Episode 93: Return of the Demon Instructor
Sabikang smirked coldly as he spoke.
“Remember?”
”…”
“You were destined to die at the hands of someone whose name you don’t even know. But I said I’d stop that from happening.”
“What nonsense…!”
“Because I’ll kill you first.”
Hamgajo’s eyes twitched with anger.
How could this man, who should be locked away in the Blood Prison, be standing here?
“Hmph! It doesn’t matter how you got out! You made a grave mistake. You should’ve run the moment you escaped. Instead, you walked right into your own death!”
“Heh. The old man doesn’t get it. The one who’s going to die here isn’t me—it’s you.”
With those words, Sabikang reached out his hand.
In an instant.
Whoosh!
Crash!
The window shattered as Vertas shot out, landing perfectly in his grasp.
Vrrrrr!
Vertas vibrated with a resonant hum.
Hamgajo furrowed his brow.
‘That cursed sword is no ordinary weapon! Once I deal with him, I’ll have to learn more about it!’
Too much was happening all at once.
After killing Unbyeok with his own hands, the commotion outside was impossible to ignore.
Yet, grabbing that damned sword again was equally daunting.
And then Sabikang appeared.
“Fine, I’ll crush you underfoot to vent my anger! Abandon any hope of a peaceful death.”
Hamgajo growled, spreading his arms wide.
Suddenly, a sharp scent filled the air, and everything turned to darkness.
His voice echoed from all directions.
“Heh heh heh! Do you really think you can defeat me? You dare challenge Hamgajo, the ‘Phantom Night Demon’? Foolish and naive!”
In the perfect darkness, Sabikang calmly surveyed his surroundings.
Of course, there was nothing to see.
Slowly, he raised Vertas.
The darkness was so complete that even Vertas was invisible.
Hamgajo’s illusion magic was indeed formidable.
“Ha ha ha! Do you realize now? You’re in the palm of my hand!”
“Despair and give up! Recognize your limits!”
“Struggle all you want; I’ll drag you into eternal hell!”
Hamgajo’s voice reverberated from every direction.
Sssssss!
Suddenly, Hamgajo appeared in the darkness.
And then another, and another…
Dozens of Hamgajos surrounded Sabikang.
“Tremble in fear!”
“In the swamp of despair!”
“Taste death!”
Each of the Hamgajos shouted, their voices shaking the heavens.
Then.
Hissss.
A sinister sound echoed, accompanied by a chilling aura.
Hundreds of snakes slithered across the floor, approaching.
Even in the darkness, the snakes were visible.
Hissss!
The snakes flicked their tongues, quickly coiling around Sabikang’s legs and climbing upward.
“Ha ha! How does it feel?”
“Struggle all you want; it’s useless!”
“Your inner power is completely sealed here.”
“Die slowly in despair.”
The Hamgajos sneered in unison.
But then.
“How cute.”
Sabikang murmured coldly.
In the next moment.
Fwoosh!
Flames erupted around him, blazing fiercely.
Hissss!
The snakes, writhing and climbing, were instantly consumed by the fire, falling away.
It was a flare spell, radiating flames in all directions from its caster.
As the snakes burned to death, Hamgajo’s jaw dropped.
Regaining his composure, Hamgajo shouted, hurling daggers.
“You scoundrel!”
“Die!”
Dozens of Hamgajos simultaneously drew and threw their daggers.
Shing shing shing!
Hundreds of daggers rained down on Sabikang.
But…
Clang clang clang!
The daggers bounced off an invisible barrier surrounding Sabikang.
Hamgajo’s confident expression twisted in disbelief.
He couldn’t comprehend the situation.
‘A barrier? But he shouldn’t be able to use his inner power…!’
Of course, what Sabikang used wasn’t a barrier of inner power, but a shield spell.
Unaware of this, Hamgajo was left in confusion.
After the clamor subsided, Sabikang chuckled.
“Are you done with your little show?”
“What, what are you?”
“Who on earth are you?”
The Hamgajos each exclaimed, unable to hide their shock.
Sabikang spoke softly.
“Like I said, I’m the one who’s going to kill you. Name’s Sabikang. I’m a proper instructor, you know.”
“Don’t bluff! No matter how great you are, if you can’t find me…”
“True, your illusion magic is impressive. I can’t tell which one of you is the real deal.”
“Ha ha! You admit it, yet you still spout nonsense?”
“But…”
”…?”
“This sword has a knack for sniffing out blood.”
Vrrrrr!
As if in response, Vertas resonated in the darkness.
In the next moment.
Shing!
Sabikang’s body moved like lightning.
He focused all his senses on Vertas, moving only as the sword guided him.
In an instant.
“Foolish words!”
“You’ll never!”
“Defeat me!”
“Die!”
Shing shing shing!
Hamgajo’s shout was followed by another volley of daggers aimed at Sabikang.
Clang clang clang!
Once again, the daggers bounced off the invisible barrier.
Hamgajo’s cry of disbelief echoed like a scream.
“Impossible!”
“This can’t be happening!”
But his cries were in vain.
Shing!
Thunk!
Finally, Vertas found its mark.
The chilling sensation of flesh tearing traveled up the sword’s hilt to Sabikang.
He grinned.
“Got you.”
“This… can’t be…!”
Hamgajo trembled, collapsing to his knees.
The darkness began to dissipate like a receding tide.
Vertas continued to absorb the blood flowing from Hamgajo’s body.
Hamgajo met Sabikang’s gaze.
“Who… are you…?”
“I’ve told you, I’m from the future.”
“What on earth happened in that future…?”
“A hellscape unfolds. Consider yourself lucky to die by my hand before it arrives.”
Ssssh!
Vertas sliced through Hamgajo’s side, emerging cleanly.
