Episode 270: Return of the Demon Cult

“Did you just say Sabigang?”

“And what if I did?”

Manseong Geomsal furrowed his brow deeply, then suddenly burst into laughter.

“Hahaha!”

After laughing heartily for a while, he fixed his gaze on Sabigang.

“So, you really are Sabigang?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, speak of the devil. You’ve saved me a long trip.”

“Does that mean someone…?”

“Someone hired me to take you out.”

“Who was it?”

“You’ll find out in the afterlife.”

With a sinister smile, Manseong Geomsal’s aura shifted once more. This time, it seemed he was drawing upon every ounce of his inner strength.

Seok Tangang and Yoo Songryeong exchanged uneasy glances.

‘We were never a match for him to begin with.’

It was clear now that Manseong Geomsal had been holding back, waiting for Sabigang to reveal his hand. He had never intended to show his full power until now.

Sabigang’s eyes gleamed with interest.

“Impressive. I didn’t expect this level of skill.”

“You talk as if you know me!”

With that, Manseong Geomsal charged at Sabigang like a storm.

Whoosh!

Clang!

The sound of thunder echoed as Sabigang braced himself, sliding back several feet. His hand tingled from the impact.

Sabigang twisted his lips into a wry smile.

“I know you all too well.”

“Does that mean you came looking for me on purpose…?”

Manseong Geomsal’s eyes flicked to the side, where an old man had been glaring at him with burning eyes. Recognition dawned on him.

“So, it’s you. The old man from back then. You hired someone to take me out?”

Sabigang chuckled.

“No, it’s the other way around. I’m here to take you out, and then I’ll hire him. Plus, I was curious to meet the person who could kill ten thousand without batting an eye.”

At that, not only Manseong Geomsal but everyone around them flinched and turned to Sabigang.

Churyang glanced at Seok Tangang and asked, “Did he just say ‘she’?”

Seok Tangang nodded.

Churyang tilted his head in confusion. “But isn’t it ‘he’?”

Meanwhile, Manseong Geomsal laughed coldly and shot a sharp look at Sabigang.

“Thanks for the compliment, but I’m far from reaching ten thousand.”

“No, you’ll reach it. Within the next ten years, you’ll do it ruthlessly. That’s why I have to stop you, even if you’re a woman.”

The group was taken aback once more. They thought they had misheard earlier, but now it was clear Sabigang had said ‘woman.’

Churyang, still puzzled, asked, “Sir, is Manseong Geomsal a woman? He looks like a man to me.”

“Indeed, he does,” the old man replied, equally perplexed.

But Manseong Geomsal was more shocked than anyone. He glared at Sabigang with a hardened expression.

“How did you…?”

“How did I know you’re a woman? You showed your true self. You used the art of disguise to change your appearance, didn’t you? Let me ask you one thing. Why go to such lengths to kill ten thousand martial artists?”

Sabigang’s question, posed as if it were about the past, left everyone even more confused.

Manseong Geomsal was no exception. How could Sabigang speak of things that hadn’t happened yet as if they were history? And how did he see through the disguise?

Realizing there was no point in hiding anymore, Manseong Geomsal spoke with a chilling calm.

“Indeed, I was worth the five million nyang.”

With that, he relaxed his stance, and a series of cracking sounds echoed as his body began to transform. His broad shoulders shrank, his angular face softened, and his waist became slender.

Though his frame was smaller, the aura emanating from him grew even stronger. Without the disguise, his true power was unleashed.

The group gaped in silence at the transformation. The woman before them seemed middle-aged, yet her youthful figure and flawless skin suggested otherwise. Her presence and formidable aura hinted at her true age.

“You’ve awakened a part of me even I had forgotten. Impressive.”

Her voice, now as beautiful as her appearance, was as cold as ice.

Josinryang stammered, “Who… who are you? Why did you kill my brother?”

“Silence!”

With a swift motion, she drew a dagger and hurled it.

Twang!

Churyang stepped forward, forming a mana shield with his left hand, deflecting the dagger.

“Such strange techniques!”

Manseong Geomsal scowled and continued, “Who am I? I’m the fiancée of the man your brother killed.”

“What?”

“The one person I would have given my life for… your brother took him from me.”

Her face, twisted with rage, was as terrifying as a ghost’s. It was astonishing how a single face could convey such different emotions.

In truth, she was struggling to contain her turbulent emotions. Remembering the past she had long buried was like reopening an old wound.

They had been just two weeks away from their wedding when she heard he had died in a life-or-death duel. It felt as if the sky had fallen and the earth had crumbled beneath her.

Without him, she had no place in this world. Despair and fear overwhelmed her more than grief.

In her darkest days, she resolved to seek revenge. But everyone around her tried to dissuade her.

She was furious. Instead of offering to avenge her fiancé, they told her to accept his death as the result of a fair duel.

A fair duel? What did that even mean?

