Episode 86: Return to the Demonic Sect
Boom!
A deafening explosion shattered the silence.
In that instant, shards of ice scattered in all directions, glistening under the moonlight with an almost ethereal beauty.
So Seop-rang stood there, eyes wide and mouth agape.
‘What on earth is that…?’
Had Instructor Sa Bi-gang mastered the martial arts of the Northern Ice Palace?
As Sa Bi-gang closed in on Jo Ryang, it felt as if a fierce northern wind was sweeping through. The grass around them froze rapidly, and even So Seop-rang, standing at a distance, could feel the chill.
When Sa Bi-gang finally struck with his sword, Jo Ryang, sensing the danger, crossed his twin blades to block the attack.
An enormous explosion ensued.
Jo Ryang was pushed back, struggling to fend off a massive block of ice, leaving a trail of frozen footprints behind him.
“Ugh! Huff, huff, huff!”
Jo Ryang gasped for air, white mist pouring from his mouth.
‘Damn it! It feels like my lungs are freezing!’
A wave of nausea hit him.
“Ugh!”
A dark, congealed mass of blood spewed from his mouth. He had sustained internal injuries while blocking the ice attack.
His lungs felt like they were about to shatter, while his lower abdomen burned as if scorched by fire. The cold seeped into his entire body, making him shiver as if he had caught a severe cold.
‘Damn it! Who the hell is that guy?’
Jo Ryang’s eyes trembled with confusion.
He was supposed to be an instructor. But could an instructor wield such a powerful ice technique?
Indeed, Jo Ryang had mistaken Sa Bi-gang’s magic for the martial arts of the Northern Ice Palace. With such a strong affinity for cold, it was the only logical conclusion.
However, what Sa Bi-gang had used was not the Ice White New Sword, but a sixth-circle spell known as the ‘Water Blaster.’
‘Wait a minute…’
Hadn’t the person using the Northern Ice Palace’s techniques just used a fire-based skill earlier?
Could one person possess two elemental powers?
It was possible, but it would typically weaken each power. Moreover, switching between them so quickly was no easy feat.
‘Damn it! I can’t make sense of any of this!’
Jo Ryang gritted his teeth.
One thing was clear: he had no chance of winning this fight.
He was already injured and breathing heavily, while Sa Bi-gang remained calm and composed, his movements relaxed and unhurried.
Jo Ryang resolved to strike once more and then flee. He slowly assumed a stance, determination in his eyes.
Sa Bi-gang smirked faintly.
“Trying for more?”
“Shut up!”
With a swift motion, Jo Ryang launched himself at the speed of light.
This time, his left sword aimed low, targeting Sa Bi-gang’s heart.
Clang!
Bertas intercepted the attack.
In a split second, Jo Ryang’s right sword, imbued with sword energy, slashed diagonally toward Sa Bi-gang’s neck.
But then—
‘What?’
Sa Bi-gang’s left hand shot out, not toward Jo Ryang’s chest, but—
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted from Jo Ryang’s chest, engulfing him in flames.
“Aaaargh!”
The sudden temperature change was a deadly shock to Jo Ryang, whose body had been chilled to the bone.
“Cough! Ugh!”
Jo Ryang collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood, his eyes wide with terror.
‘That guy… he’s a monster!’
He was not someone Jo Ryang could contend with.
This was a crucial realization. The opponent’s skills were beyond comprehension, and the fact that such a master had gone unnoticed by the Blood Demon Sect was a significant issue.
Staggering to his feet, Jo Ryang quickly threw his twin swords.
Swish! Swish!
In an instant—
Whoosh!
He darted in the opposite direction.
Throwing his swords was a desperate attempt to escape.
Clang!
Sa Bi-gang swung Bertas, deflecting both swords effortlessly, a cold smile on his lips.
‘You should have done that sooner.’
In the next moment, his figure vanished without a trace.
