What On Earth Is This Guy? (2)

Fwaaah!

Ho Ga-Myung’s eyes, sweeping rapidly forward, were indifferent.

The number of messenger birds flying in had sharply decreased a short while ago.

“They’re close.”

This doesn’t mean the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s numbers clashing with Southern Island Sect have decreased.

It takes time to send messenger birds to report the situation when facing the enemy.

It means they’re breaking through that area before any messenger bird carrying news could even arrive.

They’re within striking distance.

‘They didn’t get as far as I thought.’

Ho Ga-Myung’s mouth twisted slightly.

Should he call it impressive?

Or should he call it foolish?

It’s certainly remarkable to break through a siege this quickly with rookies who’ve never left Southern Island.

“All the more so when you consider it’s not something sheer strength alone could accomplish.”

Raw power and command are entirely different domains.

Especially from Ho Ga-Myung’s perspective, that fact hits home even more.

Ho Ga-Myung himself rose to his position through leadership and strategy, not brute force.

Leading hundreds of people you’ve never coordinated with is by no means easy.

Yet Mount Hua is pulling it off smoothly despite clearly having little experience in that kind of thing.

‘Well, it’s not exactly surprising.’

Ho Ga-Myung’s gaze grew grim.

He was confident he wouldn’t be surprised no matter what Mount Hua or that Chung Myung did now.

There was no need to pre-judge or dismiss the opponent.

It was enough to match their pace so swiftly.

As a result, they now finally had Mount Hua within their range.

“Hurry up!”

“Yes!”

They put more vigor into the pursuit.

Ho Ga-Myung and those following him casually leapt over the corpses of Evil Sect members.

“Gruesome.”

“Only now?”

“I’m not talking about the corpses.”

Gwi-Yang showed his teeth and said.

“Can’t you see? They’re cut cleanly at the vital points, killed in one strike.”

“…It looks messy, though.”

“Probably. He killed them with one stroke, then unnecessarily made a few more cuts to sever tendons.”

Ho Ga-Myung’s face stiffened slightly at the unexpected answer.

“Mount Hua’s Sword Saint? That’s not like him. He wouldn’t be needlessly cruel.”

“If he were alone, he’d cut the vital spot and move on. This is for those following behind. If someone who thought he’d been finished suddenly gets up and swings a blade, they’d die before they could react.”

“…”

“Where on earth would he have seen this? It’s not something you learn. Just watching his use of the blade, he seems like someone who’s rolled around battlefields for decades. No, more than that; even ronin who’ve lived their lives at war don’t go this far.”

Gwi-Yang grinned as if intrigued and bared his teeth.

“If there’s someone who’s fought forever as if in hell, he’d use a blade like this. Impressive. For the Justice faction to produce a sword demon like this…”

“Spare the unnecessary praise.”

“Heh heh heh.”

Gwi-Yang, chuckling softly, let his eyes flicker oddly and said.

“But…”

Gwi-Yang’s eyes didn’t miss the Southern Island disciples’ corpses mixed among the Evil Sect members.

Their sea-colored uniforms stood out clearly even soaked in blood.

“The casualties are clear.”

“Of course.”

“But they’re insignificant men, so it doesn’t mean much.”

Crack!

Gwi-Yang, at full running speed, stomped on a Southern Island disciple’s corpse.

The corpse’s head crushed and burst, and the congealing blood splattered everywhere.

“Ugh…”

Someone following let out a suppressed groan.

Gwi-Yang snickered as if amused and glanced back.

“What? Feeling pity now?”

“…”

“You betrayed your sect, but you still cling to affection? Ridiculous. From their perspective, the one they truly want dead isn’t us, it’s you.”

Yu Gong bit his lip hard and fell silent.

He couldn’t protest because the man’s words weren’t entirely wrong.

“Don’t worry. I’ll soon let you meet your sahyung brothers. It will be a moving reunion.”

The thought alone was terrifying, and Yu Gong trembled.

The words didn’t sound like mere threats.

If this continued, he really would soon come face to face with his sahyung brothers.

How would they look at Yu Gong then?

They had spared his martial arts and allowed him to descend and live his life, yet he used those skills to hunt their people.

He had become a hunting dog attached to the Four Sects Alliance that came to annihilate Southern Island.

He had no courage. He’d sooner die than face Southern Island.

He could endure any reproach or humiliation, but he could not bear the looks the Southern Island disciples would give him.

“No. I don’t think you need to wait.”

At that moment, Gwi-Yang’s words startled Yu Gong into snapping his head up.

Had they perhaps already caught up with Southern Island?

No. No.

It wasn’t the feared situation of running into Southern Island disciples.

But in some sense, even more so….

No, it was even more horrible.

“Uh…”

A hollow sound escaped Yu Gong’s lips.

“He’s alive.”

In the blood-soaked meadow, among a pile of corpses, a man staggered and struggled to his feet.

The dead blood had blackened and dried on his clothes so much that their original color was unrecognizable.

But Yu Gong recognized the shape and silhouette of those clothes—they were terribly familiar.

