Radiant Sword Tomb (4)

In that brief moment, Seonu Jin prepared to launch a surprise attack.

He had decided that if he was going to be discovered anyway, it would be better to strike first.

Considering the overwhelming difference in martial prowess and the condition of his body, he had almost no chance of winning, but he could not simply let himself be killed.

Just as he was about to leap at the man raising his head, however, a voice suddenly rang out.

—Young Master! Please stay safe!

The voice came from far away.

It was Tang Yeo-eun.

Mak Ujeon’s head, which had been turning upward, snapped toward the sound.

“Grrrrrrrr!”

Then he shot off in that direction with a bang.

He charged with the same ferocious momentum as before.

Seonu Jin barely managed to suppress the sigh that almost escaped him.

He had truly come within an inch of death.

‘I barely survived. Haah.’

Tang Yeo-eun had probably called out not because she knew about his situation, but simply because she was worried about him.

Even though she must have known that doing so could put her in danger.

He felt even more grateful for her concern.

After Mak Ujeon moved away, Seonu Jin dropped to the ground and landed.

He appreciated her feelings, but he could not allow the man to continue toward her.

Once Mak Ujeon had moved far enough away that he could no longer be seen, Seonu Jin gathered his internal energy and made a sound.

“Kihahahahaha!”

It was ventriloquism—the exact laughter the Azure and Crimson Twin Swords had made.

Seonu Jin sensed Mak Ujeon abruptly stop.

Then he began charging fiercely back in this direction.

‘Good. Come!’

Seonu Jin smiled savagely and began running in the opposite direction.

Although his condition was poor, he had to run if he did not want to die.

And he was still confident that he could move fast enough to avoid being caught.

However, as he ran, Seonu Jin was forced to stop abruptly in shock.

‘What is this?!’

Someone was also running toward him from the opposite direction.

Although not as fast as Mak Ujeon, the person was still moving at considerable speed.

Seonu Jin immediately deduced who it was.

‘It’s Vice Association Leader Ga Yuak!’

It seemed the irrational Ga Yuak had continued chasing after Mak Ujeon.

Seonu Jin was trapped.

Powerful enemies blocked both his front and rear.

However, after hesitating for only a brief moment, Seonu Jin gritted his teeth and began running toward Ga Yuak.

Although they were both far stronger than him, Ga Yuak was still the easier opponent.

Besides, he had no intention of fighting either of them.

There would be no answer if he confronted them head-on.

As he ran, Seonu Jin concentrated intensely on the presences he could sense ahead and behind him.

He needed to act at precisely the right distance and at precisely the right moment.

Just before both men came close enough to see him with their naked eyes, he leaped onto the ceiling and concealed himself once again.

Pa-pak!

At the very next moment, Mak Ujeon and Ga Yuak came into view as they charged from opposite directions.

While hidden against the ceiling, Seonu Jin prayed inwardly.

‘Now, aren’t you happy to see an old friend? Go ahead and catch up with each other.’

It seemed Seonu Jin’s wish had been granted.

The two men saw each other, roared like beasts, and charged fiercely.

“Grrrrrrrrrr!”

“Kekekekekeke!”

The two predators immediately began fighting.

“Raaaaaargh!”

“Kyaaaaaah!”

Boom-boom-boom-boom!

Directly beneath where Seonu Jin clung, two masters possessing more than ninety years of internal energy fought a heaven-shaking battle.

It was a violent struggle involving swords, fists, kicks, and even body slams.

Mak Ujeon appeared to hold the advantage, but Seonu Jin had no interest in their fight.

Still concealed, he focused all his attention on moving very slowly in the direction Ga Yuak had come from.

‘Slowly and carefully. Avoiding detection is more important than moving quickly.’

Boom! Kaboom! Boom! Boom-boom!

Below him, the two men fought so violently that they seemed ready to collapse the passage.

In fact, it was more surprising that the passage had not already collapsed from the impacts.

The Radiant Sword seemed to have constructed the place with tremendous care and durability.

However, as with all things, there was a limit to how much punishment it could endure.

KABOOM!

Ga Yuak dodged Mak Ujeon’s powerful palm strike, causing it to slam into the wall and shatter the surrounding stone.

Rumble!

Once one section began to collapse, the nearby stone walls started falling in succession.

The ceiling Seonu Jin was clinging to after crawling roughly one jang like a spider was no exception.

