It’s That Guy

Gyo-ha hurled himself toward Iron Tyrant Staff.

A speed unlike anything before.

Kwang!

Iron shackles and the club clashed with a metallic shriek.

Iron shackles grated away under the shroud of qi, but Iron Tyrant Staff didn’t come out unharmed either.

A heavy jolt ran up his hand.

Gyo-ha swung again, iron shackles grinding be damned.

Every single strike aimed for a vital point.

He was even getting faster.

‘So he wasn’t going all out earlier?’

Impossible. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken those hits so easily.

Each one had come close to fatal.

The thought made his brow knit.

But it didn’t matter. No matter how strong his brute strength may be, he couldn’t wield qi.

The problem was.

When the club thrust—

He twisted only his upper body and slipped past it.

His lips trembled with rapture, but his blue-lit eyes didn’t waver.

Even with blood covering his face, his eyes stayed clear.

Those eyes were reading Iron Tyrant Staff’s every move.

His body felt heavy, as if sunk in a bog.

Iron Tyrant Staff realized.

An incomprehensible, alien presence.

That thing wore a human mask. Otherwise, no one could fight like that with such wounds.

Iron shackles cracked and split.

They had reached their limit.

Yet the one stepping back was Iron Tyrant Staff.

Realizing that, his face twisted.

‘I’m getting pushed back? Me? By a brat like him?’

Unbearable rage surged up.

“I’ll smash your head in!”

With a shout, Iron Tyrant Staff swelled his momentum.

But another feeling was growing inside the rage.

His movements started to slip out of tune.

And someone noticed it before he did.

Gyo-ha’s eyes flashed.

It was a predator’s gaze on its prey.

‘You’re… scared, aren’t you?’

His eyes said as much.

A beast senses weakness by instinct.

Kwang!

The club, struck by Iron shackles, flew into the air.

Gyo-ha dove through the gap.

His thick hand clamped around Iron Tyrant Staff’s throat.

“…Got you.”

“W-wai— I su—”

Iron Tyrant Staff tried to surrender.

But Gyo-ha was faster.

Kwang!

Gyo-ha’s fist sank into his skull.

Teeth flew with blood.

The two figures crashed to the floor together.

“There’s no surrender.”

He wasn’t like the other wanderers. The match had never mattered.

He took delight in killing his foe.

This one was evil.

And evil must be eradicated.

Words his Master had hammered into his ears.

Panicking, Iron Tyrant Staff swung for Gyo-ha’s head.

But Gyo-ha didn’t dodge.

Puck!

Blood sprayed from Gyo-ha’s head.

Even so, his eyes stayed fixed on Iron Tyrant Staff.

Puck!

Blood burst again. At the same time, Gyo-ha raised his fist.

Kwang!

The head slammed into the ground and bounced up.

“Ghhk!”

Iron Tyrant Staff swung desperately, but this time it struck only Gyo-ha’s back, not his head.

The skin of his back peeled against the spikes.

Unmoved, Gyo-ha raised his fist again.

Another hit.

Kwang!

Again.

Kwang!

Iron Tyrant Staff’s flailing hand went still.

But Gyo-ha didn’t stop. His fist kept falling in silence.

KWA-JIK!

His skull gave way and blood splattered everywhere.

Only then did Gyo-ha rise.

His face was drenched in blood. It wasn’t only his face, his whole body was wrecked with wounds.

“Ah… that was fun!”

His voice was so bright you wouldn’t think he’d just killed a man.

Gyo-ha gave a crooked grin and toppled over.

Soon, snoring could be heard.

Even though the match had ended, neither the spectators nor the Black Path men dared to speak.

---

“…ster! Young Master!”

At the voice calling him, Gyo-ha opened his eyes.

He tilted his head at the familiar face.

“Un—cle?”

“This is no time for that. Please, get up at once!”

At Noh-sam’s urging, Gyo-ha pushed himself up.

“Ow-ow.”

A groan slipped out. His whole body ached.

He clenched and opened his fist, then nodded.

“Yeah, this is what a proper fight should feel like.”

This feeling of soreness.

It’d been a while. Watching Gyo-ha grin to himself, Noh-sam sighed.

“This isn’t the time. The One-Eyed Sect’s movements look off.”

“The One-Eyed Sect?”

Gyo-ha tilted his head at the familiar name, then let out a small exclamation.

“Oh, the owner here?”

At his carefree tone, Noh-sam thumped his chest in frustration and spoke.

“Yes. He began gathering people the moment the match ended.”

“Oh-ho.”

Gyo-ha nodded, wearing a face that asked what that had to do with him.

“Because his plan went wrong! The match was supposed to be Iron Tyrant Staff’s win.”

“Ah…”

He had said something like that.

He’d forgotten during the fight. Gyo-ha scratched his head.

“Or he just hates losing the prize money. Either way, I won a decent sum. Let’s go, quickly.”

“You betted money?”

After telling him to throw the match?

At Gyo-ha’s question, Noh-sam gave an awkward laugh.

“I figured you wouldn’t listen to anything I say anyway.”

Just in case…

At that, Gyo-ha let out a chuckle.

It meant he’d believed Gyo-ha would win anyway.

Still smiling, Gyo-ha looked past Noh-sam and spoke.

“Looks like we’re already late.”

“Eh!”

Startled, Noh-sam turned to see the Black Path men closing in.

Rising to his feet, Gyo-ha stretched both arms.

The Black Path men circled Gyo-ha’s room.

Noh-sam swallowed dryly without thinking.

Then a middle-aged man stepped out from among them.

A one-eyed man.

With a cold face, the man spoke.

