Episode 294: Return to the Demonic Sect
The masked man reached out to steady himself against the wall, his legs trembling uncontrollably.
“Monsters… they’re monsters!”
He glanced at Ong Gi-seung, who was still dozing off, and Sa Bi-gang, who stood with arms crossed, observing the scene. Then there was Chu Ryang, fighting in a bizarre manner.
Around him, his masked comrades lay scattered, lifeless.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
Taking deep breaths, the masked man slowly gripped the hilt of his sword.
He hadn’t expected this.
He hadn’t imagined they would be this strong.
How could they not have inflicted a single wound?
The nickname “Sleeping Sword Demon” wasn’t just for show.
And then…
“That guy!”
His gaze fixed on Chu Ryang.
Chu Ryang fought in a way he’d never seen before.
He was clearly unarmed, yet sword energy seemed to spring from his wrists.
Moreover, a protective aura emerged from his left hand like a shield, blocking attacks.
Or was it?
Was it sword energy or a protective aura? He couldn’t be sure.
What was clear was that they were all defeated by that mysterious force.
The most frustrating part was…
“He’s full of openings…!”
Yet none of their attacks landed.
Every masked man who tried to exploit those openings was effortlessly taken down.
At first, he thought his comrades had made mistakes.
But when the same thing happens repeatedly, it’s hard to call it a mistake.
Unexpectedly, Chu Ryang had become a hindrance, so they decided to eliminate the weakest link first to reduce their numbers.
But the six or seven warriors who attacked Chu Ryang were all easily defeated.
At this point, it couldn’t just be chalked up to luck, could it?
The six or seven who misjudged their opponent were helpless against Sa Bi-gang.
Sa Bi-gang’s martial arts were an insurmountable wall.
From the start, he hadn’t been fazed by their presence.
In hindsight, it was as if…
“As if he knew we were coming… Could it be?”
Had he deliberately lured them into this secluded alley for an ambush?
If so, they had underestimated Sa Bi-gang.
Even a single unexpected variable could be troublesome…
Meanwhile, Chu Ryang, having dealt with the masked men, was brimming with confidence.
“Did you see that, Master? I was quite helpful, wasn’t I?”
Chu Ryang couldn’t help but grin.
Even he was surprised by his own strength.
“When did I become this strong?”
From the early to mid-stages of the fight, he felt the masked men were targeting him.
Perhaps they thought he was the weakest of the three.
At that point, he was terrified.
With killing intent everywhere, his heart pounded wildly.
But then…
“I could see it! Clearly!”
Yes, miraculously, the moment they entered a certain range, he could see their sword paths.
It was as if time slowed down for that moment.
The attackers within a certain radius suddenly lost their strength, and their sword attacks became sluggish.
At that speed, Chu Ryang had no trouble.
He quickly sidestepped their attacks and channeled his mana to strike them down with his mana sword.
With a swift “shwick!” sound, an enemy’s head flew into the air, and Chu Ryang raised his left hand to block another attack.
As the opponent was repelled by his mana shield, he slashed another enemy’s side deeply with his mana sword.
In an instant, six or seven of them fell.
The remaining masked men began to regard Chu Ryang with wary disbelief.
The feeling at that moment…
“Ah…!”
Even now, he couldn’t stop trembling.
It wasn’t fear or terror.
It was excitement and exhilaration.
“Master, leave that one to me!”
Chu Ryang, now full of himself, strode forward.
The last surviving masked man hesitated, retreating.
“This arrogant brat…!”
He must have used some kind of sorcery.
But do even the orthodox sects use sorcery now?
Then again, the identity of that Sa Bi-gang is suspicious.
His fighting style doesn’t seem like orthodox martial arts.
So wouldn’t his disciple be the same?
Thud!
The masked man’s back hit the wall.
There was nowhere left to retreat.
“Who sent you? Who are you people?”
Chu Ryang asked in a deliberately stern voice.
At that moment,
“Die!”
“Huh?”
The masked man suddenly kicked off the ground, launching himself at Chu Ryang.
“You fool… It’s pointless…”
Chu Ryang furrowed his brow and prepared to extend his mana sword,
In a flash!
Sa Bi-gang appeared between them.
At the same time, Sa Bi-gang spread his arms wide.
Boom!
His palms unleashed a force that sent Chu Ryang flying back.
The masked man was also repelled,
Crash!
Astonishingly, his body was torn apart, exploding with a deafening sound.
“Gasp!”
Chu Ryang, regaining his balance, gaped in shock.
The masked man who had charged at him was now nothing more than scattered bones and flesh.
“Was he trying to self-destruct…?”
A chill ran down his spine.
When the masked man charged, Chu Ryang had refrained from using lethal force, intending to capture and interrogate him to uncover the mastermind.
But…
“I almost died.”
He swallowed dryly.
Who would have thought the enemy would attempt self-destruction?
He must have mastered a self-destructive technique.
