Episode 41: Return of the Dark Sect Instructor
“What… what should I do?”
Yeom Jaryang swallowed hard, his throat dry with fear.
In a single strike, he had lost his grip on his sword.
Even the Black Twin Demons were formidable enough, but now they had thirty men under their command.
Mok Danhwa and her companions turned pale.
The enemy’s numbers were far greater than expected, and their skills were nothing to scoff at.
“I underestimated them!”
Mok Danhwa bit her lip in frustration.
She had thought that even if they encountered the Black Twin Demons during their staged kidnapping, they might stand a chance.
But she had been mistaken.
Now, there was only one option left.
Mok Danhwa discreetly glanced at Min Yuhyang and Baek Mireong.
The two seemed to understand her unspoken message and nodded.
In an instant.
“Run!”
As she shouted, Min Yuhyang and Baek Mireong kicked off the ground and sprinted away.
Yeom Jaryang also quickly extricated himself and fled.
He didn’t even have time to pull out a signal flare from his pocket.
Though he was worried about Mok Danhwa and the others, he was in no position to help anyone right now.
Besides, if caught by the Black Twin Demons, he would be the one in the most danger.
At least the female cadets might be kidnapped, but they wouldn’t be killed.
But he…
“Damn it!”
He recalled the words of the Left Demon.
The look in that guy’s eyes as he muttered about killing him slowly was genuine.
“Instructor! Where are you? Help us!”
More than ever, he wished to see Sabi Kang.
Meanwhile, the Left Demon chuckled as he looked at the Right Demon.
“Right Demon, where are you headed?”
“I told you, didn’t I? That bitch caught my eye. What about you, Left Demon?”
“Fine, I’ll take the other two. No complaints, right?”
“Sure, heh heh. Who would’ve thought we’d end up playing such an exciting game of hide and seek? My heart’s racing.”
“Just don’t take too long catching them.”
“Of course. If there’s time, I’ll kill that mutt too.”
“Ha ha ha. By the way, why did we come here again?”
“Beats me. I can’t remember. But who cares? We’ve found some delightful bitches.”
“True enough. Ha ha ha.”
The Black Twin Demons began to walk leisurely.
**
Splat!
A man with a diagonal gash across his chest collapsed, blood spurting from the wound.
“Huff, huff, huff!”
Yeom Jaryang, panting heavily, reversed his grip on his sword and plunged it into the ground.
Using it as a crutch, he slowly knelt on one knee.
His clothes were shredded as if they’d been through a grinder, and blood flowed freely from numerous cuts.
Around him lay four bodies.
If he hadn’t disarmed his opponent in the first defense, he would have been the one lying on the ground.
“I… I killed someone…!”
It was his first time.
He was shocked at himself.
In the face of danger, his body had reacted instinctively.
It was different from when he fought the Black Serpent Gang’s leader.
The thought of his life being on the line had sharpened his senses.
But he had used more power than necessary.
He hadn’t maintained his composure.
And he wasn’t used to killing.
Looking at the corpses made him feel nauseous.
“Ugh!”
He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, gasping for breath.
“Damn it, someone… help me!”
Yeom Jaryang pulled something from his pocket and threw it into the sky.
Whistle, bang!
A signal flare exploded.
**
“Ah, I never want to come back to this place.”
Sabi Kang trudged through the cave, shaking his head.
His clothes were torn and full of holes, and his exposed skin was scorched black in places. With his scruffy beard, he looked like a beggar.
“Unexpected losses, too.”
He had been too careless.
Caught in a trap, he had suffered serious injuries and wasted a healing potion.
The time inside this barrier flowed differently from outside.
Not even a day had passed outside, but over a month had gone by in here.
It was proof of how meticulously crafted this barrier was.
Sabi Kang reached the cave’s exit.
Whoosh!
A strong gust of wind pushed against him.
“What a view.”
He stood midway up a cliff.