But no blood spilled.
Vertas had absorbed every drop from his body.
Vrrrrr.
Satisfied with its feast, Vertas hummed contentedly.
“Now, let’s finish this.”
Sabikang stepped forward confidently.
**
The dawn was breaking faintly.
The air was thick with the scent of blood.
With Hamgajo dead at Sabikang’s hands and the division leader also fallen to the cadets’ combined assault, the remaining fighters were significantly weakened.
“Hah!”
Boom!
“Argh!”
Crash!
The last fighter took a punch from Gokbo-ok, slamming into the wall and dying instantly.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
Gokbo-ok took deep breaths, looking at his bloodied fists.
He had originally wielded a sword.
But Sabikang had advised him to use martial arts instead.
It suited him much better.
However, relying solely on martial arts made defense difficult, leaving him with minor injuries.
“Hmm.”
Perched on the roof, Sabikang surveyed the scene below, lost in thought.
He squinted, observing Gokbo-ok for a while before shifting his gaze.
He scanned Yeon Woo-kyung, Yeom Ja-ryang, Jo Moon-tak, and Neung So-so in turn.
‘Seeing them like this, their strengths and weaknesses are clear.’
Nodding slowly, he called for Dang Ihyup.
“You called?”
“Prepare some human-skin masks.”
“How many do you need?”
“One male, one female.”
“Understood.”
Dang Ihyup leapt away to carry out the task.
Human-skin masks were made by peeling the skin from a person’s face.
With so many corpses around, there would be plenty of material.
‘The real work begins now.’
Just then, Maeseollan approached him quietly.
“What are you thinking about?”
“About what we’ll need going forward.”
“What do we need?”
“Well… there’s so much, it’s hard to list it all.”
Maeseollan glanced at Sabikang’s profile.
He was a fascinating person.
Sometimes he seemed so carefree, yet at other times, with that serious expression, he looked like he carried the weight of the world alone.
After a long silence, she spoke, almost to herself, as she gazed into the distance.
“I’m glad you’re not hurt.”
Sabikang chuckled softly, looking at her intently.
Caught by his gaze, she quickly looked away, asking nervously.
“Why, why are you staring at me like that?”
“Now that I think about it… you don’t wear any jewelry, do you?”
When her name was suddenly called, Mae Seol-ran’s cheeks flushed a deep red.
“Well, it’s just that… I find it bothersome. What use would a warrior have for trinkets anyway?”
“What if I were to give you one as a gift?”
“What?”
Mae Seol-ran turned around, startled.
“If I gave you a gift, would you wear it?”
“W-what are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“You should wear it.”
“Why should I?”
“Because it’s a gift from me.”
“What are you saying? Really.”
Flustered, Mae Seol-ran jumped up and dashed off somewhere, leaving Sa Bi-gang watching her retreating figure with a satisfied smile.
In front of the Yongcheon Pavilion’s grand martial arena, three hundred warriors stood in neat rows. On the platform before them, Cheonrangdan’s leader, Seok Ji-pyeong, stood with a look of great satisfaction.
“Today, we march to rescue the students and instructors kidnapped by those vile sect members! Let us show them the might of the Cheonrangdan of the Justice Alliance!”
“Uwaaaaaah!”
The warriors of Cheonrangdan roared in unison, their voices so loud that birds in the nearby forest took flight in a flurry.
It was a truly grand send-off.
Seok Ji-pyeong’s speech, filled with grandiose rhetoric, took nearly a quarter of an hour.
Watching the spectacle from afar, Joo Yu-cheon murmured under his breath, “What a spectacle.”
“Heh, let’s think of it positively. At least they’re taking action now,” Eun Gi-ryung replied, though Joo Yu-cheon seemed unimpressed.
“He’s just using this as a chance to climb the ranks of the Justice Alliance.”
“Even so, we can only watch and see if fate favors him,” Eun Gi-ryung said with a wry smile.
With the Alliance involved, there was little he could do.
Just then, both Joo Yu-cheon and Eun Gi-ryung’s eyes widened.
“Is that…?”
“Isn’t that Instructor Sa Bi-gang?”
Joo Yu-cheon turned to Eun Gi-ryung, astonished. Sure enough, it was Sa Bi-gang entering through the main gate of Yongcheon Pavilion. Behind him were the kidnapped Sang Pil-ji and the students, returning safely.
Sang Pil-ji was being carried on a stretcher by several warriors.
A gentle smile spread across Eun Gi-ryung’s face once more.
“Ha ha, Instructor Sa Bi-gang has pulled off another interesting feat.”
“To think it happened so quickly…”
Joo Yu-cheon was too shocked to finish his sentence. It hadn’t even been a week since the special class students had left for their off-site training, and yet here they were, back already with Sa Bi-gang.
His heart raced with an unfamiliar thrill, a feeling he had never experienced while bound by rules and order.
‘Sa Bi-gang, just who are you…!’
He thought of him as an oddity, yet this oddity was slowly changing the atmosphere of the academy, even shaking his own principles.
And now, that ripple was reaching the Justice Alliance.
Those who had been watching the send-off up close were equally astonished.
“Wait, isn’t that Instructor Sa Bi-gang?”
“Oh my gosh! Instructor Sang Pil-ji is with him too!”
“What’s going on? The rescue team was just about to leave…”
“And all the students are back safe!”
With the situation unfolding as it did, Seok Ji-pyeong, who had been orchestrating the grand send-off, found himself in an awkward position.
“Who… who are you…?”
As Seok Ji-pyeong hurried over, Sa Bi-gang tossed something at him.
Thud, roll, roll.
What rolled across the ground was the head of Baek To, the leader of the Hamga sect.
“I got tired of waiting, so I came back on my own. You bastards.”