Did dying in a duel bring him back to life?

Was the code of the martial world more important than a human life?

If no one else would act, she would.

From that day on, she trained relentlessly, honing her skills with a single-minded determination.

But as she grew stronger, her desires twisted. Everyone who didn’t understand her became an enemy.

‘What’s so funny?’

‘Why are you all laughing?’

‘How can you act like nothing’s wrong?’

Even as her world crumbled, people went on with their lives, laughing and chatting as if nothing had happened.

It was unfair.

In this martial world, it felt like she alone bore the weight of hellish misfortune.

She even began to suspect her fiancé’s death was part of a grand conspiracy.

The saying “only the dead are pitied” pierced her heart daily.

‘Fine, I’ll make you all pitiful! That would be fair, wouldn’t it?’

Her first target was the man who killed her fiancé.

Next, she would punish those who stood by and did nothing.

She approached the killer’s brother, asking him to forge a sword.

She wanted to deliver the tragedy of dying by a sibling’s hand.

True to his reputation, he crafted a fine sword.

But the blade bore the inscription “Manseong Sword.”

It was laughable. Ridiculous.

Yet, it suited her purpose perfectly.

She decided to use their hollow ideals against them.

Manseong Sword?

Don’t make me laugh. From now on, I’ll claim ten thousand lives.

Thus, the Manseong Sword was born with a thirst for blood.

The birth of Manseong Geomsal.

She vowed to take ten thousand lives.

“But… to achieve it within ten years? You speak as if you’ve seen it.”

Sabigang frowned at her story.

“All this killing for such a reason?”

“Such a reason? To you, it may seem trivial. But to me, it was everything.”

Sabigang regarded her with a complex gaze.

With her skills, it seemed a waste to kill her.

They say a woman’s vengeance can bring frost in the summer.

Since her fiancé’s death, she had grown unimaginably strong.

She must have used every means at her disposal.

Her innate talent must have played a part as well.

If only she had channeled that determination into a greater cause.

For instance, if she had fought against the demonic invasion.

But she chose the opposite path.

Her anger and loss were directed solely at the martial world.

To her, who harbored resentment against all the martial artists of the world, the demon legion became a convenient tool.

She was the first to seek out the Demon King and willingly became his pawn.

In fact, she earned his favor and lived a life of luxury in the demon realm for a time.

But once her goal of annihilating the martial artists vanished, she began to walk a path of self-destruction.

Sabigang spoke candidly.

“It’s a shame to kill you. Is there no chance you’ll reconsider?”

“There’s no such chance.”

Her eyes were as cold as a serpent’s.

Sabigang gave a wry smile, realizing she wasn’t bluffing.

It was too late to turn back her twisted nature.

The Sword of Ten Thousand Lives.

A blade meant to save ten thousand lives was already stained with the blood of hundreds.

If left unchecked, it would claim thousands more, eventually surpassing ten thousand.

There was no other choice.

“I have to kill you.”

Sabigang looked at the Sword of Ten Thousand Lives with a heavy gaze.

A murderous aura began to emanate from his entire being.

The air crackled with an intensity never felt before.

The Sword of Ten Thousand Lives slowly assumed a stance.

This opponent was different from any before, and the realization gripped her.

She might have to stake her life on this.

Sabigang spoke in a detached voice.

“Watch closely, old man. I will keep my promise.”

The onlookers swallowed hard, the gravity of Sabigang’s words weighing on them.

The Sword of Ten Thousand Lives narrowed her eyes, staring intently at Sabigang.

‘He’s no ordinary foe. I must put everything into this strike!’

The threat was palpable, prickling her skin.

She understood that this duel would end in a single blow.

In other words, she had just one chance.

A fierce wind swirled around the Sword of Ten Thousand Lives.

Sabigang murmured coldly.

“I’ll return ten thousand lives to you.”

In the next instant,

She leaped first.

Her blade sliced through the air with deadly precision.

She was certain.

This strike was the most perfect she had ever executed.

In a flash, Sabigang charged at her with terrifying speed.

Their swords clashed with a resounding impact.

In that moment, time seemed to slow for the Sword of Ten Thousand Lives.

Astonishingly, Sabigang’s sword shattered hers from the tip, piece by piece.

Her wrist was cut, and she dropped what was left of her sword.

But the most shocking event followed.

The fragments of her shattered sword, now in a thousand pieces, surged toward her.

The shards pierced her body, and she coughed up blood, disbelief etched on her face as she slowly sank to her knees.

The onlookers were frozen, mouths agape.

The duel had been decided in a single strike.

Her prediction had been accurate.

With a twisted smile, she managed to speak.

“Five hundred… thousand gold… wasn’t enough.”

“It was a shame to kill you, but there was no other way.”

Sabigang looked down at her with cold eyes.

“Thank… you.”

With those final words, she breathed her last.

Her last words seemed to carry a weight of unspoken meaning.