From the outside, it appeared to be solid rock, but halfway up, there was a cave hidden by a barrier.
A hole in the sheer cliff face.
“Well, I couldn’t have avoided coming here for this.”
Sabi Kang looked at the jade stone in his hand.
He studied the mysterious stone for a moment before tucking it away.
“Now, time to climb.”
Standing at the edge of the cave, clouds spread out below him.
Even without the clouds, no one would see him climbing the cliff.
The entire cliff was essentially a barrier.
Sabi Kang reached out and clung to the rock face.
Whoosh!
The fierce wind blew again.
“Up we go.”
He began to climb, grabbing protruding rocks and occasionally using Trice magic to move.
How long had he been climbing?
Swish!
A blade of blue energy suddenly shot out from the side, heading straight for Sabi Kang.
Whoosh!
It wasn’t a physical blade.
A blade formed from magical energy.
If it touched his skin, it would burn and tear.
Sabi Kang quickly leaped upward, narrowly avoiding the magical blade, which vanished at the opposite end.
Then.
Rumble!
The entire cliff shook as if an earthquake had struck.
Of course, from the outside, nothing would appear to have changed.
It was all happening within the dimensional barrier.
Sabi Kang clung to a protruding rock, his fingers gripping so tightly they nearly broke.
After holding on for a while, magical blades flew at him from above, below, and both sides simultaneously.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
“Damn! This is more troublesome than I thought!”
The barrier’s magical blades couldn’t be blocked by a shield.
He had to dodge them.
Sabi Kang’s body vanished for a moment.
He used Trice to teleport.
But the landing spot was unstable.
Crash!
The protruding rock crumbled, leaving him suspended in mid-air.
In an instant, he swung Berthas, embedding it deep into the cliff.
Crash!
Barely avoiding a fall, Sabi Kang let out a sigh of relief.
Dangling from Berthas, he looked up at the cliff.
“Still a ways to go.”
Sabi Kang focused his inner energy into his palm.
Thud!
He swung his hand, breaking the rock and embedding his hand in it.
“For this prize, this much effort is nothing.”
He grinned, pulling Berthas free from the rock.
Just then.
Whistle, bang!
A faint sound reached him from far below.
“A signal flare?”
From inside the barrier, he couldn’t see what was happening outside, but he could hear it.
The signal flare must have been fired by one of the cadets.
Of all times.
He was so close to the top.
After a moment’s thought, Sabi Kang resumed his climb.
“Well, with Maesellan there, it should be fine.”
He dismissed the thought and used Trice magic to continue up the cliff.
Magical blades and arrows flew at him, but they couldn’t stop Sabi Kang.
Attacks of fire, ice, and earthquakes were useless against someone who could skillfully manipulate mana.
When he reached about eighty percent of the way up the cliff.
“Whew, what a grind.”
He had expended a considerable amount of magical energy, and sweat beaded on his forehead.
If he were an ordinary master, he wouldn’t have even made it out of the cave.
“Just a little more!”
Sabi Kang began to move sideways.
After moving about five paces.
Creak. Creak.
Massive tree roots burst from the surrounding walls.
The blue roots writhed like living snakes, closing in on Sabi Kang.
“Tch! The most annoying part!”
Fortunately, when he prepared for his return from the demon realm, he had memorized the barrier’s location and properties through the records.
Sabi Kang quickly infused Berthas with energy.
Buzz!
Berthas vibrated, emitting a sharp aura.
Slash!
A root that had been rushing at him was cleanly severed.
The severed root writhed like a living thing as it fell.
Bartlesi.
A plant from the demon realm, it had a habit of ensnaring anything that moved.
Despite being a living organism, it could move through dimensions with the barrier.
Its life force was mostly sustained by magic, and its structure was similar to coral in the sea, making it possible.
Creak! Creak!
The Bartlesi roots surged toward Sabi Kang.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three roots flew at him simultaneously.