The image of someone he knew well overlapped with that pitiful figure.

“Aaah…”

It seemed he’d been struck by the enemy, lost consciousness, and by luck hadn’t died and had woken up late.

His comrades, in the urgency of pressing forward against the enemy, couldn’t have checked on someone grievously wounded, so they likely didn’t even know he was alive.

The man, sensing those running up from behind, painfully turned his head.

His pupils seemed empty. As if not belonging to a living person, his dull eyes stared blankly at them.

“Jong Sajaeeee—!”

A scream tore from Yu Gong’s mouth. It felt as if flames surged in his chest.

He’s alive.

This wasn’t one of the corpses they’d passed on the way here.

He looked as if he might vomit blood and fall dead at any moment, but his disciple Jong Hyo was definitely alive.

“I-I’m f-fine…”

“He’s an unlucky bastard.”

Ssshhh.

But at that moment, the sound of Gwi-Yang drawing his sword thundered in Yu Gong’s ears.

“W-wait!”

Shraaang.

Gwi-Yang drew his blade and, rushing forward, struck cleanly, severing Jong Hyo’s head.

Slice!

The severed head shot up into the air.

“Oh…”

Yu Gong’s eyes widened as far as they could.

His hands grasped at nothing, futilely clawing at the air.

In that moment, Jong Hyo’s eyes and Yu Gong’s eyes met in midair.

Jong Hyo’s empty eyes and Yu Gong’s eyes filled with emotions too deep to express met.

The eyes of a hero who died fighting the enemy and the eyes of a coward who became an enemy’s dog to save his own life met like that.

He could only helplessly watch the faint remaining light in Jong Hyo’s pupils rapidly fade away.

“Ugh…”

Yu Gong’s hands trembled uncontrollably.

Did he see him? In that fading consciousness, did he recognize me?

If so, what did he think? What did Jong Hyo feel?

Pleasure? Disgust? Hope? Or anger?

There’s no way to know.

Because the one who could tell him was already dead.

Because the severed head was already rolling in the filthy mire.

“Uwk!”

A wave of nausea rose instantly.

“Uwaaaargh!”

Yu Gong clutched his stomach and kept retching.

But he hadn’t eaten anything for days, so there was nothing for him to vomit.

All that came up was bitter bile.

But the gagging wouldn’t stop.

As if trying to force out some repulsive thing stuck inside him rather than anything in his stomach.

“U-ugh…”

At that moment, someone running behind kicked the bent-over Yu Gong.

Bang!

Yu Gong was flung and tumbled across the ground.

He rolled frantically over ground soaked with the enemy’s blood and his sahyung brothers’ blood.

“Keep running.”

“…”

“If not what? Should I kill you right here?”

Yu Gong gripped his trembling legs and forced himself to get up.

He couldn’t die. He mustn’t die.

If he died after coming this far, nothing would be left for Yu Gong.

He’d just become a damned fool who licked the enemy’s boots trying to survive, and lost his life for it.

If he’d lost everything and couldn’t keep a single thing, shouldn’t he at least hold onto that pitiful life?

Staggering to his feet, Yu Gong ran on again.

No tears fell.

All that remained was a hardened, deepened malice.

Gwi-Yang smirked as if pleased.

‘What really corrupts a person isn’t malice, it’s guilt.’

That’s why traitors become more brutal and rough.

Ho Ga-Myung spoke softly to Yu Gong as he ran, blood streaming from his split lip.

“Seems you’ve understood.”

“…”

“Now there’s only one way you can live a normal life.”

Yu Gong turned his head to look at Ho Ga-Myung.

Ho Ga-Myung said coldly.

“That everyone who knows you betrayed the sect must die.”

Yu Gong flinched violently.

A complicated light flitted across his eyes for an instant.

“Conscience is like water warmed to the right temperature. When you first dip your hand in it’s hot and you want to pull back, but if you endure the pain a little it soon feels nothing. Even if you immerse your whole body.”

When Yu Gong didn’t answer, Ho Ga-Myung glanced at him briefly and turned away.

Yu Gong simply dropped his head and ran.

‘I won’t regret it.’

Anyone would have made the same choice.

It’s easy to spout words like ‘agreement’ or ‘justice.’

But who in the world would sacrifice their life and their family’s life to make such agreements stick?

So he wasn’t wrong.

So he wasn’t at fault.

No, even if he was wrong, it doesn’t matter.

No one can live making only the right choices.

This is just one more mistake.

So he just had to close his eyes and plug his ears.

Then he’d live. Then he could save others.

‘Hate me, resent me as much as you like!’

A cold, blue malice filled Yu Gong’s eyes.

Having come this far, there was no turning back.

It didn’t matter what he had thought at the start.

All that remained was to survive in this inescapable current.

Yes. Only that.

He just had to think about that.

But… no matter how he steeled himself, it wouldn’t disappear.

Jong Hyo’s eyes, blank and dimming, those eyes whose light was going out….

Whether he closed his eyes, covered his ears, or screamed until his throat bled, the image was etched into his mind and would not be erased.