So Seop-rang, who had been watching the entire scene, sat there in a daze, unaware of the drool trickling from his mouth.
‘Who is that man, really?’
**
On a hill under the cold night breeze, a man wearing a white rabbit mask stood with his hands behind his back, silently observing the distant forest.
Beside him, a figure appeared as if materializing from smoke—a man wrapped entirely in black cloth, exuding a dark aura.
He knelt before the man in the rabbit mask.
“Master of the Phantom Assassins, I greet you, Lord of the Death Phantom Hall.”
“You’ve arrived?”
“Yes, as you commanded, the entire Phantom Assassin squad is here.”
“Hmm, the situation isn’t ideal. We’ve eliminated a few targets, but we haven’t achieved our main objective. The Inferno Bomb didn’t go off either.”
In truth, the Inferno Bomb was meant more as a warning to the righteous sects than as a tool for mass destruction. If it had exploded in the heart of the forest, word would have spread quickly throughout the martial world, sowing distrust among the righteous sects toward the alliance.
But for some reason, the bomb had failed to detonate.
“Shall we proceed, then?”
“We can’t just sit idly by. It’s time to make our move.”
He turned sharply, and behind him, two hundred Phantom Assassins appeared like smoke, each exuding the same dark aura as the kneeling man.
“Let’s go.”
In the next instant, the man in the rabbit mask vanished as if he had never been there, followed by the two hundred assassins who disappeared just as suddenly.
**
Boom!
“Ugh!”
Joo Yu-cheon was sent flying, crashing through the door of the medical hall.
Inside, the medics and the head of the hall, Jin Baek, who had been anxiously watching the situation, rushed over in alarm.
“Dean, are you alright?”
“Ugh. Protect the students.”
Joo Yu-cheon quickly got to his feet and leaped back outside.
In the courtyard, a figure wearing a purple rat mask stood, tilting his head curiously.
“Oh, still standing? Impressive.”
“You scoundrel! You have some tricks up your sleeve!”
Joo Yu-cheon shouted, though inwardly he was just as shocked.
‘Where did someone like this come from…?’
He couldn’t shake the feeling that this opponent might be more skilled than himself.
He glanced around anxiously.
He was worried about the main hall. The fact that the head of the hall hadn’t appeared yet suggested that a formidable enemy had also infiltrated there.
Just then, the masked figure lunged at Joo Yu-cheon.
“Distracted, are we?”
“Ugh!”
Joo Yu-cheon quickly countered with his sword.
But the masked figure twisted his body skillfully, swinging his blade toward Joo Yu-cheon’s chest.
Swish!
‘Damn it!’
In desperation, Joo Yu-cheon struck back with his palm.
Boom!
The clash of their energies created a thunderous explosion.
“Ugh!”
But the impact was greater on Joo Yu-cheon. As he staggered back, coughing up blood, the masked figure charged again, sword raised.
“Old man! Die!”
With a fierce shout, the blade, imbued with energy, descended toward Joo Yu-cheon at terrifying speed.
Joo Yu-cheon raised his sword, but he knew it was hopeless.
Suddenly, he recalled Sa Bi-gang’s warning from the previous night.
“Beware of the rat.”
“A rat? What do you mean?”
“When we captured the spy, he mentioned a purple rat would attack you.”
At the time, Joo Yu-cheon hadn’t understood what it meant.
Of course, Sa Bi-gang had known of Joo Yu-cheon’s impending death. That’s why he had given the warning.
But he couldn’t reveal that he had experienced the future, so he had lied, saying he had extracted the information from the captured spy.
In any case, Joo Yu-cheon now sensed his impending death and regretted it.
‘Why didn’t I remember Instructor Sa Bi-gang’s advice when I saw this mask?’
If he had, he would have been more cautious in facing this opponent.
As he watched the descending blade helplessly—
Whoosh!
A sharp sound cut through the air.
Then—
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
The blade aimed at Joo Yu-cheon danced in the air.