Crash!

‘Damn it!’

As he helplessly fell toward the ground along with the collapsing ceiling, Seonu Jin cursed inwardly.

However, it was not yet time to give up.

The two men were fighting so frantically that they seemed unable to pay attention to their surroundings.

‘Yes, just keep doing that.’

Whoosh!

Seonu Jin first redirected the falling rubble to either side, then twisted his body like a cat and managed to land silently on the ground.

Tap!

However, the instant Seonu Jin landed lightly, he realized something.

His eyes had met Mak Ujeon’s while the man was fighting Ga Yuak.

For a fleeting moment, the two froze like statues.

Seonu Jin immediately spun around and fled with a whoosh, while Mak Ujeon released a furious roar.

“Raaaaa…!”

However, as Mak Ujeon tried to chase Seonu Jin, he allowed Ga Yuak’s fist to strike him.

Thud!

Crash!

Seonu Jin ran with all his strength.

Pain stabbed through his internally injured body, but he had to endure at least until he passed through the circular corridor and escaped outside again.

A short while later, Seonu Jin sensed Mak Ujeon pursuing him once more.

It appeared Mak Ujeon had succeeded in shaking off Ga Yuak.

That was somewhat disappointing, but Seonu Jin knew he should still be grateful for the time Ga Yuak had bought him.

All that remained was whether he could keep running until he escaped.

He examined the condition of his body and prayed inwardly.

‘Please hold together, my body!’

After observing his condition for a moment, Seonu Jin concluded that the situation was sufficiently promising.

His body was not in as bad a state as he had expected after coughing up blood.

He might not be able to fight, but simply running still seemed entirely possible.

Moreover, the passage remained sturdy.

Only that single section had collapsed, while the surrounding corridor remained intact.

There did not appear to be any signs of further collapse.

‘Then only one thing remains. I just have to run as hard as I can!’

Seonu Jin grinned and gradually increased his speed while monitoring his condition.

The distance between him and his pursuers was actually growing.

‘Good! Let’s keep this up all the way to the exit!’

However, not long after he had that thought, just as he began wondering whether the entrance might soon appear from the opposite direction, he suddenly sensed the presence of someone who should no longer have been inside.

Seonu Jin was shocked.

‘Lady Tang?!’

It was Tang Yeo-eun’s presence, which he felt as though he could now recognize anywhere.

He had believed she would have already escaped outside, yet her presence was coming from ahead.

Seonu Jin was completely bewildered.

‘Why is she still in here?!’

A short while later, Seonu Jin confirmed Tang Yeo-eun’s appearance with his own eyes.

When she saw him, Tang Yeo-eun shouted with tears welling in her eyes.

“Young Master! You’re safe!”

At the sight of her pure joy, Seonu Jin, who had been about to shout and ask why she was still there, could only smile awkwardly.

He thanked her first.

“I survived because you called out, my lady. Thank you.”

“Ah, so it really did help! I only tried it just in case! What a relief!”

Even though it might have placed her in danger, she had taken that risk on the mere chance it might help him.

Seonu Jin felt so grateful for her feelings that he could only reflect on how he had nearly shouted at her moments earlier.

However, even so, he could not forget that they were running out of time.

“But my lady, why didn’t you leave? Why did you come this way? They’re still chasing us…”

Tang Yeo-eun immediately looked ready to cry as she answered.

“I kept running, but there was no path leading outside. I felt like I’d run much farther than the distance we came in, so I was just wondering why there still wasn’t an exit…”

“…What?!”

Seonu Jin initially thought, ‘How could that be possible?’ but suddenly realized that it very well could be.

This place was a trap created by the Radiant Sword to drive people insane.

It was entirely possible that it had also been designed to prevent anyone who entered from leaving again.

Alternatively, the door might have closed due to the impact when the wall collapsed earlier.

As soon as he considered that far, tension suddenly overwhelmed him.

‘What? Then are we trapped in here with no way out? Together with those monsters? And the passage has even collapsed and been severed in the middle?’

If so, the situation could not have been more serious.

Even if they fled, the path ahead would be blocked.

He swallowed hard.

It happened then.

Tang Yeo-eun pointed at something with her finger and spoke to Seonu Jin.

“Um, Young Master. Please look over here.”

“What?”

Tang Yeo-eun pointed toward characters written near the top of the inner wall of the passage.