If Sa Bi-gang hadn’t deployed a shield while extending his palms, they would have been caught in the explosion and severely injured.
“Master, are you alright?”
Chu Ryang calmed his racing heart and called out to Sa Bi-gang.
Sa Bi-gang surveyed the lifeless bodies with a calm gaze.
“They’re all dead.”
“I’m sorry. I got carried away…”
Chu Ryang bowed his head in belated regret.
In that instant,
Whoosh!
Sa Bi-gang suddenly lunged at Chu Ryang.
Veritas sliced through the air, aiming for Chu Ryang’s neck.
Swish!
“Gulp!”
Chu Ryang couldn’t move a muscle.
Even as Veritas flew towards his neck, he was paralyzed.
“As expected, Master is on a different level. I can’t even twitch a finger. Did I overstep and anger him?”
Cold sweat trickled down his spine.
Meanwhile, the small creature nestled in Chu Ryang’s chest leaped out, landing beside him with its fur bristling.
It growled, clearly agitated, its nose wrinkling in a strange sound.
Sa Bi-gang’s gaze shifted to the creature.
“Hmm. So it’s that, is it?”
“What…?”
Chu Ryang asked, puzzled, as Sa Bi-gang sheathed Veritas and turned away.
After a moment, the creature relaxed its guard, climbing back onto Chu Ryang’s shoulder.
“It’s a debuff.”
“Excuse me?”
Chu Ryang blinked, not understanding.
“When they attacked you, did you feel like they suddenly slowed down?”
“Oh…! Yes, I did!”
“You might have thought you got stronger, but it’s probably this little one’s doing.”
“This little one…?”
Chu Ryang pointed at the creature.
It yawned widely, flicking its tongue.
Sa Bi-gang nodded.
“Yes. Despite its appearance, it’s a magical beast. It seems to have the ability to lower the enemy’s morale and weaken their energy.”
“Oh…”
“Fortunately, it’s not entirely useless. Try to train it well.”
“But… when you attacked me, Master, I didn’t feel anything…”
“That’s because… I’m too strong for it to debuff me.”
“You say that so casually.”
But coming from Sa Bi-gang, Chu Ryang didn’t find it strange.
“So this little one has such abilities?”
Chu Ryang placed the creature on his palm, observing it closely.
With its shimmering blue eyes, it looked up at him and meowed softly.
Realizing that his improvement was due to its help rather than his own skill left him feeling a bit deflated, but at least it wasn’t a useless pet.
While Chu Ryang pondered this, Sa Bi-gang turned to look at Ong Gi-seung.
Ong Gi-seung, cradling his sword, was dozing off as usual.
“Wake up.”
”…”
Sa Bi-gang sighed and moved to tap Ong Gi-seung on the back of the head.
Whoosh!
Ong Gi-seung leaned back, dodging with his eyes still closed.
A vein throbbed on Sa Bi-gang’s forehead.
“You little… If you don’t wake up now, I’ll slice you to the bone…”
“Hmm…? Oh, are they all dead?”
”…”
“Who were those guys? You must have a lot of enemies, Instructor.”
Sa Bi-gang looked at Ong Gi-seung for a moment, then sighed lightly before speaking.
“It wasn’t me. It was you.”
“What?”
“They were after you, not me.”
“Me? Why?”
Ong Gi-seung asked, bewildered, as Sa Bi-gang looked at him with half-lidded eyes and replied.
“Wouldn’t you know better than I do?”
“Well… I…”
Just then,
Thud!
Out of nowhere, Sabigang leapt into the air, landing gracefully on the roof of the adjacent building.
With a cold, piercing gaze, Sabigang scanned the surroundings.
‘I could have sworn…’
He sensed a presence.
Though it wasn’t clear if they were allied with the masked figure, someone was definitely watching them closely.
‘Quite skilled at hiding, aren’t they?’
At the very least, their stealth was unmatched, a master of concealment.
Meanwhile, about thirty paces away from where Sabigang stood on the roof, a man in tattered clothes sat crouched, begging.
He felt a cold sweat trickle down his back, trying his best to suppress his breath.
‘What kind of aura is that…!’
His energy had only faltered for a brief moment.
Yet Sabigang had noticed, and now stood atop the roof, surveying the area.
And what was that movement technique?
Sabigang’s body seemed to flicker in and out of sight, as if teleporting from one spot to another.
To the beggar, who knew nothing of magic, it appeared as if Sabigang was using some kind of blink spell to move from roof to roof, though he couldn’t comprehend it.
As Sabigang drew closer, the beggar quickly turned his head and muttered out of habit.
“Spare some change… just a little… even food would do…”
Sabigang glanced briefly at the beggar but, seemingly satisfied, moved on without further suspicion.
The beggar let out a sigh of relief, then gathered the coins and food into his sack, staggering to his feet.
His steps were unsteady, as if he might collapse at any moment, but his eyes shone with a fierce determination.