The masked figure clicked his tongue and retreated.
His eyes flickered with surprise.
‘Tang Yi-hyeop…?’
The one who had thrown the hidden weapons was undoubtedly Tang Yi-hyeop.
Mu-cheon quickly rushed over to support Joo Yu-cheon.
“Are you alright, Dean?”
“Thanks to you, I’m fine.”
Joo Yu-cheon steadied himself, standing up with difficulty.
The masked figure quickly scanned the area, noticing Tang Yi-hyeop, Mae Seol-ran, and the students approaching.
‘Tch, I couldn’t finish it properly!’
With that thought, he turned and leaped away, kicking off the ground.
“Hey! Stop!”
Tang Yi-hyeop quickly threw more hidden weapons, pursuing him.
The masked figure deflected the incoming weapons and, while running, pulled something from his robe and threw it.
Whistle! Bang!
It was a signal flare.
Immediately, the warriors who had stormed the academy began to retreat like the ebbing tide.
**
Crack, boom!
With a thunderous crash, the massive tree trunk toppled over as its base was severed.
Thud!
A figure leaped off the falling tree, soaring into the air.
Two men pursued him, their swords slicing through the air.
“Haaah!”
Clang! Shing!
“Ugh!”
Unable to block one of the swords, the figure twisted away and landed on the ground.
Screech!
His feet slipped, but he managed to regain his balance.
“Huff, huff, huff!”
He panted heavily.
The man with the streaks of gray in his hair was none other than Sang Pil-ji.
His attackers were Unbyeok and Heukho.
Both men, hidden behind masks, were also breathing heavily.
Sang Pil-ji’s eyes were bloodshot with rage.
“You bastards…!”
“Phew, why don’t you just give up now? It’s over,” Unbyeok said, shaking his head.
He had known Sang Pil-ji was formidable, but not to this extent.
Sang Pil-ji was far stronger than they had anticipated.
Even Heukho, as he clashed swords with Sang Pil-ji, couldn’t help but be impressed.
‘He’s wasted as just an instructor.’
But no matter how skilled, he was an obstacle that needed to be removed.
Sang Pil-ji glanced at the cadets.
Seventy percent of them had perished.
The ground was littered with their bodies, a massacre that occurred as they tried to break through the encirclement.
Among the fallen were Yogong and Jomimi.
The guilt of failing to protect them gnawed at Sang Pil-ji’s very bones.
Gritting his teeth, he tightened his grip on his sword.
The remaining six cadets were bound by the Black Kill Squad.
If there was any silver lining, it was that they had decided to take them alive.
For Heukho and Jeoksa, things hadn’t gone as planned either.
Encountering Sang Pil-ji early on had stalled their progress.
If not for him, they could have slaughtered more of the younger generation by now.
Thus, they decided to kidnap the remaining cadets of the Nang-a class, believing it would cause more chaos than simply killing them.
“Sang Instructor, that’s enough. Rest now,” Unbyeok said, taking a deep breath as he approached slowly.
Sang Pil-ji glared at Heukho and Unbyeok, who were closing in with their swords drawn.
Did he have any energy left to fight them both?
Just then—
“Hm?”
Unbyeok was the first to sense something amiss and turned his head.
As an archer, he was adept at detecting distant presences.
He was the first to notice the rapid approach of Joryang from afar.
By the time Heukho and Sang Pil-ji realized it—
Crash!
“Ugh! Huff, huff, huff!”
Joryang, bloodied and battered, collapsed as he jumped down from a tree.
Heukho flinched and asked, “What’s going on, Captain?”
“He’s coming! Please, spare… me….”
Swoosh!
Thud!
Joryang, the captain of the Black Kill Squad, couldn’t finish his sentence.
A blade burst through his face, silencing him.
Moments later, the blade retracted on its own and returned to the hand of a man who caught it with a snap.
Sabikang, holding the blade, grinned.
“Thanks for leading the way, Captain.”