Episode 14: Return to the Demonic Sect
Hongyeom gazed up at the dense canopy of coniferous trees, his mind a tangled mess of emotions.
“How did it come to this?”
He regretted ever taking on the mission from Yongcheon Hall.
A dull ache seemed to rise from his abdomen at the thought.
The memory was still vivid.
The sword that had pierced his side, drinking his blood like a thirsty beast.
And Sabigang, laughing like a ghost.
How could someone like that be an instructor at Yongcheon Hall?
“What are you thinking about so deeply?”
“Ah!”
Hongyeom spun around, startled.
“When did you…?”
He hadn’t sensed a thing.
And yet, wasn’t he the most skilled in the Ghost Shadow Division, second only to the deputy?
“What kind of ghost…?”
“What’s with that look? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“No, it’s nothing. Why did you call me?”
Hongyeom asked respectfully.
The man before him had turned the Ghost Shadow Division upside down in just one day.
It wouldn’t do to provoke him.
Sabigang grinned and handed him a piece of paper.
“Find the person listed there.”
“Goo Woo-jung…?”
“That’s not his real name, but it’s the one he’s using now.”
“Who is this person?”
“You don’t need to know that. Just find him.”
Hongyeom looked bewildered.
“Finding someone in the martial world with just a name is…”
“Here. I’ve noted down places where he might be. Focus on those areas, and you’ll find him.”
Sabigang tossed another piece of paper.
Hongyeom frowned as he scanned the locations listed.
Then…
“This place…!”
“What? Do you know it?”
Sabigang asked, feigning ignorance.
Hongyeom’s face turned pale.
“No! Absolutely not! You want me to go there? That’s a forbidden area!”
“Hmm. For the record, all the places listed are what you call forbidden. Heh heh.”
Hongyeom’s expression stiffened.
He shuddered as he spoke.
“I can’t go! Absolutely not! Give me another task!”
“This is your task.”
“But this is…”
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
Sabigang’s eyes had turned cold.
“Find him.”
“But…”
“As you know, I know the locations of all the Ghost Shadow Division’s headquarters and branches. I have a complete understanding of your network.”
”…”
“The reason the Ghost Shadow Division has survived despite its many enemies is because it’s a secret organization. But what if I reveal everything? You’d become the first target for elimination in the martial world. I wouldn’t even have to lift a finger. How about it? Want to live a little dangerously?”
“That… that’s…”
“The only reason I haven’t done so is because you’re still useful to me. But if I decide you’re not, wiping you out would be easier than eating porridge.”
Gulp.
Hongyeom swallowed hard.
He couldn’t move a muscle.
Sabigang’s gaze felt like it was piercing through him.
“This man is capable of doing just that. He could really wipe out the Ghost Shadow Division.”
He was overwhelmingly strong and seemed to know every detail about the organization, as if he were from the future.
The pressure was immense.
Sabigang spoke coldly.
“Find him.”
“Understood…”
“Use any means necessary and find him as quickly as possible.”
“How quickly…?”
“Seven days.”
“That’s impossible…”
Hongyeom was about to protest but fell silent under Sabigang’s icy stare.
In the end, he bowed his head.
A sign of submission.
**
“Damn it! How long do we have to keep doing this?”
“I’m sick of it.”
The students soaking in the valley grumbled incessantly.
But Sabigang, perched on a large rock, hummed a tune as he ate a fish.
Yeon Woo-gyeong glanced at the complaining students and then at Sabigang before shifting his gaze elsewhere.
There, Yeom Jaryang stood in the water, staring blankly at the surface.
“That guy, he caused some trouble, didn’t he?”
Gok Bo-ok had sidled up to him, whispering.
Yeon Woo-gyeong nodded.
“He stole the instructor’s sword.”
“That one?”
Gok Bo-ok looked at the sword hanging from Sabigang’s waist with wide eyes.
Rumors had circulated about some incident between Yeom Jaryang and Sabigang, but the details were unknown.
Gok Bo-ok chuckled.
“That guy’s pretty crazy, trying something like that. Heh. So what happened… oh? Where are you going?”
Yeon Woo-gyeong walked away without answering.
Meanwhile, Yeom Jaryang stood in the water, as if entranced.
“Something’s different. Definitely.”
He slowly raised his hand, clenching and unclenching his fist.
Everything felt different.
Since regaining consciousness, he’d felt as if he were reborn.
“Is it really because of that?”
Yeom Jaryang recalled what Sabigang had said when he called him aside.
“Don’t waste your talent on foolish things. I’ll forgive you once, but not twice. And I’ve adjusted your body to match your talent, so keep that in mind.”
At the time, he hadn’t understood and had just stood there.
When he asked for clarification, Sabigang had simply told him to get lost.
“I left in a huff back then… was this it?”
He noticed a fish swimming below the surface.
Or rather, he sensed it.
Yeom Jaryang submerged himself.
“A fish…”
He’d tried several times on the first day.
But catching a live fish without harming it was no easy task.
He hadn’t caught a single one.
But now…
“Somehow, I feel like I can do it now!”
In an instant, Yeom Jaryang’s hand darted out.
A slippery sensation met his palm.
He gently closed his fist, and a fish was caught in his hand.
“I got it!”
“Whoa!”
He surfaced, raising his hand to reveal the fish.
It flopped free in an instant.
“I caught it! I really caught it!”
He felt like he could catch dozens in a day at this rate.
Just then…
“I heard about it. That’s unfortunate.”
Yeon Woo-gyeong stood there, smiling meaningfully.
Yeom Jaryang gave a wry smile.
“Well, that’s how it went.”
“I never imagined you’d plan something like that. Even though it failed, it was impressive.”
