yeom Jaryang was under a Hold spell cast by Sabi Kang. Though typically temporary, Sabi Kang, now at the fourth circle, could hold someone for several breaths.
Unaware of this, Yeom Jaryang was paralyzed with fear.
And as Sabi Kang’s hand touched his shoulder.
Crack!
“Aaaah!”
A scream tore through the forest.
Snap! Crack!
“Ugh! Please… stop…! Aaaah!”
With each touch from Sabi Kang, Yeom Jaryang screamed as if he were about to die.
Sabi Kang sighed lightly.
“Ah, keep it down. You’ll disturb the others.”
“Ugh! Just kill me already!”
“Tsk tsk. No can do. You’ve got a long life ahead. You should live it.”
Crack!
“Aaaah!”
“You’re too loud. I’ll have to silence you. Understand?”
“Ugh!”
Sabi Kang swiftly pressed a pressure point, and Yeom Jaryang could no longer scream.
‘Damn it! Where did he learn this torture? Aaaah!’
Whether Sabi Kang knew of Yeom Jaryang’s agony or not, he continued speaking with a calm expression.
“You asked why I watched? Observing students is part of an instructor’s job. Though I was more disappointed than expected. That’s why I’m doing this.”
‘Shut up, you demon!’
It was a pain so excruciating that he thought dying would be better.
It felt like his entire body was being torn apart.
Finally, Yeom Jaryang’s head drooped, and he went limp.
“Did he faint? Tsk. He lasted longer than I thought.”
Sabi Kang left Yeom Jaryang on the ground and returned to Jo Muntak.
Jo Muntak was also unconscious.
Fortunately, the timely first aid had saved his life.
Sabi Kang pulled out a transparent vial from his pocket.
A vial filled with red liquid.
A healing potion.
A miraculous remedy from the demon realm that could heal any wound.
Sabi Kang gently lifted Jo Muntak’s upper body and poured the potion into his mouth.
Pouring it on the wound would be a mistake.
The potion only worked when ingested.
Ssssss.
With a faint sound, the wound began to heal.
Though not completely healed.
The potion started with surface wounds.
Internal injuries would take a bit longer to mend.
By tomorrow morning, Jo Muntak would be fully recovered.
After emptying the vial, Sabi Kang stood and looked northwest.
“Two people coming? Busy night, isn’t it?”
He muttered to himself, and the sword in his hand hummed.
Sabi Kang’s expression twisted into something terrifying.
“Stop whining. If you pull this again, I’ll break you. Test me if you don’t believe it.”
At that moment, Sabi Kang’s face was like that of a demon fresh from hell.
If persuasion didn’t work, he used force.
Perhaps sensing his anger, the sword stopped trembling.
Just then.
“What on earth happened here?”
A familiar voice called from the forest.
Deung Buhyung stared wide-eyed at the fallen students.
Behind him, Yeo Unjin looked between Sabi Kang and the students, bewildered.
“Instructor Sa! What is going on here?”
Yeo Unjin demanded, his expression grave.
‘Here comes the questioning. Well, I waited for this. Heh.’
**
A demon with two horns twisted his body mercilessly.
The pain was so intense that he couldn’t even scream.
If only he could let out a sound.
Drenched in cold sweat, Yeom Jaryang finally mustered a shout.
“Stop it! You bastard!”
Yeom Jaryang jolted awake, gasping for breath.
“Hah, hah, hah…”
Where am I…?
A bed.
He turned to see medics looking at him, dazed.
It took him a moment to realize what was a dream and what his current situation was.
“Ahem!”
Suddenly, a sharp cough interrupted the silence, and when I turned around, there stood Jin Baek, the stern master of the Bu Shin Pavilion, with a frosty expression.
“Master Jin…?”
“Master?”
”…Sir?”
“Goodness, why is everyone so curt these days? It’s the end of times, truly. I come to check your pulse, and I get called a dog.”
“Gasp!”
It was only then that Yeom Jaryang realized his mistake, his face flushing with embarrassment.
“I-I’m sorry! I was dreaming and…”
“Dream too much, and you’ll end up a rat in no time.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
“Hahaha! Master, don’t be too harsh on him.”
A familiar voice chimed in, and when I turned, I saw Yeo Woonjin approaching.
Jin Baek greeted him with a less-than-pleased look.
“You’ve come?”
“Yes, as the head of the first-year cadets, it’s my duty to look after them. I’d like a word with this one.”
“Very well.”
With a dismissive nod, Jin Baek rose and left the room. Once he was gone, Yeo Woonjin, wearing a formal smile, asked, “How are you feeling?”
Yeom Jaryang glanced down at his hands, tilting his head in confusion.
“Something feels off.”
Sensing his hesitation, Yeo Woonjin pressed on, “Is there something wrong?”
“Oh, no. Nothing like that. I’m fine.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
Yeo Woonjin murmured as if disappointed, then asked another question.
“Do you remember what happened three days ago?”
“Three days ago?”
“Yes, the incident that occurred at night. I’ve heard bits from Instructor Sa, who said it was nothing serious. But I’d like to hear it from you. You tried to take Instructor Sa’s sword, didn’t you?”
Yeom Jaryang’s eyes widened in shock.
“Has it really been three days already?”
Then a sudden thought struck him.
“Moon Tak! What happened to Jo Moon Tak? Is he alright?”
Yeo Woonjin’s eyes gleamed with interest.
“Why are you asking about him?”
“Moon Tak was in danger! I stabbed him!”
“Stabbed? You did?”
“Yes, I stabbed him! I stabbed him in the stomach!”
Yeom Jaryang looked down at his trembling hands, vividly recalling the moment Jo Moon Tak lay bleeding on the ground.
But Yeo Woonjin’s expression was peculiar.
“Are you sure? Did you really stab Cadet Jo Moon Tak? Where exactly?”
“In the stomach. There was so much blood…”
“Could it have been another creature you stabbed…?”
“No! I’m sure! What happened to Moon Tak? Please, tell me!”
“Hmm. The boy is… doing well.”
“What?”
“He has a faint scar on his stomach, but it’s more like a scratch. He’s perfectly fine.”
“That can’t be…”
“When we first saw him, he did look gravely injured, with blood everywhere. But the wound was minimal. We even suspected the blood might belong to another creature.”
“A creature? But I was sure…”
“You say you stabbed him? I believe you. We didn’t find any dead animals either.”
“Then, what about me…?”
“There’s no one injured, so don’t worry. But now comes the important question.”
“What is it?”
“Why did you stab him? Do you remember anything?”
“Well…”
Yeom Jaryang furrowed his brow deeply before answering.
“It was because of the sword.”
“The sword?”
A sly smile flickered across Yeo Woonjin’s face for a brief moment.