Pop!
Sabi Kang vanished, reappearing clinging to the wall.
Boom!
Three thick roots crashed against the cliffside, shaking it as if an earthquake had struck.
“Get lost!”
Sabigang shouted, swinging his sword with a fierce determination.
Slash!
The extended blade cut through the roots of the Bartlish in one swift motion.
The severed roots flailed wildly before plummeting to the ground.
But.
Creak. Crack. Creak.
The Bartlish continued to grow.
‘Damn it, this is getting annoying.’
Just then.
Rumble. Rumble.
The cliff began to tremble once more.
Pebbles rained down from above.
Looking up, Sabigang saw part of the cliff breaking away, forming a distinct shape.
‘A gargoyle!’
As if things couldn’t get any worse.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The gargoyle flapped its massive wings, taking to the air.
Its eyes glowed an eerie blue.
“Roar!”
It pounded its chest and let out a deafening roar.
In an instant.
Swoosh!
The gargoyle charged at Sabigang, spear in hand.
Simultaneously, the Bartlish extended five roots towards him.
“Come on, then!”
Sabigang yelled defiantly.
Zap!
His figure vanished as if by magic.
Crash!
Boom!
The combined assault of the gargoyle and the Bartlish left a crater in the cliffside, as if a bomb had exploded.
The gargoyle retreated, thrashing about.
Sabigang, who had disappeared from sight, was now clinging to the gargoyle’s back.
“Rrrrgh!”
The creature roared, twisting violently.
But Sabigang held on with tenacity.
“Shut up, you noisy beast!”
Just as Sabigang was about to strike with his sword, the gargoyle suddenly spun around, slamming its back into the cliff.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
In that moment of loosened grip, the gargoyle swung its spear.
Clang!
The spear clashed with Sabigang’s sword, sparking on impact.
In a flash, the gargoyle leapt backward, and the Bartlish’s roots surged towards Sabigang.
“I’ll hang on no matter what.”
Sabigang’s eyes blazed with determination.
Flash!
Once again, he appeared behind the gargoyle.
This time, instead of clinging on, he swung his sheathed sword.
Thud!
With a sound that echoed like a drum, the gargoyle was sent hurtling into the cliff.
Crash!
Sensing movement, the Bartlish writhed madly, rushing towards the gargoyle.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Argh!”
The gargoyle struggled and roared, but it was futile.
The Bartlish’s roots had already ensnared it completely.
While they were focused on the gargoyle, Sabigang knew he had to act fast.
He fixed his gaze on a point on the cliff.
‘Trice!’
In an instant, Sabigang vanished, reappearing at the cliff.
Creak. Crack.
The Bartlish continued to bind the gargoyle.
Cracks began to form on the gargoyle’s stone-like body.
‘Now’s my chance.’
Sabigang swiftly moved to the side.
He couldn’t use Trice to travel far now; he needed precision.
How far had he moved?
The jade stone in his pocket began to glow brightly.
‘Here it is!’
With a smooth motion, Sabigang drew his sword.
At that moment.
Crack.
The gargoyle crumbled into dust.
With its target gone, the Bartlish turned its attention to Sabigang.
Whirr!
Sabigang quickly summoned his energy, driving his sword into the cliff.
“Hah!”
With a shout, the sword embedded itself deep into the rock.
The next moment.
Boom!
The cliff exploded outward.
A round hole burst open in the cliff, and the force propelled Sabigang backward.
The Bartlish’s roots slashed through empty air once more.
Whoosh!
Just before he fell, Sabigang used the Trice magic to teleport into the newly opened cavern.
“Whew. That was tough.”
He let out a long sigh as he finally entered the cavern.
‘For a place no one from the central lands can enter, this is quite the defense, Demon King. Overkill, really.’
A bead of sweat dripped from his chin.
“Well, I’m the exception.”
Sabigang chuckled, resting his sword on his shoulder.