Yeom Jaryang just shrugged, saying nothing.
Yeon Woo-gyeong grinned.
“Of course, I don’t think Yeom would give up over something like this. It was unfortunate, but I have high hopes for you.”
“Do you…?”
“Of course. It was just bad luck last time, but next time, you’ll succeed.”
Yeom Jaryang just smiled wryly, prompting Yeon Woo-gyeong to continue.
“Honestly, what kind of lesson is this? Using us students just to eat fish? If we keep following someone like that as our instructor, surely…”
“I’ve given up.”
Yeon Woo-gyeong frowned at the sudden interruption.
“What do you mean?”
“The plan to tame the instructor. I’m giving up.”
“Why…?”
Yeom Jaryang’s gaze shifted to Sabigang.
It was hard to believe that the man happily eating fish was the same person who had looked at him so coldly.
He chuckled and replied.
“Do you really think we can tame someone like that?”
“But if we don’t try…”
“I’ve already tried. And I was thoroughly defeated. All my expectations…”
“Even so, giving up now is…”
“It’s not giving up. It’s just… pointless. Or maybe… childish.”
Childish…?
Yeon Woo-gyeong’s expression twisted.
Was he calling him childish?
Anger bubbled up, but Yeon Woo-gyeong forced himself to respond calmly.
“I’m disappointed. I didn’t think you’d give up so easily.”
“I didn’t either. But… Instructor Sa is someone we can’t even begin to understand. Not now, not ever.”
Yeon Woo-gyeong gritted his teeth and turned away.
Talking to a defeated man was a waste of time.
As he was about to leave…
“You should give up too. Instructor Sa might be beyond anything we can imagine.”
Yeon Woo-gyeong turned back, smiling coldly.
“Heh. I’ll keep that in mind. But I’m not one to give up easily. Just wait and see. You can expect great things.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
Yeom Jaryang replied with a grin.
He watched Yeon Woo-gyeong’s retreating figure and muttered to himself.
“Though it’s a different kind of expectation.”
His gaze finally returned to Sabigang.
Sabigang was still munching on fish, seemingly without a care in the world.
“Ugh. Was I wrong about him?”
Yeom Jaryang’s mind was a whirl of confusion.
**
Wooong.
Bertas let out another wail.
Sabigang frowned and drew Bertas.
Srrrng.
The blue blade gleamed in the light.
Its aura was so sharp it seemed like it could draw blood with a mere touch.
For an ordinary person, just looking at it would make their knees weak.
Wooong! Wooong!
The vibrations intensified.
“Damn it. Quiet down!”
He gripped the hilt and infused it with his energy.
Vrrrrr!
In that instant, Vertas shook violently, as if refusing to be subdued by mere force.
Sabi Kang felt the magic he had infused into Vertas being repelled back at him.
“Ugh.”
As expected, Vertas was no ordinary sword. It was a blade that once served the Demon King. It wouldn’t be easily tamed.
“Alright, let’s see who comes out on top, you or me!”
Fueled by anger, Sabi Kang gritted his teeth and gripped Vertas’s hilt with both hands.
Rumble!
Vertas trembled as if it were alive, its blade glowing an increasingly intense red. Sweat trickled down Sabi Kang’s forehead.
How long did this battle of wills last?
Boom!
Like a dam bursting, whatever had been resisting his magic gave way, and Sabi Kang’s energy surged into Vertas. The blade returned to its original blue hue.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
Sabi Kang took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his brow.
‘This should keep it quiet for a while.’
But it was only a temporary fix. In a few days, the sword would rebel again.
“Do I really need that?”
Sabi Kang muttered to himself, narrowing his eyes.
The night was dark.
In Sabi Kang’s chamber, a shadow slipped inside. It was a masterful display of stealth, a stark contrast to the clumsy attempt by Yeom Jaryang a few days prior.
Like a ghost, the masked figure moved silently to the bedside where Sabi Kang lay, oblivious in his slumber.
‘Heh, sleeping soundly, I see.’
The intruder, Yeon Jin, watched Sabi Kang for a moment before slowly reaching out. All it would take was a touch on the forehead. After that, it wouldn’t matter if he woke up. In fact, he needed to wake up, so he would feel threatened enough to use his dark magic.
The goal was to provoke him just enough to make him use it. There was no need for an actual assassination. If Sabi Kang used his dark magic, then killing him would be justified. That would make Yeon Jin a hero of Yongcheon Hall, the one who vanquished an evil sorcerer.
Yeon Jin was certain Sabi Kang had mastered dark magic. There was no hesitation.
‘Heh heh heh. This is the end for you!’
Just as his fingers were about to touch Sabi Kang’s forehead, Sabi Kang’s eyes snapped open.
“Gah!”
Yeon Jin instinctively tried to pull back.
Snap.
Sabi Kang caught his wrist.
“Working late, aren’t you?”
His voice was as cold as ice.
“Damn it!”
Yeon Jin focused his energy into his hand, trying to break free.
Whoosh!
“What?”
Sabi Kang vanished before his eyes.
‘What is this…?’
Yeon Jin’s face twisted in disbelief, as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Do you have business with me?”
A chilling voice whispered in his ear. Sabi Kang was suddenly behind him, delivering a swift strike.
Yeon Jin twisted in shock, but it was too late.
Crack! Boom!
A blue orb exploded against his chest, sending him sprawling across the floor.
“Aaargh!”
Yeon Jin rolled across the room, trembling as he struggled to stand.
‘That… that bastard! There’s no doubt! I’ve never seen such martial arts before! It’s dark magic! It has to be! That bastard really has mastered dark magic!’
Meanwhile, Sabi Kang approached him, step by deliberate step.
“I asked if you had business with me.”