“I am Lee Mun-cheol, the owner here. May I come in?”

The leader of the One-Eyed Sect had appeared.

---

Lee Mun-cheol came into the room.

Noh-sam kept darting uneasy glances at the Black Path men outside.

Gyo-ha, unlike him, regarded Lee Mun-cheol with a calm gaze.

If anything, a faint sense of anticipation was in his eyes.

Reading that look, Lee Mun-cheol clicked his tongue inwardly.

“Here is the winner’s reward.”

Lee Mun-cheol drew a large pouch from his bosom.

He opened it for Gyo-ha to see. There were two gold ingots inside.

It was a hefty sum.

Yet disappointment rose on Gyo-ha’s face.

“Congratulations on your victory. You’ve got fine skill at such a young age. I wish you good fortune in battle.”

Saying so, Lee Mun-cheol began to get up.

At that, Noh-sam let out a breath of relief.

But Gyo-ha stared at him and spoke.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it? Do you have business with me?”

At Lee Mun-cheol’s calm reply, Gyo-ha tilted his head.

As if to say, this isn’t it.

Gyo-ha pointed toward the men beyond the window.

“Why did you bring them?”

“I’m cautious by nature. One must take care when carrying such sums.”

He jerked his chin at the pouch he’d handed over.

Then Lee Mun-cheol turned to go.

Just then, Gyo-ha’s voice reached his ear.

“This is strange? Really strange.”

He wanted to ignore it, but couldn’t, and turned back.

“Really? What is strange young hero?”

Gyo-ha didn’t answer immediately, and he sniffed the air.

The beastlike act made Lee Mun-cheol flinch, but he steadied his face.

Seeing him, Gyo-ha’s eyes brightened as if assured.

“Mister. You did something to me, didn’t you?”

“What are you saying! I’m meeting you here for the first time!”

He had seen him at the match, but this was their first meeting.

At his overblown anger, Gyo-ha’s eyes narrowed.

Soon his gaze drifted past the window.

He was searching for something.

And there—one Black Path man squeaked and ducked away the instant their eyes met.

And then he remembered what he’d forgotten.

“Ah! The weird food and liquor!”

At Gyo-ha’s shout, Lee Mun-cheol jolted.

That was it.

When Gyo-ha turned back, Lee Mun-cheol barked out:

“If you start something over nothing, I won’t stand idle!”

Kwang!

He pounded on the door three times.

With that, the Black Path men outside shifted their stance.

They lifted the weapons they’d hidden in their robes.

Noh-sam let out a short cry at the sight.

“Ohho—so it’s real, huh?”

But Gyo-ha’s eyes lit up in welcome.

Gyo-ha’s battle flashed through Lee Mun-cheol’s mind—and not just his. The Black Path men outside had drawn steel, yet couldn’t hide their fear.

Some were even trembling.

There was no way their leader missed it.

Lee Mun-cheol decided quickly.

Koong.

“Spare us, great hero.”

He bowed flat toward Gyo-ha.

Noh-sam blinked, and the Black Path men quietly sheathed their weapons.

And just like that, they wore harmless faces.

---

Gyo-ha walked along in high spirits.

Behind him, the Black Path men bowed in a line.

“Great hero, go safely!”

“Go safely!”

Beside him, Noh-sam sighed and asked:

“Why did you take that nasty stuff?”

In Gyo-ha’s hand was a gourd flask.

It was the very poison that had driven him to the brink of death.

More than half had been used, so less than half remained.

“If the opponent’s weak, I can make myself weak too. Then I don’t need to go hunting for the strong. Ha, I’m clever, aren’t I.”

Gyo-ha shrugged.

He bobbed his head, pleased with his own ingenuity.

When Gyo-ha said he’d drink it himself, Noh-sam shook his head hard.

“So when are you going to find a fellow junior disciple?”

“…Huh?”

Gyo-ha blinked.

He’d forgotten because the fight had been so satisfying.

He thought of the wanderers he’d fought in the arena.

The spear user.

‘…He’s far too weak though.’

Besides, he was also old.

In the end, there was no one suitable.

“I—I’ll start looking now!”

Gyo-ha clenched his fist, but his fluster showed plainly on his face.

His thoughts were written all over him.

Noh-sam chuckled and spoke.

“Let’s eat first. Since you suffered in there, let’s have a proper meal.”

With the prize money and the cut, their purse was fatter than before they came to town.

There was enough for them to not worry about fights for a bit.

“Ooh!”

Gyo-ha clapped with a bright grin.

---

The next day, after eating until they were stuffed, the two set out to find someone to fight.

But a problem arose.

Word of Gyo-ha had spread among the wanderers, and no one wanted a duel.

Being that he had crushed Iron Tyrant Staff’s skull bare-handed, of course they wouldn’t.

Gyo-ha had no intention of killing anyone, but the wanderers didn’t see it that way.

They roamed all day without a single fight.

On top of that—

‘…No one looks strong.’

After the bout with Iron Tyrant Staff, nobody measured up.

So they could only sullenly trudge back to their lodgings.

But it hadn’t been fruitless.

“Young Master, I found that guy.”

Noh-sam shouted as he returned from his daytime search.

What had he found now?

When Gyo-ha looked over, Noh-sam continued brightly.

“The one who swindled us!”

At his voice, Gyo-ha raised his head, the gloom lifting.

The youth from the tavern.

Gyo-ha sifted through his memory of him.

He compared him to Iron Tyrant Staff.

That scent of a strong one he’d caught from Iron Tyrant Staff. This man had something like it.

Soon, Gyo-ha’s eyes began to gleam.