“I was carefully examining the surroundings as I went in case I had missed something, and I found this written above.”

The characters 二人關 were written there.

‘Two-Person Gate?’

Two-Person Gate—the gate for two people.

Seonu Jin’s gaze sharpened as he looked at it.

If those characters had been written there, did that not mean there was some kind of trial or gateway in this place?

Moreover, judging from their position, they resembled a signboard placed above a door.

Seonu Jin carefully examined the area beneath the characters.

He then realized that the stone wall directly below them differed slightly from the others.

‘The seams between the stones form a single continuous line. And in the shape of a rectangle. This looks like…’

He muttered aloud.

“A door?”

Indeed.

It looked like a door.

Tang Yeo-eun nodded in agreement.

“Yes, that’s what I thought too. But no matter how hard I pushed, it wouldn’t open…”

At Tang Yeo-eun’s words, Seonu Jin immediately approached and pushed against the stone wall that resembled a door.

However, it did not move at all.

It happened then.

Tap-tap-tap-tap!

They began sensing Mak Ujeon approaching.

The distance Seonu Jin had opened between them was shrinking.

He grew anxious.

He thought rapidly.

‘Lady Tang is definitely slower than Mak Ujeon. But my body won’t hold up if I carry her while running.’

If they fled like this, there was a high chance they would be caught.

Moreover, even if they somehow managed to escape, what if the entrance had truly disappeared, just as Tang Yeo-eun said?

The passage had even collapsed and been severed in the middle.

‘Damn it.’

Gritting his teeth, Seonu Jin pushed against the stone wall that resembled a door once more.

He felt that entering through this door was their only chance of survival.

However, the stone wall still did not budge.

Tap-tap-tap-tap!

The sound of Mak Ujeon running could now be heard with their own ears.

Tang Yeo-eun suddenly shouted.

“Young Master! There’s a handprint here!”

“What?!”

When Seonu Jin looked where Tang Yeo-eun was pointing, he saw a faint palm print on the stone wall beside the door.

He immediately shouted.

“Press it!”

“Yes!”

Tang Yeo-eun placed her palm against the handprint and pushed with all her strength.

However, nothing happened.

“Move aside! Let me try!”

Seonu Jin rushed over and pressed it urgently, but the result was the same.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!

“Grrrrrrrrrr!”

Mak Ujeon’s figure appeared far ahead, now visible to the naked eye.

When he saw Seonu Jin and Tang Yeo-eun, streams of crimson murderous light poured from his eyes, and he began charging with even greater ferocity.

Seonu Jin ground his teeth and shouted.

“Damn it! Run, Lady Tang!”

There was no other choice.

They could only flee.

If they delayed any longer, even escaping might become impossible.

Damn this Two-Person Gate!

It happened then.

The words “Two-Person Gate” suddenly struck Seonu Jin with immense significance.

‘Two-Person Gate? Two people?’

Seonu Jin, who had been about to run, stopped abruptly and examined the opposite side of the door.

Then he found it.

A faint handprint opposite the one Tang Yeo-eun had discovered.

“Lady Tang! Wait!”

“What?!”

He did not know whether this was the right thing to do.

Mak Ujeon was now only a few jang away.

“Grrrrrrrr!”

However, Seonu Jin had a strong feeling.

He decided to take the gamble.

Seonu Jin rushed over, placed his palm against the handprint, and shouted.

“Press yours!”

Tang Yeo-eun understood what was happening and briefly glanced at Mak Ujeon charging fiercely toward them.

Then she turned back and placed her palm against the handprint carved into the stone.

Although the situation was desperate, she decided to trust Seonu Jin’s judgment.

The two pressed the handprints simultaneously.

Press!

Then—

Rumble!

The stone wall that resembled a door slowly began sliding inward.

“Grrrrrrrr!”

Mak Ujeon was now only a few jang away.

Seonu Jin drew his sword and alternated his gaze between the approaching Mak Ujeon and the slowly receding door.

“Go inside the moment a gap opens!”

At that instant, Mak Ujeon hurled himself at them.

“Raaaaaaaargh!”

However, Seonu Jin did not confront him.

A narrow gap had opened between the stone doors.

Seonu Jin seized Tang Yeo-eun’s hand and immediately leaped through it.

“Go!”

Pa-pak!

Immediately afterward, Mak Ujeon’s palm strike struck the stone wall in vain.

KABOOM!