Episode 244: Return of the Demon Instructor
Gui Dosal’s eyes widened in shock.
“Cough…!”
A mouthful of bright red blood spurted out.
Thud!
He fell to his knees.
With trembling hands, he grasped the sword that had pierced his throat. The sharp blade cut into his palm, drawing more blood, but Gui Dosal paid it no mind. He was a dead man walking. What was a little cut on the hand when his throat had been run through?
With a determined pull, he extracted the sword from his neck.
Swoosh!
Blood gushed like a fountain as Gui Dosal collapsed backward.
Thud!
‘Unbelievable!’
When Sabikang had attacked using his unique sword technique, Gui Dosal had immediately activated his protective aura. Yet, astonishingly, Sabikang’s sword, Veritas, tore through the aura with relentless force, as if it were challenging him to a duel of strength.
In the moment his protective aura shattered completely, Gui Dosal swung his own sword. What followed was a cacophony of sounds.
Clang!
Thud!
The sound of something breaking was almost simultaneous with the chilling noise of flesh and bone being sliced. Incredibly, Gui Dosal’s sword had snapped in two and was sent flying.
In the next instant, he found himself staring at Veritas, the sword that had pierced his throat, and the broken hilt of his own weapon.
‘Unbelievable…’
He repeated the thought one last time as he drew his final breath.
Swoosh!
The sword that had been lodged in Gui Dosal’s neck flew back into Sabikang’s hand.
“That makes ten.”
“Master, you’re incredible! When will I ever be as strong as you?” Churyang asked, eyes brimming with admiration.
Sabikang shook his head.
“Becoming as strong as me? That’s impossible.”
“What? Really?”
Seeing Churyang’s crestfallen expression, Sabikang chuckled.
“But I’ll make sure you don’t die a dog’s death.”
“Is that all?”
“The kind of death I’m talking about is on a whole different level.”
Sabikang spoke nonchalantly and turned away, but his expression soon grew serious as he pondered.
‘Indeed, it’s on a different level.’
When the demons invaded, the martial artists of the world were slaughtered mercilessly. It was a death anyone would call a dog’s death.
**
Crash!
The table shattered into pieces.
“Eek!”
A man clutched his head, screaming in terror.
The man who had smashed the table with his fist sneered.
“Hey, am I not making myself clear?”
He was the second of the notorious Five Bandits of Jincheon, known as Yi Hyup. But no one called him by that name. People never used the word “Hyup” (hero) for them. Instead, they were known as the Five Thieves of Jincheon.
Thus, he was not Yi Hyup, but Yi Jeok, the second thief.
The man cowering on the floor trembled with fear. Rumors had spread that the infamous Five Thieves of Jincheon were causing havoc in the area. But he never imagined they would come to his home.
“Please, spare me! I beg you, just let me live!”
The man groveled, pleading desperately.
Yi Jeok stroked his rough beard with a thick hand.
“Who said anything about killing you? Just hand over what you’ve got.”
“This is really all I have. Please believe me! I’m just a poor farmer living day to day. What you see is everything. I swear!”
Yi Jeok frowned and glanced at the man sitting by the window.
The man, with a long sword at his waist, had eyes like a weasel and a long scar on his cheek, giving him a cold appearance. He was the one who had coined the nickname “Five Heroes of Jincheon” and was the leader of the Five Thieves, known as Modanglang.
The group referred to him as the “Iron-Blooded Sword Emperor,” a title he had given himself.
Yi Jeok scratched his neck and asked, “Boss, what do we do? It doesn’t seem like he’s lying. There’s no way a place like this would have such a valuable night pearl.”
Yi Jeok grumbled as he surveyed the shabby house. They had come here based on information that a valuable night pearl was hidden here. But from the moment they saw the rundown house, they had their doubts. It seemed their fears were justified.
Modanglang, who had been trimming his nails with a dagger, blew on his fingertips and stood up.
“Who gave us this information?”
Another man, who had been rummaging through a corner, stiffened and stood up.
“It was me, boss.”
The man, wearing a headscarf, was the youngest of the Five Thieves.
“Come here.”
The youngest thief approached with a pale face, and Modanglang tapped his forehead with the dagger. Blood trickled down with each tap, but the youngest thief bit his lip and endured.
“Can’t you even do this right?”
“I’m sorry, boss!”
“Because of you, we’re going through all this trouble.”
“I’m sorry.”
Slap!
Modanglang slapped the youngest thief across the face.
“If you’re sorry, you should take your punishment.”
Just as Modanglang was about to strike again, a door burst open, and the third thief dragged out a young woman by her hair.
“Heh heh! Boss, there’s a pretty girl here!”
“Ah! Please, spare me!”
The woman cried out.
“Hyanga!”
The man who had been groveling looked up in shock at the sight of his daughter.
Then another man emerged from the room, dragging an older woman by the neck.
“There’s a ripe woman here too!”
It seemed the two women were mother and daughter.
The man crawled over to Modanglang and clung to his pant leg.
“Great hero! Please spare us! This is really all we have! Please, just leave my wife and daughter alone!”
“This is touching.”
Modanglang chuckled and kicked the man away.
Thud!
“Oof!”
The man cried out as he was sent flying into a corner.
Modanglang, with a sinister grin, approached the two women.
“Kyah!”
The third thief lifted the young woman by her hair.
“How about it? She’s quite a looker, isn’t she? Heh heh.”
He licked the back of her neck.
“Ugh!”
The woman shuddered, and the third thief grinned, showing his yellow teeth.
“See? She’s trembling with excitement.”
“She’s definitely worth some money.”
Modanglang lifted the young woman’s chin and examined her.
The older woman, kneeling beside them, struggled and shouted.
“Get your filthy hands off my daughter!”
Slap!
The young woman’s head snapped to the side.
The older woman froze, mouth agape at the sudden turn of events.
Modanglang lifted the young woman’s chin again.
“Your mother did this.”
“W-What do you mean…?”
As the older woman began to speak again,
Slap!
The young woman’s head snapped to the side once more.
Modanglang murmured softly.
“Every time your mother speaks, I’ll slap you.”
”…!”
The older woman flinched and clamped her mouth shut.
The fourth thief chuckled and spoke.
“Boss, can’t we have a taste before we sell them?”
“Of course, the boss goes first, and then we take turns. Heh heh.”
The third thief chimed in.
Modanglang narrowed his eyes, looking the two women up and down. They were indeed too beautiful to waste in such a backwater place.
“Strip them.”
“Heh heh. As you command!”
The fourth thief moved to untie the older woman’s clothes when,
“Please wait! Just wait a moment!”
The man crawled over and clung to Modanglang’s pant leg again.
Modanglang frowned and looked at him.
“What is it? Did you suddenly remember something valuable?”
“No, but aren’t you looking for something valuable?”
“Well, yes.”
“I know where you can find something valuable.”
“Where?”
“I’ll tell you, but please, just spare my wife and daughter.”
“I promise. Tell me where, and we’ll leave them alone.”
“Thank you, thank you!”
The man bowed his head to the floor in gratitude, and Modanglang gestured for the third and fourth thieves to step back.
“Now, tell me where this treasure is.”
“I will. But… there’s a rumor that it’s dangerous…”
“Are you mocking me?”
“No, no! There’s a cave on the southern side of Mount Bohwa. They say a demon called the ‘Black Ghost’ lives there…”
“I’m not interested in fairy tales.”
“It’s true! No one who went there for the treasure ever returned. But someone as skilled as you, great hero, could surely succeed…”
“Hmm.”
Modanglang rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.
For the man, even that brief moment felt like an eternity.
He spoke as if he were revealing some grand secret, but in truth, it was something every local knew.
Perhaps Modanglang had already heard about it.
Though he had bought himself a little time, would this really satisfy him?
Modanglang nodded.
“Interesting. It might be worth checking out.”
“Hahaha! Whether it’s a black ghost or a white ghost, if there’s really a treasure there, wouldn’t that be a windfall, my friend?” Ijeok exclaimed excitedly.
He was always one for adventure, so rumors of spirits didn’t bother him in the slightest.
The man’s face brightened.
“Then… my wife and daughter…?”
“That was useful information. But… I’ve changed my mind. I can’t just leave those two women behind.”
“But… but you promised!”
“Promises are made to be broken.”
Modanglang gave a cold smile and turned his gaze to the two women.
“Master, I’m starving to death!”
“You still have the strength to shout, so you’re not dying yet.”
“Don’t you know the saying about using the strength of a nursing baby? They say a baby uses all its strength to suckle. That’s how hard I’m shouting right now.”
Churyang grumbled with a pout, but Sabigang remained unfazed.
He continued walking briskly, speaking as if it were no big deal.
“If you circulate your inner energy continuously, you can forget about hunger.”
“Sure, I’ll forget about hunger and die peacefully.”
Churyang pouted, and Sabigang couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity.
He found it amusing.
Had anyone ever treated him so casually before?
In the demon realm, he had committed countless atrocities to survive.
Anyone near him would tremble with fear.
Even his closest subordinate, Helmut, wasn’t someone he exchanged jokes with.
After his return, the special class cadets were a bit more relaxed around him.
But none were as carefree as Churyang.
“Aren’t you afraid of me?”
“Huh? Why? Do you like that sort of thing? Like strict discipline, absolute obedience, blood oaths, and all that…?”
‘He really is free-spirited…’
Sabigang shook his head.
“Never mind. There’s a house over there. Let’s stop by. I’m getting hungry too.”
“Oh! Wonderful! I love you, Master!”
The two headed toward a house at the foot of the mountain.
But as they got closer, something seemed off.
It was clearly inhabited, yet one side of the gate was broken, and the windows were shattered.
‘Something feels strange…’
Sabigang tilted his head in puzzlement as he was about to step inside.
Whoosh!
A shadow suddenly appeared and lunged at them.